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chapter-41

“Did I fulfil a new condition?”

The colour of a book would change if a specific condition was fulfilled. Seeing the colour of a book he had already read turn blue, it seemed Soo Hyuk had fulfilled the conditions to receive a special quest. He quickly walked over to the blue book and checked its title.

“Wolf Hunter Karu?”

The title of the book was ‘Wolf Hunter Karu’. Although he wasn’t completely sure exactly what the condition he had fulfilled was, it definitely had something to do with the wolves that he had hunted earlier today. With the book in his arms, Soo Hyuk started searching for other books that might’ve changed.

“Aren’t there any more?”

Soo Hyuk walked between all the bookshelves that he had already read. It was to check for any other books that could have changed their colour like ‘Wolf Hunter Karu’.

“There aren’t any others.”

A maybe was a maybe. There were no more books that had changed. Soo Hyuk picked out five more white books from a bookshelf and walked over to a reading desk. The first book he opened was the ‘Wolf Hunter Karu’.

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In the end I couldn’t catch the wolf that stole my family’s heirloom.

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Soo Hyuk read the last passage of the book then closed it. He had thought that the contents would have changed, but they were the same as when the book was white.

[Special Quest ‘Karu’s Heirloom’ has been created.]

The blue light disappeared, and a message window appeared before him when he closed the book. His wisdom didn’t increase. Was it because he had read the book once before? After confirming that it hadn’t increased, Soo Hyuk opened his quest tab to check his new quest.

[Special Quest – Karu’s Heirloom]

The wolf hunter Karu’s family’s heirloom was stolen by a wolf. Retrieve the necklace from the wolf!

[King of Wolves : 0 / 1 ]

[Wolves : 0 / 100 ]

[ Karu’s Necklace : 0 / 1 ]

[Quest Reward: ??? ]

Soo Hyuk thought as he read the quest details.

‘Do I have to hunt wolves again?’

Soo Hyuk had planned to stop hunting wolves. Instead he was going to hunt harder monsters like bears. No, there was too much competition for bears, so he would aim higher. Those were his plans, but after receiving the quest, it seemed that he was going to have to hunt wolves again.

‘The problem is this necklace.’

Hunting wolves wasn’t a difficult task. He could easily hunt over 100 wolves and the Wolf King in two hours. But he also had to find a necklace.

‘Is it a rare drop? From the Wolf King?’

He also needed this ‘Karu’s Necklace’ to complete the quest. The book had said that a wolf had taken it.

‘It said the wolf was big, so it must’ve been the Wolf King.’

The book had mentioned that the wolf was far larger than ordinary wolves, so it must’ve been the Wolf King.

‘Will the necklace be a guaranteed drop now that I’ve received the quest?’

What if the Wolf King didn’t drop the necklace? It was a boss monster, which meant that it would take a long time to respawn.

‘It would be good if it dropped the necklace the first time.’

Soo Hyuk prayed as he closed his quest tab. Then, he put aside ‘Wolf Hunter Karu’, and started reading the other books.

* * *

“How long will you wait?”

Kale asked.

Pavian fell in thought at Kale’s question.

‘Even if I taught him now, he would just be poisoned.’

Poison magic didn’t differentiate between friend and foe. All magic didn’t, to a certain extent, but poison magic even more so. Even the caster was susceptible to its effects. So, to effectively cast poison magic, the caster had to be resistant to poison first.

‘He has extraordinary talent, so the process will be quicker as well.’

What would happen if Soo Hyuk, who was deemed an immeasurable talent, used poison magic? Then it would be able to display its full potential on the battlefield. But right now because poison magic used indiscriminate attacks, teaching Soo Hyuk would be just suicide.

‘Since teaching him now would only bring him harm.’

After gathering his thoughts, Pavian replied to Kale.

“29 days later?”

The process of strengthening had already started. His poison resistance would be strong enough to practise poison magic after 29 more days. Pavian would then personally teach Soo Hyuk all about poison magic.

“I see.”

Kale replied while nodding.

“Then I will prepare for that day.”

The reason Kale asked Pavian when he would start teaching was because poison magic required ingredients and items, and the consumption of Poison Magicians was often higher than Magicians who practiced other branches of magic. Some of the materials they needed were also exceedingly rare.

“Mm, prepare well. Especially the Karass Poison.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Oh! And.”

Pavian added.

“I should meet with Berenice.”

* * *

The sparkle disappeared.

“Hmm……”

There was no message.

‘Is it because I levelled up?’

Soo Hyuk wondered. Yesterday he couldn’t be sure because he didn’t read that many books. But today, Soo Hyuk was able to confirm after reading more books.

‘My wisdom rises slower than before.’

Before he levelled up, almost every book that he read would increase his wisdom. But now, his wisdom rose once every two books. Of course, there were times when it continuously rose, but that was only when he was reading thick books.

‘My level only rose by 8 though……’

Soo Hyuk had only gained 8 levels since the last time he had come to read books.

‘Well, that’s unfortunate.’

Soo Hyuk got up from his seat. Although it was unfortunate that his wisdom rose slower than before, he couldn’t just stop levelling up.

Soo Hyuk left the library after returning his books. He then planned out the day’s schedule while heading to the Tower of Flame.

‘For now, let’s buy the item for the skill quests at the Tower of Flame.’

Soo Hyuk currently had 1500 gold. If it was the old Soo Hyuk, he would just let it sit in his inventory, but now he had a use for it.

‘Then I should go to the Tower of Poison afterwards to take my daily dose of poison.’ (TL: bruh)

Soo Hyuk then decided to go to the Tower of Poison after the Tower of Flame. He had to visit everyday for the quest.

‘Then I’ll go hunt more wolves.’

After deciding his schedule for the day, Soo Hyuk opened his quest tab.

‘What skill should I learn?’

Soo Hyuk had to decide which skill quest he would complete. He first picked out the quests that only required materials to complete. He then eliminated the quests with materials that he couldn’t obtain at the Tower of Flame.

‘There’s four.’

There were 4 skill quests that met his conditions.

[Skill Quest – Inferno ]

Complete the conditions below!

[Grade 4 Mana Stones : 0 / 10 ]

[Flame Stone : 0 / 2 ]

[Quest Reward: Skill – Inferno]

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[Skill Quest – Fire Wall ]

Complete the conditions below!

[Grade 4 Mana Stones : 0 / 20 ]

[Flame Stones : 0 / 5 ]

[Quest Reward: Skill – Fire Wall]

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[Skill Quest – Firestorm]

Complete the conditions below!

[Grade 3 Mana Stones : 0 / 10 ]

[Flame Stones : 0 / 5 ]

[Eye of Incandescence : 0 / 1 ]

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[Skill Quest – Flame Dance]

Complete the conditions below!

[Grade 4 Mana Stones : 0 / 5 ]

[Lesser Demon Soulstone : 0 / 1 ]

[Quest Reward: Skill – Flame Dance]

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Inferno, Fire Wall, Firestorm and Flame Dance. Soo Hyuk knew that it wasn’t possible to learn all of them right now, so he thought carefully which ones to choose first.

“It’s expensive.”

Grade 5 Mana Stones cost 10 gold. The grades above it, the Grade 4 and Grade 3 Mana Stones cost 50 gold and 200 gold each respectively. That meant that it wasn’t possible to complete all the quests with his current amount of gold.

‘Firestorm isn’t possible right now.’

Let alone the other materials, Firestorm needed 10 Grade 3 Mana Stones. That was 2000 gold. With his current wealth, he couldn’t even fulfil the mana stone requirements.

‘I can learn Inferno.’

Flame Stones cost 30 gold each, and together with the mana stones, the total cost of the skill would be 560 gold. Soo Hyuk had enough gold to learn Inferno twice over.

‘But if I learn Inferno, I won’t be able to learn Fire Wall.’

If Soo Hyuk learned Inferno, he wouldn’t have enough gold leftover to learn Fire Wall. To learn Fire Wall, he needed 1150 gold. That meant that Soo Hyuk would have to choose between Inferno or Fire Wall.

‘Let’s check Flame Dance.’

Of course, he didn’t have to choose right now. He hadn’t calculated how much Flame Dance would cost yet.

If Flame Dance went over 400 gold, he would have to choose Fire Wall over Inferno and Flame Dance. But if it didn’t cost over 400 gold? He would definitely choose Fire Wall over Inferno. Inferno dealt damage over time to a single target, while Fire Wall dealt AOE damage over time.

Soo Hyuk closed closed his quest tab as he neared the Tower of Flame. He then lined up at a booth in the Tower. Like the Tower of Earth, the Tower of Flame also had a lot of players.

“How can I help you?”

It was finally Soo Hyuk’s turn.

“How much is a Lesser Demon Soulstone?”

“It’s 100 gold.”

The NPC Pero replied to his question.

‘Then.’

Soo Hyuk quickly calculated the cost of Flame Dance.

‘5 Grade 4 Mana Stones and a Lesser Demon Soulstone cost 350 gold.’

After he finished calculating, Soo Hyuk opened his mouth.

“Can I buy 1 Lesser Demon Soulstone, 25 Grade 4 Mana Stones and 5 Flame Stones?”

“So, 100, 1250 and 150 gold……That’s 1500 gold in total, sir.”

Pero held out his hand. Soo Hyuk brought out 1500 gold from his inventory. When he brought out the gold, it was in the form of a silver pouch. Pero received the pouch with a smile and said.

“Please wait a moment.”

Pero opened a door behind him, disappearing inside. Coming out not long after, he held a little package in his hands.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

Soo Hyuk exited the Tower of Flame with his package after thanking Pero. Now that he had all the items, it was time to complete the quests.

[You have completed the Skill Quest – Fire Wall]

[You have obtained skill, ‘Fire Wall’.]

[You have completed the Skill Quest – Flame Dance]

[You have obtained skill, ‘Flame Dance’.]

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[Fire Wall]

Proficiency: Beginner Level 1 (0%)

Special Effects: Reduce target’s speed by 20%

Mana: 1000

Cooldown: 2 minutes

Activation Time: 10 seconds

Effect Duration: 10 seconds

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[Flame Dance]

Proficiency: Beginner Level 1 (0%)

Special Effects: Casts ‘Flame Dance’ again on an enemy within 5m if the target dies in 10 seconds. (Limit: 7 times)

Mana: 300

Cooldown: 1 minutes

Activation Time: 5 seconds

Effect Duration: 10 seconds

Soo Hyuk mumbled as he checked the descriptions for Fire Wall and Flame Dance.

“They would be great for fights against multiple opponents.”

Not to mention Fire Wall, even Flame Dance was really good. Even if the damage turned out to be relatively low, killing a wolf in seconds would be a piece of cake with his wisdom.

In other words, the wolves near him would be burnt to a crisp once Flame Dance was cast. Soo Hyuk then headed to the Tower of Poison while admiring his new skills.

Translator and Editor Notes:

There is another term change. The previous term for Flame Dance was Wildfire, because the literal meaning of the Korean was’ playing with fire’. When I translated it previously I went ‘Playing with fire’ → wildfire, but now I realize that play → dance makes more sense with the original meaning. Looks like I have to sharpen my skills further! Sorry for the inconvenience! ~MagicFishCat

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