Chapter 30
Muller’s monstrous, nearly invulnerable body was the perfect test subject for Karl’s newly acquired weapon.
Once Karl realized the beast wouldn’t fall easily, he began swinging the sword—not to kill, but as if testing its limits.
With the spirit of an explorer, he struck again and again, pushing both his body and blade in relentless pursuit of understanding.
“Wh… what’s… happening…?”
Bloodied and broken, Muller’s beast form began to dissolve, and clarity returned to his eyes.
“I just… I just wanted to be free…”
“You chose to deal with Tarantula. This is the result.”
After the last beastification incident, the Inquisitor Isabel had given Karl several pieces of critical information.
Through her, he learned that the organization spreading beastification across the continent was called Tarantula.
“So what if I did? What’s so wrong with borrowing someone else's power to grasp the freedom I couldn’t reach with my own hands? I just wanted to live freely with the villagers…”
“You could have left with nothing—just like Sancho.”
Karl’s voice and expression were different from before. Watching from afar, Philip sensed something simmering in him—anger.
“You don’t understand what it’s like… to truly have no options.”
Muller flinched at Karl’s icy voice. No one here could understand how Karl felt. No one else had been dropped into this savage world without reason, without warning, and told to survive. No one.
And then Karl’s blade rose, aiming straight for Muller’s throat.
KAAAAANG!
Just before it landed, the blow was blocked.
“We didn’t properly greet each other before, did we? I am Duke Lansard, Master of Luton Town.”
A middle-aged man with a thick jawline, heavy brows, and the stature of a tiger struck his greatsword into the ground, staring Karl down.
The sword in Karl’s hand still vibrated from the clash.
***
This was the first time since arriving on the West Continent that Karl had felt truly tense.
Muscles and raw power coiled beneath Duke’s robe like a storm waiting to explode, shifting the very air around him.
“Impressive. To be at this level at your age… I wouldn’t have believed it if we hadn’t crossed blades.”
“The feeling’s mutual.”
Duke laughed heartily at Karl’s genuine remark, but his eyes were sharp and watchful despite the smile.
“I know it’s asking much, but may I request you hand over Muller to us?”
“Why?”
“…Because the real fault doesn’t lie with Muller alone. It lies with all of us. Give us the chance to make it right.”
“You stood back and watched until now. And only now you step in?”
Thud!
Duke dropped to his knees.
“I know an apology changes nothing. But I’m asking. Just once. Forgive us. I swear, I will repay this debt someday. That sword you carry—take it as a token of that vow.”
Then, the giant man bowed fully, head touching the ground.
“Duke!”
Even as the people of Luton Town cried out, Duke remained still. Karl glanced toward Muller and the other villagers. Muller, no longer in beast form, looked utterly defeated.
“How anticlimactic.”
Karl turned away. Though he said nothing more, Duke understood. Karl had chosen to give Luton Town another chance.
“Master, why would you bow to someone like that!?”
One of the elders shouted as he ran up, but Duke rose calmly.
“We should have cared more for the people tilling the soil and raising livestock—not for some legend. Muller’s mistake is all of ours. If not for Sir Karl, we’d have kept living in that same broken way.”
“Master…”
Everyone stared at Duke in silence. Still on one knee, Duke bowed his head toward the villagers.
“Duke!”
“We can’t erase our past, but as long as I live, Luton Town will change.”
That day, as the giant of Luton Town bowed his head, time—which had long been frozen in the village—finally began to move forward again.
How could someone that age possess such skill…?
Over fifty now, Duke could still feel the shock from when their swords clashed. He clenched and opened his fist several times, repeating Karl’s name in his mind.
***
“Where are you off to, Karl?”
Philip called out from behind.
“I was just heading to your shop, actually. Care to join me for a drink?”
“Of course!”
Seeing Karl’s faint smile warmed Philip’s heart. The two entered the shop together.
“As much booze as you want—just tell me what happened in that cave.”
Karl nodded slightly and downed a full cup of liquor. And that night, like when they first met, the two men drank until morning.
With the alcohol in full effect, Philip looked up at Karl.
“Still… How did you decide to turn down that sword? If it were me… I’d have done anything to get it.”
“…”
Karl thought back to the moment when he first held the sword at the altar.
“It just felt wrong. I don’t like being led by the nose.”
And then, for just a second, Karl smiled.
“I don’t know why, but… I think I got my way in the end.”
Philip didn’t understand what Karl meant. But that smile was clear, bright, and full of release.
“So you can smile like that.”
Though it soon faded, Philip would remember that expression.
Later, as Philip slumped over the table, Karl stood quietly.
“Leaving already?”
Though he seemed asleep, Philip slowly raised his head and spoke toward Karl’s back.
“A wanderer leaves when their work is done.”
“Thank you… again.”
“I’ve heard that enough. Next time I drop by, just hand me a drink.”
“I can’t promise I’ll be here when you come back.”
“I see.”
Philip then tossed something toward Karl.
“What’s this? This isn’t a bottle—this is a bracelet.”
“It’s a spatial expansion bracelet. Ever heard of one?”
“…That’s rare.”
These magical tools were nearly nonexistent—even across the entire West Continent.
They were proof that magic still existed, enabling users to store objects within a dimensional space.
Where knights of Superior rank were rare like comets, mages were even more elusive—beings even noble households might never see once in a lifetime.
Sometimes, they’d leave behind magical artifacts so powerful they were worth entire fiefs. This bracelet Philip gave Karl was one such artifact.
“It’s an heirloom of our house. I want you to have it.”
“It’s far too valuable. I can’t accept something like this.”
“What you did for us isn’t something a bracelet could ever repay. Please—take it.”
Still unsure, Karl shook his head.
“No matter how I think of it, it’s too much. I can’t.”
“If you don’t take it, I’ll destroy it right now.”
Backed into a corner, Karl finally accepted it. As he poured his energy into it, he felt the sensation of a hidden space open up—he could reach inside.
An amazing sensation.
He could almost see the stored items projected in his mind. And when he grabbed one, it appeared in his hand instantly.
“Farewell, Karl. I hope you’ll return someday. I’ll serve even better drinks—if I’m still around.”
“I’ll bring the drinks next time.”
With that short reply, Karl turned his horse’s head. One should never leave with regrets. A wanderer, after all, is one who lives through countless partings and reunions.
“Let’s go, Silver.”
As always, Karl leaned back in his saddle, whistling toward the sky.
[Hidden Quest: Find the Buried Legend has ended.]
[You have acquired the title: The One Who Denied Legend.]
***
Having wrapped up Luton Town, Karl now checked his updated system features.
For years, the system had been little more than a morning nuisance with its endless prologue popups. But recently, it had begun to help.
The “Free Knight” fate was one such example. So was the newly earned title.
[The One Who Denied Legend: A title granted to one whose will can reject even the might of legend. Increases resistance to mental effects.]
Karl had never encountered a mental-type attack in this world. Most combat was brutally physical—blades, arrows, blunt weapons.
Still… can’t hurt to have it.
He brushed off the thought and turned to the remaining active quest.
[Seek the Truth Buried in Lies]
“Looks like I’ll need to visit Viscount Julio in the Burkden Domain.”
Sancho had buried the truth within lies.
It was already clear he wasn’t working for Count Calido, but Karl needed to know what the man truly wanted.
And whether Count Calido was connected to Tarantula, as Isabel had implied.
Things are getting more complicated.
[Progress: 1.2%]
To continue the stalled story, Karl turned his horse toward Viscount Julio’s Burkden Domain.
***
The Burkden Domain was located on the far western edge of the West Continent, northwest of Count Calido’s lands. Its remote location meant less imperial oversight.
As Karl approached, five battered mercenaries with bruised, swollen faces were walking ahead.
“So… you’re mercenaries under Viscount Julio?”
“Yes, sir! He’s recruiting heavily, and many skilled fighters are gathering in Burkden.”
“Any idea why?”
“We’ve only heard that something big is coming soon, sir. But I don’t know the details…”
Karl had just finished beating down these would-be roadside bandits who had ambushed him in the mountains.
Their threats had no real killing intent, so he had “reformed” them with his fists. Turns out, they were Julio’s hired mercenaries.
According to them, Julio’s recruitment surged after the Vermon’s Sealed Dagger appeared. That timing was suspicious.
Wasn’t the dagger supposed to end up with Count Calido?
Sancho and Anne had assumed as much—but it now seemed Julio might’ve kept the dagger for himself.
Guess I’ll find out soon.
Thanks to these unintentional guides, Karl gathered plenty of intel on Julio and the Burkden Domain.
“Seen the Viscount lately? He’s so gaunt and pale—looks like someone stretched skin over a skeleton.”
“Yet you still stick around?”
“He still pays on time… But I’ve been a mercenary for 20 years, and people like Julio always have something shady going on. There’ve even been disappearances lately.”
From Hob’s words, it was clear something was happening in the territory. But there was no way to know what—no inspector would come this far. And knight orders only moved if it benefited them.
Tarantula operating in these outer lands makes sense, in a way.
Amid such conversation, Karl reached the Burkden Domain.
Apparently, the mercenaries were familiar faces; the gate guards let them pass without issue.
“Thanks for guiding me.”
“Sir Karl, you should sign up too. With your skills, you’d earn 30 gold a month, easy.”
Thirty gold per month for a Free Knight? Assuming one gold was worth about a million won, that’d be roughly 30 million a month. Even if exaggerated three to five times, Julio clearly had serious funds.
How was he affording this in such a remote province?
Karl gave a simple nod and headed toward the local tavern.
Creeeak.
Despite being oiled, the old wooden door groaned as Karl stepped inside.