The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years (Web Novel KR)

Editors: Ana_Banana, Sei

The place Lukas headed was the smithy that Nekdu used. And as he’d said before, he took Min Ha-rin with him.

In truth, he would have had to meet her before he left for Death Island anyway, so he decided to save her some trouble.

Nekdu wasn’t in the workshop, so Lukas went directly to the room she’d taken him to the day before yesterday. (TL: The day before the day before.)

Knock knock.

“…come in.”

A slightly strained voice was heard from inside the room.

When Lukas opened the door, he found Nekdu half-buried in the dusty sofa.

Min Ha-rin asked in a small voice.

“Who is this woman?”

“The best blacksmith I know.”

At the same time that Lukas was giving her this answer, Nekdu slowly rose up while rubbing her eyes.

“Is it dawn already…?”

“It’s already midday. Have you had enough time to think?”

“…yeah.”

Nekdu rubbed the back of her neck and sat in a better position on the couch. Then, after washing her face with a bottle of water that was laying on the desk beside her, she looked at Lukas with bloodshot eyes.

“I think I know about the statue you’re looking for.”

“…”

“But I don’t think I can tell you about it.”

“Is it because you’re also from Dragon God Island?”

Nekdu couldn’t help but let out a short laugh.

“I’m surprised. Who told you that?”

“Yesterday I met with envoys from Dragon God Island.”

“That’s not something that simple errand boys would know.”

“The Young Dragon was among them.”

“Is it the Young Dragon of this generation? We don’t know each other, but I guess they must be interested in stories of the past.”

Or someone with way too much free time.

Instead of adding that last piece, Nekdu spoke with an attitude as if she had nothing to hide.

“That’s right. I was born and raised on Dragon God Island. There was a time when I even made some sculptures there too.”

“I see.”

Lukas nodded.

“Then I won’t ask you anything more about the statue.”

“Mm?”

Seeing him back down so easily, Nekdu narrowed her eyes slightly.

“Is there something else you’d like to ask then?”

“You said before that you would make three items for me.”

“I did. Have you already thought of one?”

As long as it was making equipment, then she had nothing to be afraid of.

With a much more relaxed attitude, Nekdu said.

“What do you want me to make?”

“I’ll be heading to Death Island soon.”

“That place? That’s crazy. Haha, but I got it. You want me to make you some equipment that would block the death energy, right?”

Lukas nodded.

“That’s easy. Anything else.”

“Make armor and weapons out of the Ancient Dragon’s skull.”

This time, Nekdu tilted her head to the side.

“I made a weapon for you not so long ago. As for armor, you are a Sorcerer, I can’t make light armor with those bones.”

“It’s not for me.”

Lukas put his hand on the shoulder of Min Ha-rin, who was standing behind him and gently pushed her forward.

“It’s for this child.”

“…huh?”

Shocked, Min Ha-rin couldn’t help but ask dumbly.

In the meantime, Nekdu looked at Min Ha-rin with a sharp gaze. Under her skilled eyes, the fact that Min Ha-rin was a fighter couldn’t be concealed.

“It wouldn’t be difficult, but it would take some time. The bones of an Ancient Dragon aren’t things that can be manipulated after tapping them for a day or two.”

“As long as it’s finished before the Championship begins. Can you do it?”

“…that means I have little more than a month left. If it’s that long, I think I can make it work somehow.”

While the two of them chatted as though she wasn’t in the room, Min Ha-rin was unable to stand it anymore. She turned to Lukas and opened her mouth.

“Wa-, wait a minute, Master. I don’t really need armor or…”

“Before I killed Kangki, I went to all the other major cities.”

“Huh?”

“And when I was there, I saw the Champions who dominated their arenas.”

Lukas looked down at Min Ha-rin and continued.

“They are all difficult enemies for you to defeat at your current level. There is still a month left and you seem to be making steady progress with your training, but that alone isn’t enough.”

“…so you want me to make up for it with good equipment?”

Min Ha-rin tried not to show it, but Lukas was easily able to spot her dissatisfaction.

“What is it? Do you not want to depend on equipment?”

“That…”

“I know what you’re thinking. In the long run, it’s not good to depend on equipment. But you’re thinking too rigidly. You need to be able to bend flexibly depending on the situation.” (TL:…says Lukas)

“…I’m sorry. But I don’t think I can understand Master’s meaning. Can I ask why?”

Min Ha-rin’s attitude was humble and respectful.

It was good that she knew where she was lacking and sought guidance.

Lukas smiled softly.

“You’ll be fighting in more than one match. And in the Championship, there will be many Fighters who are either on your level or stronger than you. Battles like those which will force you to risk your life are both great perils and rare opportunities. If you are lucky, you will be able to gain experience comparable to several years of training.”

“Ah…!”

Min Ha-rin finally understood what Lukas was trying to say.

He was saying that the Championship could become a great opportunity for her to experience explosive growth.

“That’s why I’m telling you to use whatever means you can to hold out for as long as possible and gain as much experience as possible.”

Min Ha-rin realised that Lukas was about to reveal the second reason he’d mentioned before.

Nodding, Lukas continued.

“Because after this qualifier is over, I believe there is a high chance that we will have to return to your homeworld.”

When she heard that, Min Ha-rin couldn’t help but turn to look at Nekdu.

After all, she wasn’t sure if they could say such things in front of this unrelated woman.

Of course, Lukas wasn’t the type of person to act without thinking.

He spoke so easily and openly because he had long understood Nekdu’s nature.

Even now, her expression remained one of indifference as if she didn’t care what they were talking about.

In fact, she was probably thinking about what kind of equipment she should make with the Ancient Dragon’s bones.

“And it won’t just be like this small qualifier, instead, the Great Game will begin in earnest. At that time, you will need to be much stronger than you are now.”

Min Ha-rin initially nodded at Lukas’ words, but then he said something that was much more shocking.

“To put it simply, you will have to at least be strong enough to deal with the Five Dukes.”

“…th-, the Five Dukes?”

The Five Dukes. Not a Count, not a Marquis, or even a normal Duke.

Min Ha-rin began to sweat slightly but Lukas didn’t stop his bold words.

“If we were to use the unit called ‘level’ that is used in the status window, it would probably be around 200. Of course, level is just an objective indicator, you should not trust it blindly. Even if your opponent is lower level than you, that doesn’t mean you are guaranteed to win.”

However, Min Ha-rin was still focused on the first part of Lukas’ statement.

“Tw-, two hundred…?”

This was an incredibly distant number for Min Ha-rin, who hadn’t even reached level 100 yet.

…Now that she thought about it.

From the very first time she saw her level, there was something she’d always been curious about.

“Master, there’s something I’d been meaning to ask you for a long time. Ah, but you don’t have to answer.”

“What is it?”

“What is your level, Master?”

She asked this in a cautious tone, but Lukas responded indifferently.

“I believe it’s currently at 143. Somewhere around that.”

“…currently?”

“Right. Because my powers were restricted.”

“…then what is your original level?”

Lukas didn’t remember seeing this even when he’d briefly checked his status window after the tutorial. He directly opened his status window to check before reading it out.

“4,362.”

“F-, four… ! Cough! Cough, cough!”

Min Ha-rin coughed heavily as she choked on her own saliva.

(TL: Ahhh I miss chapter endings like these. I laughed so hard.)