Chapter 43

Аs sооn аs the word “bаndit” wаs hеаrd аmidst the clamоrоus noise, Вyutek, whо hаd bееn slееping, alsо woke uр.

“Вandits?! Sir Кhаn! Lеаvе this plаcе to me…!”

Кhаn rеаched оut his hand tо Byutek, stорping him.

“I’ll handle this, so just wаtсh. And Sharin, you said уоu wanted to see, sо I’ll shоw you.”

“Аh… Yes!”

Кhаn hаd аlso been thinking of tеsting out ‘Firebаll’ sоmеtime aftеr оbtаining it.

After аll, he might not bе able to use it рrоperlу whеn aсtually nеeded in cоmbat.

Моreover, using ‘Fireball’ in rеal соmbаt was still tоo much оf а burdеn.

Khan’s сurrent Маnа wаs 250, аnd the Маnа requirеd tо use Fireball once was also 250.

In actual combat, using it once would deplete all his Mana, rendering him unable to fight.

‘Perfect opponents, just in time.’

Looking around, there were only two carriages loaded with various goods and fifteen bandits.

Their Levels were displayed above their heads, and they were all a ragtag bunch.

‘The strongest one is Level 9, huh.’

Still, there was a guy with the same Level as Khan from not long ago, making them perfect for testing ‘Fireball’.

“Kekeke, if you don’t want to die, hand over everything you have. Quickly! You lot! Start searching the carriages first!”

“Yes!”

The Level 9 bandit, likely the leader of this group, gave orders to the other bandits.

Immediately, the bandits quickly rushed toward Khan’s party’s carriage.

Without hesitation, Khan began rotating the Circle in his heart.

Oooooom…!!!!

Wheeeeeeeeeeng…!!!!

The higher the grade of the Skill used—that is, the higher the grade of Magic—the more important the number of Circles becomes.

Why is the number of Circles important?

Because as the number of Circles increases, the power of the Magic Skill one possesses rises while Mana Consumption decreases.

Oooooooom…!!!

‘Fireball.’

As he silently called out the Skill, a massive flame sphere instantly formed.

Whoooooooooosh!!!!!!!

Unlike the crimson flame sphere Sharin had created earlier, this was a golden-tinged, yellowish-red flame that burned with an intensity capable of incinerating everything.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!

Moreover, its size was a diameter of 5 meters, large enough to swallow the bandit group and their carriage all at once.

“Wow… It’s on a completely different level from mine!”

Seeing the enormous Fireball Khan had created, Sharin unconsciously gaped, her mouth hanging open.

“M-Mage…!”

“Run away!!”

“Damn, a real mage?!”

Those more surprised than Sharin were the bandits themselves.

From the 5-meter-diameter yellowish-red Fireball that had appeared above their heads, they could feel an immense heat; it felt like their bodies would be completely burned if they stayed any longer.

Knowing that fighting a capable mage was suicidal, the bandit group immediately turned to flee.

Flick.

Whoooooooooosh!!!

As Khan reached his hand toward them, the Fireball engulfed them.

“Kyaaaaaaaaah!!!”

“Aaaaah…!!!”

Despite its enormous size, the Fireball flew with incredible speed, causing the bandits’ bodies to burn and vanish completely.

“Wow…!! As expected of Sir Khan…! Such immense Mana…!”

Byutek even clapped his hands, shouting as if in admiration.

Sharin was also looking at Khan with sparkling eyes, seemingly thinking she wanted to become a great mage like him.

‘As expected… It puts too much strain on the body.’

Khan’s total Mana was 250, and the Mana consumed to use ‘Fireball’ was also 250.

‘Still, I’ve roughly confirmed its power… I need to rest a bit now.’

Khan felt as if all strength was draining from his body, as though he might collapse to the ground at any moment, but he didn’t show it.

Thanks to the ‘Sage’s Heart,’ he could endure with his mental strength.

“Sharin, was it helpful?”

“Yes! While using ‘Fire Ball,’ if I recall the flame sphere Master created, I think I can make it much larger than before!”

“…Is that so?”

Could her Magic ability improve just from seeing it once?

He knew Sharin was a genius, but even so, improving Magic skill just from seeing it once didn’t make sense.

“I’ll show you right away!”

Oooooom…!!

Sharin, like Khan had done, rapidly rotated the Circle in her heart while muttering the incantation for ‘Fire Ball.’

Whoooosh…!!

Then, a flame sphere about the size of a soccer ball formed above Sharin’s hand.

Earlier, the ‘Fire Ball’ Sharin had created was only about 3 centimeters in diameter—truly tiny—but now it had grown dozens of times larger at once.

“Phew, still not as big as Master’s, though. Hehe…”

“…Well done.”

While Khan was a bit taken aback by Sharin’s Talent, her improvement in Magic skill was also a good thing for him.

“Byutek, gather only the useful things from the carriage with Sharin.”

“Yes! Understood!”

The carriage the bandits had brought likely contained many items that could be turned into money.

Once they reached the city, he could roughly sell them for money and then use the funds accumulated so far to purchase a useful Artifact.

Thud.

Back in the carriage, Khan immediately sat down and closed his eyes.

“Phew…”

It seemed better to refrain from using all his Mana in the future.

‘Good thing I tested it out in advance when I had the time.’

If he used all his Mana when facing a powerful enemy, he’d be done for.

A short while later, Byutek and Sharin boarded the carriage after retrieving a considerable amount of Gold Coins and Silver Coins from the bandits’ carriage.

“Let’s depart.”

“Yes! I’ll ensure a comfortable journey!”

At Khan’s words, the Coachman drove the carriage again, heading toward Eldrida.

* * *

The Checkpoint at Eldrida was significantly larger in scale compared to the cities and villages Khan had visited so far.

“This is…! Viscount Buttner’s token! I sincerely welcome you to Eldrida! I will personally escort you to the Viscount’s mansion!”

Thanks to the token Buttner had given Khan when he departed, they were able to pass through the Checkpoint quickly.

Guided by a Knight, they entered further inside, where numerous people were visible. Even at a glance, it seemed several times—no, at least ten times—larger than Grodek.

‘Eldrida is also a city in the Frontier, yet it’s this big.’

If Eldrida was this large, how much bigger must the cities at the kingdom’s center be?

As Khan was having such thoughts while heading toward the mansion, a message appeared before his eyes.

[Quest cleared.]

[Acquired a minuscule amount of Experience Points as a reward.]

It was a Quest clear message, but unfortunately, his Level didn’t increase.

‘Since the next Quest hasn’t appeared, it seems it will proceed once we arrive at the mansion.’

This was Khan’s first time progressing a Hidden Quest, so he couldn’t be certain.

‘I can grow quickly.’

On the way from Hugo Village to Eldrida, they occasionally encountered Monsters, and their Levels were all quite high, around Level 10.

There were even Monsters over Level 20 around Eldrida, making it a good place to level up.

‘With Sharin and Byutek, I can hunt Monsters more comfortably.’

Khan roughly guessed what request Buttner would make of him.

‘I have a feeling he’ll ask me to exterminate the Monsters near the city.’

Originally, following the Main Quest and coming to Eldrida would lead to a Monster extermination Quest.

Khan wondered if this Hidden Quest might be an earlier version of the Eldrida Quest that would come later.

Before they knew it, Khan’s party had arrived at Buttner’s mansion.

The mansion was so large it made their jaws drop.

“Wow… Compared to this, the mansion my father owns is just cute, huh?”

Even Sharin, who came from a fairly wealthy family, was amazed by the sheer size of the mansion before her.

“I will guide you to Viscount Buttner’s room.”

Khan’s party immediately entered the mansion and headed toward Buttner’s room.

The interior of the room was wide open on both sides, resembling a spacious Banquet Hall.

In the distance, Viscount Buttner was seated on a chair.

‘Similar to what I saw in the game.’

And beside Viscount Buttner stood Brente, Eldrida’s Guardian Knight.

“I just received word of Sir Khan’s arrival, so I couldn’t come out to greet you. I sincerely thank you for coming such a long way!”

“Thank you for the invitation.”

Khan slightly bowed his head in greeting.

“To be honest, including Eldrida, which I currently govern, other cities are also in a state of considerable turmoil. It may be presumptuous, but the reason I asked Sir Khan to come to Eldrida is because I have a request to make.”

“What kind of request?”

Hearing Buttner’s words, Khan recalled the expressions of the people he had seen on the streets earlier.

There were quite a few people who looked hurried and anxious, as if being chased by something.

“Sir Khan, you may already be aware. Our Eldrida has a considerable amount of Mana Crystals. To be precise, there is a mine where Mana Crystals are buried.”

As Khan nodded, Buttner continued.

“Therefore, we were able to grow faster compared to other cities. However, along with that, a significant problem arose. That is the Monsters that appear due to the Mana Crystals. Monsters have appeared at the Mana Crystal Mine multiple times, killing miners and even descending to the city.”

“So, you want me to exterminate the Monsters in the mine.”

Just as Khan had expected.

Originally, when progressing the Mage Class’s Main Quest and heading to Eldrida, a Quest would appear where Buttner requests the extermination of Monsters appearing in the mine.

‘With Byutek and Sharin, I can clear it quickly.’

Then, what reward could he possibly obtain by clearing this Hidden Quest?

‘But… why isn’t the Quest message appearing?’

As Khan was thinking this, Buttner gave an answer that completely overturned Khan’s expectations.

“No. The Monsters appearing in the mine can be handled by our Guardian Knight Brente, the excellent Mage Bist, and the Knights.”

“……”

Then, what request could he possibly be building up to?

Khan slightly nodded and waited for Buttner to continue.

“Within my Territory, Eldrida, there are a total of three cities. This is Eldravis, the capital of Eldrida. Centered around Eldravis, there are cities called Asmar and Selenad on either side. However, not long ago, a Monster of unknown origin suddenly appeared in Selenad, causing the loss of many Knights’ lives.”

“By any chance… do you know what the Monster looks like?”

The average Level of Eldrida’s Knights was above Level 13. The Knights of Selenad would likely be similar in skill.

If it was a Monster that such Knights couldn’t handle, it would be at least Level 30 or above.

“They say it has the appearance of a large wolf with three heads. It’s said to be so strong that our Knights are no match for it.”

“……”

Buttner’s expression darkened slightly, and Khan knew the reason.

The Monster he described was the three-headed ‘Cerberus,’ with a Level as high as 40.

‘This… seems impossible to clear?’

If the Monster that appeared near Selenad was truly Cerberus, then the Hidden Quest itself seemed impossible to clear.