Chapter 57: Dayle (3)

If I were asked to pick five of the trickiest bosses to face among the bosses existing in ‘Frey,’ I would have quite a bit of deliberation.

But there were at least two beings I wouldn’t hesitate about.

One of them was none other than Narsi.

The mad mage, Narsi.

But that was a moniker spread by the mages of the Magic Tower who envied his abilities.

Those who had witnessed his prowess all called him this.

Thunder Dragon.

As the moniker suggested, he was a master of lightning magic.

His combat style was based on rapid casting, unleashing various lightning spells indiscriminately.

On top of that, his insane performance enhancement vision, which detected threats and automatically intercepted them, made close-quarters hand-to-hand combat impossible as well.

“Controlling him was really fucking frustrating. He was a guy with no answer unless you were a damage dealer who could stick close.”

I smiled at the memories that resurfaced vividly.

Thanks to that, if it weren’t for Dayle’s matter, I wouldn’t have planned such a gamble.

Narsi only got connected to the academy after the mid-game.

There was no need to take risks right now.

But I had to recruit Dayle, and the person who issued the wanted order for Dayle in the cult was none other than Narsi.

He had a personality that wouldn’t quit until he confirmed Dayle’s death, so ultimately, there was only one path I could choose.

“I have to eliminate the root cause guy.”

Someday it was an obstacle I had to remove anyway.

I thought of it as clearing it out in advance.

Another thing.

I called it a gamble, but it wasn’t a gamble with no chance of winning at all.

“The Narsi here hasn’t taken ‘Fierce Conviction.’ It means he’s the weakest among the many Narsi I’ve faced.”

Especially not having taken ‘Fierce Conviction’ was such a critical weakness for the guy that it was truly an enormous benefit.

Therefore, it was a fight worth trying.

Time passed quickly.

Late Friday afternoon.

The promised moment arrived.

At a time when everyone fell into sleep, I slipped out of the academy and headed to Lunatic.

“You’ve arrived, Master.”

The person who greeted me was a bearded man with a bushy chin beard.

“Preparations are?”

“All done.”

It was Luis.

He was wearing a face mask specially made for disguise, and behind Luis, there stood a man who looked wronged.

Then, that guy must be Dayle.

Dayle wasn’t wearing an eyepatch, yet his pupil colors were the same.

That too was thanks to Luis’s disguise.

As I approached, Dayle looked me up and down and then briefly admired.

“Wow. The mask you’re wearing feels real, huh? Just looking at it makes me feel bad and unlucky, the disguise is too seamless.”

“…….”

“How did you imagine making such a shitty face? I’m scared you might suggest swapping with my mask.”

Dayle covered his face with both hands.

From behind, Luis’s kheup- sound of stifling laughter came.

“…….”

For reference, I was in my original face.

I had just not worn the skull mask.

Perk!

“Ugh. Suddenly why, why hit!?”

“You’re really excited, huh? Huh? Aren’t you tense?”

“No. You said you had confidence? Don’t worry, you said!”

“Still, be tense, you punk. If you mess up, we’re all fucked.”

I got annoyed for no reason and hit him one more time.

“And no swap, punk. I’m satisfied with my mask now.”

Leaving the aggrieved Dayle behind, we left Lunatic.

* * *

Dayle couldn’t believe it.

‘No way. Is it really this easy?’

Currently, they had just passed the reed field and were climbing the trail path heading toward the central mountain range.

Glancing back, through the densely lined trees, a large gray wall was visible, and inside it again, high clock towers and pointed building roofs were seen.

Yes.

Just now, they had escaped Icata and even passed the reed field, the boundary of Icata.

In other words, as of this time, it meant they had completely left Icata.

‘Unbelievable.’

Dayle didn’t hide his emptiness.

And understandably, he hadn’t done anything. He had just followed the two people moving.

In that process, no special skills were used, nor did they move along a special route.

It was like walking along a path that was originally open, and before he knew it, they were in front of the city gate checkpoint.

“There. Stop. It’s prohibited to leave now. Go back.”

Of course, there wasn’t no crisis at all.

“What’s going on there?”

“Ah. Squad leader sir. We found personnel trying to go outside the city, so we’re checking.”

But for them, this couldn’t be called a crisis.

“By any chance, three people?”

“Yes.”

“Then let them go.”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t hear? Let them go.”

“Ah. Understood.”

Seeing the squad leader nodding while looking at them, Dayle could tell there had been a secret deal in advance.

Dayle recalled the old saying, ‘If someone else’s work looks incredibly easy, it’s because that person’s skill is outstanding.’

‘It fits the current situation perfectly.’

Of course, since they could easily obtain the cult’s information, the plan was probably made that much easier.

Even excluding that, it was hard to gauge how much unseen effort had gone into it.

Dayle thought.

With these people, it seemed like they could really regain the glory of 10 years ago.

‘However, to do that, they’ll need the secret tomes I have.’

Dayle had no intention of handing them over willingly.

A kind of insurance, so to speak.

If he handed over the secret tomes, they might suddenly turn and hand him over to the cult at any time.

Also, greed arose.

‘Like this time, I might need Shadow’s power again later, right?’

He wanted to keep the secret tomes as insurance for that time.

‘I have a weapon that can control these guys at will, so I can’t waste it so vainly.’

So, to Dayle, Shadow didn’t seem impressive at all.

After all, he firmly held their weakness.

“Hey. What are you thinking about?”

At that moment, a voice came from the front.

Gerard was looking at him.

“What’s so good that you’re smirking? Let’s laugh together.”

Dayle hurriedly smiled slyly.

“It’s nothing much. I finally escaped Icata that I wanted so badly, so laughter comes out naturally. Ehehe.”

“Is that so? But don’t rejoice yet. It’s not over. The cult’s eyes haven’t completely disappeared.”

“Worrying is your fate. We have this, don’t we?”

Dayle touched the face mask covering his face.

Even though it was artificially made leather, the texture felt vividly like touching real skin at his fingertips.

“Anyway, even if they see me, they won’t recognize me, so what.”

“That’s not omnipotent.”

“Ehei. I know, I know. You were about to say it has the drawback of having to be discarded after a day? But a day is enough time to get to Norton City. It’s fine.”

Dayle grinned and looked around.

Currently, the path they were walking was a trail where mountain animals roamed.

If they moved a bit more from here, a large merchant road to the south would appear.

Going left there would lead to the road to their destination, Norton City.

Truly a perfect route.

Unless they encountered bandits or magical beasts, the request was as good as done.

However, Dayle had no intention of going to Norton City.

‘I’m going to Barian.’

From Barian Village, move west and then completely change direction, ride the mountain range north, and head to the northern region—that was Dayle’s plan.

Yes.

In Norton City, none of what Dayle had said existed.

Neither the hiding place, nor the sealing array that would burn everything there.

And the secret tomes too.

The legacy left by Rendal had been moving with him in Dayle’s subspace from the beginning.

‘It’s about time to slip away.’

Just then, a section where the path narrowed and the bushes thickened appeared.

“Dayle. What will you do when the request ends? Do you have a plan or something?”

Gerard asked.

“No such thing.”

Dayle answered roughly.

He didn’t have the leisure to focus on the answer.

He had to time it properly and escape at once.

“Gonna live stealing artifacts the same as before?”

“Probably.”

“Keep hiding the same way?”

Dayle raised his mana.

“It’s a familiar life.”

“Wanna join our guild?”

His concentration broke.

From the recoil, Dayle nearly staggered greatly but barely regained his balance.

“……What, what?”

The surprise was only Dayle’s.

Gerard kept walking forward only.

Luis too.

“You said you’re gonna live as a thief anyway? So rather, how about joining our guild.”

“…….”

“You won’t get caught. You’re Rendal’s successor.”

No answer.

Was the shock severe?

The silence was quite long.

The two people stopped walking and looked back.

The figure of Dayle who had been following was nowhere to be seen anymore.

“He fled.”

Luis said calmly.

“He chose this in the end. Bitter.”

“Hoot. You already anticipated it, didn’t you?”

“Anticipating and actually experiencing it feels different.”

Gerard stared intently into the bushes.

As if seeing Dayle running somewhere beyond.

He said while slowly shifting his gaze sideways.

“He’s fast as hell. We couldn’t have caught him anyway?”

“First, for me, yes. The moment I sensed, he was already gone behind me.”

Then, it wouldn’t have been different for me either.

Muttering, Gerard took out his pocket watch and checked the time.

The remaining time was five hours.

Time was plenty.

* * *

Dayle arrived at Bairan Village 30 minutes later.

Was it because he used his enhancement vision at full power?

As soon as he arrived in Bairan, Dayle collapsed onto the roadside as if fainting.

“Heuk! Heuk! Ow, damn, I’m dying.”

Bairan was a small rural village.

Most people maintained their livelihood by selling harvest from field work to Icata.

So, the village’s dawn was quiet.

Finding a place to stay in this countryside without even a hotel, let alone an inn, was futile, so Dayle decided on sleeping rough.

But he had to fill his stomach.

After resting and waking up, he would immediately move to the north, so he needed to prepare a considerable amount of provisions too.

“But the time is what it is, so a place to get food…… Huh?”

It was then that a dim light caught Dayle’s eye as he looked around.

The house on the hill looked like a family home, but smoke was rising from the chimney.

It was surprising to be awake at this late dawn, but more surprising was that the smoke faintly carried the smell of meat.

Seeing leather hanging in the front yard, Dayle finally understood everything.

‘It’s a hunter’s house!’

He didn’t know why a hunter was awake at this hour.

Anyway, Dayle moved his steps there first.

Because he calculated that if it was a hunter, he might be able to get food from him.

Before knocking on the door, Dayle checked his face mask and eye color.

Fortunately, Luis’s disguise was still holding.

Knock knock.

“Is anyone there?”

The person who came out was a sturdy-built man who looked like a hunter to anyone.

Showing considerable wariness.

“……Who are you?”

So, Dayle smiled brightly.

“I’m a passing traveler, but could I possibly buy some food? I’ll compensate sufficiently.”

He unfastened his vest and showed the inside.

The money pouch hanging inside the vest shook with a heavy sound.

Seeing that, the hunter nodded.

“……Come on in.”

“Haha. Thank you.”

Dayle strode into the house.

The layout was ordinary.

Typical hunter’s house atmosphere, so to speak.

Leather clothes and decorations made from animal hides and bones.

In the cauldron, hot-looking meat soup was boiling vigorously, and on the large workbench, there was a knife with blood residue and disassembled meat chunks.

“You must have been working.”

“…….”

“You’re doing it without sleeping, so the delivery deadline must be tight, huh?”

Still no answer.

Looking at the hunter’s side, he was standing still, staring at Dayle.

‘Acting stingy.’

Dayle smiled awkwardly.

“Haha. I don’t plan to stay long. I’ll leave right after getting food. Um. How much spare do you have? It’d be good if I could get about a week’s worth…….”

While speaking, Dayle casually looked behind the workbench and suddenly doubted his eyes.

“……though.”

There was an iron cage there.

A fierce beast trapped inside.

‘Magical beast?’

It wasn’t just any magical beast.

It was a type he’d never seen, but this demonic aura piercing the skin was qualitatively different from something like an orc’s.

‘It’s at least Grade 3 or higher guy.’

What was surprising was that such a beast was trapped in a rural hunter’s home like this.

‘Did he catch it? Or is he raising it?’

If caught, it was hard to believe, and if raising, even harder.

Grrrr…….

The magical beast stared at Dayle, emitting a ferocious killing intent.

With that, Dayle gradually felt an ominous feeling tightening his neck.

It was then.

Thud.

The hunter placed a box containing food on the workbench.

Thanks to that, the magical beast’s gaze was blocked by the box.

“5 gold.”

Dayle sighed in relief as the beast’s gaze disappeared, but soon frowned at the food price he heard.

No.

5 gold for a week’s worth of food?

But seeing the hunter’s expression that said ‘No haggling absolutely,’ Dayle had no choice but to pay and leave the house.

“What the hell.”

However, the unease continued even after leaving the village.

He found a suitable spot to sleep rough, made a bed, and lit a fire.

In front of the campfire, he took out jerky.

Worried about poison, he checked for it using the silver ring he had.

Then burst into laughter.

“Puhu. Yeah. No way there’s poison, right?”

The process of escaping Icata was perfect, and the disguise was perfect.

He had shaken off Shadow too.

The adventurer and those cult idiots still think he’s hiding inside the academy.

Everything is going according to plan.

“Probably a pup he picked up by chance as a baby and raised since then. Let’s not think sensitively.”

Dayle smirked while tearing into the jerky.

The taste was quite good.

“Of course. I paid a whopping 5 gold for it, so it has to taste good.”

Dayle briefly closed his eyes while mentally calculating the remaining food amount and the distance to the north.

It wasn’t even 5 minutes before he dreamed.

Memories from the time with Rendal.

─‘……Why. Why are you helping me? I just abandoned you earlier and ran to save myself.’

─‘We promised, punk. As fellow fugitives, to help each other in tough times.’

Haha. That’s right.

But you’re really foolish to throw away your precious life for such a promise.

‘Because that’s what a thief is’ my ass. Is that words or fart?

“I miss you, Rendal.”

Rendal laughed heartily, saying the same for him.

And then scattered like smoke, gradually fading away.

Like waking from a dream, Rendal’s form blurred.

Then a new silhouette appeared.

It wasn’t Rendal.

Familiar appearance.

“?”

It was the hunter.

“Sorry. For not being the Rendal you’re looking for.”

A smooth voice came from behind.

A middle-aged man with a stylish mustache appeared beside the hunter.

It was a middle-aged man Dayle was seeing for the first time.

Dayle had a question.

Did unfamiliar people appear in dreams too?

At the same time.

Thump! Boom! Thump! Boom!

His heart pounded as if exploding.

His breathing grew rough, and his vision cleared.

Yes. It’s not a dream.

The hunter and the gentlemanly middle-aged man.

Especially meeting eyes with the middle-aged man smiling at him, a name flashed in Dayle’s mind, and his body began trembling madly.

Tremble tremble…….

Dayle wanted to deny it.

“Nice to meet you.”

But with the middle-aged man’s following words, denial became reality.

“I’m Narsi. I really wanted to meet you.”

Dayle intuited.

Tonight would be longer and colder than any night he had ever spent in his life.

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