Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Saintess Candidate
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The sun had set, and the moon had risen.
Gazing up at the night sky, I couldn't help but feel that this was indeed another world.
'Not that there are two moons.'
The starlight was just exceptionally clear.
Even the Milky Way peeked through here and there—a sight impossible to see in the modern world.
Hoo.
I took a sip of water and mulled things over.
Rozante, the Saintess candidate.
It would be ideal to recruit her, but it might prove difficult.
'Ermé chose her, so her personality must be decent enough.'
But annoyingly, Lucia was attached to her.
I still couldn't quite read what Lucia thought of me. Her eyes suggested she wanted me for herself.
'It feels like she's deliberately leaving me alone.'
Perhaps she planned to raise me and integrate me into her forces.
In that light, she might even let me have Rozante.
But if that happened...
'I couldn't trust Rozante.'
That wouldn't be ideal. If you can't trust a party member whose life you're entrusting yours to, who could you trust?
'Maybe some blackmail material.'
Blackmail a priest? What would that even achieve in a real pinch?
Unnecessary thoughts crept in.
My head's full of random nonsense.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ -In times like this, you should swing a sword. Did she sense my mood?
Rishiel spoke to me.
'Swing a sword, huh.'
To clear a cluttered mind by swinging a sword—what an idea.
The funny part was, I actually agreed with it to some extent.
Had I grown that accustomed to this world?
I nodded and sought out a quiet spot. The orphanage area was desolate at night with all the children around.
Still, just in case.
I moved deeper inside and gripped swords in both hands.
Dual wielding.
Everyone who saw it called dual wielding trash.
'But it suits me surprisingly well.'
I swung the swords.
Not something vicious like Dark Moon.
What I needed was...
'Rishiel.'
Manifest Rishiel's sword in my right hand. Hers was light, perfect for offense.
If the right was for attack, the left had to be for defense.
So for the left hand...
'Sharp.'
They say a flexible sword is best, but I still didn't grasp that sensation.
So I'd just swing it however...
'No, I have teaching materials.'
She was watching from the side, firing arrows. Ermé.
Her swordsmanship was quite advanced.
'Balance, was it?'
Her style was incredibly stable.
A basic sword with no bias toward any side.
In other words, it offered few advantages in any fight.
No standout strengths, but no weaknesses either. It suited Ermé's one-handed style.
'Can I make it more defensive?'
Teresa aimed for one-shot kills. Rishiel and the elves were inferior versions of Dark Moon.
'Those skebinger guys.'
Utter trash.
Swordplay that disregarded their own lives, grateful for even a scratch on the enemy.
For something defensive...
'Teaching materials.'
The books I'd skimmed at the adventurer's guild before entering the Labyrinth.
They were there.
And among them...
'Volkan.'
His sword was sturdy and heavy. Any ordinary blade might shatter just from clashing with his momentum.
'I've seen it a few times.'
Would it work? Maybe not.
I was a novice with swords.
But what I trusted was my Gift, Sword Master (A+).
And the skill, Swordsmanship level.
'Just mimic it.'
I recalled Volkan's sword. It was intense and fast.
However.
'The flow was broken.'
The hardest part of his swordplay was that relentless pressure.
My attack timings.
Volkan's sword always crushed them.
He claimed he was gauging my skill.
'But he showed me his sword in return.'
As if daring me to steal it if I could.
That tendency grew stronger after I stole the elf's sword style.
I closed my eyes.
Sketching Volkan's sword and movements like a painting, separating each one.
Adapting them to suit me...
'This...'
Volkan's swordsmanship reassembled. Of course, I couldn't output his power, and calling it Volkan's sword would raise eyebrows.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Skill: Swordsmanship level has increased.] "Hoo."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ -Th-that sword of yours, what in the world... I swung the sword.
Would a forced genius feel like this?
This body that wouldn't obey in my past life now moved on its own.
Volkan's sword began to melt seamlessly into mine.
After swinging for a while like that.
I wore a satisfied smile.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Skill: Swordsmanship level has increased.] This would do.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Once I finished sword practice, my mind cleared up.
'Don't get dragged along unnecessarily.'
That was the conclusion I'd reached after much deliberation.
The status window was tempting, and so was Lucia.
But being pulled around by them wouldn't end well.
The situation so far had been forced upon me.
What happened had happened, so I'd done my best in the given circumstances.
'Recruit the Saintess candidate if possible, but don't accept help from Lucia or the others.'
That was my decision.
Ermé might think differently, though.
I stored my sword in the Hidden Space (B) and walked while loosening my arms.
Then I sensed a few presences.
'Kids from the orphanage?'
I didn't like children much, so I kept my distance from them on purpose.
The others were different, but dealing with brats was the most annoying thing in the world to me.
But sneaking out late at night was another matter.
'What a hassle.'
I sighed deeply and went after them.
But something was off.
Too fast for a kid's footsteps.
'Who is it?'
I picked up speed.
Thanks to mastering Rogue Mastery (S) for so long, my steps were nearly silent, and I could dash through the darkness effortlessly.
And there it was.
An adult man-sized figure kidnapping a child.
'Kidnapping?'
Why bother kidnapping from the orphanage?
Most kids get chosen by Gifts and enter intensive care.
The ones left had no standout Gifts.
'What could it be?'
Curious, I melted into the shadows and watched the guy.
'What to do.'
Killing the kidnapper outright was one option.
But there'd be backers behind someone pulling this off.
As I pondered and moved, I realized there was another tracker besides me.
A woman with crimson hair and eyes like twilight.
Ermé.
And...
'Rozante?'
She looked different from before.
The drunken revelry was gone; she seemed utterly serious now.
'Was it an act?'
Or was the situation that urgent?
Viewing her through a marksman's eyes in the dark, the kidnapping victim didn't seem special.
Still, somehow...
'Similar to Ermé.'
A sense of kinship from within.
It felt like someone akin to me.
Which meant the victim might be a Hero candidate.
'That explains the weirdness.'
Targeting Hero candidates?
Then that guy was...
'Which candidate?'
With Rozante there, not the Saintess.
Maybe Thief, Warrior, or Mage.
'Who?'
Curiosity piqued. If those two were together, they could handle it—but still worth tailing.
'Then I'll shadow them.'
I hid in the darkness.
Tailing was easy. Remember the target and follow without being noticed.
With shadows as cover and marksman skills, no challenge.
"Who's there!"
"Damn, we're made!"
The problem: Ermé and Rozante had been spotted by the enemy.
The tail yelled, and foes swarmed from all sides.
'Thorough preparations.'
No one looked particularly dangerous. But Ermé had to protect Rozante, putting her at a disadvantage.
Then...
'Take out one and go.'
Kiiik.
Hiding in the dark, I aimed at the most threatening one's head.
Bald with tattoos—like a textbook thug.
'Insanely strong; Ermé alone could handle him.'
But protecting Rozante made him the biggest nuisance.
So...
Charged Shot.
This wasn't the Labyrinth; it was the city center.
No explosive power like last time. Just sharpness.
Mana drained sharply—about 10% lingered in the arrow.
I drew the string.
Shiiik—!
The arrow slipped into the darkness, tracing its path straight to the guy's skull.
'Hit.'
It pierced his head and embedded in the ground.
No retrieving that one.
Moments later, a thud—kuwoong! He collapsed.
I melted back into the shadows and resumed tailing the kidnapper.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Tch, such a pain."
"I'm sorry."
Rozante bowed her head at Ermé's words. Ermé suppressed a sigh.
She glanced around.
Nothing in sight.
'Good, he left.'
Her facade nearly cracked. She had to use formal speech, but being summoned suddenly threw her off.
'Of all days.'
She'd planned to recruit her here—originally tomorrow.
'Something changed.'
Fortunately, no spilled milk yet.
She looked at Rozante. Black hair, golden eyes—clear-headed now, unlike before.
Of course. She'd been acting all along.
"But that earlier..."
"Our party's thief."
Ermé answered Rozante's question.
The bulkiest, most annoying foe dropped in an instant. An arrow half-buried in him after.
'Really lucky.'
And chilling.
If that arrow had targeted her, could she dodge?
'No...'
Precisely, the head maybe.
But a limb would be maimed.
That arrow was that stealthy and destructive.
'Really lucky.'
Having pulled Han Yuseong to her side.
"Anyway, what now?"
"...That is."
Han Yuseong sniped one and vanished into the dark. Clearly chasing the kidnapper.
'But no way to track the kidnapper...'
Or so she thought—
'...How thoughtful.'
Ermé smirked. A mark from the Labyrinth.
It was there.
"Found it. Let's go."
"Y-yes? Found what?"
"Our party member seems to be tailing the kidnapper separately."
Ermé led Rozante toward the mark.
The closer they got...
An ominous feeling grew.
"I-it'll be okay, right?"
"Yes..."
Ermé tensed.
Blood everywhere.
And corpses.
Savage slashes.
Like a riot had broken out.
'Even in the slums...'
This was too much.
Ermé and Rozante pressed on with grim faces.
And there.
They saw Han Yuseong, silently standing.
His expression weary for some reason.
And at the end...
'That...'
One figure emerged.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 📜 SUB QUEST 📜 Path of Light
Chapter 2. Shadow of Darkness
You have uncovered the identity of a lurking faction.
They are outwardly known as the rebel group Liberion.
And you discovered they are kidnapping a Hero candidate—seen as a future enemy—for bizarre experiments.
Stop them.
The quest window popped up the moment I entered the building.
Corpses and blood strewn everywhere.
All their faces frozen in horror.
They'd all been murdered.
'Poison...?'
The method was odd.
They'd killed each other.
Someone tried to cover it with slashes, but Rogue Mastery (S) saw through it.
'Some dangerous one here.'
But this level—I could handle it.
I pondered briefly.
I'd left marks for Ermé and Rozante; would they follow?
'It'd be fine with them.'
As I hesitated...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ -Be careful, my lord. Rishiel cautioned me subtly.
I looked ahead.
Thud, thud.
A figure emerged from the darkness. All-black stealth suit, splattered with blood.
'Not here with good intentions.'
I readied my sword.
But the shadow-shrouded one didn't approach.
Just stared from afar.
"You're the one who ruined everything. I thought Ermé was the problem, but it was you."
"...?"
Seems like a big misunderstanding.
As I moved to explain...
"Ruining the seedling cut, bearing our mark, stopping the elf uproar, using those skebingers to block others—all your doing, huh."
"..."
Had I meddled in that much?
And all of it?
"You're our main enemy."
The figure seemed to grin brightly. Whatever their scheme...
'A bit unfair.'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ -My lord, what is this? Didn't you ruin everything? Rishiel responded to my protest.
Quiet.