Chapter 268 : Chapter 268
Side Story 27. Goodbye, Kalia (3)
The Arkina Kingdom, built upon a remote island far from the continent.
Having come here in person, I felt as though I had entered another world.
Arkina's scenery and weather were extremely unfamiliar, and the culture its people had built was also vastly different from that of the continent.
It was remarkable that they spoke the same Kalia common tongue as the continent.
There were slight differences in accent, but fortunately, I had no great difficulty communicating with the people here.
'Still, a Sword Master emerged from such a closed-off country?'
Geniuses could be born in any world, but the environment in which they could grow was another matter entirely.
What if I had been born on Earth rather than in Kalia?
Even if I had been born into the Haewon Sword Family, a prestigious sword family, I could not have grown as quickly as I had in my days as Johan Raven.
The depth of swordsmanship accumulated by my ancestors over countless years was different.
No matter how great a genius might be, they could not create everything anew. The fastest way to grow was to improve and refine what already existed. From that perspective, it was difficult to believe that a Sword Master had emerged from such a remote island.
Still, I didn't think information from Cheonra, an intelligence organization, could be wrong.
Aiman Blair.
He was only twenty years old, and he had apparently entered the realm of Sword Master two years ago.
Judging solely by the pace of his growth at that age, he was my equal.
That fact alone was enough to pique my interest.
I considered meeting Aiman right away, but I decided to approach things with a little patience.
More than anything, I was curious about the circumstances behind his growth.
For now, I entered a nearby tavern and ordered alcohol.
When one spoke with drunken men, all sorts of tales about the village's heroes often came up as drinking topics.
"Judging by the way you speak, you seem to be from out of town?"
The man seated across from me heard my accent and immediately realized that I was from the continent.
"Why? Is there a problem with me being from the continent?"
"Well, not exactly, but this is quite a strange sight! Someone from the continent walking around openly revealing where he comes from!"
I had received a brief explanation from Cheonra.
The people of Arkina were so closed-off and exclusionary that if I carelessly revealed I was from the continent, I could get caught up in an unnecessary conflict.
But the man seated across from me was the typical good-natured, talkative sort. That was why I had chosen this table.
"You'd be better off keeping your voice down and watching yourself when you can. A lot of rough people come to this tavern."
"Thank you for the advice."
"My name is Gehan. What's yours?"
"Jihan."
"An unusual name. By the way, what brings you to Arkina? You couldn't have come here just for sightseeing."
"I came to explore the swordsmanship of Arkina's people. Since the people here have hardly interacted with the continent, I thought they might have developed a distinct and unique swordsmanship of their own."
Gehan looked intrigued by my words.
"Heh heh heh. Jihan, you know how to say things people like. Most people from the continent look down on our Arkina, don't they? They say we're underdeveloped in every way."
"Some people might think that way, but believing everyone does is a prejudice in itself. In any case, I have high expectations and great interest in the world of Arkina. That's why I came all this way."
"I have a feeling we'll get along well. Heh heh. Then shall we have a drink first?"
Apparently in a good mood, Gehan offered me alcohol and immediately took a large gulp himself.
"Arkina's liquor has a unique yet pleasant aroma. It also has a taste that somehow draws you in."
"Wa-ha-ha. You know your liquor."
He was a simple man.
Every time I gave Arkina a mild compliment, it felt as though I earned a generous amount of goodwill.
"Jihan, was it? Did you come here knowing anything about Arkina's swordsmanship?"
"Actually, I don't know anything at all."
"Not even about the swordsmanship genius who appeared in our kingdom?"
"Well."
A few years later might have been different, but the rumors about Aiman Blair had not yet reached the continent.
Only places like Cheonra circulated such information as high-level intelligence.
In fact, my response was the most ordinary one.
But Gehan looked slightly disappointed.
"Even if Arkina is a backwater, you mean to say that the continent knows nothing about the birth of a Sword Master?"
"A Sword Master? That's quite surprising......"
"I knew it! You don't believe it either, do you? You think a Sword Master couldn't emerge from a place like Arkina."
"No, it isn't that. Sword Masters are exceptionally rare even on the continent. There have even been times when not a single Sword Master existed in an entire era."
"Still, Aiman Blair is definitely a Sword Master! They say he can cut down a small mountain with a single swing of his sword!"
Cut down a mountain.
It was talk like that which made people doubt it.
In any case, people described heroes with just as much exaggeration on the continent as they did on the island.
"Aiman Blair...... He must be an extraordinary genius."
At my brief response, Gehan grew even more excited and began raising his voice.
He started with stories about Aiman's father, then went on to how Aiman defeated the Knight Commander of the Royal Knights at the age of twelve, and how he single-handedly slew three giant Wyverns that had appeared in Arkina.
Gehan's stories showed no sign of ending.
I had heard some of them from Cheonra, but there were also many vivid details I had not heard before.
Of course, the question was how much of it I could believe.
"Anyway, did this swordsman named Aiman Blair reach the realm of Sword Master using only his family's swordsmanship?"
"Isn't that obvious?"
"How can you be so certain? You're not one of Aiman's close aides."
At my words, Gehan smirked and spoke again.
"Until he was eighteen, Aiman never left the village even once. He had no time to learn anything besides his family's swordsmanship."
I had heard that from Cheonra as well.
But where I had only held vague doubts before, hearing the story so vividly after coming here in person let me become certain.
'He really is a genius.'
A being of the same kind as Johan Raven.
I had even been given the title of the greatest swordsman of all time, yet someone with talent similar to mine existed in the same era. My excitement only grew greater.
"There won't be a single swordsman on the continent who can defeat Aiman! Before long, the entire world will know! Our Arkina Continent has produced the greatest Sword Master in history!"
"The greatest in history......"
"Why? You can't believe it?"
"Kalia had Johan Raven."
Saying that with my own mouth made me feel a little embarrassed.
But Gehan's response was something I had never expected.
"Johan Raven? Who's that?"
The most shocking words I had ever heard in my life.
For a moment, I even felt as though I couldn't breathe.
What kind of lives did the people of Arkina live?
It was a truly fascinating place, so unlike the Kalia I knew that it was hard to believe we shared the same world.
The next day.
I decided to go find Aiman immediately.
I was too curious to wait any longer.
Last night, Gehan had told me where Aiman often went to train, but it wasn't exactly valuable information.
Many people already knew it.
One would think that people would flock like clouds to watch if the training ground of a Sword Master became known, but that was impossible in reality.
It was an extreme place that most people could not even approach.
The summit of a volcano, said to be the most sacred place in the Arkina Kingdom.
The rugged terrain was the least of it. The tremendous heat and poisonous smoke that grew stronger the closer one came to the summit completely prevented people from approaching.
'He trains in a place like this every day.'
It was certainly a unique training method.
I didn't know whether it was because this volcano was truly sacred, but it took me a considerable amount of time to sense Aiman's presence.
Of course, that was also because he had perfectly concealed his mana.
At some point, Aiman stopped moving.
'He's finally noticed my approach.'
It was astonishing.
At this distance, Aiman was likely the only person capable of doing this.
At least, among all the people I had encountered so far.
Aiman waited for me with his eyes closed.
Even after I had come within arm's reach, he remained perfectly still.
"Have you come from the continent?"
Those were the first words he spoke to me.
His eyes were still closed.
"It seems you possess a supernatural ability as well."
"Judging by your accent, you are indeed from the continent."
Then Aiman opened his closed eyes.
"How did you know? That I came across the sea?"
"At the very least, there is no one like you in the Arkina Kingdom."
"A plausible deduction."
"Did Amos perhaps tell you about me and send you here?"
"Amos?"
One of the few Sword Masters in Kalia.
I had fought him once in my youth.
He had been a formidable opponent for me at the time, and I remembered him for the maddeningly versatile swordsmanship he displayed.
But what connection was there between Amos and Aiman?
"He asked me to keep it an absolute secret that he lost to me, but it seems he ended up telling someone himself."
"You crossed swords with Amos?"
"Oh! It seems I made a mistake."
"It doesn't look that way. You obviously let that slip on purpose."
I let out a small hollow laugh in disbelief.
"You are very sharp. I look forward to seeing whether your swordsmanship is as sharp as your perception."
In any case, it was astonishing.
Amos was a Sword Master senior to me.
It had been quite some time since I had seen him, but he was not the sort to sit idle with that relentless personality of his, so his swordsmanship must have advanced considerably.
Yet he had lost to a mere twenty-year-old boy. It was something no one in the world would easily believe.
'Even so, asking him to keep it secret so he wouldn't look bad.'
Aiman watched me with a broad smile.
"What is so amusing?"
"It's the first time in my life that I've felt tension."
"You've only been on this island, so of course it is."
"Is that so? The truth is, I am very excited right now. Judging from your appearance, you do not seem to be Johan Raven. May I ask your name?"
"Johan Raven."
"Your joke is excessive. No matter how much of a backwater this may be, do you think that someone walking the path of the sword would not know that? I've read descriptions of his appearance in books until I was sick of them. He couldn't possibly have a face as handsome as yours......"
This bastard had finally crossed the line.
It couldn't be helped.
I would have to put this budding talent in his place and give him a proper lesson.