717 < 714 coins 1. Dragon and Giant (2) >

* * *

- Tyring!

- You found a hidden place, the Laferite Node.

-Respondence (transcendence) is increased by 700.

- You have reached the first clear requirement for the 'Hidden Magical Secret (Association)' Quest.

With three concise lines of messages, a white flash emanates from the inside of the cave.

And the next moment, Ian began to walk towards the beam as if he had been seduced by something.

- You have entered the Lapir Node.

- The Magic Eye is starting to see you.

After checking the message, Ian mutters in his mind with a curious expression.

What's with the magic eyes? Is it a magic CCTV……. ’

Ian turns around and looks for a magical eye. He quickly gives up and starts walking faster and faster inside the cave.

And then after a while.

Suddenly, the passageway of the cave, which was too narrow for the big summoners to pass by, suddenly widened. Along with a large space, the small buildings spread out before Ian's eyes.

A small town carved into a cave.

But what was unusual was that the buildings were too small because they were small.

Is this what a Dwarf-like village would feel like?

Even if he tried to open the door to the biggest building he could see right now, Ian felt like he had to lean down.

‘Hmm, where should I go from here... …. If I see an NPC, I'll talk to him. ’

Ian stared alternately at the five or six buildings that appeared in front of him, and then wondered which door to knock first.

Then he began to walk towards the largest building in the middle.

He chose a building that looked at least spacious in the cramped center.

But even before Ian took a few steps, the voice of someone presumed to be of the LaPer clan dug into his ears.

“What, human? How did the humans get in here? ”

Ian, who was moving his feet, stopped where he was, swung his head toward the place where the natural sound was heard.

Then, in Ian's eyes, a shadow with a small body appeared.

“Hmm?"

A small shadow that opened its eyes to see Ian and surprised him.

But the interesting thing was that Ian was as surprised as the NPC of the surprise Lapir family.

Ian was surprised by what he looked like.

“Kaka?”

Fluffy, bulging belly with small wings, extra body weight (?) to the big head.

Ian turned his gaze to Kaka, who was flying right next to him, and stared alternately at the Kakawa Laper NPC.

They didn't look exactly the same, but there was enough suspicion that there was a connection between the Kaká and the Lafers.

The Lapir NPC, which flew right in front of Ian, tilted its head and opened its mouth again.

“Kaka? What is that? ”

Ian pointed at Kaká and replied.

“Here, this is Kaka, because she looks like you. ”

“You! Watch your tongue, mortal. I have won for a little while, but I have lived for more than 3,000 years. ”

Ian opens his mouth again, gazing at the sticky NPC.

“Huh? He's over 3,000 years old here. ”

“ ……! ”

“Hey, Kaka, don't you know this guy? Are the Lafers... aren't they related to the Phantoms? ”

Ian continues to cast the half-word despite the repulsion of the NPC of the Lafers.

The reason why Ian was polite to NPC when he got dizzy was simple.

It was because NPC's appearance was too cute and adorable to respect.

‘How can I be respectful of such a cute friend? ’

On the other hand, Kaká, who had a strange expression between Ian and the Lafers, was in a state of confusion in his own way.

Even in Kaka's eyes, the Lafers looked similar to the Karga Phantoms.

“My clan is rooted in the magic world, my lord. A dragon can't be my cousin. ”

“Yeah? Why do they look like that? ”

“Th-that……! ”

“You can't deny it, can you? ”

“ ……. ”

After a few moments of chaos, Ian opens his mouth again to NPC.

Related to the Kakawa Lapir clan (?), but the secret to the occult was more important right now.

Ian opens his mouth in a soft voice to the NPC that is still staring at him with suspicious eyes.

“Friend, what is your name? ”

In Ian's question, NPC opened its mouth with an unworthy expression.

“My name is Primson, human. Ask me a question or answer it first. ”

“Hmm? If you asked... Oh, how did you get in here? ”

“Yes."

“If that's it...... They just came in. ”

“What?"

“I just found the entrance to the cave and came straight inside. ”

“Well, that can't be! Unbelievable! ”

The two eyes of Primson, who were listening to Ian, began to tremble as if they were earthquakes.

Although not to mention, his role was to manage the sealing of the Node Entrance.

If it had been known that a mere mortal had entered the Node without hesitation, Primson would have turned to dust at the Presbyterian Council.

“Anyway, it's not how I got in here.... ”

“That's what matters! ”

“I can help you. ”

“What the……! ”

Despite Primson's story, Ian does everything he has to say.

Ian looks back at Primson and begins to bring out the horse that Lugaryx had prepared for him.

“Don't you guys need ‘Dimensional Meteorite Fragment’? ”

After hearing Ian's words, Primson's pupils had to be enlarged again.

* * *

Ian was able to enter the Lafers' Node because of the 'Mapping of the Rift’ given by Lugarik, of course.

The map of the rift was, in fact, an artifact that Lugaryx had created to steal the book of magic from the Lafers' Node.

And Lugarix gave Ian a map of this rift and told him one more story.

“Ian, do you know why the Lafers' Node is in the crack? ”

“Well, how would I know that? ”

“The most important ingredient for studying the magic of the Covenant is in the crack between Jesus and the Dragon Spring. ”

“Materials for studying the magic of the Covenant……? ”

“Yes."

“What's that? ”

“The only ore in the world that can contain the power of the Covenant. ”

“ ……? ”

“Because of the ‘meteorite fragment of dimension’. ”

According to Lugaryx, the reason for this dimensional rift was because of the ‘meteorite of dimension'.

Dimensional meteorites that came down twisting the space created a crack in the wall between the dragon spring and the grounds, resulting in an elongated passageway that connects the two dimensional systems.

The meteorites that fell down were scattered throughout the cracks, and the components of the meteorite fragment were a vital resource for the study of the prophecy.

“Once you reach the Node, they'll be wary of you. ”

“Maybe, right? ”

“But don't worry. ”

“Why?”

“Friends of the Lafers, they're magic savages. ”

“Hmm…? ”

“Maybe if I told her you were saving meteorite debris, she'd be wary of you and she wouldn't even remember. ”

Ian disobeyed Lugaryx, but he did what he was told.

Although Lugaryx tends to show off a bit of white chili, it doesn't make up stories or lie.

And as Lugarix said, the moment Ian told the story of the meteorite fragment in the dimension, Primson began to gleam brightly as if his brain had been emptied.

“Dimensional meteorite fragments? ”

“Yes. I hear you need it for your Laferian magic work. ”

As soon as Ian's story is over, Primson grunts and opens his mouth again.

“I don't know how you know that, but you're right. ”

“Isn't that right? ”

“Yes. We haven't been the only ones worried about meteorite debris supply lately. ”

“ ……! ”

As the story became more and more confident, so did Lou Garricks.

‘Yes. This is as Lugaryx said...' Then, this guy will give you a quest to mine the Fragments, right? ’

According to Lugarix, there is a Quarry near the Lafers' Node that they like to use.

And if you mine the fragments for a few days and bring them to the Lafers, they will give you a spell that will allow them to enter the Divine Magic Order.

‘Good. Mining is one of Ian's specialties. I have to show those Lafers the face of the Mining King. ’

Ian waited for Primson's next words with a confident expression.

But as his words continued, Ian's expression began to harden.

It was because the quest went in a completely different direction than Lugaryx had told it.

“We ran out of fragments from the quarry we used to love a while back. ”

“ ……? ”

“So now our clan needs a new piece of meteorite. ”

“Th-that's why? ”

Ian swallowed a dry saliva once and rebelled against Primson.

And the following story of Primson was, in fact, espionage.

“I thought your name was Ian? ”

“Well, yeah, that's right. ”

Primson's mouth slowly falls back.

“Ian, can you help us take back the area east of the rift that the Giants are guarding? ”

“ ……! ”

“The magic of the Covenant is that there are five meteorite sculptures to the east that are as ignorant as the ants' footprints. ”

“Th-that's it. ”

“Can you get rid of the ten Giant Scouts to the east?" While you get rid of them, I'll talk to the elders about you. ”

Ian, who heard Primson, swallowed a sigh he was about to leak.

After all, the quest was proceeding in the direction I most wanted to avoid.

‘Phew, I finally have to fight the Giants again...' ’

And the moment Ian was about to give Primson an answer...

- Tyring!

I thought a new system message in front of Ian briefed me on the activation of the link quest.

- The quest ‘Secret of the Covenant Magic Ⅰ (Hidden)' has been triggered.

-Are you sure you want to receive quests? (Y/N)

And of course, Ian's answer had to be yes.