Chapter 13

Uung…!!

А соnsidеrable аmоunt оf Маna was sprеаding out from within Shаrin’s room.

Вut thаt tоо wаs оnly for а very briеf mоment.

Тhе Маnа seеping frоm her heаrt wаs bеing еntirely blоckеd by Khan’s Ваrrier.

“Don’t stop. Тhе pain is only momеntаry.”

“Ah, I understand!!”

Khаn сontinued tо stimulatе Shаrin.

Оnlу if she endured this pаin now and сrеаted her Сirсlе would she finаlly be аble to take hеr first stеp as а Мagе.

Befоre they knеw it, Sharin’s Сirсle was nearly twо-thirds cоmрlеte.

Nоw, if she pоurеd just а little morе Mаnа intо thе rеmaining раrt, it сould tаkе on a perfect ring form.

Uung…!!

Sharin, without stopping, shaped the Mana gathered in her heart and finally connected the ring.

Finally, a perfect Circle was formed.

“Hoo, hoo…. Is it done?”

“Yes, well done. That is the ‘Circle,’ the foundation of a Mage.”

“This is the Circle……”

Uung….

Uung….

Uung….

The Mana continued to rotate within Sharin’s heart.

Contrary to her will, the Mana kept moving incessantly in a ring form.

Now, manifesting Mana and using Magic would be a very easy task for her.

“Your limit for now is the 1st Circle. As you grow more, you’ll probably be able to create the 2nd Circle soon enough. That is your Talent. You accomplished in one go what others couldn’t create even after years.”

“Thank you, Sir Khan….”

“I didn’t really do anything. It was entirely thanks to your talent.”

“Still… thank you very much.”

Khan was gazing at the Circle rotating within Sharin’s heart.

‘As expected, Sharin’s talent is incredible…. Now, there’s no chance of Sharin dying.’

Sharin, the key figure of this Quest.

Since he taught her Magic, the Quest’s story would now change a bit.

Of course, for the better from Khan’s perspective.

“It’s getting late, so I’ll be going now. Byutek, for the time being, you sleep in front of Sharin’s door.”

“Understood!”

Byutek obediently followed Khan’s words.

The power Khan displayed during the journey from Burun Village to Grodek clearly suggested he was no ordinary person.

Tap.

As Khan opened Sharin’s door and stepped outside, only Byutek and Sharin remained inside.

“Hoo… Anyway, please finish the story we were talking about earlier. I’m curious.”

As if nothing had happened, Sharin just let out one big sigh and spoke to Byutek.

“Ahem… Right. So anyway, together with Sir Khan, we defeated all the Monsters in the village. Sir Khan’s Magic was truly amazing……”

* * *

Time passed, and three days quickly went by. Deilis ultimately did not accept Boyl’s proposal.

No, there was no need to accept it now.

He couldn’t imagine his daughter, who had taken her first step as a Mage overnight, being killed by mere Assassins.

“Lord Khan, I truly thank you. For becoming my daughter’s Magic Master, I couldn’t be more reassured. I will definitely express my gratitude separately later.”

“I didn’t really do anything. That was all that child’s talent.”

“Haha, to be so humble as well…. I heard most Sir Mages are arrogant, but Lord Khan, you seem to be a truly thoughtful person.”

Khan, who had come to meet Deilis early in the morning, felt a bit burdened by the gratitude Deilis had been continuously expressing lately.

“Anyway, from today, we really need to be careful. The person they targeted is your daughter, but Deilis, you stay alert too.”

“Understood. Mercenaries are on standby around my bedroom 24/7, so you don’t need to worry much about me. I entrust my daughter to you more than myself, Lord Khan.”

Khan nodded at Deilis’s words and left his room.

Deilis bowed deeply until Khan left the room.

‘Today must be the real beginning.’

Khan looked at the Quest window visible before his eyes.

[Assassination Group Extermination]

• Quest in progress.

• Exterminate the assassination group in Grodek city.

• Reward: A minuscule amount of Experience Points, progression to the next Quest.

Story Quests in <Geo Arc> are more complex than one might think.

Looking only at the Quest content, it seems very simple, but depending on how and in what way the Quest is cleared, the future story, Quests, and growth potential all change.

‘I’ve done everything I can.’

If he had his way, he’d want to charge into the assassination squad alone and kill them all.

Doing that would allow him to clear the Quest faster and proceed immediately to the next one.

‘But if I did that, I might die.’

However, the current Khan is only Level 4 even after obtaining a ‘Hidden Skill,’ and is a half-baked Mage who hasn’t even created a Circle yet.

For several days, Khan kept going to the northern forest of Grodek to hunt Monsters.

But his Level was still stagnant.

To begin with, raising Levels in <Geo Arc> is quite tricky.

Obtaining the 8th-grade Hidden Skill ‘Growth Acceleration’ meant that even this was considered a fast Leveling rate.

‘For today, I should also guard Sharin along with Byutek.’

Thinking that, Khan immediately moved his steps toward Sharin’s room.

* * *

Late evening.

Ten Assassins wearing black masks were standing in Boyl’s room.

“I’ll be counting on you again today.”

“Haha, have you ever seen us fail? Today, let’s just kill that Deilis and his daughter in one go.”

“If you do that, it would be more than good. That way, I could take over Deilis’s entire Trading Company.”

“Hmm, you haven’t forgotten our promise, right?”

“Of course. I will hand over half of Deilis’s Trading Company.”

The Skull Assassination Squad, lending their strength to Boyl.

Godrik, the leader of the Skull Assassination Squad operating on a large scale in Grodek’s underworld, was talking with Boyl before raiding Deilis’s mansion tonight.

“Very reassuring. Then I’ll rest easy and go to sleep now. Thinking that good news will come tomorrow morning already puts me in a good mood. Hahaha!”

“Then we’ll be on our way too. This won’t take long either. After all, the Mercenaries in Grodek are no match for me. Let’s go!”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

Godrik shouted to the nine Assassins behind him and disappeared with them.

“Kekeuk… Deilis, your end comes today. If you had accepted my proposal sooner, we could have resolved this peacefully. Foolish bastard….”

He lay down on his bed, awaiting the good news that would come tomorrow.

* * *

Late at night, Khan was in Sharin’s room with Byutek.

“If you’re sleepy, you can sleep.”

Starting today, it was a bit dangerous, so he decided to guard her directly inside the room.

“But still… shouldn’t I stay awake today too…. Haaam….”

Sharin, who had been holding back the drowsiness that had been washing over her since earlier, yawned with a sleepy voice.

“It’s fine. I’m here, and in case of any situation, if you manifest your Mana, you should be able to easily handle Assassin-level opponents.”

“Alright…. It’s a bit burdensome, but… I’ll be in your care.”

“Right.”

“Don’t worry and sleep soundly, Sharin! With me, Byutek, a Knight of Kilpheon, and the highest-ranking Mage Sir Khan here!”

Byutek boasted loudly to Sharin, confident about fighting the Assassins.

Sharin, lying on the bed, fell asleep almost as soon as she closed her eyes.

“Byutek, you need to be alert now too. The assassination squad members must be skilled.”

“Understood! Don’t worry, haha!”

“Your life could be in danger. Guarding Sharin is the top priority, but protect your own neck well too.”

“Haha…… Understood.”

Byutek, who had been laughing, now wore a serious expression at Khan’s warning.

‘The Skull Assassination Squad members are all stronger than Byutek. At least, the Equipment Byutek is wearing is good, so he might be able to fight the lower-ranking members of the squad.’

Khan held his staff, prepared.

If even the slightest suspicious sound was heard within the mansion, he was ready to manifest Magic at any moment.

* * *

One hour, two hours, three hours passed, and no sound came from inside the mansion.

‘Something’s strange.’

According to the Quest Khan knew, they should attack Sharin immediately after the 3-day warning period, but still, no presence was felt.

‘Could it be… there’s an unknown variable.’

The Quest Khan was currently progressing through was one he was doing for the first time.

He had already cleared it once in a safe manner.

This was also the first time he had taught Sharin Magic.

He was following a method that appeared later in the <Geo Arc> Community, but perhaps there was one variable he didn’t know about.

‘Could it be that they’re not targeting Sharin.’

With an ominous thought, Khan spoke to Byutek beside him.

“I’m going to Deilis’s room for a moment.”

“Yes! Don’t worry about here, leave it to me!”

Though not entirely reliable, confirmation was needed, so Khan immediately left Sharin’s room.

Sharin’s room and Deilis’s room were on entirely different floors, so Khan went down from the 2nd floor to the 1st floor.

Deilis’s room was visible in the distance.

But, the Mercenaries who should have been standing guard in front of it were all lying as cold corpses, bleeding.

‘Could it be these guys… are targeting Deilis.’

He immediately approached the fallen Mercenaries and brought his hand to their necks.

‘Still warm. They haven’t been dead long.’

If so, then Assassins must be positioned somewhere around here.

Khan slightly opened Deilis’s door to check inside.

Deilis was fast asleep, unaware of anything, and no suspicious presence was felt inside at all.

Tap.

Closing the door, Khan checked his surroundings.

All the lights inside the mansion were off, making it quite dark, but soon he could confirm a group of Assassins approaching from the distance, making footsteps.

“So you’re that half-baked Mage Sir Godrik mentioned.”

Khan was looking at the eight Assassins who had appeared before him.

[LV.5 Skull Assassination Squad Executive]

All of them were executive-level members of the Skull Assassination Squad.

But perhaps because it was an assassination squad in a small city like this, their Levels were lower than expected after all.

The most fortunate thing was that Godrik, the leader of the Skull Assassination Squad, was not visible.

‘If Godrik were here together, I might have died on the spot without being able to do anything.’

He needed to quickly take down these small fry before Godrik appeared.

“What’s this, why so quiet. Are you scared or something? Kekeuk….”

The Assassins before Khan’s eyes began walking towards him, mocking him.

But that too was brief; they widened their strides and quickly rushed at Khan.

Pahat!

Pahat!

Pahat!

Pahat!

The four Assassins at the forefront rushed at Khan from all sides.

The Daggers they held flew towards Khan’s face, neck, chest, and stomach.

‘Barrier.’

Uung…!!

He couldn’t completely follow their movements, but Khan used his Barrier first.

Kang! Kang! Kang! Kang!

The Daggers swung by the Assassins bounced off the moment they touched Khan’s Barrier.

“Wh-what is this. This guy….”

“Are you really a Mage?!”

“Kill him quickly before he uses Magic again!!”

The Assassins, momentarily taken aback as their attacks were blocked by the Barrier, soon rushed in again.

But Khan, having confirmed the Barrier’s performance, wore a relaxed expression.

‘Arrow.’

Khan chanted the Incantation in his mind and spoke towards the Assassins rushing at him.

“Now, who’s the one dying.”

Khan, now Level 4, could create ten Magic Arrows at once.

The ten blue-glowing Magic Arrows around him began flying towards the Assassins.

Simultaneously, expressions of surprise and fear appeared on the faces of the Assassins rushing at Khan.