NOVEL NEXT Chapter 38
38. Prospects For The Future?
I was making my way through the forest to the west of the capital.
I heard that the place where magic crystals can be collected is up ahead.
According to Ginette-san’s story, my skills should come in handy for the collection.
“By the way, are there other variations of this skill, Goddess?”
I tried calling out in my mind, but there was no response.
During the battle with the Demon General Gyrasvrim, I met a young girl version of the Goddess in the Inner Space and learned about the skill.
Since then, I’ve called her many times, but there has been no response.
At that time, I was under a lot of tension and my emotions were running high, so maybe you need a high level of tension to communicate.
“Ilfaria… that’s what she said.”
When it comes to gods widely worshipped on the continent, names like Galera, also called the Supreme God, or Vim Fors, the war god revered by mercenaries, come to mind, but I’ve never heard of Ilfaria.
Come to think of it, she referred to herself as a lost ancient god.
No, now it’s more about exploration than the Goddess.
After a while, I reached the destination—the grove of Tree Bombs.
“What, are you here to collect too?”
There was already someone at the destination.
Several adventurers were looking at me.
It seems these people are also collecting magic crystals.
But there are plenty of trees and no competition.
“Be careful today, Tree Bombs are particularly active.”
“Thanks for the advice.”
Grateful for the adventurers’ advice, I looked again at the Tree Bombs.
Trees about ten meters tall, blooming flowers resembling roaring flames, and beautiful gem-like fruits at the end of the branches.
Magic crystals—crystals imbued with strong magic power.
Tools that use magic technology mostly rely on this as an energy source, but it’s hard to collect, and demand exceeds supply.
Therefore, they are quite valuable.
“Just have to pull them out…”
I grabbed a nearby fruit.
“Hey, stop, it’s dangerous! Cast a defensive spell first!”
The adventurers warned me with a frightened look.
“Could you please step back a bit?”
I urged them to keep their distance so they wouldn’t get involved.
“No, I said, cast a spell—”
“It’s okay.”
With confidence, I said, and the adventurers muttered things like, “Whatever happens, we don’t know…” and “Young people these days are reckless…” as they stepped back.
Making sure they were far enough away, I grabbed the magic crystal fruit again.
As soon as I took it from the branch, an intense flame magic and a barrage of seeds should be unleashed.
It’s a kind of defense mechanism to protect the crystals, as Ginette-san at the reception desk said.
In short, both physical and magical attacks come at once.
So when collecting crystals, it’s essential to use an uncommon class of defensive spells to protect oneself.
However, defensive spells, for example, if they’re for physical attacks, won’t protect against magical attacks, and vice versa—you can’t defend against everything evenly.
Usually, you have to double up on defense spells for physical and magical attacks with different attributes.
However, only high-ranking magicians can do this, and it’s quite a hassle.
Well, that’s why they’re valuable.
I plucked the gem-like fruit with a thud.
“So this is a magic crystal…”
I was fascinated by the crystal, sparkling beautifully in the dappled sunlight.
The next moment, my field of vision was dyed red with flames.
And countless seeds turned into arrows.
Simultaneous attacks of flame and seed bullets.
A high metallic sound echoed around me.
It was the sound of [Armor Phase] repelling the flames and seeds.
In the face of the god’s absolute defense skill, simultaneous physical and magical attacks are ineffective.
To ensure that the other adventurers wouldn’t get involved, I reflected everything in a direction where there was no one.
“What, what kind of magic is that!?”
“When did you chant!?”
“You didn’t even double up on spells… Who are you?”
The adventurers buzzed all at once.
I gave them a slight nod and grabbed the next fruit.
Again, flames and seed bullets erupted.
Of course, I was unharmed.
One more.
Another counterattack is coming, but I’m unharmed.
Alright, let’s keep going like this.
Just be careful of the skill’s duration, and I continued collecting crystals.
“Amazing! Did you collect this many!?”
When I returned to the guild reception, Ginette-san’s eyes widened.
“There were quite a few, so I brought as many as I could carry.”
“You need to double up on defense spells every time you collect one, so how did you get so many? Usually, even if you spend a day, you can only get a few.”
“Defense spells are my specialty.”
I had collected about thirty.
And I couldn’t carry them all in my arms, so I stopped at that number.
If there was a way to transport them, I could have collected a hundred or two hundred.
“…To complete a Rank A request so brilliantly. You have prospects for the future. You’re a bit younger, but your face isn’t bad either. Yeah, you need to work hard.”
Ginette-san was staring fixedly at my face for some reason.
Her eyes were sparkling.
“Huh?”
“Oh, no. I haven’t met anyone yet, but I long for marriage, and I’d like to find a good partner before I turn thirty… I mean, I meant, can I buy the magic crystals you collected, Hart? There’s a standard fee, and—”
She quickly returned to her original expression and started explaining in a businesslike manner.
But occasionally, she would look at my face and sigh in a troubled manner.
I wonder what’s wrong?
After that, I went back and forth between the guild and the forest about ten times and collected a total of three hundred crystals.
In just one day, I earned three hundred silver coins, or in other words, thirty gold coins.
It’s a sum that could sustain an ordinary household for a year.
It was clearly a huge profit.
However, there’s a limit to how many crystals can be harvested, and it seems it’s not good to over-harvest, so it’s better to save some for future collection.
Until now, there haven’t been many people who could collect hundreds of crystals in a day like me, so there hasn’t been a problem with over-harvesting.
“I’ll consult with the higher-ups about how much you can collect in a day.”
That’s what Ginette-san said.
That’s how my first job ended.
When I left the guild, the sun was already beginning to set.
“Oh, it’s almost time for the appointment.”
Tonight, Lilith and the others are throwing a little party to celebrate my becoming an adventurer.
I’m looking forward to it.