To Distant Lands (2)
As a city linking the southern east and west, the goods that flowed into Hudelen were immense.
Yet flowers draw butterflies, and honey draws bees. Bands of thieves hunting those goods were just as numerous. The proof of it stood right before them.
“Even walking the road is a chore, isn’t it.”
“This area’s especially… well. Being out on the fringe, the patrols come less often, so plenty of them set up shop in these alleys.”
They had barely entered the outskirts of Hudelen when the third ambush hit.
None of these were desperate men driven out by poverty. From the start they had chosen plunder as their livelihood—pure scum.
“So you fight men like that every time?”
“Not quite, Sister. Usually we just pay a toll to the strongest group and they let us pass.”
“The ones who hold power…?”
“Even for the bandits, fighting caravans every single time would bleed them dry of men. A reasonable transit fee and they wave you through. The problem is the fee’s plump enough that they scrap among themselves for the right to collect it. So the biggest pack takes it on behalf of the rest.”
Like street gangs shaking down territory or the Green Forest League of the martial world, even scum like these had their own orderly way of letting travelers through…
“Uh, then why did they attack us…?”
“Normally one group holds the reins, but looking at these scattered attacks, the seat must be empty right now. Whether that’s lucky or unlucky, I can’t say—but I’m glad we hired all of you.”
Bad timing on both sides. They had been forced to draw steel; the bandits had the rotten luck of running into real fighters and losing their lives for it.
“Ugh… spare—”
Thud!
“We’re already in the red from the goods that went flying. At least we don’t have to pay a toll now.”
In the end, they had brought it on themselves.
Whether the hired guards or the caravan’s own protectors, no one felt the slightest need to leave any of the bandits alive. Hauling them all the way to the city would be a hassle, repentance seemed unlikely, and most decisive of all—they had struck first. Mercy had no place here.
“Why aren’t you using that technique? When that black thing comes whooshing out, everything dies!”
…Thanks to that, even he—who would normally have settled things with fists—was simply fighting with a sword. As Berserk had asked, he was not using any skills.
“Or did you leave the chance to me, Berserk? Hahaha! Grateful!”
For the record, that was absolutely not the reason he held back.
It simply wasn’t urgent, and it had nothing to do with demons. There was no need to create a massacre.
Honestly, watching dozens of people sliced apart by a single Chamgyeok was not a pretty sight. Being able to see gore was not something to be proud of.
“I wish I could use useful techniques like the Demon Knight.”
“When you have things that aren’t worth facing one by one yet still must die, it would certainly be convenient.”
“I’m not even on their level, though.”
Cruelty and usefulness were separate matters, so the others seemed envious. He was grateful they hadn’t scolded him for holding back, yet it left him strangely unsettled.
“…If I could use something like that, it would be easier to strike down demons.”
And ever since leaving Far Enoch, the Inquisitor had been lagging behind in every fight. That bothered him too!
Had the inability to properly help the city folk because of her own lack of strength weighed on her that heavily…!
“Right, why can’t you use stuff like that?”
“There are various circumstances, but ultimately it comes down to my own inadequacy.”
“Uh…”
In the meantime Dev, revived by the slightly less brutal heat, tried to needle the Inquisitor. This time the Inquisitor’s stubborn earnestness—or rather her thoroughly deflated state—seemed to win out.
“Excessive humility is not good either, Inquisitor. If you wrap the absence that stems from the very nature of holy power and its history as mere personal incompetence, misconceptions will arise.”
“Ah, Archmage.”
But hang on. A quick look around showed the bandits were all dealt with, so time to get ready to move first.
He and the party mounted the horses they had traded for the camels back in the previous village. This might be Hudelen territory, but a long stretch of road still remained.
Conversation could happen while riding—though under the mask of his concept he would not even be granted the chance to speak—so mounting up first posed no problem.
“Holy power has natures too?”
So they set off again, and Berserk asked brightly.
“Indeed. Think of the efficiency of holy power versus mana when performing healing and you will understand at once.”
“Isn’t that just because it’s the power of a god?”
“That may be part of the reason. But if a trait consistently takes a certain shape, is it not fair to establish it as a ‘nature’ regardless of the cause?”
As long as no bandits appeared, the road was nothing but walking. They were not close enough with the caravan folk for casual chat either.
Seizing the opening, the Archmage opened a brief lecture.
It happened now and then during travel, and he welcomed the time. Common knowledge had to be topped up whenever the chance arose.
“Holy power possesses the property of forming planes. It spreads wide and does not scatter easily. Conversely, compressing holy power tightly into a point or a line is nearly impossible.”
“Is that so?”
“…It was?”
“……? Why don’t you know that?”
“I’ve only ever used it by instinct. I’ve never approached it this way before…”
Apparently common-knowledge top-ups were not needed by him alone.
“When applying it to something that already has form—a body, weapons—whether you spread it as a plane, stamp a point, or draw a line, the difficulty is about the same. You simply never noticed the difference. That disparity is only felt when projecting it outward.”
“I see.”
“Exactly. Returning to the explanation: mana finds it easier to condense into points or lines than to form planes. Of course once density exceeds a certain threshold it grows difficult on that side as well… but in any case, that is how it is.”
“Hmm, hmm. What does that have to do with not having attack techniques?”
“Think, then. Is it more painful to take ten points of force scattered as one each across ten places, or concentrated into a single spot?”
“Concentrated into one spot…?”
“That is why mana developed more offensively, and holy power more defensively. Their temperaments simply differ too greatly.”
The lack of attack techniques using holy power also had historical roots, the Archmage added, going off on a side explanation.
The historical digression was interesting enough since no exam was coming, yet the content itself was not particularly important.
From the eavesdropper’s perspective, something else was more intriguing.
If a single-point strike was impossible, could one not simply attack with the plane itself? Blunt weapons like hammers were, when you thought about it, attacks that used surfaces.
“If holy power’s nature is forming planes… couldn’t you use that to smash down or something?”
Yes. Exactly as Dev said.
“That is…”
The Archmage was briefly at a loss for words at Dev’s remark. Knowing theory was one thing; he himself could not wield holy power, so he was reluctant to casually discuss possibilities…
“Is it impossible?”
“…No. It seems possible.”
Conversely, the only one who could actually use holy power froze solid.
She was so stunned she twitched like a cartoon character with exclamation marks exploding behind her. It was adorable and hilarious.
“Th—”
She started to offer thanks, then saw Dev’s face, stopped dead, and quietly finished with “anks…” It was so funny and cute he could barely stand it.
“What kind of limp greeting is that?”
“It was gratitude.”
“No, it was completely drained of energy.”
“Is there a problem.”
And because the topic had shifted, the earlier dejection vanished as well. Perfect.
He suppressed the laugh threatening to escape and urged his horse forward. The two dumplings bickering and Berserk, still grunting as she failed to grasp the Archmage’s explanation, passed by on either side of him.
Luckily they met no more bandit packs after that. Instead they ran into a patrol returning from its rounds and received free escort the rest of the way.
Their own work as hired muscle lightened as a bonus.
“Haha, welcome to Hudelen.”
And when the guards finally spoke those words at the city gate, a truly vast and developed city worthy of its place as the east-west link filled his vision.
“…It is beautiful.”
“We hear that often. People say it is scenery worthy of one of the world’s foremost cities.”
Something felt missing, yet the thought scattered at once.
Like the Inquisitor, he could only swallow a gasp of admiration at the view. There was no other choice.
Buildings carved straight out of the mountain slopes and cliff faces behind them, waterways winding between, and a lake pooled at the very bottom of the city center.
He had taken the news that they would have to travel a cliff path to enter the city in stride, but seeing it now, this was the most fantasy-world vista imaginable.
The guards had every right to take pride in its beauty.
“Nothing will happen in this city, right?”
Yet faced with that beautiful world, Dev only grew wary rather than impressed. Given that incidents had erupted the moment they entered every previous city, the reaction was understandable.
“I wonder what kind of strong ones this place holds!”
Berserk’s words needed no listening at all.
“Surely nothing will happen. Well, the commission appears finished, so we need only report to the guild and part ways.”
Lastly the Archmage… planted a flag.
His gaze brushed over her for a moment and then moved on. He would trust that the first day of arrival would be safe and simply get some proper rest.
“Please take our commissions again next time!”
After various procedures they hurried across the city.
With trade and the commissions that came with it so frequent, the adventurers’ guild sat right beside the trading post, so their route wasted no steps.
The most important lodging (the temple) and the Magic Tower, however, stood at completely opposite ends of the city.
“The temple at the very top and the Magic Tower at the lowest level? What a bizarre choice of locations.”
“Temples are often situated high up.”
“Who asked because they didn’t know that?”
“Hmm! Making a few round trips between the temple and the Magic Tower should make for good exercise. Fine city!”
And she was connecting that to exercise? Separate from her battle-mania, those muscles had not appeared for nothing.
“…Lord Berserk seems steeped in a different kind of madness.”
“Berserk is not mad.”
“That wasn’t the sense I meant… if it offended, I apologize.”
“Good. I accept that apology.”
Berserk rarely turned serious at the word “madness.” Meat Dumpling, startled, immediately bowed his head. Only then did Berserk’s expression return to its usual hearty cheer.
“If you join me on the round trip to the Magic Tower tomorrow, that is!”
“Ugh!”
It seemed to have loosened a little too much. He averted his eyes as Berserk threw an arm around Dev’s shoulders.
He was not joining. They could do that among themselves.
“Training? I will join as well.”
“Hah! Excellent! You too are a warrior after all!”
He eyed the dizzying slope and shook his head inwardly.
A city built with zigzagging paths because the direct stairs were too steep, and they wanted to go up and down that? Possible or not, why would anyone undertake such penance.
He was the sort who refused even hiking because climbing slopes was pure misery!
“Demon Knight! Come with us!”
“Begone.”
Ah, he had answered by pure spinal reflex from sheer dislike. Still, he would not take the words back.
Do not make him hike.
“Why? Do you prefer a different form of training?”
No, he did not particularly train at all… He did practice applying his skills more finely and in varied ways now and then.
Especially after Weapon Master had left that non-hint of a hint, he had been focusing hard on that aspect.
But saying he did not train would only get him dragged into that monstrous workout. More importantly, answering at all would break character.
He ignored Berserk and walked on. Fortunately the temple was so visible he had no fear of getting lost.
“Ah, Demon Knight. Did I not mention it? You must visit the Magic Tower today.”
…That did not change the future of having to go all the way down there and back up again.
No—why! Whyyyy!!
“Do not take it too hard. The fierce White Wind said she has something she wishes to check regarding the sealing sphere and summoned you.”
Hwaaaaah.