The difficulty of appraising an item varied depending on its level.
The better the item, the more likely it was created by a powerful mage or craftsman, which naturally made it harder to penetrate its depths for an appraisal.
Lee Taeseong had handed over a ring, and it was proving difficult to determine exactly what kind of mage had crafted it.
“Good grief… I’ve wasted the whole day’s business…”
The appraiser, who was on the verge of mana exhaustion, panted as he half-collapsed into his seat.
He had only succeeded in the appraisal after pouring in every last drop of his mana.
“I should have charged at least 7 gold coins for this…”
“Didn’t you clearly say I was a big spender last time and that you’d do the next one for free?”
“……Sigh.”
Since those were his own words, the appraiser couldn’t find a way to argue.
He simply waved his hand, dismissively signaling Taeseong to leave.
“Just take it. And don’t ever come back.”
“You really have great skills. I’ll be sure to visit again!”
“I told you not to come back!”
Taeseong smiled brightly and bid the appraiser farewell.
***
Taeseong was hoping the ring would have some special effect.
After all, it was an item found in an Archmage’s birthplace.
Although Avicenn said he didn’t remember it, there was a chance he had simply worn it casually before forgetting and leaving it behind.
‘Even if it’s a trivial item he wore and forgot about, its value is different if it belonged to an Archmage.’
It could be an immense treasure.
Unfortunately, there was only one spell imbued within the ring.
Illusion Marker.
*Whirrr!*
As he channeled mana into it, the gemstone at the end of the ring began to glow.
Soon, an illusion of a map appeared in the air.
A red glowing dot was marking a specific location on the map.
**[This is… the ring my son Leo left behind.]**
Once the appraisal was complete, Avicenn recognized its identity at a glance.
Leo was the hidden son of Archmage Avicenn and was presumed to be a Spirit Mage.
Because it was a ring he had left, the appraisal had been so difficult.
**[I see. That child visited my home once!]**
In his last letter, Leo had stated he would head out into the world as a Spirit Mage.
He likely traveled the world afterward, grew in strength, tracked down the destination mentioned in the letter, and visited his father’s birthplace.
**[Hoho. To think that child came looking for me… I see… so that’s what happened…]**
Avicenn was lost in sentiment.
Taeseong, however, felt quite differently.
“If I go to the place marked on the map, I’ll be able to find traces of your son.”
A ring with no other effects?
After going through the trouble of bringing it, he felt a bit deflated.
However, since there was a map, he figured he might be able to obtain something more once he arrived there.
**[Sigh. Yes. And kid, it seems the appraiser failed to notice, but this isn’t just a ring that displays a map. Although it’s weak, wearing it increases your Spirit Affinity.]**
As a wraith, Avicenn could not manifest appraisal magic because he couldn’t manipulate mana, but he was able to look more closely at an item once it had already been appraised.
It was thanks to this that Avicenn found the ring’s hidden function.
“…Is that so?”
Taeseong’s eyes sparkled as he immediately put the ring on.
The most basic requirement for entering the world of spirit magic was affinity with spirits.
If it was an item that increased affinity even by a little, it meant Taeseong might be able to use spirit magic one day.
‘If I sold this, it would be incredibly expensive.’
He had heard before that nobles who wanted to learn spirit magic would pay high prices for such items.
Naturally, he had no intention of selling it; he intended to keep it as a reliable insurance policy.
**[Then let’s go right away. You don’t have anything to do, right?]**
“Yes. No, wait a moment. This location is a bit…”
Taeseong flinched while looking at the map.
Looking closely at the place the map indicated, it was inside the great city of Elrn.
This vast city had different distributions of powers living in each district, and the map was pointing toward the area where the Evil Faction and Black Mages resided.
“I… can’t go here.”
Mortunocturn.
It was one of the large organizations notorious throughout the Eastern Continent, and the map was pointing exactly at its branch office.
***
*Swish!*
*Swoosh!*
At the training grounds of the Flying Dragon Pavilion, Taeseong was practicing the Red Cloud Seven Styles.
Since this was a first-class martial art of the Flying Dragon Pavilion, he would eventually be able to manifest sword qi once he built up enough proficiency.
He wouldn’t be manifesting sword qi through a Level Up or enlightenment, but even so, it was a significant gain.
However, the quality of his training wasn’t very good.
His mind was so preoccupied while swinging his sword that he couldn’t concentrate properly.
‘Mortunocturn. How am I supposed to go there…?’
The location indicated by the ring was the branch of Mortunocturn, one of the major powers.
That side belonged to the Evil Faction.
If it were the Righteous Faction, he might have been able to request cooperation to enter, but those people couldn’t be reasoned with.
On the other hand, if he tried to sneak in and got caught, he would be a perfect candidate for a black magic experiment.
‘Is Avicenn’s son related to Mortunocturn?’
No.
That seemed unlikely.
Avicenn’s son would also be a figure from hundreds of years ago.
It wasn’t that they were related to Mortunocturn, but rather that a Mortunocturn branch happened to be built on the spot where the traces of Avicenn’s son remained.
Whatever the case, the quest was stuck right here.
It wasn’t just because of the quest; Avicenn had worked hard to produce mass quantities of elixirs, and Taeseong wanted to repay that effort.
Yet, he was blocked like this.
Just as he was pondering if there was any other way, a voice spoke.
“The tip of your sword is disorganized. Do you think swinging your sword like that counts as training?”
“…Ah, Elder.”
Elder Dam Ho-pung had arrived at the training grounds without him noticing.
“Elder? Did you already forget that we agreed to be brothers?”
Taeseong was slightly surprised by those words.
He thought the elder would have forgotten since it was something said while drunk, but he still remembered.
“Haha… Of course I remember, Brother.”
“Yes, little brother. It looks like your mind is complicated?”
“…Yes. It is today.”
“With that kind of mental state, you could fall into a meditative psychosis or even be injured by your own sword.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to be sorry to me. What’s the problem? Let me hear it.”
“Um… It’s because of Mortunocturn.”
Since he was asked to speak, Taeseong brought up the topic for now.
At that, Dam Ho-pung looked shocked.
“……!!? How do you know about that? Has the rumor already reached your ears?”
“…Pardon?”
What was he talking about?
“Goodness. The Chief Administrator insisted on strict security and urged us elders to watch our mouths. Did he only tell you?”
“…I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
“Hmm? Then why did you bring up Mortunocturn?”
Taeseong gave a reasonable explanation for his situation.
He said he had accidentally obtained a treasure map, but the place it pointed to was Mortunocturn, so he was agonizing over what to do.
“Hah, I see. So that was it.”
“Yes. But what was it that you were talking about, Brother?”
“That’s… oh, well. Since I’ve already mentioned it to you, there’s no point in hiding it. A war with Mortunocturn is expected soon.”
“Suddenly?”
“It’s not sudden.”
Mortunocturn was a group where all sorts of wicked people gathered.
They were a massive pillar of the Evil Faction, and their main source of income was the mercenary business.
Naturally, they clashed with the Flying Dragon Pavilion, which ran a similar mercenary business, on numerous missions.
The Flying Dragon Pavilion mainly focused on escort missions, while Mortunocturn handled many raid missions.
Mortunocturn sponsored mountain fortresses and bandit dens, while the Flying Dragon Pavilion worked to subjugate them.
They clashed at every turn like this.
“And not long ago, our Vice Pavilion Master had a showdown with a Mortunocturn elder. He barely returned with his life.”
Since the Vice Pavilion Master had returned with such a major injury, they couldn’t just sit idly by.
“Can we handle Mortunocturn?”
While the Flying Dragon Pavilion was quite influential in the great city of Elrn, they couldn’t compare to Mortunocturn when looking at the continent as a whole.
Dealing with even a single branch wouldn’t be easy, and even if they won, retaliation was a concern.
“There are many places that consider that side an eyesore. Like the Red Magic Tower and the Dragon Knights. There are several places that have promised to help us.”
If continental-scale powers like the Red Magic Tower or the Dragon Knights assisted, they could sufficiently win the war without worrying about the aftermath.
“They’re supporting us because they don’t want to face Mortunocturn head-on themselves.”
“Exactly.”
Taeseong instantly realized what he needed to do.
“Brother. Can I participate in this war as well?”
“Why not? Go see the Chief Administrator.”
“Yes!”
Taeseong ran off quickly, fearing he might be too late.
***
After finding the Chief Administrator, Taeseong strongly appealed his desire to participate in the war.
At first, the Chief Administrator was displeased, asking how he knew about the strictly confidential security matter, but he was eventually moved by Taeseong’s earnest desire to participate.
“To think you would care for our Flying Dragon Pavilion that much…”
No matter if one was a Stranger, war was not something to be taken lightly.
Although they had multiple lives, dying meant their level and skill proficiency would drop.
Yet, Taeseong wanted to lend a hand to the Flying Dragon Pavilion at any cost.
The Chief Administrator had been keeping an eye on Taeseong for a while, but he felt admiration every time he saw him.
“Alright. We were going to take volunteers from those who are First-Class Members or higher anyway. If it’s you, you’re more than welcome.”
*Ding!*
**[A Quest has been generated]**
**[Quest: War with Mortunocturn]**
**- Description: The conflict with the hostile force Mortunocturn has escalated until it finally exploded. The Flying Dragon Pavilion will no longer tolerate this and plans to work with allied forces to ensure Mortunocturn is never seen in Elrn again. As a First-Class Member of the Flying Dragon Pavilion, participate in the war and lead it to victory.**
A war quest!
Taeseong’s eyes sparkled.
‘This has to be an all-time great reward!’
This wasn’t just any random group; it was Mortunocturn, one of the Tier 1 Evil Factions on the Eastern Continent.
It was a place used as a base by black mages, necromancers, and evil sorcerers.
A war against such a place was guaranteed to offer a massive reward.
Of course, if he failed to perform well and just hid in the back, he wouldn’t receive much of a reward.
High risk, high reward.
It was a formula that held true whether in reality or in a game.
“I will devote my body to contributing to the victory of the Flying Dragon Pavilion!”
“How reliable! I’m counting on you!”
*Ding!*
**[You have accepted the quest.]**
***
The war against Mortunocturn began that very night.
Taeseong had learned the information by chance, but the Chief Administrator believed that if things were delayed any longer, the information would leak further, so he started immediately.
He gathered four elders, the Special-Class Members, and the First-Class Members to launch a surprise attack.
Since everyone had mastered lightness techniques to a significant level, not a single footstep could be heard until the moment of the raid.
Hidden in small groups within the shadows of the nearby walls, they simultaneously leaped from the ground at the signal from the elders toward the visible Mortunocturn branch.
“Strike!”
Elder Dam Ho-pung, the first to clear the wall, shouted, and Taeseong followed right behind him.
The other elders and Special-Class Members took notice of him.
“He’s a lad who knows honor.”
“Did you say he’s a First-Class Member? I think I’ve heard his name before.”
To think a mere First-Class Member would stand at the very front.
Of course, contrary to their thoughts, it wasn’t particularly because Taeseong was exceptionally brave.
*Slash!*
“In-intrusion… *urk!*”
A Mortunocturn grunt fell to Elder Dam Ho-pung’s blade, and Taeseong, following behind, finished off the guy who was trying to sound the alarm.
*Ding!*
**[You have defeated a high-level enemy.]**
**[Proficiency in Red Cloud Seven Styles has slightly increased.]**
**[You have gained a significant amount of experience.]**
**[Level Up!]**
Taeseong smiled thinly at the notification ringing in his ear.
‘I’m seeing the benefit of having a good brother here.’
The place where he could gather experience most safely was definitely right behind Dam Ho-pung.