6. Arcana Online

6. Arcana Online6. Arcana Online

Two countries exist on the Arcana continent.

The Avalon Empire, possessing ten master-level knights and formidable military power.

Arcadia, home to three magic towers that produced seven Great Mages, and known as the homeland of all mages.

The two countries maintain peace through cooperation, and numerous guilds operate with bases in various cities.

Among them, one of the top 10 guilds, the 'Frey' guild, has its headquarters in the central commercial city 'Thalassa'.

An elite guild where all members, including the guild master, maintain high ranks.

The usually quiet office was filled with loud voices, unlike usual.

Sasha, a high-ranking fighter, was pestering Catlleya, the guild master of Frey guild, who was doing paperwork in the office.

"Leader! We have to recruit this kid!? They show promise!"

"Really? In what way?"

"They received carrots as gifts from rabbits!"

"And?"

"That's all!"

Brushing her flowing blonde hair to the side, she answered with a bright smile.

"Get out."

"But it's true!? Look at this!"

A blue window appeared, and a video started playing.

A young girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, surrounded by rabbits, being showered with affection.

And she was gifted carrots.

Carrots with an extremely low drop rate, said to appear maybe once in 10,000 kills.

An ingredient used in making potions necessary for boss raids.

But something felt strange.

A girl who made one's heart warm just by looking at her, someone who seemed like she needed protection.

Is it because of her young appearance?

It might be worth investigating.

"As a leader, I'll order this. Investigate that child in detail and report back. I'll decide on recruitment after that."

"Just trust me!"

Sasha leaves, breaking the door in the process, causing a headache.

This month alone, the door has been repaired 5 times already.

That's all money, why does she always leave by breaking things?

At that moment, the space rippled and someone appeared.

Hecate, a high-ranking mage wearing a robe and a large hat.

"Really. Isn't the leader too soft on Sasha?"

"It can't be helped. All guild members are family, right? More importantly, did you finish the quest well?"

"Of course! I completed an S-rank quest and received 10,000 Fame points!"

10,000 points means 10 potions.

That means Intelligence can be increased by 10.

It's extremely difficult to level up, so we're increasing stats through Fame quests.

"I almost died, it was so hard! As expected of an S-rank quest, the monsters were piled up like mountains, and the rankers who went with me were beaten to a pulp."

After complaining for a while, she left the office saying she was going to drink.

Peace finally arrived.

It's not bad to be busy, but the usual quiet atmosphere is the best.

More importantly, I feel uneasy.

A unique characteristic...? No, how could such a characteristic exist in this world.

There's no solution even if I worry about it now.

Erasing the image of the young girl lingering in my mind, I started paperwork again.

Most of the documents are bills sent to the guild for facilities destroyed by guild members.

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Looking at the bead, no, the Yeouiju in my hand, I shouted.

"Jackpot!!"

Anyone would see this as a win, right!?

Should I eat it now!? Or should I save it for later!?

At that moment, my room door suddenly broke down and Bell unni barged in.

"What's going on!?"

Surprised by the sudden situation, I could only stare with shocked eyes. Bell unni, who was examining me, saw the Yeouiju I was holding and her eyes widened.

"Is, is that a Yeouiju!? Where did you get it!?"

If I say I got it from a random draw, she wouldn't believe me, right?

"I, I just got it by chance."

"You weren't going to eat it, were you?"

"Huh? Shouldn't I eat it?"

Bell unni didn't say it, but I could hear her inner thoughts.

'No, how could you think of such a thing?'

So it's not for eating...?

"Yeouiju isn't for humans to eat. It's for feeding to summons."

"What would have happened if I ate it?"

"It might have had effects like eating a tonic?"

We decided to feed it to the summon when it hatches and continue the conversation we couldn't finish yesterday.

Following Bell unni down to the first floor, I saw that the usually bustling place was empty, probably because the inn hadn't opened yet.

Sitting in a chair, she asked me to wait a moment and went to the kitchen to bring a simple breakfast.

She told me to listen to her story while eating breakfast.

"Well, if you don't become a disciple, there's one other way."

"Another way?"

"But there are restrictions." Sёarch* The Novelƒire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

She handed me a ring.

[Ring of Sealing]

In exchange for not being able to use mana, it nullifies all magic.

Bell unni explained that the mark is ultimately magic.

"If you wear this ring, it will nullify the mark placed on you by Dragon Queen Ernia. However, you won't be able to use magic, and as soon as you take off the ring, the mark will activate again."

She looked at me with sympathetic eyes, but is there a problem...?

I don't have any skills to begin with.

Ah, I had that spellbook I received, right? I'll use it later.

"It's okay. It can't be helped."

"Sob. I'm sorry..."

"Wh-why are you like this!?"

Suddenly showing tears, she held my hand tightly.

She cried, saying she was sorry for not being able to help me.

Is Bell unni really an NPC...?

After comforting Bell unni for a while, she seemed embarrassed and chased me out of the inn, telling me to go play outside.

Since I was chased out anyway, I headed to the hunting grounds to level up.

The moment I took out the spellbook from my inventory to use it, it disappeared into light.

[You have used the Goblin's Spellbook.]

You have acquired the Passive Skill: Empathy.

«Empathy»

Enhances combat ability through deep empathy with summons.

It's the first skill I've obtained, and it's an interesting one.

Can I use this?

"Empathy!"

I shouted loudly, but nothing changed.

With a slightly reddened face, I quickly walked towards the hunting grounds.

I greeted the rabbits, and encountered passing slimes, but they just glanced at me and went on their way.

Weren't you guys aggressive monsters?

Passing by the slimes and walking further, I saw a group of goblins in the distance.

I waved my hand to greet them, and the goblins waved back.

But if it's like this, where should I hunt?

If I can't hunt rabbits, slimes, or goblins, what's left?

Following the path, I moved to a place far from the village for the first time, and saw something.

A monster with a pig's head and a human body, carrying a large sword in one hand.

[Orc]

Normally, I should have hunted goblins and leveled up sufficiently before challenging this, but I have no choice.

As I approached the orc, it looked at me too.

To avoid making the same mistake as last time, I spoke to the orc.

"Do you perhaps have a family?"

"Young human! Mentioning family at first meeting! I won't let this slide!"

With those words, the orc raised its giant sword and charged at me.

I panicked for a moment and tensed up.

As the orc approached and was about to swing its sword at me, I tried to block it with my staff, but my hand lost strength and I dropped it.

As I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the pain, I heard a 'clang!' sound and the sword being deflected.

When I opened my eyes and looked, another orc had blocked the sword?

"Swinging a sword at a young human, you're a disgrace to the orc tribe!"

"No! This young human mentioned family first!"

At that moment, the orc that saved me looked at me.

Seeing my eyes full of fear, I heard the sound of gritting teeth.

"You even lie. Die for the honor of the tribe."

With those words, as it swung its sword, a blue light shone and the orc was cut in half in an instant.

The corpse disappeared into light, leaving only me and the orc looking at me with worried eyes.

"Young human. My name is Bba-da! What is your name?"

"M-my name is Yuna."

"A good name. Now, go back along the path. It's dangerous ahead."

"Thank you, Mr. Bba-da."

On the way back to the village after nearly being killed by an orc and then saved by an orc.

I had a new worry.

The orc I just saw was much stronger than me.

Where should I level up now?

The worry didn't last long.

I had forgotten, but my job is a summoner.

I just need to wait until my summon hatches.

Honestly, it would be a lie to say I'm not excited.

What kind of summon will it be?

Returning to the village with an excited heart, I remembered something I had forgotten.

Something I don't want to do but must do to survive.

I need to go grocery shopping and pay the bills.

How nice would it be if this world were real.

My footsteps, which had been light until just now, suddenly felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.