BXBX NOVEL Chapter 213: The Quest of the Wandering Merchant (2)
Chapter 213: The Quest of the Wandering Merchant (2)
“Why do you ask?”
“Your bracelet. Could it possibly be a holy relic of Kalosia?”
Ketal nodded.
“Yes, it is.”
“I thought so...”
Seraphina muttered in astonishment.
She was a devotee of the gods.
Not just any devotee, but one with the highest level of power.
She had known from the beginning that the bracelet Ketal was wearing was a relic of Kalosia.
She just needed to confirm it because it was hard to believe.
“How did you obtain it?”
Ketal's bracelet was a genuine holy relic.
It could only be wielded with the direct permission of a god, and such individuals were rare throughout the history of the church.
Even the Church of the Sun had numerous relics, but no one had ever received them.
Seraphina herself had never acquired a relic.
She had borrowed one a few times when fighting evil, but it was always returned to the church after the mission.
And yet, this barbarian possessed a holy relic of the gods.
Seraphina asked cautiously.
“Did the saintess of Kalosia’s church give you permission?”
“No, I met Kalosia directly and received permission.”
“What?”
“Directly from the god?”
Those who had been listening quietly turned their heads in surprise.
Seraphina's eyes widened.
“You met Kalosia directly?”
“It might be easier to show you this.”
Ketal showed the emblem of Kalosia he received from Shadrenes.
A hundred layers of overlapping patterns.
Seraphina gasped when she saw it.
“May I hold it for a moment?”
“Of course.”
Seraphina carefully accepted the layered emblem.
She let out a groan.
“This is...”
She knew exactly what it was.
Seraphina had a vast knowledge of the Kalosia church.
In fact, she had information on every church currently existing on the continent.
That’s why she was so surprised.
‘An emblem given to a benefactor. But a hundred layers?’
The hundred layers of emblems each contained a different image.
Ketal thought they were just elaborate designs, but each image had its own meaning.
And Seraphina knew all of those meanings.
The first emblem.
Given to those who have helped the church.
The second emblem.
Given to the friends of the church.
The third emblem.
Given to honorary members of the church.
Dozens of emblems, each with great value on their own, were layered together.
And the last emblem.
Given to those personally acknowledged by the god.
‘My goodness.’
Even as the chief inquisitor, she had never conversed directly with a god.
If this emblem was true, the barbarian in front of her was higher in religious standing than she was.
How could this barbarian have received a hundred-layered emblem?
There was only one possibility.
“Recently, the demon’s descent. Were you at Kalosia’s sanctuary then?”
The Tower Master had tried to block as much information about Ketal as possible.
But even the walls have ears.
No matter how much information was concealed, the deeds of Ketal were too significant to hide completely.
Thus, there were rumors that an unknown person had defended Kalosia’s sanctuary from demonic attacks.
The identity of this powerful individual was one of the biggest mysteries on the continent.
Some speculated that Kalosia had descended directly, while others believed it was a hidden master who had emerged.
These rumors were spreading across the continent.
Even the Church of the Sun was trying to find out who it was.
Ketal nodded.
“I helped them.”
“I see.”
The mystery was now solved.
This barbarian was the one who had defended Kalosia’s sanctuary from the demonic attack.
It was surprising, but understandable.
As a contractor of the highest-level spirit, he had sufficient power.
But one question remained.
‘Why didn’t Aquaz mention this barbarian?’
Aquaz had recently returned to the Church of the Sun.
As the chief inquisitor, Seraphina had heard about Aquaz’s journey.
This included information about Kalosia’s sanctuary.
But Aquaz had said nothing about the barbarian.
That was because the saintess of the Sun had first spoken to Aquaz and ordered her not to speak of the barbarian to anyone.
Without knowing this, Seraphina was puzzled.
“Do you know someone named Aquaz?”
“Of course. She's the Inquisitor of the Sun God. She’s my friend.”
“...Your friend?”
“Yes, we've known each other for some time.”
“...For some time?”
“Recently, we even traveled to the City of Mermaids together.”
“...”
This was all news to her.
Ketal smiled brightly.
“Judging by your reaction, it seems she returned safely. I'm glad.”
“...Yes, she returned safely.”
Seraphina realized that Aquaz had intentionally hidden information about the barbarian.
She narrowed her eyes.
‘I’m going to have a lot to discuss when I get back, Aquaz.’
Aquaz, resting in the church, shivered unknowingly.
Others listening to the conversation also realized something.
This barbarian was the widely unknown savior who had protected Kalosia’s sanctuary from demonic hands.
Seraphina quietly closed her mouth and organized her thoughts.
Next, it was the Mercenary King's turn.
He was staring intently at Ketal.
A barbarian with ash-gray hair.
The name was Ketal.
‘I remember hearing about him somewhere...’
He asked with curiosity.
“Where are you from?”
“The Kingdom of Denian.”
Having come here at the request of a wandering merchant, this was not a lie.
The Mercenary King's eyes widened.
“The Kingdom of Denian?”
“Yes, I'm a mercenary too.”
Ketal grinned.
“It's an honor to meet such a famous senior.”
“You’re a mercenary?”
Information rapidly flashed through the Mercenary King's mind.
A barbarian with ash-gray hair.
A mercenary from the Kingdom of Denian.
The Mercenary King was one of the most senior members of the Mercenary Guild.
He was on friendly terms with the Guild Master and occasionally had drinks with him.
Recently, during one of those drinking sessions, the Guild Master had made a request to the Mercenary King.
There had been strange occurrences in the dungeons, causing many mercenaries to die. But something peculiar had happened.
An A-rank dungeon in the Kingdom of Denian had turned into an AAA-rank, yet everyone survived.
This was so unusual that the Mercenary King became interested.
The Guild Master had quickly handed over the list of mercenaries who had participated in that dungeon raid to the Mercenary King.
Ketal, the barbarian, was on that list.
“Did you ever go on a dungeon raid in the Kingdom of Denian?”
“Yes. It was an interesting dungeon.”
“...”
With those words, the Mercenary King realized that this barbarian was the one the Guild Master had talked about.
Indeed, if he was a contractor of a highest-level spirit, it made sense.
‘I need to report this to the Guild Master.’
The first known contractor of a highest-level spirit, and he was a mercenary.
This would cause an uproar in the Mercenary Guild.
The Guild Master would rush to the Kingdom of Denian.
As the conversation started to open up, the previously silent Spellweaver cautiously asked Ketal a question.
“You mentioned you learned alchemy. Did you study under a school of the Magic Tower?”
“No, I learned from Arkamis.”
“Arkamis?”
“Oh, do you know her?”
“Of course.”
It was impossible not to know.
Arkamis was a highly renowned alchemist on the continent.
Aside from being a high elf, her abilities alone were extraordinary.
Her personal strength was at a superhuman level, but that wasn't what made her truly remarkable.
Arkamis was the only alchemist who had turned a complete novice into a superhuman.
Many magicians wondered how that was even possible.
Even the great Tower Master was intrigued.
Naturally, the Spellweaver was also shocked when he heard the news.
More than a hundred alchemists had left the Magic Tower to seek tutelage from Arkamis.
But none of them had returned having learned anything from her.
Thus, Ketal’s words seemed strange.
“Did Arkamis teach you alchemy?”
“Yes, we have a master-disciple relationship.”
“...Master-disciple relationship?”
If Ketal was telling the truth, he would receive a grand reception if he visited the Magic Tower.
Alchemists would flock to him, hoping to establish a connection with Arkamis to learn alchemy.
‘Wait a minute.’
This barbarian said he traveled with Aquaz.
If so...
“Do you happen to know someone named Baker?”
A superhuman magician who left the Magic Tower out of love for an Inquisitor.
Upon returning to the Magic Tower, he spoke about his journey.
He talked about facing creatures from the Forbidden Lands in the depths of the ocean.
Many magicians had approached Baker to gain information about the abyss.
However, any information about Ketal had been preemptively blocked by the Tower Master, so there had been no mention of him.
And Ketal spoke quite simply.
“Of course I know him. We’re friends. We went to the bottom of the sea together. How’s he doing?”
“Uh… he’s fine.”
“That’s good to hear.”
‘...What?’
The Spellweaver thought about going back to the Tower and grilling Baker with questions. Meanwhile, Baker, who was resting in the Tower like Aquaz, shivered involuntarily.
Seraphina, who had been deep in thought, asked,
“Did you contract your spirit through Arkamis then, Mr. Ketal?”
Arkamis was a high elf, a being close to the spirits themselves.
Naturally, it seemed likely that Ketal had learned his spirit arts from Arkamis.
But Ketal shook his head.
“No, she didn't teach me that.”
“Then who...”
“I obtained it at the elves’ sanctuary.”
“...Pardon?”
For a moment, Seraphina thought she had misheard.
But Ketal repeated, confirming she hadn’t misheard.
“The elves' sanctuary. I obtained it at Elfo Sagrado.”
Before leaving, Ketal had asked Karin if it was alright to talk about what had happened there.
Karin had said it didn't matter since the information would spread anyway, so he spoke freely.
The Spellweaver, lost in thought, was astonished.
“Elfo Sagrado? You went there?”
Elfo Sagrado, the mystical land whose location was unknown.
The elves trusted and invited only those who would never desecrate their sanctuary.
It was said that no human knew its location, and even if someone did, they kept silent about it.
This barbarian had qualified for such an invitation.
To have contracted with a highest-level spirit there meant the elves fully supported this barbarian.
“Then perhaps the recent demonic descent at the elves' sanctuary...”
“Ah, it's already known? I was there as well.”
“I see.”
The Spellweaver let out a dry laugh.
To summarize Ketal's story so far:
He was the one who had saved Kalosia’s sanctuary from a demonic invasion.
In return, he received a holy relic and spoke directly with the god.
He was the apprentice of the legendary alchemist Arkamis, who could make anyone a superhuman.
He was so close with the elves that he was invited to their sanctuary, where he contracted a highest-level spirit.
‘...What?’
Listening to him was like hearing about a hero from a legend.
‘Why have I never heard of such a person before?’
The Tower Master had been exceptionally diligent in hiding Ketal’s identity.
The deeds Ketal had performed should have been known across the entire continent.
That they weren’t, meant the Tower Master had manipulated information continent-wide.
This was no easy task, even for the great hero that the Tower Master was.
He had to control all the information without causing suspicion and without revealing his involvement.
There were strong individuals besides the Tower Master in the world.
To go unnoticed by them was incredibly difficult.
Yet, the Tower Master had done it.
No one had realized anything about Ketal, and no one had found it odd.
The Tower Master had succeeded in controlling information on a continental scale.
This fact had immensely gratified the Tower Master, giving him a rare feeling of euphoria.
It was so much so that he had spent an entire day boasting to his only disciple about his great achievement.
But despite the Tower Master's efforts, Ketal had directly met with people.
The continent was beginning to recognize Ketal’s existence.