A Monument Built of Time
I have to find a low-grade elixir somehow.
To advance from the 3rd Circle to the 4th Circle, he had to overcome a massive obstacle.
Surpassing it would require a tremendous amount of effort.
The best way was to obtain the help of spirits, but...
There's still no word from the Spirit Realm.
Strangely, there was no response from the Spirit Realm.
Thus, he had no choice but to seek out a low-grade elixir.
At first, he had worried about what he would do if such things didn't even exist here.
But after making inquiries through the Cheonghwa Merchant Guild, he discovered that items comparable to low-grade elixirs did indeed exist in this world.
The only drawback is that the price is absolutely insane.
The Soyo Pill.
It was said that this pill didn't just increase one's inner qi; it actually doubled the physical size of the dantian itself.
Its effects were exactly what Ilyang was looking for.
The only problem, of course, was the price.
Ten thousand gold coins.
Converted to silver, it was a staggering, absurd sum of one hundred thousand silver coins.
And they say you can't even buy it even if you have the money.
A dry chuckle escaped his lips.
A small town like this naturally had no such stock, and even if he traveled to a major city, there was no guarantee he would find one.
But why does no one here know about the Spirit Realm? This is highly unusual.
For a world where mysticism and supernatural phenomena existed to be completely ignorant of the Spirit Realm was baffling.
Ilyang had made inquiries here and there, but...
...the people of this world truly had no concept of the Spirit Realm whatsoever.
I know it exists.
It was disappointing, but there was nothing he could do about it for now.
Ilyang took stock of his current funds.
Gold Coins:11
Silver Coins:42
Copper Coins:520
While he was certainly wealthy by ordinary standards, the items he wanted to buy were so astronomically expensive that his current savings felt like mere pocket change.
Still, an opportunity will present itself eventually.
Over the past month, he had completed no fewer than ten requests.
Thanks to that, along with a modest reputation, he had finally met the minimum requirements to rank up within the Nangin Association.
"Here is your iron plaque, young hero."
"Thank you."
The receptionist of the dilapidated Nangin Association branch building, middle-aged receptionist and intermediate vagabond Mak Chung, handed the iron plaque to Ilyang with a slightly peculiar expression.
"Normally, rising to the rank of an Iron Plaque is a relatively quick process, but you have been exceptionally fast, Young Hero Ilyang."
And for good reason.
Ilyang hadn't just been taking on requests; he had actively sought out multiple tasks to deliberately inflate the commission fees recorded in the Nangin Association's ledgers.
His reason for willingly parting with his money to rank up so quickly was simple.
Only by climbing to a higher rank can I gain access to high-level information.
The Nangin Association did not sell physical goods, but they did trade in information.
For Ilyang, who desperately needed high-grade intelligence on the whereabouts of elixirs or other crucial spiritual medicines, rising through the ranks was an absolute necessity.
"This plaque will be recognized in other regions as well, correct?"
"Of course."
One way or another, he had to expand his opportunities to acquire high-level intelligence.
Now that he had obtained the iron plaque he had targeted, it was time to move on.
Giyang County was located too far from any major central city, and because of its small size, the quality and quantity of available requests were severely lacking.
Simply put, there was no real money to be made here.
I must head to a major city.
In the end, everything came down to money.
Money was required to buy information, and money was required to purchase spiritual medicine.
Furthermore, studying the magic and mysteries of this world would demand even more capital.
This was precisely why the vast majority of mages lived their lives obsessed with wealth.
Still, now that I've reached the 3rd Circle, I can afford to solidify my foundation.
The 4th Circle was too far away.
Flukes and shortcuts would no longer work as they had before.
Without spiritual medicines or spirits, he would have to spend a very long time slowly consolidating his foundation, accumulating progress grain by grain until he finally reached the 4th Circle.
It is quite literally a monument built of time.
It would take at least ten years.
This was a timespan from which even the greatest geniuses were not exempt.
And even that estimate was only possible because Ilyang had already walked this path once before.
"Are you planning to leave?"
"Yes."
Sensing that Ilyang would depart the moment he received his iron plaque, Mak Chung asked before offering a suggestion.
"If you are planning to head toward the provincial capital of Chengdu, I happen to have a suitable request. It's a subcontracted escort mission from the Jinseong Escort Agency. They are currently recruiting vagabonds of Iron Plaque rank or higher."
"I'll take it."
Ilyang answered without a moment's hesitation.
A subcontracted request.
While it was technically an escort mission, it differed slightly from the standard variety.
After an escort agency accepted a shipment from a client, they would hire independent vagabonds as a form of insurance.
In essence, it was a precaution for worst-case scenarios—they were hiring vagabonds to serve as meat shields in times of crisis.
If one was lucky, they could pocket a handsome sum of money while doing absolutely nothing but idling around.
On the flip side, if luck was poor, they might find themselves facing overwhelming enemies they couldn't possibly handle.
Yet, the vagabonds in this line of work highly welcomed these subcontracted jobs.
After all, danger to one's life was a constant regardless of the mission, so they preferred tasks that at least offered substantial compensation.
Ilyang smoothly signed the request form Mak Chung slid across the counter.
Then, he politely clasped his hands in a martial salute toward Mak Chung.
"Thank you for everything, Great Hero Mak Chung."
"Haha, not at all. It was my pleasure to work with such a reliable vagabond."
Mak Chung returned the salute, offering a warm, calm smile.
In truth, Ilyang was well aware that Mak Chung had shown him a great deal of consideration.
Since no one could peer into his soul, Ilyang appeared to be nothing more than a mere ten-year-old child.
To entrust various requests to such a young boy—even if it had been out of simple whim—had been of immense help to Ilyang.
"I will be sure to repay this debt in the future."
"Haha, I shall look forward to it."
Mak Chung brushed it off lightly, but this was a promise uttered by none other than a great archmage.
It would undoubtedly return to him as an immense reward in the future.
Another day passed.
Ilyang stepped onto the grand training grounds of the Jinseong Escort Agency.
"Oh? Are you Young Hero Ilyang, the one recently famous as the Flame Fist? A pleasure to meet you. I am Jo Chang, one of the senior escort warriors for this journey."
"I am Ilyang."
"Haha, to think I'd meet the rumored Flame Fist in person. My expectations are high."
The Flame Fist.
It was an epithet earned because Ilyang defeated bandits with fists cloaked in blazing fire whenever he undertook a request.
A short child swinging tiny fists wrapped in fireballs the size of watermelons—at that bizarre and terrifying sight, most bandits fled on sight.
The vagabonds who worked alongside him naturally assumed Ilyang was a hidden master from some prestigious clan.
After all, none of them can tell the difference between magic and martial arts.
Though they had grossly misunderstood, Ilyang didn't lose anything by it, so he simply let them believe what they wanted.
"Those over there are the companions who will be traveling with us to Chengdu. Let us go greet them."
Excluding the agency's own escort warriors, they seemed to have recruited about ten external experts.
Judging by the sheer scale of the caravan, this was a far larger operation than he had anticipated.
In fact, this escort mission was a monumental undertaking that the Jinseong Escort Agency only saw once every few decades, drawing in their entire core strength, including the agency's director himself.
Guided by the senior escort warrior Jo Chang, Ilyang walked toward the group of vagabonds he would be traveling with.
The moment they arrived, a sharp-eyed spearman waiting in front of a carriage spat out a complaint.
"Ha! What is this? A mere brat is joining the escort? Has the Jinseong Escort Agency fallen this low?"
"Young Hero Yang Cheon-jo, your words are out of line. Young Hero Ilyang strictly possesses an Iron Plaque vagabond license."
"Pfft, hahaha! And I hold a Bronze Plaque!"
Ilyang let out a quiet smirk as he watched the spearman pull out his vagabond plaque and wave it mockingly.
This was a reaction he had more or less anticipated.
Since it's our first meeting, a hierarchy needs to be established.
To be perfectly honest, a part of him was glad this idiot had stepped forward.
Whenever one joined a new group, it was always necessary to clearly demonstrate the difference in their caliber at least once.
Thus, gently nudging aside the frowning senior escort Jo Chang, Ilyang stepped forward.
A faint, cold smile played upon his lips.