I Pulled Out the Excalibur

‘Are those fallen leaves?’
-Eh? What do you mean… ah.

Merlin trailed off, finally grasping the meaning behind Najin’s murmur. Having lived his entire life in the Underground City of Artman, Najin had no experience of autumn, let alone seen fallen leaves.

Silently, Najin continued to look out the window.

It was all new to him.
Just when he thought he was getting accustomed to something, something new would pop up. The blue sky, the green of the fields, and the colorful fallen leaves… The surface world was painted in colors unseen in the underground city.

It was fascinating and beautiful.

Najin’s eyes momentarily captured the novelty of the landscape, but soon, a cool twilight filled his gaze. The eyes tinged with the hue of twilight narrowed. Clearly, he found some joy in wandering the outside world.

‘But not enough to be off guard.’

Najin recalled the battle with Kapman. Any slight mistake, and he would have been killed right there and then. Yet, at the same time, Najin realized he had been too relaxed.

He had forgotten the fact that he had pursuers, that he could be targeted anywhere, anytime.

In getting accustomed to the unfamiliar, he had neglected the most crucial aspect. Ivan would have certainly clicked his tongue at this oversight. It shouldn’t have happened. He should never have let his guard down, especially not like when he first left the Underground City. Najin sensed that the wariness he initially had significantly diluted.

‘It’s quite absurd.’

Najin bitterly smiled.

‘I’m not even a Sword Master yet, let alone a Seeker, and here I am, catching a breath.’

Merlin remained silent.
Though she tried to say it wasn’t so, her voice didn’t reach Najin. What filled his mind was the image of being pierced by Kapman’s arrow…

And Yuel Razian, the Inquisitor General of the Starblood Sect, wielding her sword.

When Yuel Razian unleashed her killing intent, Najin saw a vision of his neck being sliced. His senses, heightened to their limit, showed him a glimpse of the future. And even then, naturally, there was no way to respond.

Death. A death so simple.

The battle with Kapman, the encounter with Yuel.
These events were enough to remind Najin of what he had forgotten. That his life could be taken at any moment, anywhere, a very simple fact.

“Sigh…”

Najin exhaled deeply.

‘I heard there’s a Lighthouse Keeper in the Starlight Order, a Sword Master-level powerhouse.’
-Yeah, there is.
‘Would he come to kill me?’
-No, that’s not possible.

Merlin stated categorically.

-The Lighthouse Keeper can’t move. He’s a special being, and the moment he moves, the stars will take notice. If the Lighthouse Keeper moves, the whole world will watch you and him.

Merlin added, if that were to happen…

-Everything would turn upside down if you were to draw Excalibur at that moment. The Starlight Order would seek to kill the bearer of Excalibur. The Lighthouse, the god of the order, wouldn’t be unaware of the implications of such a statement.

The Lighthouse Keeper is akin to an apostle to the Lighthouse, the god of the sect. The moment it becomes known that the Lighthouse has moved its apostle to trample the bearer of Excalibur…

-It would give the stars a reason to intervene.
-The conditions for the descent of a constellation are quite complex, but in this case, the conditions for a star to descend on the mainland would be met.

The intervention of the stars.

It would mean making enemies of the entire world.

-Neither you nor the Starlight Order would want that story. That place would become a battlefield of the stars.

A war between the stars wanting to kill Arthur’s successor and those wanting to protect him.

-There would be no winner in that war.
-Unless you reach the realm of a Sword Master and possess a star, in the current situation, that’s how it is.

Both the sect and Najin would only face ruin.

-But, the order would fall first.

What’s certain is that the order’s downfall would come faster than Najin’s. Losing everything they’ve built. Merlin argued that the Lighthouse wouldn’t choose such a path.

-I still don’t quite get this situation.
-I thought it was the order’s own doing, but at this point, they must know too, right?

Knowing yet still intervening in this affair.
Merlin scoffed at the thought.

-Even if they could excuse it as the lower ranks acting out of turn, why engage in such a matter?
-Is it an attempt to provoke the Round Table? Some religious zealot possessed by mere eight stars? The Lighthouse I know isn’t that audacious.

Listening to Merlin, Najin spoke.

‘In the end, what needs to be done remains the same.’

The target doesn’t change.
Apart from the Lighthouse Keeper, there are no Sword Master-level powerhouses in the order. What’s left are only those comparable to Sword Seekers.

Didn’t Ivan also say it?
Once you reach the realm of a Sword Seeker, even the order can’t ignore your existence, and they’ll have to negotiate. Of course, the situation has changed a bit, but the essence of the plan remains unchanged.

‘To reach the realm of a Sword Seeker.’

Not just to grasp a fragment but to move beyond.
To reach the realm of a Sword Seeker, one must completely deconstruct and reconstruct their sword aura. Only through this process can one obtain an optimal form of sword aura that encapsulates their essence.

Where does he stand now?

He has touched the fragment, but he hasn’t achieved the reconstruction of sword aura. He’s outmatched by a complete Sword Seeker. A stroke of luck like the fight with Kapman Theosis would be hard to come by again.

「I am just the beginning.」
「They’ll come after you, over and over again.」

Kapman had clearly stated that.
More people would target him, and at times, he must be prepared for battles against multiple opponents. Among them, there could be those as strong as Kapman or even stronger.

This won’t do.

He needed to ascend to the realm of a Sword Seeker.

And the sooner, the better.

***

The benefits provided to Red rank adventurers were numerous, and among them was access to personal training rooms.

Managed under the Central Guild, these personal training rooms were a privilege only Red rank adventurers and above could enjoy. The facilities were so well-equipped that even knights affiliated with noble families were said to envy them.

And, of course, finding a place where one could train without worrying about prying eyes or the leakage of techniques was rare. Often, a good secluded spot would become a popular training site crowded with people in just a few days.

Therefore, Red rank adventurers frequently made use of the personal training rooms. They would gather in the lounge-cum-corridor, lined with doors to the training rooms, to chat and share stories.

“So, you see.”

And today.
The adventurers gathered in the lounge had their attention fixed on one particular training room. They glanced at the firmly shut door and continued their conversation.

“He’s been at it since yesterday?”
“Yesterday? Buddy, he’s been at it for a whole week.”

A middle-aged adventurer, his back scarred from countless battles, laughed mockingly.

“You know I use the training room early in the morning, right?”
“Of course. You’ve been saying for years you like to tear up some muscles before heading to your mercenary group.”
“Right. So, usually, when I come to the training room in the early hours, I’m the first one there, right? It takes about an hour or so before others start trickling in.”
“And then?”
“Well, for the past week, that young man has always been there first. The light in that training room is always on. One time, I came an hour earlier than usual, and he was already there.”

An adventurer who had been eavesdropping joined the conversation.

“That guy is there at night too, you know?”
“Really?”
“Yes, he’s so loud when he’s training. I use the room next to his, and the noise is unbearable. It’s chilling just hearing the way he swings around so violently.”

The nature of the noise was self-explanatory, as it was audible even now. The relentless sounds of something being smashed and splintered echoed continuously from beyond the sturdy door, despite the soundproofing.

“All week long?”
“Seems like it.”
“A real piece of work, that one.”

The adventurers shook their heads in disbelief.
They were somewhat accomplished themselves and understood what it meant to be immersed in training. There were days when they wanted to clear their minds through intense practice, spending a day or two locked up in the training room. But…

It was unusual to do it so intensely for a whole week.

“His name was…”
“Ivan, I believe.”
“The one who recently became a Red rank…”

The adventurers mulled over the name of the young man using the training room. His recent exploits in the adventurer city had made him quite well-known, so there wasn’t anyone who hadn’t heard of Ivan.

But why was he training so intensely?

“For what reason is he training like that?”
“Well, you know what happened recently.”
“Kapman, that fellow…”

Kapman Theosis, a White rank adventurer.
Amidst the uproar caused by his publicized death and Cambria’s ensuing turmoil, Ivan, who had embarked on a similar mission, had been holed up in the training room for over a week.

The adventurers vaguely speculated that Kapman’s death must have had a significant impact on him.

Screeeech.

As they were gossiping, the door to the training room opened. A gust of warm air rushed out as Najin emerged from the training room. Wiping off sweat, he refilled his empty water bottle and headed back to the training room.

During this brief interlude, the adventurers caught a glimpse of the inside.

Beyond the ajar door. Najin’s training room.

It was filled with sword scars.
The room was covered in marks from frenzied sword swings. The ceiling, the walls, the ground, and especially the central wall, which served as the target, were significantly gouged.

Considering that the room was cleaned and repaired daily by the maintenance staff and that the central wall was made of a notoriously hard mineral, it was truly astonishing. The adventurers were momentarily speechless.

Eventually, someone said,

“He’s insane.”

No one disagreed.
The scene they witnessed through the open door was not something a sane person would create.

***

Late at night, well past midnight, Najin finally stepped out of the training room. As he walked, breathing in the cool air, he thought to himself. A light meal, a brief rest, and then back to it.

Merlin, overhearing his monologue, couldn’t help but interject.

-Enough already. How long are you planning to keep this up?
‘I need to reach the realm of a Sword Seeker, don’t I?’
-I know, but… this isn’t helping. You can’t reach that level by brute-forcing your training like this.
‘It has to be of some help, though.’
-This is driving me insane.

Even as he was heading home and conversing with Merlin, Najin kept his senses sharpened to their utmost.

Prepared to respond instantly if an assassin were to strike.

He was in a state of constant vigilance, not just in the training room but even while asleep, always keeping his sword within arm’s reach… In essence, he wasn’t truly resting.

It was just like when he first left the Underground City.

Merlin clicked her tongue as she observed that his once-relaxed alertness had not only returned but intensified. This could lead to his downfall. Yet, this wasn’t a habit that could be broken overnight.

Najin.

The boy who grew up in the Underground City.

The nature of a hound that grew up in the streets, where abandoned children flocked even within a forsaken underground city, doesn’t easily fade. Even when working as Ivan’s hunting dog, any minor mistake, any threat to his life, any encroaching death, would lead Najin to obsessively sharpen his senses through rigorous training.

It was what kept him alive.
It was what led him to victory over stronger opponents.

Those intense experiences from his youth remained indelibly imprinted on Najin. They might be forgotten momentarily, but never truly discarded. As these memories flashed through Najin’s mind, Merlin sighed.

Rustle.

Still clutching his sword, Najin drifted off to sleep, and at the crack of dawn, he was already on his way back to the training room.

“You’re busy even before dawn.”

Najin stopped in his tracks.
The streets were still dark, with the sun yet to rise.

“It’s hard to catch a glimpse of your face.”

Someone was sitting on a bench placed in front of the training room. She stood up, shedding her deeply hooded robe, revealing light brown hair that fluttered in the breeze.

“Really, it would be nice if you came to see me first once in a while. Didn’t I wish you a safe trip? When you return, you should at least come to say you’re back, right?”

She grumbled as she stepped on the fallen leaves, making her way towards Najin. The woman, with her drowsy yellow eyes, finally stood before him.

“Don’t you agree? Najin.”

She whispered the name, ensuring no one else was around.

“What brings you here at this dawn? The Trading Company…”
“Name.”
“…Dieta.”
“Must there be a reason to visit? We’re not so distant, are we?”

Dieta shrugged.

“It’s nothing much.”

She then pulled at Najin’s arm.

“Come with me somewhere.”
“Excuse me?”
“Let’s go together.”

Dieta tugged at Najin’s arm more forcefully. Despite being able to easily shake her off, Najin found himself unable to do so. They ended up in front of a carriage.

Standing in front of the carriage, Dieta twirled her index finger through her hair.

“…It’s a date invitation.”

Even as she said it, her face flushed with embarrassment.