novelThe Secret of Jewel Alchemy (2)
| ← Ch.050 | Ch.052 → |
If that is the case, it is a quest with an enormous reward. Even though I am tired, it is making my heart beat quickly.
I might even be able to achieve the master level for Jewel Alchemy faster than I expected.
I need some more hints.
Seeing Akto's expression, he was really in a rush. If I can make him a little more nervous, I might be able to get a better hint out of him.
"I am starting to get interested. Tell me what kind of secret it is. Then I should be able to make a decision."
"I do not have time. The demonic influence is affecting my soul......"
"So don't drag it out and just answer me. I can't put my life on the line for something I have no idea about."
I raised my voice as I cut him off. The one in a rush right now was Akto, not me.
Finally Akto started to give me some new information.
"I went to look for the Peria tribe once."
Peria is like the Drake, a tribe hidden under a veil. It is a tribe even I never managed to meet in the game.
I knew that this was big!
"It was to reach the master level for Jewel Alchemy. But I learned a surprising truth. In the history of the Peria tribe, they had did not have a single person reach the master level in Jewel Alchemy."
Huh? Does that make sense?
If the Drake tribe was a tribe that inherited Dragon blood, the Peria was a tribe that inherited the fairies' power. All jewels have fairy power in them.
That is why Jewel Alchemy is called a Peria occupation instead of a dwarf occupation.
But there are no members of the Peria tribe who reached the master level? No one in their entire history?
"Do you know the reason for that?"
Of course I am curious. I am aiming for the master level in Jewel Alchemy as my end goal.
"What?"
"If you are curious, then release my soul from the Stone Wall of Grief. Then you will find out the reason, and will be able to climb past the wall to the master level. Now you must decide."
Damn it, stopping at the climax.
Now that I think about, this guy knows how to use his brain.
Akto's body was extremely hazy now. If I were to drag it on any longer, I might not even be able to get the quest. As Akto mentioned, it was now my turn to make a decision.
Of course even if it wasn't Akto, I could still gain that information. As long as things go the way I planned.
But I should still take the quest.
"Fine. I will give it a try. But give me a long duration of over 10 years. I will only accept it with that condition."
Once I agreed, Akto urgently reached out his hand. At the same time, the message notifying me of a quest rang in my head.
"Wait a minute. Confiscate Jewel Alchemy skill? We never discussed that."
"Shouldn't you have to put something on the line as well? I guess we are done here. Remember. 10 years."
My eyes became blurry for a minute before my surroundings changed. I had moved from the large Demon's Cave to a narrow and underdeveloped tunnel.
That scammer of a dwarf. I said I was going to save his soul and he stabs me in the back like that?
It was meaningless anger. Akto was already gone.
Anyways, my body is about to break. I used the HP potion so the injuries have already closed up, but I desperately need some rest.
I need to hurry over to the temporary residence and take a nap.
I slowly moved my feet to get out of the mine.
'Anyways, I wonder what happened to Jonnan. '
Before he was hit by Akto's curse, Jonnan was known as the Hercules of Titan Valley.
Since Akto's curse was removed, he should regain his old self.
Thinking about Jonnan made my heart flutter again.
"How will he have changed? Will he have instantly returned to normal? Or will he slowly recover?"
Jonnan was pretty much family now. If I was asked to pick the person I was closest to in Royal Roader, I would not hesitate to pick Jonnan.
So of course his joy was my joy.
I want to quickly see Jonnan's changed appearance.
Was that the reason? I felt like strength was returning to my legs that could barely move.
As I continued to walk for a long time like that, I saw a light far in the distance.
The entrance to the mine!
Once I step out, I will not be able to return here.
I have no regrets. In fact, I was satisfied. No, I was excited. This is the point where I start traveling across the continent and spreading my wings.
Just like that, I threw my body into the bright world outside the mine.
'It's so bright!'
Outside the mine was extremely bright due to the radiating sun.
The time seemed to be just a bit past morning.
I seem to have taken around 27 hours to complete all three of Akto's Tests.
"It's the tunnel supervisor-nim!"
"He's out!"
"Tunnel supervisor-nim~"
Many miners were gathered in front of the mine entrance. Once I showed myself, they all crowded toward me.
It was like they knew I would come out around now.
I guess it made sense since I was in a party with Jonnan. The moment I finished all of the tests, Jonnan should have received a message as well. He also would have received the message that his intuition went up. And the message that he was no longer cursed by Akto.
Anyways, hey you, why do you keep grabbing on to me? I don't even have the strength to stand right now.
Ow, that spot is still hurting.
"Look at this injury!"
"Are you okay? Don't touch that!"
Do you finally see the injuries? Oh, and I'm sorry, but you move to the side as well. I don't need a giant dude like you blocking my view.
I laughed lightly as I looked around the miners. I was looking for Jonnan.
"Hwi Ram!"
Jonnan's voice came toward me first. It sounded extremely teary.
I turned my head to the right.
Unlike the other miners, he looked a bit worn out. As if he had been going through Akto's Tests with me. He must have not moved from this spot since yesterday.
"But why still......?"
There were no changes. He looked weak and his skinny body was the same.
There's no way that he didn't escape the curse because of the continuation quest, is there?
Jonnan was smiling although he was full of tears.
"I am no longer cursed. My strength has not returned yet, but I can feel it in my body. I feel like I can fly."
Now that you mention it, he has a different kind of feel to him. How do I put this? I can feel a lot of vitality coming from him. His waist seems to be a bit straighter as well.
Even in his extremely teary voice, there was some unknown strength.
I was finally relieved.
"I'm glad. Take good care of yourself from now on. Eat well and exercise."
"Sob. Thank you. Thank you very much."
Jonnan grabbed my hand as he kneeled right in front of me.
But it was not just Jonnan.
"Thank you tunnel supervisor-nim. We will treat you as our benefactor for the rest of our lives."
"Thank you."
It was Jonnan's two sons, Tago and Mano.
Alright. I understand Jonnan and his two sons doing this. But why are these old men like this? Batoom and Goultan also grabbed my hand and started to tear up.
"Thank you. You are our benefactor."
"I feel like a ten year long congestion has finally been cleared. Thank you very much."
Let us talk after you let go of me. I don't even have the strength to stand right now.
Whatever, I don't care anymore.
I just flopped down on the ground as well.
I had to lower my stance anyways. Jonnan, as well as his two sons, were both much older than me.
"You don't act like this with your family. Aren't we a family?"
"Family. We are indeed family."
Yes. Cry all you want. You need to shed tears of sorrow when you want to, but these are tears of joy.
"Anyways, your intuition should have gone up right? I'm sure that criminal would not have broken his promise."
Once I mentioned the intuition stat, Jonnan finally started to wash away his tears.
"Ah, how could I forget! Since you mentioned it, I was feeling weird. The fact that my intuition went up that much for no reason must have meant that I received it as a reward from Akto."
That much? I'm glad.
"How much did it go up?"
"It went up by 20."
He received less than I did.
But 20 is still a lot. It will be very beneficial to Jonnan.
"Why did that happen? Why did you yield your reward to me?"
Reason? That's simple. It was because there was no suitable reward for me.
I'm sure if I looked around carefully, there might have been something, but who cares about useless rewards like that?
Plus, raising Jonnan's abilities is better for me since I can't go into the mine anymore.
Jonnan will need to mine the jewel in my place.
The jewels Jonnan mine are mine anyways.
"Aren't we family, as well as each other's soul's partner? Senior needs to get some rewards as well."
It wasn't empty words. I did have a tiny bit of feeling like that.
But this dude's about to cry again.
Oh? When I looked to the side, Jul Goo and Chief were crying as well. To sum it up, tears of admiration. I didn't mind this atmosphere. I hope their loyalty shoots up because of this as well.
Anyways, let's relax a bit.
"I am tired. I will head in and take a nap."
"We will take you there. Hey, let's all help him there."
"Let's go."
A couple of the miners crowded me before lifting me up in the air. Arm, leg, waist, head, once they all started to hold different parts of my body, it felt like I was laying on a bed made of hands.
"He is our master. Me too......"
"Caw. This is my spot."
Since he was short, Chief crawled underneath and supported my back with his head and hand.
Hey punk, you're hurting my back.
Still, it felt nice.
Right, you need to feel like this every so often in your life to really enjoy living.
As I peacefully laid there and headed toward the residence......
I think I fell asleep on the way there.
I slowly started to open my eyes.
The strong fragrance of the trees smelled wonderful.
The temporary residence of the Northern Mines.
The sky outside the window was slowly starting to get brighter.
I looked at the Magic Clock.
5 am.
Too late to call it dawn, too early to call it morning.
Just how long did I sleep for?
Anyways, thanks to that, I am feeling refreshed. My body felt as light as a feather. It felt like there was strength filling up my body as well.
Maybe the source of my strength was not the rest but the anticipation and excitement. As soon as I opened my eyes, I thought of the Jewel Alchemy skill I earned yesterday.
I was still half asleep. Trying to wake myself up completely, I sat down and checked my stats.
[Kang Hwi Ram, Level 32]
Dexterity: Advanced Level 2, 38%
Strength: 97
Agility: 230
Stamina: 90
Intuition: 89
Magic: 9
Vitality: 36
Mana: 328
HP: 493
Endurance: 33
Toughness: 44
*Available points: 10
'Let's first put my available points to strength. '
Since I need to switch to a cutlass with stronger attack strength.
Anyways, my toughness went up quite a bit.
I guess it makes sense since there were 14 Red Scorpions. A bunch of Deathworms as well.
But the stats that caught my attention the most were dexterity and intuition. It is not yet at a really satisfying level, but with this much, I should be able to quickly raise the Jewel Alchemy skill.
If Jewel Alchemy passes the intermediate level and reaches advanced......
I'll be able to use a Jewel of Fortification as the medium to create a connection with the power of the fairy in the weapon. That is the same as making a connection with the weapon itself.
Which means, I will be able to reach the level of one with the sword.
I was able to reach that level not too long before the game ended. The reason I was able to defeat the Demon Lord Heros was because of that power as well.
That is my true destination for learning Jewel Alchemy.
Raising the strength of jewels is just an extra benefit. Although that extra benefit will be a tremendous help in the real world as well. Either way, it is an amazing skill that will change my life. I need to raise it to the advanced level as fast as I can. If possible, to the master level.
'Then shall I start my connection with the fairy's power?'
I opened my bag and took out two Jewels of Creation that were shining in a light yellow color.
[Jewel of Creation: Creation Index 27]
[Jewel of Creation: Creation Index 31]
I sorted them by their creation index and took out the two with the lowest indexes. Thinking back at my experience in the game, you had a higher chance of success when you used jewels with lower amounts of fairy power.
But the first combination will fail. In the game, I failed close to 50 times before I finally managed to succeed.
That was why I scoured through the internet to learn more about Jewel Alchemy.
[Jewel Alchemy is the act of removing the power embedded in the jewel before putting it back into the jewel. In order to succeed in Jewel Alchemy, you need to create a strong connection with the power inside the jewel.
The ultimate Jewel Alchemy can only be completed by having a conversation with the fairy. ]
There was a line that caught my attention every time I read this explanation.
'Conversation with the fairy. '
The necessary requirement for the ultimate Jewel Alchemy.
Wouldn't that mean that it is possible to communicate with fairies through Jewel Alchemy?
It was something I never succeeded in doing in the game.
I will make it happen in this Royal Roader.
If I succeed, I might be able to find a new power beyond Jewel Alchemy. The powers of the fairies themselves.
Of course it is just my speculation. Even if it was possible, it won't happen until far in the future.
Let's throw away useless thoughts. Right now, I need to just focus on communicating with the fairy's power in the jewel.
I put my hands together to clench the Jewel of Creation. Almost like I was praying.
I then focused as much as I could. Although I don't know what the fairy power feels like, if I focus like this, I might be able to find a clue.
My surroundings were completely quiet. Even without using the focus skill, I could put all of my attention on the jewel inside my hand.
How much time must have passed? I started to feel warmth in my hands. Almost like it was springtime only in my hands.
I felt a weird vitality coming from the jewel.
'The power of the fairy!'
But that vitality was not all. I could feel a voice in my hand that kind of sounded like a woman's voice and kind of sounded like the wind.
Very quietly.
Sa-
To feel a noise in my hand. Is this possible?
But I was confident that I felt it. Since I was so focused on it, I knew I didn't get it wrong.
I suddenly thought of a phrase.
[The ultimate Jewel Alchemy can only be completed by having a conversation with the fairy. ]
Author's Note
Starting [the next chapter], we will return to the real world.
Originally, it was going to come out at least 3 chapters later, but I didn't like the storyline of the fights against monsters, so getting rid of that made it appear a little earlier.
I hope your life is always wonderful ^^
Sponsor chapters are now open for Royal Roader! If you would like to support my translation and want more chapters released quickly, please help out! Thank you all in advance??
I've enlisted (Not so) Borderline Masochist to proofread. I hope you all enjoy his efforts!
Translator: Miraclerifle
Proofreader: Borderline Masochist
| ← Ch. 050 | Ch. 052 → |