Chapter 78
Participating in the Grand Tournament was, on the surface, for the sake of prestige and reputation — but the real reason I came was because I had business here in Wisselan.
Wisselan —
the holy land of knights.
A land that suffered the heaviest casualties in the shortest time at the hands of the Eternal Order.
Countless knights and mages were mobilized to stop the Eternal Order, but in the end, they all died.
Still, it wasn’t as though the Order escaped unscathed — even if the exchange rate of losses had been absurdly one-sided.
“Let’s see…”
After finishing the first round of matches, I headed for the coast that bordered the Knights’ Sanctuary.
“Whoa…!”
Far off in the distance, cheers were erupting again and again — the first round must have been in full swing.
They were battles between knights of at least Rank 5, so there was no doubt it would be a spectacular sight.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to see it… but this is more important right now.”
The white sand shimmered under the sunlight, glistening as the waves lapped against the shore.
I stood there, trying to recall a passage from the novel.
It wasn’t hard.
After all, back when the world ended and I starved to death, it was the only form of entertainment I had left.
‘I read it so many times — from the first to the last chapter — I could practically recite it.’
Strictly speaking, I never did get to read the final chapter.
The one that had supposedly wrapped up the “unfinished” novel.
‘Though I never read it myself.’
What on earth had it contained?
All I’d ever seen was a mess of unreadable, garbled text before everything had ended.
“Tch.”
I almost got lost in useless thoughts again.
There was no point in that now — the only thing I could do was make use of every bit of what I remembered, to stay alive.
Ssshhh—
The sea breeze rustled across the shore, and the waves rolled in with a rhythmic hiss.
The air was crisp and refreshing, tinged faintly with the salty scent of the sea.
“This way, then.”
I started walking in the direction the wind blew.
My footsteps crunched softly over the sand — not sticky mud, but fine grains that glittered under the sun. It felt pleasant, almost soothing.
After a short walk, the beach gave way to a sharp, rocky cliff.
“Hm.”
Just as I expected — I’d have to go underwater.
I stripped off the cumbersome noble garments with all their frills and excess.
All that remained was a thin, white undershirt.
In modern Korea, this would’ve just been a light shirt — but here, for nobles, it counted as underwear.
If a count were found wandering the shore in his undergarments, it would be beyond embarrassing —
but luckily, everyone was too busy watching the Grand Tournament to notice me.
‘Even if someone did see, they’d just think: “Ah, that scoundrel’s at it again.”’
Being a “disgraced noble” did have its perks.
I folded my clothes neatly on a rock, then stretched a little to loosen my body.
“…Hoo!”
I took a deep breath and dove into the sea.
The water wasn’t cold — just cool enough to be pleasant under the warm sun.
I swam toward the base of the cliff.
As expected, the sharp coral and rough currents made swimming difficult near the rocks.
‘If I remember right, it should be around here…’
The cliffs of Wisselan —
to the occasional tourists who came here for leisure, this place was notoriously dangerous.
That was because the powerful sea winds and swirling currents met violently around the cliffside.
Many nobles who’d foolishly decided to “play in the water” here had vanished without a trace.
They called them “missing persons,” but everyone knew it meant “drowned.”
Whooosh!
The closer I got to the cliff, the stronger the wind and current became.
If I’d still had Ian’s old, frail body, I’d have joined those missing nobles by now.
But as I was now — it felt more like a thrill ride than a death trap.
I let my body ride the wild waves, sensing the movement of the current.
And then—
‘…There!’
I felt a sudden, forceful pull — a rapid current.
I took a deep breath and let the current carry me down.
The flow sucked me beneath the cliffside, dragging me fast enough to shred me against the rocks if I wasn’t careful.
BANG!
That would be a stupid way to die.
Quickly, I wrapped my body in a thin layer of mana.
It wasn’t a proper defensive barrier, but it would keep the jagged rocks from slicing me apart.
Pwah!
After being tossed around for what felt like forever, I finally broke through the surface of the water.
“Haah… even for me, that was rough.”
My shirt was torn to rags in several places, but at least I wasn’t bleeding — thanks to the mana shield.
“Now then…”
The scene around me was completely different from before.
The air was damp, the sunlight faint — I’d surfaced in a small cave behind the sea cliffs.
And the cave was filled with bodies.
Or rather, skeletons — long dead.
“They’ve been gone a while.”
All that remained were gray, brittle bones.
The tattered clothes clinging to them were the only clues that they had once been people.
Judging by the remains, there was quite a variety — a fisherman from a nearby island, a noble wearing what was once an expensive pendant…
“None of them are who I’m looking for.”
I wasn’t here for ordinary dead men.
I was searching for a knight — one of the few who could wield a sword like no other.
Clang.
While examining the skeletons, something clinked under my foot.
“Oh — my apologies.”
The dead might not speak, but that didn’t mean I should be careless with them.
As I bent down to move what I’d stepped on, I froze.
A thick, straight blade — and on its hilt, a familiar mark.
A serpent devouring its own tail.
Ouroboros.
“Found it.”
The armor around it was rusted and corroded almost beyond recognition, the salt having eaten it away —
but the Ouroboros emblem, the mark of the Eternal Order, remained perfectly intact.
This one had been a member of the Eternal Order.
One of the few who had died invading Wisselan during the Great War.
Now reduced to a mere skeleton — but still unmistakable.
“Well then… pardon my intrusion.”
I gave a brief bow to the fallen knight and began searching the remains.
Most of the armor had rotted away, but tucked against the ribs was a small box — remarkably well preserved.
“Ohh…”
Brushing off the dust revealed a box that looked almost pristine.
It didn’t even have a visible seam — smooth like a single lump of metal.
It was less a “box” and more like a sealed metal ingot.
I knew how to open it.
“Like this, right?”
I dispersed the mana from my body, then channeled a thin, precise flow of mana directly from my core into the box.
It required fine control, but with my restored mana circuits, it wasn’t difficult.
Click.
A faint sound — and the seamless box split open.
“Heh.”
A satisfied smile tugged at my lips.
It might look like nothing special, but this thing was valuable.
A relic from the ancients — one issued to every knight of the Eternal Order.
Essentially a personalized storage device, though not for food or supplies.
It was an artifact — one mentioned in the novel.
I remembered it from one of the “breather” episodes.
The protagonist’s party, after a long journey, visited Wisselan to rest by the beach.
While playing, the protagonist vanished — swept into an underwater cave,
where he discovered the corpse of an Eternal Order knight.
But the protagonist, who despised anything related to that Order, left the artifact behind and fled.
Readers, however — we knew better.
We all groaned at how he’d abandoned such a priceless item.
“And this must be the one.”
Inside the box was a slender glass vial, as thin as a finger.
It looked like some kind of medical ampoule, but it was far from that.
This was no mere potion — it was a miraculous elixir.
“It’s a one-time use, but its effect is insane.”
One sip, and it was gone.
But even after that, the lingering effects were immense.
I was tempted to test it immediately… but—
“Better save it for when it really matters.”
I placed the box back beside the skeleton.
After all, this had belonged to the Kazan Empire’s knights — carrying it openly would be dangerous.
If someone caught me with it here, in the heart of the Knights’ Sanctuary during the Grand Tournament?
That would be trouble.
I only needed the contents, not the container.
“Any others?”
I looked around the cave, but no — that had been the only Eternal Order corpse here.
“Still, just this alone… might be enough to win the tournament.”
I’d been wondering how I’d handle Rank 6 opponents — but with this, maybe I had a chance.
Winning mattered.
If I wanted the name Ian Impera to be known, second place wasn’t enough.
If I lost in the finals, people would just say:
“That lucky bastard only made it through by default, then got beaten to a pulp at the end.”
“Not happening.”
Besides — the prize for winning was none other than a Lesser Dragon’s Mana Core.
It was nothing compared to a true Dragon Heart, but among monster cores, it was top-tier.
“With that, I could upgrade the Dragon-Scale Sword.”
And with Harun’s help, I might even forge an Ego Sword.
“A count who wields an ego sword…”
That kind of knight wouldn’t die so easily in this chaotic world.
No one sane would dare to touch me.
Well — except maybe Prince Gallen or Aaron Gold.
They were crazy enough.
“Alright. I’ve got what I came for — time to head back.”
My shirt was in tatters, but I’d gained a priceless potion — fair trade.
My outer clothes were still folded neatly on the beach.
“Hup!”
I took another deep breath and dove back into the sea.
The current was strong, but I just had to swim toward the light.
‘Nnngh…’
Going against the current made breathing difficult.
I had to hurry before I ran out of air—
Pwah!
Just as I was about to black out, I broke through the surface.
The vial, firmly tied at my waist, was still intact.
Now all that was left was to put on my clothes and—
“…Huh?”
As I stepped out of the water, something caught my eye.
Someone was standing near the spot where I’d left my neatly folded clothes.
A woman.
Slender, delicate — clearly female.
At first, I thought it might be Islin or Isbart, but her attire said otherwise.
She wore flowing silk that even covered her head — definitely a noble lady.
Maybe she’d come to watch the tournament and decided to stroll along the beach for some fresh air.
She had no escort, which meant she’d probably snuck out.
Still, something about her looked… familiar.
“What are you doing here?” I called out.
“—Kyaaah!”
