Chapter 13 : Did I Get Caught

Chapter 13: Did I Get Caught?

“Book of Fate...! So this was what you mentioned back then.”

It was a very rare thing.

For Seah to let her emotions burst out like that through her eyes and voice.

Even more,

“Can I take a look at it too?”

She even made such a request. She was someone who hardly ever showed interest in anything.

“Uh, sure.”

But the strange thing was, the moment Seah received the Book of Fate, its light suddenly faded away.

“...It doesn’t work.”

Her voice sounded somewhat deflated.

After flipping through the book, Seah realized that she couldn’t read a single word of the ancient language, and eventually handed it back to me.

“Looks like it only reacts to you, Oppa.”

She was right.

Woooong—

The instant it was back in my hands, the Book of Fate trembled faintly again and scattered light.

“Maybe because it’s a royal treasure....”

At my muttering, Seah reacted.

“A royal treasure?”

“Yeah. A treasure the royal family of Banroa has safeguarded for generations.”

“For generations...? Since when, I wonder?”

“Not sure? The Age of Magic? An artifact like this could probably only be made back then.”

“You think so? But still, to say it lets someone travel through time. Even if it’s an artifact from the Age of Magic, that’s absurd.”

“But it does work, doesn’t it?”

“...Which is exactly why it’s strange.”

True enough. Even I thought it was strange.

A small book radiating light.

It wasn’t some gigantic device the size of a castle, so how could such a tiny thing contain a divine power like this?

Even if it was ancient technology...

“And if you really did travel to the past, Oppa... that’s strange too.”

Seah furrowed her brows.

“Hm? What is?”

“You said you drank the Elixir. Then what about the Elixir that was discovered 200 years ago?”

“What?”

A sharp question.

She was right. What was going on?

Ah, was it that?

“I didn’t drink it all, only managed to drink half. The vial with the rest fell on the ground. Maybe that’s why?”

“You didn’t finish all of it?”

“Yeah.”

“...Then the Elixir discovered 200 years ago was only half?”

“Who knows. I never heard exactly how much was found.”

“Same here.”

Seah focused deeply with her usual expressionless face.

Her eyes were like a deep sea that I felt I could get pulled into.

“If that’s the case... then there’s no way to know.”

“Know what?”

“Even if we say the Elixir found 200 years ago was half-sized.”

Seah raised her right hand and left hand alternately as she explained.

“Was it that originally a full Elixir should have been discovered, but history changed because you drank half, so only half was found... Or was it that only half was ever discovered in the first place, and we’ve just been unaware until now? There’s no way to tell.”

Huh?

Could that... be it?

“From the start, was the place you went to really the past? If it truly was the past, then the future... in other words, would it be possible to change the history of now? Or would the present history remain the same, and a new history in another timeline be created instead?”

What the... Why is she so smart?

I had never even thought of something like that.

I never even felt the need to.

Catching a glance of my clueless face, Seah let out a heavy sigh.

“Oppa. This is a more important issue than you think.”

“R-really? Isn’t it fine if I just bring back good stuff from the past...?”

“No. Even if it’s the past from ten thousand years ago.... History is extremely complex, and there’s a theory that even a single small variable can cause huge changes.”

“R-really?”

“Yeah. The chances aren’t high... but in the worst case, it means the entire world could be changed because of what you did in the past.”

“No way. That much?”

“Of course. For example, what if the Ruceras civilization didn’t collapse because of you? What do you think would happen then?”

“Uh... then wouldn’t the world now be completely different?”

“That’s exactly my point. It could even become a world where I, Banroa, and the Empire all no longer exist. And of course, you wouldn’t either.”

“...But isn’t that way too strange? If I disappear because of the history I changed in the past... then who would be the one that changed history? If I don’t exist...?”

“No one would know. Time is something that exists beyond a firmly locked door.... That’s why, if you do go to the past, you need to act carefully with every little thing, and remember what you did there to confirm later how it influences the present. Got it?”

“Y-yeah.”

Here I was, learning from Seah...

It honestly surprised me.

Just how smart was this kid?

What if this brilliant girl had grown up in a better environment and received a proper education?

That thought of regret briefly flickered in my heart.

While I was sinking into such musings, Seah’s voice pulled me back out.

“But shouldn’t you open it?”

The Book of Fate was still shining brightly in greenish light.

The bookmark edge sparkled as if urging me to open it.

But I quickly shook my head.

“No. Not now.”

“Why not?”

“Think about it. What if I open the book now and end up in the past again?”

“...You said you went missing for about 20 minutes last time, right?”

“Yeah. I spent around two hours there, but here about 20 minutes had passed.”

“The time ratio is six to one....”

“I don’t know the details, but just imagine if you go again this time and end up staying there even longer. That would be troublesome, wouldn’t it? Given our current situation.”

“That’s true. Definitely. I haven’t even touched the territory army yet.”

“Right. And the countless Families scattered across Kushan City are also a problem.”

I had killed the Count, and now Rivera planned to wipe out the remaining vampires as well, but that didn’t mean order would suddenly return to Kushan City.

The biggest problem was the territory army that Count Kxias had commanded.

For now, since we struck quickly by killing the Count first, there had been no chance for the army to intervene… but after even a single day, the situation would obviously change.

Within the territory army were those who had been loyal to the Count, those who secretly despised him, and those who didn’t care who was in charge as long as they got paid. But one thing was certain: none of them were going to meekly obey us or Rivera.

Even if we had justification on our side,

the loyalists would still oppose us as loyalists, and the opposition or opportunists were very likely to argue over who should actually rule Kushan City.

And if the Families who had carried out the Count’s dirty work as his vassals joined in as well…

Ugh, just imagining it was terrible.

Which meant,

I absolutely had to be there.

I had to suppress them with overwhelming force as the Swordmaster who had slain the Count.

Otherwise, Kushan City would be dragged into a massive whirlpool of chaos.

Perhaps thinking the same thing, Seah paled slightly and waved her hand.

“You’re right. Put that away quickly, Oppa.”

“Yeah. Let’s get rid of it fast.”

I held the Book of Fate to the Subspace Necklace to store it away.

But at that moment,

Parak!

That damned book suddenly leapt up on its own like a thrashing salmon, shaking off my hand and soaring into the air.

“Uh…?”

And then,

Pararararak!

Its pages flipped open by themselves.

I tried to close it again, but as if forcibly injecting information into me, the letters on the opened page struck directly into my eyes.

‘Year 4673 of the Ruceras Calendar. November 21st, clear skies. Master has returned after seizing the cultists’ treasure….’

Ah,

damn it.

Tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock

It began.

The sound of a clock’s second hand.

The river of time.

Reality was yanked away as if hooked by a fishing line.

“O-Oppa?”

Seah’s voice, searching for me as she looked around, faded into the distance, and once again, I fell beyond the other side of time.

*         *         *

Dagak dagak dagak

It happened again.

When I came to my senses, I had already been thrown into the middle of a situation.

I was on horseback.

Wearing a cloak.

This time was quite different.

Before, even though it had been ten thousand years in the past, I had started in the same location, the Ilneon Dungeon…

But now, I was in an unfamiliar field.

It must have been summer—the sun blazed brightly, and low hills dotted the landscape in a splendid view.

In the midst of it, we were traveling on horseback.

‘This time too, I have companions.’

I could see three people around me.

Two elderly men and women in trailing robes.

And right beside me, a sturdily built, expressionless man riding his horse.

Pii-juk.

The moment I looked at that man, chills suddenly ran through me.

‘Wha… what is this pressure…?’

The two robed figures didn’t look ordinary either.

Even though their clothing from ten thousand years ago looked strange to me, those long, draping outfits and the tall staffs strapped to their saddles practically screamed I am a mage.

But right now, I couldn’t even pay attention to them.

It was the middle-aged man riding right beside me.

From that man, I felt a suffocating presence.

It was similar to the ominous aura the cult leader had radiated… but this was on an entirely different level.

Was it because I had now learned the ancient Sword Energy?

That formless presence—something modern swordsmen didn’t have—weighed down on me all the more vividly.

I was afraid.

That realization shocked me.

‘Afraid? Even I, who defeated Count Kxias… am afraid right now?’

Just what was this man….

My nerves went taut.

There was no way I could act rashly.

‘It’s not just… presence alone….’

The mana of the entire area revolved around the man.

To a degree that even I, a Swordmaster, found overwhelming….

This man was truly vast and powerful.

Was this what a Grandmaster—something I’d only ever heard of—was like?

‘Even if he is a Grandmaster… is this even possible?’

Could even a superhuman be this strong?

The kind of presence that could topple an Empire single-handedly… a mass like a mountain, no, like the very sun.

That kind of man suddenly turned his gaze toward me.

Thump. Thump.

My heart pounded with tension.

I couldn’t read the man’s eyes.

What was he thinking right now?

Was he observing me?

Seeing through me?

Or was it just a gaze without thought?

With that unreadable look, I alone was smothered, imagining a hundred, a thousand possibilities.

Like a rabbit frozen under the gaze of a lion, I stiffened completely.

After staring at me for quite some time, the man abruptly opened his mouth.

“Indeed. Ransen. By chance, I encountered you and took you as my disciple.”

Only after hearing that voice did I finally feel like I could breathe again.

Ah, so this time, my role was to be this man’s disciple?

I quickly bowed my head.

“Yes. Disciple Ransen. It is an honor to serve my Master.”

But,

the man still said nothing.

I couldn’t tell what he was thinking—he only looked down at me.

Then he turned his head and asked the two mages.

“Do you also recall the same? When was it that I took this child as my disciple?”

The mages tilted their heads as if to say, What are you talking about? but soon bowed deeply with utmost reverence toward the man.

“Yes. Duke Celsius. Though Sir Ransen’s realm is not very high, he has a peculiar constitution that allows him to handle mana directly. Out of interest, you took him as your disciple one week ago.”

“Yes. That’s right. Indeed. I did accept him as a disciple. One week ago.”

The man called Celsius nodded slowly, muttering almost to himself.

“What a curious thing this is. This feels like something that could only happen through divine intervention, don’t you think?”

Something felt strange.

The words this man spoke.

They were very different from the attitude the cult leader and his followers had shown toward me back in the chapel.

There was a sense of incongruity mixed into every single word.

Even the way he looked at me was the same.

It wasn’t the look of someone who accepted me naturally, but rather of someone viewing me as if I were foreign….

Was it just my imagination?

Still, it was strange.

Wasn’t his demeanor entirely different from the two mages who treated me as natural?

The man gazed at me silently, then let out a faint chuckle.

“Hear me. I am Grand Duke Laitena Celsius. Some call me the greatest sword under heaven. My current vow is the extermination of the cultists who disrupt the order of souls. Ransen Banroa. You became my disciple one week ago, and we are presently on our way to my castle. There, you will stay for a time and receive my teachings.”

Cold sweat trickled down my back.

His words only heightened my unease.

Didn’t it sound exactly as if he were explaining the current situation to me?

If he had truly accepted my existence as natural, he wouldn’t need to say something like this, would he?

This was almost as if…

“But really, it is amusing. I had no idea I had another disciple until now.”

Grand Duke Laitena burst into hearty laughter as he looked at me.

“I do not know what fate has bound us together…. but let us get along. May our aspirations be fulfilled.”

I felt as if my breath was being cut off.

This was…

He knew everything, didn’t he? Right?

…What the hell.

Did he find me out?

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