Ch.135The Lost One (2)

Graf swung his sword.

There was no warning before the strike. His expression was natural, his breathing steady, and not even a hint of hostility could be felt. As naturally as breathing, and as if it were the most obvious thing to do, Graf swung his sword.

No matter how quick Najin’s reactions might be, it’s difficult to respond to an attack that comes in such a manner. Difficult, yes—but the moment Graf swung his sword, Najin drew his own.

CLAAANG! With the harsh sound of clashing sword energy, Najin stepped back.

“Quick reflexes. Impressive.”

Graf muttered.

True to his words, Najin’s reactions were fast, but in this case, that wasn’t all. Najin had been wary of Graf from the beginning. Even before he drew his sword.

‘I had no choice.’

Humans scattered on the ground, burned by Graf’s sword energy. Though their scorched vocal cords couldn’t reach Najin, he could tell what they were trying to say by reading their lips.

‘They insulted my pride. They mocked me for being a knight, for being a Kurtan, while living in the Outer Continent.’

When Graf had said that.

They had been trying to say:

‘That’s wrong. That man killed my comrades.’

So, he was the one who had attacked.

From the moment he heard those words, Najin had kept his hand on his sword hilt, ready to react at any time. And now that the attack had come, Najin’s expression was grim.

“You said your name was Graf.”

“Yes. Graf is indeed my name.”

“You, didn’t you say you were a knight?”

Was it because he had attacked? No.

The fact that he had introduced himself as a knight was what made Najin’s brow furrow.

“Of course. I am Graf, a brave knight of Kurtan.”

“Ambush. Desecration of corpses. Cannibalism. What kind of knight enjoys such filthy acts?”

“Everyone in the Outer Continent is like this. This is normal here. You must be young and inexperienced.”

Graf shrugged as if there was nothing strange about it. He twirled his sword once and took his stance. Blue sword energy flickered along the blade.

Because that stance was perfect. Because it was a disciplined stance worthy of being called exemplary for a knight, Najin’s expression darkened further.

“Don’t treat the abnormal as normal. Don’t you know that saying?”

“A knight’s precept. So what? Isn’t it natural to prioritize survival above all other values? Humans don’t consider it ‘wrong’ to slaughter livestock for food, do they? It’s the same thing. This is normal here.”

“If you’re going to say that.”

Najin’s sword energy blazed pure white.

“You shouldn’t have called yourself a knight.”

Just as Najin was about to charge at Graf, stomping his foot on the ground, Merlin’s voice echoed in his ears.

-No.

A voice different from Merlin’s usual tone—resolute and cold. Merlin warned:

-Don’t fight recklessly from here on. Actually, it might already be too late.

‘What? What do you mean…?’

Najin soon discovered why Merlin had given such a warning. The answer came from Graf standing before him.

“Ah. This is troublesome.”

Graf sighed.

“The crows have noticed us.”

Arrows rained down on Najin and Graf. They were too large to be called arrows, closer to spears. In fact, some spears were mixed among them.

THWACK-THWACK-THWACK!

As all manner of projectiles poured down, Najin deflected them with his sword and threw himself sideways. Immediately after, with a BOOM, the ground where he had been standing collapsed.

Najin turned to look at the attackers.

Attackers surrounded them, having been watching from who knows where and for how long. There were at least eight of them. Najin’s eyes narrowed. The aura emanating from them was unusual.

Living in the Outer Continent naturally meant they had reached at least the level of Sword Seeker.

Moreover, judging by their perfectly controlled sword energy and presence, they were clearly skilled even among Sword Seekers. In other words, they were veterans who had reached their level long ago and had matured in their skills. They were opponents who could give the current Najin a good fight.

“Hey! Crow friends.”

Graf, who had deflected the arrows aimed at him, shouted toward them.

“That fellow seems to have two stars. And they haven’t lost their light yet. Wouldn’t that fresh star be more valuable than my old one?”

He smiled with his arms spread wide.

“Besides, this friend is stronger than expected. You saw his reaction just now, right? You might lose him.”

“……”

“So, what do you say we share? Help me with the hunt.”

“What’s the ratio?”

“I found him first. Give me 30%.”

“20%.”

“Such stingy friends. Fine, fine. Let’s do that.”

The deal was struck.

They spoke no more. They answered by turning their bowstrings and spear blades from Graf to Najin. Witnessing all this, Najin was unusually flustered.

‘What is this…?’

-I told you.

Arrows rained down again. Someone stomped the ground and hurled a spear. Deflecting the spear that cut through the air, Najin was pushed far back. His hand tingled with pain. Not missing that opening, Graf and the other attackers charged.

-This is that kind of place.

CLAAANG!

Pushed back by the relentless attacks, Najin rolled across the ground and stood up. When he raised his head, what met his eyes were the gazes of beasts. Nine humans were charging at him like animals.

Their eyes were fixed on Najin’s heart.

Curses rose in Najin’s throat. What a welcome to this place. He had heard from Merlin what kind of land the Outer Continent was, but experiencing it firsthand was different. Above all, what shocked Najin was…

The fact that not a hint of hostility could be felt in their eyes or movements. To them, all of this was simply natural.

Humans rarely feel guilt when hunting animals. This was the same context. To them, hunting humans seemed no different from hunting beasts.

For ages, humanity has killed other living beings to survive. In the Outer Continent, the only difference was that the target had changed to fellow humans.

The hunters charged toward their appetizing prey.

2.

He couldn’t win in a direct confrontation. If he could face them one by one, perhaps, but even Najin would struggle against so many skilled opponents simultaneously.

Najin turned and began to run.

As the attackers pursued him, Najin threw himself toward a steep slope. Rather than slowing down on the descent, he kicked off the ground and ran almost like he was flying.

Normally, when Najin decided to flee, few could catch him. His speed and evasion skills were well-known.

THWIIIIISH!

But not in the Outer Continent.

An arrow was shot “precisely” at the running Najin. If he hadn’t twisted his body, the arrow would have pierced his spine. Though he twisted away, another arrow grazed his calf.

THUNK.

Though it only grazed him, it tore away a chunk of flesh. As Najin stumbled, a flash of light flew toward him. Najin realized too late that it was a spear. An unavoidable strike. When he swung his sword to deflect it, Najin lost his balance and tumbled down the slope.

But having lost the spear, surely there would be a pause before the next attack. Or so he thought for a moment.

“My spear never leaves my side.”

The spear that had been stuck in the ground pulled free and returned to the hand of the attacker standing in the distance. At exactly the same speed it had flown. Catching the returning spear, the attacker spun with the momentum and hurled it again.

THWIIIIIIIIISH!

The spear cut through the air. As Najin deflected it once more, there was a ‘crack’ as one of his fingers broke. But there was no time to rest.

Again arrows, spear blades, and magic rushed toward him. And that wasn’t all—Graf, who had somehow closed the distance, swung his sword at Najin.

WHOOSH.

Najin barely avoided the attack by leaning backward, then tried to swing his sword to shake off Graf. However, Graf was no easy opponent either. CLANG-CLANG-CLANG! Parrying the sword, Graf threw himself sideways. Suddenly, five arrows that had been hidden behind Graf’s body appeared in Najin’s view.

SLASH! Even in that moment, Najin reacted and managed to cut down four of the arrows, but the remaining one pierced his shoulder. The force of the arrow threw off Najin’s balance.

And then, a similar situation repeated itself.

The entire process was unnaturally smooth. This wasn’t the work of amateurs, and there were no gaps between attacks. It was a near-perfect coordinated assault.

-Stay calm.

Merlin’s voice echoed in Najin’s ear.

A cool voice suppressing his racing heart.

-I’ll show you the way.

Merlin reached out and gently wrapped her hand around Najin’s sword hand. He couldn’t feel her warmth. He couldn’t feel her touch. But he could feel her presence.

-You’re confident in your running, right? Stay calm. There are many places to escape to here. Even more places to hide.

Najin’s narrowed vision widened.

-Don’t fear injury. In the Outer Continent, such wounds are nothing. The power of stars is stronger here, and your recovery ability is the same. So, stay calm.

And he did. Najin took a deep breath and focused his eyes. His bloodshot eyes read the terrain. Keeping the attackers’ movements in his sight, Najin moved.

-Yes. Like that.

Merlin smiled.

She pointed in a direction. A terrain full of collapsed stones and trees. Najin began running in that direction. Open areas were disadvantageous. If that was the case, he would lure the enemy to a narrow place with many obstacles blocking the view.

It was a basic combat tactic. Najin stuck to the basics. He lured the attackers into a narrow space.

“I’ll handle this.”

His pursuers weren’t ignorant of this tactic. Without slowing down, still running, Graf stomped the ground. Blue flames rose high above his sword.

A powerful Sword Seeker isn’t hindered by obstacles. They simply clear them away.

“My sword is fire, a blue wave.”

The flames grew more intense. Graf swung the blazing blue fire. The blue flames surged like waves. Rocks melted at the touch of the blue sword energy, and trees burned to ash. After the blue fire swept through, the obstacles were gone and the view was clear.

And then, one of Graf’s arms flew through the air.

At the same moment Graf swung his sword, Najin, who had been hiding, charged at him. Taking advantage of the blue flames blocking Graf’s view, Najin cut off his arm. As blood spurted, Najin twisted his sword-wielding wrist.

Changing the trajectory of his blade, Najin extended his sword upward. Graf pulled his sword in to protect his heart, but Najin’s blade wasn’t aiming for Graf’s heart.

-Aiming for the heart is good, but you don’t always have to target it.

Najin’s blade pierced under Graf’s chin. Najin put strength into his sword hand. The blade that entered through the chin emerged from the crown of Graf’s head. A clean thrust. The moment Najin withdrew his sword, Graf’s body fell forward.

As he was about to stab the heart again, Graf’s eyes flashed. Despite having his head pierced, despite his eyes rolling back, his arm moved. Like a monster acting on instinct even without consciousness.

Those who survive in the Outer Continent for a long time transform into something different from humans. Graf was such a being. The sight of him moving while blood poured from his eyes and nose was quite terrifying.

-When you scramble their brains, they act like beasts like that. See? It’s a bit easier to deal with them, right? Their actions become more predictable.

Merlin was right. Najin kicked off the ground to create distance. At that moment, arrows rained down on where he had been standing. Only Graf remained in Najin’s place, and the arrows pierced his body.

Then, THWIIIIISH!

A flying spear pierced Graf’s heart. Watching from a distance, Najin exhaled with disbelief. So they were just temporary allies, not comrades? The man who retrieved his spear bit into Graf’s heart that was skewered on the spear tip. As he chewed and swallowed the heart, he was smiling.

As if in ecstasy.

“Nothing but beasts.”

Is this the Outer Continent? Must he survive among such people from now on? As Najin was thinking this, the Outer Continent eagerly whispered in his ear:

You think this is all?

Najin felt the presence of more people. The number of attackers pursuing him had somehow increased. With each step Najin took, with each new terrain he entered, the attackers multiplied.

And they were all skilled fighters.

Sword Seekers were everywhere.

While Sword Seekers might be valuable personnel on the continent, that wasn’t the case in the Outer Continent. Why? Wasn’t Sword Seeker a level reached only by geniuses after tremendous effort? How could there be so many powerful fighters here?

-That’s true for a single era.

Merlin said.

-In a short span of 10 years, or even up to 50 years, not many Sword Seekers are born. But what if you extend that period to 100 years, 500 years, a thousand years?

Those freed from aging.

Those distant from death.

Such beings live for hundreds of years, surpassing human lifespans. Even if they were pushed out from the continent, they don’t disappear but accumulate at the edges of the world.

-This is the sedimentary layer of human history.

A land where powerful fighters have accumulated over nearly a thousand years. A place full of people who have amassed at least centuries of experience, though they couldn’t reach transcendence due to the barrier.

-And.

Najin’s eyes widened.

While fleeing from the pursuit, Najin suddenly ducked his head. Something massive swept over his head. Following that came a terrifying sound: “CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!” Trees throughout the forest were uprooted.

Looking back, there stood a giant. Najin belatedly realized that the giant’s palm had just swept over his head.

-It’s also a land teeming with monsters from the mythical age.

The giant let out a roar.

The roaring giant reached out its hand toward Najin. There was no escape. As the fleeing Najin gripped his sword, ready to cut off the giant’s hand—

“This way, boy.”

Someone grabbed Najin’s arm and pulled.