Chapter 30
“You’re bringing that with you?”
The viscount eyed my chest. Nestled there was the blood wolf pup. I’d used a large cloth to strap it securely to my torso, and the little beast was snoring loudly, fast asleep.
It had expended a great deal of energy recovering from its wounds.
“This fellow has a keen nose. It’ll be useful.”
Zylson looked unconvinced, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the pup.
‘He’s jealous, all right.’
He reached out, thinking he’d found his chance while the pup was asleep. But the little beast did, in fact, have a sharp nose.
Grrrrr.
“It’s the scent, most likely. Blood wolves have sensitive noses—they hate the smell of perfume.”
“Hmph! I see. Hmph! Hmph!”
Looking disappointed, the viscount rubbed his forearm against his coat.
The pup slept soundly even as we galloped on horseback.
But the moment we arrived at the battlefield, it opened its eyes.
I set it down gently as it began to squirm, and with its nose to the ground, the pup began its search in earnest.
Awwooooo!
It let out a howl startlingly similar to a full-grown wolf’s and darted into the forest.
The knights and I dismounted and gave chase.
“Stay here, my lord.”
Two knights and ten soldiers remained to guard the viscount.
Truth be told, there was no need for him to come this far. In the past, he would’ve sent Ambrod, but ever since that man was crippled, the viscount had begun handling important matters personally. He was doing his best, in his own way.
Yip! woof!
The pup barked with its head tilted back like a seal. And from the dense thicket above, something fell like a spiky chestnut.
A shadowy figure landed squarely on a knight’s shoulder.
‘A goblin!’
“Gah!”
The knight stumbled back, clutching his neck. Another knight beside him swung his longsword, but the goblin jumped away on all fours, vanishing into the woods.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
The goblin moved noisily through the foliage. The sound of it flitting about came from above us.
I called out to the wounded knight.
“Circulate your aura immediately! That dagger’s coated in poison!”
The knight collapsed to the ground and began aura circulation, while his comrade stood by his side.
Three knights and ten soldiers from Zylson had come with me.
But that one ambush had shaken the soldiers. Even a knight had been wounded, and none of them could track the goblin’s movement.
“Do not fear. There’s only one.”
One of the knights tried to encourage the soldiers, but his unsteady gaze betrayed his own unease.
“He’s coming!”
This time, I shouted.
A knight responded instinctively, slashing with his longsword.
The aura-infused sword shone with a clear light as it carved through the air.
Claaang!
The goblin met the sword in midair.
‘The Viscount's knights are on another level, after all.’
Overpowered, the goblin crashed to the ground. The soldiers lunged with their swords.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The goblin was quick. It rolled across the ground, dodging every thrust with uncanny agility, and vanished once again into the underbrush.
Woof! Woof!
The pup barked again, tracking the goblin’s path. It couldn’t fight the creature, but it was more than capable of tracing its movements.
‘Its pattern is simple.’
I had some familiarity with assassin techniques—stealth and deadly precision.
Compared to those, the goblin’s movements were incredibly simple. It seemed to rely on sheer agility to execute its assassination tactics instinctively.
‘It hides its presence… dashes in quickly… and aims for a vital spot with a poison-coated dagger.’
Claang!
This time, I struck the goblin.
I didn’t just block—it was a counter. I launched forward, slashing at its chest.
Sssk!
The blow was shallow, but even that was enough to make the goblin cry out in pain.
Keeek!
“The analysis is complete.”
The goblin hesitated, then tried to dart into the brush again—but I’d already anticipated it.
With that last blow, I’d driven the goblin toward the soldiers. The creature turned and saw their swords waiting, and panicked, leaping high into the air.
At that moment, the knight aimed for the goblin’s head.
Swoooosh!
His sword sliced through the air. The goblin, as if having decided on an escape route, charged toward the group of soldiers.
It must have realized that their defenses were the weakest.
[Sardia Maneuvering Footwork.]
The goblin’s escape route was well within my expectations. I activated my footwork technique and rushed behind the soldiers, positioning myself to intercept the goblin as it barreled through them.
Squelch!
The goblin’s chest split open once again. This time, the wound was fairly deep. But it seemed the creature had no intention of going down quietly—it puffed up its cheeks with air.
There was a short tube clamped between the goblin’s lips—it looked like it was about to fire a poisoned dart.
The dart barely grazed my earlobe.
When its final attack failed, roughly thirty percent of the light faded from the goblin’s eyes.
“Inferno.”
Swoooosh!
Inferno scorched the goblin’s chest. I had meant only to cauterize the wound—just enough to keep it alive.
I planned to dissect the goblin while it was still breathing. That way, I might be able to understand the effects of that mark more clearly.
“Tch. Couldn't hold out, huh?”
Unfortunately, the goblin’s life was extinguished. The sword wound had been deep, and the flames of Inferno finished the job.
Though the dart had only grazed me, I sat down heavily and began refining my aura. Part of me was concerned that the goblin’s life energy might dissipate into the air. There was no way to confirm it without a control sample, but the possibility couldn’t be ignored.
‘This is… the goblin’s memory.’
It was a strange phenomenon.
How could refining aura cause the memories of another to seep in? Was I truly converting the magic power of the atmosphere into aura?
I’d never heard of a theory where memories were embedded in magic power.
‘My body feels lighter.’
The marked goblin had granted me magical energy rivaling that of a whole pack of monsters. On top of that, I’d absorbed part of its abilities through that energy.
‘Am I getting familiar with dagger techniques? I’ll have to test it later.’
Right now, I felt like I could wield a dagger with ease. Louis de Hebron had never formally trained in dagger combat. He had become skilled with a sword, so he would’ve quickly picked up dagger techniques—but my senses told me I no longer needed that training period.
This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. When I previously hunted the orc and refined my aura, I awakened a regenerative ability. Thanks to that, I had become something of a troll in human form—minor wounds healed in moments.
“You’ve come to your senses?”
Viscount Zylson approached with his soldiers. He examined the goblin corpse sprawled across the ground but didn’t seem to find anything unusual.
Of course he wouldn’t. Corpse analysis was the realm of mages, not knights. Perhaps thinking the same, the viscount ordered the body wrapped in leather and loaded onto a horse.
“I didn’t lose consciousness. I was just refining my aura.”
“Refining aura in a place like this... I can’t tell if you’re brave or just a fool.”
It was well known that refining aura improperly could ruin a knight. Especially if one were interrupted mid-process—it was said they could be crippled for life.
‘That’s a rumor— 30% truth, 70% exaggeration.’
A poorly executed technique could endanger a knight, yes, but extreme cases were rare.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Now tell me—did someone teach this creature assassination techniques?”
“I can’t say for sure, but there are a few things we can verify. May I dissect the body a bit?”
The viscount gestured to a knight, and the charred goblin corpse was placed at my feet.
As I split open the goblin’s chest further, I spoke.
“Here, near the kidney—you’ll see a black pouch. This pouch typically shrinks and vanishes by the age of four, but this one’s still partially intact.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means this one is likely no older than three years. Goblins become dangerous predators after just a year, but it takes about two years before they’re smart enough to understand spoken commands. Even if it were a high-learning variant, it shouldn’t be able to master assassination in just one year.”
“You’re just talking nonsense.”
A century ago, a mage had studied the physical changes in goblins. He dissected not just goblins but all sorts of monsters. His book, <The Great Monster Compendium>, laid the foundation for the field of ‘Monsterology’.
“This goblin seems to have awakened its assassination skills all at once.”
“Awakened?”
“Likely connected to the mark on its forehead.”
While refining my aura, I’d caught glimpses of the goblin’s memories. From those, I estimated it had only lived for three, maybe four years.
The mark was a symbol of the Trickster. As befitting a power born of a god of chaos, the abilities granted by each mark varied wildly. Perhaps even the Trickster himself couldn’t fully control the powers he bestowed.
“Huh… So creatures like this might keep appearing? And why the hell are two of these freaks showing up in my territory?”
I shrugged.
Even if I did uncover the secret, there was no reason to share it with Viscount Zylson.
‘The royal court must be moving too. The top mages and scholars of the Xenon Kingdom will jump on this. Sooner or later, they’ll learn about the Trickster. I just have to stay one step ahead of them.’
“I don’t know either. We’ll have to find out gradually.”
“Would you be willing to look into it? Didn’t you say there’s something out there with enough brute strength to tear apart a Blood Wolf and an Orc with its claws?”
It was an absurd request. Viscount Zylson was treating me like one of his knights—but I had no affiliation with him whatsoever.
Just because my title was lower than his didn’t mean I owed him obedience.
“I have my hands full managing my own territory…”
“I’m not asking you to take on all my responsibilities. It just seems to me that you’re particularly good at tracking these things. I’d like you to assist Zylson’s tracking unit. You’ll be well compensated, of course.”
He worded it diplomatically, but the meaning was clear, he wanted to use me.
“May I choose the members of the tracking team myself?”
Zylson beamed.
He was delighted to have dumped a troublesome task onto someone else.
“I’ll delegate full authority to you.”
“I’ll start by scouting the forest bordering Hebron.”
Securing the area was essential for the merchant carriages traveling between Hebron and Zylson. If marked goblins started attacking and killing traders, the commercial revival Hebron had barely achieved would be crushed.
“How many of your men will I be able to command?”
“You can take up to a hundred soldiers. As for knights… that’s a bit difficult. I can spare you two of my personal ones.”
That was fewer than I expected.
Viscount Zylson looked uncomfortable. There was a reason he couldn’t deal with the monsters himself and was passing the responsibility to me.
Recently, things have been tense with House Slein.
The Viscount of Slein had begun recruiting mercenaries and conscripting his people to expand his military force. Without a war against another nation on the horizon, increasing military power without cause was considered foolish—after all, armies consumed vast sums of money.
House Slein was preparing for a civil war with House Zylson.
