Read Novel Full Chapter 233
Chapter 233
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Chapter 233 – Old Auber Ruins
Two days after leaving Riche, I arrived in the town of Auber Sam, located in the southwestern part of the Kingdom of Waltz.
Although this town administers a C-rank hunting ground, it is small and lacks vitality.
The same somber atmosphere permeated the Hunter’s Guild, where I saw hunters quietly drinking at the dining hall in the afternoon. As I headed toward the archives, I nodded to myself in understanding.
Finally, this type has arrived.
C-Rank Hunting Ground: “Old Auber Ruins”
The ruins of a city said to have been destroyed during the era of ancient civilizations now stand as a vast wasteland, inhabited by monsters.
Shadow Knights suddenly strike from the shadows, and Ghost Menaces project the resentment of the townspeople who once lived there.
Gray Souls cast spells while flickering between light and darkness. Since only spectral-like monsters appear, you must be prepared with the appropriate attack methods, or you’ll find yourself in a tough fight.
If you want to defeat them with physical attacks, destroying the magic stones is essential, so I don’t recommend it.
I’m relieved that they don’t seem that obvious, but they’re still the kind of monsters that make me wary.
No physical form, huh?
Since there aren’t any other notable hunting grounds or monsters, I head straight for the empty reception counter.
This town doesn’t seem to have a pushy old lady receptionist.
“Excuse me. I’d like to ask about the Old Auber Ruins.”
“Yes, what can I help you with?”
“It seems like the monsters here are all ghost-like. Does that mean I have to defeat them with magic?”
“That’s right. To be precise, only earth and ice magic, which are types of materialization magic, will work. However, even those two types are said to be ineffective.”
“Ah, I see. If I break the magic stones, will they be bought based on their weight, like at Grile Morg to the north?”
“In theory, yes, but the price is based on the minimum value, so it’s not really recommended. Expect the reward to be significantly lower.”
“What? That much?”
Further inquiry reveals that Shadow Knights drop non-attribute regular magic stones, Ghost Menaces drop dark-attribute magic stones, and Gray Souls drop either dark- or light-attribute magic stones, depending on when they are defeated. There is also a low chance that they will drop non-attribute magic stones.
In other words, there are three types of magic stones. Even if they are dark-attribute stones, the purchase price—essentially the amount of magic power contained within the stone—differs slightly between Ghost Menace and Gray Soul stones. This makes distinguishing them when they are crushed quite time-consuming.
Such a tedious process is impractical in practice, so if they’re already crushed, they’re treated as the cheapest Shadow Knight standard magic stones for weight calculations.
That’s why the guild doesn’t recommend it either.
Now that I recall, the situation is quite different from the Isla Wilderness, where Poison Cloud was the only monster requiring crushed magic stones.
(Hmm, even if I can defeat them with magic, I wonder if I have enough magic power…)
Based on what we’ve discussed, there are certainly monsters with the “Dark” attribute that I don’t possess yet.
That means I can’t just go to a hunting ground like the slime one and finish in a few hours.
I guess I’ll just have to go there and experiment. Just as I was about to thank the receptionist,
“Hey! If you’re going to the Old Auber Ruins, we’re currently buying dark-attribute magic stones at a high price. Please consider providing us with some materials!”
She pointed to the request board, and sure enough,
There was a red emergency request board in an unusual shape hanging there.
“We are currently buying dark-attribute magic stones at high prices! Ghost Menace is 27,000 Beeke, and Gray Soul is 29,000 Beeke. We welcome bulk sales!”
It was a modern, Japanese-style advertisement.
Feeling a touch of nostalgia, I chuckled to myself. Then, I told the woman, “Please make sure to buy them properly,” and quickly secured a room at the inn before heading out to the hunting grounds.
▽ ▼ ▽ ▼ ▽
From the sky, I looked down at the vast hunting ground. It was so expansive that I could determine the direction just by looking at it. The entire area was shrouded in a thin layer of mist.
Once I landed in an area without any hunters nearby, I started hunting.
The task is not difficult; in fact, it’s harder to find hunters than it is to hunt monsters.
“It’s so empty it’s scary…”
Every MMO has its share of “unpopular hunting grounds.”
Judging by how deserted this place is, it must be one of them.
Since there’s nothing tangible here, the only things that can be traded for money are magic stones.
Magic, which is unsuitable for prolonged combat, is the primary means of attack.
The discrepancy between the hunting ground’s rank and the town’s size is probably due to this.
However, the town’s overall gloomy atmosphere might be due to this monster, the most troublesome one in the hunting ground.
“I’ll never forget this grudgeeee!”
“I won’t forgive you. I won’t forgive you. I’ll never forget your face… Hiiiiii!”
“May an eternal curse befall youuuuuu!”
The Ghost Menace’s resentment and bitterness in the hunting grounds are incredible.
I don’t know if these monsters were human in their previous lives, but they look like semi-translucent humans with clear expressions.
There are males and females, each with a different face. Only their upper bodies float around wearing different clothes.
It feels as though the townspeople who once lived here have truly become like this.
To make matters worse, this resentment actually takes physical form.
“Waaah… Aaahhh…”
Numerous translucent hands reach up from the ground.
Despite having no substance, they suddenly grab my feet and restrain me.
These ghosts scream as if they were truly killed, spewing curses as they die. Understandably, no one with a normal mind would want to approach such a place.
I didn’t want to either.
“Finger Lightning.”
At first, I was confused and let out a little scream. But then, these things shot dark magic at me with evil expressions. Now, I don’t even bother. I just shoot lightning from my fingertips.
If they’re trying to kill me, I won’t show them any mercy, even though they’re ghosts.
They shouldn’t be able to scream since they don’t have vocal cords. I think they’re just fakes that Felza-sama created… right?
“Wind Blade”
In response to the Magic Power Detection signal, a pitch-black humanoid shadow emerged from behind me.
I sliced off its neck with wind magic.
Due to their lack of physical form, monsters here can only be detected by Presence Detection through the reaction of magic stones.
I was startled when I was suddenly slashed in the back by a Shadow Knight, but in this hunting ground, they’re the only ones who come close to me. Once you get used to them, they’re the most helpful monsters.
When I suddenly descended from above into an empty area—probably due to a line-of-sight check—about five of them suddenly emerged from the shadow. If I cast an area-of-effect spell in advance, they vanish, leaving only their magic stones behind.
The rest… There they are.
“Hmm… there!”
On the other hand, the most passive monster in this hunting ground is the Gray Soul.
I used the Activation Standby skill I received, timing it perfectly to fire Finger Lightning.
With almost no lag, if I shoot when the blurry sphere glows black, it crumbles and disappears.
The light and darkness alternate roughly every three seconds while I watch. If you use spells with fast projectiles, you can reliably take them down with the desired attribute.
However, they are both tracking spells that drift within a certain range at different speeds. Every time you switch between them, they fire. If this enemy is around while you’re bound by Ghost Menace, you’ll be hit simultaneously by the fast-hitting Light Magic and the slow Dark Magic. Afterward, you won’t be able to escape while being chased by the tracking spells and Shadow Knights lurking in the shadows.
This hunting ground is notorious for such disasters, especially if your Magic Defense is weak.
Yeah, it’s easy to see why it’s unpopular.
It’s still C-rank, though, so it’s just mentally draining—nothing that would kill me.
Thanks to my significantly increased Intelligence, I can reliably kill enemies at skill level 1 now, so my magic consumption should last at least a day…
In that case, all that’s left is to pursue efficiency.
I continued my experiments in silence, immersing myself in skill collection at the Old Auber Ruins.
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