Chapter 38

When Najin arrived in Cambria, the sun had already set.

Since the central guild was closed, the Red-Eyed Mercenaries, including Najin, headed straight to the tavern, adhering to the mercenaries’ tradition of grabbing a drink after a job. Roselin Ascalo, the leader of the Red-Eyed Mercenaries, seemed to have no intention of letting Najin go, her arm hung around his neck.

“This tavern has the best drinks, you know. I’m a regular here,” Roselin hummed, pushing open the tavern door. The place was empty, reserved in advance by Roselin. The mercenaries began to take their seats.

At the center of the numerous tables, Roselin plopped down, making Najin sit beside her. Surrounded by the gaze of dozens of members, Najin felt somewhat suffocated.

“Ha, boss, you seem quite taken with him,” one mercenary chuckled.

“Fighting a blood troll in a duel? Man, that’s some romance right there. What’s your name again?”

“I heard he even manifested his sword aura.”

“This guy’s too good for a newbie.”

Whispers filled the air as mercenaries circled around Najin, who glanced at their nameplates – the lowest rank among them was green.

‘The Red-Eyed Mercenaries really do have the strength of a formidable knight order.’

-Most of them are impressive, especially their leader, Roselin, Merlin commented.

Roselin Ascalo. The standard of the mercenaries, centered around her, was unmistakably high.

“Back off, you lot!” Roselin waved the gathering mercenaries away. As they returned to their places, she fixed her gaze on Najin.

“So, your name is Ivan?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And you’re twenty-eight?”

Najin nodded, and Roselin laughed.

“With that face, you look barely twenty, not twenty-eight.”

“…I am twenty-eight.”

“Sure, that explains your skill level.”

Roselin scoffed.

“You’re a Sword Expert, right?”

“……”

“You can fully manifest your sword aura, can’t you? You’re just holding back. It makes no sense to have such a high degree of sword aura fragments and not be able to manifest the full aura.”

Her eyes narrowed. To others, Najin might seem inexperienced, but not to Roselin. She was a true Sword Seeker.

“A barely twenty-year-old Sword Expert, and you handle both the swordsmanship of the Order of the Sword and Atanga’s techniques?”

Najin felt like he was being stripped bare. He braced himself and met Roselin’s gaze, her eyes glittering red.

“Ha.”

Roselin chuckled at Najin’s guarded posture and took a long sip of her drink. She then slapped his back heartily.

“Why so tense? I’m not going to eat you.”

Najin rubbed his back where Roselin’s hefty hand landed.

“I just brought you here for a drink and a chat. No need to be so guarded. Want a drink?”

“I’ve never had alcohol before.”

“What kind of twenty-eight-year-old are you, not knowing the taste of alcohol?”

Roselin sighed.

“If you’re going to pretend to be twenty-eight, you should at least know how to drink. Come on, have a drink.”

“But I’ve never…”

“When an adult offers, you take it, kid.”

With some coercion, Najin clinked glasses with Roselin and took a sip. It was refreshing but not particularly tasty, just a sensation of coolness.

“There you go. You drink well.”

Roselin smiled, refilling Najin’s glass. Najin drank casually, and while the other members and Roselin showed signs of inebriation, he remained unaffected.

“Damn, this kid doesn’t get drunk…”

Roselin looked at him incredulously, her plan to get him tipsy and talk falling through.

Najin was puzzled himself. He’d heard alcohol brings a buzz, but he felt nothing.

-Ah, right.

Merlin whispered in Najin’s ear.

-You won’t ever get drunk, you know?

‘Why’s that?’

-Excalibur’s basic blessing includes purification and healing. It seems to work on drunkenness too. Arthur never got drunk either.

Najin chuckled, recalling a similar tale from the fairy tales.

“Hmph, hicc.”

Roselin, chin propped, watched Najin with amusement.

“So, where did you learn Atanga’s swordsmanship?”

“I knew a knight from Atanga.”

“And he taught you the sword?”

“Not exactly.”

Najin smirked.

“He taught me many other things. I owe him a lot.”

Ivan and Offen. It was because of them that he was here. Najin exhaled deeply.

“That Atanga knight must have really liked you, huh?“

“Pardon?”

“The technique you were about to use on the troll, it’s known in Atanga as ‘the bound sword.’ That’s why I stopped you. It’s not meant for such use.”

Roselin muttered.

“It’s a technique reserved for punishing those who tarnish the knight’s name or worthy opponents who deserve full effort.”

In other words,

“It’s a technique shown only to worthy adversaries. Didn’t get that far in the explanation, did you?”

“…Is that so?”

“Yep. It’s rarely shown. I’ve only seen it a few times myself.”

Najin fell silent for a moment. The technique he intended to use against the troll was the same one that Ivan, in his final moment, had shattered with his frontal assault.

‘The technique for an acknowledged rival.’

Najin couldn’t help but smile bitterly. In the end, it meant Ivan had acknowledged him.

“Enough chit-chat.”

Roselin stretched out.

“Ivan.”

She called Najin’s name after a long sigh.

“Ever thought about joining the Red-Eyed Mercenaries?”

The moment Roselin made her offer, the tavern fell silent. Mercenaries, previously busy with their drinks, silently turned their eyes toward Najin. In the suddenly quiet atmosphere, Najin met Roselin’s glittering eyes head-on.

The Red-Eyed Mercenaries.

It wasn’t a bad option, but unsurprisingly, Najin’s response was the same. Ignoring the surrounding stares, he briefly replied, “I don’t plan on joining anywhere yet.”

“Wow, that’s a quick rejection. Most people at least pretend to consider it,” Roselin chuckled. The watching members laughed, saying, “The boss got turned down.” It seemed they had somewhat expected this response.

To the Red-Eyed Mercenaries, an attractive group to the city’s adventurers, a figure aiming for the top like Najin wouldn’t find them as appealing. The members sensed the ambition in the young man who had dominated the battle against the blood troll.

“Well, if you ever change your mind, come find us,” Roselin muttered nonchalantly, indicating the offer still stood.

“Now about your first-place reward. Since it was supposed to be a chance to join the Red-Eyed Mercenaries… I guess we need to change it. Barter, come here for a second.”

“What now?”

“That thing, you know. The one with my name on it.”

Vice-captain Barter sighed and handed Roselin a piece of paper – a certificate with her name on it. Roselin then passed it to Najin.

“It’s a chance to use my name once. Think of it as a chance to ask me for a favor.”

Similar yet different from what Dieta had given him. It was a chance to use Roselin’s name, one of the city’s top figures, in any situation.

“Use it when you really need it. It’s a big opportunity to borrow the name of someone like me.”

Having said what she intended, Roselin exhaled briefly.

“Now that I think about it, I’ve been asking all the questions. Got anything you want to know? Ask me anything, I’ll answer a thing or two.”

“There is one thing.”

Najin looked down, his gaze falling on Roselin’s waist. The handles of two swords protruded awkwardly from her back.

“What exactly are those weapons?”

“Oh, these guys?”

Roselin lightly tapped the sword handles, then pulled them out with a clang.

Then, thump.

She planted the two swords shallowly into the table. The blades smoothly cut into the wood. The innkeeper’s frown met with Roselin’s apologetic ‘sorry, sorry’ as she turned back to Najin.

“Curious about these weapons?”

“…Commander.”

“It’s fine, Barter. My artifact is well-known, and it’s all about how you use it.”

Ignoring her deputy’s protest, Roselin began to explain.

“Kid, you know what an artifact is?”

“I know they’re weapons with mysteries.”

“Right. Normally, it’s best to keep an artifact’s mystery hidden, but mine is a bit different. Its previous user was too famous, and all its secrets got exposed.”

Originally, the artifact Echo was used by a hero of the Union hundreds of years ago.

“So, yeah. I’ll tell you.”

Roselin chuckled.

“The 21st artifact, Echo.”

She flicked the back of the twin swords. A crisp ring echoed through the tavern, the sound layering and echoing like in the forest.

“Echo makes everything echo. Sound, impact, even mana.”

“So, the technique in the forest…”

“Yes. I resonated my sword aura with the echoing Echo. It’s a technique that uses sound to spread the sword aura… The details are my secret. You get the idea?”

Najin nodded, though his eyes remained fixed on the black blades embedded in the table. Fascinated.

“Interested in artifacts?”

“They’re intriguing. It’s my first time seeing something like this.”

“Indeed, they’re not something you see every day. Since you’re interested, I’ll tell you more about artifacts…”

Roselin pointed to the blades.

“Despite being thousands, maybe tens of thousands of years old, there’s not a single scratch on the blade. That’s one of an artifact’s traits.”

“A trait?”

“They hardly break. Even a Sword Master’s aura couldn’t damage it. Almost indestructible.”

Almost indestructible – meaning, not completely so.

“Do they break?”

“Very rarely, but it happens.”

Roselin nodded.

“Artifacts can break if they keep clashing with other artifacts. But historically, most are broken by ‘higher concept’ weapons.”

…Higher concept weapons?

Najin tilted his head, hearing Merlin’s laughter in his ears.

“What are higher concept weapons?”

“You’d be surprised. There are a couple of famous ones.”

Roselin smiled.

“One is Gram, the cursed and holy sword of the first Sword Saint. The other is… well, the most famous.”

The most famous sword in history.

“The Star’s Sword, Excalibur.”

The peak of all weapons, which brought eternal death to immortal demons. At the mention of Excalibur, Najin gasped.

“Even artifacts or constellations’ relics are mere metal in front of Excalibur. There must have been five artifacts it’s destroyed in history?”

Najin questioned Merlin internally. Was that true?

-Not five, but seven, and it’s true. Demons or fallen constellations wielding artifacts were somewhat common.

‘I couldn’t even cut a longsword with it.’

-Well, you don’t have a star yet.

Merlin’s response was as if it was the most obvious thing.

-You need a star to fully unleash Excalibur’s power. Right now, it’s just a holy sword with ‘demon slaying,’ healing, and purification effects.

It sounded impressive enough.

“By the way.”

Remembering something, Roselin snapped her fingers.

“Barter, didn’t you say someone pulled Excalibur recently? Any idea who?”

“No one knows yet. If it were known, the whole continent would be in an uproar.”

“True. But I bet one of the Sword Masters did it. They seem to be hiding it.”

“My guess is Gerd, the Empire’s Sword Master.”

As Barter and Roselin discussed, Najin played with his wristband. The constellation on his wrist was visible only to him, but he instinctively covered it with his palm.

Early morning.

Woken by chirping birds, Najin blinked his groggy eyes. He was the only one sober after the mercenaries’ night of drinking.

“Ugh…”

Groaning with a hangover, Roselin clung to Najin’s back. It was the price for her relentless attempt to get Najin drunk.

“Wake up, please.”

“Just to the guild… I need to stamp the completion of the quest.”

Sighing, Najin carried Roselin towards the central guild. Suddenly, he heard retching sounds from behind.

“Ugh… Hey, let me down. Ugh.”

After setting Roselin down, she squatted in an alley corner and started dry heaving.

“Pat my back, will you? Ugh…”

Najin sighed and patted her back. Crouched in the alley, holding her flowing hair, Roselin looked pitiful.

‘This… is a peak of the adventurers’ city?’

Najin felt an unexpected emptiness. He thought the White tier he aimed for was more magnificent. As he mulled over this, a voice called from behind.

“Oh?”

Turning, Najin saw a familiar face. The snake who swallows gold, Dieta, dressed differently than usual, was headed to the central guild. Recognizing Najin, she waved.

“Nice to see you again…?”

Her enthusiasm waned upon seeing Roselin, seemingly in her mid-twenties but actually twice that, with her notorious red eyes.

Black hair down to her waist.

Casual, carefree attire.

Pristine pale skin, despite her age.

And those unsettling red eyes.

Dieta, realizing she was looking at ‘that woman,’ narrowed her eyes.

“…Roselin Ascalo?”

Just then, Roselin spoke.

“What, who’s calling… Ugh!”