Novels online

My alter ego is becoming a big shot - Episode 69

#69

engrave (2)

“There, furry. Is this really a human being??”

The old woman, whose eyes were constantly blinking, pointed at Harley and asked the hairy boy..

“Oh, grandma, are you senile? Doing this to people! And Harley has gone through many twists and turns so far, so she is a decent human being.!”

Even though the words were not spoken to him, the furry boy protested excitedly, foaming at the mouth..

In Act 4, Scene 3 of the eventful 'Harley's Big Adventure', there was a story about a man who was captured by the evil warlock 'Hans' and subjected to biological experiments before escaping..

Maybe they took care of him with that in mind..

‘Contrary to what he appears to be, he is a very attentive friend..’

Harley, who inwardly flinched at the word "monster," folded her arms full of massive muscles and nodded happily..

“Hmm... Anyway, I'm really human.?”

She looked at him carefully again, as if it didn't matter whether the hairy boy was angry or not..

“Well, I've seen a lot of warriors over the years, but this is the first time I've seen anything like this..”

“Old man! Please explain what the problem is. I want this because it’s frustrating!”

Then, seeing the old woman express her admiration again, Harley, who had no intention of just staying still, intervened..

“It's not really a problem. On the contrary, it can be seen as very good. Heheul···.”

“Ohh?”

“Ugh... the wind outside is colder than that. Come inside and we'll talk. As I get older, my stomach hurts..”

Patting their backs, she got up from the chair and led them into the house..

“Come to think of it, I haven't even said thank you yet. Thank you for helping me out when I was in trouble. I'll bring some tea, so sit back and relax..”

As I entered the interior filled with miscellaneous items and sat down to wait, an old woman brought out tea brewed with an unknown herb..

“Enjoy your meal. Is it good for your body? When you get older, you have to eat good things. You helped me today, so I'm giving it to you as a thank you..”

Harley immediately picked up the teacup and poured it into her mouth..

The steaming hot tea did not do any damage to his strong body..

“Hahaha! It tastes like being healthy! Now then, please finish what you said earlier.!”

“Eh... That's why the young guy has such a short temper..”

The old woman leisurely took a sip of tea and slowly spoke..

“An unqualified person probably knows that there are severe side effects when engraving an engraving.?”

“That's the basics.!”

“Basically, imprinting consumes a lot of the body's energy. Mana... So, the proportion of aurors used by warriors is large, but vitality is more important than that..”

And she had the ability to see the life force flowing through the subject's body..

“I was confused because this was my first time seeing this level of vitality. I've seen Daejeonsa a few times, but it was nothing compared to them..”

“Was Harley that bad? Of course, he was at a great level even without using aurors.···.”

“At that level, he's closer to a monster than a human. So that’s what I asked earlier. Are you really human?.”

The overwhelming vitality emanating from the body of a monster with physical capabilities far superior to those of humans..

It was completely contained in Harley's body, so it was only natural..

“Since engraving is used by forcibly drawing out the vitality flowing through the body, the more abundant it is, the more effective it can be engraved..”

Since life force is continuously consumed from the moment the engraving is engraved, the fiery energy emanating from the warrior's trained body was essential..

“But at this level, it would be enough to engrave the engraving of a great warrior, not the engraving of a warrior..”

“oh! But is there any step above that??”

“Heulheul... There is a 'King Tu's engraving', but no one has been able to engrave it for hundreds of years..”

“Hey, it's a fight···.”

Harley's eyes lit up at the name she really liked..

“Of course, I don't know how to do that either. In the first place, it is a task that requires the assistance of several shamans under the leadership of a great shaman..”

“Well, it's unfortunate, but there's nothing we can do. Then, please at least engrave the history of Daejeon. I should have that sort of thing! Hahaha—!”

“This is also a bit difficult..”

“why not!”

Despite Harley's protests, the old woman lazily drank tea and expressed her sorrow..

“First of all, I don't have any ingredients. As you know, it's been a long time since a warrior from the south came here, so we're not prepared at all..”

After spending a long time healing minor illnesses, the materials I had at hand were the ones I used for that purpose..

“That's about it.···.”

“And secondly, in order to engrave the stamp of a great warrior, you need worthy karma. It's not something you can simply engrave with a lot of vitality or mana..”

Apparently, the higher the level of engraving, the more stringent the conditions were..

If you break this, the side effects you heard about before will eat away at you..

Muscle loss, hair loss, aging, loss of stamina···.

‘no!’

Harley gave up on all the fatal side effects..

“So what is that necessary karma? Should I at least catch a dragon??”

Still, I couldn't help but feel regret, so I asked her in a harsh tone..

“Hehehehe... There's no need to go that far. Let’s see... Yes, the northern mountains beyond the Iron Citadel. All I have to do is hunt down the ogre, the predator there, all by myself..”

‘huh?’

“Ogre! Grandmother, you know what kind of monster it is.?”

The furry boy who was listening next to me shouted in shock..

The ogre was an apex predator, nearly 5 meters tall, with incredibly dense muscles and keen senses..

He was also a glutton who had to hunt and eat all day long, excluding sleeping time, to maintain his body..

I was wondering if I would be able to catch it even if several high-rank mercenaries attacked at once and suffered enormous damage, but I thought I could catch it all by myself..

“If I'm going to challenge Daejeon Temple, I should be able to do that. Actually, this is also the minimum standard.”

“Well... well, if you're a Daejeon warrior, that's probably possible.···.”

“And if the hunt is successful, the appendage can be used to carve an engraving. High-ranking monsters are great ingredients for using spells..”

After speaking leisurely, the old woman sipped her tea again..

And Harley wordlessly rummaged through the subspace magic tools in her arms..

“So, after receiving a different imprint and growing, try taking on the challenge slowly...—!”

“Ugh! What are you doing, grandma? Suddenly on someone else's face... Ugh?”

He took out his monster attachment..

Various types of large bones, tendons, eyeballs, blood bottles, etc..

“Uh... this can't be right···.”

The furry boy looked at them and Harley alternately with a stupid look on his face..

“Ogre! It's an ogre's appendage! Those are fresh ones that haven't even been hunted for a few days.!”

And the old woman, who immediately recognized it, cried out in astonishment:.

As she said, this was very refreshing..

I had just returned yesterday from hunting beyond the Iron Citadel..

‘As soon as I arrived, I was so busy listening to the story about the shaman that I forgot to dispose of it, but it turned out well..’

Saves you the trouble of going out to get ingredients again..

“I'm asking just in case... Is this really something you hunted alone??”

Did you feel something when you saw the ingredients being taken out at this time?.

As she was closely examining the items Harley had taken out, she looked at him with an uneasy expression and blinked..

“Huh... Hahahaha! You're stating the obvious, old man! To this body, an ogre is nothing! Pahahaha!”

He burst out laughing confidently..

“Well then, there is no problem in engraving the Daejeon Temple's engraving with this.?”

“That's right. I'm asking again just in case, but it's true that I caught it on my own.?”

“of course! I know for sure what the side effects will be, but there's no way I would lie about something like this.!”

At his words, the old woman nodded slowly and poured tea into her empty cup and sipped it again..

“But grandma. They say that if you can carve the engraving of a great warrior, you are a pretty skilled shaman, so why are you living like this in a place like this??”

At that time, the furry boy who had roughly wiped the tea off his face asked in an annoyed tone:.

She paused for a moment as she brought the teacup to her lips, but then took a sip without any hesitation and responded as if it was no big deal..

“What's wrong with this place? I am earning a decent amount of food, and people who live without money can help each other survive.?”

“These are the people who didn't even lift their noses when the old lady was attacked.?”

“···Doesn’t everyone have their own circumstances?.”

It was a word with many meanings..

It seemed like she didn't want to say any more, so Harley opened her mouth to finish her business quickly..

“So when can I get the engraving? And if possible, I would like to get other engravings as well.···.”

“Oh, that guy is always impatient..”

The old woman, who was clicking her tongue, thought about something and answered..

“Since we don't have any preparations right now, it will take a day to get the other ingredients and prepare them in advance. Come back the day after tomorrow.”

“Just tell me the ingredients and I will gather them right away.···.”

“Uh huh! Witchcraft is not something that can be done in such a hurry.!”

Preparing carefully and preparing one's mind on time was also a part of the magic process..

“And half of the cost is a down payment. As you can see, I don't have anything, so I can't get the ingredients..”

We were very wealthy thanks to the expensive monster attachments and Hubert doing a good business, so the cost didn't really matter..

“Can I get another engraving at the same time? If I could, I would.!”

“After getting one, your body needs about a week to adjust. And during that time, I also need to replenish my stamina. I think it's easy to engrave?”

After finishing all the business, Harley and I got up from our grooming positions and left the house, planning to meet the old woman again the day after tomorrow..

Walking back down the alley.

“Ouch~! Now then, let’s go finish what we couldn’t finish earlier.?”

Hearing his words while stretching coolly, the hairy boy looked puzzled..

“ok? Harley, I did something before I came here.?”

“Hahaha! What are you talking about, friend? We ended up doing it together, right??”

Apparently, this guy was a bit forgetful..

Harley quietly explained to him what they had to do..

“Those guys from earlier, we need to sort this out.?”

“ok?”

The hairy boy makes a fierce expression again.

I felt like I needed to explain it in more detail..

“From my experience, if you leave those guys alone, they're bound to cause an accident later! You have to organize it before then.!”

Of course, the source of that experience was Earth's popular culture, which is full of clichés..

“Is that so? From my experience, if you scare them this much, they will take care of themselves and not even come near you..”

“Hey, I've had a better life than I thought, my friend.?”

From the point of view of modern people who are immersed in all kinds of provocative content, what the furry said was a very easy response..

Of course, at first he thought that was enough..

The opponents were only a group of Parakhos, and they were large, muscular, famous mercenaries and even used “wildness” to imprint fear into their minds..

In most cases, it will grow on its own, just like the hairy guy said..

But unexpectedly, the old witch doctor was more capable..

The first engraving was done in two days, and the engraving has to be done every week thereafter, so I don't know how long it will take.···.

‘That's enough time to dilute the fear..’

So I needed to be more certain..

“Ohh···. Indeed, he is an indomitable warrior who survived all kinds of hardships. You learned a lesson, Harley. So how are they going to find it??”

They had already run away and I couldn't even see them, and I didn't even know where they were based..

“Hehehe—they're probably people who live around here anyway, but if you kill each of them one by one, they won't come out.?”

“Right! If they become vengeful and seek revenge,?”

“Then you step less! I'm trying to organize this in advance so that it doesn't end up like that! We need to follow it more meticulously and thoroughly.!”

“Indeed... it's great! I've never seen a warrior as fierce as you, Harley. You have not only strength but also intellect.!”

“Well, this is all a product of experience. Turaba You too can become like this. Wahahaha!”

Two people disappearing into an alley while chatting amicably.

But the contents were nothing short of hideous..

After several rounds of singing echoed through the streets until it got dark,···.

They were able to finish their work neatly and return home with a refreshed mind..