chapter 56

Beniang waited anxiously in front of the tower for Frey.

‘Should I have followed them?’

It didn’t seem like it would just be a simple conversation.

Beniang, thought of Dugenjar.

Among the executives of the Phisfounder Armlets, that man was the one who could be said to have the most hostility towards the Traumen Rings.

Before, when the Traumen Rings was one of the four largest circles, Dugenjar would stare at them with a fierce gaze at every meeting.

It was the same even when the previous master Osel Argento, was alive.

Whenever Osel looked at him with a soft smile, Dugenjar would turn his head away with killing intent in his eyes.

However, after Osel died and the circle began to deteriorate, the situation changed.

Beniang had difficulty speaking after seeing his gaze. No, it wasn’t just Dugenjar.

None of the people there were friendly to a fallen circle.

“Ah…!”

From the distance, she saw Frey approaching.

Beniang ran up to him.

“Is, is everything okay?”

“Yes.”

When Frey simply nodded with a calm expression, Beniang felt a bit confused.

Did nothing really happen?

From what she could see, there didn’t seem to be anything abnormal.

“And Honor Dugenjar…?”

“He went back.”

“Honor Dugenjar…just went back?”

“I explained the situation and he believed me.”

“…”

It didn’t make sense.

Beniang found it impossible to believe Frey’s words, but she had a feeling that she would not get an answer even if she continued to ask.

She could only put on a confused expression.

“…so are you done with your business?”

“Yeah. I think we can leave right away. Where is the headquarters of the Traumen Rings?”

“In the Peinsisko Forest. About three days away from Uthiano by foot.”

“By foot?”

“I’m sorry, but the road isn’t developed enough for a wagon to drive on and there are no Warp Stones.”

Beniang smiled awkwardly and Frey nodded.

They bought food, drinking water and camping equipment from a nearby general store and immediately left Uthiano.

And so their short journey began.

As Beniang had said, the road was not very developed.

Even though it was a short walk, because it was on a rough mountain road, it was rather tiring.

It might have been difficult for him before he had trained in the tower, but now it was quite relaxing.

Beniang also didn’t seem to be lagging behind either.

No, instead she was even more relaxed than Frey.

Just before they crossed a small mountain, Frey stopped walking and looked back.

With the reddish sunset in the background, Uthiano looked small in the distance.

The beautiful sight warmed his heart.

‘Come to think of it, this is the first time I’m traveling by foot since my return.’

To get to Kausymphony, he took a ship and then to get to every other destination, he used Warp Stones.

They were comfortable and efficient trips.

No, it was more like ‘moving’ than actually travelling.

This wasn’t to say that the current journey was bothersome and difficult. Instead, it had a certain beauty to it.

Frey prefered to have leisure trips and he especially liked taking a slow look at the surrounding scenery.

Beniang didn’t rush him and instead matched Frey’s relaxed pace.

The first day.

When the sun finally set completely, Frey and Beniang set up a campsite.

Surprisingly, it seemed that Beniang was familiar with camping.

Even on the mountain road, she managed to find suitably level ground for camping, made a campfire and skillfully laid their sleeping bags.

She even offered to make dinner herself.

She also had a Subspace Bag.

From it, she removed utensils and ingredients and began to make soup on the spot.

It was better than he expected, so Frey was surprised.

Beniang smiled as she handed a bowl of soup to Frey.

“I hope it suits your tastes.”

He took a sip and found that it was very delicious.

When Frey praised the great flavor, Beniang smiled so brightly it seemed like she would fly away.

“Would you like another bowl?”

“Please.”

“Okay!”

Looking at her act like this, one would never believe that she was a Circle Master or a Half-Dragon.

She felt more like an innocent country girl.

After the meal, Frey spoke.

“The man who was the previous Circle Master. Did you say his name was Osel Argento?”

“That’s right.”

“Which Demigod killed him?”

Beniang froze at that.

Then she smiled bitterly and turned to Frey.

“…you asked a very sensitive question.”

‘Ah.’

He inwardly thought that his question might have been too much.

It occurred to him that he might have to reflect on his straightforward way of talking. Since his return, his computational mindset which focused on efficiency had become more pronounced.

He didn’t have a very friendly personality 4,000 years ago, but it wasn’t this bad.

“I’m sorry.”

Frey bowed his head and reflected.

Embarrassed, Beniang shook her hand at him.

“N-, no. I’ve already learned to accept my father’s death. If I had allowed myself to wallow in it then the Traumen Rings would’ve been destroyed.”

“…”

“How much do you know about Demigods?”

“I know that they are transcendent beings that surpass human understanding.”

Since Frey wanted to hear about the Demigods from a Circle Master’s perspective, he acted like he didn’t know much.

Beniang nodded without having any strange thoughts about his response.

“I can’t tell you everything. Since you’re still an outsider.”

“Would I be able to learn it if I entered the Traumen Rings?”

Beniang gave a bright smile.

“Of course. With your skill, you would be able to become an executive immediately. But for now, I’ll only tell you what I can.”

“Thank you for that.”

Beniang looked into the campfire for a moment before speaking.

“The Demigods also have a superior. An entity that was able to command all Demigods. We call him Lord.”

“…”

Frey’s eyes shook.

Lord.

How could he forget?

He couldn’t help but think about what had happened at that time.

It was a being that he had encountered after he reached 9 stars. The being who had utilised its incredible power to seal him in the Abyss.

Frey had been avoiding thinking about it as much as possible.

This was because he still had not figured out a way to defeat this all powerful being who had crushed him even when he was a 9 star Great Mage.

At that moment Frey realised that this information had been hidden from him deliberately.

‘The Circle knew about Lord.’

In the past, Shepard had told him that they didn’t have much knowledge about Demigods.

Frey now realised that that was a lie.

Of course, he didn’t feel betrayed or disappointed in Shepard.

He didn’t fully trust Frey at that time, and wouldn’t tell him the truth.

In fact, it was rather strange that Beniang was even telling him this secret.

“And even among the Demigods, there are individuals with tremendous power. We call them [Apocalypses] for easy classification…”

“Apocalypse…?”

“While they are not as strong as Lord, they are still strong enough to have a certain influence among the Demigods.”

Beniang stretched out three fingers.

“We’ve figured out the power of three of the Apocalypses. Sword, Poison and Death.”

At first, it would seem like these words have no connection, but Frey knew the identity of one of them.

The Demigod who controlled poison.

An ugly old man with many age spots.

‘That old man is definitely strong among the Demigods.’

It seemed that as the years passed, Demigods like that old man, who had more power than the others, were classified separately from the rest.

“My father was killed by a Demigod who has the power of Death. It was not that long ago. Only two years.”

“Was that when the Traumen Rings suffered a devastating blow?”

“Yes.”

Beniang spoke bitterly.

“Our circle utilised our full strength for the battle. As a result, we suffered heavy damages.”

“And what about the Demigod?”

“…”

She smiled bitterly and stayed silent. That was the answer.

If they had succeeded in their subjugation then she wouldn’t have stayed silent.

Frey wanted to learn more about the Demigods but, remembering his previous mistake, he couldn’t open his mouth easily.

‘I’ll stay content with this much information for now.’

Afterwards, they had a few small conversations in which Frey deliberately avoided talking about the circle.

She wasn’t very outspoken.

She even showed him her earrings which she usually kept hidden.

“These are Typhoon earrings. It’s one of the few magic tools created by the Great Mage Lucas Traumen. By simply injecting mana into it, you can create a magic barrier. The strength of the barrier was also directly related to the strength of the user.”

“Wow! I saw them in a book before. They’re so beautiful.”

Frey realised that, for the first time since his return, he was actually leading a conversation.

The reason wasn’t hard for him to guess. It was because he felt sympathy for Beniang.

She was currently the head of an organization that was slowly being destroyed. This was a burden that many would not be able to understand.

Frey couldn’t help but feel sorry for her when she had to carry such a burden on her little shoulders.

In addition, Beniang had the blood of a Green Dragon like his teacher.

In the past, Frey had always wanted to repay his teacher’s kindness but the situation was unfavourable and he had been unable to do so.

Frey felt that if he helped Beniang now, it would also give him a bit of self comfort.

So he was also being selfish.

‘This child would have been happier if she’d grown up normally.’

Frey continued the journey while trying to take care of Beniang as much as possible.

Thanks to this, by the time they arrived at the Traumen Rings’ headquarters, she was quite close to Frey.

“This Peinsisko Forest.”

Frey looked at the forest in front of him.

It was a normal forest without any special features.

But when he realised that it was in fact a natural barrier spell, Frey was impressed.

‘This took a great amount of skill.’

He didn’t think that he would be able to destroy it at his current level

“Did you set up this barrier yourself?”

“No. If it is damaged then I can repair it, but it was created by my father.”

It was clear that the man called Osel Argento was at least an 8 star Archmage.

Beniang on the other hand should be around 6 stars.

Considering the Dragons’ talent, this was a very disappointing figure.

‘She shouldn’t learn the human way, because she is Half-Dragon.’

It was probably Osel Argento who taught her.

But Frey had no intentions of finding fault with him. Perhaps in the current world, there was no one who could properly teach Beniang.

‘If I teach her…’

Dragons had a ridiculous sensitivity to mana, the presence of their Dragon heart and their talent.

If she made use of these things, she would naturally flourish. If he taught her well, she’d be able to grow incredibly strong in a short time.

Just as Frey was delving deeper into his thoughts about Beniang.

He felt someone approaching them at a fast pace from the forest.

Just as Frey began to summon his mana since he did not know who it was, Beniang shook her head.

“It will be someone from our circle.”

Before long, a middle aged man appeared from the forest.

He seemed to be in his 40s.

He was wearing a brown open collared robe and had a large build. He looked more like a mercenary who had been through many hardships, pretending to be a wizard.

The man seemed to be in a hurry.

He ran up to Beniang and spoke with a sorrowful tone.

“Ma-, Master Beniang!”

“Honor Gisellan, what’s going on?”

The man, Gisellan, hurriedly bowed his head.

“Please forgive my rudeness! The problem is…”

“It’s fine. Just tell me the situation.”

Beniang spoke in a calm tone. Frey turned to look at her.

It seemed that she performed her role as Circle Master much better than Frey thought.

But at Gisellan’s words, her demeanor cracked.

“I’m sorry! We…we lost in the relic battle again!”

His words caused Beniang to take a deep breath.

After biting her lip for a moment, she finally responded.

“…who was your opponent?”

“The Basilisk Tails…! Those jackals have come to our circle again!”