"Lord, did I miss anything by chance? When I retrace my memory, it seems I have drawn every route to the entrance without missing any..."
"You’ve certainly drawn it well without missing anything. I didn’t know you had such an excellent talent for map drawing, Hayz."
"When I was young, I used to follow my father around and draw maps for fun. It’s a rather unusual hobby."
"It seems it has become a valuable hobby to me now. Thank you so much."
"Don’t mention it! I’m always ready to serve whenever you need me, my lord!"
Every time I hear the words "serve" or "dedication" from her, I can’t help but flinch. It seems to come with a nuance of wanting to sacrifice even more than others.
Regardless, the preliminary exploration of Mahat III's tomb went well. Thanks to Hayz marking every detail of the surrounding terrain on the map, the process of finding our way back shouldn’t be difficult. The return journey should be the same.
During our round trip, there was another gain. The level of Hayz's healing technique has increased. It wasn’t indicated by a system message, but I could feel it in my body. The healing energy was more profound than before.
Her achievements are indeed rapid. Perhaps it’s because she has a solid special affinity, her achievement speed is more than ten times faster than usual. The frightening thing is that promising individuals with well-set special affinities tend to grow faster over time. Slowing down is something that happens when one gets older, and until then, they charge forward like an unstoppable train. As long as the fire is well stoked – as long as I manage well – the momentum won’t diminish.
"Hayz."
"Yes?"
"When will Mary arrive?"
"It seems the chef has more cooking tools to move than expected. It might take about two days."
"Hmm... In that case, I’d like to have some of the fried bean meat you made today, if that’s okay? I want to enjoy a leisurely meal after a long time."
"If it’s for you, my lord, I would make it even if woken up from my sleep! Yes, leave it to me!"
"Make it delicious! Please."
"Just a moment! Hehe!"
Before the words even finished, Hayz ran off to the kitchen. She must be tired from accompanying me to the tomb, yet she willingly made food for me without showing any sign of weariness. I was so grateful to her.
There’s a saying that no tree can withstand being cut ten times, could this be the feeling? Occasionally, her dedication almost swayed my heart. Because I could feel how happy it is to be deeply loved by someone.
‘Not yet.’
But I quickly shook my head. Love, it’s undoubtedly a good word. It’s an exciting emotion, a happy memory.
However, I have not properly achieved anything in this world yet. Even though I have gained control over Mallorca territory, it is still just a minor power when considering the whole continent.
Even if I focus solely on the affairs, development, internal affairs, and military of the territory, it’s not enough, and I don’t want to concern myself with romance too. When I decide to be with someone, I want to make sure my heart is ready.
Right now, no matter who is by my side, I feel like I cannot genuinely invest my emotions. And what meaning does such a relationship hold?
Shuffling!
I opened the map again and shifted my focus there. Mahat III's Tomb. Like every dungeon that existed in Paradiso, this tomb too had its bugs and tricks.
Underground tombs like these are rather abundant in the Nass Continent. Whether it was a preference of the Paradiso developers, they built all ancient-related dungeons underground. I, too, preferred underground dungeons over above-ground or special spatial ones.
It's because I like the distinctive dampness and eerie atmosphere of underground dungeons. Moreover, it creates just the right amount of tension while being optimized for finding hidden bugs or tricks. Especially with underground tombs, though their interior structures are more complex than underground dungeons, you can sometimes get more artifacts, which is nice.
Scribble-scribble.
I wrote the number 3 on the map. What this represents is the maximum number of people who can join the strategy excluding myself. Mahat III's tomb has a peculiarity.
The more people enter, the more the difficulty inside increases to match their level. According to a making note written by the developers a year after the dungeon’s release, it was intended to prevent the strategy by sheer numbers. Of course, the developers didn’t let this fact known from the start.
Thanks to that, many guilds rushed in relying solely on their numbers, only to be annihilated, dropping experience and items regularly.
I didn’t think the developers would make it as easy as pie, and while strategizing with that mindset, I noticed something strange. There was a time when the dungeon’s difficulty, which changed from five to seven persons, remained perfectly the same when it changed from three to four persons. At that moment, I realized. A special case. In other words, if a user with a low level participates, the system treats that user as a "dummy." And after trying with various users, I discovered that the cut-off was below level 10.
‘Which means, in the current dungeon, I am considered a dummy. I delayed leveling up precisely because of this.’
Even at this point, when I can hold my own against a level 5 class magician, for me to be treated as a dummy! How astonished would the soldiers guarding the tomb be if they knew about this? But tricks and bugs are meant to be used. And with me currently at level 8, I have the right to boldly exploit this loophole.
‘The problem is choosing who will be the remaining three…’
They don’t need to be complete elites. Because I know for sure the weaknesses to target Mahat III. However, for role distribution, I needed to select three people with non-overlapping job classes. Simultaneously, I needed to choose close individuals rather than outsiders or unknown mercenaries.
‘I guess I should ask for their opinions first, since it’s important to them.’
I decided on the three people in my mind. They were individuals I could employ appropriately in the roles I desired. As I spent time immersed in the tomb strategy.
"My lord! I've prepared fried bean meat with lots of vegetables!"
I heard Hayz’s voice as she brought in a tray full of food with her long hair swaying. Even Mount Geumgang should be enjoyed after a meal! I should eat first.
Meanwhile, in the small town of Morales located in the Lentus Empire. Berhard, seeing the correspondence and a pouch full of gold coins delivered to him, showed a peculiar expression.
"Ha, look at this fellow?"
Berhard’s first reaction upon reading the first line of the letter was a dry laugh. Because it was clearly a letter sent to a person named ‘Beltaine,’ but the content was addressed to Berhard.
<Hello, Mr. Berhard. Nice to meet you for the first time. I am Jared, the lord of the Kribia territory and a fourth-class magician. Recently, I have gained a small clue that assures me I can leap to the fifth class. However, with my lacking knowledge, I cannot fathom the next step. I need your guidance. I earnestly request it, please teach me.>
"So, you’re telling me to use this as travel expenses and come over since you’ll provide enough gold? Hahaha!" Berhard burst into laughter. Indeed, there was more than enough gold to use for travel expenses. Taking a luxury carriage to Kribia territory and finding all sorts of delicacies along the way would leave plenty of gold still. Well, if worse comes to worst, teleportation is an option. If one is in a hurry, that is.
"How did Jared come to know that the person using the alias Beltaine is indeed me, Berhard…?"
The most puzzling thing was this. How Jared knew a fact that had not been divulged to anyone.
"Furthermore, the words are strange. A small clue that assures you can leap to the fifth class? How can you say you know the stage of the fifth class when the realm is not visible to the eye?"
Berhard murmured, looking at the name Jared written in the letter. It was surely strange. The realm of a magician is very subtle, such that one can never know whether one is prepared to move to the next class. If it were possible to know! Then the tales of 8-class magicians, who dedicated their lives trying to reach the extremity of the 9-class only to die in vain, would not be so numerous. They would have realized their limitations early and cleanly given up if unprepared.
However, dismissing a letter sent by some crazy person from the countryside was difficult due to the sheer amount of gold enclosed.
"Could it indeed be the Jared I remember, the son of Baron Barret, that scoundrel Jared?"
Berhard tilted his head. The name Jared wasn’t unfamiliar to him initially. At first, he thought it might be a namesake of the person he knew, but seeing the introduction as a lord, it seemed to be the son of Barret, Jared. Surely it wasn’t a prank. No matter how little he had to do, it wouldn’t be right to act recklessly. Besides, he was a 9-class magician. Although he hadn’t killed anyone recklessly thus far, this fellow would know without a doubt that he wouldn’t leave someone who humiliated him in peace.
"This fellow... if his plan was to ignite my curiosity, he succeeded! Alright, shall I quietly make my way?"
Berhard decided to make his way quietly to Kribia territory. He planned to observe Jared and the management state of the territory from a place out of Jared’s sight. Hurriedly dashing off just because he received a letter wouldn’t have looked good. Traditionally, a great magician should carry some gravitas, shouldn’t he?
At that time, in Kribia territory.
"Take care, master! Take care, Chloe!"
Ella and Chloe were departing to Mallorca territory upon receiving Jared's summons. After seeing them off, Lena met Mia who had come to find her.
"Sister, let’s go practice!"
"Sure, Mia! Come this way!"
These days, Mia and Lena were diligently practicing magic and defensive techniques, respectively. Both of their skills had significantly improved. Seeing Mia’s achievements, Ella found that despite being a twelve-year-old child, she was learning magic at a fast pace. Although she had Jared’s attribute teachings, she was already quite adept at controlling Magic Missile.
Clip-clop, clip-clop. In the carriage heading towards Mallorca territory, not only were Ella and Chloe there, but one more person was accompanying them. It was none other than Isabel. She too had joined them hastily after receiving Jared's message.
"So, you're Isabel? I heard about you from Lord Jared. He mentioned there was a shaman who is living and training fiercely in the lord's mansion. Nice to meet you."
Ella extended a handshake first, while Chloe quietly bowed her head as a greeting from the side.
"......"
However, Isabel just stared at Ella without any reaction. So Ella spoke.
"What are you doing? Isn’t it awkward?"
"Ms. Ella, do we really need to greet each other? We’re nothing to each other."
At that moment, a thick chill permeated the carriage.