Chapter. 19. Playing tag (7)
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“Pablo- Pablo, now Pablo is wearing dirty, luxurious clothes.”
Of course, the catchy name ‘Pathfinder’ was not chosen because Hyde wanted it.
“There are two paths ahead of you now.”
“There’s no need for cheap sympathy-”
Wood clack!
“Ahh! “Aaaah!”
“It’s not like that, dude. “I’m just trying to deal with it because, for personal reasons, it’s becoming too ‘annoying’ for you to just ignore it.”
Contrary to public opinion, Hyde prided himself on being a very private person. Working, making money, exploring, and helping others along the way are all personal reasons.
Usually, it was something that was uncomfortably irritating, like a hangnail on the tip of a finger or a button that was out of place on one side… The problem, as I told Pablo, was that his ‘skill of observation’ was abnormally high.
‘Well, if it’s natural, it’s natural.’
From the time I was a toddler, I suffered from nervousness and anxiety. An unknown voice in my head was constantly urging me to search, and even when I stayed still, my heart was pounding so hard that my face was covered in heat.
After realizing through experience that symptoms could be alleviated just by pretending to look for something, observation and exploration became similar to breathing for Hyde. Just as you become uncomfortable when you can’t breathe, Hyde becomes uncomfortable when he is not looking for something.
28 years of living like that.
“The first way is to leave with me like this.”
“…?”
“okay. Even though you have a sharp eye, are good at jumping, and even have a lot of experience in planned murder at that age, you are a young person with a lot of potential! “I’m saying I’ll take you with me because you’re so lacking in ability to keep up with me.”
“It is the road to freedom. “A terrible city, even more terrible people, miserable hostages and refugee camps… I am leaving this city like a chicken coop and going to a soft land full of madmen and free-spirited people – oh, be damned.”
“Leave the city and go out….”
“You will be free from everything that bound you. Forget everything and start anew. This is not an opportunity that comes easily. After a few years of suffering, your shattered heart and bloody memories must have become quite dull, right? “This is just an experience, so you can trust it.”
Among the observations that had become a part of life, what Hyde observed most was people themselves. That’s because observations such as counting the number of bricks used in an entire city or changing constellations in the sky will eventually end, but people change endlessly even if you observe just one person. In a position where he had to continue his search as if he were breathing, young Hyde had no other choice as he had put everything about the temple orphanage and the outpost in his head. If ‘search’ is like the act of breathing, then the ‘object of search’ is like the air needed for it.
So Hyde was good at reading people.
I described it as observation skills, but it’s so good that I can’t explain it with those words.
The problem was that it was so visible.
A passing man’s particularly calloused palm, a narrow-eyed woman’s sigh, a shadow hidden in the bustle of the city, trivial things that others would just pass by become information and pile up before our eyes.
Things that catch my eye pile up and pile up to the point where I stop walking.
[Instead of wasting your money at the mercenary union, go to the city worker union.]
[What…?]
[If we keep dragging it into personal disputes, it will never end, right? If you ask the union to pay a large fee and repay the debt, they will most likely listen, right? Even though it’s not famous, it was originally a place that did that kind of thing.]
[You kid. Could you elaborate on that? You came from the temple! If things go well, I’ll make a generous donation to the temple!]
[Oh.]
I was already full of irritability due to my anxiety getting worse as the years went by, but I was frustrated with people complaining even when the answer was obvious, so I started by saying something.
Just as an enlightened person feels frustrated among the blind, he simply tells the visible solution to those nearby who are blinded. It is an act for the peace of mind of an individual. There’s no need to get too deeply involved, so I’ll just tell you how to do it in a way that doesn’t make me feel uncomfortable.
As the years went by and I left the city and told things I could see to others who were still in sight, I ended up getting the strange nickname ‘Pathfinder’. This means that they just silently show the way and do not walk along the road together.
“The second is to just go back from here. To the city, to the refugee camp, to life as usual. You’re going back towards everything that’s been holding you back. Even a good heart will wear out if you grind it, right? If you live your life crying and drinking for a few years, you will feel comfortable. As time goes by, you will become more accustomed to hunting people. Wiggen’s famous shard hunter, ‘Pablo the Fine Clothes’. Wow, this side is surprisingly good, isn’t it?”
Hyde looked down at Pablo, who remained still even though he had let go of his bent wrist.
‘I don’t know. Which one is better? Exactly which one is worse.’
Pablo’s condition was no different from that of a tantrum. Even though my head knows it’s not right, my heart can’t accept it. “Bwaaeaeak!” Doing it. The same thing happened: I couldn’t do this or that, so I sat down.
“The third is this way.”
“There are definitely two paths…”
“That’s the path you can see with your sloppy eyes. Aren’t you both sitting down because you don’t like them? “If I just sit there and watch it rot like this, my head will start pounding every time I come near Wigen, so I’ll have to do something to get rid of it.”
Jerk. Jerk.
Cry.
Hyde passed Pablo, who was sitting down, and reached for the receiver hanging in the corner of the head compartment.
“Ah, this is the 2-2 Line Wigen regular magic train. “Do you want to be a station employee at the station’s main gate ?
”
.
.
Hissing – I
heard a slight noise as if the connection had been made, a man’s breathing sound that seemed to be slightly panting, a clanking sound, and the sound of someone raising a voice were faintly heard.
=========
[I am the manager of the night gate of Hueup Heo-eok Wigen Station. Heo-eok, what is going on?]
“Oh, it’s nothing special, I just wanted to ask you something. But is it a bit noisy outside? Are you reporters? I know it’s against custom to do this all night long, let alone in the morning…”
[Don’t even talk about it. These guys suddenly came in as a group and started making a fuss, asking us to let them in because they had something to check…]
“Thank you for your trouble. Could I please listen to it? I was curious because it was so loud that it could be heard even inside the station. Do you know anything? “I might know why they’re making such a fuss.”
[This is truly disgraceful, driver. Let me turn the receiver over there.]
=========
Crackling –
The commotion coming from beyond the receiver began to become clear, along with a slight noise.
“Let me see. Is this what connects to the speakers inside the train?”
– Click!
『Ah, they just confirm and come out! We’ve never kept our promises! Is there one? Oh!』
“Ah, it’s coming out.”
As soon as you press the switch, a loud roaring sound echoes throughout the car.
“Hey, ‘Pablo at the crossroads.’ “Do you know who that voice is?”
“No way… Mr. Sa? Why is the boss here….”
“That’s right. Earlier, when I was coming over the station wall, I could hear a man’s voice quacking from the front gate on the other side. Newspaper ‘Big Mouth’. The workplace you chose to secure information for murder. “As a civilian, you may not have heard it, but an Oranite’s hearing is different.”
The name ‘Pablo’ was too clear in the squealing shouts to just ignore it.
=========
『One of our newsboys definitely went in here! Hyde Pathfinder He said he received official permission from that bastard and left this morning! And he hasn’t returned yet!』
[Hyde… Are you talking about the Oranite who just got a wanted order in the city? If it’s him, he’s being chased in the back alley-]
『So, I’ll check it out! Our Big Mouth temple has been kidnapped by a criminal bastard and is being chased, or is it still here? You don’t know me! How dare you kidnap and imprison our Big Mouth employee! If you don’t let me in right away, I will investigate all your private parts and spread them all over Wigen!』
[That’s why the newsboy said several times that he has never been inside-]
『I need to check that, so get out of the way, you stone-headed bastard!! !』
=========
Wack, clap,
clap, clap!
“Hmm, it really is a prestigious newspaper. Since freshness of information is vital, people as high as the CEO come to look for employees who did not return to report on the same day. how is it? “I felt the same way when I saw the boss who came looking for you make a fuss.”
“Oh no, why… If you fall out with the station staff, there will be problems at work in the future…” “
Of course, it’s because I’m thinking more about checking on your safety right now than the damage that will come from this. . “Aren’t you a true example of a merchant who sacrifices himself for the company’s wealth?”
Pablo looked like he had literally been hit. A situation where an unlikely person appears in an unimaginable situation.
That pot-bellied boss who often cursed and yelled at me for being useless and scolded
me to the point of tears?
why?
“Pablo. Do you know what kids most often misunderstand?”
“…?”
“Everyone thinks the world revolves around them. “Just because you’re stuck in the past doesn’t mean the world around you is stuck in the past, but you still think your world is the same as it was that day a long time ago.”
Whick!
Pablo felt his body rise as a hand grabbed the back of his head.
thud!
“Ugh!”
“This is the third path recommended by Pathfinder.”
Go back.
Not to the terrible, bloody city in your head, but to your hometown, where there is no corner without your footsteps.
Not to the empty spot of your deceased parents, but to your grandfather, who understood you and could not stop you from silently participating in even your ridiculous plans.
While you were blinded by revenge, you were suddenly next to the people who filled the empty seats next to you.
“Since you didn’t throw away the gun, I won’t throw away this notebook either. I’ll keep it for myself.”
Hyde stuffed the notebook full of the boy’s grudges into his cloak.
“Fuck off, newsboy. Subscription is cancelled.”
The boy must have been in pain after falling on the hard stone floor, but he was still looking up at him with a blank expression.
‘Even if I pretended to know everything, I was still just an 11-year-old kid.’
Hyde judged the boy Pablo’s condition to be mental ‘drifting’.
A child who has lost his parents, who were the center of his life and at the same time a home for an immature child. Because I couldn’t find my balance, I ended up clinging to feelings that would disappear over time.
After achieving revenge… I knew that was the only way to live, so I fueled my dying desire for revenge and started living as before.
All Hyde did was slightly turn the head of the boy who knew nothing but being swept away in life. While you are clinging to the past, enough life has already been built up to take root. I didn’t know that my roots were in the ground, so I cut them off and tried to get swept away, so I grabbed the back of my head.
This was the extent of Hyde’s intervention that made him ‘not uncomfortable’.
It’s a pity that I didn’t have time to watch until the end, but…
『Let go! Let go! You mess with a journalist! “ Yes, you guys, I
will definitely-!!!!”
You don’t have to worry too much about it.
Kkeikkeok – Clap!
Feeling relieved, Hyde closed the train door and raised the engine lever.
Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu of of course!
Clap… Clap… Clap…
The train starts to move slowly and the station garage door opens towards the dark tracks.
And
Chijik-
[Not just a train, but stealing the city’s regular frontline support train. I don’t know if you’re stubborn or just thoughtless, Pathfinder.]
“Oh my, Stone Knight! Why did this half-inanimate guy come back again? “Do you work overtime too?”
[Thanks to someone for blocking the concentrated misfire of a dark-eyed ally. It’s because I feel motivated to move for the first time in a long time.]
A low-pitched voice comes through the receiver and another huge castle wall is visible from the open castle gate.
“Your skills truly live up to your reputation of protecting a large city alone, you stone bastard.”
Hyde opened Pablo’s notebook, which could be said to be the only regular compensation for this job.
A notebook in which information about various fragment hunters is recorded in such detail that it is as editorial as the boy’s deep resentment.
Since a strong Shard Knight inevitably has experience killing people and absorbing their fragments, information about Tachelm was also written.
Stone Giant Tachelm, guardian of the large city of Wigen.
He is the owner of the colored fragment ‘Gray Manifesto’, which is said to have originated from a 6th rank wizard in the past, and is a strong man who has absorbed dozens of fragments in addition to it. At least Master Knight level.
As a knight, his abilities are outstanding, but his ability to activate more than 100 4th rank spells simultaneously without casting them is especially impressive, and his weakness is –
“Numbness and fatigue unique to high-ranking shad knights. As a non-mage, I use the power of fragments to use magic, so I feel very tired when the magic I’ve already cast is destroyed… Isn’t that good?”
widely!
Hyde closed his newly acquired notebook and climbed onto the roof of the train.
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
doo doo doo! Push profit-!
As I stood on top of the train traveling at top speed, I could see the stone walls of Tachelm rapidly approaching through the night air. The shiny exterior is not just stone, but metal-like elements mixed together, giving it a majesty worthy of its reputation as the guardian of Wigen.
“… Tsk. “Know with glory, stone.”
….click.
Hyde’s hand went towards the scabbard.
Sigh.
Low posture. Take a heavy step and support your body as if you were pushing off the floor.
As if I were breathing through my blood vessels, my breathing and heart rate were in sync. As I
lowered my heart
rate
and lowered my breathing
,
my heart rate became faster and my body heated up.
‘once. If we don’t solve it with just one cut…!’
Just before the rock wall hit the train, sparks poured out of Hyde’s scabbard.
The sword, as gorgeous as a work of art without the power of an Auror or a Shard Knight, was sparking as it rubbed against the ignition stone at the entrance of the scabbard.
As soon as the sword is drawn, the organ inside the scabbard moves and releases the stored magic power, and the sword made entirely of empty magic stones from the handle to the blade repulses the magic power filling the scabbard, pouring out all the magic power and repulsion force at once.
Hyde’s number one asset and a means of supplementing his firepower as an Aurunite without Aura.
“Sigh!!”
-Clap!
A beam of light crosses the stone wall rising from the darkness of the night in a picturesque slash.
….What
a huge stone wall that cracks to the point
of absurdity!
A huge magical slash unfolds belatedly along the sword light.
….dump!
Hyde, who felt like his legs were giving out, knelt down and carefully lifted his sword with both hands.
“Huh oh oh oh oh! Are you okay? Are you fine? “Are you okay?”
Hyde looks down at the blade, panting, not because he is out of breath, but with such fear that his hair stands on end.
What frightened him was not the metal wall being raised with a single wave of his hand or the sound of gunfire accompanied by an alarm bell.
his sword. It is his sword that he is scanning with his eyes in the darkness of the night.
A delicate magic engineering device, a high-quality magic stone that can produce that much output even with a small size. Thanks to the characteristics of the magic stone that does not melt and can only be carved, it is a set of a full magic stone sword that can only be made if you have a gemstone of that size.
Due to extreme durability issues, it was a sword that could only be swung once a day and required a long period of self-recovery within the scabbard after use.
A deformed sword that is said to be as powerful as the Master Knight’s Aura in terms of magical power it emits with a single blow, despite its terrible limitations.
A product of the era of magic engineering that created the madness to surpass everything through magic engineering.
Anti-Aurasword.
“It’s okay, please be okay…. If you go too far, I really will….”
….Crisp!
“Oh no!Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!”
AKA the devil sword of capitalism.
What was in Hyde’s hands was a sword that was a representative failure of magical engineering recorded in history. Thanks to its fearsome durability, it earned the terrible nickname of ‘the sword of destruction and destruction’ along with the notoriety of destroying its owner if it was swung twice.
Thanks to this, it is an object that Hyde holds in his arms when he sleeps, and even periodically has nightmares of the shattered ‘Sword of Shatter’.
Hyde’s heartbreaking cries echoed as the train crossed the bisected rock wall in the deep night, but the train, which had no ears to hear the tragedy, simply ran on, leaving behind the tragedy of its only passenger.
Let’s go north with the Pathfinder that can’t find its way.
To the old Rodrik area, once called the country of knights.
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