novelraw Chapter 74 : Chapter 74
Chapter 74 : Chapter 74
Chapter 74: Steel (3)
Tap. Tap. Tap...!
A small sound echoed through the Boundary.
Ellen kept bringing her fist to my palm.
The force was getting stronger, little by little, very little by little.
It was decided to increase the intensity gradually.
'She's really crazy.'
Innate Strength was indeed Innate Strength.
To Ellen, it was just a touch, but it contained enough power to easily crush the head of a small animal.
However, I felt no pain.
'As the durability increases, the pain threshold adjusts accordingly.'
It meant it wasn't a cheap item.
Thud. Suddenly, a shock traveled up from my palm and spread throughout my body. My wrist especially tingled.
“Just now. How strong was that?”
“Hmm…”
Ellen couldn't answer.
The Elaine of the past life had a perfect grasp of her own strength and knew how to control it.
The 20-year-old Ellen seemed not to be there yet.
It wasn't important right now.
'Innate Strength grows with its master.'
She would get used to it after experiencing the brink of death a few times, just as she had in her past life.
"Tell me how far you can kill with that strength."
"Hmm... 2nd Rank?"
It meant that a 2nd Rank Magical Beast's head would have exploded from that punch just now.
"Without Aura."
"Yes. Because I didn't use it."
I was once again reminded of how ridiculously blessed Innate Strength was.
'No wonder she could wound the body of a 6th Rank Giant.'
Although it was just a scratch, that in itself was an absurd feat.
It was a scratch that only a Sword Master could have made.
In terms of power alone, it meant that Ellen was already not inferior to a Sword Master.
"Remember that punch. If it had been a little stronger, I would have been injured."
"Is the Magical Item okay?"
"It seems to be a well-made Magical Item."
It was a sturdy Magical Item.
I didn't know what kind of Mage had made it, but their skill was excellent. It seemed to be the best possible result with the given materials.
"Are you going to sprinkle the pepper now?"
Ellen's eyes lit up.
He had used that analogy when talking about modifying it.
"That's right."
"Take your time. I'll watch."
Ellen drew her sword and stood guard by his side.
With that image as the last, I closed my eyes.
All Magical Items have a structure.
On the outside, it may be a simple ring, but inside, it is as intricate as a labyrinth.
My magic swept through that labyrinth, very slowly and meticulously. It completely engulfed the interior and then gradually raised the temperature.
The inside was heated. And soon... it became viscous.
When the labyrinth was about to melt, I withdrew my magic. It must not be transformed. The structure of the ring had to remain the same.
'But, to make it stronger.'
I took off the ring and carefully placed it on the ground. Then I distanced myself.
"What are you doing?"
"Cooling it."
The cold of the Boundary cooled the heated ring in an instant.
"And this is to heat it again."
I put the ring on my little finger and infused magic into it again. Just as the structure of the ring was about to melt, I placed it on the ground.
"Tempering?"
Heating, and cooling.
Ellen realized what I was doing.
“That’s right.”
“Does that make sense?”
“Magic is vague, but it cannot escape the laws of nature. Unless it’s a 6th Rank.”
Generally, water extinguishes fire, and a moderate wind makes a fire stronger.
Magic was the same.
If the gap in magic was not that great, magic would conform to the laws of nature.
That was why Mages considered compatibility.
"This Magical Item makes its owner as sturdy as steel. Steel melts when heated, and cools when placed in the cold. It will become even stronger that way."
"But it's not real steel."
The ring was a Magical Item that made its owner as sturdy as steel, not turn them into real steel.
"That's why it's magic."
In truth, I wasn't confident I could explain it easily either. That was what magic was.
However, that vagueness would be realized.
If his own body could do it, there was no reason a Magical Item couldn't.
“Isn’t your explanation too vague?”
“What can I do, that’s how the world is.”
I didn't have the leisure to leisurely explore the world, Origins, and magic like a closet Mage.
I just had to do what I could within the scope of what I knew.
The ring was put on my finger and thrown on the ground several times.
Ellen had a bored face.
It was interesting at first, but since it was a repetitive task, she quickly got tired of it.
'She must be even more bored because no Magical Beasts are appearing.'
I thought I had been doing it for quite a long time, but not a single Magical Beast was seen.
'Come to think of it, I was mistaken.'
The Tunnel-Digger knows the safe points in the Boundary. Therefore, the area around the tunnel exits is safe.
I had judged so once.
It was a miscalculation.
Rick was an illiterate who didn't even know the Boundary, let alone how to write.
The fact that the tunnel exits he had dug were safe was just pure luck.
'They say the total amount of luck is fixed.'
It might be the price for rolling in the mud for ten years, captured by Isotta.
There would be nothing more unlucky than that.
The ring placed on the ground was covered in darkness. The sun was setting at some point. It was about the time we had promised to return.
And as it happened, this was the last tempering.
If I did it one more time, the structure of the Magical Item would be distorted.
I wasn't confident in my tempering skills.
As I had told Ellen once, I had no talent for creation.
I put the cooled ring on my little finger and infused magic into it.
The structure itself had not changed. Since I had put in a lot of effort to prevent it from being altered.
'It does seem to have gotten stronger.'
I held out my palm to Ellen.
"Try hitting it again."
"With the same strength as before?"
Ellen fidgeted with her lips.
She seemed to be recalling the strength she had used before.
“You can hit it a little harder.”
“……You won’t hold me responsible if it breaks?”
Even while saying that, Ellen had a cautious face.
It seemed that she had broken more than one or two things in her life.
She might have even broken a few people.
“Not just break. I won’t hold you responsible even if I get hurt.”
“……”
Ellen clenched her fist.
For some reason, she looked displeased, and that emotion was contained in her fist.
Pow!
A sound of air bursting was heard. My palm was thrown back so hard that I suspected my shoulder had been dislocated.
My shoulder throbbed. My palm hurt much more.
The owner who had turned like steel was injured, but the Magical Item was unharmed. Its durability seemed to be amazing.
'Is this someone's masterpiece?'
However, unfortunately, the Rank of that someone did not seem to be that high.
If it were, the effect wouldn't be just becoming as hard as steel.
"......Are you alright?"
"My wrist is sprained."
I looked down at my wrist with a vacant expression. It was already swollen.
"What should I do, I can't take responsibility."
Ellen smiled slyly.
It seemed to be the exact injury she had expected. In that short time, she had become more proficient at controlling her strength.
"......How hard did you hit?"
"3rd Rank?"
"It must be 4th Rank."
Not enough to kill, but enough to deliver a meaningful blow.
Even for Ellen, she couldn't kill a 4th Rank Magical Beast without Aura, and with her bare hands at that.
Not yet.
“Shall we go now?”
Ellen, who had been hit right on the mark, smiled awkwardly and changed the subject.
* * *
Time was somewhat delayed.
It wasn't that my calculations were wrong.
"Why are you so late."
"My wrist is sprained."
"You can crawl with your elbows."
"My shoulder is also slightly out."
"..."
Ellen gently slowed down her crawling speed.
When returning through the tunnel, she was always in the lead.
"You can go first."
"Are you trying to make a fool out of me?"
"Was I not?"
"..."
"Ugh."
Ellen stopped moving.
"What. Is there something behind you?"
"I used my wrist."
"..."
Ellen kicked up dirt with the sole of her foot.
I had already expected it and ducked to block it with the top of my head.
After proceeding for a long time, a light seeped in from the distance. It was the entrance of the tunnel. But no presence was felt.
"It's us, Harad and Ellen."
As soon as he shouted that, a presence was felt.
Three. Two were standing on either side of the tunnel, and the other was waiting at a moderate distance in front of the entrance.
'Excellent.'
If the one who had crawled through the tunnel had been an Otherworld Mage, they would have poked their head out without feeling a presence. And they would have died.
The member of the 2nd Knights bowed his head briefly to Ellen, saying she had worked hard, and then held out his hand to me, who had pulled his upper body out of the tunnel.
“You’re late.”
“Sorry, something came up.”
I showed my swollen wrist and pointed at Ellen with my chin.
At that, the 2nd Knights member nodded with a "what else is new" expression.
"She's strong too."
Among the knights, Ellen seemed to be known as quite a strong person.
Of course, not as much as Elaine.
"Harad, it must have been your fault."
"Well, I guess I have no allies in this land."
I had heard from Cassion once that Ellen was popular among the knights.
"There's probably no knight who dislikes her, since she's strong and beautiful."
Strong and beautiful.
Come to think of it, that was the ideal type in the North.
"Do you perhaps like her too?"
At my words, the 2nd Knights member stared at me intently.
"Harad, are you being possessive right now?"
"Possessive? Me?"
I let out a chuckle.
It was a misunderstanding not even worth correcting.
"Stop with the nonsense and hurry up."
Ellen, who had already reached the front of the stairs, urged him on.
They had agreed to have dinner with Kubel and Shura. They were already a little late.
"It doesn't seem like you need to be possessive."
It seemed to have looked different in the 2nd Knights member's eyes.
"It's not like that."
"I'll just assume it is."
Instead of answering, I memorized his face and followed behind Ellen. His name was definitely Hopper.
* * *
Ellen sniffed.
But there was no smell around Kubel's annex.
“Did they eat it all?”
As if that was a big deal, Ellen was on the verge of tears.
She had only eaten Kubel's food even when she was active as Elaine. She was now a person who could not live without Kubel's food.
“Is Kubel that kind of person. He must be waiting.”
At those words, Ellen's footsteps quickened.
When she went inside the annex, a smell indeed wafted out.
Kubel had cooked the food to a point where the taste would not be ruined and had been waiting.
"Big sister!"
Shura ran and hugged Ellen.
“Sorry. I’m really late, right?”
“The reason we’re late is…”
As I was about to add, Ellen shot me a glare. It was because of Shura. Ellen hid her violent side in front of Shura.
“Why are you here?”
Cassion was also there.
"I came to eat."
"If you've eaten, then leave."
"I haven't eaten yet. Lady Ellen said she was coming."
Cassion was sitting quietly in front of the table, and he looked just like a dog waiting for the command to eat.
“I heard you were busy. You seem to have more free time than I thought.”
“I am busy.”
Cassion's voice was joyful.
He seemed to like being busy.
"But I came because I don't think I'll be able to eat for the next few days."
"Are you going somewhere?"
Cassion tilted his head.
"The one who is going is you, Harad. And Kubel."
This time, I tilted my head.
"Me?"
"You haven't heard yet?"
"I just came back from the Boundary, I had to modify a Magical Item."
I infused magic into the ring.
Seeing it, Cassion's eyes lit up. As befitting a 5th Rank Mage, he had recognized the efficacy and value of the Magical Item at a glance.
"A precious Magical Item. Did you meet a 5th Rank?"
Cassion guessed that the original owner of this Magical Item was a 5th Rank.
It meant that this ring was that excellent.
No, to be precise, it had become excellent.
“I modified it.”
“I see. Iron has good compatibility with fire.”
Just fire? Iron also needs water.
Of course, that didn't mean that the various Magic Towers were extremely close, since Mages were ultimately human.
"Still, it's surprising. The value of a Magical Item is usually lower than the Rank of its creator."
It was the reason Cassion had misunderstood it as a 5th Rank.
The result, the Magical Item, cannot surpass the level of its master. It is difficult to even be equal.
As far as I knew, a 6th Rank level Magical Item did not exist in the world.
"It's the sun, isn't it."
"...Sometimes, you seem to think that Origin of yours is omnipotent."
"Is it not?"
"It means you will have that many enemies. You never know about the inside of the Red Tower either. Be careful."
Cassion advised bluntly.
He was right. There were many enemies. The entire Otherworld was my enemy.
"Don't worry. I've never thought of the Red Tower as an ally."
Whatever the Red Tower's attitude, I had no intention of treating them differently.
"So. Where are Kubel and I going?"
"To the 1st Knights."
The answer came from behind.
It was Kubel. He had come with a lot of finished dishes, and the face sticking out above them was stiff.
He was clearly nervous.
"Harad and I have been included in tomorrow's search."
"Was it ordered by His Highness the Grand Duke?"
"No. It was a request from Toremot, the 1st Knights Commander."
Cassion answered.
"They said they found traces of a Mage in the Search Route. So they requested cooperation."
Normally, it would have been a trace they would have just passed by.
But not recently.
Because a Mage named Harad existed in Serzila, and the 1st Knights had acknowledged him as an ally.
"Because you know the most about Mages. Actually, it's me, but."
The Otherworld Mage whined.
I couldn't agree. No matter how I thought about it, I knew more than Cassion.
"Kubel is. Hmm. They're expecting him. In case he's a Mage like me."
Cassion looked at me with an incredulous expression.
"Am I wrong?"
"...You're right. Even if not, they're expecting he can be a fighting force."
"He will be a definite fighting force, Kubel."
The regressed me could be confident.
Kubel, who didn't know his inner thoughts, made a moved expression at the side. He seemed to feel burdened as well.
"The 1st Knights will tell you the details. They're coming now."
Cassion pointed at the door. Not long after, the door opened. A familiar face came in.
"Gullen, have you been well?"
"It's been a while, Harad."
Gullen's face was stiff, but he couldn't completely hide his pleasure.
"What is that?"
Gullen came in, dragging something.
It was a bundle made of Magical Beast hide, and it looked quite heavy. The bundle was stained reddish.
"It's a gift from the unit members. To you, no, to that person."
"A gift?"
As I tilted my head, Gullen spread open the mouth of the bundle. The smell of blood wafted out.
"I can't see, big sister."
"It's dirty."
"Gasp!"
Ael, who was feeding Shura, hastily covered Shura's eyes.
"Is everything in there that?"
"Yes."
The gift was the hearts of Magical Beasts.
And dozens of them.
"You can eat them all."
"..."
Some of the hearts looked fresh, and some looked old.
Fortunately, none of them were spoiled. It must be because it was the freezing cold North.
But I couldn't say I would eat them well, even as a polite refusal. No, I didn't even want to eat them.
It wasn't because Ellen was glaring at him and Gullen from the side.
Ellen was also glaring at me.
Are you really going to eat it? That was her gaze.
"Gullen."
"There's no need to thank me. It wasn't a difficult task."
I understood. It must be a gift and a bribe.
Since a few knights, including the 1st Deputy Commander Derrick, were completely smitten with the sun.
"A heart that has been dead for a long time has no magic. It means it's useless."
"Then you won't eat it?"
"I wouldn't go out of my way to."
"Is that so? I thought it was quite edible."
"..."
The knights of Serzila generally had a coarse palate.