Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Imprint Memory
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Sraka’s Fang, a pair of daggers forged as a set.
They were two daggers created by refining the fangs of a dragon named Srakasius, known in ancient times as the God-Slaying Dragon.
But why daggers of all things? According to Tahul, who was emerging from the carriage, the dwarf named Brook Warhammer at the time was not a blacksmith skilled enough to handle a dragon's tooth. After repeated failures, Sraka’s Fang was all he managed to create.
“You old geezer! Don’t lie!”
“Kuhuhu, that’s the information I have.”
“Grr…! Brook Warhammer was a great blacksmith! So great that all dwarves looked up to him!”
Oson shouted, trembling with indignation.
In any case, there was no doubt that Sraka's Fang was a remarkable weapon.
Secretly pleased to have obtained a more formidable weapon than he expected, Do-jae spoke to Oson.
“Oson, could you possibly make me a decent sheath?”
Do-jae showed him the old leather sheath that had held Sraka’s Fang.
It had been on the verge of tearing from the beginning, but now a hole had formed at the bottom, making it impossible to sheathe the daggers properly.
“Ooh… A chance to craft a sheath for a divine weapon! I, Oson Ironhammer, may be lacking, but I will do my absolute best!”
“Let me know if you need anything. Don’t worry about the appearance. Just make it sturdy.”
“No, sir! I will mobilize all my senses to create a sheath that will satisfy you!”
“Uh… okay, sure…”
Oson told Do-jae what materials he needed.
Then, he got some paper and a pen and began to sketch.
As it turned out, the leather sheath wasn't just any animal hide, but the tough and durable skin of an ogre. Still, it was inadequate for containing Sraka’s Fang.
Oson said that once the fire and equipment were ready, he would use a portion of the Thorn Ore Do-jae had given him and some Luna Stone to craft the sheath.
“Old man Tahul, have you finished the book?”
Do-jae approached Tahul.
Tahul, who had not participated in the battle against the nagas, had been reading in the carriage the entire time.
They could have easily obtained Arcturia's Leaf without him, but Do-jae was curious what book could make him look even more tired than they were.
“Yup. Mastered it completely.”
“What on earth were you reading? You barely slept.”
“Tsk, tsk, this is all your fault!”
“My… my fault, all of a sudden?”
Tahul suddenly started getting angry at Do-jae.
“Hmph, at my age, sitting here studying new magic until my eyes pop out of my head. It’s not like I can impress a young lady like Sarieta with this. What am I doing all this for, just to help one foolish human man!”
Do-jae was flustered by Tahul’s irritation.
He hadn't asked for anything, nor had he bothered him, so why was the old man angry at him?
Was it really so wrong to have whined a bit about wanting to learn magic?
“Calm down. How are you planning to help? I said I’d figure out the magic on my own…”
“Learn magic overnight? Hah! But what can I do? You show promise. Come here!”
Tahul moved to a flat piece of land outside the swamp and began to draw a magic circle.
***
Do-jae spent his time practicing archery with Sari and asking Oson about the ores in his subspace.
Nearly five hours later, he saw Tahul finally straighten his back.
“Oof, my back. Human youngster! You should be grateful. It’s only because it’s me that I can even imitate this after reading a book a few times!”
A massive magic circle, at least three meters in radius, came into view.
Compared to the one he had drawn on the golem before, this one was dozens of times larger, more complex, and more intricate.
“Oh my! What kind of spell are you planning to cast with a magic circle this big?!”
Sari said in a flurry upon seeing the magic circle.
Like her, Do-jae wondered what incredible magic required such a circle.
“Aigoo, aigoo. You’ll see. Human youngster! Step into the center of the circle. Be careful!”
At Tahul’s words, Do-jae scratched his head and slowly walked to the center of the magic circle.
“You could at least tell me what it is. This is making me nervous.”
“Why, you think I’m going to kill you?”
“No, I know you’re not that kind of person, but shouldn’t I prepare for something?”
“There’s nothing for you to prepare. Just try to remember it after the spell is done so you don’t forget.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m starting now.”
Tahul opened his spellbook and began to chant.
Mana started gathering in the magic circle, and with each page Tahul turned, the circle glowed brighter.
“…There might be a slight headache as a side effect. Consider it a small price to pay. Imprint Memory!”
Tahul shouted the activation word at the end of a long incantation, and simultaneously, the mana from the magic circle seeped into Do-jae.
A moment later, the surroundings darkened again, and Do-jae’s head drooped.
“What… what was that? Grandpa, is Do-jae okay?”
“Hey, old man Tahul! I hope nothing’s wrong with my master!”
Sari looked at Do-jae with concern, while Oson glared at Tahul.
“Hoo, this old man needs to sleep. I’ve lost my appetite, so I’ll skip dinner.”
Looking exhausted, Tahul disappeared into the carriage.
Sari and Oson quickly ran to Do-jae.
“Do-jae, are you okay? What kind of spell was that?”
“Master, if there’s a problem, this Oson Ironhammer will take that old geezer and…!”
Do-jae slowly lifted his head.
He then spoke to them.
“Bring me the book with the brown cover from the carriage trunk.”
At Do-jae’s words, Sari and Oson met each other's eyes and, without a second thought, sprinted to the carriage.
After rummaging through the trunk, they grabbed every book that looked remotely brown and ran back to Do-jae.
“This one… you can put the rest back in the trunk, please.”
Do-jae plucked a single book from Sari’s hands.
He immediately began to read it.
*Flip—.*
“There are various types of non-living summons. Among them, the most basic are golems, which possess characteristics according to the summoner’s unique mana, the foundational core, and the materials they are composed of…”
“Gasp! Do-jae! You can read it?”
Do-jae read the sentences in the book without pause.
His voice was steady, without a hint of hesitation.
“Hmm… I’d say I can read it, but I can’t quite comprehend it.”
“What does that mean?”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
Do-jae was also quite perplexed.
The words flowed easily.
But their meanings didn't immediately register in his head.
It felt like he was reading with a dictionary next to him, matching each word to its definition.
So, while he could read the text, he couldn't understand the content.
He had to read it once and then slowly reflect on it to grasp what was written.
“It’s just one of those things. Anyway, I’ll have to read slowly and digest it. Still, being able to read at all is a huge step.”
“I don’t know what’s going on, but that’s great, Do-jae!”
“Con… congratulations?”
Do-jae looked at the carriage.
Tahul had helped him immensely.
With this, he would be able to learn a great deal from the books in the carriage trunk and those in his subspace.
“I owe old man Tahul a great debt. I have to make sure I get him to the ruins properly.”
“Ruins? Ooh! We’re going? To the ruins?”
“Yeah. Since I’ve received this much help, I need to do something for old man Tahul in return.”
“I knew it! Humans are such a kind race!”
Sari cheered and ran to the carriage.
She opened the carriage door and started waking Tahul, chattering excitedly. Soon, Tahul’s voice could be heard, grumbling in annoyance.
“Oson, it looks like you’ll have to make the sheath a little later.”
“Not at all, sir! Shall I prepare for camp, then?”
“Yes, let’s rest here for today.”
It had taken them a fortnight to get the leaf.
From here, it would take about a week to return using the golems.
That left them with a little less than ten days of spare time.
Do-jae decided to use that time to explore the ruins Tahul mentioned and read the magic books.
“Sari! Stop bothering the old man and come out!”
***
Do-jae continued to spend his time reading.
Even though Tahul’s magic had imprinted the language in his mind, it took time to interpret it, so his progress was slow.
Moreover, there were many abstruse and complex sentences that he often had to ask Tahul about, which slowed him down even more.
“I’m telling you, it doesn’t work no matter how much mana I pour into it.”
“Well, perhaps that’s because you don’t properly understand it, human youngster.”
“Then please read this part. I’ll try drawing it, and you can see for yourself if it works or not.”
What Do-jae was attempting was a spell to imbue a golem with an element.
It wasn't a single-use magic circle for imbuing lightning like the one Tahul had drawn, but a method of directly inscribing a magic circle onto the golem's core, drawing and binding it with mana.
“Here, look.”
Do-jae began to draw on a piece of paper.
Since he couldn’t show the mana directly, he wanted to have the drawing checked first.
*Scribble, scribble—.*
“Huhuhu. Look at this. You see? You haven’t understood it properly at all.”
“What do you mean? It looks the same, doesn’t it?”
“Tsk, tsk. If you draw it like this, it might look the same on the surface. But a magic circle isn’t just a picture drawn on a flat plane. It’s about layering formulas and runic words to build the circle. The order of your drawing is completely wrong. Not only that, but the formulas are a mess too.”
Tahul tapped Do-jae’s drawing, pointing out what was wrong and where the problems were.
Do-jae tried his best to understand, but while memorization was easy, comprehension was quite difficult.
“If you could use magic easily just by reading one book, the world would be full of mages, wouldn't it? Don’t be hasty. Take your time and try to understand. The fact that you’ve grasped this much already means your learning speed is beyond human.”
“Yes… I’ll think about it some more.”
Do-jae, though disappointed, decided to spend more time with the book.
At times like these, he couldn't help but feel envious of magic-based Awakeners.
Just as he could summon dozens of golems with a single skill, magic-based Awakeners could use hundreds, even thousands, of spells with a single activation word.
Do-jae thought that if he had been a magic-type, understanding this book might have been a little easier.
*Rattle—.*
“Do-jae! Grandpa!”
The window on the driver’s side opened, and Sari poked her head in.
“That place you called the ruins! Is that it over there?”
As Sari moved aside, Tahul looked out the window.
“Yes! That’s it! That’s the ruin I’ve been looking for!”
Tahul said in a joyful voice, and Do-jae also looked out the window to see the ruin.
However, after seeing its appearance, Do-jae couldn't hide his disappointment.
“That’s supposed to be a ruin?”
“Yes. It is the sanctuary of the great being, Ascetic Elatra.”
Do-jae looked at the ruin again.
On a vast plain stood a few crumbling pillars on a flat stone floor.
Other than that, there was nothing remarkable about the place.
It was no different from the human remains they had seen on their journey here by carriage.
“Huhuhu, you’re thinking, ‘Why is that a ruin?’, aren’t you? You’ll see when we get there.”
Tahul laughed cheerfully, while Do-jae, clueless, let the carriage carry him onward.