Chapter 159

[Маin Quеst hаs been сlеаrеd.]

[Yоu have aсquirеd a largеr amount оf Ехреriеnce Рoints as а rеward.]

Оnlу thе quеst сleаr messаge aрреаred; unfortunаtelу, no Level Uр Мessage aррeared.

‘Still, I think my eхрerience must havе inсreasеd quite а bit with this… Shоuld I сhеck my Status Window first.’

Кhan immediаtеlу opеnеd his Stаtus Window to сheck his еxperienсе.

◈ LV.89

◈ Khan (Lее Husеong)

◈ Mаna: 19140/19140

◈ Talеnt: Mаgiс

◈ Experienсe Роints: 59.3%

◈ Skills: (10★)Sаge’s Нeart, (8★)Grоwth Асcelеratiоn, (1★)Аrrоw, (1★)Ваrrier, (2★)Firе Воom, (2★)Firеbаll, (2★)Mirror Defense, (2★)Mana Enhancement, (1★)Wind Cutter, (3★)Dragon’s Breath, (4★)Mana Circulation, (4★)Power Amplification, (4★)Space-Time Leap, (5★)Dark Flame, (1★)Wind Drill, (4★)Flame Curtain

It had increased by exactly 25% more than when he last checked his experience.

‘When I received a considerable amount of experience before, it increased by about 20%, but this time it’s 25%… It increased less than I thought.’

He thought it would increase by at least 30% this time, but the reward was surprisingly stingy.

‘Still, I only need 40.7% more to reach Level 90.’

Since the previous quest was to win in the round of 64, another Main Quest would likely appear soon.

And as soon as Khan had that thought, another set of messages appeared before his eyes.

• [Win in the round of 32 in the Underground Arena Tournament.]

• Will you accept the Main Quest?

• Refusal will make future quest progression impossible.

• Reward: A certain amount of Experience Points, progression to the next quest

However, there was something slightly odd.

‘Why is it like this?’

Naturally, he thought the next Main Quest would give more experience, as had been the case until now, but an anomaly occurred.

‘If it says a certain amount of experience, doesn’t that mean it will give less than what I just got?’

Khan was momentarily flustered by the reduced quest reward, but it didn’t last long.

Sage’s Heart activated on its own, instantly restoring his composure, but that didn’t solve the problem.

‘If things continue like this, I’ll meet Dramos in the finals. Before that, I need to firmly reach Level 90 and obtain the Job-Exclusive Random Skill Selection Ticket. Otherwise, my chances of beating him are too low.’

It seemed like all of Dramos’s matches so far had taken less than a second.

His preliminary round matches always overlapped with Khan’s, so Khan still hadn’t properly watched any of Dramos’s matches.

‘Seeing how people aren’t paying much attention to Dramos, it’s obvious he must have won overwhelmingly in every match.’

From the round of 64 onwards, he could properly watch other participants’ matches, so it seemed like a good opportunity to properly assess their strength.

“6… The winner of the first match of the round of 64 is Contestant Khan! He subdued Jaimon, the dark horse of this tournament, with incredible ease…! What an astonishing result!!”

With Rodion’s shout, the first match of the round of 64 concluded completely.

A short while later, the woman he had seen earlier appeared before Khan.

“The match is over, so why don’t you come down now? You could have won more easily, so why did you injure your opponent like this?”

“That guy was trying to kill me outright. I felt killing intent, so I just paid him back a little.”

“Honestly…! Just hurry up and get down. And why do you keep using informal speech when we’ve just met?”

Bellua had come to treat Jaimon, who was unconscious with burns all over his body.

She was not only a mage of the Yellow Magic Tower but also in charge of managing this tournament, so she had to attend whenever injuries occurred or dangerous situations arose.

Khan ignored Bellua’s words and walked out of the arena.

Bellua stared at Khan’s retreating back with a dumbfounded expression before casting Healing Magic on Jaimon.

“That was an incredible explosion. To use such a tremendous Flame Explosion magic with just that amount of mana… And he clearly didn’t chant any incantation…”

Thinking back, Khan’s magic skill seemed truly remarkable.

The mana he drew upon was actually insignificant compared to Bellua’s, but that couldn’t have been his full power.

The important thing was that with that small amount of mana, he created not just flame but black flame and caused a massive explosion.

‘Could he be a mage from the Red or Indigo Magic Tower? No, with that level, he’d probably be an Archmage from the Red or Indigo Magic Tower…’

Of course, there was a chance he wasn’t affiliated with a Magic Tower, but those with such incredible magic skills were, without exception, all mages affiliated with a Magic Tower.

And among the mages of the Red and Indigo Magic Towers, which were said to gather only elite mages, rumors circulated that there were occasionally those who could use magic without incantations, like Khan.

‘Khan, Khan… As expected, it’s a name I’m hearing for the first time. He doesn’t seem to be a Magic Tower affiliate, but… a mage of that caliber would surely be famous. Why, of all times, is the Magic Tower Information System blocked now?’

Magic Tower-affiliated mages could search mages’ names in the Magic Tower Information System to check their information.

Normally, Bellua would have searched Khan’s name in the Magic Tower Information System, but unfortunately, the system was undergoing a major overhaul and maintenance.

‘Sigh, for now, I have no choice but to keep watching.’

Bellua finished her thoughts, completed Jaimon’s treatment, left the arena, and returned to the management seats.

“Bellua, what were you talking about with that guy for so long?”

When Bellua returned to the management seats, Binsen asked her.

Since the inside of the arena was clearly visible from the management seats, it seemed he had clearly seen Bellua saying something to Khan earlier.

“Ah, I just asked him if it was really necessary to injure his opponent that badly.”

“Well, that guy… He seems like an incredibly powerful mage, but going that far against someone much weaker than him was a bit excessive.”

“Right? I thought so too.”

“What did he say when you told him that?”

“Well, he said his opponent was outright emitting killing intent?”

“I see. Well, but they say injuries, or even deaths, can happen in the Underground Arena Tournament, so don’t make too big a deal out of it, Bellua.”

“Why not?”

“Unnecessary sparks might fly. If you accidentally get on the wrong side of a monster like that, it could become a headache. And especially, that black flame he just used seems related to Dark Magic, don’t you think?”

“Dark Magic…?!”

“Yeah, I’ve never seen a mage using black flame before… It somehow seems like something Dark Mages would use.”

Binsen seemed to have already concluded that Khan was a full-fledged Dark Mage after seeing the black flame explosion he caused.

“Hmm, that might be the case.”

“I’ll have to check once the Magic Tower Information System maintenance is over. What on earth is that guy…”

“Right, let’s check as soon as the maintenance is over.”

Strangely, however, Bellua had a feeling that Khan wasn’t a Dark Mage.

‘He’s a man of few words, expressionless, gives off a somewhat gloomy vibe, and seems scary… But somehow, I also got the feeling he wasn’t a bad person.’

So, she decided to keep an open mind and watch him.

“Now! Let’s start the next match! The second match is……”

* * *

The round of 64 was ending faster than expected.

Sharin and Byutek subdued their opponents and won overwhelmingly in less than a minute in the round of 64, and thanks to that, they already seemed to have gained some fans.

“Hahahaha! Do you know how much I won betting on Byutek earlier? If you want to make money too, bet on Byutek without fail!”

“No, that kid named Sharin next to Byutek is also incredibly strong?! She uses magic better than even Magic Tower mages! You saw it too, right? Lightning striking the entire arena?”

Even though Byutek and Sharin’s match had ended quite a while ago, the spectator seats were still buzzing with talk about the two.

Even in Khan’s eyes, Byutek and Sharin’s skills were overwhelming.

‘Byutek and Sharin have definitely become incredibly strong. In a way, they are at a level far stronger than I am now.’

Watching Byutek and Sharin’s matches, Khan honestly didn’t have confidence in beating them.

‘If I use the Mirror Defense skill well, I might barely win… But I need to save the Mirror Defense skill as much as possible.’

The Mirror Defense skill’s Cooldown was 24 hours even with Sage’s Heart reducing skill cooldowns, so it had to be used as efficiently as possible at the most critical moments.

Also, during the round of 64 matches, there were matches involving Ailee’s Party adventurers in between, and they all won overwhelmingly in the round of 64, advancing to the round of 32.

Darenvalt and Silvia, adventurers from the Jet Black Guild, also easily advanced to the round of 32, being around Level 120.

‘The adventurers from Ailee’s Party are fine… but Darenvalt and Silvia are definitely tough opponents.’

Darenvalt and Silvia were also high-level adventurers, so it seemed like it would be a struggle if he faced them.

As Khan was having such thoughts, Rodion shouted.

“Now! Only the final match of the round of 64 remains! Contestant Dramos, who showed overwhelming matches in the preliminary rounds! Contestant Karnos, who also showed overwhelming swordsmanship in the preliminary rounds! Please both come up to the arena!

At Rodion’s shout, Dramos and Karnos ascended to the arena.

He knew Dramos’s level was high, but Karnos’s level was also higher than expected.

[LV.106 Magic Swordsman Karnos]

Karnos, a Magic Swordsman, a swordsman who uses mana.

His level was over 100, so he could be considered a strong opponent.

‘So, it’s finally Dramos’s match. His opponent is quite strong too, so this is a chance to properly see Dramos’s skills.’

Dramos, the legendary swordsman and captain of the Royal Guard.

Now, in a little while, he would finally be able to witness his skills with his own two eyes.