Swordmeister of Rome

"Hey, where are you going?"

Liviath shouted at the man.

"Liviath, did you hear that it's finished?"

"Yeah. It was close," Liviath said in relief. He needed to fully activate the rune, and he barely managed to regain his power in time.

"We are installing it at Kerbal."

"Kerbal? The place at the end of the shortcut?"

"Yeah."

Liviath looked confused.

"Why there? That place is too crowded."

"It's… because people know it as a stronger version of Ra-Shar-Roa. The shortcut has been destroyed, so they are putting it there to use instead."

Liviath then understood what was going on.

"Oh. So it's being put there to connect Kerbal and Margaran?"

"Yeah. It's not something that can be covered up. It's too big, and think about the number of Talic Stones and people needed for the work."

Liviath then became curious.

"I get it. But where are YOU going? You're not needed."

The runes were made by Magic Priests, and they had no part in it. Only Liviath was needed to provide the required energy.

"I want to test it out. I need to know if it works so I can decide to use it when I need it."

"Okay?"

"You'll know later."

Liviath still couldn't understand, but he turned away. The man wasn't one to do something without reason.

After they were done strolling through the Black Market, Sian was back on a Kerbal road. After looking into various places, Sian was surprised that Kerbal was calm and peaceful. It had been enough time for Kerbal to hear about what had happened to Margaran, but it seemed like it did not bother them that much. However, Sian soon found out the reason.

"The Magic Council… they're amazing."

"What about them?"

"You know, Lagaopora was destroyed."

"Right."

"So, they are installing a teleportation rune between here and Margaran."

"Huh?"

Stiel became confused. She was once the ruler of a Kingdom and had interest in Exar, so she knew her way around it. A Ra-Shar-Roa was already impossible technology that was only made possible by digging up ancient texts and documents. Yet it did not allow a large number of transportations made at the ports of each city. The sheer cost of Talic Stones would prove to be disastrous.

Stiel thought there was something else going on and began to listen. She needed to look into it.

-Ropel, a small fishing village on the northeastern coast of Broshan-

Kirat was walking along the coast of Ropel. A status window was alerting her constantly.

[Quest: Important Acquaintance]

-Stay at Ropel, a small fishing village north of Margaran

-Reward : 0 Exp, friendship with <???>

Kirat had never received such a quest. It seemed like there was nothing to be earned from such a quest; however, she followed it anyway. The status window never lied to her, and it didn't seem dangerous.

Kirat was frustrated. That was why she was walking along the beach to calm herself down.

'Can I kill him…?'

She first thought she would be able to kill him if she was prepared, that was not the case. She ran to Margaran once her <Party> showed that it was dangerous and she positioned herself on higher ground where the evacuees and watched what Sian did.

He was fishing up an island. It wasn't like he beat up the monster. He was just pulling the Six-Horned monster by using pure force. He didn't look all that tired either.

That was when she realized that she needed to find another way.

"Whew…"

She sighed as a voice came from behind, "Oh, you were here. But how did you know to wait here?"

"Huh?"

Kirat turned around quickly. She had all sorts of detection and sensing skills invested to ensure her survival. However, she did not realize that someone had crept up next to her.

A brown-haired man was grinning at her.

"Say… girl. You have the crown, right?"

"…"

Kirat became tense as soon as she heard it.

"It's okay, don't be afraid. I made it, so I know where it's at. I just followed the signal."

Kirat quietly activated her skill.

[Activating <Eye of Gran-Ra>]

A more powerful skill than the <Eye of Avant Garde>, it allowed Kirat to view more details on the target. After looking through the status window, Kirat couldn't believe what she saw.

"You…"

"Huh? Girl, what did you just do?"

The man looked surprised, but he still grinned. He then realized something and spoke, "Oh! I wondered how you found the crown and waited for me here… you're connected to <Aksarai>?"

"!!!"

Kirat was shocked.

"Haha, don't be so surprised. I just have all sorts of experiences. I saw it once before, so that's why I know. But this changes my plans."

The man began thinking. He was just going to take the crown at first, but he now wanted the girl. The Connector of Aksarai wasn't common. He only encountered it once throughout his long life. She would surely be a great help. He then decided to take her with him.

"Hey, you want to go with me?"

"What?"

Kirat was baffled by the unexpected offer.

"I'm not forcing you. My motto is to <Never force anyone>, okay?"

"…"

"If you're unconvinced… look at whatever that you're looking at. You should see it since you're the Connector of <Aksarai> right? The offer is good too."

Kirat looked into the quest window that popped up and all of the other connected quests. After looking into it, she realized that she now had a chance.

"Okay. I will go with you."

"You will have good compensation… good pay… and… huh? You've already decided? I'm not done yet."

"I'll listen to it later."

"Haha, okay. But we have a training period. You need to do some work for me first. Let's go."

The man smiled. Kirat also smiled, satisfied that she now had a way to get her revenge.