Chapter 43

Chapter 18. An Unexpected Variable (1)

The cadets assigned to the Colone ruins mission with Jin are three: Kajin Romero, Mile Has, and Rima Has. They all belong to the Mu and Anne faction, and the Has brothers, though slightly behind Kajin, are 5-star knights.

"Master, I wish to beg for forgiveness for my past mistakes. From this mission onward, I will not show any shortcomings to you."

"It is an honor to set out with you, Master."

The day before the mission, Kajin and the Has brothers came to see Jin.

Their attitude had completely changed from a few days ago. The arrogance and mockery they once displayed were gone, replaced by a respectful and humble demeanor.

Jin smiled broadly, seemingly satisfied.

"Alright, let's forget the past. I count on you."

"Thank you, Master."

"Thank you!"

After the three left, Murakan sat on Jin's knee.

"Doing such shallow deeds is why you were abandoned by your sisters. Sending you to the Colone ruins means those three won't return... They will probably make this their last desperate attempt to stab me in the back."

Jin was certain.

Mu and Anne, those cute sisters, must have ordered their faction to stab him. They must have promised to take good care of the remaining family if Jin were to die a glorious death.

In his previous life, he had seen Mu and Anne manipulate people in this way several times.

"Meow."

Murakan, sitting on his knee, laughed.

* * *

To reach the Colone ruins, one must travel through a portal or by land.

The Colone ruins were originally a village inhabited by a few thousand natives. However, after the discovery of zephs a few hundred years ago, the land became part of the Paleon Kingdom.

Most of the natives were either killed or enslaved. The descendants of the natives who remained in Colone appeared to be respected, but they trembled at the mention of zephs.

However, the natives can do nothing.

Despite appearing to be respected, they are essentially slaves, and the lives and rights of the Colone natives are not a significant issue for most people in the world.

The zephs kept them alive only to manage the natural environment of Colone and to stage a show of making amends for past oppression.

Jin frowned as he recalled this.

'While the weak being trampled is a law of the world, the zephs of the past went too far.'

Originally, the zephs were not so ruthless.

They pursued rational rule and sought natural loyalty from the subjugated. This is why the zephs have a much better public image than the Runkandel.

The use of force is more fitting for the Runkandel.

Then why did the zephs of the past brutally oppress the Colone natives?

Jin knew the reason.

'It must be because of the mirror-shaped artifact hidden by the natives. The zephs had a vague sense of the mirror's existence when they discovered the island. They trampled the natives to find it.'

Now, the existence of the 'mirror' is a closely guarded secret of the zephs.

Before Jin's regression, when he was around twenty-seven, everyone knew about the mirror. A brave journalist published the discovery of the ancient artifact by the zephs.

The journalist also detailed the excavation site. The aggrieved natives explained to the journalist how the zephs had stolen their sacred artifact, leaving nothing out.

'Later, people named the mirror a source of mana.'

The mirror artifact, the source of mana, has a simple yet terrifying effect.

Just by looking at it, it increases one's mana. Of course, there were extreme side effects, but the benefits outweighed the risks.

The limit of mana that can be increased by the source of mana is 7-star.

Thanks to this, the zephs mass-produced 7-star mages. After the appearance of these 'mass-produced mages,' many magic students lost their will.

The zephs, already powerful, solidified their dominance and gradually pressured the Runkandel.

'This time, I won't let it fall into the hands of the zephs.'

Of course, he doesn't plan to trample the natives like the zephs did. However, he intends to prevent the zephs from gaining such power after centuries of oppressing the natives.

There's no need to rush. If it's the same as before his regression, it will take more than ten years for the zephs to find the mirror, so he only needs to solve it within that time.

"We are about to arrive, Master."

Jin stopped walking. They were currently in travel attire, navigating the mountain path.

"This is where the zephs' mages stay, and this is where the external mages stay. The artifacts we need to find are in Warehouse 3."

Kajin unfolded the blueprint of the Colone ruins and pointed with his finger.

"Are you sure the artifacts are in Warehouse 3?"

"I hope so. If not, this mission has no chance of success."

The artifacts they need to find are four in total: three palm-sized stone tablets and one bronze bowl.

They have no value to ordinary people but are priceless to historians.

The three of them needed to raid the warehouse, steal the artifacts, and return to their family.

Raiding the warehouse is not difficult. Warehouse 3 does not store artifacts, so the security is lax. It is even open to tourists during the day.

However, the return is the problem.

'Even if it's an unimportant warehouse, it must be covered with all sorts of detection spells. Getting out without being detected is impossible with this party.'

The zephs' mages are not pushovers. If Warehouse 3 is attacked, they will mobilize within five minutes to eliminate the intruders.

"Thanks to wealthy and curious scholars, we might meet our end this morning."

"I will protect you with my life, no matter what happens."

Kajin said with a determined look, and the Has brothers also showed their resolve.

The act was clumsy. Jin, inwardly mocking them, took out some jerky from his pocket.

"To protect me with your life... It's a nice story. Let's each tear off a piece of jerky and rest for a bit. We'll execute the raid in an hour."

"Yes, understood."

The three immediately started chewing the jerky.

Chomp, chomp, gulp, gulp.

Jin, seeing them swallow the jerky, spat out what he was chewing.

"Master? Uh, uh..."

The three simultaneously realized something was wrong, but it was too late.

The jerky Jin gave them was laced with a sleeping potion strong enough to knock out a 7-star knight. Kajin and the Has brothers were already drowsy, barely able to hold themselves up.

"Don't worry. It's not poison."

"T, this is what?"

"No, no..."

Thud, thud.

The three immediately collapsed. Jin dug a shallow hole and pushed the sleeping cadets into it, covering them with leaves.

They won't wake up for at least 24 hours. By the time they do, the mission will be over.

"Oh, no? Why didn't you tell me you were planning to kill me? Sleep well. I can't take people who might stab me in the back to the enemy territory."

If they hadn't shown such a respectful attitude, Jin might have been less suspicious.

However, throughout the journey, the three cadets had been trying hard to win Jin's favor. They planned to make him let his guard down and then strike when the opportunity arose.

Jin saw through everything.

It's not hard to understand why the three were sleeping. It's natural for a dog to follow its master's orders, especially when they are in danger of being abandoned due to repeated mistakes.

However, the enemy was too cunning. Jin, living his second life in Runkandel, won't fall for his sisters' cheap schemes.

'Besides, I can't use magic with these guys watching.'

Knowing that the warehouse is full of detection spells, breaking in without magic is suicide.

If all four move at once, they will definitely trigger the detection spells. But if Jin goes alone, it's a different story.

Let's go in smoothly.

Jin adjusted his mask and started down the mountain path. The night air was cool through the leaves.

The Colone ruins are in a large oval shape.

The important excavation site is at the center, and Warehouse 3, where Jin needs to steal the artifacts, is on the outer edge of the oval. Since it's past six in the evening, the ruins are closed, and the area is very quiet.

Lying in the bushes, he observed for a while and saw people occasionally. They were mages sent on the investigation team, none of whom were 5-star or higher.

As Jin had already predicted.

The guards at the front and back doors of the warehouse were not mages. They seemed to be low-level soldiers, probably 1-star or 2-star.

It's natural. There's no reason to use high-level personnel like mages to guard a remote warehouse.

They seemed bored with their guard duty, yawning frequently and passing the time. They also exchanged jokes and laughed.

Once the nearby mages were far enough away, Jin ran towards the front door.

"So, what happened with the woman you met there last night..."

"How far did you go? Huh? How far!"

"Ah, well. You'd be too jealous if you heard."

Crack.

One mercenary was knocked out by a punch to the jaw. The other, excitedly waiting for the next story, reflexively thrust his spear.

Jin easily dodged the spear and used the momentum to strike the mercenary's throat with his elbow. The mercenary immediately collapsed, unconscious.

'Should I have let him finish the story before knocking him out?'

Jin chuckled and roughly leaned the two against the wall. Sticking the spear between their legs, they might look like they're on guard from a distance.

He found the key to the front door in the mercenaries' pockets. A simple lock with no significant detection spells, revealing how little the zephs thought of Warehouse 3.

'So, the scholars weren't afraid to request this from Runkandel.'

Creak!

There was no way to hide the sound of the metal door opening. He considered using a spell to block or reduce the noise but decided against it, fearing nearby mages might detect the mana.

Before entering, he carefully examined the area and saw a familiar magic circle on the floor.

'This is a blood and boundary magic circle, isn't it?'

A few years ago, Jin saw the same magic circle when he found the secret room in the Storm Castle. It deactivates when a few drops of human blood are spilled.

If the zephs, who don't even care about this warehouse, have the same magic circle as the secret room accessible only by Runkandel's elite, how ridiculous would that be?

The blood and boundary magic circle distinguishes between human blood, monster blood, and the blood of humans with diseases. As long as it's the blood of a healthy human, it doesn't matter whose blood is used.

Jin approached the mercenaries he had propped up. He used a dagger to slightly cut one's finger, collected a few drops on his palm, and sprinkled them on the magic circle.

He used the mercenaries' blood to avoid detection and to complete the mission. If the zeps investigate later, they might mistake it for a mistake by the mercenaries.

'The first detection spell was easy. Now, let's find the artifacts... '

Squeal!

Suddenly, the magic circle, now containing the mercenaries' blood, glowed red and emitted a sharp noise. Jin, suppressing his confusion, looked at the bloodstain on his palm.

It was the blood from the unconscious mercenary. Clearly human blood.

However, if the blood and boundary magic circle activated, it means the owner of this blood is either diseased or...

"Grr."

Not human.