Chapter 13. A Flash of Insight (1)
Murmur, murmur—
It wasn’t until morning that we finally arrived outside the city.
Outside the walls of Dungard, crowds of travelers and carriages were gathered, waiting to depart for other cities.
I walked past the loud, boisterous adventurers and approached an old man leaning against a carriage.
“I’m looking for a carriage heading to the Free City of Veritas.”
“Veritas?”
The old man cackled, his yellowed teeth exuding a foul stench.
“Just hop on any carriage out here! Nine times out of ten, it’s headed to Veritas!”
Ah.
Like I said before, I had never actually visited the dark city of Dungard at this point in the story.
Even if I’d wanted to in the game, there was no way to do so.
That’s why I was a little worried—what if there weren’t any carriages to Veritas? But luckily, it seemed we’d arrived right in the middle of a major adventurer migration.
Lucky me. If there had been fewer carriages, I probably would’ve had to pay a fortune.
“Hey.”
As I was deep in thought, the old man spoke to me again.
“If you’re heading to Veritas, how about riding with me? I’m headed that way myself.”
“How much?”
“Let’s see. If you include your companion, how about two million shillings… Hey! Where are you going?!”
Without a word, I walked right past him.
“A wise choice,” said Adelia, who had been trailing closely behind me.
“If transportation were scarce, it might be different. But if most of the carriages are headed to Veritas right now, the going rate would be about 500,000 shillings.”
“…”
“And that man’s not even a smart scammer. If he wanted to rip us off, he should’ve lied and said there weren’t any carriages to Veritas.”
Chatter, chatter—
Adelia kept mumbling to herself, wondering aloud how such a dumb old man had survived to such an age.
Watching her quietly, I chuckled inwardly.
‘Adelia.’
Sorry, but I had a different reason for walking away from that old man.
While Adelia and I were moving between carriages to check prices—
Tap.
Someone placed a hand on my shoulder, stopping me.
“Excuse me.”
“…?”
“Aren’t you… that gladiator from the underworld arena a few days ago?”
Turning around, I saw a man with a smooth bald head and a bristly beard—an imposing figure built more like a warrior than a merchant.
But the emblem on his chest proved otherwise: he was a seasoned merchant.
‘…Oh?’
I was genuinely surprised upon seeing the emblem.
It was the mark given only to those who had traveled the 【Silk Road】 more than a hundred times.
That meant this merchant was a veteran among veterans.
‘Wait a second… could this guy be…?’
As I squinted and stared at his face, the bald merchant burst into a hearty laugh.
“Ha ha ha! That glare says it all—you are that gladiator!”
“What do you want?”
“Nothing much. What does a merchant like me ever want?”
“…”
“I just need someone who can safely escort my caravan to our destination.”
In other words, he was looking to hire a guard.
“Destination?”
“The Free City of Veritas. So, what do you say? Interested?”
Slick—
The man offered a handshake.
I had no reason to refuse, so I took his hand.
Free ride secured. And not just a free ride—
“Here, 500,000 shillings up front. When we get there safely, you’ll get another 500,000.”
Clink—!
“…”
Correction: I secured a ride and got paid for it.
Rattle, rattle—
The carriage shook.
It was a blazing hot afternoon, and we were crossing a patchy wasteland dotted with sparse grass.
This was the Silk Road, one of the few safe zones in the uncharted territories.
Along that sacred route, six carriages moved in procession.
A convoy large enough to be considered a trade caravan in the world of Roel. Naturally, it came with a sizable escort of mercenaries.
Though, of course, still nothing compared to the Ruin Caravan…
‘Well, they’re an outlier, so let’s not even compare.’
Anyway.
The mission Adelia and I accepted wasn’t to guard the entire caravan.
Strictly speaking, it was to guard the caravan leader.
That big, muscular bald man currently looking at me with curious eyes—he was the one we were to protect.
Thanks to that, while the other mercenaries had to walk outside the carriage, we got to ride comfortably next to the caravan leader all the way to Veritas.
“Hey.”
The bald merchant spoke to me.
“You were hired by the Ruin Caravan, weren’t you?”
“…”
“Barbado the Butcher held the champion title for a long time. Just when the crowd was getting bored, I figure they brought you in to liven things up.”
“…”
“So? Am I right?”
He subtly tried to probe me.
I remained silent.
When I refused to answer, the bald man laughed heartily.
“Ha ha, playing hard to get, huh?”
“…”
“No chitchat in the contract, right? Got it. I won’t bother you anymore.”
True to his word, he clammed up.
Even in the silence that followed, he kept glancing at me now and then.
Slick—
I ignored him and turned my gaze toward the skill window I had opened earlier.
━━━━━━━━━━━━
【True Ritardando】
Grade: ??
Type: Active Skill, Authority Skill
Cost: None
Cooldown: 12 hours
[Skill Description]
Time flows equally for all, or so they say. But you, recognized by the “Master of Seconds and Moments,” may be the exception.
The grains of sand within the glass grow heavier. Arrows that once flew fast now drift slowly in the air.
But be warned.
If you abuse the eternity within a moment, your time will begin to erode.
In the end, you will lose your sense of self in the endless slowness.
[Effect]
Slows down time.
━━━━━━━━━━━━
An authority skill: 【Ritardando】.
It was the reward for clearing the hidden dungeon of Dungard.
Its effect was simple:
‘…When used, time slows down for a period.’
A skill for when bosses entered complex attack phases.
Of course, that didn’t mean the player could move freely in frozen time.
It merely allowed you to see the slowed attack trajectories and plan your movements accordingly.
A sort of accelerated mental processing.
‘Still…’
Slick—
I looked more closely at the skill window.
After Adelia performed the spirit rite, something had changed about Ritardando.
First, the word “True” was now in its name.
‘…I finally got the true version.’
An Elder’s authority is immensely powerful.
Mere mortals cannot bear such might.
That’s why most authority skills are “nerfed”—limited in power to make them controllable.
‘But a skill with “True” in its name is different.’
True.
It meant you could wield divine power without restriction, in its full glory.
Only those specially recognized by Elders could receive this designation.
‘In the game, it was impossible to obtain True Ritardando…’
Looks like the “Master of Seconds and Moments” took quite a liking to me.
Maybe channeling the spirit through Adelia really was the right call.
‘…Wait, but why is the cooldown so long?’
If I remembered right, Ritardando originally had a 3-minute cooldown.
But now? 12 hours.
That’s 240 times longer.
Does that mean the effect got that much stronger? Or is the wait time the price for its power?
‘Hmm.’
I didn’t know yet. I lacked information.
Well, let’s just try it once. Then I’ll know for sure.
Ding—!
〔You used Authority Skill: 【True Ritardando】.〕
The moment my will aligned with the skill, it activated.
Tick, tick, tick—
The sound of second hands ticking echoed from all directions. Simultaneously, the world around me began to slow down.
‘Huh…?’
Wait a sec. Something’s off.
Creeeeak—
Cloooonk—
The skill was far more powerful than I’d expected.
No—this wasn’t just “more powerful.”
‘…It’s way too much.’
It was excessive.
Time was slowing to a ridiculous degree.
The carriage jolted, and with it, even my internal organs began to jiggle slightly.
With time slowed to this degree, I started perceiving each of those tiny movements.
‘Urgh!’
Nausea hit. A wave of sickness surged through me.
My body couldn’t withstand the dissonance between real time and my perceived time.
Creeeeak—
Crunch—!
‘Ugh, dammit…’
…To make things worse, the shaking carriage made me bite my tongue.
‘GAHHH—!!’
I screamed in agony—silently, only in my mind.
This terrible torture continued until the skill’s effect finally wore off.
Ding—!
〔Your Max Mental Strength resists fainting.〕
Damn it.
It felt like ten hours had passed.
If not for the 【Soul of the Swordmaster】, I probably would’ve passed out from the pain.
Still, it wasn’t all for nothing.
Ding—!
〔You endured immense pain for a long duration.〕
〔Reward: Passive Skill 【Lesser Pain Resistance】 acquired.〕
…Whether that was a fair reward for what I went through—I’m not so sure.
“…”
Rattle, rattle—
Adelia stared silently at the man seated across from her.
He truly was a mysterious figure.
Sure, it’s hard to gauge someone’s strength if they’re leagues above you—but why couldn’t she feel any aura from him?
‘Just how vast is the gap between us, that I can’t even sense his strength…?’
He sliced through powerful foes with a single strike, overcame fearsome trials without blinking, and possessed a noble heart that honored the souls trapped in that factory.
Watching him filled her with awe. It was no wonder he’d been chosen as the “Seeker of the Sword,” the one to inherit the will of the great Elder.
Adelia felt immense gratitude for being allowed to learn under such an extraordinary being.
“Gasp!”
“…?”
Cough, cough—
Suddenly, the man began breathing heavily.
His eyes wide, he coughed violently, his whole body convulsing. His breath was instantly labored.
“A-Are you all right?!”
Startled by the sudden episode, Adelia rushed to his side.
Fortunately, he quickly regained his composure. After a few deep breaths, he replied in a calm voice.
“I’m fine. It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
But Adelia could tell he was lying.
‘…Blood?’
His sleeve—used to cover his mouth—was faintly stained with blood.
With trembling eyes, Adelia looked at him again.
And at last, the veil lifted. She finally saw him clearly.
A frail body, barely any muscle. Skin so pale, his veins were visible.
Yes. He’d looked sickly from the very start.
She couldn’t understand how someone with such a body could perform such explosive feats.
‘No way…’
A series of thoughts flashed through her mind.
Why was his body so weak?
Why had a sword seeker—who shunned the mortal world—suddenly revealed himself?
Why, even while so busy, did he take her along to teach her?
‘…Could it be he doesn’t have much time left? That he’s burning himself out while he still can?’
In that moment, all of his mysterious actions made perfect sense.
