Chapter 76

It wаsn’t just Кhаn lоoking at thе stаff Вrоn hаnded over.

“Wоw… Аs exрectеd оf sоmеthing mаdе by Mаster, it definitеlу seеms а bit diffеrеnt, dоesn’t it? Fоr a stаff to emit this muсh Маnа…”

“Hahа! I don’t knоw much about it, but еvеn to my eyеs, it lоoks like a staff pеrfеctly suited for Sir Khаn!”

Shаrin and Bуutek didn’t knоw muсh аbоut Artifacts, but somеone likе Shаrin, whо had eхсеllent Mаna Sensitivitу, seemed to instаntlу realizе uрon sеeing the stаff that it was no оrdinarу stаff.

“How is it…?”

Bron, who hаd staуеd uр all night tо creаtе his finеst masterрieсе, wаs оbsеrving Khаn’s ехprеssiоn.

‘This staff I made this time is among the very best of the Artifacts I’ve created… Surely he doesn’t dislike it, does he?’

The more skilled the blacksmith, the more they wished for the weapons they created to be loved.

Moreover, Khan was practically a lifesaver for Bron, making that desire even stronger.

‘If he doesn’t like it… I’ll have to create an even better Artifact, even if it means grinding my body to dust.’

Bron had already begun staring at the staff he had handed to Khan.

Even upon second look, it felt like he had created a masterpiece with the bare minimum of materials.

Meanwhile, Khan, who had been blankly staring at the staff, finally opened his mouth.

“It’s a truly fine staff.”

“You like it?!”

“Yes. It’s a really good staff.”

Khan was still somewhat surprised while looking at the staff Bron had given him.

In fact, judging solely by Khan’s current reaction, he seemed to have spoken expressionlessly and without emotion, but inwardly, he was truly very surprised.

To the point where he thought he might have screamed if it weren’t for the ‘Sage’s Heart’.

‘Who would have thought… it would surpass Epic Rank.’

Khan tried to recall if there had ever been a User who received a Unique-Rank item as a reward from Bron’s Forge Quest while playing the game.

‘There wasn’t a single such User.’

To begin with, receiving an Epic-Rank item from Bron’s Forge Quest was extremely difficult, like plucking stars from the sky.

But now, Khan had accomplished something even more difficult than that.

‘First, let’s check the options in detail.’

Khan hadn’t properly examined the staff yet.

He had only checked the item rank written on the staff’s information.

“May I try holding it?”

“Of course! This staff is now yours, Sir Khan.”

Thud.

As Khan gripped the staff in his hand, he instantly felt as if Mana he didn’t have within his body was surging forth.

‘Just from gripping it, it’s already at this level.’

Unique-Rank items were so outstanding they were on a completely different dimension compared to ordinary items.

To give an extreme example, if a Level 1 User used a Unique-Rank weapon, they could become as strong as someone around Level 30.

Of course, that only applied to the highest-tier weapons among Unique-Rank items, and there were several conditions attached, but it was true that Unique-Rank weapons were that good.

‘I should check the item options first.’

As Khan looked at the staff, its information appeared like a Status Window.

[Bron’s OO Staff]

• Item Rank: Unique

• Level Restriction: 20

• Mana: +50

• Mana Control: +50

• Mana Capacity Increase: 500

Khan inwardly marveled continuously as he checked the staff’s options.

‘At this level… it would be at least among the upper tier even within Unique-Rank weapons.’

Moreover, there was one issue Khan had been privately worried about, and that issue was also neatly resolved.

‘Usually, Unique-Rank items have a fairly high Level Restriction, but this one is 20… This staff must have been traded for quite a high price in the game too, right?’

Furthermore, this staff of Bron’s even had a Mana Capacity Increase option attached.

Since Khan had rarely seen items with a Mana Capacity Increase option in <Geo Arc>, he thought this staff could almost be used as an Endgame Weapon.

‘I should be able to use this staff at least up to Level 80.’

Byutek and Sharin, who were watching Khan with a serious expression as he looked at the staff beside them.

Sharin was the first to start whispering into Byutek’s ear.

“Um… Byutek oppa, look at Master’s expression. It seems like he doesn’t like what Mr. Bron made for him?”

“Quiet…! Mr. Bron might hear…!”

Even Bron, standing before Khan, was thinking the same thing.

‘It seems… he doesn’t like it after all.’

To be honest, even if Bron were to make a new staff, he wasn’t confident he could make one better than this.

Still, because he wanted to create the best Artifact suited for Khan, just as Bron was about to say something to Khan.

Smirk.

The corner of Khan’s mouth, which rarely smiled, lifted ever so slightly as he opened his mouth.

“It’s a staff I truly like. I’ll make sure to use it with affection. But what’s the name of this staff?”

“Ah…!! Really?! Hahahahaha!! I’m glad you like it! You can name the staff yourself, Sir Khan.”

“No, since you made the staff, I’d prefer if you named it.”

“Ahem… Well, I do have one in mind… I was thinking of ‘Staff of Dawn’.”

“That’s a good name.”

Khan looked at the faint, pure white light emanating from the head of the staff and roughly understood why he had named it the Staff of Dawn.

“This staff is among the very best of the Artifacts I’ve made. I’m really happy that such an outstanding Sir Mage will be using a staff like this, hahaha!”

“Likewise. I’ll use it well from now on.”

As Khan checked the staff’s information once more, its name had already changed to ‘Staff of Dawn’.

“So, where are you planning to go now?”

“I’m still thinking about the next destination.”

Khan originally planned to go where the Main Quest led, but strangely, the next Main Quest wasn’t appearing.

But then.

[You have cleared the Main Quest.]

[You have acquired a large amount of Experience Points as a reward.]

[Your Level has increased.]

[Your Level has increased.]

Perhaps because he received the staff from Bron, a message appeared stating the Main Quest was cleared.

Khan inwardly hoped the next Main Quest would appear, but unfortunately, the next quest did not appear.

‘Still, my Level increased, so it’s not bad.’

His Level didn’t increase by just 1, but by 2 at once, so it was quite a gain.

‘I’d like to go to Erindel if possible… but I’m not sure how.’

The direction of the Main Quest usually changes depending on how one moves.

If it were up to him, he wanted to head to Erindel as the next destination and proceed with the Arena-related Main Quest there… but it didn’t seem like things would go as he wished.

“In that case, how about making Erindel your next destination?”

“Erindel?”

“Yes, actually, the reason I was captured by Kalsen was because of the war between Erindel and Silvanor… Anyway, setting that aside, Erindel regularly holds Arena tournaments. Rumor has it the prize for winning this Arena tournament is truly enormous. I think Sir Khan, Sir Byutek, and Lady Sharin are all highly skilled individuals who could win the tournament.”

“Do you know in detail what the prize is?”

“No, it seems that hasn’t been properly revealed yet. Haha! I was half-joking, so please just take it lightly.”

“No, it was quite good information. I’ll take it into account and head straight to Erindel.”

“Huh…? Is that really true?”

“Yes.”

Khan had wanted to proceed with the next Main Quest in Erindel anyway, and thanks to Bron, the conditions for the Main Quest were fulfilled.

When proceeding with the Main Quest in <Geo Arc>, conversations and quests with NPCs were equally important elements. Since Bron had brought it up like this first, accepting it would now cause the Main Quest to appear.

Whether Khan’s prediction hit the mark or not, as soon as he thought that, a new quest message appeared.

• [Visit Erindel]

• Will you accept the Main Quest?

• If refused, the Main Quest will be deleted.

• Reward: A small amount of Experience Points, progression to the next Main Quest

Khan immediately accepted.

[You have accepted the Main Quest.]

Now, upon going to Erindel, the next Main Quest should be generated.

As far as Khan knew, there was only one Main Quest obtainable in Erindel.

‘The Underground Arena Main Quest should appear.’

And upon clearing the Underground Arena Main Quest, one could obtain an enormous reward.

‘The reward changes each time, so I don’t know what will come out either.’

Having thus decided the next destination, Khan was slowly thinking of leaving Asmar.

“Um… Is that really true?”

“Yes.”

“So, are you planning to leave right now?”

“Yes, you should go in and rest quickly too. You look very tired.”

“Ah, yes…! But there are also rumors that Erindel’s Arena tournament is a bit dangerous, so please be careful!”

“Alright, thank you for your concern. And for this Artifact too.”

“I’m the one who’s more grateful! I’d be even happier if you use it for a long, long time!”

“I’ll try my best to do so.”

After Byutek and Sharin also thanked Bron once more, Khan’s party left the Flame Forge.

* * *

Clatter. Clatter. Clatter.

Having left Asmar, Khan, along with Byutek and Sharin, rode in the back of the carriage as they traveled.

“Even though we weren’t in Asmar for that long, it somehow feels like we were there for a very long time…”

“You must feel regretful. If you’re regretful, you can stay a bit longer by yourself and come later.”

“I do feel regretful, but still, I have to travel with Master! And learn more Magic too! By the way, Master, can you take a look at my Magic? I’m a bit confused about this part.”

Sharin suddenly drew in Mana, and Sparks began to fly around her body.

It seemed she was stuck on something in Lightning Attribute Magic, but it was impossible for Khan to teach her.

Since Khan was a complete layman regarding Magic theory, he quickly opened his mouth.

“Sharin, you should think about and solve such basic things on your own.”

“Ah, yes…!”

“If you don’t accomplish it on your own, there’s no growth.”

“Aha, I understand!”

Traveling by carriage like that, Khan closed his eyes and sank into thought.

Flash.

Khan opened his eyes and immediately stopped the carriage.

“Let’s stop for a moment before going on.”

“Sir Khan? Is something uncomfortable?”

“There’s nothing here, Master? Do you have some business?”

The Coachman stopped the carriage without a word.

As Khan abruptly stopped the carriage, Byutek and Sharin asked with puzzled expressions.

The place where the carriage stopped was a wasteland with nothing but dust.

“There’s one thing I want to check here.”

Khan spoke expressionlessly and coldly, but for some reason, the corner of his mouth seemed slightly upturned.