Anagin Chronicles

Chapter 074. Forge (1)

The Chiron Tower was a sort of symbol erected in the northernmost border region of Hellas.

If one were to ask what it symbolized, everyone would answer the same.

Martial might.

To the north of Hellas lay the grasslands where ferocious Centaurs and nomadic tribes roamed freely.

And even farther north existed the Barbaroi Cult, far more wicked than the nomads—a band of savages who worshipped beasts like pigs and cattle.

Whenever they found an opening, they invaded northern Hellas, and as a result, northern Hellas had no choice but to grow strong. Any Hellenes who failed to do so were all dead.

That grueling life of constant struggle had never been something they wished for, yet ironically, it became the pride of northern Hellas.

We will never yield, we are strong, we are the shield that protects civilization from barbarism!

To maintain that pride, countless training grounds were established throughout northern Hellas. As time passed, only the outstanding ones survived, until eventually, just a single supreme training ground remained.

And that was Chiron Tower.

A colossal tower of twelve stories, soaring so high it seemed to touch the sky.

“I’ve heard about it a few times, but seeing it in person really is different.”

Standing on the deck, Sphinx admired the overwhelming presence of Chiron Tower.

Kori and Pais, whose relationship with her had grown closer, stood beside Sphinx in awe, and Anagin, though he didn’t show it, was inwardly quite astonished as well.

Honestly, Chiron Tower was called a tower, but its scale rivaled that of a full-fledged city.

It felt as though an entire city had been divided into twelve districts and stacked vertically, layer upon layer.

Before long, the airship landed atop the city formed by those twelve stacked sections, and Anagin’s group disembarked alongside Chiron’s party.

“Welcome back!”

As soon as Chiron stepped off the airship, people dressed in identical clothing greeted him. They seemed to be attendants.

All of them wore the same outfits, and more than anything, they gave off an atmosphere similar to the attendants Anagin had met at the Dolos household.

“Nothing out of the ordinary?”

The guess was spot on.

As Chiron returned their greeting, he asked the man who looked to be the eldest among them whether anything had happened. The man handed him a prepared document and reported.

‘Then who are those people?’

Anagin wondered as he looked at a crowd dressed differently from the attendants.

Their attire and demeanor were clearly distinct, and above all, there were a lot of them. If they had one thing in common, it was the numbers engraved on their chests.

They stood at a fixed distance, waiting for something, and soon, it became clear what that was.

“Oh, they’re here, they’re here! Everyone made it back alive!”

“I told you, didn’t I? I said they’d all come back safely!”

“Yeah, fine, you’re so great. Here, take this.”

“Looks like they properly wiped out those bandit bastards.”

What they had been waiting for were Irida and Tramachus, Thyreos and Lynceus, the New Argonaut Expedition Team.

As soon as they appeared, the crowd erupted into cheers and warmly welcomed them. Judging by their expressions and tone, they seemed to know each other well, most likely fellow disciples of Chiron.

‘Aren’t there way too many disciples?’

A chilling thought crossed Anagin’s mind. Maybe there were more than just dozens.

Considering the sheer scale of Chiron Tower, that seemed more plausible. Perhaps hundreds, or even thousands....

Faced with such an absurd number, Anagin felt a bit uneasy. Thousands of disciples alone, didn’t that seem strange?

Well, it wasn’t really his place to question it, and he soon stopped thinking about it.

In any case, upon spotting the New Argonaut Expedition Team, the disciples of Chiron Tower waved their hands, welcoming the newcomers.

The Argonaut members waved back in response.... Somehow, they didn’t look particularly pleased.

Perhaps piloting the airship with insufficient manpower had been exhausting, as there was an awkward stiffness in their expressions and movements.

Just as those who had come to greet them began to notice this odd reaction and were about to question it—

“Huh? W-wait?”

“Hold on, is that real?”

“R-really?!”

A murmur spread through the crowd as they spotted someone and gasped in shock.

It was none other than the members of the real Argonaut Expedition Team—Meleager the Immortal and the Great Warrior Atalanta.

With their belated appearance, Chiron Tower was thrown into an uproar.

At the arrival of the great heroes, there was shock—in the best possible sense.

* * *

“What, you met Erysichthon?!”

Irida, Tramachus, Thyreos, and Lynceus.

The ones welcoming the New Argonaut Expedition Team were indeed fellow disciples of Chiron Tower.

Still reeling in shock, they stared at Meleager the Immortal and the Great Warrior Atalanta, then asked in disbelief how they had ended up traveling together.

Naturally, the New Argonaut Expedition Team had to explain the circumstances, namely, how they had come to encounter Erysichthon.

“...That’s how it happened.”

After hearing the full explanation, the disciples erupted into a frenzy, one after another.

“Erysichthon? The Erysichthon we know? One of the traitors?”

“He was really a real person?”

“You didn’t believe it?”

“No... I mean! They say he defied the gods. How was I supposed to think someone like that actually existed?!”

“Was he really that tall?”

The disciples chattered excitedly, as though listening to an old legend. They looked genuinely thrilled. It was only natural—everyone who came to Chiron Tower carried lofty ambitions, and stories like these were bound to stir them.

However, those who had actually faced Erysichthon didn’t look so pleased.

That was to be expected. When they had first come face to face with him, every one of them had frozen in fear, unable to move.... They had lent a hand at the very end to help Anagin, but it was literally just that—a helping hand. They hadn’t truly fought.

Yet their friends saw it differently and reacted with awe.

“Then you guys... you fought Erysichthon and survived?”

“T-that’s....”

“Damn! That explains it. No matter how good you are, how could you beat Erysichthon? Of course, those two had to show up and save you!”

“Right, Erysichthon’s practically an 8-star villain!”

Stars (星).

A measure of how many blessings one had received from the gods, an indicator of how much stature a practitioner had accumulated.

Practitioners blessed by the gods were ranked from 1-star to 12-star, and villains or monsters without divine blessings were also evaluated indirectly using the same star system to gauge their danger level.

Erysichthon was classified among the upper ranks, an 8-star villain.

“Eight stars? I heard he was nine.”

“If he were nine, that’d basically be the end of it. You really believe that? No matter how high you rate him, he’s eight at most!”

“Eight or nine, who cares! It’s amazing either way! Hey, don’t be disappointed that you needed help! Just surviving against Erysichthon is incredible!”

The members of the New Argonaut Expedition Team, who were about to say something, found themselves unable to open their mouths under the barrage of praise and admiring gazes.

They couldn’t bring themselves to tell the truth to people so full of expectation and admiration.

How could they say that the moment Erysichthon appeared, they realized he was an unbeatable existence, and that they’d been too terrified to do anything?

Of course, they knew lying was shameful and that they should speak the truth. But knowing that and doing it were two very different things.

‘I have to say it. Even if I hide it, the truth will come out eventually.’

A priceless truth surfaced in their minds.

Yet at the same time, a question arose—would it really?

They thought it through.

Meleager and Atalanta had appeared midway through the battle, so they didn’t know whether the New Argonaut Expedition Team had fought properly or not. They hadn’t asked much aboard the airship either.

Their master, Chiron, had seen everything, but they knew him well enough to know he wouldn’t speak up unnecessarily.

As a Great Master who had raised countless heroes, Chiron taught the virtues and principles of honor, truth, and courage, but he also taught that cunning and deceit had their place as well.

He didn’t encourage it, but he taught that a bit of exaggeration and deception could also be necessary for a hero, and that one should know how to use them.

Such a master would have no reason to step forward first and reveal the truth.

The problem was.......

Irida, Tramachus, Thyreos, and Lynceus all turned their heads toward Anagin.

He was standing with Sphinx, the little siblings, and Sanchonius.

“Are all those people really disciples at Chiron Tower?”

“Yes. Though not all of them aim to become heroes. Some are here to become generals or officials. Chiron Tower also teaches strategy, tactics, and administration.”

“How many are there?”

“All of them together, in total.......”

Anagin was making small talk with Sanchonius.

Before long, the disciples of Chiron Tower, who had been welcoming the New Argonaut Expedition Team, began to grow curious about Anagin’s identity.

“Who’s that guy talking with Sanchonius?”

The New Argonaut members felt their heads starting to ache.

There was no way Sanchonius would say something like, ‘This guy fought Erysichthon almost alone, and the New Argonaut Expedition Team did nothing,’ but Anagin might say it himself. The little kids were also a source of anxiety

“Hey, Sancho! Who’s that guy?”

Sanchonius, who had been diligently answering questions about Chiron Tower, turned at the call and introduced him.

“Ah! That’s Mr. Anagin. He’s a practitioner we met in the west and joined forces with.”

“A practitioner? Joined forces? You mean he helped subjugate the Forest Brotherhood with you?”

“Yes, that’s right. He joined us in Western Hellas and fought the bandits alongside us.”

At the mention of subjugating the Forest Brotherhood together with the New Argonaut Expedition Team, a murmur spread through the crowd.

Even among the many disciples of Chiron Tower, the New Argonaut Expedition Team were elites—individuals with standout ability.

The disciples didn’t feel envy toward them. Irida, Tramachus, Thyreos, and Lynceus were all nobles by birth, like royalty, aristocracy, or descendants of heroes.

They were too distant to inspire jealousy.

That was why so many fellow disciples admired them—their noble origins and exceptional abilities.

Some occasionally felt envy or belittled their skills, but even that stemmed from admiration.

And yet, some random guy was being introduced as a comrade of the New Argonaut Expedition Team; it felt irritating.

Sanchonius, who had learned to read the room while serving at Chiron Tower, sensed this immediately and added more explanation about Anagin.

“Mr. Anagin is also an incredible person. He is called the Hero of the Outskirts in Western Anapik and has defeated several villains.”

“Anapik’s just a backwater, isn’t it? Besides, the West is just a boring land with nothing special.”

Someone sneered. It was hard to pinpoint who among the crowd, but the overall mood suggested agreement.

“Tramachus, is he really your comrade? What did he even do? Did he even see Erysichthon?”

Someone babbled on, unaware that Anagin had fought Erysichthon longer than anyone else.

At that, Kori and Pais bristled. ‘Who do you think did the most work?!’ was written all over their faces.

“Excuse me! The one who fought Erysichthon was—”

“Oof!”

Anagin placed his hands on Kori’s and Pais’s heads at the same time, pressing down and patting them.

With a firm grip pressing as he patted, the two kids were forced to stop mid-sentence. Everyone stared at the strange sight.

When he finished patting them, the kids looked up at Anagin, as if asking what that was about.

“I just felt like patting you.”

“.......”

“Hey, did you meet Erysichthon?”

“Yeah.”

If the other spoke casually, Anagin spoke casually too.

He answered curtly and rudely, like talking to an old friend.

The one who had asked frowned slightly in irritation. Most people here were from well-off families, after all....

“Don’t tell me you fought Erysichthon too? Helping these guys?”

Anagin looked at the New Argonaut Expedition Team.

Gulp.

They all swallowed at once, and Sphinx looked at Anagin anxiously.

“Yeah, I was a pretty big help.”

Instead of rattling off unnecessary details as he usually did, Anagin gave a vague answer that was easy to interpret.

He didn’t say who helped whom or who did more work. Instead, he said something else to Sanchonius.

It was something he had heard from Chiron, who had gone down first.

“Can I meet the dwarf? I heard he even fixes magical tools or magic weapons.”

“Ah, you mean Mr. Grumbal. It’s possible. He is an outstanding blacksmith.

“Oh, that’s a relief.”

“However, it won't be easy.”

“It’s okay. I’m not an easy guy myself.

At the last remark, Sanchonius’s smile wavered, and he looked at Anagin with uneasy eyes. He knew it wasn't just words.

He felt uneasy.