Chapter 143: Preparation Part 1

“Isn’t this basically a case of getting what you deserve?”

Two weeks later.

Chloe looked at Jun as he entered the office under the effects of an illusion spell as usual.

“Hey, it’s not like I actually went and did anything, right? Same with the previous incidents too.”

Jun protested against Chloe’s accusing gaze, which implied that trouble followed him wherever he went.

“There were other ways, weren’t there? Even if food was running a bit low, if you’d just held out for a few days until reinforcements arrived, you could’ve taken care of it more easily.”

“We weren’t dealing with something we couldn’t defeat with the power we had. …The real problem was that the Lord-class unit experienced erosion there.”

“Haah… Fine, whatever. If you say so.”

Jun resisted the urge to grab the back of his neck in frustration at Chloe’s dismissive attitude.

Still, he had gained quite a bit from this latest expedition.

One such gain was a skill book dropped after defeating the Lord-type eroder.

“A skill book, huh… What kind?”

“[Beast’s Roar].”

“Oh. That’s a pretty valuable one, isn’t it? Surprised the Hertex Adventurer Party gave it up.”

“We did all the work, beat the drum and played the flute, so I figured they could at least give us this much. Honestly, if they had taken it, people would’ve started calling them scumbags.”

“Fair point. Still, you managed to bring back something quite nice.”

[Beast’s Roar] was a type of fear effect used previously by the Giant Twin-Headed Troll.

It attracted the attention of monsters in the area. It was an extremely valuable skill for shield warriors who had to hold the front line.

“It was pricey, yeah… but I already used it.”

“What?! You guys don’t even have a shield warrior!”

Chloe, who had been smiling with thoughts of putting it up for auction, looked utterly disappointed. But Jun remained firm.

“I figured it’d be perfect for Aiden.”

“But he’s not even a shield warrior…”

“True, but he’s great in fights against multiple enemies.”

[Beast’s Roar] had excellent synergy with Aiden’s “Destroyer’s Leather”.

By using [Beast’s Roar] to draw in multiple monsters and then killing them, he could maximize the effects of the Destroyer’s Leather all at once.

“It also pairs well with Maya. Aiden draws attention, and Maya strikes from behind. It’s the perfect combo.”

“Well… it’s a shame we couldn’t turn it into money, but I guess it can’t be helped. Didn’t you say you’ll be entering the Ancient Tower soon?”

“Yeah.”

More than anything, what Jun needed right now was to strengthen his combat capabilities.

Because he had to start preparing for the climb up the Ancient Tower.

“But I don’t plan on setting out just yet. Remember what I mentioned before?”

“Here. Got everything ready.”

“Oh…”

Before leaving for the Ervantos Contamination Zone—

Jun had asked Chloe to purchase several magic books for him.

It’s about time I expanded my repertoire with spells of different elements.

He had more or less covered fire-element spells thanks to the books he stole from the Volcatornic Magic Tower, but he still lacked a lot when it came to other elements.

I should start learning non-elemental spell types too.

For example, enchantment, gravity, or healing magic.

“But do you really need to learn such a wide variety? Wouldn’t it be enough to master just one element?”

“You could see it that way, but in my opinion, the true value of magic lies in its diversity. Plus, combining different elements helps increase the power of spells.”

In fact, the final strike Jun used against the Lord was a signature spell created by combining three different elements.

“I guess it’s kind of like how there are many ways to make money, there must be many ways to become powerful with magic too.”

Accepting the explanation somewhat, Chloe placed a stack of magic books in front of Jun.

“Unlike last time, you actually got everything without skipping anything.”

In the previous season, Jun had tried several times to get magic books through Chloe, but things hadn’t gone smoothly.

“That just shows how much our guild has expanded its influence in Blackout.”

Chloe had been drawing the attention of various magic towers by continuously listing potion recipes at the auction house.

Naturally, to participate in Chloe’s auctions, those magic towers had to make plenty of concessions to her.

More importantly, since the Gillen Merchant Guild was growing under the backing of Count Mordenain, the towers had little choice but to tread carefully.

“That said, all the books I brought this time are low-circle spells.”

“That’s fine. I’ll figure out how to apply them myself.”

Thanks to the development of his signature spell, [Heavenly Thunder], Jun was feeling more confident than ever.

“Oh, right. And Charles… or was it Chairlse? The person you mentioned arrived recently.”

Requiem. The intelligence organization Jun had built on the surface—

They had finally wrapped up their affairs aboveground and made their way down into Blackout.

“What are they up to now?”

“They’re getting ready to settle in under my command. On the surface, they might’ve been something, but down here, they’re basically blind. It’ll take a while to train them.”

“Then, while you’re at it, can I ask you to track down one piece of information?”

“Information?”

“Yeah. It’s about an item… I don’t know the name, but I have a rough idea of what it looks like.”

At Jun’s vague request, Chloe responded with disbelief.

“Seriously?”

“But I do know it’s been traded among general merchants. It’s on the fourth level.”

“A general shop on the fourth level…?”

Starting from the fourth level, field size increased exponentially, which also made gathering information take that much longer.

“Yeah. It looks like a stone fossil, with patterns carved into it. Like tree roots.”

“Hmm… That’s going to take some time. Is that okay with you?”

“The sooner, the better. But it’s not urgent right now.”

“Alright. Got it. But… are you okay?”

Suddenly, Chloe looked at Jun with a hint of concern.

Jun gave her a slightly puzzled look in response.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just… you seem a little anxious lately.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. Kind of like… back then.”

“Back then… oh. You mean when I was in the magic tower?”

At her words, Jun turned to glance at the mirror in the corner of the office.

He couldn’t see it clearly himself, but on closer inspection, there did seem to be a faint crease forming between his brows.

“I’ve just got a lot on my mind, that’s all.”

“Hmm… alright then.”

Chloe didn’t push further. Jun had been through countless phases of inner turmoil before.

And when he said something like that, it usually meant he was dealing with something that would take a long time to resolve.

Maybe that item he asked me to find is related to it somehow?

In any case, after that, Chloe received a report from Jun on the events in the contamination zone of Ervantos and began drafting a letter to send to Count Mordenain.

“How am I supposed to wrap all of this up in a tidy little package…?”

Making all the trouble Jun stirred up sound presentable had never been easy.

***

“Oh, senior. Are you done with everything?”

“Yeah. You’ve worked hard too.”

“Haha… Not at all.”

The real reason the group had returned to the Black Forest so quickly was because they’d been overwhelmed by the attention while in the Hertex Adventurer Party’s territory.

The unexpected appearance of a field boss and an erosion incident. On top of that, the fact that this erosion involved a Lord-type, something never before seen on the fourth level, was shocking enough.

And the fact that a barely one-year-old mercenary group, the White Whale Mercenaries, had managed to defeat such a creature….well, that stirred a lot of buzz.

Thanks to that, Jun had been summoned and questioned wherever he went. Tired of the fuss, he notified the Hertex Party privately, cast an illusion spell, and essentially fled back to the Black Forest Fortress.

“Unfortunately, it was hard to secure supplies there, so we had to descend to the first level… but it looks like we’ll be staying here for about a month.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. I’ll need some time to process everything too.”

“Hmm… Then, senior. Would it be okay if I moved around a bit on my own during that time?”

At Aiden’s words, Jun tilted his head slightly.

It was only natural to be curious. Aiden who always tried to stay close was now asking to go off on his own.

“What’s going on?”

“Well, while trying to better understand my mana lately, I feel like I’m on the verge of grasping something… but I think I’ve hit the limit with just meditation.”

“Ah. So, you’re thinking of breaking through that wall with some actual combat?”

“Haha… That too, but I also feel like I need to get used to the skill you gave me recently.”

Though Aiden spoke with a hint of embarrassment, Jun completely understood how he felt.

He probably got fired up after seeing Maya’s growth.

It wasn’t a bad idea at all.

“If that’s the case, talk to Joseph. I heard he’s also planning to move up the levels soon.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. He said he’s aiming to reach the third level this season.”

Joseph and his companions who had recently joined the mercenary corps were all former soldiers, except for the twin Jinlang siblings.

If they all continued to grow well, they could likely aim for the fourth level or even the fifth, if they really pushed for it. Aiden would have plenty to learn from them.

“Take Maya with you while you’re at it. She probably needs time to process her recent insights, too.”

“Got it!”

Perhaps already excited about the journey with new companions, Aiden left the room with a cheerful expression.

Meanwhile, Jun headed to Eleanor’s room.

“Oh… you’re here?”

Unlike her usual self, Eleanor greeted Jun with a face absolutely worn out from exhaustion.

“How about taking a break every now and then?”

“You damn leader… If magic was going to be this hard, you could’ve at least warned me…”

“I mean, magic is hard. You didn’t think it would be easy, did you?”

Jun had only come this far thanks to the memories from his time as Lee Jung-jun, the [Intermediate Magic Talent] skill, and a bit of innate ability. In truth, magic was never an easy practice.

“Still, you’ve made a lot of progress. You maintained my spell pretty well the other day, didn’t you?”

When the Lord’s devastating rock bombardment from within the troll’s body was about to shatter the [Shield], wasn’t it Eleanor who stepped in to block the impact each time?

“Besides that, I’ve also been poking around a bit with my divine magic. I keep hitting a wall in a bunch of places.”

“Then you really shouldn’t be blaming me for that…”

“Shut up. Just sit there and listen to my complaints quietly.”

Right now, Eleanor was dedicating herself to studying using a mix of magic books Jun had previously learned from and others he had written himself.

On top of that, she trained physically every morning at dawn to build endurance. There simply weren’t enough hours in the day, even with two bodies.

Soon enough, I’ll be in the same state.

His dimensional bracelet was stuffed with magic books he still had to learn. In that sense, Eleanor’s current state mirrored his near future.

Still, she’s making steady progress. Maybe because she was a high-ranking priestess, her comprehension is fast in this area. Once my research is done, I should pass her the new books I acquired.

Jun, amused by the thought that Eleanor would probably elbow him if she heard that, casually walked over to her desk.

“This formula’s wrong.”

“…What?”

“No, look. If you do it this way, the mana transmission efficiency in the pattern drops. That’s why the formulas after this one aren’t receiving mana properly either.”

“Ah… damn it…”

Once again, Eleanor grabbed her head in frustration. Jun simply shook his own.

I’ll hold off on giving her the new books for now.