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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Magic Genius with Korean Patch
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During the journey that began after leaving Brea Village.
Bolton showed Jeon quite a bit of goodwill.
"You can ride in the cart if there's empty space while we're moving."
"Is it okay for just me to do that?"
"Haha, of course. You're a customer worth a whopping 5 million credits, after all."
He said it jokingly, but Bolton was clearly being considerate of Jeon.
Unlike the other adults, Jeon was just a boy, so he suggested it first, thinking the long journey might be tough on him.
Of course, Jeon had no intention of refusing such consideration.
Rumble, rumble.
As soon as he climbed onto the baggage cart, the feel of the bare wooden bottom transmitted straight through his buttocks.
In his previous life, he would have complained about this beggar-like ride, but compared to rolling around as a slave in the exploration team just a short while ago, it felt incredibly comfortable.
'Back then, I was walking around barefoot.'
Compared to those days, the cart's ride was practically heaven.
However, even as he traveled quite comfortably, he also felt a bit bored on one side.
This might sound like the complaint of a well-fed man, but there was a reason for it.
'Makes me think of my smartphone.'
In his previous life, whether commuting to work, heading home, or going to meet friends, it was routine to bury his head in his smartphone during travel time.
But this world had no such thing.
During his slave days, there was plenty to do, and travel itself was grueling, so he never had the luxury to complain about boredom. But now, even though the ride was rough, the travel was comfortable, so thoughts of his smartphone naturally surfaced.
As a result, he needed something to alleviate the boredom during the journey.
Jeon chose Bolton for that purpose.
He was nearby the cart Jeon was riding in, and above all, as a merchant, he knew a lot of things.
"Where did you say our destination is?"
"Celleron, the central city of Viscount Celleron's territory. It's a port city with deep history and tradition, ruled by the Celleron Viscounts for generations—they even named the city after their family."
A port city with deep history and tradition.
Just hearing that stirred anticipation within him.
"I'm curious what kind of city it is."
"It's the biggest city around here. Thanks to the port, people from all sorts of origins and races come and go, so there's plenty to see."
"Looking forward to it."
In truth, Jeon's knowledge of this world was quite shallow.
Most of what he knew came from eavesdropping on slaves like Garon, so conversing with Bolton, who knew all sorts of information as a merchant, was quite enjoyable.
However, chatting with Bolton the whole way didn't fully dispel the boredom.
Topics weren't infinite, and as the leader of the merchant group, Bolton had plenty to do on the road.
So, for the rest of the time, he mostly studied the magic book.
'Artifacts... I think I could make one.'
Especially lately, he was focusing on the Midgal School magic book obtained from Jefferson's cabin.
It wasn't just about spells; it contained information on artifacts, which piqued his interest greatly.
'And they're useful.'
After the incident with Jefferson.
Jeon had gone back to the forest not far from the cabin and found five or six more stones Jefferson had made.
Having absorbed all the mana contained within them, Jeon now had a considerable amount of mana stored inside him.
This sparked significant interest in creating artifacts infused with mana.
For someone like him, whose mana accumulation was slow without a mana cultivation method, a proper artifact would be a huge help.
'If only I could use this.'
With that thought, Jeon absentmindedly tapped the artifact in his pocket.
The completed artifact Jefferson had used last.
This fully finished artifact still held a substantial amount of mana, safely tucked in Jeon's pocket.
'But I can't just extract the mana from this one.'
Whether because it was a completely different level of completion or because it lacked vengeful spirits, unlike the stones Jefferson made, he couldn't draw mana from this artifact just by holding it.
To use it, he needed blood as payment. Unless it was a dire emergency, it wasn't practical for everyday situations.
'No helping it.'
He regretted that fact, but he didn't dwell on it.
It wasn't something head-scratching would solve anyway.
And it would be resolved once he made an artifact he could use as he wished.
After a fortnight of the most peaceful travel since arriving in this world—chatting with Bolton here and there, and studying the magic book in spare time—
they finally arrived in Celleron.
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"Wow."
As Bolton had said, Celleron was a large city.
Of course, it didn't have towering skyscrapers like the cities from his previous life or a flashy, glittering feel, but it had its own charm.
Rows of modest-looking houses and buildings packed densely.
Countless people bustling through them, mixed with the unique sea breeze carrying scents from the shore.
And in the center of the territory, a towering castle.
'This is fantasy.'
It felt just like the scenes from medieval fantasy games and movies he'd played and watched, making him want to explore every corner of the city right away.
"Shall we head straight to the merchant guild first?"
But before that, there was a place he needed to stop by.
"Here you go. Exactly 5,312,400 credits."
Shortly after entering the guild, Jeon received settlement for the items he'd handed over to Bolton.
Facing the thick leather pouch on the desk almost made a smile creep onto his lips involuntarily.
"Do you handle money storage here by any chance?"
The problem was that it was too bulky to carry around.
It was so large he practically had to hug it.
"Hm, we don't do pure storage; we take it as investments. If storage is your goal, you'd be better off using the imperial bank."
Hm.
Jeon pondered Bolton's words for a moment.
From their conversations during the trip here, Bolton seemed reliable and capable in Jeon's eyes.
'But investments bring mostly bad memories.'
In his previous life, Jeon had stayed far away from investments.
More precisely, far away from making profits from them.
Whether stocks or coins, everything he bought went down, and everything he sold went up—a glorious record of losses.
Of course, that time and now were different.
Back then, he jumped in blindly because everyone else was doing it and he felt like a fool if he didn't, losing money on things he didn't understand.
Now, Bolton seemed trustworthy.
"Then, could I invest 1 million credits?"
So Jeon decided on a rather bold amount.
He lacked an eye for stocks or coins, but he had a decent eye for people, so he decided to trust him once.
"We'd welcome it anytime, but 1 million credits isn't a small sum."
"I'm entrusting it to you because I trust you. Worst case, if I lose it, I just won't trust you next time."
"Haha, then I'll have to work hard to keep your trust."
Bolton laughed heartily at Jeon's joking remark and asked an employee to prepare the contract.
"So, what are your plans from here? Thinking of going back to mercenary work?"
While the contract was being drawn up, Bolton threw a sharp question.
He'd made quite a bit of money now, but it wouldn't last a lifetime.
No, even spending it all, he couldn't afford a proper house.
Unless he planned to blow it all in a few months of extravagance, he needed to decide what to do next.
'Hm... mercenary, huh.'
What to do for a living.
He'd thought about it.
He'd even considered mercenary work, though it was just a throwaway line to probe.
'But it's too ambiguous.'
However, jumping into mercenary work blindly felt off given his current level.
Sure, he'd taken down an orc single-handedly and caught the murderer who terrorized the village.
'But could I do it consistently as a formal mercenary...? No.'
His most powerful ability was the Rune Magic 'Compression' without a doubt.
But with his current mana, he couldn't wield it freely.
'Like what I did to the orc, reducing a weapon to dust... maybe 20 times?'
This was possible only because he'd stockpiled mana from the village stones. At normal recharge rates, the usage limit was too severe for professional work.
Simple objects were one thing, but living beings or mana-infused items cost more mana. Relying solely on it for mercenary life lacked stability.
Moreover, mana shortage applied even to modern magic, not just Rune Magic.
So Jeon had put mercenary work on hold for now.
'It'd be great if I could do translation or interpretation work.'
The best would be a job utilizing his Korean Patch ability.
But he didn't know if there was demand, and even if there was, an orphaned boy of uncertain status might not land it.
"I'll think about it slowly for now."
So Jeon decided to take it easy.
No immediate rush, so he could look around and decide—even mercenary work if nothing else panned out.
"Taking time to choose is a great method for important decisions."
Bolton nodded without pressing further.
Once the investment contract was signed shortly after, business at the guild was done.
"Planning to deposit the rest at the bank?"
"Probably."
"Then we'll issue a letter of guarantee under our guild's name. It'll cut down on procedures a lot."
Oh, even this favor.
Confirming his eye for people inwardly, Jeon took the guarantee from Bolton and left the guild.
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Thanks to the bank being not far from the guild, Jeon arrived without issue.
'Pretty well-organized here.'
His first impression of this world's bank was that it was quite advanced.
Upon entering, an attendant guided him to a counter and gave him a wooden number ticket to wait his turn.
'Normally, there'd be identity verification and registration.'
He'd heard imperial banks were open to anyone except empire-wanted criminals.
But it required procedures, which the guarantee from Bolton skipped, letting him get a counter quickly.
"Definitely a big city; things run smoothly here."
Before Celleron, this world felt dirty, primitive, and barbaric.
Now it felt like proper civilization.
'Well, with magic existing.'
He even hoped city folk bathed every three days at least, when—
"No, why can't I withdraw my money!?"
A commotion from the adjacent counter made Jeon turn instinctively.
"Sorry, sir. It's just that..."
"I have the certificate here! My identity is guaranteed!"
He didn't know the details, but it looked like a customer-staff dispute he'd seen in his previous life.
Curious, he peeked over; a troubled employee and a woman with long white hair caught his eye.
'But those on her head... ears?'
The difference: pointed animal ears on the customer's head.
Captivated by that striking yet simple oddity, the argument seemed to escalate.
"Argh, seriously! You don't understand! Get the manager! I said get the manager!"
"Ma'am, please calm down..."
One side fumed about lack of communication; the other just apologized.
But to Jeon, they seemed beyond talking.
For good reason.
'Those two... they're speaking different languages?'
They were literally using different languages.