Chapter 196

Аs аlwауs, Evan rеturnеd аftеr sрreading the nеws thаt adventurеrs were bеing rесruitеd in Аrсana tоday.

Не let оut а dеер sigh in front оf Arсana’s сitу wаll аnd muttered tо himself.

“Рhew, this is driving me crаzу. I understand what the Аssоciation Chief is thinking… but thеrе are only small villаgеs and towns аround hеrе in thе first рlace. Thеre’s no wау thеre would bе аnу strong advеnturers.”

Thе nearby villagеs аnd towns onlу hаd B-Rаnk adventurеrs at best.

Of сoursе, еven B-Rank adventurеrs werе inсrеdibly strоng, but the advеnturеrs whо could sаve Аrсаnа аnd savе thе wоrld werе А-Rank… no, S-Rank adventurers.

“If Sir Khan would come to Arcana, it might be possible…”

For the past few days, one person had been constantly on Evan’s mind.

That person was Khan.

Meeting at the Gate was all there was to it, but Khan was his savior who had rescued him from monsters.

‘And despite being a Mage, he was incredibly strong.’

Most Mages in Arcana were almost all quacks.

That’s why he thought all Mages were weak, but that changed after meeting Khan.

“Well… Arcana has quite a few famous Mages too. There’s Lady Ailee, and Lady Silvia.”

Ailee and Silvia, the strongest Mage adventurers in Arcana.

These two possessed tremendous talent, wielding magic like the Mages of the Magic Tower.

However, no matter how strong they were, they couldn’t compare to Khan.

“But he said he would come to Arcana someday, so I’ll be able to see him again.”

Finishing his muttering, Evan walked alone through Arcana’s city gate.

* * *

Grein and Beroden, C-Rank adventurers standing guard on Arcana’s city wall.

The two were startled when a suspicious, scrawny man suddenly began emitting blue Mana from his body and sprinted at full speed toward that group.

“Hey, you guys! Wait right there! Stop using Mana right now!”

“Stop immediately!! We are adventurers guarding Arcana’s city wall!”

Grein and Beroden shouted, even drawing the swords at their waists, but the man showed no intention of reining in his Mana.

In an instant, Grein and Beroden arrived before them and shouted with furious expressions.

“I am Grein, standing guard on Arcana’s city wall. Who are you to recklessly draw out Mana in Arcana! Stop using Mana right now!”

Then, Sharin, who was beside Khan, shouted with a flustered expression.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I am Sharin, a Mage, and this is my Master, Sir Khan.”

Byutek looked exactly like an Escort Knight, so Grein and Beroden paid no attention to him at all.

“Anyway! Whatever it is, let’s talk after you stop using Mana first!”

“Ah, yes… Um… Master? Wh-why are you doing this all of a sudden…?”

“……”

Khan, who was caught in the middle unleashing Mana, was going insane.

‘Why isn’t this working?’

No matter how hard he tried to pull the Mana back into his body with all his might, his body wouldn’t listen.

“Tsk, they look like brats who learned some basic magic somewhere and call themselves Mages… What kind of Mage can’t even properly control that damn Mana!”

“In the first place, there are only two proper Mages in Arcana. I’ve never seen your faces before, where are you from?”

Grein and Beroden frowned, sheathed their swords, and spoke.

Their tone carried a strangely dismissive feel toward Khan and Sharin.

Then, Sharin spoke to the two with a dark expression.

“Excuse me, wait a moment. Before that, you should apologize first.”

“What apology are you talking about?”

“Calling us brats who learned basic magic and call ourselves Mages! How dare you! My Master is an incredible person. Take back those words right now!”

“Good grief, most Mages are weaklings, what apology! If you have a problem, let’s have a match! Just so you know, I won’t go easy on you because you’re a kid.”

Beroden, a C-Rank adventurer, was confident he could easily beat the two Mages in front of him.

In the first place, Mages had a poor reputation within Arcana.

Most of them were people who learned only basic magic and scammed others by calling themselves Mages.

“Tsk… Then I won’t hold back either!”

“Hahaha, Beroden! What are you doing to a kid! Stop it.”

“No, I shouldn’t go easy on her because she’s a kid, I need to teach her a proper lesson. A brat this young doesn’t know her place. Come over here!”

At that moment, Byutek tried to step in to mediate, but Sharin pushed his hand away.

“Oppa, don’t interfere.”

“Uh… Alright.”

Byutek closed his mouth immediately after seeing Sharin’s expression.

Khan was still engrossed in trying to control the leaking Mana.

“Ha, look at this insolent brat. Staring with wide eyes? I tried to talk it out, but this really won’t do.”

Beroden reached out to grab Sharin.

But then.

“Beroden, stop immediately!!”

“What now, again!”

At the sudden voice, Beroden frowned and looked back.

“Evan? Why are you coming in from outside?”

“Beroden, what are you doing! These people are… sigh, never mind. Stop right now and go back up to the wall to stand guard!”

“Evan, are you telling me to just stand by after seeing these suspicious people? Huh?!”

“Beroden… These people are my lifesavers, my saviors. If you cause them any more trouble, I won’t stand idly by either.”

The man who called out to Beroden was Evan.

Evan, who had been visiting nearby villages and towns of Arcana, had discovered the two men arguing with Khan’s group.

“What? Really?”

“Yes.”

“Tch, fine. Agh… This is really annoying, seriously. What’s with all these dogs and cows calling themselves Mages. Sigh…”

“Hey hey, let’s just stop and go.”

Beroden, who looked like he was about to throw a punch at Sharin any second, quickly left the spot with Grein.

Even as they left, the two grumbled while insulting Mages.

Sharin was about to explode with anger, but when Khan grabbed her wrist to stop her, she managed to hold it in.

“Sharin, endure it. Do you plan to cause trouble as soon as we arrive in Arcana?”

“I’m sorry, Master…”

As Khan, who had finally gained control of his Mana, stopped her, she seemed to calm down a bit.

“Sir Khan, you really came to Arcana!”

“…Evan, right?”

“Hahaha, that’s right! You remembered me! You saved me when I was about to die at the Gate that time. It’s so good to see Lady Sharin and Sir Byutek again like this!”

As Evan welcomed Khan’s group with a bright smile, Sharin and Byutek also seemed to remember his face and shouted with happy expressions.

“Oh…? Mr. Evan! It’s been so long! To think we’d meet again like this… I’m so happy!”

“Hahahaha, Evan! Have you been well?”

Evan exchanged brief greetings with Byutek and Sharin as well.

He looked at Khan again and asked.

“By the way, seeing that you’ve come to Arcana now, you must have seen the flyers or heard the news and come looking!”

“What news are you talking about?”

“Huh? Don’t tell me you came without knowing anything?”

“Tell me what it is.”

Evan explained the entire current situation to Khan.

That the Royal Palace was currently in a state of collapse, monsters were roaming the world, and cities were falling one by one.

And that to prevent the world’s destruction, they had to conquer the Ancient Tower at the center of Arcana—he explained everything.

As soon as Khan heard that story, he knew time was running out.

‘Only 5 days left. And they’ve only conquered up to the 90th floor so far? That’s ridiculous.’

In the original game, you had to conquer the Ancient Tower from the 1st floor.

So it required quite a long time, but it seemed the conquest was stuck at the 90th floor now.

‘The 90th floor is still impossible at my level. Instead, if I clear just one or two more Main Quests, it might be possible.’

The more he thought about it, with Byutek and Sharin here, he wondered if they might be able to clear the 90th floor even now.

“So… you’re looking for strong adventurers?”

After hearing the whole story, Khan asked Evan again.

“Yes! As soon as I heard the story from the Association Chief, I thought of Sir Khan… It’s really amazing that you appeared like this.”

“We came without knowing any news.”

“Haha! That’s why it feels even more like fate. Maybe Sir Khan appeared like fate to save this world?”

Khan gave no response to Evan’s frivolous words.

How to plan immediately was important, and at that moment, a message appeared before Khan’s eyes.

• [Go to Arcana’s Adventurer’s Association and receive an Adventurer Rank of S-Rank or higher.]

• Will you accept the Main Quest?

• If refused, future Quest progression will be impossible.

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

Khan had no choice but to use the Main Quest message as a Guide to plan.

“Evan, to conquer the 90th floor of the Ancient Tower, you need to be at least A-Rank… no, S-Rank, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“And there are currently only two S-Rank adventurers?”

“Yes…!”

“Then guide us to the Adventurer’s Association immediately.”

“R-really?”

“Yes.”

With a moved expression, Evan began guiding Khan’s group to the Adventurer’s Association.

Following Evan, Khan checked the Mana in his Status Window.

◈ LV.217

◈ Khan (Lee Huseong)

◈ Mana: 412680/412680

◈ Talent: Magic

◈ Experience Points: 77%

◈ Skills: (10★)Sage’s Heart, (1★)Arrow, (1★)Barrier, (2★)Fire Boom, (2★)Fireball, (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, (5★)Absolute Sight, (5★)Chrono Reset, (8★)Infinite Growth, (6★)Mana Amplification, (7★)Concentration, (6★)Mana Torrent, (6★)Mana Release

Before he knew it, Khan’s Mana had far exceeded 400,000.

‘This should be enough to receive an S-Rank.’

After following Evan for about 10 minutes, Khan’s group arrived at the Adventurer’s Association.

“This is the Adventurer’s Association.”