Anyone who kills people regularly knows—
Wearing a hood and a mask, walking hurriedly, and constantly glancing around will instantly get you labeled as "suspicious" by passersby. Even carefree elves would grow wary of you.
After being rejected by the fourth party, Jed and Spa had no choice but to remove their hoods and masks, revealing two utterly ordinary faces.
One had brown hair, the other blond—both so unremarkable they could disappear into a crowd without a trace.
Perfect, natural candidates for assassination.
But their profession wasn't that of adventurers. Instead—
"We're traveling adventurers. Mind letting us join your party?" Jed said with a cheerful smile as he approached Melga.
"Looking to tag along? Sure. Sign this first." She handed over a document titled "I Fully Support Miss Wienma's Great Magical Theory."
After signing, he received a brief instruction:
"First time in the dungeon? Take this signal flare. Once you reach Liurnia of the Lake, you'll be randomly teleported. Fire it, and I'll come find you."
Then she walked off, muttering, "Why do I have to personally deal with this newbie babysitting nonsense…" while dragging others away to sign the support list, leaving Jed and Spa behind.
"These adventurers are really helpful—what a lifesaver," Jed said with a smile, waving the signal flare. "All we had to do was sign something, and they're helping us? I've never had a deal this cheap. They're really kind."
"That kind of mindset will get you killed on a battlefield," Spa replied flatly. "If you're going to test it, do it quickly. The Sword Saint could leave at any moment—we don't have time to waste."
"Relax, I know what I'm doing. Besides, this is the dungeon that killed Captain Gelka. Aren't you curious why? Don't you want to see that dragon and armor from the footage?"
"Not at all. I just want to complete the mission."
That's right—their true identities were mercenaries. Mercenaries of the Light Eagle Corps.
Their mission involved the Sword Saint—but not to fight him. They were simply transporting an item.
Jed rolled up his sleeve, revealing a glowing armband. A gem embedded within it shimmered with intricate patterns—clearly no ordinary object.
He gently stroked it, his face filled with reluctance.
"A divine artifact once wielded by a hero who defeated the Demon King… Even degraded by time, it still surpasses anything forged by craftsmen. What a waste to hand it over…"
Spa glanced at him, about to speak, when Melga returned with a group.
"Alright, we've got enough people. Let's move."
Melga's service was to help newcomers quickly reach the academy's front town, so they took the magic classroom route. Including Jed and Spa, there were ten people in total.
The only real difficulty on this route was finding the teleport credential and dealing with the guarding Carian Knight.
The credential wasn't an issue—Melga quickly found the hidden door. Along the way, they only encountered two waves of puppet soldiers, and before the newcomers could even react, she had already wiped them out.
Jed rated her skills as decent—but puppet soldiers were too weak. Slow-moving wooden dolls posed no real threat.
Of course, he hadn't seen them go berserk. Melga had simply killed them too quickly.
Then they reached the sealed gate guarded by the Carian Knight, Moongrum—and Melga did something that stunned everyone.
"You—go over there and let him kill you," she said casually, pushing a random newcomer forward. Her tone was so natural it was obvious this wasn't her first time doing it.
What kind of insane request was that!?
Jed and Spa exchanged glances, suddenly reconsidering their earlier judgment of her as "kind."
Calmly sending someone to their death—what nerve.
"W-Why me!?" the unlucky adventurer cried out.
"Because I can't beat him. After he kills one person, he'll leave and be replaced by a weaker Carian Knight. That's how I get you all inside. Got it?" She patted his shoulder. "You'll be compensated—gold or a private lesson from Miss Wienma. Your choice."
The adventurer hesitated.
Jed, on the other hand, was eager to step forward—but Spa grabbed him.
"You want to expose the weapon's power in front of all these people?" Spa asked coldly.
That was exactly what Jed wanted—but before he could act, the adventurer had already stepped forward and was instantly executed by Moongrum.
"Tch."
Jed clicked his tongue in disappointment. He had a feeling Moongrum was incredibly strong—the perfect opponent to test the weapon—but the opportunity was gone.
Then came Melga's solo fight with the knight. She set traps, applied fire grease, drank two combat potions, and fought fiercely right in front of everyone.
And then—
"So… why are we the only two left alive?"
Jed stared at the dissolving corpses of the other adventurers, then at the approaching Carian Knight, and finally back at Spa.
Spa's lips twitched. "How should I know? Didn't you want to test it? Here's your chance."
They had assumed Melga would win easily—but instead, she died, along with all the newcomers.
As the saying goes—never judge an elf by appearances. The more reliable they look, the less reliable they are.
"Well, I'm going in."
Jed shrugged and stepped forward. The Carian Knight raised his staff, firing glintstone projectiles.
A breeze swept through the courtyard, stirring fallen leaves.
Then suddenly—the knight realized—
Jed had vanished.
"I'm here. Look this way," Jed's voice came from behind.
"…"
The knight cast a glintblade phalanx, spun around, and unleashed rapid magic—
"Missed again," Jed's voice echoed from behind.
No matter how many times the knight turned, he couldn't find him. Jed seemed fixed behind him—completely untouchable.
"Spa, you see this? This is incredible! Hahaha!"
Jed vanished again—and this time, the knight suddenly doubled over, as if struck by an invisible force.
"I can tell he's strong—but he just can't hit me! This is the power of the weapon!"
"You'd better not get careless."
Spa watched, equally astonished.
The weapon, Windwalker, had once been a divine artifact wielded by a hero known as "Hurricane." It commanded the power of wind—said to summon storms across the continent and even allow its wielder to merge with the wind itself.
That hero had defeated the Demon King without suffering a single injury.
Every Hero and Demon King could awaken a unique divine artifact. Each one possessed unparalleled power.
Normally, only the original owner could use it. Anyone else attempting to do so would suffer divine punishment.
But there was a loophole.
After the owner dies, the artifact doesn't vanish—it slowly degrades into what is known as a weapon relic.
These relics retain less than one percent of their original power and can only be used by someone chosen. If not chosen, one must offer sacrifices to awaken and charge it.
The sacrifice?
The complete skeleton and life of someone with a compatible unique talent.
Each sacrifice could power the relic for at least two years.
The cost was steep—but worth it. Weapon relics surpassed all conventional equipment—far stronger than any enchanted item.
And unique talents weren't always useful anyway—many were useless or even harmful.
No one knew how the Light Eagle Corps had obtained this relic—or how many they possessed.
Countless Heroes and Demon Kings had vanished from history. There could be hundreds of such artifacts.
The current Windwalker could no longer summon continent-wide storms, but it retained the ability to transform its user into wind for short periods.
Even with its limitations—it was still incredibly powerful.
The Carian Knight, now covered in wounds and unable to touch Jed, was proof of that.
Jed's method was simple—transform into wind, pass straight through the knight, and deal devastating impact damage.
Don't underestimate it. Each impact was as powerful as a dragon's charge.
"This? I need to be careful? He can't even hit me!" Jed laughed.
Spa remained silent, but still reminded him:
"Finish it quickly. They'll be back soon."
"Yeah, yeah."
Jed prepared to unleash the weapon's full power—but sighed.
"Only half power… my talent really sucks…"
This time, he didn't hide behind the knight. He faced him head-on—letting him see exactly how he would die.
The knight dropped his staff and raised his shield.
Jed charged forward—closing the distance in an instant.
Through the slit in the helmet, he saw the knight's face—
And a faint smile.
A smile?
Bang!
In a shocking instant, the Carian Knight swung his shield, releasing a burst of blue magic.
Jed was completely exposed.
Carian Retaliation.
Even wind… could be parried!?
Stunned, Jed couldn't react as the knight thrust his blade straight into his chest.
At that moment, Spa finally moved.
Two magic missiles shot forward—one blasted Jed away, the other finished off the knight.
Thud—
As the knight collapsed, Spa rushed to Jed's side, pouring healing potions over the wound.
"How… how is that possible? My weapon—how could it—"
Jed stared blankly.
What had the knight done? How could a shield parry even wind?
"I told you not to get careless. The commander specifically warned us about this dungeon," Spa said.
"But the weapon—"
"The weapon is strong. But what does that have to do with you? You can't even use its full power. Who's to say that knight couldn't parry it even at full strength?"
He added coldly:
"This isn't the weapon's failure. It's yours."
…Was that really necessary?
Jed shot him a resentful look.
At that moment, Melga returned with the rest of the group.
"You beat him?" she said in surprise. "Not bad—experienced players pretending to be newbies?"
Unfortunately, neither mercenary was in the mood to chat. They brushed her off and entered the seal.
Just as she had said—first-time entrants to the lake area would be randomly teleported.
Jed and Spa were lucky—they landed in the same location.
It was a foggy day, with visibility low.
They fired the signal flare—a bright, fireball-like signal.
"…She's definitely not finding us," Spa muttered.
"Good thing I brought this," Jed said, pulling out a map. "Made by a famous group. It lets you determine your location based on landmarks and shows the town."
"You're back in high spirits?"
"I figured it out—I was careless earlier. Won't happen again. Since we're here, we might as well grab something before leaving."
"Just finish and leave today. Don't delay the mission."
The two moved cautiously through the fog.
Occasionally, mounted figures passed through the mist—eerie and unsettling.
Whenever monsters approached, Jed used the relic to avoid them entirely. They didn't trigger a single fight.
But they didn't notice—
Within the mist, a round, pitch-black figure with large eyes was watching them.
[A wild Gengar has set its sights on Jed]
[The wild Gengar wants to use "Thief" to steal his item]