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It was a day when the sunlight poured down with exceptional warmth. Winter had passed, and spring flowers were blooming in profusion. Snakes and frogs that had endured the winter were waking from hibernation and crawling out of their nests here and there. One could say that the vitality of all living things had reached its very peak.
Yet for the few figures hiding along the mountain ridge, gazing toward the distant mountain, the liveliness of spring did not seem to reach them at all.
They watched the mountain across from them, their bodies taut with tension. They were members of a race that had already been driven from its place as master of Trubenia. They were humans, living on day after day in helpless decline under the protection of the orcs. And yet it was difficult to find any helplessness in their appearance. Rather, confidence toward some goal they sought was plainly visible on their faces.
There were exactly four of them. One among them turned around.
“I wonder if our plan can truly succeed…”
The one who spoke was a young man who looked to be around twenty. His blue eyes matched his blond hair, giving him a remarkably handsome appearance. He wore armor that looked extremely sturdy, yet it was thin enough to seem quite light. Judging from the geometric patterns engraved on the armor and the scabbard at his waist, he was clearly not a human of Trubenia. After all, the orcs strictly restricted Trubenian humans from possessing weapons—aside from the few resistance fighters.
“Don’t worry. It’s a plan with plenty of chance to succeed… Besides, we have a powerful helper, don’t we?”
The one who answered was also a young knight who looked to be around twenty. Besides them, there was a young lady with short-cropped hair and someone wearing a robe who appeared to be a mage. Though the mage looked to be about thirty and thus somewhat older, they all spoke casually to one another.
“Hey, Patrick. To think you’d dare approach a dragon’s lair—your guts really aren’t ordinary.”
At the mage’s admiration, the blond man who had spoken first shrugged.
“Well, even if we captured something like an ogre, qualifying as a Paladin would still be a distant dream. Lately, the Paladin qualification examinations have become extremely strict. Ogres are hard to transport, and because they’re so common, they don’t receive proper recognition. That’s why, no matter what, we have to capture a monster stronger than an ogre. If we capture a guardian from a dragon’s lair, then all of us will surely be able to achieve our goal.”
“But this is far too dangerous.”
“It’s an unavoidable step if we want to earn Paladin status.”
At the word Paladin, a light of longing flickered in their eyes. To them, obtaining the qualification of a Paladin was an object of great aspiration.
In truth, they had come from another continent. They were trainee knights of Krosen, the most powerful empire in Arcadia beyond the sea—the empire founded in Arcadia by Emperor Krosen, hero of mankind, and named after himself.
The influence Emperor Krosen had exerted on both continents, Trubenia and Arcadia, could truly be called immense. The first of those influences was that he had opened wide the path for knights to become Sword Masters. As a result, Sword Masters, once so rare they were nearly impossible to find, could now be seen fairly often. If one devoted oneself to training according to Emperor Krosen’s secret method, it took a long time, but one could almost certainly become a Sword Master.
Thus, Arcadia established its own hierarchy. Until then, anyone who could manifest either sword energy (劍氣) or sword aura (劍罡) had been called a Sword Master, but from then on, only those who could deploy sword aura would be called Sword Masters. Only those who had reached the realm of condensing sword energy further and drawing it out from the blade beyond a certain length—in other words, those capable of deploying sword aura—received the title of Sword Master. Knights capable of handling mana but falling short of that were given a separate title: Paladin.
Paladin. At one time, it had been regarded as a term referring to holy knights belonging to the church. But in terms of its origin, it had originally been a general term for high-level knights of outstanding ability who valued honor.
This was how the title of Paladin came to be newly established on the continent of Arcadia. Those among the former Sword Masters who were of a lower level came to be called Paladins. Recalling that fact, each of the knights spoke in turn.
“Ha! Becoming a Paladin… just thinking about it makes my heart race.”
“Even if you have the skill, becoming a Paladin isn’t something easily achieved.”
Unlike Trubenia, which had fallen to ruin at the hands of the orcs, the humans of Arcadia grew stronger as time went on. Unlike Trubenia, where bloodline and status took precedence over all else, in Arcadia only ability mattered, and countless knights were risking their lives and devoting themselves to training in order to obtain titles. It was only natural.
The young people here were among those knights as well. They had come here, braving danger, in order to obtain the Paladin qualification that was their lifelong desire.
“By the way, are there no humans living in Trubenia anymore, Raymond?”
At Patrick’s question, the mage called Raymond shook his head.
“That’s not the case.”
In truth, he was ten years older than the young knights. But because he had entered the academy in the same year as them, he was in no position to pull rank with his age. He could only resent the fact that he had chosen magic, which required so much time for training.
“I heard there are some humans living as slaves of the orcs. Aside from them, they say there are still some resisting, but their strength is extremely insignificant.”
“That’s only natural, isn’t it? Fools.”
The faces of the knights who spoke coldly were all marked with contempt. Because they had come from Arcadia, the feelings they held toward Trubenians were by no means pleasant.
They, too, knew perfectly well the secret history from five hundred years ago. Patrick snorted repeatedly, as if unable to contain his indignation.
“There’s a limit to repaying grace with enmity. They were saved twice from crises that could have destroyed all of humanity, yet in the end they betrayed that grace. They deserve to be destroyed. Don’t you think so, Adrian?”
At Patrick’s words, the young lady called Adrian, whose beauty was quite striking, chimed in. Judging by the sturdy armor she wore, she too seemed to be a knight.
“That’s right. If they had only asked for help at the final moment, Trubenia wouldn’t have perished. Since they brought the disaster upon themselves, they have nothing to say, do they?”
A third person, who had been listening silently, cut in. He was a young knight with red hair who looked to be of the same age as the other two.
“As far as I know, in Trubenia, women could never become knights no matter what. So, Adrian, you should consider yourself lucky you were born in Arcadia. If you hadn’t…”
The young knight narrowed his eyes.
“You’d have had no choice but to become the wife of a splendid knight like me and bear children, right? No matter how skilled you were with a sword, women couldn’t become knights there.”
“As if. A splendid knight? You, Spencer? I’m so dumbfounded I can’t even speak.”
Anger seemed to surge up in Adrian, and a fierce look appeared on her beautiful face. As though there was no need to think any further, she reached to draw her sword.
“A duel. This time, I’ll cut off one of your arms for good, Spencer.”
“H-hey, I was joking.”
Spencer’s face turned pale, as if terrified by the sight. And with good reason: Adrian was the trainee knight with the greatest swordsmanship among them. Until now, Spencer had never once beaten Adrian in a swordsmanship duel. If she truly set her mind to it, it was certain his right arm would be separated from his body.
But Patrick saved Spencer from his predicament.
“What are you doing? Have you already forgotten where we are? This is a dragon’s den crawling with guardians…”
At Patrick’s rebuke, Adrian snorted and sheathed her sword again. But she did not forget to shoot Spencer one sharp glare.
“What a temper…”
Spencer flinched and turned his head, then looked at Patrick.
“But why is Sir Heywood so late?”
“Don’t worry. With my uncle’s skill, he’s someone who could survive even in a dragon’s claws.”
In Patrick’s eyes flickered an unwavering trust in his uncle. And it was only natural, for his uncle Heywood was a renowned Sword Master even within the Krosen Empire. A knight capable of the advanced swordsmanship of condensing sword energy into tangible force and creating sword aura—a true Sword Master, and a proud member of the Imperial Guard protecting the Krosen Empire—that was his uncle.
In truth, the reason Patrick had been able to come to such a perilous place, a dragon’s den and a tiger’s cave, was precisely because of his uncle’s remarkable assistance. For the sake of his beloved nephew, Heywood had even taken special leave to come help them.
“But we can’t expect his help in capturing a guardian. He’ll only protect us in an emergency… In other words, whether or not we can earn Paladin qualification depends solely on our own skill. Understand?”
“Got it.”
Adrian and Spencer nodded as if they understood. Although they had a dependable protector named Heywood, they knew well that the most important part—capturing the monster—had to be done solely by their own strength. In Arcadia, the most important thing was one’s own ability, and nothing else. Watching them, Patrick grinned.
“But my uncle loves me dearly. By now, he’s probably searching near the lair for a monster suitable for us.”
“R-really?”
“Of course. If we bring something back from a dragon’s lair, even the lowest-grade monster will receive tremendous evaluation. My uncle might even be considering a guardian around the level of an ogre or troll, something we can capture well enough. If possible, he might even lure it here…”
A look of delight flashed across Adrian’s and Spencer’s faces. Of course, Raymond was no exception. He was currently a mage who remained at the level of a 4th Circle Expert. But if judging only by magical ability, Raymond could confidently say his skill surpassed that level. That much was clear from the fact that, although he had received the help of a magic circle, he had transported the five members of the party here through space without difficulty. However, in order to advance in class, something beyond ability was absolutely necessary. It was a way to prove that one’s ability had reached that level.
Already, Arcadia was teeming with knights and mages besides them who were desperate to prove their abilities. If they captured even one guardian from the lair of the infamous red dragon Berkis, they would be able to achieve their goals. Patrick, Adrian, and Spencer, as trainee knights, would be able to obtain the Paladin qualification they had dreamed of, and he himself would be able to be promoted to a 5th Circle User. Just thinking about it made his heart race.
And now that opportunity was right before their eyes.
“If everything goes well, I’ll buy you a proper drink. No, is drink even the issue? We’ll have to repay your uncle handsomely for giving us this opportunity too, won’t we?”
Patrick nodded with an expression that said that was only natural.
“Of course. If it weren’t for my uncle’s help, do you think we would have dared even consider this? There have been almost no cases of anyone capturing a guardian from a dragon’s lair. Even over the past hundred years, you could barely count them on your fingers…”
“That’s true.”
Spencer and Adrian nodded as if it made sense. In truth, it was not that there had been no attempts to capture guardians from dragon lairs. Rather, one could say such attempts had been made countless times by young knights. In Arcadia, medium-sized monsters had long since gone extinct, and in order to capture monsters, one had no choice but to cross over to Trubenia.
In that sense, the Guardian guarding the lair was the finest prey. Of course, as great as the reward was, the danger was just as high. Remembering that fact, Patrick turned to Spencer.
“Hey, what did you say the chances of a Guardian hunt succeeding were?”
Spencer answered with a grimace.
“Probably a little over ten percent? A great many trainee knights never came back. Of course, they didn’t have the support of a Sword Master, so that changes things.”
“Right?”
Patrick nodded, then turned his head. Over there, Raymond was busy checking the escape magic circle. It was a teleportation magic circle that led to their ship, anchored on a beach about ten kilometers from here. If they captured the Guardian, they would immediately teleport to the ship.
The orcs, who did not even possess a proper ship, had no way to pursue them. So as long as they made it to the ship, there would be nothing to worry about.
“I only hope Uncle lures over a suitable Guardian…”
Patrick, who had been anxiously glancing around, suddenly widened his eyes. It was after he spotted a shadow that had approached close by and was watching them.
“You’ve got to be kidding me…”
“What is it, Patrick?”
At the sudden curse, everyone’s gazes focused on him at once. When they looked in the direction Patrick pointed, their faces all stiffened. Without them even noticing, someone had come close and was examining them thoroughly. And it was no ordinary being, either.
Their opponent was a lich. A monster in the form of a skeleton with thin, dried skin clinging to it, a lich was synonymous with evil by name alone, and it was by no means a weak existence, so they had no choice but to tense up.
“Be careful!”
Following the truth that one must know both the enemy and oneself to win, they took stances to draw their swords and examined their opponent’s appearance in detail.
The first thing that stood out was that the opponent was very short. From that, they could tell that he had been quite small even before becoming a lich. Also, seeing the gentle curve of the back, where only bones should have remained, they could tell that he had been a hunchback in life. Aside from that, the opponent had the typical appearance of a lich. He wore a pitch-black robe pulled down deep, and there was almost no flesh on his exposed face. In addition, judging by the intense glow rising from his eye sockets, he seemed to be a fairly powerful lich.
Clang.
The knights hurriedly drew their swords and prepared to respond. Their nimble movements showed signs of considerable training. Raymond, the mage, also hurriedly began drawing in the surrounding mana. If it was a lich, then it was a formidable enemy they could never afford to take lightly.
However, their opponent showed an unexpectedly leisurely attitude. As if he did not even have them in his sights, he merely rolled his empty eye sockets here and there, looking over the group.
“Patrick. Can you buy me some time? If I’m going to land a hit on him, I need time to cast.”
At Raymond’s whisper in his ear, Patrick nodded and stepped forward.
“Who are you?”
The lich’s empty eye sockets shifted toward Patrick. At that moment, Patrick felt a chill run down his spine. The lich’s gaze was that intense. Even so, he forced himself to regain his composure. His pride as a trainee knight of Arcadia played a large part in that.
“Reveal your identity, you wretch. What have you come here to do?”
At Patrick’s repeated shouts, the lich finally responded.
“Brats, are you? If you wish to keep your lives, leave this place at once.”
At the unexpected words, the group was left dumbfounded. If their opponent was truly a lich, then by all rights, it should attack them without question. According to what they knew, a lich ought to act that way. And yet it was trying to let them go so easily… However, since they had a goal, they could not simply withdraw. Judging by the situation, there was also a possibility that the opponent was the dragon’s Guardian.
“Absurd. We absolutely must capture you and take you with us.”
Patrick, Spencer, and Adrian began approaching the lich while infusing mana into their swords. Of course, they placed absolute trust in the anti-magic armor they wore. Though they had yet to earn the qualifications of a Paladin, they had already reached the level where they could operate mana, and as they were all sons of wealthy families, each of them was fully equipped with anti-magic armor as well. Since it was high-quality armor of fairly excellent make, they were confident it could block attack magic of around the 5th Circle without difficulty.
If they managed to capture a monster on the level of a lich, it could be considered a satisfying result, and anticipation showed clearly on their faces.
“Do you think you can stand against us?”
At Patrick’s words, a strange expression appeared on the lich’s face. Depending on how one looked at it, it could be taken as a sneer.
“Fools. If I had my way, I would send you brats to the afterlife in a single blow. But it is regrettable that I cannot do so because of the restriction.”
“Nonsense.”
While the two sides exchanged words, Raymond’s magic was completed. Raising his magic staff, on which radiance had gathered, he shouted.
“Everyone, move!”
The knights who had been buying time split sharply to the left and right as if they had been waiting for the order. Through the gap, a tremendous stream of fire shot forward, scattering sparks fiercely.
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
The stream of fire that poured out, cleaving through space, struck precisely at the lich.