00015 <-- Episode 15: Hunting the Demon (6) -->
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Because of the different levels of training and the difference in physical endurance between men and women, Zenon, unlike Alita, got up quickly. He lowered his head, blushing.
“I showed you an embarrassing appearance… … .”
“That embarrassing sight, we’ve all seen it once, my friend.”
“Yes, that can happen as people live.”
Shihan and Alita generously overlooked Zeno’s mistake. How could they criticize him when they had suffered the same fate? The three of them began to grumble as they looked at the dead female wolf.
“I really don’t understand why Ignis Wolf uses lightning?”
“And why doesn’t magic work on me?”
“It’s something I can’t understand.”
Thanks to the strange sense of common ground that had been formed, the atmosphere became quite harmonious. But then something incomprehensible happened again.
Parsasasak… … .
The corpse of the dead female wolf suddenly began to glow and then began to turn to dust and disappear.
The corpse is completely transformed into particles and gradually decays until it completely disappears.
All that remains are traces of blood and a few loose hairs.
Zenon looked around in confusion.
“What is this?”
Shihan’s expression became serious.
“Oh, this… … .”
He had seen this sight before.
This is what happens when monsters from another world return to their own world.
“But that only happens when the summoner’s heart is on fire?”
In the past, not all of the monster legions of the Gwangje were summoned directly by Rustanad. There were quite a few otherworldly summoners among the Lusclan royal family, and they would summon otherworldly monsters and use them at the Gwangje’s command.
In the days when the revolutionary army was still weak, it was common to target summoners rather than monsters and deal with them through counter-summoning.
So this phenomenon itself was recognizable. But… … .
“We haven’t defeated the summoner yet, have we?”
Even monsters from another world just die when they die. They leave their corpses behind in this world.
“… … It didn’t seem like it was from another world.”
Alita said in a uncertain voice. She could sense the presence of the other world.
But I couldn’t be sure because I’d only felt that sensation once before when I met Shihan. And even then, I only thought it was that sensation after Shihan revealed his identity, so I’m even less sure.
“But if it was a monster from another world, then that makes sense.”
Shihan scratched his cheek. He was immune to the magic of Terranore, but the special abilities of otherworldly monsters were a different story.
The flames and lightning emitted by otherworldly monsters were still effective against Shihan.
And in the case of magic that Shihan deals with, even if it is the same magic of Terrano, it is eaten by other world monsters, unlike other magicians.
So if this wolf was a monster from another world, it makes sense that Shihan was struck by the lightning… … .
“No? Then shouldn’t the fire have been consumed in the first place?”
The flames that Ignis Wolf had spewed out could also be easily nullified. Furthermore, Ignis Wolf was undoubtedly a demon from Terranor, no matter what anyone said. He was definitely not a monster from another world.
Shihan frowned as his mind became complicated.
“I don’t know, what happened?”
***
After spending a night in the forest, Shihan and his party returned to the Bakelon territory.
There was no way to solve anything by struggling with a problem that had no solution. So I demanded that Ted Barkelon pay the remaining commission fee, excluding the deposit.
Ted happily paid the rest.
“I’m glad you’re safe. I was worried about you.”
As much as he was obsessed with chivalry, he didn’t even think about doing something as petty as stealing money. Thanks to that, the deal was concluded cleanly.
Since it was a considerable amount of money, the butler’s hands were shaking a little as he handed over the money.
After leaving the castle, Alita checked the amount first.
“That’s right, 300 Zexen silver coins per head.”
Shihan held a silver coin and made a trembling expression. The face engraved on the coin was very familiar. It was the face of His Majesty the King of the Kingdom of Zexengard.
“Oh, really, I never thought I’d see that guy’s face again like this… … .”
600 Zexen silver coins were roughly enough to support a family of four for three months.
It may be a generous amount, but it may take time and money to approach former colleagues who have become kings of a country.
Considering that, this is not enough.
Shihan frowned while holding the bag of silver coins.
“I wish I could take on a few more requests and collect more.”
Alita shook her head.
“Things can’t happen that quickly, right? I guess I just got lucky this time.”
When ordinary people see mercenaries earning hundreds of silver coins for a single commission, they think they are making a lot of money, but it turns out that is not the case.
First of all, you need to have a job. No matter how outstanding your skills are, there won’t always be opportunities to demonstrate those skills.
“I guess so?”
Shihan clicked his tongue in embarrassment. Zenon, who had been listening silently, joined the conversation.
“Do you need money?”
“Why? Do you have some money?”
Shihan asked with anticipation. Zenon scratched his head.
“About a hundred silver coins… … .”
I had been saving my salary as a journalist for travel expenses, but to be honest, it wasn’t a lot of money.
“I tend to spend money here and there.”
In fact, I spent a lot of money on purchasing ‘premium products related to specific people’.
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“Well, there’s no rush.”
It was when Shihan turned his head, grumbling.
“But if Your Majesty the Higher One wishes… … .”
Zenon continued, swallowing hard.
“There are ways to make money.”
Shihan and Alita were puzzled by the expression on her face, which seemed to indicate a desperate resolve.
‘huh?’
‘What on earth are you trying to do?’
***
Three days later, at a valuables auction house southwest of Kagon City.
Inside a building decorated with a splendid interior, two men were having a serious conversation.
“Oh? Is this really it?”
“Please check.”
“Of course, how could one handle such a thing carelessly?”
A large man handed over the ‘item’. The auction house owner took out a pair of elaborate magnifying glasses and began to examine the ‘item’ closely.
“hmm.”
He checks everything thoroughly with serious and calm eyes as if he has met his life-or-death rival.
“This shape, the shape of the embroidery engraved inside, the number of strokes, and even the material… … everything is just like the legend.”
He also nods and diligently searches through his files.
“Your transaction at the Telkran Auction House has also been confirmed.”
The owner finally took off his glasses and spoke with confidence.
“It’s genuine.”
The large man made a face of obvious surprise. The auction house owner stamped the identification document.
“This is definitely the relic of the other world’s savior, Seong Si-han!”
After receiving the certificate of identification, the large man, Zenon, held out a pair of square panties. With careful movements, the owner accepted the panties.
Now these panties will be moved to the deepest steel vault in the auction house and kept under tight security.
After ordering his servant to bring him gold coins to pay, the auction house owner looked impressed and asked Zenon:
“Wow, how did you acquire such a treasure at such a young age? It must have been worth a lot.”
“Phew… … .”
Zeno let out a deep sigh. Then, hesitantly, he opened his mouth.
“I saved up every penny and bought only premium products. I waited for the price to go up, sold the products, and bought something else. I traded the eight statues of the savior of the other world that I had saved for one famous painting. I did this six times and finally got this precious pair of panties. It took me six months to get these panties.”
Tears ran down Zeno’s cheeks. The auction house owner asked, moved.
“Why did you go to such great lengths to buy those panties? What are you going to do with them?”
Zeno hesitated again and then answered.
“… … I just wanted a pair of these panties.”
The auction house owner’s eyes also turned red.
“You are truly the epitome of a maniac!”
Meanwhile, Shihan and Alita were on the other side of the auction house, pretending not to be part of the group as much as possible.
“I don’t know anyone like that… … .”
“me too…….”
The transaction was concluded when Zenon received a thick bag of gold coins. As the group left the auction house, the loud greetings of the employees could be heard.
“Thank you, sir! Goodbye!”
***
He held up a sack of gold coins and made a face that seemed to indicate that time had run out.
“Is this the price of my underwear?”
Zenon said with a face filled with a mixture of joy and regret.
“Prices have gone up a lot in the meantime, so I was able to get a good deal.”
The relic of the otherworldly savior was sold for a whopping 100 Zexen gold coins. It was a 30 percent increase from when Zenon bought it. It was said that the economy in Kagon City was doing well these days, so many people were looking for it.
He should have been happy to have received such an unexpected amount of money, but Shihan still looked at the bag of gold coins with an ambiguous expression.
“This is the first time in my life that I’ve ever felt this bad about earning money.”
How should I put it, I feel like I’m a high school girl selling underwear on some island on Earth?
Meanwhile, Alita was carefully looking at Shihan’s lower body.
“Hmm… … .”
That much money was spent on just a pair of panties.
What if I just take off those pants and sell them?
“Alita, don’t look at my pants. I’m not making any money by taking them off.”
Those panties aren’t treated with such great respect simply because they were worn by Sung Si-han in his youth.
It is treated as a treasure because it was used in the final battle with the madman Rustanad and was the last thing he left behind when he returned to Earth.
Is it like a home run ball from a famous baseball player?
Even if he is a legendary player, he wouldn’t be able to get that kind of price tag on a baseball he just practices with.
Zenon let out a deep sigh.
“Ugh, this is an item that I can’t get again… … .”
Even though it was for a limited time, it seemed like a huge waste. Alita tilted her head at Zenon.
“If you really regret it, you can just ask for it to be taken off again after the deadline.”
Zeno and Shihan both got angry at the same time.
“That’s not it?”
“You’re not going to take it off?”
Alita just blinked. It seemed like she didn’t understand the Collector’s psychology at all. Shihan muttered as he slung the gold coin sack at his side.
“Anyway, I got the money, um.”
Whatever the source, money is money. And it’s a significant amount. I’ve already asked Alita and found out the current price of Zexen gold coins.
The Zexen gold coins were not pure gold but an alloy of silver and so were not worth their weight in gold, but even so, 100 of them were enough to feed three travelers for a year.
Shaking off his regret, Zenon asked Shihan.
“What will you do now?”
The deadline was a bit of a worry. The funding that was expected to take a considerable amount of time was resolved for an unexpected reason. Now that it has come to this, I think it would be okay to push the plan forward a bit.
“I guess I should find out what my old colleagues are up to these days.”
Although he said it playfully, Zeno did not miss the sarcasm in his voice. He replied with a suppressed anger.
“They will get what they deserve.”
Since his identity had already been revealed, there was no need to hide it, so Shihan told Zenon the story of his past.
When Zeno heard the situation, he went crazy. He was so excited that Shihan had to stop him.
‘No, how can there be such vicious authors in the world!’
‘Well, that’s just how the world is.’
‘Wicked men! Oh, how foolish of me! To have sworn allegiance to such villains!’
‘You might not know, calm down, calm down.’
‘How can I be calm! A true hero died a miserable death due to dirty trickery!’
‘… … Hey, I’m not dead yet.’
Thanks to that, I was able to reconfirm that Xenon was trustworthy enough. Shihan muttered as he recalled the location of Kagon City within the Terranor continent.
“Wait a minute, there are three directions from here… … .”
The Kingdom of Lilstein in the West.
The Papacy of Inasius in the East.
The Kingdom of Zexengard in the north.
“Who should I look for first?”
One is a wise Magian who uses all kinds of magic, the other is the highest ranking Prinn, a wise priest who serves the goddess, and the other is a superhuman swordsman who unleashes powerful fighting spirits.
It’s a position that no one can ignore, but if you were to choose the most easygoing author among them, the answer would be clear.
Shihan picked up a gold coin. The profile of the strong man engraved on the Zexen gold coin was illuminated by the sunlight, and he smiled eerily.
“As expected, it’s Zexenguard.”
***
A laboratory in the Royal Palace of Lilstein, west of Terranor.
Pour clear water into a large bowl. It is not ordinary water, but a magical reagent mixed with the blood of the demon lord Gatalan, the powerful magic herb Chaos Root, and the Christyll fruit.
After pouring water like that to create a water mirror, Lilstein waved his hand gently.
“Go beyond the void and connect its meaning and form.”
It was a long-distance communication order via water mirror.
It is a powerful magic that only a very small number of Magians in Terranor, those with skills of at least level 8 or higher, can use. However, Lisstein succeeded in performing this magic too easily.
The old man’s face was reflected in the mirror. The water was shaking and the old man’s voice was heard through the mirror.
“Your Majesty Lilstein.”
Lilstein responded haughtily.
“It’s been a while, Magian Tranden.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Magian Tranden, the representative of the Blue Ivory Tower, one of the four great magic towers on the continent, bowed his head respectfully.
It was quite an awkward sight. The old man was much older, and as a Magian he was on par with Lilstein, who represented the enemy’s ivory tower.
However, Magian Tranden could not dare to place himself on the same level as Lilstein. It was not just because he was the king of a country.
Suddenly, the surface of the water mirror shakes slightly. This is evidence that the water mirror control is not working properly on the Tranden side. Lilstein asked the old man.
“Have you not yet entered the 9th floor?”
“Because my skills are lacking… … .”
The old man replied, embarrassed. Lilstein clicked his tongue.
“It’s not like it was locked like before, and you can look through it whenever you want if you’re the only one? Tsk, it must be hard for those without talent.”
“Heh heh heh… … .”
The old man smiled awkwardly. Unlike the floor master, Lilstein, Tranden was still at the level of the 8th floor of the Qing ivory tower.
Although he represented the Ivory Tower of Qing because there was no stronger magician than him, he was not the true master who controlled everything in the tower.
The four great towers of Terrano with a thousand years of history, the red, white, blue, and black ivory towers.
These nine-story towers are the headquarters of all magic established by the first emperor of the Rusclan Empire.
Emperor Lusclan, who was also the strongest magician in history, unified the continent and organized and organized the magical knowledge and wisdom scattered throughout Terranor, and built four towers across the continent to store the results.
And then, after assigning grades to the difficulty and power of the magic, they were distributed to each floor of the ivory tower.
After this, the Magians of Terranor no longer needed to wander the world and collect fragments of knowledge.
When you choose one of the four ivory towers, you are given the right to learn the magic of that floor according to your level and contribution to the tower.
And once they were recognized as qualified, they could move up to the upper levels and learn more powerful and advanced magic.
The level at which Magian’s knowledge resides becomes a measure of his magical ability.
Now, a thousand years later, it is common to classify someone as ‘a certain level of magician’ even if they are not necessarily from the ivory tower.
And those who have mastered all the magic of the 9th floor are called Floor Masters and are recognized as having reached the pinnacle of magic.
Even on the continent, those who have reached this level are extremely rare. During the Empire, there were only the four lords of the Ivory Tower and the savior of the other world, Seong Si-han. Currently, there are only two: the red Lilstein and the white Sapharan.
Blue Tranden and black Brundil are still at the end of the 8th floor.
These two took their places by accident after all the previous Ivory Tower Lords who had been loyal to the Rusclan Empire were executed, so their skills did not keep up with their positions.
Lilstein looked at Tranden with a dismissive gaze and asked.
“Yeah, why did you contact me when it wasn’t a regular reporting time?”
“It’s because of the aftermath of Subjects 11 and 12.”
The old man continued speaking cautiously.
“There is no need to hire someone else. It seems that the Bakelon territory took care of it on its own.”
“Is that so?”
Lisstein looked a little surprised. From what he had heard, the main force of the Bakelon territory was a single swordsman of the fighter class and a fourth-tier Magian.
“Wouldn’t that have been enough power?”
“I heard that you hired freelancers. They were both fighters.”
“Three fighters? Then that could be possible.”
To begin with, Subjects 11 and 12 weren’t that powerful monsters. There’s no need to be surprised that they were dealt with on their own in the local territory.
So Lilstein was puzzled. There was no way Tranden would make an urgent report for something like this.
“and…….”
As expected, Tranden continued speaking in fear.
“… … We also lost Subject #1.”
“what?”
Lilstein’s face hardened terribly. If he was Subject 1, then the time he spent preparing and the importance of his research were completely different from Subjects 11 and 12.
“What the hell! How the hell do you guys do this?”
Tranden fidgeted as he watched the extremely angry Lilstein. He kept nodding his head again and again.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
Lilstein tried to calm his anger. The problem had already happened, and the important thing was to clean it up. He was a cool-headed person who knew what had to be done before anger.
“I’ll give you one last chance. Dispose of the subject as quickly as possible and erase all traces as much as possible.”
Tranden nodded repeatedly.
“I’ve prepared everything! This time, I won’t make a mistake!”
“Of course.”
Lowering his voice, Lilstein gave him a cold look.
“There are plenty of 8th-level Magians in the world, Tranden. You should keep in mind that there is a new candidate for the tower lord behind you.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Lilstein lightly skimmed the surface of the water. That was the end of the communication order. The old man sighed deeply as he looked at the water bowl that had become a normal surface again.
“Whew, you’re giving me one more chance.”
