Chương 51: Goals

Adolin stood by the entrance of the dungeon… or where the entrance had once been. Now, it was gone. The cave stood empty, as though the dungeon had never existed in the first place. Not even a trace of mana remained inside the cave. Outside, everyone was accounted for. The two missing members had been teleported alone and ended up trapped in the first room of the dungeon, forced to clear it several times before they could escape. They had suffered a few wounds, but they would survive.

Edrin's skin had already taken on a darker tint, and the corruption was still trying to corrupt his core. Fortunately, there was still some time before it became a serious problem, so Adolin left it for later and decided to take a well-deserved break. That was another problem he would have to solve once it was time to purge the corruption from Edrin. The weapons the corrupted had wielded were left inside the dungeon.

They had been tainted by the corruption, and no one wanted to risk bringing that corruption outside the dungeon. So far, he had encountered several different types of corruption. Yet all of them felt connected somehow. He just hadn't figured out the connection yet. From the ambient corruption they had found in the forest, which acted like a parasite trying to spread itself and control creatures… to the core detonations the corrupted soldiers used to cause massive destruction with their devouring nature…

to the corrupted mana the general wielded as though it were normal mana. All of it was connected. Different forms of the same thing. He had an inkling that the corruption was far more complex than it first appeared. Like a different system entirely. Something artificial. Something brought into the world rather than born from it. Eventually, he would uncover the truth. He had a feeling the corruption would one day bring all the members of his party together again. He only hoped it wouldn't happen too soon.

It was already getting dark, so the soldiers began setting up luxurious tents in the burned section of the forest. Adolin had recovered some of his mana, but he still needed a little more before he could begin purging the corruption from Edrin. He also needed a way to contain the corrupted mana once it left Edrin's body. The dungeon core appeared in his hand, and he lazily spun it around his fingers. For now, it was the only container he had found capable of holding the corruption.

His plan was to force all of the corrupted mana into the core until he discovered a way to purify it. Or until the core itself was beyond saving. A few minutes later, his tent had been raised, and he went inside before sitting down. He opened his eyes once most of his mana had recovered. Then he told one of the soldiers to bring Edrin to him. Lira would have to wait a few more hours than he had originally planned. Edrin arrived a few minutes later.

Adolin used the same procedure he had performed on himself back inside the dungeon, though this time it was far slower and far more time-consuming. Edrin already had mana pathways opened throughout his body, which meant Adolin had to work in much smaller sections. Small enough that he could guide the corruption past the pathways without damaging them. The procedure took more than an hour.

By the time he finished, all of the corrupted mana, along with the mana it had infected, had been transferred into the dungeon core. Dozens of new green veins now pulsed beneath its surface. It hurt watching the core's potential be wasted like this, but he could always find a way to purify it later. Or simply clear another dungeon. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Edrin stretched his body.

"I already told them. Your secrets are safe." Adolin nodded.

"Any tip?" Edrin asked.

"Tip?"

"About your identity," Edrin said, scratching the back of his head. How was he supposed to answer that? Who did Edrin even think he was? Adolin had a feeling they had already come up with their own story about him. Some old Archmage that had come out of seclusion or something equally ridiculous. Well… maybe not. His mana capacity was still far too low for that. An apprentice of an Archmage still hidden in seclusion? That sounded more likely. Whatever it was, it was best to ignore it.

Nothing good would come from saying the wrong thing and having it taken out of context. That would only fan the flames further. He shook his head. Edrin simply chuckled at the response.

"Well, I need to catch up on some sleep." He walked toward the exit of the tent.

"Let's talk more tomorrow." Talk about what? Ugh. Adolin lay on the bed and closed his eyes. The physical attribute points had made his body much stronger and faster. He was still far from the peak he had reached in his previous world, but he was getting there. And it wouldn't even take that long. He was a mage, after all. His true strength had never come from physical power. If he had to guess, his body was already at least four or five times stronger than before.

The way the blessing strengthened his body was strange. He never actually felt the increase happen. There was no sudden surge of strength or awkward adjustment period. Instead, it felt as though he had always possessed that level of power, and his body had already adapted to it completely. He couldn't even begin to form a theory for how something like that was possible. It was the power of gods.

The other thing he found odd was that after a decade-long journey where he had barely gotten any time alone to truly relax, he was somehow doing the exact same thing again in this new world. He still didn't even have a home. He could have stayed in inns and disappeared for a while if he really wanted to, yet instead he kept traveling with a new party, simply moving forward with whatever madness happened around him. And the strangest part? He was actually having fun.

Sure, he still wanted to disappear for a few days and enjoy some peace and quiet, but that was all. His adventurous spirit had reignited somewhere along the way. The dungeons probably had something to do with it. And every day, he kept adding new goals to his already growing list. What made it stranger was that every single one of those goals had been something he had wanted to do in his previous life, but never had the chance to.

The convenience spells in particular had become something he genuinely loved in this new world. Though that was probably because there had been nothing convenient about his old one. He doubted he could live his second life without eventually getting dragged into trouble, so aligning himself with the nobles of this world was probably the best option. It would give him a more comfortable life, one where he could focus on completing the ever-growing list of goals he had set for himself.

And honestly, he didn't really mind the nobles here. At the very least, every one he had met so far had been decent. Eduard had technically kidnapped him and intended to keep him there until he healed the Count, but Adolin could understand why he had done it. And once Adolin decided to leave, Eduard hadn't tried to stop him. Nor had he caused any trouble afterward. He would probably end up working for them eventually.

Training mages in healing spells, dealing with more trouble from the church, and countless other annoyances. Still, in the end, it would likely be worth it. That was probably what Revel wanted to talk about. At least, that was his guess ever since he realized she knew about his healing spells. The caravan conveniently heading toward her territory only made it more obvious. Honestly, it made sense. And he couldn't really blame her for it. Still, his goals aligned with that direction anyway.

Working for her family for a while would earn him enough gold to buy himself a house with a nice garden that Luc would enjoy. And maybe even make Aylinth proud of his finances for once. After a few hours of sleep, he would teleport directly to Zent. Then, once he recovered enough mana, he would finally be able to cure Lira. That would mark the completion of his very first goal in this new world. With that thought in mind, he drifted off to sleep.