Chapter 59

Веlbеk аnd Serina, аffiliаtеs оf thе Blue Mаgiс Towеr, enterеd Аsmаr.

Тhе twо had just killed thrеe pеоplе аt thе сhеckрoint, but thеy showеd nо sign оf bеing botherеd at аll.

“I’m worried that mоrе insects might foolishlу gеt in the way.”

“If that haррens, I’ll just kill them!”

“Tsk, I want to lеаve this low-lеvel сitу quiсklу…”

“Then shall we gо right awaу?”

Воth Belbеk аnd Sеrina worе long blue rоbes, so those in thе knоw could tеll thеy wеre magеs.

Ordinary mаges, еsрecially thosе affiliаtеd with а Mаgic Tоwеr, оften worе robеs imbuеd with sресial аbilitiеs.

“Nо, let’s еаt first.”

“Ah, right. Well… there’s no need to rush.”

In Serina’s hand, who responded to Belbek’s words, was a map that looked very worn.

It took a considerable amount of time to get here from Rexion, a city located in the capital region of the Kingdom of Sinsiniel, and the Blue Magic Tower within that Rexion.

Even using acceleration magic, it took nearly two weeks.

Nevertheless, the reason the two came all the way here was precisely because of this old map they had coincidentally discovered at the Blue Magic Tower.

“By the way… is there really treasure?”

“Probably not. But I had been thinking of coming to Asmar sometime anyway, so even if there isn’t, if we obtain a decent Artifact, it won’t be a wasted trip.”

The two continued their conversation as they walked toward a nearby restaurant.

“True. This map seems to be at least a hundred years old, so there’s no way treasure would still be left.”

“Right, so don’t get your hopes up too much, Serina.”

“Okay~”

Before they knew it, the two arrived in front of the restaurant and tried to open the door to go inside.

Swish.

But then, suddenly, the restaurant door opened.

It seemed someone inside was trying to come out.

One man with a small build, another man tall and large, armed in armor, and a cute-looking girl.

‘Hoh…?’

Belbek momentarily made eye contact with the man in front of him, then continued to stare at him with a somewhat intrigued expression.

Even though he was clearly a novice with almost no detectable Mana, for some reason, he felt a strange sensation.

‘He has almost no Mana… but for some reason, he feels stronger than me. Must be my imagination.’

There was no way this man in front of him could be more skilled than himself.

Especially in a frontier city like this.

The girl behind the man was also quite intriguing.

Because he could sense an enormous amount of Mana from the girl.

“Belbek, let’s move aside.”

Serina, standing next to Belbek, also looked at the people in front with momentary interest before speaking first.

Swish.

As Belbek subtly stepped aside, they came out of the shop and walked off somewhere.

“Hmm… Belbek, you felt it too, right?”

“Yeah.”

“That guy, he seems like a novice, but there’s something strange about him…”

“Yeah.”

“Or… is he just disgustingly handsome? His face is totally my type! You know, since I started learning magic, my emotions have become quite numb? But I don’t know why my heart starts beating again when I see a handsome man.”

“…Stop with the pointless talk and let’s go in.”

“Yes, yes~”

Belbek and Serina entered the restaurant and ordered food.

The taste of the food was just average.

* * *

“Master, what’s up with those guys? Ah, damn. What are they, standing there blocking the way and staring blankly… Should I go back and say something?”

“…Just leave them be.”

Khan, who had finished his meal and left the restaurant, felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing Sharin’s words.

He couldn’t predict what kind of sparks would fly the moment Sharin actually went back to the restaurant and said something to them.

‘There were unbelievable monsters…’

Khan recalled the man and woman wearing blue robes.

Seeing them in blue robes, they were clearly mages affiliated with the Blue Magic Tower.

The reason Khan was so certain was because he had checked the Level and names above their heads.

[LV.86 Mage Belbek]

[LV.84 Mage Serina]

Truly overwhelming Levels.

At Level 80s, even if Khan died and came back to life at his current level, he wouldn’t even be a match for them.

‘Why did mages from the Blue Magic Tower come all the way to Asmar?’

The Blue Magic Tower should definitely be in Rexion, the capital region of the Kingdom of Sinsiniel.

Rexion was a much more developed city than a frontier city like Asmar.

Naturally, there would be many skilled Blacksmiths and Alchemists there.

‘No matter how famous Asmar’s Artifact shops and crafting techniques are, it’s not enough to warrant coming from Rexion.’

He couldn’t understand why such monsters had suddenly appeared.

What on earth could have brought them from Rexion to Asmar?

‘Well, maybe it doesn’t matter.’

Since Khan’s goal was to find a Hidden Skill, he thought it probably didn’t matter.

Realistically speaking, those two wouldn’t have come here to find a Hidden Skill.

‘In the first place, even I only just found out there’s a Hidden Skill here, so those guys holed up in the Magic Tower probably wouldn’t even imagine a Hidden Skill is hidden in a frontier city like this.’

Ordinary game Users called them Hidden Skills like Khan, but NPCs had a separate term for them.

Among NPCs, there were some who had coincidentally obtained Hidden Skills, and NPCs called Hidden Skills ‘Transcendence.’

It was to the extent that even while playing the game, NPCs had said such things.

‘If you obtain the Transcendent Magic hidden throughout the world, you might be able to defeat even those powerful demon tribes.’

Anyway, since NPCs could also find Hidden Skills through coincidental opportunities, Khan thought he needed to find the Hidden Skills he knew about as quickly as possible.

‘First, finding the Hidden Skill hidden in Asmar is the priority now.’

Khan planned to start looking for the Hidden Skill immediately upon arriving in Asmar.

No, actually, there was one thing left to do before that.

The Class-exclusive Skill Selection Ticket he had held back from using even during the carriage ride to Asmar.

It was time to use the Class-exclusive Skill Selection Ticket now.

‘It would be good to use the Skill Selection Ticket before I seriously start looking for the Hidden Skill.’

Khan immediately used the Class-exclusive Skill Selection Ticket.

Then, messages scrolled before his eyes.

[Used Class-exclusive Skill Selection Ticket.]

The Class-exclusive Selection Ticket obtained at Level 20 wasn’t much different from the Class-exclusive Skill Selection Ticket obtained at Level 10.

Even getting a 2-Rank Skill would be considered really lucky, but this time, he didn’t even expect that.

Because last time, at Level 10, he had gotten a 2-Rank Skill from the Class-exclusive Skill Selection Ticket.

A moment later, three skills he could choose from appeared before Khan’s eyes.

[Please choose one of the three skills.]

1. Fire Arrow – 1★

2. Whirlwind – 1★

3. Mana Enhancement – 2★

Khan couldn’t help but have his pupils dilate instantly.

Not only did ‘Fire Arrow’ and ‘Whirlwind,’ skills with quite good performance even among 1-Rank skills, appear, but a 2-Rank skill had also appeared.

‘And it’s not an ordinary 2-Rank skill…!’

The 2-Rank skill ‘Mana Enhancement’ that appeared from the Class-exclusive Skill Selection Ticket was among the top-tier skills even within 2-Rank skills.

Fundamentally, the most important thing for a Mage was Mana, so the Mana Enhancement skill was almost an essential skill for a Mage.

Khan didn’t hesitate and chose immediately.

[Learned the skill ‘Mana Enhancement.’]

[Skill: Mana Enhancement]

• Skill Rank: 2-Rank

• Skill Description: Increases the User’s Mana Capacity by 100.

• Cooldown: X

• Mana Consumption: X

Just by obtaining the Mana Enhancement skill, it was as if his Level had increased by 10 at once.

Khan immediately opened his Status Window to check his Mana.

◈ LV.22

◈ Khan (Lee Huseong)

◈ Mana: 470/470

◈ Talent: Magic

◈ Skills: (10★)Sage’s Heart, (8★)Growth Acceleration, (1★)Arrow, (1★)Barrier, (2★)Fire Boom, (2★)Fireball, (2★)Mirror Defense, (2★)Mana Enhancement

Thanks to defeating Cerberus, Khan’s Level had become 22, and his Mana was a whopping 470.

‘With this much… I should be able to use the skills I currently have without issue.’

Moreover, Khan still had four Mana Capacity Increase Scrolls left.

Given the characteristics of the area around Asmar, with many Monsters near the mountain range, finding the Hidden Skill would by no means be easy.

“Sir Khan, shall we go to the Artifact shop right now then? Or should we look for a skilled Blacksmith?”

“What~ So Sir Byutek was looking forward to it too!”

“Ahem… That’s not it.”

Since there weren’t any significantly dangerous Monsters near Asmar anyway, no further preparation was needed.

Khan looked at the two who had spoken and answered.

“No, from now on, we’re going up the mountain.”

“Huh…?”

“Why are we suddenly going up the mountain?”

“There’s something I’m looking for. I also plan to exterminate some Monsters while we’re at it.”

“Understood!”

“Yes. It’ll be over quickly, right, Master…?”

“Yeah.”

By Khan’s feeling, for some reason, he thought the Hidden Skill was likely hidden in the mountain range surrounding this Asmar.

“First, we head east.”

“Yes!”

Khan and Byutek headed toward the east of Asmar.

Since the path up the mountain was within the city, the eastern mountain range entrance was the closest from where they were standing.

Meanwhile, Sharin paused for a moment and looked back toward the shop where they had encountered the blue mages.

“Those people… what are they?”

Sharin, with her incredibly high Mana Affinity, could clearly sense the two’s Mana.

Among any mages she had seen in her life so far, they were the most skilled… no, at that level, it wasn’t just skilled, it was insane.

“Sharin, what are you doing? Hurry up and come!”

“Ah, I’m coming!!”

At Byutek’s shout, Sharin quickly chased after the two.

* * *

It had already been two days since Khan’s party started roaming the mountain range of Asmar.

‘Where on earth is it?’

He had definitely accepted the Hidden Quest, and a message had appeared, hadn’t it?

[When you approach the location where the Hidden Skill is hidden, you will be able to know its position.]

It said he would know the location if he went near the Hidden Skill, but while roaming the mountain range, Khan had never seen anything related.

‘Don’t tell me… it’s not hidden in the mountain range?’

There was also a possibility it was hidden within the city.

As Khan continued climbing the mountain range, he was moving toward the western part of the range.

Whoosh…

Then, suddenly, he saw a blue light flickering in the distance.

“Sharin, can you see it too?”

“Huh…? See what?”

It seemed that light was only visible to Khan’s eyes.

He immediately knew what that light meant.

‘The Hidden Skill is near there…!’

Khan immediately started walking toward where the blue light was flickering.

But then.

Thud. Thud.

He saw others walking from the opposite direction.

A man and woman wearing blue robes.