The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 310

206. The Millennium Ice Cave

“You don’t seem too surprised. Does eating a dragon’s heart dull your senses?”

“What’s so surprising about a secret passage behind the Elder’s residence leading to a cave?”

“You’re truly an Otherworlder, yet you don’t seem like one.”

Altemann clicked his tongue softly as he walked up the dark path without a single light, watching Karrel follow him nonchalantly.

“The Northern Elders are the most protected individuals, even more so than the chieftains. Having a back passage connected to their residence goes against the ethics of the Otherworlders. Secret passages are for escape, but conversely, the moment the secret is revealed, the risk of assassination increases dramatically.”

Karrel scoffed at his words.

“Who said the Elders are weak?”

“……Hmm?”

“Those old men were once chieftains of their respective tribes. They may be old, but they’re not people who would easily die at the hands of knights. Those guys are just pretending to be weak old foxes.”

“Kuh… Kuk.”

Altemann nodded as if understanding Karrel’s words.

“You know a lot about the Elders. Indeed, you’re quite cunning. I heard you sold my name to Hasir? It seems Hasir was swayed by the fact that you’re Kaliark’s son… We’ve never even met, yet you used me well.”

“I could figure out the old men well enough without seeing them, and I couldn’t easily reveal to Hasir that I was an Otherworlder at first. The Northern Instructor is someone that only an Otherworlder would know about, at least.”

“Hmm. I see.”

“Later on, whether I was an Otherworlder or not didn’t matter much.”

Altemann smiled as he looked at Karrel.

“I see.”

“If I had known, I would have brought Kay with me.”

“Kay?”

“A survivor of the Rothschild family. A descendant of your companion. She’s also a puppeteer.”

“It’s just a past connection anyway. The lifespan of humans is sometimes regrettable. They barely live even a hundred years properly.”

Karrel chuckled softly at Altemann’s words.

“That’s not it. I wasn’t talking about expecting a touching reunion, but about the vengeful spirit inside her doll.”

“Vengeful spirit?”

“The vengeful spirit inside is the master of the City of Specters, Witch Jarka Hochi.”

“…….”

At Karrel’s words, Altemann walked forward without a word. However, Karrel could tell that the energy he felt from his back was wavering, even though he was trying not to show it.

“Jarka Hochi… It’s been a while since I’ve heard that name. Don’t think that just because we’re both Elves, we have some special relationship. The Hochi family were reclusive, except for one family.”

“Still, you, an Elf, would know more than I, a human, would.”

“About what?”

“When I first met Jarka Hochi in the City of Specters, he had a small frame [a framed picture]. I broke it.”

“Huh…”

Altemann couldn’t help but exclaim at Karrel’s words. Then, he quickly covered his mouth as if surprised.

“Judging by your reaction, I’m glad I asked. Jarka was angry at me for that. The frame had a picture of a woman and her name written on it.”

“F?rrel.”

Altemann answered first to Karrel’s words.

“The flower of the Tinuviel family.”

“That’s right.”

Altemann, who had been walking forward, stopped for the first time.

“You even know her name. Truly, fate is a strange thing. And to think that you’re with him even after breaking that frame… Either your skills are great, or Jarka has forgotten the honor of the Hochi family… It can’t be the latter, so it must be the former.”

Karrel shrugged as if it didn’t matter.

“The Tinuviel family is the one that has produced the rulers of the Elven nation, Elvenheim. And the Hochi family were the managers of Aerial Woods, the territory of the Tinuviel family and the capital of Elvenheim, and those who served only that family.”

“So that’s why he was so angry. It was loyalty to his former master after all. Not really surprising.”

“It is surprising. The Hochi family has only lived for the Queen.”

“She’s dead, so it’s okay to change masters.”

“Don’t joke around…”

Altemann shook his head with a bitter smile.

“Then you know what I want to ask. Why I mentioned Jarka Hochi’s name.”

“Isn’t it to ask about Queen F?rrel?”

“No.”

Karrel asked sharply, looking at him.

“If what you say is true, then Aerial Woods is the Elven royal family’s capital. Seeing Jarka, who is loyal to the royal family even in death, it’s unlikely that they plotted a rebellion. Why did it end up like that?”

Altemann closed his mouth at his question.

“Are you trying to confirm something you already know? Or are you really asking me the reason?”

“It’s not the latter.”

At Karrel’s answer, Altemann finally shook his head and let out a low sigh.

“It’s about Nar D. Maugh.”

“It’s nothing much. You received help from the very person who ruined the Elven kingdom. Some Elves are loyal to the royal family even in death, but you, an Elf who has lived for a thousand years, don’t seem to have much loyalty, so I’m curious.”

“You’re really good at saying harsh things without a second thought.”

“Harsh words need to be said when they need to be said.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t have much to tell you about that. All I can say is that even an Elf can’t live for a thousand years.”

With those words, Altemann turned around and started walking forward again.

‘……Even an Elf can’t live for a thousand years?’

Karrel frowned as he pondered his words.

‘What Nar D. Maugh gave me wasn’t just swordsmanship.’

Extension of life.

There were several ways to make that possible.

From covenants with absolutes to contracts with demons or secret arts through drugs.

Karrel couldn’t know how Altemann had been able to live until now through Nar D. Maugh, but at least from the words he left behind, Karrel knew that the Platinum Dragon held his life in his hands.

“We’re here.”

While Karrel was looking at his back and thinking, Altemann stopped and pointed ahead.

Whoosh―――

Whoosh――

As they emerged from the dark path surrounded by barren, snow-covered branches, their conversation came to an end.

However, neither of them regretted that the conversation was over.

A more important secret was waiting for them in the huge cave in front of them.

“You’re the first person to come here without performing the Great Warrior’s ritual. Well, the ritual probably doesn’t mean much to you anyway.”

Because until now, no one had been able to use Lakna, called the Great Warrior’s relic.

“Don’t be surprised. No matter what you see in front of you.”

Altemann said to Karrel in a slightly nervous voice, unlike before.

“Is the Sword Demon’s swordsmanship in this cave?”

Altemann simply smiled mysteriously at Karrel’s question and walked into the cave.

“…….”

Although he didn’t say it to him, Karrel scanned the cave with a complex and subtle mix of emotions.

The biggest reason he decided to regress in his previous life was because he met the predecessor sealed in the ice pillar here.

‘At first, it was because my father told me the secret.’

Karrel smiled bitterly as he rummaged through his memories, feeling that it had become strange to call Kwell McGovern his father anymore.

‘Why would he, an Imperial, reveal this secret to me? Is it repentance before death? Surely he doesn’t know that Farrell can go back in time.’

The latter possibility was slim, but as always, the Platinum Dragon was a concern.

He was the one who stayed with the Empire until the end of the Holy War in his previous life, so there was a possibility that Kwell, a loyal subject of the Empire, might have heard something from the Platinum Dragon.

A very small but now undeniable suspicion.

‘Olivant and Kwell. Both are Imperials related to the Platinum Dragon.’

One told him the secret of the Millennium Ice Cave, and the other was the one who tried to kill him.

Karrel wanted to change the future.

And it was Nar D. Maugh who told him how.

‘But even if he has some plan, I’m the only one who has gone back in time. Not Nar D. Maugh.’

He didn’t suspect that there might be another regressor besides himself.

A fact that only he, who had experienced Farrell, could know.

While in there for countless years, Karrel felt that all his senses were shared with the tower.

Because of that, if the door to Farrell opened again and another person invaded, he, who was already inside, would have noticed.

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

“Hmm?”

Altemann’s voice was heard.

“Sword Demon is just a name. It doesn’t refer to one person. It was a name that only the chosen could have, from the mythological era to the magical era to the modern era.”

Karrel, who had been lost in thought, raised his head at his words.

“Another name for Sword Demon. Blader.”

“……As expected.”

Karrel nodded at his words.

The Bladers, who caused the Divine Spirit War in the mythological era and opposed God, ironically had their name passed down in history to the Imperials, not their descendants. In the magical era, it was transformed into the name of eccentrics who wanted to create the best weapons, including Aln Zabiwus, Elves, and Dwarves.

However, the Otherworlders, the descendants of the true Bladers, disappeared without being able to use that name.

Perhaps, like the Spirit Kings were sealed, the fact that they were not allowed to use the name Blader was the price of defeat given to humans.

“Sword Demon… That name is the hidden will of the Bladers. Leaving swordsmanship to the Northern Instructor and making that name last.”

But the Godslayers changed their names and left them to posterity in order to prevent their lineage from being cut off.

Karrel felt a chill at their desperate resistance.

“That’s right. Whether you can inherit the will of that name or not is something you’ll have to earn yourself.”

Woo-woo-woo-woong…

As Altemann chanted an unknown spell, a small magic circle was created on his palm, and a pattern in the shape of a tower appeared on it.

Then, the darkness in front of them disappeared, and a huge ice pillar appeared in front of them.

Whoa-ah-ah-ah…!

A cold chill covered them in an instant.

Clench―

Karrel clenched his fist without realizing it, recalling the ice pillar he had seen in his previous life.

“……!!!”

It was then.

Karrel looked at the huge ice pillar and asked in a trembling voice as if he was embarrassed.

“……What is this?”

Altemann nodded as if he expected it.

“I thought you’d be surprised. No matter how strong your heart is, you can’t help but be surprised when you see this sight.”

The words he had said to Karrel before entering the Millennium Ice Cave were actually said on purpose to show him this ice pillar.

“To think that a prophet of the Otherworlders, who may have lived for thousands of years or who knows when, is sealed inside is unimaginable.”

A black-eyed man holding a sword inside the ice pillar.

Altemann pointed at him and said.

“No, it’s not.”

“……Hmm?”

However, Karrel raised his hand and interrupted Altemann, who was speaking as if he understood his surprise. Then, he gestured to be quiet as if he needed time to think.

“…….”

Altemann tilted his head towards him as if wondering at his sudden reaction. Karrel raised his head and looked at the ice pillar again.

No matter how many times he washed his eyes and looked at it, the appearance of the ice pillar in front of him was the same.

“Ha…….”

Karrel let out a low sigh.

His voice seemed to contain a mixture of many emotions.

The beginning of everything.

In his previous life, Karrel heard about the ice pillar here from Kwell.

But it was definitely not a feeling of being new or touching and affectionate.

Embarrassment and suspicion.

Or rather, it was a first impression full of doubt and wariness.

Seeing the black-eyed Godslayer, who was the predecessor sealed, Karrel wanted to change the future again through Farrell and prove that they were the true owners of the continent.

That’s why he thought Olivant was trying to kill him.

But…….

It’s different.

It wasn’t the ice pillar in the Millennium Ice Cave that he saw in his previous life.

“Why…….”

Karrel swallowed hard without realizing it.

“Two people?”

There was another person in the ice pillar that he had not seen in his previous life.