Chapter 52

In the midst of darkness.

Crack! Crack!

Ian swung his sword like an ax.

Green bodily fluids splattered in all directions along the trajectory, and the thick neck of the gray troll was completely severed.

The head, with its grotesquely protruding forehead and hideous teeth, rolled helplessly on the ground.

"Huff... Haa."

Ian straightened his bent back.

Not far away, the body of another gray troll lay sprawled.

Standing about 160 cm tall, they had abnormally long, muscular arms and large hands.

Worse still, they traveled in pairs, making them a nuisance to deal with.

But that wasn't why Ian's brows furrowed.

"...This feeling again."

His eyes, as dark as those of a nocturnal animal, scanned the darkness.

For a few days now, he had occasionally felt something like a gaze.

However, no matter how keenly he sensed, he couldn't find any entity that could be looking at him.

It was the same now.

It seemed to be more of a spiritual or magical sensation.

Like the gaze he sometimes felt from the essence of Conraud.

"Tsk."

Whatever it was, if he got caught, he was dead for sure.

Ian turned his body.

The campsite was getting closer.

"Are you done? The screams were terrible."

Miguel said from in front of the campfire.

He was shielding Lucy with his whole body, gripping a mace in his hand.

"Yeah. Put the crossbow away."

Ian replied calmly as he approached the campfire.

Miguel, who let out a sigh of relief, threw a cloth he had prepared.

Ian wiped the troll's bodily fluids from his face with practiced ease, and Miguel asked him,

"What was it?"

"Troll."

"Again? You said the same thing the other day... Hmm, maybe it's just my imagination."

Miguel hesitated and added,

"Why is it that only vicious creatures attack us? In the north, I can understand, but Bel Rondé isn't much different from Agel Rahn."

A subtly sharp guy.

Ian just shrugged.

Thanks to his heightened senses, he could feel the presence of things lurking around more clearly than before.

So, he already knew that weaker creatures would just disappear after being detected, while stronger ones like trolls, night trackers, and cave spiders would approach.

He just couldn't explain why this change had occurred.

It could be due to a quest or some change in Ian himself.

Perhaps it was related to that magical gaze he had felt earlier.

"Think positively. At least we won't be attacked again tonight."

Miguel grumbled, smacking his lips.

"It's all because the land is unnecessarily vast. They divided the land without the ability to manage it, you know."

"Didn't you say that's why mercenaries like you can make a living?"

"Sure, but it's a bit much. ...I hear even the great empire has several abandoned magical lands and contaminated areas. How can the kingdoms manage the entire region? Blame the times."

You're complaining a lot today, kid.

Ian chuckled while chewing on jerky.

He couldn't say it was entirely wrong.

After all, the human population was too small compared to the size of the continent.

If the population were just double what it is now, things wouldn't be this bad.

But even if the population increased, the preparation for war would only get worse, so there was no hope for improvement.

'If the war continues, who knows what might happen.'

Ian shook his head.

It wasn't a flow that an individual could stop.

Even if he could foresee the future, no one would believe him. There were plenty of people filled with unrest and ambition.

From experience, whatever was going to happen would happen in some form.

The best he could do was to avoid the worst-case scenario, as in the game.

"I have a request."

Lucy spoke up then.

Ian and Miguel looked at her simultaneously, and she added,

"Swordsmanship. I want to learn it too."

"What...?"

"I want to be able to defend myself at least. I don't want to be a burden."

"We're here to protect you from doing anything."

Ian said bluntly.

Lucy shook her head.

"There are what-ifs."

"No. You're too young to handle a sword. You're too young to kill anything."

Ian was firm.

No matter how much he adapted to this world, some things didn't change.

Not letting a child handle a sharp object was one of them.

Lucy added,

"I'm already twelve, you know."

"...Are you saying you're all grown up?"

Ian chuckled.

At twelve, even if you're generous, you're still a middle schooler.

Miguel's brows furrowed.

"Twelve? I thought you were at most ten. ...Are you from the west, where development is slow?"

Ian looked at Miguel, incredulous.

Is that what surprised you?

"Sure. Twelve is the age when you should learn to protect yourself."

"..."

Ian's brows furrowed at Miguel's comment as he stroked his beard.

Seeing Ian's expression, Miguel shrugged.

"Why are you so surprised? I killed something for the first time when I was twelve. In the north, that's not early. Some kids had already killed people by that age."

"...Ah, right. That's how it is."

In a world where having both eyes is unusual.

This was exactly that situation.

"Haven't you heard of self-defense? With the blood of a knightly family, you'll learn quickly."

Lucy nodded in agreement.

Miguel's gaze on her was warm.

How touching.

Ian sighed.

"You don't need to learn swordsmanship, Lucy. You can protect yourself without it."

"...How?"

Lucy blinked, asking.

Is she really that clueless?

"You have a natural talent."

"Are you talking about my curse?"

"..."

She really doesn't know.

Ian's brows finally furrowed.

"Didn't you hear anything from Kyeong?"

"I don't understand what you mean."

"Then why did you say you want to go to the Temple of the Forge?"

"They said it was safe. And I could learn a lot more there than here."

She just went because they told her to.

Ian chuckled.

Maeve must have thought it was enough that Ian knew the truth.

She probably thought it was better for Lucy not to know in advance.

But Ian thought differently.

"You have a special talent. Going to the Temple of the Forge is to cultivate that talent."

"What... what kind of talent?"

Lucy, and even Miguel, looked at him with bright eyes.

Instead of answering, Ian spread his hand.

Whoosh. A ball of fire bloomed in his palm.

"!"

Lucy's eyes widened to the point of tearing.

Looking back and forth between the fireball and Ian, she finally said,

"Are you... a mage?"

Given her usual personality, this was the maximum level of shock.

You didn't know this?

Miguel shrugged under Ian's gaze.

"It's a secret. What's the big deal?"

Everyone's lips are pretty tight.

Ian chuckled and looked back at Lucy.

"Yeah. I'm a mage. A half one, though."

"Now, Miss Lucy, we share a secret. It's a good thing. I feel closer to you."

"Lucifer."

"Right, not Miss Lucy, Lucifer."

Even with her gaze completely captured by the fireball, Lucy corrected Miguel.

Moving the fireball up and down, Ian continued,

"Your talent is far greater than mine. If you set your mind to it, turning a person into charcoal would be nothing. So, don't think you can't protect yourself."

"...I'm sorry to interrupt, but Lucy has such an amazing ability?"

"Yeah. The talent of a great mage."

"Good heavens. It's hard to find even one mage these days. I have two right here."

Lucy looked down at her own hand.

Her palm, spread open like Ian's.

But that was all.

When nothing happened, Lucy looked back at Ian.

Her eyes seemed to say she needed an explanation.

With a shrug, Ian scattered the fireball.

"Pull up your mana. You won't need any magic formulas or incantations."

"How do I pull up mana?"

"..."

Ian hadn't expected this question.

Mana could be hidden from others, but he could always feel it himself.

Like learning to move your fingers.

You just needed to move it.

Moreover, beyond this point, Ian couldn't really explain.

Unlike other mages in this world, he had learned and used magic by leveling up skills.

Looking up at Ian, Lucy murmured,

"Maybe you're the one who's wrong."

"That's not it."

Ian shook his head.

"You've been blessed. I can't explain it because I don't have the same special talent."

He could say this with certainty because of the quest.

At least the quest didn't lie.

Moreover, considering the future of the Temple of the Forge, everything fit together.

"You've just forgotten about your talent for too long. It will just take time to awaken it."

Lucy, who had been clenching and unclenching her fists, replied in a somewhat dejected voice.

"...Still, I want to learn how to use a sword. Like Ian."

What a thirst for knowledge.

Ian chuckled and added,

"I'll teach you when you can make flames. Starting then."

Lucy nodded seriously.

By then, you probably won't care about swordsmanship.

Ian muttered to himself and chewed on more jerky.

Lucy looked down at her hand again.

She was so focused that she didn't move at all.

Soon, Miguel started snoring.

He had fallen asleep.

It was natural. Driving the carriage, finding the way, and keeping watch all day was much more exhausting than it looked.

Unlike Ian and Lucy, who could sleep while moving, he couldn't get any rest during the day.

Before long, Lucy also started dozing off in her seated position.

Her hand was still spread open.

'If you just look at this, it's a very pastoral scene.'

Ian thought back to when it was a game.

In fact, back then, he rarely completed quests that involved protecting someone or guarding something for a set period.

Enemies inevitably started swarming after he accepted a quest, and the AI of the person to be protected wasn't very advanced.

Most importantly, the game didn't end if the person to be protected died.

You could even get a reward by just taking the body or belongings of the target.

A system that seemed to encourage failure.

Now that he thought about it, it wasn't surprising.

Such a tragedy was probably the scenario the creators wanted.

But now that it was reality, things were different.

'I won't fail any quest I accept.'

After laying Lucy down and covering her with a robe, Ian leaned his arm on the crossguard of the sword he had stuck in the ground.

Another night was passing peacefully.

***

"Hmm. Another fork in the road."

Muttering, Miguel chose a direction without much hesitation.

Ian, leaning against the cargo area, said casually,

"Are we on the right path?"

"I can't be sure. But I think we're on the right track."

"You're brutally honest."

Ian chuckled.

Bel Rondé bordered not only Agel Rahn but also Menér, Lu Sard, and even part of the empire.

But not all borders were as clearly divided as if cut by a knife.

There were contaminated or cursed lands near the borders, like the swamps of Agel Rahn.

Places where the madness of the Black Wall could seep in at any time, eventually turning into magical lands.

Their plan was to follow the borders of these cursed lands to enter the north.

Of course, they had a backup plan.

Ian didn't bother explaining that part to Miguel.

"Can you see the mountains over there? There's a rumor that a demon lives in the valley between those mountains. It seems to be true even now. This path is narrower and less maintained."

Miguel pointed to the continuous mountains and continued,

"Of course, crossing the valley is the fastest way. But we'll go around the ridge. It will get colder as we go over, so be prepared."

This guy might be a natural guide.

Ian nodded, thinking.

They had already passed more than half of Bel Rondé.

The only conflicts they had encountered so far were routine attacks by monsters, making it a fairly successful journey.

So far.

'If we can keep going like this for about a week...'

Ian's head suddenly turned to the back of the carriage.

His brows furrowed.

Not a gentleman, damn it.

"They're coming."

"What's coming?"

"Horse hooves. ...I can see them now."

Ian's eyes narrowed as he spotted the riders in the distance.

Miguel turned his head, tense.

"Damn, I had a bad feeling. Could it be those empire guys?"

"Doesn't seem like it. Unless they've abandoned all their good equipment."

The attire of the riders approaching them was inconsistent.

They looked like typical bandits or mercenaries.

While a faint mana flickered in Ian's eyes,

"Stop if you don't want to die!"

The riders who caught up to their carriage quickly surrounded them at a suitable distance.

Five in total.

"Thought we might. Feels like we found the right ones."

The menacing-looking man who shouted to stop them scanned Ian, Miguel, and the hooded Lucy, murmuring.

He seemed to be the leader of the group.

The others were already aiming their maces at Ian and Miguel.

Ian asked calmly,

"What's going on?"

"Are you Ian Hope? The driver looks like Miguel, and that kid seems to be a lady."

They know our names?

Ian shook his head, hiding his thoughts.

"You're mistaken. We're criminals?"

The leader smirked.

"Maybe. I want to know what you did to get a bounty on your head. You might be, but that one is definitely Miguel."

"..."

Ian's brows furrowed as he turned his head.

Miguel's face was drenched in cold sweat.