novelzi Chapter 216 : Chapter 216
Chapter 216 : Chapter 216
Translator: AkazaTL Pr/Ed: Sol IX
***
“Ernest.”
“Yes, when I opened my eyes there, I found myself here.”
It was Tom, the caretaker— the old man who had flown from the middle of the sea to the Karavan territory. Standing before him was the greatest beauty among the Orcs, Sherizik.
“I once heard about it from my father. The Boundary of the World.”
“The Boundary of the World…?”
“He said that if an unqualified person enters, they will wander the dimensional rift forever. But if the qualified enter, they will end up in the place where they are meant to be.”
“You’re saying there is another place Young Lord Arhan is meant to be besides here?”
Sherizik was an Orc, but she wasn’t ignorant. As the leader of her tribe, she had gone through countless adventures, and by listening to her father—one of the greatest shamans on the continent—she had accumulated extensive knowledge.
A wise Orc! A miraculous combination of two descriptions that should never have matched.
“A place one is meant to be. It’s vague wording. If the place the Heir of Steel is ‘meant to be’ were literal, the Karavan territory would naturally come to mind first. But we mustn’t approach it like that.”
“Then…?”
“From a shamanic perspective, the ‘place one is meant to be’ is the place where ‘destiny’ leads.”
Tap, tap.
Sherizik tapped the table with her fingers.
“The Heir of Steel must have been born with a destiny of steel. It is the fate of all Karavans. To stand at the peak of the world, to rise to the highest place!”
“……”
“And look at the world today. Everyone is fighting. Trying to possess just one thing more, striving to seize even greater glory. People say it openly now—another Age of War has begun.”
The Second Age of War!
“In a time of chaos, the thing needed most is strength. The Heir of Steel must have gone to the place where he can become stronger. Exactly as destiny dictates.”
“……”
“Don’t worry. His star is not anywhere near fading.”
His star is not fading. A deeply shamanic expression. Tom looked at Sherizik, smiling without the slightest worry. Her peaceful face somehow reassured him. But.
“We don’t have the luxury to relax.”
There was no time to feel relieved.
“A wind of war is sweeping across the continent. The Karavan territory is protected by the Gold mercenary band for now… but we cannot rely on their shield forever. Even a golden shield cannot resist the flow of the era.”
“……”
“The Karavan territory must grow stronger—stronger than it is now.”
She was right. But the Karavan territory’s strength had significantly declined. Old caretaker Tom had completely lost his sword power. The loss of one Sword Expert was enormous.
The Iron Legion of the Iron Kingdom of Cherville, and the Ashen Knight Order, were home to many powerful Sword Experts.
Even if they couldn’t fight them and win— to buy time, they needed additional Sword Experts.
“For the Karavan territory to survive the whirlwind that will soon arrive, it needs powerful allies. The Heir of Steel—or at least someone on his level.”
Tom felt anxious.
Was that even possible?
The territory looked like a proper city now, but… would talents like that really gather in such a remote place?
“Hurry up! I want to see my daughter Sherizik—it’s been so long, you fools! Hahaha! And while we’re at it—we should go see our friend, the Heir of Steel!”
“Oh, Sherizik! Sherizik!”
“Heir of Steel, Heir of Steel!”
“To the Karavan territory!”
Tom’s worries had been unfounded.
“The stars will guide us, everyone. We leave the Southern Continent for the unfamiliar Western Continent, but there is no need to fear. Even if we wander in the dark night, the stars will show us the path.”
Arhan. All the relationships he had built until now— countless strings of connection were gathering at this very moment.
“I wonder if he’s doing well.”
Among them.
“I’m curious… how strong he’s become.”
There were those who had changed noticeably from before.
“…Little Gladiator.”
***
It was an old memory. A mountain that pierced the clouds, soaring into the sky. At its peak, a lone man stood. His impression resembled a lion—not only his appearance, but the aura he gave off was unmistakably that of a beast.
“Remember this.”
His voice echoed like a roar. Even though he spoke quietly, it thundered across the entire mountain. Every living creature on the mountain heard his voice. It engraved itself into their bones, and carved itself into their souls. Before the man, unbelievably, the Dragons bowed their heads, trembling violently.
“Winged lizards. As long as my eyes remain open, you shall never again dare call yourselves the rulers of the sky. This is the covenant. All Dragons must never leave the Azure Heaven. You must not show interest in the outside world. You shall remain confined in this narrow space, endlessly repenting for the sins you have committed.”
Humiliating words. But the Dragons did not even think of lifting their heads. They were like rabbits before a lion. The behavior of creatures at the bottom of the ecosystem facing the apex predator. It was not—absolutely not—how the greatest race among the Seven Races, the Dragons, should behave.
“This is the Covenant of Steel.”
The man who said that brought his sword down. Immediately, the wings of the Dragons lying prostrate were sliced off. The wings, severed from their bodies, fell to the ground with a thump, scattering everywhere. Indescribable pain—yet the Dragons clenched their jaws and did not let out even a groan.
The man looked down on all of them and spoke.
“You old Dragons must survive forever. You must live for a very long time and tell every Dragon yet to be born about this truth. During the Age of War, a proud Dragon was defeated by a single human. A single human annihilated the Dragons. As the price for that catastrophic defeat, the Dragon’s world was confined to this tiny mountain.”
“……”
“Remember this, old Dragons. The only reason you survived is because of that role. If you fail to carry out the role given to you, you do not deserve to live.”
Thud.
The Dragons slammed their foreheads against the ground in response.
The man looked at their humiliating posture with an expression still filled with arrogance. Raising his sword high, he spoke again.
“Is it shameful?”
“……”
“If the pride of Dragons refuses to bow—if today’s covenant is too humiliating to accept—then break it whenever you wish. Break the Covenant of Steel, soar high into the sky, and come out into the world. If you do that…”
The man’s eyes gleamed.
“I, Liam Karavan, will return anytime.”
.
.
.
Gasp!
A fragment-like memory. A splintered shard of broken memory passed like a dream. When I came to my senses, my whole body was drenched in sweat.
‘What kind of memory was that?’
It was my master’s memory. A memory from a forgotten era.
‘Covenant of Steel… Dragons.’
My master had stood atop the Sky Mountains— that sacred place no explorer had ever conquered— and forced the Dragons into a humiliating covenant. A threat that he would return if they ever broke it.
‘So… is that the reason Dragons never left the Sky Mountains after the Age of War? Why they only appear in myths and never came out into the world?’
If that were true, it was terrifying.
A covenant made centuries ago maintained solely through the fear of violence? My master had never imposed any magical compulsion on the Dragons. He simply recited the words while holding a sword. Saying that if they disobeyed, he would return.
‘But considering Tom, and that old adventurer of 「Flight」… Dragons did appear in the world from time to time.’
They never appeared openly.
They appeared like wind and vanished like wind.
People called them “mysterious beings,” but that wasn’t the truth.
They simply hadn’t shaken off their fear. The Covenant of Steel bound the once-greatest race— even across eras, even into the present.
‘…This fragment was even stronger.’
Liam’s Beloved Sword. Seeing the “fragment” held within it was different this time. Before, it felt like watching from a distance. But this time I felt, for a fleeting moment, as if I had become Liam Karavan himself. And in that instant of experiencing Liam Karavan’s soul, I felt a sense of overwhelming majesty.
A power so immense that I could not even begin to comprehend it. An arrogance that looked down upon everything in the world. And—overshadowing all the precious things he possessed— a crushing ‘loneliness.’
An indescribably vast solitude filled the young Liam Karavan. Why? From the moment he first picked up a sword, he had been a genius, a hero forged instantly, someone for whom nothing had been difficult— so why had he felt such profound loneliness…?
“Are you awake?”
Of course, I had no way of knowing right now. One day I would. As Master always said.
“It’s been a while, Heir of Steel.”
“…Dwight?”
For now— I needed to understand the situation I was in.
“What are you doing here?”
“That is what I should be asking.”
“…?”
“This is the Dwarf Kingdom, Heir of Steel.”
Dwight pointed at me.
“You came here. You fell from the sky—bam!”
What in the world.
***
Dwight wasn’t joking.
I was in the land of the Dwarves— the Dwarf Kingdom.
‘The Dwarf Kingdom is a hidden nation in the Sky Mountains. And I fell here out of nowhere, even though I had been between the Western and Southern Continents?’
The distance alone should have been enormous. How could I have arrived so suddenly? As I thought about it, the answer came quickly.
‘Ernest.’
The great mystery of the continent. Something had clearly happened there.
‘Did I fall somewhere different from Tom?’
When I asked Dwight, he said I was the only one who had fallen into the Dwarf Kingdom.
I searched the surroundings myself, but found no trace of Tom. Honestly, I was worried. Tom was no longer a half-baked Sword Expert — he was just an ordinary old man now. Even falling on a hillside could put his life in danger.
‘I hope he’s safe.’
I couldn’t do anything about it right now. Thankfully, his life seemed intact. With the Authority of 「Radiance」, when I invoked 「Indomitable」, I could summon Santiago—but I could not summon Tom.
Santiago’s entire soul resided within the sword, but only half of Tom’s soul did. Meaning—he was still alive.
‘I’ll trust Tom.’
Even weakened, he wasn’t just some feeble old man. I remembered the look in his eyes when he witnessed my 「Radiance」. He would survive somehow. So I needed to do what I had to do.
“You’ve arrived at a perfect time. Almost as if it were fate.”
Dwight said:
“Heir of Steel.”
“Yes.”
“Could you… fight a Dragon for us?”
A Dragon?
“I know it’s a heavy burden. Our Dwarf legion will join in, and I’ll lend my strength too. And if you, the Heir of Steel, help us, we can defeat the Dragon.”
Hmm. There was no need for that.
‘You don’t have to go through so much trouble to kill one.’
I had just taken care of one earlier. In five seconds.