Chapter 288

6.

“Good work!!! Thanks to you, I got plenty of materials!”

“You worked hard too, Lady Serena.”

“Yep! I’ll call you again next time!!!”

Seonghyun and Serena returned after being out for a long time.

They didn't just go to the mine; they also stopped by other places to gather materials.

Thanks to that, Serena was excited to have collected a considerable amount of materials, and Seonghyun was also thrilled because he had gained a significant amount of experience through the missions and leveled up a lot.

[You have reached Level 229.]

He was disappointed that he didn't gain any experience in the previous tournament.

But this time, the missions gave a good amount of experience, allowing him to level up quickly.

He had completed four missions with Serena.

That's why his experience had risen so quickly.

According to Serena, they were able to finish much faster compared to other escort knights.

She even gave him a tip, saying thank you.

It seemed that thanks to Seonghyun's quick work, Serena was also able to finish her tasks comfortably.

As Seonghyun returned to the Caliber Magic Tower with that thought.

He saw the escort knight captain welcoming him more warmly than he had expected.

“You’re back???”

“Pardon? Yes. I just finished Lady Serena's mission and returned.”

“Ooooh.”

The escort knight captain was inexplicably moved.

And when he looked at the escort knight captain with a look of confusion.

“Ah, it’s nothing. Welcome back.”

“……Th-thank you?”

“Keum-heum, you worked hard today. Rest for today and I'll see you tomorrow.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Then again, he had logged in quite late today.

Let's call it a day here.

Being too greedy from the first day could look suspicious.

Well, despite that, it seemed the escort knight captain and Serena had a very good impression of him.

He wanted to search the magic tower a little more.

But so far, there were no suspicious people.

Let's look for more tomorrow.

Today wasn't the only day.

As Seonghyun clocked out from the magic tower.

A little later.

“……Has a new recruit arrived?”

A sudden presence.

Remembering what had happened earlier, the escort knight captain reacted immediately.

“Pardon? Ah, Lord Edian, you’ve arrived?”

Edian.

He was a mage who was uncomfortable in a slightly different way from Serena, so the escort knight captain rose from his seat as if serving him with great respect.

A mage with a neat style, wearing glasses and with his hair slicked back.

He had a tidy impression.

But he was a mage in this Caliber Magic Tower who was as famous as Serena.

Of course, there were no mages who weren't sensitive.

And Edian was one of the more severe cases among them.

“Yes. And?”

“Ah, yes, a new outsider recruit has arrived.”

“Is he a mage?”

“Pardon? No, he’s a knight-class swordsman.”

“Hmmm.”

Edian tilted his head as if something was strange.

The escort knight captain swallowed hard, wondering what fault Edian was trying to find this time.

But Edian didn’t say much and just stated his business.

“I see. I need two escort knights. I must go to Wisham to obtain corrupted fairy powder.”

“Ah, I understand. I will prepare them right away.”

“Yes, I’ll be waiting.”

Saying so, Edian went outside and muttered in a rather meaningful tone.

“A new recruit at a time like this…….”

It was a somewhat ominous voice.

But Edian soon paid it no mind and let it go.

7.

Coming out of the capsule, Seonghyun lightly stretched his stiff body and muttered.

“Phew. That’s a relief, at least.”

Because the fatigue from yesterday’s battle with the Sword Saint hadn’t fully dissipated.

He wanted to take it easy today.

It was a relief that the mission wasn’t as difficult as he thought.

Finding the demon is something he could do slowly.

He decided to take things a bit more leisurely.

Of course, it would be boring if it took too long.

But for a while, it seemed good to have some peace and quiet.

In cases like this, suspicious things usually happen in places like the magic tower’s basement.

‘Do escort knights ever go to the magic tower’s basement?’

He heard that escort knights don’t go missing either.

They sometimes skipped out on their duties, but even that wasn’t considered a disappearance.

Usually, if there's a demon, shouldn't there be cases of people going missing for human experiments or something like that?

He had such expectations, but the romance of it vanished in an instant.

Is there even a demon here?

He even had such doubts.

But just in case.

‘Let’s look into it first.’

Even if Heptarion wasn't popular, it couldn't be completely devoid of information.

With that thought, Seonghyun went to the community forums.

They were still buzzing with stories about the battle between the Sword Saint and Seonghyun.

It was a bit embarrassing.

But maybe he had become a bit immune to it, as he passed it over without much thought.

He looked for the information he wanted.

However…

‘Hrmmm.’

He searched to see if there were any disappearances or any kind of foreshadowing.

[Title - This boring city lol, the scenario is also boring as hell]

[Author - LostInADungeon]

『No lol

Is there really anything in Heptarion?

What a boring city;;;

The scenarios are some knight or magic tower related scenarios, but they're normal scenarios so they're not even that fun;;

The only scenario worth doing is becoming friends with the magic tower mages, but they only do research so they're boring too. Is there anything else?』

[QuestMaxLeveler: lol sorry but that place is suspiciously devoid of anything.]

└[LostInADungeon (Author): Fr, there's nothing, so I'm a legend for staying here for over a month thinking there might be a hidden quest;;;]

└[KilledByAMob: You've suffered~]

└[PartyBurden: lol How many people have been there until now, you think there's a hidden quest? If there was, someone would have already posted about it.]

└[LostInADungeon (Author): lol I gave up immediately.]

“Hrmmm.”

Is this the limit of what I can find out through the internet?

There was nothing about demons, let alone anything related to them.

Not even monsters infused with magic energy.

Nothing like that came up.

Seonghyun smacked his lips in disappointment.

But what could he do? It's not like information would just appear out of thin air.

As expected, he would have to tackle it himself.

As Seonghyun was thinking that and turning off his computer.

“Kids~ Dinner is ready~”

“Ah.”

Only then did he remember that they had planned to have dinner together today, and Seonghyun went outside.

They had decided to have dinner together every Friday.

And today, their mother, Lee Nakyeong, was going to cook at home.

As Seonghyun went out.

His sister Yoo Mina and his father Yoo Gwangjin were also slowly coming out.

In the midst of that.

“Hmm, is everything going well today?”

“Pardon? Ah. I’m taking it easy.”

His father, Yoo Gwangjin, asked Seonghyun.

It seemed he was curious if his son's work was going well.

Seonghyun answered his question and smiled faintly.

They were indeed a close family.

Afterward, they had dinner together.

Unlike his father, Yoo Gwangjin, who was pleased to hear that he was balancing his work.

His mother, Lee Nakyeong, who seemed to have many worries and concerns, looked at Seonghyun and Yoo Mina, who were eating deliciously, and said suggestively.

“Hoo, it's good that you're earning a lot of money and doing well~ But since you're only at home on Fridays and weekends~ I wonder if you're even meeting anyone~”

“Keuk.”

“Kuhuk.”

Because of their mother Lee Nakyeong’s words, which were close to a critical hit.

Both Seonghyun and Yoo Mina coughed as if they had choked.

Fortunately, they both reacted quickly and covered their mouths, so there was no unfortunate incident of food flying out of their mouths.

At the sudden event, their father, Yoo Gwangjin, looked at their mother, Lee Nakyeong, as if to say, "What are you doing?" and said.

“Keum, the kids will handle it themselves.”

Yoo Gwangjin said so, inwardly pleased that his daughter and son were at home.

But Lee Nakyeong said, as if she was quite displeased with it.

“They need to date a little to get married and all~”

“The kids’ ages are still…… they’re not even at the age to get…… married yet. What are you worried about?”

“Still, dating is……”

“You’re going to make the kids choke.”

“Hmph.”

Caught in the sudden storm, Seonghyun and Yoo Mina looked at each other with bewildered expressions.

Seriously, she’s coming at us with the dating topic so suddenly?

It was only after their father, Yoo Gwangjin, intervened that their mother, Lee Nakyeong, began to eat quietly again.

What was that all about?

With that exact expression, Yoo Mina looked at her younger brother, and Seonghyun likewise swallowed hard.

He really hadn’t been going out much or had any plans.

But was it something to worry about that much?

‘I’m twenty-two and my sister is twenty-five…….’

He wondered if they were already at the age to be nagged about dating.

But then again, they were at home playing games all day.

He thought it was probably something to be concerned about.

It was the first time she had acted like this so suddenly.

Seonghyun cautiously opened his mouth.

“I’ll try to make some plans.”

“Hoho, that’s right~ It’s necessary to see your friends from time to time~”

Seeming quite satisfied with Seonghyun's answer, Lee Nakyeong laughed and suggestively looked at Yoo Mina.

Yoo Mina, as if feeling guilty, shouted back.

“I-I meet my friends often too!?”

“Are you perhaps talking about Yujin~?”

“……Yeah.”

“That’s good, that’s good~”

“……”

Although their mother, Lee Nakyeong, said it as if she had done well.

Yoo Mina clutched her chest as if she had taken a critical hit from those words.

What a funny family.

Seonghyun thought so and ate quietly.

Then, he suddenly saw his sister, Yoo Mina, looking a bit down and asked.

“Ah, sis, do you know anything about Heptarion?”

“Heptarion?”

Yoo Mina’s face immediately lit up at the mention of the game.

And seeing that, Lee Nakyeong and Yoo Gwangjin smiled faintly as if she couldn't be helped.

It seemed that games were still more important for now, and they both let it go.

“You mean the boring city of Heptarion, right?”

“Yeah, that place.”

At Seonghyun's words, Yoo Mina thought deeply about something.

Then she spoke as if she had remembered something.

“Ah, it wasn't in Heptarion, but a lot of magic-infused weapons did drop in the surrounding area, right?”

“Magic weapons?”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s been quiet recently, but. Around that area, maybe five times? But after hearing what you said last time, Seonghyun, I started thinking it might be related to the Caliber Magic Tower. Since that’s the magic tower specializing in enchantments.”

“Hoh.”

It certainly seemed so.

It wasn't particularly useful information, though.

Still.

‘It seems certain that the demons are making the magic weapons.’

Then again, the place detected by the five magic weapons was the Caliber Magic Tower.

That couldn't be wrong.

But even so, could there be a research lab inside the magic tower?

‘Maybe it's somewhere else……?’

8.

The capital of the Rieskan Kingdom.

There, the Sword Saint looked down at the fallen hero with a displeased expression.

A still-failing brat.

He frowned at his foolish disciple, who had neither created an inner world nor imbued his sword with the little inner world he had.

Far from training.

He doesn't even try.

And yet he became a hero only because he had the aptitude.

“That’s enough for today.”

“Keoheok…… th…… ank you.”

Feeling a faint sense of hostility from the hero, the Sword Saint cursed inwardly.

Because his soul had taken a blow, he couldn't help but become more anxious and uneasy.

Should the plan related to the hero be scrapped?

He even had such thoughts.

He couldn't help but feel a surge of irritation.

‘The demons need to mass-produce the magic weapons.’

He thought he would have to push them harder.

Thinking that those guys at the Caliber Magic Tower were slacking off too much.

‘I wonder if I should go there myself.’