Chapter 147

‘Вуutеk might bе in danger.’

Тhе fасt thаt he sensed аnоther pеrson’s prеsеnсе аlоng with Byutеk in the roсkу mountаins quitе fаr frоm Еrindel mеant thаt Byutеk might hаvе bеen cаpturеd and brought to thе rоcky mountains bу sоmeone.

‘Could hе hаve been caрturеd by a skillеd bandit…?’

Аll sоrts оf thоughts crossed Khаn’s mind, but since rеsсuing him wаs the toр рriоrity, he quiсkly shoutеd.

“Grab me, Sharin.”

“Yes!”

Shаrin quiсkly grabbеd Кhan’s аrm, and Khаn immediatelу drew in а bit оf Mana and used а Skill.

[Skill ‘Spасе-Timе Leaр’ hаs bеen used.]

Аs Khаn usеd thе ‘Sраcе-Тimе Leар’ Skill, the two arrived in the blink of an eye at the rocky mountains located north of Erindel.

“Ka, Sir Khan? Sharin…?”

Khan and Sharin, who had arrived at the rocky mountains, immediately spotted Byutek.

Byutek’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Khan and Sharin.

However, in truth, Khan, who was looking at Byutek, was dozens of times more shocked.

‘Is this guy really Byutek…?’

Khan couldn’t believe the person before him was the Byutek he originally knew.

No wonder, as Byutek’s appearance had changed so much compared to a few days ago that he could be considered a completely different person.

“What’s this!! Why has Byutek oppa’s body gotten so big?! His already huge muscles seem twice… no, three times bigger…? Can I touch them?!”

“Ahem… Hahahahaha!! Fine, this big brother will let you touch them once! Go ahead, touch them! This is the result Sir Byutek achieved after shedding flesh and blood over the past few days!”

“Wow, it’s like solid rock! Master, you should touch them too! Byutek oppa’s muscles, which used to be soft, have turned completely rock-hard!”

“What? Soft muscles? Have you been thinking of me like that all this time, Sharin…?”

“It’s not a lie, you know.”

Sharin was genuinely impressed as she touched Byutek’s arms here and there.

Without exaggeration, Byutek’s physique looked about twice as big as before.

Above all, the most surprising thing was the Level above Byutek’s head.

[LV.134 Khan’s Escort Knight Byutek]

Just a few days ago, Byutek’s Level was in the 50s.

‘Can a Level more than double just from a few days of training?’

Moreover, Byutek hadn’t even drunk a Talent Blooming Potion like Sharin.

Is it possible to raise one’s Level by over 80 in just a few days purely through training?

No, it’s absolutely impossible.

‘This is unbelievable.’

He wondered if Byutek had read a forbidden Magic Tome, dabbled in Dark Magic, or taken some mysterious drug that makes one stronger in a short period.

That’s why Khan asked Byutek with a stern expression.

“Byutek, what on earth happened.”

“Haha! As expected, Sir Khan noticed right away that I’ve gotten stronger! Now I can be of at least a little help to Sir Khan……”

Byutek said with a laugh, but Khan didn’t even let him finish and cut him off.

If Byutek had dabbled in something illicit, he would have to either treat him or sever ties.

“This is no joke. How on earth did you get so strong so quickly in such a short time?”

“Ah, Sir Khan! Just in case, I’ll say this upfront—I haven’t touched anything illegal!”

“Then what did you do, exactly?”

“Well, actually… On the first day I came to the rocky mountains to train, I met my Master here.”

“Master?”

“Yes, someone with a long white beard… Honestly, I don’t know much about him. I met him here for the first time, and he suddenly asked me if I wanted to get stronger. He said I had an innate Talent for Bone and Muscle and could become strong quickly, and he taught me for a few days.”

“……What is his name?”

“All I know is my Master’s name. My Master’s name is Dramos. That’s how he introduced himself. Thinking back, I’m not even sure if that’s his real name or an alias.”

Byutek knew absolutely nothing about Dramos, who had briefly helped his training and caused his explosive growth.

“Dramos, you say? Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Unless my Master used an alias.”

“……”

As soon as Khan heard the name Dramos, memories from his time playing <Geo Arc> came flooding back.

Among the Main Quest progression routes, there was one leading to the Sinsiniel royal castle, and the first person you met there was Dramos.

‘Kingdom Guard Captain Dramos… Is it that guy?’

From Khan’s memory, Dramos’s Level was over 400 back when he was playing the game.

That meant, if he were to face Dramos now, his Level would be at least 400 or higher.

‘Why on earth would the Kingdom’s Guard Captain appear here? Could it be he heard about the prize for the upcoming Erindel Underground Arena Tournament and came for it…?’

Ominous thoughts kept crossing his mind.

Such ominous thoughts usually tended to come true, and just then, Byutek drove the nail in.

“Come to think of it, my Master said he’s also participating in Erindel’s Underground Arena Tournament this time. I told my Master a bit about you too. He seemed interested when he heard you were a skilled Mage… Well, even so, my Master is probably a bit weaker than you, Sir Khan. My Master is incredibly strong too, but from what I see, you’re stronger, Sir Khan. Haha!!”

He wanted to cover the mouth of Byutek standing before him.

Why on earth would a heavyweight with a Level over 400 want to participate in Erindel’s Underground Arena Tournament?

‘The Ancient Magic Book… Did it tempt him?’

In fact, Khan thought that if he were Dramos, he too would have participated in Erindel’s Underground Arena Tournament.

‘If a Knight like Dramos, who is called a legend, learns Magic using an Ancient Magic Book, he would become a disaster-level Knight.’

The Ancient Magic Book yields greater effects the higher the Level of the User using it.

If a skilled Knight like Dramos obtains an Ancient Magic Book, the scope of his abilities would broaden.

‘Now that it’s come to this, I need to think about how to defeat Dramos.’

For Khan, not winning this Underground Arena Tournament would be no different from ruining the rest of his life.

His Main Quest was oriented towards the Underground Arena Tournament, and a Main Quest to win the Underground Arena Tournament would likely appear later.

If he failed to win, the Main Quest would fail outright, and no more Main Quests would appear in the future.

Therefore, he had to win this tournament by any means necessary.

‘Realistically, it’s absolutely impossible to get any stronger at this point… I need to think about how to combine and use my Skills effectively.’

If Dramos really participated, the chance of winning seemed less than 1%, but he couldn’t give up.

As a veteran of <Geo Arc>, Khan had always found strategies even in situations like this.

‘That Byutek guy, it’s a relief he’s gotten much stronger. I didn’t expect to be able to give him this Equipment right away.’

Khan took out the Twilight Breastplate and Twilight Greaves he received from Darenvalt from his Spatial Pocket.

[Item: Twilight Breastplate]

• Item Rank: Epic

• Level Restriction: 100

• Defense: 980

• Item Description: Armor made from Twilight Steel, a special smelted metal, boasting excellent defense.

[Item: Twilight Greaves]

• Item Rank: Epic

• Level Restriction: 100

• Defense: 960

• Item Description: Greaves made from Twilight Steel, a special smelted metal, boasting excellent defense.

The Twilight Breastplate and Twilight Greaves were Epic Rank Level 100 restricted defensive Equipment, items that Byutek from just a few days ago could never have equipped.

“Huh? What’s this, Sir Khan?”

“A gift. Put it on right away.”

“Re, really?! It looks like incredibly good Armor just at a glance?”

“Yes, really, so hurry up and put it on.”

“Guhk…! Tha, thank you, Sir Khan! I, Byutek, will pledge my very life and remain eternally loyal to you, Sir Khan!”

Although he had essentially wrung it out of Darenvalt, Byutek, unaware of that fact, seemed genuinely moved, even shedding tears as he quickly equipped the Twilight Breastplate and Twilight Greaves.

“Ooh…! It looks cool, oppa?! It suits you well!”

“Hahahahaha! Sir Khan! What kind of metal is this? It’s so light and comfortable to move in!”

“It’s quite a good item, so take good care of it while using it.”

“Thank you, Sir Khan!”

Now that he had delivered the Equipment to Byutek, he thought about returning to Erindel, but he suddenly became curious.

‘This Byutek guy, his Level is even much higher than mine… Just how much stronger has he gotten?’

Byutek had surpassed Level 100 and settled into the 130s, but just how much stronger had he become?

Suddenly feeling curious, he wanted to see Byutek’s actual strength with his own eyes.

‘Let’s have him do something simple first.’

High-Level Knights or Swordsmen should be able to easily cut through rocks in the rocky mountains.

Of course, the Byutek Khan knew would have found it impossible to cut this rock with a sword.

“Byutek, show me how much stronger you’ve become. Try cutting that rock.”

“Hahaha! That rock, you mean?! That’s too easy, Sir Khan!”

Khan pointed to a rock of moderate size, about ten meters in diameter, that he thought Byutek might just be able to cut.

However, Byutek, with a dismissive expression, approached the rock next to it, which was about twice as large.

“I can easily cut a rock of this size too!”

“……”

Since Byutek had a bit of a tendency to show off, Khan didn’t easily believe him, but he silently watched Byutek.

“Watch closely, Sir Khan! Hey, you watch too, little sister.”

“Don’t be cringey with that ‘little sister.’ Just hurry up and do it! I’m curious too.”

“Hahaha!! Alright!”

Byutek laughed heartily and grabbed the hilt of the sword slung on his back.

In that moment, Byutek’s expression and aura changed.

Thud.

Swish!

Drawing his sword and gripping it with both hands, Byutek took a ready stance before the rock.