Chapter 50
Teren.
Inside the lord’s castle.
Baron Ruonic stood before a window.
He silently stared toward the distant Shadow Forest covered in mist.
“So...”
He spoke without turning around.
“You confirmed it yourself?”
Sir Bern stood behind him.
“Yes, my lord.”
Then...
“As you ordered, I personally followed the young merchant and saw his destination with my own eyes.”
Ruonic finally turned.
His eyes shone with expectation.
“What did you find?”
Bern answered.
“Exactly what we expected.”
Then...
“A barren wasteland.”
His expression remained serious.
“The Frontier looks no different from the records written hundreds of years ago.”
Ruonic frowned.
“That can’t be...”
Then...
“Where did Topu go?”
Bern continued.
“North.”
Then...
“Into the northern section of the Frontier.”
Ruonic leaned forward.
Bern shook his head.
“But that area was also exactly as recorded.”
Then...
“The only settlement there belonged to the northern barbarians.”
He clarified,
“A small barbarian village.”
Ruonic rubbed his beard.
So...
Only monsters and barbarians lived in the Frontier after all.
Then is that Shaman a fugitive?
Did he commit some serious crime inside the Empire and hide in the lawless Frontier?
Ruonic’s thoughts became complicated.
“How large was the settlement?”
Bern answered,
“It had a surprisingly tall and sturdy wooden wall.”
Then...
“Though the construction itself was crude.”
He continued.
“Inside, there were no proper buildings.”
Then...
“Only tents.”
Bern concluded,
“It was definitely not an advanced settlement.”
Ruonic sighed.
“So that’s how it is...”
He had no idea why such an extraordinary Shaman might be hiding inside a barbarian village.
For now...
He could only observe.
“Very well.”
Ruonic nodded.
“Good work.”
Then...
“Continue watching them for now.”
Ruonic returned his gaze toward the dark forest outside the window.
A mysterious Shaman hiding among barbarians.
What exactly was happening beyond the Shadow Forest?
At the same time.
Deep inside the northern forest.
The ruins of a forgotten temple.
The Tyrant Boar stood directly before its completely paralyzed prey.
Sticky saliva dripped from its mouth.
It seemed delighted to find a meal that couldn’t even move.
Wait.
Is that dwarf...?
I narrowed my eyes.
Then focused on his face.
The moment I recognized him...
I almost shouted.
His beard had been neatly braided into two thick sections.
His nose was huge and bright red.
And on his head...
A beautifully crafted horned helmet.
Holy shit!
That’s Olaf!
The greatest blacksmith in the Empire!
A ridiculously talented dwarf!
I was sure.
Back when I played L.O.C...
Olaf was the NPC who sold the highest-grade weapons from an enormous luxury workshop in the Imperial Capital.
So...
Why was the greatest blacksmith in the Empire...
Someone who should be living like a king in the capital...
Lying paralyzed in the middle of this horrible northern forest?
I had no idea.
But one thing was certain.
Jackpot.
I found the Empire’s best blacksmith in the forest!
My heart pounded.
The Pink Smilers were steadily producing more steel balls.
And now...
The exact kind of craftsman we needed was lying right in front of me.
But first...
I needed to save him.
Olaf was currently blinking at me like mad.
Because he was approximately one second away from disappearing into the boar’s stomach.
In L.O.C...
Monsters players could reasonably defeat often traveled in groups.
The monsters that traveled alone...
Were usually terrifyingly strong.
The fact that this Thorn-Mane Tyrant Boar wandered around an abandoned temple completely alone meant...
Its strength had to be incredible.
Charging in blindly could put Zakan and even Malko in danger.
But humans are supposed to use the environment.
I quickly signaled Mari, Zakan, and Malko to remain hidden.
Then...
I pulled out my axe.
I carefully rubbed Silver Thread Nettle leaves across the axe blade.
Zakan whispered,
“What are you doing?”
No time to explain.
I needed to pick up the Empire’s greatest blacksmith without damaging him!
The plant’s natural poison could paralyze someone from a single touch.
If I coated the axe with enough poison...
Then cut the Tyrant Boar...
Even something that huge should become paralyzed like the dwarf.
Then we could kill it safely.
“Good.”
Silver poisonous liquid coated the axe blade.
I raised my arm.
Then threw the axe at the Tyrant Boar with all my strength.
WHOOSH!
The poisoned axe flew toward its huge back.
The target was enormous.
I barely needed to aim.
I waited confidently for the monster to collapse.
Then...
CLANG!
“Grrr...?”
Not the sound of flesh being cut.
The impact sounded like two chunks of metal colliding.
My axe bounced off the creature’s hide.
It hadn’t even left a scratch.
The weapon landed on the ground.
“...Huh?”
I froze.
That did not go according to plan.
The Tyrant Boar’s black spikes and thick hide were far tougher than the axe’s penetrating force.
My confident plan had failed beautifully.
The monster stopped eating.
Then...
Slowly turned its head toward me.
“GRAAAAAAAAH!”
Its red eyes fixed directly on me.
Then...
It kicked the ground with its hind legs.
THUD!
THUD!
THUD!
The Tyrant Boar charged like a tank.
“Damn it!”
The ground shook violently.
Every time it ran...
Broken stone pillars exploded into pieces.
Worse...
There was nowhere good to dodge.
Then Malko stepped forward.
He gripped his axe.
“Malko will stop it!”
Then...
“Malko protects Chief and Shaman!”
He planted his feet firmly.
Then raised his weapon defensively.
Brave tanking!
One second later...
BOOOOOOM!
“KYAAAAAAAH!”
Malko collided head-on with the Tyrant Boar.
And...
Flew away like a paper doll.
CRASH!
He slammed upside down into a collapsed stone wall.
His legs trembled in the air.
“...”
As expected of Malko.
Anyway...
The Tyrant Boar became even angrier.
It snorted violently.
Then charged again.
At that desperate moment...
“Grrrr!”
“Woof! Woof!”
A small black shadow exploded forward from beside my feet.
Arken.
The puppy-sized Divine Beast showed no fear.
He barked fiercely.
Then ran directly across the charging Tyrant Boar’s field of view.
“GRAAAAH!”
The huge monster completely lost its temper.
The tiny black furball was irritating it.
Its charge suddenly changed direction.
RUMBLE!
The monster couldn’t control its own weight.
It slammed directly into a collapsed stone wall.
Dust exploded.
Arken had perfectly distracted it.
Then...
Zakan moved.
“Get back, Izak!”
He kicked the ground.
“BARBARIAAAAN!”
Zakan leaped into the air.
