#69
Imprint (2)
“Hey, furry. Is that really a human?”
The old woman, who kept blinking, pointed at Harley and asked the bearded man.
“Hey, are you crazy, Grandma? Doing this to a person! And Harley has been through a lot of ups and downs, he’s a proper human being!”
Even though it wasn’t said to him, the furry boy protested with excitement, foaming at the mouth.
In Act 4, Scene 3 of the eventful ‘Harley’s Big Adventure’, there was a story about Harley being captured by the evil warlock ‘Hans’ and being experimented on, before escaping.
Maybe that’s what made him care about him.
‘He’s a very considerate friend, despite his appearance.’
Harley, who had been inwardly flinching at the word monster, nodded happily, crossing her arms full of strong muscles.
“Hmm… Anyway, are you really a human?”
She looked at him again carefully, as if it didn’t matter whether the furry man was angry or not.
“Well, I’ve seen many warriors over the years, but this is a first.”
“Old man! Please explain to me what the problem is. This is so frustrating!”
And then, seeing the old woman bursting into admiration again, Harley, who couldn’t just sit still, intervened.
“It’s not really a problem. Rather, it could be seen as a very good thing. Hehehe···.”
“Oh?”
“Ugh… It’s cold outside. Come inside and let’s talk. I’m getting older, so my back hurts.”
She rose from her chair, patted their backs, and led them into the house.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t even said thank you yet. Thanks for helping me out when I was in trouble. I’ll bring out the tea, so have a seat.”
After entering the interior filled with all sorts of odds and ends and sitting down to wait, an old woman brought out some tea made with an unidentifiable herb.
“Eat well. It’s good for your health. As you get older, you need to eat good things. Since you helped me today, I’m giving this to you as a thank you.”
Harley immediately picked up the teacup and poured it into her mouth in gulps.
The steaming hot tea did not do any harm to his strong body.
“Hahaha! It tastes good! Okay, then tell me the rest of the story you were talking about!”
“Hey… That young man has such a short temper.”
The old woman took a leisurely sip of tea and began to speak slowly.
“You must know that the side effects of engraving a seal on someone who is not qualified to do so are severe, right?”
“That’s the basics!”
“Basically, imprinting consumes a lot of energy from the body. Mana… So the proportion of aura used by warriors is also large, but vitality is more important.”
And she had the ability to see the life force flowing through the body of her subjects.
“I was flustered because this was the first time I had seen such vitality. I’ve seen a few great warriors, but this is nothing compared to them.”
“Was Harley that good? Of course, she was quite good even without using Auras···.”
“At that level, he’s closer to a monster than a human. That’s why I asked earlier. Are you really human?”
An overwhelming life force emanating from the body of a monster with physical abilities far superior to those of humans.
It was only natural, since it was contained entirely in Harley’s body.
“Since engraving is done by forcibly drawing out the life force flowing through the body, the more abundant it is, the more effective it is.”
Since the moment the imprint is engraved, life force is continuously consumed, so the fiery energy that emanates from the warrior’s trained body was essential.
“But at this level, it would be enough to carve the mark of a great warrior, not a warrior’s mark.”
“Oh! But is there no higher level?”
“Hehehe… It says ‘the Seal of the King of Fighters’, but apparently no one has been able to carve it for hundreds of years.”
“Wow, it’s the King of Fighters···.”
Harley’s eyes lit up at the name that she really liked.
“Of course, I can’t do that either. It’s a task that requires the assistance of several sorcerers under the leadership of the Great Sorcerer.”
“Oh, it’s too bad, but there’s nothing I can do. Then at least engrave the Great War Chronicles. I should have that kind of skill! Hahaha—!”
“That’s also a bit difficult.”
“No, why!”
Despite Harley’s protests, the old woman sipped her tea leisurely and felt sorry for him.
“First of all, we don’t have any materials. As you know, it’s been a long time since a southern warrior came here, so we’re completely unprepared for it.”
After spending a long time treating minor illnesses, the only materials I had were those used in that area.
“That’s about it. I’ll do it in no time…”
“And secondly, in order to engrave the Great Warrior’s Seal, you need to have the appropriate amount of karma. It’s not something you can engrave simply by having a lot of vitality or mana.”
It seems that the higher the level of engraving, the more stringent the conditions are.
If this is violated, the side effects that have been heard of before will begin to eat away at the person concerned.
Muscle loss, hair loss, aging, decreased vitality…
‘no!’
Harley gave in to the equally fatal side effects.
“So what is that necessary karma? Do I have to hunt a dragon or something?”
Still, I couldn’t help but feel regretful, so I asked her in a rude tone.
“Hehehe… That’s not necessary. Let’s see… Yes, the northern mountain range beyond the Steel Citadel. I guess I can hunt the ogres, the predators there, alone.”
‘huh?’
“Ogre! Granny, do you know what kind of monster that is?”
The furry man who was listening from the side shouted in shock.
Ogres were top predators, growing to nearly 5 meters tall, with incredibly dense muscle mass and keen senses.
He was also a glutton who had to hunt and eat all day long, except for the time he spent sleeping, to maintain his body.
It’s hard to tell if you can catch it even if several high-ranking mercenaries rush in at once and inflict massive damage, but you’re told to catch it alone.
“If you want to challenge the Great Warrior, you should be able to do that much. In fact, this is also the minimum standard.”
“Well… well, if you’re a great warrior, that’s possible, but….”
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“And if the hunt is successful, the appendages can be used to carve a seal. High-ranking monsters make excellent materials for using sorcery.”
The old woman finished speaking leisurely and took another sip of tea.
And Harley silently rummaged through the subspace magic tools in her bosom.
“So, after you receive the other imprint and grow, try challenging yourself slowly… Phew—!”
“Eww! What are you doing, grandma? Suddenly hitting someone else in the face… Eww?”
He took out the monster accessories one by one.
A wide variety of items, including large bones, tendons, eyeballs, and vials of blood.
“Uhh… This is….”
The furry man looked between them and Harley with a dumbfounded expression.
“Ogre! Ogre appendages! And they’re fresh, only hunted a few days ago!”
And the old woman, who immediately recognized it, cried out in shock.
As she said, this was very refreshing.
I had just returned yesterday from hunting beyond the Steel Citadel.
‘I forgot to dispose of it because I was so busy listening to the story about the sorcerer as soon as I got here, so this is good.’
It saved me the trouble of having to go out and get the ingredients again.
“I’m asking just in case… Did you hunt alone?”
I wonder if it felt something when I saw the materials being taken out at this timing.
She looked at the items Harley had taken out carefully, then blinked at him with a puzzled expression.
“Huh··· Hoohahaha—! You’re saying the obvious, old man! An ogre is nothing to me! Pahaha!”
He burst out laughing confidently.
“Then, there’s no problem with engraving the Great Warrior’s Seal with this?”
“That… that’s right. I’m asking again just in case, but are you sure you caught it by yourself?”
“Of course! I know what kind of side effects there will be, so there’s no way I’d lie about something like this!”
At his words, the old woman slowly nodded and poured tea into her empty cup, taking another sip.
“But Grandma. If you can engrave the Great Warrior’s Seal, then you must be a pretty skilled sorcerer. Why are you hanging out in a place like this?”
At that moment, the furry man who had roughly wiped the tea water off his face asked in a cold tone.
She paused for a moment as she brought the teacup to her lips, but then took a sip as if nothing had happened and responded as if it was no big deal.
“What’s wrong with this place? People who earn a decent living and live without anything can help each other out.”
“Are you talking about the people who didn’t even show their faces when grandma was in trouble?”
“···Everyone has their own circumstances, right?”
It was a word with many meanings.
Apparently not wanting to talk any more, Harley opened her mouth to quickly finish her business.
“So when can I get the engraving? And if possible, I’d like to get another engraving too···.”
“Hey… That guy really is always so impatient.”
The old woman who had been clicking her tongue thought about something and answered.
“Since there is nothing prepared right now, it will take a day to get the other ingredients and prepare in advance. Come back the day after tomorrow.”
“If you tell me the ingredients, I’ll gather them right away···.”
“Oh my! Witchcraft isn’t something you can do in such a hurry!”
The process of preparing one by one with care and determination according to the schedule was also included in the sorcery.
“And half of the cost is a deposit. As you can see, I don’t have any, so I can’t get the materials.”
They were in a very affluent situation thanks to the expensive monster accessories and Hubert’s smooth business, so the cost didn’t matter.
“Can I get other imprints at the same time? If I can, I would like to!”
“After getting one engraved, your body needs about a week to adjust. And during that time, you also need to replenish your stamina. Do you think getting an engraved is easy?”
After finishing all the business, Harley and Furbo got up from their seats and left the house, agreeing to meet the old woman again the day after tomorrow.
The way back while walking down the alley.
“Oh my~! Well then, shall we go and finish up the work we left behind?”
At his words, which he spat out while stretching coolly, the furry man made a bewildered expression.
“Huh? Harley, what were you doing before you came here?”
“Hahaha! What are you talking about, buddy? We used to do that together, right?”
It seemed like this guy had a bit of a forgetful disposition.
Harley explained to him in a soft voice what they had to do.
“Those guys from earlier, should we clean them up?”
“ok?”
The furry one with a fierce expression again.
I felt like I needed to explain it in a bit more detail.
“In my experience, if you leave those guys alone, they’re bound to cause trouble later on! You have to sort it out before that happens!”
Of course, the source of that experience was Earth’s popular culture, which is full of clichés.
“Is that so? In my experience, if you scare them to this extent, they will hide and not come near you.”
“Oh, you’ve lived a better life than I thought, huh, buddy?”
From the perspective of modern people who are pickled in all kinds of stimulating content, the hairy man’s words were a truly reckless response.
Of course, at first he thought that was enough.
The opponent was just a bunch of Parakhos, and they were famous mercenaries with large, muscular bodies who had even used their “wildness” to instill fear.
I think it will probably figure it out on its own, just like Furbo said.
But contrary to expectations, the old sorcerer was more capable.
The first engraving will be in two days, and the next ones will be engraved at one-week intervals, so I don’t know how long it will take…
‘That should be enough time for the fear to dilute.’
So I needed to be more specific.
“Ohhh…. Indeed, you are an indomitable warrior who has survived all kinds of adversity. I learned a thing or two, Harley. So how are you going to find them?”
The bastards had already fled and were nowhere to be seen, and their base was unknown.
“Hehehe— They’re probably people who live in this area anyway. If we kill each and every one of them, wouldn’t they pop out?”
“I see! What if they hold a grudge and try to get revenge?”
“Then I didn’t step on it as much! I’m trying to organize it in advance so that this time doesn’t happen again! I have to step on it more thoroughly and thoroughly!”
“Indeed… you’re amazing! I’ve never seen a warrior as thorough as you, Harley. You’ve got not only brute force, but also intelligence!”
“What, this is all a product of experience. You too, Touraba, can become like this. Hahahaha!”
Two people having a friendly conversation disappear into the alley.
But the content was extremely ominous.
After several cries echoed through the streets until it got dark…
They were able to finish their work neatly and return home with a refreshed mind.
