Chapter 52

Вist, whо hаd bеen waiting in frоnt оf thе аnnеx providеd bу Selenаd’s market сhiеf Каil.

Не sat quietlу in front of thе аnneх, wаtсhing tо sеe if Кhan’s рarty might lеаvе thе mansion.

If Кhan disаppeаrеd again like befоrе when Zenos returned, hе might nоt get to see that bаstаrd get sevеrelу рunishеd bу Zenos.

‘I hopе Sir Zenos rеturns quiсklу and beаts thаt bаstard Khаn half to dеath.’

If Khan beсаme incарaсitated, Вist planned tо reраy the pain he hаd sufferеd in kind.

Аbоut an hоur later, Кhаn’s рarty suddеnly lеft thе mаnsiоn.

‘Nо…!’

Bist wаntеd tо stoр thеm if he could, but he couldn’t.

‘First… I should follow to see where they’re going.’

He could tail Khan and then ask Zenos to come to Khan’s location when he returned.

Having made up his mind, Bist immediately and stealthily drew up Mana, hiding his presence as much as possible, and began tailing Khan’s party.

Khan’s party entered Kail’s mansion, stayed for about 30 minutes, then came out and headed straight for the city’s bustling district.

‘What on earth are they going to do? What conversation did they have inside?’

By the way, Bist had been glancing at his Communication Stone repeatedly since earlier, wondering when Zenos would return, but there was no sign of contact from him.

But then.

Hmm…

A faint blue light spread from the Communication Stone, and soon the long-awaited voice of Zenos echoed in his mind.

‘Bist, I’ve returned to the mansion but don’t see you. Where are you?’

‘Sir Zenos! I was worried I might disturb whatever you were doing, so I didn’t contact you separately…! I was tailing that bastard Khan’s party because they suddenly left the mansion! I’m sorry, but… could you come here?’

‘Very well.’

‘Ah, as for where here is…’

Bist tried to explain his current location through the Communication Stone, but it wasn’t necessary.

Whoosh…!!

Swish, swish, swish.

Suddenly, a gust of Mana-filled wind scattered, and Zenos appeared.

“H-how did you get here?”

“I read the flow of your Mana and flew here using Wind Magic. By the way, where is that arrogant bastard Khan?”

“Over there, that’s him!”

“First, I need to properly check what kind of guy he is. We need to verify whether he’s truly a skilled Mage or, as you said, just used tricks to win against you in your sparring.”

“Sir Zenos, there’s no need to check that! His Mana level is pitiful! He’s definitely impersonating a Mage…!”

“Be quiet. It’s better to be certain.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Zenos drew up Mana and used Stealth Magic.

Smoothly.

Simultaneously, he cast the same Stealth Magic on Bist, and now the two were completely invisible.

Using Stealth Magic to completely hide one’s form meant that Zenos’s Magic level was quite exceptional.

Zenos, having used Stealth Magic, began openly approaching Khan’s party.

Since it was Stealth Magic used by Zenos, a 2nd Circle Mage, Khan and his party would absolutely not detect their presence.

From the start, Zenos didn’t think there would be any Mages or Knights stronger than him in such a Frontier city.

But then.

Whoosh.

Suddenly, that pale-skinned man named Khan turned to look back.

Moreover, he turned around and was staring directly at him.

‘We’re making eye contact…?’

The eye contact lasted exactly about 2 seconds.

“Sir Khan, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

The giant Knight beside him said something, but the man named Khan, as if it were nothing, began walking his path again.

Zenos watched Khan and cautiously gauged the Mana he possessed.

‘His Mana level is pitiful… Did he really detect my presence? Or was it just a coincidence?’

Perhaps because they made proper eye contact, Zenos was a bit uncertain.

Judging by Khan’s Mana level, it seemed impossible for him to detect his presence.

But there might be a probability, however slim, that such a possibility existed.

‘If there’s a significant gap in skill, you can’t properly gauge the opponent’s Mana… Surely, he can’t be a Mage several times more skilled than me.’

Moreover, in such a Frontier city, there couldn’t be a Mage stronger than him, a 2nd Circle Mage.

‘Bist, let’s continue following for now.’

‘Yes!’

Thus, Zenos and Bist stuck closely behind Khan’s party and arrived in front of an Artifact shop.

Tap.

Khan’s party immediately entered the Artifact shop.

Zenos stopped at the entrance of the Artifact shop.

‘Why aren’t we going in…?’

‘We’ll wait here.’

‘Huh…?’

Zenos quietly replied through the Communication Stone, then suddenly dispelled the Stealth Magic and put the Communication Stone into his pocket.

The pouch he carried at his waist was an Artifact called a Subspace, incredibly expensive, but something he couldn’t live without.

After putting the Communication Stone into the Spatial Pocket, Zenos called Bist.

“Bist.”

“Yes!”

When Zenos called Bist with a suddenly serious expression, Bist answered with a very tense look.

“So, how do you think I should deal with that Khan guy? Do you want revenge, for instance? Or make him suffer just as painfully as you did?”

“Yes…! I want revenge! I want him to suffer several times more than I did!”

“Hmm, alright. We’ll wait here and have a talk with him when he comes out.”

Actually, while Bist’s revenge was part of it, Zenos also wanted Khan not to participate in the Cerberus Subjugation.

He absolutely needed the Hellfire Soul, which had a slim chance of appearing when Cerberus was defeated.

So, he planned to first talk with Khan, and if Khan still insisted on subjugating Cerberus, he would use Bist’s revenge as a pretext to teach him a lesson.

“Sir Zenos, he’s the one who tried to kill me! What’s there to talk about with such a guy?”

“Still, attacking him outright is impolite… We’re not some immoral Dark Mages, are we?”

“That’s true, but…”

Bist felt an ominous feeling for some reason but waited with Zenos in front of the Artifact shop for Khan to come out.

Zenos, too, had been feeling the same ominous feeling since earlier, just like Bist.

‘Clearly, the Mana I sense from that Khan guy is pitiful, but something keeps bothering me.’

There was something besides the Mana he sensed from Khan.

A feeling as if some indescribable, immense something was sleeping inside his body.

Of course, Zenos attributed it to his own mood.

The two calmly waited for Khan to come out.

* * *

Inside the Artifact shop, Khan was a bit surprised for the first time in a long while.

Of course, due to the effect of the ‘Sage’s Heart,’ his head and chest maintained a cold composure more than ever.

‘This is really fucked up…’

Khan noticed at once that Bist and Zenos were tailing him.

It seemed certain that Bist had called a strong Mage from the Green Magic Tower to take revenge on him.

The Mage targeting him wasn’t a Level 20-something Mage but a Level 30-something Mage.

Moreover, he wasn’t just early Level 30 but late Level 30, so fighting him could really mean death.

‘No matter how talented Sharin is, she’s still lacking in skill… Same for Byutek.’

Even with Sharin and Byutek, there’s a gap of over 10 Levels.

Even fighting 3 against 1, the probability of defeating him would be slim.

“Oh my, you’re back! I actually had something I wanted to show you if you came, Sir Mage. You see, I succeeded in making a new Scroll yesterday!”

“A new Scroll?”

“Yes! I created a masterpiece!”

Lilia, the owner of Selenad’s only Artifact shop.

Simultaneously, she was also an Alchemist, selling Artifacts she made herself.

The Intermediate Agility Scroll she purchased from her just yesterday must have been made by her too.

“It’s this right here!”

Lilia handed Khan two bundles of paper with a bright smile.

And as soon as Khan saw those bundles, he felt like he would be shocked enough to have his insides hollowed out.

If not for the ‘Sage’s Heart,’ he might have shouted loudly, asking how on earth she made this.

[Item: Intermediate Mana Increase Scroll]

• Item Rank: Rare

• Level Restriction: 1

• Item Description: When the Scroll is used, Mana Capacity increases significantly for 30 seconds.

The two bundles of paper she proudly showed were exactly the Mana Capacity Increase Scrolls Khan had so desperately wanted.

“You… really made this yourself?”

“Yes! Phew, do you know how hard it was to make this?”

“I’ll buy them.”

“Both of them?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… This one requires more Materials, so it’s 2 Gold Coins each. Is that okay?”

Since money was overflowing, Khan immediately took out 4 Gold Coins from his pocket and handed them to her.

“Lilia, it would be good if you make as many Scrolls as possible from now on. I’ll stop by to buy them whenever I have time.”

“Really?! Then I’d be grateful! But since the Materials used to make Scrolls are so hard to obtain… I probably won’t be able to make many.”

“That’s fine. I’ll make good use of this for now.”

Khan smiled inwardly, not expecting to obtain the Intermediate Mana Increase Scroll so soon.

‘Those guys… They definitely seem to have come to kill me…’

It wasn’t certain, but he vaguely sensed killing intent from them.

The problem was that Zenos was an opponent impossible for even the current Khan to face.

Even if they hadn’t come to kill him, seizing the initiative was crucial at times like this.

‘Fortunately, with this Scroll… I might be able to escape easily.’

Having finished his thoughts, Khan immediately tore the purchased Intermediate Mana Increase Scroll.

Sizzle…!

Hmm…!!!!

Simultaneously, an immense amount of Mana began to dwell in Khan’s body.