Chapter 85: Semele Theban
"A woman?"
Edgar frowned upon hearing the news from Andrew.
His first instinct was doubt, for why would a woman be in such a remote place?
As the doubt spiraled in his mind like a wildfire, a thought quickly took shape.
’Is she a trap?’
Edgar wondered to himself while putting the stone in his hand back into his pocket.
He was, by all means, truly aware of the beauty traps that were sent by enemies to infiltrate the rankings.
Be it in ancient times or agents from his recent memories sent to weave themselves into the top members of a country.
But the thought quickly turned dubious.
’Why would someone send such an obvious trap?’
He couldn’t understand if the other party thought of him as horny or just a straight-up idiot.
Both of his enemies, the Atreus Clan and the Northern Sect, knew little about him, so he wasn’t sure which one it was.
Still thinking about all the possibilities in his mind, Edgar walked toward the main gate.
As soon as his gaze fell on the woman, he froze in his place.
’What the fuck..?’
The woman was tall--as tall as him with long, toned, bare legs that gave her an almost statuesque body.
She stood silently a few meters beyond the gate.
The lady wore a fitted grey sleeveless gown that looked old and tattered.
Her straight black hair flowed behind her, long enough to touch her knees.
Her eyes, which were a deep shade of crimson, moved around the Fortress curiously until they landed on Edgar.
The lady clasped her hands behind her back and walked closer.
"....."
Edgar instinctively made every ⟨Watch Tower⟩ take aim at her, whose presence was really eerie.
Up close, Edgar could clearly see her face.
She had an angular face, high cheekbones, and sharp hunter-like eyes.
Every one of her features seemed sculpted rather than born.
Her skin was unnaturally pale, almost porcelain, yet there wasn’t the slightest hint of frailty about her.
’Are all the women in this world beautiful?’ Edgar jabbed inwardly without lowering his guard.
She finally stood in front of Edgar with a slight smile on her face.
"I am a traveler named Semele Theban," she said in a gentle tone. "Would you mind if I stayed at your Fortress for a while?"
"A traveler, you say..." Edgar echoed her words slowly.
Semele gave a graceful nod. "I’ve been wandering for a very long time."
"And you happened to wander here?"
A faint smile lingered on her lips. "It would seem so."
Edgar wasn’t convinced in the slightest.
’Not even trying to make the lie believable...’
Still, Edgar didn’t dare antagonize her for no reason.
What if she attacked the Fortress and he wasn’t powerful enough to stop her?
’If a woman is traveling alone in such a world, then she is either stupid or stupidly strong.’
"Ten Nightmare Stones," Edgar said, looking into her crimson eyes. "For a whole day and night."
The lady nodded her head with ease.
"Sounds reasonable."
’I am ripping you off, lady,’ Edgar thought to himself before he looked back at Gordon.
"Do we have any extra houses?"
Gordon, who was suspiciously looking at the lady, slowly nodded his head.
"There is one at the back that’s not being used."
Edgar nodded his head and said,
"Show her the house."
"Would you mind if I roamed around the place?" Semele asked the next moment. "I have never seen a Fortress like yours."
"...."
Edgar could only nod his head reluctantly.
The lady smiled and walked past him, but not without complimenting him.
"You smell nice."
Edgar instinctively sniffed his sleeve.
’...Weirdo.’
Ignoring her comment, Edgar turned around and walked away.
His plan was to create a ⟨Tower of Souls⟩ close to the previous one, but now he changed his mind.
’I am not gonna create a new building anywhere close to her.’
His mind was already occupied with the headless monster and the ape-like Nightmares.
’And now there is another problem.’
"Huff...."
Edgar let out a deep breath and turned his gaze toward Gordon.
The veteran soldier said in a serious tone,
"She is powerful, my lord."
His gaze lingered on the tall woman.
"I can’t fathom the depth of her strength."
’Fuck my life...’
Edgar kept breathing slowly to keep his nerves calm.
He looked back and said, "Let’s train for a while."
The blond boy really needed something to blow off all the steam.
Gordon nodded without another word.
"As you wish, my Lord."
The two of them walked toward the training grounds, leaving Andrew to discreetly keep an eye on their unusual guest.
Edgar picked up a wooden practice sword from the rack, which was carved out by the artisan Virgo.
He swung it a few times and looked at Gordon, who picked up a sword as well.
The veteran soldier took the first stance of the Attack Sword Style.
He leaned his body forward, sword drawn outward, while his center of gravity shifted toward his hip.
"Ready?"
Edgar took the stance of the Defense Sword Style, placing one hand behind his back and holding the sword parallel to his face.
"Come."
Gordon rushed toward him instantly, adhering to his style.
Edgar gathered all his focus on defense.
He controlled his breathing and hearing.
In one fluid motion, Gordon lunged his sword diagonally, taking strength from his initial step.
Edgar took a step sideways.
He raised his sword over his head, and when it collided with Gordon’s sword, he lowered his wrist and guided the sword away.
"Excellent counter," Gordon mused, retracting his sword in preparation for his next attack.
Gordon swung his sword from over his head as if he was about to slam it down.
Edgar prepared for the attack while raising his sword, but at the last second, Gordon shifted his body weight.
Bringing his sword back, he produced a sharp upward swipe at Edgar’s unguarded legs.
Edgar immediately abandoned the idea of blocking.
Instead, he twisted his hips and pushed off with his rear foot.
Whoosh!
The wooden sword skimmed past his shin, missing by barely an inch.
Gordon had already changed his stance before Edgar could recover.
His upward slash naturally flowed into another attack.
Rolling his wrist, his sword traced a tight circle before thrusting toward Edgar’s ribs.
Clack!
Edgar barely intercepted it at the last moment before pulling himself back, creating a gap.
But the Attack Sword Style was created around the concept of aggressive behavior.
Gordon quickly pushed forward and slashed upward once again.
The instant Gordon stepped in, Edgar instinctively shifted his front foot backward while rotating his torso.
Whoosh!
The wooden blade sliced through the air inches from his chest.
Gordon quickly pushed in and twisted his waist once again, slashing forward.
Edgar met it with his own blade, redirecting the strike instead of stopping it head-on.
The moment the swords separated, Gordon advanced another step.
He was relentless.
Every attack naturally transitioned into the next, giving Edgar no opportunity to regain the initiative.
"You are a fast learner, my lord," he said, without wasting a single movement. "But you still need to learn a lot."
Edgar clicked his tongue and shifted his stance to the Speed Sword Style, whose basics he had barely understood.
The rigid stance of the Defense Sword Style disappeared.
His knees bent lower.
His weight shifted onto the balls of his feet.
The wooden sword lowered slightly, no longer acting as a shield but as an extension of his body.
Compared to the immovable, mountain-like posture from before, this one resembled a predator preparing to spring.
"The Speed Sword Style..." Gordon muttered. "You’ve only practiced its fundamentals."
"I know."
The veteran suddenly pivoted and slashed horizontally.
Edgar ducked beneath the strike instead of blocking this time.
His body glided past the wooden blade before springing back up.
At the same moment, his sword darted toward Gordon’s side.
The veteran quickly noticed it and gave a short nod of approval.
He rotated his wrist and blocked the sword easily.
Edgar grew frustrated as he yelled,
"Again!"
---
The two of them kept fighting for an hour before they decided to rest.
After finding that the lady Semele had already settled into a house, Edgar moved toward the opposite direction from her house.
That led him to an empty space beside the Smithing House.
Taking in a deep breath, Edgar willed the creation of a ⟨Tower of Souls⟩.
Immediately, the system heeded his call, and the process started in an instant.
A circular platform roughly three meters wide slowly emerged from below.
Dark stone, like the previous tower, pushed through the soil.
The stone absorbed light itself, as if it were made from the blackest substance in the world.
The moment the foundation was completed, dozens of strange symbols lit up across its surface.
Pillars erupted upward from the foundation.
They twisted as they rose.
They resembled a densely packed ribcage.
The structure continued climbing until it finally stopped at nearly eight meters tall.
Eventually, the bones connected near the top, forming a narrow tower.
Once the ⟨Tower of Souls⟩ was completed, Edgar didn’t waste any time upgrading it.
The same panel that he had seen before appeared right in front of his eyes.
---
Choose the Upgrade Path:
Ⅰ. Soul Refinery:
⟨Increases the number of souls that can be refined simultaneously.⟩
⟨Current Capacity: 50 → 200⟩
⟨Refinement Speed: Greatly Increased.⟩
---
Ⅱ. Soul Archive:
⟨Stores refined souls and records information about every absorbed Nightmare.⟩
⟨Allows retrieval of biological data and compatible Builder materials.⟩
---
Ⅲ. Soul Sentinel:
⟨Transforms the Tower of Souls into a defensive Soul Structure.⟩
⟨Can temporarily manifest Soul Guardians using refined souls.⟩
⟨Consumes Soul Essence during combat.⟩
---