Ch.97The Youngest Sword Seeker (1)

Najin showed mercy to the attackers.

Jerold, who had regained his senses, agreed to Najin’s proposal, and the Experts were not much different. Despite launching an attack and losing the duel, their opponent had shown mercy.

No one misunderstood the meaning of this.

But understanding and agreeing are different things.

“Only death.”

Not everyone accepted Najin’s proposal. Someone took their own life the moment they realized their mission had failed. With their hostage dead, they felt no reason to continue living.

Klaus closed the dead man’s eyes with a bitter expression and stood up. The attackers here weren’t all of them; there were others still holding Roseline back.

“I suppose one might agree. I’m not sure about the other two since I couldn’t speak with them at length…”

With those words, Klaus, Jerold, and Najin moved to where Roseline would be. To make the proposal. But the moment they arrived at their destination, Najin realized.

There was no need to make any proposal.

“……”

Blood splattered everywhere.

Roseline was flicking her dagger while trampling the finely chopped remains of a magician.

“Oh, you’re here?”

Roseline glanced back and smiled.

Najin surveyed her surroundings. Right beside Roseline was Basaus Malek, gritting his teeth while trying to stop the bleeding from his severed arm.

“Looks like you completely crushed them? And managed to persuade them too?”

“That’s how it turned out. What about your side, Lady Roseline?”

“Well, I thought I didn’t need to kill them while fighting, so I was going to let this one off with just one arm, but…”

Roseline Askarlo was a powerful fighter, and the powerful have many ways to defeat opponents without killing them. However, at Roseline’s feet lay a finely chopped corpse.

Sirkel Kravelin, a 5th Circle magician.

Roseline looked down at her corpse with a distinctly displeased expression. She clicked her tongue and kicked the head with her toe.

“That woman and that man wouldn’t listen. They had to speak so rudely.”

There wasn’t just one corpse.

Looking closely, there was another head rolling on the floor. While Basaus Malek could survive with just one arm cut off, the magician Sirkel and the archer Tyler were not so fortunate.

“They must not have known what happens to those who mention witches in front of me, those who call me a witch. Since they didn’t know, I taught them.”

Muttering this, Roseline Askarlo turned her head. Her swirling red eyes stared at Najin. Then, with a grin, Roseline smiled.

“Congratulations on becoming a Sword Seeker.”

She patted Najin’s shoulder with a satisfied smile. Saying she’d buy him a drink sometime, she walked away. Klaus, standing beside Najin, watched her retreating figure with a somewhat dumbfounded expression.

“What a frightening woman.”

As if agreeing with those words, Jerold nodded vigorously.

2.

The incident was concluded.

Returning to the city late at night, Najin received basic treatment from a physician before heading straight to his lodgings. The physician tried to dissuade him, saying his injuries required more than just emergency care, but Najin had no choice.

‘It wouldn’t be good if my abnormal healing ability was discovered.’

Najin dragged his heavy body back to his lodgings. He was extremely tired, both physically and mentally. After downing a potion he had prepared in advance and pouring more onto his wounds, Najin exhaled deeply.

Truly, there was never a day when his body was intact.

Every fight meant at least one or two holes in his body, with scars all over as a bonus. Of course, the scars would disappear after about a week, but…

‘This one won’t disappear.’

Najin touched the scar on his shoulder.

It was a scar left by Ivan. Since it was obtained before he acquired Excalibur, this scar would never heal. Najin smiled bitterly.

“Anyway…”

Sitting in a chair, Najin exhaled deeply.

Sword Seeker.

Having reached the goal Ivan had once spoken of, Najin felt somewhat complex emotions. Just yesterday, Najin had been a Sword Expert like Ivan. Of course, quite some time had passed since he’d become stronger than Ivan was back then…

‘Now…’

A realm Ivan had never reached.

He had stepped into a completely new territory. Realizing this fact, Najin let out a bitter yet refreshing laugh. Despite being much stronger than Ivan now, Ivan still remained a towering figure in Najin’s mind.

How would Ivan react if he knew Najin had become a Sword Seeker? He might burst into laughter, or pat his shoulder while cursing him as a crazy bastard, or perhaps raise a toast at their usual tavern.

Imagining these scenarios, Najin exhaled deeply. He missed the underground city a little—no, very much. He never thought he would miss that city. Images of the underground city flashed through Najin’s mind.

Ivan’s office, the plaza, the training ground where he practiced with Ophen, old man Hogel’s forge…

As he pictured these in his mind, Najin chuckled. There was no need to just imagine them. Najin closed his eyes and focused on his inner self. Simply stepping into the mental image created within himself was enough.

* * *

Blink.

Najin opened his eyes.

While in reality Najin’s eyes were closed, within his inner world, they were open. Opening his eyes and looking around, he could see the vast landscape of the underground city.

A landscape much wider than before.

The space that had been about ten steps across was now expanded far beyond where his eyes could reach. And…

Tap.

Someone patted Najin’s shoulder. Turning his head, he saw Merlin with her blue hair flowing down. Merlin, who now had a more distinct and vivid presence. She smiled playfully at Najin.

“How is it? More vivid, right?”

Najin nodded. Definitely.

“The space is much wider too.”

“And the stars shine brighter.”

“Two of them, at that.”

Stars hanging in the sky and on the ground. The two stars were still shining in their respective positions. After looking around at the surroundings, Najin exhaled deeply.

“By the way, what should we do about this?”

“About what?”

Merlin tilted her head, and Najin chuckled.

“When I first set foot in this city, you said something, remember?”

Najin held up two fingers.

“You said let’s aim for Sword Seeker, White Horn rank in 2 years. You said that’s how long it took King Arthur.”

“Did I… say that?”

“And I said what 2 years, 1 year would be enough.”

Merlin’s expression began to harden.

She slightly avoided Najin’s gaze. But Najin didn’t let her avoid his eyes. He moved his body to follow the direction Merlin turned her head.

“But what do you know. It only took me half a year.”

“Wait, half a year? It’s been 7 months. Exactly 7 months and 12 days!”

“Hmm, that’s true. There is a big difference between half a year and 7 months and 12 days.”

Najin nodded with a hint of laughter.

“But I think there’s also a big gap between 7 months and one year, and two years.”

“……”

“I won, didn’t I? The bet.”

Ughhhh, Merlin groaned.

“Yes, I lost. Anyway…”

Grumbling, Merlin glanced at Najin.

As if something seemed strange.

“By the way, were you always like this? You seem different somehow.”

“This is actually closer to how I really am.”

Najin shrugged.

He understood what Merlin was pointing out. The lighter atmosphere. The playful tone. And the cheeky behavior. This was actually closer to Najin’s true self.

“I’ve been too stiff lately. Realistically, a young man who hung out with thugs in the underground city wouldn’t be so solemn.”

“That’s… true.”

“Do you dislike it?”

“No?”

Merlin grinned.

“I actually prefer this side of you. People don’t need to be serious all the time.”

“I think similarly. You can be serious when the time calls for it.”

He had reached the realm of Sword Seeker.

That meant more than just physical and martial growth. It also meant maturing mentally and spiritually. A faint smile appeared on Merlin’s lips as she glanced at Najin.

“That aside,” said Najin.

Najin looked up at the sky and said,

“It seems I’ve achieved all my goals in this city, so what should I do now?”

His goal in Cambria.

To reach the realm of Sword Seeker. Having achieved that goal, Najin was now asking about what came next. He had no intention of being content with or settling for having reached the Sword Seeker realm.

The road ahead was still long.

He had merely reached a new starting point.

“What are you talking about? Achieved all your goals?”

Merlin shrugged at Najin’s words.

“There’s one left.”

“One?”

“Did you forget? The legend of this city.”

She said,

“The place where two dragons are buried. The Dragon’s Tomb.”

Another name for Cambria.

In the distant past, Arthur, who began his journey in this city, achieved a great feat. That achievement is still spoken of today, hundreds of years later. Because it’s embroidered in the night sky as a constellation.

“In Cambria, Arthur and I brought down two dragons. We sealed them beneath this city.”

The First Seat, the human who brought down dragons.

The first star Arthur placed in the night sky.

“Dragons are inherently immortal. Until Excalibur was thrust into the reverse scale of the Dragon of Abyss, the first and last dragon, dragons never died. They might be sealed, but they never meet death. They will always revive someday.”

Merlin whispered to Najin.

“You know what I’m saying, right?”

Najin’s heart pounded.

He understood what Merlin was trying to say.

“It’s time for you to claim a star of your own, isn’t it?”

The star he had longed for. Merlin was saying the time had come to grasp it.

3.

“From now on is the crucial part.”

Several days had passed since the incident.

During that time, Najin had recovered from his injuries, and Dieta had secured identities and created cover identities for those who had joined under Najin.

After the incident was settled.

Najin visited her office to determine future action plans, and Dieta said,

“Until now, the Order has only used hunting dogs unrelated to the Order, ones they could use without repercussions. But now they won’t do that. The situation has changed.”

She explained,

“The Order might intervene directly. I’m not sure why they’re so fixated on you, but if there’s a reason as you say…”

Dieta clicked her tongue.

“From now on, they’ll move even if it means taking losses. We’ve gone beyond the scope of what can be handled cleanly. So, from now on is the crucial part.”

“I’ve been thinking about that.”

“I think we might have similar thoughts?”

Najin nodded.

They had discussed this once before implementing the operation. And even before that, it was something Najin had discussed with Ivan.

Become someone too important for the Order to deal with easily.

That’s what Ivan had said, and he had set the standard as Sword Seeker. At that time, Najin didn’t fully understand those words, but now he did. Now he knew how much weight a Sword Seeker carried.

“A Sword Seeker-level powerhouse must be reported to the Empire…”

“And they receive a status befitting their skill. Being a Sword Seeker itself is a kind of guarantee.”

“Exactly.”

Dieta handed Najin a piece of paper. A document bearing the emblem of Dieta’s company and the Cambria Foundation.

“It’s time to shed your fake identity.”

A document to be thrown into the heart of the Empire.

It was time to announce the name “Najin” to the world, rather than the fake name “Ivan.”