Chapter 24

On his way back after finishing the spar, he felt an odd itch on the back of his hand. Woojin stopped and examined it.

The torn cross-section of the wound was already knitting itself together.

"…It feels like my regeneration speed has gotten faster?"

He frowned in puzzlement. Somehow, the injury seemed to be closing more quickly than usual. His healing ability had certainly been strengthened from consuming multiple inner cores of demonic beasts, but even taking that into account, this was too fast.

Why had this change occurred?

As he retraced recent events, Woojin remembered the inner core of the aberration he had devoured not long ago.

"Did I inherit part of that monster's regenerative ability?"

It was hard to be certain. He hadn't shed blood in the past few months. Since it had been so long since he'd last been injured, it was difficult to pinpoint exactly when this ability had manifested.

In any case, it wasn't a bad development.

As he headed toward the lodgings, Woojin replayed his spar with the man who had given him this wound—Bow.

He had entered the match lightly, but techniques that utilized mana had proven far more troublesome than he had anticipated.

"Seems I don't know any way to deal with them except by smashing through with brute force."

And that wasn't exactly suitable for a spar. If he made a mistake, he could seriously injure his opponent. Just moments ago, he had nearly slammed Elder Bow into a wall, which had genuinely startled him.

In other words, there would be no issue in a life-or-death battle…

Still, it would be useful to have at least one technique that could subdue an opponent without maiming them. With that thought, Woojin began reviewing the abilities he currently possessed.

Fwoosh.

A small flame flickered in his palm. It was a spell Claire had taught him.

Shhh—

The flame abruptly transformed into a chilling frost. This, too, was Claire's magic.

Crackle!

For a brief instant, a red bolt of lightning flashed. This was not magic. It was a minor ability he had inherited by consuming the inner core of a slain demonic beast. The sound was too loud, however, so Woojin quickly extinguished the lightning.

"Come to think of it, this isn't really suitable for subduing someone."

It was too dangerous. And using abilities derived from karma in front of others made him uneasy. If it caught the attention of the Ecclesiastical Alliance, it could lead to troublesome consequences.

"Should I learn some Mana Arts as well?"

Easier said than done. Learning them would be difficult, and those willing to teach would be few. People rarely shared hard-earned techniques so readily.

As he mulled it over, Woojin suddenly thought of Bow. If he joined the Ecclesiastical Alliance, he might be able to learn Mana Arts from someone like him.

But recalling what Bow had said—

They would purify lands corrupted by the Demonic Realm and reclaim humanity's homeland. That meant the Alliance was preparing to send an expeditionary force beyond the Wall.

"…Isn't that basically telling me to enlist?"

After coming this far, returning to military life felt unappealing. Talk of humanity's homeland and noble missions stirred little within him. After all, he wasn't originally from this world.

Still, one never knew how things might turn out. As insurance, he decided to keep the letter of recommendation for now.

"I'll think about it slowly."

And with that, Woojin continued walking at a leisurely pace.

**

What followed unfolded more smoothly than expected.

Though the two sons of the Golden Maggot had died, the Ecclesiastical Alliance did not reprimand anyone. Instead, they encouraged the mercenaries to continue fulfilling the commission.

It was both fortunate and perplexing. The mercenary captains had expected their contract to be revoked. After all, the death of an employer mid-mission was no small matter.

Woojin could roughly guess the reason.

"The Alliance must be busy preparing for the expedition."

When facing a grand objective, there's little time to dwell on minor incidents. Replacing three mercenary companies on short notice would be difficult, so they likely assigned a few paladins to monitor the situation and let the mission proceed.

In any case, as long as he could earn money, the internal circumstances hardly mattered.

Together with the mercenaries, Woojin escorted the cargo and diligently made his way toward the distant south.

Then, at some point—

A clear sky spread above his head. No trace of the Demonic Realm's dark clouds could be found—only brilliant blue. Not long after taking in the sight, a massive wall came into view in the distance.

It was so vast it seemed to fill the entire horizon. The structure commonly referred to as the Alliance's Wall. Woojin couldn't help but admire its majestic presence.

"Is this what the Great Wall must feel like?"

The height of the wall was absurdly immense. It was astonishing to think something like that had even been constructed.

Of course, building such a massive wall along an entire border would be impossible. Judging by the continent's geography, this region happened to be unusually narrow, making such a structure feasible. On Earth, it would be akin to the Isthmus of Panama between North and South America.

Soon, the tarasks halted before the gate. The laborers unloaded the cargo and carefully transferred it into wagons that had come out to receive them. Since they also had to check for any missing items during transport, it took quite a long time before the process was completed.

Which meant the mercenaries' commission had also come to an end.

Jonathan returned with a grin, hoisting a pouch filled with gold coins high above his head.

"You bastards, get over here and collect your pay!! Damn, I nearly threw my back out doing this."

"Hahaha!"

Feigning a strained back from the weight of the pouch, Jonathan clutched his waist. The mercenaries burst into laughter.

Soon after, they lined up to receive their coins. Woojin was allotted eight gold pieces.

"That's a decent sum."

It wasn't an enormous amount, divided evenly among them all, but it was quite generous for the level of effort required.

Claire, who had received her share as well, beamed brightly.

"Jin! I'll treat you to dinner tonight."

"Sounds good to me."

Chatting with Claire, Woojin was about to enter the Wall alongside the mercenaries when—

"Grrr."

Rex stopped in place. The red wolf gazed at him steadily. For some reason, Woojin felt he understood the meaning behind those eyes.

Claire looked puzzled.

"Uh… why is Rex acting like that?"

"You go on ahead. I'll take a short walk and be back."

After sending the group ahead, Woojin moved off with the red wolf—into a deep part of the forest, away from the soldiers guarding the gate.

"…You're leaving now, aren't you?"

Woojin asked quietly. Rex responded with a single nod.

It wasn't surprising. Just as humans sought great cities, demonic beasts desired to live within the Demonic Realm. Rex had no intention of entering beyond the Wall.

"Flee somewhere out of sight. Once the expedition begins, this area will become dangerous."

Take care.

The moment Woojin bid farewell, Rex dashed into the depths of the forest like the wind, growing distant in an instant. Then suddenly, the red wolf glanced back over his shoulder.

Tap.

With the tip of one tentacle, Rex struck a thick tree. Then he raked it forcefully, leaving behind a long claw mark.

A gesture whose meaning Woojin could not decipher.

He was about to call out in question, but by then the red wolf had already vanished into the shadows of the forest.

"Is there something on that tree?"

He approached it just in case, but no matter how closely he examined it, he found nothing unusual—only the claw mark Rex had left behind.

Even at the moment of parting, the creature remained impossible to fully understand.

With that thought, Woojin turned and made his way toward the Wall.

Claire was waiting at the entrance. Her gaze swept over Woojin and the space around him.

"…Did Rex leave safely?"

"Yeah. Were you expecting it too?"

"He's a wolf, after all. Not a dog… Still, I didn't think he'd leave so soon."

Perhaps saddened by Rex's departure, Claire kept glancing toward the Demonic Realm. There was nothing to see. Though she seemed disappointed, she forced a bright tone.

"We'll probably see him again someday."

"I suppose so."

With that, the two stepped inside the Wall. What greeted them was a metropolis nearly as grand as the Wall itself.

The walled city—Yurgis.

Yurgis was the name of the hero who symbolized the Ecclesiastical Alliance. The very man who had written the Demonic Realm Travelogue Woojin once read. The city bore his name in honor of his achievements and sacrifice.

Massive cathedrals immediately caught the eye. Since the various orders within the Alliance each worshipped different gods, it almost seemed as though they had competed in pride, each building grander cathedrals than the last.

"Even if the world's falling apart, I guess you still have to build at least one enormous cathedral."

Honestly, erecting such colossal structures seemed unproductive… but they were impressive to behold. There was far more to see than he had expected—so much so that it almost felt like he had come sightseeing.

At his remark, Claire tilted her head.

"Wasn't that the whole reason you came here in the first place? You said you wanted to live leisurely in a safe city."

"That's true, but now that I'm actually here, I can't help wondering if it's really okay to just take it easy."

"What's wrong with that? If you don't enjoy times like this, you're the one losing out."

Like a guide, Claire began explaining the city's landmarks one by one. Woojin listened as they walked.

Yurgis was vast, and accordingly full of things to see. There were plenty of amusements and food, and at the moment, Woojin's pockets were heavy with gold coins.

Wasn't this safe and prosperous city a reward for all the hardship he had endured?

…That thought lasted about two weeks.

No matter how dazzling and novel a sight may seem at first, familiarity inevitably dulls its shine.

"I've got nothing to do."

Lying sprawled on his bed, Woojin stared blankly at the ceiling. Exploring the city was fun for a day or two, but it was starting to grow tiresome.

There was no reason to get out of bed—but lying there doing nothing didn't suit him either. Before long, he pushed himself up.

Stepping out of his room and descending the stairs, he spotted Claire reading on the first floor of the inn.

"Jin. You woke up rather late today."

"Isn't there anything interesting to do?"

"How about studying magic?"

Naturally, that didn't appeal to him at all. Woojin looked at her with renewed curiosity. Did she never get tired of studying?

Suddenly, he was curious.

"Why do you study so hard?"

"Well… since I couldn't get into a Mage Tower, I have to work harder than others. Of course, even if I do, I'll probably fall behind in the end."

The Mage Towers strictly controlled their scrolls dealing with intermediate and advanced magic, preventing them from leaking outside. As an outsider, one had virtually no opportunity to learn spells of the Fourth Circle or higher.

Claire had started working as a mercenary because she couldn't afford to enter a Mage Tower. Then, by chance, she acquired an old spellbook and studied the incantations within it whenever she had time.

"Where did you find that spellbook?"

"I discovered it at a used bookstore. I was lucky. I searched everywhere for magic books—every place you could imagine. I even rummaged through the Mage Tower's trash. It was really hard back then… so I'm truly grateful I found this book."

She spoke calmly.

Rather than luck, it seemed more accurate to say she had chased after it. She had examined anything that might possibly contain a spellbook.

Perhaps the reason Claire so generously taught Woojin magic was because she had experienced that kind of hardship herself.

As that thought crossed his mind—

"…Hey there, Jin."

A voice rang out—both unfamiliar and strangely familiar.

Woojin turned his head. The corners of his mouth curled upward on their own.

A welcome guest stood before him.

"Well, well—what brings you here?"

"I figured I should at least have a drink with the self-proclaimed disciple who's been throwing my name around so much."

With that reply, the hunter Hector grinned.