Chapter 6 : Winter Castle Kreutz

The massive shadow that had been hiding within the ceaselessly raging blizzard slowly began to reveal its form.

Winter Castle Kreutz.

The infamous northern front where endless battles were fought, a place you were said to only leave after death, and the shield that protected the Empire from the beasts pouring out of the Demonic Realm.

That very Winter Castle Kreutz had finally revealed itself.

“Hoo…….”

I knew it in my head, but seeing Winter Castle right before my eyes made my heart heavy.

It couldn't be helped.

Winter Castle's infamy was well-known even among the users, and entering such a place at level 1 was no different from a suicide mission.

That's how extraordinary the harsh climate and the situation of Winter Castle Kreutz were.

Even if I had no other choice, there was no way this situation would be welcome to me.

[You have safely arrived at Winter Castle by helping the escort unit!]

[Your reputation within Winter Castle increases, and related individuals will view you favorably.]

I suppose I should call this a relief…….

Things like favorability or charm are stats that don't directly appear on the information window, but they definitely exist.

In short, it wasn't a bad thing to have.

“We've finally arrived. You've worked hard.”

As I was unable to hide my heavy heart, the escort captain approached me.

“You've also worked hard, Captain.”

“As promised, I'll pass on the word of your deeds to the Winter Castle side, so you don't need to worry about that.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

“I'm the one who should be grateful. If it weren't for you, we would have all been annihilated.”

“An escort unit led by you, Captain, would have been able to overcome it just fine.”

“So humble. Every time I talk to you, I forget that you're a mage.”

The escort captain laughed heartily.

At first, the escort captain hadn't let go of his wariness towards me, but as we suffered together throughout the journey, perhaps a strange sense of kinship had bloomed, as he approached me quite friendly afterward.

From my perspective, his friendliness wasn't bad either, as he had provided me with various conveniences despite my status as a prisoner.

But all things must come to an end.

Now that we had arrived at our original destination, Winter Castle, our connection could only go this far.

“It seems this is it for you and me. Take care of yourself. You may already know, but Winter Castle is no easy place. Well… for a mage of your caliber, that might just be a needless worry.”

“Are you returning right away?”

“Not exactly, but it'll be difficult to see you again. As soon as you arrive at Winter Castle, you'll go straight to the training center, and I have things to do here as well.”

“I see.”

Why?

At this moment, why did I feel a similar sentiment to when I parted with my comrades at the military training center?

Of course, I knew.

When you part with your comrades upon completing training, it really feels like losing a brother-in-arms, but I knew that too would be naturally forgotten as time passed.

My connection with the escort captain would be the same.

“The gate is opening!”

“Alright, everyone get ready!”

As soon as the escort captain shouted refreshingly, the ever-so-sturdy gate of Winter Castle slowly began to open.

Rumbleeee──!

Thanks to the competent escort captain having sent a messenger in advance, we didn't have to wait long outside in this weather.

“Let's go in, then.”

“Yes.”

The captain of the guard managing the walls and the escort captain seemed to know each other, as they exchanged greetings familiarly.

“So you survived. Looks like I'll be buying the drinks again today.”

“You bet on my life again?”

“Was it just a bet?”

The escort captain and the guard captain looked at each other and laughed boisterously.

“Where is the training company commander?”

“Over by the training grounds. By the way, how are the new recruits this time? They look a bit feeble on the outside.”

“You can look forward to it. There's an incredible mage among them.”

“Hmm, you saying that makes me look forward to it for some reason. Go on ahead.”

“Let's meet at our usual spot at night.”

“Sounds good.”

“Oh, and that friend over there, although he's a prisoner, he was a great help on the way here and is a remarkable mage, so treat him well.”

“……Are you telling me you came here with a prisoner who isn't even wearing Magic Sealing Stones?”

“The mage I was talking about is that friend.”

The escort captain laughed heartily and patted the shoulder of the astonished guard captain.

“Don't worry, I'll take responsibility if any problems arise.”

“……If you say so, I understand for now, but…… within Winter Castle, he must go through the official procedures. You understand that much, right?”

“Of course.”

The escort captain handed over the prisoners to the Winter Castle guard captain and then gave me a nod.

“Do well.”

That was the last thing the escort captain said to me.

“Move it, move it!”

The scenery of Winter Castle, which we had finally entered, was how should I put it…… extremely chaotic.

“Are we short on arrows on the northeast wall?!”

“Hurry up!”

“We have a critically injured person! Transport them immediately!”

True to its reputation as a place you could only leave after death, Winter Castle Kreutz was, at this very moment, engaged in a fierce battle with the beasts from the Demonic Realm that were constantly eyeing the Empire.

Although the battle scene wasn't visible from here at the southern gate of Winter Castle, just seeing the busy movements of the soldiers on the walls gave me a rough idea of the situation.

“Get the prisoners down.”

At the guard captain's words, the firmly shut door of the prisoner transport carriage opened.

The guards skillfully put new Magic Sealing Stone handcuffs on the prisoners' wrists and ankles, then removed the old ones.

It was to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.

Perhaps because of the soldiers' proficiency, the prisoners in the transport carriage didn't resist much and obediently got out.

“You there, you too.”

“Yes.”

I too had no choice but to temporarily surrender my freedom and obediently wear the Magic Sealing Stone handcuffs.

Even if I had a gun, if I put up a useless struggle here, my head would be cut off in an instant.

Winter Castle was one of the foremost fortresses in the Empire, and naturally, its overall level was also very high.

“Ugh…….”

“……So, we've finally come to Kreutz.”

The gazes of the prisoners, seeing the light for the first time in a while, were not friendly.

It was probably partly because I received special treatment despite being a fellow prisoner, but also because I had rejected their offer before.

“I thought you were some great mage, but you're just a bastard who only knows how to wag his tail in front of his master.”

“Hmph, I agree. What a coward.”

The white-haired, skinny man and the scarred man spoke in turn.

I don't know if I should call it a relief, but the last person, a woman completely covered by a robe, seemed to have no interest in me.

To be precise, she seemed to have no interest in anything here, including me.

‘……Well, it doesn't matter.’

It was true that the woman was very suspicious, but if she paid me no mind, I had no intention of bothering her either.

Among the prisoners dragged to Winter Castle, who wouldn't have a story?

I had my own problems to worry about and to be concerned with every little thing like that.

‘Winter Castle…….’

Finally, my days at Winter Castle had officially begun.

***

“The official enlistment procedures will begin tomorrow, so for today, you are all to rest.”

Perhaps it was true that the enlistment procedures hadn't been carried out yet, as the place we were staying was not a military barracks but literally a prison.

Meaning, we were still prisoners.

If there was one fortunate thing, it was that the escort captain must have spoken quite well of me, because the place I was staying was a private cell within the prison, a special room with a thick layer of straw laid out.

The me of a few days ago might have had a sleepless night even with such luxury, but the current me had already gone through several days of forced marches and camping.

Naturally, this was more than I could ask for.

‘I have to take this opportunity to get information about the Ascension Stone Fragment.’

As always, I felt like I was going to die from the fatigue of the arduous journey, but if not today, I didn't know when I would have time again.

Therefore, I fought off the encroaching drowsiness, grit my teeth, and logged into the anonymous bulletin board.

What is the Ascension Stone Fragment?

What in the world is it that led me to this world and also granted me the bulletin board function?

There would surely be a clue about it in the post by Newdeulbak77 that I had checked earlier.

Although I couldn't be certain whether the ■■■ Fragment that Newdeulbak77 mentioned was indeed the Ascension Stone Fragment, the possibility was high.

[Search by Author : Newdeulbak77]

Among the countless posts, I found the one I had seen before.

-Newdeulbak77 : (Long post warning) Regarding the ■■■ Fragment...

I clicked on the post about the ■■■ Fragment written by Newdeulbak77 that I had wanted to see so badly.

──────────────

First of all, I want you to know that this post is just me spouting my own personal theories.

If you disagree, you're right.

If you're a user of our bulletin board, you all probably know about the ■■■ Fragment.

You have to know, since you need the ■■■ Fragment to enter the bulletin board.

First, the biggest characteristic of the ■■■ Fragment is that the beasts that possess it have the Demonic attribute.

So don't just go charging recklessly just because they have a ■■■ Fragment. Fundamentally, guys with the Demonic attribute are tricky to deal with.

I think there's some kind of secret to the ■■■ Fragment ㅇㅇ

The second characteristic is that when you obtain a ■■■ Fragment, the bulletin board function is activated, and I've heard that if you obtain a certain number of ■■■ Fragments afterward, the bulletin board level goes up (for reference, I'm level 2).

I still don't know what the ■■■ Fragment is, but I'm sure it's an important item.

And this is my personal theory but...

If we collect all the ■■■ Fragments, couldn't we maybe return to Earth?