Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 027
Chapter Title: Black Sorcery Fortress #2
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The carriage was cramped and uncomfortable.
After riding through the night, we arrived at the fortress city of Lavadon.
"This is the largest city near the Great Wall. They call it the City of the Abyss because of its massive, deep pit."
Hermit, who had been snoring away the entire carriage ride, woke up and chattered on about what she knew.
It was convenient for her to explain first.
"Man, how long has it been since I last went out?"
Mr. Hammer got out of the carriage and stretched.
Felix climbed down too.
He clicked his tongue at the moon hanging in the night sky.
"Mr. Hammer, may I move separately?"
"Why?"
"There's an acquaintance somewhere around here. I have a favor to ask, so I need to go meet them now."
"Sure. Then let's meet back here tomorrow morning. We head to Oldor Fortress tomorrow."
"Then I'm going to a magic tool shop too! I want to find out how to hatch this egg!"
Hermit had brought her familiar egg along.
She said she slept with it every night, and it looked like that was true.
Pat pat.
Mr. Hammer patted my back.
"Alright, Yor, let's go find an inn together. If we dawdle, the rooms might fill up, and we'll have to sleep on the streets."
"Heh heh, that's something I'm good at. Hey, you tattooed thugs!"
I called out to some guys prowling the streets.
They looked like total punks at a glance.
I had a good eye for faces.
"Shit, tattooed thugs?"
"You talking to us?"
The duo scowled.
But their expressions softened quick when they saw Mr. Hammer, decked out in full plate armor.
"What's up?"
"Ahem."
"This knight here wants to know where the inn with good food and nice facilities is. Tell the truth, and he'll reward you."
"The best facilities would be Toboso Inn."
"For food, it's the place run by Lady Dorthea."
Got it.
I memorized that.
The guys soon eyed me.
"So, what's this reward?"
"You gonna buy us a beer or something?"
I pulled the Stone Man's Fragment from my Black Satchel and held it out.
"It's a precious gem that only comes from beyond the Great Wall. Sell it, and it'll cover plenty of booze money."
"Isn't that just a rock?"
"Looks like a scam..."
"You idiots. If it was just a rock, would I carry it around in my heavy satchel? Give it back. I'll pay you for it."
"Ah, forget it!"
"Heh heh heh."
That's how I got the inn info.
Mr. Hammer asked me.
"Yor, is it okay to lie so blatantly to people you've just met?"
"Strangers are easier. Even I feel a pang of conscience lying to people I see often."
"That's not what I meant."
"Then what?"
"No, I mean I gotta see your face more often!"
"Yeah, let's keep seeing each other for a long time!"
"Then let's head to Toboso Inn. Food doesn't matter—I just want a good night's sleep."
Mr. Hammer and I headed to Toboso Inn, the one with the good facilities.
Sure enough, it was newly built, spotless, with soft beds and freshly laundered blankets.
What surprised me was Mr. Hammer lying down on the bed in his armor.
"I've been meaning to ask. Don't you ever take off that armor normally?"
"It's comfortable."
Mr. Hammer was a weirdo if you looked closely.
'Seems like I'm the only normal one in our party.'
'I gotta stay sharp.'
Snooore.
How much time passed?
Mr. Hammer fell asleep, snoring away.
I slipped out of the room in the meantime.
I had business in the city.
Walking through the dark, damp back alleys reeking of piss felt as comfortable as coming home.
It was like shedding a heavy load—pure liberation.
"So, if you had business, why not just go without the bait?"
I sorted the smell hitting my nose.
It was the gunpowder scent from the Stone Man's Fragment.
Thud, thud.
Two guys who'd been hiding behind me stepped out.
"You little shit."
"You tried to scam us saying a random rock was a rare gem from beyond the Great Wall?"
They'd already looked into the Stone Man's Fragment.
"You scam us and then wander around alone like you ain't scared."
"Get ready to die."
Shing.
The duo drew swords from their belts.
One had a dagger.
The other had a decent-looking longsword from who knows where.
"Hand over everything you got."
"Or die!"
The pair crept toward me.
I drew a Thunderbolt Throwing Knife from my belt and flung it.
Clang clang!
Their weapons flew from their hands in an instant and stabbed into the ground.
"Shit, what the hell was that?"
"That guy's a Blessed One!"
The thug duo finally looked up.
"Boss!"
"What do we do!"
I looked up too.
A hooded man was staring down at me in the moonlight.
He held the Stone Man's Fragment.
But his sword at his belt and gear were leagues above the punks'.
That was 'explorer equipment.'
"You wouldn't happen to be from Lavadon's Thieves' Guild? Germain said to meet up with guild members if I came to the city."
"Germain? Oh, right. You're the newbie who blinded that one-eyed bastard and joined the guild."
Hop.
The hooded man leaped lightly in front of me.
He waved the duo off.
"You two, scram. If he blinded that one-eyed guy, he's way out of your league. He's just using you to meet me, that's why I'm letting it slide."
The hooded thief had a sharp mind.
He instantly saw that I'd used the Stone Man's Fragment as bait to draw out Great Wall and Thieves' Guild contacts.
This would wrap things up quick.
"Germain said there's something to get from the Black Fortress. She said a Lavadon guild contact would know what."
"The Statue of the Eight-Armed Witch? Probably in Major General Raiden's 'secret warehouse.'"
"Secret warehouse?"
"Where he stashes his treasures. Nobody gets in easy—just give up."
The hooded man showed me his right hand.
It was round and smooth like a bowling pin.
"Thieves who get too close end up like this. Priests can't heal mutilations like that. Ends your Wall-thief career right there."
Shit, difficulty's insane.
Is this the kind of challenge for the 'next training'?
"But those throwing knives and gauntlet. Narakje relics, huh? You've already collected two. Only three left after that."
"What do you mean three left?"
"What, you don't know? I ain't telling for free."
Heh heh heh—the hooded thief laughed.
That's when I felt a weird sensation at my belt.
I looked—my Black Satchel was moving on its own.
"Hey, what the hell is this?"
"Heh heh heh. You noticed my pickpocketing. Impressive—Germain's got an eye for talent. My blessing is 'Invisible Hand.' I have an extra transparent hand."
Shit, he shows off that bowling-pin wrist.
─I can't steal anymore─makes you drop your guard, then uses his blessing to clean your pockets?
'Learned something new.'
The world's wide, and there are still plenty of masters.
Without Germain's focus training and 'don't trust your eyes' lesson, I'd have been pickpocketed.
The hooded thief chuckled.
"I'm Adam, Lavadon Thieves' Guild leader. You're Yor, right? For my junior's sake, drop this job quietly."
Even a skilled thief like Adam couldn't nab Major General Raiden's stuff.
But—
I got why Germain asked me.
I had a connection with Raiden from engraving those breaching stones.
He'd grant one favor, no matter what.
Ask to enter that 'secret warehouse'?
'Maybe Germain considered all that when assigning it to me.'
I ended my meeting with Lavadon's guild leader Adam and headed back to the inn.
Mr. Hammer was still snoring away.
Seeing him sleep in armor made me feel uncomfortable and stiff for no reason.
The next morning.
We gathered at the meeting spot, took a carriage, and headed to the fortress.
After half a day.
I understood why it was called the Black Fortress.
The towering walls were pitch black.
Only the lion banners fluttering in the wind gleamed gold.
Even the guards' armor was painted black.
Hermit dry-heaved at the sight.
"Ugh, it's full of unknown sorceries everywhere. That sorcerer we met? My stomach's churning—bleh."
Hermit was in bad shape.
Felix slapped her back.
"Be respectful in front of the Major General."
"...Hey, your teammate's suffering, and that's your concern?"
We entered the tent where the Major General was staying.
I figured it'd be a fancy office, but he was living in a tent in the training grounds like some Indian chief. Wild.
The bald Major General greeted me.
"You're here, Yor. How's the breaching stone working? Still got it?"
"Heh heh heh, thanks to you, I'm flying high, sir! Check it out."
I pulled out the radiant golden breaching stone.
"You said you gotta carry it like a charm for the effect. Heh heh heh."
This little rock boosted all my passive skills and added options?
After perfect engravings, no better item existed.
"Just looking at this thing fills me up—no need to eat!"
"Hoo, see that! Told you my luck turned? That's the proof!"
Ooooh.
The knights marveled.
Felix stepped forward.
"Major General, Felix reporting."
"Felix. Long time. Rest up—you must be tired from the road."
"Um, Major General!"
I stepped forward too.
The sword knight beside him put a hand on his hilt.
"...Don't speak casually to one of the Imperial Four Stars!"
"Enough, Sir Gotwalt. Yor and I go way back. So, why'd you call?"
"You said you'd grant me one favor, sir."
"I did."
"Can I enter your 'secret warehouse'?"
"My warehouse...?"
The Major's face hardened.
Sir Gotwalt bellowed beside him.
"A thief near the treasures? Absurd!"
Tension choked the air.
All eyes turned to the Major.
And—
"Oh dear, this is trouble."
A booming line.
"Yor, can't you ask for something else?"
"Sir, can a man go back on his word?"
"Sigh, tsch. Fine! If you insist."
"Ooh! So you're allowing it?"
"I'm warning you—I tried to stop you. Don't blame me later."
"Blame you?"
Something felt off.
The Major didn't act like an old man guarding a treasure chest.
More like an adult desperate to keep a kid from a fire.
"I blocked that place not 'cause of me—no one else can come and go freely. You'll see when you go."