Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Preparations
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Vespede felt a chill run down his spine, seeing that Lee Si-woo hadn't stopped breathing despite being trapped in Tentacle's grasp for so long.
‘This won't do. I have to step in.’
Judging by how he'd obtained the elemental stone and his strange ability to vanish before their eyes, Lee Si-woo was no easy opponent.
On top of that, Tentacle, who had never taken more than five minutes to subdue an enemy, had been struggling with Lee Si-woo for over ten.
Vespede decided to intervene himself to prevent any unforeseen, unpleasant outcomes.
‘You bastard. Sorry, but this is the end.’
Vespede's stinger-tipped tail aimed for Lee Si-woo's forehead.
But just before the stinger could touch his forehead, a gust of wind blew Vespede back.
An unknown wind peacock had appeared out of nowhere, blocking Vespede's path.
-What? A spirit? Where in the world did this come from…!
While Vespede was reeling in shock, unable to kill Lee Si-woo because of the wind spirit sent by No. 67 of Dawn at No. 44's request, Tentacle suddenly shuddered, foamed at the mouth, and collapsed.
It had rashly made contact with Lee Si-woo, had its soul devoured, and died.
Seeing Tentacle fall, Vespede's eyes darted around before it flapped its wings and took to the air.
It intended to flee now that the situation had turned against it.
“Sorry, but it would be a problem if you, who have seen too much here, were to live. You'll have to die here.”
Lee Si-woo's eyes snapped open as he gripped the Ogre Hammer with both hands.
[2nd Circle Elemental Magic: Blade Infusion]
As Lee Si-woo cast the spell, a sharp wind swirled around the Ogre Hammer.
The bird-person mage, Lime, whom Lee Si-woo had devoured, possessed two wind spells.
The 1st Circle attack spell, Blade Wind, and the 2nd Circle attack spell, Wind Throw.
And Harman knew two low-circle wind spells: the buff spell Haste, which increased agility, and the buff spell Blade Infusion, which imbued a magic weapon with sharpness.
“Hup!”
With a light cry, Lee Si-woo threw the Ogre Hammer.
The Ogre Hammer, spinning like a discus, grazed past Vespede, who had already flown a good distance away.
*Crunch.*
Like an apple sliced in two by a saw blade, Vespede's upper and lower body, mana shield and all, were torn apart and fell from the sky.
Having dealt with Vespede easily, Lee Si-woo looked at the wind peacock hovering beside him with a peculiar gaze.
‘Harman, isn't that a spirit?’
Harman, residing in a corner of his mind, answered immediately.
-Yes. It's a rather high-level spirit, and for some reason, it protected you, my Lord. We would have been in quite a predicament without it, so this is a relief.
‘It protected me?’
-It seems someone outside the barrier sent the spirit in to protect you. Does anyone come to mind?
Thinking of Autoreu, Lee Si-woo stroked his chin, the corner of his eye twitching.
‘Well. It seems like a measure taken by my master, Autoreu... but I can't be sure. Well, that's fine. It protected me, so there's no harm in it. Let's just watch for now.’
Regardless of who sent it, the being had helped him in a moment of crisis, so it couldn't be hostile. Rather than dwelling on the spirit, he needed to make thorough preparations for any emergencies.
Lee Si-woo took out Barathrum and connected.
According to the divination, entering the ruins right now would be suicide, so he planned to go back and forth to Barathrum until tomorrow to finish his preparations.
* * *
After connecting to Barathrum, Lee Si-woo put on the faceless mask and first sought out Glutton.
“Glutton.”
The fat dragon, which had been rolling on the ground in a corner of the village, slightly lifted its heavy eyelids at Lee Si-woo's call.
-Huh? Hey, Lord.
“One of my guests, Pierrot, seems to be in a bad situation. Are you willing to help him?”
The reason Lee Si-woo had allowed Glutton to reside in Barathrum was to find a way to make use of the dragon.
This lazy and gluttonous dragon seemed utterly useless at first glance, but as a legendary being, its abilities were beyond Lee Si-woo's comprehension.
Therefore, if this dragon were to help, Lee Si-woo was confident he could eliminate the barrier.
Without the barrier, the strongest animal on earth would come to his aid.
-Pierrot? Oh, you mean that human with the ridiculous mask? Hmmm… Well, if it's a request from you, Lord, I can do it. But only if that Pierrot pays me with something very, very delicious.
“Something delicious?”
-Like a fried egg made from a phoenix egg, or a drink made from a rainbow…
Hearing just that much, Lee Si-woo knew it was impossible to use Glutton right now. He gave a bitter smile behind his mask and cut the dragon off.
“That's enough. Whatever it is, it would be difficult for Pierrot to pay. Hmm, I'll let you know if he's ever in a position to pay a suitable price.”
In truth, if Lee Si-woo put his mind to it, he could probably force Glutton to help at least once without much difficulty.
Glutton was strangely obsessed with Barathrum's epicurean environment, which brought out the best flavors in ingredients. If Lee Si-woo used that to threaten it, the dragon would likely move its heavy rear end at least once.
However, if that happened, Glutton would not only distrust Lee Si-woo but would almost certainly leave Barathrum.
No matter how good-natured Glutton seemed, being a dragon, it would never tolerate someone blatantly trying to use it.
‘A shame... but I should postpone using Glutton to escape this crisis. According to the Death-Ground Fortune, someone else will appear to save me, even if it's not Glutton.’
-Hehe, as long as I receive proper payment, I'm always ready to help the guests. That's why I got your permission to stay in this strange world, Lord. Ah! But you're an exception. I owe you a debt, so I'll help you once. But... I wonder if there will ever be a time when someone like me could dare to help you.
Glutton smiled cheerfully, yet it couldn't relax its guard while facing Lee Si-woo.
That was surprising.
It was hard to believe that a dragon, a creature that normally looked down on other races to the point of treating them as delicacies, would be wary of a mere lord of some strange space.
But Glutton couldn't help it.
The immense pressure it felt whenever facing this mysterious lord had instilled in the young dragon a sense of etiquette it never had before.
‘Whatever the Lord's identity is, I have to stay on his good side. That's the only way I won't get kicked out of this world. I have no intention of leaving this paradise where everything that comes out is delicious. Besides... he's a little scary.’
Lee Si-woo was greatly pleased by Glutton's words that it would help him once because of the debt it owed.
This meant he wouldn't have to threaten Glutton, and he now had a trump card to use against the Ancient.
However, Lee Si-woo had no intention of using this card carelessly.
‘Glutton may seem naive, but as a dragon, its pride won't be shallow. If I send it against a 2nd Circle Ancient, it will surely doubt my abilities and prestige. Sending a dragon on such a trivial task would be proof of my incompetence. So... I must be extremely cautious when using this dragon.’
Otherwise, the dragon would leave leisurely, like a migratory bird disappointed in its nest.
And that would be a huge loss for Lee Si-woo.
Lee Si-woo spoke in a calm voice.
“The thought alone is appreciated, but I doubt I'll ever need your help. My guests, perhaps... Hmm, yes, if one of my guests gives me a worthy gift, I might call on you as payment for the debt.”
At Lee Si-woo's subtle suggestion that he would use this debt for dealings with his guests rather than himself, as if taking out an insurance policy, Glutton shrugged as if it were no big deal and laughed freely.
“Hehe, it's your debt, Lord, so use it as you please. Just make sure it's not for something too boring. I really love lazing around in this paradise!”
He had tried to set up an insurance policy, but the young dragon appealed to him not to call it for trivial matters.
Thinking his shallow trick had failed, Lee Si-woo gave a secret, bitter smile behind his faceless mask and said.
“I won't.”
With that, Lee Si-woo disappeared, and Glutton closed its eyes.
Now that the demanding Lord was gone, it intended to enjoy a comfortable nap, as a guest should.
* * *
The next person Lee Si-woo met after Glutton was the elf, Will.
While the other Cells were busy with magic research and mine development, Will had been training in martial arts alone under Lee Si-woo's orders. According to the Butler, he had made considerable progress recently.
“Will.”
At Lee Si-woo's appearance, the young elf, who had been swinging a hammer at a scarecrow in the training ground set up in a corner of the village, quickly prostrated himself and spoke.
“M-My Lord, what brings you to such a humble place...?”
Lee Si-woo looked down at Will, who was so flustered he was stuttering, and asked.
“I previously instructed you to devote yourself to hammer techniques. How is it? Have you made any progress?”
Lee Si-woo had obtained two Orc martial techniques related to hammers.
He had given 'Stun' and 'Charge' to Will, who had since trained day and night to master these two hammer skills.
“Huh? Ah, yes. Well... it's a bit much to call it progress, but I've gotten the hang of it enough to use it in a real fight.”
Hearing that he had gotten the hang of it enough for practical use, Lee Si-woo asked.
“Good. Now, the important thing is whether your mana control is refined enough to infuse the weapon with mana at any time... Can you do it?”
“I can. That's what I've been training for.”
At Will's confident reply, Lee Si-woo nodded and patted his shoulder.
Will flinched like a startled hamster at Lee Si-woo's touch, but soon realized it was a gesture of praise for his hard work. He scratched the back of his head, embarrassed by his own timidity.
It had been quite some time since he came to Barathrum, but he was still too timid to dare relax in front of this world's Lord.
‘Stun and Charge... these two should be a great help in the fight against the Ancient. I must stop by the library and read Will's book before I go. That way, Will's martial techniques will be updated.’
Stun, which struck the opponent's body with a mana-infused hammer to induce a one-second paralysis, and Charge, which maximized attack power by charging the hammer with mana.
These two hammer skills would be a welcome boon to Lee Si-woo, who was still a low-circle mage.
In truth, it was inefficient for a mage like Lee Si-woo to learn martial techniques.
Magic itself was powerful, came with various buffs and defensive measures, and was a versatile art with almost no weaknesses. It was foolish to turn to martial techniques used by low-level mercenaries.
‘A normal mage would spend their time honing their magic rather than learning martial arts. With limited time and resources, there's no reason to look into martial techniques that are only useful if you have a naturally strong body.’
The reason martial arts and physical enhancement techniques were looked down upon compared to magic was clear.
Unlike magic, whose power depended on the number of circles and the quality and quantity of mana, making it accessible to anyone, physical enhancement and martial techniques had clear limits to their growth if the 'foundation'—the body—was not innately strong, no matter how much one trained.
Therefore, in the Main Dimension, those who mastered martial techniques to their limits were, with the exception of Orcs, only a handful of unique species.
The techniques themselves were impossible to master unless one belonged to a natural warrior race.
‘Well, with my mineralization ability, I can effectively utilize martial techniques. And efficiency? Magic is already difficult, so I'm leaving the training and research to Harman and Lime. Why would I learn martial arts myself? I can just devour a more useful warrior in the future and make them work for me, if not Will.’
If other mages knew of Lee Si-woo's situation, they would rage about how unfair it was, but it couldn't be helped.
As the master of Barathrum, Lee Si-woo was already walking a path entirely different from other mages.
‘The last one to meet... the Butler?’
Lee Si-woo headed toward the castle with a grim expression to meet the Butler.
He had to ask the Butler about the being residing deep within his psyche.
The being behind the bars that had devoured Tentacle.