Light of Arad: The First to Walk - Chapter 85



Only Noblemtl

085

Before Vivi could say anything, Luther stroked the two horns sprouting from his head and said.

“Hey, you, is that the cartel? Something like that? Let’s pretend we didn’t see each other and just go on our way.”

“What are you talking about, Captain? That guy is an adventurer who came up with the Imperial Army. He’s said to be traveling with four Weapon Masters. How can you not recognize him after searching for him so long?”

It was Rebecca who spoke while poking his side.

Rebecca, the ‘guide’, is just a nickname.

It wasn’t Jinseong who knew what her true identity was and who she was connected to.

‘Maybe he still has lost his memory?’

There is no way that Jinseong himself can say anything to the current Rebecca, who is from the heavens but has lost most of her memories of the heavens.

Since Rebecca wasn’t the most important thing right now, Jinseong just waited quietly.

Because Luther’s introduction came first, as if he had just realized what Rebecca had said and was smiling awkwardly.

“Oh, really? Hoo, that’s good. Hey there, adventurer. I’m Luther, captain of the Saint Horn.”

“Ah… My name is Vivi.”

Vivi, who was pushed by Luther’s momentum, revealed herself first.

Jinseong bowed his head slightly and greeted Luther and Rebecca.

Saint Horn, a ship that can fly and is currently Arad, an aerial fortress that cannot be built even with the technology of the heavens.

In the future, it will be the name of an airship that will be absolutely necessary when going beyond the heavens to the immortal world.

Of course, it was a ship made using the technology of the celestial world, and the actual owner of the ship was not Luther but a person named ‘Ludmilla’, but this was not very important to the current users.

‘Except for the female ghost inspector profession, there is no point of contact… … In any case, until the story of the celestial world comes up, the only thing that will be focused on here in the heavenly world is Luther and the ‘organization’ that Luther belongs to.’

Rather, the reason he joined forces with Ludmilla to become the ‘captain’ of the Saint Horn and expanded its scope of activities by leading the Saint Horn not only to Arad but also to the heavens was because of something else.

‘The Resistance… … was once called the Revolutionary Army. An organization that seeks to overthrow the De Los Empire. That’s all Luther cares about right now.’

Extreme hostility and opposition to the Empire of De Los.

There were countless groups and individuals who suffered damages from the empire’s evil deeds, but the reason Luther was particularly hostile to the empire was extremely simple.

Because he is a dragon. Because he is a mercenary.

Because I am a descendant of the Dragon Clan.

‘Because he must have been bullied since the days of the Pelos Empire, the predecessor of the Delos Empire. Well, bullying is better said… … In reality, subjugation, tracking, and annihilation… … . The Pelos Empire encouraged dragon hunters by even giving them the title of ‘Dragon Slayer,’ so even if we don’t know exactly how old Captain Luther is, he must have been harassed by the Imperial Army throughout his life, and he must have fought against them.’

Since it is not a time when the adventurer user directly intervenes, Jinseong was only seen in passing, but there is a setting that is sufficiently understandable as to why Captain Luther has such resentment towards the Empire.

Ultimately, the reason why Captain Luther was looking for adventurers, which Rebecca briefly mentioned, is also connected to all of this.

He tries to deal with the Empire through resistance activities, but up until this point, the activities of users known as adventurers are in a somewhat delicate position.

‘As a member of that resistance… … In Luther’s view, the adventurer seems to be on friendly terms with the Empire’s knight Van Walstedt – and strangely enough, he also moves in cooperation with the duchy that is a rival of the Empire… … Up until now, that was the position of the users, so I came to check it out for myself, it was the same concept.’

Jinseong didn’t seem too nervous as he observed Luther and Rebecca’s expressions.

They may not have made up their minds about the adventurer, Vivi, yet, but they must have some secret expectations.

If the awkward surprised behavior of being caught in a location where one can clearly see the other person is also an anticipation of whether the adventurer will come out to fight together with them, then it is a sign of anticipation.

There is no reason to be uncooperative with an opponent who has such a possibility… … .

“Are you free? Are you busy? Hey, you’re lying. I came out for a walk.”

“Huh? A walk? No. We heard that the cartel was going to launch a surprise attack on the north gate, so we went there to spy on them-.”

“Huh? A surprise attack? There’s going to be a fight? Here? What are you talking about? The cartels are all over there.”

“…Huh? That can’t be… From what we’ve heard- right, Mr. Jinsang?”

“You don’t believe me? If you don’t, go and see for yourself. The cartel is waiting in the bamboo forest in the canyon over there. Do you think I’m lying? Well, even I would be suspicious. Then go with Miss Rebecca and see.”

“Captain…!?”

Luther and Rebecca secretly cooperate in this way.

Since Jinseong already knows the flow of all these main scenario quests, he doesn’t have to worry about anything in particular.

“Then they’ll believe we’re not enemies. Just show them that the cartel is over there.”

Luther, who tries to persuade Rebecca with a sly attitude, and Rebecca, who grumbles but ends up following all of these orders.

Since the main scenario quest was still progressing without anything special, Jinseong was just predicting what would happen next while staying by Vivi’s side.

“……But you……”

“Ah, my name is Jinseong. Here… I’m hanging out with Vivi-”

Since Luther was only just beginning to take interest in Jinseong, Jinseong tried to introduce himself.

Jinseong’s attitude of trying to just gloss over the situation and move on, as he couldn’t say he was an adventurer and there was no need to reveal his identity, was not wrong at all.

“Yes, I know about Mr. Skasa’s business. ‘You’re’ the one who smells the same.”

“-Hmm? Yes?”

However, Luther’s subsequent words were different from Jinseong’s prediction.

Luther’s eyes gleamed beneath the two horns.

‘……ah.’

It was only then that Jinseong slowly came to realize something.

He is a dragon man. He is of the dragon tribe.

And all the dragons?

Created by Bakal.

Captain Luther and the cold dragon Skasa that Jinseong himself faced in front of him are, in a broad sense, ‘blood relatives’.

* * *

Jinseong was momentarily nervous, but perhaps the silver lining was that he wasn’t the only one here.

“What is it? Mr. Skasa? Skasa of the Black Nightmare? Was it Bwanga or Kowabunga? You were with them.”

Vivi once again mentioned that the reason Skasa was ultimately defeated was because of the ‘Black Nightmare’.

First of all, if it is said that the one who directly killed Skasa was Bwanga, one of the four weapon masters, and an adventurer.

“……That’s right. Adventurer, you too……”

Luther smiled a little bitterly as he heard those words.

Jinseong, looking at that sight, was able to be certain of one thing.

That this situation does not exist.

‘If you just knew that the cartel was waiting to launch a surprise attack when the North Gate opened, that would be the end of it. There would have been no conflict with Luther.’

Gulp.

Just in case something happens.

Although he didn’t move, Jinseong’s hand was already in a position where he could immediately pull out .

Luther sighed.

“But… I guess I can’t blame Mr. Skasa for what happened. If we go by Master Bakal’s orders, it’s true that Mr. Skasa did his work quite laxly. Compared to Mr. Spirazzi in the Kingdom of Pennes, I have nothing to say if Mr. Skasa is treated that way.”

“Spirazzi is being sealed, right? His entire body is disintegrating-.”

“Ahem, I know, adventurer. Let’s stop talking about that. What you did to Mr. Skasa… could be seen as part of Lord Bakal’s grand plan in some sense. From that perspective, I can’t blame you, adventurer.”

Is it because it’s already in the past?

Or maybe it was because he was a descendant of the Dragon Clan but had no direct contact with Skasa.

At Luther’s words, who had turned away from his dazzling gaze, Jinseong felt relief and something came to mind.

‘That’s right… … So all the dragons like Luther were sent to guard the Three Dragons?’

Bakal did not send only the three giant dragons, the Cold Dragon, the Four Dragons, and the Light Dragon, to Arad.

Although it may be a bit of a stretch to call them escorts, they also sent down lower-level dragons and dragonmen who could help them by their side, and Luther is one of those groups.

“Ahem, anyway, let’s let the past go. Let’s go see the cartels in front of us first, and then we can talk again. Rebecca?”

“Yes. Let’s go, adventurer.”

“Oh, then……”

With somewhat complicated feelings, Luther sent Rebecca ahead.

Vivi watched Rebecca’s back as she ran toward the bamboo forest for a moment, then nodded to Luther and started following her.

Now, with a sense of relief that things had returned to the original, uneventful flow, Jinseong also decided to chase after Vivi.

“then.”

Jinseong also bowed his head slightly towards Luther and passed by him.

Thud… … !

“hmm?”

“for a moment.”

There was a thick arm blocking Jinseong’s path.

Luther had already raised his arm to block Jinseong’s path.

“Why…is that so?”

“……It smells.”

Jinseong wrinkled his nose at Luther’s low voice.

But it was natural that he was not talking about that kind of ‘smell’.

A somewhat ominous and uneasy feeling.

What Luther described as smell must be of that type.

“S, Skasa’s- Skasa-san’s business… isn’t it the same as what I told the adventurer a little while ago?”

Jinseong spoke quickly.

The argument was that if he had sent Vivi, he would not have been able to say anything to Jinseong himself.

Luther understood it as a matter of course.

“Yes, you can see it that way about Mr. Skasa. I don’t know what he did, but Mr. Skasa eventually went mad… and I also know well what the adventurer did with the Bantu tribe. But that’s not what I’m talking about now. The smell… a very familiar… and nostalgic smell…”

“yes?”

However, Jinseong was just embarrassed by the fact that the smell he was talking about was not like that.

Familiar? Miss it?

[Click click… …. There’s no way a seed made by Bakal could recognize me.]

As for the Apostle Diregie, we can know from Black Goo’s confirmation that it is not related to the Demon World.

So what is the smell he is talking about?

Jinseong tilted his head and glanced at [Inventory].

“Huh!? This is-.”

At that point, Jinseong had to realize one more thing.

It is clear that the [Inventory] in the game Dungeon & Fighter belongs solely to the user and can only be used by the user.

So how is the [inventory] of the possessed person handled?

“uh?”

Something was pulled out from the genuine [Inventory] that no one, including Sharan of the Magic Guild, had touched until now.

It was also surprising that others could intervene in one’s [inventory].

It was also surprising that the item that was sucked out like that was in Luther’s hands.

But Jinseong couldn’t be that surprised right away.

Because there was something the size of a small box that Luther was holding, and Luther’s reaction when he saw it.

“Surely not…Hisuma-sama-.”

Luther muttered, holding it.

Jinseong’s eyes quickly confirmed the identity of the item.

I wasn’t exactly sure how things would pan out, but one thing was certain.

‘What the hell- what did you say?’

The point is that you have to pull out right away.

Luther’s eyes had already changed.

His pupils were not human.

The pupils that were elongated and torn vertically were clearly something of a reptilian animal, and that would be closest to the appearance of a true dragon.

Luther looked at Jinseong with those eyes and said.

“Tell me, human. Why do you have something like this that you can use to humiliate Hisma?”

Captain Luther is tolerant.

He is of low-level dragon origin and was created by Bakal to guard the three giant dragons that were sent down to Arad.

‘Mr. Skasa, Mr. Spirazzi and… …. Lady Hisma!’

Among them, his mission and ultimate goal assigned by Bakal is one.

Assisting Hisma.

Skasa and Spirazzi are blood relatives in a broad sense. But what about Hisma?

What about ‘Gwangryong’ Hisma?

“Why are you holding such a blasphemous thing as the …? Why can’t you tell me right now!”

To him, it is his family, his siblings, or his parents themselves.

─────────────!

There was no sound of wind.

Luther, who had rushed in faster than the speed of sound, was already swinging his fist at Jinseong.