Chapter 77

Сlаttеr. Сlatter.

Insidе thе саrriаge, Khan, whо hаd been sitting with his еyes сlоsеd, suddеnlу rеcallеd the pеоplе frоm thе Вluе Mаgic Тower.

‘It hаsn’t bееn mаny daуs yеt, but they should bе stаrting to prepаrе to come.’

Thе mаges from the Blue Маgic Tоwer, Веlbеk аnd Serina.

He didn’t knоw what thosе twо thоught of him, but in truth, Khаn fеlt quitе positivеly towаrd them.

‘It’s about time tо tаke the Маna Рill.’

Taking thе Mana Рill would аllоw him to gain a considеrablе аmоunt of mаna all аt оnсe.

Thе amоunt оf mаnа gаined frоm tаking а Mаnа Pill typically varies from person to person.

‘In the game, it depended on the mage’s talent, I recall.’

For reference, when Khan played the game, taking a Mana Pill allowed him to gain an enormous amount of mana in one go.

‘Honestly, it seems this body wasn’t born with magical talent…’

This was precisely the point that worried Khan a little.

The reason Khan appeared to be a talented mage now was due to the Status Window, the Rank 10 Hidden Skill ‘Sage’s Heart’, and his other Hidden Skills.

‘Well, let’s check first.’

The Mana Contract he had written with Serina.

Since its effect was still valid, he could locate Serina and Belbek’s positions with just a little use of mana.

Just like this.

Whoom…!

A very small blue flame of mana bloomed from within Khan’s body.

Simultaneously, a map formed in his dark vision.

On the map, two dots, presumably representing Belbek and Serina’s locations, were moving rapidly.

‘Are they coming toward me?’

The map spread before Khan’s eyes was quite large.

It showed his location and the Blue Magic Tower where Belbek and Serina resided, and the distance between them was considerable.

‘If traveling by carriage, it would take weeks… That’s truly unbelievable.’

Seeing this, Khan felt it was truly a miracle he hadn’t died at Belbek’s hands.

‘If I hadn’t bluffed like that back then… I really might have died.’

Without the Rank 10 Hidden Skill ‘Sage’s Heart’, it would have been impossible to bluff so nonchalantly.

Khan once again realized the immense power of the skills he possessed and opened his eyes.

‘Besides, there was something I wanted to check.’

Khan, lost in thought, suddenly opened his eyes wide and unconsciously raised the corner of his mouth slightly.

“Let’s stop for a moment before continuing.”

“Yes!”

As soon as Khan spoke to the coachman, the coachman immediately brought the carriage to a halt.

At the same time, Byutek, who had been sleeping seated across from Khan, and Sharin, who had been intently practicing magic beside him, spoke up.

“Sir Khan? Is something wrong?”

“There’s nothing here, Master? Do you have some business to attend to?”

As Sharin said, the place where the carriage stopped was simply a forest.

Around them were lush grasses and trees, and a bit further away, a large rock stood imposingly.

“There’s something I want to check here.”

“Check?”

In response to Sharin’s question, Khan only gave a slight nod before quickly checking the map from the Mana Contract again.

In that brief moment, Belbek and Serina had moved even closer to Khan.

They would likely arrive here in a short time.

‘The reason Belbek and Serina are coming to me is surely to deliver the Mana Pill.’

If they fail to fulfill the terms written in the Mana Contract, Serina and Belbek will die.

Even if just to avoid death, they would want to deliver the Mana Pill to Khan quickly.

‘Perfect timing, as there was something I wanted to check anyway.’

Khan had grown significantly stronger in Asmar.

Thanks to the Rank 8 Hidden Skill ‘Growth Acceleration’, his level had risen more than expected, contributing to his increased strength, but there were two even bigger reasons.

The Hidden Skills he obtained in Asmar and the Artifact Staff, no less than Unique Rank, crafted by Bron for him.

Because of these two, Khan estimated he was now about twice as strong as his current level would suggest.

‘First, I should check the numbers.’

Khan opened his Status Window to check his Mana Capacity.

◈ LV.26

◈ Khan (Lee Huseong)

◈ Mana: 1010/1010

◈ 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, (1★)Wind Cutter

Due to the effect of the Staff of Dawn, his pure Mana Capacity had increased by 500, pushing Khan’s mana past 1000.

But this wasn’t enough.

With the amount of mana Khan currently possessed, he could only barely utilize his skills to a minimal extent.

‘Of course, taking the Mana Pill will change the story.’

Taking the Mana Pill could grant him much more mana than he currently had.

Truly talented mages saw their Mana Capacity increase by over 3,000 at once just by taking a Mana Pill.

‘Even a minimum increase of 2,000 would be a tremendous achievement.’

For now, setting aside thoughts of the Mana Pill, Khan walked toward the large rock visible ahead.

Thud. Thud.

“Master? Where are you going!”

“Sir Khan! Monsters could suddenly appear in a forest like this, so I’ll lead the way!”

Sharin and Byutek shouted with worried expressions, as if Khan were a child.

“Byutek, don’t overdo it. I have something I want to check, so stay put.”

“Ah, yes…!”

“That’s right, Byutek oppa! Master is much stronger than you, honestly….”

“Ahem…”

When even Sharin chimed in, Byutek looked sheepishly at Khan heading toward the rock.

“What on earth is he trying to do?”

“Exactly. Let’s just watch for now.”

In truth, Khan wasn’t planning to do anything major.

‘I want to check the power of the Staff of Dawn and Wind Cutter…’

Originally, his personality might have found such attention a bit burdensome, but perhaps thanks to ‘Sage’s Heart’, that sense of burden vanished in an instant.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Thump.

Before he knew it, Khan, having stopped before the large rock, pulled the Staff of Dawn from his Spatial Pocket.

Whoom.

Thump.

Grasping the Staff of Dawn in his hand, he felt a peculiar mana.

A mana he hadn’t felt when holding other staves.

Click.

Khan simply raised the staff toward the rock.

Whoom…!!

Simultaneously, a dazzlingly blue mana bloomed from Khan’s staff.

* * *

Swish! Swish!

Two people running swiftly through the vast forest, between densely stretching trees.

Whoom…!!

Their figures were almost invisible, only a bluish light remaining like an afterimage along the path they passed.

“Huh? What? Belbek, we’re almost there, right? Looking at the map, he’s not moving; he’s stopped.”

“It seems he’s noticed we’re coming.”

“Well, that’s good for us. Since he seems to be waiting, let’s hurry!”

Serina and Belbek drew out more mana and increased their speed.

Whoosh!

Their figures were now completely invisible.

Before they knew it, the two could sense the presence of three people from afar.

Thump. Thump.

When Belbek and Serina arrived where Khan’s party was, Byutek and Sharin were standing a little apart from Khan.

“It seems they don’t know we’ve come?”

“They’re hiding their presence with mana, so it’s possible they don’t notice.”

When mages move quickly, they use mana to hide their presence, so at this slight distance, even those of considerable skill find it impossible to sense them.

Now, Belbek and Serina stood on a branch extending from a large tree, watching Khan standing before the rock with interest.

“He took out his staff, so it seems he intends to do something?”

“Let’s watch for now.”

“Why? Let’s just go quickly and give it to him.”

Serina wanted to deliver this Mana Pill to Khan as quickly as possible, even if just a little faster.

She wanted to quickly shake off this uneasiness caused by the Mana Contract.

“No, wait.”

But as Belbek uttered with a firm expression, Serina also stopped speaking and turned her gaze toward Khan.

‘What on earth is that person trying to do…’

As Belbek and Serina watched Khan, Khan suddenly pulled a staff from his Spatial Pocket.

Even from a distance, it didn’t look like an ordinary staff to Belbek and Serina.

“What is that staff…? Even from this far, I can feel mana from the staff?”

“It seems to be an Artifact. And a fairly high-grade one at that.”

Serina was genuinely surprised.

Belbek spoke indifferently, but he was also in a state of shock.

“What! So that means, when he fought us, he deliberately didn’t even take out an Artifact?”

“……”

Serina shouted in an irritated tone.

If he had possessed such a high-grade Artifact from the start, Belbek probably wouldn’t have even picked a fight.

Mages possessing high-grade Artifacts are usually strong, so it’s better not to provoke them.

“For now, it seems he intends to do something, so let’s watch quietly.”

“Hoo… Fine.”

Thus, Belbek and Serina silently watched what Khan was doing.

Click.

Khan, having taken out the staff, suddenly extended it forward toward the rock, and a moment later.

Whoom…!!!!!

A massive amount of mana bloomed from within his body and began gathering at the tip of the staff.

Swoosh—!

It wasn’t an enormous rock, but a fairly large rock was instantly split in two.

“What, so he can use wind magic like that too…? And again, it’s Chantless Casting. What on earth is his identity?”

To use magic with Chantless Casting requires 100% perfect understanding of that magic.

Belbek ignored Serina’s words and focused entirely on Khan when Serina spoke to him again.

“Belbek, what are you doing? Let’s go quickly now.”

“No, wait…”

“It just seems like he tried casting a spell for a moment, let’s quickly…”

Just as Serina grabbed Belbek’s arm and tried to pull him along.

Whoom…!

Whoom…!

Whoom…!

Suddenly, a very small amount of mana was felt surging from Khan’s direction, and then in the blink of an eye, something truly unbelievable happened.

Swoosh— Swoosh— Swoosh— Swoosh—

Swoosh— Swoosh— Swoosh— Swoosh—

The magic Khan had just used manifested dozens of times in mere seconds.

Thudududuk….

The rock, completely sliced apart, was almost turned to powder.

“T-This can’t be…!”

“……!!”

Serina and Belbek looked at Khan with astonished expressions.

At that moment.

Swish.

Khan turned his head and looked at Serina and Belbek standing on the tree, their presence concealed.