Published at 30th of September 2024 8:00 am

Chapter 481

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Chapter 481

"Actually, it was Nillia who told the Maykin family to entrust the request to you."

Although he felt that the atmosphere was not conducive to communication, Yi-Han still spoke.

That way, he could make excuses to Nillia later.

-I clearly told them, but the hunters ignored me.-

"Wahahahaha!"

"Puhahahaha!"

"..."

As expected, the reaction of the Shadow Patrol was even more intense.

Those who were impressed by Yi-Han's joke laughed so hard that they were gasping for breath and tears welled up in their eyes.

Yi-Han somewhat understood why Nillia disliked the Shadow Patrol.

"...Please make sure to ask and confirm with the Maykin family later. Definitely."

"Wait."

Professor Uregor, who was listening next to him, felt something strange and tilted his head.

"What do you mean the Maykin family entrusted the request because Nillia told them to?"

"...Professor Bagrak! Before boarding the ship, I have something to ask about fighting on the sea!"

Professor Bagrak, who was already on the ship, flew over without a sound as soon as he heard Yi-Han's shout.

It was at a speed that surprised even the Shadow Patrol.

—

The people of Isran City had a strong pride in their city.

From the gate with a romantic legend of being made from mermaid tears to the water statues left by ancient mages, there were many things to boast about in the city, but among them, the city's port was especially indispensable.

Located in the south, the port was filled with all the vitality, reminiscent of the city's heart.

Sailors who had just arrived disembarked from the merchant ships that filled the vast docks to the brim, and the Imperial tax collectors who were waiting for them ran around, checking the goods and shouting to see if there were any smuggled items.

Looking further back, various races could be seen running along the port's main street. The road was wide enough for eight carriages to pass, but there were so many people that shoulders would bump into each other after just five steps. Here and there, peddlers in suspicious attire laid out their mats and threw enticing words to rob the pockets of curious travelers.

The workers and tax collectors who had been working at the port for a long time passed by this breathless scene as if they were used to it.

Occasionally, when a ship with a strange shape, completely different from other vessels, was newly launched by dwarf or elf craftsmen, they were not surprised.

"..."

"...Ugh!"

However, the hunters from the north riding on sleek speedboats were different.

They surprised even the experienced sailors.

"Let's turn 90 degrees to the right and chase after it!"

"Hunter, sir. The ship can't move like that!"

"Ah. Really? I'm sorry about that! Then let's turn 270 degrees to the left and chase after it!"

"..."

The hunters on the sleek speedboats with the Maykin family's flag unfurled a fierce hunt on the deck.

"This won't do. Throw me!"

One of the hunters tied his body with a rope, connected it to the mast, then grabbed a spear and jumped into the sea.

Then, after a while, he climbed back up with a shark-like monster skewered on his spear.

"Hunter, sir! There's no need to hunt the Balsark Shark! That monster doesn't target ships of this size!"

"But it could target small fishing boats, couldn't it?"

"...That's for those people to deal with, isn't it!"

'Hmm. I think I know why Professor Uregor came.'

Yi-Han thought to himself as he listened to the conversation between the hunters and the sailors.

The Shadow Patrol was a capable group of hunters, but they were not without flaws.

First of all, they loved hunting too much.

Since there was a limit to manpower, they should have only dealt with the necessary amount of monsters when confirming the location of the Sangoria flowers and going there, but whenever they saw a monster, they rushed in recklessly, wasting time unnecessarily.

"Everyone, please calm down. We will confirm the monsters that need to be caught for you."

Professor Uregor sent a glance to Professor Bungaegor, asking for her help.

Professor Bungaegor nodded and gave instructions.

"For now, there's no need to bother with the Balsark Shark..."

An unmistakable disappointment was etched on the faces of the Shadow Patrol.

For the hunters who had spent their entire lives in the northern mountain ranges, the logic of 'that monster is not dangerous, that monster is dangerous' did not resonate well.

In the northern mountain ranges, even monsters that were not dangerous could become dangerous at any time.

If you see a monster, you catch it.

Since they were people who had lived their entire lives following this principle, it was not easy for them to just sit still.

"They tell us to hold back until orders are given."

"Can't we secretly catch them?"

"I see blade squids over there...!"

As an experienced adventurer, Professor Bungaegor knew well about the ecology of such hunters.

Just because she gave orders didn't mean they would obediently listen; their reputation wouldn't be so high if they did.

Their tenacity and persistence as hunters were closely related to their stubborn personality.

In such cases, persuasion was necessary.

"Wardanaz. You'll have to take care of the hunters while we search for the flower fields. Stop them from recklessly going out to hunt."

"..."

Yi-Han found it absurd that she was making him do it, but he couldn't deny that he was the only one who could do the job right now.

Professor Uregor had to focus on finding the flower fields, and Professor Bungaegor and Professor Bagrak had to focus on understanding the ecology of the surrounding monsters...

"I understand."

'I don't know if it will go well.'

Although Yi-Han had heard a lot about the Shadow Patrol from Nillia, he was still not confident.

Could he get along well with these stubborn hunters from the northern mountain ranges?

"Oh. Aren't you Nillia's friend?"

"No. I asked earlier, and he said he's from the Wardanaz family. He's probably just in the same year, not a friend."

"I am her friend."

"Yes. Haha. 'Friend,' I see."

Yi-Han glanced at the deck.

Should he push them off?

'Even if I push them off, they'll climb back up anyway.'

Considering the physical abilities shown by the hunters, it seemed pointless to push them off.

Yi-Han decided to endure it himself.

"Is there anything I can help you with as a mage? Please feel free to tell me anything."

To appease the hunters' dissatisfaction, he had to divert their attention.

Yi-Han planned to have a conversation with them until Professor Uregor found the flower fields.

"Oh, there is one thing."

"What is it?"

The hunter lowered his voice and slyly said.

"I want to take these magic arrows back to the mountains..."

"..."

The other hunters looked slightly embarrassed but had expressions of 'I want to take them too if possible.'

The arrows distributed by the Maykin family were of very high quality.

The shaft made of 7-year-old high-quality forsythia wood, the fletching made of pegasus feathers, and the various enchantment spells activated by the densely engraved patterns.

"If there are any left, I will ask the Maykin family to let you take them."

That much wasn't very difficult. Considering the generosity of the Maykin family, there was a high possibility that they would give the remaining arrows as a gift after all the work was finished.

"The thing is..."

However, the hunters hesitated at Yi-Han's words.

"I don't think there will be any left."

"At the current rate of use, it seems like they will all run out and more..."

'Then you should reduce the hunting.'

That's what Yi-Han thought, but he maintained his kindness and said.

"How about mixing in regular arrows?"

"That's not possible. The monsters of the sea have quite thick shells and hides, so it's difficult to cut off their breath without these arrows. If we receive a request and cause problems by saving arrows, it would be putting the cart before the horse."

As experienced hunters, the Shadow Patrol was thorough in this regard.

There was nothing more foolish than underestimating the enemy and getting injured while saving arrows.

'So reduce the hunting...'

Of course, from Yi-Han's perspective, it was an absurd thing to say.

If they reduced the hunting, that problem would also be solved!

"If that's the problem, I also have a way..."

"Can't you enchant regular arrows with magic, Mage?"

"!"

The hunters finally brought up the main point.

It wasn't something they said without any thought; they had it all planned out.

The reason for using these expensive arrows was to use magic even when there were no mages around.

Conversely, if there was a mage, there was no need to use such expensive magic arrows. They could just enchant regular arrows with magic.

The problem was...

'It doesn't work that way.'

Yi-Han was slightly taken aback.

Those who didn't know much about magic often lacked the concept of magic schools, so they would sometimes go to a dark mage and say, "I got food poisoning, can you heal me?"

Of course, it was impossible for dark mages who hadn't learned healing magic. At best, they could revive them after they died.

The current situation was similar.

Yi-Han didn't know where the Maykin family had purchased the arrows, but they had probably purchased them from a workshop established by outstanding enchantment mages.

Carefully selecting high-quality materials for each part, from the shaft to the fletching, and meticulously engraving complex magic circles on them so that the magic could be maintained semi-permanently...

Even just a glance from the side was enough to elicit admiration for the skill and expertise.

And now, Yi-Han, a 1st year student, was trying to replace those arrows with a few enchantments on regular arrows.

There was bound to be a big difference in performance.

'The only thing I'm better at is that I enchanted them on the spot, right?'

Since the only advantage was that he cast them on the spot, Yi-Han explained this point to the Shadow Patrol hunters.

"So, this was done by a great mage, and I'm still a student..."

"No!"

"???"

What do you mean no?

"Mage, sir. I don't know anything about magic, but I'll dare to say one thing. When it comes to work, you never know until you try."

"It's similar for our work. The newcomer always thinks they can't take down the prey. But when you put a bow and arrow in the newcomer's hands and have them face the prey one-on-one, the newcomer realizes that they have hidden abilities within themselves."

"..."

Yi-Han was so dumbfounded that he was at a loss for words.

'Could they be Einroguard hunters? Were they bribed by the skull principal?'

What kind of absurd logic were they spouting?

According to that logic, Yi-Han also had a chance of winning if he faced the skull principal one-on-one.

"In our eyes, you are fully capable, Mage!"

"Don't be discouraged just because they were made as luxury items using expensive materials. Believe in yourself, Mage!"

The Shadow Patrol, who knew nothing about magic, was very brave.

They urged Yi-Han, pushing him to try it once.

"No... alright. I will show you directly."

Yi-Han decided to just show them, holding back a sigh.

If he didn't show them, it seemed like they would keep pestering him, saying, "You're a mage and the person who made these arrows is also a mage, so why can't you do it!"

"The magic on the arrows... wow, this is really... amazing."

Yi-Han couldn't help but exclaim as he looked over the arrows purchased by the Maykin family.

These were the spells he had seen while studying in Professor Verduus's workshop.

, ,...

Compared to the beginner enchantment spells Yi-Han knew how to use, such as , , and , these were advanced spells that were on a completely different level in terms of sophistication.

Beautiful works that solved the weakness of enchantment spells, where the effect rapidly weakened over time, with the brilliant wisdom of the mage!

As a fellow mage, Yi-Han had no choice but to stop and admire them for a moment.

"You can do it, Mage!"

"You can do it too, Mage!"

"...Yes. Well."

Yi-Han prepared the magic with a very embarrassed feeling.

It felt like drawing a crude sketch in front of a masterpiece.

Paaah!!

"I tried enchanting penetration, weight, and accuracy for now, but the level of completion is too different and rough compared to..."

Yi-Han tried to explain the difference in magical completion between this arrow and that arrow, but the hunters just nodded their heads as if they were listening.

'I don't know what he's talking about.'

And as soon as they received the arrows, they nocked them on the bowstring and pulled.

Swish!

The hunters' eyes widened as they looked at each other.

"This is better, Mage!"

"Are you trying to take the arrows now by any chance?"

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