A Fleeting Enlightenment (1)
The hum of voices filled the air.
It wasn't until morning that we finally reached the outskirts of the city.
Outside the walls of Dawnguard, carriages and travelers waiting to depart for other cities had gathered in droves.
I walked past the noisy, chattering adventurers. Then, I approached an old man leaning against a carriage and spoke to him.
"I'm looking for a carriage heading to the free city of Vertas."
"Vertas?"
The old man cackled. A foul stench wafted from his yellowed teeth.
"Just grab any carriage here and hop on! Nine times out of ten, they're heading to Vertas anyway!"
Ah.
As I mentioned before, I had never once visited the dark city of Dawnguard at this point in the game.
Even if I had wanted to in the game, there was simply no way to do so.
Because of that, I had been secretly worried about what I would do if there were no carriages heading to the free city of Vertas. Fortunately, it seemed to be the peak season for adventurers to migrate en masse.
I was in luck. If carriages had been scarce, I would have had to pay a fortune.
"Hey there."
As I was lost in thought, the old man in front of me spoke up again.
"If you're going to Vertas, why not take my carriage? I was just about to head that way myself."
"How much?"
"Let's see. If you give me just two million shillings, including your companion... Huh? Hey! Where are you going?!"
Without bothering to reply, I walked right past him.
"A wise choice,"
Adelia, who had been trotting along beside me, spoke up.
"If transportation were scarce, it might be different. But with nine out of ten carriages heading to Vertas like this, the standard rate should be around five hundred thousand shillings."
"..."
"Still, that man is quite the fool. If he wanted to rip us off, he should have claimed there were no other carriages heading to Vertas."
She kept chattering away.
Adelia continued to mutter to herself after that.
She wondered aloud how someone with such a dim wit had managed to survive long enough to grow old.
Watching her quietly, I let out a silent chuckle.
Adelia.
I'm sorry, but that's not the reason I walked past that old man.
It happened while Adelia and I were moving between various carriages, checking their prices.
Tap.
At that moment, a hand rested on my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks.
"Excuse me, friend."
"...?"
"Aren't you... by any chance, 'that' gladiator who made a name for himself in the underground arena a few days ago?"
Turning around, I saw a man with a smooth, bald head and a rough, stubbly beard.
He had a muscular build that made him look more like a warrior than a merchant.
However, the emblem pinned to his chest proved that he was a seasoned merchant.
...Oh?
Upon seeing the emblem, I couldn't help but feel a surge of surprise.
After all, that was a token granted only to merchants who had traveled the Silk Road more than a hundred times.
It meant this merchant was a veteran among veterans.
Wait, could this guy be...?
As I narrowed my eyes and stared at the merchant's face,
at that very moment,
the bald merchant burst into a hearty laugh.
"Bwahaha! Seeing how you're glaring at me, you must be that gladiator!"
"...What do you want?"
"Nothing much. What else would a merchant like me want?"
"..."
"I simply want someone to keep my carriage safe until we reach our destination."
In short, he was looking for an escort for his merchant group.
"Your destination?"
"The free city of Vertas. What do you say? Will you join us?"
He extended his hand.
Since there was no reason to refuse, I shook it.
I had secured a ride. And for free, at that.
"Here, an advance payment of five hundred thousand shillings. Once we arrive safely at our destination, I'll pay you another five hundred thousand."
Clink!
"..."
Let me correct myself.
I had secured a ride. And I was getting paid for it.
Rattle, clack!
The carriage jolted.
In the scorching afternoon sun, we were passing through a wasteland dotted with sparse patches of grass.
The Silk Road was one of the few safe zones in the uncharted territories.
Along that sacred path, a convoy of six carriages advanced in a neat line.
It was a scale that would easily be considered a large merchant group in the world of *Lost Elder*. Naturally, the number of mercenaries protecting the convoy was also substantial.
Of course, it was nothing compared to the Ruins Merchant Group, but...
...Well, they're an anomaly, so let's leave them out of this.
Anyway.
The mission Adelia and I had been commissioned for wasn't to guard the entire convoy.
To be precise, it was to guard the merchant leader himself.
In other words, I just had to protect this bald, muscular middle-aged man who was currently staring at me with curiosity.
Thanks to that, while the other mercenaries had to march outside the carriages, we got to sit comfortably right next to the merchant leader as we traveled toward our destination.
"Hey."
The bald merchant leader spoke to me.
"You're someone hired separately by the Ruins Merchant Group, aren't you?"
"..."
"The Human Butcher, Barba, had been the champion for quite a long time. I figured they hired you to breathe some life back into the underground arena just as the crowd was getting bored..."
"..."
"Well? Am I right?"
The bald merchant leader probed me with a subtle tone.
I kept my mouth shut, offering no response.
When it became clear I had no intention of answering, he laughed heartily.
"Haha, playing hard to get, I see."
"..."
"I suppose chatting wasn't part of the contract, eh? Fine. I won't pester you anymore."
True to his word, the merchant leader fell silent.
Yet, even in the silence, he kept stealing glances at me.
I ignored him.
Instead, I turned my attention to the skill window I had kept open.
Grade: ??
Type: Active Skill, Authority Skill
Cost: None
Cooldown: 12 Hours
[Skill Description]
They say time flows equally for everyone, and that no one can defy it. However, you, who have been recognized by the 'Lord of the Second Hand and the Moment,' might be the exception.
The grains of sand in the hourglass grow heavy. Arrows flying at high speeds drift sluggishly through the air.
But beware. The moment you abuse this eternity-turned-instant, your own time will slowly erode. Eventually, you will lose your identity within the endless slow motion.
[Active Effect]
Time slows down.
The authority skill, Ritardando.
It was the reward I had obtained for clearing the hidden dungeon in Dawnguard.
The effect of this skill was very simple.
...Once activated, time slows down for a set duration.
It was a skill meant for when a boss entered a difficult pattern.
Of course, it didn't mean the player could freely move through frozen time.
It simply allowed the player to observe the slowed trajectory of attacks and plan an evasion route in advance.
It was a type of thought acceleration.
Well, putting that aside...
I scanned the skill window again.
I examined the skill window in detail once more.
After Adelia finished the soul-soothing ritual, a change had occurred in Ritardando.
First of all, the suffix 'Jin' had been attached to the skill name.
...I've finally obtained the Jin form.
The authority of an Elder possessed immense power.
A mere mortal could never hope to withstand such power.
Therefore, most authority skills underwent a downgrade. Their output was restricted, providing the ability at a level that could be controlled.
But skills with the 'Jin' suffix are an exception.
Jin.
It signified a state where one could use the god's authority exactly as it was, without any restrictions.
A suffix that only a special existence recognized by an Elder could receive.
In the game, it was absolutely impossible to obtain the Jin form of Ritardando...
It seemed the Lord of the Second Hand and the Moment had taken quite a liking to me.
Was performing the soul-soothing ritual through Adelia a stroke of genius?
...Wait, but why has the cooldown become so long?
If my memory served me right, the original cooldown of Ritardando was only three minutes.
In contrast, the cooldown of the Jin form was twelve hours.
By simple calculation, the waiting time had increased by two hundred and forty times.
Did that mean the skill's effect had been amplified to that extent? Was the long cooldown the price to pay for unleashing its true power?
Hmm.
I didn't know. The information available to me was still insufficient.
Let's try using the skill first. The answer should reveal itself then.
You have used the authority skill: Ritardando Jin.
The skill was activated, aligning with my will.
Tick, tock, tick, tock!
The sound of ticking clocks echoed from all directions. Simultaneously, everything in the world began to flow slower and slower.
Huh...?
Wait a minute. Something was off.
Raaatttllleee...
Clllaaaccckkk...
The skill's effect was far superior to what I had anticipated.
No, it wasn't just superior...
...It's way too much.
It was excessive.
To the point where I wondered if time really needed to flow this slowly.
As the carriage jolted, the organs inside my body began to shift minutely in response.
With the slowed passage of time, every single one of those movements began to be 'perceived.'
Ugh!
I felt motion sickness. A wave of nausea washed over me from the churning sensation.
My body couldn't cope with the discrepancy between the time flowing in reality and the time I was experiencing.
Raaatttllleee—
Crunch!
Ah, damn it...
...To make matters worse, the jolting of the carriage caused me to bite my tongue.
Aaargh! Aaaaargh!
I screamed in agony. Of course, only in my mind.
This horrific torture continued until the duration of Ritardando finally expired.
Mental Strength 'Max' resists fainting.
Damn it.
It felt like at least ten hours had passed.
If not for the Soul of the Sword Master, wouldn't I have passed out from the excruciating pain?
Well, at least I didn't walk away empty-handed.
You have endured terrible pain for a prolonged period.
Reward: Acquired Passive Skill [Lesser Pain Resistance].
...Though I wasn't entirely sure if that was a fair reward for the agony I had just endured.
"..."
Rattle, clack!
Adelia stared intently at the man sitting across from her.
He was truly a mysterious figure.
Even though it was never easy to gauge the strength of someone of a much higher caliber, for some reason, she couldn't sense any 'energy' from him at all.
Just how vast is the gap between us that I can't even begin to estimate his strength...?
An overwhelming martial prowess that cut down powerful enemies with a single strike and passed through terrifying trials as if they were nothing.
On top of that, a noble heart that cared for the wandering souls trapped in the abandoned factory.
Watching his actions inspired a vague sense of awe. It was clear he hadn't been chosen as the 'Seeker of the Sword' to inherit the will of the great Elder for nothing.
Adelia felt immensely grateful for the fact that she was receiving guidance from such an extraordinary existence.
"Gasp!"
"...?"
Cough, cough!
It was at that very moment.
The man suddenly began to gasp heavily for breath.
His eyes widened as he coughed repeatedly, his entire body shaking. His breathing turned erratic in an instant.
"A-Are you alright...?"
It was so sudden.
Startled, Adelia hurriedly moved to sit beside him.
Fortunately, the man quickly regained his composure. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he replied in a deliberately calm voice.
"I am fine. It is nothing, so do not pay it any mind."
But Adelia could tell his words were a lie.
...Blood?
On the sleeve he had used to cover his mouth while coughing,
she could see a faint trace of blood smeared across the fabric.
Adelia looked at the man once more with trembling eyes.
Only then, as if a veil had been lifted, did she truly see him.
A frail body with barely any muscle. Skin so pale that his veins were visible.
Indeed, he had looked weak from the very moment they met. It was incomprehensible how a body like that could support such explosive movements.
Could it be...?
In an instant, various thoughts flashed through Adelia's mind.
The reason his body was so abnormally frail.
The reason a Seeker of the Sword, who shunned the secular world, had suddenly revealed himself to the world.
And the reason he kept her by his side, trying to impart enlightenment even when he seemed so busy.
...Could it be that his lifespan is nearing its end? Is that why he is burning himself out until the very last moment?
It was the moment all of the man's mysterious actions finally made sense to her.