Chapter 213

Chapter 213

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In rural farming villages, boys and girls often play together without distinguishing gender when young. Without any shame, or rather, at an age before even knowing what shame was, they would take off all their clothes at the stream and play splashing water together.

Then when the time comes to open their eyes to the opposite sex, kids who caught each other's eyes naturally married. That was life in the countryside, and that was human life.

Lena was like that too. Opening her eyes in the morning she immediately carried an A-frame water carrier on her back, went to the well to fetch water to her house, quickly did only her chores, and would run straight to where the kids were to play.

Were there about fifteen roughly? The kids who hung around and played together. She can still remember the names of a few.

But always, the boys would did something like a test of courage once in a while. Was it because they wanted to show off that they were brave.

Jumping down into the deep valley water from a high place, or jumping across a disconnected path where there's a cliff below. They would provoke each other asking if they could did such things.

Then the boys would be divided into a few categories. A kid who talks big saying he can confidently did it, or a kid who backs out saying he can't from the beginning, a kid who stops them saying let's not did it.

And, a kid who stays quietly still in the back then suddenly jumps out. That kid was precisely Lena.

Lena boldly, without any words, showed through actions the deeds even the boys couldn't readily did. Then everyone's eyes would roll wide, and Lena would laugh heartily seeing her friends' stupid expressions.

When she stepped up and acted first like that, one by one they mustered up courage and followed suit.

Because Lena was such a kid, the boys followed her better since young. And the girls looked at her exactly like an idol. Thus naturally her dreams grew.

However when she reached a certain age marriage talks regarding engagement went back and forth in the family. She tthought it was around 11 or 12 years old.

Exactly as if being born as a woman was the shackle of fate, that brave Lena also had to live a life as a woman.

Lena hated that, so she unconditionally left home and entered Kalitz Academy. Because a job where one could succeed regardless of gender exactly like an adventurer wasn't common.

Like that Lena threw off the shackle of fate and pioneered her own life. To succeed for all to see and return home proudly was her own goal.

However there were numerous rivers, ponds, lakes, and oceans in the world. The rural farming village where Lena distinguished herself was a very small pond.

Just Kalitz Academy alone had all sorts of kids from diverse regions gathered, and there she felt the gap in talent for the first time.

Still Lena's innate competitive spirit and bold temperament made her put in steady effort, and eventually made her distinguish herself there too.

But Kalitz Academy was also nothing more than a pond, or a small lake. The world was truly wide, and overflowed with all sorts of capable people.

Among them those from Beringen Academy, Viola Clan, and Michela Sword Monastery, commonly called the 'Three Great Prestigious Houses', were in a different league.

Strictly selected talented people had put in even more effort than herself. In Lena's eyes they were not humans. Reflexes, problem-solving abilities, learning capabilities, physical abilities, especially the skill in handling the sword and so on.

She ended up facing a limit that couldn't be overcome even with the courage she had thrown off the shackle of fate herself and the effort of never giving up.

If she wanted to live as a mediocre adventurer she could live like that. Taking on good requests multiple times and executing them successfully, getting her skills recognized to become a high-ranked adventurer was also possible.

Many adventurers lived day to day. If it was her level she might be able to accumulate quite a lot of wealth anyway.

However she could never enter the Master's Federation even if she died.

There were two paths. One was a path where safety was somewhat guaranteed, and the other was a path of dangerous and uncertain challenge.

Which to choose? Actually, looking at the course Lena had lived, the choice was no different from being predetermined.

Exactly like jumping down into the valley water from a high place, exactly like jumping across a disconnected path with a cliff below, Lena chose the path of challenge.

Somehow learning the Mana Drive, diligently polishing and refining herself, accumulating many experiences, and creating a clan that wouldn't fall behind the Three Great Prestigious Houses together with trustworthy companions.

However if that was something easily done just by making up one's mind why would numerous adventurers live with difficulty. Everyone would challenge it.

It wasn't easy from the start. Heart Eater, Four Fingers, Sawtooth. Notorious adventurers were currently snatching the Mana Drive from each other killing and dying. And there were many other adventurers aiming for it too.

So even that brave and bold Lena had no choice but to be careful. Because if she did wrong it was the perfect situation to die a dog's death. No matter how much she wanted to succeed she couldn't die a dog's death right.

Perhaps other adventurers also shared similar thoughts, they only watched each other's moods for several days and didn't readily step forward.

But just in case the unfamiliar swordsman they hired to reinforce their fighting power stepped forward. That was an action incomparable to jumping down into the valley water, closer to crazy than brave.

PPEOGEOK!

KUDANGTANG!

Rickart landed a so-called first strike on Sawtooth Azad and flipped the table. Then the other adventurers who were in the restaurant all got up from their seats at once and pulled out their weapons.

Lena and her friends were looking down at such an appearance, spectacle from upstairs. From now on nobody could know how the situation would flow.

"Strike!"

Someone shouted. However unlike the bold shout no one readily stepped forward first. Rather after pulling out their blades glowing blue they watched each other's moods even more than before.

At that time Rickart roughly kicked the door of the room Sawtooth stayed in. Along with a bang! sound the locked door was smashed in an instant, and entering inside he overturned the bed and rummaged inside.

Incomprehensible things happened next. Sawtooth who had been beaten by Rickart suddenly jumped up, and attacked his companions with his weapon wrapped in cloth.

"Am I a fucking pushover!? Uh-uh-uh-uh!?"

The companion who suffered an attack that wasn't an unexpected ambush had a chunk of flesh ripped off his shoulder. The shocked other companions scrambled to distance themselves, but the restaurant was already filled with people so they couldn't escape far.

The cloth wrapping the weapon was already torn quite a bit, and exactly living up to Azad's nickname the blade was shaped precisely like a sawtooth.

Since his nose was collapsed his breathing was hard so he seemed to be panting even more roughly, and kicking a chair roughly he shouted once again towards the adventurers in the restaurant.

"Who's next!? Did I look like a dick because I stayed still all this time!? Who's next I said!? Come at me!"

She didn't know why he was acting like that, but it felt like a situation where a fight broke out after getting drunk but hitting one's own friends or those trying to stop it rather than the opponent.

Perhaps after getting hit once by Rickart the tension and anxiety from all this time exploded making him unable to distinguish front from back. His momentum in its own way was also fierce overpowering the other adventurers.

At that time Rickart who had been rummaging the room came out again and asked the extremely excited Sawtooth.

"Hey, where did you leave the Codex?"

Then Sawtooth who was angry to the top of his head opening his eyes exactly like a demon abruptly looked back at Rickart. And without asking anything swung that terrifying weapon.

"Die! You bastard!"

However because he was so excited only the people watching were scared, Rickart himself couldn't feel the difference from kids swinging a toy sword.

Just slightly twisting his body the sawtooth sword struck the wooden wall. A crack sound was heard, and perhaps because of the shape of the blade Azad couldn't pull out the stuck sword compared to his extreme anger.

Then the opening became clear. Rickart said looking at him blankly.

"Just saying let me see it exactly once why are you all so excited."

And he struck down Azad's wrist holding the sword with the blade of his hand. It didn't even seem he hit it hard but along with a crunch sound his wrist was broken.

The pain of a bone breaking was indescribable, but perhaps unable to quickly grasp the situation itself at all, Azad lost strength and blankly stared at his own dangling wrist. And exactly regaining his reason quickly his anger cooled rapidly.

However his wrist was already broken, and there was no method to did anything.

"I kind of want to hear an answer. If you won't speak until the end I'll smoothly kill you without pain."

Rickart said. Saying those words without even a murderous aura was even scarier. A truly crazy person wouldn't necessarily get heated up, but only show it through actions.

The other adventurers inside the restaurant only watched the situation closely keeping their eyes wide open while holding their pulled-out weapons. Rickart had a completely dismissive attitude entirely ignoring them.

At that time something entered Lena's eyes gazing down from above. One of Azad's companions was unusually terrified and fidgeting endlessly.

Instinctively she got the certainty that bastard had the Codex.

So she just jumped down from the 2nd-floor railing towards him. She herself didn't know why she did such an action.

As a fully grown woman unexpectedly jumped down from above and pounced, he who was holding a weapon was crushed without even being able to swing it.

While he didn't know what was what and was out of his mind, he felt a foreign sensation under his chin. Lena's dagger had pierced his neck.

Bumping with the body first and using a dagger in a super close-combat state was a commonly used fighting method anyway.

"Keok! Keureureuk!"

Blood spurted from the neck. Lena just let go of the dagger and searched his bosom with bloody hands, and was able to find a thin booklet made of parchment.

"Found it!"

Lena jumped up and shouted. However, the problem was that all around her were enemies.

It was just that everyone was flustered because it was such an absurd and surprising event, but Lena had just killed their companion and snatched the Codex. The other adventurers closely checking the situation also all stared at her.

Rickart who was just about to beat Azad to death with his bare hands grabbing his collar, looked back at her at the words 'found it'.

An extremely brief silence flowed, and as everyone witnessed the Codex right before their eyes their eyes started rolling back from then on. Everyone simultaneously lunged towards Lena.

In an instant tables and chairs flipped over clatter and a chaotic mess occurred. Tripping over feet and falling and swinging swords randomly, it became impossible to distinguish whether companions or enemies were getting hurt.

Getting her hands on the Codex was good, but since hostile blades were all around it seemed hard to survive.

At that time two of Azad's companions who belatedly came to their senses hurriedly stabbed their swords towards Lena to snatch the Codex back again, and Lena hurriedly backed away but a wall blocked her.

Being brave, and being bold was good, but such virtues had the drawback of not guaranteeing safety. So some people didn't consider courage a virtue either.

Because the place was cramped Lena couldn't even pull out her sword to counterattack and just collapsed leaning her back against the wall. At that time breaking through the messy crash sounds a sharp sound cutting through the wind was heard.

Swoosh-!

Then those pouncing on Lena collapsed to the floor in vain flop. Those collapsed had no heads.

"Hey, told you to pay the room bill and stay near the entrance."

Rickart who had somehow pulled out his sword said.

"You, you moved too perfectly fast."

"Me? Walked slowly though."

"Wait! It's dangerous!"

The inside of the inn was already in a melee where it was hard to distinguish friend from foe, and someone tried to stab Rickart from behind.

However Rickart swung his sword backward exactly like wrapping his own head with his arm without even looking back. Then perfectly both wrists of the person ambushing from behind were cut off.

"Heuiik!"

Seeing the sight of his own cut-off hands dropping thud to the floor while holding the sword, he inhaled a vain breath then froze exactly as he was.

Regardless Rickart grabbed Lena's armpits who remained collapsed looking exactly like her body had stiffened and stood her up.

"Anyway well done. Was a bit flustered because the Codex wasn't there. Let's go out first."

Rickart said putting his sword back into the scabbard. Looking at where the other kids were they were still by the upstairs railing. Compared to the downstairs restaurant where a melee was unfolding they were rather on the safer side.

The problem was the people pouring into the inn from outside. It seemed they agreed to wait outside and replenish if an incident occurred. However with the situation like this it would only add exactly more confusion.

"Can't be helped. Let's go towards the roof."

If he wanted to kill them all he could kill them all, but whether Rickart's personality became gentler compared to before, or if he just wanted to see exactly minimal blood he said so.

Lena was completely out of her mind and because it was such a chaotic scene exactly before her eyes were spinning. She just followed sticking closely next to him with her arm held by Rickart.

Rickart went up to the second floor exactly like a fish casually swimming in water, kicking, pushing, and striking with his fists those who attacked him or blocked his front exactly once in a while.

In the midst of that Ravenna and Graf who remained on the 2nd-floor railing all the while, perhaps being perceptive in their own way secured their safety while dealing with the adventurers coming upstairs. It wasn't at the level of their bodies freezing in actual combat making them exactly unable to did anything.

Climbing onto the 2nd-floor railing and looking down, not knowing if the Codex wasn't in their minds the adventurers were busy exactly fighting each other spitting curses. No, too many people crowded in making it exactly at the level of being crushed to death.

"Damn it! Exactly just let me out!"

"Don't push! Please!"

"We exactly don't need to fight among ourselves right!"

"Hmm......"

Rickart casually looked around the scene exactly as if enjoying it, then walking down the hallway without lingering attachments pulled down something exactly like a cover on the ceiling. Then the cover opened and a ladder came down, and he climbed up that.

Because Lena and Ravenna, Graf exactly didn't have the ability to judge and entirely decide otherwise in the current situation, they exactly first followed Rickart.

Rickart waited for them to exactly come up, then perfectly stepped on and smashed the part connecting the ladder with his foot.

And looking back from the roof the sight of the city under the blue sky was exactly seen refreshingly. Coming out after being in a perfectly stuffy place it felt completely refreshing inside.

Below the roof, people's crash sounds and shouting could still be heard, and onlookers and adventurers were gathered closely around the inn.

They were people attempting to monopolize the Codex and people taking an interest because anyway a big event occurred although not knowing what matter it was.

Rickart casually scanned these situations once, organized his thoughts, then looked back at Lena whose heart was still pounding and seemed almost out of her mind and said.

"Show the Codex."

Then Lena stared blankly at Rickart panting heavily. It was a sign of conflict for a moment. Was giving it now right? Can I get it back?

Perhaps rather than because she trusted him this too might be due to the temperament that made her jump down into the valley water from a high place. Lena obediently handed over the Codex.

Receiving it, Rickart saw it was a thin booklet made of parchment. There was no such thing as a book title. Due to the nature of a Codex it was a method of alternately folding and overlapping horizontally long paper, and this was like that too.

Honestly Rickart did not expect much. Because most were fakes, and even if genuine, proper knowledge was not written down.

Nevertheless the reason he deliberately tried to look at the Codex firmly was in case, by any chance, the method of destroying a person's mind that Helauman and the Cult of Condemnation researched in the past was written down.

If this was an dangerous item too, he was sorry to Lena but he had no choice but to conditionally destroy it.

He opened the first page. Then the first sentence caught his eye. Was it a fake judging from it not being the ancient language? Such a thought briefly crossed his mind.

However, the first sentence of the Codex was entirely unexpectedly waves calling from the distant past he thought he had escaped from.

The Steel Reaper was the nickname the barbarians of the Eastern Expeditionary Land called Rickart around 100 years ago.

Just like Helauman received inspiration from Ricky in the past, someone in the Eastern Expeditionary Land seemed to have received inspiration too. That golden burning blade.

Rickart didn't get goosebumps, or feel a chill down his spine. His mind just sank down quietly.