Chapter 10

‘Ваrriеr.’

Кhan silentlу rесitеd thе incantatiоn in his mind.

Нe had fullу learnеd hоw tо usе it tо sоme eхtent during the саrriagе ridе.

Веfоre shе cоuld fully draw оut hеr Маna, he сovеred Sharin’s entirе bоdy with ‘Barrier’.

Еvеn though ‘Barrier’ was а 1st-rаnk Skill, it would be impossible fоr а Magiс Aррrеntiсe only at Lеvel 5 to brеаk thrоugh.

‘Sharin’s magiсаl tаlent is quite high еven within the wоrldview of <Geo Аrс>.’

The gоldеn-hairеd girl beforе Khan’s eуes.

Тhаt girl would later becоme а strоng Мagiс Apрrеntiсe.

She wоuldn’t beсоmе а truе Mаgе, but shе was а сharacter who would genuinely reach the level of a quasi-Mage.

The total amount of Mana she possessed would likely be far greater than that half-baked Mage Digeul from earlier.

However, Sharin hadn’t properly learned magic yet, so she couldn’t manifest spells using her Mana.

‘And that girl is also somewhat aware of her own talent.’

That’s why Khan subdued her without unnecessarily showing off his skills using the ‘Arrow’ Skill like he did earlier.

To shut the mouth of that haughty girl, even if he showed her the 1st-rank Skill ‘Arrow’, she probably wouldn’t have been impressed.

Of course, the ‘Arrow’ Skill Khan obtained was a Hidden Skill, making it a cheat-like skill with no Mana Consumption.

But others had no way of knowing whether Khan’s Arrow Skill was a Hidden Skill or a regular 1st-rank Skill.

‘Explaining that the Arrow Skill I obtained is a Hidden Skill would be ridiculous.’

And that girl is a key character in this Quest.

A child overflowing with talent for Mana, but unable to control it herself.

‘If Sharin dies, the Quest fails.’

If Sharin is left alone, the Quest will fail.

The core of this Quest is to exterminate the assassination group and protect Sharin.

She, unable to control her Mana, might even die from her own Mana.

Well, that’s not a problem to think about right now.

Meanwhile, Sharin was still continuously drawing out the Mana inside her body.

‘Just what is going on…’

Sharin, who possessed talent for Mana and magic, could see Mana directly with her eyes.

To be honest, when she entered Deilis’s room, she couldn’t believe her eyes.

That half-baked Mage named Digeul she saw first.

Frankly, that guy was probably the most decent among the guys who had come for escort missions so far.

Moreover, he knew how to use Mana to manifest magic.

But when she came back to the room due to the noisy sound, that guy Digeul was gone, and a tall man who looked like a parasitic older brother and a Knight were standing there.

It seemed her father had been deceived by that Mage.

She couldn’t feel any Mana from the man’s body except for a bean-sized amount, and she thought he was probably no different from the guys who had pretended to be Mages before.

‘I definitely couldn’t see any Mana in his body. Where did all this Mana come from…?!’

So Sharin planned to show off her skills and drive Khan out.

Even though she couldn’t use magic yet, she was confident because she had far more Mana than others.

However, the one being shown up right now was herself.

“Stop. I’ve blocked it.”

The man’s Mana covering her body.

It was the most outstanding skill among the people she had seen using magic.

“Hmph…!”

But Sharin didn’t give up.

She drew out her Mana with all her might.

“How… how can there be so much Mana…?”

She gave up now.

It was an overwhelming difference.

Then, Deilis quickly intervened.

“I’m sorry. My daughter isn’t normally such a rude child, but she’s deeply grieving as her mother passed away not long ago.”

“It’s fine. Let’s get back to discussing the matter.”

“Understood. Sharin, you go back to your room.”

“…Okay. I’m sorry.”

Sharin returned to her room with her head deeply bowed.

Khan watched her for a moment before sitting back down.

His top priority was to safely clear this Quest.

“Phew… To think they’re targeting my daughter this time, I’m truly so confused myself…”

“So, are there any suspicious individuals? The ones who might have commissioned this.”

Byutek, who had been quiet until now, asked Deilis.

“Of course. You two may not know, but currently, the Trading Company I run in Grodek is the largest. And the second largest Trading Company after mine is run by a guy named Boyl.”

“Boyl?”

Byutek had heard of the Boyl Trading Company.

Simultaneously, a sense of incongruity arose in Khan’s mind.

‘I knew about the Boyl Trading Company, but this Quest shouldn’t be related to Boyl… The Quest is subtly changing bit by bit.’

The same goes for Byutek, who was supposed to die in the early Quest.

He was originally a character who died fighting Monsters after accepting the Village Chief’s request before Khan arrived.

‘For now, the Quest immediately before me must be the priority.’

Khan focused on Deilis’s words for the moment.

“Yes, that guy Boyl has always had his eyes on my Trading Company. He has attacked our Trading Company with all sorts of underhanded methods. Until just before this incident, they almost framed our Trading Company by secretly bringing in goods banned for sale throughout the entire city of Grodek.”

“Hmm, the Boyl Trading Company… I’ve heard of that Trading Company too. I know it’s quite a large Trading Company.”

“Anyway, those guys have been warning me like that for a long time. If you go outside and walk a bit now, you’ll see shops on the streets. Those shops in Grodek’s most bustling district are all shops that have established themselves under my Trading Company.”

Looking at Deilis’s expression, he seemed a bit angry.

Since his wife had already died and many people related to the Trading Company had died, he probably hated Boyl enough to want to kill him.

“So, what they’re targeting are the shops in that bustling district.”

“That’s right. What they proposed was to hand over half the shares of the Trading Company in the bustling district. No, to be precise, they said to exchange half the shares of the Trading Company in the bustling district with the shares they hold in the city outskirts. After I refused, they’ve been threatening me and the Trading Company continuously.”

Listening to Deilis’s story, Khan found it quite strange.

“Now that things have escalated to this point, is the Baron just standing by?”

“Yes, even when I request support, he only provides the bare minimum formally… I suspect they might have bribed him or something.”

“I understand for now.”

Hearing more of the story now would just be things I already know.

Anyway, the Quest in <Geo Arc> is already designed so that I must protect Deilis and exterminate the assassination group.

Khan got up from his seat.

Byutek looked at Khan and asked.

“Huh…? Sir Khan, are you leaving already?”

“Yes. Ah, Byutek will handle your daughter’s escort. I’ll return in the evening.”

“I’ll be in your care! If you handle it well, I’ll make sure the reward is truly generous!”

“Byutek, you escort Sharin.”

“Ah… Understood!”

After saying that, Khan left Deilis’s room.

Now that he was in Grodek, and to perfectly clear the Quest, staying holed up here was too wasteful.

* * *

The Deilis Trading Company in Grodek.

It was the largest Trading Company in Grodek, but of course, the Deilis Trading Company didn’t monopolize all the shops.

Although not as large as the Deilis Trading Company, the rival Boyl Trading Company also maintained a fairly large-scale Trading Company.

“That guy Deilis can’t ignore my warning this time either. With his daughter involved, he can’t just stand still.”

Boyl, who ran the Boyl Trading Company, was talking with an employee in his room.

“Then shall we go meet him directly this time?”

“Yes, let’s visit his house after sunset. Anyway, there’s no evidence we hired Assassins, so there’s nothing they can do.”

“But, I hear Deilis has been hiring a skilled Knight and Mage recently.”

“A Knight and Mage? Jin, do you think there would be a skilled Knight and Mage in a rural city like this?”

“Haha, how could that be. I just mentioned it just in case.”

“Anyway, I’ll go meet Deilis tonight with Godrik. He’ll accept our proposal obediently this time. If he doesn’t want to see his daughter die, that is.”

Boyl waited to meet Deilis with a vile smile.

Soon, half of the Trading Company in Grodek’s bustling district would be his.

* * *

Meanwhile, Khan left Deilis’s mansion and was walking towards the outskirts of Grodek.

‘My current Level is even lower than Sharin’s.’

Khan’s current Level was 3.

Moreover, his Mana was far less than those who pretended to be Mages.

‘If you go north from Grodek, there’s a forest where Monsters gather.’

Khan planned to go to that forest and hunt Monsters.

With the Hidden Skill ‘Growth Acceleration’, which was as high as 8th-rank, his Level should rise easily.

And in that forest, an item Khan knew about was hidden.

Above all, as a Mage, he had a significant Weak Point.

‘This sluggish physical ability and reaction.’

To compensate for that, he first needed to raise his Level recklessly.

Or find another ‘Hidden Skill’.

‘There is one Hidden Skill in Grodek too… but it’s unreasonable for my current strength to go there.’

The place where the Hidden Skill is hidden is teeming with strong Monsters.

To find that Hidden Skill, he needs to become stronger than he is now.

‘I should go get the Hidden Skill if I get a chance during the Quest.’

By clearing Quests one by one, he would naturally become stronger.

And he could raise his Level whenever he had time like this.

After walking for about an hour, Khan arrived before the northern gate of Grodek city.

The Soldiers guarding it approached Khan.

“Monsters appear in the northern forest of Grodek. It’s dangerous, please turn back.”

The Soldier didn’t think Khan was a Mage at all.

“I am a Mage. I have some business here for a while, so I’d like permission to enter.”

“A Mage, you say…?”

But the Soldiers didn’t believe Khan’s words.

Usually, a Mage would carry at least one Staff, but nothing was visible in Khan’s hands, and his appearance looked too thin and weak.

Looking at those Soldiers, Khan silently recited the incantation in his mind.

‘Arrow.’

Whoosh…!

Whoosh…!

Whoosh…!

Upon using the Skill, Magic Arrows appeared around Khan.

“Ohh, manifesting magic without an incantation…! You are a Mage of tremendous skill! Are you planning to hunt Monsters?”

Khan nodded at the Soldier’s words.

It was common for Adventurers or Knights to hunt Monsters.

If you took Monster byproducts and sold them at shops, it earned quite a bit of money.

“Then please be careful on your way!”

The Soldiers’ attitudes changed slightly after seeing Khan’s power.

They spoke to Khan with loud voices, bowing, and Khan passed through the gate and walked into the forest to the north.

* * *

Having entered deeper into the forest, Khan unexpectedly hadn’t encountered a single Monster yet.

“The Staff hidden here. If I get that, I can proceed with the Quest a bit more smoothly.”

A forest composed of large trees.

The tree branches stretched out high and long.

Khan was thinking of the forest he had seen beyond the monitor.

The largest tree at the center of this forest.

According to <Geo Arc>’s setting, he heard it was a tree over 1,000 years old.

Walking towards the center of the forest, Khan soon arrived before that tree.

“Seeing it in person, it’s truly incredibly huge.”

A tree so massive its diameter seemed over five meters.

One side of the trunk of this giant tree was hollow inside.

And inside, the Staff Khan was looking for would be located.

Khan immediately used the ‘Arrow’ Skill.

Whoosh…!

Whoosh…!

Whoosh…!

He immediately stretched out his hand and shot the Magic Arrows at the tree.

Sssshhhhwwww!

Crunch…!

The tree was so thick that the outer surface didn’t get cut off at once.

Khan repeated the action several times.

Crunch-crunch-crunch!

Soon, the tree’s outer surface was completely cut off, and Khan entered the space inside.

Inside the trunk, there was just enough space for about two people.

Khan looked at the tree branch stretching out inside the trunk before him.

[Item: 1,000-Year Tree Staff]

• Item Rank: Rare

• Level Restriction: 3

• Mana: +3

• Mana Control: +3

The item’s detailed description was clearly visible above it.

Snap!

Khan broke off that tree branch and held it in his hand.

“Good.”

Just by holding the Staff, he could feel his Mana had increased quite a bit.

The Mana written on the item meant that each time it increased by 1, the total Mana in the Status Window increased by 10. Just by obtaining this Staff, his total Mana had increased by a whopping 30.

And ‘Mana Control’ increased the ability to manifest magic using Mana.

‘With this, I should be able to create Arrows with my current Mana.’

Due to the increased Mana from the Staff, it seemed Khan could create about three or four Magic Arrows with his own Mana.

Having obtained the Staff, Khan came out from inside the trunk.

Grrrrr….

Growl!!!

As he came out, three Monsters with shapes similar to wolves were approaching Khan, having appeared at some point.

[LV.4 Wolf]

Wolves, Level 4 Monsters.

Three Monsters, higher Level than Khan, had appeared, yet for some reason, he was smiling.

“Perfect opponents to test the Staff’s performance.”

As he said that, he drew out his Mana.