Chapter 23

Episode 23. Let’s Do One Thing Together (2)

Ultima, the merchant.

With a suicidal yet aggressive investment strategy, he quickly built a mid-sized merchant group, earning him the nickname “Merchant of Reversal.”

Rumors swirled about Ultima suddenly rising to prominence—some said he was a fallen noble from the Empire, others claimed he was the reincarnation of the legendary merchant “Bluegon.” But those in the know knew the truth.

Ultima was from the lawless city of Absinthe.

But that was a cover. Ultima was actually from Ruquer.

How did he escape Ruquer, a place no one could leave? It was connected to Ruquer’s “Grand Duke.”

Ultima had made a deal with the Grand Duke to leave Ruquer, and he had been posing as a merchant from Absinthe.

“Crazy… Did I not sober up from last night’s drinks?”

*Slap!*

Ultima, who had remained calm even during deals with a Marquis, slapped his own cheek in self-harm.

To Ultima, Keter was that kind of existence. A nightmare worse than any he’d seen in his dreams. And that nightmare was now walking straight toward him.

“Number 78. No, you changed your name to Ultima, right? Why do you look so rotten? Aren’t you happy to see me?”

Number 78 was Ultima’s original name.

Hearing that name from the past, which he thought he’d never hear again, made Ultima dizzy.

This wasn’t an illusion or a fake.

The Keter before him was real.

“K-Keter! You! You!”

Ultima, who was about to ask, “How did you escape Ruquer? Did you make a deal with the Grand Duke too?!” barely regained his composure and lowered his voice.

“Why… why are you coming out of Sephira’s main gate?”

Meeting in the outside world was shocking enough, but of all places, here in Sephira? To Ultima, it felt like a trap.

Meanwhile, Keter was pleased to see Ultima.

“In my past life, this guy caused me a lot of trouble. Around this time, he was messing with Sephira.”

In his past life, Ultima had been an obstacle in Keter’s path. A formidable opponent who had left a lasting impression. And that opponent was now standing right in front of him.

“Ultima, who rose to prominence under Queen Lilian’s favor. As a merchant and as a swordsman.”

In the future, Ultima would become the greatest merchant in the Lilian Kingdom and a candidate for the next ruler. A cunning snake skilled in both civil and military affairs, with a touch of cruelty.

Keter’s assessment of Ultima was quite generous.

“Maybe it’s because his fighting style is similar to mine. It was pretty fun. Thanks to fighting him, I grew a lot too.”

Right before his battle with Lord Dayal, Keter had hunted down his subordinates first.

One of them was Ultima. Among Dayal’s subordinates, Ultima was the strongest, which is why Keter remembered him.

“More than anything, I was curious how he escaped Ruquer. In my past life, he didn’t tell me, so I just killed him. But I’m still curious now.”

Seeing Ultima, Keter was pleased. Meeting his future rival before he had fully grown meant he could eliminate him now and avoid future troubles.

But Keter decided to postpone the option of killing him for now.

“……”

Meanwhile, Ultima, unaware that his life was in Keter’s hands, was just feeling the pressure.

Keter was acting friendly, but they were far from friends. If anything, they were enemies.

Ultima’s gaze was naturally fixed on every move Keter made.

But—

“Seems like fate brought us together here, huh?”

“Huh, when did you—?”

Ultima had been watching Keter’s every move without blinking.

Yet, in an instant, Keter was by his side, slinging an arm over his shoulder.

“Some bold guy’s messing with the House of Sephira. If it’s Ultima, I’ll allow it.”

“……!”

Ultima looked at Keter in shock, then quickly became aware of the surrounding gazes. Fortunately, only his workers were around.

“Haha… Keter. I don’t know why you’re here, but how about we each go our separate ways?”

“I’m already on my way, why?”

“……”

Ultima glared at Keter. It was a silent threat—if Keter kept pushing, he wouldn’t stay idle. But Keter mercilessly poked Ultima’s eye.

*Poke!*

Ultima hurriedly closed his eyelids, but the pain in his eyeball was unavoidable.

“Our Ultima has grown so much. Even glaring at me now.”

Ultima was more creeped out than in pain.

In Ruquer, everyone knew Keter would poke the eyes of anyone who glared at him. Ultima had prepared to dodge, but all he could do was close his eyelids.

“Did you get even stronger in that time? Just what are you…?”

Regardless, provoking Keter right now wouldn’t do him any good.

“Keter. I don’t know what business you have with me, but there are too many ears here. Let’s go to my carriage. We can talk there.”

“I don’t feel like riding in a stinky carriage. There’s an open space over there. Let’s go there.”

“Then, you go ahead first. If I suddenly disappear, Hans the butler and my workers will come looking for me. You don’t want a commotion, do you?”

Keter stared at Ultima for a moment, then nodded.

“You have three minutes.”

Ultima smirked bitterly as he watched Keter walk into the forest first.

“Idiot! I don’t know why you suddenly showed up here, but turning your back on me? You’ve really lost your edge.”

Luck was on his side. His guards, who had briefly stepped away, had returned.

The so-called “Jacoz Family.”

Led by Jacoz, the seven members were once notorious as brutal bounty hunters known as “human hunters.”

“Jacoz.”

At Ultima’s call, Jacoz approached with a swagger. As the leader of the Jacoz Family, he was a gold-class mercenary who could also wield aura.

*Swish.*

Without a word, Ultima pointed to the clearing where Keter had disappeared and drew a finger across his throat. True to his Ruquer origins, he didn’t hesitate to order a kill.

Jacoz, understanding Ultima’s intent immediately, held up one finger. Asking if it was just one person, Ultima nodded and said,

“Don’t let your guard down just because it’s one person. The target is… a big shot from Absinthe.”

He had to keep Keter’s Ruquer origins a secret from Jacoz, so he likened it to Absinthe.

“Kukuku. Don’t worry, I’m from Absinthe too.”

Jacoz’s rotten face and foul stench made him universally disliked. The only reason Ultima kept him as a close confidant was his exceptional killing ability.

“Keter. I’m not underestimating you. But even you can’t handle the Jacoz Family.”

From what Ultima remembered, Keter’s skills were gold-class by mercenary standards. At best, he was a 1-star knight.

Of course, that was by past standards.

Even if he had grown since then, he wouldn’t be a 2-star knight yet, maybe just platinum-class.

So, no problem.

The Jacoz Family had experience hunting 2-star knights.

“Even if a few of Jacoz’s men die, it’s still a win for me. There’s something off about Keter.”

Ultima knew that without a “contract” with the Grand Duke, escaping Ruquer was impossible. If Keter had escaped through a contract, Ultima should have been informed. But this was the first he’d heard of it.

Which meant Keter hadn’t escaped through the Grand Duke.

“Then he must have used another method.”

Ultima was curious how Keter had escaped Ruquer and ended up in Sephira, but he didn’t really want to find out.

“Just die! I don’t want to get involved with you.”

Even if the Jacoz Family was wiped out, Ultima was determined to kill Keter.

The minute felt like an hour as Ultima checked his pocket watch.

“It’s been 2 minutes and 30 seconds since Jacoz entered the forest.”

The dense undergrowth and the noisy workers made it hard to hear any fighting, so the silence wasn’t unusual.

Exactly three minutes later, Ultima closed his pocket watch and smiled.

“It’s done.”

If Keter had won, he would have come out of the forest by now.

The fact that there was no response after three minutes meant Jacoz was cleaning up Keter’s corpse.

“Popping up out of nowhere to scare me. Still treating me like a kid? You dug your own grave, Keter.”

Ultima wiped the sweat from his brow and headed into the forest. He needed to see Keter’s corpse with his own eyes to sleep soundly.

* * *

The easiest way to solve a problem is to eliminate its source.

If you’re going to fight the Queen, there’s no reason not to kill an enemy you must deal with. Especially if that enemy is still weak.

Keter thought the same. He had considered eliminating a future rival he’d stumbled upon before they grew stronger.

But what if that rival was Ultima?

The story changes.

“Sephira is being messed with because it’s weak, and he’s cozying up to Queen Lilian because she’s the strongest.”

Being from Ruquer himself, Keter understood Ultima’s reasoning. It was a wise judgment.

In Keter’s eyes, Ultima hadn’t done anything wrong. In fact, he was doing very well.

“But now that I’m aligned with the House of Sephira, the story changes.”

There’s no reason to keep Ultima alive if he remains an enemy.

“The saying goes, ‘Yesterday’s enemy is today’s ally.’ A good saying, indeed.”

Frankly, Ultima was too valuable to just kill. He was destined to become the greatest merchant in the Lilian Kingdom, a powerhouse close to Ain, and skilled in political maneuvering.

If he could be persuaded, he’d be a great asset in building up the House of Sephira and taking down Lilian.

“Besides, the thought of taking what Lilian should have feels pretty good.”

Keter concluded that he should try to recruit Ultima.

But how to persuade him?

The plan was simple.

“Show him. Show him why he should side with me. Not with words, but with actions.”

And if persuasion fails?

“Then kill him. What else can I do? It’ll be a hassle, but if I can’t have him, neither can Lilian.”

*Rustle.*

Hearing movement from the forest, Keter stood up from the tree stump he’d been sitting on in the clearing.

Of course, it wasn’t Ultima who arrived, but the Jacoz Family he’d sent.

Jacoz spoke to Keter.

“Nice to meet you, Keter. I hear you’re from Absinthe. Then you must have heard of the name Jacoz?”

Jacoz tried to initiate a conversation.

Keter responded kindly.

By shooting an arrow at him.

*Thud.*

A coin-sized hole appeared in Jacoz’s forehead.

But Jacoz didn’t even realize Keter had shot an arrow, or that he was already dead.

“Why aren’t you answering……”

*Thump.*

The lump of meat that was once Jacoz fell backward without finishing his sentence.

Jacoz’s subordinates froze.

They couldn’t believe their eyes.

Keter had been sitting there empty-handed. But in the blink of an eye, he was holding a black bow, and something white had flashed by, leaving a hole in their leader’s forehead.

“Aura Arrow?!”

Only the vice-captain of the Jacoz Family recognized what Keter had shot and shouted in panic.

“He’s an archer! Spread out and surround him!”

At the signal, Jacoz’s men charged from different directions.

The vice-captain thought they might lose a few men, but they’d surely capture Keter.

Aura Arrows consumed a tremendous amount of aura, and firing multiple arrows simultaneously was structurally difficult.

As he expected, Keter fired only one Aura Arrow.

*Plop.*

The sound of a drop of water falling. The unique sound of releasing Amaranth’s bowstring.

The vice-captain saw Keter’s arrow flying and was certain.

‘We’ve won.’

But then, that single arrow split into seven, piercing the foreheads and necks of his men simultaneously.

Three seconds.

That’s all it took for the Jacoz Family, who had hunted 2-star knights, to be wiped out.

“If you all charge at once, you’ll all die at once.”

The Jacoz Family had made a mistake.

They thought it was a normal Aura Arrow.

But what Keter had shot wasn’t an Aura Arrow—it was a Mana Arrow.

Unlike aura, mana could be freely manipulated, allowing the arrow to split.

“Thanks to old man Vulkanus, I can waste mana on these pests without worry.”

Originally, Keter only had two years’ worth of mana, so he couldn’t afford to waste it on such pests.

But thanks to the World Tree Elixir Vulkanus had given him, his mana had greatly increased, allowing him to be more liberal with it.

Keter sat back down on the tree stump and said,

“By the way, Ultima. You’re not going to surrender just because I took out the Jacoz Family, are you?”

How much of his hand should he show?

“I’ll show it all, why not?”

If Ultima wouldn’t surrender, he’d just kill him anyway, so there was no reason not to show everything.

Three minutes had passed. It was about time for Ultima to arrive.

As Keter expected, movement was heard from the forest. Ultima had come to check the bodies.

“……!”

Ultima confirmed the Jacoz Family’s annihilation and immediately turned to flee.

He didn’t entertain the hopeful thought that Keter might be on the verge of death. His instincts from surviving Ruquer told him otherwise.

*Thud.*

A hole appeared in the tree right next to him, and Ultima stopped in his tracks.

*Drip.*

Blood trickled down Ultima’s cheek.

It wasn’t a miss.

Keter had aimed to miss.

Ultima swallowed hard and looked back.

Keter was still sitting on the tree stump in the clearing. He wiggled a finger at Ultima and said,

“You have five seconds to get over here.”