Episode 144
After listening to the captain of the 7th unit, Zeke nodded thoughtfully.
“Good start. Keep it up. Who tipped you off about the relic here?”
The captain, visibly trembling, hesitated before speaking.
“Well, I’m not entirely sure… but I heard it came from… the Draker side…”
“Hmm, Draker, you say.”
“I’m not certain! It’s just something I heard through the grapevine…”
Zeke and Boris took their time interrogating not just the captain but the entire 7th unit to piece together the information.
Reviewing his notes, Zeke spoke up.
“So, the Abyss has made its way here too?”
The captain, exhausted, nodded in agreement.
“Yes… that’s correct.”
“Do you know which demon’s followers they are?”
“I… I don’t know that much.”
“Any other distinguishing features?”
The captain’s eyes darted nervously before he finally spoke.
“Green… they always wore green.”
“Green, huh.”
If the Sage of Stories were here, they might have identified which demon’s followers they were just from that. But for Zeke, it was a puzzle.
‘They seem to worship a different demon than the Herald of Blood and Madness or the Master of the Lowest Depths.’
With so many demons and their followers out there, Zeke knew he had to tread carefully when dealing with the Abyss.
After extracting all the information, Zeke granted the 7th unit a swift death and used the power of decay to dispose of their bodies.
Turning to Boris, Zeke said, “The information from the 8th and 7th units seems to match up.”
“Yes. Shall we verify with the 9th unit as well?”
“No need. Let’s just deal with them.”
“Understood.”
After erasing all traces, Zeke and Boris headed towards Death Valley.
The 9th unit, cautiously making their way into the valley, was closing in on the cave, following the trail left by the 7th unit.
Zeke and Boris split up, lying in wait, and triggered the trap they had set.
Boom!
Magic bombs exploded, causing a landslide in the narrow gorge.
The 9th unit’s captain quickly summoned something in response.
Sssshhh!
Three massive black scorpions emerged from the ground, likely chimeras created through dark magic.
The scorpions pushed aside the falling rocks, while the dark mages behind them prepared spells to counter the ambush.
The captain shouted at the scorpions, “Capture them!”
Two of the scorpions scuttled rapidly towards Zeke.
Drawing Bahamut, Zeke swung his sword at the oncoming scorpion.
Slice—
The scorpion’s shell, harder than steel, was cleaved cleanly.
Screeeech—
Writhing in pain, the scorpion lashed out with its venomous tail, aiming for Zeke.
But Zeke was not one to be caught off guard by such an attack.
Swish—
He severed the tail with his sword, then leaped into the air, driving his blade into the scorpion’s head.
Crunch!
The sword pierced through the tough shell, and the scorpion collapsed lifelessly.
Another scorpion charged at Zeke, but met the same fate.
A thrown dagger from Zeke pierced its head, killing it instantly.
Seeing Zeke dispatch two scorpions in the blink of an eye, the 9th unit’s captain realized he was outmatched.
“Damn it! Use the smoke bombs! We need to get out of here!”
The dark mages pulled smoke bombs from their robes and hurled them around, trying to escape under the cover of smoke.
But to Zeke, with his dragon’s eyes, the smoke was no obstacle.
He plunged into the smoke, mercilessly cutting down the dark mages.
“Aaargh!”
His aura blade sliced through their necks and limbs without mercy.
Those who managed to escape the smoke met their end at Boris’s sword, waiting outside.
As the smoke cleared, the canyon floor was littered with the bodies of the fallen mages.
“Handled that more easily than expected.”
Had the dark mages stood their ground instead of trying to flee, it might have taken longer to deal with them. But their decision to use smoke in such a confined space made Zeke’s job easier.
Gathering the bodies, Zeke used the power of decay to dispose of them, keeping only the materials needed for crafting from the dead scorpions.
Boris approached Zeke.
“Boss, it seems the Scorpion Clan is taken care of.”
“Good. It’ll be dark soon. The temperature drops significantly at night in Death Valley, so let’s head back to the cave.”
Back in the cave, Zeke and Boris prepared to camp for the night.
After chewing on some tough jerky, they set up alarm devices at the cave entrance to alert them of any intruders.
With the dragon soldiers Zeke had summoned standing guard outside, there was no need for a watch.
Warming himself by the magic stove Zeke had pulled from his inventory, Boris suddenly spoke.
“Boss.”
Boris looked at Zeke and asked, “Why did you spare me back in Delphoa?”
Zeke, who had been staring into the flames, turned to Boris.
“Did you want to die?”
“Not exactly, but…”
Zeke chuckled softly.
“I spared you because I thought you’d be useful. No other reason.”
“Have you ever thought I might betray you?”
Zeke shook his head.
“Quite the opposite. I believe anyone can betray.”
His gaze sharpened.
“Not just you, Boris. Even Kaiden, or Lord Fainan. Anyone. People aren’t unchanging.”
Boris felt a chill run down his spine at Zeke’s piercing gaze.
‘What kind of life has he led? Is it because he’s a Draker?’
It wasn’t the look of someone who seemed only eighteen.
Zeke spoke again.
“Speaking of betrayal… I’ve considered the possibility of a traitor.”
“What do you mean?”
“Abel knew I was coming to the desert for the relic and leaked that information to the Holy Kingdom, the Scorpion Clan, and Salmak.”
“Couldn’t he have just reacted quickly to your movements?”
“No, Abel didn’t know I was after the relic. I kept my identity hidden when fighting the followers.”
Zeke continued.
“He figured out it was me who spirited away Karus and attacked the Hound Camp.”
Boris, sweating nervously, shook his head.
“B-Boss, I swear it’s not me. Please believe me.”
Knowing how ruthless Zeke could be when he set his mind to it, Boris was genuinely afraid.
Zeke reassured him.
“I did consider the possibility, but it doesn’t seem like you leaked the information.”
“That’s right. I have nowhere else to go without you, Boss.”
As a former member of the Empire’s Intelligence Bureau, Boris’s identity could only be cleansed by Zeke, the de facto ruler of the Syndicate and a pure-blooded Draker.
Zeke looked at Boris and spoke.
“We need to find out if there’s really a traitor or if Abel used some other trick. You’ll have a lot to do once this is over.”
“M-Me?”
“I didn’t hire the Salmak assassins for nothing. Sometimes it’s better to use reliable external help to find a traitor.”
“You’re planning to use Salmak’s assassins to find the traitor?”
“If there is one.”
Zeke was considering both the possibility of a traitor and the chance that Abel had used some bizarre magic from the Abyss to gather information.
If there was no traitor and they started a witch hunt, it could play right into Abel’s hands.
In a hastily formed organization, trust among members was fragile and could be irreparably damaged if broken.
Abel might have been counting on that. Fortunately, for someone like Zeke, who had lived in the cartel, rooting out traitors was as natural as breathing.
In the cartel, even a friend from yesterday or a blood relative could become a traitor tomorrow, so one always had to be on guard.
Boris felt both trust and fear towards Zeke’s calm demeanor.
‘Betrayal… I must never do that.’
To Boris, Zeke was more terrifying than the Emperor of the Empire.
While Boris slept, Zeke opened the shop category.
―Shop―
Buy/Sell Items
Disassemble/Repair Items
Enhance Items
Craft Items
Zeke first placed the items he had taken from the dark mages into his inventory and entered the ‘Disassemble/Repair’ section.
As he moved the items into the disassembly window, the materials automatically separated.
For artifacts, the runes containing the magic were also extracted.
‘Interesting, runes. So that’s how artifact magic is undone.’
Using the extracted materials and the remains of the black scorpions he had collected after the battle, Zeke proceeded with crafting.
‘Let’s see. What can I make with the scorpion remains? Ah, here it is. I’ll start with a simple shield.’
Zeke transferred the necessary materials from his inventory to the crafting window according to the recipe.
‘Scorpion shell, tail, iron ingots… and leather.’
With the crucial scorpion tail shell and other materials in place, he began the crafting process.
A window appeared, indicating the crafting was in progress, and the numbers began to rise.
“It’ll take about two hours to finish.”
Zeke marveled at how simply gathering the right materials and following the system’s instructions could result in a completed item. It was the same feeling he had when making potions. This must be the crafting method using karma that the story’s hermit had mentioned.
While crafting potions didn’t require karma points, creating weapons or equipment did need a small amount. Even so, it was almost ten times cheaper than buying gear directly from the shop, making it far more efficient to gather materials and craft the equipment himself.
After two hours, the completion bar hit 100%.
[“The Sturdy Black Scorpion Carapace Shield” has been crafted.]
The newly crafted shield appeared in Zeke’s inventory.
“This is my first time making a weapon. It’s fascinating.”
Zeke pulled out the Black Scorpion Carapace Shield. It was larger than he expected, yet surprisingly light for its size. The design was impressive: the scorpion’s carapace had been processed, edged with metal, and lined with leather on the inside. It could be held by hand or strapped to the arm.
He used his Insight to check the shield’s details.
―Shield Information―
Description: A shield crafted from the toughest part of a black scorpion’s carapace.
Unique Ability: None
Special Feature: Turning the mechanism inside the shield releases a scorpion’s stinger from the bottom. Scorpion venom is automatically generated inside.
Following the instructions, Zeke turned the mechanism inside the shield.
Whirr!
A stinger, resembling a scorpion’s tail, shot out from the bottom of the shield.
“This could be used to stab an enemy.”
With the added feature of automatically generating venom, the shield was more valuable than it seemed.
Suddenly, Zeke remembered the rune he had acquired earlier. He opened the enhancement window, placed the shield and the rune together, and attempted an upgrade.
[“Applying the ‘Curse of Health Deterioration’ rune to the ‘Sturdy Black Scorpion Carapace Shield’ for enhancement.”]
The enhancement completed, and a new information window appeared.
―Shield Information―
Description: A shield crafted from the toughest part of a black scorpion’s carapace.
Unique Ability: Enemies struck by the shield have a 20% chance of being cursed with health deterioration.
Special Feature: Turning the mechanism inside the shield releases a scorpion’s stinger from the bottom. Scorpion venom is automatically generated inside.
Zeke gaped at the information window.
“This is incredible. With runes, you can turn ordinary items into artifacts.”
The value of a magically enhanced artifact was immense. It usually required the expertise of high-level mages, magical craftsmen, and alchemists to imbue weapons with magic. The more powerful the magic, the harder it was to create an artifact.
It was no wonder that Lubern, who could craft holy weapons imbued with light magic, managed to unify the continent and establish the Holy Empire.
Zeke swung the enhanced shield with a satisfied grin.
“If I have enough materials, I could arm the entire Black Sword Knights with artifacts.”
Just as Zeke was reveling in the crafting and enhancement features, a signal came from the patrol dragon soldiers, indicating they had discovered something.