Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: A New Companion
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‘I’ve got a weapon, but it’s a shame there isn’t any armor that fits.’
After buying the dagger, Do-jae had intended to get some armor, too.
They didn’t sell any at the blacksmith, so he had to wander around with Sari.
But when they looked, there was no armor that Do-jae could wear.
Men's armor was generally too large and baggy, while women's armor was ill-suited for a man's frame.
Ultimately, finding armor that fit would require a custom order, but with a one-month deadline, he decided to forgo it for now.
He'd just have to be careful until he could find armor that fit his body.
‘Of course, if I can get the hang of my skills before then, I won't need armor anyway. Now, for the last item: the earring.’
Do-jae headed to the workshop with Sari.
It was a small log cabin built atop a tree.
Climbing the rickety stairs was a chore, but going up was even harder.
"You Gray Elves are good at climbing these high places."
"Elves are a people of the forest, after all."
Unlike Do-jae, Sari, who had reached the workshop with ease, remarked as she watched him struggle.
Deciding this was taking too long, Do-jae pushed off, leaping up the stairs instead of climbing them.
"It's not like I can just dig my way up the tree."
"Do-jae, you can't do that! Every single one of these trees is precious to us!"
"Alright, I get it. Anyway, Sari, what's the most populous race on the continent right now?"
Do-jae asked as he entered the workshop with Sari.
Sari skillfully placed the items on the desk and answered.
"Hmm, if you exclude monsters and animals, it's obviously orcs."
"So it's orcs, as expected."
The most common dungeons were orc dungeons.
In other words, he could easily deduce that orc dungeons were common on Earth because the orc population was large here.
"But since the Great Cataclysm, the monster population has exploded, and wars have broken out across the continent again, so it might not be orcs. Elves are also working hard to absorb human territories."
"Really? You said elves were a people of the forest. Living by the sea, living on the plains... your story keeps changing."
"That was the elves of the past! There are many elves who left the forest to live on the plains, and there are even elves who live on islands in the middle of the sea! What era do you think this is!"
"Fascinating..."
"Hmph! You're one to talk about strange!"
Sari took out the earring and dipped it into a mixture of various unidentifiable liquids.
A white light then enveloped the earring's surface, and characters floated into view.
Next, Sari drew a geometric pattern on the desk with white powder.
She then inscribed letters over the pattern and placed the earring in the very center.
"Those characters..."
"Oh? Do-jae, you know the runic language?"
"No, I've just seen similar characters before."
"Oh, for a second there... Anyway, I need to concentrate now, so please don't talk to me!"
At Sari's words, Do-jae stepped back.
Sari closed her eyes and began to chant an incantation.
Then, the letters inscribed on the pattern began to float up and were sucked into the earring with a brilliant light.
"It's done! Here, Do-jae. Now, as long as you have mana, Mind Exchanging will work even without my magic."
"That was simpler than I thought. I didn't expect it to be over so quickly."
"What? Do... do you have any idea how difficult and demanding this magic is? The reagents aren't easy to come by, and if I had drawn the pattern even slightly wrong..."
Sari's voice grew more agitated.
But Do-jae's next words made her flush.
"Thank you. Now I can communicate with ease."
"Tch... Fine! If you're so grateful, then give me a cup ramen too! I haven't even had a chance to taste it yet!"
"Alright. As a special offer, I'll give you two for eight gold."
"Do-jae! You can't be serious!"
"I'm kidding."
Do-jae smiled and took a cup ramen from his subspace to give to Sari.
Sari hugged the cup ramen tightly and asked.
"So, what did you talk about with Lady Arcturia? The atmosphere was pretty tense."
"Oh, it was nothing. She gave me a trial: find three of her leaves within a month."
"Leaves?"
After her conversation with Do-jae, Arcturia had scattered three of her leaves into the sky.
The leaves, which had been changing color, turned completely golden and then shot off somewhere like arrows.
Finding those vanished leaves was the trial Do-jae had to complete.
"Look at this."
Do-jae took out a palm-sized branch from his pocket.
It was a branch with a triangular, arrow-shaped tip.
*Spin...*
"Whoa! It's spinning!"
The arrow-shaped branch spun round and round on the floor before pointing in one direction.
No matter how many times Do-jae tried to point it elsewhere, it would quickly spin back to its original direction.
"She said the direction this branch points is where the leaves are."
"So, are you leaving to find them now, Do-jae?"
"Yeah, I got the earring, so communication won't be an issue. It's just that me being human is a bit of a concern..."
The reason Do-jae's cup ramen business did so well.
The novelty of ramen to the Gray Elves was one factor, but the fact that Do-jae was a human played a big part too.
Some Gray Elves had come to the blacksmith just to get a look at him and ended up buying cup ramen, swept up in the moment.
"Then wait just a moment! I'm going to stop by my house for a bit! Don't disappear, you have to wait for me right here below!"
With those words, Sari dashed out of the workshop and disappeared among the branches before Do-jae could even ask why.
‘Hmm... Guess I'll practice my skills for a bit.’
***
Sari leaped through the branches with all her might.
Along the way, villagers saw her and asked why she was in such a hurry, but Sari ran home without even giving a proper answer.
"Sorry! Later..."
She hurried to her home.
It was a house built on the largest tree, located in the center of the village.
"Chief, where have you been all day? Kuhtan said you were with the human."
"I'm sorry, Elder Iota. Is my grandmother upstairs?"
"Yes, she's here, but..."
"Thank you!"
Sari gave a slight bow to Elder Iota and started running up again.
The first and second floors of this three-story house were also used as the village hall and the elders' offices.
And finally, the third floor.
Sari threw open the door and went inside.
"Grandmother!"
An elderly woman with the same silver hair as Sari.
She was the former chief of this village and Sari's grandmother.
"Sari! What is the meaning of this! Who taught you to behave this way!"
"Ah. I'm sorry..."
"I've told you time and again to act with decorum! How can you be so rash! You are the chief of this village!"
At her grandmother's scolding, Sari lowered her head and shrank back.
But Sari clenched her fists and raised her head again.
"Grandmother! I want to go on an adventure!"
"What... what? I couldn't have heard that right, could I? Did you just say adventure?"
"Yes! I'm leaving right now."
"R-Right now? Are you mocking this old woman?"
"No, I'm serious! You know too, Grandmother, that I've wanted to leave the village since I was little."
Ever since she was saved from a monster by a human as a very young child, Sari had wanted to go out into the world and have adventures.
But her grandmother, an elder at the time, had stopped her, even going so far as to seat her as the next chief prematurely.
It was a ploy by her grandmother, who didn't want to lose Sari to the Hundred Years' War before the Great Cataclysm, and the chaotic world that followed.
After all, Sari's mother had left the mountain range and died in the war.
Sari knew this, which was why she had been patient until now.
But now, unlike back then, the world had stabilized a great deal, and she was a proper adult who could pull her own weight as a Gray Elf.
Moreover, with Do-jae here now, she thought it was the perfect time to set out on an adventure.
"The village... what will become of the village!"
"I'm truly sorry about that. The elders are doing a fine job, and you're here, so... please."
Sari's grandmother looked at Sari.
She had the same expression as Sari's mother, her own daughter, when she left the village.
"I suppose you can't deny your blood. Go on, do as you wish."
"Hehe, you know I get that blood from you, right?"
"When will you return?"
"It won't be long. One month!"
"...Very well. Go. I will be praying for you."
Sari, who had received permission more easily than expected, happily headed to her room.
And she packed her bag with various items needed for an adventure.
More importantly, there was another reason she had to return home.
"Right, I have to pack this too!"
Sari stuffed a thick cloth garment deep into her bag.
***
‘So this is how it works.’
Do-jae was absorbed in using his skills.
Now that he couldn't use skills simply by thinking of them, he had to figure out how they were activated.
And he felt like he was starting to understand the principles of his skills.
‘Passive skills are about how skillfully you handle mana. Active skills, on the other hand, are about how well you utilize mana within a set framework. In any case, it'll be difficult to master either of them in just a day or two.’
To get used to it even a little faster, Do-jae rolled stones on his palm.
And the more he rolled them, the faster the Golem Armor formed and dismantled on his hand.
After about 350 repetitions?
Sari came running from a distance.
"Do-jae!"
For some reason, Sari was carrying a large backpack that towered over her head.
Do-jae asked Sari as she arrived in front of him and set down her backpack.
"What's with the huge backpack?"
"I'm going too!"
"Where?"
"Wherever you're going, Do-jae!"
Do-jae rubbed his temples.
Sari had helped him in many ways.
She had arranged his meeting with Arcturia, helped him sell ramen, and made the earring for him.
But he felt he had received enough help.
He felt bad accepting any more help, and besides, he didn't want to put this girl through any hardship.
She was, after all, the chief of this village.
Going with Do-jae meant leaving the village.
"Is it really okay for a chief to leave her village so easily?"
"Don't worry. My grandmother will be the acting chief for a while."
"Ah. Right, even so, following me will be quite dangerous. You said the outside is swarming with monsters."
"Don't worry about that either. I may not look it, but I'm pretty strong!"
"I find that hard to believe..."
"Do-jae, what did you just say?"
Do-jae shook his head.
It seemed Sari had come fully prepared.
She was so determined that no amount of persuasion would work.
"Fine, do as you please..."
"Yay! Adventure! Adventure! Oh, right! Do-jae, take this."
Sari handed him a long, loose outer garment from her backpack.
"It's a robe my mother used to wear. It should fit you perfectly, Do-jae."
Do-jae pulled on the robe.
The large hood cast a shadow over Do-jae's face, obscuring his features.
"This is good. No one will be able to tell if I'm a human or a Gray Elf."
"Great! Then let's leave right away! I've packed everything!"
Do-jae picked up Sari's backpack.
After putting it in his subspace, he started on his way.
Sari trotted along behind him.
"Wait for me!"