"Congratulations on your promotion."

Najin accepted the certificate and nameplate from the promotion examiner. The nameplate that had been pitch-black just a few months ago now gleamed red.

'Looking closely, even the material seems different.'

Unlike the Green-rank nameplate, the Red-rank one differed in both material and shape. As Najin fiddled with it, the examiner continued his explanation.

"Becoming a Red-rank adventurer means your renown is no longer confined to Cambria. Show this nameplate elsewhere, and you can expect treatment befitting your standing."

Above Red rank stood only the five White Horn adventurers. In other words, reaching Red rank effectively placed someone among the city's finest adventurers... and naturally, that standing came with privileges to match.

"The privileges you will now enjoy include..."

The examiner's explanation went on for some time. Only after hearing everything, from his privileges to detailed explanations of the commissions now available to him, was Najin finally able to leave the Central Guild.

The moment he stepped out of the Central Guild building, the adventurers gathered outside turned their eyes on him. More precisely, on the gleaming red nameplate he wore. Seeing it sparkle in the sunlight, they marveled.

He had set foot in the city barely four or five months ago. That he had reached Red rank in so little time inspired both astonishment and awe.

What was Red rank? A rank countless adventurers dreamed of at least once when they entered this city—a symbol of success.

Considering how many remained at Green rank for more than ten years, reaching Red rank in a mere five months was remarkable indeed. When something remarkable happened, some would admire it, while others would feel envy.

Yet very few felt the latter toward Najin. Envying a genius would only wear them out, and the rumors circulating about him attested to his qualifications.

He'd beaten five knights of a ducal house.

He'd even fought four of them at once.

He'd survived a clash with the ducal house's knight commander...

Whether every rumor was true was impossible to say, but at the very least, no one could deny that Najin stood among the very best Sword Experts.

"If the rumors are true..."

"Won't he reach White Horn rank before long, too?"

"Do you think becoming a Sword Seeker is that easy? You have to become aware of your mental image, and even then..."

"Still, five Sword Experts at once..."

"Four."

"Four, five—what's the difference?"

The adventurers whispered among themselves. Letting their voices wash past him, Najin walked on. He had no intention of taking a commission right away, but he still had work to do.

Black, green, or red—whatever color his nameplate became, Najin's routine remained unchanged. Back at his lodgings, he first sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

Training. It was time to train again.

2.

After the affair involving Dieta had been settled, Najin added a new step to his training: refining his mental image. He would sit cross-legged, close both eyes, and focus inward.

Ordinarily, the mental-image training practiced by warriors who had reached that level was exceedingly quiet—and dull. It consisted of nothing more than looking inward and regulating one's breathing.

In Najin's case, however...

"Hey, have you thought about creating a lake?"

"Where did that come from?"

"You saw it last time, didn't you? My stellar domain is a lake. A beautiful, bright blue lake."

His mental-image training was not particularly quiet. A Constellation had already taken up residence within it. Whenever he closed his eyes and focused inward, he saw a girl with vivid blue hair even before the underground city's landscape came into view.

Merlin, the Mage of the Lake.

Perched on a wall, she swung her legs and let out a long sigh.

"After living beside a lake for over a thousand years, I find myself missing it. I used to like soaking my feet in the water. Splashing around a little helped calm me down, too."

"So you want me to make you a lake?"

"Yes. Could you?"

Merlin nodded vigorously. She hadn't hoped for anything when the landscape was nothing but empty darkness, but now that his mental image was taking shape, she had decided to indulge herself a little.

"Surely a little lakeside spot this big wouldn't hurt?"

Merlin spread both arms wide, drawing a circle. Strictly speaking, the size was closer to a washbasin or a well than a lake. Najin wondered what she was talking about, but then considered whether this might be part of his training.

A mental image was, after all, imagination made manifest. The act of creating something would itself serve as training. Even if that something was a lakeside spot, well...

Merlin must have a reason for asking. With that thought, Najin closed both eyes and tried to concentrate. He hadn't seen many lakes. There were none in the underground city, and he had only glimpsed one or two while traveling by carriage.

'The one I can picture best is...'

The lake he had seen when he first met Merlin. Najin quietly called that vivid blue lake to mind.

"Ooh!"

As he concentrated with his eyes closed, he heard applause beside him. Opening his eyes, he found Merlin clapping and pointing in front of her. A truly tiny lake, no larger than a washbasin, had formed there.

"You actually made it?"

Merlin beamed, delighted to see a lake after so long. She looked thoroughly pleased. Taking off her shoes and socks, she cautiously extended her toes toward it.

But just as she was about to dip her feet into the lake, it vanished with a faint crackle at the touch of her bare foot. The toes she had extended with such anticipation merely tapped the underground city's dirt floor.

"..."

Merlin whipped her head around to look at Najin. She must truly have been looking forward to it: her face crumpled, and she repeatedly stamped on the blameless dirt floor.

"Keeping it there isn't easy."

"Well, I suppose it wouldn't be... You haven't seen many lakes, either..."

Despite her words, her disappointment was plain. Watching her sigh again and again, Najin smiled wryly.

"Anyway, there's something else."

Najin turned to the matter at hand. Ever since awakening his mental image, he had occasionally spoken with Merlin face-to-face like this. It helped him train his mental image and was more comfortable than conversing with only her voice.

Najin drew pictures on the underground city's dirt floor.

"I've just become a Red-rank adventurer, right?"

"Yes, you have. Faster than I expected, but... by now, it hardly feels surprising."

"At Red rank, there's a much wider variety of commissions available. Most importantly, I can now receive personal commissions."

He had drawn three pictures in the dirt. Many people had taken an interest in Najin's recent promotion to Red rank, and several had requested him specifically for commissions.

"In order, there's a bandit extermination commission, an escort mission..."

After pointing to the first two pictures in turn, Najin indicated the last.

"And a commission to find and eliminate a dark mage."

"You definitely have to take the last one."

"I thought you might say that."

Without a moment's hesitation, Merlin pointed to the third picture. Find and eliminate a dark mage. He would learn the details once he accepted it... but Najin, too, intended to take the third commission if possible.

"I've never fought a mage before."

"Exactly. This is a good chance to get some experience in advance. You'll have to fight them until you're sick of it later anyway."

"Mages?"

"Yes. Dark mages, of course, and demons are fundamentally similar to mages... Maybe that's why so many mages make contracts with demons."

Merlin sighed.

"Mages are basically the sort of bastards who'll sell their souls to demons if it means gaining knowledge. Especially these days, with them doing nothing but research cooped up in their towers, there are loads of them who've gone out of their minds."

"... Aren't you a mage, too, Merlin?"

"Listen to you! Mages in my day were different. Cooped up in towers doing research? Hardly... We hid in forests to do our research, and greeting intruders morning and night was part of the daily routine."

"Anyway," Merlin continued, sweeping back her hair, "even setting aside the Witch of the Abyss as an exception, you'll run into plenty of demons, dark mages, and the like."

"So you're saying I should use this chance to gain some experience?"

"Exactly. Experience and knowledge are particularly important with magic. How should I explain this...?"

As she searched for the right words, she said, "Ah," and snapped her fingers.

"If you don't know, you take the hit."

"... Sorry?"

"That's the basis of magical combat. Don't know how to counter it? Then you take the hit. Of course, that applies to swordsmanship and other things, too, but it's especially pronounced in magical combat."

"That's... not good news."

Najin clicked his tongue. He knew absolutely nothing about magic. He had lived his entire life without having anything to do with it. As he sighed, Merlin poked him in the side, looking incredulous.

"What are you worried about?"

"Sorry?"

"Have you forgotten who's right beside you?"

Merlin looked supremely confident.

"The first archmage in history to attain ten circles—the realm of the Ten Circles. The great sage who first defined the mysteries for humanity. A Constellation with eleven stars."

One who had mastered every form of magic in existence. Merlin folded her arms and smiled.

"I guarantee that as long as I'm here, you won't get hurt because you don't know something. It's like carrying around a strategy guide specifically for fighting mages."

"I suppose that's true."

"Right?"

Najin circled the third picture. Find and eliminate a dark mage. With that, he had chosen his first commission as a Red-rank adventurer.

3.

In a cabin deep in the forest, a man was scratching the back of his neck. Even as his skin peeled away and blood flowed, he kept scratching as though the brand on his neck itched.

"So that's why my neck was itching."

The man sighed.

"What brings someone so distinguished here?"

A visitor had come to the cabin. With a sigh, the man greeted his guest. He felt an urge to plant an arrow in that obnoxious face then and there, but barely managed to restrain himself.

That would solve nothing.

"I have a commission for you."

The visitor sat down on a chair in the cabin and spoke without even removing his robe. As he began to explain the commission, the man's expression hardened.

"Just because you have something on me doesn't mean you can work me like a dog. Don't test my patience."

"This is an important commission. It will probably be the last."

"The last, you say. Sweet words."

The man chuckled.

"Remember, if this isn't the last, it will be the last time you draw breath, too."

"I'll remember."

"Let's hear it, then. What's the commission?"

"It's a simple commission."

"I'll be the judge of that. Just explain. Briefly."

"I want you to kill someone."

The visitor set down a portrait. The man picked it up and frowned.

"You want me to kill this fellow?"

"Yes. As quietly and cleanly as possible."

"Quietly might be difficult. If I remember correctly, this fellow... isn't he fairly famous in the city?"

The man pointed to the person in the portrait. He knew of him, too. He had been the talk of Cambria lately—a man who had reached Red rank in a remarkably short time.

The adventurer Ivan.

Tapping a finger on the portrait of that face, the man asked incredulously, "Why?"

"I can't tell you."

"Of course. You have no reason to tell your hound, do you?"

With a self-mocking laugh, the man stood, portrait in hand. It was his way of accepting the commission.

"I hope you weren't lying when you said this would be the last. I'd rather not be led around at my age."

"Yes. Not only you, but your..."

"Not another word."

Little light found its way into the cabin. Though shadows concealed the man's face, his eyes gleamed in the darkness like a beast's. His chilling gaze suggested he might leap forward and tear out the visitor's throat at any moment.

"I've understood you."

"... Very well."

The man began gathering the weapons hanging on the wall. Throwing daggers, hunting traps, all manner of drugs, a machete painted black...

And a greatbow and a heavy crossbow.

These were weapons beyond ordinary human strength to draw, meant solely for warriors approaching the superhuman. Thick bowstrings and specially made arrows nearly as large as a typical longsword. Having gathered everything, the man pulled his poncho down low.

"Do you intend to carry it out immediately?"

"No harm in being quick."

Looking at the man, the visitor said, "I'm counting on you, Kaufman Theosis."

One of the city's mere five White Horn adventurers. A former Ranger of the Techel Mountains.

Hawk-Eye, Kaufman Theosis, made no reply to the visitor's words.