Chapter 30: Knight Commander

“Then I have a place to be, so everyone heads to the medical unit first.”

“Aren’t you getting treated, Captain?”

“I appreciate the concern, but I have something to do before that. You all go ahead.”

“You’re not going to get some special treatment by yourself, are you?”

“Haha, you think very highly of me. You look fine, would you care to lend a hand with the recovery work?”

“Have a safe trip.”

“Vell, the problem with you is that you’re great, but you always have to add one more word. Is it because you’re a mage?”

Edric laughed heartily.

“Still, you did really well. If it weren’t for you all, the northeast gate would have been in danger. Many lives were saved thanks to the blood you shed.”

Edric’s heavy gaze looked over the scenery of Winter Castle.

“Help, me…….”

“Get up! Get up, damn it!”

“Kugh…….”

The groans of the dying injured and the rising smoke lingered on the battlefield like the souls of the already dead.

Of course, there were far more corpses of demonic beasts strewn about, but no matter how miraculous the exchange ratio in the battle was, the dead did not come back to life.

The dead are dead.

I didn’t know what meaning their deaths held, but at the very least, their deaths should not be meaningless.

“I’m well aware that you were all dragged here by force. It would be a waste of breath to talk about patriotism for the Empire or the spirit of a soldier.”

Edric’s gaze turned to the countless people who were still moving diligently.

“But what is clear is that thanks to your sacrifices, those people over there were able to see the sun rise today. On behalf of Kreutz, I express my gratitude for that.”

Why was it?

The sight of Edric appealing with sincerity, rather than controlling them with military discipline like he would other soldiers, felt incomparably frightening.

‘As expected.’

Just as I knew, Edric was competent.

Frighteningly so.

“What’s with all that mushy talk? Just be your usual self, your usual self.”

“We just did what we had to do.”

Conlan rubbed his nose and smiled, and Alicia, too, rarely opened her mouth and gave a small nod.

Whether this reaction was intended or not, Edric’s words seemed to have resonated deeply with the members of the 4th Special Task Force who had just finished a fierce battle.

“Thank you for saying so. You all should get going. You’re bleeding from your forehead right now.”

“Ah.”

As he said, blood was trickling out from the bandage hastily wrapped around Conlan’s forehead.

As I was walking, I soon stopped in my tracks.

“Where are you going?”

“You guys go on ahead. I have something left to talk to the captain about.”

“Tsk. Do whatever you want. Let’s go.”

I left Conlan and Alicia behind and walked in the direction Edric had gone.

If Edric had been in a hurry, I would never have been able to catch up to him, but thankfully he was walking quite leisurely, so I was able to catch him.

“Captain.”

“Oh, Vell. Have you finally decided to lend a hand with the recovery work?”

“Of course not. There’s something I want to ask you, Captain.”

“Now that’s a mage-like curiosity. Speak. I’ll answer you within the limits of what I can say.”

Within the limits of what he can say…….

It seemed Edric had already seen through what I was going to ask to some extent.

“Are attacks of this scale common in Winter Castle?”

“No…… not necessarily. I’d say they’ve increased noticeably as of late.”

It was the answer I had expected.

If attacks of this scale had been continuing for a long time, Winter Castle would have fallen long ago.

“In that case, could it be that this period began after the appearance of the mutant?”

Edric’s eyes gleamed.

“As expected of a mage’s intuition. Normally, this would be classified information, but…… if you’ve seen through that much, there’s no point in hiding it. You’re right.”

I knew it.

Ascension Stone and Ascension Stone Fragments.

The appearance of a mutant tinged with demonic energy, and the recent, noticeably more severe attacks by demonic beasts.

Could all of this really be a coincidence?

I had no way of knowing what was happening concerning the Ascension Stone Fragment.

However, one thing was certain: I would not be able to avoid the repercussions of it either.

‘No…… in a way, I could be considered a party involved from the start.’

As I was lost in thought for a moment, Edric spoke in an interesting tone.

“You have the look of someone who’s figured something out.”

“It’s nothing certain yet.”

“Is that so? If you do find something out, I hope you’ll be sure to let me know, as it could be a way to resolve this situation. As you can see…… Winter Castle is in quite a hurry right now.”

“I will be sure to do so.”

Edric laughed heartily.

“Thank you for saying so. I’m glad you’re a mage.”

For some reason, I couldn't just let that last sentence slide.

***

Amidst the ominous feeling that something I was unaware of was happening on the Lagna Continent, daily life continued.

Was it because we had overcome a major crisis?

Or was it because Conlan and Alicia had once again ended up in the care of the medical unit?

Before I knew it, a free time called autonomous training time had come again for the 4th Special Task Force.

The slight difference from before was that, unlike last time, I was now completely alone.

Even Alicia, who rarely got injured, had not escaped this attack with minor injuries and was in the medical unit with Albino and Conlan, who had been admitted earlier.

Edric also had urgent matters to attend to and rarely showed his face in the barracks.

I had truly become alone.

Even now, various tasks, including recovery work, were in full swing outside the barracks, but thanks to Edric’s consideration, I was able to lead a comfortable life without being dragged into any of that work.

It was the first moment I felt that the title of Special Task Force, which I had only considered useless until now, had its uses.

In any case, what I would do during the alone time I had finally obtained was obvious.

I could do my own swordsmanship and stamina training without worrying about others’ eyes, but the Anonymous Bulletin Board was a different story.

[Connecting to the Anonymous Bulletin Board.]

In this utterly unfamiliar world, the existence of the Anonymous Bulletin Board was like a welcome rain in a drought or an oasis in a desert to me.

How should I put it…… should I call it a sense of relief from a kind of kinship I feel when I see people in the same situation as me?

Of course, my mind, which was incomparably strong as a Postponer of Ruin, would never be shaken by something like mere loneliness, but I decided to think of it that way for now.

In addition to that, since there was a considerable amount of information flowing through the Anonymous Bulletin Board, it was only natural for me to check it periodically.

-PrayingForShutdownDay-n : FML, my entire fortune is now 4k gold.

-Anonymous651 : (Based on experience) You guys, don’t work for a shitty small company.

-Luna : Tonight’s dinner menu!

-PleaseGiveMeMoney : This is the worst day of my life.

As soon as I connected to the Anonymous Bulletin Board, all sorts of information and idle chatter flooded in as always.

Most of them were useless posts, but since the purpose of the Anonymous Bulletin Board was for such things in the first place, I couldn't complain.

‘Then…….’

As always, I searched for information related to Winter Castle. And information related to Ascension Stone Fragments, including mutants.

[Title Search : Winter Castle]

[Title Search : Mutant]

[Title Search : Fragment]

[Title Search : ■■■]

-Anonymous68 : I went to Winter Castle once, and it was seriously freaking cold lol It wasn’t for nothing that you get a status ailment if you don’t wear cold-weather gear.

-SilverFox : Should I go to Winter Castle...

-Gusada : Taking tips on mutant locations (reward offered)

-Knight Commander : There was someone selling a ■■■ Fragment last time, where did they go?

Although there was one post that caught my eye, there was no other particularly new information.

In the first place, if it were truly important information, it wouldn't be carelessly spread on the Anonymous Bulletin Board, so in a way, it was to be expected.

Of course, that didn't mean there were no people who spread genuine information for free at all.

-Anteater : Be careful in the southwest of the Empire.

In particular, the user named Anteater was famous for frequently warning about various threats unfolding in the Empire.

At a glance, it was like revealing their own location, but like the other fixed nicknames on the Anonymous Bulletin Board, they must have revealed their location like that because they were confident in their skills.

I clicked on Anteater’s post.

Usually, it was a place that had nothing to do with me, so I didn't pay much attention, but for some reason, I felt that this warning might be related to the strange events happening on the Lagna Continent right now.

──────────────

The atmosphere in the Empire’s southwest is unusual.

People nearby, be careful.

──────────────

Only that much information.

Normally, it would have been at a level where I should have doubted the credibility of the information first, but the comments completely trusted Anteater’s words.

-KimSubak : Again?

-Anonymous111 : Aigoo... packing my bags.

└Jiha : Wanna go together this time too?

└Anonymous111 : Let's go, come to the usual spot.

-MyFaceIsAllBurnt : I’m sick of running away all the time, should I just move north on this occasion?

└Anonymous55 : Going to Winter Castle? lol

-Kkyareureu : Thanks for the good info as always

-Anonymous55 : Btw I have a question about this person, are you a newbie hunter? Aren’t you spreading these gossip flyers and then fucking up the guys who move?

└Anonymous111 : Then you'd probably be the first to die.

└Anonymous55 : Shivers

I didn’t know what on earth was happening in the southwest of the Empire.

But looking at the reactions in the comments, it wasn’t hard to tell that something was going to happen that would be difficult for users to resist.

‘It seems like something is happening…… but it’s not easy to find information.’

As I left Anteater’s post to find other information, I saw a post that particularly caught my eye.

They were posts mentioning the new face who had recently appeared on the Anonymous Bulletin Board, Dragon Slayer.

-JUN : But where did Dragon Slayer suddenly appear from? Judging by the way he talks, he seems like a high-level player.

-Hesen : Dragon Slayer seems a bit suspicious, but his information is real. Seems like he’s high-level.

-IkIki : Are there still new high-level players left? That’s surprising.

Hmm…….

[Title Search : Dragon Slayer]

Just in case, I searched for Dragon Slayer and what do you know?

Unexpectedly, a considerable number of posts were mentioning me directly or indirectly.

-Anonymous55 : The great Dragon Slayer ㄷㄷ

-SpeculativeHeadcanon3 : But why is a high-level player trying to earn petty cash? Isn’t it better to just catch a few demonic beasts and sell them?

-Anonymous113 : He probably used too much magic and is broken now.

-SpeculativeHeadcanon3 : C'mon, would a veteran player go around spamming magic? It's not like he's an idiot.

-Anonymous113 : That's because there are more than one or two of those idiots.

-SpeculativeHeadcanon3 : Is that so?

The cause was the private investigator's office I had run before to earn 30 gold.

At that time, in order to earn gold, I had answered the questions of the few questioners quite diligently, and among them was information that only high-level users would know, like the guide to the 2nd floor of Akiro's Labyrinth.

‘Hmm.’

Should I call this a good thing, or not…….

Having built up some recognition on the Anonymous Bulletin Board was the same as saying I had gained a slight right to speak, whether I knew it or not.

Because there was a clear difference between the words of a user with some name value and one without.

One way or another, if I established myself as a high-level user on the Anonymous Bulletin Board, I might be able to use them appropriately when I needed to.

However, if there was one concern, it was that people might start paying attention to me for no reason.

Of course, Dragon Slayer’s identity was kept strictly anonymous, but the way of the world is that things don't always go as planned.

‘Well, it probably won’t matter since I won’t be running the information private investigator's office again unless it’s for something major.’

As I was thinking that and about to move my eyes to another post.

-Knight Commander : Is Dragon Slayer here right now? There’s something I’m curious about, can you answer? I’ll provide a reward.

According to Newdeulbak77, one of the most dangerous named users on the Anonymous Bulletin Board was looking for me.