The Wizard Who Endured the World of Murim - Chapter 40

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Surviving in the Martial Realm as a Mage: Episode 40
Ilho, a Blood Corpse, quietly maintained his distance from the people as commanded by his master, vigilantly patrolling the perimeter of the island.
Ever since Ilho first gained consciousness.
His Young Master had been delighted and handed him a small ring.
“Looking at the calluses on your palm, it seems you wielded a sword quite skillfully in life. So it’ll be crude for now, but use this. I’ll upgrade it to something better when the opportunity arises.”
A wooden ring that the Young Master had personally slipped onto Ilho’s pinky finger.
When inner energy was infused into the ring, it transformed instantly into a sword.
The Young Master had been quite embarrassed, saying it wasn’t a renowned blade.
Still, he reassured me that it would suffice for now and asked me to bear with it for a while.
Honestly, it didn’t matter to me what it was.
It was simply the first gift my Young Master had ever given me, and I would have cherished it just as dearly even if it had been a rotted branch.
Tap-tap-tap— tap-tap—!
I sprinted across the well-maintained Riverside Fields alongside my brethren.
Repeatedly turning over that memory from days past in my mind.
Since gaining consciousness, the gift I received from my master was.
The most vivid memory I possessed.
I kept touching my own cold palm, characteristic of a Blood Corpse.
Each time I did, the ring my Young Master had placed on my finger naturally brushed against my fingertips.
‘My master’s first command was to quietly patrol the surroundings.’
Even from a distance of roughly a hundred li away, I could sense my master’s presence distinctly.
In truth, now that I possessed consciousness, I could find my master across any distance.
But my fellow Blood Corpses hadn’t awakened consciousness, so if the distance from my master grew any greater, it would become problematic.
So I maintained precisely this distance.
Keeping watch over the surroundings with my Young Master at the center.
‘My master has stopped.’
‘We stop as well. We rest where no one’s gaze can reach us. Simultaneously, we eliminate any threats.’
‘We hunt for prey in the vicinity and consume it to replenish our strength.’
Based on all the learning thus far, rapid judgments and orders passed through me and my brethren.
The Blood Corpses concealed their presence silently in the darkness of night.
And began executing the “automatic hunting” command that Ilhyang had issued.
Thus I circled near my Young Master, carefully examining whether any dangers lurked about.
Then something changed.
I was twisting the head off a fish I’d caught from the river, removing its entrails.
When I sensed it from far within the darkness.
Something of unknown origin approaching at tremendous speed.
Moreover, judging by its trajectory, its path overlapped with the building where my master was resting.
Tap—
Having reached that conclusion, I ceased all action and immediately turned my head toward the left.
Following my lead, my brethren all shifted their gaze leftward in unison.
‘It comes.’
Ilho of the Blood Corpse.
His murky pupils dilated sharply.
He began rapidly scanning the unidentified something approaching from the left through the darkness.
Though consciousness had awakened within him only recently.
Ilho knew instinctively.
That whatever was approaching from that direction would pose a grave threat to my master.
‘Threats must be eliminated.’
As Ilho moved his fingertips.
From Iho in the distance to Yukho.
Five Blood Corpses moved silently, yet terrifyingly fast, toward the River Bank connected to the Rice Fields.
It was to preemptively cut off the path of whatever was approaching.
The remaining four, including Ilho, moved quietly to the right, forming an encirclement in a fan shape.
Moments later.
Near the boundary between the River Bank and the Rice Fields.
A peculiarly formed wild beast revealed itself.
Illuminated beneath the moonlight was a Red Fox with three tails.
The Red Fox positioned herself with perfect precision in the shadows at the river’s mouth.
She scrutinized each of the brothers hidden there, piercing through the darkness.
Then, with an expression brimming with curiosity, she spoke.
[To think you command corpses of such strength. You’re far more impressive than I imagined. Would you relay a message to your master? As we promised beforehand, I’ve come to meet face to face—tell him to come out quietly.]
Upon hearing the fox’s words, Ilho hesitated.
That fox was an extraordinarily dangerous existence.
She possessed power sufficient to cause considerable harm to my master.
‘A clear threat, yet should I allow her to meet my master?’
An unfamiliar situation.
Ilho could not render judgment immediately and wavered for a moment.
In the meantime, his companions waited for Ilho’s command with expressionless faces like puppets.
The judgment rested solely with Ilho.
Since consciousness had awakened within him.
Ilho found himself increasingly facing situations where he must assess and make decisions.
And.
‘Promises are important. They must be kept without fail.’
For some reason, such a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.
This was likely the influence of memories from his past life.
Yet what Ilho overlooked here was.
That the fox might have lied or employed deception.
But he could not yet render judgment on that matter.
Ilho gazed at his brothers for a moment, then immediately sent a [Consciousness] message to his master.
And then a response came from his master.
Moments later.
Piercing through the darkness, his master descended quietly onto the River Sandbank.
And gazing at the Three-tailed Fox, he smirked.
“You really came.”
Ilhyang let out a hollow laugh upon seeing the Three-tailed Fox sitting on the River Sandbank bathed in moonlight.
In the meantime, Ilho waited quietly in the darkness for his command.
The moment Ilhyang so much as flicked his fingertip, he was ready to pounce on the Three-tailed Fox.
“You’ve done well. Go rest.”
“….”
Disappointing—an order contrary to expectation.
Yet Ilho bowed his head toward Ilhyang with an obedient expression.
After staring at the Three-tailed Fox for a moment, he vanished from that spot like smoke.
Ilhyang then
faced the Intermediate Wind Spirit directly.
‘I was honestly worried you wouldn’t come.’
I couldn’t express how relieved I was that you actually showed up.
“So, what brings you here?”
Ilhyang posed the question while maintaining an outwardly indifferent expression.
The Three-tailed Fox tilted her head several times, then gazed intently at the young boy with the species’ characteristic endearing expression and spoke.
[I need your help. Will you assist me?]
“What’s the price?”
Ilhyang maintained an outwardly nonchalant demeanor.
But inwardly, I was pleased.
Nothing in this world is free, after all.
I didn’t know what this Three-tailed Fox wanted.
But it seemed I might easily obtain the spirit’s assistance.
‘Resources are abundant. Still, it’s good to conserve.’
The resources in the Jiao Long Faction were truly immense.
Using purely resources alone, I could purchase lower-tier elixirs and still raise one pillar of the Magic Tower.
And if I recovered the resources from the Yan Wang Faction and Blood Wolf Faction that I hadn’t fully collected yet?
Honestly, it didn’t seem like resources would be lacking for a while.
‘I’ll construct the Magic Tower’s pillars gradually.’
A Magic Tower cannot be completed with money alone.
Not just the structure itself,
but I had to invest considerable time and effort to inscribe semi-permanent magic circles for sustained use.
Still, once it’s somehow completed,
the Magic Tower would yield tremendous resources.
Once a Magic Tower is completed, the structure itself can draw in enormous amounts of mana.
With that mana, not only can climate changes occur within a certain range,
but automatic defense is also possible within designated areas.
‘And with the surplus mana remaining, I can even create elixirs or artificial mana stones!’
In this world, spirit elixirs were absurdly expensive.
If I played my cards right, I could become fabulously wealthy.
‘Which is precisely why I need to invest in the Magic Tower for the future.’
Spirit elixirs, essences, and mana stones were essential resources for any mage.
So yes, constructing the Magic Tower would demand an astronomical amount of resources immediately.
But considering the long term, I absolutely had to build it.
Though for now, I’d need to conserve my resources carefully.
‘From that perspective, receiving the spirits’ assistance would be beneficial in many ways.’
Spirits were inherently willful creatures, and raising their affinity was never easy.
But according to ancient texts,
if I exchanged with them in this manner, I could naturally form a contract.
‘In the Lower Dimension, I simply crushed them with force.’
Unfortunately, that brute-force approach required careful consideration here.
The spirits in this realm possessed physical bodies.
And not just any bodies, either.
‘The notoriously durable bodies of magical beasts.’
I couldn’t quite gauge how much power that small fox could wield.
It was difficult to estimate.
‘I’ll coax that creature gently—just need to reach the Fourth Circle, so I’ll humor her.’
When crossing from the Third Circle to the Fourth Circle,
there existed an invisible barrier.
This was one of the ‘Walls of Despair’ that every mage encountered for the first time.
Whether one could overcome this wall or not
determined a mage’s entire potential.
Though mages were naturally brilliant individuals called geniuses,
roughly ninety percent of them were destined to remain at the Third Circle for life.
‘Most simply cannot cross the barrier.’
To cross it simply,
the quantity of mana mattered, certainly.
But truthfully, that ceased to be a major problem once the Magic Tower was established.
What mattered far more
was overwhelming comprehension and enlightenment regarding mana itself.
And I already possessed those things.
‘I’ve already walked this path once before.’
So what I needed right now was a steadfast ally beside me, continuously channeling the pristine mana of nature.
‘So hurry up and ask. Tell me what you need!’
If that cunning fox helped me, I could conserve an entire inferior-grade essence.
And the price of a single inferior-grade essence?
‘That’s ten Nataryongwang-class sailing ships!’
In monetary terms, ten thousand gold coins.
This was no small resource at the current moment.
[So you’re not planning to help me easily?]
The Three-tailed Fox’s eyes narrowed.
Regardless of her reaction, Ilhyang had said what needed to be said.
“If something comes in, something must go out, right? If you need my help, you have to help me too.”
It was a fair trade.
But Ilhyang’s thoughts could not continue further.
Suddenly, violet light began to shimmer from the Three-tailed Fox’s narrowed eyes.
[I thought we could become friends.]
“…?”
[It’s fine. We can become friends even now.]
The Three-tailed Fox stepped forward.
The violet light flowing from her eyes grew even deeper.
She began to fully unleash the Blissful Overflow Technique that Cheonho had taught her.
‘A male cannot escape this.’
Fox demons possessed an innately powerful enchantment technique.
This was a racial trait granted to the Fox Demon Clan.
And among them, the king of fox demons.
The Nine-tailed Fox. The Blissful Overflow Technique that Cheonho had meticulously perfected.
Showed exceptional effectiveness against human males with particularly high intellect.
The extent of its effectiveness was such that.
During the great war that occurred in the Upper Realm in the past.
The Nine-tailed Fox alone used the Blissful Overflow Technique to extract and consume the hearts of nearly a thousand Immortals.
A tremendous mental domination technique capable of making one willingly offer their own living heart.
That was the true nature of the Blissful Overflow Technique created by the Nine-tailed Fox of the Upper Realm.
Though her cultivation was shallow, the Blissful Overflow Technique used by Sam-mi-ho remained only at stage two.
In the Lower Realm, this alone was more than sufficient.
The king of fox demons, Cheonho, had guaranteed it.
Indeed.
“….”
The Kid’s eyes, which had been indifferent moments before, gradually grew hazy and unfocused.
As if beholding some precious treasure.
Moving somewhat unsteadily, slowly.
A vacant smile spreading across his lips, he began to approach Sam-mi-ho.
‘Perfect! It worked!’
Sam-mi-ho now intended to enslave this boy and safely accumulate her cultivation.
Seeing how she commanded the Blood Corpse as she wished.
The Kid seemed quite resourceful.
Through this boy, Sam-mi-ho planned to secure her safety and extract a great many tributes.
Just as Sam-mi-ho was contemplating her next move.
A sudden gleam flashed through the Young Boy’s slightly unfocused pupils as he drew within arm’s reach.
‘Ah!’
The Three-tailed Fox startled and tried to pull her body back.
Kwaaaaak—
But before she could move.
The Young Boy seized the Three-tailed Fox’s throat with a powerful grip.
“Keng! Keh-hek!”
As the Three-tailed Fox cried out in shock at the sudden turn of events, her face twisted in alarm.
The Young Boy’s eyes had already filled with a mischievous, impish glint.
“You started this, didn’t you?”
“…!”
Terror bloomed in the Three-tailed Fox’s eyes as understanding dawned.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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