The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth

About a month ago...

Boom! Crash—!

“Hey! Hello!”

Mikhail pounded on the door with all his might. The hinges of the old door creaked and wobbled, but there was still no response from within.

“Damn it!”

Mikhail had been waiting patiently for her for months, but now the situation had changed.

Boom!

The explosions around him were infinitely louder than his pounding on the door, making his ears ring.

Shit! What the hell is going on?!

It happened suddenly.

Rumors of war had been circulating for months, but no one had anticipated that it would break out so abruptly. It was Tuli Lurein’s preemptive strike. The small village west of Cove had seemed safe from the battlefield, but Tuli Lurein’s sudden attack had pulled the war downward.

And now, the flames of war had spread to this area.

“Hey.”

Suddenly, the door opened. Despite having expected a confrontation, Mikhail and the person he was waiting for hadn’t quarreled in the months they had been here. It had always been Mikhail waiting for her.

Their initial meeting in their past life had been different, but perhaps their connection had transcended time, remaining just as strong now as back then.

“Mikhail! Mikhail!!”

He turned his head toward the voice calling from the hill below.

“...Huh?”

It was a familiar face.

“Kamma!”

Seeing Kamma’s face for the first time in months, Mikhail waved his hand urgently. Given the situation, he couldn’t have been happier to see him.

Boom! Crash!

At that moment, more explosions erupted, and blasts went off everywhere. Black smoke billowed, the village below long engulfed by the flames of war.

“...”

Serica Lauren’s eyes twitched.

“There’s no time to stand here idly! It’s chaos! We need to escape!” Mikhail shouted.

“To where? Everywhere is hell.”

“Why are you so cynical? I don’t know what happened, but Master specifically ordered me to bring you, Serica.”

“Even in the midst of this war? Such a loyal servant,” Serica scoffed.

“Look out!!”

Boom!! Crash!!

“Mikhail!!” Kamma and Karl Mack shouted his name.

An explosion occurred where they had stood just moments before.

Crackle...

“...”

In that instant, black smoke swirled and condensed as if sucked in by the wind. Miraculously, Mikhail’s shield had blocked the explosion.

“...Let go, please?”

“Oh, sorry.”

Realizing he was holding Serica Lauren, Mikhail quickly let go, his face flushing.

Unconcerned with the fact that he had essentially hugged her, Serica brushed off her clothes and asked, “Are you a sorcerer too?”

It was the first question Serica Lauren had asked him. She watched the swirling wind in his hands with bright eyes, seemingly forgetting about the war around them.

“Yes!”

“Sorcerers are all trash. And the ones who started this war are no different.”

Mikhail was momentarily taken aback by her sharp remark, but he quickly shook his head.

“That’s not true.”

“How would you know?”

“Because my master is different.”

“Wow, never heard that one before. Your master must be a great sorcerer, huh?” Serica scoffed.

“No, he uses a sword.”

“...Are you messing with me?” she asked with a frown.

“I assure you, Master is destined to reach the pinnacle of both swordsmanship and magic,” Mikhail declared proudly.

“...Huh?”

Serica cackled in disbelief.

“A master of both sword and magic? That’s impossible.”

Despite her disbelief, Serica’s eyes trembled. Ironically, her own goal was to reach the pinnacle of both the spear and magic.

...What does it mean to master both?

“Huh? Are you curious? You’d be amazed if you saw it. He always surpasses expectations.”

“Hmm...”

Unlike the confident Mikhail, Serica still had a skeptical look in her eyes. However, she seemed at least somewhat interested in Mikhail’s wind magic.

“Mikhail! Get ready immediately!” Kamma shouted at them, running alongside Karl Mack toward them.

“What’s going on? We’re quite a distance from Cove. Has Fran started the war?”

“Huff...! Huff...! Agh, damn it! No, it’s the opposite! Tuli has struck first! That’s why this place turned into a battlefield before they even reached Cove!”

“Oh...” Mikhail nodded in understanding.

“There’s no time. We’re heading to the White Bunker. You need to return to Master immediately.”

“Now?”

“Yes, now. It’s his order.”

“But how? The entire principality is in chaos... To cross the sea, we need to get to Cove. How can we escape with the Steel Fleet there?”

At that moment, Kamma looked at Serica Lauren standing next to Mikhail.

“Karl, surely this kid isn’t the reinforcement Master mentioned, right?”

Serica frowned at his words. Despite being in her teens, her small stature made her appear even younger and more fragile than her age.

“Watch closely. The real reinforcements we brought will blow your mind.”

Swoosh!

Kamma proudly pointed behind him. A ship was slicing through the waves below the forested hill, creating a white spray.

Even Karl Mack was astonished by the incredible sailing skills, but it was the sheer speed of the ship that was most incredible.

“Hey, it’s not us who brought it. Master sent it for us,” Karl added.

“Whoa...!”

Mikhail stared at the mana battleship speeding across the sea. He didn’t even have to ask who was aboard. He turned to Serica Lauren and said proudly, “See? I told you so.”

Tap!

At that moment, Serica Lauren handed him something she had been gripping tightly, more or less hitting him in the chest with it.

It was a crumpled note.

“What is...?”

“Yeah, you’re right. I agree your Master is definitely strange.”

Mikhail immediately recognized it as the message from Karyl that he had given to her when he first arrived.

“And he certainly sparks my curiosity too.”

She glanced at the note again, her expression hardening.

“Lead the way. I need to meet that man.”

***

“Well... That’s how it went,” Suan Hazer said with a hint of regret, sitting on the deck of the Mana Battleship.

“You did well. Really well. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn't have gotten them aboard in time. Tuli attacking Fran first... I didn’t see that coming either.”

“I dropped off Kamma and Karl Mack at the nearest coast to the White Bunker, but... I hope they made it safely.”

Karyl laughed at Suan Hazer’s words.

“Our old man Kamma will be fine. You know how tough that guy is.”

“True...” Suan nodded in agreement. “Oh, and here’s a message from Kamma for you. He said he’s found the tail he mentioned before and is heading to the White Bunker. He wants us to handle things from here.”

Finally made contact with the Wooden Cloud, huh?

Karyl had been waiting for such news. When he heard Kamma was heading to the White Bunker, he had an inkling that this might be the case.

Using Fran Lurein to stir up a civil war was a gamble, but whether it will impact the Wooden Cloud remains to be seen.

After all, Fran Lurein was essentially part of the Wooden Cloud. The fortunate part was Fran’s ambitious nature. This civil war confirmed that the Wooden Cloud wasn’t just a faction supporting the principality.

Let’s see how much they can uncover.

Karyl wasn't trying to dismantle the Wooden Cloud just to gain continental dominance. For the sake of the future war foretold by the Oracle, it was crucial to prevent the Wooden Cloud from creating those fanatics. Fighting monsters was difficult enough without humans waging war against each other.

Kamma can handle it.

Karyl was confident that if this was an undercover mission, Kamma would be willing and capable enough to carry it out. Besides, it would be a mission in the principality he had always wanted to visit.

“No way! You couldn’t wait for me? How could you raid the Ghost Castle without me?”

Suan had indeed accomplished something significant, but he couldn’t help feeling left out. Once again, he hadn’t been able to join Karyl.

“Still, thanks to you, we managed to get these two on board. That was harder for me than raiding the Ghost Castle. In fact, it’s something I couldn’t have done myself.”

Karyl glanced at Mikhail and Serica Lauren. Serica was glaring at him, monitoring his every move. In response, he waved lightly at her.

“...”

Serica snorted and turned away, but Karyl was inwardly happy. Miliana and Serica Lauren—they didn’t know it, but two of his old comrades from the Ten of the Oracle were on the same ship with him.

Seeing Serica’s expression, Karyl knew she had read his note.

You’re dying to know, aren’t you? Just wait a bit. You’ll pay for this curiosity with hard work, Karyl thought with a sly smile.

“Good job.”

He patted Suan lightly on the shoulder. Although it probably sounded insincere, Karyl was genuinely impressed that Suan had arrived with the Mana Battleship in time. In fact, they were actually ahead of schedule.

Crossing the strait to the principality and sailing to the southern tip—the Mana Battleship never would have survived such an arduous journey without Suan’s exceptional navigation skills.

“Well... I saw the smoke rising from the ruins of the castle, so it was easy to find you. I knew right away that it was over. Seriously, how could you leave me out again... That’s just too much.”

Karyl chuckled at Suan’s words and handed him something.

“This is from the Elven Treasury. They mainly use bows, so there wasn’t much for you. But it should be better than what you’re using now,” Karyl said casually. “Consider this my apology for leaving you out of the raid. Please accept it.”

“Huh? Master... no, how could you...”

Suan accepted the gauntlets from Karyl, clearly moved. He then took off his old gauntlets, revealing bandages underneath.

“Wow...” Aidan gasped softly at the sight.

Despite being a martial artist whose body was his weapon, Suan’s equipment had always been subpar compared to others. Even the Free Army used weapons laced with Clear Distilled Water, but Suan only had his old gauntlets.

[Isn’t that... more than just a decent item? Even if you combine all the weapons in the report, nothing compares to that. Shouldn’t you explain it to him?]

Ramine’s words made Karyl smile faintly.

No need. A great artifact has found its rightful owner. Suan will figure it out.

The knuckles bore the name of Kalduan, a legendary beast known as the Blue Turtle, imbued with the energy of the earth.

“Since I broke your gauntlets back then, I’ve been meaning to make it up to you. This worked out well.”

Suan remembered the duel they had in the arena years ago. The memory of Karyl’s overwhelming presence, shattering his dwarven gauntlets, was still vivid.

As Suan tightened the gauntlets on his arms, the jade gem embedded in the back of his hand gleamed briefly before fading. He quickly managed to adjust the gauntlets to fit his fists perfectly.

“The guy who did nothing in the Ghost Castle gets the best treasure.” Gordon Fabian clicked his tongue. He had claimed he wasn’t interested in other weapons, but in the end, the five legendary weapons crafted by Blader were hard to resist.

Suan clenched and unclenched his fists, marveling at the new gauntlets. He then turned to Karyl with a satisfied smile.

“Thank you, Master.”

Karyl nodded and looked ahead. “Suan, did you hear any news from the empire on your way here?”

“The empire? Let me think... I didn’t really stop anywhere besides the White Bunker before crossing the sea, so I haven’t heard much...”

But then, Suan suddenly paused as he recalled something. “Oh! Now that I think about it, when we were in Cove, there was a notice at the guild about the Third Prince’s health deteriorating... It’s not publicly known yet, but apparently it’s been spreading within the imperial capital.”

“Really?”

“Yes. We got the information from Ravat, so it should be accurate.”

The sun was setting over the deck.

“Hmm...”

Leaving the Ghost Castle behind at the southern edge of the continent, Karyl nodded. He had completed his tasks in the south, but there were still many things left to do.

To the Eastern Lands nearby? Or perhaps the place where Quenite mentioned her spirit power was hidden? Or maybe head to the Grand Library of the Immortal Council to uncover more about necromancy and Kaye Aesir’s comrades?

And if not that...

To the lair of Narh Di Maug, the center of all mysteries? There were many choices, but Karyl had already decided on their next destination after Suan’s words.

“Aidan, it seems we’ll have to postpone our trip to the Eastern Lands.”

“What?”

“I would’ve liked to go there as well and help with your matter too.”

Aidan seemed surprised by Karyl’s words. He remembered Karyl asking how long it would take to the Eastern Lands when they defeated the Bone Dragon.

Was he planning to go there for me?

But Aidan quickly shook his head.

No way... Even though Master is amazing, there's no way he knows about the Shadow Arts.

Assuming he was just overthinking, Aidan chuckled to himself.

“We’re going to the empire,” Karyl said quietly, turning away from Aidan.

“What?”

Suan couldn’t believe his ears.

“We might not be welcome, but I have to attend the funeral. It’s my duty.”

A bitter smile crept onto Gordon’s face; he was the only one who understood what Karyl meant.

“A funeral? Did someone die?” Suan asked, confused.

“...”

Gazing at the setting sun, Karyl replied in a calm voice, “Soon.”