đźź Chapter 39 :
"Takeru… Takeru, wake up… Takeru!"
That was the first voice that slipped into my ears after I regained consciousness from clashing with that gang member. I opened my eyes slowly and saw Haizen standing beside me on Ryo's back as Ryo flew us outside the walls of Orivia. I lifted my head a little and saw him turning to face us.
"Ryo… are you okay? Can you see clearly now?" I asked, my voice still heavy with exhaustion.
He blinked twice as if testing his vision and answered, "Yes. My wound's healed."
Haizen said in a low tone, "That's normal. Dragons' healing rates are much faster than humans'."
I noticed then that Haizen's expression was tense. Maybe he was still affected by the defeat against that man. I had been confident in his ability to win, but things had turned completely unexpectedly.
Ryo cut through my thoughts and asked, looking toward the horizon, "Takeru… since you were the last to lose consciousness, tell us what happened with Prince Elithius. Did something happen to him? Did that man do anything to him?"
Words hesitated on my tongue as I summoned the last thing trapped in my memory before I blacked out.
"As far as I remember… the last scene I saw was Prince Elithius. He went with him willingly… he surrendered himself just so that man wouldn't kill me."
I hated saying it, but I owed that prince — and so I can say I got myself into trouble because of my own stupidity and excessive trust. Haizen told me that after he and Ryo woke up they searched the city for Elithius but couldn't find him.
"While you were unconscious, we searched every inch of the city for that prince, but to no avail."
"And since he's not here in this city that means…" I paused a second to arrange my thoughts.
Ryo replied quickly, "Then they must have taken him to the capital, but since that's the case, they won't attack the royal palace."
He was trying to convince himself more than us, yet he stayed stern-faced and added, "We can't trust these people. Even if they took the prince, the attack on the palace is still possible. I'm sorry — the enemy is stronger than I expected. The mistake was mine; I was supposed to protect the prince but I failed. You guys can stop here if you think it's too dangerous"
Stop here?! Fine, we told them we'd retreat if it got dangerous, but we hadn't even started to withdraw yet. Before I could say anything, Haizen jumped in, exploding with obvious irritation:
"Listen, you lizard… that guy broke my sword. Do you know what that means?" He raised a finger like he was lecturing. "It means I won't rest until I turn his face into a masterpiece of scars and then… only then… can we talk about retreating."
Although I'm a coward, withdrawing now was annoying. That spoiled prince had saved me — who knows what that gang member would have done to me — so I sided with Haizen.
"Listen Ryo, we were the ones who wanted to come to this city in the first place, and I owe that annoying prince. So like Haizen said, once we deal with our problems, we can withdraw then"
"Thank you, you guys — I appreciate that from the bottom of my heart."
At that moment I remembered something extremely important… the pistol I'd made. I started patting my clothes anxiously, searching pocket after pocket, but to no avail.
Before I got more worked up, Haizen raised an eyebrow and took something out of his pocket, saying with light sarcasm, "Are you looking for this strange thing?"
I breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes — good that you have it."
Ryo watched the scene with pure curiosity, like a child seeing a new toy for the first time. Then he asked, stretching his neck a little toward the pistol, "By the way, Takeru… what exactly is that thing?"
I answered with a little pride, "It's a pistol. I can shoot bullets at others with it. Actually, I hit that man with it earlier… but it didn't affect him at all. I don't know if his head's made of steel or what exactly."
Ryo's expression didn't change. He kept looking at me with the same questioning gaze as if I hadn't said anything at all.
I sighed. How can I explain a scientific thing to someone who loves breathing fire and flying in the sky?
Then the system voice in my head chimed in like a snarky narrator:
[Or maybe because you're too lazy to explain?]
Maybe both… The important thing was this pistol wasn't like ordinary pistols from the real world. I'd made it using materials from this world — and honestly? The resources here were far better than what we have back there.
Haizen thought for a bit, examining the pistol in his hands, then said, "Maybe that gang member has very high mana control… that's why the bullet didn't affect him."
His words made me stop. Mana control…?
If I thought about it, it brought to mind something else entirely — Flora. That little girl who finished off that lizard in the hunter test in the blink of an eye, while I could barely grasp what was happening around me.
Honestly, I still don't know much about these things. So I decided to ask directly instead of continuing to guess.
"What do you mean when you say his mana control is high?"
He looked at me as if I'd asked the dumbest question in history, then said with clear astonishment, "You don't even know about this? In short — mana allows you to become faster, stronger, and tougher. You can use it to heal yourself too, like that man did earlier. Of course… talking is a lot easier than applying it. I myself still don't control it well."
I shook my head with a light sigh. "I see… annoying. But we have to find a way to deal with him since we're physically limited compared to him."
While I was speaking, an idea struck me and stopped me for a second.
Wait… does that mean Haizen's physical strength I've seen so far is his natural strength only, with almost no mana boosting?!
I pictured the scene in my head… Haizen himself, but with full mana control.
A beast. An official monster.
Then I remembered something else that made me even more curious:
Shadow Style… that's not natural. Its speed clearly increases when he uses it. Is that tied to mana as well, or is it something else?
I looked at him again, this time with eyes more curious than worried. "And your Shadow Style… is that part of mana too? I mean, that speed you gain isn't natural at all."
"Shadow Style?!" Haizen folded his arms. "Well… that's totally different from what we were talking about, but I'll tell you this: I didn't learn Shadow Style — I obtained it. I wouldn't have invented something like that on my own. And after I obtained it, I trained hard until I mastered it. But as I said… it's unrelated to the first matter."
I stared at him for a moment, not understanding half of what he said. Obtained it? How does one 'obtain' Shadow Styles? Do people hand them out for free or what?
It was still completely mysterious to me, and there was no time to delve into its secrets now.
In any case... relying on Haizen alone wasn't enough. I needed to focus on what I could do. With raw materials and Factory Skill at my disposal, and facing an opponent who controlled mana extremely well, I had to come up with something unexpected.
Haizen patted my shoulder with a small smile and said, "Alright Takeru… I think it's time you make my first sword. I helped you develop your skill in the dungeon, now it's your turn to return the favor."
I sighed and waved my hand indifferently, "I know, I know… just give me some time. And by the way, don't think I'm crazy if you hear me talking to myself."
He answered calmly, as if used to it, "No problem. I've seen crazier than you."
Good… as long as he's not bothered, that's a relief.
I raised my head and said, "System, craft the best sword from the materials we gathered for Haizen."
[Crafting a sword for the bald swordsman… please wait.]
We waited with a patience like waiting for a late food delivery. Seconds… or maybe minutes — I'd lost track — passed before the notification finally appeared:
[Sword manufacturing complete.]
The next moment a grayish-blue sword appeared before me, shining clearly in the sunlight. It looked truly magnificent. It was long, with a slightly curved blade roughly eighty centimeters long and a long hilt that allowed a two-handed grip easily.
The blade was frighteningly sharp with a single edge, while its spine was thick and sturdy to give balance and power during strikes. Despite its durability, its weight was almost feather-light… I didn't even have to lift it to know it was made of neralite.
Haizen and Ryo noticed the sword as soon as it appeared; admiration and astonishment showed on their faces. Haizen, in particular, was the most excited; he grabbed the sword from me almost immediately like a child given a new toy.
He ran his fingers along the blade with clear admiration and said, "What an amazing sword… and light, too. Okay, let's do a simple test."
He raised his hand and gently placed the edge of the blade on the tip of his index finger. The instant it touched, a small drop of blood slid off.
Haizen smiled broadly, staring at the blade in awe. "Truly amazing. It's unbelievably sharp."
I breathed a relief inside. Good that he liked it… actually, it's rare I succeed in making something excellent with Factory Skill. I don't know why, but the system seems to only make what I need on the first try when we're in a critical situation or about to die. Annoying… but useful.
After a moment of inspecting and testing the sword, Ryo cut the silence with a determined tone, "Alright you guys… I think it's time to head to the capital. We must retrieve Elithius."
I nodded without hesitation. "Of course. Let's go there". We'll need a few hours to reach the capital Ferenta. A decent amount of time for me to try and invent something useful to help us face that gang. There, in their own den, we'll get the prince back… and I'll repay my debt to that fool who dragged me into this.
Our next journey won't be easy. But that's fine… it's time for the chaos to begin.