Chapter 293
Chapter 293
As the name ‘Arthur Draker’ Was mentioned, Zeke's eyes changed.
“An assignment from Arthur Draker, huh? Tell me exactly what it was.”
Bane flinched at Zeke's intense gaze and explained the situation.
"He secretly commissioned me to melt an ice block containing a coffin."
Since magically frozen ice typically cannot be thawed, it seemed he was brought to someone with expertise in ice magic.
"An ice block with a coffin inside. Was it to preserve a corpse?"
"At first, I thought the same. Normally, I wouldn't have accepted such a suspicious request, but at the time, I needed money to buy ingredients for making an elixir, so I accepted the commission. However, after analyzing the ice surrounding the coffin, I realized it was not a typical magic."
"What do you mean by not a typical magic?"
"It's difficult to explain... It was an ice with a magical quality that could not be created by conventional magic operation. It was completely impossible to thaw."
"Do you think Arthur Draker poisoned you because you failed the request?"
Bane shook his head.
"No. The problem was what happened next."
Bane continued slowly.
"Suddenly, Ramon Jiemens, the head of the Jiemens family, came to me."
At the name Ramon Jiemens, Zeke furrowed his brow.
"Why did the head of the Jiemens family suddenly come looking for me?"
"Ramon Jiemens revealed to me that the person who made the request was Arthur Draker and asked me about the coffin."
"Ramon Jiemens himself?"
"Yes. He came alone without any attendants, asked about it, and when I said I couldn't thaw the ice, he just nodded and left."
"Is that all?"
"Yes, that's all."
"Where in this story can you find evidence that Arthur Draker poisoned you?"
Bane, with only bones remaining, trembled and spoke.
"I found out that the person who made the request was Arthur Draker! There must be a reason for the secret commission, and since I discovered that fact, he must have poisoned me to silence me."
Zeke clicked his tongue.
Although he himself despised Arthur Draker, he didn't think he was petty enough to poison someone for such a reason.
'If he had intended to kill Bane from the start, he would have used a different method instead of poisoning.'
In any case, poisoning and leaving the corpse behind was not Arthur Draker's style.
Zeke became curious about the identity of the coffin trapped in the ice that Bane mentioned.
'What could it be that both Arthur Draker and Ramon Jiemens were interested in?'
While Zeke was pondering, Bane trembled and spoke.
"Arthur Draker. I will definitely take revenge on you and your bloodline..."
At that moment, Zeke shook his head and said to Bane.
"I think the one who poisoned you was not Arthur Draker, but Ramon Jiemens."
Bane was flustered by Zeke's words and asked.
"Why would Ramon Jiemens poison me?"
"Poisoning is not Arthur Draker's style. Most likely, Ramon Jiemens, after confirming that you couldn't thaw the coffin, decided he could just kill you."
"Killing me because I couldn't thaw it?"
"No, the opposite. He killed you to prevent you from possibly thawing it in the future. Ramon's purpose was to prevent the coffin from being thawed."
Bane's mouth gaped open at Zeke's words.
After maintaining his sanity for decades as a spirit, harboring a grudge against Arthur Draker, it turned out that someone else had poisoned him.
"No, that can't be..."
"You can believe it. There's no one who knows Draker's nature as well as I do."
"Pardon? What do you mean..?."
Zeke looked at Bane and said.
"Yes, my name is Zeke Draker. I am a direct descendant of the Draker family and a pure-blooded Awakened."
"M-Master is from the Draker family..."
Bane's face, now just bones, turned deathly pale.
******
Bane, who had researched this dungeon for a long time, was completely unaware that the Queen of Ice, a Nephilim and the reincarnation of a constellation, was sealed here.
He had set up his research lab here simply because training in a place with continuously rising cold had the effect of increasing magical power.
Now that the Queen of Ice was gone, the dungeon had lost its meaning and only retained the value of an ancient ruin.
Zeke first gathered everything necessary from the research lab, released the summons of Bane and Richmond, and came out.
Surprisingly, when he emerged through the well he had first entered, Michel and Zeros were waiting for him.
"Sir Zeke!"
Zeros ran to Zeke, who had emerged from the well.
"Have you finished the exploration?"
"Yes, I looked around inside, but only monsters kept appearing, and there was nothing special."
Zeros looked at Michel behind him as if he had expected this.
Then, as if he had made a decision, he spoke to Zeke.
"Sir Zeke, I have one request."
"Please speak."
"I want to follow you."
Zeke was momentarily taken aback by Zeros' sudden statement.
The value of Zeros, a 6th Circle Double Master with the titles of Warlock and Sorcerer, was beyond imagination.
Zeros looked at Zeke and said.
"Through this dungeon exploration, I've realized many things. I've never felt such powerlessness in my life. I clearly understood that sitting at a desk and only researching was wrong. Please allow me to follow you and learn about the world."
Zeke pretended to ponder and slowly responded.
"Zeros, joining me means joining my knight order. Nirvana would not be pleased with a Nirvana mage joining the Draker knight order."
Zeros smiled and said.
"Nirvana doesn't really care about that. In fact, once you reach a certain level, they actually encourage going out and gaining experience. Nirvana mages tend to focus too much on their desired research."
Zeke nodded as if agreeing.
"Then there won't be any significant issues with changing affiliations."
"Yes, as long as I can attend the head selection ceremony held every five years, there are essentially no restrictions."
"Very well. If you join the Black Sword Knight Order, I promise the highest treatment."
Zeke immediately pulled out a contract from his inventory that he had prepared in advance.
"Please review the contents and sign here."
Zeros, who had initiated the conversation, was surprised by Zeke's quick and proactive approach.
"As expected, Sir Zeke is thorough in this aspect too."
"To not miss out on valuable talent."
After Zeros nodded and signed the contract, Zeke wore a satisfied smile.
'A 7th Circle Master Lich, a talented genius mage. I've gained a lot from this Aten mission.'
Zeke extended his hand to Zeros.
"I look forward to working with you, Zeros."
"I look forward to working with you, Master!"
Having recruited Zeros, Zeke turned to Michel, who was sleeping under a tree stump, snoring with saliva at the corner of his mouth.
When Zeke tapped him with his foot, Michel wiped the drool and woke up.
"Hmm? Huh? Are we already out…?"
Zeke said to Michel.
"Michel, it's time to return to the village."
Zeke decided to have Zeros settle his affairs and move to the Agamemnon Castle where the Black Sword Knight Order was staying, while he would travel to the northern continent with Michel to the Druid village.
After Zeros moved to the central branch, Zeke brought out Bucephalus.
NEEEIGH!
Bucephalus rubbed its face against Zeke's chest and made a pleasant sound.
Michel was startled seeing Bucephalus.
"My goodness. Is this the Dragon Horse King...?"
Michel, who immediately recognized Bucephalus' identity.
"You seem to know about the spirit well."
Michel, usually with a vague gaze, now sparkled his eyes and carefully looked at Bucephalus.
"This magnificent horn, hooves, the color of these scales! It's truly a magnificent spirit!"
"I know that too. Michel, in which direction is the village in the north?"
"We need to go towards the Ogre Mountains."
"Good. It might be a bit shaky, but endure it."
Chains shot out from Zeke's arm and wrapped around Michel's body.
"Huh? What is..?."
Before Michel could finish speaking, Zeke leaped into the air with Bucephalus.
"KYAAAAAAK!"
Michel, tied by the chains, dangled from Bucephalus racing through the sky.
Zeke flew across the sky towards the northern continent, with Michel hanging behind.
*******
One of the many mountain ranges extending from the mountain range called the roof of the northern continent, the Ogre Mountains was a rugged mountain range cutting between Himonas, which connects to the Ice Mountains, and the highland Gorka.
The reason this mountain range was named the Ogre Mountains was literally true.
This place was particularly inhabited by dangerous Ogres.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
True to its name, three Ogres were wandering in the mountains, searching for prey.
Normally, Ogres were monsters that acted alone.
However, the Ogres in the Ogre Mountains lived in tribes, just like Orcs.
Because the terrain was so rugged, and other monsters in the mountains were not easy to deal with, the Ogres had developed the habit of forming tribes.
Because of this, the Ogres in the Ogre Mountains were relatively smaller compared to Ogres in other places.
However, they were much smarter and more sensitive than ordinary Ogres, making them difficult to handle.
Unlike other Ogres who blindly attacked with their physical strength, the Ogres in the Ogre Mountains knew how to use weapons and could perform coordinated attacks.
The three Ogres who came out of their tribe for hunting discovered their prey and, unexpectedly for Ogres, lowered their bodies and spread out to prepare an ambush.
GRRRRR.
They suppressed their Ogre instincts and waited for their prey to enter their position.
As the prey entered the encirclement, the Ogres finally rose and roared monstrously.
ROOOOAR!
Though three Ogres charged, the prey remained motionless.
The Ogres, thinking their prey was paralyzed with fear, smiled satisfactorily and rushed to attack.
But then, something flashed before their eyes.
SWISH!
Zeke's sword instantly decapitated the charging Ogre.
THUD!
Zeke looked down at the fallen Ogres with curious eyes.
‘Ogres wearing modified human armor and carrying weapons. I knew about this from rumors, but seeing it directly is quite fascinating.’
Even during his previous life when he had Highlander missions, he had no connection with the Ogre Mountains, so these Ogres were entirely new to him.
His preconceived notions about Ogres were completely shattered.
Michel, trembling beside him, exclaimed in admiration.
"Wow! Incredible! Killing those Ogres in one strike!"
"Do these guys also charge at Druids?"
"When they come out of the village, they attack without restraint."
"It's amazing that these Ogres are capable of such coordinated behavior. They're not supposed to be like this."
"I hear it's been like this since the Ogre King appeared."
"Ogre King?"
He had never heard of such a thing in his previous life.
Zeke thought he would investigate later, absorbed the dead Ogres, and proceeded with Michel towards the entrance of the Druid village inside the mountain range.
The village was hidden within the Ogres' habitat, making it difficult for outsiders to find.
After going further inside, a stone tower marking the village entrance finally appeared.
"Huff, huff. It's this way."
Dozens of stone towers stacked on top of each other stretched upwards.
Unlike Barbarian villages, these stone towers seemed to have no defensive function, yet mysteriously, Ogres never approached this area.
Just as Zeke slowly approached the stone towers, a message window suddenly appeared.
[Detecting the realm 'Fairy Forest'.]
[The realm 'Fairy Forest' recognizes the user.]
[The realm 'Fairy Forest' rejects the immortal.]