As I moved according to the map, a rugged terrain appeared.

‘It’s already tiring.’

No matter how much my stamina had improved, it was still not enough to move like the other students.

‘This is why I need elixirs.’

Since I can’t buy them every time, I have no choice but to run like this.

‘What Go Wontae requested was the Medicinal Divine Herb.’

He said that if I pulled out a few roots of it, he would make me a medicine that could alleviate my weak constitution. There was a risk, but the reward was certain, so I didn’t hesitate.

‘It was getting dangerous anyway.’

With the [Time-Limited Life] debuff eating away at my lifespan, I had to find a way to get healthy somehow.

As I started climbing the mountain, there was an energy that was caught by the energy sense of [Absolute Magic].

“Is this a perception-disrupting formation?”

A type of maze formation that makes even skilled ginseng hunters lose their way and turn back.

I was amazed as I sensed this formation that was spread over a considerably wide area.

‘They’ve hidden it so well.’

To unfold a large-scale formation of this size without being noticed would require enormous cost and calculation.

‘It means the elixir field is that valuable.’

I broke through to a point where the influence of the formation was weak and headed inside. Then, coniferous trees and oak trees that were growing at intervals came into view.

‘In this case, is it a forest formation?’

I suddenly recalled what I had seen in the formation book. A forest formation refers to a method of creating the effect of a formation by planting and trimming tree species that are suitable for the terrain.

It was usually used to reduce costs and increase its stability.

Just like the formation on the training mountain of the Martial Academy was made by carving a rocky mountain on the earth’s veins.

As I moved forward, neutralizing the disorienting effect created by the formation, a faint mist on the mountainside came into view.

The small dewdrops and water droplets floating in the air mesmerized my vision like a prism.

In this way, the energy of wood and the energy of water were mixed to form an illusion formation.

‘If I get caught up in this by mistake, I’ll become a vagrant.’

I moved forward, breaking through the formation.

The hazy mist sometimes became a green meadow, and at other times, it became a snowy field with white frost.

It was a low-level illusion that just dizzied the eyes, but it was a formation of a level that a low-level formation master would have been swept away by.

‘I’ll reach the inner formation soon.’

Just as I was thinking that after walking for a while, I saw stone tombs with a different atmosphere from before.

“The real thing has appeared.”

A large-scale formation is usually composed of an outer formation that prevents ordinary people from approaching, and an inner formation that seriously excludes intruders.

The stone tomb in front of me was proof that I had reached the inner formation in earnest. I have to be on my guard from now on.

I cautiously examined the structure of the formation.

“They’ve mixed in a security formation as well.”

It was a security formation with a structure that sent a signal to a nearby barracks when one entered the formation.

A formation with a structure that couldn’t be escaped, where the security alarm would ring the moment it was detected.

But I had my own way.

‘I’ll use the sloppiness of this large-scale formation.’

In the case of an automatic formation, it usually cannot distinguish between animals and humans. This was similar to a radar. The smaller it was, the harder it was to detect.

In the first place, a large-scale formation was difficult to recognize with a sensitive sense, and even if a high-sensitivity formation was created at great cost, it was inefficient because a martial artist would have to come running even if a mountain rabbit passed by.

As such, in the case of a large-scale formation, it was usually set to a moderate level of sensitivity.

‘So I’ll exploit that gap.’

I imbued the water stones I had brought with mana and scattered them at a point where the energy of the barrier was weak.

Then, the overflowing energy of earth in the surroundings gradually faded as if it were seeping in, and a faint hole began to form in the formation. As if a paper window were getting wet with water.

‘Now I’ll block the signal.’

In this kind of large-scale formation, there is also a security formation in preparation for a crisis. If you rush in just because you’ve broken through the formation, you’ll just be hunted down as an intruder.

After struggling for a while, I sensed a formation hidden under the ground like a fiber optic cable below the stone tomb.

It was a security formation that was so cleverly hidden that it would have been difficult to notice if I hadn’t been sure it would be in this place.

It was a principle similar to hacking. It is relatively easy to break through security with hacking. But not getting caught is very difficult.

I took out the ceremonial daggers from my bosom.

The attribute of this security formation right now contains the energy of earth and metal. It was a formation of an attribute that was often used for traps because it was immediate and stable.

‘Then I’ll have to match it.’

I imbued the two daggers with mana and simultaneously put lightning magic and earth-attribute enhancement magic into them.

“It’s not easy.”

Handling two attributes of magic at the same time was quite tricky. If it weren’t for the talent of [Absolute Magic], I wouldn’t have even thought of trying fusion magic at the first circle.

The blades vibrated at high speed. After finishing all the preparations, I immediately stabbed both daggers into the boundary surface of the formation.

Crackle!

Then, electricity sparked, and a current flowed between the two daggers.

I poured all my nerves into controlling the output and properties of the mana so that the security formation would not operate.

“…It’s damn tricky.”

The circle overheated from the backflowing energy, and cold sweat broke out all over my body. Right now, I was in the same position as a technician replacing a wire on a high-voltage line.

If I made even a slight mistake, I would be swept away by the energy of the security formation and explode.

I forgot to breathe and read the flashing airflow in front of me.

‘Now!’

Finally, after matching the wavelength of the daggers to the target depth, I imbued it with mana.

Woooong!

Then, the security formation, which had been trembling as if resonating for a moment, soon became quiet. With that, I felt the formation that had been blocking the front open.

“I did it!”

At the moment of success, I let out a ragged breath and sat down on the spot. The two daggers stuck in the ground had cut off the formation in the middle and then reconnected it, like a circuit.

If I had failed to connect the formation because I couldn’t match the wavelength before the security formation was activated, I would have been facing the elite martial artists of the Geummun Merchant Guild in an exhausted state by now.

‘I’ve bought 20 minutes with this.’

I stood up on my trembling legs. What I had done was to insert a program in the middle that bypassed the security formation.

However, unlike the power of a computer, the mana I had imbued into the daggers I had stuck in had a limit, and a time limit was naturally created.

If my level had been high, I could have even used the energy of the security formation to my advantage, but…

‘I don’t have enough power for that yet.’

As I passed through the formation, my vision changed drastically, and in an instant, a rugged terrain unfolded as if it had sprung up before my eyes. I first felt the feeling of naturally abundant mana pooling, rather than the energy of a formation.

‘Is this the elixir field?’

As I focused my five senses on the mana, my blurry vision became clear, and a pointed, high-mountain terrain that looked like it came from an ink wash painting appeared.

I thought it was an elixir field, so I thought they were really cultivating elixirs on a flat land, but now that I see it, it looked as if they had moved the seeds of elixirs to a rugged terrain where the earth’s veins had pooled.

‘This is the driving force that made the Geummun Merchant Guild one of the six major merchant guilds in the Central Plains.’

I began to classify the numerous elixirs buried between the rock walls. Thanks to having read the herb encyclopedia, I had enough knowledge about elixirs.

The blue flower over there is the Four Spirits Flower, the red one over there is the Hundred-Year-Old He Shou Wu. And the one over there is…

‘Found it!’

At the end of my gaze was the brilliantly colored Medicinal Divine Herb.

The location of the Medicinal Divine Herb was below the top of a rocky mountain. It seemed I had no choice but to climb the mountain.

‘Nothing comes easy.’

Just as I was about to take a step, I stopped in my tracks. I felt a sense of déjà vu from the surrounding terrain.

‘The surroundings are tilted.’

Not only where I was standing, but all the boundary surfaces of the formation were located at a low and flat point.

As if it were designed to be easy to look down from a high place in the center.

I cautiously pulled up my mask and lowered my stance. And then I scattered a few mana-infused stones to create a stealth formation.

After waiting for a while, someone appeared in the distance and then disappeared. It was a martial artist who was patrolling in shifts.

‘That was close.’

In a place like this, there is usually a mountain keeper who protects the elixirs.

Since it was a wide and rugged terrain, I wouldn’t be easily caught if I was careful, but it was better to be cautious.

‘I need to make my presence faint.’

I gathered the mana and qi of my whole body and came out of the stealth formation. A martial artist who guards a place like this would be a considerable master.

If I get caught, it’s the end.

‘Normally, I should move cautiously.’

But the time I had secured was about 20 minutes. I have to move quickly before the security formation is activated.

My gaze sank as I stood in front of a cliff that seemed to have been cut down.

“Hoo.”

In my current state, it was not an easy challenge. But I had to climb up even if it meant enduring the muscle pain throughout my body. I climbed up the cliff, exercising my trembling grip.

I supplemented my insufficient muscle strength with mana enhancement, and in situations where there was nothing to grab, I created a foothold by generating a shield in the air.

After climbing about ten meters like that, the elixir closest to the path finally appeared.

‘First, one.’

I dug out a root of the Hundred-Year-Old He Shou Wu, put it in the basket I had brought in advance, and then climbed up the next cliff.

On the next path was the blue-colored Four Spirits Flower. The yin energy it contained was strong, so it was an item that martial artists who practiced yin arts couldn’t buy even if they wanted to.

‘It’s a pile of money everywhere.’

Elixirs that cost from thousands to tens of thousands of nyang per root were blooming here and there.

The highest among them is the Medicinal Divine Herb. It’s an artificially cultivated divine herb. Its effect is lower than a natural elixir, but it has a medicinal effect that cannot be compared to an ordinary elixir.

I cautiously dug out the root of the Medicinal Divine Herb.

‘I should end it here.’

I wanted to be more greedy, but I was running out of time. I immediately moved my trembling legs and started to climb down the cliff.

‘This is dangerous.’

Usually, climbing down a cliff is much harder than climbing up.

But I had a magic shield.

‘This is magic.’

I floated a shield in the air, stepped on it, and slowly began to descend.

If I had my way, I would have wanted to climb up and down on a magic shield, but since telekinesis magic, which requires knowing how to handle dynamic coordinates, not fixed coordinates, was an ability that could be used from the third circle or higher, I had no choice but to give up.

Just as I reached the ground, I felt a chilling presence from above.

Clang!

At the same time, the magic shield shattered. Thanks to reflexively ducking my body, it ended with a graze, but if not, my head would have been blown off long ago.

‘Damn it!’

An arrow was being shot from the top of the mountain in the distance. It was a mountain keeper hired by the Geummun Merchant Guild.

Although he was called a mountain keeper, his true identity was a high-ranking martial artist.

‘An archer?’

Even though the distance was this far, the arrow was unbelievably fast.

I reconstructed the shield and at the same time, I burst a sphere of light to obstruct the opponent’s vision.

Shatter!

The magic shield shattered again.

Fortunately, the aim was off because of the flash light, so it was a glancing blow, but as a result of the magic that had been layered two or three times shattering in one blow, a chunk of mana was drained.

“This is crazy.”

I was short on mana. No matter how much I burst a flash with light magic to obstruct the vision, there was a limit. If this continued, I would be sniped and die before I could even get out of here.

‘It can’t be helped. I have no choice but to use my last resort.’

While running away, I took out an elixir from the basket and chewed on it. A familiar bitter taste filled my mouth. It was the Hundred-Year-Old He Shou Wu I had dug up earlier.

In an instant, mana swells up in my body. Energy flows through the mana circuit, and my whole body overflows with strength.

At that moment, an arrow was shot. I immediately formed a mana shield behind my back.

Claaang!

This time, the arrow didn’t shatter and was stuck in the air. I had lost a lot of mana from that defense, but it was okay. Because I still had many elixirs.

The problem was that the speed of the mountain keeper who was running in real time was unusual. To the point where I would be caught within tens of seconds.

‘I’ll have to use plan B.’

I had a plan prepared for a situation like this. Soon, I, who had reached the edge of the formation where a pile of stones was clustered, took out the ceremonial daggers.

Woooong-

Then, the large-scale formation began to operate. I could see the mountain keeper, who had already approached that far, increasing his speed.

It’s impossible to shake off a master like that by relying on mobility anyway.

I additionally swallowed a Four Spirits Herb. Goosebumps rose from the coldness that spread throughout my body. It was extremely dangerous because the energy of the Hundred-Year-Old He Shou Wu had not yet been fully settled.

A clash of dense energies. It wouldn’t have been strange to enter qi deviation right away, but the talents of [Absolute Magic] and [Limitless Martial Body] made it possible.

I opened my eyes, feeling the elation spreading throughout my body. I had already entered the middle of the formation.

After briefly looking around, I felt something rushing towards me at a fast speed from one side of the formation.

Seeing him rush in, avoiding all the death gates on the path, he seemed to have some knowledge of formations as well.

“Still, it was a mistake to enter alone.”

I took out the jade stones I had procured for today from my bosom and imbued them with a considerable density of mana. And then I scattered the jade stones on the floor as if scattering rice grains on a wooden board at a fortune teller’s.

Then, the jade stones began to react as if vibrating according to the situation in the area, like a minimap.

After confirming this, I immediately took out another elixir from the basket and bit into it. Since I had been discovered anyway, they wouldn’t let me go easily.

So I was planning to show them properly this time.

“Let’s do this.”

What happens when a mage who can use mana infinitely makes up their mind.

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep