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Chapter 10
Will the ancestor’s spirit still remain even if the remains are relocated?
This question crossed my mind, so I asked the ancestor if something like this had ever happened before.
— Before I fell into deep sleep again, I moved around countless times. Hmm… even back then, my mind stayed intact.
I felt reassured by those words and decided to go ahead with moving the grave.
Since I can see spirits, it would be a serious problem if the remains were damaged.
With all contact lost with the grave robbers, there was no way of knowing how the black mages might act.
Before anything happened, I had to relocate all the remains and take my own safety measures.
“Hmmm…”
It was a dark and dusky night.
Just before dawn.
This dense forest, where even moonlight can barely reach, hid the sky completely.
The tall trees soared so high and stood so close together that anyone new to this place could easily get lost.
I touched the soil and rubbed it between my fingers.
Its texture, scent, and moisture level were most similar to the one where Decaine is located.
Most importantly, it was close to Decaine, but also difficult to find—ideal for my purposes.
Behind Decaine is a tall cliff.
A hidden cave lies there, and if you walk through it, you end up here.
Others probably wouldn’t even think to come to this place.
In an emergency, I could even swap things quickly—not a bad plan.
“Good. Good.”
I stroked my chin with a satisfied expression and nodded.
Since Raymond was around, we could take turns managing this place, and once it didn’t need guarding anymore, we wouldn't have to stay at the grave all day.
Though this moving job would require a great deal of effort.
When I returned to Decaine, Raymond was sweating heavily as he dug the ground.
To a bystander, he’d look like a grave robber sneaking around at night.
“You’re here, sir?”
“You’re doing well.”
“Yeah, but there’s just too many. Please lend a hand.”
“Alright.”
Raymond and I worked through the night.
Digging up graves, moving coffins, digging again, placing them, covering them back up…
Repeating that over and over again raised my strength and stamina by 0.1.
“Whew…!”
Every ounce of energy drained from my body.
Raymond and I collapsed onto the roughly made new grave site.
“Do you think someone might come?”
“Even if they do, they’ll just pass by not knowing what it is.”
We buried the remains near each tree.
Since we weren’t planning to leave them here for long, we didn’t worry about tree roots.
We carved markings into the trees that only we could recognize, so there was little chance of discovery.
“Is the sacred soil okay?”
“Well, I covered the top with it, so no one will know.”
Decaine used sacred soil that continuously absorbed divine energy to nourish and protect the remains of heroes.
So I moved all that soil here and only covered the surface in Decaine with the sacred soil.
“This place probably doesn’t get much rain, so it should be fine…”
Still, if we were going to use this place as a grave for a while, we’d need to set up irrigation, remove weeds, and do other maintenance.
“So we don’t need to guard this place anymore?”
“Yeah. Should’ve done this from the start.”
I hadn’t been home properly in over a month, and both my mother and Resia had started getting suspicious.
Now, I could finally go home and rest a bit.
Ren Arzen
-Trait: Grave Eyes
-Skills: Necromancy, Beginner-level Hevenberg Swordsmanship
-Strength: 7.3
-Agility: 7.3
-Stamina: 8.0
-Sense: 6.7
-Vital Energy: 0.4
-Spiritual Power: 1.8
“Hooh…”
I looked at my updated stats for the first time in a while.
With this level, my physical ability was on par with most junior knights.
“First, let’s rest.”
My body was completely worn out.
* * *
Ten days finally passed.
Contrary to Raymond’s concerns, Decaine remained peaceful, and people were surprisingly uninterested in it.
“Whew! I’ve completely recovered, really!”
Raymond proudly rotated his shoulder to show how well he’d healed.
“Of course. Who do you think treated you?”
Francis said with a smug expression.
Well, that made sense.
She used divine power.
Under normal circumstances, his injury would’ve required three months of rest, but he recovered in less than a month—that kind of healing wasn’t possible with ordinary methods.
She probably dragged it out for almost two weeks just to conceal her abilities, but even that was an impressively short time.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it. I just did my job.”
‘Not like she really tried her best…’
Her treatment was simple.
She gave some herbs she claimed to have made herself and told him to take them and he’d get better.
That was it.
She couldn’t even properly make medicine.
What really happened was that she infused those roughly-made herbs with divine energy to boost his recovery.
It didn’t seem like much, but infusing divine power into external materials is an incredibly advanced technique.
I didn’t expect Francis to already be this skilled with divine power at this stage.
If I had fought her when we first met, I probably would’ve lost.
Because of that bizarre divine power, even a critical hit wouldn’t do much—she’d just recover quickly.
“We’re leaving today, right?”
“Yeah, we hired five more mercenaries from the village. You probably won’t have to do much.”
Francis’s request was to hunt down goblins that had started troubling the village a few months ago.
Apparently, a cave was discovered far from the village where the goblins were hiding out.
The problem was, those goblins gradually expanded their territory, and eventually started showing up near the village and harassing the locals.
So the village pooled their money to hire mercenaries, and that just so happened to be when we got involved.
Francis probably thought that since we were once sword-wielders, we’d be of some help if we lent a hand.
Francis herself could probably take care of the goblins easily, but she likely wasn’t used to this kind of battle yet.
Plus, she had to keep her powers hidden.
“So we just have to make up the numbers and tag along, huh?”
“What? After all the healing I gave you, that’s what you’re thinking?”
Her fierce gaze pierced through me.
One wrong word and I might get beaten to death by Francis before the goblins get a chance.
“Just kidding. We’ll do our best.”
I hurriedly corrected myself.
She’s always sensitive when it comes to getting her due—better be careful not to upset her.
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At least until I get stronger.
“Right?”
“Of course.”
“If I hear from the mercs that you two didn’t do anything, I’m not letting it slide.”
“Don’t worry! I always repay my debts!”
Raymond said, eyes burning with resolve.
“Uh… okay.”
She looked away, seemingly uncomfortable with his intense gaze.
“We’re heading out first thing tomorrow. Be ready.”
“We’ll earn our keep.”
“Absolutely! I’ll wipe out every last goblin!”
Raymond and I returned to the town and got ready to face the goblins.
The next morning, we headed to Francis’s house.
When we got to the village, the mercenaries were huddled together, chatting.
I approached them and greeted them.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Ren.”
Francis had asked me to keep the name Arzen hidden, so I just gave my first name.
“I’m Baskit.”
I shook hands with the one who seemed to be the leader of the group.
He had a calm expression and an air of ease, giving off a seasoned vibe.
Must’ve been a mercenary for a long time.
I immediately pulled up his status window to check his stats.
[Baskit]
-Skill: Loran Swordsmanship
-Strength: 8.3
-Agility: 8.1
-Endurance: 10.1
-Sense: 7.2
-Energy: 1.3
Ohhh…
His stats are better than I expected.
He’s even more capable than Raymond.
Considering he's a mercenary, his ease makes sense.
Most mercenaries aren’t this skilled.
But what’s suspicious is why someone of this level is bothering with a small village’s goblin cleanup…
“I’m Aisha.”
“I’m Geron.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Shane.”
“I’m Lynn!”
The remaining four mercenaries introduced themselves to us.
“I’m Raymond. Pleased to meet you.”
Raymond greeted them politely and respectfully, unlike his usual self.
I checked their stats too—each of them had average mercenary-level numbers.
Nothing exceptional, but not terrible either.
“We’ll take care of the goblins. You two just follow along.”
Baskit said with a grin.
“Ah, sure.”
I clicked my tongue inwardly and nodded.
“Villagers, please stay here.”
Baskit reassured the townsfolk with a dependable presence.
He seemed okay on the surface, but something didn’t sit right with me.
They’re not wary of us at all.
Mercenaries usually maintain some level of caution around new companions.
Is it confidence in their abilities?
Or…
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Raymond and I followed the mercenaries at a slow pace.
“Uh… Sir?”
“What is it?”
Raymond whispered in my ear from behind.
“I don’t like the look in their eyes. They’re up to something.”
“Yeah, I kinda feel the same way.”
I agreed, and Raymond eagerly continued.
“See! I knew it! They don’t even know who you are, and they dare—”
“Keep it down. Don’t go saying weird stuff.”
“You’re the one who—what about the time you used your sword aura against that treasure hunter—”
I quickly covered his mouth and shoved his head away.
If I let him ramble, he’d definitely spill something dangerous.
“We’re here.”
After walking a while, we came upon a small cave.
The entrance was so low we’d have to crouch deeply to get inside.
“Shane and Lynn will take the rear. The three of us will take the front. You two follow in the middle.”
"Understood."
They probably put us in the middle because they don't trust us.
If we're in the center, even if we betray them, they can respond right away.
From my and Raymond's perspective, it wasn't exactly a pleasant arrangement.
If those guys decided to attack us, we'd be fighting surrounded on all sides.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine. Just keep a close watch on our rear."
Trust is crucial when it comes to working with mercenaries.
That's why most people prefer missions commissioned by large mercenary guilds or institutions.
But in a joint operation like this, requested by a small village, there’s almost no information about one another, so that trust is lacking.
Even if the village brought them through a mercenary guild, we came here through Francis.
The only intermediary between our two groups is essentially the village folks.
If one side betrays the other and kills them all, the responsibility won’t fall on the culprits but on the villagers who made the introductions.
Should I have refused when I found out there were other mercenaries involved?
Aside from Beskit, there’s a difference in skill levels, so I figured it would be fine...
But something about this just feels wrong.
I kept my guard up and followed them.
"The path is quite narrow."
"I still don't see any goblins."
After about three minutes of walking, hunched over with our heads and backs lowered, the tunnel widened and opened into a chamber.
It was large enough for goblins to inhabit comfortably.
"Still no sign of goblins here either."
"Why is it so creepy in here? Feels like a ghost might pop out or something."
Aisha rubbed her arms as she spoke.
"This is weird. They should’ve attacked us by now."
"Maybe they’re outside?"
"Could be."
Beskit gestured for us to follow quietly.
I heightened my senses, focusing as sharply as I could.
The people surrounding us also had tension written all over their faces.
But is that tension really because of the goblins?
I wasn’t entirely sure yet.
When I slightly turned my head, I saw Raymond darting his eyes around quickly.
He was clearly just as tense.
The exit was narrow—we wouldn’t be able to get out easily.
In a nearly sealed-off space like this goblin cave, surrounded by people we couldn’t trust, it was impossible not to feel the pressure.
We moved deeper inside.
KIIIIIIIK!!
Startled by our sudden intrusion, the goblins began firing poison darts at us without hesitation.
"Raise your shields! Be careful not to drop the lanterns!"
The mercenaries fended off the goblins' attacks quite skillfully and began counterattacking.
Raymond and I stayed in the middle, swords drawn, dodging poison darts and holding a defensive stance.
There were only three small lanterns lighting the place.
I held one, and the other two were with Lynn and Aisha.
While dodging a dart, my lantern light happened to pass over Beskit.
His gaze briefly flicked to Geron before returning.
What was that?
In the middle of this fight, why bother…?
My unease grew.
In the dim lantern light, I caught a faint, sinister smile on his face.
That glint in his eye—so devious.
No way…
Just as I realized what Beskit was up to—
Geron suddenly shifted his shield to the side without any reason.
With the obstruction gone, I could see a poison dart flying straight toward Raymond.
You bastard…!
Grinding my teeth, I yanked Raymond toward me.
I had warned him repeatedly to be cautious around those guys, but he had trusted Geron’s shield and barely dodged the dart.
It grazed his shoulder.
"Huah!"
Raymond gasped, almost crying out, but I quickly clamped a hand over his mouth.
I frantically scanned the others.
Thankfully, they were still too preoccupied fighting the goblins to notice.
We couldn’t afford to make a scene.
I let go of Raymond and raised a finger to my lips.
Raymond saw it and gave a small nod.
Beskit and Geron finally turned their attention toward us.
For a moment, I saw surprise flash across their faces.
Those bastards... They’d planned to kill us from the start.
If that’s what you were going to do, you should’ve just stabbed Raymond in the back the moment we stepped into the cave.
You're going to regret that miscalculation dearly.
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