Chapter 64: Out of the Lair (1)

I brought the star close to my upper body.

With a faint hope that maybe I could absorb it too.

「The conditions have not been met.」

“……!”

A message floated before my eyes.

Disappointment mixed with excitement surged together.

'Even if I cannot use it right now, does that not mean I can use it once I meet the conditions?'

I had a rough idea of what those conditions might be.

'Probably level one hundred.'

All Guardians above level one hundred possessed a star.

Which meant—

That I, too, could absorb a star as long as I had enough potential.

'How many stars do I have?'

I grew genuinely curious.

Still, since my body had awakened Dragon Blood, maybe it was not wrong to feel a bit hopeful.

'Let us train.'

I entered the Arcane Chamber.

I began training with more passion than usual.

The magic I had learned leisurely until now, I started refining in earnest with full focus.

I mastered all the fifth-circle spells I had been putting off.

Then I began learning even sixth-circle magic.

“Frost Nova.”

Kwagagagagagaga!

A sixth-circle ice-element spell.

The space before me was completely covered in pure white ice.

“Whew.”

Seeing that sight, I could feel in my bones how rapidly I was growing.

'Still a long way to go, but.'

I could see the possibility.

Just now, I had activated the spell using only a trigger word, without chanting.

All thanks to Dragon Blood.

The implication was enormous.

'A chantless mage.'

It meant possessing far greater combat power than ordinary mages.

'Let us go.'

To gain the power to protect everyone.

I renewed my resolve once more in my heart.

Training continued for quite some time after that.

'That is enough for today.'

Then next—

'I need to raise my level.'

The need to level up felt more urgent than ever.

Seeing the spiders that had come to our lair this time, I strongly felt that if I took my time, those things would seize the initiative.

So I needed to reach level seventy as soon as possible and head outside the lair.

“Guys! Let us take the elixir.”

“Popo!”

“Chuuu!”

As I came out of the Arcane Chamber and called out, Popo and Chuchu ran over first.

I wondered if they were that hungry.

“Popo!”

“Chuchu!”

They led me toward the mandragora field.

'Huh?'

Where they pulled me to—

@Grrroooooo!!

Mandrian was stretching out both arms and shouting.

“Mandrian!”

I approached him with delight.

Mandrian’s appearance had clearly changed from before.

A body about one and a half times larger.

Accordingly, his roots, stem, leaves, and petals had all grown thicker and larger overall.

And the changes were not only physical.

「Lv one hundred twenty-five」

「Mandrian」

「」

He had gained a status window.

Level one hundred twenty-five, with two empty stars.

'Wow…….'

My eyes sparkled.

'So stars can be empty too.'

I briefly wondered if filling even one of those stars would make him a complete sapient being.

@Grrrooooo!

Mandrian greeted me while kneeling.

He seemed somewhat more intelligent than before.

'Interesting.'

At first, he had really just been an ordinary mandragora.

To think he had grown to the point of having the foundation for proper development.

'The effect of the Essence of the Forest is greater than I thought.'

I chuckled softly and patted Mandrian’s trunk.

“You grew well.”

@Grrrooooo-!

At my words, Mandrian lifted his head slightly and let out a cry, one that sounded happy.

You little punk, happy, are you. I am happy too.

And then the party continued.

Crunch!

Feeling the rich flavor of grilled mandragora spreading in my mouth, I smiled.

This really was a delicacy the more you ate it.

“Waaah! The seed tastes great too!”

Azkai seemed to like the seeds, sucking even the pits clean.

『I wanna eat ice fruit!』

Meanwhile, Dania ate a few Shine Muscat grapes, then puffed up her cheeks and complained about the side dishes.

“No. Eat this first, then you can have that.”

『Kkyu……』

Dania drooped at my words.

Still, she listened well.

After resisting once, she obediently chewed what I gave her.

Dania’s level had also been rising slowly for a while.

Because she had been obsessed with ice fruit.

But from now on, it would be different.

I had decided to level Dania up quickly as well.

「Your level has increased.」

Just then, a system message appeared before my eyes.

This brought my level to fifty-five.

'Good.'

My eyes gleamed.

I strongly felt that I could now use the fourth passage.

I immediately stood up.

And headed toward the fourth passage.

Swoosh!

With the sensation of passing through a thin membrane, my body slipped inside.

And then I saw it.

“Oh…….”

A mountain-like pile of multicolored magic stones.

“Chuu!”

Chuchu peeked her head out from the lair.

『Great…… being’s…… kin…… good…… morning……』

“Chuchu!”

After returning Elatria’s greeting, Chuchu immediately headed outside the Elatrium.

“Awooooo!”

At that moment, Khan spotted Chuchu and let out a long howl toward her.

“Awooo!”

“Wooowooo!”

Following Khan, the Shadow Wolves all howled in unison toward Chuchu.

Their howls carried gratitude and reverence.

“Chuchu!”

Chuchu stopped and gave them a crisp salute.

“Awooooo!”

“Wooowoo!”

Receiving their reply, Chuchu dashed outside.

'Chuu!'

This time, Chuchu’s destination—

Was the northern region where the Valley of Light lay.

'Chuchu!'

She thought to herself.

What her master was most focused on right now—

Was coming outside the lair to find another dragon lair.

Then—

What if she investigated related traces in advance?

“Chuu!”

She would immediately surpass Arkeron and become the most trusted Guardian.

Chuchu lightly touched the small safety helmet on her head to check it.

This was a Chuchu-exclusive exploration device made by Bellerin.

Everything she saw and heard outside the lair would be recorded here.

Ssshhhaaaak-!

With the check complete, Chuchu picked up speed.

She moved so fast that the surrounding terrain blurred past.

Before long, the northern canyon came into view in the distance.

But then……

'Chuu……?'

Chuchu’s steps came to a sudden halt.

A dangerous smell wafted to her nose.

A sour, bitter smell.

An extremely filthy odor.

Sniff, sniff.

Chuchu wrinkled her nose, then snapped her head around.

And there she saw it.

A black wave advancing in dense lines.

“Chuu…….”

She unconsciously stepped back.

That massive force—

Was a centipede swarm.

And the entire scene was being recorded by Chuchu’s exploration device.

“Wow! This is amazing!”

Bellerin clasped her hands together and exclaimed.

Before her lay a mountain of magic stones.

Anyone would be forced to admire the sight.

“With this much, we will not have to worry about magic stones anymore!”

I nodded at her words.

If we still ran out with this many, that would be a problem in itself.

“There are Supreme magic stones here too.”

“Yes! I just checked.”

This room was not filled with only ordinary magic stones.

Supreme magic stones, crystallized forms of magic stones, were piled everywhere.

Though lower-grade ones were the most numerous, there were also considerable amounts of mid- and high-grade Supreme magic stones.

“With this, we can upgrade Arkeron’s core too, right?”

“Yes! Of course!”

“Then prepare a new core for Arkeron when you have time.”

“Got it!”

At Bellerin’s response, I grinned.

That guy Arkeron—

He has worked hard, so this will be a surprise gift.

I left the magic stone room to Bellerin.

Then what would I do next?

'I need to keep leveling.'

After eating some kiwi to settle my stomach, I should go chew more elixirs.

In Korea, superhumans in the level forty to fifty range were having the time of their lives thanks to insect-type extermination spray.

“The Magic Craftsman is a god.”

“Exactly.”

“Ah, how can heading into a dungeon feel this light?”

The forest-zone dungeons for level forty to fifty were packed with people.

As a result, those dungeons were being cleared at an extremely high rate, and the growth of superhumans in that range surged dramatically.

In just one day, the rumor spread overseas like wildfire.

The forty-five floor Black Forest Dungeon is driving me crazy.

ㄴ Why?

ㄴ Because of those giant mantis bastards.

ㄴ Ah…… that is rough. In Korea, they cannot even find those anymore.

ㄴ Cannot even find them?

ㄴ Yeah. They say you can just wipe them out with insect spray. Korean superhumans are farming effortlessly.

ㄴ ???

At first, everyone wondered what they were talking about.

But once the insect spray being used in Korea started gaining attention, overseas players realized the truth and chaos broke out.

Who the hell is this Magic Craftsman?

No way. Monsters beaten by spray? That makes no sense.

Some skeptical voices mixed in, but—

Title: I obtained the Magic Craftsman-brand insect-type monster extermination spray.

Content: I will test whether this really works on giant mantises and spiders.

A famous streamer superhuman turned on a live broadcast and entered a dungeon to test it.

Up until then, viewers were half doubtful.

Then they encountered a giant mantis.

“Maaantiiis!”

There it is.

So you just spray it now?

They say it gets exterminated instantly…… no matter how you look at it, it feels unrealistic.

“I will try using it!”

The streamer aimed the spray at the giant mantis.

Psssh-!

Thud!

The golden liquid struck the giant mantis.

And it reacted immediately.

“Maaantiiiiis!”

As if struck by lightning, it trembled violently and collapsed.

After struggling weakly a few times, its movements gradually stopped.

“My god…… everyone, this actually works.”

Holy!!!!!!!!!!!

This is real????????

What is the Magic Craftsman!!!!

I am buying it right now!

No, it is already sold out, I cannot buy it!!

My god! Does this mean only Korean superhumans are exploiting this right now?????

The chat exploded.

An unbelievable situation, even while watching live.

Some claimed it was staged and asked for more hunting.

When even giant house spiders that appeared afterward were easily dealt with, the chat went into complete frenzy.

That was not all.

As the video spread, people flooded to the Magic Craftsman’s later post with requests.

I am a superhuman from the United States. We need insect extermination spray too. Please sell more.

I only found out now. I want to buy it. Will there be restocks?

You are selling it again, right? At least give us a schedule…….

An overwhelming number of comments poured in, but the Magic Craftsman showed no response.

As frustration grew—

Official statement from the Korean government just dropped!

They plan to cooperate with the Magic Craftsman to regularly supply insect-type extermination spray.

Oooooh!

With the sudden announcement from the Korean government—

Overseas buyers began heading to Korea in droves.