The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 306

205. The Northern Teacher (1)

“Are you awake?”

“…How long was I out?”

“A full day. You collapsed as soon as Hwarin announced you as the Great Warrior.”

Karyl opened his eyes and slowly lifted his heavy body from the bed.

“I showed an unsightly 모습 [mosup – Korean for ‘appearance’]. A Great Warrior who faints right after receiving the title.”

“Don’t worry. After seeing that battle, no one can say anything. Hwarin, who fought with you, is still lying down.”

“Could it be… because of my poison?”

Karyl frowned slightly at Zigra’s words and asked back. He knew better than anyone the venom of Mael he felt from the Ice Claw.

She, who could use the will of the Lycanthrope, one of the Blader’s armaments, was an important force. If something went wrong, it would be a great loss.

“No. She refused treatment herself. She said it was an opportunity to develop the venomous arts of the Janabi tribe. Fortunately, she is the leader of the Janabi tribe. Anyone else would already be dead.”

Karyl chuckled at Zigra’s words.

He had no choice but to admire her boldness in using herself for the sake of the tribe, even in a dangerous moment where life and death could be at stake.

“Well… she was already a monster even without using the Master Key.”

“The elders have all expressed their intention to acknowledge you as their lord. Some are still dissatisfied, but they can’t say it outwardly. The leaders who followed them persuaded them first.”

“Is that so?”

“There is no one among the other races who would reject the Great Warrior.”

Karyl nodded.

The Cold Wind Tribe, the Iron Clan, the Myo Tribe, and the Thunder Clan might be inferior to the Janabi, Red Moon, Tiger Leopard, and Black Eye in terms of individual abilities if only combat power is considered.

But they had their own unique strengths.

The Cold Wind Tribe could act as scouts with their unique light bodies, and the Iron Clan and Thunder Clan were excellent at handling fire and metal.

‘I should send them to the Frost Highlands not far from the north to cooperate with the Gnomes. If the Dwarves in Tatur are gathered in one place, Golem development and attribute stone crafting will be much faster.’

Karyl had already seen the Wyvern Corps equipped with Golems and new armaments in the Istrian Three Kingdoms.

The power he could not have in his previous life was now joining him in an even stronger state, so this alone was an excellent result.

‘If it’s Calipson’s crafting ability, the synthesis result of the 8-sided attribute stone might have already come out….’

Karyl did not forget the deal he had made with Gordon Fabian of the Kyo-do Mercenary Corps.

And that there was no more perfect condition to obtain his power.

‘The Five Sword Masters each have their own characteristics, but among them, Gordon Fabian is the most unpredictable. We got along last time because we had the same purpose, but I don’t know how he’ll change when we meet again.’

In his previous life, he died young due to a chronic illness, and the Kyo-do Mercenary Corps was later organized under the Empire.

‘But this time it’s different. If Gordon is alive and I complete the airship’s starting stone, I can trade with him effectively.’

Karyl, who did not yet know about the meeting between Olyvern and Gordon Fabian, thought that this was enough preparation for the reunion with the Kyo-do Mercenary Corps.

‘But if I drive in a wedge, it would be Mikhail. If he returns after engraving his name in the Ivory Tower of the Dawn Society, the eyes of the wizards in the Empire will also change.’

Around the same time, Karyl had sent Aidan and Mikhail to various places. Aidan, who was sent to the East, had returned, but there was still no news from Mikhail, who had gone to the Ivory Tower.

‘It’s not far from here to the Ivory Tower… If necessary, it’s possible to go see him.’

For now, he decided to leave it to Mikhail himself.

There are even higher-level wizards in the Ivory Tower than him. Proving himself and being recognized in such a situation will not be easy.

“Can I meet the elders?”

“Of course.”

“Although the influential leaders have persuaded them, the elders still have influence within the other races.”

‘And their help is needed to go to the Millennium Ice Cave….’

Karyl nodded, recalling his memories of his previous life.

“It seems like you have the same thought as my lord. The elders have been waiting since the end of the festival. And the teacher is there too.”

“Hmm.”

Karyl nodded at Zigra’s words.

The biggest reason for meeting the elders was to meet the teacher she mentioned.

The Northern Teacher.

The only person who can have that title, and a pioneer who is thought to never exist in the future.

“Good.”

Karyl slowly got up.

Outside the tent, there was a noisy commotion. Although the Sword Festival was over, the celebration announcing the birth of a new Great Warrior did not seem to be over.

“Karyl-nim!!!”

“Oh, Great Warrior…!!”

“You’re finally awake!! Are you okay?!!”

When Karyl opened the tent of the camp, the other races gathered here and there looked at Karyl and shouted.

Karyl waved his hand lightly at them, and the other races knelt down all at once.

“They’re making a fuss while my lord is lying down.”

Aidan, who was waiting outside the camp, said as if he was displeased with their appearance.

“It’s a festival. Regardless of death, the festival itself should be like this. And it’s even more enjoyable because no one died. The other races don’t have a period of mourning when someone dies like the Imperials. They eat and drink a little more in the time of mourning. It’s their way to celebrate life.”

Karyl smiled faintly at Aidan’s words.

“The north is such a land.”

He passed by the other races and walked to the hill where the elders were. Aidan and Zigra followed him.

* * *

“It’s been a while… but the atmosphere is a bit awkward.”

Karyl said, looking at the old men with cloudy eyes sitting in front of him.

“Are you really Kaliark’s son?”

“I can’t believe it.”

“Me neither. A person with magic power… It’s absurd for a northerner.”

The elders sitting around the fireplace looked at him standing at the door, burning a rolled-up Miyancho grass with a slight toxicity that grows in the north.

At their appearance, Karyl shrugged with an expression as expected and let out a low sigh.

“I came to receive the title of Great Warrior. The result is what all the leaders acknowledge. I heard you have the proof.”

“Such rudeness…!!”

“Do you think we’ll give you ‘Rakna’ [Rakna – a sacred artifact]!!”

“We can’t hand over the treasure of the other races to someone with magic power!”

The elders shouted at Karyl’s words.

“Why?”

But Karyl rather gave them a cold sneer.

“Why do the other races pride themselves on not having magic power? What’s so great about that?”

“Th, that’s….”

“Because it’s the difference with the Imperials? Don’t be ridiculous. You guys also just think that way because you’ve been doing that.”

The elders’ faces darkened at Karyl’s scathing words.

“Without even knowing properly, you’re just injecting the tradition that has been passed down into the next generation without even checking it, and you’re calling it pride. That’s why the other races are being branded as heretics by the Imperial bastards.”

Squeeze―

Karyl took a step closer to the elders.

Then they flinched without realizing it, and someone dropped the Miyancho cigarette they were holding.

“Please don’t say stupid things.”

“……!!”

The elders’ eyes widened.

Karyl continued to speak without stopping.

“You guys have lived a long time. Then you should make more efforts to see the world more directly than the young guys outside. We have clearly been defeated and suffered many sacrifices. The presence or absence of magic power is not important. We need to know why we lost our magic power to enhance the true power of the other races.”

“Lost magic power…?”

“What nonsense is that…!”

“If you want to know, give me Rakna. Even if it’s a useless relic, I think I know why my father kept it hidden until he died.”

Kaliark, the ruler of the north, had two armaments during his lifetime. One was the sword of the Black Eye clan, Agnel, and the other was the Rakna, an armament given with the title of Great Warrior.

But Karyl had never seen his father use Rakna even once.

No, to be precise, he didn’t even know what kind of armament Rakna was.

Because he had never seen it.

However, the important thing is that Rakna has a symbolic power that can gather all the other races in the north along with the title of Great Warrior, unlike Agnel, which simply gathers one tribe, the Black Eye clan.

“…….”

Unlike Karyl absorbing the duchy or the three kingdoms, the reason he participated in the Sword Festival himself was to legitimately obtain Rakna and make their hearts completely turn to him.

He reached out his hand and said to the elders.

“I won’t stop you if you’re going to cling to anachronistic ideas. But if you want to face the future head-on, give me the relic of the Great Warrior. Then I’ll show you the true 모습 [mosup – Korean for ‘appearance’] of the other races. What kind of descendants we are, what kind of blood is flowing in our bodies.”

Why is that?

The expressions of the elders, who had been hostile until now, softened at Karyl’s words.

“That’s a bold statement. I remember you were a quieter child when you were young… It’s quite different from the 모습 [mosup – Korean for ‘appearance’] of just staring at his swordsmanship next to Kaliark.”

It was then.

A voice came from behind the elders.

“You’re wrong about the legitimacy of magic power. The elders are the ones who cherish the rules and traditions of the tribe more than anyone else. Rather, they are the ones who need to know what kind of descendants we are and what kind of blood is flowing, even if others don’t.”

The rough but calm voice strangely made him feel like he was listening to Olyvern’s ability, Language Spirit.

“Well, I agree that they have an anachronistic idea. Stagnant water will eventually rot someday.”

He, who covered his forehead and ears with a leather hood and had long bangs, had fair skin that did not match his voice.

Most of the other races are rough in the cold of the north, so his 모습 [mosup – Korean for ‘appearance’] looked even more mysterious.

“Cough…….”

“Hey… You’re going too far.”

The elders only let out a low sigh at his playful words, and they couldn’t shoot back at the man behind them as sharply as they had done to Karyl a little while ago.

“Are you saying that the elders know the secret of the other races?”

“There’s no secret. Anyone who has been to the Millennium Ice Cave will know the fact. Strength can easily narrow your vision. Don’t ignore the elders. Anyway, they are the meritorious subjects who have protected the other races and maintained them until now.”

“…….”

Karyl looked at the man who was full of life, unlike the elders who were full of the energy of death.

He looked only in his 40s at most, but the surprising fact was that he was older than the elders gathered here.

He had lived longer than the elders, who were over 80 years old, and even the elders, like the other leaders, had been taught by him, so his age could not be guessed.

“Of course, I don’t know how you know the secret in the Millennium Ice Cave… You need Rakna to get the qualification to go to the tomb above.”

He said quietly.

“Only those who have received the title of Great Warrior can go to the Millennium Ice Cave, which is called the tomb of the ancestors.”

“That’s right. That’s the reason for getting Rakna. Kaliark will be sleeping in the tomb of the ancestors now.”

“Well, I don’t sense a son missing his father.”

Altemann smirked.

Karyl felt as if he was seeing through his inner thoughts at those words.

Not a very good feeling.

He, who maintains the same youth for a long time, was said to be a dragon by some, and some said he had the blood of a divine beast.

“But there’s one more purpose for coming here.”

But what was certain was that he was the only existence in the north who had deeper wisdom than the elders and was in a higher position than the leaders.

“To meet you.”

Karyl said quietly to him standing behind the elders.

The Northern Teacher and his other name.

“The First Fisherman. Altemann.”

At Karyl’s words, he smiled strangely.