Chapter 38

Whооsh…! Whооsh…! Whoosh…!

Fwоооооosh…!!

Khan usеd twо skills simultaneоusly.

[Skill ‘Arrоw’ hаs bееn usеd.]

[Skill ‘Firе Boоm’ has beеn usеd.]

Thеn, thirtу mаgiс аrrows аnd flamе spherеs аррearеd.

“T-this сan’t be!”

“It’s a mаgе!!”

“A Sir Mage hаs сome to our villagе!”

“Нe must have comе tо save us!!!”

“Wаaаааh!!!”

Рeople bоrn in frontier villаgеs hаd even fеwеr сhancеs to seе magic.

The bluе Мana аnd mаgic аrrows theу were seеing for thе first timе in their lives, and even thе blazing flаmе sрherеs.

All the guеsts in thе rеstaurant whо witnessеd thе mаgiс with thеir own еуеs eхсlaimed in surprise.

“D-did you just use magic with Chantless Casting?”

All the guests in the restaurant were ecstatic seeing Khan’s magic.

However, the most surprised were Bellop and the other guild members, who showed no reaction at all.

These three were speechless, having just witnessed Khan’s magic right before their eyes.

Especially Teo and Roan, who had looked down on Khan at the checkpoint, naturally lowered their gazes.

“Can’t you see?”

“…At this level, wouldn’t it be appropriate to call him an Archmage?”

“Not that much.”

“W-we are truly sorry for our disrespect until now. Please, just spare our lives…!”

“I’ll take it that you’ve accepted the proposal. Let’s meet in front of the Village Chief’s office in an hour.”

“Understood…!”

Bellop knew better than anyone that Khan could kill them all without a trace with just a flick of his hand.

‘At that level, he’s at least a 5th Circle mage…!’

Mages were typically evaluated by their Circle.

As far as Bellop knew, a 5th Circle mage was a force comparable to a hundred intermediate knights in a city.

‘That person, no, Sir Khan, could easily defeat the Griffin even without going with us…’

He couldn’t understand at all why he wanted to go with them.

“…Sorry, Captain. I never imagined he’d be such a heavyweight mage.”

Teo and Roan, who had kept their mouths shut after seeing Khan’s magic, cautiously approached Bellop and apologized.

“Hoo… That’s not what’s important. You know, right? What kind of people mages are.”

“……I’ve heard mages are often psychopaths without blood or tears…”

“Don’t tell me… He’s not planning to take us to the Rocky Mountains and kill us, is he?”

Teo and Roan also began to worry suddenly.

They wondered if he might take them, who had been acting foolishly without knowing anything, to the Rocky Mountains and kill them without a trace.

Teo cautiously whispered.

“…Should we just run away?”

“No, we can’t do that. Who knows what misfortune might befall us if we do. It seems he doesn’t intend to harm us for now…. I’ll ask him later when we go to meet the Village Chief. Why exactly he wants to take us with him.”

At Bellop’s words, Teo and Roan nodded simultaneously.

Khan’s magic was one thing, but even before that, Byutek’s skills were extraordinary, so they were worried enough to leave their chicken uneaten.

Thus, an hour later, the adventurers of the Bellop Guild took heavy steps toward the Village Chief’s office.

* * *

Khan’s party, who arrived first in front of the Village Chief’s office, waited briefly for the adventurers of the Bellop Guild.

“Sir Khan, but why do you want to go with those adventurers?”

“Because I don’t know the way.”

“Ah, you plan to take them as guides.”

“Right, and they’ll be quite useful as combat power too.”

“Haha, Sir Khan! What need is there for other combat power when I’m here! You saw earlier, right? I flew in like a bee and succeeded in protecting you, Sir Khan!”

“I could have blocked that much myself.”

Hearing Byutek’s words, Khan recalled the moment an hour ago when Teo threw a punch.

‘That was almost a disaster…’

Frankly, Khan hadn’t seen Teo’s punch at all at that moment.

Even if they were the same Level, Khan was a mage, and Teo was a swordsman.

Therefore, Khan’s overall physical abilities were inevitably much lower, and dodging a punch flying at him from right in front was nearly impossible.

‘If I had taken that punch and collapsed right there… I don’t even want to imagine it.’

All his plans almost went up in smoke.

And at the same time, his trust in Byutek was solidifying.

‘I thought he might still be a bit clumsy, but he’s perfect as an Escort Knight. Byutek’s skills are rising faster than anyone else’s.’

Khan looked at Byutek, who was making a foolish expression.

To be precise, at the Level above his head.

[LV.21 Kilpheon’s Knight Byutek]

His Level had already risen one step from 20 to Level 21.

In <Geo Arc>, it takes a considerable amount of time to raise one Level.

Especially as the Level increases, the difficulty rises exponentially.

‘Byutek’s Talent is truly overwhelming.’

Gaining such a comrade was a stroke of luck for Khan as well.

‘Moreover, Sharin has Talent not inferior to Byutek’s…’

When he looked at Sharin standing still, she jumped in surprise and exclaimed.

“…Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?”

“What are you talking about?”

“No, Master, you have that chicken grease on the corner of your mouth…. You were staring so intently, I thought I had something on me too.”

“I was just looking.”

Saying that, Khan roughly wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve.

About five minutes later, they could see the adventurers of the Bellop Guild walking from afar with gloomy faces.

“Hey! Are you planning to keep Sir Khan waiting? Hurry up and get over here!”

“S-sorry!!”

Patapatapatapat!

At Byutek’s shout, the adventurers of the Bellop Guild ran at full speed and stood before Khan.

“Sorry…! Did you wait long?”

“Let’s go in.”

“Ah… yes!”

Without another word, Khan immediately entered the Village Chief’s office with the Bellop Guild adventurers.

“W-who are you? …Ah, you’re the adventurers from the Bellop Guild! Our guards were just looking for you, thank you for coming…! But the people beside you seem unfamiliar…”

They knew the faces of the Bellop Guild adventurers from seeing them often, but Village Chief Adrian of Hugo Village and Khan’s party were complete strangers.

‘Their attire… it seems somewhat similar to what I heard from Brek.’

He had just heard from Brek, a guard of Hugo Village, about the mage and knight who had come to the village.

It was only a rough description, but somehow, as soon as Adrian saw Khan, he felt he must be the mage Brek mentioned.

“Greetings, Village Chief Adrian. The people beside me are Sir Khan the mage, Sir Byutek the Knight of Kilpheon, and Lady Sharin, Sir Khan’s Disciple.”

“……!!”

Bellop introduced Khan’s party on their behalf.

Hearing that, Adrian was startled and barely managed to control his expression.

“Oh my, esteemed guests have come to our humble village…! Might the reason you’ve come to our village be……”

Adrian subtly tried to steer the conversation toward the Griffin Subjugation, but Khan cut him off.

“I’ll keep it short. We’re going to defeat the Griffin now, so make sure no other personnel come.”

“Just the six of you…?”

“Yes.”

Hearing Khan’s words, Adrian smiled inwardly, but on the other hand, he was worried.

“Sir Khan, it seems you may not be aware, but just a while ago, a Subjugation Force composed of adventurers was completely wiped out by a single Griffin. So additional support…”

“We don’t need support. Just make sure no one comes to the Rocky Mountains.”

“…Understood. Then… I leave it to you. I’ll prepare a reward that won’t disappoint!”

Adrian bowed his head deeply toward Khan and exclaimed.

Khan left the Village Chief’s office with his comrades and the Bellop Guild adventurers.

* * *

The path from Hugo Village to the Rocky Mountains was quite rugged.

“Huff, huff…. S-Sir Byutek, Sir Khan…! Let me go with you too…! I’m dying of exhaustion!”

“……Let’s rest for a moment.”

“Haha, understood! Sharin! Just because you’re a mage, does that mean you can be so weak? Huh?”

Hearing Byutek’s words, Khan felt a bit stung, honestly.

‘Trying not to show I’m out of breath makes it even harder…’

Honestly, Khan felt like he could collapse from breathlessness at any moment, but he wasn’t showing any sign of strain.

“Hoo…. Well, I am a mage, you know? I don’t do Stamina training separately!”

“Learn from Sir Khan! Sir Khan isn’t struggling at all!”

“Now that you mention it, that’s true…. Master, aren’t you tired?”

“……”

Frankly, it was truly exhausting enough to die.

Since the path to the entrance of the Rocky Mountains was uphill, it was inevitable that his Stamina would drain.

He wanted to say he was tired, but for some reason, the atmosphere made it hard to answer.

“I’ve heard rumors that as one’s mastery of magic rises, their Stamina improves accordingly. Sir Khan seems to be approaching the level of an Archmage, so this much must be nothing for him.”

“……”

“Haha, Bellop, was it? You have a good eye. How amazing Sir Khan is, let me tell you…”

At Byutek’s sudden boasting, Khan gave no answer and focused as much as possible on his breathing.

“To have saved Sir Byutek’s life…! It seems the opponent was an incredibly powerful individual…!”

“Haha! W-well, of course!”

“Wow, I can’t even begin to gauge Sir Byutek’s true strength.”

During the journey to the Rocky Mountains, Bellop had asked Byutek why they were taking them along, so he could relax a little.

‘At least it doesn’t seem like he intends to harm us.’

Therefore, Bellop was more actively playing the role of guide.

“Enough chatter, let’s get going now.”

“Ah, yes! This way…!”

Once again, Khan’s party and the Bellop Guild adventurers moved their steps toward the Rocky Mountains.

At the same time, Khan was recalling the location of the Hidden Skill hidden within the Rocky Mountains.