Chapter 163
Chapter 163
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 163
Chapter Title: The Orb of Growth
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“Heh heh heh heh…”
I couldn’t help but chuckle as I examined the item Bagran had given me.
It had been ages since I’d grinned like this from the thrill of scoring a real jackpot.
‘Jackpot, total jackpot.’
I’d suspected as much while rifling through the vault, but the haul exceeded even my expectations.
Three Legendary artifacts and a national treasure, no less.
And among them…
‘This is just ridiculous.’
The one that shocked me the most was this.
The national treasure from Kazan Dur that I’d picked out myself.
[Orb of Growth].
It was Growth-grade, with a straightforward effect.
Experience gain increased by 50%.
In simple terms, it granted an extra 50% on top of all experience I earned from now on.
And on top of that…
‘It’s a growth-type artifact, no less.’
This was a growth-type artifact.
Meaning it had the potential to evolve from Legendary to Mythic.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
‘It’ll have the national treasure bonus effect too.’
Just as Bagran said, if this was truly one of Kazan Dur’s national treasures, it came with an additional effect.
Something like this, for example.
[Orb of Growth (Legendary)]
This artifact is a national treasure of ‘Kazan Dur’. An additional effect is granted.
-National Treasure Artifact Bonus Effect: Artifact performance increased by 50%.
In other words, with the national treasure bonus layered on top of the base effect, experience gain would rise by a whopping 75%.
If it evolved to Mythic, it’d be even better.
If this had been a national treasure with any other effect, Bagran never would’ve handed it over.
I could snag it precisely because it was experience-related.
How could I hold back?
I chuckled again.
“Heh heh heh heh…”
“…What the hell’s wrong with this guy?”
“Don’t worry too much, miss. The top student has these screw-loose moments sometimes.”
My companions stared at me like I was some weirdo… but whatever.
As long as I was happy, that was all that mattered.
I carefully tucked the [Orb of Growth] into my pocket and switched to a serious expression.
“Alright, let’s get going. To the elven lands.”
“…Is he psycho?”
It was time to seriously grind some levels.
***
“Hey, Elder!”
“…Hm?”
Ervehim, who’d been leisurely enjoying tea time, turned around.
“What is it?”
There stood an elf who looked like he’d come sprinting in, his face pale for some reason.
After catching his breath, he spoke.
“T-That mage is here.”
“…Mage?”
At those words, Ervehim’s gentle expression twisted.
How many mages could “that mage” possibly refer to?
“…Why has that bastard come crawling back?”
I’d granted every single one of his demands.
There shouldn’t have been any reason for him to show up again.
That thought lasted only a moment before Ervehim gritted her teeth, realization dawning.
“The insolent worm doesn’t know his place.”
He’d clearly come sniffing around for more.
After giving in to his whims a few times, his guts had ballooned out of his belly.
This was why you couldn’t trust black-haired beasts…
“We can’t send him packing nicely this time. Assemble all the elite elves.”
Just as Ervehim issued the order, the reporting elf urgently held her back.
“It’s… not that kind of visit this time.”
“Not that kind of visit?”
“Yes. He said he’s here as a guest… that it’s for tourism.”
“…Tourism? Him?”
Ervehim doubted her own ears.
What nonsense was this?
***
Shff.
“…You’re permitted to enter.”
The elf soldier blocking our path moved his spear aside and said.
‘Not a petty type after all?’
I’d worried they’d bar us at the gates over past incidents, but it seemed the elf elder had granted permission.
Of course, I couldn’t let my guard down.
We still didn’t know why they’d allowed entry.
“…”
My companions seemed to think the same, stepping forward in tense silence.
How far did we go?
We were escorted to Alvheim’s elder per protocol and soon met her.
Ervehim twitched her eyebrows in what might’ve been a greeting.
“Didn’t expect to see you again so soon?”
“Haha, me neither.”
“…What business this time?”
Business…
She’d surely gotten a report from her soldiers already.
They’d asked our purpose before allowing entry to Alvheim.
And yet she asked anyway.
‘To hear it straight from me and sniff out any ulterior motives.’
It was a test of sorts.
A test to check if I was lying.
Elves did have something akin to Erebos’s [Lie Detection].
Their keen senses picked up on subtle facial twitches and voice tremors to discern truth from falsehood.
It was nearly as accurate as Erebos’s ability.
But.
“I’m just here for some sightseeing.”
I didn’t flinch in the slightest.
Because that really was the reason.
Well, sightseeing plus hunting, to be precise.
“…Hm.”
Ervehim scanned me up and down, tilting her head.
“Are you in your right mind? You really came to Alvheim for that?”
“Hey, there’s no rule against it, right? Alvheim isn’t some place that restricts tourists. Though I did get turned away not long ago over the war excuse.”
“Turned away?”
“Yeah, this was our original destination. We got sidetracked to Kazan Dur against our will.”
“…”
What was she thinking?
Ervehim fell silent for a moment before speaking.
“So if you hadn’t been turned away, you’d have reached Alvheim before Kazan Dur?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“And that means we successfully conquered Kazan Dur thanks to you.”
“…”
I got the gist.
She wasn’t thrilled about how things had twisted up.
‘Not that the outcome would’ve changed.’
Even if we’d arrived in Alvheim first as she suggested, the result would’ve been the same.
We wouldn’t have just sat by and watched the dwarven nation fall.
We’d have stopped the war somehow.
Though what did it matter now?
“So, can we stay?”
I steered back to the point.
“What reason do we have to let you?”
Ervehim was still prickly as ever.
Looked like I’d have to retract my earlier thought that she wasn’t petty.
She knew I wasn’t lying, yet she dug in her heels anyway.
After a moment’s thought, I spoke.
“If there’s anything Alvheim needs help with, we’ll lend a hand.”
No choice but give-and-take.
I couldn’t pass up the experience.
“You know we’re pretty capable.”
“…”
Ervehim listened quietly, then nodded.
“Fine. But you’d better keep that promise. We happen to need your help with something.”
“Yes, we’ll do our utmost.”
Whoosh!
Ervehim waved us off, signaling we could go.
‘…Bit uneasy about what she’ll have us do.’
But at least we’d successfully entered Alvheim.
***
Tadadadak!
After a quick tour of Alvheim, we headed straight for the ‘Black Forest.’
The place we’d left Asteron for—the very first destination on our list.
As such, the Black Forest teemed with efficient prey.
[Viper Demons], [Devilrocs], [Velkroads], and more…
Monsters that gave massive experience for their difficulty.
Of course, they weren’t pushovers, so we hunted at full throttle.
Shing! Boom! Boom!
Barundel unleashing [Ash Pendant] nonstop.
Prrrrng!
Thompson goring everything in sight with his horn.
Shhrrrk!
Me, wielding Erebos’s darkness.
Everyone except Kayla—who could accidentally torch the whole forest—gave it their all.
And the more we did, the more I marveled inwardly.
‘…They’re amazing.’
I knew my comrades hadn’t been slacking while I honed my darkness.
They’d grown a ton in those two weeks, naturally.
But their current performance was beyond imagination.
‘At least double, no doubt.’
Thompson, with his evolved body transformation magic, had bulked up to rival Asion Gale’s size, while Barundel wielded the [Ash Pendant] with total freedom.
Even at a conservative estimate, they’d all more than doubled in strength.
Kayla had probably hit similar gains.
It was a huge relief.
‘…Thank goodness, really.’
I’d been worried sick.
My own growth had spiked lately, after all.
I’d figured my comrades would lag behind…
‘This puts my mind at ease.’
At this rate, no worries at all.
Hell, just watching was entertaining.
I couldn’t wait to see how far they’d go.
They still had room to grow right now, too.
“Yoo Han, this as you explained earlier?”
Barundel tapped the belt at his waist.
The Legendary artifact [Thunder Belt] from Bagran.
Simple to use.
“Yes, just like that motion.”
Barundel nodded and activated it right away.
Click!
Thud!
He pressed the button on the belt while stomping the ground.
Then.
Rumble rumble rumble!
A deafening thunderclap erupted as Barundel shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
Slash slash slash!
Over a dozen [Velkroads] lost their heads to his axe in an instant.
“G-Glorious!”
Barundel gawked at the belt in awe.
Stunned by the [Thunder Belt]’s power.
It was a Legendary artifact, after all—insanely potent.
One activation had doubled his combat prowess.
Though Barundel pulling off that output on the first try was a special case.
‘He’s using it well.’
Same with the [Ash Pendant]…
Looked like he’d spent those two weeks drilling artifact activations.
Anyway.
Was Barundel the only one?
“What about mine, old man…?”
Thompson’s item was combat-boosting too.
I was about to explain usage with eager anticipation.
“I’m good, top student. Toto told me everything.”
“…Toto?”
“Oh, the cloak you gave me. Named it Toto.”
“Ahh…”
Thompson grinned as he explained.
Seemed he’d bonded with the cloak somewhat.
Enough to share info between different artifacts.
And it wasn’t a lie.
Drrrrrumble!
Thompson activated his artifact immediately.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Drrrrrumble!
Each step from his rhino form sent tremors through the earth.
The demons staggered, losing balance.
[Earth Cloud Boots].
A perfect Legendary artifact for Thompson.
Baaam!
Keeeaaak!
I savored the moment as they skewered themselves on Thompson’s horn.
Countless energies swirled around me now.
All experience points.
Fwoosh!
My body flashed brightly.
“Heh heh, level up!”
Time to cash in all the postponed level-ups at once.