On the scorching 15th of July, in the MiddleFire Month—
It had now been eight days since Sakeer arrived in E-Rantel.
Originally, his plan had been simple: upgrade his materials and equipment, then set off for the Baharuth Empire.
However—
The discovery of scroll-making technology changed everything.
For the past few days, he had devoted nearly all his energy to mastering magic scroll crafting. He even spent a precious skill point to upgrade [Papermaking Technique] to the third level.
Skill: Papermaking (3rd Tier)
MP Cost: 15Effect: Creates 500 pieces of high-quality paper.
At second order, he could produce 700 sheets of second-tier paper. But at third order, the number dropped to 500 sheets.
Just like the second-tier scrolls, crafting a third-tier magic scroll required 20 sheets of third-tier paper.
His current mana pool was 28 points.
And since he wasn't a true caster, his mana regeneration was painfully slow—only 1 point per hour on average.
At most, he could recover 52 mana per day.
The cost of crafting a second-tier magic scroll was high:
5 MP to form the scrollAdditional MP to activate the enchantment effect (second-tier Magic Accumulation)Then, injecting the second-tier spell itself
In total—25 MP per scroll.
A third-tier scroll required 30 MP.
Meaning—even with a full day's mana, he could barely craft one third-tier scroll or two second-tier ones.
Eight days passed.
By now, Sakeer had painstakingly crafted—
10 third-tier "Angel Summoning" scrolls5 second-tier "Angel Summoning" scrolls
Sitting on the bed in his inn, he gazed at the fifteen completed scrolls before him.
Dark circles hung under his eyes, evidence of his relentless efforts.
Yet—his expression remained serious, focused.
"Ten Archangel Flames should be enough to counter them. The five Angel Guardians can serve as a diversion."
Even so—
It still wasn't enough.
"I need to be more prepared. Two more days… I'll craft a few more."
With a wave of his hand, the scrolls vanished into his item storage box.
Over the past few days, Sakeer had worked tirelessly, meticulously calculating his mana recovery rate to ensure not a single point was wasted.
Day or night, the moment his mana recovered, he would immediately put it to use, crafting another scroll.
The toll was evident—dark eye bags, exhaustion creeping in.
It reminded him—
Of the soul-crushing grind from his past life.
Back then, it had been punching in at a dead-end job.
Now—
It was mana management.
But he had no choice.
His mana was too scarce, and every last drop needed to be used wisely.
Although the [Magic Swordsman] class increased his magic capacity, upgrading it wasn't a priority right now.
Not until he acquired the [Cursed Knight] and [Valkyrie] classes.
At this stage, wasting experience points on mid-tier magic classes would be a mistake.
There was a reason he was doing all this.
Sakeer had his sights set on Khajiit, one of the twelve executives of [Zurrernorn], who lurked in E-Rantel.
More importantly—
He was after the artifact in Khajiit's possession.
The "Orb of Death."
What Makes the Orb of Death Special?
This magic item had two notable traits:
It wasn't part of the "YGGDRASIL" game—meaning it had unique mechanics.It possessed independent intelligence.
But what truly caught Sakeer's attention—
Was its ability to absorb and store negative energy.
In both the anime and the light novel, this ability wasn't particularly remarkable.
At first, Sakeer hadn't thought much of it either.
But—
Ever since acquiring the Magic Swordsman class, one of its passive abilities, [Mana Infusion], had shown some peculiar interactions.
And then—
A thought struck him.
"What if…"
"What if I could combine this ability with the Orb of Death's energy storage?"
Negative Energy—
For undead spellcasters, it was simply another type of magic or special energy.
If the Orb of Death could store Negative Energy—
Then logically—
Could it also store Mana?
After all, Mana was just another type of energy.
If this hypothesis was correct…
It could change everything.
Using the ability [Mana Infusion], Sakeer intended to force mana into the "Orb of Death", essentially transforming it into a mana storage device.
Of course—
This was merely his current hypothesis.
Whether it could truly be achieved remained uncertain. The only way to confirm it was by getting his hands on the artifact itself.
After all—
Neither "YGGDRASIL" nor this world possessed potions that could increase mana.
If one wished to increase their mana pool, enhance mana regeneration, or reduce mana consumption, there were only a few possible solutions:
Advancing through specialized professionsAcquiring high-tier magical artifactsResorting to pay-to-win (kryptonite) items
These luxuries were something Sakeer simply couldn't compete with, especially compared to the Bone King.
Otherwise—
He wouldn't need to provoke an organization as dangerous as [Zurrernorn] at this stage.
To the common folk, the underground syndicate "Eight Fingers" was already a terrifying force, its influence spanning the entire kingdom.
But compared to [Zurrernorn]—
It was nothing.
[Zurrernorn] was a fanatical secret cult, a faction capable of threatening entire nations.
The organization had only thirteen members, but among them were twelve high-ranking executives, all answering to a mysterious and powerful leader.
In both the anime and light novel, very little was revealed about these individuals.
Only two disciples had ever been mentioned—
The first was Khajiit, currently in E-Rantel.
The second was Clementine.
A former member of the "Black Scripture", the most elite sect of the Slane Theocracy's Six-Color Temples, Clementine was an upper-rank hero-tier combatant.
She was also notoriously unhinged—earning her the nickname "the crazy sister."
And yet—
Among the twelve executives, three were even stronger than her.
As for Khajiit?
He wasn't even ranked among them.
At this point in time, Sakeer wasn't sure whether Clementine had already joined [Zurrernorn] or not.
Two days passed in a flash.
By now, Sakeer had successfully crafted five more second-tier magic scrolls.
Originally, he had intended to focus on third-tier scrolls.
However—
To increase the complexity of his strategy and account for unexpected developments, he had deliberately prepared additional spells for deception and contingency plans.
Over the past few days—
Aside from crafting scrolls, he had rarely left the inn.
However, behind the scenes, he had been secretly disposing of beast and monster corpses harvested from the Great Forest of Tob.
In particular—
The Black-Green Serpent, a demonic beast, had taken him considerable time to handle.
His funds had initially soared to 1,200 gold coins, but now, only 600 remained.
Half of that fortune had been invested into a magic artifact, allowing him to move more freely in the shadows.
Now—
It was deep into the night.
The street lamps, enchanted with perpetual light, had begun to dim in intervals, leaving the streets under the dark, clouded sky even blacker than before.
A faint rustling broke the silence.
Rrr.
The little Barghest, curled up near the window, was the first to notice something unusual outside.
Its bone chains slithered out, gently tapping Sakeer, who was seated on the bed with his eyes closed.
"Is it time?"
Sakeer's eyes snapped open.
He cast a glance toward the window, then reached for the black robe he had prepared in advance.
With a swift motion, he wrapped it around himself.
Swish!
A small vial appeared in his palm.
Without a moment's hesitation, he uncorked it and downed its contents in one gulp.
"Stay here."
Sakeer turned to the little Barghest, waving a hand dismissively.
"You're not coming with me this time."
His voice—
Was now rough and hoarse, like that of a middle-aged man.
This was the effect of the potion he had just consumed—a simple, temporary voice-altering draught, costing only one gold coin.
Awo…
The little Barghest's light green pupils dimmed in disappointment.
Its bone chains rattled softly, as though expressing its reluctance.
But Sakeer was already moving.
Tap.
He had already reached the window.
Without hesitation—
His figure vanished into the night, leaping through the opening and landing silently in the alleyway below.
(End of Chapter)