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Chapter 22. Free City of Bertas (4)
A few days ago.
There was a reason why I saved the skill 【Soul of the Swordmaster】 until the very end during my battle with the Celestial Dragon Hawk.
It was to take advantage of the system in Lost Elder.
That is, the mechanism where you’re rewarded with a skill when performing a specific action worthy of recognition.
Srrng──!
What if you perfectly block the Celestial Dragon Hawk’s attack with precise timing?
The system would register that as an extraordinary action. And a reward would follow.
My prediction was spot on.
Though I never imagined I’d get a skill this powerful as a reward…
Auto-Parrying.
A defensive skill for swordsmen that also existed in the original game.
It had a certain chance of automatically blocking an enemy’s attack.
However, the reward I received—【Ultimate Auto-Parrying】—was in a league of its own compared to the original.
The fact that the word “Ultimate” is in the name says it all.
A 9-star Legendary Skill.
Deservedly powerful, it automatically blocked all fatal attacks—regardless of the user’s perception stats.
This is practically an invincibility skill.
No exaggeration.
Just a moment ago, I effortlessly blocked an attack from Adelia, who’s at level 80.
That essentially meant that most attacks wouldn’t even work on me.
In the game, 【Advanced Auto-Parrying】 was the highest tier. And even that could only be used by high-level characters with insane specs.
…Considering that, the fact I gained this skill at level 1 was beyond absurd.
Well, at least now I can breathe a little easier.
Smirk—
I glanced at my skill window with a faint smile.
With this ability in my arsenal, the fear of dying a meaningless death was gone.
“Sir Gaon.”
It was just then—
Adelia called out to me with a cautious voice.
She quietly picked up her fallen sword from the ground and asked,
“May I try just once more?”
“…?”
Try again?
Try what, exactly?
While I was still pondering that—
Srrng!
Adelia raised her sword again, as if ready to charge me.
I glanced silently at my skill window.
━━━━━━━━━━━━
【Ultimate Auto-Parrying】
(Cooldown: 23 hours 58 minutes 11 seconds)
━━━━━━━━━━━━
…She’s saying something reckless again.
“That’s enough training for today.”
“Ah.”
Clink.
Adelia slowly lowered her sword.
She looked disappointed as she slumped her shoulders.
Adelia…
…I’ve said this countless times, but I really don’t want to die yet.
Free City of Bertas.
Top floor of a mansion located on the west side of this bustling city.
After receiving a report from his butler, a fat man muttered to himself.
“Celestial Dragon Hawk, huh…”
His name was Edmon Brickwood.
Leader of the Eastern Merchants’ Guild in Bertas, and supervisor of all items registered in the auction.
With a greedy expression, he tapped his desk and spoke again.
“They said the corpse was unusually cleanly sliced in half, right?”
“Yes.”
The monocled butler nodded and continued,
“According to the Guild’s investigation, the cut is so precise, it’s impossible unless done in a single strike.”
“Hmph.”
Edmon pursed his lips.
Someone strong enough to kill a Celestial Dragon Hawk?
In one strike?
Only one possibility came to mind.
“A Swordmaster. Or at least a knight of similar caliber.”
“…Yes. I think so too.”
Tap, tap, tap—
Silence returned.
Edmon tapped the desk again and asked the butler,
“So, who registered the corpse for auction?”
“Hakun Durdamel. A top-class merchant who runs a sizable firm under our guild.”
Edmon nodded slowly.
“Hakun… Hakun Durdamel…”
Yes.
He’d heard that name before.
A sharp merchant who earned the top-class merchant title at a young age.
Despite being in his early 30s, he had already traveled the Silk Road over a hundred times.
“Did that guy know the corpse was from a Celestial Dragon Hawk?”
“Unconfirmed. But the registered owner is someone named Gaon.”
“…So Hakun just acted as a middleman?”
“Yes.”
As Edmon thought it over, a sly smile crept onto his face.
“Has that ‘Gaon’ fellow been identified yet?”
“A man who entered the city just days ago. No records before that. But Hakun Durdamel used his merchant privileges to issue him an identity tag.”
“Any other notable details?”
“Sharp features, a frail-looking build, and usually accompanied by a woman believed to be his guard.”
“Ahh, I see…”
The smile on Edmon’s lips turned wicked.
“…I’m starting to see the full picture.”
He began laying out his theory.
“The Swordmaster, guided by the Elder’s prophecy, killed the Celestial Dragon Hawk for some reason. Durdamel, passing through the unclaimed zone, found the corpse.”
The exact reason didn’t matter to Edmon.
What mattered was that the corpse had ended up in Durdamel’s hands.
“As soon as he realized the corpse was valuable, he decided to put it up for auction. That guy has an uncanny nose for money.”
“…”
“But when it came time to actually sell it, he must’ve gotten nervous. Even for a high-level monster, a corpse giving off that kind of aura is rare.”
The butler nodded, finally grasping the situation.
“I understand. So he listed that Gaon person as the owner while staying in the shadows.”
“Exactly.”
Edmon grinned. His old companion clearly understood him well.
“He passed all the risk onto that ‘Gaon’ guy while pretending to be just a broker.”
Edmon had ruled the Bertas merchant scene for years. These merchant tricks were all too familiar.
Still, it was only a theory. He needed to verify more details.
“But something doesn’t sit right.”
Edmon narrowed his eyes.
“Durdamel isn’t dumb enough to make such a simple move. Most of all…”
Tap, tap.
He drummed his fingers habitually.
“…All this hinges on the assumption that he didn’t recognize the Celestial Dragon Hawk.”
A fair assumption.
The Celestial Dragon Hawk was the Elder’s emissary. Very few even knew of its existence.
Only members of the Sacred Families or their connected elites like Edmon.
It’s hard to believe someone who just became a top-class merchant would have that kind of intel…
But you never knew.
Maybe Durdamel knew exactly what it was, and had powerful backing behind him.
Snort—
Then again, that was absurd even to Edmon.
No newbie merchant could have ties strong enough to rival the Sacred Families.
…Still, I’ll make sure of everything.
Tap tap tap.
He began drumming the desk faster.
Even if the odds were low, a case this big had to be checked thoroughly.
That was his way—careful and precise.
Having finished his thoughts, Edmon gave an order.
“Go and probe him a little.”
“Durdamel?”
“No, the registered owner. That Gaon fellow.”
It was easier to deal with an ignorant wanderer than a seasoned top merchant.
A proper talk with Durdamel would come later—after he’d gathered more intel.
The butler instantly understood the intent behind Edmon’s order.
“Yes. I’ll look into it right away.”
Creak. Slam.
The butler exited the room.
As the door shut, Edmon chuckled and let his imagination run wild.
If everything goes the way I expect…
He’d legally take possession of the divine beast’s corpse from a rookie merchant.
And more importantly, he’d finally achieve his long-cherished ambition.
…This time, I’ll finally secure my position with the Sacred Families.
This golden opportunity had rolled straight into his lap.
He had no intention of letting it go.
“Whew.”
A sigh escaped me.
I’d had plenty of rest and tested my new abilities.
Time to move on to the next step.
Things were about to get hectic.
Didn’t they say it would take a few more days before the Celestial Dragon Hawk’s corpse goes up for auction?
Being the first divine beast to appear on the market, there were a lot of procedures to follow.
It would take time, but the guild had likely applied anti-decomposition magic, so its value wouldn’t drop.
So, until the guild’s approval came through, I planned to leave town briefly with Adelia.
To acquire a certain “power” I’d already planned for.
“Adelia.”
I called her name. She looked up with a surprised expression.
“Pack for about a week’s trip.”
“…?”
“We’re going to the ‘Labyrinth Village’ of Bertas.”
Labyrinth Village.
An underground slum in Bertas.
Outside the city’s jurisdiction, filled with the worst kinds of people.
But when Adelia heard that, she didn’t seem reluctant at all. In fact, she started twitching her lips in excitement.
Huh?
Why is she so happy again…?
Ah.
I finally realized.
She thought this was another harsh environment where I’d help her grow—just like at the abandoned factory in Dungard.
…But that’s not the plan this time, really.
I was heading to the Labyrinth Village purely for my own objective.
Still, with her talent, she’d probably grow on her own anyway.
Either way, the outcome would be good.
“Then I’ll grab the supplies from the inn.”
“Alright.”
Until Adelia returned, I decided to practice my swordsmanship.
A thought had suddenly crossed my mind.
By the way…
Fwoosh—!
I swung my featherblade, remembering the sparring with Adelia.
Though it ended in an instant, the sensation still lingered vividly in my body.
…If I hone my sword skills properly, maybe I can internalize 【Ultimate Auto-Parrying】 without using the skill.
With my talent, it might actually be possible.
Replicating the skill manually would be ideal.
I was testing that possibility, rotating the blade—
Huh?
Stop.
I froze.
Someone was approaching in the distance.
Their appearance looked strangely familiar.
“…”
A middle-aged man with a cold gaze behind a monocle.
Hair slicked back, a perfectly pressed tailcoat.
Clearly an upper-class figure.
That guy…
I frowned.
Because he was the loyal servant of one of the most vile NPCs in Roel.
No—
More precisely, the right-hand man of such an NPC.
…Taylor, the butler of House Brickwood.
Tsk—
I clicked my tongue.
Of all times, now the Brickwood family’s butler shows up?
That alone told me everything I needed to know about what was going on with the Celestial Dragon Hawk’s auction.
Things are getting messy.
There was a reason for the delay in listing the corpse.
The head of Bertas’ Eastern Merchant Guild was up to something shady.
I could already see how things would unfold.
Even in the game, the Brickwood family crushed many merchants like this.
Then again, maybe this works in my favor?
A sly smile crept onto my lips.
I might get to carve out the rotten parts of Bertas sooner than expected.
