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Chapter 88

It was fair to say that all battles had come to an end the instant Kasar took action.

“Phew...” sighed Jake in relief.

With this, it truly was all over. At that realization, Jake felt his tension release and his gaze drifted toward the giant tree he had cut down.

“There’s something I want to ask,” cautiously asked Jake, reflecting on the battle that unfolded moments ago.

“What is it?”

“Were you not worried about whether I would fail again?”

Though they had ultimately been victorious, had Jake failed to muster up his second attempt, it could have been a real disaster. So why had Se-Hoon risked his own body to fend off the attacks for him?

Se-Hoon fell into a brief moment of thought.

I was actually confident I could handle the tree by myself if needed... but saying that doesn’t seem right.

If he said that to Jake, he would have to reveal his trump card and likely raise some suspicions about the source of his abilities. Thus, he slightly changed the subject in his reply.

“To be honest, if I said I wasn’t worried at all, it would be a lie.”

“Then why did you take such a risk...”

“Well, it’s just a sense of duty.”

“...Duty?”

“Yeah. A blacksmith’s sense of duty.”

Se-Hoon slid his hand under the water and lifted Jake’s drooping right hand with his palm.

Still grasped tightly within Jake’s hand, the Luminescent Sword shimmered blue under the sunlight. Jake had swung it with all his might, but it still hadn’t broken, prompting Jake to stare blankly at it.

“Who would trust a blacksmith who doesn’t even trust their own work?”

With a chuckle, Se-Hoon pushed Jake’s arm to the side, bringing the hand holding the Luminescent Sword to Jake’s chest.

“...I see,” Jake replied.

The weight of the Luminescent Sword felt heavy on his chest. Realizing that it felt heavier than usual, Jake belatedly realized his true feelings.

“I hadn’t trusted... the Luminescent Sword itself.”

Even after confirming the formation of the blade with his own eyes, he had been unconsciously shrinking back and swinging it half-heartedly, fearing it might break at any moment.

“And only after seeing how you trusted me with your own life... did I believe that the blade could withstand my full power.”

Finally figuring out his unconscious thought, Jake wore a defeated expression.

“I really am a bastard.”

He was disgusted by his own selfish nature, disgusted that he had only been able to believe in Se-Hoon upon seeing Se-Hoon put his life at stake for him.

“Isn’t that natural?” Se-Hoon responded with an indifferent expression, breaking Jake out of his moment of self-loathing.

“Actually, how long would we have to know each other for you to blindly trust me like that? It’s natural to be skeptical without proper evidence.”

“But...”

“Of course, I’d love to smash your head with a hammer since you doubted my equipment... but that’s just a personal thought.”

If the blacksmith had their own stance, then their customers would also have theirs.

“As the client, you should doubt and verify the equipment you buy. That’s your position, which means it’s also your right.”

“I see...”

Hearing Se-Hoon’s explanation, Jake thought back to the blacksmiths he had encountered in the past.

“This boy just doesn’t seem to have a knack for swords.”

“How about switching to martial arts, taking advantage of your grip strength?”

“To ask me to forge a sword suitable for someone with such mediocre abilities! You think I’m a fool, don’t you?”

Those blacksmiths, proud of their skills, always blamed others for any shortcomings.

Recalling their contemptible attitudes, Jake slowly asked, “So... I can keep doubting your equipment?”

“You should. Otherwise, it might break during a fight and end up costing you your head.”

“And I can complain if it’s not forged well enough?”

“If you could also purchase it elsewhere, what couldn’t you do?”

“Pfft, right.”

Bursting into laughter at Se-Hoon’s witty response, Jake gripped the Luminescent Sword on his chest tightly.

“Hey, Se-Hoon.”

“What.”

“When I swung this around just now, I realized one thing.”

Thanking his trustworthy blacksmith, Jake left a satisfied comment for his trustworthy blacksmith.

“Your sword is the best.”

[The bond with ‘Jake Myers’ has increased to Lv.2.]

[Since the bond has increased to Lv.2, a Relationship has been established. Your Relationship with ‘Jake Myers’ is currently ‘Trust’.]

[Relationship: Trust]

[It’s not easy to ask someone who doesn’t trust even themself to trust others.

But while it’s difficult to repay trust, if you can instill the belief that they will rise again even after failures, this relationship will continue indefinitely.

*A Fatestone is created whenever you repay the subject’s trust.

*The maturation rate of the Fatestone increases when you have the subject’s trust.

*Currently created Fatestones: 0]

This guy...

Looking at the notification messages that appeared before him, Se-Hoon couldn’t help but smile warmly.

Compared to someone who only knew how to complain, demanding better equipment, Jake was actually grateful. Reveling in the feeling of meeting a truly polite and excellent customer after a long time, he gazed at Jake.

“You should always be thankful, just like... hey, are you sleeping?”

“...”

Floating motionlessly on the lake, Jake’s eyes were closed and his face was deathly pale.

He must have overused the Blood Art. Unconcerned since it would be resolved with some rest, Se-Hoon used his Black Weaver to anchor Jake so that he wouldn’t drift away.

A moment later, he felt the presence of others approaching and turned his gaze toward the remains of the Divine Tree.

Come to think of it, the marionettes must have all run away already.

The marionettes were beings that were originally humans or demons but had been transformed to serve the Puppeteer, basically becoming living puppets. They were particularly annoying when compared to the other minions of the Ten Evils because they could survive and just switch bodies as long as their core wasn’t destroyed.

Considering they used the Divine Tree and didn’t show up in person, they must have used a temporary body made from a monster.

By now, they would have returned to their hidden original bodies outside the Black Lotus Seas, preparing to flee.

If I had the time, I would’ve found their hideout and killed them all...

While it was still possible if he were to take off right now, he decided to let them go, considering potential unforeseen circumstances. Killing them all would reduce the amount of information passed to the Puppeteer, but if he missed even one, he would only give away the fact that he could track the marionettes.

Back in my previous lives, everyone used that method, but not now.

The Puppeteer was a dangerous foe, but Se-Hoon decided to only react with the same amount of interest. Since they had shown nothing special this time, he deemed it best to step back here.

Pondering his next moves, he calmly floated on the lake.

Caw-

Suddenly, he heard a familiar cawing coming from the remains of the Divine Tree. Se-Hoon turned his attention there once more.

Whoosh!

A crow quickly disappeared over the forest.

***

Several kilometers away from the Black Lotus Seas, in a secluded forest on a remote mountain where nothing but wild animals were present, the ground trembled faintly.

And soon, a hand burst from the ground.

Fffttt. Fffttt.

Three figures emerged, digging through the soil. The first to surface was a pale-faced Western man, Willy, who was furrowing his brow.

“How are they only freshmen... Babel’s crazy...”

He had thought it was impressive enough that they were able to hold out until the Mist Battalion Sword arrived, so when they actually took him down, he was flabbergasted.

Frowning at the memory of the pain of his body being split in half, he wore a look of incomprehension.

Myers’s sword aura was ridiculously powerful, but what’s truly absurd is the guy next to him, Lee Se-Hoon.

The regenerative ability of the Divine Tree rooted throughout the entire Danger Zone was at least of B+ grade, so it should have been able to endure being sliced by sword aura. However, the moment the sword aura reached the path etched by Se-Hoon, the mana circuit became entangled and the regenerative ability vanished.

Even I haven’t fully grasped how the mana circuit is connected throughout the Divine Tree, and I was controlling it as if it were part of me...

To be able to see through it at first glance required more than just remarkable talent. The reason his master had taken an interest in Se-Hoon as outstanding material finally dawned on him. He checked on his subordinates.

“What about the others?”

“They were showing no response, so I finished them off myself.”

Although the marionettes had their sensory organs removed so they would not feel any pain, they still experienced vivid agony the instant their bodies were forcibly destroyed and their consciousness returned to their original body.

But as long as they could endure this pain, they were able to return to their original body or switch to a new one and survive. Yet if they weren’t able to endure it, they either suffered from dementia or became completely unresponsive.

“Seven lost... seems like we got off cheap.”

He was glad that they weren’t completely annihilated despite striking a location guarded by an S-rank hero.

Anyway, I’ve gathered enough information worth reporting.

Se-Hoon, aside from the material the Puppeteer originally requested, was material worth targeting on his own. Managing to confirm the information, he looked at the two remaining subordinates.

“Let’s get out of here before their search squad finds us.”

“Yes, sir!”

With no one around, the remaining three kicked off the ground and started running through the forest. The trees here, while not as dense as the ones in the Black Lotus Seas, also grew thickly. And because of the overcast skies, sunlight was scarce, making the forest even darker.

Was the aftermath worse than expected?

It was a temporary body, but it was a B-grade one. He shouldn’t have been having trouble seeing through this darkness.

Strands of Willy’s hair began to stand on end as he grew more and more puzzled.

Caw-

Suddenly, a cry of a crow echoed from somewhere. Alert, Willy’s eyes followed the sound, scanning the area.

However, perhaps due to the dim light, he couldn’t spot the crow, causing his brows to furrow.

Damn crow, why are they here out of all places...

Although its cawing was annoying, he wasn’t really worried about it; he felt no traces of mana from it. Thus, letting out a disgruntled sound, he surveyed his surroundings one more time before turning his gaze forward again.

Thud.

At that moment, a girl appeared far away, in front of a tree where the sunlight uniquely shone brightly.

She had black hair and a subtle hint of violet in her eyes, wearing only a cape over her school uniform. Seeing her defenseless appearance, Willy’s eyes widened.

Inoue...?

Why was she, who should be in the Black Lotus Seas right now, in front of them?

Startled by the surreal sight, Willy’s gaze suddenly shifted to a silver cage in her right hand.

“Caw

Within it was a crow standing upright.

His gaze immediately focused on the fragments of the marionettes, which they had used for their temporary bodies, clinging to the crow’s beak. At the sight, he quickly understood the situation.

She tracked us using a broken terminal...?

Could a freshman who just entered Babel this year really do something even S-rank heroes struggled with?

Though flustered by the unimaginable situation, Willy quickly shouted orders to his subordinates.

“There might be others here. Capture her!”

“Yes, sir!”

There was no way she had come this far alone. With rational judgment, Willy and his subordinates quickly advanced.

Swoosh.

In response, the cage in Erika’s hand was thrust forward.

“Caw-”

Crunch.

Silencing the crow that cried out, its neck twisted 180 degrees, and it fell limply to the bottom of the cage.

Thud.

Black blood began dripping from the slack beak and torn neck. Soon, what began as droplets increased in volume, and when the cage door opened, it poured endlessly downward, covering the entire surrounding ground.

Gloop, gloop.

The pooling liquid, neither blood nor water, exuded a sense of foreboding and impurity. Then, the black swamp of liquid—still spreading endlessly around Erika—began to bubble and boil.

Caw- caw-

Dozens of crows clawed out from the sticky swamp below, flapping their sticky wings to soar into the sky. Gaping at the eerie scene, Willy stared blankly, forgetting his initial intention to capture Erika alive.

Shadow Crow Requiem

The black crows that had soared high into the sky plummeted toward the three marionettes.

Crack- crack- crack!

Facing the relentless onslaught of crows, Willy and his subordinates swung their weapons desperately to fend off the attack.

However, the crows were unending—every single one that fell to the ground simply seeped back into the swamp and clawed its way back out. With the crows clawing out from the swamp as well, there was no stopping their assault.

Crunch- crunch!

“No, it can’t be...!”

“They’re inside the body... gah...!”

The crows, burrowing inside their bodies and assimilating with them, slowly dragged them further... and further... down into the swamp.

Caw! Caw!

“Ha... haha...!”

Willy hollowly laughed, hearing the crows’ cries echoing from within his own body. He had thought they were just mere honor students, just ordinary freshmen who hadn’t stepped foot into a Tower of Heroes.

But now, as he confronted Erika, Willy was stupefied.

“These monsters...”

Unable to finish his words, his body was sucked into the depths of the swamp.

“...”

Watching the three marionettes finally disappear without a trace, Erika nonchalantly lowered the cage she had thrust forward.

Swoosh.

Like nothing had ever happened, the oozing swamp flooding their surrounding was sucked back into the cage, and soon enough, the forest returned to its original state.

“Se-Hoon’s potential shouldn’t become known too soon.”

Whether it was the Ten Evils or anything else, she swore to herself that she wouldn’t hand over anything until she assessed his full potential.

She turned around and vanished into the shadows of the forest.