episode_0004

When a day had passed since I left the village, I was met by three bandits who seemed rather pleased to see me now.

Their rugged beards and impressive scars all over their bodies made it clear to anyone that they were indeed bandits.

“Hahaha! Little one, where are you rushing off to all alone?”

“To pass through this road, it’s common sense to seek permission from the noble ladies, kid.”

“Brother, that lad looks quite valuable with his half-and-half appearance, don’t you think he’d fetch a good price?”

I was almost moved by how consistently they repeated the same lines.

‘At least they’re staying true to themselves.’

From unique abilities to scenario changes, even a trembling encounter with Sineria that wasn’t planned.

I worried if these guys had changed as well, but it was needless concern.

Trembling as if scared, I opened my mouth.

“Please spare me, spare my life.”

Thinking my reaction would easily resolve the situation, they began approaching with smirks.

“If you lie down now and hand over everything you’ve got, we’ll spare your life.”

“We don’t want to damage the value of our merchandise. Come quickly before you get a beating, kid.”

As they approached, I subtly retreated towards the bushes, pulled out the safety pin of the sleep bomb in my pocket, turned around, and sprinted away at full speed.

‘5 seconds.’

“How dare this brat run away when things could have been settled nicely? If caught, know that one leg will be cut off!”

‘4 seconds.’

Glancing back briefly, I saw them veering off the path and running towards me.

‘3 seconds.’

With poor stats, if I had kept running until the end, I would have been caught within 20 seconds, but –

‘I only need 5 seconds now. 2 seconds. It’s now.’

I took out the sleep bomb from my pocket and threw it towards the bandits.

Bang!

As the dense white smoke settled, the bandits collapsed, asleep.

Originally planning to use paralysis poison obtained from the goblin lair, thanks to Sineria’s sleep bomb, the situation was resolved more smoothly.

Raising the axe they had, fortunately, it was heavy enough not to slip from their grasp.

With low strength stats, it might take several strikes to sever a neck, but perhaps that would be a fitting end for them.

“Well, consider it payback for all the people you’ve killed or sold.”

For a while, only the sound of axes chopping echoed through the forest.

“Phew…”

After cutting the last bandit’s throat, I covered them with dirt and leaves, completing the task.

[Main Scenario #0-1]

[Threats]

– Goblins (eliminated)

– Bandits (eliminated)

– Sineria

[Remaining Time: 4 days 12 hours 37 minutes 26 seconds]

With the successful elimination of the bandits, the main scenario threats have been dealt with.

‘Actually, the biggest problem is Sineria.’

Given that there hasn’t been any specific indication, it’s clear that she still has an impact on the failure of the scenario clearance.

She let me go, and with the power on this side, dealing with a disaster that cannot be currently resolved, heading to the academy seems to be the best course of action.

It took about two days to reach the Borea Territory, so I should arrive in a day.

Just one more day of walking, and the thought of bathing in warm water at the inn and lying comfortably in bed automatically put strength into my legs.

“Let’s go.”

*

“Cough. Cough. Have we finally arrived?”

Seeing the massive castle walls in front of me, I felt relieved.

What was supposed to take a day for the journey ended up taking three days.

‘I should have considered having strength, agility, and stamina at 1.’

Even with the same route that Yucal took two days to travel, my frail body couldn’t make it in the same time frame.

The axe and food have been discarded for a long time due to their weight, only money and water were taken care of.

Leaning on a wooden stick and crawling as if arriving is a good thing.

“If I could have awakened only my magic stat, I wouldn’t have suffered like this.”

It is possible to allocate stats from 1, but currently Yukal’s magic power is at 0, so it seems impossible.

To awaken the magic power stat, you need to take a Magic Awakening Pill or invite a magician for training, but for someone like me who is just a simple commoner and not a noble or a chaebol child, it is impossible.

Of course, if you have a specialization in magic, spirits, or are inherently sensitive to magic, you can handle magic without the above methods, but unfortunately, Yukal did not have any of these qualifications.

Only by going to the academy can I finally learn how to handle magic.

Rather than that –

【Time remaining: 1 day 14 hours 52 minutes 30 seconds】

“I’m running out of time.”

Tomorrow morning, I need to reserve a ticket for the magic train heading to the capital, and I also need to secure the means to pass the entrance exam for Ardent Academy in advance.

Finding an inn is secondary. Even if I have to seriously endure homelessness, those two things are must-do tasks.

Although I’m in a hurry, I should probably bathe by the nearby stream before entering the territory.

At this rate, I’ll surely be driven away by the soldiers at the gate.

Fortunately, after washing up cleanly and paying only the toll, I was able to enter.

The first place I headed to was the magic train ticket office.

“Excuse me, do you have any seats available on the fastest morning train to Artero tomorrow?”

“Just a moment, currently there is one seat each available in the 8:30 AM train’s 6-person compartment and 2-person compartment.”

“I’ll take the 2-person compartment, please.”

“Your reservation for the 8:30 AM train to the capital Artero has been confirmed. Yukal.”

“Thank you.”

Clutching the silver ticket handed by the staff, I could breathe a sigh of relief inwardly.

I was worried that I might not find a seat on the train since I’ve never arrived late in Borea Territory as Yukal, but luckily, I got the ticket.

“Now that I have the train ticket, I need to find a way to break the scenario.”

As the bustling crowd gradually thinned out in the lively downtown area, I moved towards the dilapidated back alley.

As I went further in, a foul smell emerged, and I began to see drunkards collapsed on the ground, people with tattoos on their bodies.

“If I turn left here…”

-Witch’s Antiques-

Falling apart, smaller than a studio apartment,

The solution to passing the entrance exam with my current stats, equivalent to a kid next door, lies here.

Without hesitation, as I opened the door, a creaking sound was heard.

Clink~

“Welcome, young one. So, what brings you here? Kekeke.”

The cluttered space filled with odds and ends, a hunched old woman with wrinkles sat behind the counter.

“Just wait a moment. Let me guess. You’re here because you want to curse someone, right? Write the person’s name on this doll, and they will writhe in agony until they meet their death.”

“Just an old rag doll.”

“Oh! If you have a girl you like, how about this? A charming potion that can make even a woman trying to kill you fall in love with you instantly! I can sell it cheap for 1 gold right now.”

“A cheap love potion.”

“How about a teacup that purifies any poison? You won’t die suddenly while drinking black tea.”

“Just a teacup with a simple flower pattern.”

Afterwards, the old woman recommended several more items, but I ignored them.

After all, except for one item, everything here is nothing but trash.

“How much for that rusty sword in the corner?”

“That old rusty sword? Give me 5 silver for it.”

Even considering that even high-quality wooden swords used by knights and nobles don’t cost a single silver, that old man must think he’s a huge swindler.

“I understand. Let’s buy it right away.”

Perhaps because of my eager response, the old man who regretted raising the price handed over the sword immediately.

As I was about to pay and leave, the old man threw a pouch at me.

“This is a service, kid. Kekkekkek.”

Since he probably gave me trash anyway, without checking, I casually stuffed it in my pocket and slowly went to buy the sword.

【Twisted Celestial Wooden Sword】

【Hero Grade】

【Exerts powerful strength. However, it absorbs the user’s stats. Absorbed stats are not recoverable.】

Just as I remembered.

Due to the fatal flaw of absorbing stats, I thought it was useless, used it once, and never touched it again, but now I have to use it.

Carefully holding the sword, I looked at the status window-

[Yukal – Lv.10]

Strength: 7(-6) Agility: 9(-8)

Stamina: 10(-9) Magic: 0

Remaining Points: 35

Trait: Adaptability

Skills: Swordsmanship Lv.1, Pyromancy Lv.1

Unique Ability: Balance

There was no change.

I was nervous at the thought of remaining points or existing stats being reduced, but fortunately, that didn’t happen.

The wooden sword recognizes and cannot absorb Strength, Agility, and Stamina stats below the minimum penalty of 1.

Given the circumstances, I had prepared for my stats to be reduced during the entrance exam, but with this…

“I could turn the tables during the entrance exam, couldn’t I?”