The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 65

57. A Changed Life

“From now on, you are the Guild Master of the Ulkas Guild.”

“……Pardon?”

Thomson stared blankly at the certificate of the guild’s rights he had received.

“Since Barugo Sira is gone, it’s only right that you, the Vice Guild Master, take over. The problem is the Language Oath…”

Karyl pointed to the scroll placed on the desk.

“Originally, I thought it was just to get information about him, and then to get rid of the guild itself, so it wouldn’t matter. But I think it would be better to leave Ulkas as it is.”

Thomson quickly grasped Karyl’s intention.

Although he was underestimated due to his Mana Addiction, he was a magician who had reached the 5th Class [a ranking system for magicians].

He was by no means foolish.

“Solving this is simple. What Karyl-nim swore was only about the Ulkas Guild. Then, how about Karyl-nim becoming the Guild Master? Then there wouldn’t be any problems.”

Karyl smiled lightly at his words.

His idea was correct.

If Thomson had eagerly accepted the certificate of the guild’s rights, Karyl might have become the Guild Master himself.

“No. It’s difficult for it to be revealed that I’m involved here. But since this place must become another base for me, I have to entrust it to someone I can trust.”

However, Karyl told him what he had planned from the beginning, seeing his lack of greed.

“I thought it wouldn’t be a problem to leave the oath with you.”

Thomson looked deeply moved by Karyl’s words.

“What can I say… You even saved my life… I will serve Karyl-nim for the rest of my life.”

He bowed his head and answered with a choked-up expression.

[He’s making a big deal out of curing Mana Addiction. And there are many ways to break a Language Oath anyway.]

Alrn Zabiuss said from behind Karyl with his arms crossed, as if he couldn’t stand watching any longer.

[Besides, that oath has already lost its effect.]

Karyl chuckled softly.

He was right.

In fact.

After getting Barugo Sira’s confession, he had perfectly finished canceling the oath before killing him.

The reason he showed the oath to Thomson despite that was for another reason.

Soon, Karyl would have to leave Azor.

But he couldn’t miss the many things that would happen here in the next few years.

That’s why Karyl wanted to make Thomson his right-hand man. Curing his Mana Addiction wasn’t enough.

‘Right now, the treatment for Mana Addiction isn’t completely healed, so he’ll follow my words, but there’s no guarantee that he’ll continue to do so in the future.’

Trust.

Karyl needed Thomson’s loyalty.

And his appearance of taking the oath as a weakness himself to leave the Ulkas Guild and make Thomson the Guild Master moved Thomson as expected.

‘Alrn Zabiuss said he could go up to the 6th Class when he saw his potential. That’s enough to teach disciples.’

Of course.

Karyl knew more outstanding magicians.

Among the Ten Knights who had been with him in his past life to carry out the Divine Mandate were the combat magician Serica Loren and Israfil, who was called the reincarnation of Kaie Esir.

If they taught, a magic unit could be created that would be incomparable to Thomson.

However, sometimes a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

‘I know where they are. But there are things I need to do first. It will take at least several months to finish all of these and meet those guys.’

In the meantime, the sparks of the continental war would already begin to ignite.

Karyl had thought the moment he decided to ascend to the throne of the continent.

Before the Divine Mandate was given, in the war between humans for continental hegemony, he would eventually face his friend, Oliban.

Starting with Tatur, he was building bases to increase his power, but he would not be able to surpass the absolute number of the Empire’s forces.

‘I need soldiers, but the way I can beat the Empire is not the number of soldiers.’

A way to overcome numbers.

Clearly.

What was important in war was the number of soldiers, but what could create the most variables was magic.

‘Through Thomson, I lay the foundation for the magicians of Azor. After that, when I welcome Serica and Israfil as companions someday, I can create a magic unit more powerful than the Empire.’

Karyl’s eyes gleamed.

He handed Thomson two small scrolls.

“One contains the treatment for Mana Addiction and the subsequent management methods. From now on, you must secretly find those who have the same disease, treat them, and accept them as guild members.”

“I understand.”

“And the other is what you need to do in Azor from now on. Use this as a basis to grow the guild.”

The magic city of Azor was one of the few cities on the continent, along with Tatur, that was not ruled by kings, such as the Empire and the Duchy.

But that’s why it was checked so much, and there were many things happening between the kingdoms.

‘The Empire is trying to swallow Azor, and the Duchy and the Three Kingdoms demanded magicians under the pretext of protecting Azor.’

Although there was the support of powerful magicians from the Dawn Society and the Immortal Society, the number of magicians could not ultimately beat the number of kingdoms.

In the end, Azor was in a position to be sacrificed in the continental war.

‘Right now, the Empire is not externally raising troops due to the power struggle between the princes, but many magicians will die in the process of quickly organizing the Duchy and the Three Kingdoms after Oliban’s enthronement.’

Those who died in the past life were ultimately those who were not Oliban’s power. Karyl’s plan was to save them and make them his power.

“I will follow your orders.”

“The contents written there are not perfect prophecies. Ask yourself to make decisions.”

Thomson slowly nodded at Karyl’s words.

“Yes, Master.”

Karyl smiled in satisfaction at his answer.

“Lastly, there is one thing I would like to ask of you.”

“What is it? Please command me.”

“You know that the Empire has issued an Edict of Heresy Extermination, right?”

“Of course. The continent has been buzzing with rumors for a while. Isn’t the Sword Master, Kwell’s Blue Knights, in the north right now?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Along with the magicians of Azor, there were other people who had died in his past life. Karyl said as if he had made up his mind.

“Gather some useful people and send them to the north.”

“Yes? Are you talking about the place where the barbarians are? They say that they kill continental people for no reason as soon as they see them, regardless of the Empire or the Duchy. And they even eat human flesh to gain magic power.”

Karyl smiled bitterly at Thomson’s words.

“That’s just a rumor. Well, it’s true that they’re hostile to the Empire, but they don’t eat people. Besides, do you think I’d send them to people who kill without rhyme or reason?”

“That’s true, but…”

“The guild should have a map of the north, right? Kwell’s troops due to the Edict of Heresy Extermination are probably stationed in the northeast and are now on the plateau where the Tooth Tribe is.”

Thomson was startled by Karyl’s words.

‘How does he know the war situation without even seeing it? The antidote to Mana Addiction is the same… I can’t fathom the depth at all.’

“What I want is the Wolf Fox Tribe on the opposite side, in the northwest. That’s why the probability of being caught by the Empire is low.”

“I see…”

“Besides, they won’t treat you carelessly even if you arrive at the tribe. Unlike other tribes, they are avoiding fighting the Empire.”

Thomson looked at the little boy in front of him with wonder, knowing so much about the north that even he had never been to in his life.

“What do we have to do?”

“Tell the chief of the Wolf Fox Tribe. That’s all you have to do.”

“What is the message…?”

Karyl said in a low voice.

“To avoid the blizzard, stand under the thunder. Now is the time to act.”

“…?”

Thomson tilted his head as if he didn’t understand what he was saying.

“Just deliver those words.”

As much as his question, Karyl smiled strangely.

‘I can’t save everyone in the north. I don’t have that much power yet. But I can’t let them die in vain because of the Edict of Heresy Extermination.’

Behind that smile.

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

‘But Wolf Fox, you will understand my words.’

Karyl thought of someone.

The red hair resembled that of a fox, and a cunning man in sharp eyes.

‘If that happens, at least twice as many barbarians will survive than in my past life.’

And they will all become his strength.

Clack-

The door opened.

“Everything is ready.”

Mikhail, with a large bag on his back, greeted Karyl.

Karyl slowly nodded.

Then, before leaving the door, he finally asked Thomson.

“If anything happens, find the managers in Tatur. They will help you if you give them my name.”

‘Tatur? Does that mean the managers of that free city also know Master? Just how far are you connected?’

Thomson looked at him as if he had lost his words.

But on the other hand, he felt a throbbing that he had forgotten in his unstoppable appearance.

“I will obey.”

* * *

“Where are we going now?”

Aidan, who was next to Karyl driving the horse, asked.

He knew what was at the end of the forest road heading east.

Looking at Karyl’s actions so far, Aidan had tried to guess the places he would be interested in.

‘He’s the one who finished the Gray Bishop, which even the magicians of Azor couldn’t capture, alone. The Maze of Press, the Abandoned Mine of Lakra, the Submerged Panama… There are still places where adventurers can earn a lot of wealth even if they capture just one. Maybe it’s one of those places.’

There were still many dungeons on the continent that had not been captured, and Aidan thought that Karyl would not miss those places.

Of course.

If he was just a simple adventurer.

‘Damn it, that’s not it, so I can’t get a sense of it.’

“How long has it been since we left Tatur?”

Aidan tilted his head slightly at Karyl’s question.

“Hmm, it seems like a little over half a year. We stopped by the Cult Mercenary Corps first and came here.”

“Yes. It’s already been half a year. What do you think? About what I’ve done so far.”

It was an unexpected question.

“Honestly, it’s just amazing. It’s amazing that an individual makes a contract with the Cult Mercenary Corps, but the location of the mercenary corps is something even the Empire wouldn’t know. Besides, winning the magic competition and capturing the Gray Bishop…”

Aidan felt anew that each of them was an absurd thing when he listed them.

“Is that all?”

“Yes?”

“What do you think of me? Has it changed a little?”

“That’s…”

Aidan blushed at Karyl’s question.

“Well, it’s not important yet. Please take care of me in the future. I have expectations for you.”

He knew it was flattery.

But Aidan couldn’t deny that he sometimes felt a thrill when Karyl said these things to him.

‘Get a grip. I already have someone to serve.’

The Second Prince, Oliban, was also a man with the qualities of a great monarch, but Karyl was different.

He seemed overbearing, but from time to time he would stab into people’s hearts like this.

“Do you know the three most important elements in founding a nation?”

“Hmm, funds to maintain the country, land for the people to live on, and a powerful army to protect it.”

“You know it well? It seems like you’re interested in that kind of thing.”

Aidan waved his hand, seeing Karyl subtly probing.

“Ah, no. What am I… It’s because it’s stated in the Imperial Theory [a famous book]. Isn’t it famous?”

Did Aidan know to some extent that Karyl had already noticed that his identity was connected to the Empire?

He no longer tried to hide it forcibly.

“The people and the kingship ultimately need the land where they exist, the power to protect it, and the money to maintain it.”

Karyl’s first plan.

The ‘invisible establishment of the Empire’ through information was being carried out through Suan.

But that alone was not enough.

To win the continental war, he needed real power.

“You would know the terrain of the continent. Then I think my words have become the answer. Where we’re going next.”

Dug-dug-

With those words, Karyl spurred the horse.

Mikhail just silently followed him without saying anything.

‘Founding a nation…?’

It was then.

“……!!”

Why hadn’t he thought of that?

He blamed his stupidity for expecting only dungeons at best.

‘Looking at the actions so far, the financial power of Tatur and the military power of the Cult Mercenary Corps, then what’s left is…’

Land to build a base.

And at the eastern end, there was land that the Empire and the Duchy did not care about on the continent.

‘But that land… There’s a reason why the Empire abandoned it. But is it real? No, is it real?! Such crazy things in this situation!?’

But if it’s that person…

Aidan unknowingly grabbed the reins of the horse. It was because he felt an unknown thrill as if he had heard the words Karyl had said to him a little while ago.

“Ha… Haha.”

It was an absurd thing, but strangely, he still wanted to see more. No, he was curious.

At that moment.

He realized what he had forgotten.

He had not been sending news to the Empire, even though it was a golden opportunity that he had been aiming for while Karyl was away.

* * *

“Hoo…”

Thomson sat in the chair in the captain’s office, feeling Karyl’s absence as if he had passed like a storm, and looked out the window for a while.

Everything was like a dream.

He, who had been waiting only for his scheduled death and had even lost hope in life, was now sitting in the position of Guild Master.

“Well, shall we see what’s written?”

Rustle-