Chapter 183: Contract (3)
nzPIt didn’t take long for Daesik, the previous elder of the Green Cult, to refine the Korean Ginseng.WRZwpu4
cyPy“This ginseng… is an unprecedented energy amplifier. It boils the internal energy endlessly and expands their total capacity depending on the amount consumed.”C8NHH
4pPvty『Korean Ginseng』
An extraordinary elixir that absorbed energy from leylines for ten thousand years.gQEsS6S
MI3wqYK-Boiling it into a concoction will expand your Aura.Uv2
Z8Wds-Consuming it raw will expand your Mana.nTQ4x
aLmR1K-The maximum expansion will depend on the energy consumed. (10:1)Mz2
zPix-Consuming the ginseng will put you in an abnormal state and you will not be able to move. This will continue until your energy is exhausted.aqrpm
CEpSimply put, it meant that I would be put under an abnormal state the moment I consumed the ginseng, and either my aura or mana would dry up until it reached 0.zWxF
AkCsr9MMy Aura and Mana Capacity were roughly 15,000 and 13,000 respectively. Boiling the ginseng into a concoction, for example, would increase my aura by 1,500.pPOJ7U
QLpBUMtNot much for the oldest herb in the world, you say?oN0qaI
sImqqSlActually, there’s more to it.6oE7
pI9“After consuming the ginseng, you must finish absorbing it within 3 days.”AcKL6
ygKD“Oi, Mr. Daesik. Anything you missed out on?”B70kLN
xpPAV“Sorry?”BKn5XFA
47fHe immediately became nervous after hearing that, but there was still an undisguisable light of hostility in his eyes. His time at the salt mines must have made him quite spiteful.dL6R
VV5“Daesik?”KCGiW
1WDMarie called him from behind with a chilling voice and that immediately replaced the hostility in his eyes into fear.Atc3qjt
tUwA93g…What did they do to this elder-level mage to make him so afraid just by hearing her voice?ro2W
gXiXK“Were you… hiding something just because I didn’t ‘command’ you?”MpctH
w50Ggy“N, no Master…! I, I was about to say it now!”48k9uzs
InApI“Behave yourself… I even gave you a 3-square-meter room because I liked your work ethic. Or did you want to return to the group bedrooms?”1DD3
ItyqP“Hiik…! H, how could I possibly forget your heavenly grace! Please have mercy…!”RWpREU
M373 square meters? Mr. Daesik… What have you been going through…?XYmr
8OUZJ“L, let me add to it now, Duke Consort!”Ts4VnU
H8VI3fm“Duke Consort?”6ZyLW2C
LhP16“Ahaha~. Daesik must have misunderstood something! Ehehe…”CQnQ
9jrLMarie said while throwing glances at my face. It was easy to tell that she was hiding something but… regardless, I listened to Daesik’s further explanation.6aN
F8cMKbf“While you are absorbing the energy from the herb, any external energy can also affect the expansion! We have no data on the 10,000-year-old ginseng, but we have tested it using 1,000-year-old ginsengs, so there shouldn’t be any falsehood in that!”92SQKap
zLQ75oRight. That is the reason why the 10,000-year-old ginseng is an overpowered elixir.XMhd60
zcqPYhNAn endless consumption of energy? But what if you replenished it with external sources?uJC2FyN
dJ6mT8Whether it be potions or AOE buffs to increase regeneration… or even the help of other allies.tE51Z2p
A4oRiqThe most efficient use of the Korean Ginseng in ❰Heroic Legends of Arhan❱ was as follows.e9b9jd
TSv1Firstly, acquire the Yellow Gold Mandrake and keep it for the future. Secondly, the player had to increase either their Aura or Mana Capacity diligently before acquiring the Korean Ginseng, and the third piece of the puzzle was to raise as many party members with a large energy capacity.sCi6U
YsEfKnmOne of the examples was the unsealed Heavenly Yaksha, Hua Ran, and in terms of mana, there was Senior Professor Josephine Clara.zzjY
VwnUsing the Yellow Gold Mandrake, we could create an energy regeneration field, drink potions, and receive the help of up to five party members in the game to replenish the loss in energy.jhQG
2JHIn the game, there was a limit because of balancing issues, but in real life…?fIqIO3W
uxm…Yes, there are none.s1oaf
YcQWFOne of the fundamental reasons why Park Sihu was widely known as the God of Magic, was thanks to this. By consuming this Korean Ginseng and absorbing an endless supply of mana, he increased his capacity by a crazy amount.GIMP
LK29QPark Sihu, thanks to his rising fame as the hero, was able to receive the full support of the Kingdom as well as Lady Josephine’s help to rally 158 mages.A9VR
T5x6UMHe received a national level of support.DmEWK
WGk“You would have to choose between aura and mana then,” said Marie.HVu
yTf0HXU“Hmm…”wQQXdx
b3rZQxHonestly, I still wasn’t sure what to go with.pHGb
XtpYU8PShould I go with aura or mana?f8Hf
FwTuvFundamentally, I was a knight. Most of my skills ate up aura and Shura, out of all the skills, was one hell of a drainer.bkBM8Oe
2W5My current Aura Capacity was 15,000 and there were 12,000 aura stored up in my three Aura Cores, which added up to 27,000 in total.lVz
WmlNObIncreasing this by a dramatic amount would mean that I would never run out of aura until the end of the world.CJLib
uym7rwy“Mana… I think I should go with mana.”tERzgY
3nAx“Alright. Is it because of Claiomh Solais?”HqCG
50BA9iBut in the end, I decided to go with mana.wC1aFr
iNdLRkOf course, my current Mana Capacity was nothing to scoff at – 13,000 was more than what most Grade 1 mages had in their arsenal.zQdi
G73kHowever, Claoimh Solais had a ridiculous and illogical mana consumption rate. In spite of the 200% mana increase set effect of Claiomh Solais and Airgetlam, the silver arm, that still wasn’t enough to let me use Sun Compression for a long period of time.CM9
Mv6nIt reminded me once again how only a monster like Eochaid Bres would be able to make full use of the Sun. Considering how Park Sihu, who had less mana than him, had 410,000… It was to be expected of a monster.3skbN
isxDv“Good choice. There is a limitation to aura after all.”YkA8
T4SleUsing my connection with Alicia, Hua Ran, Master Erin, Miss Lunia, and all sorts of other renowned knights, I might be able to receive the help of dozens of knights but…Add
e9s“There is practically no limit to mana, right?”BSCw
ozmHq0fFirst off, we went to Lady Josephine.6SUC5R
iaxdaxF***uZc
rYPcpLOThe salt mines in possession of the Dunareff were notorious for their merciless amount of labor and their harsh environment.6d4
wyxIt was constructed to brutally harass the prisoners instead of aiming for profit and was essentially a place that incited the life-imprisoned prisoners to die there.VqS38kT
JLlYHowever, recently added to the list of prisoners here were ghouls, who would never die as long as they didn’t run out of mana. They used to be promising mages of the Tower but were now nothing more than convicts imprisoned for life in the salt mines.OAn
XMEThese ghouls weren’t even given free time like the rest of the prisoners.E9LcNm4
6WeWhuTUnder the scorching sun and after treading through the boiling seawater underneath, the mages of the Tower poured saltwater onto another piece of land.RU72Elx
2xqN“A, ahht…!”yloL
5kGLnZollin, who had been blankly pouring saltwater, spotted movement inside the water and widened his eyes.7xJ
V11“J, jackpot!”tbT8
9M23V“Jackpot? What…! That’s… a crab!”oPW
jjQkHg“H, hold up Zollin! You are not thinking of having that by yourself, are you? Boil it into a soup and many more would be able to enjoy it!”Say8B
AxKeSometimes, during the process of moving seawater, the prisoners would come across either fish or crabs and that was a blissful moment for them. It was because the rare source of protein helped awaken their long-lost sense of taste, in this harsh prison that gave potatoes, potatoes, and potatoes.79P0
bLeX0S7Even if the dish they made was a plain soup made with water and some random seaweed, that was always better than nothing for them.Zpx
QZ10As such, anyone finding a crab or a fish inside the salt mines tended to call out, ‘Jackpot!’jtXvD
Yb4A“H, hands off! I caught this myself!”XGjb
vkS“You can’t do this to me, Zollin! Do you not remember me helping you with your essay when you first came to the 6th floor?!”SPEMV
dZi4“P, Professor Zollin! No, Master! Look at me; I’m your disciple Mandel, who studied under you for 27 years!”qbvp75H
1Uh3All sorts of hyenas tried to use past connections but Zollin had no plans of sharing this crab with anyone. It had been half a year since he had any meat and his personal cravings were too strong to share the joy with someone else.8yh
10v-BEEEEEEEEEEP!!Avd
Pt7WDIt was then. Mark, the Chief Officer of the Dunareff salt mine, called everyone to gather.fvhBJA
RBK“All prisoners are to gather immediately! Look at yourselves! Move your damn asses!”mtC
3rOap14The irritated screams of the nearby officers were enough to immediately send the prisoners into a hurry. While carefully holding onto the little crab in his hands, Zollin raced towards the assembly area.IBge5AD
WSP“Hello everyone~. Have you been working hard?”VuN
BHA““Welcome, Lady Marie!!””eXbpn
L8alVAIn one voice, the prisoners shouted out loud like underlings greeting their mafia boss.qJp7RDW
daFQkHonestly, however, the status of being the oldest daughter of the Dunareff Dukedom was something mafia bosses couldn’t even dare compare to. She was the future empress of the Potato Empire and was a person who could make any mafia boss stand on their hands with one sentence.ABGe0IJ
1z1cU“Uncle Mark! Are the prisoners I sent in working well?”SVGb91
qQSFTT“Haha, of course. Even if they weren’t good workers originally, inside this place they would have no choice but to be.”qhK
6J2Ub1SThere was truth in his words because despite being from the Tower, all the mages were now expert salt miners. They were bashed up until they became one, and in the end, all of them had become veterans.WP2RrB
sdt2ED“Hmm, actually I was thinking of giving vacation to our little friends.”XcSKvb
3YUQ“V, vacation?”qaKdBr1
pepoL“Did she say vacation??”JGP12L
mdJfeItThe 400 mages immediately became restless the moment they heard that. Ever since they were forced into this place, they had never received a vacation – in fact, they didn’t even get to rest.xt7LAK
eeaOl4zPouring salt water, again and again, they had to fill up tubs before moving the salt that they acquired from the water into a distant storeroom.w9rz0R6
6QuMEven on days when their work ended ahead of schedule, just a single mutter from the officer, ‘Maybe we should pick up some vegetables from the rear mountain,’ meant that the 400 mages had to bend their backs and climb the mountain.r5B
FCKxO“For three days,” Marie added.04T
O4S5RxJ“Three days!”1Gcp
nD2h“Three days?!”JLa
Tyfz3fThree days? What a joyous period of three days that would be!AWUB
NHavx1K“And enjoy some nice food.”Sv2p1y
p69p4dw“Nice food?”f1N
iIoC“Not potatoes?!”jNC2P
RftyJWas she providing them with a meal? A proper dish instead of potatoes?!rMK
nGdSwjsO the merciful Dunareff!4Eqq
qeXMgd“We need a place to sleep after work so please rent out a decent hotel.”v2v
ht0oAShe was even promising them time off after work? How could this be real? How merciful could she be?! O, Your Highness!!!3iPp0F
7h4DK2a“But I only need around 200.”bgoIvlY
uTSi5………………………XL4F9h
kuex0………………………TxQk
DDQ3………………………QyDne
jnjEtlThe air suddenly turned cold. People turned around, feeling the chilling glares from left and right, and they all looked at each other while gritting their teeth.jQkiC
8OUjWho will it be? Who will be put off and who will be going after Master Marie?7z1
tOjAfter Marie was finished with her sentence, the officer grinned before turning towards them.207DxB
9gv“You heard that right. Now’s your time to fight.”yyO6
FQ2hokuOnly half of you shall be redeemed.oZdd
ZPCj………0aNl
zZqB……9d1Lss2
AJXaD…FIr
OryNwThree days went by.NGD
il41sqlAs a result of sucking out the mana of 200 free mages, the community center that we rented out was filled with exhausted mages.hTIgsQR
H5Sy『You have fully consumed the Korean Ginseng.』
-A total of 375,644 mana has been exhausted.C9YNhK
1wu2D-Your Mana Capacity has increased by 37,564.iya
BUjA-Your Mana Rank has gone up from Very High to Lower Unique.wj8ZCAA
BKRC“…This is insane.”cAdpZAU
ha3IyI was lost for words upon seeing the message floating in front of my eyes.ZIwO
NdEJYes. I did know theoretically about the effects of the Korean Ginseng. Even Park Sihu in the last iteration acquired a tremendous amount of mana through this method so there was no way I wouldn’t know about it.1jD
9qhVaJBy the way, Park Sihu’s final Mana Rank was Upper Unique, with his Mana Capacity reaching 430,000, thanks to all of his other amplifiers and buffs. He truly was a monster among monsters.zRaCY5
GIPWith this, my mana went over 50,000.6aKLyf
uGupOf course, it was nothing compared to Park Sihu or the final bosses like Eochaid Bres and Tates Valtazar, but I had some amplifiers myself.Mc4Cx
kYc3MThe Precept and Airgetlam.QqKK984
xHk7RlAny battle related to the salvation of the world, due to my Precept of ‘I will save the world,’ would increase my stat by 100%.edXfrDQ
gH6ERlWOn top of that was the set effect of Airgetlam.eC3V
P9t-Equipping Airgetlam along with the Sun, Claiomh Solais, increases your mana by 200%PnQglGu
87rA0yWith those two, my mana would be amplified by more than 4 times, giving me a shocking amount of 200,000.bEgJHRd
oAu3SE‘Fuu… I’m becoming an actual monster now.’fWAxPcp
YvVHaving 50,000 was already enough to be called a monster and yet 200,000… Well, the only way for me to use mana was through the Sun and Rune Magic though.QtQ6Uv
GUvGu‘Honestly, I wasn’t sure beforehand, but with this, that should also be possible.’24i8
Mro2zI was certain that this would serve a very important role in the battle that I had been preparing for.FI3j
K65l“Congratulations. That’s… truly a shocking amount of mana.”p0ODj
B8PLady Josephine, who carried us to and from the salt mines of the South, commented in awe while seeing how different I was in terms of mana.dQQqq6w
cr5It was a great accomplishment that even a great mage like herself acknowledged.Der4p
FCdYa9h“Korin is amazing, right!? Mana is one thing, but it’s also amazing how he’s not losing a single bit of it!”a6w
CZSgRz“My Mana Rank also went up, you see. Even though I can’t even use anything apart from Rune Magic.”jLV
U2YJ11Any mage with the same level of rank and capacity as me would have become a legendary great mage.ZSP
cGHUnfortunately, I was terrible at Math. I had long forgotten differentiation and integration already, and reading complex magical structures was already incredibly difficult.hnN0aT
ZsM‘Park Sihu was in the Maths Department of Yonsei University if I remember correctly.’PnuhLHO
uiCHfeI suppose someone like me, who was from the Physical Education Department was just more suited to moving my own body.AQE
WxI“Student Korin.”WL209
Cy6“What is it, Professor?”YJGN
Q64“At the end of this semester, we will be applying for a grading test. For ‘Limitless Evaluation’.”APLf5z
OG9qvXS“…”Mw39
6rULimitless Evaluation.74A
KuZiQIt was an official evaluating system of the Guardian Alliance that the player only had access to in the latter portions of the game. Through this test, the player would be tested on whether they were semi-Unique or Unique Grade.yZ9s
Z9Qv9yThere was a massive difference in treatment between semi-Unique Grades and Unique Grades. Even Marie; although she had combat prowess on the level of a Unique Grade demi-human, it would be difficult for her to be officially acknowledged by the Alliance as a Unique Grade Guardian.r4OOwGv
4uow3SIThe word ‘Unique Grade Guardian’ was the same as saying that they were the strongest of the generation, who could hunt down a Unique Grade demon by themselves.b4YU8mJ
IksSpear Saint, Tates Valtazar.ZaNC09
wz1lDSword Emperor, Garrand Arden.AbRj
cqPhSlQThis could be seen from how these two were the only Unique Grade Guardians alive to this date.2vVr
tZhVBesides, the Alliance usually only gave up to semi-Unique Grade and were quite hesitant to label someone as a Unique Grade Guardian.HXDiUdu
nXTYbJust like how there was a big gap between the rights of a Grade 1 and a semi-Unique Grade guardian, there was also a huge gap in authority and rights between semi-Unique and Unique.P1oMOKg
VU44b1It was only when a guardian had everything including strength, background, and a record that they rarely gave their verdict.RaIs0
c1EU3xiIn ❰Heroic Legends of Arhan❱, the final happy ending was only possible when the player reached Unique Grade, so I had to obtain that title in this Limitless Evaluation.Dfq88ss
fmayC“Well, I’m sure it will be fine.”I18VdZ
ht0qu9By then, both the Kingdom and the Alliance would be going through a rapid change after all.gr7m
f6mzR***W2FD8hQ
CpSwYOn the main streets of the Academy, after the holiday came to an end, Miruam was walking alone through the campus for the first time in a month.4lEy
ATGOFShe was someone who was always on the receiving end of attention.eRzRjF
JWrjS9The 2nd Princess of the dominant country of the continent, the El Rath Kingdom; and the only rightful heir to the throne.hfD
HtLAs the daughter born from the previous Queen and not the current one, who used to be a concubine, she was the only legitimate heir to many nobles who fussed over such details. That was one of the reasons why she received their support.VJ6t1
GEOeBtHowever, the daughter of the current Queen, Estelle, was a strong competitor who even had the title of being the Saintess. Even though Miruam had zero interest in the throne, considering how the New Faith would interfere with her lifelong desire, she had to form allies with those opposing them.LGX
sk4ruUwThat was why she allied herself with the Tower of Mages and collaborated with the Old Faith.PszOKPW
WOFThe world was going to end anyway, and even if it didn’t, she had no doubt that their support would be extremely helpful for her achieving her goal.wVDdb
RrwO‘But it half crumbled into pieces because of that man, Korin Lork.’QgUbmyk
hio8The living jiangshi plan of the Old Faith ended up a failure, and the Tower of Mages was practically rooted out. She knew how Korin Lork had been at the basis of all that.hO1
TfASSFHowever, she couldn’t hate him for it – in fact, she found him all the more endearing.EU6mFy
jMuvkmc“…”xSm
HJdo2BMiruam gazed at the gem in her hands – the Stone of Destiny with its dreamy radiance. One of the four great treasures of the Danann and the Stone of Coronation, which served to pick the next God King, was in her hands.vK8c8h
9sV『Keep that for yourself until this is over. This is the proof of our alliance.』gpN
qOc1『This… Is that okay with you?』IZ86r
Tri『It doesn’t really matter. When the time comes, the treasures will all attract each other into one place anyway.』DfKy3F
iT0The Stone of Destiny should be an incredible treasure in itself already though…kzomhog
vEkAlthough Miruam was suspicious about Tates’ intention, he simply looked back at her with a smile.vMp5T65
9pA『Carry on with your struggle. Good luck changing your fate.』8g9W6
yCnAs if he was aware of something, he nonchalantly gave up on the Stone of Destiny as if it was nothing.fsnc
dmEc“What a difficult person to understand.”1A8
kFCHe was just like that person.NJvBwe5
H9yct‘Korin Lork.’RSR3
kIjMy prince.zTpBLpX
94iMy destined knight.ziDAt
gls2tpThe one who would be fulfilling her desire, which had been lying inside her for 10 long years.el4rXTp
KsuIShe had to buy his goodwill for that to happen.NvZkL
WRJIf he took her for himself, violated her, and raped her to the point that she even bore a child, that would be the best-case scenario for her, because considering his actions until now, it was highly unlikely that he would discard his wife.wGkv
GCnAs long as he could help her achieve her dreams, she was willing to pour out all her love upon him. She could give him everything for an eternity.VOz11
Xqb2Rt‘I have remembered what he does during the day over the 1st semester. First, I should head to the training room to make contact and…’fCI
3w9mfiShe was wondering how to enchant him when the walking stick that helped her walk accidentally poked into a hole in the ground.pP5
qnjk6“Uht…?!”Q3sYS
ri1i7Losing her balance, Miruam started to fall forward. It was something that happened very often after she lost one of her legs, so she prepared for the shock and calmly closed her eyes but—7kI2
WK3dT-Thud!P9ppwCZ
l0O5LWxSomething stopped her before she fell onto the ground.igf78
EXizPIt felt like she landed on a piece of rock, but it only took her a moment to realize that she was leaning on the big and tough yet warm chest of someone. It must have been a passerby that helped her. She was about to say thanks but…HKvWjAH
4j15“Got ya.”ctBdAI
8rtWOGThe voice that reached her ears was very familiar – it was the voice of destiny that she couldn’t possibly forget.euRk0
TIhJt“Knight… Korin?”vO1Jj
butWX“We are in the Academy, so please call me Senior. Junior.”hFrme
ufEJhOAs she rested on his chest, he gazed down at her with an oddly emotional smile on his face.3SaSL
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