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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 297
[You have entered the City of the Fallen Mage.]
[An additional 10,000 achievement points have been granted.]
The City of the Fallen Mage.
It was a city that had fallen long before Rease city.
True to its nature as a hidden theme, there were no monsters present.
‘Alright, shall we get started?’
The City of the Fallen Mage.
The treasure buried here was what he sought.
Alessandro had absorbed the power contained within that treasure and had grown significantly.
Jeong-hoon stepped forward and entered the ruins of a collapsed temple.
In truth, calling it a temple was an exaggeration—only small remnants remained.
‘They said the treasure was buried here, right?’
It was said that this place once had the form of a proper temple.
Jeong-hoon took out a shovel and began digging into the ground.
However, even after digging for quite some time, he found nothing.
[Nothing’s coming out?]
‘Well, it would be strange for something to be buried in a place like this.’
Jeong-hoon chuckled.
“It’s a big area. It has to be here somewhere.”
If he expanded his search and kept digging, he was bound to find it.
After a long effort, a single treasure finally emerged.
It was a small piece of metal.
“Found it.”
Jeong-hoon smirked as he picked up the metal.
At a glance, it looked like nothing more than a simple piece of metal, but once infused with mana, it became something entirely different.
Wooong—
As he channeled mana into it, the metal vibrated slightly and emitted a glow.
Jeong-hoon gripped the metal and sat down.
‘With this, I can greatly increase my mana.’
Alessandro had used this metal to raise his mana by a staggering 50 points.
[You are below the 7th Circle.]
[You can increase your Circle by one.]
Oh?
If it worked for mages below the 7th Circle, then raising his Circle would be the better option.
[Engraving an additional Circle.]
A wave of heat surged through his body, and an additional circuit formed near his chest.
[Your Circle has increased to ‘5’.]
Just by obtaining a single treasure, Jeong-hoon had reached the 5th Circle.
“Nice. At this rate, I might be able to reach the 6th Circle here.”
Jeong-hoon left the temple.
Now, he had to search for the hidden treasures scattered throughout the city.
First, he headed toward the city’s entrance.
Though the city had fallen, unlike the temple, the buildings remained intact.
Among them, he approached a four-story building.
Inside, there was nothing left.
‘There was a treasure at the top of the four-story building visible right after entering.’
Recalling Alessandro’s words, Jeong-hoon headed to the top floor of the building.
Just as he had said, a treasure was placed there—a very small statue.
A statue depicting a wizard with a hooded robe pulled low, raising a staff toward the sky.
Jeong-hoon picked up the statue with his hand.
[Statue of the Legendary Wizard ‘Ra’]
[You can automatically learn one spell corresponding to your maximum circle.]
Currently, Jeong-hoon’s circle was 5.
In other words, this statue would allow him to acquire a spell of the 5th Circle.
“I’ll use it later.”
Jeong-hoon placed the statue into his inventory for now.
[Huh? Why aren’t you using it right away?]
Mukho couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked.
“I might be able to raise my circle further here. If I do, using it then will be much more beneficial.”
A spell corresponding to the highest circle.
If Jeong-hoon increased his circle here, he would be able to learn a spell of that level.
So it was wiser to use it later.
Jeong-hoon left the building and headed to his next destination.
‘I think there were more, but I can’t remember the exact locations…’
The treasures Alessandro had specifically mentioned were the ones in the temple and the four-story building.
That meant the rest had to be found by searching the area himself.
A small two-story building.
It seemed more like a place where wizards stayed rather than a research facility.
Jeong-hoon began searching the building first.
However, nothing that could be considered a treasure was found.
The same was true for the other buildings.
“There’s no way it ends with just two.”
Jeong-hoon furrowed his brows.
Where could they be?
Could Alessandro have deliberately hidden something?
No.
That guy was the type who couldn’t stop boasting about himself.
Since only outstanding individuals were gathered, he always had to assert that he was the best among them.
There was no way he would hide something like this.
[Master! I think there’s another building deeper inside!]
At Mukho’s words, Jeong-hoon turned his gaze.
Looking closely, there really was a small building tucked away in a corner.
However, unlike the other intact buildings, half of it had been destroyed, making it difficult to spot due to blind spots.
“So that one was still left.”
Jeong-hoon quickly entered the building.
And he was able to find the last treasure.
‘A metal statue.’
The same metal he had found in the temple that had increased his circle.
A statue crafted from that metal.
Jeong-hoon picked up the statue and channeled his mana into it.
Then, the statue trembled slightly and began to glow.
[You are below the 8th Circle.]
[You can increase your circle by one.]
As expected, not using the statue he found earlier was the right choice.
Jeong-hoon immediately used the statue.
[Engraving an additional Circle.]
His body heated up for a moment as an additional circuit formed near his chest.
[Circle has increased to ‘6’.]
Since he had discovered a hidden theme, his Circle had increased by two at once.
Jeong-hoon’s lips curled into a smile.
[Master! Now you’re going to use that statue, right?]
At Mukho’s question, Jeong-hoon shook his head.
“Not yet.”
In fact, aside from the hidden theme in the Red Tower, there was one more.
It wouldn’t be too late to use the statue after visiting that hidden theme as well.
[Aww… I really want to see what magic you’ll acquire.]
“Just wait a little longer.”
Jeong-hoon turned to head toward the next hidden theme.
* * *
[Activating Brainwashing.]
He didn’t forget to use brainwashing to acquire the ritual for dispelling the barrier.
With that, he reached the Black Tower, obtained the dispelling ritual, and then visited the hidden theme.
[Circle has increased to ‘7’.]
And within the hidden theme, he successfully raised his Circle to 7.
‘This is insane… Not long ago, I was only at Circle 4, but I just jumped up three Circles in an instant.’
The result was more than satisfying.
Jeong-hoon retrieved the statue he had stored in his inventory.
[You can automatically learn one magic spell corresponding to your maximum Circle.]
One spell of the 7th Circle.
Jeong-hoon immediately used the statue.
[Acquiring ‘Creation Fire.’]
A 7th Circle magic spell.
He had acquired Creation Fire.
‘Oh, it’s similar to what Alessandro used.’
One of Alessandro’s signature techniques was Creation Ice.
Though the attribute was different, the magic itself was practically identical.
Jeong-hoon circulated his mana and activated the Creation Fire he had learned.
The massive spear Alessandro had once conjured.
Just like back then, a giant spear took form, flames swirling violently as they blazed into shape.
“Oh.”
Jeong-hoon touched the spear.
Since he was the caster, the flames felt pleasantly warm, and the weapon itself had a solid texture, allowing him to grip it firmly.
The handling felt excellent.
He swung his arm and hurled the spear.
The enormous spear flew forward and embedded itself in the wall.
Fwoosh—
Immediately, flames spread across the wall, rapidly engulfing it in fire.
“Good. This will be useful in all sorts of situations.”
Now that he had cleared all the hidden themes, only the hidden episode remained.
Jeong-hoon quickly returned to the Grand Duchy of Delphos.
* * *
“Your Grace, will you allow the Mage Tower to break the barrier?”
At Jiron’s question, Grand Duke Delphos shook his head.
“No, that won’t do. Those bastards will definitely use the Delphos Grand Duchy as a scapegoat.”
“Haa… But how does the Hero plan to resolve this by going alone?”
“It’s fine. Even if he doesn’t succeed, just making the effort is more than enough reason to be grateful.”
“Yes. Also, I have brought the book you mentioned.”
Jiron took out a book.
Though old, it had been well-maintained and was in remarkably good condition.
Grand Duke Delphos took the book and nodded.
“Well done.”
“Thank you. But… do you really intend to hand this over?”
“Yes.”
This book was a precious treasure of the Grand Duchy.
It had been safeguarded for centuries.
No one knew what was written inside.
Because no one had ever been able to open it.
To open the book, one had to be chosen as its rightful owner, but until now, no one had been selected.
“Hmm… But do you think the Hero will be able to read it?”
“Most likely.”
It was said that only those with the proper qualifications could become its owner.
From what Grand Duke Delphos could see, the Hero was more than worthy of being chosen.
That was why he intended to entrust this book to the Hero, who had saved the Grand Duchy.
“Your Grace! The Hero has returned!”
Just then, news of the Hero’s return arrived.
“Is that so?”
“Yes! He asked us to inform you that he has achieved results!”
“He has achieved results?!”
Had those Mage Tower bastards actually chosen to break the barrier?
Grand Duke Delphos hurriedly left his office to greet him.
“You have arrived!”
“Yes.”
The Hero, Jeong-hoon, smirked as he took out the barrier nullification technique.
“What is this?”
“It’s the technique to nullify the barrier. I’ve gathered everything from the Red Tower to the Black Tower, so it can be completely erased.”
“Hah…”
Grand Duke Delphos was utterly astonished.
Though he had heard that there were results, he had never imagined such a perfect outcome.
“Then I will go and remove the barrier now.”
“Y-you’re going yourself?”
“Yes. I have experience nullifying barriers, so it won’t be too difficult.”
Unparalleled martial strength, and now the intelligence to dismantle barriers as well.
Was there anything Jeong-hoon couldn’t do?
To Delphos, he looked like a monster.
“Th-then… please, I entrust this to you.”
Even with the technique in hand, one could not break a barrier without deep knowledge of the subject.
And no one in the Grand Duchy possessed such expertise.
That meant the only person who could nullify the barrier… was Jeong-hoon.
“Yes.”
After informing his mother of his return, Jeong-hoon immediately headed for the barrier.
* * *
Jeong-hoon had nullified barriers several times before.
With the technique in hand, the process was not difficult.
Wooong—
As he activated the technique, the barrier trembled violently.
The ground itself rumbled.
Even so, Jeong-hoon did not stop and continued the nullification.
Time passed.
Crash!
With the sound of shattering glass, the barrier vanished.
“It’s done.”
After confirming the complete dissolution of the barrier, Jeong-hoon immediately returned to the castle.
In front of the castle, Grand Duke Delphos had remained in place, waiting for him.
“You’ve returned!”
The moment Delphos saw Jeong-hoon, he rushed toward him.
“Yes. The barrier has completely disappeared. This harsh winter will now come to an end.”
“Thank you so much! Jiron!”
“Yes! Let’s go!”
At Delphos’ command, Jiron led the waiting Seivro Knights back along the path Jeong-hoon had taken.
Their task was to confirm the complete disappearance of the barrier.
“Now, please come inside!”
“No, I’ll enter together after confirming the Seivro Knights’ return.”
“Ah, I see.”
Jeong-hoon waited alongside Grand Duke Delphos for the Seivro Knights to return.
Before long, they came back.
Their faces were flushed with excitement.
“Your Grace! The barrier has completely vanished!”
At Jiron’s report, Delphos’ lips curled into a grin so wide it nearly reached his ears.
And above his head, the exclamation mark that Jeong-hoon had long awaited flickered into existence.
The hidden episode had been completed.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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