BXBX NOVEL Chapter 144: Keplan
Chapter 144: Keplan
“I… I made it!”
Ain, who had just arrived, collapsed onto the floor, gasping for breath.
“Wow, what’s this? Ain’s not in last place for once.”
I handed him a glass of cool rice wine from the table, which he gulped down.
Fenrir, the leader of the Fenrir mercenary group, who was sitting opposite me, tilted his head and said,
“Was it a race? You seem a bit too enthusiastic for it to have been just a run.”
Zion, never one to be shy, replied,
“It was a refreshing contest with our foreheads on the line.”
Fenrir chuckled.
“You guys have just as much fun as we do.”
Two hours earlier, I was the first to arrive at Poeta\'s public magic circle. I wandered around a nearby tavern and spotted Fenrir drinking outside.
I joined him, and we drank together while waiting for our subordinates.
Arin showed up first, followed by Zion a little while later. The others arrived at intervals of a few minutes, with Ain being almost the last to arrive.
“By the way, why isn’t that musclehead here yet?”
Zion continued with a dumbfounded look on his face.
“He\'s always bragging about how ‘refreshing’ everything is, but he’s nowhere to be seen.”
I was a bit puzzled too.
Makan was the one who usually boasted the most overwhelming prowess when it came to running.
He had definitely been running at the fastest speed earlier, until I overtook him.
“…….”
We waited for a long time while drinking rice wine, but he was still nowhere to be seen. I was starting to get suspicious and was about to get up from my seat when…
“Oh, there he is.”
Zion, sighing, shouted in a certain direction.
“You musclehead!”
Among the crowd coming and going on the main street, a man with a head taller than the others was looking around.
It was obviously Makan.
“Over here, over here! You musclehead!”
Hearing Zion\'s shout, Makan spotted us and approached.
I looked Makan up and down and asked,
“Where have you been?”
Makan replied awkwardly,
“I arrived a while ago. I was looking for you guys because I couldn\'t find you.”
“Did you get lost or something?”
Makan\'s pupils shook as if an earthquake had just occurred.
I shot him in the forehead with my forehead slingshot.
Thwack!
Unlike the others, Makan, even when caught off guard, simply tilted his head back to absorb the impact.
Truly an impressive resilience.
Makan said with an incredulous expression,
“No way. How did you know?”
Zion pointed at Makan from head to toe.
“You idiot, look at yourself. Anyone can tell you were lost. Did you climb a mountain or something?”
Zion approached Makan and brushed off the twigs and leaves stuck to his clothes.
Makan replied with an embarrassed look,
“I think the road got a bit complicated in the middle.”
“But it was almost a straight road?”
Makan’s expression became quite strange, and he replied,
“...I don’t know about that.”
Zion turned to look at me, and I shook my head.
“Leave him be. There’s nothing you can do about someone with no sense of direction.”
“But he seems to have a seriously terrible sense of direction.”
“You take care of him.”
I said that, but inwardly, I agreed with Zion.
To have such a terrible sense of direction...
It occurred to me that there was a reason why Makan was such a musclehead.
I looked around and said,
“Now that everyone’s here, let’s go.”
My squad members got up from their seats, following me.
Fenrir also stood up at the same time and said,
“I’ll lead the way.”
Fenrir walked with me towards the public magic circle, then suddenly looked at Makan.
“What’s that spear? It’s ridiculously huge.”
Makan asked with a puzzled look,
“Who is that?”
“Well, I am… hmm. I’m the leader of the Fenrir mercenary group, but I don’t think that’ll mean anything to you. Let’s just say I’m a close friend of your leader.”
Makan nodded.
“If you’re a friend of the commander, then you’re not a stranger. This is a magic weapon. I got it a few days ago.”
“Your way of speaking is a bit unique.”
Makan took out the large spear strapped to his back and swung it around with one hand.
Each time he swung it, the thick blade emitted a sharp noise and flashed with light.
Fenrir said with admiration,
“The blade is imbued with mana. It’s a good spear, just by looking at it.”
Makan nodded with a satisfied smile.
I said to Makan,
“I see you received it. It looks useful.”
“Thank you, Commander.”
It was a ridiculously large spear, but it suited Makan.
The thick blade could be a disadvantage, but the sharpness of the magically treated surface compensated for it.
I looked at each of my unit members as we walked.
Looking at them now, each of them had chosen weapons that suited them quite well…
“Hey.”
“What?”
“What’s that, you?”
“What about me?”
“What’s that on your hand?”
“Oh, this?”
Zion wiggled the red glove on his right hand.
A magic stone was embedded in the center of the glove.
“Commander, you have a good eye. How is it? Cool, right?”
“Cut the crap.”
I’ve seen that glove before.
It’s a glove that mages who learned beast magic wear as a weapon.
“Why would you even have that?”
“It looks cool, doesn’t it?”
“…….”
Frustrated, I walked on without saying a word.
Whenever I talk to these guys, I have to be mindful of my mental state.
“We’re here.”
Only after hearing Fenrir\'s words did I look ahead.
A long line stretched in front of a massive octagonal building.
Fenrir approached the main entrance first and spoke briefly with the guard before beckoning us over.
As we got closer, the guard looked us up and down.
“I’m Rampel from the Magic Tower Alliance. You said you’re from Samael?”
“That’s right.”
“What’s your destination?”
“Keplan.”
“You can teleport there directly. Have you prepared the fee?”
I handed him two gold bars, and the guard opened the main entrance.
A mage who appeared to be from the Alliance came out from inside and guided us.
Fenrir said at the entrance,
“This is where we part ways. It was fun. Let’s meet again sometime.”
With those parting words, Fenrir disappeared.
He was always so consistent.
Following the mage inside, we saw a magic circle drawn connecting the vertices of the octagon, with a red swirl of magical energy surging in the center.
[TL/N: Fyi not mana but magical energy→ TWO DIFFERENT THINGS : )]
“Wow.”
My squad members let out exclamations of wonder simultaneously.
The mage asked with a smile,
“Is this your first time teleporting?”
Arin raised her hand and said,
“I’ve done it before.”
“I see the rest of you haven’t. Let me give you a brief explanation. The limit is twenty people per teleportation. This group should be fine.”
Palge asked,
“Are there any, like, side effects?”
“You might feel a little nauseous. It’ll be over quickly, so you don’t have to worry too much. Any other questions?”
“…….”
“If not, we’ll proceed with the teleportation.”
As the mage controlled the flow of magical energy on the wall, the magic circle opened with a whooshing sound, revealing a circular doorway.
“Please enter.”
I looked at my squad members and said,
“Let’s go.”
“…….”
“What are you doing? I said let’s go.”
Arin and Makan entered the magic circle first.
But after that, no one else moved.
“...Is it really safe?”
Instead of answering, I dragged Palge, who was lingering behind, and kicked him with my foot.
“Oof!”
Surprisingly, instead of rolling on the floor to absorb the impact as he usually did, Palge stubbornly endured it while sitting down.
“Oh, you’re resisting?”
Wham! Wham! Wham!
With every hit, bursts of light erupted.
Seeing Palge continuously withstand the impact made me even more frustrated.
I channeled impact magic into my fist and thrust it towards Palge’s stomach.
“Nooo! Oof! Nng!”
With a bang, Palge tumbled through the air and was sucked into the magic circle.
Wiping away the sweat, I turned around and asked,
“Anyone else not going in?”
After everyone else entered the magic circle without a word, I stepped in last.
***
The moment I felt several flashes of light, the scenery around me changed.
When I took a step forward, I found myself surrounded by walls of white light.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
At the end of the wall, a man in a white gown nodded and muttered,
“Complete.”
A man who appeared to be an administrator approached and said in a business-like tone,
“Are you alright?”
“No problem.”
I felt a little queasy, but I could walk without any difficulty.
“Welcome to Keplan. Would you like to go to the rest area?”
“No, thank you. Where’s the exit?”
“I’ll show you.”
After a long walk down the hallway with the administrator, we finally reached the main entrance.
“May fortune be with you.”
As soon as I stepped outside, I closed my eyes for a moment against the strong sunlight.
When I opened my eyes again, the sight before me was beyond words.
“Wow.”
A translucent magic barrier covered the entire sky above Keplan.
High-rise buildings lined the cityscape.
Artificial structures floated in the air.
Countless people crowded the streets, and even at a glance, I could see many individuals with considerable strength.
It was clearly different from what I had seen in Khaoto or Shan Kris.
Looking further into the distance, I saw towering structures in the shape of towers in all four cardinal directions.
In the north, a red magic tower.
In the south, a blue magic tower.
In the east, a yellow magic tower.
And finally, at the end of the western horizon, a white skyscraper stood taller than any other magic tower.
Swoosh—
Even from afar, I could see an enormous amount of light flashing from the upper part of the white magic tower, which was hidden behind the clouds.
“Just as I heard.”
It was indeed a prominent magic city in the west.
But a place like this was ripe for the taking.
While admiring the city\'s scenery, I suddenly spotted familiar faces nearby.
Those idiots were laughing and chatting in a tavern across the street.
I dashed over to them like lightning and said,
“What are you guys doing right now?”
“Commander, you finally made it?”
“You guys are leisurely having drinks as soon as you arrive?”
“We’ve been here for a while. You’re the one who’s late.”
It turned out that they had all arrived quite a while ago.
It seemed the slight time difference that occurred when entering the magic circle had a significant impact.
“Let’s go.”
I went straight to the counter and said to the clerk,
“How much?”
I deliberately glared at him.
You could call it a preemptive measure to avoid being ripped off.
But the answer I received was unexpected.
“You’ve already paid.”
“Who?”
Makan puffed out his chest.
“I did. Commander. I arrived first.”
“...How much was it?”
“Two gold bars.”
“What?”
It cost two gold coins to use the magic circle but Two Gold Bars for just a few bottles of moonshine?
I glared at the clerk and said,
“How much is a bottle?”
“It’s the market price.”
When I scoffed, the clerk said with a smile,
“As I already explained to that gentleman, we’re not an ordinary tavern. All our drinks are priced at market value.”
The tavern was almost full.
I looked around for a moment and approached a table where a huge man with an axe on his back was sitting.
“Excuse me.”
The huge man looked around and pointed at himself.
“Are you talking to me?”
“You seem to know what’s going on here, so I’d like to ask you something.”
“Get lost, kid.”
“You’re wrong on both counts. I’m not the one who’s going to get lost, and I’m not a kid.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“They say the moonshine here is priced at market value. Is that right?”
The huge man, who had been glancing between the clerk and me, suddenly said with a laugh,
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Two gold bars is the right price?”
“Damn right it is. Now scram, kid.”
“If I buy the same thing and sell it for two gold bars, will you buy it?”
The huge man stopped laughing.
He slowly started reaching for the axe on his back. I smiled and shook my head.
That’s when it happened.
The small man who had been sitting quietly across from him finally spoke.
“Interesting fellow.”
The small man raised his head, revealing a face covered in scars.
The huge man looked at the small man with a surprised expression.
“What’s this? You seem to like him, Sodert?”
“He’s got spirit. It’s rare to see someone like that.”
“Spirit, my ass. He reeks of milk.”
“Who knows? Maybe we’ll meet inside later and he’ll be of some help.”
“Don’t jinx it, Sodert. You’re ruining my mood for moonshine.”
The small man called Sodert looked at the clerk and smiled.
“Just charge them the regular price. Take one gold coin.”
The clerk, with a somewhat intimidated expression, said nothing and approached us. He returned the gold bar and said politely,
“We apologize. Please consider this matter settled.”
“What a rip-off.”
I thanked Sodert and headed out the door.
“Thank you.”
Once outside, I said to my squad members,
“Hand over your money, everyone.”
“…….”
“You idiots have absolutely no sense of money.”
The money offered by the clans in Quebek and the countless gold bars we got from Urgon’s secret vault…
I had told them to take their travel expenses and didn’t pay much attention, but it seemed these guys had no concept of the value of money.
Zion said with an aggrieved look,
“Not me. I’m a business manager. I didn’t bring much.”
Not to be outdone, Palge appealed to his merchant family background.
“Shut up.”
I collected all the money from those idiots, then distributed only the minimum necessary expenses and pocketed the rest.
Makan said with a frustrated expression,
“Sorry. I never thought this would happen in Keplan. This never happened in Khaoto.”
“The fancier the place, the easier it is to get ripped off. If you look weak, you’ll become an easy target. Learn from this.”
Makan nodded with a determined look.
“Understood, Commander.”
Zion asked as if giving up,
“By the way, where are we going? Can we go straight to the demon realm?”
I looked at the cityscape of Keplan, where magic swirled.
“First, we’re going to the Magic Tower Alliance.”
I was thinking of getting an entry permit to enter the demon realm first.