Chapter 55 – Chapter 6

Yikes- yikes-

A barn destroyed by strong force.
The five monsters that were supposed to have destroyed the barn were eating the dead animals.

A monster over 2m tall, with three sharp claws, a chitinous shell, no eyes or nose, and half of its face filled with sharp teeth.

“Prouk?”

Unlike when they were in the mountains, one of the monsters happily tearing off the flesh of the prey, which was easy to catch and even soft, lifted up its face covered in blood, flesh, and pieces of intestines as if it felt something.

“Now!”

Can-can-can-can-can-can-can!!

The mercenaries, who had surrounded the monster and approached slowly, ran forward and started pounding the iron they were holding.

“Pra la la la rock!”

The monsters were tormented by a much sharper than normal noise, plugging the hole on the temple side that they thought was an ear with their palms.

At the same time, the ground contorted and thick brown roots grew and covered the monsters.

Instead of having eyes and noses, the monsters with developed senses noticed the strangeness of the floor and spread out.

However, the two unresponsive monsters, in pain from the ripping sound, got entangled in the roots.

The captured monsters began ripping out their roots, producing green flames from their palms.

“All charge!”
“Keep beating! Concentrate on your role!”

Contrary to their appearance, the brutal looking monsters run away without looking back if they feel the number of enemies overwhelmingly greater than themselves.

Therefore, the mercenaries who had been waiting at a distance so that the mercenaries with irons could get as close as possible charged with Lillian and Frederick’s orders.

“Fucca! Fucca!!”

The monsters felt the vibrations of Wolf’s mercenaries and tried to flee to the mountain in a hurry.

Tutuk! Charrrr!

The bones that fell from the sky formed a huge barrier, blocking the retreat of the monsters.

After dealing with the monsters tied to the roots, the mercenaries surrounded and rushed towards the remaining monsters.

A few continued to pound metal and harass the monsters’ hearing, while other mercenaries played their part, attacking and defending.

When the monster’s resistance increases while the mercenaries with weapons for close combat attack, the mercenaries with spears push the monster away instead of stabbing it.

“Prakaaak!”

The monsters, whose chitinous shells were destroyed and began to bleed blue, attacked aggressively at the thought that they would die if they moved nowhere.

At the same time, green flames blazed from the hands of the monsters, and they began to attack violently.

Kwajijik!

As he tried to turn to the offensive while harboring poisonous spirits, arrows rained down on the heads, shoulders, and backs of the monsters from above.

“Purrrr by(ssinger)

The monsters turned into hedgehogs by arrows with electrical properties were temporarily paralyzed by electric shocks while their entire bodies trembled.

“Move!”

Lillian and Frederick, who were aiming for that gap, swung their swords filled with mana at once and slashed the monsters’ necks, successfully completing the subjugation of the monsters.

“Good!”
“I got it done!”
“Peel off the skin of the fruxigors! Be especially careful not to damage your hands!”

Frederick gave orders to the mercenaries, who were delighted that they had defeated a difficult monster without too much difficulty.

This is because the mercenary’s victory included recovering the loot.

“If we dealt with 5 Proxygers normally, 20 or 30 of us would have died.”
“So. I think I know why there are always wizards in large mercenaries.”

The monster called Proxyger is quite strong, but it’s not a monster that can’t be defeated if you push it with numbers like before.

However, when it becomes impossible to escape or when it exhibits extreme aggression, green flames pop out just like before.

With poison and flame added to the flames, if those nails are injured, the pain of death unfolds, suffering from poisoning and burns at the same time.

Burns are traumatic, so even if you treat them somehow with potions, the poisoning is to the point of vomiting blood and dying if not resolved within a day.

Even if he made good use of Proxiger’s weakness and numerical superiority, two factors were important for being able to deal with it so easily.

The mercenaries who have newly mastered the Mana Road and the power of Kaicent, who has fully established himself as the magician of the mercenary corps.

“Kaisent! Make this box cold!”
“Yes, I’m coming!”

When Frederick called Kaicent, Kaicent, who was watching the surroundings from the top of the tree along with the other archers, came running.

To make the box made of iron cold, put a metal object with the cold attribute into it, and then put Pruxiger’s hand in it.

This is because Proxyger’s hand, which emits miasma and flame, is an expert-class crystal material and is sold at a high price.

Haha! Did you see it! I slit Proxyger’s stomach like this!”
“Ah! If you have time to talk, help me open this!”

Some of the mercenaries were elated to see themselves becoming stronger than before while learning the Mana Road.

Frederick and Lillian, who were watching this, exchanged glances and nodded.

‘It’s about time.’
‘It can’t be helped. It’s something you’ll experience someday.’

Two weeks have passed since the civil war in Harlot Kingdom ended with the victory of the two princes.

As the eyes that had been focused on the civil war so far turned around, the Wolf Mercenary Corps quickly gained a reputation.

Mercenaries deal more with monsters than humans, except in special situations like civil war.

In particular, to make crystals, which are the world’s most important resource, the corpses of countless monsters are needed.

It is not unconditionally successful in production, and it is not unconditionally raised to the level just by ingesting crystals.

That’s why this world is always short of crystals, and mercenaries are essential to supplying materials for making crystals.

In such a situation, the Wolf Mercenary Corps, which had many outstanding wizards and mercenaries who had learned the mana road, was a perfect fit for those who were looking for the next topic after ending the civil war.

*                           *

“Pruxiger’s hand is right.”

Lillian and the others came to sell Proxyger’s hand to the alchemist’s guild in the city.

Originally, Frederick or Lillian would come with mercenaries carrying goods, but today Kaicent was with the party.

The alchemist of the alchemist guild handed over a bag full of gold coins and finished the deal.

Lillian came out and looked at Kaisent and started a conversation with her eyes.

‘Are you harvesting something?’
‘Wrong. There’s not even a hole for a single insect.’
‘It’s a matter of course. An alchemist’s crystal synthesis is the top secret of top secrets.’

Kaicent followed Lillian, saying he wanted to know how to make crystals, and tried to control the bugs to enter the Alchemist Guild.

However, he could not find a way to get into the alchemist guild as a bug, as if he had already been subjected to this kind of spying.

‘I wanted to know how to make crystals…’

If he could make crystals, Lillian would be able to drastically increase the size of the mercenaries.

For Kaisent, who wanted even more knowledge, the method of making crystals was the most curious secret.

“Aww!”

At that time, a man who covered his face and upper body with a rough robe collided with Kaicent.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

The man had a boy with a smaller physique than Kaicent in his company, and after hastily apologized, he quickly moved somewhere.

At that time, the wind blew lightly, revealing the boy with his face covered.
He could see the terrified eyes in a boy his age who didn’t know what to do and just blindly followed.

“What is it? It looks like someone is chasing it.”
“Shall we catch it, Captain?”

The mercenaries asked if they would attack the group as if they did not want to let others know of their existence.

“You idiots. Why do you get involved in something that doesn’t even cost you money? Looking at your clothes, you’re a foreign species from the 21st century Earth. Do you want to be involved with a foreign species from the 21st century who is being chased by someone?”
“Ah…”
“That’s a bit…”

The mercenaries immediately shut up at Lillian’s scolding as they checked their jeans and jackets over their robes.

This is because it is convenient in many ways not to be related to heterogeneous species from the 21st century Earth.

‘That man, he had a gun strapped to his back and waist.’

A 21st-century earthling moving as if running away while strapping on a gun.
Rather than being embarrassed by this environment, I feel a sense of urgency as if I am being chased by something scary.

Kaicent, who confirmed the existence of the muzzle protruding beyond the robe, looked in the direction where it had disappeared, wondering if the image of them running away even though they had the gun left an impression on them.

“Uh.”

A certain store came into Kaicent’s eyes.
A shop with a description that sells various magic items.

“Wolf. Wolf. Can I stop by there for a second?”
“A magic item shop? There must be few useful items in such a small city?”
“I still want to see you once.”

If it was like the other mercenaries, they would have ignored it saying ‘Then you went alone’.

However, if Kaicent could easily absorb any knowledge, he would be able to grow through something even in a magic item shop in a city on the outskirts.

“You guys go back first.”
“I’m sorry. Anyway, the captain is weak against Kaicent.”
“Is it cute like this if you twist it?
“It’s like a fucking asshole like Kenneth.”
“Hey! Kaicent! If the leader is aiming at your ass, cut off the pepper right away and run to another mercenary!”
“If you go to the bar first, I’ll cut your peppers first, so they know that.”

Lillian and the mercenaries, who had been together for several years, parted ways after exchanging harmless jokes.
The two of them headed to the magic item shop they were aiming for.

Jjiing~

“Welcome.”

When the door is opened, a sound is heard despite the absence of a bell, indicating that this is a place where magic items are handled.

Inside the shop were half-elf mages with bored faces and several decorative armors holding swords.

‘Those armors, I can feel the mana. It’s not for ordinary decoration.’

As Kaisent expected, these armors are the shop’s guards.

“Wow, that’s cool.”

He ran over and touched the armor like an ignorant child.

“Be careful, kid. It’s a crime prevention golem, so it activates when more shock than necessary is applied.”
“Yeah~”

Kaicent, innocently responding to the half-elf shopkeeper’s warning, began to check the inside of the armor.

‘There is a circuit engraved with magic power inside the armor and a magic sphere that is thought to be an engine. If you hold on for a long time, you’ll get suspicious…’

He implemented a bio device that synchronized with his eyes and brain so that only he could see it, and he did not have to worry about other people’s eyes because it was not magic.

After that, I engraved all the magic circuits engraved on the armor into something like a three-dimensional drawing board that I could draw only with my thoughts, and saved it and let go.

It took 4.7 seconds to reach this point.

‘You look like a mercenary by the way you look at your outfit. Is it a child?’

The half-elf store owner tilted his head at the unbalanced combination of Kaicent, who looked innocent, and Lillian, who exuded the atmosphere of a rough mercenary.

In addition, Kaicent checked various magic items and recorded them randomly.

You may think it’s useless right now, but you might need it someday.

‘Currently, it’s difficult for me to use.’

Most magic items have a unique mana circuit (magic circle) engraved on them.

Kaicent doesn’t know how to carve this circuit, nor how to make the magic sphere that can be said to be the fuel source inside.

Conversely, if you know that, it means you can use all of these magic items.

“Huh? This?”

Kaicent, who was looking at the magic items one by one, found translucent boxes.

There were several names in front of the boxes, but all of them were magical names.

“It’s a box with a magic scroll in it. When opened, magic is used.”

Perhaps because of the simple usage of unfolding it, it is blocked with a translucent box so that guests can only see it with their eyes so that they do not touch it carelessly.

It is structured so that the store owner can open it from the back.

‘For a moment. Wouldn’t this make it easier to learn magic?’

Magic books in this world are incredibly expensive.

At least a few gold coins are basic to learn one magic, and professional magic books require dozens or hundreds of gold coins.

In addition, the higher the level of magic, the more rapidly the price rises, so even if you use the property of the Wolf Mercenary Corps, if you purchase a low-level magic book, you will have to worry about the weekly wages of the mercenaries.

‘Magic is magic, so it’s still expensive. Still, compared to buying magic books…’

Kaicent, who had never seen anyone using a scroll until now, finally learned about the existence of a magic scroll and opened his eyes to a new possibility.

‘Maybe it’s possible with Kaicent!’

Lillian was also awakened to that possibility.
Living a life unrelated to magic made my head hard, so I only found out about it after coming to the store.
The two of them looked at each other for a while and talked with their eyes, and a tacit agreement was exchanged.

“A scroll of repair magic? Is it magic that repairs things?”
“Yes. But there are several restrictions. Only cracked items can be repaired, and cracks can be restored one per spell.”

Repair magic that can be said to be the representative of money-making magic mainly used by low-level wizards.

Being able to repair a cracked weapon without any tools is a huge advantage.

In addition, a wizard’s hand that can create a transparent hand that can be remotely controlled and move objects around it.
Electric Grasp, an attack magic for self-defense that creates electricity in the hand.
Wizard’s armor that creates an armor-shaped force field.

Up to this point, they were magics that were of great help in combat and maintenance of the mercenaries.

“Messenger magic scroll? It’s magic that sends the words you want to the opponent.”

Kaicent asked the shopkeeper what messenger magic was.

At first, I ignored it because I thought it was a guest who came to see it, but when I started buying magic scrolls, I changed my perception of it as a money-making guest and started responding kindly.

“Messaging magic? Do you really need it?”

And the message magic that the Murim people commonly call telephony.

In Moorim, there are no wizards, or unmanned soldiers often do wizard-like work.

For example, the swordsmanship of the Volcanic School, which has the scent of a flower called apricot flower on the sword, such as walking in the air, and Lee Hyeong-hwanwi are examples.

Jelsdad and other fantasy knights consider these things magic and cannot use them because they have limited their imagination and possibilities.

“That… It seems necessary when secretly conveying important information that cannot be told to others…”
“…Ah. Kheheum. A messenger magic scroll.”

Only then did Lillian realize what Kaicent was trying to say and bought a herald magic scroll as well.

‘Ranged attack magic is all expensive. Let’s be content with this.’

The magic Kaicent bought was all low-level magic.

Lillian said that he could buy more expensive and various magic scrolls, but Kaicent shook his head.

‘It’s simple if you borrow Lillian’s hand. But if that happens, Frederick will get suspicious.’

I don’t want to be suspicious of Frederick just yet.

Until she is stronger than her Lillian and can proudly say that she is her own.