Swordmeister of Rome

Chapter 114: Insurance

“Does that orb affect the mind or something?”

“No way. No superhumans can be mind-controlled.”

“Then why do they join?”

“Hmm… that’s another complicated story. Didn’t the story end in the second part?”

“Right.”

“There’s a side-story to that. A story of a sub-character. I guess you’ll make a choice once you hear everything.”

Lagaope then began telling the story.

The man became agitated as he earned a new life. There was nothing that he did not try in his past life, so he needed to get results in this life. There was no telling if he would reborn like he did this time.

As he strived hard for his goal, there were small incidents – at least in his eyes.

All who stood in front of him were all destroyed and beaten. Since the man had no intention of going around or using other ways, it would mean disaster if he met a stronger man, and he did.

The man was just a tiny bit stronger after gathering all the power and methods he could muster, so the opponent fled.

The problem was what happened next.

The opponent returned after the man died. The problem was that the opponent chose to exact revenge on the wrong target. It began hunting down superhumans as it was strong and did not die of age.

The superhuman hunter was born.

It went after every superhuman whenever the hunter heard of their existence. Superhumans in hiding were so hard to find, but it did not stop the hunter from finding and killing them.

“How did nobody know about such a crazy bastard roaming the world?”

“It’s because no one is interested in superhumans. Luckily, the hunter’s time was short-lived. Liviath was unlucky in that regard as he was caught up in it.”

“Hmm.”

“What can you do when such a monster is roaming around? They were really strong. Nobody could win a one-on-one fight. The time for it to make a comeback is short, but it always manages to kill one. That’s why we warn everyone when we make them the orb, but they all react the same way.”

<They died because they’re weak! I’m strong, so I’ll be able to kill them easily.>

“I’m weaker than Ra-Banders, so it’s not like I can just punch them and say you aren’t strong enough.”

“…”

“So, do you see what we are up against?”

“I see.”

No superhumans would refuse the offer for the insurance. However, they would not agree to join the group until they died by the hands of the hunter and were revived.

<We will need to fight it as a group.>

The superhuman hunter never went for superhumans in a group. It only targeted lone superhumans.

It was why all the superhumans who had such experiences joined the group.

“That’s how we recruit. I mean, it will be good if they join without going through such trouble. Liviath joined after he got his head chopped off.”

Sian then curiously asked a few questions.

“I have something to ask.”

“Sure.”

“The hunter… is it stronger than me?”

Sian couldn’t believe it.

Lagaope sighed and answered, “That’s the problem. We suspect that you are stronger. That’s why we even created a family plan for you so that you can join us.”

“Hmph.”

It looked like this group was doing really hard to recruit Sian, but Sian didn’t even know their goal, their members, or their name. It looked like he’d tell Sian if he joined, so he decided to wait on that.

“So, why don’t you just kill it?”

“We do try. We go attack it once we find it. We drove it out a few times, but it always comes back and attacks any lone superhuman. It’s really good at sniffing them out. All the lone superhumans end up dead somehow.”

“Why drive it out?”

“It’s a runner. We can’t stop it from running away. It’s best to drive it out and wait for it to hibernate. You’ll know once you see it.”

Sian was dumbfounded. The monster seemed like a vicious, revenge-seeking hunter at first, but it was actually a petty thief type.

“It’s interesting.”

“It’s wise. You can’t get revenge when you die. But if we didn’t group up, not many of us would still be alive. There were some who we couldn’t save.”

Sian then asked a few more questions and reached a conclusion.

“So, it’s a weird guy.”

“We can say it’s weird. There’s still a lot of questions about the hunter. So, have I answered all your questions?”

“Yeah. So is that crazy bastard out there right now?”

Lagaope laughed.

“No, it’s not the season. We drove it out about ten years ago. That’s why I travel alone. We group up and stay together when it wakes up.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Sian was relieved. He was worried that this hunter might have managed to kill Miss Stiel.

‘But how did she manage to live then? It’s not like she was in the group. Hmm…’

That was a question he couldn’t solve, but there was no way to find out.

“Let’s make things clear. So, we will provide the <Soul Transfer Orb> for free and you can decide later. We’ll provide you with more details when you decide.”

“Hmm.”

“It’s our policy, so I can’t tell you any more details.”

Sian still wasn’t sure. The offer was too generous.

“Is that all?”

“Yes. Like I said, we do not force it. Most join us when they die, but since you aren’t a type to die… can we make a condition? Just to make things more even?”

Sian nodded. It was better to pay the price that way than to just receive it for free.

“What is it?”

“I told you the orbs are really hard to make, right?”

“Yes.”

“The process isn’t that hard. It’s just that we don’t have that many materials.”

“Materials…?”

“Do you remember that the genius studied Granines and Kal-Guls to create this?”

“Yes.”

“So, we need two things. One is the heart of a Kal-Gul, and another one is water of <Lavne> that the Granines treasure.”

“…”

Sian grew worried as he heard the word Granine.

“I mean, it’s okay that mountain was destroyed where the Granines used to live, but the <Lavne> was dried up. I wonder who did that… it even made some of our projects come to a full stop.”

“…”

“Huh? Why do you look so grim? Anyway, we have some hearts, but we ran out on the water.”

“Then how are you going to make it?”

“That’s where you come in. In truth, we don’t need the well’s water anymore. We have a replacement. It’s really hard to get, but it allows us to create better quality orbs. We recently found out after we worked on it hard after the incident five years ago.”

Lagaope then described the replacement. It didn’t seem like a hard task for Sian.

“Hmm.”

“You should just consider it a trip to get a present for your family. It would be great if you join our group afterward, but just getting us that replacement is going to be a huge help.”

“I see. Can I take care of my business first? Before going out to find the replacement?”

“Of course. It will take us a few months to prepare for the orb creation anyway. You should bring it to us during that time. But what business do you have?”

“Oh… I just need to find a person.”

“We’ll help you if we can. Who are you looking for?”

“Aren’t you being too generous?”

“Just consider it as an investment to recruit you.”

Sian was actually already very tempted to join. He was still being careful as he could not believe everything, but it didn’t seem like a bad idea.

“I see… the person I’m looking for is called Miss Stiel…”

“Stiel? Who is that?”

Lagaope was confused, so Sian adjusted the name.

“Oh, I mean Stantahl the First.”

“Oh… you mean the one who lived at the Lagran Region.”

“Do you know her?”

Lagaope smiled.

“She’s the only superhuman who did not join us after making the orb. They usually hear about our group after they are reborn, so she probably doesn’t know much about us.”

Sian then remembered Stiel talking about something.

<Groyn… he took a basket full of well water and said that he’ll make us something great. But I didn’t understand what he said because he stuttered too much. I got so irritated so I fought with Liviath who came for it next. Now… well, it was 150 years ago so they’re probably dead.>

“So, she already has one.”

“Yes, she was the one who stayed by the well. I didn’t do it myself, but someone who went to get the water offered it to her. But she never even saw the orb. We created it and have it protected in our care.”

Lagaope smiled as he thought about what Groyn said after returning from the well.

“But it’s not anything special. They all join after they die, but she managed to live for over 200 years so we’ve never contacted her since then.”

It meant that they never got into contact with Stiel since then.

“I see…”

Sian sighed. He was worried, but there was no way to find her.

“Shall we go downstairs now? They should have finished talking to each other.”

Lagaope suggested for them go back downstairs and they turned to the door.