NOVEL FROG Chapter 28: A Mage’s Cave
[Magic Cave]
[Description: You’ve discovered a cave belonging to a mage. What does this mean? Investigate the mysterious cave and its implications for the Eternal Village. Choose the right path and don’t regret it.]
[Objective: Use the mysterious cave for the benefit of the Eternal Village.]
[Progress: 0/11]
[Rewards: 11 attribute points (redeemable each time you progress).]
A new mission? How unexpected…
Jonn was about to ponder it when another system message wiped the smile off his face.
{Ding!}
{-1 progress point on the mission [Save the Eternal Village].}
“What?” Jonn suddenly shouted in disbelief, experiencing for the first time the setback of losing progress in saving his village.
He paused at the entrance of the dark tunnel, holding a torch in his hand with an unpleasant grimace on his face. For almost a minute, he continued to stare into the dark passage ahead, deep lines of concern etched on his forehead.
What just happened? Why did I lose my progress?
But there were no answers to his questions. He could only guess what it meant.
Does this new mission have anything to do with it? Does this place I’m in have the potential to take me further away from completing the mission to save the village?
The more he thought about it, the more worried he became.
If that’s really the case, then I can assume that there are other variables that could threaten the fate of the village and my progress in the [Save the Eternal Village] quest...
That’s a problem!
He ordered the system to show him his status, curious about something. He focused on the part that was most important to him right now.
{Quests: [Save the Eternal Village (-1)]; [Magic Farm]; [Magic Cave].}
[Save the Eternal Village]
[Progress: 3 (4)/20]
His eyes widened, and his neck veins popped out.
“Fuck!”
That was a mistake. I’m going to make three advances to reach the next attribute point opportunity!
That’s if nothing else hinders me from continuing until the sixth milestone!
It was then that he realized his circumstances could eventually put him in a passive position where he wouldn’t be able to progress.
The system made it very clear to him that one further progress would not benefit him. If he wanted to improve again, he would have to come up with two contributions.
But Jonn tried not to despair. He had a new mission and his fate was not yet decided. At least he believed that.
I will try to maintain a positive outlook. It seems that the missions in the system are interconnected, based on the missions I have received so far. The [Magic Cave] mission poses a threat to the village, whereas the [Magic Farm] mission holds promising potential for assistance. Both missions are tied to the overarching objective of [Save the Eternal Village], leading me to deduce that system missions occur when significant events impact the fate of the village or its inhabitants.
“Sigh! This is tricky. It’s a game that can quickly harm me, but it also has its potential to contribute,” he muttered as he walked forward again into the dark tunnel of the mysterious cave.
With the torch in his left hand and the Celestial Magnifying Glass in his right, Jonn made his way to an area that didn’t look like an ordinary cave, as the tunnel he had initially followed seemed to suggest. The area he reached had smooth stones with unique shapes, forged by human hands, or at least by something conscious and with great skill.
The walls were carved with reliefs and representations of creatures Jonn didn’t know, but even if he knew Valorian creatures intimately, he wouldn’t understand such things. These were artistic representations and not true to the real forms of what they might represent.
There were also three passages, two of which led to red wooden doors, while the other was a tunnel that led deeper into the cave.
The floor was paved with some kind of smooth stone, and in the middle of the area was what looked like a supporting pillar. But this was no ordinary pillar. There was a representation of a human bust, as well as some texts that Jonn could understand.
‘Count Francus Riverash, 365 b.w., Eldoria.
Here lies my eternal rest.’
Jonn could not understand the rest of the symbols. The words seemed jumbled, covered in a thick layer of mana that even the Celestial Magnifying Glass could not penetrate.
Such a man was a powerful mage.
Jonn slowed his steps and looked around more calmly. There were no cobwebs, not even small animals. Such creatures could hardly live in the Barren Hills of Deepshadow. Except for the black dust that covered the place, there was nothing else to be seen but the old building.
Jonn couldn’t fully read the texts left by Count Francus Riverash, but he could clearly feel the flow of mana towards the dark corridor in front of him.
He also noticed that the concentration of mana in this cave was much higher than in normal areas of the Barren Hills of Deepshadow, at least ten times higher than in the walled area of the village.
If any of his fellow villagers came there, they wouldn’t last more than a few minutes before falling ill!
Jonn withstood the mana well, using the advantage of being a mage himself to filter the essence that touched his skin and entered his body through his lungs, so as not to be poisoned.
Even a mage can suffer from mana poisoning!
A mortal incapable of manipulating mana would have their body corrupted when in mana-rich areas. A mage would not suffer the same, as their own mana would filter the surrounding mana, transforming some of that external mana into their mana and expelling the excess. But beyond the mage’s ability to absorb mana, this could cause them to over-inflate their base and lose control, leading to the destruction of their soul.
Jonn had a special instinct for this since he became a mage and knew not to trust his body’s mana too much.
But the cave he was in now wasn’t dangerous enough for him to fear it. At least not for an hour.
I should have an hour before this place goes negative on me. I’ll see what I can do quickly.
He checked what was behind the doors closest to him, leaving what seemed most relevant to the place for the end of his exploration.
He had already noticed that there were no active traps in this cave, although he had seen some structures that seemed to serve that purpose.
These mechanisms have become oxidized and clogged with dirt. Even magical items have their limits... Without proper maintenance, they lose their abilities over time.
This cave is at least several decades old. If I’m not mistaken, its owner must have died here during the Third Magic War.
Jonn opened the first of the two doors and found what looked like a resting place. It was an area of about 40 square meters, with a simple single bed in one corner, a small cupboard with some books, a small table with only one chair, maps, study materials such as a compass, a pen, lots of papers, etc. There was also a kitchen and a small bathroom, with some personal items and food on a small shelf.
The food that was still in good condition was canned or in mason jars. The rest had rotted to the point where there was almost nothing left.
Jonn went to the second door, where he found a more interesting place for him, where 30 books were on a shelf, but also a small arsenal, capable of arming the village guard.
“Now that’s what I call wealth.” Jonn muttered, picking up a golden-bladed dagger and sighing.
His version of improved weaponry was even better than the ones Acelin had traded. But he immediately picked up something that far surpassed what he had helped to create.
[Mysterious Magic Dagger]
[Characteristics: *********.]
[Durability: 100/100]
[Item Class: Unusual]
[Quality: Well Crafted]
[Weight: 2.9 kg.]
The system wasn’t able to qualify the characteristics and benefits one would gain from wielding the blade, but Jonn felt a critical difference in the handling of the weapon compared to others he’d used.
I’m pretty sure my [Dexterity] has increased. But given the quality of the weapon, my attack power should be greater as long as I use it.
The only problem is its weight.
He looked at the other artifacts and thought that the dagger in his hands was the lightest.
I’ll be able to use it well. But the villagers will have to train hard to achieve that, even if they only use the dagger. As for putting on the armor, even I wouldn’t be able to do that now.
He looked at the only armor, a full body armor, completely silver and with some symbols that Jonn didn’t know, but he knew they represented the origin of its former owner.
Jonn put the weapons aside after checking other of these tools until he stopped next to the books.
I’ll take the books back to the village. I’ll leave the weapons here. In the meantime, I have to learn how to deal with the traps in this cave and make sure that curious people don’t get here.
{Ding!}
{+2 progress points on the quest [Magic Cave].}
...
[Magic Cave]
[Progress: 2/11]
“Oh?”
The messages in his vision brought positive surprises, and he quickly gained two attribute points.
Jonn added them to [Intelligence], which would guarantee him more time in the extremely concentrated mana cave.
{Name: Jonn Irondoom}
{Age: 17}
{Level: 1 (83%)}
{Reputation: Level 4 “Elder of the Eternal Village!”}
{Stats:
[Health: 174] [Mana: 183 (213)] [Stamina: 154]}
{Attributes:
[Strength: 15.1] [Agility: 14.3] [Dexterity: 14.1 (**)]
[Constitution: 17.4] [Endurance: 15.4] [Intelligence: 18.3 (21.3)]
[Wisdom: 15.1 (18.1)] [Charisma: 10.5 (13.5)] [Luck: 10 (12)]}
{Resistances: None}
{Skill: [Analysis]; [Essence of Life]; [Projection].}
{Artifacts: [Wildheart Talisman]; [Mysterious Magic Dagger].}
With a gleam in his eye, Jonn made his way out of the second area, eventually coming upon the dark corridor that led to the end of the cave. There, he continued his search for more attribute points until he came to a set of stairs that led even deeper into the cave.
Here, Jonn found what he had expected: a rectangular urn in the middle of the area, surrounded by withered flowers, with mana crystals visible on the ground.
Jonn’s eyes widened as he saw these reddish essences glowing with the reflection of his torch flame.
“Those...”
“Aether Tears? Red?” he said, having thought that all Aether Tears were the green color of those growing in his village.
As he took a closer look at this crypt, he would soon realize the origin of these red crystals and what they could do to those who absorbed them!
////Novaro////
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