Chapter 65

Chapter 65. It’s Right in Front of You (2)

“Brother, here’s the communicator.”

Da’at pulled out a glass panel from one of the countless drawers.

When Keter infused mana into the glass panel, it emitted a faint blue light and vibrated slightly.

“Keter, what’s that?”

Curious and interested in magic, Luke asked, and Da’at answered for him.

“It’s literally a communicator. It’s calling someone to come here right now.”

“Who?”

“Jairo, Brother’s subordinate.”

“Ah…….”

What does that have to do with finding the Southern Sword?

Luke couldn’t bring himself to ask. If he asked that, he might seem ignorant, so he decided to think it through himself.

The current 8th Southern Sword is Jerpy Ruvan.

The head of the Storm Knights of the Ruvan Marquis family, a renowned swordsmanship family.

To get a recommendation letter, wouldn’t it be logical to go see him first? But just showing up out of nowhere wouldn’t guarantee a recommendation letter.

‘If I just go, will he even meet me? Probably not. Keter wouldn’t be unaware of that. So, this Jairo person must be the key. If I bring him along, the chances of getting a recommendation letter from Sir Jerpy increase, right?’

Following this logic, Jairo, Keter’s subordinate, must be someone significant.

‘It’s surprising that someone like that is among Keter’s subordinates, but it’s Keter, after all.’

Approaching it with common sense, Keter was an existence beyond comprehension.

“He’s not answering. Maknun, decode the coordinates for me.”

“Got it.”

Da’at began transcribing the complex numbers from the glass panel onto paper.

Luke also looked at the numbers on the glass panel, but there were too many, and he couldn’t grasp how they could pinpoint a location.

‘This is going to take a while.’

Standing still felt awkward. Luke looked around at the countless drawers.

Contrary to Luke’s expectations, Da’at spoke up quickly.

“Brother, I found him. He’s in the Red Eye Gang’s territory. Judging by the deep area, it seems like there’s a fight going on.”

“A fight? I should join in. Let’s go, Luke. Time to debut in Ruquer.”

“What’s the Red Eye Gang, and what’s this about debuting? I don’t know. This is scary.”

“What, you don’t want to fight?”

“That’s beside the point. I didn’t bring my bow and arrows because I didn’t know we’d be teleporting. You have Amaranth, but I can’t even create arrows with aura yet.”

“This is Ruquer. If you have money, you can get anything. Maknun. While I’m gone, get some portable weapons and armor.”

The portable artifacts used by Imperial Army officers aren’t sold openly. The Empire strictly controls them, and they’re not even traded at auctions.

Of course, you can get them at underground auctions, but even buying a single sword costs at least 100,000 gold.

However, in Ruquer, you could get them for less than half that price.

“Real or fake?”

“As much as possible.”

“I’ll see what I can do. But Brother, you’ve changed a lot. It’s like you’ve become more broad-minded, or maybe more straightforward.”

“That’s my Maknun. You noticed?”

“I’ve lived with you for years. Of course, I’d notice. What happened in just four days?”

“They say people change when they come back from the dead. I came back from the dead.”

“Come on, even if you’re a monster, you’re not immortal.”

“That’s why I’m a monster.”

“Convincing, huh?”

Keter smirked and ruffled Maknun’s hair again.

“I’m off.”

“Take the communicator.”

“Sure.”

Keter took the communicator from Maknun and gestured to Luke with his chin.

“Let’s go, country boy from a noble family. I’ll introduce you to Ruquer.”

* * *

When Luke stepped out of the office, he felt like he couldn’t breathe. It wasn’t just his imagination; breathing was genuinely difficult.

Moreover, he felt a heavy pressure as if his body weight had doubled.

“Ugh, Keter. Is it just me, or is it hard to breathe and my body feels heavier? Are you okay?”

“It’s normal. The air here is half as dense, and the gravity is twice as strong.”

“What? How is that possible?”

“Ruquer is a place where anything can happen.”

“Besides, we’re not even on the ground.”

Keter’s office wasn’t on the ground. It was in a towering structure, at least 50 meters high.

Surrounding it were all sorts of bizarre buildings sprouting up like mushrooms. There was no rhyme or reason to their shapes. Some were round, others pointed.

The color coordination was nonexistent, making it seem like the buildings existed in entirely different spaces.

The density of the buildings was incredibly tight. The only space with any breathing room was the tower where Keter’s office was located.

The first word that came to Luke’s mind was “chaos.”

“Good heavens… Can this even be called a city? It feels more like hell.”

“You’re already amazed? That’s no fun. Look down.”

Following Keter’s words, Luke looked down.

There were so many obstacles that it was hard to see, but what he could see was a mess. Forget how dirty it looked; there was a fog covering the ground.

Even without going down, the gloom was palpable.

And the countless people walking through those streets.

They all looked different.

“So this is the Lawless City…….”

Luke was genuinely impressed.

Keter was born and raised in a place like this? Luke found Keter even more impressive.

Then Keter smirked and said,

“Kid. Someone ate an apple’s peel. Can that person say they’ve eaten an apple?”

“No. The peel is just the peel. Even if there’s a bit of flesh attached, it’s hard to say they’ve eaten the apple.”

“That’s you. What you’ve seen so far is just the peel of Ruquer.”

Keter pointed downward with his finger.

“The real Ruquer isn’t on the surface. It’s underground.”

“Come on, Keter. It’s just underground. How big can it be?”

“Bigger than the surface?”

Luke couldn’t believe Keter’s words. An underground city bigger than the surface? He thought Keter was messing with him, so he brushed it off.

“Tch, whatever. How do we get down from here? There’s no staircase. Are we teleporting down?”

“Do you think teleportation is some first-circle magic? We’re just going down.”

“By jumping off?”

It was a dizzying height. Even knights wouldn’t dare jump from such a height.

“I’ll go first.”

Without any preparatory movement, Keter leaped off.

“Hey!?”

Luke grabbed the railing and looked down.

Keter, who was falling, grabbed a rope hanging in mid-air with his bare hands.

The rope stretched elastically, slowing Keter’s descent. When he was about 10 meters above the ground, Keter let go and landed safely.

Thud!

As Keter landed, kicking up dust, the people passing by erupted in anger.

“What the hell, you crazy bastard?”

“Who the hell is this jerk!?”

The people covered in dust immediately reached for their weapons, hurling insults too vulgar to repeat.

But as Keter walked out of the dust, they quickly turned away as if they hadn’t been angry at all.

“Oh, it’s Keter.”

“If it’s Keter, it’s fine.”

Those who recognized Keter either went on their way or stopped to acknowledge him.

“Haven’t seen you in a while. You’ve finally shown up again.”

“There were rumors you went outside, but I guess they were just rumors. No one can leave Ruquer.”

Keter looked up and gestured for Luke to hurry down.

Luke swallowed hard.

Practicing Sephira’s aura technique had enhanced his vision. Thanks to that, he could see the ground clearly even from this height, but vision and physical ability were two different things.

‘Can I grab the rope like Keter did? Especially with double gravity. My body feels like a lump of lead.’

Grabbing a thin rope while falling at high speed? It wasn’t just difficult; he wasn’t sure if his palms could even hold on.

‘Keter didn’t even wear gloves. He must have protected his palms with aura. But if he used aura to protect his palms, wouldn’t the destructive power of the aura break the rope?’

Luke felt a chill.

In other words, Keter didn’t just grab the rope and slow down to land. He protected the rope from breaking while also protecting his palms.

Luke couldn’t even begin to grasp how precise that aura control must have been.

‘I can’t do that. This isn’t about confidence or anything; it’s just beyond me.’

Luke took a deep breath.

Just because he couldn’t do it like Keter didn’t mean he was giving up.

‘I’ll land my own way.’

His yet-to-be-named misfortune detection ability.

Luke jumped toward the ‘path of life’ his ability indicated.

Unlike Keter, who free-fell 50 meters, Luke stepped on the edge of a nearby building to slow himself down as soon as he jumped.

The double gravity drained his stamina four times faster, but stopping wasn’t an option, so he kept jumping.

Though it took a while, Luke eventually made it to the ground.

Crash!

The places Luke stepped on crumbled, and debris fell from the sky.

Among them were large pieces that could kill if hit, but no one on the ground paid any attention, simply dodging them.

It wasn’t the fault of the person who dropped them; it was the fault of the person who couldn’t dodge.

“Gasp, gasp…….”

Finally landing on the ground, Luke felt like his chest was about to burst.

‘Just this much running, and I’m already at my limit. My throat is so dry.’

Even the air here was incredibly unpleasant.

It felt sticky, clinging to his entire body, and the stench, which he had never smelled before, instantly numbed his nose.

Already thirsty, Luke spoke up as soon as Keter approached.

“Keter, let’s get some water first. I feel like I’m going to throw up.”

“The water shop is over there.”

Keter kindly pointed with his finger.

It looked more like a prison than a shop. Iron bars and thick glass blocked all sides, with a small hole in the middle.

Luke approached the shop. Inside, a grotesque-looking old man stood idly.

“Can I get some water?”

At Luke’s words, the old man opened his mouth.

“Pay first.”

“Ah, just a moment.”

A shop that doesn’t show the goods and asks for money first?

It was strange by Luke’s standards, but there’s a saying: in Samael, follow Samael’s laws. He figured Ruquer must have its own rules.

Luke, who had brought plenty of money from his family, handed over a silver coin. It was excessive for just buying water, but he didn’t have any copper coins.

The old man took the silver coin with his long nails and said,

“More.”

“What? I gave you 1 silver.”

In city inns, water costs 1 copper coin.

At most, 2 copper coins.

“2 more silver.”

“3 silver for a glass of water? Where’s the price tag?”

“Kekeke, a newbie? There’s no price tag in Ruquer. If you don’t want to buy, get lost.”

“Fine. Give me back the 1 silver I gave you.”

“Huh? What are you talking about? I never took anything from you.”

“Are you kidding me? You took my money!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. If you’re not buying, get lost.”

The old man’s shameless behavior made Luke’s face turn red.

Then, a swordsman appeared out of nowhere and cut in front of Luke.

“Give me a glass of water.”

The swordsman handed over 3 copper coins.

The old man immediately handed over a wooden cup filled with water. The swordsman downed it in one go and smirked at Luke.

“Hey, kid. You’re kinda cute. Want some water? There’s a bit left in my mouth.”

Luke was dumbfounded.

He had never been spoken to like that by someone he’d just met, especially a man who looked incredibly filthy. Luke felt something beyond anger.

As Luke unconsciously revealed his killing intent, the swordsman just said, “Cute,” and walked away.

“Excuse me. That guy only paid 3 copper coins. Why did you give him water?”

At Luke’s question, the old man took back the cup and said,

“I told you. In Ruquer, everything is market price. You’re an outsider, so you have to pay 3 silver to drink water. It’s the same everywhere. In fact, I’m selling it the cheapest.”

Luke was furious.

His fists clenched instinctively. He wanted to smash through the thick glass and bars and grab the old man by the collar.

But Luke was a knight.

No matter how angry he was, he hadn’t been taught to solve things with violence. As Luke sighed and reached into his pocket for 2 more silver coins, Keter suddenly appeared.

“Hey, give me a glass of water too.”