Chapter 7 - Signs of Civil War (3)

In Ivan's office.

Najin waited for Ivan, sitting on a luxurious sofa that seemed out of place in the underground city. About an hour passed before Ivan entered the office.

“Ha, what a funny guy.”

Ivan, laughing cheerfully, wiped blood from his face and forearms with a wet towel. It wasn’t his blood, but blood that had splattered on him. Najin glanced at the towel turning crimson.

“Are you done?”

“Yeah. He spilled everything quickly. You must have really scared him. Just pulled out a couple of teeth and he confessed everything.”

Ivan was tossing something up and catching it. Looking closely, Najin realized it was human teeth, likely belonging to Frix.

“As always, impressive work. Where did you catch such a guy? Absolutely perfect. I've been frustrated with the lower ranks lately, not doing their jobs properly…”

Satisfied, Ivan mumbled to himself and took a seat.

“So, was it worth fighting? This was your first time against someone who can use mana, right?”

“Not the first time. I’ve sparred with you, Ivan.”

“Man, that was training.”

Training that almost killed me?

As Najin pondered the definition of ‘training’, Ivan asked again.

“Any injuries?”

“Dragging him around made my arm sore, but nothing else.”

“Huh. A guy who can't use mana taking down one who can without a scratch? You’re a real piece of work.”

Ivan muttered, not particularly surprised. He seemed to have somewhat expected this.

Observing Ivan’s expression, Najin thought:

Why did he rush to confront a high-ranking member without hesitation?

「How far can you go?」

「Well, unless it's me or those Land Spider guys, no one can really match you...」

Ivan had said that before.

「Apart from Horace, you can take on anyone.」

「There are a few leaders in their group who strut around, but you could probably beat them in one-on-one fights.」

「Provided you don't fight in their territory.」

The Land Spider Horace. Apart from the head of the rival gang, Ivan had said Najin could take on anyone in a one-on-one fight. Najin trusted his words. Ivan was always accurate in his judgments.

“Ivan.”

Still, there was something Najin was curious about.

“What exactly is mana?”

“What do you mean? It’s damn good stuff.”

Ivan replied as if it were obvious.

Not the answer Najin was looking for, he continued to look at Ivan silently. Ivan shrugged and elaborated.

“Being able to use mana is proof that you've taken the first proper step as a warrior. Whether it's to enhance your body, extract Sword Aura, or perform swordsmanship, mana is at the core of it all.”

Mana, energy accumulated within the body.

“The more mana you accumulate, the more trained your body becomes, raising your limits. You can perform all sorts of feats impossible for a human body.”

For example, this.

Ivan spread his hand, revealing Frix’s teeth from the interrogation.

“Watch closely.”

Ivan gently clenched his hand with the teeth in his palm. When he opened it, the teeth had turned to dust.

“Of course, learning mana doesn’t mean everyone becomes like me. What cultivation technique you choose is crucial. Picking just anything can be fatal. You might get stronger initially, but your limits will be clear.”

“So, to reach the expert level, mastering a mana cultivation technique is essential?”

“Exactly. You need to know how to use mana to extract sword aura and such. Want to learn?”

“It would be nice if I could.”

Ivan smirked.

“I’ll teach you later.”

“I’ve been hearing that for five years.”

“Later, man.”

A sign to end the topic.

Najin didn’t pursue further, knowing it would only irritate Ivan. He stepped back, respecting the boundary Ivan had set.

“Let’s get to the main point then.”

Ivan started the conversation.

“A civil war is coming soon. Get ready, Najin.”

***

The Land Spider Horace is preparing for a civil war.

That’s what their leader said.

Lately, although there weren’t direct orders from Horace, commands were continuously coming from above. The instructions were to prepare for war, gather resources.

Apparently, their hassle at Hogel's forge for ‘tribute’ was groundwork for weapon seizure. Infiltrating my organization seems to have a similar context.

Always causing trouble.

I suspected they were crossing the line, but to go this far? Whatever their confidence is, they’re clearly picking a fight with me.

They must have something to rely on.

Horace isn’t crazy enough to start a fight without weighing the consequences. Regardless of what they’re relying on...

Sigh.

Civil war is such a pain.

In this tiny city, fighting over a scrap of land, seeing people die... it just makes you sigh. I didn’t finish off Horace during our last war for a reason.

There’s a point where it just becomes a loss.

People dying means less workforce, and the atmosphere in the streets turns gloomy. Whether screwing around in brothels or getting drunk in taverns, it all feels like shit. Makes you lose the will to fight.

I’ve been rambling but here’s the point.

I don’t plan to drag out this civil war. I’ll end it quickly and clean up fast.

So,

We’re going to make the first move.

I’ll give you more details tomorrow. Need to talk to Offen today.

Anyway, be prepared.

Can’t guarantee how it will turn out.

“...Hmm.”

Recalling Ivan’s words, Najin walked through the streets. Ivan had said to prepare for a civil war.

‘Civil war.’

Najin didn’t know much about it.

The last civil war between Horace and Ivan happened when he was very young. He only guessed its severity from the terrified reactions of adults.

「Be prepared.」

「Can’t guarantee how it will turn out.」

Najin kept pondering Ivan’s last words. If even Ivan, who always spoke with certainty, said such things, it must be serious.

“Prepare, he says, but what...”

Najin tilted his head.

He wasn’t sure what to prepare for. He visualized the map of the underground city, Artman, in his mind.

Artman is divided into three main areas.

The central area, under Ivan’s control, has a direct trade gateway with the surface world. The core land with vital facilities clustered around the gateway.

Next, the mining area.

Located on the outskirts, far from the central area, under Horace’s control. It’s where the city’s resources, the ores, are mined.

‘Mining area, mining area, mining area...’

It’s said to be like a labyrinth.

The entrance to Horace's residence is connected to the mines, laden with traps. Ivan had explained that Horace, a former Ranger from the surface world, could fully utilize his skills there.

「Horace is a Ranger.」

「Rangers excel in stealth, traps, ambushes, surpassing knights in these areas.」

「They might lose to knights in one-on-one, but in their territory, they can take on multiple knights.」

「Never fight in his territory.」

「Even I can’t be sure of victory without Offen.」

Najin imagined infiltrating there.

The complex mining tunnels and skilled fighters popping out from anywhere, along with traps set by Horace.

“Tch.”

It won’t be easy. If he barges in like he does in Ivan’s territory, he should be prepared to be peppered with holes. While strategizing in his mind, Najin sighed deeply.

It was hard to get a proper grasp just by thinking.

He felt he needed to see and experience the place to know how to act. Wrapping up his thoughts, Najin suddenly recalled the underground city’s ‘third area’.

The central area, the mining area.

And lastly, the landfill.

Below this place, down the rugged cliff, lies the landfill – the final resting place for trash discarded once above and then again here, a mixture of garbage, filth, and corpses. This is the domain of the drugmaker Hakan.

Najin didn't know much about Hakan or the landfill. It wasn't just him; even Ivan seemed to lack information.

「Drugmaker Hakan, I don't know much about him either.」

「He's been here even before I fell into this city, even before Horace.」

「I don’t even know if he’s male or female.」

「He's just been there for a long time, making drugs. I've never seen his face.」

All that was known about Hakan was his strength to dominate an area and his alchemy skills.

‘Not relevant for the upcoming civil war,’ Najin thought.

How the civil war would unfold would become clearer tomorrow, as Ivan had said.

Thud.

Najin stopped on his way home near the edge of the plaza. He gazed from a distance at the sword embedded in the ground, still concealed by the tent.

「Pull out the sword.」

「You can pull it out.」

These sentences still echoed in his head. Najin watched the tent-covered sword for a while and then left the plaza.

***

Thud.

The sound of a glass being set down echoed softly in an old tavern where only Ivan and Offen were drinking.

“So.”

Breaking the silence, Offen spoke.

“You’re going to start a civil war?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Taking the initiative?”

“Quicker that way.”

“And you want my help?”

Offen’s question was answered with Ivan's silence as he drank his liquor. Offen ruffled his hair, visibly annoyed.

“I don’t like getting involved.”

“Just this once.”

“Feels like I heard that a few years ago.”

“Help me this time. I can't handle it quietly alone.”

Ivan took another sip. He could certainly stir up trouble alone, but that wasn’t his goal. He sought a quick and clean resolution, not the start of a prolonged civil war.

“Annoying.”

“Horace is up to something. Not sure what, but we need to end it fast.”

“Tch.”

Offen clicked his tongue.

“This is the last time. If you ask again, I’ll smash your head with this glass.”

“Thanks.”

“That aside, about you.”

Offen lightly threw a question as he refilled his glass.

“Are you going to leave Najin as is? Not teaching him mana cultivation or anything? You know he's been ready to learn since long ago.”

“I know.”

“Then why not teach him?”

“He’s too quick.”

Ivan sighed deeply.

Leaning back, he opened up to Offen, a longtime acquaintance from the surface world.

“Najin learns everything too quickly. It’s frightening how he’s progressing. I can’t tell how far he’ll go.”

“Jealous?”

“Cut the crap. You know what I mean.”

Ivan chuckled.

“In this forsaken city, what good will such talent do? Let’s say I teach him mana early. In a few years, he’ll probably be extracting sword aura. He could even break the empire’s youngest Sword Master record of 23 years old.”

Najin was that capable.

“But.”

Ivan downed a strong drink.

He sighed and continued.

“What’s the use in this trash heap of a city?”

In a city of discarded things, filth, and trash.

In the landfill, where garbage piles up into mountains.

“If the youngest Sword Master emerges from this dump, and the surface dwellers hear of it, what then?”

He’d be disposed of.

They'd see his background first, not his talent. The fate of those who fell out of favor with them was well known.

“Witchcraft, black magic, false star worshipers, heretics, Kamran’s cursed bastards. They’d accuse him of such and execute him. Or make sure he never wields a sword again. We’ve seen how they handle things up there.”

Ivan knew this because he was a knight.

Offen knew because he had climbed high in a mercenary group.

Both were well aware of how society operated in the surface world. They had seen firsthand how those who displeased the high and mighty were dealt with.

“Damn frustrating.”

“Yeah. If they execute Najin, they won’t stop at him. You and I will be next.”

Ivan chuckled bitterly as he rolled a cigarette.

Lighting it, he took a deep drag.

“We live by the rules given to us. Reaching for the unreachable only leads to misery.”

“So you’ll just leave him be?”

“Exactly this much is appropriate. Any more and we’ll catch the surface dwellers’ attention.”

“Well, I get your point, but…”

Offen swirled his glass.

“He already knows how to use mana.”

“…”

Ivan froze, mid-drink.

“What did you say?”

“He can use mana.”

“You taught him?”

“No. Never did.”

“Then how?”

Offen shrugged.

“I don’t know. He doesn’t seem to have any mana accumulated, but he uses it. Sometimes he moves rapidly, and I see mana flowing in his body.”

“Does that even make sense?”

“That’s why I’m puzzled. Najin doesn’t seem aware either.”

Najin apparently did not accumulate mana nor learned any mana cultivation techniques. This was a clear fact. Yet, without accumulating mana, he was using it to enhance his body?

‘Does that make any sense?’

Ivan frowned.

‘Then that means...’

Although it defied logic, Ivan knew of one historical figure who made it logical.

“You're thinking the same thing, huh?”

Offen smirked.

Swirling his glass, he laughed. An impossible event made possible by a historical figure, the foundation of all current mana cultivation methods. There was one, but only one, such figure in human history.

The Constellation, Sword of Selection.

Arthur, the great hero who led the era of humanity hundreds of years ago.

Arthur's life story, which defies common sense, is filled with unbelievable tales. Among them, many point out the absurdity in the saga’s prologue about Arthur’s uniqueness.

“Arthur moved rapidly without accumulating mana and even drew out Sword Aura.”

Offen muttered with a grin.

This was in the prologue of Arthur’s saga. A sentence that disregards common knowledge and the foundation of cultivation methods.

「Mana is not to be accumulated.」

「It's about taming the mana flowing through the world.」

That was the only explanation given, too absurd to be considered historical by the empire's records, yet often mentioned in countless fairy tales.

Ivan and Offen both thought of the same thing. The book that Najin always carried must have that story too.

“So.”

Ivan laughed dryly.

“You mean Najin is awakening mana like King Arthur, a star in the night sky? That’s absurd.”

“That’s just a guess. I had no other explanation.”

Ivan fell silent.

Whether Najin was awakening mana like Arthur or using it in some unknown bizarre way, the implication was the same.

Najin was more exceptional than Ivan had anticipated. Trying to hide or delay teaching him was futile.

“Even if we try to hide or delay it, it’s meaningless. He’ll draw Sword Aura soon. He’s already created fragments of it. At most half a year to go.”

“...”

“Then it’ll surely reach the surface. And everything you said will happen.”

They'd try to kill Najin.

They would deal with anyone associated with him. Offen and Ivan would be among the first.

“So, choose.”

Offen set down his glass.

Thud. The sound reverberated in the tavern.

“Kill him now.”

Now, before he becomes too prominent.

While Najin is still killable.

“Or teach him.”

Otherwise, let Najin try.

If he can surpass the Sword Master and reach the next level, even the surface world won’t be able to discard him. A warrior of such caliber cannot be easily dismissed.

In short, it was a gamble.

Faced with these two choices, Ivan quietly drank his liquor.

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