Episode 95
Chapter 19 Interest is compound interest (5)
“Are you still sleeping… … .”
I could see him sleeping in the guest room.
“Cer… … .”
It wasn’t long before I looked down at Brecce, who was lying sprawled on the bed and snoring, shaking my head and turning around.
‘Let’s just go.’
The main purpose of today’s outing is hunting.
It’s good to build a friendship with Brecce in the process, but it’s not essential.
Friendship and network formation with other races was a secondary purpose.
‘You don’t always need someone to help you hunt, do you?’
I’ve been doing well on my own so far.
Moreover, it must have been exhausting to see him sleep for such a long time.
You don’t have to pay for catnip today, and if you go alone, there’s no problem at all.
‘Let’s go first.’
They seemed to have a more developed sense of smell than humans, so they might be able to come after them.
It doesn’t matter if they don’t come after you after waking up.
After I finished organizing my thoughts, I left a short message for the attendant who guided me to Brecce’s room.
“If you find me, tell me I went to the La Malt Mountains.”
“Yes, Kay.”
The destination was notified, so that’s it. I left the mansion that way.
Eventually, we arrived at the entrance to the La Malt Mountains, which we have become accustomed to finding the way even with our eyes closed.
There were quite a lot of areas that had been purified, so I had to move deeper than the first.
After settling down and hunting for a while, I stopped walking while shaking the spear.
And after a while, the status window turned on.
My current mana is in the mid 30,000.
After 5 or 6 hours of hunting and purifying one polluted area, the magic power gained was between 2,000 and 3,000.
‘It must be difficult to cross the 40,000 mark today.’
Because of the points accumulated in the church, some magical powers were collected, so there was no choice.
After looking at the numbers on the status window, I shifted my gaze to the map.
‘There was a 2-star contamination area from there, right?’
Recently, hunting in a 1-star polluted area felt like repetitive labor.
He began to feel that the battle here was not dangerous.
‘There is only one evolutionary species.’
After thinking about it, I hurriedly moved in an unfamiliar direction.
It was to check how much magic power could be obtained for the time invested in the 2 stars.
First of all, because the purpose of the search was to go to the safe sky through the defense.
“hmm… … .”
The criteria for classifying contaminated areas had already been told by Lachar.
‘The number of Meseo, the scale of magic concentrated in Meseo, and even the number of evolved species.’
Corresponding to the existing level 4, the 2-star polluted land increases Meseo from 3 to 5.
But the number of evolutionary species is greater than that.
‘Already nine… … .’
After entering the 2-star polluted area, I found only 4 meseo.
However, there are nine evolutionary species that roam the polluted area and eat small monsters.
Those guys with two black stars on their heads are definitely two-star evolutionary species.
Even that is 9 excluding the ones next to Meseo, and there are more if you include them.
The magic power felt by the roaming evolutionary species is about 1,000?
It was similar in scale to the mana of Han Chang-shik I had seen in the past.
‘Maybe there’s a limit to growth.’
At that point, I don’t think I can absorb any more.
‘If that’s not the case, there’s no reason for the guys who took Meseo to themselves and didn’t get out of the way to come out and hang around.’
It means that from the 2-star contamination area, you have to encounter evolutionary species that roam the field.
‘Basically, the higher the contamination level, the older the meseo is.’
Evolved species must have needed time to absorb mana to the limit.
‘In addition, it seems that the size of the scepter attached to Meseo is also increasing.’
I focused on Meseo’s magical power, which was barely within the magic detection range.
It certainly has more magical energy than Meseo I saw in a 1-star polluted area.
I checked the mission list while chewing on the information I had seen with my own eyes.
A sigh escaped from the realm of unconsciousness.
Because I had no idea how many evolutionary species were infesting the upper contaminated area.
“What are you thinking… … .”
Let’s catch the guys right in front of us.
I shook off my useless thoughts and got up.
Evolutionary species were visible under a red translucent shield about 20 cm in diameter.
I calculated the size of the polluted area.
‘At this scale, it would be difficult to organize in one day.’
But it’s embarrassing to just grab a few and go.
‘Let’s clean up what came out and go.’
I already had camping experience, and I just had to contact Rashar to stay out.
To take a break, buy a barrier stone and rest for a while.
‘If I finish it sooner, the sooner I finish it, the more I can save money.’
Buying too many barrier stones will cost you a lot.
‘I’ll have to finish it within 2 nights, or 3 nights at the latest.’
After I finished my calculations, I jumped towards the evolutionary species that had been loitering at my feet.
* * *
It’s been three days since I’ve been engrossed in hunting.
The message that I cleared the 2-star contamination site for the first time appeared.
Destroyed all 4 Meseo and killed 14 Evolution species.
Breche joined in the middle and helped the hunt for a while, so it ended quickly.
After a total of 2 nights and 3 days, the pure magic power earned exceeds 30,000.
However, the actual increase in my magic power was less than 20,000.
I bought a lot of magic stones to save time as well as potions and food.
‘It ended early as much as I invested.’
If things went wrong, not dozens, but hundreds of them flocked to him, so he had no choice but to buy magic stones for attack.
Well, in terms of efficiency alone, it was better to move to a 2-star than to be in a 1-star polluted area.
I use the store a lot, but the scale of earning increases as well.
‘I’ll have to catch me next time.’
A barrier stone was sufficient for long-term hunting while taking a break for 3 or 4 hours.
‘Let’s go back for now.’
Having achieved quite good results, I returned to Harbon with a tired body.
I trudged along the city, and my steps towards the mansion were quite heavy.
In my mind, I wanted to return to the mansion and take a dip in the warm water.
It seems like honey-like rest should be postponed a little longer.
It was because of the dozens of mana it takes to detect magic.
Not only the corner of the street I passed, but also the alleys of the road in the direction I was going.
If it’s not an illusion, it’s moving around with me at the center.
‘I feel a sense of deja vu.’
There is only one way to determine if this deja vu is a misunderstanding or not.
Without thinking twice, I swerved.
Then there were quite a lot of signs following behind.
‘As expected, they’re just surrounded.’
It became clear that they were after me.
It is also clear that they are not clumsy bastards.
‘Did you send it from another denomination?’
After officially refusing the visit, it was quiet.
Are you trying to do something while I’m out?
‘So openly?’
No matter how great the effect of my title is.
Still, it’s a group that worships a god of color, but they move openly like this?
‘This is so stupid… … .’
As long as the denomination’s website function exists, it is highly likely to fail.
Because players can interact with people from the church in real time.
‘Then, should we assume that someone who doesn’t know about the homepage function intervened?’
I got away from the main road in the moment I was trying to figure out who the protagonist with an unfamiliar presence was.
Eventually, it was not even paved, so I entered an alleyway covered with soggy soil.
Thanks to those blocking the sides, I couldn’t go any further.
Looking at the unfamiliar face, the number required for magic detection and the number seen with the eyes were the same.
What that meant was simple.
‘For now, there is no core.’
Before leaving the mansion, I asked Ahel.
What are those who do not suffer from magic detection?
Thanks to that, I was able to hear the answer that it was related to the magic core.
-The detection magic is a method of guessing the overall scale by looking at the wave of the mana flowing out.
It is said that detection-type magic can be avoided just by putting the mana that normally flows out naturally into the core and confining it.
According to Ahel’s explanation, it was the same reason to get rid of the reverberation of magic.
So seeing that they couldn’t evade magic detection meant that they weren’t powerful people with a core.
‘There is less magic that can be felt there.’
It is a size that would be felt by an ordinary human.
“Hmmm, nice to meet you.”
At that time, when we were in a standoff for a while as if we were exploring each other, there was someone who stepped forward from among the gangsters.
A man in his early to mid-thirties with three long scars on one side of his face.
You look like the leader of that team.
Not feeling the need to respond, I just looked him up and down.
The man with a grimace said, spitting.
“You’re a blunt person.”
Afterwards, the scarred man, who looked around, pulled out the sword at his waist.
“Guys, even if you rebel, let’s be careful.”
I was able to get unexpected information from the words that followed.
“Because the ransom is 1,000 herring.”
One short word the man spat out stuck in his ear.
‘ransom.’
What the word meant was very clear.
‘It’s a kidnapping attempt.’
Apparently, someone hired a kidnapper to target me.
“What are you doing? not caught.”
The scarred man spoke while I was assessing the situation, and the assailants began to close in.
It wasn’t difficult to deal with dozens of normal people who couldn’t handle magic with all my power.
‘Because humans are weaker than the monsters we just caught.’
But I didn’t relax. Because the scar man was too confident.
‘Is there even a trump card?’
Then there is nothing wrong with being careful.
‘Because a winning fight is a good thing.’
The space is not wide, so the window will be inconvenient.
I immediately took out two daggers and took a fighting stance.
‘I have to dig into the background anyway.’
I have to face them myself to find out who is after me.
It’s not that there’s no place to guess, but in the current situation, there is too little information.
‘At most, it’s about having a lot of money.’
1,000 hers equals 1,000 platinum coins.
The world’s currency is divided into copper, silver, gold, and platinum.
‘According to the price I’ve figured out so far, the price of 1,000 Herga is about 100 million.’
Spending that much money to catch me must mean that I have plenty of capital.
The only way to get more information is to see it in person.
After calculating, I jumped into the siege and swung my dagger.
The difference in skills was so great that every time they wielded them, they would bleed without fail.
Those who couldn’t handle magic couldn’t even follow my movements.
Looking at that stark difference, I wonder if it’s Gingamin, or doubt.
‘I don’t think it’s a church.’
Had they intervened, wouldn’t they have sent the paladins?
Then I wouldn’t have been able to resist and would have been arrested.
“What are you so weak about?”
It was embarrassing enough to mumble the words out of my mouth without even realizing it.
The monsters are so clumsy that it’s confusing.
I wonder why I was so confident with this skill, so I’m at a loss.
I first focused on neutralizing them to an uncombatable state.
I didn’t want to kill myself when I wasn’t threatening enough to kill.
It wasn’t intentional, but somehow it became a case of being relaxed against them.
I was neutralizing the assailants with a complex and subtle expression, and suddenly my shoulders shook.
“Let’s see how long that leeway lasts!”
As soon as the scarred man who had fallen behind screamed, magic power began to move from the side.
After the magic detection level rose, there were times when I felt like I was gently scratching my senses like this.
It was mainly when Ahel demonstrated magic.
In other words, it can be seen as the feeling when someone other than me implements magic.
Black smoke poured towards me as I kicked the nearest assailant.
To escape the smoke, I jumped on the shoulder of the nearest guy who had fallen.
Thanks to that, the smoke pouring into where I was was scattered towards the gangsters.
‘That’s magic I’ve never seen before.’
What properties did that magic use?
As soon as he frowned and wondered, the person who absorbed the black smoke began to sob and shed tears.
‘What the hell is going on?’
Curious about the magical effect, but there is no way to find out right now.
I looked at the scarred man, taking interest from those who were drooping on the floor.
Looking through the leather bag around his waist with a formidable expression, it seems that there are more cards left.
There might also be a magic stone, so I decided to block him before he acted.