Chapter 110

CRACK!!!!

As the corpse monster snapped at the waist, its entire body instantly crumbled into powder.

[You have defeated the Human Golem.]

Something like a small gemstone lay among the golem's powdered bones. It was a rune.

'Is this the first time a rune has dropped in the field?'

It struck Woojin anew just how far he had come.

"Are you all right?"

"Oh, yes. Don't worry."

"What a relief. Exploding without warning... What in the world were these bastards making here?"

Aswell looked Woojin over from head to toe before sighing in relief.

"... Hmm?"

Just then, he reached into the golem's remains, apparently having spotted something. Besides the rune, there was another object shaped like a large orb.

"A mana stone."

Woojin's shoulders gave an involuntary twitch at his words. He had remembered blowing up the mana stone mine in Yorka not long ago.

"I've only seen mana stones a handful of times, so I'm no expert, but I've never seen one so perfectly refined."

Aswell showed Woojin the round orb.

Name: Refined Black Mana Stone

Grade: B

Description: A highly pure mana stone that requires one hundred rounds of refinement to complete. It appears to have been produced using a new refining method rather than the known extraction method devised by the sage Sig Elric.

'Hmm... A new refining method.'

Sig Elric, the final boss of the dungeon [Alchemist's Research Lab], had once been an alchemist brilliant enough to earn the title of sage. Although he was now dismissed as a madman, many of the alchemical methods he had devised were still in use.

Yet this apparently wasn't his method.

'Then who...?'

If there was an alchemist on par with Sig Elric, it would have to be Rahad, the head of the Alchemists’ Association. But Woojin soon shook his head.

'Rahad is a public figure. If they'd used his method, the description would say so.'

It seemed more likely to have come from whoever was behind the alchemists here.

"We should have secured a prisoner... That was my mistake. I killed them too quickly."

"Not at all. Even if the others had been alive, they wouldn't have survived that attack."

As he spoke, Woojin searched the remaining alchemists' bodies. Unfortunately, he found nothing particularly unusual among their belongings.

"Hmm..."

They were, however, all wearing thin silver bracelets. Woojin unfastened one.

Name: Alchemist's Bracelet

Grade: D

Description: A bracelet owned by alchemists researching Human Golems. It does not appear to have any special function, but since they all wore one, it seems to be a token of affiliation.

"A token of affiliation..."

As Woojin examined the bracelet, he noticed something inscribed on the inside.

"... Huh?"

[Rag ka Muene]

"... What does this mean?"

Woojin looked at Aswell, but he shook his head, apparently just as puzzled.

-To the east.

Surprisingly, Setsuna knew the words engraved on the bracelet.

"How do you know that?"

-It's nothing special. I saw that phrase in a book in House Balan's storeroom.

At her answer, Aswell gave a sheepish smile, as though wondering whether they really had such a book.

-One moment.

[Setsuna uses Ancient Wisdom.]

[Retrieving memories absorbed from the old book 'Theory of Ancient Languages (Grade C).']

A book shining with golden light appeared in Setsuna's hands.

-Here it is!

After flipping back and forth through its pages, she pointed to a passage and looked at Woojin.

-Rag ka Muene. Meaning 'to the east,' this phrase also refers to the direction of Golden Paradise, a paradise handed down in legends since ancient times.

'Golden Paradise...?'

Woojin also had a quest to find that place. Hearing such an unexpected name, he examined the bracelet once more.

"Why would alchemists inscribe a phrase about Golden Paradise...?"

Finding out more about who they were seemed important.

"It seems these really were the ones who attacked the border garrison."

Lost in thought for a moment, Woojin looked up at Aswell's words.

"Urgh...!!"

The moment he looked down where Aswell was pointing, he clamped a hand over his mouth. Beneath them, in the underground pit where the monster had been, lay a great heap of dismembered corpses.

"... Were they feeding it these?"

"Probably."

Aswell clicked his tongue.

"What will you do now?"

"I intend to go to the Kingdom of Esten. There were only five alchemists here. There are probably more left in the kingdom."

Woojin nodded.

"We need to establish whether the Kingdom of Esten was involved in this incident, or whether the alchemists acted on their own."

"And if it's the former?"

"War will be unavoidable."

But even if it was the latter, that didn't mean there would be no war.

'If Tekan takes issue with Esten giving the alchemists a place to stay, they won't be able to settle this quietly.'

Ultimately, regardless of Esten's intentions, the alchemists had made war inevitable.

'I'd planned to challenge the Labyrinth Tower once I reached the central continent... Never mind entering it—I haven't even gotten near it. I feel like I just keep getting caught up in one incident after another.'

Woojin followed Aswell, mulling this over.

"I think it would be best to send the soldiers back from here and go to Esten with just the two of us. What do you think?"

DING

[You have discovered a chain quest.]

[War with Esten → Esten's Alchemists]

A notification sounded. Woojin pressed the accept button and nodded to Aswell.

"Understood. Going on our own should cause fewer problems than bringing troops."

Aswell told the soldiers to return and report. Having witnessed that horrifying monster, they eagerly seized the opportunity and headed back to the kingdom.

'I never thought I'd come to the Great Forest like this.'

Woojin reflected as they crossed the forest. According to the Fairy Queen, spirits lived here.

'It would have been nice to come with Ruen.'

But interrupting her training would wipe out all the experience she had gained so far. By the time he returned from Esten, her training would be finished, so Woojin decided to visit the Great Forest again then.

'Surely nothing will happen to the forest in the meantime.'

He glanced at the dense trees, then quickened his pace to follow Aswell.

* * *

"Who goes there?! State your affiliation!"

After two days of grueling travel, the two emerged from the Great Forest and reached the border of the Kingdom of Esten. Hundreds of soldiers atop the wall shouted down at them, bows drawn.

"I am Aswell Balan of the Kingdom of Tekan."

A murmur rippled along the wall at his declaration.

"A-Aswell? Not the Sword Emperor...?"

"Impossible. Why would the Sword Emperor be here?"

"C-Commander... What should we do? Open the gate?"

"You idiot! How does that justify opening a border gate?!"

Esten's border garrison commander shouted, smacking his subordinate on the back of the head.

"Ahem...! What brings the Sword Emperor to another nation's border?"

The commander cleared his throat and called out. Despite his efforts to hide it, his voice was shaking badly.

"There was a battle at Tekan's border recently. Hundreds of our border guards died there."

"...?!"

The commander stared at him, clearly bewildered.

"I don't know what you're talking about. No troops have been dispatched from the Kingdom of Esten. As the garrison commander, I would know better than anyone."

"Then the alchemists in the Great Forest must have acted on their own. I've just come from their research lab."

Aswell showed them the alchemist's corpse he had brought from the lab.

"They were creating a monster. They were feeding it the bodies of Tekan's border guards."

"Feeding it people...?"

"That's absurd!"

"We would know if something so horrific was happening!"

'Judging by their reactions, they really don't seem to know....'

Aswell shot them a sidelong look.

"Then I have all the more reason to enter your kingdom. I need to find out why Esten permitted the alchemists to settle in the Great Forest."

"... Are you saying you wish to see His Majesty?"

"Yes."

The commander's expression hardened.

'It's too dangerous to let that man into the royal court. If he were to harbor other intentions...'

This was the Sword Emperor, after all. Even dozens of royal guard knights could not guarantee the king's safety.

"... Please wait a moment. I will report this."

"I cannot wait long."

The commander hurried down from the wall.

"Will Esten's king agree to see us?"

"He'll probably refuse."

"Then what do you intend to do?"

Woojin asked with some apprehension, worried that Aswell might say he would smash through the gate.

"He'll probably invite you in instead of me."

"... What?"

"If the commander returns with someone who has the Insight ability, there's a nine-in-ten chance I'm right."

"What should I do if that happens?"

"Once you enter the castle, investigate the alchemists for me."

"Should I speak to the king?"

"You should, but don't expect much from him. He likely won't tell you the truth."

"Permission has been granted from above! However, His Majesty says one person should suffice to ask questions about this incident! Therefore, we will only allow the man beside you through the gate, not you!"

The commander's voice rang out.

Just as Aswell had predicted, an unfamiliar man stood beside the commander.

'If he used Insight to check my level...'

Woojin was still only level 57, so they would not consider him much of a threat.

"Think of it simply as obtaining permission to operate within the kingdom."

Woojin nodded.

"Even if he grants permission, you may be put under surveillance. If anything happens, use this."

Aswell handed him a small rod.

Name: Engineered Signal Flare

Grade: D

Description: A signal flare enhanced through magitech engineering. It cannot be extinguished and ignores the effects of magic.

▶ Uses Remaining 1/1