Chapter 56

Chapter 56

‘Got the weapon, but it’s a shame there’s nothing decent to wear for armor.’

After buying the dagger, Dojae tried to find matching armor.

Since the blacksmith didn’t sell it, he had to take Sari around with him.

But when he actually went, there was no armor he could wear.

Male armor was generally too large and baggy, while female armor was unbalanced for a man to wear.

Ultimately, to find armor Dojae could wear, he’d have to place a custom order for it to be made. But since there was a one-month limit, he decided to give up on armor for now.

Until he could find armor that fit his body properly, he’d just have to be careful.

‘Of course, if I could somehow get used to using skills before then, I wouldn’t need armor. So, finally, the earrings, right?’

Dojae headed to the workshop with Sari.

It was a small log cabin built atop a tree.

Descending the rickety stairs was one thing, but climbing back up was even harder.

“Grey Elves sure climb these heights well.”

“Elves are the forest folk, after all.”

Sari, who had easily climbed up to the workshop unlike Dojae, remarked as she watched him struggle.

Realizing it wasn’t working, Dojae pushed off the steps, leaping up rather than climbing.

“We can’t exactly climb by kicking the trees either.”

“Dojae, you can’t do that! Every single one of these trees is precious to us!”

“Yeah, I get it. But Sari, which race is the most numerous on the continent right now?”

Dojae asked as he entered the workshop with Sari.

Sari answered as she skillfully placed items on the desk.

“Hmm, excluding monsters and animals, it’s obviously the Orcs.”

“Orcs, as expected.”

Orc dungeons are the most commonly found type.

That is, since the number of orcs here is high, it was easy to infer that many orc dungeons are also found on Earth.

“But since the Great Cataclysm, monsters have swarming in droves, and wars have erupted across the continent again, so it might not be orcs. The elves are also putting in considerable effort to absorb human territories.”

“Really? Aren’t elves supposed to be a forest race? They live in the sea and on land too—that’s a huge contradiction!”

“That’s how elves were in the past! Many elves have left the forests to live on the land, and some even live on islands in the middle of the sea! What era do you think this is?”

“Fascinating…”

“Hmph! Who’s the most fascinating human here?”

Sari took out an earring and dipped it into various liquids whose contents were unknown.

A white light shimmered on the surface of the earrings, and characters appeared.

Next, Sari drew geometric patterns on the desk with white powder.

She then carved letters into the pattern and placed the earring precisely at its center.

“Those characters are…”

“Whoa? Dojae, you know Rune?”

“No, I’ve seen similar characters before.”

“What the hell, I was just getting into it. Anyway, I need to focus now, so don’t talk to me!”

At Sari’s words, Dojae stepped back a good distance.

Sari closed her eyes and began chanting the spell.

Then, the letters engraved on the pattern gradually rose up and were sucked into the earring with a bright light.

“It worked! Dojae, take this. Now, even without my magic, the Mind Exchange will hold as long as you have mana.”

“It’s simpler than I thought. I didn’t expect it to be over so quickly.”

“What? Do you have any idea how difficult and taxing this magic is? The reagents aren’t easy to come by, and if you draw the pattern even slightly wrong…”

Sari’s voice grew even more agitated.

But Dojae’s next words made her ashen face flush.

“Thanks. Thanks to you, we can talk comfortably now.”

“Hmph… Fine! If you’re grateful, get me cup noodles too! I’ve never even tasted them myself!”

“Fine. I’ll make an exception and give you two for 8 gold.”

“Dojae! Are you seriously doing this?”

“Just kidding.”

Dojae smiled faintly and pulled a cup noodle out of his pocket, handing it to Sari.

Sari hugged the cup noodles tightly and asked.

“So, what did you talk about with Lord Actria? The atmosphere seemed pretty tense.”

“Ah, nothing much. He said he’s giving me a trial—I have to find three leaves within a month.”

“Leaves?”

After finishing her conversation with Dojae, Aktria scattered her three leaves into the sky.

The leaves, which had been gradually changing color, shot off like arrows the moment they turned completely golden.

Finding those vanished leaves was the trial Dojae must complete.

“Look at this.”

Dojae pulled a branch about the length of his palm from his pocket.

It was an arrow-shaped twig with a triangular tip.

Whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

“Whoa! It’s spinning!”

The arrow-shaped twig spun around on the floor, then soon pointed in one direction.

No matter how many times Dojae tried to turn it in a different direction, it always came back to its original position.

“They say the direction this branch points to is where the leaves are.”

“So Dojae is leaving now to find it?”

“Yeah, I got the earrings too, so communication shouldn’t be a problem. Though I am a bit concerned about being human…”

The reason Dojae’s cup noodle business did so well.

While ramen was a novelty food to the Grey Elves, Dojae being human played a significant role too.

Some Grey Elves who’d come to the blacksmith’s just to see Dojae got swept up in the atmosphere and bought cup noodles too.

“Then wait just a moment! I’ll pop home real quick and be right back! Don’t you dare disappear—you have to wait right here!”

With that, Sari dashed out of the workshop and vanished between the tree branches before Dojae could even ask why.

‘Hmm… Guess I’ll practice my skills for a bit then?’

***

Sari leaped through the branches with all her might.

Along the way, villagers saw her and asked what was so urgent, but Sari didn’t even bother to answer properly and just ran home.

“Sorry! Later…”

She arrived at her house in such a hurry.

It was a house built atop the largest tree, located right in the center of the village.

“Chief, where have you been all day? Kutharn said you were with the humans.”

“I’m sorry, Elder Iota. Is Grandmother upstairs?”

“Yes, she’s here now, but…”

“Thank you!”

Sari bowed slightly to Elder Iota before dashing off again.

The first and second floors of this three-story house also served as the village hall and the elders’ offices.

And finally, the third floor.

Sari flung the door open and rushed inside.

“Grandma!”

A woman of advanced years with silver hair like Sari’s.

She was the former village chief and Sari’s grandmother.

“Sari! What on earth are you doing now! Who taught you to act like this!”

“Ugh. I’m sorry…”

“I’ve repeatedly told you to behave properly! How could you act so recklessly! You are the village chief of this village!”

Sari bowed her head and cringed at her grandmother’s scolding.

But Sari clenched her fists again and lifted her head.

“Grandma! I want to go on an adventure!”

“What… What did you say? Did I hear that correctly? Did you just say adventure?”

“Yes! I’m leaving right now.”

“R-right now? Are you mocking this old woman?”

“No, I’m serious! You know, Grandma, I’ve wanted to leave the village since I was little.”

Ever since she was rescued from monsters as a child, Sari had longed to venture out into the world and go on adventures.

But her grandmother, who was the elder at the time, blocked her path, even going so far as to appoint Sari as the next elder early on.

It was the grandmother’s scheme, fearing she would lose Sari in the chaos of the world after the Great Cataclysm and the Hundred Years’ War that preceded it.

After all, Sari’s mother had died in the war beyond the mountain range.

Sari understood this, which is why she had endured until now.

But now, unlike then, the world had stabilized considerably, and as a full-fledged adult, she felt she could hold her own as a Grey Elf.

Moreover, with Dojae by her side, she believed now was the perfect time to embark on an adventure.

“The village… what about the village?!”

“I’m truly sorry about that part. The elders are handling things well, and Grandmother is here too… I ask for your trust.”

Sari’s grandmother looked at her.

It was the same expression she had worn when Sari’s mother, her own daughter, left the village.

“Blood cannot be denied. Go ahead and do as you please.”

“Hehe, you know that blood is your blood, right?”

“When will you return?”

“Not long. One month!”

“…Understood. Go then. I’ll be praying for you.”

Surprisingly granted permission so easily, Sari headed to her room, delighted.

She packed various items needed for the adventure into her bag.

But above all, there was another purpose she had to fulfill upon returning home.

“Right, I need to pack this too!”

Sari pressed a thick cloth garment deep into her bag.

***

‘Oh ho, so this is how you move?’

Dojae was engrossed in using the skill.

Now that he couldn’t simply recall a skill to use it, he had to figure out how skills actually worked.

And he felt he was beginning to grasp the rules of skills.

‘Passive skills depend on how skillfully you handle mana. Active skills, on the other hand, depend on how well you utilize mana within a set framework. Either way, it’ll be tough to use either properly in just a day or two.’

To get used to it as quickly as possible, Dojae rolled stones on his palm.

And the more he rolled them, the faster a golem armor formed and disintegrated repeatedly in Dojae’s hands.

Had he done this about 350 times?

Sari came running from afar.

“Dojae!”

For some reason, Sari was carrying a backpack so large it rose above her head.

Dojae asked Sari, who arrived before him and set down the backpack.

“What’s that? That huge backpack?”

“I’m going too!”

“Where?”

“Where Dojae is going!”

Dojae rubbed his temples.

Sari had helped him in many ways.

He’d introduced me to Aktria, helped me sell ramen, and even made me earrings.

But he felt he’d received more than enough help by now.

I felt too guilty to keep accepting help, and I didn’t want to burden this girl any further.

She was even the village chief.

Going with Doja meant leaving the village.

“Is it okay for the village chief to just leave like this?”

“Don’t worry. Our grandmother will take over as village chief for now.”

“Ah. Yeah, that’s true. But coming with me will be pretty dangerous. They say monsters are swarming outside.”

“Don’t worry about that either. I’m pretty strong, you know!”

“I’d have to believe you…”

“Dojae, what did you just say?”

Dojae shook his head vigorously.

It seemed Sari had come properly prepared after all.

Her resolve was rock solid; ordinary persuasion wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Fine, do as you please…”

“Yesss! Adventure! Adventure! That’s right! Dojae, take this.”

Sari pulled a long, loose outer robe from her backpack and handed it over.

“It’s a robe my mom used to wear. It should fit Dojae perfectly.”

Dojae pulled the robe over his head.

The large hood cast a shadow over Dojae’s face, obscuring his features.

“Perfect. Now no one can tell if I’m human or a Grey Elf.”

“Great! Let’s get going right now! I brought everything!”

Dojae picked up Sari’s backpack.

After stowing it in his pocket dimension, he set off first.

Sari scurried along behind Dojae.

“Come with me!”