7. Kerval’s Hope>
Spin, one of the executives of the Black Snake—one of the three major powers dividing the profits of Kerval’s black market—stared at the man delivering the report.
“An extra-dimensional artifact… and an incredibly beautiful woman, along with one pale-looking fellow?”
“Yes. Two birds with one stone, isn’t it? Heh heh heh.”
“You made sure the one who came to sell us this information can’t tell anyone else, right?”
“Of course.”
Extra-dimensional artifacts varied greatly in value depending on their capacity, but they were expensive to begin with, as they were the culmination of thaumaturgical engineering, created through the concentration of highly advanced miracles and Talic Stones.
And on top of that, there was a beautiful woman alongside them… It really was two birds with one stone.
‘That’s what this guy must be thinking…’
That was why he was still a low-ranking underling.
As a rule, if a beautiful woman was walking around without guards, one had to be suspicious of her first and foremost.
There were fools like the one before him everywhere, and there was no way such fellows wouldn’t make a pass at a stunning beauty when she happened to walk by.
So what did it mean that she could wander through even Kerval’s black market?
Whatever it was, she had something up her sleeve. And no doubt there were plenty of people who had been cut down by that hidden card.
The world was vast, and there were many strong people in it. The pale-looking fellow beside her might not be a martial warrior, but he could still be a powerful Exer.
In fact, the Reto-Kel gang, who had been making a small living in this area, had recently attacked a seemingly harmless young man traveling with three beauties, only to be cut down to pieces.
Of course, Spin had no intention of giving up out of fear.
There were always thoughtless fools suited for this sort of thing.
“Hey, we had some fellows called Kakurak under us, didn’t we?”
“Ah, you mean those smugglers making a small living in the eastern district?”
“Yeah. Their boss, Kakurak, was an Expert, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Leak this to him. Don’t spread it anywhere else.”
“What? But what if that guy eats them and runs? What are you going to do then?”
“…”
“Good grief! You useless bastard. Do you think he’d give up his position here over a single artifact, when he makes this much money here?”
Even small-time operations earned enormous profits from the black market. There was no way they would abandon the position they had worked so hard to secure because of a single artifact.
“Ah! I see. Understood.”
Watching his subordinate leave, Spin sighed.
That fellow had an unusually strong sense of loyalty for someone in this line of work, which was why Spin kept him close. But he was hopelessly dim-witted. So Spin had told him to report everything and move only according to orders.
“Haaah… When am I going to raise that thing into a proper person…?”
With another sigh, Spin headed toward a different district to arrange the distribution of the newly arrived drugs.☆ ☆ ☆
“Hmm… It seems there aren’t any more items like yesterday’s.”
Sian looked slightly disappointed as he surveyed the black market.
There actually were artifacts hidden here and there. They had flowed all the way into this place because their owners did not know their value.
But after obtaining Aksarai yesterday, Sian’s standards had risen far too high.
As a result, he was filtering out most ordinary items without even looking at them, judging them solely by their wavelengths.
“Heh heh. Did you really think a legendary divine sword or something like that would be sleeping somewhere in here?”
“Well… Since something like yesterday’s item was being passed around in the black market, I thought maybe there might be something like that.”
“If there were anything like that, it wouldn’t have made it this far. Truly impressive items often make their greatness obvious.”
“Tsk… I wanted to buy my brother a present, but I guess I won’t be able to find one.”
“Ah, that child named Rian?”
“Yes.”
Sian wanted to give him something he himself used, but if someone at his brother’s level merely touched those items, every bit of energy would be sucked out of him and he would die.
As a rule, ordinary people—including Grand Ravander—couldn’t even approach items usable by a Ravander.
“Hmm… Should I look for one and bring it to you later? What did you call him, a Master?”
“Yes. It would be nice to have something that made lightning fall from the sky the moment someone touched my brother… Something like that.”
“…”
“Or maybe something that would summon me beside him in a moment of crisis.”
Getting struck by lightning would probably be a hundred times more beneficial to the other party than having Sian summoned to them.
Steel, who had noticed that this superhuman was extraordinarily fond of his family, thought he had obtained some useful information and resumed walking.
At that moment, something approached and collided with Steel.
Thud!
“Ow! Ow!”
“What is it? What happened?”
The man who had collided with Steel went tumbling across the floor, while the men who appeared to be his companions hurriedly examined him.
“…”
“Miss Steel?”
“Oh my! Little brother, how was I supposed to avoid someone suddenly coming at me like that?”
“…”
There was no way Miss Steel would allow someone like that to collide with her body. She had obviously done it on purpose.
At the same time, Sian heard whispering from over there.
“…”
“Hey, hey, you can get up now. Why are you overacting?”
“…”
“Gueeek… Ugh… You bastard… I’m not overacting…”
‘Good grief…’
Sian didn’t know why, but it certainly didn’t seem as though the fellow had collided with Miss Steel with good intentions.
And there was no way Miss Steel would simply let someone like that off.
That friend had probably suffered, at minimum, a mild intestinal massage, and at maximum, a twisted set of internal organs.
One might have expected him to understand the situation by then, but the man who appeared to be the leader of the group behind him shouted loudly.
“You bastards! If you bump into someone, shouldn’t you apologize?”
Sian decided to apologize for the moment.
The man truly deserved an apology for his condition.
Looking him over once more, Sian thought it seemed unlikely he would ever have trouble with constipation again.
“I’m sorry.”
“You bastards! You think an apology is enough? You need to compensate us!”
“…”
‘Is this guy completely oblivious…?’
If someone couldn’t even stand after one collision, he should have had some idea of what was going on. But the burly-looking man before him didn’t appear to possess that kind of sense at all.
It had been a long time since Sian had seen someone even more oblivious than himself, so he stared at the man in fascination. Still, he decided it would be better to finish things with his own hands.
Those men were clearly planning to perform the classic three-step combination of apology, compensation demand, and assault. If that happened, a great tragedy would occur.
If Miss Steel used her hands, these unfortunate mortals would go through the three-step combination of assault, assault, and assault before all being sent to a six-person treatment ward.
Or perhaps a six-person grave.
Sian happened to have the sirloin he had been eating in his hand, so he decided to use it one more time and trudged forward.
He was merciful, so he would use only the assault-assault combination.
“Hey… What’s that in your hand? Is that supposed to be the compensation? You bastard! Come to think of it, that should be plenty of compensation.”
‘Hmm?’
Sian expressed his confusion at the man’s sudden change in attitude.
Sian hadn’t done anything, and Miss Steel behind him wasn’t stepping forward despite clearly finding this amusing. There was no reason for the man to suddenly act this way.
But he soon learned the reason.
“Hey, baldy! How many times have I told you not to do things like that?”
A red-haired woman was looking this way and striding toward them.
“No, ma’am. I really didn’t do anything. Those people came up and bumped into me. I was just going to accept their apology and let it end there.”
“Don’t give me that… Don’t you remember what you did to us a few days ago?”
“Haha… I’ve completely reformed since then. Heh heh.”
‘Damn it! Why are those bastards here again?!’
Kakurak cursed inwardly as he watched the one man and three women approaching from the distance.
Those unruly bastards had appeared out of nowhere in the black market a week ago.
A sickly-looking man accompanied by three beauties dazzling enough to make one’s eyes fly open.
Even someone with no sense should have found them suspicious.
That was why Kakurak and his gang had simply watched them for the time being and refrained from approaching.
But then some outsider had tried to pick the man’s pocket, and that fellow had actually allowed himself to be pickpocketed.
There was no way a powerful martial warrior could fail to notice a fool’s attempt at pickpocketing.
The rumor spread through the black market in no time.
The moment word got around that the man was weak, people began converging on them from every direction.
Women as beautiful as those three could be sold in countless places, and if they couldn’t be sold, the men could have their fun with them or send them to a brothel.
Finders keepers.
But that had been their mistake.
The dangerous ones weren’t the man, but the women beside him.
Since they clung so closely to the man, Kakurak had thought they were unremarkable women who were only impressive because they weren’t men.
He had been spectacularly wrong.
They looked like angels, but their behavior was the work of devils themselves.
In particular, the Reto-Kel fellows had carelessly touched the buttocks of the woman who appeared the gentlest among them. All seventeen of them were currently in a treatment center with compound fractures throughout their bodies.
Their base had also been completely cleaned out, and those bastards were using the money to shop in the black market.
Fortunately, Kakurak had only been interested in the man rather than the women, so he had gotten off with just a few blows. If he had made a pass at those women, he would not have escaped so lightly.
He had been avoiding them so they would never cross paths again, but when he heard that these easy targets were walking around with a treasure, he had come to vent his frustration.
And now, through sheer bad luck, everything had become tangled up.
“We’re going to be staying here for quite a while, so don’t bully weak people or anything… You know what will happen, right?”
“Good heavens! When have I ever done such a thing? Nothing like that has ever happened. We’re doing our best to maintain public order. Hey, you lot! Let’s get to work, quickly!”
Afraid he might become entangled with them any further, Kakurak hastily gathered his men and fled. In an instant, only Sian’s group and the group of beauties remained in the black-market street.
Having suddenly become one of the weak, Sian was still satisfied that the matter had been resolved without trouble and offered his thanks.
“Thank you. It was resolved smoothly thanks to you.”
“Be careful. This place is full of beasts. You look like an administrator or something, so it’s dangerous for you to wander around like that.”
“Pfft.”
Miss Steel let out a quiet laugh behind him.
It seemed she was deeply disappointed that no incident had occurred. But now some cute little fellows had appeared to worry about them, and the absurdity of it had made her laugh.
“Hmm…?”
The red-haired woman finally seemed to notice the woman standing behind the man and looked in her direction.
‘…Oh, come on.’
The red-haired woman always prided herself on having an appearance that could hold its own anywhere, but the woman behind him was beyond anything she could have imagined.
She was tall and well-proportioned, with incredibly long legs and a small face. She looked to be well over nine heads tall.
Her skin was unbelievably white, too. The red-haired woman was always fighting outdoors and had begun worrying about the aging of her skin…
And then there was the most infuriating part…
‘…Isn’t it heavy, walking around with those?’
Irritated for no good reason, the woman turned around and walked back toward her companions.
But she only became more irritated.
Kelvin was staring blankly in the woman’s direction.
Squeeze!
“Ugh…”
“Grit… Just where are you looking, Kelvin?”
“Ow ow ow… No, no, Linna. Please…”
The man named Kelvin was seized by the red-haired woman named Linna and dragged away, while the other two women followed behind them and disappeared.
“Heh heh heh heh.”
“…”
“Miss Steel, you look utterly intoxicated by your victory. I thought you didn’t care about humans?”
“Victory is always pleasant.”
At that, Sian nodded as well. The other three were beautiful too, but someone like Miss Steel was hard to find anywhere.☆ ☆ ☆
“Oh! Is it finally complete, Young Man Rimainu?”
Dekaduin smiled as he examined the formula of the magic array.
“Yes, Sir Dekaduin. It’s finally complete. Since we had the data, finishing it was quick. But… once it’s completed like this, it requires an enormous amount of energy. Was there some alteration to the equations that I’m unaware of?”
Rimainu had been called a genius in the place where he used to live, and he was rapidly acquiring knowledge of thaumaturgy here as well. Yet compared to Grand Thaumaturgists or even first-class thaumaturgists, he was still no more than a child.
That was why Rimaineu, who had played a major role in this project yet had been unable to see the overall picture, voiced his doubts.
“Do not worry. I made the changes because I recently found a place where we could replenish that energy, so there should be no problem. Now the only issue is installation. We will probably install it on the outskirts of Kerval. If only to resolve the catastrophe in Ragao Fora.”
Upon hearing that, Rimaineu recalled Kerval, which he had visited recently.
And the calamity that had befallen it.
As far as he knew, if that was the purpose of this magic array, it would be of immense help to Kerval.
“That is an excellent idea. Considering the purpose of this magic array… that would yield the greatest efficiency.”
Dekaduin left the laboratory, while Rimaineu began testing it against the data in order to perfect the magic array even further.
A name he had given it, since it did not yet have one in this world.
A legendary miracle of a grander order than La-Shar-Roa.
Once this was completed, Ragao Fora would become nothing more than a relic of the old era.
It would become a new hope for Kerval.
Thinking of everyone becoming happy thanks to the Warp Gate, Rimaineu threw himself into his research with renewed vigor.
☆ ☆ ☆
“Hey, where are you going again?”
Rivias shouted as he looked at the man.
“Hmm… Rivias, you heard that it was completed this time, right?”
“Yeah. Whew… That was close. If I’d been late, it would have been embarrassing.”
Rivias let out a sigh of relief.
The magic array required him in order to function.
It would have been embarrassing if he had been late, but before the magic array was completed, he had recovered his former realm and regained the ability to activate the ‘Path.’
“We decided to install it in Kerval this time.”
“Kerval? The place on the other side of that shortcut?”
“Yeah.”
Rivias then put on a puzzled expression.
“Why build it in a place with such a large population?”
“Well… Officially, it’s known as the La-Shar-Roa Reinforcement Array. But the route was destroyed when the coffin disappeared this time, wasn’t it? So they said they were going to build it there.”
Only then did Rivias look as though he understood.
“Ah… So they’re going to install it there under the pretext of reconnecting Kerval and Margaran?”
“Exactly. This isn’t something that can be built in secret. The amount of Talic Stones alone that will go into it is enormous. The manpower and supplies required are also on an incredible scale.”
But Rivias was puzzled once again.
“Hey, you aren’t needed this time, are you? So why are you leaving?”
The design of this magic array was not their responsibility.
Rivias himself was only going to provide the energy. Since he knew nothing about Exar, he could not help with the magic array itself at all.
There was no reason for him to leave when there was nothing he needed to help with.
“Hehe… We have to test whether it produces the intended effect, don’t we? That way, we can decide whether or not to use it when the need arises.”
“And?”
“You know how experiments work. You have to pit it against something at least somewhat useful to find out, don’t you?”
Rivias still did not understand, but he turned away, figuring that the man must have some plan in mind.
That sinister fellow was absolutely not the sort to act without thinking.
After Rivias disappeared, the man vanished into thin air.
☆ ☆ ☆
After finishing all his business in the black market, Sian was sightseeing around Kerval. He was slightly surprised to find that the atmosphere of Kerval was more peaceful than he had expected.
By now, word of what had happened in Margaran should have arrived. If so, the city ought to have been thrown into chaos long ago.
Though not to the same extent as Margaran, there was no doubt that trade accounted for a tremendous portion of this city’s activity.
And yet it was this quiet.
His curiosity piqued, Sian listened more closely and soon discovered the reason.
“Wow… This place called the Grand Assembly is incredible.”
“What is, little brother?”
“Ragao Fora, the place we came through this time, was destroyed, right?”
“That’s right.”
“They say that since the route will probably be blocked, they’re going to install a spatial teleportation array between here and Margaran.”
“Hmm?”
At those words, Stil looked puzzled.
He had once run a country and had also taken some interest in Exar, so although he did not know much, he had a certain understanding of the field.
Even La-Shar-Roa was an over-technology that could never have been realized without the foundation of ancient imperial technology.
Moreover, La-Shar-Roa could never transport the amount of goods carried by hundreds or thousands of ships each day.
Since the energy consumed increased in proportion to mass, using up Talic Stones to transport cargo was far too costly.
In that case, it was much more economical to travel by land, even if it meant taking a detour.
And yet they intended to install a spatial teleportation array to transport goods?
If they succeeded, it was understandable that the city remained so stable.
They would be able to transport far more goods, much more conveniently, than by ship.
Still, Stil could not understand it, and he listened more closely himself.
By his common sense, it should have been difficult.
He also decided that he would have to investigate it later.
The thought that something was going on strongly stirred Stil’s mind.
☆ ☆ ☆
Broshan, a small fishing village that appeared if one traveled up along the eastern coast.
Kirat was slowly walking along Ropel’s beach.
This was because the information window in the air kept displaying messages without pause.
[Quest: Precious Connection]
- A small fishing village that appears as you travel up along Margaran. Stay in Ropel.
- Reward: 0 experience. Connection with
Kirat wore a puzzled expression. She had never received such a strange quest before.
It did not seem to offer anything worth gaining, nor any advantage.
But Kirat did not question it. She headed toward Ropel as the quest instructed.
That information window had never once lied to her.
Besides, judging from the wording displayed in the information window, it did not seem particularly dangerous.
‘If things go wrong, I can always escape using Return….’
Since nothing was more important than survival, Kirat had invested considerably in the
In fact, the skill had saved her life many times while she carried out quests after leaving Tian.
The truth was that Kirat was feeling extremely frustrated. That was why she was walking along the beach, hoping to relieve even a little of her pent-up feelings while waiting for the person who was supposed to come find her.
‘Can I kill that bastard…?’
At first, she had thought that with her abilities, she could somehow gather enough strength to kill him.
Once she completed the quests spread across the continent and solved the continent’s mysteries, surely she would at least have enough power to kill that bastard.
It had been an enormous misconception.
A misconception born from the fact that she knew little about the true nature of the Ra-Vander seed.
When a danger warning suddenly appeared beside someone added to her
And from a hill where the people had evacuated, she had watched everything that someone named Sian did.
She had watched him fish in Margaran from beginning to end.
He had stood on the beach and pulled an entire small mountain toward himself.
He was not beating it down and dragging it over, either. Using nothing but sheer physical strength, he was pulling the enormous six-horned creature onto land.
Furthermore, judging by his face, he did not even seem tired.
Only then did she realize.
This way was impossible. She had to find another method.
But she did not know any other method. She could only follow the information window floating in the air.
“Phew….”
She stopped walking and sighed, her mind tangled with complicated thoughts. Then a voice came from behind her.
“Oh? So here you were. But how did you know to wait right here?”
“Ah!”
Kirat was startled and whipped around.
Because survival was her top priority, she had invested heavily in skills related to detection and observation.
And yet someone had managed to get behind her!
When she turned around, she saw a brown-haired man smiling brightly at her.
He had an utterly ordinary appearance, the kind of man she would probably not remember if she passed him on the street. Yet he was examining Kirat from every angle as though she were something fascinating.
“Let’s see… Young lady, you have the coffin, don’t you?”
“…….”
Kirat felt her already tense body stiffen even further.
“Whoa! You don’t need to be so startled. I made some preparations beforehand so I could find you wherever you went. It’s not like I knew because I’m some kind of god. I just followed the signal.”
Kirat began to calm herself.
There was no point asking who he was. He would not give her a proper answer anyway.
So Kirat quietly activated a skill.
[
The
Kirat had recently acquired the skill after striving desperately to find Sian’s weakness, having already judged that she was incapable of handling the matter through force.
Soon, information windows rose in a long stream through the air.
And Kirat doubted her own eyes.
“……You….”
“Huh? Young lady, what did you just do?”
Even as he watched Kirat’s astonishment, the man continued smiling cheerfully. Then, after thinking deeply for a moment, he slapped his palm.
“Aha… I was wondering how you found the coffin’s location and were waiting here so precisely… You’re an Aksarai player, aren’t you?”
“……!”
She had been surprised before, but this time she was even more shocked.
“Haha! Don’t be so surprised. When you’ve lived as long as I have, you go through all sorts of things. I’ve seen one before, you see. In any case, this changes the plan a little.”
The man fell into thought as he stood before the speechless girl, perhaps rendered mute by her confusion.
At first, he had intended to take only the coffin. As long as he had the coffin, he could use it himself.
But the girl was tempting.
Aksarai players appeared exceedingly rarely.
Even though he had lived for a very long time, he had seen one only once.
If he had that child, she would be a tremendous help.
Having reached that conclusion, the man decided to take the girl with him and opened his mouth.
The coffin was important, but having the girl come along as well would be even better.
“Would you like to come with me?”
“What did you say?”
Kirat asked again, faced with an unexpected invitation from an unexpected opponent in an unexpected situation.
“Whoa, whoa. For the record, I’m absolutely not forcing you. My motto is, ‘Never force anyone.’”
“…….”
“If you’re really suspicious, you know… that thing will appear in the air, right? Since you can connect to Aksarai. You can look at that and decide. And the contract terms are incredibly good, too.”
Ignoring the man as he passionately explained what was good about joining him, Kirat examined the quest that was appearing furiously in the air before her.
And the chain quests that followed it.
After examining everything, Kirat finally realized that she had found a way.
She would join this man.
“Very well. I’ll go with you.”
“…The salary is high, and there’s insurance, and the treatment is excellent, and if things go wrong… Huh? You’ve decided? I haven’t even finished explaining the conditions.”
“Well… I can hear all that gradually after we get there.”
“Haha! Good thinking, young lady. You really are a player. I must have explained things too enthusiastically. All right… We normally have a probationary period, but there’s something I need you to do first. Come with me.”
The man smiled happily, and Kirat beside him also wore a satisfied smile as she began to see a path toward revenge.
☆ ☆ ☆
Rimaineu trembled with excitement as he gazed at the grand teleportation array, which would soon be complete.
Sometimes he felt sad about having fallen into this world, but moments like this were truly enjoyable.
A Warp Gate!
Spatial teleportation alone was astonishing, but to twist space and connect one place to another….
It was an incredible miracle that would have been unimaginable in his world.
Seeing this astonishing result, born from the combination of this world’s miracles and the science of his own, filled Rimaineu with pride.
Science was less developed in this world, but that was understandable.
The Exar of this world was a miracle beyond science, after all.
People advance out of necessity. With Exar-based magic engineering already in existence, it was only natural, in a sense, that the development of science would be slow.
“Rimaineu, you look to be in a good mood.”
Dekaduin came over and spoke to him.
“Ah, Lord Decaduin. Welcome. It seems all that remains now is to put in a source that can supply energy to that place.”
As he spoke, Rimaine pointed toward the small tower at the very center of the magic formation, visible in the distance.
“But… the amount of energy required to start it is truly no small matter.”
Rimaine spoke with a worried expression.
“Do not worry about that. I have prepared a way.”
In truth, Rimaine was still wondering whether this plan was actually feasible.
Even on Earth, it had been difficult to obtain the energy needed to maintain the miracle of opening that dimensional gate.
They had designed the formation by employing every conceivable miracle and drawing upon dimensional energy, but even so, the amount of energy required to open the gate for the first time was enormous.
It required energy comparable to nuclear fusion, and Rimaine could not believe that something like this could be accomplished in an age resembling the Middle Ages.
“Hmm… Rimaine, how long has it been since you came here?”
“…About three years.”
Since Decaduin was one of the people who knew his secret, Rimaine answered without hesitation.
Three years since he had fallen into this place.
A great many things had happened, and amid it all, he had proven his worth and risen this far.
Meeting the higher-ups of the Mage Association had been an incredible stroke of luck for him.
If he had not encountered the Mage Association here, he would most likely have ended up as a corpse in the street by now.
“You have never seen beings known as Transcendents, have you?”
If it had only been three years since he came here, there was no way he could have seen a Transcendent.
“No. I have only heard of them.”
Transcendents. He had learned of their existence from a book he read here.
But he was a rational man, so he had simply thrown the book aside.
It had been filled with utter nonsense.
“Heh heh… Then take a good look with the visual device this time.”
Rimaine wondered what he meant, but soon understood.
“Surely… a person is going into that thing in the center?”
“A person? Did I not just say it was a Transcendent?”
Decaduin gave a strange smile as he watched Rimaine make an incredulous expression.
“Your work here is finished for the time being. From this point onward, it falls within the scope of miracles… Return to the Mage Association for now……”
At those words, Rimaine nodded in agreement.
His knowledge had played a major role, but from here onward, this was the realm of miracles.
The formation was composed of high-level magic that he, still only a third-grade mage, could not even touch. The mages would handle it from here.☆ ☆ ☆
The middle of the Kiaran Sea.
A small boat was drifting across the dangerous waters, where Ragaopora had been severed and Harijans swarmed in abundance.
The boat had neither sails nor oars.
Even so, the wooden vessel was cutting across the sea at truly incredible speed.
Strangely enough, the boat was not attacked at all.
“…
Where are we going?”
Kirat asked the man.
The man, who had told him to call him ‘Ragaophe,’ answered.
Kirat had examined the man with the
“Hmm… We’re going to look for a test subject.”
The man spoke as casually as if he were going to catch a rabbit in the hills behind his house for an experiment.
“A test subject? What are you testing?”
“We made something this time. It’s a new miracle, but my friend said he had made something new and asked me to help him.”
“What does that have to do with a test subject?”
“It has plenty to do with it. Considering what we invested this time, it ought to be able to kill at least six Horns with ease.”
Kirat could not keep up as the scale of events grew out of control.
“Then… surely……”
“That’s right. We’re heading to… Ah, you said you saw it last time, didn’t you? That fellow called Bakuron. We’re going to where his progenitor is.”
‘…
He’s insane…….’
Kirat had checked the information on that Bakuron fellow before.
Level 2
0
3.
He had only just reached Six-Horn status, but his power was enough to casually chew up an entire city.
If not for that bastard Sian, Broshan’s eastern coast would have been destroyed that day.
And they were going to meet the progenitor of such a creature.
Generally, Harijans grew stronger as they aged.
That meant there was a ninety-nine-percent chance that it was far stronger than the Bakuron he had seen before.
The man before him was also strong, but if the two of them fought, Kirat would be caught up in it and die a dog’s death.
Especially on the surface of the sea, where there was nowhere to run.
As soon as he heard the general details from Ragaophe, a quest appeared in the air.
[Quest: Lead
-With the assistance of
-Find
-Reward: 3,900,000 experience points. (However, if assistance is received, this will be reduced to 1/10.) Temporary control over
“I’m not ready to die yet.”
Kirat answered as soon as he saw the status window floating in the air.
The wording and choice of terms were plain enough, but the content itself was nothing short of vicious.
How was he supposed to tame something like that?
“Heh heh. Do you think I brought you here so you could die, Kirat? I have a method.”
“What kind of… Ah?”
Kirat pointed at the crown he was holding.
“That’s right. The crown on your head. It’s an incredibly good item. It was difficult to make, and I nearly died gathering the materials.”
It was an unidentified crown whose information did not appear.
Kirat knew roughly what it was, but he still did not know its true nature.
“…
Will something like this really be enough?”
“‘Something like this’? I’m telling you, it’s a truly excellent item.”
Ragaophe gave a crooked grin and continued.
“You’re a connector of Aksarai… so you should be able to control Barakuna. The compatibility is good. I’ll help you. It still won’t be possible to control it completely, but we only have to get it as far as Kerval, so there shouldn’t be a problem.”
With that, Ragaophe began steering the boat forward.
Kirat thought that following this man had been the right decision after all.
The longer he stayed with him, the stronger his feeling became that an opportunity would present itself.☆ ☆ ☆
Sian was wandering alone through the streets of Kerval.
Steel had suddenly gotten up, said he had somewhere to go for a while, and disappeared.
Since Steel had told him they would meet at their lodgings that evening, Sian had said all right and gone out to wander around.
As he made his way through Kerval, Sian spotted something interesting.
It was the same one man and three women he had seen before.
They were bickering in the street.
“Kelvin, you idiot! You got robbed again?”
“No… I wasn’t robbed this time. I’m telling you, I forgot where I put it……”
“What’s the difference! Look what you’ve done!”
“…
But there’s hardly any left because you ate so much.”
“Shut up!”
After making a noisy fuss, they reluctantly raised the flag they had brought on their backs.
The blue-haired woman holding the flag hung her head as if she wanted to die of embarrassment.
Sian chewed on goby loin meat as he watched them closely.
It was an ordinary street stall, but the moment they set it up, it became explosively popular.
It was not because they looked like they had good odds.
The women possessed astonishing strength.
The red-haired woman in particular was slamming her opponent’s arm onto the table as though she were extremely displeased with the situation.
And yet business was booming.
Because the arm wrestling was being conducted by beautiful women.
Many men challenged them even while knowing they would lose.
Of course, there were also many men who nearly had their arms broken after pawing at their hands, but the arm-wrestling stall was still an enormous success.
As he watched them intently, Sian realized that the necklace around the man’s neck looked familiar.
‘…
Ah… Where have I seen it before? Oh, right!’
Sian opened Aksarai and called up
It was an item he had come across while browsing out of boredom yesterday—and had desperately wanted to obtain.
Someone had clearly created it after thinking along the same lines as he had.
-A necklace once made by a great mage to protect his lover. It forms a pair with a ring.
-Currently owned by the Count of Rorwan’s household in Karan.
-Function 1
-Function 2
‘So this is who had it…….’
It had appeared before him at an extremely opportune moment.
The ring, meanwhile, was currently worn by the blonde woman.
Before long, Sian made up his mind and walked toward them.
He had to participate before the stall closed.☆ ☆ ☆
“…
Reka, shouldn’t we be heading back soon?”
“Shut up, Rinna! If we want to earn enough for your meals, when else are we supposed to do it?”
The blonde woman scolded the red-haired woman named Rinna as she broke the arm of her twenty-seventh challenger.
Rinna was too embarrassed to say anything.
“All right… next… Hmm?”
Reka made a puzzled expression when a face she had seen somewhere sat down in front of her.
“Huh? You’re the man who was with that breast monster back then.”
‘…
So that’s how she remembered me…….’
Sian sighed, and only then did Reka seem to recall who he was.
“Oh, you’re that friend from back then. What brings you here?”
“Well… nothing in particular. I thought I might participate once.”
Sian felt terribly underhanded, but the necklace was too tempting. He endured the embarrassment of his face turning red.
Seeing his flushed face, however, Reka seemed to get the wrong idea and gave him a sly grin.
“Friend, what will you do if you cheat on your lover? I am pretty charming, you know. Hee hee.”
“…
I didn’t sit down here to hold your hand.”
“Eh?”
Reka made an incredulous expression.
“By the way… how much can I bet here?”
“Ho ho ho… You’re a bold one, aren’t you? You must have plenty of money at home.”
Reka laughed as if she found it amusing.
“Bet as much as you like. Unlimited betting is our standard.”
The blue-haired woman smiled faintly as she spoke.
“Hmm… Really? And… what will you do if I don’t have the means to pay?”
Since Sian kept speaking in that manner, the blue-haired woman also began to regard him as suspicious.
That attitude only came from someone absolutely certain of victory. But after a moment, she turned her head away.
Guarding Kelvin was their mission, so they had memorized every person on the continent who might pose a danger to them. Such behavior was possible because there were no more than two hundred people on the continent stronger than them.
There was no such person in her memory. Thus, the blue-haired woman, Kurin, relaxed and answered with a smile.
“Don’t worry. We’ll accept payment in goods.”
“Phew… Good. No backing out.”
After sighing in relief, Sian placed every talant Steel had given him as pocket money onto the table.
“……?”
“…
Hey, Kurin. How much is this?”
“Hmm… It looks like more than two thousand talants……”
The four of them, including Reka, stared at Sian with deeply suspicious eyes.
“Are you not confident?”
“Ho ho ho… It seems the administrator has some kind of trick up his sleeve… You’ll regret this……”
“Um… Reka… Couldn’t we just not do this? Even now?”
“Go away, Kelvin.”
The woman named Reka wore an expression of immense wounded pride.
But perhaps she was slightly uneasy, because she glanced sideways at Kurin. Her look seemed to ask, Do you know someone like this?
Kurin shook her head. There was no one like him on the list.
Only then did Reka look at Sian with the expression of someone who had caught a fish.
‘There are always people like this… Bluffers who put on a bold front…….’
Gambling or anything else, when it came to throwing money around, the one who was outbid was finished.
“You must have lived your whole life only seeing timid little fellows… You’ll regret this.”
“So are you going to do it?”
Sian asked with an anxious expression. If she refused now, there was nothing he could do.
“Heh heh. Are you getting cold feet now? Too late. Come here!”
The woman named Reka roughly grabbed Sian’s hand.
‘Why do I feel like I keep getting mixed up with rough women…….’
But he had achieved his objective, so it did not matter.
“Well… then, let’s begin.”
And the match began.