Chapter 34 : Chapter 34
Chapter 34. What's Important in a Contract
A small barracks in front of Sylvester Castle.
There, Hyunwoo and Lucas, who had returned alive from the forest, occupied beds side by side.
“……”
Hyunwoo glanced at the still-unconscious Lucas for a moment before sitting up.
Recalling the events in the forest, he took off the ‘Footsteps of the Abyss’ he was wearing.
He turned the boots upside down and poured out the corrupted fluid that had filled them.
Splash—
Looking at the thick, dripping fluid, Hyunwoo took a deep breath.
‘Phew… I almost died for real this time.’
It felt like I had become one with the sword.
As I cut through the relentlessly swarming Lafre and crossed the forest, I had reached the master level of the Sabla Swordsmanship before I knew it.
The Sabla Swordsmanship was also a style that granted a trait upon mastery.
⌜Sabla Swordsmanship (2-Star)―A swordsmanship created by the Demon World's Count Sabla. His swordsmanship, which utilizes centrifugal force, contains a destructive power that surpasses its original might.
Proficiency: 100% (M)
Trait: BalanceⅠ(New!)⌟
⌜Trait: Balance I
Description: ‘The elegance of an unshakable body.’
Your ability to maintain your body's center of balance becomes outstanding. Your center will not collapse even during violent movements.⌟
Using the mastery of the Sabla Swordsmanship and the balance I had gained through it, I escaped the forest at an increasingly faster speed.
However, just before escaping the forest, the breath I had taken with the ‘Oxygen Tank’ reached its limit, and it was a close call.
As I inhaled in the forest filled with poisonous fog, my body quickly became paralyzed.
If I had been even a little late in getting out of the forest, I would have been reduced to a meal for the Lafre.
My heart sank just thinking about that moment.
Ugh—
A groan came from Lucas on the adjacent bed.
Hyunwoo turned his head to look at him.
Other than being in a state of exhaustion, he didn't seem to have any major problems.
‘Still, it was worth the risk.’
Lucas Cayenne.
A fallen demon, and a vampire thirsting for revenge.
The process was arduous, but in the end, I was able to form a connection with him.
One might mistake him for a swordsman because he uses a sword, but he was actually a magician.
He only used a sword because he lacked mana due to the aftereffects of carving a Stigma.
The fact that a magician lacked mana was a huge weakness.
However, if his mana problem could be solved, he would become a magician who could be active even in the late game.
A magician who would become a great asset someday if I put him in my debt now.
There was a sense of forcefulness in my approach, but perhaps because the situation was so urgent, I was able to form a connection with him as intended.
Just as Hyunwoo was smiling with satisfaction, he felt a commotion outside.
‘Did someone come?’
Soon after, the flap of the barracks tent opened, and a knight appeared.
It was the knight he had encountered upon leaving the forest.
Was his name Noctis?
His eyes shining, he spoke to me.
“How is your body?”
“There are no major issues.”
“I would like to let you rest more, but the situation is not favorable. Have you learned anything about the forest?”
Instead of answering, Hyunwoo took out Gert's emblem from his clothes and handed it to him.
“…This is.”
“I brought it from the office in Gert Castle.”
The round, plaque-shaped emblem was a symbol of a demon.
The misty, stone mountain-shaped crest embedded in the center of the emblem represented the Lord of Gert.
This was sufficient proof that he had definitely been to Gert Castle.
Noctis's eyes shone at the clear evidence, impossible to forge.
His attitude changed noticeably as he held the emblem in his hand.
“This is certain. What is the situation at Gert Castle?”
“Where are the 10,000 mana stones?”
“A report on the situation comes first.”
“Well, the rule of information trading, as I know it, is to receive the mana stones first.”
“How dare you… are you trying to make a deal with me right now?”
“I came here on a request, but I’m not your subordinate, am I? So, it’s a trade, isn't it.”
A faint aura of red mana gathered in Noctis's eyes.
Honestly, these demons.
I was no longer the broke gladiator I used to be, with nothing to rely on.
Hyunwoo chuckled— and presented the Super Rookie badge on his shoulder.
“I am a gladiator from the Bellatus Arena, and a Super Rookie.”
“…A Super Rookie? You?”
A look of disbelief appeared in Noctis's eyes.
That's how much of a significant symbol the ‘Super Rookie’ was to the Arena.
He was a being that a mere knight would find burdensome to harm.
“Wouldn't it be troublesome for Sylvester if I were to die?”
“……”
Sylvester was currently in a state no different from war.
While in close cooperation with the Bellatus Arena, they couldn't possibly lay a hand on one of its gladiators, and a ‘Super Rookie’ at that.
Noctis regained his composure and calmed his mana.
‘…Vicious bastard. Look at that nasty temper.’
I felt a threat to my life for a moment, but I had succeeded in bringing him to the negotiating table.
I couldn't just hand over the information meekly.
Most of these Demon World bastards would just snatch the information and run.
“Bring it.”
Noctis gestured to a soldier beside him.
A moment later, the soldier brought a pouch of mana stones.
Hyunwoo took the pouch, confirmed there was a 10,000 mana stone black mana stone inside, and nodded.
“Gert Castle is now a complete ruin.”
Hyunwoo began to explain in detail what he had seen at Gert Castle.
The state of the castle, how many Lafre were inside, and how their poison worked, and so on.
Even when Noctis asked about parts he hadn't seen with his own eyes, he answered without hesitation.
“What about Gert Castle's transfer gate? How did no one escape while they were being annihilated?”
“It was thoroughly destroyed.”
Hyunwoo answered, recalling what must have happened right after Anesta appeared.
“By who? A Lafre shouldn't be able to destroy a gate of that size….”
“It seems there is a being in the castle related to the Lafre's propagation.”
“The Lafre's propagation?”
As Hyunwoo leaned in as if to whisper, Noctis also leaned in closer.
Instead of answering, Hyunwoo shook the pouch at him.
He let out a groan.
“…What is this? The fee for the information has already been paid.”
“The information I'm about to give you is about the cause of the Lafre's propagation. The information I provided until now was about Gert Castle.”
“……”
“You clearly stated that you would pay separate rewards for those two, did you not?”
“…You’re a meticulous one.”
“I’ve lived a rather rough life. I’ll take that as a compliment.”
At Hyunwoo's shameless reply, the knight needlessly yelled at a soldier and had him bring more mana stones.
“Thank you.”
Hyunwoo checked the pouch and, with a satisfied expression, opened his mouth.
“It seems the Lafre have a leader.”
“…A leader?”
Hyunwoo took out Anesta's husk from his clothes.
“A husk left behind by someone. The castle was full of things similar to this.”
“What are these?”
“I’ve seen this in an ancient text before….”
“Why are you suddenly talking about a book?”
“I remember reading information related to this husk in that text.”
“What?”
“Do you happen to know of a being called Anesta?”
“…I’ve never heard that name before.”
Anesta, a being that had never existed in the Demon World before.
To explain this unique creature in the Demon World, Hyunwoo began to explain the contents from the ‘setting book’, packaging it as an ancient legend.
“A being that is the mother of Lafre? It all sounds like a tall tale.”
“Investigate the husk. I have only spoken of what I saw with my own two eyes.”
His provision of information ended here.
Now, the judgment on this matter was up to them.
Noctis narrowed his eyes, but he couldn't completely deny the content.
The emblem, proof that he had gone to the center of the castle.
And on top of that, the husk right before his eyes.
The evidence and explanation before him were too detailed and accurate to be dismissed as lies.
‘If I've told them this much, they won't be taken down so easily, right?’
There was a reason Hyunwoo had done his best to convey information to the people of Sylvester.
Sylvester had to hold out for as long as possible in order to deal with Anesta before it expanded its territory.
“But… how did you manage to return alive?”
“Do you want to know about my ability?”
Hyunwoo shook the pouch in front of Noctis again.
As he looked at the shaking pouch, his eyes also wavered.
“…You’re a persistent one.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“……Phew.”
Noctis let out a sigh.
The human had brought back information on Gert Castle and the existence of a Lafre leader in a situation where most of the gladiators who went into the forest had died.
The Lord would surely want information on this human as well.
As Noctis reluctantly nodded, Hyunwoo spoke as if doing him a great favor.
“I’ll take just 5,000 mana stones.”
“……”
A moment later, Hyunwoo, who had pocketed a hefty sum of mana stones, told him about his shoes.
The ‘Footsteps of the Abyss’ that concealed the wearer's presence.
It wasn't a special method, but the ability of an artifact.
Watching Hyunwoo, who even demonstrated it by moving around, Noctis's face crumpled mercilessly.
“…So it only applies to you.”
“Well, yes.”
“Are you willing to sell the shoes?”
“As you can see, I find them quite useful.”
As Hyunwoo shrugged, Noctis's expression crumpled even more mercilessly, thinking he had been tricked.
Before he could get any angrier, Hyunwoo quickly added.
“They were a gift from the Arena. As a reward for being a Super Rookie.”
As Hyunwoo smiled leisurely, Noctis soon let out a groan and shook his head.
“Ugh… rest.”
Noctis, his expression hardened, left the tent.
A cold wind blew in.
It seemed night had fallen.
A short while after he left, Lucas woke up.
“Where am I….”
“Don't worry. I brought you safely to Sylvester Castle.”
As he slowly regained consciousness, his dazed eyes began to find focus.
His crimson-tinged eyes stared straight at Hyunwoo, then he brought a hand to the back of his neck.
It seemed he remembered that Hyunwoo had knocked him out.
“…Why on earth did you knock me out?”
“I had no choice.”
Hyunwoo shrugged.
“What do you mean, you had no choice?”
“If I had told you I was going to carry you on my back through the forest, would you have meekly let me?”
“That’s….”
“There was no time to argue. As you know, we were in danger from the poison if we delayed.”
“……”
Lucas fell silent, unable to think of a rebuttal.
A moment later, having organized his thoughts, he looked around and slowly opened his mouth.
“You’ve kept the pact.”
“Of course. I’m not a man who goes back on his word.”
“I acknowledge that. Now it’s my turn, so state your favor.”
“A favor? Not really…? I don’t have one yet, I’ll tell you when I think of something.”
“…What? You mean you made the offer without even thinking about it?”
“Of course.”
“What, this is….”
Hyunwoo then escaped the tent as if fleeing.
He had a plan when he approached Lucas and proposed the pact.
The Blood Pact seemed like a perfect contract method, but it had a blind spot.
‘Stating the validity period in a contract is basic. What a sloppy vampire.’
Until the contract was completed, they could not part from each other.
Hyunwoo had no intention of letting Lucas go free.