Ch 13
NEYMAR
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Chapter 13
My physical conditioning with Barundel finally ended as evening fell.
It was partly because I’d run out of potions, but mostly because Barundel insisted that any more training would be poison to my body.
I wasn’t satisfied, feeling I hadn’t accomplished as much as I’d hoped, but looking back now, I was incredibly fortunate that I’d listened to him.
“Ugh… this is killing me.”
Arms, legs, shoulders, torso…
Not a single part of me was left unscathed.
I was so exhausted I wouldn’t have been surprised if I’d passed out right then and there.
I’d definitely overdone it, relying too much on potions. I never imagined that mere basic training could wreck my body this badly.
Still, the results were thankfully good.
I can already feel my muscles getting bigger.
Between the effects of the potions and pushing my body to its absolute limit, the rate of muscle growth was off the charts. By tomorrow, the torn muscle fibers would have healed, making me even stronger.
I was getting closer to the kind of wizard I wanted to be.
Just as planned.
…The problem was this.
Thud, thud.
A sideways glance—
“...What are you looking at?”
“...Ahem!”
As I walked through the streets, every person whose eyes met mine felt suspicious.
The words of the silver-haired knight echoed endlessly in my mind.
—…But next time we meet, I’ll be taking your heart. Just so you know.
Of course, I could just be overreacting.
It wasn’t like that silver-haired bastard would have put a tail on me. Surely he wouldn’t resort to such a dirty trick. A knight of his stature…
…On second thought, maybe he would?
That son of a bitch looked anything but normal.
“Hah… This is so damn distracting.”
Shhk.
Finally, with a sigh, I changed my route. If I went back to the inn like this, I’d be too on edge to sleep. I wouldn’t be able to rest until I found out just who the hell I was dealing with.
I passed through a darkening alley and arrived at a rundown office. From the outside, it looked much like the other shops in the plaza. But given its lack of a sign and its location in such a secluded spot, I was sure this was the place I was looking for.
Clank—.
“...Welcome.”
As I stepped inside, a man sitting at a desk gave a slight wave. He was dressed in black from head to toe, a stark contrast to the small spectacles perched on his nose.
I pulled out a chair and sat opposite him. The man spoke first.
“You look new. You know what this place is, right?”
“Of course.”
To put it simply, this was an information brokerage.
Unlike the snippets of gossip one might overhear in a tavern, you could get much more detailed, specific information here. For a price, of course. Still, the quality of the information was decent, making it an essential stop for progressing quests back in the game.
“Good. Tell me what you want to know.”
“I want to know about a man named Shuharn.”
“Shuharn… Shuharn… ah, that knight?”
I gave a slight nod. So, he knows him.
Feeling a sense of relief, I reached for the pouch of gold coins in my bag, only to freeze.
This… why is it so light?
I was certain I had taken a massive amount of gold from the hideout’s safe, and this pouch contained all the gold I possessed. My entire fortune.
When had it gotten so light?
The frustrating part was that it all made sense when I recalled my recent expenditures.
…I really spent a lot.
Inn fees, potion costs, training expenses, food I’d bought in the plaza to stave off hunger… I had only spent money when I deemed it absolutely necessary, but adding it all up, the total was far greater than I’d expected.
And considering the money I would need in the future… damn it.
“...Looks like I’ll have to earn some more money before I enter the Magic Tower.”
“Hm? What was that?”
“Ah, nothing. Let’s begin.”
I could worry about that later.
Clink.
I pushed a single gold coin onto the table. The man tilted his head.
“...What do you think you’re doing?”
His expression seemed to ask if I was trying to joke with him.
Tsk, one gold coin was enough in the game. Fucking inflation. No wonder I'm going broke.
“Hold on. I’m getting it out.”
I calmly pulled more gold coins from my pouch and pushed them forward. In total, I paid ten gold coins. Only after stashing the gold in his drawer did the man finally speak.
“Shuharn is a knight of the Balkan Kingdom.”
“The Balkan Kingdom?”
“Yep. His proficiency is Lower-Rank. But his talent is so outstanding that apparently, even most Mid-Rank knights can’t handle him.”
“What is someone like that doing in Asternon?”
“Hmm, one moment.”
The man suddenly began rummaging through his drawer. The sound of rustling paper went on for a moment before he pulled out a single document.
“Ah, here it is.”
The document he handed over was a profile detailing the information on Knight Shuharn.
Shuharn Phileadia.
First son of the Phileadia family.
Age: 29.
Proficiency: Lower-Rank.
Besides that, various other details were neatly organized.
Pretty professional. I came to the right place.
I hadn’t had high hopes, since this was just the first information brokerage I’d stumbled upon, but this was quite satisfactory. There were plenty of places that would take your money just to tell you things everyone already knew.
Thinking I might visit again, I scanned the document. As I did, the man added to his explanation.
“According to our agent’s investigation, Shuharn was dispatched to Asternon a month ago. He’s probably aiming for a rank promotion.”
A knight’s rank was structured to rise one level at a time based on their performance in the annual promotion exam. From apprentice to Lower-Rank, Lower-Rank to Mid-Rank, Mid-Rank to High-Rank… The problem was that the exam was held only once a year, making the process incredibly slow.
I had my share of trouble with that, too.
In the case of the zombie swordsman character I’d raised, the slow rank progression often blocked quest progress. Because of that, I aimed for promotions based on merit rather than exams—things like distinguishing myself in a war or repelling a demon invasion. If you accumulated achievements and gained recognition, you could raise your rank separately from the promotion exam.
It seemed Shuharn was also dispatched to Asternon to build up his list of achievements.
But that justification wasn’t quite enough.
“What could possibly be in Asternon to warrant being dispatched here?”
He could easily accumulate achievements by hunting demons near his own Balkan Kingdom. There was no reason to come all the way out to the remote city of Asternon. There had to be another reason.
“Well now… I’m not quite sure about that.”
“……”
The man leaned back in his chair and pushed his glasses up. Despite claiming not to know, a corner of his mouth was curled into a smirk.
There was only one reason he’d be acting like this.
“Here.”
He wants more money.
I pushed five more gold coins across the table. But unlike before, when he had snatched them up immediately, the man just stared at me blankly.
“Hmm, this piece of information is a bit pricey.”
…This money-grubbing leech.
Fighting back tears, I pulled out five more gold coins. Only then was I able to hear the reason for Shuharn’s visit to Asternon.
And it was…
“...Listen closely. A month ago, the ‘Prophecy of the Red Moon’ fell upon Asternon.”
“...What?”
That information was worth more than I had paid.
“Is that true?”
“It’s solid information. Our investigator was there in person on the day the prophecy appeared.”
“……”
I pretended to be unfazed, but honestly, my heart sank. I never expected to face such a big event so soon. And a major event that was rare even in the game, at that.
…This is so frustrating.
The Prophecy of the Red Moon.
As the name suggested, it was an event where the moon turned blood-red. But the moon wasn’t the important part.
…An invasion.
On the day the red moon rises, the demon race would launch a large-scale invasion on a single continent.
This time, it seemed they had chosen the continent Asternon was on. Which meant a storm of blood was about to sweep through Asternon.
“The date… is exactly three months from now.”
Right, in three months.
Hah… now I get it. Now I understood why a knight of Shuharn’s caliber was staying in Sector 6 of Asternon.
“Earning merit to get a promotion… He’s not aiming for Mid-Rank, is he?”
“...Oh, you’re quick on the uptake, aren’t you? That’s right. He’s probably planning to use this war to shoot straight up to High-Rank knight. That’s how confident he is in his skills.”
A guy aiming for High-Rank knight. No wonder he was so damn strong.
The tangled mess in my head was slowly starting to unravel. But there was still one thing that bothered me.
“...So why is he after my heart?”
“Heart?”
Why on earth did he want to kill me? Of course, I had a few theories. Maybe the silver-haired knight was a Vassal of Valefor, like the red-haired man. Or perhaps he had a Trait related to hearts.
But for some reason, I felt like those weren’t the right answers. It had to be something else…
Just then, the man gasped as if in realization.
“Ah! You’re that guy, aren’t you? The wizard who broke through the main gate and entered Sector 6!”
“……”
“Yes! I knew I’d seen you somewhere before!”
…How did he know? Could he have guessed just from my mention of the heart?
I tried to deny it anyway.
“No.”
“What do you mean, no? Now that I look at you, your face is exactly the same as the one on the wanted poster.”
“...Is that so?”
Damn it, there was no way to talk my way out of this. I’d wanted to keep a low profile if possible.
“Hehehe, so you were that crazy bastard?”
The man chuckled to himself for a while, clearly amused, before speaking again.
“Alright. I can see you still don’t get it, so I’ll tell you something special. As a service.”
“Tell me what?”
“The rumor’s already spread quite a bit. Shuharn threatened to take your heart, didn’t he?”
“...He did.”
“I’ll tell you why.”
The man gestured for me to come closer with a flick of his finger, and I finally solved the last piece of the puzzle.
Flump.
The moment I entered my room at the inn, I collapsed face-down onto the bed. The information broker’s words still lingered in my mind.
—That guy Shuharn, he’s suffering from ‘Mana Deficiency Disease.’ He’s on borrowed time, you could say.
Mana Deficiency Disease.
A condition that occurs when one lacks the baseline level of mana that should naturally exist within the body. Those afflicted with this disease must constantly supplement their mana from external sources for their entire lives to survive—either by drinking expensive elixirs or by using the hearts of others as medicinal ingredients.
That was why he coveted my heart.
I had no fond feelings for the guy, but I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for him.
He was so arrogant, I thought he had it all.
He was a man blessed with natural good looks, a gifted body, and innate talent for the sword. But for someone like that to have Mana Deficiency Disease out of nowhere? The gods truly were cruel.
…Though it’s not like I’m in any position to pity someone.
“We’re bound to clash at some point.”
If it had been for any other reason, I might have tried to persuade the silver-haired knight, but if Mana Deficiency Disease was the cause, there was nothing to be done. Unless a miracle occurred and his illness was suddenly cured, he would try to kill me until the very end.
My heart would serve as a far better medicinal ingredient than that of any other wizard.
But.
Vwoom!
“...I won’t let that happen.”
I had no intention of dying quietly. Pity was one thing, but my life was another. Even if the odds of winning were slim, I had to at least put up a fight.
If I formally learned Light Magic at the Magic Tower, I might even stand a chance.
Wooooong—!
A magic circle formed in an instant, the result of a complex process. I stared at it blankly, lost in thought.
“……”
It had been two weeks since I entered this world. In that time, all I’d learned was from the basic spellbook the red-haired man had given me and the modified spells I’d created myself.
Yet in three months, a great war with demons was scheduled to begin, and I was in a situation where I could be instantly killed if I ran into that silver-haired knight on the street. You could say things had gone horribly wrong.
However.
One thing was clear, both then and now.
Whether my opponent was a great war or a silver-haired knight…
Time was on my side.
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