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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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There were so many decent people that I might not have needed to hide the fact that I was a warlock.
‘Of course, if I had revealed that I was a warlock at the first meeting, I probably wouldn’t have built this much trust.’
The environment was also at its worst.
The slaves who first came under me, the hornorcs who had no choice but to request an alliance even though I was a warlock, and the residents of Evergreen Forest Village who would all die if I didn’t take them in.
Without exception, they were all in the worst situations, so they couldn’t afford to care whether I was a warlock or not.
Therefore, it was true that the current people of Evergreen Forest Village had to bet everything on their existing image of me.
I understood that rationally, but still, every time I revealed that I was a warlock, their reactions made me feel strange.
‘Of course, they might just be saying that, and we don’t know what will happen later, so I’ll have to keep an eye on them for a while.’
In any case, with that attitude, there was no reason not to accept them.
“I’ll take you in.”
At my words, the village chief prostrated himself on the ground and shouted.
“I can guarantee your safety. You’ll have to go out to get food, but it won’t be as dangerous as you might think.”
After the large tribe collapsed, we became the strongest force in the area, so other monsters around were cautious and avoided us on their own.
Other than that, retrieving animals caught in traps wasn’t difficult, and setting traps was something that could be learned.
Mutre would handle the manufacturing anyway.
“That much is only natural.”
Fortunately, the village chief wasn’t too shameless.
Cheers filled the ant nest at my permission.
There were certainly some who were anxious about the news that I was a warlock, but overall, the atmosphere was celebratory.
At least for now, they seemed satisfied just to not die immediately.
“The alliance is growing.”
“They’re not combatants.”
“Even so, isn’t it good that the scale is growing? Honestly, considering your abilities, the group you led was quite small.”
“Well, for me, a group is something I create with my own power.”
“Hahaha. Well, for a warlock, and a necromancer at that, it’s understandable that you would think that way.”
Finding my words amusing, Rithild laughed loudly.
Along with Kayla and Athena, I returned to the underground dungeon with these people, and simultaneously adjusted the personnel.
“Move some of the people from the annex to the main building.”
Some people would remain in the annex.
As a reward for those who had been under me longer and had done well so far, I planned to put them in charge of managing the people from Evergreen Forest Village who would settle in the annex.
It was like becoming a sort of superior.
‘Thea will be busy.’
When I brought in the new people, amusingly, Thea seemed quite pleased.
“People! New personnel! With this, we can…”
As the workforce was greatly expanded, she seemed to be overflowing with enthusiasm.
Until now, there hadn’t been enough manpower to do anything other than managing the underground dungeon, but with this new influx of personnel, she seemed happy that there were more things she could do.
It wasn’t incomprehensible.
‘Well, I suppose it would be sad if there were clear limitations after finally finding something she could do.’
Especially in cases of manpower shortage… it was not something that can be solved just by one’s own efforts.
If my skills were more advanced, I could have provided working undead, but I wasn’t at that level yet.
Thea welcomed the people from Evergreen Forest Village and skillfully guided them to the annex.
They were in quite a dirty state, so she had them eat lightly and then bathe outside.
After washing, eating, and having a safe place to sleep, even the people from Evergreen Forest Village who had some anxiety began to show more relaxed expressions.
‘The interior… is almost at capacity now.’
We could still take in more, but there was no need to overcrowd and cause discomfort.
‘We can’t build a village outside…’
If we did that, there was a possibility of being noticed by Siglen.
Even now, I wanted to avoid that.
Especially as the day of departure was approaching, it became even more necessary.
As the number of people increased, the underground dungeon began to buzz with activity.
Especially the existing residents who were assigned to the main building seemed highly satisfied.
They were showing an even more respectful attitude and loyalty towards us, seemingly quite moved by the improved living environment in the main building and the fact that they were treated as higher than the newly arrived people from Evergreen Forest Village despite being former slaves.
To me, it was a natural gesture, as they hadn’t caused any problems so far, and it was especially necessary to empower Thea.
‘The people from Evergreen Forest Village don’t know much about Thea.’
They had seen her once during the reconnaissance, but that was it.
Moreover, Thea wasn’t with us during the Giant Ant nest subjugation, which had left the strongest impression…
Especially since they might be dissatisfied with a young woman being at the top of their hierarchy, I wanted to prevent that in advance.
‘Since we can’t increase Thea’s own power, we need to make the people who follow her hold power.’
Even though that power was trivial, in the current situation where they could be driven out if things went wrong, they had no choice but to follow.
‘Thea doesn’t have a strange personality, and if there are those who have other thoughts with that trivial power, she’ll resolve it on her own.’
The people of slave origin knew well that Athena, Kayla, and I cared greatly for Thea.
Therefore, they would never go against Thea.
If Thea restrained them, they wouldn’t cross the line.
‘They’ve done well so far, so if we just let them establish themselves, they’ll probably continue to do well.’
In reality, Thea began to control the people from Evergreen Forest Village well.
She organized the interior, made food procurement smooth, and began to properly store the existing food supplies.
Among the people from Evergreen Forest Village, there were hunters, herb gatherers, leather craftsmen, and those who lived by foraging, so we were able to obtain additional information about edible things.
Some of these were things I didn’t know about, which was quite helpful to the community.
As the people from Evergreen Forest Village began to pull their weight, Thea made the village chief their representative and elevated him to a position that represented the villagers.
It could be said to be a similar position to the people of slave origin.
As the internal order was properly established, Thea came to me with a proposal.
“Inha oppa, can we expand the underground dungeon a bit?”
“Expand?”
“Yes. I’ll consult with Mutre to do it safely.”
Until now, it had been difficult due to the lack of manpower, especially men.
Basically, human males were physically superior to human females in this world as well.
But among the newly absorbed personnel, there were quite a few men, so we gained a considerable labor force.
“They say there are plants we can grow underground too. I want to try various things.”
“If Mutre approves, I approve too.”
It seemed she was thinking of expanding underground since it was difficult to expand above ground.
‘It’s not bad.’
For me, it didn’t matter whether it expanded or not.
However, for the internal residents, it wasn’t so.
There was no reason to oppose.
So, the internal expansion was decided, and many things began to be worked on.
It was a bit noisy, but since I was doing research on the upper floor, it wasn’t much of a problem for me.
Thea completely took control of the interior, and there were no threats externally thanks to the hornorcs and the war we had fought previously.
Kayla, Athena, and I were able to have an environment where we could focus solely on training, just like when the underground dungeon was first created, and after about three months had passed…
‘Finally…’
I was able to finish the preparations for creating the 4th circle.
As soon as I realized the preparations were complete, I prohibited my companions from entering the research lab for the time being.
“Will it take a long time?”
“It’s also dangerous.”
At my words, the faces of the three hardened slightly as if frightened.
Reaching the 4th circle was incomparable to the 3rd circle.
It was true that becoming a magician itself required talent.
However, while there were several ways to somehow reach the 3rd circle, it was not the same for the 4th circle.
No, there might be cases where one could somehow reach the 4th circle, but that was the limit.
One can create the 4th circle through extremely inefficient methods, but 4th class magic doesn’t work with just the circle.
One must understand and implement magic on their own.
The complexity of magic after the 4th class is different.
The circle is like a condition for using magic.
From the 4th class onwards, every moment is a proof of talent and effort.
One alone is not enough.
Teacher, research, tools, luck, enlightenment.
Various complex factors become variables that guide magicians to higher realms, or bind them to that place for life.
It was not for nothing that even warlocks were accepted and protected by mercenary guilds.
They did it because it was worth that much.
“If there’s no interference, I can definitely reach it. So until I come out, absolutely don’t come in.”
“…Okay, I understand.”
“May I guard the door until you come out, Master?”
“There’s no need for that. Just warn everyone not to come. Setting up No. 1 and No. 2 will be enough.”
“…I understand.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll manage it thoroughly.”
“Alright. I’m counting on you.”
“Yes, Inha oppa!”
After warning my companions in advance, I closed off the research lab.
I had scared my companions, but it was also true.
‘It’s not just ordinary concentration that’s needed.’
If I make a mistake, I might need to recuperate for a while.
For an ordinary magician, even with this much preparation, they would have to risk their life, but it was not that severe for me.
‘Well, if there’s no interference, I’m confident in succeeding.’
That was why I gave them a warning that was a bit excessive.
From the 5th circle onwards, there would be no need to use such reckless methods.
After completing the 4th circle, growth would accelerate for a while, and I calculated that I would reach the 5th circle and the 6th circle, which was my realm in the previous round, without much difficulty and at a fast pace.
Of course, it would still take years.
Naturally, this was an astonishingly fast speed, as it usually took at least 10 years or more for a 4th circle to grow into a 5th circle.
‘The 7th circle… I feel like it might be possible…’
I wasn’t certain, but there was a possibility.
The 7th circle, called a high-level warlock.
I planned to reach this realm in this round, which I hadn’t reached, or more accurately, hadn’t attempted to reach in the past.
The reason I was confident in such rapid growth was simple.
‘The gap between mind and body will gradually decrease.’
In my judgment, this was the biggest hurdle right now.
My physical level was too low compared to my high mental level.
Therefore, what I could do was quite limited, and I had to extremely restrict myself.
The fact that I could barely cross those limits was due to a lot of preparation and possessing a staff of a higher level than I had ever obtained in the previous round.
Thanks to that, my growth rate was faster than expected.
However, if I achieve the 4th circle, many of the constraints I had would be considerably loosened.
Even if I pushed myself a bit, my considerably strengthened body would endure the excessive load and become even stronger, and as a result, it was expected to show even faster growth.
It reminded me of a philosopher’s words I heard on Earth.
‘In the past, there was a possibility that the body would be destroyed if I recklessly pushed myself, but after the 4th circle, although it will be painful and difficult, it will eventually endure.’
That was why I judged that now, while still in the 3rd circle, was the biggest hurdle.
I calmed my mind and prepared for the trial.
First, I took sufficient rest and filled my stomach.
‘It will take quite a long time.’
Meanwhile, the magic that poured out from the seal filled the laboratory.
The specter was quietly floating behind me.
When the inside of the laboratory was filled with magic, I began my attempt to form a new circle.
I stabilized the existing circles and started to form a circle by extracting magic from the vessel.
As I attempted the change, the existing circles began to shake slightly, affected by it.
It was not just one, but three.
Humans originally couldn’t do multiple things at once, so it was natural to collapse when trying to do four things simultaneously.
However, I had a body that had gone to the edge of 6th class in the previous round.
It didn’t require much mental power to control the existing circles.
‘If my mind was only at 3rd class, I would have had to pay attention to each one to control them.’
But I didn’t need to pay such attention.
They were controlled naturally, effortlessly when I tried to control them.
The reason high-class magicians could use magic that was difficult even to understand without any trouble was that they had completely mastered the process itself without needing to focus on each step mentally.
They used magic naturally, like breathing, going through the process.
If told to focus on each step of the process, it would be impossible.
Of course, having the appropriate level of concentration, computational power, and senses provided the foundation to embody new magic as well.
It was not for nothing that I was confident in success if there was just no interference.
‘However, it won’t happen at once, so it will take quite some time…’
The control of the existing circles was going well, and the formation of a new circle by extracting magic from the vessel was also proceeding smoothly.
The problem was that the speed was extremely slow, and this state would likely continue for more than a day.
‘Still, it’s better. I thought it might take two or three days.’
I also steadily filled the vessel by absorbing the magic from all around.
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