Chapter 97

Najin showed mercy to the attackers. Jerold, who came to his senses belatedly, also agreed to Najin’s proposal, and the experts were no different. Even after launching an attack and losing the duel, the opponent was shown mercy.

No one was unaware of its meaning. However, understanding and agreeing are different things.

“Merely death.”

Not everyone accepted Najin’s proposal. Someone, realizing their mission had failed, took their own life. With the hostage dead, they felt no reason to live anymore.

With a bitter expression, Klaus closed the man’s eyes. The attackers were not the only ones here; there were others holding back Roselin Ascalo.

“At least one agrees. I’m not sure about the remaining two; we couldn’t talk much.”

Saying so, Klaus, Jerold, and Najin moved to where Roselin might be. To make an offer. But the moment Najin arrived at the destination, he realized.

There was no need to make an offer anymore.

“……”

Blood scattered everywhere. Roselin was flicking her dagger while trampling over the finely divided body of a mage.

“Oh, you came?”

Roselin turned slightly and smiled. Najin glanced around her. Right next to Roselin, Basaus Malek was biting his lip, stemming the bleeding from his severed arm.

“It seems you’ve thoroughly smashed things up? Persuaded some in the process too?”

“That’s how it turned out. How about you, Lady Roselin?”

“Well, I thought there was no need to kill necessarily, so I was going to let it go at one arm……”

Roselin Ascalo was a strong opponent, and a strong person had many ways to defeat their opponents without killing them. However, at Roselin’s feet lay a finely chopped body.

A 5th-circle mage, Sirkel Kravelin.

Roselin looked down at her body with a displeased look. Roselin clicked her tongue and kicked the head of the body with her toe.

“That woman and that man were hopeless. You have to talk a little rudely.”

The body was not alone. Upon closer inspection, another head was rolling on the floor. Basaus Malek survived by losing an arm, but the mage Sirkel and archer Tyler did not.

“Those who dared to speak of a witch in front of me, those who called me a witch, didn’t you know what became of them? I guess not, so I informed them.”

Muttering so, Roselin Ascalo turned her head. Her eyes swirling red as she gazed at Najin. Then, with a sly smile, Roselin said.

“Congratulations on becoming a Sword Seeker.”

She smiled contentedly and patted Najin’s shoulder, leaving him with a word to buy him a drink sometime. Najin stood next to Klaus, who looked quite stunned as he watched her walk away.

“A fearsome woman indeed.”

Jerold nodded heavily in agreement.

The incident was finally settled.

Late at night, Najin returned to the city and received only simple treatment from the physician before heading straight to his lodging. The physician tried to dissuade him, noting that the injuries were not minor enough to be treated with just first aid, but Najin had no choice.

“Being caught with abnormal healing abilities wouldn’t be beneficial.”

Dragging his heavy body, Najin returned to his lodgings. He was physically and mentally exhausted. He gulped down a pre-prepared potion and poured another on his wounds, exhaling deeply.

Never a day without injury, truly.

Every fight seemed to punch a hole or two in his body, and scars filled his skin, although they would disappear after about a week.

“This one won’t fade away.”

Najin fingered his shoulder.

The scar was left by Ivan. It was from before he had obtained Excalibur, and therefore, it would never heal. Najin sneered bitterly.

“Anyway…”

Najin, slumping in a chair, exhaled deeply.

Sword Seeker, seeker of the sword.

Having achieved the goal Ivan had once talked about, Najin felt a complex mix of emotions. Until yesterday, Najin had been a Sword Expert, just like Ivan. Of course, he had become stronger than Ivan had been back then…

“Now…”

The realm Ivan hadn’t reached.

Stepping into a completely new realm, Najin felt a bittersweet yet refreshing laugh. Despite having become much stronger, Ivan was still a towering figure within Najin.

“If Ivan knew I had become a Sword Seeker, I wonder how he would react. He might burst out laughing, or curse me as a crazy bastard and pat my shoulder, or perhaps we’d raise a toast at the usual pub.”

Imagining such a scene, Najin sighed deeply. He missed the Underground City a bit. He hadn’t expected to miss that city. Images of the Underground City passed through Najin’s mind.

Ivan’s office, the square, the clearing where he trained with Offen, and Hogel’s forge…

Pondering these in his mind, Najin chuckled. There was no need to just imagine. Najin closed his eyes and focused on his inner self. Stepping into the imagery created within was enough.

Blink.

Najin opened his eyes that had been closed.

In reality, Najin was closing his eyes, but inside, he was seeing with open eyes. When he looked around, he saw the expansive landscape of the underground city.

The landscape had significantly expanded.

The space that was just a few steps wide was now extending far beyond where the eye could see. And…

Thump, softly.

Someone tapped Najin’s shoulder. Turning his head, there was Merlin with her flowing blue hair. Merlin, now more vivid and with a clearer presence, gave Najin a teasing smile.

“How about it. It’s clearer now, isn’t it?”

Najin nodded affirmatively. Definitely.

“The space has expanded a lot too.”

“The stars are shining brighter.”

“And there are two of them now.”

Stars hung in the sky and on the ground, both shining brightly in their respective places. Najin looked around the landscape and exhaled deeply.

“Now what do we do about this?”

“What do you mean?”

Merlin tilted her head, and Najin chuckled.

“When I first set foot in this city, you said that, Merlin.”

Najin held up two fingers.

“Sword Seeker, we’ll set a two-year target for the White rank, since it took Arthur that long.”

“That was… right?”

“And I said, what about two years? One year would be enough.”

Merlin’s expression started to stiffen.

She slyly avoided Najin’s gaze, but Najin didn’t let her escape it. He followed the direction Merlin had turned her head.

“But here we are. It only took half a year.”

“Wait, half a year? It was seven months. Exactly seven months and twelve days, to be precise.”

“Hmm, that’s also true. There’s a big difference between half a year and seven months and twelve days.”

Najin nodded with a hint of a smile.

“But there’s still a big gap between seven months and a year, and two years.”

“……”

“I won the bet.”

Merlin groaned painfully.

“Fine, I lost. Anyway…”

She grumbled, giving Najin a sidelong glance.

As if something was off.

“But you, were you always like this? You seem a bit different.”

“I was closer to this originally.”

Najin shrugged.

Merlin seemed to pinpoint what was different. The lighter mood. The playful tone. And the cheeky behavior. In fact, this was closer to the real Najin.

“I had been too rigid. Logically, a youngster who hung out with thugs in the underground city couldn’t be so solemn.”

“That’s… true.”

“Do you dislike it?”

“Not at all?”

Merlin grinned.

“I like this side more, actually. People don’t need to be serious all the time.”

“I think similarly. Be serious when it’s time to be serious.”

Having ascended to the realm of the Sword Seeker.

It wasn’t just about physical and martial growth. It also meant a step forward mentally and spiritually. Merlin glanced at Najin with a faint smile on her lips.

“Speaking of which,”

Najin looked up at the sky.

“Now that I’ve achieved the goals of this city, what should we do next?”

The goals in Cambria.

Reaching the realm of the Sword Seeker. Now that he had achieved this, Najin was pondering what to do next. There was no intention to rest on his laurels and be content.

“The path ahead is still long. I’m just at a new starting point.”

“What are you talking about? You’ve achieved all your goals except one.”

Najin raised an eyebrow at Merlin’s comment.

“One left?”

“Have you forgotten? The legend of this city.”

She said.

“The place where two dragons are buried. The Tomb of Dragons.”

Another name for Cambria.

Long ago, starting his journey in this city, Arthur achieved a feat that is still talked about hundreds of years later. It’s why it’s woven into the constellations in the night sky.

“In Cambria, Arthur and I brought down two dragons. We sealed them beneath this city.”

The first chair, the human who brought down a dragon.

The first star that Arthur embedded in the night sky.

“Dragons are by nature immortal, the first and last being Narok’s dragon. Until Excalibur was thrust into the vitals of a dragon, they could not die. They could be sealed but not killed. They will inevitably resurrect.”

Merlin whispered to Najin.

“You get what I’m hinting at?”

Najin’s heart thumped.

He understood what Merlin was suggesting.

“Now it’s about time you earned a star of your own.”

The long-desired star. The time to claim that star was drawing near, Merlin suggested.

“From now on, it’s crucial.”

Several days had passed since the incident.

In that time, Najin recovered from his injuries, and Dieta had secured the identities of those who had joined under Najin and arranged for their disguised identities.

After the incident had settled down.

Visiting her office to discuss the next steps, Dieta said to Najin.

“So far, the Order has only used hunting dogs that are unrelated to the order and could be used without repercussions. But that’s about to change. Things have shifted.”

She explained.

“The Order might get directly involved now. I’m not sure why they’re so fixated on you, but if it’s for the reasons you’ve mentioned…”

Dieta clicked her tongue.

“They might move even at a loss now. We’ve gone beyond the point where things can be handled cleanly. So, from now on, it’s crucial.”

“I’ve thought about that part.”

“Probably, you’re thinking along the same lines as me?”

Najin nodded.

They had discussed this matter before the operation, and even before that, he had discussed it with Ivan.

Become too big for the Order to handle easily.

Ivan had said that, and they had set the standard as a Sword Seeker. At that time, he didn’t fully understand, but now he did. He knew the weight a Sword Seeker carried.

“A Sword Seeker must be reported to the empire…”

“And they are given a status commensurate with their skills. Being a Sword Seeker is a guarantee in itself.”

“That’s exactly it.”

Dieta handed Najin a document bearing the emblem of the Dieta Trading Company and the Cambria Foundation.

“It’s time to shed the fake identity.”

The document that would be thrown into the heart of the empire.

The time had come to reveal the name Najin, not the false name of Ivan, to the world.