Chapter 159 – Nekarion’s Castle (3)

The world beyond the portal was a castle ruled by the Lord of Illusory Dreams.

The setting itself was very different.

If the Mad Lord’s side was an enclosed space, here, a vast plain spread out within the castle walls.

The palpable aura of living creatures.

The vegetation was lush, and all sorts of birds and insects roamed the sky and land.

“Unit Leader! The atmosphere is very different!”

“It’s probably because the disposition of the lord who rules this place is different.”

The Lord of Illusory Dreams.

I had just heard a brief explanation about this guy.

If the Mad Lord was a madman, this one was just a bad guy.

This castle was a space maintained by the energy of many slaves chasing false dreams.

Of course, it was said that the one who planted those false dreams in the slaves was the Lord of Illusory Dreams.

‘I hope he’s alive.’

If the person I was looking for was alive, he would have been chasing a dream here for 9 years.

It would no longer be an illusory dream.

Because today would be the day that dream comes true.

“The quest hasn’t been generated yet, so let’s look around for now.”

“Yes, Unit Leader.”

The peaceful and quiet interior of the castle.

We began to walk along a well-maintained path.

At least, I couldn’t feel the aura of monsters.

Because this place was a rural village with a palpable pastoral atmosphere.

It didn’t take long to reach the first house.

A small house, and an even smaller yard attached to it. There was a large water wheel there, and an old man was turning it endlessly.

I didn’t know what the water wheel was for.

Because the object, which stood blankly in the middle of the yard, was not connected to anything.

A shackle was fastened to the old man’s ankle.

The shackle’s chain was just long enough to allow movement within the house and yard.

It was impossible for him to leave this space.

We watched the old man turning the water wheel for a long time before finally approaching him.

He must have felt our presence, but he didn’t even glance at us and silently continued his work.

“You’re turning it very diligently.”

But no answer came back.

He was neither blind nor deaf, but he seemed to consider turning the water wheel more important than conversing with us.

“We won’t bother you, so please answer. Why are you turning that?”

“To gain enlightenment.”

Surprisingly, we were able to hear his voice without much difficulty.

“Enlightenment? What kind of enlightenment?”

“If I keep turning this water wheel like this, someday I will gain the wisdom to break this shackle.”

A ridiculous answer.

But I couldn’t bring myself to laugh.

Because I could see his sincerity in his unceasing turning of the water wheel even at this moment.

“Then how long have you been turning this water wheel?”

“I don’t know.”

A face like dry hay with overgrown white hair.

Lifeless eyes that looked as if they were dead.

And hands full of calluses.

I could easily guess that a considerable amount of time had passed.

“I came here when I was thirty-two. And now I don’t know how old I am.”

The old man said nothing more to us after that answer.

Yoon Joo-hee just stared at the old man’s appearance with surprised eyes.

She was greatly shocked by the corpse-like appearance of the old man and his wretched life.

“Let’s move.”

“Yes.”

We moved to the next house.

A similar scene awaited us there.

A small house and a yard that doubled as a workshop.

And a figure bound in shackles.

He was also an old man.

Although what he was doing was a little different.

Swish.

Swish.

He was sharpening a knife on a flat stone plate.

Quite a skilled hand movement.

The blade was already sharply well-honed, but he slightly furrowed his brow as if something was not to his liking.

Then he began to sharpen the knife again.

After about 5 more minutes of work, he lifted the knife.

The blade glittered in the sunlight.

Kwang!

He struck the shackle with that knife.

And once more.

Kwaaaang!

But there was no way he could cut the shackle’s chain with that.

Because I could tell that the dull force I felt from that chain was Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron without even touching it.

The old man immediately threw the knife down.

There was already a pile of discarded knives around.

He picked up a new knife and started sharpening it again.

Swish.

Swish.

“You’re making a knife to cut the shackle.”

“That’s right.”

As if we had been conversing until just a moment ago, he answered naturally.

“Do you think it will be possible someday?”

“If it were an impossible task, I wouldn’t have even started.”

This old man was also dreaming an illusory dream.

The fact that he had forgotten to count the days and his age was also similar to the previous old man.

“I don’t know my exact age. I only guess that I must be over forty.”

Forty.

Even considering everything, he must have been at least over sixty.

Meaning he had been sharpening knives for at least thirty years.

“Have you never thought of giving up?”

In fact, it was something one would have given up on after not thirty years, but just one year.

The previous old man was the same, but it was truly a bizarre thing.

“I will never give up.”

This fiery will was by no means a normal sight.

The old man started sharpening his knife again, and we left this place without a word.

And the next person we encountered, and the next and the next, and the one after that, were not much different.

Only what they were doing was different; the essence of all situations was the same.

“Unit Leader. They all seem to be out of their minds!”

“It must be because they’re possessed by the Lord of Illusory Dreams.”

They were mentally imprinted so that they would never let go of the thread of hope.

“It would be great if the quest was generated soon.”

“Just wait. With the Mad Lord, things were resolved easily after the quest was generated, right?”

“Yes. That was quite puzzling. I don’t even know why he was given the moniker ‘Mad’.”

She couldn’t have known what happened on the altar, so she had no choice.

In fact, he was not the Mad Lord, but the Lord of Propriety.

Because his voice was gentle and his way of speaking was also kind.

“Let’s go. We still have a long way to go to see everything.”

The quest was still not being generated.

All of this was the providence of the Abyss.

I didn’t know what plan the Abyss had, but I had a feeling.

That the quest would be generated after we met that person.

Our pace quickened.

We picked up a little more speed and didn’t stay in one place for long.

Because we had already realized that all the places were more or less the same.

And finally, that place caught my eye.

Tak!

Tak!

There was a man striking a waist-high steel stake with a sword.

His unkempt appearance for a long time concealed his true look, but he was quite young for this place.

An appearance in his late twenties or early thirties.

Unlike the old men, a trace of life still remained in his eyes.

I had a feeling.

‘That’s the one.’

The sole survivor of the Jeongjin Sword Family.

The many piles of stones that filled the yard must each be the burial mounds of the Jeongjin Sword Family warriors.

But Yoon Joo-hee didn’t seem to recognize him.

Well, since the Mad Lord had spared the youngest warrior 9 years ago, he must have been a newcomer to the Jeongjin Sword Family at the time, and it was highly likely that he had no connection with Yoon Joo-hee either.

I decided to watch for now.

Tak!

Tak!

The man continuously struck the steel stake with his sword.

His movements were simple.

Horizontal cut, vertical cut. The most basic movements of swordsmanship, like a thrust.

Of course, with this alone, there was no feel of the Jeongjin Sword Style at all.

“Unit Leader. You’re staying for a long time this time.”

I nodded.

If my prediction was correct, the quest would also be generated soon.

Because the Abyss I knew was a guy who knew how to paint a picture.

Tak!

Tak!

Another hour passed like that.

I kept my eyes fixed on the man and watched his swordsmanship, and the man, despite noticing our presence, didn’t even glance our way.

As long as he resided here, his mental state was probably not ordinary.

They were all like that.

Because they felt like something in between a corpse and a person, with half their soul gone.

[A linked quest has been generated.]

And finally, the message from the Abyss was transmitted.

[Quest: Receive the man’s sword three times.]

[Reward: ???]

The time had finally come for me to move.

I approached the man.

“I enjoyed watching you train.”

Tak!

But the man still didn’t stop his movements.

His gaze and sword were directed only at the stake.

“Are you going to continue until you gain enlightenment? Because you think the shackle will be released if you do?”

Tak!

Although it was the simplest of sword movements, I couldn’t help but admire this near-perfect form.

Having honed the same movement for 9 years, it was only natural that he had reached the level of a master.

“Excellent swordsmanship.”

Tak!

Perfect breathing, an unwavering sword path.

Everything was flawless.

Due to the restriction of the shackle, he wouldn’t have been able to train proper movements, but with this simplicity alone, he seemed to have realized the principles of the sword.

That kind of thing is something you can just tell by looking.

“It seems you have somewhere to go after you break the shackle?”

Tak!

And now, the moment to deliver the final blow.

“For example, taking the seniors buried here back to their hometown.”

“…”

For a moment, the air grew cold.

This time, I didn’t hear the sound of a sword striking.

The man’s movements had stopped for the first time.

He turned his head and looked at me.

“Who are you?”

He spoke to me for the first time.

And then he stared at me intently, waiting for my answer.

“Someone who will receive your sword. You should try swinging it at a person, not just a stake, right?”

A brief silence followed.

There was no life in his eyes, so I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

The man opened his mouth in a low voice.

“If you receive my sword, you might die.”

The basis for that overflowing confidence was clear.

Because the level of skill he had trained with just one sword for 9 years needed no further explanation.

I immediately drew my sword.

“My swordsmanship is also quite decent, so I won’t die. I promise you that.”

“I won’t be responsible if you die.”

I nodded.

Then the man immediately pointed his sword at me.

Mana rose neatly from his body.

There was no hesitation at all.

Towards me, whom he was seeing for the first time, he swung his sword without hesitation.

A state of no-mind, completely devoid of emotion.

It was the perfect mindset for a good sword to emerge.

Kwaaaaaang!!

Sword and sword clashed, and sparks of mana flew.

What he had unleashed was a simple horizontal cut.

But the power contained in his sword was not simple.

The Holy Sword Bastian trembled slightly.

This was a feeling I had not had in a long time.

The Jeongjin Sword Family had, in a sense, given birth to a supreme warrior.

“Excellent. But I don’t think that was your best.”

Clearly, he had more in him.

The power he had emitted when he struck the steel stake was stronger than this.

“Would you like to try one more time?”

At my words, the man answered in a dry voice.

“This time, you really might die.”

The man was calmly imbuing his sword with mana.

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