I asked Sinisha.
“Do you know anything about a man named Clare?”
“I’m not some saint from the Wisdom Church who can spit out information just from a name. If I could do that, I would have quit being an information broker ages ago and become a prophet instead.”
It really was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
Even so, I didn’t have much information to give him. Very little had been clearly revealed about Clare, Epio’s adoptive father, in the original work.
Still, I had once mentioned Clare as one of the candidates for MacGuffin No. 001 because he was deeply connected to the protagonist and also shared a profound tie with an important character in Part 4.
Moreover, after reading Reca Chronicles countless times, I had noticed several suspicious points about him.
The most representative one was…
“There’s a high chance he’s connected to the Sun Cathedral.”
“The Sun Cathedral?”
Both Clara and Epio looked surprised at my sudden statement.
One of Epio’s skills was Dragon God Cathedral Self-Defense Art (B). He had possessed it since he was twelve—long before the original story began—so he had definitely learned it from Clare.
Considering the Sun Cathedral’s notorious closed-off nature, it was impossible to imagine he had simply stolen and learned the technique from somewhere. The fact that the Dragon Horse Cult—the Cathedral’s mortal enemy—had reacted to the name “Clare” was another point that bothered me.
“Name: Clare. Age: roughly twenty-five years older than that red-haired kid over there. And he’s connected to the Sun Cathedral. He’s not in my database right now, but I’ll filter out anyone with matching common points. The name Clare itself might be an alias, after all.”
“That can’t be. Clare said he never lied to me.”
Epio protested.
I looked at him and said,
“Don’t get so worked up. It’s also possible he used an alias outside the cabin.”
“Hmm… I guess that makes sense too. Got it.”
“If I find anything, I’ll contact you by messenger pigeon. Is that all you wanted?”
“…You’re not going to charge extra?”
“You already spilled everything about the Grave Robber’s Pen (S-) first, so I’ll count this as a service for building trust.”
Iron Mask—Sinisha Luser—was not someone who moved solely for profit. He was rather whimsical and capricious, so he would sometimes take interesting requests for free. Of course, it didn’t always work in the client’s favor; if he disliked the requester, he would inflate the down payment several times over.
“I’ll pay extra. Won’t you sell me one more piece of information?”
“Of course. I’ll decide the price after hearing the details, customer.”
“I want to know the whereabouts of the Sign Seeker ‘Mahir el-Nur.’ You’d know, right?”
“…The guide of Riyala? You’re not seriously thinking of going on a desert tour, are you? That’s not an adventure—it’s suicide.”
Instead of answering, I simply stared at Sinisha. He shook his head with a dumbfounded expression, then held up two fingers.
Clink!
I placed a pouch containing twenty platinum coins on the desk. Sinisha wrote something on a piece of paper and handed it to me.
“Recruiting the Sign Seeker shouldn’t be too difficult. Just shower him with money and say you’ll help him cross the Moving Desert.”
“Thanks for the advice.”
The Moving Desert, Riyala, was one of the most notorious danger zones on the Prima Continent. Mahir was an extraordinary individual who could traverse it as easily as his own backyard. With his help, locating the Twin Star King’s Ruins somewhere in that desert would become much easier.
I sat quietly and looked at Sinisha. I would need to pull this guy into our camp eventually too, but today’s business was finished.
The moment we left the mansion, Plebelziam asked,
[Hey, Aiden. What makes you so sure this kid’s adoptive father is connected to the Sun Cathedral? Did you have another prophetic dream last night?]
“No. It’s not that. I just noticed that the combat style Epio usually shows has movements unique to Sun Cathedral martial arts mixed in.”
“…Is that so, Oppa?”
Clara, who had grown up in the Sun Cathedral, tilted her head. As a priestess, she didn’t seem to know much about warriors’ movements.
[My memory is hazy so I’m not sure… but now that you mention it, it does seem subtly similar to the movements of the Sun Cathedral knights.]
“…Really?”
Epio himself looked puzzled.
In truth, the original work had never particularly mentioned the Dragon God Cathedral Self-Defense Art (B) that he had possessed from the beginning. The more techniques one learned, the more diluted specific stylistic movements became, so naturally no one had ever accurately identified Epio’s martial arts.
It was a problem that arose because the characters in the story couldn’t see character sheets like I could.
“Anyway, let’s head back to Elanore soon. The fight with Praszkeak is right around the corner.”
Night of the 22nd of the 9th month, Dragon God Year 985.
We were on the way back to Elanore by carriage, and camping preparations were already complete. I decided to call up the Tripper System for the first time in a while.
[Achievement Points: 24,300p]
- Random Bronze Card: 10p └ Consumable / Trait / Skill Draw
- Random Silver Card: 100p └ Consumable / Trait / Skill Draw
- Random Gold Card: 1,000p └ Consumable / Trait / Skill Draw
- Random Platinum Card: 10,000p └ Consumable / Trait / Skill Draw
[Random Platinum Card]
A-grade 75%
S-grade 25%
“………”
Just as I had suspected, the newly obtained Platinum Card also had no EX-grade.
A total of sixty-one EX-grade traits and skills had been revealed in the setting book. Each one possessed outrageous performance, and even the weakest among them would allow someone to coast through Part 3 with ease.
If something like that appeared at this point, it would cause a serious balance collapse, so even if I were the author NonameC, I probably wouldn’t hand it out easily.
There was a chance it could appear from a Diamond Card, which was above Platinum… but the unlock condition for Platinum had been MacGuffin No. 100 or lower. I couldn’t even guess how low the numbering needed to be for Diamond to unlock.
I could only hope it wasn’t single-digit.
“Random Platinum Card, trait draw.”
Pop! A semi-transparent roulette wheel appeared in the air and began spinning.
[Obtained Over Zero Back (S)!]
[This is a superior compatibility trait. Mana Control (C) has been integrated.]
“This is…!”
It was the S-grade trait possessed by Toolgha Pekleddablion, one of the Five Heroes and an orc warrior from the Money People tribe.
My current [STR] was 11. Excluding [INT], it was my relatively lowest stat, which was why my firepower felt quite lacking when I wasn’t using harmony techniques like Fluid Harmony or Double Stream.
But with Over Zero Back (S), my instantaneous firepower could far surpass that of same-level strength-based warriors. As long as the opponent wasn’t an extreme nuker type like Ray, of course.
“Random Platinum Card, skill draw.”
[Obtained Luft Air Force Control Art (A)!]
[Luft Air Force Control Art (A) is at the ‘Master’ stage. Effects have increased significantly.]
I let out a small chuckle the moment I saw the skill name.
It wasn’t S-grade, but something interesting had come out.
Luft Air Force Control Art (A) was a technique that combined heart method and footwork at the same time, and it possessed a rather unique effect.
It was the secret ultimate art of Sten Yanefelt, the mercenary who had ended the civil war in the Lilyac Magic Kingdom two hundred years ago without fighting even a single battle. He had once forced one of the Continent’s Twelve Heroes at the time to submit using nothing but overwhelming momentum.
After ending the civil war as its greatest contributor, Sten had flatly refused even the Magic Kingdom’s hospitality as an honored guest and vanished without a trace. The lineage of his secret Air Force Control Art was thought to have been severed, causing connoisseurs to lament… but every reader who knew the true nature of the technique nodded in agreement that it had been a wise choice.
Over time, the vision had been completely forgotten by the inhabitants of the world. Thanks to that, almost no one in the current era knew its weaknesses.
We returned to the clan house and unpacked.
The journey was roughly over, but there was still plenty of work left.
First, I formally introduced Ray to Arent and the other staff, explaining that after I assumed the position of Master, I would appoint her as Sub-Master.
“A knight from the Order of Discipline? Reliable indeed.”
“Please judge her based on the achievements she will build from now on rather than her resume, Master Lindal.”
“She’s quite an impressive young lady…”
Arent had been half-doubtful when I first brought her up, but after meeting her in person he seemed quite satisfied. She was the straight-laced FM type who was polite even to superiors—exactly the kind of person martial artists tended to dote on.
Next, I moved to the underground workshop in the clan house where Bailey had set up shop and asked,
“How is the lamp’s condition?”
“I managed to modify it to a certain extent. But my skills as an enchanter are lacking, so I can’t touch it any further.”
I received the six-pointed star-engraved lamp from a frustrated-looking Bailey. It was the Lamp of the Oath that Shambhavi had once resided in.
Modified Magic Lamp (S-)
- Can contain something foreign.
- Enchant: Enhanced Sealing Ability
Bailey seemed to consider it a failure, but I was reasonably satisfied. Even with the ‘-’ attached, the grade had returned to its original level.
Kurt asked me,
“Mana is constantly leaking from the six-pointed star drawn beneath the lamp, Aiden-hyung. Where on earth did you get this thing?”
“It’s an artifact made by a magician of mythical caliber to give to a relative. Nothing too surprising.”
“…There really are a lot of amazing craftsmen in the world. I’ve never seen an object with this kind of magic bestowed upon it even in Grand Valley.”
The magic circle drawn by the Witch Emperor using Infinite Power (EX) absorbed mana from the surrounding space and maintained its function semi-permanently. That was how the great spirit could maintain its physical form without a contract even while requiring enormous fuel.
I put the lamp in my pocket and asked Bailey,
“How is our Restinel doing?”
“Hm… Kurt, let’s go to the next room. Sub-Master, you come too.”
I followed the two of them into a vast underground cavity. There stood a metal mass the size of a house. Upon closer inspection, it was shaped like a ship woven together from various metals.
<Machine God Tribe Core – Restinel>
[Level: 35/83]
[Description: Fully active state]
It has been a while, Master.
“…You’ve become quite fluent.”
The ship’s identity was, of course, Restinel.
Until recently, it had looked like a land roller. Comparing then to now, the form was completely different.
Any other Machine God Tribe member who saw Restinel’s transformation would find it hard to believe.
Once a Machine God Tribe member’s level rose to a certain point, even they found it difficult to separate the metal integrated with their core. The metal itself had become part of their body.
However, with the help of Kurt’s soul imprint, Dismixer (U), it was possible to reset the tech tree in a short period. Conversely, it was also possible to rapidly fuse with various metals.
Your financial power is astonishing, Master. To collect this much high-grade metal in such a short time.
“It’s only the beginning. From now on, you need to grow strong enough to stand against Skrijem, who has devoured a mountain of Ice Cold Iron.”
Possible. My potential is far superior to Skrijem, who has been active for a long time. Of course, to properly display that potential, an enormous amount of money is required, so I will need your active support, Master.
“Your sense of humor has improved too.”
I said it lightly, but matters concerning Skrijem—the collaborator of the Five Heroes—could wait until later. Restinel needed to play a major role in the imminent battle against Praszkeak right in front of us.
I was deeply focused on training in preparation for the decisive battle with them when one day Linia entered the office with a bright expression.
“The Church of Utility has contacted us. They will dispatch a bishop-level priest on the first of next month to officiate the inauguration and retirement ceremony for the Blispiel Clan Master.”
“I see.”
“Here is the list of the delegation coming to congratulate Young Master’s inauguration.”
I took the neatly presented document from Linia and skimmed it indifferently. Then I discovered an unexpected name and slightly furrowed my brow.
“Tristan Alabur…?”
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