#70
Imprint (3)
It’s been two days since the two giants visited.
Slurp—
“Phew···.”
The old woman leaned back in her chair, sipping warm tea.
It was a new feeling to meet the warriors of the South for the first time in a long time and prepare to carve the mark.
In fact, she wondered if one of them was really a Southerner, but she didn’t need to worry about that.
Because everyone has their own circumstances.
Wasn’t it the same for you?
‘Maraqui···.’
It’s been more than ten years since I left the South with my only son and settled here.
The son, who was a promising warrior, was also making a name for himself as a mercenary and was smoothly establishing himself in the city.
But one day ten years ago.
The son, who headed to the northern mountains as usual, never returned…
She has continued to stay here alone ever since.
‘I just planned to live here quietly and then die.’
Although I couldn’t leave Tarak because of my foolishness, I had lived long enough and had no will to live anymore.
Also, since I live in a remote residential area within the city, I never had a chance to meet people from my hometown…
“Grandma! We’re here!”
“Hahaha—! I brought some meat to help you replenish your energy! Let’s eat well and gain strength!”
A loud noise was heard from outside.
The old woman smiled, got up from her seat, and headed toward the door.
It was an unexpected encounter with young warriors, but in fact, I didn’t hate it that much.
···Because I thought of my son whom I can no longer see.
“Meat is a pain. My teeth are weak, so chewing it is not fun.”
Although she was muttering and complaining for no reason, there was a small smile on her lips.
***
After a big meat party, preparations for the engraving procedure began.
Although I prepared the meat as tender as possible for the old woman’s dental health, she ate more than I expected.
‘They say that most southerners are big meat eaters…’
No matter how old he was, it seemed like his Southern blood never went away.
“Huh— It’s been a while since I’ve had meat, so I feel a bit better. The meat is so tender and seems to be of high quality. Hehe, hehe…”
“Hahaha! I took special care to choose it for you today.”
“Don’t worry, you punk. I’ll take care of it for you, just to see how much effort you put into it.”
All sorts of strange items were prepared, including needles made from ground monster bones, as well as an unidentified liquid made by mixing medicine with ogre blood.
“You lie down over here… It would be best if that furry thing over there were out, as it would be distracting to concentrate. If anyone comes for treatment, tell them to come back in half a day.”
“Don’t worry, Grandma. I’ll talk things through and send him back.”
The furry man nodded with a confident look and headed out the door.
“Hey… I, I. I wonder if I’m just scaring the townspeople and chasing them away for no reason.”
The old woman clicked her tongue lightly, shook her head, and turned her gaze to Harley, who was lying on the workbench.
“Oh, really. That guy is really big. This will be no easy task.”
An engraving was something that had to be done at a set location and at a set ratio.
As the body size increased, the surface area also increased, so more materials were needed and the sorcerer had to work harder.
Of course, the effect of the imprint becomes stronger, so warriors tended to prefer to increase their size.
“This is my first time carving a great story without a warrior. Hehe. Hehe…”
The positions where the two imprints were engraved were identical.
Because the ‘Warrior’s Seal’, which was a blazing flame pattern that started from the heart and continued to the neck, was additionally and more intricately drawn on top of it, the ‘Great Warrior’s Seal’.
“Okay, let’s get started, so hold on tight to this.”
“Huh? No need, old man. Just get started!”
“Hehehe… It must hurt quite a bit. Why don’t you ask now so that you don’t regret it later?”
“Hahaha! That’s a useless worry. Pain is nothing to a true warrior!”
Pain had no meaning to him in the first place, so he coolly refused the piece of wood the old woman offered him.
After saying that, she started the imprinting procedure right away without offering any more advice.
“Phew···.”
With a small sigh, a soft light began to swirl from the imprint on the old woman’s face.
It was the ‘sorcerer’s seal’ that was engraved at the same time as learning from the master.
The bone needle in her hand was immersed deep in the crimson liquid and then pulled out.
And it was stuck right in Harley’s heart…
“Huh?”
The needle was still resting on his chest muscle, not going in at all.
“Hey, this guy, his skin is so tough that the needle doesn’t go through!”
“Huh?”
It was an unexpected obstacle.
His monster-like body was now unscathed by attacks that didn’t contain a certain amount of energy…
As he was flustered, the old woman clicked her tongue and rolled up her arms.
“Okay! I’ll take care of it, so just lie still. Hey… If it weren’t for the meat, I would’ve lost all my energy!”
And the old woman’s imprint began to glow more brightly, and a whitish aura was added to the bone needle.
——————
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——————
A few hours later.
The surgical operation proceeded quietly without any special events.
***
《The entity has achieved enlightenment by achieving the conditions. It acquires the skill “Kalcos-style Battle Seal.”》
As the last needle of sweat prickled my chin, energy surged through my entire body.
And Harley quickly realized what had happened.
A portion of the vitality that had been dormant in his muscles and bones was sucked into the completed imprint, activating all of his physical abilities at once.
‘Isn’t that great? It’s much more efficient than using ‘Biological Aura’ to strengthen it.’
If you add an aura to the stamp here…
Harley, who has to act immediately after an idea comes to mind, went straight into action.
The ‘Great Warrior’s Seal’, a gorgeous flame pattern engraved on his chest, slowly turned red and began to glow as if it were really burning.
and···.
“Wow—!”
A soft aura rose from his entire body.
As I clenched my fist, a bloody, cracking sound came out.
‘At this level, I should be able to defeat the ogre with my bare hands without using ‘Physical Mutation’?’
Harley, who had been laughing, soon came to his senses and looked back at the old woman.
As soon as the procedure was over, she sat down on the spot, gasping for breath.
“···You seem like a bad guy. I really didn’t think you’d groan a single time. Are you numb to pain?”
“Old man, are you okay?”
“I just got tired from using too much energy. It’s been over ten years since I had the tattoo, so I just overdid it and got sick.”
Looking at that haggard, sweaty face, Harley felt uneasy.
He was not young, and it seemed like he had used a lot of strength to break through his sturdy body.
‘There are still many engravings left to be made, and it’s already difficult if it’s like this…’
I was convinced that I couldn’t leave her like this.
It was necessary to feed them three meals a day meat and healthy foods, and to improve their physical strength through regular exercise and stress management.
“Old man···.”
“I need to get some rest now, so get out of here. I’m going to end up in trouble if I keep doing this.”
The old woman staggered and fell onto the bed.
I felt like I would have to bring it up later when I had the chance.
As I placed the bag containing the remaining balance on the workbench and went outside, I saw Furbo dozing off on a chair outside.
“Open~ Tourabar!”
“Uh…uh? Harley? Are you done?”
At Harley’s call, the furry boy stood up from his seat, rubbing his eyes. He looked back at him and opened his eyes wide.
“Oh, oh—! That’s the seal of the Great Warrior!”
“Hahahaha!”
The Southern warrior looked at Harley with admiration and longing.
Instead of the monotonous flame pattern that warriors had, a gorgeous and vivid flame started from his chest and extended to his neck, completely exposed through his naked upper body.
‘Ah! That’s it!’
And then Harley realized.
Why did previous generations of Southern warriors insist on dressing like this?
‘It wasn’t just about showing off his muscles, it was about showing off his imprint as well!’
It was the result of a complex application of regional, ecological, and cultural factors, but these factors were not taken into consideration by Harley at the time.
As I set out with my shoulders back and a strutting gait, I felt like I was receiving more admiration from those around me than before, perhaps because of my mood.
“Turaba, the effect of this imprint is so good, but why do only the Southern warriors use it? It doesn’t seem like the technology security is that tight.”
If a sorcerer with the skills can leave the South at will, then it means that the skills can be stolen whenever they want.
But I have never seen people from other regions use stamps before.
“Well, it’s because of the side effects. The conditions are strict in many ways. More importantly, it continuously sucks life force.”
The life force that continues to be sucked out from the moment it is engraved.
Of course, the strengthening effect is better than that, but the range that each person can handle is different.
“Southerners are born with a strong vitality. This method suits us well.”
People in other regions say that it is more efficient to focus on training the aura and strengthen the body when needed.
It seems that the Southern warriors are somewhat weak when it comes to dealing with Auras···.
“I see. Well, now that I’m a full-fledged Southern warrior, it doesn’t really matter to me! Wahahahaha—!”
“That’s right! My best friend is a great warrior! Hahaha!”
“Hahahaha!”
“Keuhul!”
The laughter of two men echoed through the alley.
Of course, no one protested against their appearance.
***
“Ah! Sir Heinrich! Is it okay for you to get up already?”
“Ahaha, if you can just walk lightly, it’s fine. Actually, I could have gotten up before, but the healing priest in charge was very strict.”
“Still… wouldn’t it be better to be careful until you get completely better?”
Heinrich happily conversing with the saintess who seemed worried.
His condition had improved so much that he was now allowed to leave the treatment room.
Today happened to be an important day, so I guess the timing was good.
“Today is the day that the Elven Kingdom’s delegation departs. Since we have a long history together, shouldn’t we at least send them off?”
The elven delegation, which had suffered many twists and turns, finally returned to their homeland.
Heinrich also had a lot of connections with their leader, Laforie, so it would have been good to show his face at least for the last time.
If we break up like this, it will be difficult to meet again.
‘It was unusual for a high elf to lead the envoy himself in the first place.’
Since they were clearly in a position to lead a race, they would not have left the World Tree unless there was a special case like this.
As they were talking in front of the gate, an elven delegation entered, guided by a priest.
In addition to Lapori and the delegation, there were two additional members in the group.
High Elf candidate Cecily and… the elf Harris who came after receiving an introduction from Harley.
“Sir Heinrich. I heard you were badly injured. Is it alright for you to come out like this?”
“Oh, it’s really okay, Mr. Lapory.”
Farewell messages were exchanged between the religious community and the delegation here and there.
As they stayed for quite some time, they became close with many people, so it took quite some time, but the moment when they had to truly say goodbye soon arrived.
Woohoo—
“Then we will take our leave now. We will not forget the kindness shown to us by the church.”
“I hope both sides can maintain good relations in the future. Well then, goodbye···.”
After greeting Saint Riesta and Lafori, the elven delegation disappeared into the blue vortex of the gate.
Now they will travel to the eastern end of the continent over the course of several days, and from there they will cross over to the Enamel Continent by their own means.
With Harris.
My heart pounded like that of an explorer with a new continent just around the corner.
