Chapter 216

Episode 217. Allies Close, Enemies Closer (1)

Hans’s General Store, the only shop in the mountain village of Gurud, is small but packed with all sorts of items. The narrow passage barely allows one person to pass, with items hanging from the ceiling and walls. The pungent smell of oil and the sharp, eye-watering scent make anyone who enters frown.

“What on earth is this smell?”

Most outsiders who wander in out of curiosity leave immediately after uttering these words. However, a few idle outsiders endure the smell and eye strain to browse the items.

“…?”

They tilt their heads in confusion. While the store does have a variety of items, some seem utterly impractical. A wooden branch that looks like a child’s toy sword, crudely carved wooden soldiers, faded jars, and a bell with strange animal engravings. Upon closer inspection, even the most ignorant person can tell:

“This…!”

The traces of time felt at the fingertips. The fragility that seems like it would break with the slightest force. Yes, this is…

“Just an antique.”

Of course, not everything is useless. There are wooden shields discarded by mercenaries, ceramic bowls, and iron utensils—items that are quite usable. But in the end, they are second-hand goods. Few would want to use such things.

As a result, Hans’s General Store gathers dust, visited only by curious outsiders, while locals avoid it entirely.

*Ding-a-ling!*

The door to Hans’s General Store opened, and a young man entered. Hans, the shop owner, didn’t even glance at the customer. In fact, he was dozing off, still half-asleep.

The young man ignored Hans and began browsing the items.

*Clatter.*

After touching various items, the young man tilted his head and looked up at something hanging from the ceiling. He stretched his arm, standing on tiptoe to reach it.

It was a mask. A white mask that covered the entire face. Smooth and featureless, with only the eye holes cut out, it looked more suited for criminal use than for a masquerade ball.

“…”

The young man examined the mask front and back, then headed to the counter.

“Owner, I’d like to buy this.”

Hans, who had been dozing off, opened his bleary eyes and suddenly chuckled eerily.

“Caught you, Regressor.”

“…?!”

*Thud!*

Hans grabbed the young man’s wrist, and the two disappeared in a flash of blue light.

Teleportation without a magic circle!

The old man had used a 7th-circle spell, Teleport, with just his will.

“Hahaha! Finally found you, Regressor!”

The young man was dragged to a cliff with barely enough space to stand. High above the clouds, two men and one woman floated in the air.

The man on the right wore a bucket-like hat, revealing only a rough chin. He carried a long, jeweled axe on his back.

The man in the middle looked like Hans, the shop owner, but his voice was that of a boy. Given that he had cast Teleport without a magic circle, it was clear his appearance was also magically altered.

The woman on the left wore revealing clothes, chewing on something. In her left hand was a gold coin with clear bite marks.

Each of them was extraordinary.

Not just in appearance, but the fact that they floated comfortably thousands of meters in the air meant they were at least 7-Star Primes.

“Is that guy the Regressor we’ve been searching for?”

At the bucket-hatted man’s words, Hans spoke with certainty.

“He picked up Orpheus’s Mask. The mask is enchanted with a recognition-blocking spell, invisible to those who don’t know of its existence. And! Hehehe… Here’s the fun part. I was planning to reveal the origin of Orpheus’s Mask five years from now. So, for someone to know about the mask now means they must be a Regressor!”

“Oh ho.”

“So that’s why you stashed all those artifacts in weird places. You set a pretty good trap. Indeed, only a Regressor could find this artifact.”

Both the bucket-hatted man and the gold-coin-chewing woman agreed with Hans.

The young man was cornered. There seemed to be no way out. Hans smirked at him.

“As you can see, Regressor, you’ve fallen into my trap. But don’t worry. We didn’t set this trap to harm you. Our Syndicate wishes to form an alliance with you, the Regressor—no, the Pioneer—”

At that moment.

“Um, excuse me… I-I don’t understand what you’re talking about. What did I do wrong?”

“…?”

“Regressor? Pioneer?… I’m just a regular scholar. I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else…”

“Hahaha! Regressor, what a clumsy act. I told you, didn’t I? Orpheus’s Mask is invisible to those who don’t know of its existence, and only a Regressor with knowledge from a past life would know about it! Playing dumb is a waste of time. I hoped to talk peacefully, but if you remain uncooperative, I’ll have to resort to force.”

Hans unleashed his suppressed mana.

“As you may have guessed, my specialty is spatial magic. Regressor, I’ve already considered that you might regress again if you die. So, if I don’t kill you, that’s fine. Sealing you away for eternity isn’t impossible for us, so just cooperate—”

*Thud!*

Before Hans could finish, the young man collapsed. He dropped Orpheus’s Mask and began foaming at the mouth.

“…?!”

*Drip.*

He didn’t just faint. Water trickled down his pants. He had wet himself.

“Is he really acting this much?”

“Is he dead?”

Hans teleported next to the young man and checked on him. His face twisted in confusion.

“He’s just unconscious, still alive. It seems he couldn’t withstand the shockwave of my mana.”

“How does that make sense? A Regressor, fainting just from a mana release? Unless he’s just an ordinary person…”

*Crunch!*

Hans gritted his teeth so hard they nearly cracked.

“What the hell is going on? This guy has no aura or mana. He’s just… an ordinary person.”

Hans, who had been certain the young man was a Regressor, was now utterly baffled.

* * *

On the hill overlooking Gurud, Keter stroked his chin. For the first time since his regression, his heart raced.

The young man the Syndicate had mistaken for a Regressor was sent by Keter, and what he heard, Keter heard too.

But that didn’t mean they could trace it back to Keter.

Keter had kidnapped an ordinary young man off the street and hypnotized him with the suggestion, “Buy Orpheus’s Mask from the general store.”

If it had been magic control, there would have been traces, but hypnosis, being closer to a curse, left no trace.

Additionally, eavesdropping on the conversation required the use of a curse.

However, since curses that connect hearing use mana, there was a risk of being traced. So, Keter destroyed the curse immediately after casting it.

Curses have a brief lingering effect even after being destroyed. This way, no mana traces are left, but the curse’s effect remains for a short time.

‘If I had gone carelessly, I would have been caught.’

Though he only heard the sound, Keter could deduce much from it.

He heard the whistle-like sound of the wind and the silent fall of a stone at his feet.

‘Not just movement restrictions, but spatial restrictions too. That Hans guy is a Great Sorcerer specializing in spatial magic.’

Most importantly, the fact that they revealed themselves as the “Syndicate” was the biggest gain.

‘Of course, I had a rough idea.’

Recalling how he learned about Orpheus’s Mask in his past life, Keter felt something was off. The information wasn’t something he discovered himself but was told by someone.

A Transcendent Being from the Syndicate, who called himself a “Collector,” had boasted about it as if it were his own heroic tale.

“This Orpheus’s Mask, I got it for practically nothing! Bought it for just one silver in a backwater village called Gurud! Who would’ve thought such a rare artifact with a charm effect would be lying around in such a place?”

At the time, Keter had dismissed him as a loudmouth, but after regressing, he realized how strange it was.

‘For someone bragging, he gave way too many details about the location and the artifact’s abilities.’

Though it seemed far-fetched, Keter felt it was a trap. A trap to catch Regressors! So, to confirm whether it was a trap or not, Keter kidnapped a random young man and hypnotized him.

And—

His assumption was spot on.

“Interesting. I can’t believe they set such a trap knowing Regressors exist. And the Syndicate, no less.”

The Syndicate.

A self-proclaimed mysterious organization, they were famous for “evaluating” others and assigning ranks. For example, the Seven Dragons of the Lilian Kingdom were their creation.

Dragon Spear Jordic, Sword Dragon Rajis…

They also occasionally participated in international events, maintaining a strange presence.

‘Is their goal to find Regressors? But why?’

Moreover, they referred to Regressors as Pioneers.

‘What’s a Pioneer?’

Keter, who had only wanted to get his hands on the artifact for free, realized he had gotten entangled in something far more complicated than he planned.

But he wasn’t upset. In fact, he was quite pleased.

‘They said they’re not enemies but collaborators, but who sets traps for collaborators? Of course, I agree that no Regressor would just announce themselves.’

Given that they had already hinted at using force, Keter had no intention of revealing himself as a Regressor.

‘The Syndicate can casually mobilize three Primes. They’re dead serious about finding Regressors. Whatever their goal is, I must not reveal myself.’

They’re prepared to seal me away for eternity if I die and regress.

Walking into a trap they’ve spent so long preparing isn’t bravery—it’s stupidity. Keter had no reason to play the fool.

“Hmm.”

Keter’s hand, which had been stroking his chin, moved up to his lips. He bit his lip, deep in thought.

‘But avoiding using my past life’s knowledge out of fear doesn’t suit me either. Just thinking about it annoys me.’

They know Regressors exist, but they don’t know who they are. They just set traps and wait.

Avoiding traps is easy, but the fact that they dared to set a trap for me is infuriating.

‘I want Orpheus’s Mask, and I want to know why they’re looking for Regressors and what a Pioneer is.’

Keter was inherently greedy. If he wanted something, he would use every means necessary to obtain it.

After closing his eyes and pondering for a moment, Keter’s eyes snapped open. Listing his achievements so far, the solution came to him immediately.

The best way to get Orpheus’s Mask and control the Syndicate, this unstable element!