Chapter 142
Chapter 142
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: Genius Mage Who Catches Demons
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“Do you know what effects these have?”
“Well, these were urgently procured from the royal family’s stock—magic-related ones—but I don’t know the details.”
“Hmm.”
I stared at the ten elixirs in front of me, lost in thought.
‘These are all magic-related elixirs?’
Assuming Barus wasn’t scamming us, all ten were indeed tied to magic.
Of course, [Devil Fantasy] had hundreds of elixirs.
That made it tough to distinguish their effects at a glance.
Even Barus claimed he didn’t know.
But.
‘I have a pretty good idea.’
If [Devil Fantasy] boasted hundreds of elixirs, then I—a guy who’d played it for ten years—had consumed them thousands of times over.
Nothing certain, but looking at their colors now, I could get a rough sense.
‘This one expands the mana circuits, this one boosts mana regeneration…’
Swipe, swipe.
We could take four elixirs in total.
I pushed aside the unnecessary ones one by one.
In the end, six candidates remained, with these effects:
1. Elixir that increases maximum mana.
2. Elixir that boosts spell casting speed.
3. Elixir that raises elemental affinity.
4. Elixir that enhances magic learning ability.
And two whose effects I couldn’t quite pin down.
That left us with these six elixirs.
I agonized over it inwardly.
‘Nothing useless here.’
Every single one had effects so useful it was hard to call any unnecessary.
‘…’
How long did I deliberate?
I finally set a criterion.
If they were all useful anyway…
‘Go for the expensive ones.’
Prioritize the priciest, hardest-to-get ones.
My tangled thoughts started sorting themselves out.
Swipe, swipe, swipe.
I narrowed it down to four.
In order: the No. 2 casting speed elixir, No. 3 affinity elixir, and the two unknowns.
These four seemed the rarest and most valuable.
Especially.
‘I don’t know what they do, but these two are definitely no joke in price.’
The two elixirs I hadn’t identified yet.
They were precious beyond compare to the others.
Their colors had the subtlest differences—ones only I, with my vast experience, could spot.
Anyway.
“Take these, President.”
I pointed to the four gathered elixirs and said to the academy president.
He tilted his head and asked,
“You had such a serious look, so I waited… Do you actually know what’s what?”
His expression screamed confusion.
Fair enough.
How many people could tell elixirs apart by sight alone?
But… so what?
“Yes. These seem like the most necessary ones for us.”
“Really?”
He examined the four elixirs one by one, then turned to me.
He didn’t seem to grasp their effects.
“Not what you need?”
“…”
Asion Gail was quick on the uptake.
***
‘What the hell?’
Barus Garian clutched his head, face twisted in confusion.
No wonder—he couldn’t make sense of the situation at all.
‘…He shouldn’t be able to tell what’s what.’
The ten options he’d presented them.
He’d told them he didn’t know the elixirs’ effects, but in truth, Barus Garian knew full well.
No way he’d grab them in a rush without checking effects and prices.
He had everything down pat.
And that’s why he was baffled.
To him—who could identify them—the mage’s choices made zero sense.
‘How in the world…’
How could he pick only the most expensive ones?
They looked identical on the surface.
Thinking it a fluke, Barus Garian eyed the black-haired mage and said,
“To me, this one looks better, don’t you think? The color’s so iridescent—mages would go nuts for it…”
He figured he’d say anything to sway him.
But.
“That one looks like the worst to me.”
The black-haired mage narrowed his eyes in reply.
He seemed utterly confident.
“…”
Barus couldn’t respond easily.
The one he’d recommended boosted maximum mana.
Great effect, sure—but the cheapest among these ten.
Barus forced his mouth open again, incredulous.
“Then this one…?”
He pointed to the second: the magic learning elixir.
A rare one, too.
But.
“Not bad, but not worth taking.”
The black-haired mage rejected it once more.
Only then did Barus Garian become certain.
‘…Not a fluke.’
He hadn’t randomly picked the valuables.
By some method, the black-haired mage knew which elixirs were precious.
“…Fine. These four it is.”
Barus Garian raised the white flag in the end.
Arguing more would just give him a headache.
The funny part? His antics didn’t stop there.
After selecting elixirs, came picking the secret grimoires.
Flip! Flip!
The black-haired mage—Yoo Han—flipped through pages rapidly, claiming he’d just skim.
“Hmm, these two.”
In little over a minute, he’d culled two from five secret grimoires.
The priciest, rarest ones again.
‘…What the hell is this guy?’
The question bubbled up, but Barus was powerless.
He could only report it bitterly and pray the royals didn’t come after him.
***
With all rewards chosen.
Things wrapped up swiftly.
Contract compensation doubled, proper apology received—no more to say.
“Satisfied now? Feels like revenge well done.”
“…Yeah, more than enough.”
I checked with Asion Gail subtly; he seemed content.
Barus looked grim for some reason, but not our problem.
I tied up loose ends quickly and headed back to the academy with Asion Gail.
“No. 1! President!”
Entering the academy, Thompson—who’d come to greet us—waved happily.
Guess he had nothing better to do and waited here.
“No classes today—why come?”
“Heading out soon, so wanted to practice body transformation magic while I can.”
“Heading out?”
Asion Gail asked Thompson, puzzled.
“Oh, No. 1. Haven’t told you yet?”
Come to think of it, no.
I’d been too busy plotting how to snag the elixirs and grimoires.
“Let’s talk inside.”
I sent Thompson to the dorms, then went to the president’s office with Asion Gail.
There, I spilled our future plans, just like with the others.
“…Alvheim? That elven land?”
“Yes, planning to stop there first.”
“Whoa, that’s sudden.”
The president reacted with surprise, like the rest.
Makes sense—suddenly announcing we’re leaving Asteron.
But like always, he quickly composed himself.
“You’re truly unpredictable. So, why Alvheim?”
Asking the purpose.
“Hmm.”
I hesitated a bit.
Leveling up was the goal, but couldn’t say that outright.
Still, easy enough to dodge.
“Feels like there’s something I can learn there.”
Alvheim.
The elven land brimmed with mysteries.
Plenty of mages visited for that reason.
Mages chased the arcane, after all.
The president nodded, convinced.
“Yeah, not a bad choice. Elven power is profoundly mystical. You’ll surely gain something meaningful there.”
Thud, thud, thud.
He stood abruptly and placed something on the table.
The elixirs and secret grimoires we’d picked.
“First time leaving the continent?”
“Yeah…?”
“Take them.”
“Huh?”
Asion Gail told me to take them outright.
I’d been wondering how to ask, and now this—caught off guard.
“You’re really giving them?”
“Yes. You fool.”
“Why?”
He grew serious.
“You don’t realize yet, but visiting foreign lands as an outsider is incredibly dangerous. Without power to protect yourself, anything could happen. That’s why—take them.”
“Ah…”
Simple: dangerous place, so use these.
Couldn’t argue.
Even in-game, other continents always brought risks.
“Phew, sending you there… hope I don’t lose the academy’s top student…”
He muttered.
Seemed genuinely worried.
“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine. You know my strength now.”
I countered confidently, easing his concern.
“With these, I’ll be even safer. Nothing ordinary can threaten me now.”
“Heh heh heh.”
Asion Gail chuckled.
Clunk!
I chatted a bit more with the president, then left his office.
Slowly heading to the dorms.
Step, step, step.
My steps felt heavy for some reason.
No, I knew why.
‘…Was I too complacent?’
My talk with the president had shown me that.
This wasn’t a vacation.
As he said, visiting foreign lands as an outsider was highly perilous.
I needed to stay vigilant—doubly, triply so.
Not get excited just about crossing continents.
‘Be careful. Careful…’
Nearly repeating past mistakes, I clenched my fist in resolve.
This time, no dangers would reach me.
At least, unlike when I first awoke in Asteron, I now had the power for it.