Late at night. The moment I returned to the inn and lay down on the bed, I opened my eyes to find myself, as expected, in that space.
The level-up stage.
This dark space, like being tucked beneath a blanket, had become fairly familiar by now.
Well, it wasn’t as if I hadn’t expected it.
That fight had been pretty intense too. Which meant I’d built up that much experience.
Leveling up from fighting people rather than kobolds or goblins always left a bad taste in my mouth.
Pang—
With a familiar sound, three cards floated up.
___________________________
[Max Health Increase]
[Max Strength Increase]
[Blue Magic: Azure Eye (靑眼)]
___________________________
“Oh!”
Green, white, and blue.
It was a blue card, one I hadn’t seen in a while.
And magic, at that. It was the second magic card in a row since last time. Was I lucky?
But just from the name, I couldn’t tell what kind of magic it was.
So I checked the description right away.
[Consumes mana to detect moisture in the surroundings.]
“Huh?”
The strange reaction slipped out on its own as soon as I read it.
Detect moisture in the surroundings?
This was… ambiguous. It had been the same with Sea Fog last time; they were all a little ambiguous.
Of course, I had made good use of it this time, but that had been a somewhat special situation.
To begin with, ever since I obtained blue magic, I’d been able to sense the moisture around me to some extent instinctively.
How was this any different from that?
Maybe it would be better to pick strength or health instead.
Damn it. If mana had shown up, I wouldn’t even be having this dilemma.
At times like this, it really is frustrating.
Even games these days have skill previews, but this system has nothing of the sort.
Why is it so damn unfriendly?
After agonizing over it for quite a while, I ultimately chose [Blue Magic: Azure Eye (靑眼)].
It was magic, after all. And rare grade, at that.
The name was Azure Eye, too… There might be something to it.
…Right?
***
I stretched and slowly got up.
My body was still a bit stiff, but after getting some sleep, I felt alive again.
I gathered water at my fingertips and drank a mouthful.
“Kuh…”
As the cold water flowed down my throat, my head cleared a little.
On the desk, Gerangi clacked its pincers as if greeting me in the morning.
“Yeah, yeah. Good morning to you too.”
Clack, clack.
“You want some too? Here—”
I set a drop of water in front of Gerangi and thought about what I had to do today.
The letter I had tucked deep inside my clothes, just in case I lost it.
The request was simple.
Deliver this letter to a specific priest at the cathedral in Riverton.
On the surface, it was just a delivery request, but they had said there was plenty of surveillance even within the Order… so it probably wasn’t just an ordinary letter.
On top of that, Aileen’s matter was still weighing on my mind.
Now that I knew it was tied to another noble, it might take longer than I thought.
Whatever the case, neither one would be easy to settle.
I let out a quiet breath and got to my feet.
“Let’s put the worries aside for now.”
Right now, it was time to do something fun.
It was time to test my new magic.
[Blue Magic: Azure Eye (靑眼)]. Would it prove worthy of its rare grade?
The moment I recalled the spell and drew up my mana, the mana that usually flowed to my fingertips began to concentrate around my eyes instead.
“Urgh…!”
When I felt enough mana had gathered, I cast the spell.
[Azure Eye]
A cold sensation spread through my eyes, and my vision inverted all at once.
Stagger—
For an instant, I felt my balance crumble, and I hurriedly braced myself against the wall to support my body.
The sight unfolding before my eyes was… truly shocking.
Everything that had looked familiar just moments ago vanished, and instead my vision was filled with scenery as though I had dived deep beneath the sea.
Amid a dark blue, murky fog, blue lights that had taken shape floated quietly.
My eyes were clearly open, yet it felt as though I were sensing the world with them closed.
The remnants of water at the bottom of a cup. The soup boiling in the kitchen. Even masses of water in the shape of humans.
Everything was a silhouette made of water.
I could even see the flow moving slowly, like the pulse of a heartbeat.
‘…It’s this precise?’
I drew in a breath.
At first, I hadn’t expected much from simple moisture detection, but this was on a completely different level.
‘This much… So it really is rare grade.’
As I probed the edge of my vision, the range was more limited than I had expected.
It couldn’t reach beyond the inn and cut off somewhere around the middle of the street.
Even so, this much was more than enough to be worthwhile.
Especially in situations involving hidden enemies, ambushes, or being tailed, it would display absurd performance.
‘Ugh, my mana’s leaking away like crazy.’
Before I knew it, about thirty percent of it had evaporated.
If I had kept it going just a bit longer, I might have fainted from mana depletion.
I slowly cut off the flow of mana and returned my senses to normal.
The blue, deep vision gradually faded, and the familiar sight of the inn room came back into view.
“Haa… This is way better than I thought, isn’t it?”
The corners of my mouth rose on their own.
I looked fine on the outside, but honestly, I was a little excited.
This was the real deal. I felt like I’d be able to use it quite effectively from now on.
Of course, it wasn’t without drawbacks.
The first was mana consumption.
Maybe because it was a continuous spell, it drained away nonstop the entire time I used it.
If I maintained it without thinking, it would be perfect for making me pass out.
The second was dizziness.
My head felt heavy, as if it had sunk underwater.
While using it, forget moving around; even standing still in place was difficult.
For now, using it alongside other actions was out of the question.
It was excellent for scouting or surveillance, but in actual combat, I’d probably have to steel myself before using it.
‘I’m sure it’ll get better once I’m used to it.’
I pressed my fingertips against my temples.
Feeling my spinning head slowly settle, I nodded.
Satisfied with the results, I headed to the dining hall with light steps.
Even though I had woken up later than usual today, Mr. Barrett was already sitting in the dining hall.
Seeing as he looked my way the moment I came out… he had probably been waiting for me.
“Sir Liv!”
“Ah, Mr. Barrett. Good morning.”
Even at my calm greeting, he couldn’t hide his excitement.
“I heard there was a huge incident yesterday at the old guard barracks… That was you, wasn’t it, Sir Liv?”
“Pardon?”
I was involved, sure, but the rumor had already spread?
As I hesitated for a moment, Barrett continued.
“This morning, they say piles of those Black Hand bastards’ corpses were found in the abandoned building. I heard there was a lot of blood at the scene too. They said not a single one of them was in one piece… Was that, well, not you?”
“…Was that all they said?”
We had deliberately left the slave ledger in a conspicuous place.
It wasn’t really the kind of matter I would go out of my way to involve myself in, but we had made sure it was strange enough for anyone to notice.
In other words… it was more like a signal saying, “We let you know, so handle it yourselves.”
And yet all that remained was talk of corpses.
“Huh? Was there… something else?”
Barrett reacted as if he knew nothing.
“At least from what I heard, that was all. It’s not even a rumor going around taverns, and there hasn’t been any word at the guild either. Did something happen?”
Someone had seen that ledger and quietly buried it.
They retrieved only the corpses, while hiding what truly mattered.
Who was it? A noble? Or the Order? Or both?
One thing was certain: there was someone in this city with enough power to bury something like this with ease.
“No. It’s just, I was there, yes… but I didn’t do anything that big.”
It wasn’t a lie.
Kane had handled almost everything, so strictly speaking, my share had been very small.
But Mr. Barrett didn’t seem to believe me very much.
“As expected, you’re incredible. You’ve only been in the city for a few days, and already something like that…”
“Their reputation was loud, but in reality they weren’t much.”
“That could be true. They might have spread the rumors themselves on purpose, even.”
Now that he said it, considering what that boss had been like, it seemed plausible.
If they were thugs full of bluff, they might have bragged in the opposite direction instead.
“Mr. Barrett… did you find a request?”
At my question to change the subject, he briefly averted his gaze.
Seeing as his answer came a little late, did that mean he still hadn’t found one?
“The atmosphere these days is unsettling.”
“…Ah.”
I felt like I understood even without him saying it.
On the mercenary guild’s noticeboard yesterday, the miscellaneous requests had decreased, and recruitment notices for soldiers had started appearing one by one.
“To tell you the truth, I’m leaving today. That’s why I was waiting to say my final goodbye.”
“…Did you find a request?”
At my question, Mr. Barrett quietly inhaled for a moment.
“I’ve decided to take part in the war.”
“…Ah.”
So it had come to that after all.
Well, it wasn’t a strange choice.
If anything, it was a path most mercenaries had no choice but to take.
Civilian requests dwindling by the day, the city’s atmosphere growing heavier.
The war was already right on our doorstep.
If the pay was high enough, it was a reasonable choice in its own way.
You had to risk your life, but the weight of livelihood and survival ultimately went on the scales together.
“Are all of you going?”
At my question, Mr. Barrett closed his eyes for a moment, then slowly shook his head.
“No. Two or so said they would return to their hometowns. I would have done the same in their place.”
There was no bitterness or resentment in those words.
If anything, he seemed deeply understanding.
Barrett was a good mercenary captain.
He tried to understand his people, and he didn’t drag them along by force.
“Mm… Then, where are you headed?”
At my question, Mr. Barrett lightly scratched the back of his neck.
“I don’t know the specific destination yet. I’ve only received the contract… But they said it’s to the east.”
“The east… Is that toward Berhar?”
I didn’t know exactly where that was either.
It was a city whose name I had only barely seen on a crude map I had bought while purchasing travel supplies.
Just hearing the name, I couldn’t really picture what was where.
“Probably. I heard we’ll be defending a small fortress in the border region. They also said there’s an area nearby where monsters appear.”
I let out a quiet breath.
It was a land I knew little about, but just hearing that much was enough to tell me it was harsh.
A fortress, the border, and monsters.
None of those three sounded good when grouped together.
Even if they didn’t call it a battlefield, it felt like it would be one.
At those words, I let out a small breath.
“It won’t be easy.”
“No. That’s probably why they need more troops. The pay is generous to match, but…”
His words trailed off as he turned his head.
Probably because he knew how much blood and how many corpses that generosity was premised on.
For a moment, the inside of the dining hall fell quiet.
Aileen, who had been sitting silently beside me, put down her spoon and quietly looked at Barrett.
“Please… be sure to return alive.”
“Haha, thank you. I’m still a bit too young to die.”
I couldn’t laugh at his joke.
Because I knew better than anyone that he really could die.
“Before you go… Is there anything I can help you prepare?”
“It’s all right. We finished most of it last night. Today, I plan to move the supplies with the few men remaining and depart right away.”
He rose to his feet.
Then he slowly held out his hand in front of me.
“Sir Liv. It was a brief acquaintance, but I learned a great deal.”
“Learned? I learned far more from you, Mr. Barrett.”
“I’m grateful you say that.”
I gripped his hand firmly.
Still holding my hand, he added,
“But Sir Liv… please, stay in this city. I know it’s rude of me to say this, but rather than a battlefield… I think a place like this suits you better.”
“I agree with that too.”
This time, both of us were able to laugh.
He bowed his head to Aileen as well.
“Someday, I’ll see you again in better circumstances.”
With that farewell, Barrett left the dining hall.
Outside the inn, beneath the shade untouched by sunlight.
A few mercenaries who had finished preparing for deployment were waiting quietly.
With suspenders fastened over their leather armor and their weapons checked, the sight of them standing there in silence felt strangely more unfamiliar than usual.
Among them were a few faces I knew.
Lanky Jeminik raised his head when he saw Barrett come out, and foul-mouthed Gailson tapped the haft of his axe while looking my way and grinning broadly.
Fat Charlie and Gambler Nick were joking with each other, but when their eyes met mine, they lightly raised a hand over their shoulders.
Dimwitted Tral silently fell in behind Barrett, and Crybaby Piren, at the very back, tightened the strap of his helmet and lifted his gaze.
Piren turned his head toward me for a moment, then moved his lips very faintly.
“…Take care.”
I couldn’t tell whether he had really said those words or whether it was just an auditory hallucination mixed in with the wind.
But I simply nodded slowly in silence.
And then they fell into line and quietly disappeared beyond the alley.
Carrying their own equipment, their own burdens, and their own lives on their backs.
I watched their retreating figures for a long time.
Silence settled over the dining hall once more.
The commotion of preparations outside the window, the sound of carriage wheels and clashing metal, gradually grew distant.
And then, like someone’s retreating back, it quietly vanished.
I drank a mouthful of cold water.
Aileen cautiously asked me,
“Are you all right?”
“Yeah. It’s just… I knew it would happen, but now that they’re actually gone, it feels a bit…”
“…I hope everyone stays safe.”
“Yeah. Truly.”
I stopped eating and only stared out the window.
The wind blowing in from outside didn’t feel cool today.