Chapter 97 — The Domain (5)
The Karavan Domain. Once a naless, lifeless patch of land — now a place brimming with movent. No one could call it a dead village anymore. It was still too small to be a true territory, yet too lively to remain just a “village.”
Since the day Seol-Yoon had first set foot here, the change was astonishing. Back then, the only residents had been herself, Fetel, and Arhan. Now there were streets and laughter and footsteps.
That alone was miraculous progress.
“If you’d stayed, you would’ve liked this,” Seol-Yoon murmured.
“You always loved to talk, rember? You’d have had so many people to chat with. Maybe you’d even recite one of your silly poems about the sunset you loved so much.”
She hadn’t gone to enjoy the new buildings or et the new faces.
She had co to visit a friend who would never answer again.
Lighting a dry twig, Seol-Yoon slowly spun it in her fingers as she looked toward the sky — a gesture of the Markia Goddess Church’s funeral rite. As a faint white smoke rose from the branch, she whispered softly,
“May the Virgin of the Sky embrace you.” Then she placed the burning twig on Fetel’s grave. Next to the branch, a faint red lip-mark stained the stone — a trace Daisy had left behind.
Seol-Yoon smiled faintly and began to talk. About nothing in particular. Clumsy, rambling sentences spoken into the wind, as though the dead might answer. When she finally finished, she bowed her head one last ti in prayer and began descending the ridge.
Halfway down, she t Hailyn — the bold little mage — and beside her, as usual, the infamously impolite witch Audrey.
The witch spotted her first.
“Coming down from the mountain, are you? Ah, I’ve heard Easterners love nature — don’t tell you slept up there? Fascinating! Is this one of those… mystical Eastern things?”
Seol-Yoon’s face remained utterly blank.
Audrey had a rare gift: she could irritate anyone simply by existing.
While the witch chattered away, Hailyn chirped excitedly, her voice bright and fast like any young girl’s.
“I finally learned real magic! Not those useless tricks, but the real thing! The orc shaman Sherdik taught a bunch of spells after I told him I wanted to help Lord Arhan! He even said I could summon him again anyti if I needed guidance! Maybe I can be more than just a steward now — maybe even a proper mage!”
“It’s still too early for that,” Audrey sniffed, folding her arms. “But I’m surprised that old lunatic taught you anything just because of your friend. The Star Herald isn’t exactly generous with his knowledge. Normally, he wouldn’t share so much as a sneeze with a human, even for a mountain of gold.”
“Lunatic? He was nice to ! He said if I ever visit the Orc Sanctuary, he’ll introduce to his beautiful daughter! He said she’s very pretty!”
“Hailyn, you clearly don’t know orcish beauty standards. If an orc says she’s beautiful, she’s probably built like an ogre. One flick of her hand and she’d fold you in half.”
“Eek!”
Poor Hailyn. Once, she’d been a terrified girl kidnapped by a black mage, desperate to prove her worth. But now… she was starting to look her age again — bright-eyed, a little silly, a little loud.
To Seol-Yoon, that alone was worth more than any magic.
The girl’s laughter brought back mories — of the children who had once filled her long-lost ho, and of those who had died hungry and cold, never given a chance to smile again.
So she was grateful — not because Hailyn had found her talent, but because she had found her innocence.
“Really, she could fold with one hand?”
“Absolutely. And she’d still have a hand free for dessert.”
“T-then… should Lady Audrey run away too if an orc shows up?”
“Run? ? Never! Do you think those filthy brutes could so much as touch the Great Witch of the Heavens? Before they got within reach, divine lightning itself would blast them to dust! Actually, they’d probably run away the mont they heard the word witch!”
“Whoa… witches are really that amazing?”
“Of course! You’ve only seen this backwater, but go to the Iron Kingdom’s Blade City — they bow when a witch walks by! And in the Sky Empire? They gaze at us with stars in their eyes!”
“So cool! Do you think I could ever beco a witch soday?”
Audrey tilted her head, clearly pleased to have an audience.
“Hmph, who knows. You’ll have to work much harder. And besides, the Great Husband must like you — only the most beautiful can beco witches like .”
“Oh… then I guess I can’t. No one’s ever called pretty.”
“Hmph! You’re still young, so you might have potential. If I could share my beauty, I’d give you a little, you know. I wouldn’t mind having a little sister like you.”
The two of them giggled together as they walked off, their laughter echoing down the path.
Seol-Yoon couldn’t help but smile. Despite their constant bickering, the witch and the girl suited each other strangely well. When they were gone, Seol-Yoon turned toward the quiet end of the village to train.
She was still trying to master Thousand-Shifting Form — to let her wings and her awakening power blend naturally with her body. But before she reached the clearing, she heard the sharp clang of steel on steel.
Following the sound, she found Arhan — and facing him, an unexpected opponent.
Tom, the caretaker of the Hall of Honor.
***
“I’ve told you before, Lord Arhan,” Tom said between breaths, “I like you. I like your duels, your spirit, all of it. So please understand—”
He smiled kindly… and then delivered the cruellest words possible.
“You really have no talent.”
…Kind tone, rciless content.
The Sword Runner
The standard of strength.
In this continent, when people spoke of “the strong,” they ant those who had reached the rank of Sword Runner.
It was a difficult threshold to cross.
But once a swordsman spread those wings, the world itself treated them differently.
A Sword Runner could stand toe-to-toe with mages and spiritual beings alike.
Mystic power could only be t with mystic power.
Beyond that, they surpassed mortal limits entirely.
A Sword Walker — like Arhan now — was faster, sharper, stronger than ordinary warriors, but still human.
A Sword Runner, however, moved with inhuman grace; their “wings” granted bursts of speed rivaling teleportation itself.
One Runner could slaughter entire legions of soldiers.
And to stand tall as a true swordsman, Arhan had to reach that height.
His fa in the Infinite Duel had been earned through coincidence and grit — not mastery.
Without wings, facing what was coming would be impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
“Your sense for mana is decent,” Tom said, wiping sweat from his brow. “But your physical coordination is terrible. You can imagine the movent in your mind, but your body can’t follow. I’d call you a dullard, but even that feels too kind.”
Of course.
He was untalented.
「If this is you after eating an orc’s blade and forcing growth, I might faint from astonishnt,」 his master Liam grumbled.
“Please don’t start,” Arhan muttered.
「Should I spin a hundred sorsaults above your head to celebrate? I can, you know — being bodiless has its advantages.」
“Please don’t.”
Seol-Yoon had taken flight after only a few training sessions. But then, she was a genius — a prodigy of prodigies. Arhan was neither. He wasn’t even average. He was a dullard.
“You’ve reached the hint of a Sword Runner,” Tom continued. “Your inner fla has already awakened — you just can’t wield it. When you finally feel mana coursing through your body as one, the wings will bloom.
“But your sensitivity is terribly dull. Perhaps the Goddess Refri herself placed a restriction upon your Karavan blood to keep things fair.”
He smiled apologetically.
“After all, to devour blades and beco one with their souls… it’s far too powerful. Theoretically, if you ate every sword in existence, you could perform every sword art ever known! So maybe this… curse is the balance for such a gift.”
At that, Liam burst out laughing in Arhan’s head.
「Ha! He finally said it aloud! Did you hear that, my descendant? He called your body cursed!」
“Shut up.”
「Since when did the Steel Bloodline have a curse? Did I miss a mo? What is it — ‘The Curse of the Snail’? ‘The Curse of the Hopeless atbag’?」
“Please. Shut up.”
「Maybe the witch here can lift your ‘Curse of Complete Uselessness.’ Should we ask her?」
Arhan’s eyes twitched.
He wanted to swing his sword in the air just to make Liam shut up. And Tom’s sincere face didn’t help.
He looked so genuinely convinced that so divine restriction existed, Arhan couldn’t bear to correct him with, No, I’m just terrible at this.
“Judging by your movents,” Tom went on, “the issue isn’t nurturing your fla or strengthening your body. You need to forge your fla into yourself — temper your mana through that heat, just like steel in a furnace.”
“Ah.”
“For that, guided training is essential. Normally, that’s a teacher’s role, or a gifted disciple’s. But… I fear I’m not quite good enough for this task.”
He paused, thinking.
Then his eyes lit up.
“The Black Bride — she’s in this village, isn’t she?”
“I’ll ask her,” Arhan replied.
“Yes, good idea! If anyone can help, it’s her. She’s your complete opposite — if you’re the dullest under heaven, she’s heaven’s own genius. Ah— forgive , that ca out wrong!”
“…”
“You’re… uh — you’re kind-hearted! Yes, that’s it. Very kind-hearted! Ha ha ha!”
Tom was too honest for his own good.
Arhan’s heart ached.
anwhile, Liam did a triumphant loop overhead.
「The Curse of the Kind Dullard! Magnificent!」
Arhan ignored him with saintly restraint and said quietly,
“Tom, I need to tell you sothing.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“I might have ntioned this before, but the Iron Prince plans to stir up a storm soon. One that will sweep across the entire continent.”
Tom’s smile faded.
“That’s… frightening. And knowing him, entirely possible.”
“Yes. And he told himself — I’ll be part of it. Whether I want to or not. Whatever he’s planning, I’ll be dragged into it.”
Tom’s expression darkened.
“That sounds more terrifying than any murder threat.”
“It is. That’s why I’m warning you now. When it cos, it’ll swallow everything near . You’ve already done more than enough — but don’t stay too long, Tom. It’ll be dangerous.”
Tom chuckled softly.
“Danger, you say.”
He looked utterly unconcerned.
“Don’t worry, young lord. I’ll extend my vacation and stay until you beco a Sword Runner. Whatever madness the Iron Prince stirs up, this old man is not so easily tossed aside.
“If a storm cos, I’ll be your wall.”
Warm words.
Reassuring.
After all, Tom wasn’t just anyone.
He was a Sword Expert.
“Unless a Swordmaster himself arrives,” Tom said with a grin, “no one will harm you while I’m here.”
Strong, confident words.
We both laughed.
“Haha haha haha!”
Neither of us knowing what kind of “storm” was already on its way.
Iron Kingdom — Chervil
In the land where strength was law, its mightiest city glead —
The capital.
The Blade City, Chernī.
The Iron Prince had returned.
Unlike other nobles who paraded with dozens of guards and servants, his procession was quiet.
The most noble youth in the kingdom traveled with only one escort.
And yet, every person on the streets knelt as he passed.
No one dared look up.
No one dared breathe too loudly.
The air itself slled of tal.
The Iron Prince, Ian Chervil, murmured to himself,
“This city is still so dull.”
Gray hair fluttered in the breeze as he gazed beyond the walls of the Iron Palace — past the jagged fortress-stones that stabbed the sky like blades.
He smiled faintly.
“I’ll have to bring them so amusent soon. Sothing to make everyone laugh again.”
His eyes glead with a strange light.
“Very soon…”
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