Chapter 22

Chapter 22 (22/324)

22

Leopold and Ersiel.

After calling the two of them, I immediately brought up the topic.

“I want to visit Enphelium once. Are you both free?”

Enphelium.

It was the territory governed by Count Franthal. Since Trasden was located in the eastern part of the empire, Enphelium was also in the east, making it relatively close.

It was only about a week's journey by carriage.

Considering that some places took months to reach by carriage, a week was a relatively short distance.

The reason I wanted to go there was simple.

The dungeon I was looking for was on the way to Enphelium.

There was another reason.

‘It’s only 298 Imperial Year, so it’s not long now.’

If the game’s story unfolds as it should, a great famine that will strike the entire central continent will come in a few months.

The moment it hits the continent,

‘Grain prices will skyrocket.’

Enphelium.

It was one of the most famous agricultural cities in the east, meaning its warehouses were filled with grain.

With the great famine approaching, it could be described as a place brimming with honey.

Now was the time to go there and secure the grain.

Fortunately, I had enough money.

With the platinum coins I received from Abel, I could buy a considerable amount of grain.

‘First, I’ll buy with this.’

After making the initial purchase, I planned to persuade Abel to invest heavily in grain.

‘I’ll receive the next support in grain instead of money.’

Since I wouldn’t be the one feeling regretful, I would handle it cleanly.

Leopold asked me a question.

“Is there a particular reason you suddenly want to visit Enphelium?”

“Now that my probation is over, I want to visit the nearby territories. Enphelium is quite close and is known for its prosperity. I’ve wanted to see it for a long time.”

I naturally didn’t mention that I also wanted to visit the dungeon.

If I said I was going to move to find a dungeon, Ersiel and my bodyguards would likely oppose it.

Dungeons were known places to NPCs.

Generally, they were seen as places filled with monsters and traps, where overcoming these challenges could yield valuable rewards like artifacts.

These dungeons were usually well-hidden, so even experienced explorers who traveled all over the continent often spent months finding one.

Since they were dangerous and hard to find, it was natural that they would oppose the idea.

A smoother approach would be to suggest a short rest near the dungeon during the journey and pretend to discover it by chance.

After finishing my explanation, I looked at the two of them.

“Anyway, I want to go to Enphelium. Of course, you two will come with me, right?”

After being confined for a long time due to my probation, it wasn’t strange to want to travel.

So, the stern knight wouldn’t oppose it. Ersiel also nodded in agreement.

“Understood. When do you plan to depart? We need to arrange the carriage.”

“Tomorrow morning? That would be perfect. Can you tell Father as well?”

“I will.”

The viscount would likely approve the trip.

I had proven myself as a capable magician in the recent expedition.

Since I would be traveling with Leopold, my safety was somewhat guaranteed.

Moreover, no one would block a trip to see a nearby town.

“Do you plan to bring additional troops?”

“No. We’ll be traveling by carriage, and adding more people would only slow us down. The route to Enphelium is a major road, so it’s safe.”

Trasden and Enphelium were connected by a major road.

It was one of the routes built for importing grain.

With a proper major road, the risk of monster attacks was low.

While it wasn’t zero, it wasn’t necessary to bring troops.

With the combination of me, Ersiel, and Leopold, we could easily handle most monsters.

Tank, damage dealer, healer.

This was a perfect combination.

“Understood. I will suggest to the lord that the three of us travel.”

“Thanks.”

Since I found it troublesome to report, it was best that he did it for me.

Leopold had been regularly reporting my actions to the viscount anyway.

After setting the schedule, I dismissed the two of them.

‘I should make a crystal ball.’

Crystal ball.

It was an artifact that allowed communication when infused with mana.

There were two main types of crystal balls: public and direct.

Public crystal balls were owned by most territories.

If a communication mage maintained the connection, anyone could use them.

They were like public phones.

While public crystal balls were cheap, they had a drawback.

To communicate, a communication mage had to infuse the crystal ball with mana, revealing who was communicating to whom.

This was a rather uncomfortable system.

After arriving in Enphelium, I would need to contact Abel. If I used a public crystal ball,

the communication mage might run to Adolph.

To address this, direct crystal balls were created to allow one-on-one communication.

Direct crystal balls required the biological information of the people to be connected to be registered.

Only those with registered biological information could activate the crystal ball, making it highly secure.

No communication mage was needed to activate it, as it had various magical functions to enable activation without a mage.

Naturally, direct crystal balls were much more expensive.

Thirty platinum coins.

This was the price for a pair of direct crystal balls.

To set up a secure direct line with one person, it would cost 30 billion won in Korean terms.

It was a crazy price that only a fantasy world could offer.

Buying this with my own money would be insane.

If I had that much money, I would buy more grain.

Fortunately, I knew how to make direct crystal balls.

Since it would cost a fair amount of platinum to make a permanent one, I planned to make a disposable one cheaply.

‘I should visit the magic tower.’

With that, I started moving toward the magic tower with Leopold.

* * *

Disposable direct crystal ball.

This was one of the magical items with a known creation method.

Fortunately, the materials required were not too difficult to obtain.

To make a permanent one, expensive materials would be needed, but since I was making a disposable one, the materials were relatively easy to find.

While it might seem like anyone could make a disposable crystal ball, that wasn’t the case.

It was one of the creation methods only known to players.

So, I just got the materials from the magic tower.

They wouldn’t know how I used them to make a disposable crystal ball.

It was quite convenient.

The material cost was about 5 gold, which was very reasonable compared to the exorbitant price of a direct crystal ball.

Thirty minutes.

That was the time it took to make a pair of disposable direct crystal balls. Now, by infusing them with any energy, communication would be possible.

Handing one to Abel would complete my task.

Since going myself would be suspicious, I would have to entrust it to Leopold.

Calling the guard at the door,

“Can you deliver this to my older brother?”

I handed him the crystal ball.

“...Is this a crystal ball?”

“Yes.”

“Is it a public one?”

“No, it’s a direct one. But it can only be used once.”

His expression turned puzzled.

“...There are such crystal balls?”

Yes, they exist.

Strictly speaking, they only existed in my mind until just now.

“I made one. Public ones need a mage to activate, and direct ones are too expensive. So, I compromised. It can be activated by infusing any energy, and there’s no need to register biological information. It’s a cheaper version, but it’s a downgrade in other ways.”

Leopold’s face showed surprise.

“...Your magical talent is truly remarkable. It sounds easy, but... no one has actually implemented it, right?”

“I think so too. Anyway, please deliver this to my older brother and explain that it’s disposable. I’ll contact him first, so tell him not to contact me first.”

Since it could only be used once, it would be problematic if Abel contacted me first.

The crystal ball was safely delivered to Abel.

The next morning.

I received word that the viscount had approved the trip.

After all,

At twelve, I would be considered a child in Korea, but in this world, fifteen was the age of adulthood.

Here, I was almost at the level of a high school student.

At that age, it was natural to allow some freedom to go out.

Fortunately, no soldiers were assigned to accompany us.

It seemed Leopold had passionately argued my case.

As we stepped out of the annex, a grand carriage came into view.

Strangely, there were no horses.

‘A mana carriage?’

Mana carriage.

It was a vehicle that automatically traveled to its destination after being charged with mana at mana charging stations. It was much faster than a regular carriage because mana didn’t need rest, unlike horses.

It was one of the artifacts in the game that functioned like a car.

This was a very expensive item.

Since it couldn’t be mass-produced in the Alton Empire, it was only natural.

In modern terms, it was similar to a Lamborghini supercar.

Therefore, it was an artifact only possessed by noble families of at least the count level.

‘I didn’t expect him to give me a mana carriage.’

It seemed the viscount viewed the reformed troublemaker favorably.

With my youngest son, who was on a death sentence, now fighting to live, he might want to help in any way he could.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have given me one of the few mana carriages in the family.

We boarded the carriage.

Sitting on the soft sofa inside, I felt the tension melt away.

‘It’s quite comfortable.’

Perhaps because I was feeling lazy, memories of my past as a successful game streamer came to mind.

I had no one to call family or friends.

I was deeply immersed in the game world, which felt more real.

At thirty-six, I was that kind of person.

I made a lot of money and spent it all on myself.

I thought it would make me happy.

‘But... it didn’t.’

The emptiness in my heart didn’t disappear.

I realized that reality held no significant meaning for me.

Whether this was the game world or reality was still unclear.

But one thing was certain.

This place was becoming more meaningful to me.

‘Continuing to live in this troublemaker’s body might not be so bad...’

Living here and thriving as a magician could be a good life.

This was the world I had always dreamed of.

So, there was no reason to return.

At least not for me.

While reminiscing,

“...Young master?”

Ersiel’s voice broke my thoughts.

I chuckled at her puzzled expression.

The reminiscing ended there.

“Ah. We should start. Let’s go.”

Pressing the activation button of the mana carriage, a hologram-like window appeared.

The destination was, of course, Enphelium.

Selecting Enphelium on the large map of the empire,

The mana engine ignited, and the carriage began to speed forward.

The journey to Enphelium had begun.