Chapter 43: An Unexpected Incident(1)
There were three other cadets who were a.s.signed the Kollon Ruins mission alongside Jin.
Kajin Romello, Mayl Ha.s.s, and Rima Ha.s.s. All three were part of Myu and Anne’s faction. The Ha.s.s brothers were slightly weaker than Kajin, but were still bona fide 5-star knights.
“Young Master. Allow me to apologize for my transgression a few days ago. I will make sure not to disappoint you anymore during the upcoming mission.”
“It is an honour to be given the chance to work alongside Young Master Jin.”
The day before their departure, Kajin and the Ha.s.s brothers came to find Jin.
Their behaviour had made a full 180 compared to a few days ago. Their sarcastic remarks had completely vanished and had been replaced by courteous and submissive att.i.tudes.
Jin wore a wide smile to show his satisfaction.
“Indeed, the past is in the past. Let’s turn the page now. I’ll be in your care from here on out.”
“Thank you very much, Young Master.”
“Thank you very much!”
Once the three of them left the room, Murakan leaped onto Jin’s lap.
“It’s because they kept talking behind my back without having the courage to confront me that they were abandoned by Elder Sisters. Sending those three to the Kollon Ruins is basically being sent to die… Backstabbing me during the mission must be their desperate last-ditch effort.”
Jin was sure of himself.
Myu and Anne. Those sly foxes must’ve ordered their lackeys to kill Jin during the mission. He was also certain that his sisters had promised to look after their family if they successfully killed Jin and also died bravely on the battlefield.
The boy had witnessed Myu and Anne deal with people using this exact same method in his past life countless times.
“Meow~”
The cat sitting on his lap laughed out loud.
***
They had to use a transfer gate and travel on land to reach the Kollon Ruins.
The Kollon Ruins originally had around a couple of thousands of natives living in villages. However, the Zipfels discovered the land several hundreds of years ago and took control of the area, so the ruins became a part of the Peylon Kingdom.
Afterwards, most of the natives were slaughtered and the survivors were enslaved. The descendants of the natives who are still living in Kollon to this day appear to be respected by the Zipfels, but they gnash their teeth at the clan of magicians.
However, there was nothing the descendants could do.
While they appeared respected, they were still slaves. Moreover, the rest of the world didn’t really care about the lives and rights of the Kollon natives.
The Zipfels spared the descendents and allowed them to remain in Kollon with the excuse of preserving the land in its original state. However, it was all an act where they were trying to redeem themselves from their horrible past deeds.
As he thought about this sad truth, Jin frowned deeply.
‘The weak being trampled on by the strong is a common occurrence around the world, but the Zipfels really went too far back then.’
Originally, the Zipfels weren’t the type to commit such ma.s.sacres.
They normally prefer to conquer new lands peacefully and reasonably, while trying to gain the natural respect and loyalty of the conquered. The Zipfels were far more advanced in terms of their public image and relations compared to the Runcandels.
In fact, ruling by force was the Runcandels’ style.
If so, why did the Zipfels suppress the Kollon natives in such a violent and cruel way back then?
Jin knew the answer to this question.
‘It was because of the mirror-like artifact the natives hid away. The Zipfels had some vague knowledge of this artifact when they discovered the island. So they trampled on the natives in order to find it.’
Currently, the existence of this ‘ancient mirror’ was top secret information that hadn’t spread outside of the Zipfel Clan.
However, before Jin’s regression, the entire world came to know of this mirror by the time he was 27. One brave journalist wrote an article about this ancient artifact the Zipfels had recently found.
The journalist even recorded the details of the artifact’s excavation site. The natives who bore a grudge against the Zipfels informed the journalist about how the clan had robbed them of their divine artifact and the history of the oppression.
‘Later on, people started calling that mirror the Fountain of Mana.’
The mirror artifact—the Fountain of Mana—had a simple yet terrifying effect.
It could increase your mana just by staring into it. Needless to say, there were some extreme side effects, but the artifact’s value and benefits were still considerable even when taking those into account.
The limit of the increase in mana using the Fountain was up to 7-star.
Thanks to the item, the Zipfels were able to nurture and develop countless 7-star magicians as if they were a factory. And once these ‘ma.s.s-produced magicians’ made their appearance in the world, numerous aspirants aiming to become magicians joined their clan.
Thus, the already-powerful Zipfel Clan began leaving the Runcandels behind in the dust and solidified their standing on the continent while putting pressure on their enemy clan of swordsmen.
‘This time, I won’t let those Zipfel b.a.s.t.a.r.ds get the mirror in their hands.’
As one would expect, he wasn’t planning on stealing the artifact while oppressing the natives like the Zipfels had done. However, for the price of suppressing the natives for several hundreds of years, he was planning on stopping the Zipfels from gaining more power using the Fountain.
There was no need to hurry. According to his knowledge from his past life, the Zipfels needed another ten years or more in order to find the mirror. Thus, Jin only needed to steal it before that day came.
“We will arrive soon, Young Master.”
Jin’s strides came to a halt. They were walking down a mountainous road in disguises and masks.
“This place is the Zipfel magicians’ lodgings. This one is for independent magicians. And the relics we must find are here, in the third warehouse.”
Kajin spread open a map of the Kollon Ruins and pointed at each vital location.
“Are you certain that the items are in the 3rd warehouse?”
“We must hope so. If it isn’t the case, then our chances at succeeding this mission will drop to zero.”
There were a total of four relics they had to steal: three slabs of stones the size of their palms, and one bronze bowl.
They were worthless items for most people, but for historians, these items were far more valuable than gold.
The cadets had to sneak inside the warehouse, steal the relics, and return to the clan.
Sneaking inside the warehouse wasn’t such a difficult task. The 3rd warehouse didn’t contain precious artifacts, so the security was lax. In fact, the warehouse was open to visitors during the day.
However, the problem was returning safely to the clan.
‘No matter how worthless the items in the warehouse are, I’m certain there’ll be several layers of protective barriers around the building. It’s almost impossible to enter the warehouse without getting detected with our current party.’
The Zipfel magicians weren’t pushovers. If the 3rd warehouse was attacked, they’d be dispatched and would arrive within five minutes. Obviously, they’d also capture and punish all intruders.
“Due to the rich and curious historians making a request to the clan, it seems the four of us may die tonight trying to complete our tasks.”
“No matter what happens, the three of us will lay our lives down to protect you, Young Master.”
Kajin spoke with resolute eyes and the Ha.s.s brothers nodded with determined looks.
Their acting was pitiful. As he chuckled in his mind, Jin took out some beef jerky from his pocket.
“Laying your lives down to protect me… That’s good to hear. Have some jerky and rest for a bit. We’ll commence the operation in an hour.”
“““Understood.”””
The three cadets eagerly received the jerky.
Chomp, munch, nibble, chew, gulp.
As soon as he saw them swallow their food, Jin immediately spat out the jerky he was chewing on.
“Young Master? Eh? Huhh…”
The three of them realized that something was wrong, but it was already too late.
The jerky was coated with a sleep-inducing drug that could make even a 7-star knight fall asleep in a couple of seconds. Kajin and the Ha.s.s brothers were already feeling drowsy and were barely staying standing.
“Don’t worry. It wasn’t poisoned.”
“Wh-What are youuuuu…”
“You c-cannn’t…”
Thump, flop, thud.
All three fell over, entering the dreamland. Jin dug a hole in the ground and pushed them inside, and proceeded to cover up the hole with leaves.
They were unlikely to wake up for another 24 hours. And when they did, the mission would already be finished.
“‘You c-cannn’t’, he said. As if I could keep traitors who were planning on backstabbing me by my side when entering enemy territory.”
In fact, had they not acted so polite, Jin would’ve been less suspicious of them.
However, during their entire trip here, the three cadets were constantly currying favours with Jin. They were planning on having Jin let down his guard, and when the opportunity arose, they’d slice his throat with no hesitation.
But Jin had seen through their utterly predictable strategy.
It wasn’t as if he couldn’t understand and sympathize with those three. It was normal for a dog to follow its owner’s orders, especially when they were facing a crisis after having made several mistakes.
However, they had chosen the worst opponent. As he was living in the Runcandel Clan for the second time, Jin could not be tricked by his elder sisters’ sloppy schemes.
‘Moreover, I can’t use magic or spiritual power while these three are watching me.’
Brazenly attacking the warehouse while being fully aware of the magic barrier protecting it was suicide if Jin didn’t use magic or spiritual power.
If the four of them tried to infiltrate the warehouse, the spell would definitely detect them. However, it was a different story if Jin sneaked in alone.
‘Well then, shall we get going?’
Jin wore his mask properly and headed down the mountain road. The evening breeze blowing between the trees and branches was refreshing.
The Kollon Ruins were shaped like an enormous ellipse.
The important excavation site was located at the center, whereas the 3rd warehouse was on the outskirts. It was now 6 PM, and the ruins had closed. The path to the warehouse’s entrance was quiet and dull.
Jin lay down on the gra.s.s in the forest from where he could see the 3rd warehouse. As he observed the area, he noticed people walking by from time to time. They were magicians dispatched here to investigate the ruins. Fortunately, Jin couldn’t see anyone at the 5-star stage or above.
Additionally, the guards standing by the warehouse’s main and back entrances weren’t magicians, just as Jin had predicted. They seemed to be 1-star or 2-star warriors at best.
This didn’t come as a surprise. They had no need to a.s.sign magicians—expensive and valuable manpower—just to guard a warehouse of little importance.
The guards seemed bored and kept yawning as they waited for time to pa.s.s. They even joked between each other at times, laughing and chuckling.
Once the magicians in the area were at a proper distance, Jin dashed towards the warehouse’s main entrance.
“So remember that girl I met last night?”
“Oh yeah, how far did you two go? Hm? C’mon, spill the beans!”
“Geez, should I really say it? You might punch me out of jealousy, lmao. Oh well, so what happened is—”
Kurgh.
One mercenary fainted after taking Jin’s punch to the chin. The other guard who was waiting for the rest of the story immediately thrust his spear towards the intruder.
Jin swiftly turned around and avoided the spearhead, and used his momentum to jab his opponent in the throat with his elbow. The second mercenary’s eyes lost their focus and flopped onto the ground.
‘Maybe I should’ve waited for him to end the story before attacking them…’
Jin chuckled before picking up the two unconscious bodies, got them on their feet, and leaned them against the wall. By sticking the spears between their legs, they could somehow stay upright. This way, they appeared to be properly standing guard from afar.
Jin rummaged through their pockets and found the keys to the warehouse door. The lock on the door was an ordinary one without any spells protecting it. That was how much the Zipfels didn’t care about the 3rd warehouse.
‘No wonder the historians fearlessly requested the Runcandels to rob these relics.’
Creaaaak!
There was no way of repressing the sound of the metal door grinding open. Jin hesitated to use some noise-cancelling or noise-reduction magic spells, but decided not to. If there were a magician nearby, the chances of his mana getting detected were high.
Before entering the warehouse, Jin observed the interior. After a short while, he noticed a certain familiar magic circle on the floor right in front of the door.
‘Isn’t this the Magic Circle of Blood and Barrier?’
It was the same magic circle as the one he had seen several years ago, when he first sneaked inside the underground chambers beneath the Storm Castle. By dropping a few droplets of human blood on it, he could easily neutralize the effects of the circle.
The defensive magic circle protecting an unimportant Zipfel warehouse was the same as the one protecting a secret chamber only the Runcandel flag-bearers could enter. If the public ever came to learn of this truth, the clan of swordsmen would become a laughingstock.
The Magic Circle of Blood and Barrier can recognize the blood of a human, a monster, or a plague-stricken human. As long as it was someone healthy, the blood of any human was enough to neutralize it.
Jin approached the unconscious yet standing mercenaries again. He then used his dagger to lightly cut the tip of one’s finger and caught a few drops of blood with his palm. Afterwards, he sprinkled the blood onto the magic circle.
Jin had used the mercenary’s blood in order to avoid getting caught after he accomplished his mission. If the Zipfels came to investigate the intrusion, they might believe that the magic circle had been neutralized due to the mercenaries’ mistake.
‘The first protective spell was easily dealt with. Let’s search for the relics now—’
Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
Suddenly, the magic circle glowed bright red and let out a sharp squeal. The fl.u.s.tered Jin flinched in panic, but soon calmed down and looked back at the bloodstain on his palm.
The stain had been made using the unconscious mercenary’s blood. In other words, it was definitely human blood.
Nevertheless, the Magic Circle of Blood and Barrier had reacted to it. In other words, either the mercenary was currently afflicted by the plague…
“Krrrrrr.”
Or the mercenary… wasn’t a human.