The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 200

157. In Anti-Hum

“Damn it…! $^%*@……!!!”

Serika, swinging her spear with all her might while uttering curses she couldn’t bring herself to say aloud, opened her eyes with a gasp.

“Is it over now?”

“Where are those bastards?”

“Before you ask anything, how about getting that spear out of my face?”

Only then did Serika realize that Karil was holding the blade of her spear, aimed at his neck, between his fingers.

“Ah……! S, sorry.”

“What kind of hallucination did you see to make such a fuss?”

“Just… some people I didn’t really want to see.”

She smacked her lips as if her mouth tasted bitter.

“I see.”

Karil immediately guessed who the people who appeared in her Book of Challenges were.

He knew very well about her father’s story, which she always told when she drank alcohol back when they were together as the Ten Chosen of the Oracle.

“Hoo…….”

She wiped the sweat from her forehead.

It was her father who had died tragically when she was barely ten years old.

Her father, a retired mercenary, had made many enemies in his past. He was murdered in a small village he had sought out to live out his remaining years after retiring from the front lines.

She had witnessed her father’s death with her own eyes, so the mental shock must have been truly indescribable.

“I was going to torment him just enough not to kill him while we were meeting. Why did I suddenly wake up? Did that bastard… die?”

“……What?”

“I was going to pierce his limbs first, then break each rib with the spear blade from the collarbone, and finally blow away his babbling mouth by sticking the spear in his neck.”

Serika said, smacking her lips.

“I suddenly woke up.”

“…….”

Karil recalled her spear that had been aimed at his neck a moment ago and said,

“I thought you would pass through it lightly with your personality.”

“What is it? It doesn’t sound like a compliment.”

“It’s a compliment.”

She pursed her lips with a somehow uneasy expression.

“That guy seems to be having a hard time.”

Serika said, looking at Mikhail, who was still lying on the floor, groaning.

“Should we stop the test? Honestly, just enduring without having your mind collapse in the test that starts in the Book of Challenges is enough to qualify for Anti-Hum.”

“How long has it been?”

“Half a day.”

At Nine Darhon’s words, Serika muttered in a small voice that couldn’t be heard, ‘Only that? I could torment him a little more…’ as if she was disappointed.

Looking at her, Karil chuckled in disbelief and said,

“Leave him alone. If he can’t even pass the Book of Challenges, he won’t become mentally strong no matter how talented he is. You need to be cold-hearted to reach that realm.”

As the test results showed, Serika Loren, who had been a hero in her previous life, was definitely different.

Not only that, but the great mage Serga was also extraordinary.

On the other hand, Israfil the Awl, who was mentally weak unlike his title, did not stand out as much as the other two, even though he was one of the Ten Chosen of the Oracle.

‘Of course, he eventually walked the path of a necromancer after that incident…’

Whether it’s a terrible experience or a frightening experience, you must have enough strength to overcome mental pain.

It was also the reason why Karil wasn’t too worried about this test because he knew Serika’s strength.

‘But Mikhail is different. Even if he has talent, he didn’t use that talent in his previous life, so it rotted away. I haven’t confirmed his mental growth yet.’

The reason Karil brought him here was not just because he was a mage.

‘Just passing this test will create a stepping stone for him to grow.’

“Don’t release his test no matter how long it takes.”

“I don’t know if he’ll have a mental breakdown?”

“If he loses to such a shabby test, he can’t be with me in the first place.”

Karil pointed to Serika and said to Nine Darhon.

“Even a fifteen-year-old girl passed the test.”

“Who are you to talk.”

She snorted at Karil’s words as if she was dumbfounded.

“You’re quite cold-hearted in this regard too. It certainly wasn’t a pleasant experience.”

“I don’t think you’ll fail. Mikhail will definitely pass even if it takes time. And you better be careful when it’s over. He’ll surpass your growth in an instant.”

“Ha……. That human?”

“He may look kind, but he does what he has to do. He saved you from the bombardment.”

At Karil’s words, Serika frowned slightly.

“Just that one time…….”

“If it wasn’t for that one time, you wouldn’t be here. You can’t block a cannonball flying with a spear.”

He shrugged slightly.

“Well, I’m different.”

Serika’s gaze, which clearly felt like he was annoying, was felt, but Karil said it as if he was enjoying it.

Karil knew that stimulating her competitive spirit rather than encouraging her was the way to move her, so his attitude towards Mikhail and her was completely different.

Mikhail and he had a clear master-servant relationship, but Serika acted more like she was teasing a friend.

“Wait. I’ll surpass you both soon.”

As he thought, Serika said to Karil, burning with motivation.

“Well, good. Let’s say that guy is……. What are you going to do now?”

Nine Darhon waited for Karil’s answer as if he was tired of waiting.

‘He’s talking as if it’s his own room. If you really can’t solve this, I won’t let you go.’

For him, cleaning up the Dust of Emptiness was the top priority, and the moment that was resolved, there was no reason to see them anymore.

“I have to show you before that. Before I hire someone.”

“What?”

“Why are you like this? If you’re going to make a deal, you have to be sure. Isn’t showing the real thing basic? Take out the seal of Duat [realm of the dead in Egyptian mythology] first.”

“…….”

Karil snorted as if he already knew his thoughts.

Tak-

Nine Darhon, who was about to say something while biting his lip slightly, eventually let out a low sigh and snapped his fingers.

Drrrrrr…….

Then, one side of the study opened and a small box appeared inside.

When the box was opened, there was a small book inside.

“It’s called the Book of Nightmares.”

Nine Darhon said, lowering his voice.

“Hmm.”

Unlike when he saw the ‘Book of Challenges,’ Karil looked at the book, which was sealed with a blood-red seal, and said in a low voice.

“Don’t open it. Well, you can’t open it anyway.”

“Why?”

“Because I’ve cast the highest-level sealing magic of the 7th class. Besides, this room itself absorbs magic, so even guys who have risen to the ranks of great mages can’t open it.”

Nine Darhon said, resting his chin.

“Besides, if the seal is broken by any chance, something uncontrollable will happen. This area will be swallowed by darkness in an instant.”

“Does the leader of the immortal association fear the darkness?”

“Hum……. You wouldn’t know, you haven’t experienced it. It’s not just darkness.”

Fear was felt in his words.

Karil chuckled.

It was ridiculous to say that in front of someone who had experienced the darkness more than anyone else, even if it was just once, and it wasn’t even the right darkness.

“Now, it’s time to discuss how to hunt the Dust of Emptiness. Isn’t it? You said it with confidence, so you can handle it right away, right?”

Nine Darhon said to Karil with expectant eyes.

“Of course. Well, it’s not a difficult task. But not right away. The two of them will handle the dust, not me.”

“……What the hell are you talking about?”

Nine Darhon looked at him as if he was dumbfounded at Karil’s answer.

“What can you do with two brats who have barely risen to the ranks of mages!””

Serika pointed to herself with her finger at Nine Darhon’s shout, and looked at him as if she was dumbfounded.

“Besides, one of them is still groaning, unable to escape the challenge! If the Dust of Emptiness was a guy that those brats could hunt, I would have taken care of it long ago.”

“No. You can’t.”

“……What?”

Nine Darhon’s face contorted at Karil’s firm answer.

“You and those two are the same. Unless the premise that you need my help is laid down.”

It was then.

Karil took his hand as if he was trying to tear off the seal on the Book of Nightmares.

“What are you doing……!!”

Nine Darhon looked at Karil with a rather absurd expression, as if to say, ‘Go ahead and try it.’

Charrrr…….

Karil slowly untied the bracelet locked on his wrist.

“……!!!”

Nine Darhon’s expression didn’t last more than a few seconds. His arrogant face changed to a shocked expression, and now he was bowing his head under the pressure of magic that seemed to crush him.

Whirrrrr……!!

[I forgot you had dragon magic.]

Instantly, when the Bracelet of Greed was released, red flames soared along Karil’s arm, drawing a spiral.

The flames slowly began to take shape.

It was the form of Lamine.

[Instead of releasing the sealing ceremony inside the building, you’re pushing it with the amount of magic……. I can’t believe such a crude method works. If you had made a mistake, you would have died instantly from magic backflow.]

“I know. But it came out under my own calculations. I can’t use high magic because my bloodline hasn’t been opened yet, but at least the calculation method is in my head.”

Karil chuckled at Lamine’s words.

The vast knowledge of the Council of Elders that Aln Jabius left him was not comparable to the magic books in the Anti-Hum Grand Library.

But that’s something only Karil knows.

In addition, Aln Jabius was not a necromancer, so he lacked knowledge about black magic, and there was a limit to him teaching people one by one, so he came here because he needed the power of the Magic Society.

“But I think I need your help, Lamine, to break this seal. It’s not enough for me.”

[It couldn’t be more out of place for you to say that you’re not enough.]

“…….”

Nine Darhon, who witnessed the appearance of the King of Explosive Flames with his own eyes, was now busy looking back and forth between the two with a dumbfounded look.

“They say Duat is sealed here. The sealing magic of the seal is done by that guy, so you can release it directly, but you need your power to extinguish the darkness, which is the real seal when you open the book.”

[I understand. It will be difficult for you to maintain this dragon magic continuously……. Call me when you need me.]

“We’re talking.”

Lamine flew around the room as if stirring the outside air, and then disappeared as if absorbed into Karil’s Ain Trigger again.

“Hoo…….”

At the same time as he disappeared, Karil put the Bracelet of Greed back on his wrist.

“Dust of Emptiness is not a difficult task. You and I have more important things to do than that.”

Karil said to Nine Darhon, lightly lifting the Book of Nightmares.

“Don’t tell me……. Are you really going to break the seal on that book?”

“Then will you do it?”

“…….”

Nine Darhon felt that his question was foolish even as he said that.

The magic that the boy in front of him possessed.

It was dragon magic, not something else. An incredibly vast magic that even those who have risen to the ranks of great mages cannot achieve.

If it’s not Karil, no one on the continent can break the seal on that book.

“Do the leaders have to move directly to catch the small fries? I may not be trustworthy, but if you raise them a little, there will be no problem with those two.”

“Raise them……?”

Karil smiled at Nine Darhon.

“Of course, it’s magic. It’s possible now, but the technical aspects are lacking. Especially that guy. Even though he’s a wind-type mage, which is difficult to find among the five attributes, he doesn’t even know how to use the 1st class life magic, Warm Wind Magic.”

Karil pointed to Mikhail, who was still groaning.

At his words, Nine Darhon looked at him as if he didn’t understand what he was saying.

“My knowledge is vast, but I’m not a good teacher when it comes to magic, not swordsmanship. But there’s a very good teacher here who has produced hundreds of mages?”

“Ha……. You.”

Nine Darhon chuckled as if he understood Karil’s words.

“What’s the point of just stacking the magic books on the bookshelf? They’ll just collect dust.”

As if smacking his lips while looking at delicious food,

“So, I’m saying let them release it a little.”

Karil smiled and pointed to the lower floor with his finger.

“The knowledge of the Grand Library.”