Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Assembling the Party
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"P-Please be gentle."
Luen, perched on the edge of the bed, turned her head and spoke in a trembling voice.
"It'll just take a second."
Woojin slowly approached her.
"Eek...!!"
She scrunched her eyebrows into a furrowed line and let out a low whimper.
"There, done."
"Hng..."
She sucked on her fingertip, nicked lightly by the blade, and shot Woojin a pouty glare.
As he let the blood from the knife tip drip into a vial bought from the shop, a notification rang out.
'Finally...'
There was no need to hesitate.
Woojin unhesitatingly pressed the [Confirm] button on the notification window that appeared.
Quest: Hwan-yo's Hatching
▶ Rank: SS
▶ Elf magic is required to hatch Hwan-yo's egg.
▶ Find the hidden ruins of Elvenheim in Akedonia and hatch Hwan-yo's egg.
▶ Number of Elf ruins across the continent: 7
▶ All Elvenheim ruins are hidden.
'Elf ruins?'
The moment he saw the quest window, Woojin's eyes trembled.
"...This is insane."
"What's wrong? Is the quest too hard? Well... it's SS-rank after all."
Luen asked him in a worried voice.
"No. The opposite."
"Huh?"
"It's too easy."
Woojin chuckled at her question.
[Baekhwa Port Trading Post]
"I'd like to check out the trade goods."
"Yes, this way please."
The trading post at the port, where dozens of ships were docked, was the largest shop in the Dark Forest.
"These are the items currently in stock at our trading post."
And true to its size, the variety of goods available for purchase was staggering.
Name: Adventurer's Bag
Rank: D
Description: Protected by magic, allowing safer storage of items.
▶ Increases inventory capacity.
▶ Cannot be equipped at level 40 or higher.
Price: 10 gold
Woojin slung the leather bag over his back to try it on. It had a somewhat crude feel, but it didn't hinder movement, and as described, the inside was etched with a small magic circle.
"I'll take two of these for now. Luen, hold onto the other one and use it later."
"O-Okay!"
Woojin pulled out another bag and handed it to her.
"Great choice, sir. Inventory expansion is a must for adventurers. Among the storage items available in the Dark Forest, this is the best."
The clerk chimed in from beside him.
"Even folks on the Central Continent use these a lot. There are wristbands with sub-space storage magic, but they're pricey and hard to find an enchanter for."
"I see."
His words made sense, but Woojin wasn't buying the bag just to carry more items. What he wanted was protection. In most cases, items didn't get destroyed even if dropped on death—only inventory items were safe anyway. But this otherworld was different. 'Putting it in here should make it a bit safer.' Items in the inventory manifested in a pouch on his waist when entering the otherworld. And Woojin hadn't forgotten how the potions in his pouch shattered during the fight with Ratan.
Woojin adjusted the straps to fit his body and said to the clerk,
"Do you have any tools for digging into the ground?"
"Digging?"
The clerk tilted his head at Woojin's words.
"I'm not sure what you mean. Shovels and such are at the general store in the square over there."
"No, not that. I need something that digs deeper."
"Hmm... We have some leftover explosives from mining operations."
"Can I see them?"
"Of course."
The clerk brought over a small box.
Inside were three long sticks like dynamite.
"These days, they use magic for tunneling, so explosives aren't used much anymore. Hard to find."
"How powerful?"
"From what I hear, one of these can shatter a boulder taller than a grown man. One gold each—sound good?"
"I'll take them all."
The clerk nodded and carefully removed the explosives from the box.
"Weren't we going to your dungeon?"
"Yeah. For use there."
"Huh...?"
The lab entrance was under the lake.
Which meant there was a good chance of a path to the elf ruins under the Ice Cavern that Ratan had used.
'Unlike the otherworld lake, this one's frozen.'
Woojin bought the explosives as backup in case the device Irurin used to open the lake entrance didn't work properly.
"That doesn't make sense! You can't just tell us not to go!!"
It was then.
Commotion erupted in front of the trading post.
"We came here after receiving your official notice, and now you're saying no departure? This isn't a joke...!!!"
A familiar voice.
'Gareth?'
Woojin spotted the dwarf arguing with soldiers under a signpost at the harbor entrance.
"Sorry, we don't have enough people yet, so we can't go to the Ice Cavern."
The soldiers in front of the dwarf couldn't hide their troubled expressions at his shouting.
"Enough people? I'm going alone—why are you stopping me?!"
"Well... Our survey team says there are too many magic beasts around the Ice Cavern entrance. We need at least 10 adventurers."
"Ugh, fine. How many do you have now?"
"Three at the moment."
Gareth let out a hollow laugh at the soldiers' response, as if it was absurd.
"Three? When the hell are you gonna fill that?!"
"Well... Why not wait a bit? Here's the list. You can leave your name if you want..."
"...Argh! Damn it all!!"
Gareth stomped the ground with his short legs after glancing at the papers the soldier held.
"You think you'll save my son like this? Tell the head of Agen Clan to get his act together!!"
He stormed off, fuming.
"As the master said, it'll take time to form a subjugation team."
"That's the downside of raid quests. Once cleared, you can enter raid dungeons without limits, but before that, you need the minimum numbers."
"We got lucky."
Woojin shook his head at Luen's words.
"Maybe. We still have our issues."
"Why?"
"Saving Chalson's son is important, but we also have to clear the Ice Cavern."
The boss monster of the Ice Cavern.
When he took Chalson's request, a certain magic beast popped into Woojin's mind.
'Taikan.'
The four-limbed monster he'd seen in the underground warehouse of Ratan's lab.
'Not certain, but high chance it's that guy.'
And as Irurin said, Luen's magic alone wouldn't cut it to hunt it.
"A mage..."
He needed a skilled one at that.
"Ah."
At that moment, Woojin cracked a sly smile.
"Got one in mind."
"Should've just stayed on the Central Continent. Came here with my level nerfed and now..."
The dwarf's grumbling echoed outside the inn.
"Fucked. Totally fucked. Damn, even going back means releveling. Gulp—gulp—."
Three large mugs already sat empty on the table.
"Maybe ease up on the drinking."
It was then.
Woojin, entering the inn, pulled the mug in front of Gareth toward himself.
Gareth stared at him with a 'what the hell?' look.
"Gotta move tonight, so no more booze."
"What're you on about?"
"They're recruiting for the Ice Cavern."
"You? Even official raids have no takers. Forget it. There's limits to teasing..."
He snatched the mug back roughly from Woojin.
"Drink that, and you won't make it to the Ice Cavern."
"No, I'm not going anyway!"
It was then.
"What's this?"
Gareth asked him, staring at the system window in front of him.
"A party...? You messing with me? Ice Cavern is a raid quest!"
"Why not accept and see? You can decide after."
Gareth hesitated, mug in hand, at Woojin's words.
"Whatever it is, if you're toying with me, you're dead..."
"...?!!"
Gareth's eyes widened round.
"I don't have a hobby of messing with people."
Bam—!!
At that moment, the inn door burst open.
"Bro! Brought 'em."
"Come on in."
As heads turned at the racket, Gareth saw a familiar face.
"Th-Thank you for calling me! It's an honor to join!"
"Me? Called...?"
Gareth instantly got it, seeing Kim Chan bow toward him.
"Your doing too, huh?"
"A rare mage who's your fan—had to name-drop a bit."
"Clever bastard..."
"Doesn't mean I'm dragging you along blindly. You still gotta tell me something, right?"
"Tell you what?"
"Sit down first, yeah? Gotta fill up before hitting the Ice Cavern. Intros over food. Luen, go order."
"Got it!"
Woojin spoke to Peron and Kim Chan while under Gareth's gaze.
"This is Peron. Level 49 ranger."
"Nice to meet you."
"Heh, you in this party? Unexpected."
"You know me?"
"Of course. Peron of the Dark Forest is famous even on the Central Continent."
Peron grinned at Gareth's words and shot Woojin a look like a kid fishing for praise.
"Me and Luen are level 40 warrior and level 37 archer, respectively."
"Hold on, did I hear that right? Level 37? You really planning to take that mercenary?"
"Obviously."
Woojin looked at Kim Chan like what was the problem.
"Don't worry. She's more useful than most level 40s. Luen can use double enchant."
"Double enchant? That's for buffer mages—on an archer?"
"Elf."
With one word—'elf'—Woojin dismissed their doubts without further explanation.
"And you?"
"Me?"
Woojin chuckled.
"Strongest here."