Demon-Hunting Genius Mage

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]

Chapter 129

After the duel with Ziren, only one thought kept swirling in my head.

'7th Circle, 7th Circle, 7th Circle......'

The fact that I had reached the 7th Circle.

The fact that I had reached the level of a high-ranking mage.

Since the 7th Circle was the point at which the realm changed so drastically that one could be called a true mage, I couldn't help but feel a renewed sense of emotion.

"......Am I really 7th Circle?"

Doubt also crept in.

Unlike Professor Ziren or Asion Gale's evaluations, I needed to confirm for myself what I thought.

I immediately took off my gloves and started.

Whoooom!

Gazing at the small sphere of light that floated above my palm, I was lost in thought.

'It's definitely different.'

It was the Light Magic I always used, but the difference was visible even to my eyes.

The mana that was constantly circulating within the sphere had definitely changed to a stable form.

Thanks to that, the Light Magic itself seemed to have become a bit clearer.

To put it a bit more simply, it felt like I had traced the outline of a blurry picture?

Moreover, I didn't even realize that my magic had looked like a blurry picture before.

I just thought it was a characteristic of Light Magic.

'......Light can be this clear?'

Whoooosh!

Spatial Magic was the same.

Perhaps because it was the place where the sphere of light had been until just now, an even deeper-looking space was created above my palm.

If I kept staring at it, it felt like I would be sucked in in an instant.

Spatial Magic as threatening as the Light Magic, which had grown further.

It wasn't for nothing that the dean and Professor Ziren had rated it so highly.

'......At this point, it's definitely the realm of the 7th Circle.'

Thump! Thump! Thump!

After directly experiencing it, my heart was beating even faster.

I immediately wanted to show this Light Magic to Ani Person.

I was incredibly curious how he would react.

He would surely be happier than me, the person directly involved in reaching the 7th Circle.

However, unfortunately, now wasn't the time for that.

There was something more important left to do than looking at someone's reaction.

'Hidden Pieces.'

It was to acquire the Hidden Pieces scattered throughout Asternon.

Since there were no separate schedules arranged, now was the perfect time to get the Hidden Pieces.

Above all, the biggest reason was that there was no reason to stay in Asternon any longer after the war ended.

It was a situation where I had to take what I could get here and leave.

"Mr. First Place!"

"Yuhan."

"Yo!"

"You're here?"

Thompson, Kayla, and Barundel had arrived at the meeting place.

I had given them a heads up while we were having drinks.

Today, I was planning to take these three with me to search for Hidden Pieces.

This was because among the Hidden Pieces, there were many that were useless to me but useful to them.

As such.

"As I said yesterday, today will be a bit busy. I'll be traveling all over the Sectors."

"It's okay, it's okay."

I had to move even more busily.

Just the places that came to mind right away were not one or two.

"But I heard that you're looking for hidden elixirs in Asternon, is that correct?"

"It's similar. There are many kinds. There are elixirs, artifacts, and magic books."

"Huh, how do you know about such things? Come to think of it, you didn't answer me last time either..."

"Ah, there's an information guild I frequent, and I got the information from there."

"......Is that so?"

Barundel stared at me with a suspicious look.

I, who had vaguely glossed over it, avoided his gaze and changed the subject.

"Oh? Mister, you're wearing that today. It looks like I haven't seen it before."

It was a perfectly appropriate topic.

The tawny robe I had gifted Thompson was visible behind his back.

It was actually one of the things I had been curious about since before.

I wanted him to use it effectively in the war if possible.

Well, there must have been a reason why he didn't do so.

"This guy is so noisy, you see. I can't use him unless I tone down his personality."

Ah, so that was the reason.

It was quite understandable.

He was pretty noisy even when I bought him at the black market.

"Is it still talking now?"

"Of course. Now, if this guy is quiet, I'd find it rather strange."

"Um, just a moment."

Wondering to what extent, I approached Thompson and touched the robe.

Then.

[You-u-u rascal! My archenemy who put me in this situation-n-n! We finally meet agai-i-in!]

Even though it wasn't heard with my ears, a muffled noise echoed in my head.

"Oops."

I immediately retracted my hand and nodded.

It was enough to convince me without room for objection.

"It's certainly noisy."

"Right? This guy has quite a temper. It doesn't even flinch when it's scorched by fire or submerged in water."

"Really?"

Judging from what he was saying, it seemed that taming the robe was not easy.

While I was wondering how to help him,

"Is there anything useful among the artifacts you might get today?"

"There's nothing like that separately... Huh?"

I got a hint from Thompson's words.

It was a problem that didn't require much deliberation.

Because it was something that would be naturally resolved once today's journey was completed safely.

"Hehe, let's go."

I glanced at the robe once before moving my feet.

For some reason, the robe seemed to be trembling and avoiding my gaze.@@novelbin@@

[...Y-y-you rascal-l-l!]

***

We headed to Sector 7 first.

Starting from Sector 7, and if possible, all the way to Sector 1.

I planned to gradually acquire the Hidden Pieces as I moved deeper inward.

"Yuhan, Kayla, Thompson, Barundel. Three mages and one dwarf warrior."

"Th-thank you for your support......!"

There was no need to sneak in and out like before.

Currently, Sector 7 was undergoing a recapture operation after the war ended.

As such, our group, with its considerable strength, could easily enter under the pretense of supporting the demon subjugation.

How long had we been moving?

"This place brings back memories."

We had finally reached the outermost area of Sector 7.

It was also the place where I first opened my eyes upon entering this world.

Strictly speaking, it had been less than a year, a recent event, but perhaps because I had been through so much, it felt like the distant past.

Well, anyway.

There were Hidden Pieces to acquire here as well.

Since we needed the demon parts, I had judged it too dangerous back then and just passed it over.

Now, the demons of Sector 7 weren't dangerous at all.

"You three, please take care of the approaching demons. I'll go find the item alone."

"Okay."

"Ah, and please do as I said earlier when I send the signal."

"Got it."

After asking my companions to escort and keep watch, I immediately moved to the location of the Hidden Piece in my memory.

Even though the geography of Sector 7 had changed a lot, if there hadn't been any geological changes, it would probably be in the same place.

"It was around here......"

After wandering around for about 10 minutes.

"......Found it."

I found a pit that was particularly sunken compared to other places.

There were even weeds growing thickly around the outer rim.

It looked exactly the same as I had seen in the game.

Pew-pew-pew!

As soon as I found the pit, I shot a streak of Light Magic over my head.

It was launched like a signal flare and exploded in the air, and soon I found three [Goblin Demons] creeping towards us.

They were the ones that my companions had deliberately let through.

To get the Hidden Piece here, we needed their heads.

Kieeee-e-ek!

The goblins, who met my eyes, rushed at me like they were possessed.

As a reward, I immediately shot three streaks of [Swimming Light] at them.

Ta-da-da-da-dak!

Keeee-eee......!

The goblins immediately burned from the holy power.

Slice! Slice! Slice!

Without hesitation, I cut off their heads and put them in the pit.

The blood from their heads formed a puddle in the pit.

Crack! Crackle!

After confirming that, I tore the weeds around the pit and covered it.

The last was a short incantation.

[May blood and life meet to give birth to another life-.]

A response came immediately.

Whoo-o-ong!

Swaaa-a-a-sh!

A red light leaked out from between the weeds covering the pit and then subsided.

And when I removed the weeds.

"Loot acquired."

As expected, there was an item sitting alone inside.

[Mana Regeneration Elixir].

Although it wasn't a very impressive item......

It was the moment I got my hands on a Hidden Piece for the first time since entering this world.

***

The operation to conquer the Hidden Pieces of Sector 7 proceeded at lightning speed.

From items that could only be acquired by proceeding alone, to those that required a group of four or more people.

All sorts of patterns repeated, but thanks to memorizing the conditions for each, there were no instances where we got stuck.

As a result.

"......So, all these items were obtained based on information you heard from the information guild?"

"......Where is that information guild? Let's share the good stuff."

"A-as expected of Mr. First Place!"

In less than 3 hours, we were able to acquire more than ten Hidden Pieces.

Thanks to the rewards not being fixed to just one type, there was a variety of them.

Three Hidden Pieces of the elixir type that we obtained at the very beginning.

Five items classified as equipment.

Four items classified as artifacts.

Three consumables.

And the two most valuable magic books.

"This is about enough, we've gotten almost everything we could get."

I started picking up the items one by one and distributing them to my companions.

"This is for you, Barundel, and this is yours, Kayla. And mister, take this."

"Y-you're giving us this much?"

"Then, are you not taking anything?"

My companions were bewildered and asked about the distribution that didn't leave a single item for me.

"Ah, I don't really need anything."

It wasn't empty words.

Elixirs, equipment, artifacts......

They were all things that were neither here nor there for me.

It was to the extent that it would be more profitable to just go to any store and sell them than to use them directly myself.

The magic books obtained by revealing the base of the rotten tree were the same.

Since they were obtained in Sector 7, they were worse than proper basic magic books.

Well, even so, as they were still magic books, they could be sold for a pretty high price.

Anyway.

There was the most important reason why I handed over all these items to my companions without leaving a single one out.

"Instead, if there's anything I need later, I'll keep one for myself. You can use the rest."

Because this way, there wouldn't be any objections later when we found really good items.

If my companions had their eyes on something I really needed when I found it, it would be quite a difficult situation.

That's why I handed over less important things, and as I thought.

"Alright. Do as you please."

"......We've met a good party leader. It seems like we always receive more than we give."

"Uhaha! Isn't that proof that Mr. First Place has the qualities of a hero?"

My companions readily agreed.

Without anyone knowing my true intentions.

'This is ultimately a good thing for all of you.'

Everything was going according to plan.

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]