Episode 194. The Helpers (4)
Kaaaaaaah.
Roinecrow, soaring into the sky, spread his wings wide and cried loudly. The other weak birds were startled and changed their flight path.
“Oops, I was just trying to stretch… … .”
Tina blinked her mint eyes and descended back to the ground, rushing toward the point where the lush trees formed a tunnel.
As she emerged from the forest, she was no longer in the form of Roinekrow. She had become a small sparrow flying around, following Rubin and Kuze who were ahead.
Bam.
After a while, Tina lands gently on Kuze’s head.
“… … .”
Rubin smiled lightly at the sight of Kuze diligently trying to calm his bubbling stomach.
Rubin and Kuze were each driving a fine horse they had purchased from Adyen.
Although a carriage would have made for a much more comfortable journey, some of Rubin’s destinations were inaccessible by carriage.
“Kuze! Kuze!”
“…Why, Tina?”
“Where are you going now?”
“I will go to Avern first. I need to meet the disciple who will carry out the mission with you, Young Master.”
“I just left the commercial city, and here we are again in another commercial city.”
Tina was in a good mood. She had to carry out the Emperor’s duties, but it was also the start of a new adventure. She was also excited about leaving the tedious Roinen Mansion.
“Avern… Avern… … .”
Tina wiggled her tiny beak around, trying to remember something.
The idea is to figure out who the heir is who is living in disguise with Roynenser in Avern.
“… Oh right, I wasn’t there two years ago. Kuze, you know who lives in Avern, right?”
“well.”
“You know! First of all, I know it’s not that guy named Kun or something. He’s out there, catching pirates in Kruti.”
“Yes, Master Kun will not be participating in this trip. I don’t know about the next time.”
“So who are you? Are you asking me to do twenty questions?”
“Are you curious? Then why not take this opportunity to learn ‘Shadow Force Mastery’?”
Before leaving the mansion, Kuze had taught the vassals of the main family how to use the shadow station master.
It was only a few days, but Killian and Damon learned quickly as expected from 6-stars and are now able to teach others. Lang’s assassination and Dorian are still lacking, but they have at least understood the concept.
“You’re talking nonsense again. Then why don’t you learn how to transform too!”
Tina ran out onto the street, transformed into a red fox. She was jumping around and wagging her tail, as if she was very angry.
“Tina, that’s not the direction.”
“…what?”
Tina looked back. The two men had stopped talking. Kuze nodded to the right. However, there was no path in the forest.
Besides, Tina, who had just been flying in the sky, knew that if she continued in that direction, she would reach a swamp.
“There’s nothing but swamps there? Is there a shortcut?”
“Yes.”
Kuze nodded. Rubin had already turned his horse around and headed into the forest.
“Ugh.”
Tina sighed and jumped onto the horse Kuze was riding. There are shortcuts, after all. This is a bit much.
Of course, I knew that Rubin had chosen this path in order to appease his beloved sword, Bloodfrost.
Blood Frost, who had to stay in the subspace pocket the entire time he was in the mansion, must have felt the cries of the Noble Phantasms that the Dark Spirits possessed.
First, he complains of frustration because he couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity to share his life with someone he could live with. He has no choice but to sharpen his sword against monsters.
but.
“… That’s strange.”
“I know.”
There was hardly any opportunity to appease the Blood Frost.
It was strange. There should be a monster called a ‘swamp seahorse’ in this swamp, but there wasn’t one.
To be exact, there were no living ‘swamp seahorses’. They were all dead and floating around.
“Someone hit the ball. That’s some serious skill.”
Rubin advanced his horse. He placed his hoof on the floating seahorse’s corpse, but the seahorse remained motionless as if it were a pillar.
The swamp seahorse’s characteristic was that its body’s buoyancy would become stronger after death. However, it was impossible to achieve this level of buoyancy with a weak sword.
This is evidence of the unmanned realm that dealt with the ‘swamp seahorse’.
“It’s become easier to cross the swamp.”
Rubin used the dead monster as a stepping stone to advance his horse. It was comfortable, but it was also annoying. It was as if the opportunity had been deliberately taken away from him.
‘Who is it?’
* * *
Kkuweweweeek!
A swamp seahorse jumping out of the swamp and crying miserably.
Sweep.
Before the cries could return as echoes, a single sword ended its life. Soon, the monster’s corpse floated through the swamp.
“Hmm.”
Benik Benar stepped forward and confirmed that the dead swamp walrus had decent buoyancy.
The swamp was wide. There were swamps here and there, and there, of course, were swamp seahorses.
These guys were not dangerous monsters, but once they got entangled with them, they were quite troublesome. That’s why travelers and merchants would take detours whenever possible.
‘But it is the fastest shortcut from Adyen to Avern.’
Benik knew Rubin would use this shortcut to get to Avern, so he decided to go ahead and wait for Rubin.
‘I guess I’ll have to wait for you after I pass the swamp.’
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Because I had something to say.
Benic turned around and examined the swamp walruses that had become the stalwarts.
Suddenly, it occurred to me that perhaps Lord Rubin was looking for an excuse to appease the sword. And then-
“… … !”
Startled for a moment, Benik quickly looked up at the sky. The sky where his Roinecro ‘Verde’ should have been forming a circle.
But now Verde was not alone. Another Roinecrow had appeared. Kaaaa, grrrr. The cries of the crows were prolonged.
Psik, Benik ended up laughing.
When he lowered his head, he realized who was waiting next to him.
“I was wondering who was clearing the way ahead, and it was Benik Benar.”
As expected, it was Rubin’s voice.
With only one ear and one eye left, Benik was wearing a mask to hide his ugly face.
“You’ve outpaced me. It’s been a long time since I’ve lost track of someone.”
“I was lucky.”
“Luck is fair to everyone.”
Benic bowed to Rubin. Rubin also bowed his head. He didn’t hate the sight of the little master.
“Benik, I knew you left about three hours before us. But I didn’t know you were going in the same direction. Isn’t the Benar family’s base in the southern part of the continent?”
“It is the privilege of the Black Spirit to be able to wander the continent. However, that does not mean that my destination is Avern. I only intended to accompany you until that point.”
Of course. You already knew where you were going. Well, I guess you already laid out all the shortcuts before you went ahead.
Benic added with a grin, perhaps noticing Rubin’s feelings.
“You may let down your guard, my lord, since you heard it from the lord.”
“okay.”
“also-“
Benik’s only eye turned to the sky. There, two Roinekrows were gliding.
“I’m telling you this in advance so that you don’t get surprised again, but I also know that your highness, Roinekrow, is actually a woman from the Hwanhyeol tribe.”
“Hmm.”
“So please tell him that there is no need to keep the appearance of a crow.”
What could it be? Why did Mother give Benic such important secrets?
Suddenly, the thought crossed my mind that Roinen and Benard might be bound by a ‘dark oath’.
If you pledge your loyalty with your life as collateral, then it’s worth giving away your secrets. Just like you did with Naif Greas.
Foodie! Foodie!
Tina flapped her wings beside them, following Rubin’s message to come down.
“Tina. You can change into a different form.”
Kaaaak? Grrrrr.
“It’s okay. Since he knows a lot of our secrets, it seems like Benik Benar is willing to give us some too.”
It was a somewhat challenging statement, but Benik did not feel offended. Instead, he smiled contentedly.
He is, by all accounts, the man with the strongest weapon among the eight Black Shadows at the moment. Rubin kept repeating to himself that Lil, Anon, and Deathril might have died by Iza’s hands. The truth is always hidden.
“Will you do that for me, Benic?”
“Of course. If the secrets I reveal will satisfy your curiosity, I will gladly do so.”
Rubin accepted the invitation to accompany him. It was a trip that would end tomorrow anyway.
* * *
Although the conversation was a conversation, the priority was to deal with the monsters in the swamp first.
They held off on talking until the swamp ended and swung their swords. In fact, since Benik stepped forward and took care of everything, Rubin was never given the chance to swing his sword.
‘Now that we’re here, let’s find out what Benic’s 6-star traits are.’
Rather, it was a good opportunity. Rubin’s eyes, observing Benik’s battle, became serious.
Regardless of the favor he shows towards you, it is still unclear whether you can trust him or not. If you know the 6-star traits, you will be able to prepare for the unexpected.
but.
‘I don’t think you can tell just by looking at it.’
From that appearance, there was no sign of a 6-star trait. Could it be a trait that doesn’t have much of an effect on battles, like Killian’s?
So far, Rubin has determined that there are two types of unique traits granted when a dark magic reaches level 6.
What works in combat and what doesn’t.
Killian possessed ‘perfect darkness’, that is, darkness that could not be detected. While it is true that this trait is terrifying to assassins, it cannot be said to have much effect in battle.
On the other hand, Marek Helde, whom I had once fought in the training grounds, was different. His specialty was to find out the opponent’s weaknesses at every moment of the battle.
Then what about Benic? While Rubin was wondering, Benic said while shaking off his clothes.
“The sun is setting. The swamp is almost gone, so I think it would be better to spend the night here.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
We decided to light a bonfire and start working on it in the evening.
“Listen, Roynenser. I’ll take care of dinner. I used to work as a cook.”
“but…….”
“He was even famous. He may not be as famous as the current Shakes Pear, the writer, but he was quite famous in the Kingdom of Wiper.”
It was Benik who took charge of dinner in Kuze’s stead. As he had boasted, he showed off his cooking skills. Even Tina was devouring him with shining eyes.
“How are you, Young Master?”
“I just found out that swamp seahorses are edible.”
Benic chuckled at those words. But then he noticed Rubin’s expression turn serious.
“… … .”
“Benick, I’d like to talk about something I’ve been putting off. What did you want me to tell you?”
Then Rubin opened his subspace pouch. Benic’s eyes were struck by the sight of him using his magical tools without any concealment.
What came out of it was the soul weapon that was revealed to Heukyeong for the first time. It was Blood Frost.
The fact that Rubin’s weapon was Bloodfrost. Rubin’s actions were based on the idea that Siren would already know this through Damon and Killian, and that it might have been passed on to Benic as well.
If the person is someone that the mother trusts… … .
‘As expected, you’re not surprised.’
It was as expected. Benic was not surprised, but simply took a deep breath. Rubin immediately realized Benic’s intention.
“You must be curious about my 6-star trait. So you want to cross swords?”
The cold atmosphere came as soon as dinner was over. In fact, the bonfire that had been burning due to the bloody frost gradually went out.
In the darkness, Roinekrow Verde, sensing his master’s danger, cried out.
“one-“
Benic shook his head. He rekindled the fire. The fire roared and Rubin controlled the blood frost so that it would not go out. People around the fire were turning crimson.
“I will not cross swords with you, my lord.”
“… … .”
“However, I can tell you about my remaining talents.”
Rubin waited for the next words.
“When I crossed weapons with my opponent-”
“… … .”
“I see a future with him.”
“Huh?”
It was a surprised and empty question from Kuze.
It was a completely unexpected remark. Benic was not a fool to take it as a joke. Rather, it seemed as if he had been waiting patiently until now to reveal the truth.
“That is why I cannot cross swords with you, my lord. I do not want to know your future. If you wish to swing your sword, I will take your life.”
“…What is that.”
Benik’s words were filled with desperation. Why would he say something like that? He would risk his life to see Rubin’s future?
Of course, Rubin still couldn’t completely believe Benik’s words.
“… … !”
But when Benic’s story ended, it was different.
After hearing the whole story, Rubin had no choice but to accept that Benik was an assassin from the future.
