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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Arrival
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Please treat me well.
"Aaaargh!"
Arsen sprinted through the forest, letting out a guttural scream.
He hadn't followed any path, just ran blindly, so thorns scratched him and sharp leaves sliced his face and exposed limbs, but he didn't care one bit.
Three Sheep Horn Wolves were chasing after him, growling from behind.
The moment they caught him, their fangs would tear his body to shreds.
'I'm dead!'
Excited by the smell of blood, the pack showed no signs of tiring despite the long chase, maintaining their speed.
Fortunately, Arsen was just a tad faster, keeping some distance, but it wasn't an overwhelming gap that would let him escape completely.
And since he kept giving off the smell of blood, shaking them off was impossible from the start.
He was still holding on to his stamina for now, but he had no idea how much longer he could keep running.
Whether it was thanks to his mana or some superhuman burst in the face of crisis, he could sprint full-tilt far longer than an ordinary person, but his breath was rising to the brink of his lungs—he was nearing his limit.
At least within a minute, his stamina would give out, and he'd have to stop.
As Arsen ran frantically, a blue wave unfolded before him.
It was the Tiren River, one he'd only heard about in stories.
The width was easily over ten meters at a glance, and the current was so swift he couldn't even dream of swimming across.
'Damn it! Of all times!'
Arsen immediately veered right, running along the riverbank.
But he felt his legs slowing, as if weighted with sandbags.
The Sheep Horn Wolves' panting grew closer, almost upon him.
Suddenly, water exploded from the river, and something burst out.
Shaaaa!
With a noise like a snake's hiss amplified several times over, a Legged Whale leaped from the river and snatched one of the Sheep Horn Wolves chasing Arsen.
It was truly the only way to describe the creature—a whale with legs.
The Legged Whale had its massive jaws clamped around the middle wolf, using its front legs to pin down one each of the others.
Its strength was so immense that the bitten one and the pinned ones didn't even twitch, as if dead or unconscious.
"...Ah."
Arsen, locking eyes with the Legged Whale's dark blue pupils, let out an involuntary gasp.
They stared at each other for a few seconds, then the creature turned away as if losing interest and silently slipped back into the river.
Taking the three Sheep Horn Wolves with it.
"I'm alive..."
His legs finally gave out, and Arsen collapsed, crawling on his knees away from the riverbank.
Even if that Legged Whale was too full to attack, he had no desire to linger where its kin or similar predators might lurk.
Leaning against a tree for a moment to rest, he pondered whether to thank the Legged Whale that had dealt with the wolves or Rha, who might have sent it.
Once his breathing steadied and strength returned to his legs, he brushed off his rear and stood.
First, he needed to figure out where he was.
'Should I find the road west?'
He'd originally trusted the info that heading straight west from the fortress would lead here, but after fleeing wildly from the Sheep Horn Wolves, that was useless now.
He couldn't even tell if his current position was north or south of the intended route—what was he supposed to do?
After some thought, Arsen decided on the river as his new guide.
Follow it upstream, and he'd hit a city eventually.
'My goal was the estate anyway.'
Arsen sat by a stream branching from the river and washed his entire body.
The scratches from leaves and thorns stung, but it beat attracting magic beasts with the bloody stench.
Fortunately, his wound recovery had improved too—the shallow cuts and scrapes were mostly healed, and his badly bitten left arm, while not fully mended, had stopped bleeding and formed a thin scab.
"This is practically no-scar territory."
Strength boosted, speed up, stamina improved, poison resistance enhanced, and now light regeneration— wasn't this ability way too overpowered?
No wonder the fortress folk had been so desperate to become knights.
Only after gaining mana did Arsen realize Lenoc Knight probably wasn't the pushover his father had thought.
He'd dismissed him as a boozing old wanderer, but the man had honed his mana and combat skills for far longer.
Plus, the feral magic beasts he'd encountered outside were the types Lenoc Knight hunted regularly.
The last Legged Whale was another story, though.
That made it all the more baffling what had happened to Lenoc Knight and his sons.
Did they run into a strong magic beast while hunting and die? Or clash with raiders on the way back? Or maybe they weren't dead, just pushed back in a fight and couldn't return?
Truth be told, while preparing to leave the fortress, Arsen had half-hoped Lenoc Knight would return.
Not out of any fatherly sentiment—he'd ignored the man anyway—but for purely pragmatic reasons.
If Lenoc Knight had come back, Arsen could've become his most promising heir instead of just another bastard scattered around.
He might've even yanked out every tooth from Philus, who treated him like vermin.
He could've learned to properly wield this mana power and master combat techniques.
But waiting in an empty, dangerous fortress for an uncertain return was too risky.
'Alright, let's get going.'
Arsen kept about twenty meters from the river and began the journey, not knowing how many days it would take.
"We've arrived..."
Four days later, Arsen finally laid eyes on this world's "estate" for the first time in his life.
The land inside its borders was vastly larger than the fortress—brown soil stretched beyond the horizon.
Green wheat fields not yet ripe, corn, and various other crops were being cultivated.
From this hilltop view, it felt like a completely different world from the fortress where he'd grown up.
It looked nothing but a pastoral, peaceful rural farm.
The estate lord's castle in the distance was on another level entirely. It could probably house thousands, maybe tens of thousands?
'The veggies we bought at the fortress come from places like this.'
Descending the hill, with the border right ahead, a horn blared from afar.
Turning, he saw two soldiers on lizard-like mounts walking on two legs, armed with spears, charging toward him.
Their speed was impressive—about the same as Arsen's full sprint.
In other words, Sheep Horn Wolf pace.
"Halt! What the hell are you, you bastard?"
"Move a muscle, and we'll poke holes in you, you little vagrant punk!"
As the soldiers stopped on either side of Arsen and leveled their spears, he calmly placed a hand on his sword hilt and took a step back.
He'd already planned how to handle meeting soldiers.
If he weren't a knight, he wouldn't claim an unprovable noble status, but since he could prove it, there was no reason to bend without using his abilities and rank.
Mimicking Lenoc Knight's overbearing demeanor toward his retainers as best he could, he barked:
"I am Arsen, son of Lenoc. My father is Lenoc Knight, Castle Lord of the eastern Crata Fortress, and though I lack formal investiture, I am a knight. Show some respect."
"...A knight?"
The soldiers' faces twisted in confusion, then they scanned Arsen up and down.
After four days without a proper wash or change of clothes, plus repeated fights and flights, he looked like a beggar, but his confident bearing made snap judgments hard.
On closer look, his clothes were high-quality from top to boots, just ragged from wear.
Not like commoner garb.
The older soldier, seemingly the senior, asked with an ambiguous expression.
"Uh... so, can you prove it?"
Arsen smirked inwardly at the half-deferential, half-casual tone.
"See for yourself."
Arsen stepped to a nearby tree about a handspan thick and punched it with all his might.
Unfortunately, he lacked just a bit of power to shatter it in one blow, but after four or five hits, the thing—which could've passed for a log if thicker—cracked and snapped off with a crunch.
Staring at the wide-eyed guards, stunned by a small child's strength, Arsen lifted the broken tree.
A feat impossible without being a knight.
The soldiers quickly dismounted. Even if he was young, they lacked the guts to chat with a knight while mounted.
"Is this proof enough?"
"Of course! Uh... your name is...?"
"Arsen. Arsen, son of Lenoc."
Seeing the soldier fully subservient now, Arsen tossed the wood aside.
He couldn't show weakness by dropping it earlier, but carrying it while exhausted was burdensome.
He'd worried a large estate might have so many knights that the title lost prestige, but thankfully, it worked as hoped.
After all, Lenoc Knight, the fortress's sole knight, had lorded over people like a living god—this level of treatment was fitting.
"Shall we call you Sir Arsen?"
"I haven't been invested... whatever. I'm here to visit the estate. Can you summon someone with authority to permit entry?"
"Please wait a moment. Panto! Go tell the Administrator right now! Say a young knight has arrived!"
"Got it, squad leader!"
Watching the subordinate speed toward the estate lord's castle, the older soldier bowed with a slightly servile smile.
"We sincerely apologize for the earlier rudeness. Our job makes us a bit touchy sometimes. That just now..."
"Calling me a vagrant punk and insulting me?"
His flustered expression screamed 'But that wasn't me!', but the soldier held his tongue.
True to his age and experience, he'd instantly shown respect upon learning Arsen was a knight—quick on the uptake.
"Forget it. I'm in rough shape right now, so no helping it. Just put in a good word with that Administrator. Good for both sides, right?"
"Of course! You're not just strong for your age, Sir Knight, but wise too!"
Arsen snorted at the blatant flattery, crossing his arms and silently gazing at the estate lord's castle.
Understanding the gesture meant no more talk, the older soldier shut up and bowed his head.
Moments later, the departed soldier returned with several more mounts.
Most riders looked like soldiers, but two stood out: a pot-bellied middle-aged man and a giant in full plate armor.
Even accounting for the mount, the giant seemed over two meters tall.
Feeling an odd pressure from him, Arsen instinctively knew he was a knight.
He'd sensed nothing from Lenoc Knight before, so probably only knights could detect each other.
The middle-aged man dismounted and greeted politely.
"I'm Lude, Second Administrator of Beluan Estate! Where is the knight... sir?"
Seeing only the older soldier and Arsen, the administrator looked puzzled.
Arsen switched to a maximally polite tone.
"Pleased to meet you, Administrator Lude. I'm Arsen, son of Lenoc. I am the knight you're looking for."
From the administrator's expression, Arsen could practically read: 'What nonsense is this?'