......White Night?

"......White Night?"

I racked my brains, searching through my memories. I'd pored over the countless ancient tomes in the Eltia Iron Kingdom's royal library dozens of times, but I'd never come across any mention of a sword by that name.

That's strange. If something like that existed, that chatterbox definitely would've bored me to death with stories about it......

I thought of U-ryu-ga, one of the Gloria's 9 who had followed me. He was such a die-hard fan of the War God Gulak that he had memorized every detail of his life story. He was a knight who wielded a massive greatsword ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠just like Gulak.

Though his real weapons were the twin swords of different sizes strapped to his waist.

More than info on U-ryu-ga, I found myself intrigued by this armament of Gulak's that even he hadn't known about. Was it because the majesty of Chil-ya loomed so large?

Come to think of it, there were plenty of tales about the War God's martial prowess, but oddly enough, his sword always seemed to escape everyone's attention.

I glanced at the quest alert window.

Surprisingly, the quest description was straightforward.

Hmm. No details at all—must be a starter quest? Similar to the world quest for collecting Chil-ya, but not quite that level? Seems like a linked chain quest for now......

It was billed as a starter quest, but the monsters involved were A-rank, and the difficulty was marked with question marks. That meant the difficulty could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shift based on my choices. The right decisions might bring me closer to White Night; the wrong ones could send me way off course.

"What kind of sword is White Night?"

I closed the quest window and casually asked him.

[Well, it's a sword... but also not a sword.]

"What does that mean......?"

His vague reply made me furrow my brow as I pressed for clarification.

[No need to rush. Even if it were right in front of you now, you couldn't wield it. You're too weak.]

"......Telling your contractor he's weak so casually? Not very becoming of a familiar."

[Weakness isn't shameful. Just get stronger, and it's fine. Once you've mastered all of Chil-ya, you'll earn the qualification.]

But he offered no real retort to my jab.

[Instead, let me tell you about Mu-geuk. Not sure how helpful my advice will be...... but I can't judge you by ordinary standards. After all, you're the one who broke Chil-ya despite being weak and even contracted with me.]

Black Eye gazed at me with a faint smile.

[Who knows? Maybe you can master a Mu-geuk that even I couldn't reach.]

Definitely not bad......

There were a few other traits in Dimension World that maintained composure, so I could already guess its effects from the description alone.

Traits like Adversity Overcomer, Mental Resistance, and Solitude all have composure effects. In simple terms, they boost resistance to mental attacks, curses, charms, and such magic......

But those were all just Rare-grade. As a Legendary, it stood to reason its resistance would be superior, but one part of the Mu-geuk description nagged at me.

If it's a trait born from enlightenment at the sword's pinnacle, it can't be just a mental barrier.

Moreover, the master's name was strangely struck through like it had been erased.

[As my master instructed, I trained to reach the sword's pinnacle and created Chil-ya from my own insights. But my Mu-geuk level never rose. Maybe my path was wrong...... But one thing's certain: Mu-geuk is tied to the sword.]

I nodded at Black Eye's explanation.

"We'll figure this out as we uncover Chil-ya too. My swordsmanship's barely begun, after all."

[Indeed. Chil-ya Sword Style may be the foundation for your own unique swordsmanship.]

No need to rush.

Whether it was the mysterious sword White Night or the secret trait left by Chil-ya's master, I didn't need to fixate on them.

I've got plenty more to acquire ahead.

Obsessing over every little thing would wear me out before I reached my goals.

Well, maybe this is the leeway after my first class change.

I chuckled and replied.

"My own swordsmanship...... I like the sound of that."

[What now?]

Took longer than expected to get Chil-ya, but I haven't even finished the quests yet.

The quest list glowed yellow with "COMPLETE" sparkling beside the titles.

"Back to the village first."

I looked down at Lang-a Fortress and smacked my lips. The reward time wasn't over yet.

"Unbelievable...... The report was true. You really hunted the Spirit Devourer."

Kael shook his head as he stared at me after I'd returned to the village.

[That guy's Tesaro's son?]

Black Eye, averse to showing himself to the Northerners, spoke to me in spirit form.

Yeah.

[A blockhead like that inherited my First Sword? And he even learned Tesaro's swordsmanship? His aura's pathetic too. No wonder he never grasped the First Sword's essence.]

I gave a wry smile at Black Eye's words. Few could call the barbarian Kael—who'd one day earn the moniker "War God's Reincarnation"—a blockhead.

"When we took the tribesmen up there, the Spirit Devourer's corpse had already vanished, so we couldn't confirm. Aishira said you were the one who severed the dragon's neck, so the dragon's authority's yours anyway. The body doesn't matter, but we couldn't find you in Lang-a Fortress either, so we thought you'd left and were disappointed."

"I meant to say goodbye before going. And report on the night hunt."

I shrugged lightly.

"Proof."

I pulled a dragon tooth from my inventory and showed it to him.

"Haha, need I even look? I already heard from Aishira."

But Kael waved it off like it didn't matter and rummaged in a small drawer in the room.

"No elder will object to giving this to you."

I took the insignia with the small orb embedded in it from Kael, and the completion window popped up.

"Use it when you need our help. Wherever, whenever—the Kalun Tribe's might will reach you."

Damn...... this is good.

In short, a summoning item for tribal soldiers. And items that controlled multiple summons—not just one—were exceedingly rare in the game.

Known summoning items have fixed-level summons that lose value at high levels, but this is growth-type.

It had solid utility. Later, against the Eight Great Clans, large-scale battles would be frequent.

Even at Lv1, it summons 22 soldiers. If I keep leveling it, at minimum Heroic-grade NPCs, easily 100 troops.

Worst case, useful for raid bosses or as meat shields.

But hopefully no need for that......

The moment I got the insignia, even without summoning, it felt like I'd gained my own unit. The Iron Kingdom's soldiers...... and Gloria's 9. Mere dream-memories now, they wouldn't recognize me, yet nostalgia made my mouth dry inexplicably.

Don't get sentimental. Not the time.

As I shook my head, Black Eye spoke.

[Hm, the Horn Insignia...... It still exists.]

......What?

What Kael had given me was just the Kalun Tribe Insignia. Yet Black Eye called it something else.

Horn Insignia? What do you mean?

[Ah, you'd naturally not know. Only elders might remember that ancient tale now. I only heard it from my master.]

Hmm...... Just who is this master?

I wondered about the nameless figure but focused on the insignia's hidden story.

[That insignia isn't unique to the Kalun Tribe. Precisely, two in the North, two in the South—divided between regions.]

Total of four insignias?

[Yes. But the true value isn't just commanding soldiers.]

What is it?

[My master said that gathering all the insignias opens a new Horn Gate.]

......Horn Gate?

[That's all I know. North and South never unite, so the insignias can't gather. Their unified era is ancient history.]

I nodded. The royal library held records of the "Unification Era" centuries ago, when the continent was one nation.

I dreamed of that too, but......

I knew better than anyone how impossible it was.

'Gate' likely means a dungeon. The insignias aren't just for summons—they're keys to a final dungeon......

Both North and South guarding the same key suggested they dated to the Unification Era.

Relic.

Artifacts from old dungeons or sites usually had sealed true power.

Do you know where the other Northern one is?

[Of course. The Ran-hu Tribe has it. They're the most loyal.]

Pride mingled with longing in Black Eye's voice.

[But not easy to get. Called the Moon Eye Tribe for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠their exceptional sight. A hidden ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tribe—finding them's tough.]

The tribe that betrayed War God Gulak. Yet his tone held pride, not betrayal.

Ran-hu Tribe?

A subtle smile crept across my lips at Black Eye's words.

Doesn't sound that hard to me.

I pulled out the small map Tonpe had given me before leaving Lang-a Fortress and tapped it lightly in one hand, murmuring softly.