Chapter 43

"P-please be gentle."

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Ruen turned her head and spoke in a trembling voice.

"It'll only take a moment."

Woojin slowly approached her.

"Ahh...!!"

She gave a low cry, her eyebrows drawing together into a peaked arch.

"Done."

[You have obtained Uldin Elf Blood.]

"Oww..."

Sucking the finger he had nicked with his blade, she looked at Woojin with a pout.

[Congratulations.]

[You have obtained all the materials required to hatch the Egg of the Phantasmal Spirit.]

The notifications sounded as he dripped the blood from the tip of his blade into a bottle he had bought at a shop.

'At last... '

[A chain quest has been discovered.]

[Egg of the Phantasmal Spirit → Hatching the Phantasmal Spirit]

[Would you like to continue the quest?]

There was nothing to think about. Woojin pressed the [Confirm] button on the notification window without hesitation.

[Quest Name: Hatching the Phantasmal Spirit]

▶ Grade: SS

▶ Elven magic is required to hatch the Egg of the Phantasmal Spirit.

▶ Find the hidden ruins of Elvenheim in Akedonia and hatch the Egg of the Phantasmal Spirit.

▶ Number of elven ruins across the continent: 7

▶ All ruins of Elvenheim are hidden.

'Elven ruins?'

Woojin's gaze flickered the moment he read the quest window.

"... This is ridiculous."

"What's wrong? Is the quest too difficult? I suppose... it is SS-grade."

Ruen's voice was concerned.

"No. The opposite."

"Pardon?"

"It's too easy."

Woojin chuckled at her question.

* * *

[Hundred Flowers Valley Harbor Trading Post]

"I'd like to look at your trade goods."

"Certainly. This way, please."

Located at a harbor where dozens of ships lay docked, the trading post was the largest shop in the Dark Forest.

"These are the goods we currently have in stock."

The selection of goods available was as enormous as the place itself.

Name: Adventurer's Bag

Grade: D

Description: Enchanted with protective magic to keep your belongings safer.

▶ Increases inventory capacity.

▶ Cannot be equipped at level 40 or above.

Price: 10 gold

Woojin slung the leather bag onto his back. It looked a little crude, but it did not restrict his movement, and a small magic circle was inscribed inside, just as the description said.

"I'll take two of these for now. Ruen, hold on to yours and use it later."

"Oh, yes!"

Woojin took out another bag and handed it to her.

"An excellent choice! Inventory expansion is essential for adventurers. This is the best storage item you can get in the Dark Forest."

The clerk chimed in beside him.

"Plenty of people on the central continent use these too. There is magic that lets you access extradimensional storage right at your wrist... but it costs a fortune, and finding an enchantment artisan isn't easy either."

"True."

The clerk had a point, but Woojin had not bought the bag simply to carry more things. He wanted protection, not expansion.

Aside from being dropped upon death, items in an inventory rarely came to harm.

But the other world was different.

'They should be a little safer in here.'

When he went to the other world, the items in his inventory materialized inside the pouch at his waist. And Woojin had not forgotten how the potions inside that pouch had shattered during his fight with Ratan.

[You have equipped the Adventurer's Bag.]

[Inventory space expands from 4x4 → 6x6.]

Woojin adjusted the straps to fit his body, then asked the clerk,

"Do you happen to have any tools for digging?"

"Digging?"

The clerk tilted his head.

"I'm not sure what you need them for. You can buy tools like shovels at the general store in the square over there."

"No, not those. I need something that can dig deeper."

"Hmm... We should still have some explosives used for mining."

"Could I see them?"

"Of course."

The clerk brought over a small box. Inside were three long sticks resembling dynamite.

"These days, they use magic to build mine shafts... There's less call for explosives, so you don't see these very often."

"How powerful are they?"

"From what I've heard, one of these can shatter a boulder taller than a grown adult. They're one gold each. Would that be all right?"

"I'll take them all."

The clerk nodded and carefully lifted the explosives out of the box.

"Weren't we going to a dungeon?"

"We are. That's where I'll use them."

"Huh...?"

The laboratory's entrance had been beneath the lake. That meant there was a good chance a passage to the elven ruins Ratan had used lay beneath the Ice Cave.

'Unlike the other world, where it was a lake, this place is frozen over.'

Woojin had bought the explosives in case the mechanism Irurin had used to open the entrance in the lake failed to work properly.

"What kind of nonsense is that?! What do you mean, I can't go?!"

Just then, a commotion broke out in front of the trading post.

"I came here because of your official notice, and now you're telling me not to set out? This isn't some joke...!!!"

The voice was familiar.

'Gareth?'

Woojin spotted a dwarf arguing with soldiers beneath a sign in front of the harbor.

"We're sorry. We haven't gathered enough people yet, so you cannot go to the Ice Cave."

The soldiers standing before the dwarf could not hide their discomfort at his shouting.

"Enough people, my foot! I'm telling you I'll go alone! What right do you have to stop me?!"

"Well... According to our investigation team, there are too many monsters around the Ice Cave's entrance. At least ten adventurers are required."

"Ugh. Fine, then how many have you gathered so far?"

"Three at present."

Gareth gave an incredulous laugh at their answer.

"Three? It'll take forever to get enough!"

"Well... Perhaps you could wait a little longer? Here is the list. If you'd like to leave your name—"

"... Bah! Damn it!"

After looking at the document in the soldier's hands, Gareth stamped one short leg hard against the ground.

"Does he think he'll save his son this way? Go tell Azen's head to get his act together!"

He stormed off, fuming.

"You were right, Master. It looks like it'll take time to put the expedition together."

"That's the drawback of raid quests. Once a raid dungeon has been cleared, people can enter without any restrictions on numbers. Until then, you have to meet the minimum head count."

"We were lucky, then."

Woojin shook his head at Ruen's words.

"I wonder. We've got problems of our own."

"Why?"

"Saving Charlson's son matters, but we also need to clear the Ice Cave."

The Ice Cave's boss monster.

When Woojin had accepted Charlson's Request, one monster had come to mind.

'Taikan.'

The creature with arms and legs he had seen in the underground storeroom of Ratan's laboratory.

'I'm not certain, but it's probably that thing.'

And just as Irurin had said, Ruen's magic would not be enough to kill it.

"A mage..."

He needed a skilled one, at that.

"Ah."

An odd smile crossed Woojin's face.

"There is one guy."

* * *

"If I'd known this would happen, I'd have stayed on the central continent. I even lowered my level to come here..."

The fuming dwarf's voice carried all the way outside the inn.

"It's hopeless. Hopeless! Damn it, I have to level back up just to return. Gulp, gulp."

There were already three large tankards on the table.

"Why don't you stop drinking?"

Just then, Woojin entered the inn and pulled the tankard in front of Gareth toward himself.

Gareth looked up at him, plainly puzzled.

"You shouldn't drink any more if you're going to head out tonight."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm recruiting people to go to the Ice Cave."

"You? Even the official raid group can't find volunteers, so how... Forget it. There's a limit to how much you can toy with someone..."

He roughly snatched the tankard out of Woojin's grasp.

"Drink that, and you won't be going to the Ice Cave."

"I told you, I can't go anyway!"

Just then, a notification appeared.

[Khan invites you to a party.]

▶ Accept the invitation?

"What are you doing?"

Gareth questioned him as he stared at the system window before him.

"A party, not a raid group...? Are you messing with me? Clearing the Ice Cave is a raid quest!"

"Why not accept first? You can decide after you've taken a look."

Tankard in hand, Gareth hesitated for a moment at Woojin's suggestion.

"I don't know what this is about, but if you're making a fool of me, you'd better—"

[Gareth has joined your party.]

[You have a quest in progress.]

[Would you like to share it?]

"...?!"

Gareth's eyes went round.

"I don't make a hobby of toying with people."

BANG!

At that moment, the inn door burst open.

"Boss! I brought him."

"Come on in."

Turning toward the commotion, Gareth saw a familiar face.

"Th-thank you for inviting me! It's an honor to join you!"

"I did? Invited you...?"

Watching Kim Chan bow deeply to him, Gareth immediately thought he understood.

"This was your doing too, wasn't it?"

"Mages are hard to find, and this one happened to be your fan. So I dropped your name."

"You crafty little..."

"That doesn't mean I'm taking you along unconditionally. There's still something you need to tell me, isn't there?"

"Something I need to tell you? What do you mean?"

"Why don't you two sit down first? We'll need a good meal before we head to the Ice Cave. We can introduce ourselves while we eat. Ruen, go order for us."

"Yes!"

With Gareth watching him, Woojin addressed Peron and Kim Chan.

"This is Peron. A level-49 Ranger."

"A pleasure to meet you."

"Hoho, I didn't expect to find you in this party."

"You know me?"

"Of course. Peron of the Dark Forest is famous even on the central continent."

At Gareth's words, Peron grinned and shot Woojin a look like a child hoping for praise.

"I'm a level-40 Warrior, and Ruen is a level-37 Archer."

"Wait, did I hear that right? Level 37? You're really taking that mercenary along?"

"Of course I am."

Woojin looked at Kim Chan as if to ask what the problem was.