“Damn! Damn! Damn!”
“Calm down, Geonseon.”
“Do I look calm?!”
Geonseon, the Level 4 Sorcerer, bellowed while glancing back at his fellow sorcerers following him.
They had suffered a crushing defeat.
Not only did they lose to a Level 6 Sorcerer, but they also had all their gemstones and spirit stones taken away.
To make matters worse, he had been knocked out during the fight and only regained consciousness after everything was over.
Under normal circumstances, Geonseon would have been out for a while due to the aftereffects of a sacrifice spell.
But since he had been attacked before he could cast a spell, the magic hadn’t activated properly, allowing him to get up quickly.
“I won’t feel at ease until I chew those b*ches up.”
“How are you going to get revenge? Even if their spiritual power isn’t impressive, their spells are something else. I initially thought Saheon was lying…”
“Just follow me. There’s always a way.”
Accompanied by the anxious Woohui and the serious Saheon, Geonseon entered a shop inside the underground market.
Right now, there were no answers.
Even when he had the spiritual power of a Level 6 Sorcerer, he couldn’t compete. Now that all the Level 5 spirit stones were gone, their power had likely increased.
Of course, absorbing spirit stones isn’t easy, and there’s a chance they didn’t absorb with the intent to sell…
‘With that level of spellcasting ability, not increasing their power? That’s a problem too.’
If their power hadn’t increased, it meant they had been hiding their strength from the start.
In any case, since they couldn’t win right now, they needed to come up with a new plan.
When Saheon saw the nameplate of the shop Geonseon led him to, he adjusted the glasses perched upon his goat mask and muttered.
“Could it be… the place you mentioned before?”
“Ah, you know it. Yes.”
It was a shop just over five pyeong (approximately 16.5 square meters).
Inside the not-so-large space, various antiques were piled up, and while they emitted a certain spiritual energy, nothing stood out as particularly special.
But these antiques were all ‘real.’
Each one was comparable to a Grade 2 jewel.
While Woohui seemed interested and touched the antiques, Geonseon pressed a small cuckoo statue at the end of the shop.
Cuckoo.
The sound filled the room, and after a moment, a wall holding the antiques opened, revealing someone.
A man in a lion mask.
Though his face was hidden by the mask, his skin and build visible through his robes made it evident that he was an old man.
Upon seeing the old man, Geonseon immediately bowed his head.
“Long time no see, sir.”
“Sir, my foot. Call me uncle.”
Heh heh. The old man plopped down onto a worn wooden chair.
As soon as he sat down, the antiques began to sparkle with strong spiritual power.
Woohui jumped back in surprise and Saheon stared at the old man with amazement.
I stared.
“You brought your friends. Is your training going well?”
“I’m managing the training without much difficulty.”
“Training? You seem to have some issues.”
“That is…”
Geonseon explained the situation that had unfolded.
It was quite a funny story that three Level 4 Sorcerers had been defeated by two Level 6 Sorcerers while trying to take a ghost and a gemstone.
It was a humiliating experience, but Geonseon gritted his teeth and spoke the truth.
The opponent before him was not someone he could deceive with lies.
After hearing the whole story, the old man chuckled and spun around in his chair.
“How amusing. Three Level 4s lost to two Level 6s. Moreover, you who learned spells and training from me.”
“…I have no excuse.”
“Hehe. No, if what you say is true, then they are definitely not someone you can defeat.”
To replicate a spell you’ve seen just once…
“Are you sure you copied it correctly?”
“Yes. The spell of Saheon’s leaf here can only be learned by Saheon’s lineage. However, there are no records indicating that woman belonged to that family.”
“What if she learned it through another method? What if the spell was leaked?”
“Our family’s spells are strictly forbidden from being leaked. When analyzing the spell that woman summoned, the methodology was entirely different from our family’s.”
Although the result was the same.
Saheon spoke politely.
The old man glanced at Saheon’s mask and nodded his head.
“I see. To replicate a spell you’ve seen once and combine it…”
“And that’s why I’m asking you, Uncle. If you could just lend me that jewel hanging there, I could take them down in an instant…!”
“Do you think borrowing it would let you win?”
“That’s right! Who am I! I’m Rokyo’s top disciple, a Level 1 Sorcerer of the Sorcerers’ Association…”
BAM!
A stick floating in the air struck Geonseon on the head.
“Be quiet.”
“Ugh! W-will the sound not go outside…”
“There are many ears in the world, Geonseon. Even if I block it, what good is it if you shout outside?”
“I’m not that loose-lipped…”
“Enough. Get out. I need to rest.”
“Eek?! But can’t you lend it to me…”
“Get out.”
CLUNK!
The old man, Rokyo, lightly struck the desk, and in an instant, the three Level 4 sorcerers were kicked out of the store.
Geonseon trembled, not expecting to be kicked out so ruthlessly.
Should he really let those women go?
He was angry, but he dared not vent his frustration on Rokyo’s store.
In the end…!
“Whoa! That’s her, isn’t it? The sixth of the Sorcerers’ Association…”
“Woohui. It’s troublesome if you disclose your identity.”
“Ah, got it. But isn’t this that thing?”
“?”
Woohui picked up the stick that had fallen on the floor.
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary wooden stick, but it was definitely a stick imbued with spiritual power.
The one that previously whacked Geonseon on the head…
“Mourak’s Branch!”
“Huh?”
“Just as I thought, it’s Uncle! Hahaha! This is it! With this, we can beat those women!”
“What is that?”
“Follow me! We just need to find those women now!”
After snatching Mourak’s Branch from Woohui, Geonseon excitedly took the lead while Woohui and Saheon followed behind.
“What is Mourak’s Branch?”
“I have no idea…?”
Unbeknownst to them, that target was watching from behind.
■
Following the Level 4 trio, I spotted a familiar figure.
An unidentified old man wearing a lion mask stood in front of the trio.
Though he wore a mask, his clothing, figure, and the small sword at his waist made it clear who he was.
“I’ve seen that person in a cutscene. He was at the highest meeting of the Sorcerers’ Association.”
He was present when they were about to hand over the Iron Devourer-sealing Iron Soul Sword to some kid at that location.
Though I couldn’t hear the conversation inside the store, comparing it to what Woohui said outside earlier, it seemed pretty certain.
‘So they really do have a backer.’
That person was likely one of the individuals looking after the underground market that Yena mentioned.
[Oh]
[What did you take?]
[A stick?]
[It looks powerful at a glance.]
[Let’s just kill him.]
[Let’s take that too, haha.]
Yena, still filled with rage, glared at the spot where the trio had passed and tilted her head in confusion.
“What is a cutscene?”
“Just a collection of scenes? I’ve lost some memories but gained others. But it seems that person over there was quite high-ranking.”
“Who are they?”
“I don’t know either. Anyway, it seems they took something from that person…”
Geonseon called the stick Mourak’s Branch.
I don’t know what kind of spell-imbued jewel it is, but if it was obtained from a Level 1 Sorcerer, it must be extraordinary.
For now, we should be careful.
“You don’t know what Mourak’s Branch is, do you?”
“Noo… this is the first time hearing about it.”
“Hmm…”
“However, if Lily’s right, a jewel made by a high sorcerer possesses unimaginable power. If taken lightly, we could get hurt badly.”
“We should be cautious. Let’s exchange these first.”
“Got it!”
Yena and I moved again, exchanging all the gemstones for 5th-grade spirit stones.
In total, we gathered 33 pieces of 5th-grade spirit stones.
They definitely offered a higher rate than the Sorcerers’ Association branch.
If I absorb this much Spirit Stones, I can move from Level 5 to Level 4. They say if I do it right, I might even get close to the end of Level 3’s spiritual power, but it won’t be easy.
“If you absorb it all at once, your spiritual body could get severely damaged or even explode. It’s more efficient and safer to absorb it slowly in a stable state.”
“How long will it take to absorb them all?”
“Usually, it takes about 10 days for one Level 5 Spirit Stone… so, it should take around 330 days.”
[What?]
[330 days is a bit much, lol]
[Can’t I just absorb them all at once?]
[Go for the immediate absorption, let’s go!]
[If it’s Lily, it’s possible.]
“That sounds like too long.”
“But it can’t be helped. To absorb faster, you’d need higher-grade Spirit Stones, but they’re ridiculously expensive.”
“Well… then absorbing them immediately isn’t a good choice.”
“That’s right. Usually, people buy useful jewels or spells, or they also use auctions. Sometimes they even bet in the arena.”
“The arena?”
“Want to go watch? You might become a Level 1 Sorcerer today if you play your cards right.”
■
The arena.
It’s a place where bets are made on battles between sorcerers, and the winner of a fight receives a portion of the stakes as a reward.
Given the nature of the underground market, anything goes as long as you don’t kill your opponent ‘illegally.’
-Kill him!
-Manage your spells better!
-Lose, and I’ll make sure you die!
-There! Block that!
The arena was a cylindrical structure with an open center, where the audience was watching the fights from the second and third levels all around.
Naturally, the inside of the arena was protected by spells.
Outside interference was strictly prohibited, and the battling sorcerers fought fiercely without any interruptions.
The level was about 5 to 6, which wasn’t that high.
“If you bet on who you think will win, you can earn rewards based on the odds.”
“Oh, really?”
“The fight just started, so you can’t bet until the next match. Let me give you a tip. At first, you should bet small amounts to gauge the situation…”
“I’ve chosen.”
The paper I received upon entering the arena.
It had drawings and stats of the sorcerers who would fight in the upcoming matches, and by placing my Spirit Stones on the paper, I could bet on my chosen sorcerer.
Swish!
All 33 Spirit Stones I held were sucked in.
“All in.”
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
