Ch.7Omens of Civil War (3)

# Ivan’s Office.

Najin sat on a luxurious sofa that seemed out of place in the underground city, waiting for Ivan. After about an hour, Ivan opened the door and entered the office.

“Ha, this guy is hilarious.”

Ivan came in chuckling, wiping blood from his face and forearms with a wet towel. It wasn’t his own blood, but splatter. Najin glanced at the towel turning crimson.

“Is it over?”

“Yeah. He opened up quickly. You must have really broken his spirit? He confessed after I pulled just a couple.”

Ivan tossed something up and caught it repeatedly.

Looking closer, it was human teeth. It wasn’t difficult to guess whose teeth they were.

“Anyway, what a good kid. Where did you find someone like him? He’s perfect. I’ve been irritated lately because my underlings haven’t been working properly…”

I really like him.

Ivan muttered as he sat down on the chair.

“So, was he a good fight? Not your first time fighting someone who can use mana, right?”

“Not my first. I’ve sparred with you several times.”

“Man, that was education.”

You call beating someone nearly to death education?

While Najin pondered the definition of education, Ivan asked again.

“Injuries?”

“My arm is sore from dragging him around, but nothing else.”

“Huh. You beat up someone who can use mana without getting a scratch when you can’t even use it yourself? You’re really something.”

Despite his words, Ivan didn’t seem particularly surprised. His reaction suggested he had expected this to some extent. Looking at Ivan’s expression, Najin thought about it.

After all, why had he attacked a high-ranking member without hesitation?

“You’re asking how far you can go picking fights?”

“Well, you’re not ready to take on me or the Dusk guy yet…”

Ivan had said once before.

“Except for Horse, you could probably take on anyone else?”

“There are some who call themselves executives, but you’d probably win in a one-on-one fight.”

“Assuming you don’t fight on their turf.”

Dusk Horse. Ivan had said that except for the leader of the rival organization, Najin could take on anyone in a one-on-one fight. Najin had simply trusted Ivan’s words. Ivan always made accurate judgments.

“Ivan.”

Still, there was something he was curious about.

“What exactly is mana?”

“What is it? It’s fucking great.”

Ivan answered as if it was obvious.

Naturally, this wasn’t the answer Najin wanted, so he silently stared at Ivan. Ivan shrugged and continued.

“Being able to handle mana is proof that you’ve taken the first proper step as a warrior. Whether strengthening your body, drawing sword energy, or performing sword techniques, mana is at the foundation of it all.”

Mana, energy accumulated in the body.

“The more mana you accumulate in your body, the more your physical body is trained, and your limits increase. It means you can perform all sorts of feats impossible for a normal human body.”

For example, like this.

Ivan spread his hand. Friks’ teeth, which he had pulled out during the torture, were rolling around in Ivan’s palm.

“Watch carefully.”

With the teeth on his palm, Ivan gently closed his hand. When he opened it again, the teeth had crumbled to dust.

“Of course, not everyone who learns mana becomes like me. It depends on what cultivation method you use. If you learn just anything, you’re likely to fail. You might be strong initially, but there are clear limitations.”

“So to reach the Expert level, a mana cultivation method is essential?”

“That’s right. You need to know how to handle mana to draw sword energy and such. Why, do you want to learn?”

“It would be nice if I could.”

Ivan smirked.

“I’ll teach you later.”

“I’ve been hearing that for five years now.”

“Later, man.”

That was the signal to stop.

Najin didn’t press further. He knew that continuing this topic would only irritate Ivan. Najin took a step back without crossing the line Ivan had drawn.

“Then let’s get to the main point.”

Ivan brought up the topic.

“A civil war is coming soon. Get ready, Najin.”

2.

Dusk Horse is preparing for civil war.

That executive said so.

He hasn’t received direct orders from Horse lately, but directives keep coming down from above. The content of these directives is to prepare for war, to prepare supplies.

It seems that mentioning tribute money at Hogel’s forge was also groundwork for seizing weapons. Infiltrating my organization was probably along the same lines.

Anyway, he’s causing trouble.

I thought he was crossing the line, but I didn’t expect him to be this determined. I don’t know what kind of nerve he has, but it seems he’s seriously picking a fight with me.

He must have something he’s counting on.

Horse isn’t crazy enough to pick a fight without thinking it through. Anyway, I don’t know what he’s relying on, but…

Sigh. You know what?

Civil war is such a pain in the ass.

Watching people die over tiny pieces of land in this tiny city makes me sigh. Why didn’t I finish Horse off when we fought before?

Because beyond a certain point, I only see losses.

When many people die, productivity drops, and the atmosphere in the streets becomes gloomy. Whether you’re having sex at a brothel or getting drunk at a tavern, the mood is terrible. Seeing that state makes me lose the will to fight.

I’ve talked too much.

The point is this.

I don’t plan to drag out this civil war. I just want to end it quickly and clean up quickly.

So.

We’ll strike first.

I’ll tell you more details tomorrow. I need to talk with Ofen today.

Anyway, be prepared.

I can’t guarantee how things will turn out.

“…Hmm.”

Recalling Ivan’s story, Najin walked through the streets. Ivan had told him to prepare for civil war.

‘Civil war, huh.’

Najin didn’t know much about civil war.

The previous civil war between Horse and Ivan had happened when Najin was very young. He could only guess based on the fearful reactions of adults whenever the word “civil war” was mentioned.

“Be prepared.”

“I can’t guarantee how things will turn out.”

Najin kept mulling over Ivan’s final words. If Ivan, who always spoke with certainty, said something like that, it must be serious.

“He says to prepare, but…”

Najin tilted his head.

He wasn’t sure what to prepare for. Najin mentally drew a map of the underground city.

The underground city Attman is divided into three main areas.

The central area, under Ivan’s management, has a direct gateway for trading with the upper town. It was prime real estate with major facilities concentrated around the gateway.

Next is the mining area.

An outlying region far from the center. Under Horse’s management, it contains numerous quarries for extracting ore, the underground city’s resource.

‘Mining area, mining area, mining area…’

He’d heard it was like a maze.

Horse’s residence was connected to the mining area, supposedly full of all kinds of traps. Ivan had explained that it was the perfect stage for Horse, who had been a Ranger from the upper town, to fully utilize his skills.

“Horse is a Ranger.”

“Rangers excel at covert operations, stealth, traps, and ambushes—areas where they surpass knights.”

“They may lose to knights in one-on-one combat, but in their own territory, they can defeat multiple knights.”

“Never fight him on his turf.”

“Even I couldn’t be confident of victory without Ofen.”

Najin imagined invading that place.

The maze-like mining area. And skilled fighters who could appear from anywhere, along with traps Horse would have set.

“Tsk.”

Not easy. Unlike in Ivan’s territory, if he just charged in, he’d have to be prepared to get riddled with holes. After mentally strategizing for a while, Najin let out a long sigh.

There was no point thinking too much in advance when he couldn’t get a proper feel for it.

He felt he needed to see it with his own eyes and experience it physically before knowing what to do. As he organized his thoughts, Najin suddenly recalled the “third area” of the underground city.

The central area, the mining area.

And finally, the landfill.

Further below this place, following those rough cliffs, was the landfill. A place where garbage already discarded from above was filtered once more and piled up for the last time. A place where trash, filth, and corpses were buried.

That was the territory of Hakan the Drug Dealer.

Najin didn’t know much about that place. And it wasn’t just Najin. Even Ivan seemed to know little about Hakan the Drug Dealer and the landfill.

“Hakan the Drug Dealer, I don’t know much about him either.”

“They say he was here before I fell to this city, and before Horse fell to this city.”

“I don’t even know if it’s a man or a woman.”

“I just know he’s been there for a very long time, making and selling drugs. I’ve never seen his face either.”

That he was strong enough to control a territory.

And that he was an alchemist who made drugs.

That was all that was known about Hakan the Drug Dealer.

‘That’s irrelevant information for this civil war anyway.’

Najin organized his thoughts.

He wasn’t sure how the civil war would unfold, but he would find out tomorrow. Ivan had said so.

Tap.

Najin stopped walking on his way home.

He had stopped at the outskirts of the square. From a distance, he gazed at the sword stuck in the center, still covered by a tent.

“Draw the sword.”

“You can draw the sword.”

The phrases that still lingered in his mind hadn’t disappeared. Najin stared at the tent-covered sword for a long time before leaving the square.

3.

Tap.

The sound of a glass being set down echoed softly through the old tavern. Only Ivan and Ofen sat there, drinking.

“So.”

Ofen broke the silence.

“So you’re going to wage civil war?”

“I have to.”

“And you’ll strike first?”

“That’s how it’ll end quickly, right?”

“And you want my help?”

In response to Ofen’s question, Ivan silently drank his alcohol. By his silence, he answered. Ofen frowned and ruffled his hair.

“I’m not keen on it.”

“Just this once.”

“I think I heard that a few years ago too.”

“Help me just once. I’m not confident I can handle it quietly alone.”

Ivan drained his glass again.

Starting a fight and causing trouble alone? Honestly, he could do it if he wanted to. But that was far from Ivan’s goal. What Ivan wanted was a quick and clean resolution, not the beginning of a long civil war.

“…This is annoying.”

“Horse is trying to start something. I don’t know what it is, but he must have something. So we need to take him out quickly.”

“Tsk.”

Ofen clicked his tongue.

“This is the last time. If you ask for help again, I’ll split your head with this glass, remember that.”

“Thank you.”

“That aside, about you.”

While refilling his glass, Ofen casually threw out:

“How long are you going to leave Najin like that?”

“……”

“When are you going to teach him? A mana cultivation method or whatever? You know he’s been ready to learn for a long time.”

“I know.”

“Then why aren’t you teaching him?”

“Because he’s too fast.”

Ivan let out a long sigh.

Leaning back in his chair, he spoke honestly. Having known each other since the upper town, Ivan often confided everything to Ofen.

“Najin learns everything too quickly. It gets scarier as time passes. I can’t gauge how far he might go.”

“Are you jealous?”

“Jealous my ass. You know too.”

Ivan smirked.

“In this godforsaken city, what happens to someone with that kind of talent? You know how it ends.”

“……”

“Let’s say I taught him mana early. Sure, in a few years he’d be drawing sword energy. The Empire’s record for youngest Sword Expert is 23, and he might break that record.”

That’s the kind of guy Najin is.

“But. But you know what.”

Ivan downed the strong liquor.

With a groan, he exhaled and said:

“What good would that do in this garbage city?”

A place where discarded things pile up.

A swamp where dirty and vile things gather. A landfill where trash accumulates into mountains.

“If the Empire’s youngest Expert emerges from a place like this, and that news reaches the ears of those in the upper town, what would happen?”

He’d be eliminated.

Before the brilliance of his talent, they would first see his origin. And the fate of those who fell out of their favor was clear.

“Black magic, heresy, false star worshipper, apostate, cursed spawn of Camlann. They’d execute him with such charges. Or make sure he could never hold a sword again. We’ve seen it before, haven’t we? How they handle things in the upper town.”

Because Ivan had been a knight.

Because Ofen had risen to a high position in the mercenary corps.

Both men knew all too well how society in the upper town operated. They had directly seen and experienced how the high lords handled matters, and what became of those who displeased them.

“It’s all bullshit.”

“Yeah. It’s bullshit. And if he gets executed like that, would they stop at just killing Najin? Our heads would roll too.”

Chuckling, Ivan rolled a cigarette.

After lighting it, he exhaled deeply.

“You have to live within your means. Reaching for something beyond your grasp only leads to misery.”

“So you’re just going to leave him be?”

“This level is just right. If he stands out any more, it’ll reach the ears of those in the upper town.”

“Well… I understand what you’re saying, but.”

Swirling his glass, Ofen said:

“He already knows how to use mana.”

“……”

Ivan’s hand, which had been raising his glass, froze.

“What did you say?”

“He knows how to use mana. That guy.”

“Did you teach him?”

“No. I never taught him.”

“Then how?”

Ofen shrugged.

“I don’t know either. He doesn’t seem to have any mana accumulated in his body, but he uses it. Sometimes when he moves quickly? Mana flows through his body then.”

“…How is that possible?”

“That’s why I’m saying I don’t know. Najin doesn’t seem aware of it either.”

There’s no mana sensed from Najin.

Najin had never learned a mana cultivation method, nor had he accumulated mana in his body. That was a clear fact. But how could someone who hadn’t accumulated mana in his body use it to strengthen himself?

‘Does that make any sense?’

Ivan frowned.

‘It’s almost like…’

While it defied common sense, Ivan knew of one historical figure who made such impossible things possible.

“Looks like you’re thinking the same thing I am.”

Ofen smirked.

Swirling his glass, he laughed. Something that defied common sense. A being who casually did such things, denying the foundation of existing mana cultivation methods. There was exactly one such being in human history.

The Constellation, the Sword of Selection.

Arthur, the great hero who led the human era hundreds of years ago.

The biography of that hero, whose very existence transcended common sense, was full of incredible stories. Among them, what many pointed out was Arthur’s special nature described in the epic’s prologue.

“Arthur moved quickly with the help of mana without accumulating it, and even drew sword energy.”

Ofen muttered with a smirk.

That was the content covered in the prologue of Arthur’s biography. A passage that ignored common sense and the foundation of cultivation methods.

“Mana is not something to be accumulated.”

“It is about taming the mana that flows through the world.”

The only sentences explaining how this was possible were just those two. It was such an absurd story that the Empire’s history books treated it as non-canonical, but…

Countless fairy tales had that story written in them.

Ivan and Ofen thought of the same thing. The book Najin always carried around—surely that story would be written in it too.

“…So.”

Ivan let out a hollow laugh and said:

“Are you saying Najin is awakening to mana in the same way as Arthur, the constellation in the night sky? That’s such nonsense…”

“I don’t know. I mentioned it because there’s no other way to explain it.”

Ivan fell silent.

Whether Najin was awakening to mana like King Arthur or handling it in some bizarre way no one understood… either way, the implication was the same.

That Najin was more exceptional than he had anticipated. That trying to delay teaching him or hiding things was pointless.

“No matter how much you try to hide it or delay it, it’s meaningless. He’ll soon be able to draw sword energy too. He’s already created fragments of it. Half a year at most.”

“……”

“When that happens, it will definitely reach the ears of those in the upper town. Then everything you mentioned will happen.”

They’ll try to kill Najin.

They’ll try to eliminate everyone associated with him. And Ofen and Ivan will be the first to be eliminated.

“So choose.”

Ofen set down his glass.

The sound echoed through the tavern.

“Either kill him now.”

Now, before he stands out.

Eliminate Najin now while it’s still possible.

“Or teach him.”

Or bet on Najin.

If he could reach beyond the level of Sword Expert to the next realm, even those in the upper town wouldn’t be able to eliminate him. They couldn’t cast out someone who had reached such a level of strength.

In short, it was a gamble.

Faced with these two choices, Ivan silently drained his glass.