Chapter 350
Chapter 350
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 350
Chapter Title: Land of Sorcery (6)
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# 350
“Already destroyed the city?”
He had heard the news of the first city’s destruction.
Not just its fall, but outright destruction.
Azar had been inwardly shocked by that alone, yet in merely a day, the remaining city had been toppled as well. Even if striking before they could strengthen their defenses gave the advantage, this was still astonishing.
Of course, he could manage it himself if he put his mind to it, but if he or his subordinates moved, the King of Sorcery would notice.
That was why he had made a contract with Rokan, but to think he would handle it so easily?
“Shouldn’t have taken it down so quickly?”
“No such thing! I’m just surprised. The potential of humans… it’s remarkable.”
Azar exclaimed in admiration repeatedly. His eyes narrowed as if deep in thought, but Rokan paid it no mind despite having returned multiple times.
As long as the rewards were proper, that was all that mattered, right?
“I may look it, but I’m a busy man. Shall we settle the quest first?”
“Ah, right. Very well, I acknowledge that you’ve faithfully completed my request.”
[You have leveled up.]
‘Oh?’
The rewards for slaying two direct subordinates of the five kings who ruled the Illusion Demon Realm and massacring thousands of illusion beasts entrenched in a major city were truly impressive.
Rokan, who had already leveled up twice during the quest, now leveled up once more.
And if he claimed the rewards from the Spirit Realm on top of that? He might get another chance to level up soon.
‘At this rate, I’ll hit 450 before I know it.’
Since reaching level 400, his level had stubbornly refused to rise no matter how many monsters he hunted—until breaching the void, after which it had skyrocketed.
It was the result of hunting truly extraordinary beings, but at this pace, he might reach 450 even faster than it had taken to go from 350 to 400.
Flashing a satisfied smile, Rokan checked the additional reward items.
‘These are useful.’
As expected of one of the five kings of the Illusion Demon Realm? They seemed tossed in casually, yet every single one was epic-grade.
Though specialized in mental attributes and thus impractical for Rokan to use himself, he could fetch a fortune selling them, or feed them to the Demon God’s Fang belt if needed.
Having stowed the items, Rokan glanced indifferently at Azar, who was grinning slyly. His guess seemed correct.
“So, the contract is done for now?”
“So it would seem.”
There was no extension to the contract. Azar had already achieved his goal.
He might demand a similar deal again someday, but for now, he showed no such intent, so Rokan left without further ado.
‘If others suffer, you should expect to as well.’
Just like what happened to America and Russia.
His involvement hadn’t been exposed yet, so his relations with the other Illusion Demon Realm kings remained fine. Even if it came out, would they all turn against him? Doubtful. If it were him, he’d exploit it just as America had.
But Azar apparently hadn’t thought that far and let Rokan go obediently.
Thus, he arrived in the Spirit Realm.
Releasing Kai and heading to where he’d received the quest, the spirits greeted him.
“Wow, did you take down all these illusion beasts by yourself? Kyarruk!”
The spirits swirled around Rokan, marveling and rejoicing at his feats.
Since he’d hunted illusion beasts far from the Spirit Realm, it hadn’t directly threatened them, but the quest seemed keyed to the act of “illusion beast hunting” itself.
‘Well, not entirely unrelated?’
Before meeting Azar, he had taken down illusion beasts near the Spirit Realm border, so there was some connection.
Thus, Rokan claimed hefty rewards from them and boosted his affinity.
“Take care of us from now on too!”
“If you’re done, wanna play with us? Play with us, and we’ll introduce you to the Great Spirit!”
After collecting the quest rewards, the spirits who had taken an interest in Rokan began tempting him. They dangled promises like introducing the Great Spirit if he joined their fun.
‘The Great Spirit, huh…’
Beings on par with the five kings of the Illusion Demon Realm.
Surely level 450 or higher. Meeting them and earning a blessing could yield massive gains, so Rokan pondered briefly.
He had no idea what “playing” entailed, but it seemed a fair trade for a short while.
“Alright. What’ll we play?”
“Tag! Tag!”
“Hm?”
The tree spirits demanded none other than tag.
“Kyahaha! You’re it. Here we go!”
[Tag][Quest]
Win at tag against the tree spirits.
-Success Condition: Win at tag against the tree spirits.
-Success Reward: Arrangement to meet the Great Tree Spirit.
“Hmm.”
Rokan’s expression turned subtle as he watched them dart away swiftly.
‘Tag? Piece of cake!’
Hadn’t he mastered mobility skills from various classes? Though power-oriented, he now had confidence in speed too, so he immediately dashed.
Stagger.
“Eek!”
Thud!
But he tripped over grass before taking a few steps.
With Rokan’s strength and reflexes, mere grass shouldn’t trip him, but the tree spirits had meddled.
“A knot?”
Looking down, his ankle was caught in a grass knot.
No natural occurrence—the tree spirits’ prank. Evidence: their giggling from afar.
‘Damn it.’
Curses bubbled up instantly.
At this rate, could he catch tree spirits in a forest?
Fury rose, but quitting wasn’t an option.
The quest’s success condition implied failure might nix the promised Great Spirit meeting.
“Steps of Resolve!”
This time, he charged without giving them a chance to bind him. Even mana-infused grass knots would snap under the force of his leap.
Boom!
But he recoiled, forehead throbbing, crashing backward. A sapling had erupted into a massive tree from the ground.
“Kyahaha!”
The tree spirits’ doing again. Rubbing his forehead, Rokan rose with renewed determination.
“Wing Mode! Kai!”
How about this? He unfurled Gale Wings and summoned Kai. No rule said he had to catch them solo.
If Kai held them, he could nab them, right?
“Heehee!”
But realizing it was a miscalculation didn’t take long.
This was their home turf. And they freely altered their size, slipping away at the last second whenever he closed in.
Even that was them pretending to get caught for fun, not his skill.
“Gale Incarnation!”
He even activated Gale Incarnation, but to no avail. They matched his speed increase.
At this rate, even a fair fight might not beat them—self-doubt crept in.
“Screw this, I’m out!”
After fumbling for ages, Rokan gave up chasing.
But not the quest.
‘Tree spirits, was it?’
His eyes gleamed slyly as he devised another plan.
Pat pat pat.
He dumped a certain potion from his inventory onto the ground.
Spraying randomly in the Spirit Realm might harm plants and tank reputation, but this was different.
A special plant nutrient from Edal.
“Huh?”
Rumble rumble rumble.
Like Jack and the Beanstalk—what the hell?
Where Rokan poured the nutrient, a tree even grander than the spirits’ grew skyward.
‘Edal, what the hell did you make?’
Rokan wasn’t the only shocked one. The tree spirits rushed over, startled by the potent life force, forgetting tag entirely.
“Heek? What’s this?”
“Gotcha.”
But Rokan kept his wits. Instead of gawking, he touched a nearby tree spirit.
[You have completed the Tag quest.]
The quest cleared. But that was it—the tree spirits, now disinterested in tag, chattered at him, unconcerned by defeat.
To them, it was just “play.”
“Human, what is this?”
“How’d you do it?”
“Hmm, human tech? But it doesn’t feel artificial?”
Opportunity. Grinning like a con artist at their keen interest, Rokan spoke.
“Rapid Growth Potion. One million coin each. Interested?”
He slapped a name on it, but it sounded legit.
Considering raw materials cost around 10k coin, it was a rip-off, but spirits didn’t care.
“I’ll buy! I’ll buy!”
“How do you make it? Tell us!”
“One at a time, line up. Recipe’s trade secret!”
“Ugh, no fair!”
“So, not buying?”
“No, I’ll buy! I’ll buy! Karruruk.”
The marks—no, spirits—lined up obediently.
So guileless, no cutting; they handed coins to Rokan one by one and took their potions.
“Waaah! My turn!”
“Can’t help shortages. Super rare to make. But next batch, you get first dibs.”
The forty-nine remaining bottles sold out in no time.
Unbought tree spirits sulked, but Rokan soothed them, promising next time.
Of course, no mention of same price.
“Now, time to introduce the Great Tree Spirit?”
“Yeah! I’ll take you!”
Wrapping up the impromptu sales, Rokan claimed his wager reward.
‘The Great Tree Spirit…’
One of the six Great Spirits ruling the Spirit Realm.
What manner of being? What quests and rewards? He pondered what to request, waiting calmly.
Rumble rumble rumble.
“……!”
As he waited for the tree spirit to prepare, the ground shook with a massive roar and tremor.
Not nearby, but its reach here meant no ordinary event.
What had happened?
“Kai!”
Rokan summoned Kai and soared skyward. At the highest point below the clouds, he surveyed.
Spirit Realm side: all clear.
Being on the outskirts made checking quick.
‘Then…’
Chaos from the Illusion Demon Realm?
Flying closer revealed massive smoke far off.
Small to him, but visible from so far? No normal explosion.
“That direction… the Land of Sorcery?”
The smoke rose from none other than the Land of Sorcery. Something big had gone down.
“War.”
From that clue alone, Rokan was certain.
This was war.
Invasion from the mortal realm? Or another illusion beast king? Instinct said the latter.
Rulers sharing the Illusion Demon Realm, yet always eyeing each other’s turf—how could they miss Rokan weakening one?
Probably what Azar had hoped for.
Smirk.
Unsure of Azar’s full scheme, Rokan welcomed it.
War zones were prime leveling spots, after all.
Turning back to the spirit village, he excused himself to the tree spirits and flew toward the warring Land of Sorcery.