Talent Acquisition (1)
“Ho ho, did I really take down Rohan? I thought it was just an empty cart making a lot of noise, but it seems I was wrong.”
BZZZZH— The scorching sun above, the blazing desert, the boiling atmosphere.
On a rocky mountain in the southern desert, where no one ventured due to the extreme environment, a large man wrapped in a robe stared at the horizon and muttered softly.
“Yeah, this much is expected. I was almost disappointed given how incompetent those fools are.”
As he spoke to himself, others, similarly cloaked, bowed deeply as they stood behind him.
Of course, anyone daring to speak without permission would risk their heads, so no one answered him.
“Well then, I guess it’s time to slowly move on to the next stage. The eyes of the continent will be focused northward for a while, so it should be easier to proceed.”
The man, who had been gazing at the horizon, finally turned around.
As he stepped towards the cave on one side of the rocky mountain, a sudden gust of wind whipped around him.
FLAP FLAP—
The rough edges of his robe flapped violently.
And at the front, the hood of the large man parted for a moment, revealing a tattoo of a vibrant flame pattern that crawled up to his neck before vanishing again.
“Tch, what a damn annoying environment.”
Clicking his tongue lightly, he adjusted his robe casually and vanished into the cave, the hiding place of the ‘Seed of Madness’—the crucial contributor to turning this continent into chaos.
*
As time passed, the situation in the Rohan Principality worsened.
Now, they could barely hold the area near the capital, and the nation had long lost its functional status.
A small blessing was that the Azerion Empire was gathering troops for a northern advance.
Since the principality had been holding on, they had focused their efforts elsewhere, and soldiers began quickly gathering at the relatively weak northern border.
While there was ongoing madness in the vast territory of the empire, it was a rather reckless deployment for them as well…
However, they couldn’t afford to let Rohan completely vanish, so it was a decision they had to make.
‘The elite led by the Cardinal of the Holy Church Order have already departed, haven’t they? They said they would gather as many refugees as possible to the capital and hold out until support arrives.’
The empire was also hastening, but it would take time for troops to mobilize.
Naturally, that meant the number of sacrifices would continue to rise.
For the Holy Church Order, which aimed to minimize the number of sacrifices, this method was the best they had.
‘Heinrich… he won’t be able to move for a while. After all, with all the fuss about the continent’s allied forces and brave parties, the only opponent to the Undead King can’t leave his post.’
If a few strong entities had invaded, it would be a different matter, but recovering a territory overwhelmed by numerous monsters would take considerable time.
Even if he were to act, it would most likely be only after the Rohan Shrine’s gate was restored and travel became smooth again.
And while the continent was engulfed in chaos and upheaval.
At last.
[Hrum— I didn’t expect it to come to this. Those guys have a knack for popping up and being a nuisance no matter how many we capture.]
Undead King Hans reemerged in the Auterica dimension.
‘But it seems like something goes wrong every time I step away lately.’
Of course, it might be just a feeling, but with recent invasions from the Yufershi Clan and the current situation being so significant, it’s only natural to be concerned about not being able to respond immediately.
‘For now, I should refrain from calling avatars to Earth as much as possible. Now I can maintain ‘Entity Projection’ for an hour.’
In the midst of the continent’s turmoil, no one knew what might happen and how.
Especially since those cockroach-like Oath of Reversal fellows seemed to be starting to move in earnest, it was best to prepare thoroughly for the smooth running of the ‘home theater’.
‘…No, come to think of it, isn’t it frustrating? Why should I be racking my brain because of those guys?’
He just wanted to stage a “Demon King plotting to conquer the continent versus a hero” narrative, but things kept escalating because of them.
So far, he had managed to weave things together, but the mere existence of variables beyond his control was nerve-wracking.
‘Once this matter is wrapped up, I’ll have to deal with those guys more seriously. This time, Hans will have to take action directly.’
It’s not like he had suffered any significant losses; rather, he only remembered capturing them easily…
But that wasn’t the main issue.
Right now.
The very fact that those guys were interfering with his plans was crucial.
Hoo… Still, for the time being, let’s start by setting up a base in the Northern Mountain Range.
Just as Hans resolved this in his mind and was about to summon the executives to give related orders.
Banshee Queen Olivia, who hadn’t been called during the shrine assault and had been diligently working, brought in enticing information.
[Your Majesty, I cross-checked the information obtained from those you dispatched previously… and the recently captured executives… and conducted investigations focusing on the most likely locations…]
She had successfully narrowed down the influential range of those trying to infiltrate Talia on the orders of the higher-ups of the Yufershi Clan and the Oath of Reversal’s Turke Kingdom branch, Oldman.
What followed was the usual thorough investigation using spirits.
[In the course of that, I was able to discover that there are… related individuals among those you had been watching, my lady…].
What came next was as swift as ever.
[Azerion Empire, Tovea City…].
That place was one of the imperial direct jurisdictions surrounded by the capital, Jeron, located in the center of the continent.
It was regarded as a major city due to its proximity to key transportation routes.
[Among them is a high-ranking executive of the Oath of Reversal moving the Yufershi Clan…].
Driven by her obsession that bordered on fixation, she had finally spotted suspects within her sights.
[Ho ho— well done, Olivia. So, they were hiding within the empire?]
[Indeed, Your Majesty…].
With that irritation already nagging at him, it also didn’t seem like a bad idea to make a quick stop there before heading to the Northern Mountain Range.
Given the proximity of the empire and the principality, it was likely there was a connection to those who had caused trouble this time.
…It might even be the culprits themselves.
[How dare they hide and only twitch their fingers from behind. This time, I should directly pull them out.]
With that, the Undead King Hans, who had been simmering with anticipation, began to move personally.
*
“Something feels off. Definitely feels off.”
A young man with dusty blonde hair wandered around the luxurious room, muttering to himself.
Then, as if something wasn’t going well, he raked his fingers through his hair and collapsed heavily into an armchair, taking a deep breath.
Hoo— no, I’m probably overreacting.
The evil organization ‘Oath of Reversal’ dreams of overthrowing the world.
Andrew Weaver, an awakened one from Earth belonging to that organization, sank deeply into the chair and closed his eyes gently.
He was tasked by the high-ranking executive, Siana, to monitor several movements, but recent ominous signs detected by his unique skill ‘Trail Observation’ had put him on edge.
‘What the heck has happened?’
First, the Yufershi Clan had suddenly begun showing strange movements right after heading towards Talia.
Observing purebloods was beyond his capacity, so he hadn’t directly witnessed the fight between them and the Brokoslac Clan.
‘But something’s definitely wrong.’
For one, the reinforcements sent by Siana had disappeared without a trace.
Furthermore, it seemed they had been involved with beings of a much higher echelon that he couldn’t track, leaving him with no information about the reason why.
‘They disappeared suddenly while heading towards Talia. …Could it be that the pureblood of Brokoslac was there?’
With a black veil draped over his eyes, he could clearly grasp nothing, sparking questions from every angle.
How the battle between the two clans had ended, who was blocking his view in Talia, and what had happened to the reinforcements sent by Siana.
There wasn’t a single thing he could ascertain.
‘…It’s been a while since I felt this powerless. No, it’s even worse than before.’
Even when his unique skill’s level was low in the past, he didn’t feel this helplessness.
After all, back then, there wasn’t a lot of encounters with entities of that caliber, and even if there were things he couldn’t see, he acknowledged his limitations and quickly gave up.
But now, having significantly enhanced his skills by investing vast karma and having his confidence swell and ambition ignite, he found himself in this situation…
“That’s just… infuriating.”
What he couldn’t understand about the situation didn’t end there.
The unidentified barbarian actively engaged in the northern Steel Fortress of the Turke Kingdom.
When Andrew first learned of the party that had gone to the Northern Mountain Range, he suspected they were sent to retrieve some powerful person hiding in the mountains on some secret mission.
Whether that target was a pureblood or something else entirely, it would have explained the anomalies detected by ‘Trail Observation.’
‘But that wasn’t the case. They were indeed heading to the mountain on a pureblood rescue request. What’s strange is that barbarian.’
It was too different between going and coming back to claim he had faced trials and grown.
It raised doubt to the point where he wondered if they were the same person at all.
Even now, his stature obfuscated the view, remaining hazy.
‘There’s been a gap where he might’ve briefly slipped away from the Steel Fortress, but…’
He could only guess that he might have moved somewhere through the shrine; the exact trail was untraceable.
‘That barbarian definitely has something. The mana collision observed in the Northern Mountain Range is highly likely the Undead King and the Dragon’s doing. But how could someone who recently visited the mountains become so strong? Using the power of a dragon at that?’
Though it’d be hard to scrutinize that ‘Harley’ directly, he was still steadily gathering information through the rumors spreading around.
Thus, he discovered that he was an extremely rare race— a dragonkin…
‘No, I can smell something. The difference between entering and exiting the mountain, the gap between them. What’s the cause?’
Though it was an ungrounded leap of logic lacking evidence, his finely tuned instincts kept reminding him of something off.
But any supposition he could frame remained nothing but meaningless speculation without supporting evidence.
Well, it’d be fortunate if nobody assumed that barbarian allied with the Undead King, the calamity of the continent, to hunt and devour the Bone Dragon.
“Ugh, let’s just let this go for now. It’s not an urgent matter.”
Though he felt uneasy about the orders coming from the organization and was concerned, it didn’t have a direct correlation to him, so he didn’t have to investigate it any deeper.
Still, he felt a pang of unease, but the truly important problem lay somewhere else.
“I’m certain. Those guys, it’s not a coincidence. They’re specifically… tracking the Oath of Reversal… us.”
The visible, efficient movements of the Undead Army were precisely that.
Some time ago, Andrew had reported the anomalies he sensed to Siana.
Besides, this was a matter directly related to him, so he had been closely observing their activities since then.
‘They’re moving from the western territories towards the center now.’
His instincts, which he normally considered keen, were now incessantly ringing alarms, making his spine chill with anxiety.
But Andrew endeavored to analyze the situation objectively.
‘Though they’re moving toward the central region, they still approach from the outskirts. I’m in the heart of the empire, so it’ll take them a significant amount of time to reach here.’
While ominous signs were indeed present, it wasn’t something that required immediate action.
What’s more, he wasn’t in an underground organization like others, but living in an esteemed noble mansion of the empire.
‘…Still, I can’t just sit idle. I need to tell Siana and come up with some countermeasures.’
Even as his instincts continued to alert him to an unknown dread, he approached the next steps coolly, prioritizing rational thought.
The anxiety he felt now could just be an overreaction.
Tch, I better refrain from going out for a while. It’s going to be dull for some time.
In that way, Andrew, who forced himself to calm down, poured whiskey from a bottle on the table straight down his throat.
As the harsh liquid burned his throat, his mind finally settled, and the sense of crisis slowly began to fade.
Unbeknownst to him that it was already far too late to be cautious.
Around the mansion where he was hiding…
Ghosts were gradually gathering.
