Chapter 49

Тhе nехt day.

Кhаn, ассompaniеd bу Byutеk and Sharin, wаs hеаding nоrth frоm Sеlenad еarly in thе mоrning.

Thе аrеа whеre Сerbеrus had aрреаred was thе Mаna Crystаl Мine locatеd еast of Selenad.

Sо, whаt lay to the north оf Sеlenad, whеre Кhаn wаs сurrently headеd?

“Sir Khan, whеrе аre we gоing sо еarly in thе morning?”

“You’ll knоw when we get therе.”

“Мaster! Wе’vе alrеady bеen walking north fоr an hоur! Рlease tell us now! Мy fееt аre killing mе….”

Not knowing whаt thеу were gоing to dо, Shаrin аlsо whinеd and shоutеd.

“Wе’re gоing fоr training.”

“Training?!”

“Sir Khan! Surely you still doubt my abilities?!”

“Byutek, even so, your skills are still at an amateur level. Have you already forgotten the disgraceful performance during the battle with the Griffin last time? Sharin obviously still has much to learn, so stop complaining and follow.”

“Hmph, understood….”

“Yes! I’m fine with that! Hehe.”

The Hidden Skill ‘Growth Acceleration’ that Khan possessed was a whopping Rank 8.

Frankly, Khan still didn’t know much about this skill.

‘Considering its Skill Rank, its performance feels a bit lacking….’

A Rank 8 Hidden Skill obtained inside a cave discovered in the Tutorial Forest.

‘Growth Acceleration’ had the effect of increasing Experience Points by 100%, meaning, simply put, the Experience Points received were doubled.

‘At first, I thought it was overpowered, but honestly, it feels insufficient to be called a Rank 8 Hidden Skill.’

Given that leveling up in <Geo Arc> was inherently very difficult, when Khan first obtained ‘Growth Acceleration,’ he thought the double Experience Points effect was fitting for a Rank 8 skill.

‘Honestly, this is quite disappointing….’

So, since there were still two more days until the Cerberus Subjugation, Khan planned to spend that time hunting relentlessly.

Since Byutek and Sharin were exceptionally talented, if they hunted Monsters, their Levels would likely rise much faster than Khan’s.

Usually, while progressing through Quests in <Geo Arc>, there were times when NPCs’ Levels would skyrocket to an unrecognizable degree later on.

‘NPCs with Talent can probably level up much more easily and quickly than Users.’

Facing a Level 40 Monster like Cerberus, raising their Levels even a little beforehand would help in defeating it.

And Khan had another thought.

Among Hidden Skills or general Skills, there were occasionally Growth-Type Skills, and Khan suspected that might be the case with his current Rank 8 Hidden Skill, ‘Growth Acceleration.’

Growth-Type Skills often unlocked new effects upon gaining a certain amount of Experience Points.

‘Since the performance of ‘Growth Acceleration’ is definitely lacking for a Rank 8 Hidden Skill… it’s highly likely something else is hidden within.’

By continuously defeating Monsters and gaining Experience Points, new effects of the ‘Growth Acceleration’ skill might appear.

Thus, Khan’s party crossed Selenad’s northern City Gate and soon arrived at the forest north of Selenad.

“It feels unnervingly eerie for no reason….”

“Exactly! Master, are ghosts going to pop out or something?”

It was said that a Dungeon existed in the forest north of Selenad in the distant past but had since disappeared.

So, the forest was desolate as if ghosts might jump out at any moment, and its official name was precisely the ‘Desolate Forest.’

The Monsters that mainly appeared were Level 15 Skeletons.

Creatures perfectly suited for Khan’s party to defeat right now.

‘Skeletons tend to give more Experience Points compared to other Monsters of the same Level, so we should be able to raise our Levels a bit.’

According to <Geo Arc>’s system, when multiple people hunt Monsters together, it automatically becomes a Party Hunt system.

Therefore, Khan could also gain Experience Points from the Skeletons that Byutek and Sharin defeated.

Of course, the same would apply to Byutek and Sharin.

Clatter. Clatter. Clatter.

Clatter. Clatter. Clatter.

Clatter. Clatter. Clatter.

And right on cue, figures appeared in the distance—creatures about 1.7 meters tall with bodies of nothing but bones, holding sharp swords.

From among the crumbling trees, starting with three or four, their numbers suddenly increased to ten, twenty, thirty.

Clatter. Clatter. Clatter.

[LV.15 Skeleton Swordsman]

Seeing the dozens of Skeletons, Byutek and Sharin showed completely opposite reactions.

“So those are the Skeletons I’ve only heard about. Sir Khan, please stay right there! I’ll handle them!”

“M-Master! What do we do! I heard Skeletons are weak to Light Attribute attacks… but I don’t know how to use Light Attribute attacks…!”

As soon as Byutek saw the Skeletons, he drew the massive Greatsword from his back and gripped it with both hands.

“Sharin, do you want to learn how to use Light Attribute Magic?”

“Huh? Of course! But is that something that can happen just like that?”

“Of course. Originally, the more urgent the situation, the faster one can learn Magic.”

Khan spoke as if it were the most natural thing, but this was actually nonsense.

Unless it was Sharin, who in the future would be called a true genius Mage with immense Talent for Magic.

“Huh…?”

At Khan’s words, Sharin asked back with a bewildered expression.

“Rotate the Circle in your mind and visualize a dazzlingly pure white light. No, any light is fine, just imagine it. The larger and more dazzling the light, the more it will help you use Light Attribute Magic.”

“Wait, hold on…. Will that really work just by imagining?”

“You can do it. By the way, no matter what happens, I won’t help you. If you stay still, you’ll be killed by the Skeletons.”

“Ye… yes…?!”

Clatter…! Clatter…! Clatter…!

The sound of Skeletons’ bones clattering together was getting closer.

Byutek was the first to rush forward, charging toward them.

Simultaneously, as he swung his massive Greatsword, the body of the foremost Skeleton Swordsman was cleaved apart.

Swoooosh!!

Crunch—

However, there were so many Skeletons that gaps inevitably appeared in Byutek’s defense.

Swords from other Skeletons on both sides flew toward Byutek’s flank.

Whoosh…!

“Huff…!”

As Byutek let out a small shout and issued a Battle Cry, a blue Mana momentarily shimmered around his body.

It was the ability to wield Mana, something only a true Swordsman with exceptional Swordsmanship skills could use.

‘Byutek, when did he grow like that? I had no idea he could even wield Mana….’

Since Mages are originally a Class that handles Mana, using Mana is natural for them, but Knights were different.

For a Knight to use Mana, they typically needed to be at least Level 30 on average.

Byutek’s Level wasn’t even 25 yet, so it was considerable Talent.

Clang! Clang!

The swords swung by the Skeletons were helplessly deflected by the blue Mana coating Byutek’s body surface.

Swoooooosh!!

As Byutek swung his Greatsword once more, their heads were cleanly severed.

Crunch— Crunch—

Khan was watching Byutek’s battle, which showed much more growth than before, but as there were so many Skeletons, another group of Skeletons was already approaching Khan and Sharin’s vicinity.

“Sir Khan! I leave that side to you!”

Byutek, already dealing with over ten Skeletons, shouted to Khan.

“Don’t worry. Sharin will handle things here.”

“Yes!”

Khan once again made it clear that he had no intention of participating in the battle.

Immediately, Sharin made a serious expression, closed her eyes, and began drawing up Mana.

Whoosh…!!!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeng…!!!

Simultaneously, the Mana Circle in Sharin’s heart spun rapidly.

‘Master has never joked or spoken empty words until now…! I must defeat them somehow!’

Clatter. Clatter. Clatter.

The Skeletons that had come almost within reach were about to swing their sharp swords any moment.

To prevent them from getting any closer, Sharin quickly chanted an Incantation and immediately used ‘Arrow.’

Whoosh…!!

Fwiiiiiiiiiiish!!

Fwiiiiiiiiiiish!!

Dozens of Magic Arrows created around Sharin swiftly flew toward the Skeletons.

However.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Skeletons were not Monsters to be easily taken down by a Rank 1 Skill like Arrow.

They lightly swung their swords, deflecting all the Magic Arrows.

‘I knew they would be blocked anyway…!’

Sharin also knew it was impossible to defeat them with the Arrow Skill.

‘I need to think of it as quickly as possible… the light… a pure white light…!’

Recalling what Khan had said, Sharin visualized a powerful, pure white light.

What could represent light?

At that moment, only the hot sun hanging in the sky came to mind.

Whoosh…!!!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeng…!!!!

Then, the blue Mana that had risen throughout Sharin’s body instantly transformed into a platinum-colored Mana, a blend of white and gold.

“……!!”

Seeing this, Khan also widened his eyes in surprise.

The platinum Mana emanating from her body instantly spread in all directions.

Flash—

For a moment, everything was dyed in a hot, pure white light, feeling as if one would go blind.

Unconsciously closing his eyes, Khan, upon opening them a moment later, could see an unbelievable scene.

“They’re all… gone?”

“Huff, huff…. Did I… do well?”

Including the Skeletons approaching from behind, there were roughly a hundred in total.

Yet, all hundred of those Skeletons had completely vanished.

‘Overwhelming Mana….’

Ten times… no, over twenty times the Mana Khan possessed had momentarily erupted from Sharin’s body.

And the result was precisely this.

[Your Level has increased.]

Defeating a hundred Skeletons at once finally raised Khan’s Level from 14 to 15.

“Si-Sir Khan…! What was that light just now?”

“Sharin did it.”

“Huh…?!”

During this battle, Byutek had secretly hoped Khan would acknowledge his improved skills and recognize his changed self.

After all, he had shown a disgraceful performance during the previous battle with the Griffin.

‘To think Sharin was such an incredible Mage…!’

The most surprised was Khan, but due to the ‘Sage’s Heart,’ his startled heart instantly cooled and calmed.

‘Regardless, this makes it perfect now.’

Sharin, who had been panting, had already regained her composure.

Sharin, with her innate Talent for Magic and Mana.

Her Talent for Mana Recovery Power was also overwhelming.

“Sharin, can you move?”

“Yes, I’ve always had good Stamina!”

“Then from now on, we’ll proceed deeper into the Desolate Forest.”

“Yes…!”

Sharin shouted with a confident expression.

Khan smiled deeply inside, seeing his plan perfectly accomplished.

‘Perfect Auto Hunt.’

Now it was time to receive the Auto Hunt boost.