332. Fissure (3)
332. Fissure (3)
- 1 -
4:00 AM.
The lights were still brightly burning at the Central Magic Tower of the Elieniesi Royal Palace.
"Still no anomalies?"
The kingdom's pride, the very place that produced the Combat Mage Corps, was both the center of the Baekansi and the institution responsible for the current king's pleasures.
The Grand Sorcerer of that magic tower was glaring at a single core with a furrowed brow.
"Truly... it's just an ordinary elite-grade dungeon core."
Grand Sorcerer Alphonse's gaze sharpened.
Multicolored, brilliant magic circles shimmered and swayed around the blue-tinted core.
He stroked his beard, unable to smooth the wrinkles on his forehead.
It was already the third analysis, but the result was the same.
"There are no issues with the equipment, Grand Sorcerer."
A young apprentice mage beside him spoke cautiously.
"Yes. My eyes are still working fine, Ilseun."
Alphonse stroked his beard.
After the meeting inside the palace, the King had ordered them to verify whether the core Branden had brought possessed any special properties.
However, this core was truly an ordinary one without any notable traits.
With no Dungeon Lord present and not even belonging to a dungeon, it was just a lump of mana serving only as a high-grade magic stone.
"Well... let's continue the examination for now."
Alphonse looked at the core and bit his lip.
He was personally a friend of Lothar, and Lothar 'was' the foremost authority in this nation.
That he could only speak of him in the past tense was a bitter fact.
The King's rage was immense when he eventually learned that Branden's atrocities had been carried out under Lothar's orders.
'If we can find something in this core...'
If they could find even a single special point, they might be able to make him owe a debt and perhaps even restore him, now fallen to third place, back to being 'first'.
But no matter what detailed inspections were performed, the blue core showed no response.
"This core... is simply ordinary."
In the end, all the mages of the magic tower shook their heads.
At this rate, Branden had simply stolen an ordinary dungeon core.
Thinking of the diplomatic disaster his reckless provocation would bring, Alphonse's face darkened.
Although Hysen had recently adopted a comparatively hostile position against Elieniesi, it was still a powerful nation with which trade continued.
Moreover, even the eastern passage states, Rugnisah and the Holy Kingdom, were showing indirect support.
This situation could lead to the north's isolation.
"Report to His Majesty."
In the end, no one detected the small magic hidden inside for tracking and summoning.
Libertas's magical capability was already unmatched in the inland territories.
- 2 -
A demilitarized zone near the border where low hills stretched out before them.
This swampy area between the Norn Empire and the Hilsa Kingdom was a fairly wide location, and until recently, it had been a place where adventurers from both nations interacted peacefully.
Now, it was completely different.
"Do you think this makes any sense?"
Alan, an elite adventurer expected to soon depart for the frontier and earn high honors in the Hilsa Kingdom, wore a flushed red face.
The fury in his voice was heating the air around them.
"What doesn't make sense? Hey, we're going easy on you because we know each other. Alan."
Theo, standing before him, let out a scoff.
The shining Norn Empire crest on his silver plate armor revealed his identity.
He was also a high-rank adventurer and a pride of the Norn Empire.
The gazes of the two men sparked in the air.
Once comrades who could trust each other with their backs, they were now arguing with reddened faces.
"This dungeon was already bid on and shared by our guild!"
"Ah, like I said. We've never heard anything about that!"
Theo waved his hand mockingly.
"Until last month, we were tackling dungeons in this area together. Why are you making a fuss now?"
"Does that even make sense? That was a joint request for cooperation! This case is different!"
Alan poked Theo's chest with his finger.
"Don't pretend you haven't heard the rumors! We've been 'managing' this place for a while now! We just need to reach high rank, raid it, and harvest the core. What? Have you forgotten how I helped you in a dungeon before? But you're bidding on a dungeon we're trying to raid?"
Theo roughly smacked his hand away.
"Ah, I said I haven't forgotten. But what do you want me to do when the nation tells me to do this? Man! If you want to argue, go argue with the Duchy!"
"We're banned from entering your damn Duchy, you bastard!"
"Bastard? Did you just call me a bastard?"
The adventurers from both sides stood glaring at each other.
Their comrades might not have stepped forward, but they were looking at each other with similar emotions.
Those who had been laughing and drinking together just a month ago were now gripping weapons and watching each other warily.
"Do you know where all this started? It was when you Allied Nations adventurers started encroaching on our regional dungeons!"
Theo said in a voice filled with anger.
"Don't talk bullshit! Before the border, that was an underground dungeon they barely found using hints from a previous dungeon raid! That was clearly the adventurer's share!"
"Ah, whatever. We need a way to make a living. You don't know that if we don't take national requests, all domestic requests get blocked?!"
Kurrrrreung...!
Just as the tension among the adventurers reached its peak, the ground began to shake from afar like an earthquake.
"What's that?"
"What's going on?"
All the adventurers looked beyond the hill.
Black miasma rose from that spot. And then a shout was heard soon after.
"A dungeon is spawning! It's a new dungeon!"
In an instant, everyone's expression changed.
Hostility towards each other was momentarily forgotten, and their instincts as adventurers awakened.
"Let's go!"
Everyone ran at once and discovered a newly formed dungeon in the ground.
A massive cave entrance, as if it had sprung up from the earth.
But their moment of unity was short-lived.
"A new dungeon. Well, then you can just go where you were originally headed. Right?"
"Don't be ridiculous! No matter how you look at it, this land is inside the Hilsa border!"
"Ha... So when you feel like it, you cross the border to raid dungeons, but now it's a problem? You're both getting greedy, is that it?"
"We already talked about that earlier!"
On the spot, the adventurers split apart again.
Representing each nation's guild interests.
"Quickly, send a signal to the surrounding area. We need to request reinforcements!"
"We're calling ours too!"
Friction began once more.
- 3 -
Crash County, the manor of Halai Bernov.
"Father!"
"What is it!"
The moment he returned from the guild, a voice like a scream came from his daughter Jeina's room.
Startled, Harai entered her room without knocking and stood speechless in surprise.
His daughter, who had always been lying in bed, was up on her feet.
"Jeina, you..."
She looked noticeably healthier.
Her pale face had regained color, and the dark circles deeply carved around her eyes had faded significantly.
Harai's throat tightened, and he couldn't continue speaking.
"How is this possible...!"
"It's all thanks to the teacher you brought, Father!"
Jeina answered with a bright smile as Harai approached, holding back tears.
He then recalled the cleric Libertas had sent some time ago.
[Are you Halai Bernov? My name is Grace Eivano, sent by Lady Libertas. I have come to improve your daughter's constitution.]
That half-elf priest with brown and gold hair and dark gray eyes.
The woman, wearing a priestess robe emblazoned with the sun, had said so with a gentle smile.
But despite the anticipated treatment, there had been no improvement in Jeina's condition for several days.
In truth, he had been feeling anxious about it...
"I can walk now! Father..."
Jeina, who had stood up and walked over, grasped his arm.
Harai was surprised first that she could walk, and again by the warmth of her touch.
That body, which had always been cold and powerless...
"Like this..."
Holding Jeina's hand, Harai felt his heart swell with emotion at the warmth.
"You can... you can really walk now...?"
His voice trembled.
As his daughter's hand touched his cheek, hot tears streamed down.
"Don't cry, Father..."
Jewel-like tears fell from Jeina's eyes as well.
The girl who had lived confined to a sickroom untouched by sunlight was now standing on her own two feet, comforting her father.
It was the moment a decade of darkness lifted.
Harai could no longer hold back and embraced his daughter.
"Father. Everything I saw outside the window... I can now go see it for myself, right?"
"Of course... certainly. Tell me anywhere you want to go. I'll take you there, wherever it is."
"Are you promising?"
"I promise. Jeina."
Harai stroked his daughter's hair.
His daughter, who had been forced to lie only in bed for ten whole years, who even had to rely on a wheelchair whenever she moved, could walk again.
It was like a miracle to him.
"I don't know how to thank the teacher who healed you and Lady Philia."
"Let's go together and thank them. But for now, please go outside with me. I want to walk through Crash with you, Father."
Harai's heart ached.
He felt both pride and guilt that his daughter's wish was so simple.
A wish just to walk through the village with her father.
It was a small wish he hadn't been able to grant even when she was little.
"Little by little, as you practice walking... we'll definitely do that. You mustn't overdo it."
"Yes, Father. But I'm getting better. A little bit more every day."
The father and daughter held each other tightly.
'I will never forget this.'
Harai swore in his heart.
Philia.
Even if that woman was someone whose thoughts were inscrutable, even if she was a villain scheming something massive and wicked.
From this moment on, she was simply his benefactor.
As long as it wasn't a demand for his daughter's life, he could even give his own life to his benefactor.
"Father. Smile now. Don't be sad anymore. Because we will be happy."
At Jeina's words, Harai smiled.
His daughter had always been stronger than him.
"Yes... we will be happy."
The sunset was glowing outside the window.
It was a beautiful evening sky dyed in purple, blessing the father and daughter's new beginning.
- 4 -
While the father and daughter were sharing that happy time.
In the border region between the Duchy of Leoper and the Zenota United Kingdom, many were falling into chaos.
Adventurers had always come and gone relatively freely, but it was still a place where conflicts broke out every time.
Especially since the Cheoks Border Margraviate had passed into Leophere's hands, discontent on the Zenota side had been growing even larger.
And today, that tension had reached its peak.
"The 'Steel Wings' have appeared among Leophere's army deployed on the northern hill."
At the Zenota United Kingdom's forward base.
Inside the fortress of the Driaz Duchy, a scout's report came in.
The voice reporting Elena's appearance was filled with unease.
"What is the enemy's number?"
A general who looked seasoned at a glance asked.
His beard, flecked with white frost, trembled slightly from tension.
"At least 10,000. And judging by the banners, it seems the main frontline units of Leophere, including the Iron Sword, Iron Horse, Iron Tiger, and Iron Rose Knight Orders, are all mobilized."
The general's face turned pale.
The Iron Lion Knight Order of the Ironfield Border Margrave.
This massive knight order, composed of a total of 18 smaller knight companies, had actually expanded further after Ironfield became the Duchy of Leoper.
Just when the numbers seemed to briefly decrease as the excessive legal support burdens were reduced, they instead swelled to 1.5 times their previous size, leading to even more new knight orders being formed.
All of them were elite, and the newly added members were formidable as well.
"What about the banners?"
"Not only those of Leophere, but those of the Allied Nations are also present. Behind them, infantry units that appear to be from Hysen and Kiza are also visible..."
The adjutant asked in a worried voice.
"It seems clearly a backlash against the trade and entry restrictions imposed by the home country... But will they actually attack?"
"I don't know. However, an army led by Elena Leophere never moves rashly..."
Gulp.
As the general shook his head and spoke in a heavy voice, the sound of the adjutant swallowing echoed loudly.
The general gazed outside the fortress.
He had the illusion that a black wave was actually surging over the distant northern hill.
"The White Witch has moved!"
"Elena's Steel Wings have crossed the border!"
"Orbis's mages have assembled!"
The armies of each nation moved toward the borders.
The forces of the Orbis Duchy were eyeing the border of Aririt, while the army of the Hilsa Kingdom glared at the territory of the Norn Empire.
The end of September, the time when summer was fully fading.
The pretense of peace was stripped away, and the shadow of war began to cover the continent.
"So it has begun. The rift."
The fact that all of this was by the will of one person was something no one could know.