Chapter 39
Chapter 39
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: The Seven Sword Knights and the World's Strongest
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The headquarters of the Seven Sword Knights, a group of some twenty Players, was a mansion complete with a rather impressive garden.
The Seven Sword Knights had made this mansion their headquarters two months ago.
Publicly, it was a mansion gifted by a minor local lord out of gratitude to the Seven Sword Knights for saving his life.
Publicly, that is.
The mansion’s drawing room was modest and tidy.
The same could be said for the carpet on the floor and the large sofa upon which Khalid had planted himself.
Three people were currently in the drawing room, which also served as the executive lounge for the Seven Sword Knights.
Khalid, a book covering his face, was dozing against the back of the sofa. Beside him, a girl with cat ears was diligently reading a thick book that looked bigger than her own torso.
Natasha, standing ramrod straight by the window, suddenly raised her voice.
“Welcome back.”
The cat-eared girl, startled, snapped her book shut with a thud, and Khalid scrambled to his feet.
The man who entered—Park Chang-ho, Captain of the Seven Sword Knights—waved his hand dismissively at their varied reactions.
“Sit, sit. No need to stand.”
He looked to be in his mid-thirties.
Half-lidded, drooping eyes, tousled red hair, and a square face with prominent cheekbones that didn't give an impression of thinness.
He was tall and well-built, yet he lacked the intimidating presence typical of a large man.
His presence was strangely ethereal, almost ghost-like.
Dressed in a short-sleeved dress shirt, slacks, and a handmade necktie—an item non-existent in this world—Park Chang-ho loosened his tie like an overworked salaryman and slumped into the seat across from Khalid.
“Natasha, sorry, but could you get me some... not coffee, what was it again?”
“I will bring the special lemonade.”
“Great, make it cold, please.”
He spoke as if he were at his favorite neighborhood spot.
At Park Chang-ho’s request, Natasha left the drawing room with a radiant smile.
The change was so drastic, one would doubt she was the same person who had worn an icy expression just moments before.
But to everyone in the drawing room, it was an all-too-familiar sight.
Park Chang-ho habitually felt for a cigarette that wasn't there, then gave up and stuck a toothpick in his mouth. Khalid, watching him carefully, asked cautiously.
“Did your trip go well?”
Khalid was afraid of Park Chang-ho.
Thanks to him, he had survived the tutorial, adapted to this world, and was now living comfortably as an executive of the Seven Sword Knights. But that was a separate matter from his fear of the man.
Park Chang-ho liked that about Khalid.
“What else would it be? He and I are both just thinking of how to use each other.”
Khalid gave an awkward laugh.
The mood didn't seem off, but Park Chang-ho was a man whose intentions were incredibly difficult to fathom.
What was he supposed to say to that?
Natasha saved Khalid from his predicament.
“Here you are.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Several ice cubes floated in the wooden cup of lemonade, a product of Natasha's special ability.
“Ah, that's refreshing. Natasha, you really are the treasure of the Seven Sword Knights.”
“You're embarrassing me.”
Natasha hugged the tray to her chest and squirmed slightly. What would the members who called her the "Ice Princess" think if they saw her now?
While Khalid was lost in thought for a moment, the cat-eared girl blinked and asked a question.
“Does Count Monton want the Knights' strength?”
The question seemed to have popped out without much thought.
But the words were already out.
Startled by her own question, the girl tensed up and shrank back. Beside her, Khalid’s face stiffened as he looked at Park Chang-ho.
Park Chang-ho took another sip of lemonade, then stroked the cat-eared girl’s head.
“What would a man of power want from an armed group other than its strength? What was your name again?”
“H-Hoshino Asuka.”
A member from the game *Exa Online*.
The reason she, a Player from a common-grade MMORPG—a background so prevalent among the Seven Sword Knights it was almost an overabundance—held a place among the executives was simple.
Her ‘aptitude’ was exceptionally high.
Players from the same game didn't all have the same abilities.
Even when using the same skill, its proficiency varied depending on the Player's aptitude.
Hoshino Asuka.
Among those Khalid had appraised, she was the Player with the greatest aptitude.
Furthermore, she was a rare and valuable ‘healer.’
The cat-eared girl—Asuka—feared Park Chang-ho just as Khalid did. After patting her head, Park Chang-ho stroked her white, fluffy cat ears.
“Yes, Count Monton wants the military might of our Seven Sword Knights. After all, we're a powerful armed group that seems to have just fallen from the sky. We must seem quite useful in many ways.”
Players were strong. Their basic physical abilities alone far surpassed those of this world’s ordinary people.
This was a world where nations were already well-established.
Into such a world, a group had literally appeared out of nowhere, beginning to exert their presence before anyone had a chance to check or conciliate them.
Park Chang-ho chuckled.
“So, Asuka. What do you think Count Monton can do with the power of our Seven Sword Knights?”
“Um... defeating monsters?”
This world was teeming with monsters. People had to worry about monster attacks when traveling between towns, and some even lived their lives waging a daily ‘war’ against them.
“How innocent. Of course, that's part of it. It’s also a good public reason.”
Park Chang-ho didn’t elaborate. And this much was enough.
Asuka hunched her shoulders. Khalid swallowed hard, struggling to maintain a neutral expression. Only Natasha gazed at Park Chang-ho with eyes full of adoration.
Players were strong.
But the strength of an individual and the strength of a group were on entirely different levels.
The Seven Sword Knights was a group of Players.
And now, Count Monton was extending a hand to that very group.
Park Chang-ho took another sip of lemonade, his gaze fixed on the empty air as if peering into the distance.
See the ending, and you can return to your original world.
Seven World Quests.
Kron earned from hunting monsters and clearing quests.
All of that was well and good.
But before any of that, Park Chang-ho knew he had to face this world head-on.
Who summoned the Players?
What was the purpose of the Great Summoning?
He set those questions aside for now. For Park Chang-ho, who had spent his entire life in a dog-eat-dog world, the most important thing was to build a foundation.
Nothing took precedence over building up size and strength to avoid being devoured.
“About seven thousand Players passed the tutorial. The population of this world is easily in the tens of millions, even by a conservative estimate. Perhaps ten thousand times our number?”
Park Chang-ho turned his gaze back to Khalid and Asuka. He spoke with a brilliant smile.
“We might as well be in the middle of a jungle. So, what’s the most important thing for survival?”
The unification of ‘us.’ A united ‘we.’
Khalid and Asuka swallowed hard.
***
After purchasing horses in a village a day’s journey from Gawain’s temple, the party hastened their pace toward Roselburg.
[Quest: Purchase horses and tack from the horse market.]
[Quest: Greet the members of the town watch.]
[Quest: Learn how to ride a horse.]
They completed several trivial quests that felt like they were going through a tutorial all over again. While earning free Kron was nice, it was an odd feeling.
The quests were all delivered as text of light, without a voice, so they couldn't converse with Iris.
Not having exchanged a single word with her since the defeat of the Demonic Beast Cimeries, they were now starting to worry that something might have happened.
It was ironic, of course, for Kang-seok’s party to be worried about Iris, who might well be a subordinate of the one who caused the Great Summoning.
“Ugh, my butt hurts.”
Choi Yu-ra groaned from atop her black horse. To conceal the fact that she was a Player, she had swapped her military-style attire for common traveler’s clothes.
Loose-fitting pants and a top, with a cloak worn over them.
Horseback riding required more stamina than she had expected. Even a simple walk sent a surprisingly rhythmic vibration through her entire body.
After two days of riding, her backside was screaming, and she felt as if her pelvis was about to fall apart.
Choi Yu-ra gave a weary laugh at the sight of Seong Yu-jin, who, unlike herself, rode with a stable, comfortable posture—even making small talk with Alphonse—and Kang-seok, who was busy reading a book or shuffling through documents atop his horse.
“I get it with Yu-jin, since she's close to Alphonse, but you're pretty talented yourself.”
She poked him with a twig as she spoke, knowing he wouldn’t hear her otherwise. Kang-seok, who had been focused on his documents, blinked and replied.
“Huh? Oh. I guess I just... have good balance?”
“Ugh, you show-off.”
Choi Yu-ra made an exaggerated face and waved her hand dismissively, and Kang-seok just grinned. But just as he was about to return his gaze to the documents...
“What have you been reading so intently?”
Seong Yu-jin, who had been riding a few meters ahead, had somehow pulled up alongside Kang-seok.
Just as Choi Yu-ra had noted, whether it was because she was close with Alphonse or had equestrian experience from her original world, Seong Yu-jin’s riding skills were exceptional.
Kang-seok answered casually.
“Just some basic information. Things like what nations and religions exist in this world, what the races and peoples are.”
Papermaking was surprisingly advanced in this world, but that didn't make books common.
Furthermore, with their fine leather covers and ornate decorations, they were quite expensive.
But they were worth the high price.
After all, there was nothing better than books for building a foundation of common knowledge.
At the mention of nations and peoples, Choi Yu-ra shook her head in boredom.
“Anything more interesting than that stuffy nonsense? Like some gossip?”
“Yu-ra might find this interesting.”
Seong Yu-jin said cheerfully, having glanced at a part of Kang-seok's file. Choi Yu-ra was immediately interested.
“What is it?”
“The Eight Superhumans of the World.”
“What's with that name? It sounds like it's straight out of a comic book.”
Her tone was critical, but she was already smiling.
Kang-seok, sandwiched between Choi Yu-ra and Seong Yu-jin, shrugged.
“Just like you said, Yu-ra, it's basically gossip. This is a world where things like magic and sword energy... actually exist, after all. They're called the Eight Superhumans, but the list is so combat-focused you might as well call it ‘The Strongest on the Continent.’”
“Whoa! I love that kind of stuff.”
“Still, it's all just speculation. It’s not like the people on this list have ever actually fought each other, right? It's like ranking famous athletes back in our world.”
The world's most powerful mage.
The world's strongest swordsman.
Just as Choi Yu-ra said, it was a roster straight out of a comic book.
“Well, that sounds interesting. We might even meet them someday, right?”
“Well, we might... but just in case, don't go picking fights with them if we do.”
“Who do you take me for, some brawler?”
Choi Yu-ra pouted, and both Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin laughed.
Seong Yu-jin spoke again.
“Anyway, it means there are strong people in this world, too. Like Mr. Leif and his companions from Dungeon Labyrinthos, or the hero who defeated the Demonic Beast Barbatos. It can't hurt to know a little about them, right? Isn't that why you bought this file, Kang-seok?”
“That's right.”
In fact, he held out some hope that one of the Eight Superhumans might be the ‘hero’ of Dungeon Labyrinthos.
But with the information at hand, it was difficult to guess the hero’s identity.
“Anyway, enough of that. Just read a few names. I can't read while riding.”
Choi Yu-ra prompted Seong Yu-jin, who smiled cheerfully.
“Alright, shall I read the list then?”
“Hurry, hurry.”
“Alvaro the Mercenary King, Kallein the Grand Magus of the Ultimate Inferno, Shiryu the Dragon Knight, Schtenberg the Fist King, Evanoel the Holy Emperor, Athos the Captain of the Knights Templar, Rebecca Lee the Master Thief....”
The titles and names sounded like they were pulled straight from a game’s lore book.
Choi Yu-ra, listening quietly to Seong Yu-jin, tilted her head.
“It doesn't seem like a particularly patriarchal world, but they're almost all men, huh?”
Of the seven people Seong Yu-jin had mentioned, five were men, excluding Evanoel the Holy Emperor and Rebecca Lee the Master Thief, so she wasn't wrong.
Kang-seok responded to Choi Yu-ra's curious tone.
“Like I said, they’re called superhumans, but it’s more of a ‘list of the strong.’ When it comes to combat, men naturally have an advantage, right?”
“Well, that's true.”
As Choi Yu-ra shrugged, Seong Yu-jin smiled faintly and said.
“Well, the strongest of the Eight Superhumans is a woman, you know?”
The last of the Eight Superhumans.
“The Strongest in the Mortal Realm—the Green Meteor.”
The title alone was magnificent.
Seong Yu-jin read the short description that followed.
“Princess of the legendary ancient race, the Elders, who are said to have unified the world a thousand years ago. Daughter of the Legendary King, Lightning Storm. Also known as the Avatar of the Green God. She is currently missing, but legend says that when the Holy Kingdom of Shangri-La and the Duchy of Avalon—founded by her descendants—are in peril, she appears out of nowhere to resolve the crisis. That's what it says.”
Choi Yu-ra's expectant expression soured by the end.
“What is she, King Arthur? And if she lived a thousand years ago, she’s got to be dead, fantasy world or not.”
“Hmm... I guess so?”
Feeling a little embarrassed by Choi Yu-ra's unenthusiastic reply, Seong Yu-jin quickly closed the file. But just as she was about to hand it back to Kang-seok...
“What are you thinking?”
Kang-seok, who was staring into the distance lost in thought, didn't answer right away. Only after Seong Yu-jin and Choi Yu-ra stared holes through him did he belatedly reply.
“No, it's nothing.”
A world where magic and sword energy were real.
This world had its own powerful individuals.
And among them, there were surely those who surpassed the current Players in strength. Like the nameless hero who had defeated the Demonic Beast Barbatos.
The people of this world Kang-seok had met so far had been generally friendly toward Players.
But hadn't Locksley said it? That there were Players who committed all sorts of evil acts, and there were also locals who intended to punish them.
How would the powerful people of this world—the mighty and the influential—view the Players?
How would they choose to respond?
Roughly ten thousand people.
A minuscule number compared to the tens of millions inhabiting this continent.
But at the same time, a number that could not be ignored.
Ten thousand superhumans.
The party arrived in the commercial city of Roselburg two days later.