âChase! Donât miss it!!â
A loud shout echoed in the mountains.
The man was drenched in sweat as he continued to run. To be precise, he was escaping.
âHuk, huk, huk-!â
It felt like his lungs were being ripped from inside as he kept breathing in the cold night air.
The man clenched his teeth and ran while holding his right arm.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Dududu.
The strange thing on his right arm made a loud noise as if it was scratched on the ground.
âDamn itâ¦â
He struggled to raise his right arm.
A sword.
A very large sword.
What was unusual was that the sword was attached to the manâs right arm.
The blade had a lot of blood on it, as if it had hardened over time. Proof that many lives were lost for it.
âI cannot be caught!â
âThere he is! Run after him! Where are the fucking magicians?!â
The voices of the pursuers were getting closer.
Wasnât it impossible to run with a heavy thing on his hand in that state?
Then, what should he do?
The man looked at the sword with a confused face.
âOnce againâ¦â
The man stopped running. His stamina was running low. The cold air was ripping his lungs, making him taste blood with each breath.
It had been years since he ran like this.
âHow⦠in the world did it happen like this?â
If he had endured that desireâ¦
The man grunted. If caught, it would be death!
If it was just death he would take it, but considering the amount of blood this sword took, there was no way it would be simple death.
âI wonât die⦠I will not die.â
Blood gleamed in his eyes.
âUgh!â
The sword was now shining red.
The blood vessels which connected to the sword were swelling up and then wriggled.
As the blood began to pump at a fast rate, his body turned red like the sword.
âAckkkkk!â
Blood qi was flowing.
The man turned and white mist escaped from his mouth. He could feel the ones chasing him getting closer.
The man supported his right hand with his left and fixed the sword.
An overwhelming feeling spread through him.
âIâ¦â
The man took a stance. Then he flew towards the team chasing after him.
âWill survive!â
Late at nightâ¦
A great battle took place in the Erco mountains.
âWhy do you have to leave the easy way to get through here?â
Jamie put wood into the fire and looked at Jin. They were on Mount Befos, which was now a part of Erco mountains.
This was the northern part of continent, where the borders of the Yvon Kingdom met. There was no need to go down such a steep mountain road.
âIsnât it more convenient to head through the gate checks? And we will have plenty of time to rest.â
Jin answered by taking a bite of the rabbit leg he ate.
âI have no identity.â
âWhy do you not have one?â
âBecause I donât need one.â
âDoes that even make sense?â
âWhat? I donât.â
Jin, who had the mask one, chewed the meat asking if this was a problem.
Jamie wondered if all the people in Ryeo were like this.
However, Han seemed rather different from this man.
After that, he was curious about the relationship between the two.
âI am curiousâ¦â
âAbout what?â
âWhat relationship do you have with Han? Since you are from the same town, I think you must be close, even within Frontier.â
âNo.â
Jin said, pushing the wood into fire.
âWe came from the same area, but our statuses were different. So, I donât hang out with Han.â
âDifferentâ¦â
âHan is a noble if I need to speak in your language⦠And I a slave.â
â⦠slave?â
âTo be honest, I was a slave. I was fortunate enough to fight well and lucky enough to catch the eyes of the general, and then became a slave under him and after proving my skills I was a free citizen.â
In a word, Jin was the protagonist of a story. Because becoming a free man from a slave was as difficult as picking a star from the sky.
âHowever, the origin is the root of a person, so despite being a free citizen I lived around discrimination.â
âAnd that is why you arenât close with Han?â
âYou could say it was my mistake. That man⦠Han wanted to get close to me, but since I was a slave, I felt a little victimized.â
Jamie couldnât blame him. It was because both the people had different status.
In the situation of a person who was a slave, if a noble tries to get close to them, then it isnât any different from them looking down on him.
And this was natural for any human. This discrimination based on status was quite severe.
No matter how free he was, he would be a strange one to forget things and speak to Han.
âIt is like that.â
âYou donât have to be friendly.â
As Jin said, Jamie asked,
âWhy are you looking like that?â
â⦠it is interesting.â
âAll of a sudden?â
âUsually, when I bring this up, the other person doesnât know what to do.â
Well. it isnât easy to consider this man a slave. And understanding it is tough too.
Since it is about revealing the deepest secret. It might seem normal to be a bit taken aback.
But Jamie wasnât.
It wasnât like he cared for him.
âWhatever it was. You arenât a slave now.â
âRight.â
âThen good.â
Jamie touched the wood as if it was nothing. Although it was summer, the mountains in continent were in winter.
Seldam Kingdom was having summer now despite being in the northern continent, but this place was cold, and no one could answer why.
âDamn it. I just want to fly.â
âWe cannot get caught in the Mana Zone.â
There was an invisible wall at the border.
It was called the Mana Zone, and if magic was used there, the two nations would pursue the one crossing.
Jamie wanted to pierce through it, but the Mana Zone was the power of dragons.
The ordinary people donât know of it, but most high ranking people in each nation knows it.
Jamie could only hear it after becoming an elder.
âDamn those lizards!â
Currently, it was said that dragons donât get involved with humans, but it can be said that humans donât know even if they did.
It was the high ranking people who were trying to blur the eyes of the general people. The problem was, humanity was being touched by dragons.
A few nations have fought against that, but it wasnât easy. Because the opponent was a dragon.
âStill, I donât want to meet them.â
It was fortunate.
Dragons didnât appear in the human world unless someone like Canon, the dark magician that lived 700 years back appeared.
The servants of the dragon god, Brahman.
Since the continent was ruled by the 12 Gods, they couldnât interfere.
âClose your eyes. As soon as the sun rises, we move again.â
âI thought I could sleep well in this uncomfortable bed, but it is difficult.â
In the past Diablo slept on cold floors, but now he couldnât get used to it.
How long had it been since he slept like this? The flame faded away and there was still an hour left for the sun to rise. Both people opened their eyes at the same time.
âI felt something not far from here.â
âA person.â
It wasnât known who appeared in the valley at such a late hour, but the two moved. It was night, but that didnât seem to halter their speed.
Without even using light magic, they could see clearly. The sound of running water could be heard through the bushes.
âI move first,â
Jamie used teleport.
It wasnât strange he could lose his life by teleporting into a forest and a location he didnât know, but Jamie was a great magician.
Jamie, who calculated the space and speed, was able to reach the point at once.
And found it.
â⦠what is this? Human?â
A man with a large sword attached to his right arm, drenched in water and was unconscious.
He had scruffy hair and beard. Although he was swept away by water, the blood on his clothes didnât wash off.
âHe recently fell into the water.â
Jamie looked up the valley. He flowed down from the highest spot, but he couldnât see where the summit was.
He could hear his heartbeat so he wasnât dead, but if he didnât help him, he would die.
Jamie lifted the man up with magic.
âHis stomach is pierced?â
As if stabbed very closely, red blood was still dripping from his stomach.
âJamie Welton!â
He heard the voice of Jin from behind. He laid the man on the floor and used holy power to heal the wound on his stomach.
And by creating a fire in the air, the temperature rose.
The pale skin was changing to his normal color.
âLooks serious.â
Jin, who arrived, checked the manâs condition. Jamie was already giving him first aid but it didnât look like he would regain consciousness.
âBut what is this sword?â
Jin frowned as looked at the sword connected to the manâs right arm.
âConnected to his arm⦠is it an artifact?â
âI donât feel magic from it.â
âThen he just put it on his arm?â
âHow would I know? Maybe if we remove it I can figure it out.â
âI see,â
âThat is once we pass the dangerous stage.â
Jamie used holy power and then looked at the manâs eyes. Judging from his severe blood loss, he must be exhausted.
âIt is connected by a mechanical device. All these thin lines seem to be replacing nerves?â
âCan you see a machine?â
âA little.â
âThis is odd. Wasnât this a prosthetic arm?â
âIt could be one.â
âJust looking at it, it seems like he is a mercenary, but it looks like the arm was cut and the weapon was embedded in.â
âThat is one strange weapon. This is the first time I am seeing such a wide sword. And the thin lines which replace nerves are connected to his body. This⦠it doesnât seem like a weapon to me.â
âI guess this man isnât a sword master, but you seem to be interested in the sword. Letâs go. The man will wake up and take care of himself.â
Since he had helped too many people in the recent times, Jamie didnât want to help anyone this time. Especially now that he hadnât slept.
âI donât⦠want to⦠dieâ¦â
At that moment, the man mumbled something.
It was unconsciously said.
And Jin asked,
âSo?â
âDamn it. Why am I so soft hearted? Letâs just take him.â
âMan. You are lucky.â
Jin grinned, looking at the unconscious man.