Chapter 4
I ran my fingertips along the scabbard of the Black Dragon Sword.
Decorative swords were put up for auction as valuable goods, but the ones that were actually used were scattered around in places like this.
Its forlorn appearance, abandoned as if discarded, felt like looking at myself.
Hiding my complicated feelings, I threw a question at the merchant.
I had to buy this no matter what.
“How much is this sword?”
“Ah, that one? The price is 5 gelds, but there’s already a buyer for it.”
“It’s on display, so what buyer are you talking about?”
“It’s an item that was reserved yesterday…”
The price of the Black Dragon Sword was a mere five gold coins.
Just slightly more than an ordinary iron sword.
It seemed the merchant had no idea of this sword’s true value.
I immediately tried to negotiate.
“I’ll pay double.”
“No matter what, how could I hand over something that’s already been sold?”
“You could just make up some excuse and return the money to the buyer, couldn’t you? Here, triple.”
“AHEM!”
As my fingers extended one by one, the Black Scale merchant’s face turned red and blue.
It seemed a serious conflict was raging through his mind.
“I don’t know when all my fingers will be folded back. Just remember that there aren’t many opportunities left. Quadruple!”
“UUGH!”
The merchant suddenly reached out toward the Black Dragon Sword.
If I negotiated just a little more, it seemed he would hand over the item.
But then the Black Scale merchant’s face became terribly contorted, and he withdrew his hand completely.
“I’m sorry, but I cannot sell it.”
“No, why not?”
“The buyer has just arrived.”
Following the merchant’s gaze, I turned my head and discovered a small-framed boy.
His hair, as if it contained the blue sky itself, and his green eyes created a mysterious atmosphere.
The boy approached the stall directly and greeted the merchant.
“Hello?”
“Ah, you’ve come. I’ve put out the item here.”
“Thank you.”
“HEHE! Then please take a look.”
Before I could say anything, the Black Scale merchant quickly handed over the Black Dragon Sword.
It seemed he wanted to get rid of the item before wavering any more.
Just like when I had briefly visited the VIP auction house and left right away.
I had no choice but to follow and catch the blue-haired boy.
I couldn’t let the Black Dragon Sword be handed over to some random person.
“Wait!”
“Huh? What’s the matter?”
When a stranger suddenly spoke to him, the boy showed a slightly wary expression.
Black Scale was relatively safe in terms of security, but one still couldn’t be completely at ease.
Villains who covet other people’s belongings exist everywhere.
It was natural for such a guarded reaction to emerge.
“Don’t be too surprised. I just called you because I have a proposal.”
“A proposal for me? I’m sorry, but I’m bound to a family.”
“No, not that kind of thing. Isn’t this a bit of an overactive imagination? I just spoke to you and you’re thinking about recruitment?”
“Ah… Then what is it about?”
“By any chance, would you consider selling that sword to me?”
“I just bought this because my spirit liked it.”
“Huh? Why is a spirit suddenly popping up?”
“Well…”
“Ah, never mind. I know, so just stay still for a moment. Ties, right?”
On the Ribias continent, when it came to spirits, there was only one place that should come to mind normally.
The spirit user group crouched at the northwestern edge of the continent, the Ties family.
‘The Ties family doesn’t use weapons.’
Recalling that fact, I felt like the story would be easily resolved.
“You guys don’t even use weapons anyway. I’ll pay you handsomely, so how about selling it to me?”
“It just has a unique color, but it doesn’t seem like a particularly special sword. Why do you need this?”
“…”
At the boy’s counter-question, I had no choice but to be at a loss for words.
The incident from 18 years ago suddenly came to mind.
I couldn’t explain everything that happened then, and it didn’t seem like the other party would understand.
Quickly turning my head, I began to make up a plausible story.
First, I pressed my forehead with one hand and created a melancholy atmosphere.
Was the talent of being a genius also manifesting in acting?
As I gathered my emotions, a voice soaked in sadness naturally flowed out.
“There’s a very, very deep story behind it.”
“A story?”
“Actually, that sword is a keepsake left by my mother.”
I pointed toward the handle of the Black Dragon Sword with wistful eyes.
Then I drew squiggly letters on the ground.
“If you look under the guard, you’ll see ancient characters like this written. It says ‘Thinking of my son Ray.'”
“Then the person called Ray is perhaps?”
“That’s right. That’s exactly me. Due to circumstances, I lost it and just now found it again. SOB!”
“Ah…”
The boy looked at my tearful eyes and held out the Black Dragon Sword with its scabbard.
“I almost took away a mother’s keepsake. My spirit will be upset for a moment, but it will quickly understand my feelings. Please take it.”
“Thank you. Little spirit user. I’ll definitely pay you properly for the item.”
I immediately held out a handful of gold coins, but the boy shook his head.
“I can’t accept this much. Please just give me the amount I paid.”
“Then I should repay you with something else?”
I made sounds I didn’t mean while bantering with the boy from the Ties family.
“No. I think it would be better for me to just leave like this. I’ll see you again next time.”
“You should at least tell me your name. That way I can repay the favor later.”
“I’m called Mac of the Ties family. Well then.”
As soon as Mac revealed his identity, he hurriedly moved his steps.
Looking at his troubled expression, it seemed he had gotten an earful from his spirit.
He was just walking slowly, but the boy’s figure was quickly pushed far away in the distance.
‘Oh! It was an earth spirit. Anyway, he handed over the Black Dragon Sword so readily, I can’t just let him go.’
I deployed Suyujeonseongseul (Long-Distance Voice Transmission Art) toward Mac Ties, who had moved far away.
This technique was a secret art of Lantzvalger that could convey intentions without any sign.
—I am Ray of the Lantzvalger family. If you need help, contact me through the assassination group branch.
At the clearly transmitted voice, Mac Ties was startled and looked back.
He was surprised by the name Lantzvalger.
I left the greatly flustered Mac Ties behind and disappeared into the crowd.
***
‘KUGH! Have you been well? My baby.’
UUUUUUNG!
The Black Dragon Sword in my hand seemed delighted and continuously emitted sword cries.
This sound was completely inaudible to ordinary people’s ears.
Still, this was Black Scale, a place full of the Lantzvalger family’s influence.
It was a location where one never knew what kind of expert might be hiding.
I quickly moved my steps northeast to escape the Ruberick territory.
‘There are no pursuers.’
Fortunately, it seemed no one had heard the Black Dragon Sword’s resonance.
I had come out without properly recovering from travel fatigue, but it wasn’t a big problem.
The Empire had plenty of safe houses to assist agents’ journeys.
“There’s no one around. It’s the perfect place.”
After moving away from the trade routes for several days, human presence gradually became sparse.
A forest close to the Bertos Empire yet bordering the old Riverrun territory.
This place had become a lawless zone teeming with monsters and bandits because the Riverrun family was no longer active here.
Since the mission return route happened to be this way, bitter memories of the past suddenly came to mind.
CLICK!
I stopped walking and turned the Black Dragon Sword to examine the area below the guard.
There, ancient characters spelling “Fang of the Black Dragon” were written.
The inscription I had told Mac Ties was a lie from the beginning.
How could Ray’s name be written on a sword used by Riverrun’s minor family head?
“Pretending to be nice is damn hard.”
SEUREU-REUNG!
I carefully drew the Black Dragon Sword.
Then the unmanaged, grimy black blade was revealed.
It was an unsightly iron sword, but I didn’t care and operated my aura.
The current form was just how the Black Dragon Sword wanted to appear.
Its true form was something else.
TSEUU-TSEUU-TSEUU-TSEUU-TSEUU!
As blue-white energy flowed along the blade, the rust that had been stuck all over it fell off drop by drop.
Soon, the Black Dragon Sword returned to its valiant appearance from 18 years ago.
The smoothly extended blade held an ominous sharpness, and the black handle fit perfectly in my palm.
It felt extraordinary enough to be called a masterpiece among masterpieces.
I took the opportunity to try out some swordsmanship.
GIIII-ING—!
When I combined aura and mana into one, the brightly shining blade instantly became dark.
As if a lunar eclipse phenomenon had occurred.
When I turned the Black Dragon Sword toward the forest, a blue-green flash began to rise from the sword’s edge.
PUSHEEE-IK!
With a sound like steam being discharged, a blue disc appeared in a flash.
The energy discharged from the sword’s edge had horizontally cut through the front.
Then everything within the range of the flash was sliced and fell away.
PASEUU-SEUU-SEUU. KUUNG! KUNG!
Not only the giant trees but also the large rocks were split and scattered.
The power of Dancheonguwhageom (Heaven-Severing Nine Harmony Sword)’s third technique, Dancheonwolsik (Heaven-Severing Lunar Eclipse), was still tremendous.
‘As expected of the family head’s son, his bone structure and enlightenment are quite good.’
Though the conditions were quite good, I still hadn’t fully regained my previous life’s martial prowess.
It was because the surveillance was so strict that I couldn’t properly practice Riverrun’s secret techniques.
“The test is enough with this much. Shall I return now?”
SEUIK. CHEK.
I immediately sheathed the sword and tried to move my steps past the pile of completely cut vegetation.
But suddenly, the thunderous sound of galloping warhorses could be heard.
DU-DU-DU-DU-DU-DU-DU!
‘Why are there knights in a place like this?’
Looking beyond the grassland, a group with unified insignias and armor was riding horses.
Looking closely, the knights were being chased by someone.
Amazingly, the pursuers were overwhelming the mounted combat even though they were armed only with a single sword.
I immediately recognized the identity of those wearing blue armor.
The grudge was engraved in my soul.
“Felton…!”
