Clank! Clank! Clank!
With their heavy steps and the sound of armor reverting, the guardians of the Arclore residence are always patrolling around the area to ensure the safety of their masters. No matter the day or night, they are always on duty.
The Arclore residence is a massive landscape that contains numerous large mansions belonging to the Arclore family's higher-up nobles. As the guards patrol the place, each one of them is at least at the pinnacle of the Adept stage. And in this particular area, where the family of the headmistress resides, the guards need to be extra skilled and careful.
At the moment, the guards at the main gate are inspecting a merchant's carriage that is heading toward the residence.
"All clear, let him in."
The two guards opened the giant gate, and the carriage drove past it as it entered the road leading to the Arclore residence.
But the carriage turned onto another road halfway through, as no one but direct descendants of the family could directly go to the main residence.
When the carriage changed roads, a shadow leapt from one of the horses and jumped into the shadow of a tree nearby. From then on, it continued to leap from one shadow to another until it reached another part of the residence.
Entering a mansion, the shadow made its way toward a maid who was carrying a plate of pastries and tea.
"Young master, may I come in?"
In front of her master's door, Vanessa halted her steps and asked.
"Come in." A moment later, she heard her master's voice, and opening the door, she stepped in.
Mordred was on the balcony of the room, looking at the beautiful scenery outside. It was a bright day, birds sang, the wind blew calmly, giving Mordred a serene feeling.
But after enjoying the feeling brought by the wind, his mind fell back into thoughts. No matter what he did at the moment, his mind was always thinking about the word of the world. The cheat-like item was something he feared the most in this world.
Even though he had four pieces of it with him and reassured that nobody could complete it without him, he still needed to find the other piece to add this item to his inventory.
"Well, the future has potential... Since it takes time, in the present, I should focus on myself."
Turning back, he looked at Vanessa, who was pouring a cup of tea for him. For some reason, he felt that she was a bit darker than usual.
Then he saw the darkness seeping out from her like smoke and flowing toward him through the air.
Extending his hand, Mordred let the smoke envelope him.
"I've returned, partner."
"How did it go?"
"There were two Holy Sanctuary Knights that we slew. Although they were disfigured and separated into pieces, we managed to gather some blood from their rotting bodies."
"Holy knights' blood, that would be useful. Since you came empty-handed, I suppose you hid it in a safe place, then?"
"One of ours placed it at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. I couldn't bring any physical items with me, so you'll have to get it yourself."
"And since you're the only one who knows its hidden place, this is something I have to do personally."
After murmuring between themselves, Mordred walked into the room. Savoring the tea and tasting the delicacies Vanessa had prepared, Mordred got dressed with Vanessa's assistance.
Nobles usually have someone professional to dress them, and Mordred, being the second son of proud Arclore family, should definitely have one. But Vanessa was a woman with a vast variety of skills, which also included dressing her master—a skill she had trained in since childhood.
"For the young master's purposes, I found a fisherman suitable to catch the giant fishes," while dressing him Vanessa informed.
"Any chance he'd be willing to catch anything sooner?"
"I'll inform him, Master. He tends to be greedy for money."
After informing about how she should proceed with her tasks, I stepped out of my room with the intention of going back to the Forbidden Forest to retrieve the blood samples.
According to my command, my horse was already prepared. She had been given an extravagant name when she was ridden by the original Mordred, but I changed her name to Daisy since it was the name of a pet I used to own on Earth a long time ago.
However, as I stepped out, I saw at least ten or so carriages heading toward the main mansion. Some had their windows down, allowing me to see some of the faces inside. The same went for those inside the carriages—they could see me as well. All of them were young men and women, and they had sharp, competitive gazes as they looked at me.
"I shouldn't be the only one going to the academy from the Arclore family. Since they're here, that means a few of them will also be chosen."
The carriages belonged to the sons and daughters of the other concubines of the Arclore family's head. However, they lived in a separate part of the Arclore family estate despite being related to Mordred and the others. Mordred's mother had a huge influence on this decision.
"Is there any hero among those brothers and sisters?" Mordred fell into thought for a moment.
Destiny Quest was a game he played a long time ago when he was just in high school, so some details about it were hard for him to remember and could easily be forgotten.
"Well… We always have time to meet again, my dear brothers and sisters."
Getting on Daisy, Mordred urged her forward, and with a rush, Daisy soon ran past the Arclore residence gate into the outside world.
An hour or two passed when Mordred arrived at the Forbidden Forest. With the guidance of the ghostly woman, Mordred paused Daisy in front of a giant tree.
Looking at a hole in the tree, Mordred put his hand inside and felt a tiny bottle. A deep red liquid swirled inside as he took it out and observed it.
"Blood of the holy knights… It should be able to tolerate the potency of the spirit beings."
Getting back on his horse, Mordred turned to leave but suddenly stopped as a man stood behind him.
The man was actually a knight clad in blue-colored armor.
"You're a civilian. What are you doing in this forbidden area?"
"Nothing important to you, I assume," Mordred answered.
He didn't show much fear toward the knight, and he had a reason for that.
Among all the powerhouses in this world, the Knights of the Moon are one of the few I'm not afraid of. But this is not a good place to reveal my cards.
"Do not worry, we will take care of him. This is our domain, after all," Mordred heard the ghostly female voice.
"That's no way to talk to a knight who's trying to protect you," the knight become dissatisfied with Mordred's behavior.
"In this whole north, there are only two Moon Sanctuaries, and neither of them is close to this place. What are you doing here?" Mordred questioned.
"Right back at you, boy. Nothing for you to worry about,"
The knight was a middle-aged man with long silver hair. Taking off the helmet he wore, he took a clear glance at Mordred.
However, because Mordred was wearing a hood and a mask, he couldn't see his face.
Crack!
At that moment, they heard something like a bone-cracking sound from the forest. The knight quickly reacted and put his helmet back on.
"Farewell, innocent protecting knight. If fate allows, we'll meet again."
With a notice from the ghostly voice, Mordred urged his horse forward and rode away. The knight tried to stop him, but suddenly, from the forest, a dark figure rushed in, grabbed the knight, and moved away.
Clang! Cling!
As Mordred rode his horse through the frost, he heard the clashing sound of swords from behind.
"Didn't I free all of you? So why are you still here? My purpose for you was to distract that woman in the sanctuary."
"Not all of us are here. Most of us went our own ways. In the first place, we obey no mortal's words, and helping you with everything was done according to the contract. So don't meddle in our affairs—we have our own purposes."
Is she threatening me? It seems like they're preparing for something big they don't want me to know about. Whatever it is, they better hurry.
On his way back, Mordred didn't go to the Arclore residence. Instead, he arrived in front of a huge building with a whole lot of people coming and going.
All of them were dressed in some kind of armed attire.
This building was the Adventurers' Guild, home to those who didn't want to be under any sanctuary's or noble's influence. From the most common tasks to some of the hardest jobs, there were individuals in the guild that anyone could hire to get things done.
Mordred wore a robe to cover his face and avoid attracting attention. Halting his horse in a nearby place, he made his way into the guild.
Inside, the guild had a lively atmosphere. Although it was daytime, lamps were lit across the whole building, brightening it even more than daylight.
Without attracting attention, Mordred walked past the adventurers and stood in front of the large board where tasks for adventurers were posted.
Mordred wanted to know what kind of tasks adventurers were taking on these days. More importantly, he wanted to see if any of the tasks he remembered from the game would appear on this board.
Among those tasks, some had very important development to the plot, which is why he personally came to see.
As he look through some caught his eye. One was to investigate the sudden disappearance of animals and the tavern close to the Forbidden Forest. Another was to investigate the disappearance of civilians in the city.
But suddenly, among the list of tasks, Mordred saw another one that caught his eye.
[Explore an Abandoned Ancient Mine]
Could this be…
Mordred tried to pick the task, but before he could, someone else's hand reached for it.
"Oh... Do you want to pick this task?" The one who took it was a man—a warrior who seemed to have some power behind his words.
Mordred memorized his face before shaking his head and looking back at the task board.
The man realized that the stranger didn't want to talk, so he didn't mind the situation much.
After looking through the task board and finding nothing more interesting, Mordred walked out of the guild.
That task… Its location… Could it be related to the Beast King's inheritance?
Getting back on his horse, Mordred rode back to the Arclore Residence.
After returning, the first thing he did was call Vennesa and instruct her to place a few spies around the guild to keep an eye on the man who picked the mine exploration task.
Beast King's Legacy… It was originally supposed to be inherited by one of the heroes in the game. But if I could somehow get there first, maybe…
While thinking to himself, he heard Vennesa's voice from outside.
"Master, may I come in?"
"Come in."
Stepping into the room, Vennesa first handed Mordred a note.
"The fisherman said he would come to the lake tomorrow, and these are the things he needs us to prepare."
Looking through the list of items, Mordred nodded his head.
Although it wasn't much different from what he had already used while fishing, there were a few changes.
"I suppose we have the capability to prepare all this before tomorrow, right?"
"Yes, my lord. I only need your permission for that."
Taking the list in her hand, Vennesa turned to leave.
"What kind of man is this fisherman? Is he trustworthy?"
"He's someone only interested in catching giant fish like this and making money. It's a bit odd, but he lives alone near Lagan-Ya Lake. There are rumors that he even caught a fish at the Mystic rank once."
Turning back on her step, Vennesa answered respectfully.
"A man that only focuses on his job... or hobby, maybe. Since that's the case, I don't think he would spread any rumors, Also it wouldn't be bad to see how this guy catches those giant in the deep."