Episode 43
Chapter 18. An Unexpected Variable (1)
There were three cadets assigned to the Colon Ruins mission alongside Jin.
Kazin Romero, and the Haas brothers, Mile and Lima. All were part of Mew and Ann’s faction. The Haas brothers ranked just below Kazin but were still five-star knights.
“My lord, I wish to apologize for my past mistakes. From this mission onward, I won’t show any shortcomings before you.”
“It’s an honor to march out with you, my lord.”
The day before deployment, Kazin and the Haas brothers came to see Jin.
Their attitude had completely changed from a few days ago. The brazen sneers were gone, replaced by a respectful, deferential demeanor.
Jin smiled broadly, clearly pleased.
“Alright, let’s forget the past. I’m counting on you.”
“Thank you, my lord.”
“Thank you!”
After they left, Murakan jumped onto Jin’s lap.
“Picking only the shallow tricks like this is why the sisters abandoned you. Sending those three to the Colon Ruins means they’re crossing a river none of them will return from… Their last desperate attempt will be to stab me in the back.”
Jin was certain.
Mew and Ann—the adorable sisters—had surely ordered their faction to stab him. They promised that if he died heroically in battle, the remaining family would be well taken care of.
He had witnessed Mew and Ann manipulate people like this several times in his previous life.
“Meow.”
Murakan chuckled from Jin’s lap.
The Colon Ruins could only be reached by a teleportation gate and then by land.
Originally, the Colon Ruins were home to a few thousand indigenous people living in villages. But after Ziphl discovered the island centuries ago, it became their territory, belonging to the Kingdom of Pailon.
Most of the natives were killed or enslaved. Those who remained were superficially respected but despised by Ziphl.
Yet the natives had no power.
Though they appeared respected, they were essentially slaves. The lives and rights of the Colon natives were of little concern to most of the world.
Ziphl kept them alive only to manage the island’s nature and to stage a show of atonement for past oppression.
Recalling this, Jin frowned.
“Though the weak are trampled as a law of the world, Ziphl’s past went too far.”
Ziphl wasn’t usually so reckless.
They pursued rational governance, encouraging natural loyalty from their subjects. That’s why Ziphl’s external image was far superior to Runkandel’s.
Brutality suited Runkandel more.
So why had Ziphl been so cruel to the Colon natives in the past?
Jin knew the reason.
“It must be because of that mirror-shaped artifact the natives hid. Ziphl had a vague awareness of the mirror’s existence since discovering the island. They crushed the natives to find it.”
Now, the existence of the “mirror” was a closely guarded secret by Ziphl.
Before Jin’s regression, when he was twenty-seven, everyone knew about the mirror. A brave journalist had published news about the ancient artifact Ziphl found.
The journalist detailed the excavation site. The resentful natives explained how Ziphl had stolen their sacred relics, leaving nothing out.
“After that, people called the mirror the ‘Fountain of Magic.’”
The mirror artifact, or Fountain of Magic, had a simple yet terrifying effect.
Just by gazing at it, one’s magical power would increase. Though it had extreme side effects, its benefits outweighed the risks.
The magic limit raised by the Fountain was seven stars.
Thanks to it, Ziphl churned out seven-star mages like stamps. After these “mass-produced mages” appeared, many aspiring magicians lost their will.
Already powerful, Ziphl solidified its dominance and increasingly pressured Runkandel.
“This time, I won’t let those Ziphl bastards get their hands on it.”
Of course, Jin had no intention of crushing the natives like Ziphl did. But he planned to prevent Ziphl from gaining such power by oppressing the natives for centuries.
There was no need to rush. If things went like before, Ziphl would still need over ten years to find the mirror. Jin just had to resolve it within that time.
“We’re almost there, my lord.”
Jin stopped. They were trekking through the mountain path in stealth gear.
“This is where Ziphl’s mages stay, and over here is where the outside mages lodge. The artifacts we need are in Warehouse No. 3.”
Kazin unfolded a map of the Colon Ruins and pointed.
“Are you sure the artifacts are in Warehouse No. 3?”
“We have to hope so. Without them, this mission is a complete failure.”
There were four artifacts in total: three palm-sized stone tablets and one bronze bowl.
Worthless to ordinary people, but priceless to historians.
The three were to raid the warehouse, steal the artifacts, and return to their family.
Raiding the warehouse wouldn’t be difficult. Warehouse No. 3 wasn’t where artifacts were usually stored, so security was lax. It was even open to travelers during the day.
But the real problem was the return.
“Even if it’s an unimportant warehouse, it’s probably covered in all sorts of protective magic. Extracting the artifacts unnoticed is impossible with this party.”
Ziphl’s mages weren’t pushovers. If Warehouse No. 3 was attacked, reinforcements would arrive within five minutes to eliminate the intruders.
“Thanks to rich, curious scholars, the four of us might meet death at dawn.”
“No matter what, the three of us will risk our lives to protect you, my lord.”
Kazin’s determined gaze was met with the same resolve from the Haas brothers.
Their acting was clumsy. Jin smirked inwardly and pulled out some jerky.
“To risk your lives to protect me… sounds nice. Let’s each have some jerky and rest a bit. The raid will start in an hour.”
“Yes, understood.”
The three immediately began chewing the jerky.
smack, gulp, gulp
As soon as Jin saw them swallowing, he spat out what he was chewing.
“My lord? Uh, uh…”
The three simultaneously realized something was wrong, but it was too late.
The jerky Jin handed them was laced with a sleeping agent strong enough to knock out even five-star knights. Kazin and the Haas brothers’ eyes glazed over as they barely managed to lean toward Jin.
“Don’t worry. It’s not poison.”
“Wha-what is this…?”
“No, nooo…”
Thud, thud.
The three collapsed immediately. Jin hastily dug a shallow pit, pushed the sleeping cadets inside, and covered them with leaves.
They wouldn’t wake for at least 24 hours. By then, the mission would be over.
“Why didn’t you just say you planned to kill me? Sleep tight. I can’t take a bunch of backstabbers into enemy territory.”
If they hadn’t been so polite, Jin might have doubted them less.
But all the way here, the three cadets had been working hard to win his favor. Their plan was to lull him into complacency, then strike decisively.
Jin saw through it all.
He could understand why they did it. A dog obeys its master’s orders, especially when it’s on the verge of being discarded after repeated mistakes.
But they picked the wrong opponent. Jin, living his second life in Runkandel, wouldn’t fall for the sisters’ cheap tricks.
“Besides, I can’t use magic with them watching.”
Knowing the warehouse was bristling with protective magic, trying to break in without magic was suicide.
If all four moved together, the magic would detect them. But if Jin went alone, things would be different.
Alright, let’s move smoothly.
Jin adjusted his mask and began descending the mountain path. The cool night air flowed through the leaves.
The Colon Ruins were a massive oval.
The key excavation site was at the center, and Warehouse No. 3, where Jin had to steal the artifacts, was on the outskirts. Since the ruins closed after six in the evening, the area was very quiet.
Lying in the bushes near Warehouse No. 3, Jin observed for a while. Occasionally, people appeared—mages sent by the investigation team, none above five stars.
As expected, the guards at the warehouse’s front and back gates were not mages. They looked like one- or two-star warriors at best.
Naturally. No high-level mages would be assigned to guard such a remote warehouse.
They seemed bored, yawning repeatedly and passing time. They joked and laughed among themselves.
As soon as the nearby mages moved far enough away, Jin dashed toward the front gate.
“So, about that woman you met last night…”
“How far did you get? Huh? How far?”
“Oh, you’d be so jealous if you heard.”
Crack.
One mercenary collapsed after a punch to the jaw from Jin. Another, excited and waiting for the next story, reflexively thrust his spear.
Jin lightly turned his head to dodge the blade and used the momentum to strike the mercenary’s throat with his elbow. The mercenary’s eyes glazed over as he collapsed.
“Maybe I should’ve let him hear the whole story before knocking him out…”
Jin let out a quiet chuckle as he roughly propped the two mercenaries against the wall. Wedging the window between their legs, from a distance it would at least look like they were standing guard.
He rifled through the mercenaries’ pockets and pocketed the front gate key. A simple, ordinary lock with no protective magic to speak of. It was clear just how little Giple cared about Warehouse No. 3.
‘No wonder the scholars had the nerve to commission Runkandel for this.’
Creeeak!
The screech of the iron door opening was impossible to muffle. Jin had considered using a spell to block or dampen the noise, but worried that nearby mages might sense the magic and get suspicious, so he held back.
Before stepping inside, he took a careful look around and spotted a familiar magic circle etched into the floor.
‘That’s a blood-and-ward magic circle.’
It was the exact same one Jin had seen years ago when he discovered the secret chamber in Storm Fortress. Just a few drops of human blood would naturally deactivate the circle’s protective barrier.
If Giple was so careless as to leave the warehouse’s warding magic unguarded, and yet Runkandel’s riders had a secret chamber protected by the same kind of magic circle—how laughable that must seem to the world.
The blood-and-ward magic circle distinguished between human blood, monster blood, and blood infected with the plague. As long as it was clean human blood, it didn’t matter whose it was.
Jin approached the mercenaries he’d propped up and lightly sliced the tip of one’s finger with his dagger. Catching a few drops of blood in his palm, he sprinkled them over the magic circle.
He’d deliberately used mercenary blood to avoid suspicion and ensure the mission’s success. Later, if Giple investigated any incident, they might mistakenly think the magic circle had been triggered by the mercenaries’ own carelessness.
‘The first warding magic is simple enough. Now to find the relic…’
Screeeech!
Suddenly, the magic circle, soaked with the mercenary’s blood, flared a deep red and emitted a sharp, piercing sound. Jin barely suppressed his surprise and stared at the bloodstain on his palm.
It was from the unconscious mercenary’s blood—definitely human blood.
But if the blood-and-ward magic circle had activated, that meant the blood’s owner was either infected with the plague or…
“Grrr.”
Not human.