Chapter 24

Кhаn аnd Вyutek, whо hаd mаdе еye cоntаct with Jurentе, immediatеlу аррrоachеd Jurente.

‘Аn imрortаnt Quеst will bеgin sооn.’

Khаn madе a pеrsоnаl rеsolution inwаrdly аs he stood bеsidе Jurente.

Then, hе сould face Viscоunt Вuttner and his escorts, Вrеnte and Вist.

‘Seеing thеm in реrson like this, the ovеrwhelming prеssurе is immеnse.’

Abоvе Вrente аnd Bist’s heаds, their Levels and nаmеs were disрlаyеd.

[LV.23 Eldrida’s Guаrdian Knight Brеnte]

[LV.13 Еldridа’s Magic Apрrentiсе Вist]

Cоnsidering Khаn’s сurrеnt Level wаs 7, the Lеvеls оf thеsе two bеfоrе him werе аbsurdly high.

Especially from Brente, an indescribable, overwhelming aura seemed to flow.

When Khan glanced subtly to the side, Byutek was visibly tense.

At that moment, Jurente began introducing Khan and Byutek.

“This gentleman is the skilled Mage, Sir Khan, and the person beside him is Sir Byutek, a Knight of Kilpheon.”

“Pleased to meet you, Viscount Buttner.”

“It’s an honor to meet you, Viscount Buttner!”

Khan and Byutek greeted Buttner in turn.

“Ohh, indeed…! To think these two defeated so many Orcs, they must be incredibly skilled individuals.”

Buttner exclaimed, seeming genuinely pleased.

Judging by how Jurente treated them, it seemed they were not yet affiliated with Grodek.

‘After confirming their abilities, I should try to recruit them to Eldrida.’

He treated strong individuals with the respect they deserved.

Buttner was willing to spend any amount to bring powerful, skilled individuals to Eldrida.

Currently, the Knight named Byutek caught his eye more than Khan.

‘That expensive-looking Armor and the well-defined muscles all over his body—he must be a strong Knight!’

Usually, just by looking at Knights, one could tell who was strong and who was weak.

The better-trained a Knight was, the more robust their appearance.

However, with Mages, one couldn’t tell who was strong just by their appearance.

‘Just look at Bist, whom I hired not long ago.’

Bist had a frail physique that looked like he’d be sent flying if someone gave him a light tap.

Most Mages appeared as frail as Bist, so some people underestimated them based on looks alone.

But in Bist’s case, he showed an extraordinary side immediately upon arriving at Eldrida.

As soon as Bist arrived at Eldrida, he sought out Buttner and bluntly requested to be hired.

Since it wasn’t a pre-arranged meeting with Viscount Buttner, the Knights tried to subdue Bist for intruding into the castle without permission, but they were all knocked down by Bist in an instant.

‘He subdued my Knights all at once… His attitude is a bit arrogant, but he’s a very capable fellow.’

Buttner smiled as he looked at Khan.

‘If I hire this guy too, it would be really reassuring.’

Buttner always felt threatened due to the many individuals eyeing Eldrida’s resources.

Thus, he wanted to recruit these two immediately.

Meanwhile, Khan wasn’t interested in Buttner but rather in the Knights accompanying him.

Eldrida was a large city abundant in resources, so there were many skilled individuals.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Behind Buttner and Brente, who stood at the front, ten Escort Knights lined up.

The Knights of Eldrida exuded a pressure not found among the Knights of Grodek.

Having assessed the Knights’ standards, Khan was honestly a bit surprised.

‘All the Knights are Level 15.’

Considering Khan’s current Level was 7, the difference in ability seemed considerable.

However, for Mages, strength wasn’t determined by Level alone.

Lost in thought while observing the people ahead, Khan also made eye contact with Bist.

“……”

“……”

A strange tension arose between the two as they silently stared at each other.

At that moment, Jurente spoke.

“Haha, it’s rude to keep my invited Guests standing at the entrance. Shall we continue the rest of the conversation inside?”

“Agreed. Let’s go in.”

As Buttner moved inside the Banquet Hall, the entrance closed.

Thud.

The Escort Knights of Eldrida did not enter but stood quietly near the entrance.

Only Brente and Bist followed Buttner into the Banquet Hall, with Bist’s expression particularly unpleasant.

‘That bastard is a Mage… Unbelievable.’

Bist was a Mage of Level 13.

In relatively outer cities of the kingdom like Grodek or Eldrida, he was a Mage of tremendous skill.

Thus, he could tell at a glance upon seeing Khan.

‘He’s a fool pretending to be a Mage. I can’t believe he’s deceiving a Baron.’

Bist had immense pride as a Mage.

Therefore, he considered those who pretended to be Mages as trash.

That’s why Bist had been watching Khan intently since earlier.

Meanwhile, as the Banquet officially began, Nobles gathered one by one to converse.

Jurente continued to enthusiastically recount Khan’s exploits to Buttner.

“My Knights said that Sir Khan defeated over fifty Orcs with a Single Strike!”

“Hoho… What level of mastery must this Mage have to defeat fifty Orcs at once?”

“I’m curious about that too. I only heard it from my Knights, after all… Haha.”

Buttner, who had been listening intently to Jurente, found something slightly odd.

‘No matter how skilled, can a Mage alone defeat fifty Orcs? And with a Single Strike?’

No matter how he looked at it, something seemed off.

Buttner thought even Bist, whom he had hired recently, probably couldn’t do that.

‘It seems a bit exaggerated, I suppose.’

While Jurente and Buttner conversed, the other Nobles were subtly observing.

‘How long do they plan to talk just between themselves?!’

‘I have something to say to Viscount Buttner… How long does he intend to keep this up?’

Viscount Buttner of Eldrida was the most influential Noble in the vicinity, so the other Nobles wanted to converse with him, even briefly.

However, he was currently preoccupied with Khan and Byutek, showing no interest in the other Nobles.

Buttner, who had been listening to Jurente, spoke again.

“Then, may I ask what Sir Byutek was doing while Sir Khan was defeating the Orcs?”

“Huh…? Ah, I was……”

Byutek couldn’t answer immediately, looking flustered.

To make matters worse, Jurente also looked at Byutek curiously and began asking.

“Now that you mention it, I’m curious too! Strangely, my Knights didn’t tell me what Sir Byutek did. Ah! Sir Byutek, weren’t you being carried when you returned after exterminating the Orcs?”

Since Khan had separately silenced the other Knights and Mercenaries, Jurente also didn’t know why Byutek had been carried back.

“……”

Hearing Jurente’s words, Byutek clenched his fist tightly and couldn’t say anything. Then, Khan stepped forward.

“Byutek guarded me and defeated the Orcs that approached me. Thanks to him, I could use my Magic comfortably.”

“Sir Khan…”

Byutek felt both grateful to Khan for lying for him and resentful.

‘Just how long… must I remain like this?!’

Crunch…

Clenching his fist even tighter, Byutek slightly lowered his head and said nothing more.

Hearing Khan’s words, Jurente began chattering with an even more excited expression.

“Ohh, I see! As expected of a Knight of Kilpheon, Sir Byutek must also be incredibly skilled. Haha! By any chance, would you consider coming to me? If you come to me, I’ll pay you double what you’re receiving now.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I cannot leave Kilpheon.”

“That’s a shame… It was a perfect opportunity to recruit a talent like Sir Byutek.”

Byutek’s expression darkened even more after refusing Jurente’s offer.

“Well, since Sir Khan is a Knight affiliated with Kilpheon, you can’t just leave Kilpheon freely.”

Viscount Buttner also spoke, sounding regretful.

Now, only Khan was in his sight.

‘There are plenty of skilled Knights anyway… Given the situation, I must bring Khan to Eldrida no matter what.’

The problem was whether this fellow named Khan was truly a skilled Mage.

No matter how he looked at it, defeating fifty Orcs at once seemed exaggerated, and he wanted to confirm exactly how skilled he was.

“Then, excuse me for a moment.”

“Ah, yes! Please go ahead.”

Buttner took Bist and moved to a corner somewhere.

“Bist, what do you think of that Mage named Khan?”

“…He’s a fool. A Mage far inferior to me… no, a fellow far from being called a Mage.”

“Is that really true?”

“Yes, definitely.”

“Then… how on earth did he supposedly defeat fifty Orcs?”

“I don’t know that either. Then… may I check for myself?”

“…I’ll allow it, as long as you don’t cause a big commotion.”

“Understood.”

Bist smirked as he looked at Khan standing at a distance.

Simultaneously, a new Quest message appeared before Khan’s eyes.

[Magic Sparring with Magic Apprentice Bist]

• Will you accept the Quest?

• Refusal will make future Quest progression impossible.

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

Magic Sparring with Magic Apprentice Bist.

This Quest is the core Quest in Grodek.

‘The story changes completely because of this Quest.’

As mentioned before, in <Geo Arc>, how you clear a Quest can change the direction and story of future Quests.

However, <Geo Arc> fundamentally has a set, large framework.

Meaning, no matter how you clear any Quest, the Magic Sparring Quest with Bist will proceed unconditionally.

‘Users usually called such Quests branching point Quests.’

Thus, this branching point Quest is quite important to Khan.

‘No User ever won the Magic Sparring with Bist.’

That included Khan, who had played the game in the past.

Originally, this Quest wasn’t about winning the Magic Sparring against Bist; the act of having the Magic Sparring itself was the Quest.

In other words, it’s a Quest with a predetermined outcome.

But, what would happen if one actually won this Magic Sparring?

With his current specs, Khan was confident he could definitely win the Magic Sparring.

So, Khan had no reason to refuse.

[Quest accepted.]