Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Fundamentally, Ether was energy in particle form.

Etherium was a mineral formed when that Ether gathered and crystallized, and it was one of the main resources used in various fields in this era.

Etherium’s attribute was distinguished by color.

Its grade was determined by the number of veins formed inside the crystal.

One vein meant 1-Star.

Two meant 2-Star.

Three meant 3-Star.

The number of veins inside the Green Etherium Eunseong picked up after killing the zombie…… or, more precisely, the [Drowned Ghoul] that had been attacking Ra Sihyeon, was a full five.

In other words, it was 5-Star Green Etherium.

“Cases like this are not completely unheard of, but…….”

Those words came from experience.

Etherium was not necessarily obtainable only from monsters matching its grade.

Occasionally, ordinary monsters commonly called [trash mobs] would drop highly valuable Runes or items, and this was one of those cases.

Even so, for a mere 3-Star Drowned Ghoul to drop 5-Star Etherium was extremely unusual.

The odds were no different from winning the lottery…….

‘Is this thanks to the Luck card?’

That was the only explanation I could think of.

Otherwise, there was no way I would experience such a windfall.

[You have acquired Green Etherium (5-Star)!]

“What…… is that?”

“5-Star Green Etherium.”

“5-Star?!”

Ra Sihyeon was startled out of her wits after hearing my answer.

Yes, of course she was surprised.

Even if she was still a fledgling, there was no way she would not know how precious 5-Star Etherium was.

“Why would something like that appear here……?”

“How would I know?”

I was just as bewildered, so what was the point of asking me?

“What are you going to do with it?”

“Why are you curious about that? What, do you want it?”

“Absolutely not.”

Ra Sihyeon took one step back, as if to say that was absolutely not the case.

I decided not to warn her, since it seemed unnecessary.

Unless she had completely lost her mind, she would not dare try anything.

And…… if she did, I would be grateful.

It would give me an excuse to kill Ra Sihyeon ‘again’ without the slightest sense of guilt.

“I only asked because I was curious. Please do not look at me like that.”

“How was I looking at you?”

“It is not that you were glaring or anything…… it was just scary. It felt as though you might suddenly kill me. Without warning.”

“Me? Kill you?”

“Yes.”

“Heh.”

“Why are you laughing?”

“Nothing.”

She was quick on the uptake.

Anyway, as for where I should use the 5-Star Green Etherium…….

I would have to think about it.

For now, my understanding of my Role Category and class was still lacking, so I could not recklessly use high-grade Etherium.

“Why did you throw away the gun?”

“……Because it would not fire.”

“Give it here.”

Ra Sihyeon picked up the rifle that had fallen to the ground and handed it to me.

“The casing got stuck. Do you not know how to clear a malfunction? You learned this.”

“I-I panicked…….”

Yes, she probably had.

Taking into account that she was a fledgling, I decided not to criticize her.

“When this happens, remove the magazine first, pull the charging handle three or four times, insert the magazine, and press the bolt catch.”

CLICK, CLACK CLACK CLACK, CLICK, CLUNK!

“It is fixed now. It will fire if you shoot it. There are no enemies right now, so set the selector to safe.”

“Th-Thank you.”

“What about your Ether?”

“It is all gone.”

“Drink this and follow me.”

I tossed Ra Sihyeon an Etherium ampoule and started moving.

It was an ampoule made by refining Etherium into liquid form, and it was meant to be drunk for recovery when one’s Ether was depleted.

“I am saying this just in case, but never point the muzzle in my direction, and if you need to fire, tell me beforehand………….”

I turned my head because I did not sense her presence, and before I knew it, almost ten meters had already opened between Ra Sihyeon and me.

“What are you doing? Why are you not following me?”

“I-If you could go just a little slower…….”

THUD!

For goodness’ sake.

“What is wrong?”

“I-It is because I am tired…….”

“Just lie down.”

She looked fine on the outside, but when I looked closely, she was in terrible condition.

Judging by the way her side was bulging out, several of her ribs had been broken, and since her ankle was twisted, it was clearly broken as well.

For a Mage, it was a great relief that this was all she suffered after being swept up in a tidal wave.

“Hold still.”

I was about to take out the [Healing] card and heal Ra Sihyeon when the 5-Star Green Etherium floated into the air.

‘Ah.’

Now I understood.

Green Etherium was used to strengthen healing-type abilities and increase poison resistance.

If I enhanced the [Healing] card with this…….

WHOOOSH!

As if it had been waiting for this, the [Healing] card absorbed the 5-Star Green Etherium.

[Card enhancement succeeded!]

***

The [Healing] card, enhanced from 1-Star to 3-Star, became [West Wind] and floated before my eyes.

Considering I had fed it 5-Star Green Etherium, yet its grade had only risen by two stages, it seemed that grade increases through enhancement did not follow a one-to-one ratio.

Well, this was also something I would have to figure out slowly.

[West Wind]

★★★

Greatly restores the target’s Vitality, Stamina, and Ether, and bestows a blessing for a short time.

Before long, the woman drawn on the card stepped out of it on her own and stood before me.

“I greet you, Master.”

Like the wind itself, a beautiful woman with a pale light-green, translucent hue greeted me respectfully.

I flinched!

It had been the same with Lumos, but I simply could not get used to being called Master.

“Call me Young Master. Please.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“Your name is……?”

“Undina. My name is Undina.”

“All right. I will call you that from now on.”

“Shall I heal Young Master’s companion?”

“Yes, please.”

WHOOOOOSH!

No sooner had I answered than Undina turned into a translucent, pale light-green wind and wrapped around Ra Sihyeon.

“If Young Master or Young Master’s companions ever require healing, please call for me at any time.”

“All right. I will.”

“Then…….”

WHOOOOOSH!

Undina returned to the [West Wind] card and vanished from sight.

“Wh-What was that just now?”

Ra Sihyeon, who had become perfectly fine before I knew it, asked me.

“You do not need to know.”

“…….”

Ra Sihyeon shut her mouth tightly.

“You require too much attention. Do you have to make it so obvious that you are a Mage?”

“I-I am sorry.”

Ra Sihyeon apologized in a barely audible voice and lowered her head deeply.

Honestly.

Mages were undoubtedly impressive beings, but it was an undeniable fact that they required attention in all sorts of ways.

“Enough. Follow me. I will say it again. Watch your muzzle, and if you need to fire, say so before you shoot.”

“Yes.”

Ra Sihyeon followed close behind me and asked,

“What do we do now?”

“We have to find the others first.”

“…….”

I was planning to abandon her if she said anything ridiculous, but judging by the fact that she said nothing else, it seemed she had at least developed the bare minimum of tact.

Yes, if someone had been taught a lesson, there ought to be some change.

Perhaps there was still room for her to reform…….

Though I would only know that after continuing to watch her.

***

Moving through an area covered by the Fog Labyrinth was not easy.

However, thanks to the [Search] card, not only could I find the way easily, but I also barely ran into any monsters.

This time, I did not summon Lumos.

For a guide, Lumos possessed extremely powerful combat ability, but my Ether consumption was just as heavy.

He had only accompanied me for about ten minutes, yet roughly one-fifth of my Ether had been consumed…….

Thanks to that, I learned a little more about how to use the cards.

Using only the cards did not consume much Ether.

However, when I summoned the people who came out of the cards, namely Lumos or Undina, my Ether was rapidly consumed.

In exchange, the cards’ effects became far more powerful, so it had both advantages and drawbacks.

‘But…… what should I call them?’

The question of how I should define Helkiyan, Lumos, and Undina suddenly occurred to me.

‘They are not people. Spirits? They do not seem quite like spirits, though.’

What exactly were they?

Beings dwelling in the cards?

Or since they were personifications of the cards’ power, should I call them incarnations?

‘Huh?’

A single word suddenly flashed through my mind.

‘Card Spirit…… was that it?’

I did not even know why that word had come to mind.

I did not even know Chinese characters very well.

Yet strangely, that word seemed to fit perfectly.

‘Yes. I will just call them Card Spirits.’

That was when it happened.

“Aaaaaaagh!”

“R-Run quickly!”

“Daaaaamn it!”

Oh Taegwon, Kim Seunghye, and Park Seokho burst out of the fog.

“Huh! Big Brother!”

Oh Taegwon looked delighted to recognize me, but only for a moment.

“Run first! Quickly!”

Kim Seunghye shouted.

At a glance, it was obvious that they were being chased by something.

‘What are they being chased by?’

SKITTERSKITTERSKITTERSKITTERSKITTERSKITTERSKITTERSKITTERSKITTERSKITTERSKITTERSKITTER…….

An utterly repulsive sound.

Just as the sound of something small crawling rapidly seemed to tickle my ears, tens of thousands of palm-sized cockroaches poured out of the fog.

‘That is worth running from.’

They were monsters called [Man-Eating Roaches].

They were not real cockroaches.

They were sea roaches that lived along the coast and had mutated after being exposed to sinister Ether.

The problem was that tens of thousands of them moved in swarms and devoured anything and everything in their path.

The moment someone was surrounded by them, they would be eaten alive, and only white bones would remain in the blink of an eye.

No wonder they were considered the most notorious monsters in Transference Crises that occurred along the coast.

“Uuuugh!”

RAT-A-TAT, RAT-A-TAT!

Oh Taegwon fired the machine gun wildly, but it was nowhere near enough to stop tens of thousands of Man-Eating Roaches.

I did not run.

There was no reason to run when I had someone beside me who was practically the Man-Eating Roaches’ natural predator.

“What are you standing around watching for?”

“Yes?”

“Deal with them.”

At my command, Ra Sihyeon took out her Spirit Sword.

Ra Sihyeon’s Spirit Sword was a golden staff nearly as long as a spear, with a golden ring device resembling an armillary sphere attached to its end.

SWISH. Ra Sihyeon pointed the staff toward the Man-Eating Roaches.

The golden rings at the end of the staff began to rotate.

FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!

Red flames burst out from the end of the staff like an explosion and swallowed the Man-Eating Roaches.

They had numbers, but against Man-Eating Roaches with pathetic defense, a Mage’s area-of-effect magic was the most efficient pesticide.

[Ether absorbed!]

[Ether absorbed!]

……

[Ether absorbed!]

Thanks to the fact that I had formed a bond with Ra Sihyeon, Ether poured into me like mad.

The result was sweet.

[Your grade has increased!]

Ether wrapped around me.

[Cha Eunseong]

Guide

Collector of Madness

★★★

(0%)

That was how I rose from a 2-Star Hunter to a 3-Star Hunter.

And…….

[A new card has been created!]

I became able to use a new card as well.