Hermit Wizard

Chapter 19

Taking a Risk to be Safer (6)

Lastly, how would I ensure my safety? The whole country’s attention would be focused if news leaked out that Lee Seo-rin had recovered her health. So, I chose to sign a soul contract with Lee Seo-rin. She was limited in her scope of action with a contract that bound her soul more profoundly than her surface consciousness.

“Anyway, back to the point. So, what is the term of your requests this time?”

I took a piece of paper out of my arm and put it on the table. Yeah, I was going to take care of my business today. The magic contract began to glow faintly when I poured Mana onto it.

“Now, following Article 3 of the “Elixir Supply Agreement” signed on X-X-X-X, 20XX, A request to B.”

A strange contract where I, the supplier, am A and Lee Seo-rin, the buyer, is B. The letters written on a sheet of paper moved like a scroll and expanded the paragraphs as I read.

“Article 3. A must provide B with a ‘lower-grade elixir’ at least once a month, and in return, A can propose a ‘request’ to B. If it is determined that B can perform the matters requested by A, it must be fulfilled. If B refuses a possible request, A may stop supplying the “lower-grade elixir.”

What a fair contract was this? If my requirements were deemed unfulfillable, then Lee Seo-rin didn’t need to follow them. Of course, this judgment wasn’t based on Lee Seo-rin’s rational assumptions but on her own potential, memory, and environmental factors.

“Here was the term of request.

Point 1. B must throw the object-012 provided by A to the throwing point designated by A.

Point 2. The throwing method used by B is free. However, it is forbidden to provide information about this object-012 to any mobilized third party. The information includes B’s personal speculation that has no explicit grounds. Violation of this matter will result in a breach of confidentiality obligations as defined in paragraph 1 of Article 5 of this Agreement. The confidentiality violation penalty specified in Article 5.3 shall be applied without any restriction or delay.

Point 3. Object-012 is limited to less than 10, with a volume of 0.5 square meters per unit and a weight of no more than 40 kg per unit.

Point 4. The throwing date of object-012 must be made within ten days after the object is delivered from A to B.

Point 5. The throwing point provided by A is limited to the sea area within 10km from the Han River downstream based on Yeuoido and the western coast and is provided by GPS coordinates. An error of up to 500 square meters between the coordinates of the throwing point provided by A and the actual throwing point of B is allowed.

End of request.”

Hearing it so far, Lee Seo-rin’s face burned red.

“The Han River downstream in Yeouido…the western coast? I’ve heard this a lot. They have been talking about this all day on the news. And…why are you making me do this? How do I go out to the sea and throw ten such heavy things!”

Contrary to Lee Seo-rin’s protest, her deepest soul recognized this as a viable range. The contract circulated in green light. Then the letters on the contract fused to one side, creating a blank space at the bottom. The requests I had made were starting to be written in letters above the contract’s blanks under the appendix.

“Ah…I’m going crazy.”

Lee Seo-rin frowned.

There was no mention in my request that Lee Seo-rin had to do it all by herself. Besides, I deliberately set restrictions on my part and attached helpful conditions on Lee Seo-rin’s part. The details were limited to the weight and volume that could be loaded on the ship. Not to mention details such as specifying the permission of error for the throwing point. And because of this, I believe that Lee Seo-rin’s soul was capable of fulfilling this request.

Nevertheless, Lee Seo-rin was very discouraged and groaned with a depressed face.

“…The western coast…the whole seawater has become like fish extract, and I have to go on a boat…!”

***

I neatly ignored Lee Seo-rin’s protests and took a taxi home after parting with her. When she renewed the contract appendix, she disappeared into the parking lot exhausted with new information being engraved on her soul, despite her strong physical strength. That’s why when I proposed a “request,” I first fed her well.

When I got back home, I was stuck in the studio on the second floor for a few days and devoted myself to creating artifacts. In this process, the metal and magic catalysts that I had accumulated so far were consumed. It turned my stomach sour, but I couldn’t help it. I was trying to fix the damage that I had done. I pledged not to summon the Waterbirds near the river or any body of water in the future.

One day, I was immersed in the studio when I heard Parvache’s call in my head.

[Hey, it came out again. Come down here.]

Parvache had been stuck in front of the TV, like a ghost, for several days. Our lessons were still suspended. Parvache hadn’t yet decided how to respond to the current situation. As I stepped out of the door, I heard the sound of a siren that I couldn’t hear because of soundproofing. Something seemed to have come out of the Mapo Bridge Channel. I didn’t think there would be any threat to the Korean military, but I asked while looking down without descending from the second floor.

“How many this time?”

[Sixteen so far. And, this time, there is a wizard among the giants.]

No matter how powerful the wizards were, they just need to be fired on without giving them time to recite the spells. I came down to the first floor without much tension. I guess the giants who came last time were helpless, so they prepared their own warriors this time.

“Huh?”

And I saw an unexpected scene.

“That staff…is that right?”

It wasn’t difficult to find out which of the 16 entities the wizard was. The clothes that only one wore were slightly different, and it held a long wooden staff in its hand. It was about five meters tall, maybe to fit its height. What I noticed was the material of the staff—a wood with a soft silver luster. I had seen it while I was wandering through another dimension as an avatar.

“Is it Enchanted Wood?”

[I think it is.]

The giant wizard put the staff forward, and a subtle green light surrounded the giant’s group with it as the center. It was still crude because the shape kept being distorted, but it seemed to be a kind of barrier preventing physical shock. Blocked by this barrier, the Korean army’s artillery shells could hardly reach the giants, and the confrontation was growing drawn out.

“Wow, look at the staff’s size. How big was the original tree when it was processed to that size?”

[In a particular civilized world, the Enchanted Wood tree will not remain until it grows that much. When it grows to a certain extent, cutting it right away and planting it again will speed up the supply and demand.]

It seemed to be an unusual sight even for Parvache. The name “Enchanted Wood” was how they called it in Parvache’s dimension because of the tree’s characteristics that greatly stabilized permeable Mana. It couldn’t amplify the Mana or change its properties. Still, it was spotlighted as a material for barrier magic due to its rare nature that strengthened stability. The more advanced the level of magic, the more precious it was.

“But why does the magic that uses the Enchanted Wood Staff look like that?”

The giant wizard’s physical defense barrier could hardly withstand the shell. The shape was twisted a few times, and eventually, a hole was made. The confrontation that was barely continued fell apart. The shells that flew through the barrier holes hit the giants’ bodies. And some were already lying on the floor.

[The magic level is so low, it can’t even use a tenth of the Enchanted Wood’s ability. Look at how the barriers are broken. The spell itself is messed up. In the first place, I’m sure it can’t unleash the barrier magic without an Enchanted Wood staff? And…look at that guy. He can’t concentrate right now.]

I listened to Parvache and looked closely at the giant wizard. Even though it closed its eyes and concentrated while gathering Mana to restore the barrier hole, I could see that it kept failing. The cause was quickly found.

“That siren is driving it crazy, isn’t it?”

When the first Ashpim Giant came over to this dimension, the rescue vehicle’s sirens were loud. A warning had been issued in downtown Seoul, making the whole city roar with louder and sharper sirens than during civil defense training. Although not restricting the giants’ movement, this sound would be sufficient to distract the giant’s ability to use its magic.

[Ah, the barrier is broken.]

Eventually, the giant wizard couldn’t recover its concentration, and the entire barrier disappeared. As if waiting, shells flew from everywhere, and the giants were soon wiped out.

“At that point, I wouldn’t have to worry about them rushing into the army.”

I completely let go of my concerns about the Mapo Bridge Channel after watching the battle scene today. In the meantime, Parvache mumbled regretfully as he saw the abandoned Enchanted Wood lying next to the bodies of the giants.

[Oh, it’s really rare for such an Enchanted Wood of that size. However, humanity here will not even know where to use that…such a waste. It’s like throwing your smartphone to a monkey.]

“Shall I send a summoner to steal it?”

[Never mind. If so, you will really be the target of this country’s government. You can’t move an object that size without being caught.]

“Yeah. Well. Even without it, I’ll just need to work hard and repair the barriers.”

After I said this, I started to crave it like crazy all of a sudden. Yeah, with that, the barriers would be stronger, and my efforts might be lessened. However, that was just insatiable greed.

“…It’s suddenly unfair. I’d rather not see it in the first place.”

[It’s the pie in the sky. Those precious things are being wasted because they couldn’t find the right owner. Min-joon, if you used that, you could have doubled the size while enhancing the stability of the barrier.]

I was surprised.

[It’s such a valuable item. The Enchanted Wood of that size.]

“So if I focus on size instead of stability, I can expand it more than double. That’s amazing.”

[Why? Are the barriers not wide enough now?]

I waved my hand.

“It’s just like I say. I’m living this size right now, but it’s okay. It’s only hard to manage if the barrier gets bigger. And if we grow the barrier, won’t we meet the Mapo Bridge channel someday?”

If the Channel and that barrier got closer, only the If the Mapo Bridge Channel was inside my barrier, and those giants cross the Channel and wander around, how would I handle the aftermath? In a moment, an idea that I had never thought of passed by in my head.

***

I had a fierce discussion with Parvache about my idea for over an hour. Eventually, I reached a moment when the two of us, who were paranoid about safety, agreed. And from that day to night, I began to immerse myself in my work, hardly sleeping at all.

First, I had to complete the artifacts that had to be handed over to Lee Seo-rin. I hurriedly finished the seven purification artifacts much earlier than I had originally expected. At first, I thought of up to 10. Still, as a result of the simulation, it seemed that even though it took much longer, it was possible to achieve complete purification with just seven. I put the finished artifacts in my backpack, along with a GPS coordinate note. Then, with the bag set with the space expansion magic and weight reduction magic, I went to a private warehouse without any CCTV around and threw the contents out and contacted Lee Seo-rin.

Now, she would take care of the rest.

“Now, this is all I need to do, to undo what I’ve done.”

[Wouldn’t you want to monitor if that woman is working properly?]

“It’s not once or twice. Our client will do well.”

In the contract’s appendix, the artifact of purification was written under the name object-012. It meant that it was already the twelfth time that Lee Seo-rin was on an errand to take something from me and handle it. I didn’t know what Parvache might think, but I didn’t think Lee Seo-rin would break the contract at the risk of a penalty.

So I decided to move without waiting for the purification to finish. I bought whatever I needed through the Internet. The exploration period agreed with Parvache was one week, but I put a lot of supplies in a magic backpack in case of an unexpected event. It also took time to cast the protective spell on the clothes I was going to wear.

But what was more difficult than these things was the preparation of the heart. After the preparation was completed, I was lying in bed for a whole day in vain with my hurried efforts. Even Parvache didn’t touch me during this day. Should I give up now? Could I just live like this? The Truth-Seeker could just give up on me, right?

But I managed to make up my mind. To get more safety, I decided to take an adventure. And the next day, I stood under a purple sky.