Chapter 161
Zeke then realized that the man captured by the knights was the swordsman from the adventurer party he met in the Giant Mountains, and asked back,
"The virgin boy, Rick?"
Rick's face flushed red at those words.
***
Zeke explained the situation to Nikolai and vouched for Rick and his party, assuring him that they weren't suspicious.
The Thistle Knights, indebted to Zeke for saving their comrade's life, released Rick and his party without a word and offered them food and drinks as an apology.
Claire and Arin were still wary, but Jason, with his characteristic friendliness, mingled with the northerners, despite the language barrier, and drank Black liquor with them.
Zeke called Rick, the party leader, aside and asked what had happened.
"As you advised, Sir Zeke, we came to the north to find the evil warlock."
He continued quickly,
"We found traces of the warlock in the Ice Mountains and were searching the area when we were chased by suspicious men in black. We barely managed to escape them, but then we were suddenly attacked and captured by those northerners."
Zeke inwardly admired Rick's words.
It was Zeke himself who suggested they search the north, but he didn't expect them to actually find traces of the warlock.
'It seems they're a much more skilled party than I thought.'
Zeke didn't know, but Rick's party was among the top-tier adventurer groups.
It wasn't for nothing that the Graham Clan specifically requested them.
After some thought, Zeke said to Rick,
"I'll help you track down the warlock."
Rick's face brightened as he asked,
"R-really?"
Having witnessed Zeke's skills in the Giant Mountains, where he annihilated dozens of monsters, Rick was overjoyed.
Unlike mages, warlocks handled strange and unknown curses, making them difficult to track and fight.
With a skilled swordsman like Zeke helping them, the mission would be much easier.
Then, Rick said to Zeke with a slightly anxious expression,
"B-but how much should we pay you in advance? Of course, it's only right to pay you a fair price, but we've already used up the advance payment from the Duke's family for operating expenses... I'm not sure if we can afford to pay you a suitable amount for a skilled swordsman like yourself..."
Zeke grinned and said,
"You don't have to pay me in advance. Just give me 30% of the reward after we complete the mission."
Rick's face brightened again at Zeke's words.
"Th-thank you! My comrades will be delighted to hear that you're helping us, Sir Zeke!"
Rick excused himself, saying he would tell his comrades the news.
'He's a good party leader.'
Zeke, who had spent several years as a porter for an adventurer party in his previous life, knew all too well how many unscrupulous party leaders there were. It was rare to find someone like Rick, who had both skills and good character, among adventurers.
Zeke kept an eye on Rick and his party.
He was always thirsty for talent.
***
The next day, Zeke decided to join Rick and his party in pursuing the warlock and parted ways with the Thistle Knights.
Nikolai expressed his regret to Zeke.
"It's a shame that you're postponing your application to the Rangers."
"I believe our paths will cross again."
"Zeke Murray, that name will be forever etched in the hearts of our Thistle Knights as a friend. Be sure to visit Himonas next time. We'll give you a warm welcome."
"Okay. Thank you, Nikolai."
After saying goodbye, Zeke and Rick's party left the snowfield where the fortress was.
As they walked along the path, Zeke asked Rick,
"You said there's a dungeon you're thinking of?"
Rick nodded and replied,
"Yes. Although not as well known as the Giant Mountains, there are also many large-scale dungeons in the Ice Mountains."
Jason, who was next to him, continued the explanation.
"Uh, so to speak... the dungeons in the Ice Mountains are unique."
"Unique?"
"It's hard to explain, but how should I put it? Hmm. A more mystical feeling? There are more unknown forces that cause phenomena that can't be explained with modern magic."
Zeke nodded as he listened to Jason's words.
"Indeed, warlocks are those who seek ancient power, so they would try to find unknown forces. So you think he's in a dungeon?"
"Yes, that's correct. When we inquired at the base camp on the way to the Ice Mountains, we heard that a suspicious person bought equipment here and crossed over a few months ago. Looking at the equipment he bought, it wasn't dungeon exploration equipment, but camp setup equipment. And it was just one person."
"That means he intends to stay in the dungeon for quite a while."
"Yes. Besides, those who buy such equipment are usually mages who want to hole up in a dungeon and research something, rather than adventurers."
"I understand what you mean."
"Judging from the equipment he bought, it doesn't seem like he was headed to an unauthorized dungeon in a completely harsh environment. He would have wanted a place that was relatively accessible, yet not frequented by people, so we narrowed it down to dungeons close to 'forbidden zones.'"
Jason unfolded a map of the mountain range and pointed to the marked location of the dungeon that fit the conditions.
Zeke, checking the location of the dungeon, nodded.
If it were other adventurers, they would have blindly searched the Ice Mountains, but it was impressive that Rick's party had logically planned their tracking route.
Zeke decided to explore the dungeon in the Ice Mountains with Rick and his party.
Zeke, finding the safest route to the marked dungeon on his map, pretended to have traveled this path before and led Rick and his party as they climbed the snowy mountain.
Perhaps because they were experienced adventurers, they skillfully climbed the treacherous snowy mountain.
As it got dark, Zeke found a cave to avoid the cold and began preparing for camping.
Rick and his party's jaws dropped as they saw the camping equipment Zeke took out.
"Oh my god. I've never seen such a subspace bag before."
"It's an artifact I luckily found in a ruin. Eat it before it gets cold."
Rick and his party received the soup Zeke quickly made and drank it as if they were gulping it down.
The warm soup seemed to melt away the chill that had seeped into their bodies.
Arin, eating the soup, said with wonder,
"I felt it last time too, but this soup you gave us is incredibly delicious, Sir Zeke. Do you have a secret recipe?"
It was a taste made possible by the fresh ingredients stored in his inventory and the skills of the top chefs from Atlas hired by Decker.
Since he couldn't tell them the truth, Zeke smiled awkwardly and said,
"Isn't hunger the best seasoning?"
Although it was truly delicious, different from simply tasting good because they were hungry, Arin somewhat agreed with Zeke's words and focused on eating.
After the meal, the group decided to take turns keeping watch.
Rick and his party yielded the first watch to Zeke.
In fact, Zeke had already secretly summoned Dragon Tooth Soldiers and placed them around the area before entering the cave.
Leaving the watch to the Dragon Tooth Soldiers, Zeke sat at the front of the cave, closed his eyes, and meditated.
He endlessly visualized how to connect the Infinite Chain Link with the Golden Sun Swordsmanship.
'The level of wielding swordsmanship without a sword.'
Zeke felt that the Infinite Chain Link, which contained the final insights of the Arch Paladin, might be the key to reaching the Black Knight level.
'Connecting all movements seamlessly.'
Zeke tried to break down and connect the sword techniques of Agamemnon's Golden Swordsmanship that he had learned.
'I feel like I'm almost grasping it, but not quite.'
Just then, something crossed Zeke's mind.
The secret technique of Yellin Ishtar, whom he had fought in the southern border region.
Unlike the central continent swordsmanship, the martial arts that used the whole body and attacked swiftly were unique and powerful.
'Was it called Bigak?'
Although the dagger techniques were sharp, the core of the Ishtar martial arts was the kicks flying in from various angles.
It seemed like an attack was coming from the left, but then it targeted under the chin, and if you dodged that, it changed direction again and struck the top of the head.
It was difficult for the relatively static central continent swordsmanship to counter the Ishtar martial arts that attacked from irregular angles.
Zeke tried to grasp the flow by recalling the Bigak that Yellin used in his mind.
Each of Yellin's movements was clearly drawn in his mind.
Zeke replayed Yellin's movements dozens, hundreds of times as if watching a 3D image, trying to internalize the strange movements.
However, enlightenment about the insights didn't come easily.
'More haste, less speed. A clue will appear as I calmly continue training.'
Just as he was calming his anxious mind, he felt a presence behind him.
Zeke turned around and saw Rick standing there.
"It's not your turn yet, get some more sleep."
Rick shook his head and sat next to Zeke.
"I couldn't sleep. If you don't mind, Sir Zeke, could I have a chat with you?"
"Why not?"
Zeke, looking at Rick's expression, realized that he had something on his mind.
Then, Rick hesitated for a moment and slowly opened his mouth.
"Sir Zeke, I have a favor to ask."
"Yes, please speak."
"Could you perhaps take a look at my sword?"
Zeke pondered Rick's sudden request for a moment and then nodded.
"I'm not sure if I can be of any help, but if you need it..."
Rick's face brightened at Zeke's answer, and he jumped to his feet.
Then, he drew his sword and took a stance.
Zeke tilted his head as he saw Rick's stance.
'That's too proper for an adventurer's stance.'
Rick fixed his lower body and quickly swung his sword.
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, the sword flashed and moved through the air three times.
Zeke's face hardened as he saw Rick's swordsmanship.
'This swordsmanship is...'
As far as he remembered, it was definitely the Five Lights Swordsmanship practiced by the Thebes Royal Guards.
The Five Lights Swordsmanship, which allowed one to swing their sword five times in the blink of an eye, was known as a traditional swordsmanship with a thousand-year history alongside Thebes.
Zeke, who introduced himself as a mercenary, didn't reveal that he recognized the Five Lights Swordsmanship and calmly replied,
"That's incredible swordsmanship."
"As expected, you recognized it right away, Sir Zeke."
"It's too advanced for an adventurer's swordsmanship... Did you receive formal knight training?"
Rick nodded with an awkward expression at Zeke's words.
"Yes. It's hard to explain in detail, but due to family circumstances, I've received quite harsh training since I was young."
"I see. If you've received formal knight training, I wonder if a mercenary like me can be of any help."
Rick shook his head and said urgently,
"N-no, that's not true. The divine skills you showed in the Giant Mountains, Sir Zeke, were superior to any knight! Please, give me some guidance, even if it's just a little!"
Rick seemed quite desperate.
Zeke, looking at Rick, realized that he was facing a wall.
'It seems he's been stuck at the Purple Knight level for a long time.'
In the Draker Clan, it was common to see people of Rick's age being promoted to Purple Knights.
Not only Felix, who was around the same age as Rick, but even the younger Liam was challenging the Blue Knight level, having already surpassed the Purple Knight level.
In fact, their skills and talents were exceptionally outstanding, and it wasn't that Rick was lacking.
In most families, it was common to sense and learn aura only after reaching adulthood.
Zeke slowly got up from his seat.
And he said to Rick,
"Swing your sword at me with all your might."
Rick was flustered at those words.
"Huh?"
"You can use aura, so I'm telling you to swing your sword at me with all your strength."
Rick hesitated, not knowing what to do with his sword.
At that moment, Zeke drew his sword and swung it at Rick.
"Gasp!"
Rick, flustered, blocked Zeke's sword with his own.
However, unable to withstand the force, he was pushed back and dropped his sword.
Zeke glared at him and pointed his sword at Rick's neck.
"You would have died from a single blow."
"S-Sir Zeke, this is..."
"It's not about swordsmanship."
The tip of Zeke's sword dug into Rick's neck.
"Rick, you're too naive."