As soon as dawn broke, Jared returned to the Crivia estate. He immediately set up an automated production line for medicine in the basement of the lord's mansion. First, he prepared 5000 gold coins and 10 Crivia magic stones. Then, when he activated the blueprint, the production line appeared as if it had been 3D printed. Finally, they could start producing medicine in earnest. The three herbs needed as ingredients were easily available within the estate, so there was more than enough supply.
Next, Jared gave Arkeneas an initial capital of 1000 gold coins to establish a merchant group directly under the lord's control. For now, Arkeneas's group was limited to selling medicine and magic potions. There was already another merchant group run by the estate, so some organization was needed, and Jared wanted to observe Arkeneas's skills. Preparations were progressing smoothly.
As soon as morning came, seven hunters from Ronella estate headed to the vicinity of the Nightmare Forest. Following Jared's instructions, Arkeneas sold all the medicine to them. The hunters then naturally moved to tackle the Nightmare Forest. Just as Jared had planned, a positive cycle began. Before moving on to the next plan, Jared supplied Arkeneas with a sufficient amount of medicine. He made and handed over more than 100 medicines, so there would be no worries for a few days.
"Mia, how is it?"
Before leaving the estate, I was checking Mia's learning progress. While Lena was learning from Lakis, I was teaching Mia directly.
"It's difficult, but... it's really fun! Lord, look at this! This is the seed of mana, right?"
Pip. Pip. Pip.
Mia repeatedly created and dispersed a flickering blue light in front of me. Currently, Mia was focusing on sensing mana according to the basic training method I taught her. It was a necessary process. If you can't properly sense mana, it becomes difficult to control later, and that significantly slows down growth as a mage. That's why the work of sensing mana from various angles was essential.
Fortunately, Mia wasn't getting bored and was diligently training, sweating beads of effort.
"That's right. That's the seed of mana. How did you make it just now?"
"I used the association method! I thought about mana gathering at my fingertips, and it really gathered and then dispersed!"
"How do you feel? Does it seem to strain your body?"
"Not at all! I actually feel refreshed!"
She was indeed a promising talent with the special trait of Mana Detection S. Without this trait, one would suffer from extreme nausea or dizziness during initial training. I wasn't an exception when I was young; my father said I fainted several times during training. But Mia seemed to endure the pressure lightly.
"The association method is excellent. Very good. How about the forced condensation method?"
"Actually... I haven't practiced that. I found the association method the most fun, so I've been practicing it a lot!"
Mia scratched her head sheepishly. I understood completely. If the association method feels as natural as going to the bathroom, the forced condensation method feels like forcefully squeezing out waste, accompanied by unpleasant feelings. Given Mia's young age, it wasn't strange that she didn't want to face such unpleasant emotions.
"Still, you need to practice the forced condensation method. Mana isn't always abundant everywhere, so there are many cases where the association method doesn't work."
"Really?"
"Yes. Evil magicians burn all the surrounding mana! If that happens, a magician who only knows the association method becomes a fool who can't use any magic."
"Oh, I see! It's scary. A magician not being able to use magic! That's really terrible!"
"Mia, I'll be away for a few days. Until I return, make sure to practice the forced condensation method as I taught you. Got it?"
"Yes, Lord! Will you teach me more when you come back?"
"Of course. I'm counting on you, so I hope you're practicing diligently."
"Yes! I'll work hard!"
Seeing Mia filled with determination and enthusiasm made me proud. I checked her stats to see how much she had achieved in the meantime.
[Mia – Lv. 2]
[Strength: 3]
[Stamina: 4]
[Mana: 5]
[Wisdom: 8]
[Agility: 3]
[Charm: 5]
[Physical Defense: 0]
[Magic Defense: 1]
[Special Trait: Mana Detection S / Mana Circulation F]
[General Trait: Filial Piety, Curiosity]
'Oh! Her level increased by 1, and her mana stat went up. Plus, she even has the special trait of Mana Circulation? At this rate, she'll soon establish a mana core. That's really fast.'
Mia's growth was as rapid as Lena's. It made me feel a sense of urgency about myself. It seemed this was the joy of nurturing a promising talent. Watching their growth was as fulfilling and enjoyable as watching my own. At the same time, it made me nervous. To lead and guide them, I must have even greater power.
Lena and Mia, whom I recruited as promising talents, were steadily progressing, and it seemed I could now just watch over Arki. However, I hadn't yet implemented the "Healer Haze Development Plan." I planned to provide her with an opportunity to awaken as a healer after completing this "Artifact Hunt." My current goal was to acquire an artifact related to divine power from Lich Deluke. With this artifact, opening a new future for her as a healer would no longer be a dream.
At noon, when the sun was at its highest. It was supposed to be the warmest time of the day, but the wretched northern weather unleashed a cold, cutting wind. The wind was so cold it felt like it chilled my bones, no exaggeration.
My destination was the hideout where Lich Deluke was hiding. It was a place that required passing through the Nightmare Forest from our estate and then heading far east. In other words, it was a much colder, extreme cold zone than here. It was a place people rarely went, with no official roads, requiring passage through sheer cliffs and narrow paths to reach.
'Come to think of it, there are more opportunities to gain benefits near our estate than I thought. Lich Deluke is also hiding nearby... and there are still undisclosed underground resources in the Majorca estate. Oh, and there was also an undiscovered ancient tomb, wasn't there?'
With so much knowledge of <Paradiso> in my head, I was pondering when and how to use it.
"Let's see."
Having obtained the Staff of Mudidus this time, I checked my upgraded stats. Before the final confirmation, I invested all 20 of my saved stat points into mana.
[Jared – Lv. 5]
[Strength: 5]
[Stamina: 5]
[Mana: 316]
[Wisdom: 15]
[Agility: 5]
[Charm: 25]
[Physical Defense: 5]
[Magic Defense: 5]
[Remaining Stats: 0]
'316 mana is decent. With this, most battles shouldn't be a big problem. However, considering I had 750 mana when I was a 4th class in <Paradiso>, I'm not satisfied yet.'
Thanks to the staff, my mana had increased significantly. Plus, I could recharge my mana to 100% once a day, which was reassuring. However, my mana was still too low to recklessly use magic, and my wisdom stat was quite low. The wisdom stat is linked to the power of magic. Even the same magic can have significantly different damage depending on the wisdom stat. The problem is that it requires a whopping 5 points to increase the wisdom stat by 1. The exchange rate was very poor. This was a major difference from general stats like stamina or mana.
Therefore, for the wisdom stat, it seemed much more efficient to supplement it with artifacts I could preemptively acquire through my <Paradiso> knowledge. When it comes to mana, the more, the better. The amount of mana I had was still far too insufficient for a chaotic battle where I could use magic without restraint.
At that moment, Isabella, who had been silently watching me, spoke.
- Where on earth are you going? You're heading to a place with no people and a lot of cold wind. Are you going to... commit suicide?
Typical of a ghost, her imagination was quite grim.
"What are you talking about? I'm heading to Lich Deluke's hideout."
- Lich Deluke? Who's that?
"He's a lich who will become a tree that gives generously to me."
- A lich is a cursed dark magician! If you get caught, your soul will be taken, and you'll become undead!
"Really? Do you think Deluke can beat me when I know everything from the strategy to all the processes?"
- How do you know the strategy for a lich? Have you met one before?
"If you must know, yes. Quite a lot, actually."
I smiled softly. Lich Deluke was an old lich residing in the hideout he painstakingly created. In <Paradiso>, during the Holy Demon War, he was chosen by the Demon King and granted eternal life, becoming a true immortal.
Every player had to go through a special part called "Lich Deluke's Wrath" during the main story. However, as an NPC with eternal life, he was not easy to defeat. So when players encountered Deluke, they would run away regardless of their level.
No matter how much they fought, they couldn't kill him. The only ones who could take away Deluke's immortality were holy knights and priests armed with divine power. In other words, without divine power, he was an unbeatable foe.
Fortunately, having a priest account, I had killed Deluke many times. He was such a nasty guy that I remember killing him over 100 times for the thrill of it. So when it came to Deluke, I knew everything from sneaky ways to approach his hideout to solid strategies!
'Sorry, but in this life, you won't have immortality, Deluke.'
I clenched my fists. If Deluke's time passed like this, he would become immortal in 10 years. But for now, he was just a weak lich hiding quietly in his hideout, barely clinging to life with a sick body. This was because he had made the fatal mistake of losing his Life Force Vessel.
- You're strange. You know too much! It's scary! Did you even know what questions I would ask when I first appeared?
Isabella made a rather sharp deduction, but I had no intention of answering. Explaining past and present lives wouldn't make sense to her anyway.
"Be quiet. Don't disturb me. I'm about to start the real artifact hunt. I'm going to sweep up all the artifacts Deluke has."
- You're getting scarier. Even ghosts like me fear liches...
"Isabella, watch closely. This is the real me. The true self of Jared von Yucales."
I replied to Isabella with a grin. Thus began the secret and serious artifact hunt that Deluke wouldn't even dream of.