Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Finishing Blow (1)
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I've chosen my first job. No turning back now.
Only forward.
But deep down, I felt relieved.
'Foolishly fretting over Thief King or Fighter King just because of some assassination scare. As a king, those are worthless jobs anyway.'
Shine on the battlefield as a gladiator, holy knight, or heavy knight to lead to victory?
But the Great Archmage King can secure victory without even lifting a finger in combat.
'Archmage King really has the best presence. In the chaos ahead, a mage lord is top-tier.'
It was my preferred class from the start.
Like many games, Dragon Defense kicks off with a massive early-game upheaval storyline.
Arcana vanishes during the tutorial, so the future is anyone's guess.
Can't dodge the brutal intrigues and wars erupting between nations.
'If you can't avoid it, might as well dive in.'
Geographically, Arcana is completely hemmed in by multiple countries.
Rich in resources and a prime strategic chokepoint.
'The Empire will steadily egg on the surrounding kingdoms to pressure or topple Arcana.'
From a player's view, the Empire was a goldmine of quests, experience, and achievements.
From the continent's perspective, it was the axis of evil.
Once monster waves hit and chaos reigns, the Empire stops hiding its expansionist hunger.
It pits kingdoms against each other, pulls off assassinations, then swoops in to annex the weakened survivors.
'Dodging the tutorial wipe was just the very beginning, huh.'
I stared at the Swordmaster's back as he tore through the shadow wolf pack with ruthless efficiency.
His internal mana flowed with refined precision.
He still wasn't showing anywhere near his true power.
He might even be infiltrating my kingdom on direct orders from the Empire.
"Looks like that's the end of them."
The middle-aged knight sheathed his blade and turned back.
He lit two more campfires around the perimeter.
We settled in at the center of the three fires forming a triangle.
"No shadows like this, so even if any stragglers are out there, they won't pull off a sneak attack."
The middle-aged knight gulped down water from his canteen, wiped his mouth, and fixed his gaze on me.
"So, Young Master Jeguelle... how exactly did you snag that one earlier?"
"Just swung a burning log around wildly with my eyes shut, and bam—it bit right into it."
"Here I thought there was some pattern to it. You've got some serious luck, Young Master."
I wasn’t about to give away any strategy tips
Lowbie stuff, sure, and minor at that—but I wasn't handing the Empire's Swordmaster any edges.
"Rest up. I can sense any suspicious presence even in my sleep, so don't worry."
"Yes, sir."
The elf Object and I lay down together under the single blanket the middle-aged knight had offered.
Three fires blazed around us, but the night air atop these highlands was brutally cold.
To preserve body heat, I pulled the Object in close.
My torso warmed up nicely, but my feet were another story—ice-cold and no helping that.
"Young Master..."
"What's wrong?"
"It's... embarrassing..."
"What’s there to be embarrassed about? Without sharing heat, the night chill could do real damage to your body."
The Object scribbled on my palm with her finger.
The Object fell silent after that.
Only steady breathing now.
The night chill deepened further, and to steal more warmth, I hugged her even tighter.
'Was gonna job-change and level up, but the Empire's already throwing obstacles.'
Why had he come to the Karbalon Mountains?
Once he accomplished his goal, what then for us?
'Spy ops are boring as hell. Maybe he's just keeping us around for conversation.'
I had a Blink magic circle prepped—if he showed his hand, we'd bail instantly.
Until then, probe for info.
For the future, killing or capturing him was ideal, but that'd need another Swordmaster on my level.
'Canelian...'
I missed that fierce glare she always shot my way.
With my companion NPC here, the Object and I could've teamed up and taken him down.
Working through Varmion Empire quests reveals one key thing.
'The Empire's seething with inferiority toward fallen Arcana—and utterly obsessed.'
Arcana predates the Empire by a huge margin.
Hell, it was founded by an ascended dragon.
Varmion kept pushing marriages to mix dragon blood into the imperial line, but Arcana shot them down every time.
'And Varmion's pipe dream shattered right alongside Arcana's demise.'
Early morning.
We finished the meal the middle-aged knight prepared and set off.
"The Golden Fur Goblin... it really exists?"
"That's what we came to check. Can't stand not knowing, personality flaw."
We ran into a few low-tier monsters along the way, but the middle-aged knight dispatched them effortlessly.
'Not bad for someone unaccustomed to bodyguard duty.'
The Object and I kept communicating via palm-writing.
Keep all possibilities open.
Empire quests had backstabbed me one too many times.
Couldn't even properly retaliate since it was a game.
Once, a brutal betrayal in an imperial quest had me rallying a raid party to behead the emperor NPC.
He respawned eventually, we got stuck in the palace and wiped—but damn, it felt good.
I praised her, and she turned her head away.
Was a scoundrel's compliment too much?
'Rocks and sand are getting redder the deeper we go.'
I scanned our surroundings.
The red hue in the rocks and sand was intensifying.
'Iron oxide, maybe.'
That's why Mars looks red, right?
Wish I could see that too.
Discernment Eye popping resource info would be clutch.
If I got a choice on rank-ups, I'd slot in resource detection for sure.
The Object stared at me in shock instead of writing back.
Had I been too perceptive?
"What?"
I blinked in confusion, rubbed my eyes, and scanned again.
No—all the sand had this reddish tint?
Hold up.
This wasn't iron oxide...
Mana? Blanketing everything like this?
"Hahaha! There it is! Young Master, take a look! That's the Golden Fur Goblin!"
A broad, flat expanse of sand.
Atop it stood a roughly one-meter-tall statue of a golden goblin.
Shing.
The middle-aged knight suddenly drew his sword and glared at us.
I flinched and looked up—he chuckled heartily and waved his empty hand.
Like, relax.
"No need to worry. Think I'd harm you after just one night on the road?"
"...Gave me a scare for a second there. Pulling your sword like that out of nowhere."
"Actually grateful to you, Young Master. Saved me some pointless hassle."
"What hassle?"
"That Golden Fur Goblin statue? It's an Object. You know what those are?"
"...Yeah."
"This one's holding down some kind of seal."
"...What kind?"
"Beats me. I was just hired by the Tebe Kingdom to smash it."
Bullshit, obvious lie.
Sowing discord like this? Empire's specialty.
'Tebe Kingdom has no Swordmasters. No way a foreign one takes a filthy gig like this.'
Thinks he hid his Swordmaster status perfectly, so he can lie all he wants.
Classic Empire scum...
"You just watch what happens after it's destroyed, then report back to the capital. Easy peasy, right?"
"So that's why you dragged us all the way out here?"
"I wanna wrap this up and head home quick. Reporting the destruction? That's on you."
"You really have no clue what it is?"
"Nope. No need."
I glared at the goblin statue and spoke to the elf Object.
"He's telling the truth—he has no idea."
"Huh?"
"If he did, he wouldn't even think about smashing it."
"Young Master? What are you on about?"
I glanced around.
Everything—sand, rocks—drenched in red.
But the Object denied it.
Only I could see the red.
And it wasn't iron oxide. It was mana.
'The sand and rocks aren't infused with it. I'd have noticed that.'
I looked down at my feet.
That's why it slipped past me.
The mana source lurked deep within the mountain's geology.
A colossal serpent-shaped mana signature pulsed deep in the mountains.
Boss mob.
And the goblin statue spelled it out plain as day.
Visible only to me, though.
The moment that statue gets destroyed...
You become the top priority target for the "Incomplete Earth Dragon" remains buried underground.
And this whole area? Boss territory.
"Details later. Watch close, Young Master! Destroying this Object will trigger a volcano in the Karbalon Mountains...!"
The statue sliced clean in an instant.
Rumble! Roooar!
The ground began shaking like mad.
I shouted urgently.
"Professor—flight magic, now!"
"Ascending!"
The elf Object triggered her prepped spell, and we rocketed into the air.
Even amid the chaos, his dumbfounded upward gawk was hilarious.
"Elf mage? Not a maid? You bastard, you're...!"
"Better watch your feet."
From up high, the boss's mana sprawl was crystal clear.
We'd been stomping right on its nest for ages.
Roooar!
The ground started melting away.
The middle-aged knight bolted in a explosive sprint.
"Too late."
"Even a Swordmaster struggling to escape?"
"Dumbass emperor probably didn't know exactly what that statue was either."
Emperor sure as hell didn't see this coming.
But right now, what he needed wasn't truth—it was division.
"You idiot! No clue who gave the order, but they sent you to die!"
"You vermiiiin!"
The middle-aged knight's eyes bulged red as he reared back to hurl a sword slash our way from below.
But a massive rocky serpent tail erupted from the earth and smashed him flat.
A chunk of the mountain melted and sank like lava.
A basin hundreds of meters deep yawned open, and the "Incomplete Earth Dragon remains" unveiled its titanic form.
The Swordmaster facing it down with a single blade looked downright pathetic against that sheer majesty.
"Your Highness, shouldn't we steer clear?"
"Long as we don't touch ground, we're good."
Swordmaster versus field boss.
Couldn't miss a spectacle this juicy.
"Professor, you can handle a finishing blow, right?"
"What's a finishing blow?"