2.
The capsule opened, and Seong exhaled a deep breath as if he were vomiting it out.
“Puhah.”
He usually felt fairly tired after a session—
But today, the exhaustion was particularly intense.
And that was understandable.
Anyone would be exhausted after a battle like that.
Moreover—
When he expelled the Sword Saint’s soul, the fatigue he felt was similar to the exhaustion from absorbing a ghost’s mories and experiences to the limit.
If he had absorbed even a little of the soul’s mories or experiences today, he might not have been able to resist being overwheld.
As Seong reflected on that—
He suddenly rembered the conversation he'd had before leaving the Mage Tower, about the recomndation letter, and he shook his head with an exasperated look.
“He really put out a bounty...”
Since Septem Arcana bordered the Kingdom of Rieskan, the news had reached the Cerule Spire not long after.
Learning that the Sword Saint had truly issued a bounty—
Seong couldn’t help but shake his head in disbelief.
He could understand the frustration, sure—
But still, to actually go that far?
The Featherwing Knights' friends had said he was petty, and it really was the perfect description.
How could soone be so ridiculously petty?
Still shaking his head, Seong exited the capsule room—
Where a woman stood, looking at him with a deeply moved expression.
It needed no explanation.
Of course, it was his sister, Yu Mina.
“Our. Little. Seong. Is. Back!”
“...W-Why are you acting so creepy?”
Seeing his sister Yu Mina call out to him like that, Seong was visibly disturbed.
Yu Mina, unfazed, bead at him and said,
“You were amazing, Seong!!! Really amazing!!!”
She rushed at him—
And despite his exhaustion, Seong swiftly dodged her.
What the heck is she so excited about?
He wondered.
Then it hit him.
“The championship?”
“Yeah! How did you even win that? That guy, Gam or whatever, was insane!!!”
Yu Mina eventually gave up on chasing him around and said that, still excited.
Seong made a slightly awkward face but smiled faintly, as if secretly proud.
Defeating even a portion of the Sword Saint was truly sothing to be proud of.
This was definitely sothing worth bragging about.
Feeling just a little smug—
Yu Mina, nodding proudly as she looked at him, continued,
“It was seriously top-tier combat. Even single-rankers can’t usually show that much potential! Even I was getting nervous watching you.”
“Oh, it was that good?”
“Of course! So what’s the deal with that Gam guy? He was insane. I’ve never even heard of him, and they’re calling him a nad NPC.”
At her reaction, Seong nodded in understanding.
It made sense.
“Hmm...”
He debated whether or not to tell her the truth—
But decided there was no reason to hide it.
So Seong told her plainly.
“Actually, that was the Sword Saint’s will possessing him.”
“...What??? T-The Sword Saint?!”
Seong nodded in confirmation.
And then went on to explain about the demonic energy and the demons involved.
Hearing this—
“Huh?!??! There was a whole backstory like that??? I had no idea!??”
“For real?”
“I knew the Kingdom of Rieskan slled fishy, but I didn’t realize it was that bad... Whew. I should tell the guild to distance themselves from Rieskan.”
“Our guild’s connected to them?”
“Not heavily, but a little. So guildmates are doing quests related to that place.”
Hearing that, Seong looked at her with mild surprise.
He usually knew most things—
He hadn’t expected this to slip by unnoticed.
If Yu Mina hadn’t realized it, then the Kingdom of Rieskan must have kept their darker dealings well hidden.
Seong just accepted it and let it pass.
In any case—
Yu Mina’s expression grew serious after hearing the full story.
She thanked Seong for the information, then hurried into her room to call An Yoo-jin.
Judging by how long she stayed on the phone, it was clearly an important conversation.
Seong figured she would fill him in later once everything was sorted.
So, for now—
He made himself a simple dinner.
It seed likely that another long quest would start tomorrow.
He needed to rest properly today.
After eating and lightly digesting his al—
Seong spent so ti researching Heptarion, just to get a basic idea.
Then he fell asleep.
It had been a tiring day in every sense.
3.
At the gates of Heptarion, the scene was unusually crowded.
It wasn’t that more people than usual were visiting Heptarion.
After all, it wasn’t a particularly popular city to begin with.
Rather—
"Why the heck did the inspection suddenly get so strict overnight?"
"No idea. Sothing must’ve happened."
"I heard it’s not just Heptarion—all of the Kingdom of Rieskan’s regions are like this."
"I heard so knights ran away too."
Though no one knew the full reason, the security checks had beco extrely tight.
With the inspections taking so long, the lines naturally grew longer and longer.
Both players and NPCs alike were growing irritated—
But no one was foolish enough to voice their complaints to the Kingdom of Rieskan’s knights.
anwhile, a few players spotted a user wearing a pure white robe and called out to him.
"Hey, you a mage too?"
"......"
The white-robed figure didn’t answer but tilted his head as if to ask, Why?
Then—
"Word is, they’re being extra strict with mages."
"Hmm. I see."
"Huh?"
The white-robed user pulled out the sword hanging from his waist and showed it to them.
Seeing it, the player nodded in understanding.
"Ah, so you’re a swordsman. But apparently, even swordsn are getting stuck at the gate."
"......?"
Hadn’t they said only mages were being inspected more heavily?
Curious about the comnt, the white-robed figure glanced back—
And the player explained,
"They’re trying to catch runaway knights, it seems. Swordsn have to demonstrate their sword skills to get through. You should probably ask for a travel pass once you’re done so you don’t have to deal with it every ti you go hunting. I forgot mine."
"Ah, thanks."
"No problem. Have fun."
With a nod to the helpful player, the white-robed user quietly waited for his turn at inspection.
Finally, when it ca—
Just as the player had warned, the knights approached him with strict, heavy gazes.
"Are you an outsider?"
"Where are you coming from?"
"From Lunsia."
Hearing that, the knights gave him a suspicious look.
The tense atmosphere could have made anyone flinch—
But the white-robed user waited calmly.
Seeing his composed deanor, the knights glared a little longer—
Before asking the next question.
"Hmm. Your occupation?"
"Swordsman."
"Swordsman?"
One of the knights voiced his doubt.
In response, the white-robed user held out the sword at his waist.
But that wasn’t enough.
The knights gave a slight nod—
And stepped back, clearing so space.
Then they said to the white-robed figure,
"Since so knights have fled, we’re enforcing inspections. Show us your swordsmanship."
"You’d better not refuse."
Their overbearing tone might have irritated soone else—
But the white-robed user didn’t seem fazed. He simply drew his sword.
Shrrring.
A clear tallic hum rang out—
And for so reason, the knights swallowed nervously.
They sensed sothing unusual—
But didn’t dare interrupt.
As the white-robed user began moving his sword—
It described a flowing arc, carving wide, graceful paths through the air.
Soft and free.
The sword filled the surroundings, expanding like a gentle explosion.
Powerful yet smooth, swift yet serene.
Then—
The energy gathering around the sword coalesced into a strange, shimring light.
The light multiplied, becoming like stars, floating around him.
It was like watching stars fall from the sky.
The brilliant stream of stars swirled around—
And as the knights blinked themselves back to awareness, the sword returned smoothly to its sheath.
The illusion of a cosmic galaxy vanished without a trace.
"Wow..."
"T-That was a sword skill???"
"Who the hell is that guy!?"
"S-Since when was swordsmanship that beautiful?"
Players standing in line erupted with excitent—
But the knights didn’t stop them.
They too were captivated, swallowing hard as they stared at the white-robed swordsman.
Had they ever seen swordsmanship this beautiful and powerful?
Caught up in that mory, the knights unconsciously drifted into daydreams, longing to learn even a fragnt of that grace.
Yet just as that dream threatened to carry them away—
A voice snapped them back.
"Is that sufficient?"
It was the voice of the white-robed user.
Though they regretted the fleeting glimpse of that art—
The knights hurriedly nodded.
"Pass."
"Ah, then... could I request a travel pass...?"
"Here. But even with a pass, you might still be subject to inspection. J-Just saying..."
Their voices {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} were slightly awkward—
But the white-robed user simply nodded without reacting much.
"I understand."
Behind him, the other players murmured.
"Bet he wants to see it again."
"Kuhaha, honestly, I’d want to see it again too."
"Seriously, that was incredible."
"No kidding. Must be top-tier, right?"
So players grumbled about how obvious it was—
But couldn’t hide their agreent.
Regardless, the knights cleared their throats and shouted,
"Proceed! Next!"
And so the white-robed user passed through the gates into Heptarion.
Glancing around, he finally removed his robe.
Though they had already checked his face during the inspection—
His appearance now was slightly different.
Thanks to Fiora’s perception suppression and polymorph skill, the white-robed user's true identity was none other than Seong.
“Phew, good thing I used the Galactic Sword Dance.”
If he’d used Helena’s overwhelmingly powerful swordsmanship, he might have drawn too much attention.
Using Galactic Sword Dance instead allowed him to slip by.
Scratching his head at how strict things had gotten—
“Once this job’s over, I’m definitely staying out of the Kingdom of Rieskan for a while.”
As Seong thought that—
Helena spoke lightly from the underworld.
—It’ll probably be fine though. That Sword Saint guy looked like a total coward.
—A coward?
—Yup. He couldn’t even co himself. Sure, maybe because of the will of the world, but he still brought the bare minimum of his power. I think he chickened out because he was scared of the world’s will. If he were truly transcendent, he could’ve brought way more.
—Hmm...
Maybe so?
As Seong pondered that—
Helena added,
—Plus, didn’t you damage his soul? When you squeezed him trying to absorb his mories?
—Huh?
—Normally, if soone’s friendly toward you in a soul state, they don’t take damage. But he resisted, so the damage was probably serious.
—Oh, really?
—Yup. So don’t worry. The Sword Saint won’t be coming after you again.
Relieved by Helena’s reassurance—
Seong thanked her.
—Thanks.
Now then, ti to go job hunting.
To the Caliber Mage Tower.
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