Chapter – 14
Pirancheva was climbing the dungeon while retracing his memories when he encountered a monster.
“Grrrrowl!”
It was a Green Wolf, commonly found in the Mantova Mountains.
The Green Wolf spotted Pirancheva running and chased after him. One or two more joined, and eventually, their numbers grew to eight.
“Back then, I was chased by them too and accidentally found the Hobgoblin’s dungeon.”
Rather than being afraid upon meeting the Green Wolves, Pirancheva recalled the past and let out a light chuckle.
“Fire Ball!”
While running away from the Green Wolves, Pirancheva used Fire Ball.
The mana circles within Pirancheva’s mana hole rotated, drawing in magical power and sending it to the mana engine. The mana engine then sent the magical power to the heart, which flowed it through the mana rods.
This magical power exited through Pirancheva’s pores, resonated with the surrounding mana, and mana gathered in the air.
*Whoosh!*
Then, the gathered mana turned into a fireball and flew towards the Green Wolves chasing closely behind.
As the sudden fireball flew towards them, the Green Wolves were startled and dodged.
Monsters instinctively feared fire, so they avoided the Fire Ball. However, whether they couldn’t resist the temptation offered by the small-looking human due to their hunger, they immediately gave chase again.
By observing how his magic manifested, Pirancheva could confirm one thing.
“I can manifest magic even while moving my body. Above all, there’s no strain on my body.”
Pirancheva felt no strain on his body even after using magic and couldn’t help but smile.
He felt a strange thrill at the fact that he had made possible in reality what was impossible even in Freedom.
“Grr… Woof woof…!”
But that thrill was short-lived. For now, he had to either lose or kill the pursuing Green Wolves.
“Just a little further up.”
Although he was under the effect of Haste, the speed of the Green Wolves chasing him was faster. At this rate, it seemed he would be caught before long.
“Fire Ball!”
Pirancheva used Fire Ball while fleeing, attacking and hitting one of the Green Wolves.
The Green Wolf hit by the Fire Ball rolled on the ground. It didn’t lose its life, but it seemed unable to move due to its injuries and lay still.
Having dealt with one wolf, Pirancheva tried using all the offensive magic he could while evading them.
While running, Pirancheva jumped, spun his body in mid-air to look at the chasing Green Wolves, and landed.
He placed one hand on the ground and used magic.
“Earth Wave!”
At that moment, the ground surged forward, resembling a wave rolling in from the sea.
As the ground swayed, the Green Wolves lost their balance. Seizing this opportunity, Pirancheva used magic.
“Ice Arrow!”
Mana gathered in the air, turning into an arrow of ice, which flew directly towards the off-balance Green Wolves.
“Kyaaang!”
The Ice Arrow pierced the Green Wolf’s flank. This time, similarly, the Green Wolf didn’t die in one hit but was immobilized due to its injuries.
After that, Pirancheva turned his body and fled again.
“The magic’s power is the same. I send mana from the mana engine to the organ corresponding to the desired attribute. Then, using the mana rods connected to that organ, I resonate the mana with the external mana. The magic manifested this way all exhibits the same power.”
Each organ had a corresponding attribute, and if you created a mana circle in the organ matching that attribute, the power became stronger.
Pirancheva had found an example to support his mana theory and confirmed it through his own magic.
“I must tell Father about this so he can research it and have a new school’s magic tower built in the territory.”
*Fwoosh!*
Before he knew it, one Green Wolf had closed in, leaping towards Pirancheva and baring its sharp fangs.
Pirancheva dodged the attack by rolling on the ground and immediately used magic.
“Air Ball!”
*Fwoom!*
The Air Ball hit the Green Wolf accurately, sending it flying.
But in that brief moment, Pirancheva found himself surrounded by the Green Wolves.
“This isn’t a very good situation.”
Although it was a situation where he could potentially lose his life, Pirancheva seemed to be enjoying it rather than being tense.
Pirancheva drew the dagger he had hidden at his waist and looked at the Green Wolves with a tense face.
*Fwoosh!*
One Green Wolf leaped towards Pirancheva. Instead of retreating, Pirancheva took a step towards the leaping wolf and thrust his dagger upwards.
*Stab!*
The dagger pierced through the Green Wolf’s neck.
“Air Ball!”
Simultaneously, he used Air Ball. Before the Green Wolf could land, it was sent flying by the Air Ball.
Pirancheva was also pushed back by the recoil. The other Green Wolves might have seen this as a chance to bite Pirancheva’s neck, but they couldn’t.
Because the wolf sent flying by the Air Ball crashed into them.
While the Green Wolves moved to avoid their flying comrade, Pirancheva regained his balance and used magic again.
*Whoosh!*
This time, it wasn’t a Fire Ball, but a Fire Arrow.
As the fiery arrow formed in the air, it flew straight towards its target, embedding itself in the flank of a Green Wolf.
“Kyaaang!”
Seeing their comrades fall to the human they had underestimated, the Green Wolves finally stopped seeing Pirancheva as just a child and began to perceive him as a higher predator, watching him warily.
Seeing this, Pirancheva, now confident they wouldn’t attack, took a deep breath and let out a shout to intimidate them.
“Raaaaah!”
Startled by the sound, the Green Wolves immediately turned tail and fled.
Pirancheva had used the sound technique ‘Cheonma-Hu’ (Heavenly Demon Roar), recorded in the Cheonma-Gong (Heavenly Demon Art), and its effect was considerable.
“I can achieve an effect similar to the fear emitted by a top-tier monster.”
Pirancheva recalled a dragon’s fear and thought he could use Cheonma-Hu for that purpose.
“As I felt before, obtaining the Cheonma-Gong was truly a masterstroke.”
Pirancheva looked at the fallen Green Wolves.
“I need to hurry now.”
Having driven off the Green Wolves, Pirancheva looked up towards the mountain summit.
“Just a little further.”
* * *
Pirancheva reached the summit of Mount Mantova and, tracing his memories, found a small cave.
It looked like a fox den or a cave dug by a bear for hibernation, but inside existed an unimaginably vast cavern.
Pirancheva let out a long breath at the entrance and went inside.
“Light!”
The inside of the cave was dark, so he used the Light spell to illuminate it.
A small sphere of light appeared above Pirancheva’s head, brightly illuminating about 50 meters around him.
With the help of the light, Pirancheva entered deeper into the cave. At the end, he found a small hole, just large enough for a person to crawl through on their stomach, and he crawled inside.
“If it weren’t for the Green Wolves back then, I would have probably passed by this hole even if I saw it.”
From Pirancheva’s perspective, he was lucky.
He crawled about 50 meters through the winding, narrow passage until he saw a faint light in the distance.
*Fwat!*
Discovering the light, Pirancheva dispelled the Light spell and crawled forward on his stomach, peering out from the hole’s entrance.
Pirancheva was in a small hole located on the upper level of the cavern, about the height of a third floor of an apartment building.
The area below the cavern was quiet, but torches lit here and there below allowed Pirancheva to know that Hobgoblins lived there.
“Once I get down, I need to enter the fourth cave on the right.”
That was where the Hobgoblin Chieftain was, and he needed to defeat the chieftain and obtain the item.
“A 3rd Circle Mage should be sufficient for Hobgoblins.”
He couldn’t be confident of winning if they swarmed him—there’s no beating overwhelming numbers—but in a one-on-one fight, he was confident.
Confirming that no one was below, Pirancheva took out the rope and large spike he had prepared from his pocket.
He then drove the large spike into the ground, tied the rope securely to it, and threw the rope down to the cavern floor.
The rope unfurled to the ground. Pirancheva grabbed hold of it.
After confirming it could support his weight, Pirancheva let go of the rope and jumped down from the hole.
Since it was about three stories high, he could have been injured from the impact, but Pirancheva used magic to make his body lighter before jumping, which significantly cushioned the impact.
Pirancheva looked around to see if any Hobgoblins had spotted him, but the Hobgoblins were quiet.
But then.
“Huh? What’s this?”
Pirancheva saw a huge magic circle drawn on the spot where he was standing.
“This doesn’t seem like an ordinary magic circle.”
Pirancheva briefly examined the magic circle, then shook his head left and right and entered the fourth cave.
Entering the cave, Pirancheva cautiously crept further in until he heard snoring.
“Is it asleep?”
Considering it was night time, it made sense that the Hobgoblins would be sleeping. Pirancheva thought he might be able to simply kill the Hobgoblin Chieftain and take the desired item without much trouble, so he carefully approached.
Spotting the Hobgoblin Chieftain sleeping on a stone bed, Pirancheva muted his footsteps and carefully approached. He drew his dagger and stabbed it towards the Hobgoblin’s heart.
There wasn’t a moment’s hesitation in his movements.
“Gurgle-uk!”
The Hobgoblin Chieftain writhed in pain, trying to get up. Pirancheva stabbed another dagger into its neck.
Clutching its neck, it staggered back and fell to the ground.
As the Hobgoblin Chieftain saw the young human Pirancheva and tried to rise in anger, Pirancheva threw his last prepared dagger with all his might.
*Fwoosh!*
With a sound of cutting air, the swiftly thrown dagger embedded itself in one of the Hobgoblin’s eyes, causing it to scream in agony.
To prevent the sound from echoing out of the cave, Pirancheva used magic.
“Silence!”
Pirancheva used the spell to control the sound, preventing the chieftain’s screams from flowing out of the stone cave and waking the other Hobgoblins, which would lead to the unfortunate situation of being swarmed.
Seeing the Hobgoblin Chieftain still alive despite the severe injuries, Pirancheva decided to use magic to finish it off.
A Fire Arrow formed in the air and flew towards the dagger embedded in its heart.
The fiery arrow seeped into the dagger stuck in the heart. Flames ignited along the blade that had pierced the heart, burning the chieftain’s heart to ashes.
The Hobgoblin Chieftain rolled on the ground in excruciating pain as its heart burned, eventually stopping its movements once its heart was completely charred.
Pirancheva made a slightly surprised expression upon seeing his magic seep into the weapon.
“Enchantment magic, which can imbue tools with magical functions, is a 5th Circle spell…”
He thought that perhaps he might be able to use a wider variety of magic in his current situation.
― Level has increased.
― Character stats have risen due to the real-time growth system.
― Health has been restored.
A notification appeared before his eyes, informing him that he had leveled up and that his abilities had increased slightly, then disappeared.
Pirancheva could now be sure that the game system from Freedom was applied to him.
“If the game system is applied, it’s that much more advantageous for me.”
Then he recalled one person.
“Elina might be in the same situation as me.”
He thought of Elina, who was learning magic from his family.
“Not now, but when we meet at the academy, I should check.”
Pirancheva looked down at the dead Hobgoblin’s corpse. Then, as if remembering something, he made an embarrassed expression.
“Ah, it’s not a game, so it doesn’t disappear and drop items.”
He had momentarily forgotten something that should have been obvious.
“Then that means even if I find dungeons, I might not find the items I wanted back then…”
Pirancheva let out a sigh.
“So that means I need to become a 7th Circle Mage to be able to summon an extradimensional space… But what if, even if I summon an extradimensional space, it’s completely empty inside?”
Pirancheva looked down at the dead Hobgoblin Chieftain, grabbed the sword stuck in its heart, and slit its stomach open.
“Usually, chieftains carry magic stones…”
As Pirancheva expected, the chieftain had a magic stone, and he was able to obtain it.
“Let’s first search around to see what’s here.”
Pirancheva searched the Hobgoblin Chieftain’s quarters and managed to find a few items.
One was a dagger with small gems embedded in its hilt, its blade tinged red.
The other was a Bag of Holding that could hold up to 50 kilograms.
“Since the Freedom system is applied to me… Identify Item!”
*Item: Magical Dagger Elsiard.
Description: A dagger forged by synthesizing manastone, a mineral capable of holding magical power, and star iron, a mineral mined from meteorites. Mana is imbued within the dagger, aiding in magic use.
Attack Power: 50
Defense Power: 5
Durability: 500/500
Options: Reduces mana consumption when using magic.
Increases magic damage by 3%.
Pirancheva checked the dagger and nodded.
“It will be a great help to me now, but it would be nice to get a longsword too.”
Pirancheva put the dagger into the Bag of Holding with a satisfied smile.
“When playing the game, getting a Bag of Holding early on increased the number of items you could store in your inventory, which was advantageous.”
The palm-sized Bag of Holding could store up to 50 kilograms, but even when full, it felt weightless, making it an extremely useful item for Pirancheva.
Pirancheva placed the Bag of Holding in his trouser pocket with its opening facing out. This way, he could store up to 50 kilograms in his pocket conveniently.
Although he didn’t get the specific item he originally wanted, he thought it was fortunate that he could still gain some profit.
“So, dungeons exist, but the items I want from them aren’t always there.”
That was the conclusion Pirancheva reached.
“Then there’s no need to actively seek out ordinary dungeons. Later, when I’m stronger, I’ll just search for ancient dungeons and dragon lairs.”
He collected the gems and gold coins the Hobgoblin Chieftain had hoarded.
“It’s a shame it can only hold 50 kilograms.”
Many gold coins remained, but the weight limit was 50 kilograms, so there was nothing he could do.
After filling the Bag of Holding and stuffing his other trouser pocket with gold coins, Pirancheva left the chieftain’s cave and looked outside.
“Wait, if the Hobgoblin Chieftain was sleeping, maybe all the others are sleeping too.”
Pirancheva thought for a moment, then a faint smile appeared on his lips.
“Only fools would let such a good opportunity slip away.”
