The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 34

32. Black Market

“I… I’m screwed…”

Aidan Hamill stared at Quron’s head on the floor, his face blank. He tried to shout something at Karil, but then he flinched and covered his mouth in surprise.

His plan had completely fallen apart.

‘If he’s making this kind of mess, it’s only a matter of time before the managers notice…’

He hadn’t expected the kid in front of him to be this strong.

No,

He knew he was strong.

But he never imagined he could behead the Golden Lion.

‘Until now, the duchies and empires have been eyeing Tatur.’

Tatur, located above the Istria Three Nations in the south, was truly the heart of the continent.

However, due to its strategic location bordering various countries, it was difficult to conquer easily.

‘At this rate… all the behind-the-scenes work I’ve done will be for nothing.’

It was no longer just a matter of acquiring Suan Hazar.

“Aidan.”

“Yes, yes?”

“What about your sister? Why did you come here instead of looking for her?”

Gulp-

At Karil’s question, he swallowed dryly without realizing it.

Even though he had a prepared answer, his mouth felt dry, and his voice wouldn’t come out properly.

“W-well… it doesn’t seem like she’s at the harbor. She might be in the city…”

“Really?”

Pouting his lips slightly, Karil nodded as if he didn’t know anything.

‘Of course, she wouldn’t be there. She’s probably hiding somewhere nearby. Now that Quron is dead, she won’t come out. Seriously, she loves to eavesdrop.’

Karil knew that his sister, who was supposed to be in the city, was actually hiding here, watching him from the beginning.

The sharp gaze he felt when he entered the building had disappeared, but Karil didn’t think she would have given up so easily.

Perhaps he had interfered with her plan to target Quron’s head from the start.

‘If you’re going to play it like that, I have my own methods.’

He said to Aidan Hamill.

“In the city? Then you’ll have to come with me.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s go together. Now that things have turned out this way, it might be dangerous for you to be alone.”

Karil’s answer was perfectly reasonable, but Aidan Hamill felt uneasy.

‘Damn it…’

He felt like he was being played.

Aidan, who had a keen eye, knew that the anxiety he was feeling came from the slight upturn of Karil’s lips whenever he spoke.

“By the way, are you really a commoner? Your magic manipulation is quite impressive. You could easily join a guild with that skill.”

“H-ha… No… I’m nothing special. It just so happened… that the wind was in the same direction, so I got lucky.”

“Ah? I see. You got lucky.”

Karil gave a strange smile at Aidan’s words.

“Thanks to you, I succeeded. It’s not much of a reward, but I’ll help you find your sister to the end.”

“…”

Karil’s lips were smiling, but his eyes felt like they were staring at him.

‘What is it… damn it.’

It was a look that made him want to escape immediately.

It was certain.

It wasn’t just a feeling.

Aidan Hamill couldn’t shake the feeling that his inner thoughts had been completely exposed.

‘Does he know me? No way, that can’t be. I don’t even know who this kid is… How could he know me after I’ve been in Tatur for almost a year?’

He was suspicious.

Aidan Hamill’s mind was complicated, but he couldn’t say anything.

If he did anything that stood out, he would only arouse more suspicion.

He had no choice but to silently follow Karil.

“Really… what are you going to do now?”

Suan Hazar asked with a face full of genuine concern.

“Tatur doesn’t have a king. But it has managers. Suan, you’ve been coming and going from this place, so you must have heard of them.”

Karil moved his feet.

Then, he casually rummaged through the dead Quron’s pockets.

“Hmm, not here.”

He tilted his head slightly and said as he turned his gaze.

“Four managers. No, now that one is dead, I should say three.”

The de facto power of the free city.

Quron of the lawless harbor, Dushala of the black market, Kamma of the slums.

And the last one.

The winner of the Tatur Arena, which changes every year, is not actually a manager, but is treated as one.

“Don’t worry. They won’t bat an eye just because Quron is dead. Rather, they’ll be licking their lips, wondering how to take his place.”

Karil said as if it was obvious without even looking.

“They’ll put eyes on us, but they’ll leave us alone for a while. Clearing up the lawless harbor will be their priority.”

Karil, who had risen from his seat, picked up the handle of the Greatsword, which was bigger than him, that had fallen next to Quron.

“Besides, the other two besides the arena winner are far from combat. They won’t be able to fight openly.”

Whoosh-

A wind sound like a windmill turning could be heard.

“Hmm.”

Karil swung the Greatsword a few more times and slowly examined the blade. Then, he struck the Agniel Greatsword with all his might.

Crack-!!!

The thick blade of the Greatsword fell off with a loud noise. The two watched in silence, unable to speak at his sudden action.

Bang!! Bang!! Crash!! Bang! Bang!!

After hitting the Greatsword several times, the blade finally broke and fell to the floor.

“Hoo…”

Karil let out a light sigh as if he was out of breath.

‘Still… it’s amazing even after seeing it again. I didn’t know because I only kept it in my arms and never used it in my past life.’

He looked at Agniel one more time as if he was satisfied.

In the battle with Quron, even though it was a dagger, the blade didn’t budge and fought equally.

‘What material is it made of? It’s so hard.’

Even if it was against Ardin, Quron’s Greatsword was made of a special ore called Sea Echo Iron, which only grows in the sea.

‘Now that I think about it, this sword… I can’t even say it was made by a foreign tribe. I’ve never seen this kind of metal in the north, and I don’t have the skills to refine it. No, even if I searched the empire, there wouldn’t be many swords with this much strength.’

In his past life, he had used weapons made by the best blacksmiths in the empire.

However, unlike the crude decorations, Agniel’s blade and strength were even better than his favorite sword before he died.

‘If I hadn’t been a small 12-year-old, I might not have used a dagger. If I hadn’t, I would have missed the true value of this sword again.’

Karil thought so and pulled something out from the center of the broken blade.

“Here it is.”

A disc-like object smaller than his palm was embedded in the blade.

Suan and Aidan looked at it and asked.

“What is that?”

“A manager’s token. Each manager has one. The shape and material are all different. It can be an object like this, but it can also be a tattoo on the body.”

“…”

Suan silently stared at Karil.

“Are you thinking of becoming a manager?”

“Me? No way. Why would I voluntarily enter a position that four people share? After fighting so hard.”

Karil chuckled.

Now, Suan felt a shiver down his spine every time he saw that smile.

“Let’s go. It’ll take time to deal with the remaining guys anyway. We have to go as soon as possible.”

“…Yes? Where to?”

At his question, Karil said casually.

“To the city, of course.”

Gulp-

Looking at the tense faces of the two, Karil said.

“Don’t worry. We killed a manager.”

‘So, he’s going to do this! Is he crazy? He’s going to confidently go to the city after making this mess?’

Aidan Hamill was tempted to stop him right away.

“It might sound dangerous to someone who doesn’t know. But on the contrary, having a manager’s token will make those who aren’t strong enough not dare to attack us.”

As if he knew what he was thinking, Karil lightly shook the ornament he had taken from Quron’s Greatsword in front of his eyes.

But even with his words, the faces of the two were still not bright.

‘How can he be so sure? It’s like he’s been to Tarur before.’

Suan Hazar frowned and looked at Karil.

“And we have to enjoy the privileges that come with it.”

“Are you… are you going there?”

Suan looked at Karil as if he was surprised at his words.

“That’s right.”

Karil smiled lightly with a meaningful expression and nodded.

* * *

The inside of Tatur.

The slum with tents instead of buildings made the lawless city feel even darker.

“Hahahaha…!!”

“Giggle…!!”

The sound of laughter coming from the lit tents.

Several shadows were intertwined.

Swish-

The tent was pulled back.

“You must be Kamma, one of the remaining managers.”

The old man in the tent was startled by the sudden low voice and raised his head.

“W-what!!”

The naked old man intertwined with women.

Looking at his face covered with age spots, Karil threw something without saying anything.

Thud-

Suan, who was standing behind him, turned his gaze away as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.

“You are…”

One of the people in the tent seemed to recognize Suan and tried to say something, but shifted his gaze to the fallen object.

“…!!!”

The moment his eyes widened.

“Kyaa!!”

“W-what is this!!”

The people inside screamed all at once.

Gulp-

It was none other than Quron’s severed head.

The women screamed and began to run away with their clothes.

“Don’t make a fuss.”

Whack-!!

“Because it feels like you’re smelling rotten every time you move.”

Karil grabbed the old man’s shoulder and pushed him away as he tried to run away with the women, and said with a cold face.

“Both sides, I mean.”

When he pointed to Quron’s head and then to him, the old man moved his lips with a stiff face.

“K-Kav…”

“Kav? Is that the name of the subordinate who was guarding in front of you? If you’re looking for him, give up. He’s already dead.”

“…”

“Three in the alley, fifteen in the next building. Even seven people placed on the street. The head of the slums must be rich, unlike the name of the street. He had a lot of guards.”

He asked in a trembling voice.

“W-what do you want?”

“Kamma of the slums.”

Karil scanned him up and down and said.

Nod-

The old man nodded repeatedly with a trembling face.

Karil said in a low voice at his appearance.

“I know you manage the door there.”

At that, the old man’s eyes slowly went down.

The object rolling on the floor and touching his thigh.

“This should be enough qualification.”

Kamma swallowed dryly without realizing it as he looked at Quron’s messed up head.

‘What? What the hell happened?’

Quron is dead.

But he didn’t hear or see any reports.

Only a few hours have passed since Karil passed through the lawless harbor.

But it was definitely strange that he hadn’t received any reports until now, even though it was night.

It would be natural in a normal system.

‘As soon as he entered the lawless harbor, he knew who Kamma’s hidden limbs were and eradicated them like a ghost.’

Aidan Hamill looked at Karil with a disgusted expression.

‘Is he a ghost…?’

The people in the numbers he mentioned were not simply Kamma’s bodyguards, but Kamma’s secretly placed subordinates from the outskirts of the city to this place.

‘No, a monster…’

He didn’t even blink an eye after turning the lawless harbor into a sea of blood.

Looking at Kamma’s face, it seems that no one survived and escaped from the lawless harbor.

‘Or maybe they’re scared and hiding.’

Even though there was a commotion in the lawless harbor, Kamma, the head of Tatur, didn’t know anything.

‘A man who was drinking heavily at the inn this morning returned as a corpse less than a day later…’

Kamma’s head rotates quickly.

Then.

‘The Golden Lion died a little while ago? Could it be, to this kid?’

“It was a fair fight. There was also a referee. That person will be a witness. If you’re a manager, you’ll know who that person is.”

Kamma’s gaze moved along the finger Karil pointed to. He tried to say something to Suan Hazar, who was looking at him, but closed his mouth.

‘It was a fair fight. That was a completely one-sided fight.’

Suan recalled the situation a little while ago.

Then he shook his head.

“But… the black market is only open on certain days… Unless there is approval from the manager, opening it suddenly is…”

At Karil’s words, Kamma said in a trembling voice.

Only.

Only once a year.

January 1st.

The black market where all the rare things on the continent are located.

After leaving the mansion.

One of the reasons why Karil made Tatur his first destination was because of this.

‘That item must still be here without being released.’

He smiled faintly.

But now it’s late summer.

As Kamma said, now was not the time.

At his words, Karil nodded as if he knew.

“That’s why I brought it. The manager’s approval.”

Karil took out Quron’s ornament from his arms.

Kamma, who knew that his ornament was a manager’s token, hardened his face at Karil’s preparation, who didn’t miss the evidence even though Quron’s head was enough.

“That’s… since Tatur was founded, it has been decided that opening the black market requires the approval of two or more people…”

Swish-

“Including you.”

“…”

Karil drew his dagger and brought it to Kamma’s neck with a calm expression.

“Okay? Open the door to the black market right now.”