Book 11 Chapter 10
Episode 262
At Trident Point (1)
Trident Point was an abyssal land that bordered the northern and western parts of the continent, with the North Sea separating them.
Swamps and wetlands, which never froze despite the frigid climate, formed the main terrain, and there were even rumors that these swamps were expanding.
It was a place that merchants and sailors were reluctant to approach, yet those who sought to make money in the name of adventure gathered there endlessly.
Because it was a land of labyrinths, and an old battlefield.
It was once the territory of the old noble, Duke of Public Security, Beshanshidug, and also the place where Karen Den, the Black Sun, led a detachment and defeated him.
This meant it was a place where not only artifacts of the abyss but also many treasures from the Age of Gods lay dormant.
“Wow, this is a huge catch, isn’t it? With this, we could live off it for years.”
An adventurer chuckled, clutching a sphere that glowed dark crimson.
The super-large adventure guild, Moby Dick.
They were the ones who made a living by dangerous hunting in this Trident Point.
A man, several times larger in physique than even the most renowned adventurers, received the sphere.
“Hahaha, quite a haul. It looks like we’ll be saying goodbye to this wretched land for a while.”
This man, who governed the three hundred odd ruffians of the Moby Dick adventure guild with a single fist, was Blake Blackheart.
Because he had roamed this abyssal land since he was young and remained unharmed, people began to call him Blackheart at some point.
It implied that his heart had already been stained black by the evil mist that thickly enveloped Trident Point, and there was no one as knowledgeable about this land as he was.
His swordsmanship was so outstanding, even without professional training, that the Emperor once tried to select him as the Sword Saint of the Imperial Guard.
“You bastards! Let’s return to the Far West Branch! This expedition is over. I’m treating again this time!”
Normally, a cacophony of laughter and all sorts of jokes would have flown around.
Such as, “Not ‘again this time,’ but ‘this time,’ right?” or “He’ll probably go into another labyrinth if he sees one.”
But no sound was heard. Instead, they felt a chilling cold that crept over their entire bodies.
‘What kind of mist is this…?’
The mist that had suddenly thickly shrouded everything was so dense that they couldn't even see their comrades right in front of them.
“What the hell is this now?”
Blake instantly drew a large curved sword from his back and swung a full-force slash.
The wind pressure from the enormous weight cleared the mist, and Blake had to doubt his own eyes.
Someone was walking through that deep and vast swamp, located in the deepest part of Trident Point.
“Walking through that swamp?”
“What nonsense… How deep is that place!”
The middle-aged man had hair and a beard of ominous dark blue, and his martial arts uniform, made of an unknown material, also shimmered gloriously in dark blue.
His heart pounded wildly, and his back was coldly drenched in a cold sweat. He didn't know why.
They thought they didn't know.
Because there was no way to explain that surreal… presence that approached, overwhelming all five senses.
No one knew the identity of that middle-aged man, but some newcomers were prostrating themselves in worship in a daze.
“Hey, I’ve never seen your face before, who are you? This is our territory. State your name. What adventure guild are you from?”
When Blake Blackheart pointed the tip of his curved sword and spoke arrogantly, the man sneered.
“This is surprising. Since when did this territory, given to me, Beshanshidug, by the great King, fall into the hands of a worm like you?”
“What? Hah, a worm? Me?”
Those were the last words he would utter alive.
That day, just like in the age before the epoch, desperate screams and lamentations filled Trident Point.
The master of Trident Point had returned.
* * *
Duke of Public Security, Beshanshidug.
The clue about the appearance of the leading noble among the Spider Lord's Five Generals came from the Papal State.
“Hello… Should I say it’s been a while?”
I visited the Papal State to return the Holy Sword Shurpen and to meet Lyrista’s old acquaintances.
“This is a miracle bestowed by the gods.”
Cardinal Yoshuharu, the Golden Dragon, whom Lyrista respected more than her own father, wore a serene smile.
“I am truly glad to see you again.”
Miria, initially shy about meeting old acquaintances, kept her words to a minimum but soon began to chatter excitedly.
“…”
That sight filled Rain with both warmth and a pang of sadness.
If only I could have met the Dean again alive…
I had resolved not to dwell on meaningless hypotheticals, but was this the only lingering regret I couldn't shake?
“You’ve come for a family meeting 300 years late, Rain Weejae. Or should I call you Dragon Sage Rain now?”
Here, I met a welcome familiar face again, it was Dolan Slade, the head of the Special Affairs Department.
“I came all this way to fix your leg, and the reward is teasing?”
“Please take it as a cute junior’s whining.”
“Stop that disgusting act. What junior? A man with a sparse beard.”
After exchanging greetings, I was updated on the situation of the Arkrad continent over the past year.
“As the Mad Dragon’s illness is gradually worsening, it has come to a point where no True Dragon can leave the Papal State.”
“Because they have to protect it?”
“That, and also because only the power of True Dragons can suppress the erosion of the abyss. Two dragons take turns attending to his sickbed.”
“They say even my power can’t heal it…”
“There’s no need to feel powerless. It’s not an ordinary abyss, but the King’s abyss. It’s simply the Age of Dragons coming to an end in its natural course.”
The atmosphere of the conversation gradually grew heavy.
Rain raised his head and looked at the three dragon siblings playing in the golden courtyard of the Papal State.
Aki was forcibly piggybacking Mir and running around, and even if Mir didn’t show it, he seemed to be enjoying himself.
“Sometimes I wonder if everything I’m doing now is meaningless. When the kings awaken one by one someday, who on earth can stop them?”
“Won’t the hero’s party of that era appear?”
“If it were that easy, you wouldn’t have needed to be active in this era. The birth of Lyrista’s party of four in the same era 300 years ago was a miracle among miracles.”
That was…
There's no room for argument.
“Karen Den said there was nothing more I could do, but is that really true?”
If I can’t face the King, I at least wanted to eliminate the first pillar, but even that wasn’t allowed.
“If you’d lend your strength. There’s information currently kept secret, only known to the Imperial Family and the Papal State.”
“What is it?”
“That… is a secret. Hohoho.”
“Image construction.”
“You can’t even take a joke. Do you know Trident Point?”
“How could I not? It’s an adventurer’s sanctuary.”
And it was also where Aki’s first journey began and ended.
“There, adventurers have been disappearing one after another.”
“…?”
“It started with the Moby Dick adventure guild led by Blake Blackheart… They were ranked 3rd among adventure guilds.”
Moby Dick?
That’s where Rem and Bart once belonged.
“That kind of adventure guild disappeared?”
“Yes, isn’t it strange? So the Imperial Family and the Magic Alliance dispatched an investigation team, led by the Magic Saint, but there’s been no contact yet.”
Sagan Wolf Blado…
He was a wizard known as the strongest in the Empire, and contact was lost?
“Where exactly is that location?”
This was the reason for returning to Trident Point.
The party left the Papal State and crossed the Red Mountains. They passed through <Forest Harbor>, a famous trading city in the west, and then crossed the North Sea.
Once again, the majestic Far West Branch of the Adventurer Guild rose before their eyes… A place filled with many memories, big and small.
“How is it, Aki? Do you remember this place?”
When Aki tilted her head at Rain’s question, Nen opened her flatfish-like eyes.
“Forgetting memories with Father is evil! Why does Sister always try to do evil things?!”
Nen always seemed to be asking for trouble…
Mir shook his head, watching Aki punch Nen’s head.
“Acknowledgement of the legitimacy of violence.”
It was around then that Miria smiled with deep emotion.
“Come to think of it, Nils seemed to be the most proactive among us. Should I say he was the most realistic?”
On her back, the large, heavy Holy Sword Shurpen, wrapped in bandages, emitted a soft light.
With Yoshuharu’s permission, they were able to borrow Shurpen until the end of their journey.
Because once it was returned, they wouldn’t be able to borrow it again due to public scrutiny.
“That old man?”
“He said he was looking for artifacts, the legacy of the gods. He said he would wake you up and to wait…”
“Really?”
Chief Tinker, Nils Blantz.
I will never forget the memories of the days I spent with that old man.
And how Nils thought of me, there’s no need to even read a letter.
‘Knowing his personality, he probably didn't leave one anyway.’
Because that intricately rising structure on the horizon now was like the materialized heart of that gruff but kind old man.
“How wonderful it would have been if I could have visited 300 years ago.”
“Nils would have been very flustered, I think.”
“Yes, but he would have tried not to show it.”
Surely, he would have.
A scene that warms the heart just by recalling it, causes even more heartache when it disappears.
“By the way, Miria.”
“Yes?”
“Your hair has gotten quite long, hasn’t it? It’s already down to your shoulders.”
“…”
“Did you not have time to fix it because you came in such a hurry? I didn’t think you were in that much of a rush.”
Only after saying that did he feel something strange.
Even during their journey to <Flame Myriad>, Miria always kept her hair short by trimming it with a dagger, saying it was bothersome.
When he realized that, Miria was subtly covering her reddened cheeks with her long hair.
“This is just, I was wondering which style, between the old and the current, would look better in your eyes…”
Rain’s thoughts momentarily stopped, and he wore a bewildered expression.
What would look better in my eyes…?
At that moment, their eyes met, and his face flushed hot, so he had to turn away.
Just as a strange and embarrassing silence seemed about to descend, an emotionless voice came from over his shoulder.
“Physiological reaction detected, rapid increase in heart rate and body temperature. This is what primates exhibit in a state of excitement…”
“Be quiet, Mir.”
The two almost simultaneously covered Mir’s mouth.
That was the last time they could chat leisurely.
They decided to first stop by the Far West Branch building to gather expedition supplies and maps, but even that wasn’t easy.
“You’re going inside?”
The Far West Branch’s guide wasn’t a fresh-faced handsome man or a polite beauty, but a middle-aged man with a bold, excited beard who squinted disrespectfully.
This was natural in a land ruled by strength, Trident Point.
The members of the Far West Branch were selected only from adventurers of at least Gold rank.
‘They don't recognize me… Good.’
The effect of the hooded cloak, which covered his entire body, seemed to be working well.
Communication at the Far West Branch was entirely entrusted to Miria.
Aki, like Rain, pulled her hood down, while Nen and Mir peeked their faces out of Seresia’s sub-dimensional pouch.
Just keeping these troublemakers quiet was a hardship.
“Never seen your face before, Gold rank 2nd? From the Republic?”
“Yes. Got a problem with that?”
“For a Republic person, your Imperial language accent is so refined, like a high noble, I just had to check.”
“Enough, just give me the map.”
“Looks like you smelled money, but you’d better go back. The talk of finding artifacts here and getting rich quick is all old news. Now it’s the source of grim rumors.”
Those who explored this abyssal land were commonly called Striders.
Because one had to be able to stride through this land entangled with grotesque swamps.
Only adventurers of Silver rank or higher, considered ‘skilled’ elsewhere, were allowed entry. Silver rank was the minimum. The recommended entry rank was Gold.
“They say ‘The Flowing Desert’ is making so much money these days, I don’t know why you came here instead of there.”
“I didn’t come to make money.”
“Hmm?”
“I heard a big incident is happening that others don’t know about, so I came out of curiosity. Where exactly did the Moby Dick adventure guild disappear?”
Curiosity.
Most strong adventurers become adventurers driven by curiosity about the world rather than money.
The receptionist, who knew this well, huffed and with a displeased look, pulled out a map.
“If you youngsters want to go die without listening to an old man, who am I to stop you? Here, then, huff.”
The map concisely marked <Snowy Dragon Great Wall> and major cities with simple symbols, and detailed the terrain of Trident Point.
“The disappearance point is here. A month ago, the Magic Saint also went to the same place, but his whereabouts are still uncertain.”
As the receptionist made an X-mark on a spot in the swamp with a fountain pen, Rain’s gaze narrowed.
‘Huh, that place is…’
When passing through here, the Aihn guide Eldvitch had strictly warned them not to enter that spot.
- It’s the place where Duke of Public Security Beshanshidug was sealed deep within the swamp, and it's still teeming with ancient beings.
Perhaps due to the simultaneous disappearances of high-ranking adventurers, a lonely atmosphere even pervaded the Far West Branch.
“Hey, rookies. If you don’t want to die, give up. Do you know how many adventure guilds packed up and left in the last month?”
Someone drinking at a table issued that warning, and it sounded like a sincere warning rather than a bluster or childish territorialism.
“Miria, it’s really strange, isn’t it?”
“You’re right. There’s none of that usual atmosphere found where skilled adventurers gather. The noisy kind, overflowing with overconfidence.”
Omens of ill fortune were appearing everywhere even before they officially began exploring Trident Point.
This place, the eternal marshland, was a dangerous area that most people avoided, but for high-ranking adventurers, it was considered a forbidden fruit that was hard to give up.
This was because Trident Point was historically a fierce battlefield during the Age of Gods’ wars, and 'artifacts,' holy relics of the abyss and legacies of the gods, were often discovered there.
Selling one high-grade artifact could allow one to live comfortably for life. If used directly, one’s power would be tremendously enhanced.
This Trident Point was a place where those seeking a quick fortune and those pursuing their own strength mingled.
But to have such a listless atmosphere…
“We need to hurry.”