Chapter 120 : Chapter 120

Chapter 120 - To Fight Together (1)

“I know a family. A family I was once indebted to. They are not recruiting private soldiers separately, but if I ask, they might create a temporary position for us.”

Gerard’s proposal was tempting enough for everyone.

So much so that it aroused suspicion.

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

When Tersion asked, Gerard hesitated for a moment before answering.

“That family doesn’t particularly like pure magic. The connection I made was also during my time as a swordsman.”

“Ah, I think I know what you mean.”

There were always eccentrics who revered the sword more than magic.

Even though the skills used with a sword were also magic.

“But Collie also knows how to use a dagger, so I don’t think there will be a problem except for me.”

“It’s not like you gave up the sword because you didn’t want to use it.”

“It’s not like I can’t use both arms. If I had trained with my left arm, I would have been able to be active, though not as much as before. But I wouldn’t have been as active as I am now.”

It was a deliberately intended compliment.

Thanks to that, Artier, who was listening, was able to smile.

“So where is it?”

“It’s the Dorian Barony.”

“Dorian?”

A family he didn't remember.

Was it a supporting character family that disappeared in an instant?

However, his companions' perceptions seemed to be different.

“Why of all places?”

“Awesome…!”

“Is it a place everyone knows?”

When Artier asked, he immediately felt sharp gazes from his surroundings.

“How should I put it. I can’t even say in passing that they have a good relationship with elves. Half of the Empire’s meat is produced there.”

“It’s a family I really like! Their sausages are especially exquisite!”

“Can’t you be a little more considerate?”

“Well, I can eat some meat…”

“The problem is that they operate farms on a village scale to sell meat.”

At Tersion’s words, a scene naturally painted itself in Artier’s mind.

‘Wow, if Tersion came to reality, she would reach the pinnacle of human-hating.’

If she were shown modern mechanized farming facilities and livestock, she would immediately turn the place into a sea of fire.

“Hah… is there really no other option?”

Looking at the disgusted Tersion, Gerard belatedly summed up the situation.

“I’ll check until tomorrow to see if any additional private soldier contracts appear. Think of the Dorian Barony as a last resort.”

“I guess we have no choice. Artier, let’s leave tomorrow.”

“Alright.”

With those words, the party quickly dispersed.

And the next morning, Artier and Tersion went to a nearby city.

Ugh, you left me behind again. I’ll curse you.

I told you, you overslept.

I’ll curse you. I’ll curse you. I’ll fly to Master’s side right away.

Calm down! To use Ichi Summon, you have to stay in the capital anyway!

Since around noon, Artier had been relentlessly tormented by Collie’s resentful thoughts.

“You look very tired. Can you get the artifact out in that state?”

“I’m fine. Fortunately, this time I just have to take out what’s there.”

There were many powerful artifacts in this area, but the reason he chose this artifact was because the difficulty of obtaining it was very easy.

It boasted a very easy difficulty, where all you had to do was break through a maze and grab the artifact placed at the destination.

“Are you sure you know the way?”

“Don’t worry.”

After that, Artier focused solely on finding the path in the maze for about 20 minutes without saying a word.

‘Two times to the right, left, right, then right, left, twice, right, left, straight. Two jumps and disarm the trap…’

Emptying his mind and focusing on one thing.

It was quite efficient.

It only took them 30 minutes to get through the maze.

“You find the way faster than a skilled hunter. Where did you really learn this?”

“I just memorized the path.”

“You always talk nonsense. Who memorizes a maze they just happened to visit again?”

“…”

I'm on my 300th visit.

Artier kept his mouth shut and averted his gaze.

“By the way, I don’t know if you’ve heard.”

And as if she was used to such an Artier now, Tersion immediately brought up the next topic.

“News came from the Hol territory.”

“Gigas Hall?”

“Yeah, there. Most of it was nothing special, but there was one thing you needed to hear.”

News from Gigas Hall that he needed to hear?

Not much came to mind immediately.

‘Are they going to give me a reward I forgot?’

Just as he was thinking that and getting his hopes up a little.

What came out of her mouth was a more random, and more shocking piece of news than he had thought.

“The Guardian Soldiers of the World Tree suddenly all died. About ten of them?”

“What? Suddenly?”

“The elves are also looking for the reason now, but they seem to be flustered because it’s an unprecedented situation.”

The Guardian Soldiers who protected their god, the World Tree, were among the strongest of the elves.

For such Guardian Soldiers to suddenly disappear en masse, the council had no choice but to be flustered.

“The problem is that they don’t know the reason. There are no wounds, no traces of poison, and they weren’t even hit by magic. But ten of them closed their eyes at the same time. Isn’t that strange?”

“That’s…”

It was a strange thing.

But Artier caught something strange. Why did he have to hear this?

Did she sense his gaze? Tersion continued to speak, looking ahead.

“The dead Guardian Soldiers were all the ones whose minds were shaken by Codis.”

“Codis? Then to the Hellmorphs…?”

“Yeah. The ones who moved according to Codis’s will and came back to their senses through Ropin.”

Those who had been released from brainwashing suddenly died for no reason.

Of course, the first thing to suspect was this.

“I think they died from mental damage.”

“Yeah. It was probably a backlash from the brainwashing being released. They were all drooling, so it’s certain.”

“I see.”

Just as he was trying to shake off his uneasy feeling, Tersion’s next words stabbed him in the chest.

“And three of them are even stranger. They died as if they had suddenly aged drastically.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“They aged rapidly, like an old person who was almost 1,300 years old. So at first, they couldn’t even tell who they were.”

Suddenly aging and having your mind destroyed?

A cold premonition began to flow through his body.

If this prediction that crossed his mind was correct, this incident had nothing to do with the Hellmorphs.

“Did they all learn Holy Magic?”

“Of course. They would have all received help from Codis.”

“Can you find out if they used Holy Magic before they died, and what they looked like when they used it?”

“That’s possible, but why?”

“Please.”

Tersion looked at Artier, who seemed somewhat desperate, as if he were strange, and then tried to communicate.

A moment later, she lowered her hand and shrugged her shoulders.

“They were treating the injured by order of the council.”

“How did they use it?”

“They probably just used it. The Fairy’s Eye also allows one to naturally master the method of using the skills one has obtained.”

“Were there no white balls like this around at that time?”

Fwaah!

Artier created a Holy Light, but Tersion looked at it for a moment and then immediately denied it.

“If it was this peculiar, I would have known right away, but there was no mention of such an object.”

“…Hah.”

“What’s wrong? Is it important?”

Tersion seemed to have sensed something strange.

Artier calmly turned his gaze away and let out a dry laugh.

“Yeah. I think I know the reason.”

The Fairy’s Eye allows one to master the method of using skills.

But it didn’t make it possible to use skills that didn’t exist.

‘Originally, you shouldn’t be able to use Holy Magic without Holy Light. But it seems they were able to use the skill copied by the Fairy’s Eye. That became a poison.’

It was a side effect that didn’t exist in the game.

But what was more shocking was that even the elves, who lived for 1,500 years, couldn’t last for a few months if they used Holy Magic incorrectly.

He understood why Ropin had freaked out and dragged him to the infirmary.

Artier explained about the Holy Light to Tersion.

By the time the story was over, cold sweat was dripping from behind her mask.

“A skill that makes you age and die immediately if you use it wrong? What the hell is that?”

“It seems the elves, with their longer lifespan than humans, lasted longer.”

“I’ll have to tell the council about this. Then are you okay?”

“Huh?”

“You were also using Holy Magic without Holy Light, are you okay?”

At her question, Artier was so surprised for a moment that he almost stumbled.

‘Calm down. It’s a question anyone would ask if they saw that, right?’

Only after reminding himself of that could he clear his throat and speak calmly.

“I have a special skill, so I’m fine.”

“Really? Then that’s a relief.”

Her answer was surprisingly light.

So nonchalant that it made him feel stupid for worrying.

“Then let’s go back now.”

“Will there be any additional private soldier contract offers?”

“No, of course not. Hah… I don’t want to go to the Dorian Barony.”

After that, only truly trivial chatter continued.

Artier smiled or responded a little, matching her mood.

***

“Welcome.”

When they returned to the Mercenary Guild, Gerard and Collie were waiting for them.

“Where’s Jeina?”

“She said she was bored and had a drinking contest with someone nearby, then passed out. She won against ten people, so she’ll be asleep for a while.”

“…”

Even if she had nothing to do, a drinking contest in a situation like this.

Just as a curse was about to come out of Tersion’s mouth, Artier hastily changed the subject.

“What about the private soldier contracts? Have any come in?”

“Unfortunately, no. The allowance for some of the remaining contracts went up, but it wasn’t a significant amount.”

“I see. Then please contact the Dorian Barony.”

“Understood. Then excuse me.”

As Gerard disappeared from his seat, Tersion also stood up.

“I’ll go with you. My throat is suddenly a bit parched.”

“Throat? You smoked too?”

“Do you think it’s common for elves not to smoke? After living for 100 years, most of them do.”

“…Understood.”

As Gerard and Tersion disappeared, only Collie remained.

Artier, who was thinking of ordering a light drink and looking at the menu, could feel Collie’s gaze.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ll be right back.”

“Suddenly?”

“I’m going to buy some consumables at the general store.”

Collie’s nose was held high.

“Hehe, I’m a fast learner, you know. Preparing consumables in advance and using them in the right places is the driving force behind Master’s ability to react quickly to situations every time! So I’ll prepare in advance too.”

“You could just ask me to buy yours too.”

“That’s not my way. And honestly, Master keeps too many useless things. I was shocked to see you have five different types of antidotes.”

“…Is that a lot?”

His eyes rolled around.

However, Artier couldn’t understand Collie’s words at all.

Collie, who was watching him, said with a confident voice.

“I should definitely buy them my way. If I follow Master, I’ll end up broke.”

“Alright, do as you please. Want some allowance?”

“It’s fine. I have a lot of money saved up from quests too.”

With those words, Collie disappeared like the wind.

Artier, who was suddenly left alone, looked at the suddenly empty table.

“So I’m the only one ordering?”

It was the first time in a long time that he was choosing a menu alone.

Artier glanced at his funds and then picked up the menu again.

Rustle.

That’s why he didn’t notice Collie, who was going out the door, suddenly fading and disappearing.

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