A Stuffed Cheonma in my Head - Chapter 7



Only Noblemtl

Episode 007. Taking the elixir

* * *

“Baron Barranquilla… … .”

He muttered, touching his chin.

Currently, I’m on the roof of their hideout and looking around.

The sunlight falling on my back is warm.

The view from high above was different from usual.

First of all, the view is different.

In the distance, where the forest was fading away, a village of people could be seen, and behind it, what appeared to be the lord’s castle stood tall.

They say that a man named Baron Barranquilla is looking after Gustave.

“Tsk.”

It’s a funny story.

The lord of a region is protecting the scoundrels.

Is this even possible?

People say that life is all the same, but it seems that life at the bottom of a cliff is not much different.

Of course, the expression of looking after them is a one-sided claim by Gustav and his party, and from the lord’s perspective, it is just a dirty card that can be thrown away at any time…

That doesn’t matter right now.

It seemed that the Baron had instructed Gustave to bring the dagger of Ophiuchus.

It is now unknown whether Gustav disobeyed the order and tried to swallow it, or whether he obediently tried to offer it up.

The important point was that Baron Barranquilla was also after the dagger of Oposis.

From below, the sound of people talking and various other noises could be faintly heard.

They were doing things like cleaning up the bodies of the dead and organizing the broken furniture, as instructed by me.

Most of them will pretend to move the body and escape under the cover of night.

After running away in all directions, they will secretly spread rumors that a handsome man has become the owner of the dagger.

If that happens, I will become the target of greedy ones who are after the dagger of Oposis.

Not Hans and his family.

“Ugh… … .”

I turned around and stretched.

Then the entire field of vision became filled with green.

Huh?

Green waves swayed in the wind.

The dense forest stretched far into the distance, and where the green ended, majestic cliffs rose high above.

I looked at the foggy cliffs.

“… … Wheein.”

It is indeed a steep cliff.

From the middle, it is covered in fog and you can’t see the end.

That cliff is where I fell, and where I was.

hometown.

‘I have to go back.’

But the question is ‘how?’

This is the first time I have fallen from that cliff. It is impossible to climb back up that unnecessarily high and steep cliff. This is something that Cheonmado had already declared.

It’s quite a detour to get back to my home kingdom of Maia.

The Misty Cliffs are so wide that they serve as the border between the Kingdom of Maia and the Kingdom of Blake.

There is also a way to use a teleportation magic circle, but the possibility is slim.

A commoner like me wouldn’t even be able to approach it.

The conclusion is simple and clear.

Anyway, we have to get out of this outskirts and go to the center, to the city.

I must return to the Kingdom of Maia and the arms of the Sherwood Mercenaries who will be waiting for me.

The mercenary guys will be worried about me… … .

The moment I thought about that, I remembered those guys who used to make fun of me and tease me for coming back defeated by a thirteen-year-old.

‘There’s a guy who came back after getting beaten up by a thirteen-year-old kid?’

‘And you said it was your first time holding a sword?’

‘This kid. Are you crying? Are you crying?’

‘Hehehe! Hahaha!’

“… … .”

… … Now that I think about it, I think it might be okay to go back with some time to spare.

Splash.

I clenched my fist.

Let’s get stronger first.

The stronger you become, the more choices you have.

… … and there’s no more teasing.

“Phew… … .”

I sighed and collected my thoughts.

First, let it be widely known that Hans is the master of the Dagger of Oposis, so that no one will come after him.

Second, find a way to return to the Kingdom of Maia.

Third, become stronger by learning from Cheonma.

In the process, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to grow by killing moth-like guys who swoop in after the dagger.

“Okay.”

After organizing it like that, my head feels clearer.

I asked Cheonma, who had been quietly watching my fight.

“Master. What did you see?”

[Pathetic guy.]

“… … .”

I wasn’t expecting praise, but I wasn’t expecting any bad comments either.

Cheonma clicked his tongue.

[He fought fiercely against that little brat.]

“But we won.”

[I’m proud.]

The sound of the horse clicking its tongue continued for a long time.

“Master.”

[What is it?]

“I survived, so teach me martial arts like you promised.”

[… … I was going to do that anyway. If I leave you alone, you’ll be defeated in an instant. I’ll teach you martial arts.]

“Okay.”

I stood up, preparing to draw my sword.

[But before that.]

“huh?”

[My internal energy is too shallow. In this state, no matter what martial arts I learn, I won’t be able to use them properly.]

“Oh, should I have some more breakfast?”

[No. You can’t just spend the whole day eating breakfast to gather your energy. It looks like you’ll be fighting that guy called the Baron soon.]

“yes.”

[Take the shortcut.]

“……shortcut?”

Cheonma said.

[It’s taking elixir.]

* * *

When we arrived at the village after riding all night, the sun was already rising.

The captain, who had brought in the employee dispatched from the mercenary guild as if kidnapping him, asked him in a nagging tone.

“Is this the right place?”

“Yes, yes. That’s right.”

The captain grabbed him by the collar and pulled him as if he was going to tear it off and asked again.

It was a voice like the growling of a beast.

“Answer me clearly. Is this the right place?”

The employee swallowed hard and answered in a trembling voice.

“Oh, yes, that’s right. Salos Village. The place where the extermination of the D-class beast that resembled a wild boar was requested. This is the correct place.”

The guild staff were thankful that they weren’t killed, even though they were frantically answering questions.

Because even when he went to the Sherwood Mercenaries to tell them his story, the cold murderous intent emanating from them felt like it would rip his heart out at any moment.

At the time, when the leader of the Sherwood Mercenaries, Guston the Greatsword, grabbed him by the collar, he really thought he was going to die.

A yaksha lived in his eyes.

He was truly a man who could kill a man with just a look.

Guston shouted, releasing the employee by the collar.

“Get off the horse!”

The entire Sherwood mercenary troop quickly dismounted and immediately began searching for the trail.

There was no need to look far.

Traces of the trees that the demon had knocked down stretched from the entrance to the forest all the way deep into the forest.

The Sherwood mercenaries exchanged glances and immediately started to follow the trail.

In addition to the traces of fallen trees, traces of blood scattered here and there caught my eye.

The bloodstain continued on for a long time, seemingly endless.

Those who saw it bit their lips in silence, or shut their eyes tightly as if they did not want to see it.

“… … This kid. How much blood has he lost!”

The captain’s roar echoed through the forest, but there was no one to answer.

Everyone just ran after the bloody trail with bloodshot eyes in silence.

* * *

I headed towards the forest near the foggy cliffs.

It was because of Cheonma’s words that there would be an elixir here.

“What is an elixir?”

[It refers to a magical medicine that is condensed with the energy of nature. It usually refers to plants. They are things that have taken root in places with good energy for decades and have grown by feeding on that energy. Is this the first time you’ve heard of this?]

I nodded.

“This is the first time I’ve heard of it.”

[Hmm. This place seems to be relatively ignorant about elixirs. Or maybe you’re just plain ignorant.]

“It must be the former.”

[If you do it right, you might be able to monopolize it.]

“I don’t like monopolizing.”

[Do you think I’m stupid?]

I asked as I walked through the forest step by step.

“How do you find that?”

[Find it by using your energy. If it’s as you said, people probably wouldn’t have come looking for it on purpose to take it, so if you’re lucky, it might be scattered all over the place. This should be fine. Close your eyes and concentrate.]

I remained silent and did as he said.

I didn’t sit cross-legged, but I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing, just like when I did the Unki breakfast.

[Spread the flag.]

“how?”

[Spread your energy in all directions as thinly and widely as possible. Do you remember the feeling of reading your enemies’ sword paths when fighting?]

“of course.”

[Think of it as expanding it. But it doesn’t have to be as detailed as it was then. Just roughly, instead of spreading it out widely. Spread it out like fog.]

“Fog. It was nice.”

I exhaled and released my energy.

“Phew… … .”

Slowly, my senses expanded.

I could feel the energy of the creatures around me.

Trees, unknown plants, and even small animals like birds and squirrels.

[Can you see it?]

“Show me.”

[There must be something special among them, so look for it.]

It was a rough explanation, but it was enough.

Indeed, there was a special energy.

“… … found it.”

I approached it with my eyes still closed.

When I opened my eyes, there was a small grass in front of me.

Bright red berries, resembling beans, were clustered together and blooming like flowers, with five leaves supporting the base.

Cheonma said.

[It’s ginseng. It’s quite a rare item, but it’s so easy to find. If martial artists who are crazy about elixirs saw this, they’d roll their eyes.]

“Should I call it?”

[Then should I tell you to come and look for it?]

“… … .”

I dug up a plant called Sam while grumbling.

Since I didn’t have a proper shovel, I had no choice but to dig the ground with the Ophiuchus dagger.

It was a strange plant whose roots strangely resembled people.

Despite the thin stem, the seeds were thicker than expected.

It was about half the length and thickness of my forearm.

Indeed, just as Cheonma had said, I felt a mysterious energy.

[Eat.]

“… …Like this?”

[Were you thinking of cooking something to make a fortune? Shut up and eat.]

“yep.”

I shook off as much of the dirt as I could from the roots and then took a big bite.

But as soon as I chewed it, I spit it out.

“Ugh.”

It’s because I used too much.

This world wasn’t bitter.

Cheonma suddenly shouted.

[You idiot. How precious is that? Don’t you hurry up and eat it? Are you in a position to be picky about what you’re using right now?]

I had no choice but to put the spit I had spat out back into my mouth and chew it.

[If you spit one more time, I’ll blow your head off. Chew it thoroughly and don’t miss a single root.]

I didn’t want my head to explode, so I held it in and chewed it all up before swallowing it.

“… … !”

It was definitely worth it.

A huge amount of energy was tickling my stomach.

[From now on, it’s important. You have to control that energy and make it all yours.]

I immediately sat down cross-legged.

[Exhale through your breath to expel all the dirty energy and poisonous energy, and extract pure energy and store it in your danjeon.]

“Phew… … .”

I took a deep breath and went straight to breakfast.

‘You must not miss a single prayer.’

This fight made me realize the importance of internal energy.

You can now use Aura, but it is useless if you have no more energy left.

I concentrated all my energy and sweated profusely to control my energy.

I don’t know how time passed.

After a while, the energy in my stomach turned into pure internal energy and was completely accumulated in my danjeon.

A huge amount of internal energy was accumulated in the danjeon, incomparable to the energy gathered through a day of exercise.

“oh……!”

It was worth it, as hard as it was.

It wasn’t for nothing that Cheonma was called a shortcut.

[There’s still a long way to go. You’ve already found one as soon as you start searching, so there must be three more. Find them and repeat this process.]

“… …! There’s more?”

[Yeah. Are you sure you don’t want to say you don’t want to eat it when you’re not even a kid?]

I answered with a snicker.

“No way.”

By eating one root of ginseng, he accumulated in his danjeon the amount that he would have gained by eating the same amount of energy as he would have gained by eating the same food for ten days.

How can I complain about the bitter taste?

It felt as sweet as honey.

“I will chew them all up without leaving a single one behind.”

I immediately spread my wings and started looking for Sam.

A smile escaped his twisted lips.

“Hehehehe.”

[… … .]

That day, I chewed and ate ten pieces of sam.

However, the bitter taste did not suddenly turn into sweetness, so I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down my face.

“Master, these are tears of joy. Don’t misunderstand.”

[Stop talking nonsense and just have breakfast.]

… … The road to becoming stronger was long and arduous.