Chapter 10: A New Tune (1)
Tayon walked calmly, but I could tell even from a distance.
Though he didn’t show it, the stoic man was subtly checking on my condition.
“You did well.”
“It’s nothing. I expected sothing like this would happen at least once.”
“…….”
Tayon’s gaze didn’t waver in the slightest.
Yet, in front of those resolute eyes, I poured out the words I’d been holding back.
“I know you respect the traditions of the autonomous districts, Tayon.”
“…….”
“But wrong is wrong. If I gain enough strength, I plan to correct this vile custom. I don’t believe Adjak-nim would have wanted the districts to be like this.”
In this world, Adjak wasn’t just a ga character I controlled in front of a computer.
He was flesh and blood, with his own thoughts.
He likely got along well with many people and had countless descendants.
I spoke to Tayon as if I knew Adjak’s heart, but the truth was different.
The Adjak I thought of as my avatar was, in reality, a distinct being separate from .
That’s why, once the Coming-of-Age Ceremony ends, I planned to follow in Adjak’s footsteps—to learn how he lived and what aspirations he held.
“……Do it. Absolutely.”
Tayon patted my shoulder a few tis, then shouted in a dignified voice.
“Deputy Polarin, report the current situation.”
“Yes, sir. Currently, 302 participants from up to District 10 have joined the Coming-of-Age Ceremony. We were attacked by Bigfoot, but not a single casualty occurred.”
Tayon turned to the group and spoke.
“I heard District 3 promised not to trouble you anymore.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Forget that. Their guarantee only holds against those weaker than them.”
It was a declaration that betrayed everyone’s expectations.
The participants, who had just begun to shake off their fear, started murmuring again.
- No way? Are Districts 1 and 2 going to attack?
Shadows fell over the faces of the ceremony participants once more.
But Tayon’s words didn’t end there.
“But don’t worry. I’m done tolerating their gas.”
“…….”
“Whether it’s District 1, 3, or 18, we are all descendants of Adjak. I, Tayon Adjak, swear on my na: until you reach the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, you will face no threats.”
“Waaa!”
A roar that echoed through the forest erupted.
“We enter District 9 today. Follow closely.”
“Yes, sir!”
I walked right behind Tayon, who took the lead.
Behind followed Siriel, Kiyot, and the rest of the group.
After crossing the dense forest, a wide, well-paved road soon appeared.
Lined along the road were carriages of an antique style.
For soone from District 18, where the entire district had just one carriage, it was an unfamiliar sight.
The higher the district, the better the roads and facilities had beco.
But the single-number districts were exceptional.
A faintly ivory-hued outer wall stretched wide.
Each stone composing the wall was extraordinary. Intricate patterns and designs were engraved on them, as if they were works of art.
Neither overly ornate nor carelessly made, they exuded a refined elegance.
At sunset, as the last rays of sunlight touched the wall, the ivory stone emitted an even more mystical glow, overwhelming the ceremony participants.
‘It’s like a golden city. District 9 must be wealthy.’
It made sense, considering the great rchant Fremont family led the district.
Everyone knew there was a gap in living standards between single-number and lower districts.
But knowing and experiencing it firsthand were different.
The difference was as stark as that between a wooden palisade and an ivory wall.
Even the usually composed Kiyot couldn’t hide his intimidated expression.
“Don’t be too stiff. We still have to go further ahead.”
“……You’re right.”
People began stepping out of the carriages lined along the road.
Just as we were curious about the residents of the single-number districts, they were curious about Tayon.
It seed they got out to get a closer look at him.
Despite the countless gazes, Tayon walked forward indifferently, step by step.
His strides halted in front of the city gate.
A group of people had co out to greet us.
“Once again, welco, Tayon, and all the descendants of Adjak participating in the Coming-of-Age Ceremony.”
A middle-aged woman, fanning herself, greeted us with a refined voice and a deep bow.
“Save the welco for tomorrow.”
Tayon dismissed her words, but she smiled as if it were no big deal.
“Of course. We’ve prepared comfortable lodgings for everyone. You can rest well here tonight.”
“They’re lending us their houses!”
“Exactly. If there’s anything you want to eat, just ask the hoowners. They’ll provide anything you desire as a gesture of welco.”
“Wow! I want at! at!”
Expectations and excitent spread across the faces of the group.
* * *
“So, you’re the promising talent who received a special recomndation from Tayon?”
“Haha, you look sharp!”
“You seem young, though. Well, 15 is young, I suppose.”
In District 9, Panata, the arrangents we were told about upon arrival were true.
The residents of Panata welcod us warmly.
The ceremony participants were delighted by this, but they couldn’t open their hearts easily from the start.
Just hours ago, they had endured sprout crushing.
Had Pinnon not slaughtered the Bigfoot, there would surely have been many casualties.
“Hungry, right? Eat up. You need to eat well to stay strong!”
“T-Thank you.”
“Haha, we all went through the Coming-of-Age Ceremony once. It was tough, no doubt… but looking back, it was the happiest ti of our lives!”
But the saying that generosity cos from abundance wasn’t wrong.
The people of District 9 provided each participant with a room and a bed, along with high-quality als.
For kids from lower districts like , it was a luxury we’d never experienced.
The participants gradually let down their guard. So even started joking with the Panata residents.
But I couldn’t relax.
‘I don’t have ti to dawdle here.’
The Coming-of-Age Ceremony procession was a long campaign, typically lasting three to four months, as participants had to travel on foot from District 19 to District 1.
To keep to the ceremony’s schedule, rest ti was tight.
The ti to stay and rest in a town was only about one night before departing the next day.
And while in District 9, there was sothing I absolutely had to check.
As Tayon’s deputy, I was assigned a rather high-ranking escort.
He looked like an ordinary old man, but he was supposedly a forr knight of the White Dragon Knights.
The White Dragon Knights were among the continent’s most prestigious knightly orders, admitting only the finest from the Adjak districts.
His background alone earned him admiration from many kids.
For so, achieving high results in the Coming-of-Age Ceremony and joining the White Dragon Knights was a lifelong goal.
I asked the old man a question.
“Is it really okay to wander around so freely?”
“Of course. You can move about comfortably. If you’d like, I can guide you. Is there sowhere you want to go?”
“If possible, I’d like to go alone…”
“That’s fine too.”
Hearing an elderly man, a forr White Dragon Knight no less, speak to so respectfully made feel uneasy.
But I didn’t have ti to argue over trivialities.
As I started to move, the old man added,
“Just so you know… you don’t need to worry about things like ‘sprout trampling.’ Embarrassingly, Panata isn’t much connected to martial prowess.”
The dominant force in Panata, the Fremont family, was a rchant dynasty.
The district ford as their descendants, drawn to their comrcial prowess, gathered.
It was inevitably different from other districts centered around martial families.
But Panata’s strength ca not from might but from wealth.
That was why it proudly held its place as a single-number district.
“By now, everyone who matters likely knows that Polarin defeated Pinnon.”
“…….”
“To my knowledge, no one in Panata could stand against Pinnon… which ans no one could defeat you either, Polarin-nim.”
I gave an awkward thanks and stepped outside.
My victory over Pinnon was due to a series of fortunate circumstances—Pinnon’s carelessness, the awakening of the World Tree, and the help of the nearby ceremony participants.
‘…Sigh, I feel like I’d lose to that old man if we fought right now.’
The old man didn’t exude the intimidating aura of a strong warrior.
Had he not introduced himself as a knight, I wouldn’t have guessed his identity.
But after hearing his background and looking at him again, I noticed distinct traits.
His sturdy physique, stable deanor, and the way he perfectly concealed his aura spoke of years of rigorous training.
I had made a na for myself in the family by defeating Pinnon.
But I couldn’t rest on that achievent.
Tonight, I would obtain the Tune left by Adjak.
* * *
Hurrying my steps, I arrived at a rocky hill near where Adjak had obtained a Tune in the ga.
If the rocky mountain in Gullok of District 18 was made of massive, jagged boulders, this place was filled with small, tightly packed pebbles.
In the unique setting of Tune World, each Tune could only be held by one person.
Once a Tune was claid, it would reappear in the world 300 years after its owner’s death.
I was certain Adjak was dead.
Though others in the family might think differently, his legacy still pulsed within .
In other words, if the Tunes Adjak used in his lifeti hadn’t found new owners, they’d be scattered across the world.
I wanted to claim Adjak’s Tunes for myself before anyone else.
I was sure one of Adjak’s Tunes was here in Panata’s rocky hill.
One of his most cherished Tunes, no less.
Shrrrr.
Like a pebbled beach, the sound of rolling stones echoed with each gust of wind.
I had been determined to collect Adjak’s Tunes, but I was deeply disappointed when I realized this area had beco part of District 9’s territory.
The closer people lived, the higher the chance soone would discover the Tune.
But I soon realized my worries were unfounded.
“Ha, so I have to find an oddly shaped pebble here…”
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