Chapter 36

Chapter 036

In the dense forest of the second floor.

A group of people were sweating profusely as they fled from the giant centipedes chasing them fiercely.

“Protect the young master!”

“I-I do not think I can go on any longer…….”

“Damn it, if only I had not lost my sword!”

All of them were covered in wounds, their Health was at rock bottom, and the young man who appeared to be their leader had even lost his weapon.

Anyone could see that this was a desperate situation.

As though the monsters knew it too, one of them opened its jaws wide and charged in swiftly.

“Young Master, dodge!”

“Damn it!”

A man quickly threw himself in front and blocked the centipede.

“Krgh……!”

As expected, its strength was tremendous.

Befitting a 2-star monster, it could not be matched in a contest of strength.

While he was being pushed back with trembling arms, another one charged in and broke apart their formation.

“KRAAAGH!”

It was over.

With their current numbers, they could not handle these things.

Just as he tightly shut his eyes in frustration, a sword strike flew in from somewhere and cut deeply into the centipede’s body.

─SHRIEEEEK!

The creature howled in pain, thrashed, and retreated.

Before anyone knew it, a black-haired man and a vermilion-haired woman had approached and stood in front of the centipedes.

“I will take those. You check on those people first.”

“Understood.”

While the man took charge of the centipedes, the woman examined their condition.

At the miraculous help, their expressions brightened.

“Oh! Are you Adventurers?”

“Thank you! I shall repay this grace…….”

However, when their eyes saw the badge pinned to the woman’s chest, their expressions quickly stiffened.

“A-Apprentices!? Why are apprentices on the second floor……!”

Wearing an apprentice badge meant that less than a year had passed since they had graduated from the Selection Grounds.

‘Heavens……!’

He realized that they should not accept this help.

Promising juniors were precious.

As a senior, and in order to protect his juniors, he rose from his seat with his eyes tightly shut.

“Damn it! Why did they have to be apprentices!”

“Why on earth did apprentices come all the way here!?”

“We will act as bait, so hurry and run!”

They were certainly chicks who had come down in a fit of anger without knowing the dangers of the second floor.

However, even though they shouted for them to hurry and flee, the two apprentices did not budge an inch.

Could it be that they did not know the terror of the giant centipedes, Gigantia?

‘That could be. If they are juniors lacking experience, they may not know the ecology of the second floor!’

First, they had to move the two back and draw the monsters’ attention!

Just as they resolved themselves and were about to move, the woman let out a low sigh.

“Enough. Just watch.”

“What……! The current situation─”

“We understand it properly, so stop making a fuss.”

“Uh……?”

Watching the man walk toward the Gigantia swarm, the woman smiled like a mischievous child.

“Just watch.”

***

“Oh…… Seeing them in person, they look impressive.”

I had thought they looked cool when I saw them in the game, but they were even more impressive in reality.

I looked at the one that had been cut earlier and was dripping blood.

“I cut it roughly, but it still did that much?”

The blade had pierced through the hard carapace, which it originally would not even have bitten into, and cut the flesh beneath. A blade incomparably sharper than before.

Ishara [Normal] had evolved into Ishara [Rare].

“Ready, Ishara?”

WOOOONG─A weapon that had been strengthened by another level.

Swordsmanship honed over the course of a month.

It was time to test how far the synergy between those two could go.

─SHRIEEEEEK!

‘Let’s see, these guys’ patterns were…….’

These bastards were fast, so it was better to mix in feints.

Half a step to the right, another half step, then immediately moving left. The bastard’s jaws brushed past me and missed.

‘The weak point is the joint between the body and the head.’

I gently thrust into the clearly exposed weak point.

The sword sank in smoothly and severed the flesh in an instant. The Gigantia shuddered once, then went limp.

Oh, this worked in one hit.

No, I had struck it once earlier, so was it two hits?

“Huh? What in the world is that…….”

I ignored the background commentary.

Because the bastards, enraged that their companion had died, began attacking all at once.

‘They are aiming for the head and waist. In that case.’

I fixed my stance.

Just as I had practiced, I stepped smoothly and dug inside.

I cut away the centipedes on both sides and knocked them aside, then raised Mysticism toward the one rushing in after them.

CLANG!

─SHRIEEEEK!

The head of the charging bastard was flung high into the sky.

The moment its weak point was exposed, I cut into it. Contrary to my expectation that it would only leave a wound, its head popped right off.

The headless bastard collapsed, and the ones I had cut away earlier charged in again.

Another Parry.

While the deflected bastard collided with another and toppled over, I cut off its head and sent it flying.

“There is one more!”

─KYAAAAK!

As soon as I heard the shout, the one that had been hiding burst up through the ground.

“I know.”

How many times did I think I had hunted Gigantia?

I already knew that the ground where it had burrowed was subtly different, so as though I had been waiting, I struck it away with Parrying.

A violet flash of Mysticism burst, and the centipede was sent flying.

Since its body was relatively small and flew far away, I threw my sword with all my might.

The sword flew while spinning like a saw blade and sliced off the bastard’s head.

“They are nothing special.”

“Look here! Behind you! Behind you!”

─KYAAAGH!

Ah, one was still left.

I was not particularly concerned.

Just before the half-shattered creature charging in reached me, the returning sword pierced through its head.

THUD!

The last centipede collapsed.

“Th-The sword returned on its own?”

“He struck those things as large as houses away with a single swing!”

“How can an apprentice take down those centipedes all alone……?”

Every one of them was wide-eyed in shock.

Well, I supposed it was a rather shocking scene for an apprentice to show.

“Hmm…… So this is about the extent of it.”

Whether they did or not, I pulled out the embedded sword and reviewed the battle just now.

‘As expected, it feels a little clunky.’

The Skills and swordsmanship did not connect naturally.

They still felt like separate techniques, and because I had to stop one in order to use the other, there was an unpleasant sense of the flow being cut off.

What exactly was I lacking?

As I put the sword away while continuing to ponder, Persica approached.

“I wondered why you said you would take them alone…… When did you learn swordsmanship?”

“A month ago.”

“……A month? That is one month of skill?”

Persica’s expression became extremely displeased.

Her face looked as though she was greatly irritated and annoyed.

“Why?”

“No. Well, you have always been like that.”

“?”

“But it feels somewhat strange for swordsmanship…… Is that just my imagination?”

What kind of situation was this, where she asked herself a question and answered it by herself?

Shaking my head, I turned to the people we had just saved.

Now it was time to calculate……

“Honored benefactors!”

“Thank you truly for saving our lives!”

The five or six people were respectfully kneeling toward us.

Among them, the young man who seemed to be the leader opened his mouth with an extremely serious face.

“I wish to repay this grace! I will invite you two to my House, so please do accept!”

“……And who are you?”

“My introduction is late. I am Jin Sohwi, the eldest son of the Jin Clan.”

All of a sudden, a name that sounded like it came out of a martial arts novel appeared.

Was there a family name like this in Ebla?

Unlike me, who was uncertain, Persica seemed to know something, and her eyes widened.

“You are Jin Sohwi?”

“That is right. Judging by your appearance, young lady, are you not the youngest daughter of House Ortanis?”

“I am, but…….”

Stop talking about things only you two know and explain it to me too.

When I gave her a look, Persica cleared her throat and opened her mouth.

“……The Jin Clan is the family that governs White Cloud Castle, the settlement camp on the second floor. Would calling them something like margraves be appropriate?” 

“If that is the case…….”

“It seems we did not save someone connected to the family, but the son himself.”

That was right.

We had saved the son of a Margrave.

***

As one could tell from its name, White Cloud Castle was a place with a strong Eastern atmosphere.

Compared to Ebla, which had only carried the feeling of a premodern West, it felt like a different world altogether.

‘It feels like I rode a time machine.’

The people, too, were a mixture of commonly seen Adventurers and people wearing daoist robes.

The buildings were all made of wood and roof tiles, and the place we were invited to was a large palace-like house located at the center of them all.

“Y-Young Master! What in the world happened!?”

A person who ran out from inside turned deathly pale when he saw the state of Jin Sohwi and his subordinates.

“……Something happened. I intend to see the elders immediately, so make preparations.”

“And these people are……?”

“They are the benefactors who saved my life.”

Benefactors.

At that word, the servant hurriedly bowed.

“The Head of the House is currently meeting with guests, so you will have to wait a little.”

“I will be nearby. Guide us.”

“Yes.”

We immediately entered the inner part of the palace and were guided to a spacious room that looked like a meeting room.

However, since a meeting was in progress, we had to quietly wait while sitting formally in a corner of the room.

“That man is my grandfather. He is the Head of the Jin Clan and the Lord of White Cloud Castle, the elder ‘Jin Baek.’”

“Oh…….”

He was an old man with white hair, eyebrows, and beard hanging down, wearing a blue long robe.

He looked almost like a refined old immortal.

‘That man is the Lord of White Cloud Castle.’

I could feel Persica growing tense.

Perhaps because, at least on the second floor, he was a person with authority comparable to Trinity, even she could not help but be nervous.

“Since logistics volume has increased lately, regarding customs duties, perhaps we could discuss…….”

“We discussed that matter three months ago. Why are you bringing it up again already?”

“If you could give us even a small hint as to when the southern entry ban will be lifted…….”

“The great and small affairs of the second floor are secrets of White Cloud Castle. No matter who you are, I cannot carelessly tell you.”

I was slightly impressed as I watched the people conversing.

‘Wow. Every one of them is someone significant.’

Every one of them was a Named individual whose name I had at least heard in the game, like a high-ranking noble or the head of a large merchant company.

Even in front of such people, the Lord of White Cloud Castle did not blink.

Rather, those people were busy shrinking back under Jin Baek’s presence.

“I wish to become a disciple of White Cloud Castle! Please accept me!”

What was that about?

While eavesdropping on the conversation, a strange topic came up, so I asked.

“What does he mean by disciple?”

“He is asking to learn White Cloud Castle’s direct-line Martial Arts. Only family members or direct disciples can learn them.”

Listening to him, it seemed that even though the Head of the House was over seventy years old, he still had no disciple.

He had yet to find anyone who satisfied him, and because of that, people came practically every day asking to be accepted as his disciple.

“Would you like to try speaking to him too, Sir Isran? With your skill, you may be able to become a direct disciple. I will actively help you.”

“No…… I am fine.”

I already had Ishara as my master.

And I had no desire to step into what looked like complicated circumstances at a glance.

I pushed away Jin Sohwi, who was recommending it in a subtle voice.

“More importantly, could you tell me about the second floor? I have had trouble adjusting since earlier.”

At best, he seemed around Persica’s age.

It was hard to adjust to a guy who looked like he was only a high schooler speaking in such an old-fashioned polite style.

Was this the culture here? There was nothing like this in the game.

“Ah, Sir Isran does not know much about the second floor. To think I was so negligent in explaining things before my benefactor……. Forgive me, it was my fault.”

“Never mind that. Why is this place so different from Ebla?”

“Our ancestor was a Possessor. After settling on the second floor, he built the camp while preserving the atmosphere of his hometown, and that appearance has been passed down until now.”

He took this chance to explain the story of White Cloud Castle in detail.

“White Cloud Castle is the largest granary supplying food to Ebla, and at the same time, it also serves as a Forward Base where Adventurers can stay or reorganize themselves. It is a base officially recognized by the Ebla Royal Family, and also a kind of province.”

“It is like a second Ebla.”

“Ha ha! I am grateful that you think so highly of it. It cannot truly compare to Ebla, but it is indeed an important strategic point.”

According to him, in the distant past, his ancestor had cultivated an isolated remote region on the second floor and built a camp, which became the beginning of White Cloud Castle.

Afterward, by using the fertile land of the second floor to grow grain and supply it to the city, it had grown to its current size.

‘That man must have had it good.’

White Cloud Castle had existed in the game as well.

Of course, it had a different name and a different appearance, but as long as he knew the knowledge from that place, it must have been easy to recreate it.

In fact, it was said that the current White Cloud Castle possessed financial power comparable to Trinity.

That was because most of the food consumed in Ebla was produced here.

“What kind of person was your ancestor?”

“Our ancestor, White Cloud Zen Master Jin Ryeon, was a Possessor who arrived in this land seven hundred years ago. He was a True Person…… in the language of Ebla, someone who rose to the position of ‘Master,’ and he was a teacher-like figure who created many Martial Arts.”

If he was a Master, that meant he had reached the realm where the power of Aura encroached even upon the surrounding environment.

That alone was surprising enough, but what I focused on was something else.

‘Seven hundred years ago.’

I knew a few characters from that period.

In order to narrow the range a little more, I continued asking questions.

“If he was a Master…… do you know his main weapon or primary Trait?”

“You seem quite interested in our ancestor. He mainly handled a sword and Magic Power. It is said he was also skilled in spell arts.”

“Spell arts?”

“It means Magic.”

Persica answered that briefly.

A person who arrived seven hundred years ago, mainly used a sword and Magic Power, and was skilled in Magic.

‘I feel like I might know who it is…….’

That meant he was a magic swordsman concept character, and there were several characters who shared a similar time period.

However, there was still not enough information to be certain.

Because magic swordsman was a more common concept than expected, there were quite a few overlapping candidates.

And there was another part that drew my attention more.

“If he created Martial Arts…… does that include swordsmanship?”

“Of course it does. The famous ‘White Cloud Sword Method’ is the very swordsmanship our ancestor created.”

“Could I learn it?”

“Hmm……?”

Perhaps because my words were unexpected, Jin Sohwi quietly looked at me.

Since swordsmanship was often a secret art of a House, learning it was difficult, but if I could at least observe it, I wanted to see it.

‘Ortanis will absolutely not teach me.’

Ortanis’s swordsmanship, including Flash Lightning Thunder Sword, was also high-level swordsmanship, but because it was a House secret art, it was absolutely not taught to outsiders.

Not only Ortanis, but the circumstances of most Houses were similar.

Since all the wealth of Ebla was generated from the dungeon, the power that allowed one to overcome that dungeon was no different from property in itself.

When Gordon showed me his swordsmanship while training me, from his perspective, it had truly been a great favor.

‘In truth, even imitating Gordon’s swordsmanship was something I could have been punished for.’

When I defeated Vormir, I had once used swordsmanship by following what Gordon had shown me.

Persica pretended not to see it, so it passed without issue, but originally, it would not have been strange if I had been dragged off to the House.

After all, in a sense, I had stolen a treasure of the House.

“A secret swordsmanship of the family…… You are making an unexpected request.”

“Would it be impossible?”

“It is a difficult matter. As I said earlier, the Martial Arts of our Sect can only be learned by those connected to the House. Martial Arts are, by nature, the greatest treasure a House possesses.”

Persica, who had been listening, nodded as well.

However, Jin Sohwi grinned and patted my shoulder.

“But Sir Isran is the benefactor who saved my life, is he not? Do not worry. Since I promised to repay you, I will do my utmost to persuade the Head of the House.”

“……Thank you.”

The reason I wanted to learn another swordsmanship was not anything special.

‘Because there is nowhere to ask about Ishara’s swordsmanship.’

This was knowledge transmitted one-sidedly through my Unique Ability, so even if I got stuck while practicing, I had no one from whom I could seek advice.

‘But I cannot ask someone carelessly either.’

At that time, the Apostle of the Golden Rule had told me not to reveal the name “Ethrana,” nor things related to it, if possible.

I did not know whether that included swordsmanship, but there was nothing wrong with being cautious.

If I asked for advice and they asked about the source of the swordsmanship, it would become troublesome.

That was why I had decided to try learning another swordsmanship.

If I learned a properly systematized swordsmanship, I might be able to figure out what I was lacking.

“Next…… Hm? Has that brat Sohwi already returned?”

At that moment, perhaps because our turn had finally come, the Lord of White Cloud Castle called toward us.

When we appeared, I saw a trace of admiration pass over the expressions of the people present.

“That person is Young Master Jin Sohwi. I heard he went to investigate the southern part of the second floor…….”

“Is that not Lady Persica Ortanis? So it was true that she came to the second floor……!”

“Who is the one behind them? Does anyone know him?”

Persica and Jin Sohwi seemed to be famous, as many people recognized them.

However, their reaction to the strange guy following behind was mostly confusion.

“Your grandson Jin Sohwi greets the Head of the House!”

“What exactly did you do for a brat who went out to investigate to return after nearly dying?”

“Ha ha. Quite a lot happened.”

“Do not laugh. Good grief…… I wonder when that slippery brat will finally do his part…….”

After grumbling with a sigh, the Lord of White Cloud Castle first looked at Persica.

“So. You were the ones who saved my grandson?”

“I am Persica Ortanis. I only assisted. The one who saved Young Master Jin Sohwi is this person here.”

Persica, who had politely greeted him in a way that did not suit her, brought me forward from behind.

I could not just stand still either, so I awkwardly rose and greeted him.

“My name is Isran─”

“Hmm?”

However, Jin Baek, who looked back at me, suddenly opened his eyes wide.

“No waaaaay!!!!!”

Then, without warning, he shouted loudly enough to shake the entire meeting hall.

As not only us but even the guests who had arrived before us stared wide-eyed, Jin Baek’s eyes flipped, and he hurriedly ran over, grabbing my shoulders.

“To think such bones and physique exist in this world? And how pure the energy he carries is! This must certainly be a constitution bestowed by heaven!”

“Pardon? Excuse me─”

“You!”

Then, with a mad gleam in his eyes that was almost frightening even to me, he shouted.

“Become my disciple starting today!!!”

I suddenly received a scouting offer.