Chapter 135

‘Тhis саn’t bе. Could а Нiddеn Quеst rеally aррear…?!’

Вelow thе Нiddеn Quеst, thе quеst details аppеаred.

• [Find аnd еntеr thе Нidden Gаte lоcatеd in thе Каltmore Мountаin Range.]

• Will yоu аccept thе Нidden Quest?

• If refused, the Нiddеn Quest will be deleted.

• Rеwаrd: A minusculе amоunt оf Ехperiencе Points, рrоgrеssion to thе nехt Hidden Quеst

While chеcking the Hidden Quеst’s сontents, Кhаn reсalled а name he hаd forgоttеn.

‘Right, it was the Kaltmorе Mоuntаin Rаnge.’

Тhe Kаltmоrе Mountаin Rangе hе hаd раssed bу whilе trаveling tо Еrindel by carriage.

Kaltmore was a very small village, and in front of the village was a mountainous region where numerous rocks formed a canyon.

What on earth was in the Kaltmore Mountain Range?

Actually, there really was nothing in the Kaltmore Mountain Range.

‘Originally, it was a place with nothing, but it’s probably the only place where I discovered a Hidden Gate.’

Khan was beyond a veteran of <Geo Arc>—he was practically ancient.

He had raised numerous characters, experienced countless trials and errors, and undertaken numerous challenges.

He had even scoured every corner of the Kaltmore Mountain Range.

Khan had ultimately discovered and cleared the Hidden Gate hidden there.

‘To think I forgot about the Hidden Gate in the Kaltmore Mountain Range. If I had just passed it by, it would have been such a waste. It’s perfect since my Level is just right for going there now.’

If he went to the Hidden Gate in the Kaltmore Mountain Range, Leveling Up would be a piece of cake.

Of course, it might vary depending on Level, but if below Level 100, he could definitely raise it by at least 5 Levels.

Moreover, since the Hidden Gate in the Kaltmore Mountain Range had a very low difficulty, there was no need to prepare anything special.

‘It’s late today, so I should head to the Kaltmore Mountain Range first thing when I wake up tomorrow.’

Finishing his thoughts, Khan returned to his lodgings.

* * *

Swoosh.

Swoosh.

Two people, rendered invisible and completely erasing their presence with High-Rank Stealth Magic, were quietly observing Khan.

As he entered the lodgings, the two figures appeared.

A woman with long, straight red hair and a man of decent build with black hair.

“Silvia, are you really sure that guy is a strong Mage?”

“I told you, right? He seems incredibly strong! Have I ever said other Mages were strong before? No, I haven’t.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Darenvalt looked at Silvia with eyes that still couldn’t believe it.

Darenvalt and Silvia had come to Erindel to participate in the Underground Arena Tournament opening three days later.

After completing the tournament registration process and sightseeing around the city, they had tailed that seemingly frail man because she had been startled.

“Darenvalt, listen to me! If a monster-like Mage like that participates in this Underground Arena Tournament, we’re all just done for, you know?”

“Why would we be done for, Silvia. You might be done for. A guy like that wouldn’t be able to block my sword.”

“No, even you wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Silvia knew better than anyone how strong she and Darenvalt were.

The two were Adventurers belonging to the Jet Black Guild, an Adventurer guild in Arcana.

The Jet Black Guild only allowed exceptionally skilled Adventurers to join, and both Silvia and Darenvalt were quite strong even within the guild.

Being in the upper-middle tier among all Adventurers, they received considerable treatment wherever they went.

“Why on earth wouldn’t I stand a chance?”

“There’s just something Mages can sense about each other, you know? When you see an opponent, you should be able to feel roughly how much Mana they have, but I couldn’t sense anything like that from that person at all!”

“Isn’t he just an ordinary person? No, the guy we were tailing until just now looked weaker than an ordinary person, didn’t he?”

“No, I’m telling you! Even ordinary people usually have a very small amount of Mana. But I couldn’t sense anything from that person. People with absolutely no Mana in their bodies don’t exist in this world!”

Silvia had never once seen a person with no Mana in their body.

Except, of course, for the Archmages of the Magic Tower who had taught her Magic long ago.

‘He must definitely be an unbelievable monster…!’

That’s why Silvia wanted to investigate that Mage before the tournament began.

However, since the man had entered his lodgings, she couldn’t follow him any further today.

“What good will secretly tailing him do anyway? Let’s just stop and go, okay?”

“If we follow that person around, we might be able to find out something, even a little. You haven’t already forgotten what the prize for this Underground Arena Tournament is, have you?”

“It’s an Ancient Magic Book, right? I heard even guys like me with no Talent for Magic can learn Magic just by reading an Ancient Magic Book.”

“Exactly! And that’s not all. It’s said to contain incredible Magics you can’t even learn at the Magic Tower! We absolutely must win!”

Silvia still hadn’t given up on the idea of finding out more about that nameless man.

“Sigh… Fine, alright. But only until tomorrow, got it? Starting the day after, I need to manage my condition too, so you can tail him alone or figure it out yourself then.”

“Okay, that’s enough for me!”

Silvia and Darenvalt planned to sleep rough in front of the lodgings Khan had entered, using Stealth Magic.

Although Darenvalt wasn’t keen on the idea, since it was Silvia’s request, he intended to participate only until tomorrow.

“Cast the Magic for me. I’ll just spread out a mat or something and sleep.”

“What mat? I’ll pitch a tent for you! Here!”

Silvia took out a tent from her Spatial Pocket using Magic and pitched it.

Then, she cast High-Rank Stealth Magic again on the tent and Darenvalt’s body.

“You can just relax and sleep comfortably. I set it up so I get a notification whenever someone passes by the front of the lodgings.”

“Okay, got it. You sleep too.”

“Yeah, good night!”

As it was late, the two entered their respective tents and went to sleep.

Of course, since nothing was visible to others, no one noticed there were tents right in the middle of the city street.

* * *

The next morning.

As soon as Khan opened his eyes, he quickly washed up and stepped outside his lodgings.

‘I should head straight to the Kaltmore Mountain Range.’

He intended to use the ‘Space-Time Leap’ Skill.

‘Space-Time Leap’ had the restriction of only allowing travel to places the Skill caster had personally been to, and Khan had passed by the Kaltmore Mountain Range while coming to Erindel by carriage.

But.

‘Who are these guys?’

[LV.121 Adventurer of Arcana Darenvalt]

[LV.124 Adventurer of Arcana Silvia]

As soon as he left the lodgings, two messages caught Khan’s eye.

About ten meters away from the lodgings, the names and Levels of two people were blatantly visible.

He knew those two very well.

‘Darenvalt and Silvia…. Why on earth are these two tailing me?’

Because Aldrik had widely publicized the prize for the Underground Arena Tournament, Khan had spent the entire previous day roaming all over Erindel.

As a result, there were two Adventurers he considered the biggest threats, and they were precisely Darenvalt and Silvia.

The two had the highest Levels among the people Khan had seen.

Their skills were likely outstanding as well.

Their Levels were nearly 50 higher than Khan’s.

‘Unbelievable. I don’t know why they’re there, but I should move quickly before getting dragged into something troublesome.’

It was possible they were tailing him to kill him.

Although Khan hadn’t done anything to earn their enmity, the tournament prize was so enticing it could easily provoke competitive spirit.

Since you never know with people, Khan promptly used his Skill.

[Skill ‘Space-Time Leap’ has been used.]

In an instant, Khan’s figure vanished.

Watching this, Silvia and Darenvalt couldn’t help but be startled.

“Where on earth did he go, Silvia? I was watching with my own two eyes wide open, and he completely disappeared. I can’t sense any presence nearby either. Did we get caught?”

“N… no, did we get caught? It seems like we did…? Wait. But that Magic he just used… it seemed like Chantless Casting…?”

“What? He used Magic with Chantless Casting? Is that even possible?”

Darenvalt had never seen a Mage use Magic with Chantless Casting before, so he asked again in surprise.

“Besides, the Magic that person just used… if I’m right, it was probably Long-Distance Teleport.”

“Long-Distance Teleport Magic?”

“Yes. It’s an unbelievable Magic that lets you move to a desired location in one go. It’s a Magic only Archmages can use…. I’ve heard that even among Archmages, there are some who can’t use Long-Distance Teleport Magic.”

“Crazy, is that even possible? So that means that person is as strong as Archmages?”

“I’m not certain… but it seems likely?”

Silvia still wore an astonished expression as she scanned the spot where Khan had vanished.

Darenvalt’s expression was equally shocked.