While Yuri and his group were crowning Luther as the new king of the Holy Kingdom, an unfamiliar visitor stood inside the cave where the meteorite had been stored.
He looked up at the round lump of metal and smiled.
Sybilla’s death was unexpected, but what his master truly desired was something else entirely.
“Metal from another world.”
He spread his hands wide.
“A sacrifice.”
Alone in the empty cavern, he stretched out both hands. Black energy began to billow and swirl, thickening into a mist.
Soon, the fog took on a definite shape.
A monstrous creature with writhing tentacles.
Leading this more vividly formed beast than the one Sybilla had created, he approached the metal lump.
Orichalcum.
A metal that had fallen from beyond the sky.
This metal held the power to repel dark magic.
Yet, paradoxically, it also served as a catalyst for dark magic.
Because orichalcum was immune to being consumed by dark magic, it could act as a kind of coordinate for beings from other realms. A specific empty space that darkness could not obscure would become a beacon for summoned creatures.
The black energy he wielded pierced the orichalcum. The metal trembled.
“More…”
His magic carved into the orichalcum. A sizable chunk broke off from the lower part, leaving a deep dent in the metal’s corner.
Though it resisted corruption by dark magic, it wasn’t completely immune. The dark magic’s influence chipped away at the orichalcum here and there.
Soon, a statue-sized fragment of the monstrous creature was formed.
“Huff, huff…”
Carving the orichalcum was a taxing process even for him. He set the statue down and caught his breath.
“Now…”
Suddenly, footsteps echoed from the cave entrance.
Startled, he glanced around, then grabbed the statue and dashed toward a corner. There was a secret passage left behind from when Yuri and the secret order had infiltrated during the fight with Sybilla.
He disappeared beyond the tunnel.
Moments later, a group of people entered the cavern.
“Your Majesty, why have you come here again?”
“To check something.”
It was Yuri.
He had returned to the cavern with Jared, Umstein, and Fennec.
Though he didn’t want to revisit the place where Sybilla had died, there was one question he needed to resolve.
“Orichalcum,” Yuri said, looking up at the metal lump.
“It seems to have some strange properties…”
He placed his palm on its surface.
When Sybilla had been transformed by dark magic, radiating a dark aura, Yuri had entered the realm of the soul to observe. The entire cavern was being corrupted, but the orichalcum remained untouched.
Perhaps it could become a tool to resist the black army the empire planned to create.
Yuri pulled something from his pocket.
A small scrap of parchment, about the size of a fingertip.
It had been recovered from the spot where Sybilla fell, retrieved by the Holy Kingdom, and passed to Yuri through Fennec.
Though tiny, it still held traces of dark magic.
“Umstein, does orichalcum have the power to resist dark magic?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t even know dark magic existed. Maybe the elders of my tribe would know…”
Yuri held the parchment up against the orichalcum.
“Hm?”
There was a mark where a chunk had broken off. It was in a shadowed area near the bottom of the metal, hard to notice unless you looked closely.
Yuri stared at the spot for a while.
“Hm…”
He tilted his head, then examined the surrounding area. There was a jagged edge on the metal.
Yuri rubbed the parchment roughly against it. The surface tore slightly.
“Just as I thought.”
Ordinary blades couldn’t damage this parchment because of the lingering dark magic. Yet, just scraping it against a slightly sharp protrusion was enough to tear it.
Yuri was now certain that orichalcum could resist dark magic.
“Umstein, how much weaponry could we make from this orichalcum?”
“Is there really such power in it?”
“Yes. It seems so.”
“Hmm…”
Umstein tapped the metal.
“If we coat weapons with orichalcum instead of forging them entirely from it, we could produce quite a lot. Isn’t that what you want?”
“If that’s possible.”
“Of course it is. But…”
Umstein rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“To handle orichalcum properly, you need a legendary weapon passed down in our tribe. Without it, you can only manage it clumsily.”
“A legendary weapon?”
“Yeah. The reason Gutenstein and I left the mountain range was to retrieve it. Though my brother got distracted along the way…”
“What is it?”
Umstein smiled, pride shining in his eyes.
“What do you need to shape, hammer, and flatten metal?”
He wasn’t really asking for an answer.
“It’s nature itself.”
“Nature?”
“The elements spread throughout the world—fire, water, wind, and earth. Only when all these are in harmony can we properly work metal. Because extracting metal from the earth and forging it is the result of that harmony.”
Umstein caressed the orichalcum with a wistful expression.
“To handle this, you need the Sword of the Four Elements, imbued with the power of all those forces. It’s a legendary artifact created by our ancestors.”
“The Sword of the Four Elements?”
“Right. Four daggers, each holding the power of fire, water, wind, and earth. If I had them in my hands, handling orichalcum would be no problem. But those swords have vanished without a trace.”
Yuri and Jared exchanged glances.
Umstein continued.
“The last place they were seen was the empire, but since then, they’ve disappeared completely. Someone must have them, though…”
“If we find them, will you be able to handle the orichalcum?”
“Of course.”
“If we find them for you, would you melt this metal down and provide orichalcum-coated weapons for the army as payment?”
“Hahaha, you must be in quite a hurry. Sure. If that’s the deal, I’ll gladly work with this metal.”
“Good.”
Yuri nodded and reached into his pocket to pull something out.
“Here.”
“Hm?”
In his hand were four daggers.
The Flame Sword, Crystal Sword, Wind Spirit Sword, and Earthquake Sword—acquired at an imperial auction. He had used them well so far, but since they seemed to have rightful owners, it was time to return them.
Umstein tilted his head, eyeing the four daggers.
Then he suddenly jerked his head up.
His eyes widened dramatically, nostrils flared, mouth dropped open, and even his ears perked up. Every hole on his face seemed to expand. His control over his facial muscles was remarkable.
“W-what? No way!”
“What is it?”
“Why do you have these right now?!”
Shocked, Umstein placed the four daggers on his palm.
“Why do you have these?!”
“I got them at an imperial auction.”
“You bought them yourself?”
“Yes.”
“This is unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable!”
Umstein jumped up and down on the spot, clutching the daggers like precious treasures.
“To think you had these all along! What is going on?!”
Fennec, standing nearby, spoke up.
“This must be the guidance of the gods.”
As a paladin, Fennec was deeply devout. He closed his eyes and made the sign of the cross, truly believing this was divine intervention.
Jared spoke.
“This is great. So you’ll coat weapons with orichalcum?”
“We’ll need to set up a forge first. Once the facilities are ready, it’ll be possible.”
Umstein lifted the Flame Sword.
“I can feel the essence of fire within this. Using it, we can build a furnace hot enough to melt orichalcum.”
“Excellent. Let’s get started right away.”
“It won’t be quick. Orichalcum isn’t an easy metal to work with.”
“Understood.”
Yuri was stunned at how smoothly things were falling into place.
In his past life, the only knight who wielded the Swords of the Four Elements had no connection to dwarves. He never imagined these swords would be linked to the dwarves.
Now, returning them to their rightful owner in this life felt almost magical.
“Thank you so much.”
Umstein shook Yuri’s hand repeatedly, clearly deeply moved. These weapons meant a great deal to them. Yuri shrugged.
“If you’re grateful, just work as hard as you can.”
“Of course.”
With that, Yuri gained both the orichalcum and the dwarven craftsmen.
“When we return to the tribe after this, everyone will be overjoyed.”
Watching Umstein, Yuri thought about how much he still didn’t know, even in his second life.
He had just learned that dwarves existed, and that they lived in the mountains.
After killing Cedric, it might not be a bad idea to visit the dwarven village and experience what he hadn’t known. Though it was far in the future, Yuri found himself considering it.
Kory was researching how to break the chains controlling his mana. But with his power alone, it was impossible, and the locks were strictly managed by the circus troupe’s leader.
“Hey, ugly.”
“You orc bastard.”
Even when troupe members taunted him, he didn’t respond. Sometimes several would suddenly appear and beat him up, but Kory had resigned himself.
No matter how badly he was treated, the circus leader didn’t care. All he cared about was making money.
Cory made up his mind.
Among the people who came to watch the circus, there were occasionally some high-ranking individuals. The circus master was always very polite to them, sometimes even bowing deeply.
He had to win their favor.
Maybe, just maybe, those noble folks could save him.
“Everyone, listen up today,” the circus master said, gathering the troupe.
“We have a noble from the Empire here. People like you—trash—rarely get to see someone like that in their lifetime. So don’t be rude. If anyone crosses him, I’ll personally be the one to cut your throat. Got it?”
Cory felt a flicker of hope.
He’d seen people from the Empire a few times while traveling with the allied forces.
He hadn’t made friends with any of them, but maybe someone would recognize him. If that happened, he could ask for help to reach Yuri.
But that hope quickly crumbled.
This noble was nothing like the knights Cory had seen with the allied army. He was just a fat, greasy aristocrat with a big belly sticking out.
He wasn’t enjoying the circus; he was enjoying mocking and looking down on the performers.
“All nobles from the Empire are like that. The worst,” the circus members muttered among themselves.
Cory waited behind the stage, steadying his breath. He wasn’t going to perform tricks—he had to step out and speak directly. He couldn’t predict how this noble would react.
If the noble acted tyrannically, Cory wouldn’t have any way to fight back.
He looked at the stage with a heavy heart.
Then, one of the acrobats made a mistake.
The noble stood up.
“I paid good money to come here. Why are you messing up? Are you saying I’m not worth a proper show?”
“No, sir, it’s not like that!”
“Sounds about right to me.”
The noble grinned, as if he’d been waiting for someone to slip up.
“Alright. Watching you just now, you move pretty well.”
He smirked.
“You won’t mess up twice, will you?”
The acrobat bowed his head.
“No! I swear I won’t.”
“Good. Then…”
The noble turned and gestured with his hand.
“One of my men is amazing with a blade. He’ll swing his sword at you—dodge it. If you survive, I’ll forgive this mistake. If not… well, you just die.”
Behind the stage, everyone sighed.
That was basically a death sentence.
Cory soon saw the man the noble had summoned step onto the stage.
He was thin and frail-looking, his face completely covered with cloth except for his eyes. Through the gaps, his skin looked scarred, as if burned.
Cory’s eyes widened.
There was something strangely familiar about him.
His gait and posture somehow reminded Cory of someone he knew. Not exactly the same, but eerily close.
Yet, the coldness in his eyes was unfamiliar.