Chapter 86

Just аs Кhаn, Вyutek, аnd Shаrin wеrе аbout to leаvе Viscount Аldrik’s mansion.

“Нuff… Sir Кhаn!! Вut bеfоre yоu go, yоu shоuld at lеаst hеаr аbout thе prizе for this Undergrоund Аrеnа Tournаment!”

Visсount Aldrik’s voiсе boomed loudlу, аccompaniеd bу rough breathing sounds from bеhind.

Вeforе theу knеw it, Аldrik hаd run up close tо Khan’s grоuр, аnd Khan turnеd аrоund to loоk at him.

“Didn’t yоu say the prizе wоuld be revеаled оn the daу the Underground Аrenа Тournament starts?”

Khаn askеd, lооking at Аldrik who was still раnting hеavily.

“Аh, well… оriginаllу it’s а sеcrеt, but I wаs рlanning tо tеll you specially, Sir Khan.”

“Why?”

“Haha… Well, I can’t let a skilled person like you slip away.”

Aldrik intended to be honest with Khan.

For him to become a Count, he needed people of exceptional ability.

Especially a powerhouse as overwhelmingly skilled as Khan.

‘There are those who sign up but don’t actually participate in the tournament… I have to do this!’

Aldrik could still vividly recall Khan’s Power Measurement Device score.

‘39,000 points… That’s a truly unbelievable score.’

It was his personal opinion, but he thought a score like that might be on par with the knights or mages from the Capital Region of the Kingdom of Sinsiniel.

‘Could he be a mage who trained in Kilpheon?’

Whatever the case, Aldrik was determined to secure Khan no matter what.

The Power Measurement Device score was one thing, but Khan had clearly used magic without uttering a single word.

That meant he used Chantless Casting.

Even Aldrik, who knew nothing about magic, understood how difficult it was to use magic without incantations.

‘They say even Archmages struggle with Chantless Casting, yet Sir Khan used two different spells effortlessly without incantations…!’

That’s why Aldrik decided to reveal all his cards here.

“I’m telling only you specially, Sir Khan.”

He leaned his face close to Khan’s and whispered in a low voice.

“The prize for this Underground Arena Tournament is an Ancient Magic Tome.”

“……”

The moment Khan heard Aldrik’s words, he was momentarily shocked, but thanks to the ‘Sage’s Heart’, he calmed down instantly.

“You’re not even surprised after hearing that…! Sir Khan, you truly are an incredible person. With your skills, you’d easily win the tournament, so I really hope you participate. It would be good for you to take the prize as well, Sir Khan.”

“……Understood. I’ll be going now.”

After saying he understood to Aldrik, Khan left the mansion with Byutek and Sharin.

Viscount Aldrik watched them intently, his eyes burning until their figures disappeared from sight.

“If Sir Khan becomes my strength… I wouldn’t envy an army of thousands!”

He muttered to himself loudly. Just then.

Swish.

A man suddenly appeared behind him as if by magic.

The moment Aldrik saw his face, he knew it was magic.

“I overheard the prize too… This is more surprising than I thought.”

“Haha! Sir Kairos, you’re not the type to go around blabbing, so it’s fine.”

It seemed Kairos had also left the mansion with Aldrik, used magic to hide his presence, and eavesdropped on the conversation.

“Last year, I was amazed by the Underground Arena Tournament prize, but this one is truly unbelievable…”

“Haha! It’s a magic tome I obtained quite luckily. And I was wondering how to use it… It seems I can put it to very good use this time!”

“An Ancient Magic Tome… I don’t think I could easily give up on it either.”

“Oh, so are you thinking of participating too, Sir Kairos?”

“Yes, I’ll try as far as I can go. That mage named Khan has monstrous skills, but if I do well, I might be able to manage at my level.”

“Haha, Sir Kairos, you are also highly skilled, so it’s not entirely impossible.”

Kairos had a few trump cards up his sleeve, so he genuinely believed he could defeat Khan.

After all, a high score on the Power Measurement Device didn’t necessarily mean the person was stronger.

In real combat, sense—like how to use magic according to the situation—was important.

“Then I’ll be going now too.”

Swish.

Kairos’s figure vanished instantly.

“This Underground Arena Tournament is something to look forward to. Hahaha!”

Left alone, Aldrik laughed heartily and went back inside the mansion.

* * *

Kairos, a mage of the Green Magic Tower.

He was a mage of exceptional skill even within the Green Magic Tower.

So, apart from losing the bet with Khan, his pride was quite hurt by the fact that he fell short in magical ability.

“Phew, but he really is an incredible person… A face I’ve never seen and a name I’ve never heard before. Who on earth is he?”

Returning to the city inn, Kairos thought about looking into Khan a bit.

“No matter that the Underground Arena Tournament is being held, it’s strange for such a powerful mage to suddenly appear out of nowhere like this…”

Surely, if he looked, he’d find something.

In times like these, the Magic Tower Information System was useful.

It was a kind of Magic Tower information community created by combining the magic of the Archmages from each tower.

Hum…

As Kairos channeled a bit of mana, blue letters formed from mana appeared before his eyes.

Searching for Khan’s name there brought up information.

[Magic Tower Information System]

[Name: Khan]

[Affiliation: X]

[Circle: ???]

[Mana Level: ???]

[Remarks: A top-tier mage with no proper information known. Tall stature with a slender build. Casts all magic without incantations. Possesses abundant mana. Overwhelmed Belbek and Serina of the Blue Magic Tower. Not confirmed, but believed to possess considerable mana. Little known information; exercise caution if encountered. Additionally……]

The moment Kairos checked Khan’s information, he couldn’t help but widen his eyes and make a dumbfounded expression.

“Wh-what kind of nonsense is this… And Belbek and Serina of the Blue Magic Tower… Aren’t they the ones called geniuses?”

Belbek, the top prospect of the Blue Magic Tower.

He was quite famous even among the tower’s mages.

Because he was a mage of extraordinary talent and skill.

Serina, who accompanied him, was also skilled, but she was often lumped together with Belbek and called a genius as well.

“This… I almost walked to my death for no reason?”

There was a chance this information was wrong, but the probability was very low.

Because the person who directly entered this information was none other than Alchemis, one of the Archmages of the Blue Magic Tower.

“Since it’s information written by Archmage Sir Alchemis, it can’t be false. And from what I saw, he was clearly overwhelmingly strong…”

He was definitely a strong and skilled mage.

But there was something slightly suspicious.

‘He was overwhelmingly skilled, but I didn’t get that transcendent feeling of a top-tier mage… His mana capacity wasn’t overwhelming either.’

Of course, Kairos’s skill might not even reach Khan’s toes, so he couldn’t gauge his mana, but it felt somewhat different from that.

“Well, it doesn’t hurt to be cautious anyway. I’d like to add a few notes to the information myself… but it wouldn’t be too late to update it after the tournament ends and I learn more about this mage named Khan.”

Closing the Magic Tower Information System, Kairos recalled the earlier incident again.

Himself, who had recklessly proposed a life-or-death bet to Khan.

“Haha… I really almost died this time…”

Letting out a hollow laugh, Kairos realized one thing from this incident.

“I shouldn’t act recklessly anywhere.”

After learning magic, he felt his personality had crumbled a bit.

Especially when dealing with the weak, he often looked down on them, but this incident made Kairos snap back to his senses.

* * *

A week had passed.

One week remained until the Underground Arena Tournament.

Over the past week, Khan had been traveling around Gates near Erindel, trying to gain as much Experience Points as possible.

The result.

‘Still not reaching Level 1… This is absurd.’

The moment Khan woke up early in the morning, he opened his Status Window to check his stagnant level.

◈ LV.29

◈ Khan (Lee Huseong)

◈ Mana: 1540/1540

◈ 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

Khan closed his eyes and recalled the past week.

For the first three days, he spent over 10 hours a day in Gates with Byutek and Sharin.

As a result, both of them were inevitably exhausted, and Khan also felt something was off since his level wasn’t increasing.

‘So I wondered if it was because I was sharing Experience Points with the two of them…’

For the remaining four days, he gave Sharin and Byutek free time and entered Gates alone.

But the result was what he saw now.

No matter how many monsters he defeated, his level wouldn’t increase.

‘Is it because the level of the Gates here is too low?’

The average level of monsters appearing in Gates near Erindel was around 25.

Perhaps because the monsters were lower level than Khan, no matter how many he defeated, his level wouldn’t increase much.

‘Even with Growth Acceleration, it’s like this… Sigh.’

And there was one more big problem.

“Why isn’t a Quest appearing?”

After passing Viscount Aldrik’s Test, the Main Quest hadn’t appeared.

‘Could it be that the Quest is broken?’

In <Geo Arc>, there were so-called ‘ruined characters’.

Characters whose Main Quests disappeared, requiring a reset.

Khan himself didn’t know if it was due to a game issue or because he took the wrong route in the Main Quest, causing it to break.

However, if a character became ruined, seeing the game’s ending—no, even reaching the middle section of the game—was impossible.

“Sigh, this is driving me crazy. If only the Main Quest would appear, I could level up easily or something.”

In the inn room, Khan thought about ways to level up quickly.

The reason he wanted to level up quickly was that he was now approaching Level 30.

Upon reaching Level 30, he would gain a skill selection opportunity, allowing him to become much stronger than now.

And Khan still had the Talent Blooming Potion he received from Kairos a week ago.

‘I saved it to drink after reaching Level 30… but I still haven’t leveled up.’

It was taking much longer than Khan expected.

There was a specific reason for wanting to drink the Talent Blooming Potion after reaching Level 30, but that wasn’t important right now.

The urgent task was to level up quickly by any means necessary.

Just as Khan was lost in thought.

Ding.

A notification sound echoed in his mind.

This sound was definitely the one that played when a Quest appeared.

Simultaneously, the long-awaited Main Quest appeared before Khan’s eyes.