Wandering Mercenary in an Open World

The symbol had a bizarre shape with several hands intertwined.
Luon speculated that it was the work of a servant of a devil.

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An ominous symbol that appeared on the forehead of the monk who worshipped Tibella.
It was hard to think of anything else other than the work of a devil.

It was then.

“Stay back, fearless warrior.
There is no glory here that you seek.”

The fallen head began to speak.

He couldn’t figure out how the sound was coming out of his throat with the vocal cords cut off, but Luon answered, thinking it was magic.

“Where are the others who were living here?”

“There are no living people here.”

“Really? Then you should die too.”

The body was silent for a while, and then opened its mouth again.

“Warrior, I don’t feel divinity in you.
Are you going to call for revenge on the people of Tibella even though you are not her champion?”

‘What is he saying now?’

“You seem to be mistaken, but I’m not here for revenge.
I’m here for personal reasons.
Of course, I’ll make money when I get back from here.”

“Are you saying you are one of those vulgar mercenaries?”

Luon grinned.

“You’re still talking when you are already a dead body.
Just wait, I’ll finish you soon enough.”

Ignoring the talking head, Luon went down the stairs leading to the basement.

In a situation like this, insidious people would hide in the basement.

As he went down the stairs leading in the clockwise direction, Luon saw a half-open rusty iron door.

‘Wouldn’t the nuns and monks who lost their senses attack in droves?’

Contrary to expectations, there was nothing behind the iron gate.
Instead, a familiar but unpleasant odour pierced his nostrils.
The terrible smell of blood.

Another side door greeted Luon as he passed the damp, cold, blood-stained hallway.
On the board hanging above the door, the words “Prayer Room” were written.
He kicked the door without hesitation.

Bang!

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Luon unknowingly uttered a word at the sight that unfolded through the wide-open door.

“This is crazy.”

Under the statue of a woman who appeared to be Tibella, there were piles of bodies that looked about 20 years old.
The man standing on the platform made from their bodies turned his head slowly.

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

Instead of answering, Luon fired an arrow at the man’s forehead.

He grabbed the bow hung behind his back, pulled an arrow from the quiver fixed to his thigh, and put it on the string to shoot.
The whole process only took enough time for a man to take a single breath.

The man could not avoid the lightning-fast strike.
No, he didn’t try to avoid it.

A translucent blue force field appeared in front of the man’s face.
The arrow did not penetrate the force field but was still embedded in it.
But the man’s eyes widened as if surprised by that alone.

“You are a terrifying warrior.
You are the first to shoot an arrow so fast.”

Luon, who felt pure admiration rather than deception from the man’s praise, frowned.
‘He once said I was a vulgar mercenary.
Does he go back and forth on his words?’

“Warrior, I want to know your name.”

Despite the surprise, the man’s voice was soft.
So, Luon unknowingly answered.

“···Luon.”

The man scratched his chin.

“It’s not a familiar name.
Is it from the outskirts? North? No, it doesn’t feel like it’s tough enough to be from there…”

The man did not know that the name Luon was created by shortening the nickname “Luinon” at the time the character was created.

The man said,

“Yeah, what does that matter? Nice to meet you, Luon.
My name is Salvetor.”

“I don’t really want to know the name of the guy who’s about to die.”

Salvetor tilted his head.

“You want to kill me? May I ask why?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know?”

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Salvetor smiled brightly as Luon tilted his head toward the mountain of corpses.

“Isn’t it spectacular? To die the ugliest death in the most pious place.
Still, they will have no regrets because they died at the feet of the one they call mother.”

“You talk too much.
So, are you a servant of a devil?”

Salvetor frowned as if he was displeased.

“Luon, you have a cheap mouth that doesn’t suit your superior abilities.
The manners of a vulgar mercenary are hard to correct.
I’m not the servant of the devil, but the hand that follows the deceitful darkness.”

So that’s what it is.
Luon replied,”What a lame thing.”

As soon as he finished, Luon pulled out his sword and kicked the floor.
Having approached Salvetor under the pretext of conversation, he already had him within range.

The sword struck the force field.
Salvetor, who had a relaxed face until then, quickly stepped back and touched his mouth when he saw the flickering protective shield.

The light from his fingertips swept over the place where Luon was standing.
However, when Luon, who evaded the attack just by a narrow distance, slammed his sword down like a hammer, the shield cracked.

Luon, who was so close that there was not enough space to swing his sword, turned his back and shoulders and punched Salvetor.
Just before the fist that broke his shield reached his head, Salvetor’s spell was completed first.

Bang!

Luon, pushed by an invisible force, fell far away.
But the screams came from Saletor’s side.

“You punk!”

Salvetor gripped his right eye.
Luon, who had stretched out his finger while flying, burst one of his eyes.

“My precious body was going to be his apostle! You! You vulgar mercenary! I’ll rip your limbs apart today.”

He pretended to lie there, but it was so loud.
Luon’s back was throbbing because he couldn’t do a proper fall because he hit the wall.
Luon rose to his feet and said,

“Don’t make a fuss about just losing an eye.”

“Shut up! You won’t die in peace!”

Shortly thereafter, as Salvetor uttered an incomprehensible language, his forehead sizzled and melted, leaving a symbol of several hands mingled togethor.
It wasn’t just that.
Salvetor grabbed the black whip that floated in the air and swung it with all his might.

Luon flung himself away.
The whip that struck the space where he was standing corroded the floor in an instant.

Salvetor pulled his wrist to retrieve the whip, while at the same time he created a flame with his opposite hand.

This time, Luon avoided the attack without difficulty, but the flame drawing a red arc turned around as if it had a guiding function and exploded in mid-air.

Luon, who had escaped from the scorching flames, rolled on the floor and brushed off the flames attached to his body.
He got up again, but he wasn’t in good condition.
His hair was a mess and his tanned face was red and ripe.

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Salvetor laughed loudly.

“It’s so ugly to see you rolling on the floor!”

“Really? I think your single eye looks uglier.”

In response to the calm answer, Salvetor raised his whip.

“Die!”

The whip flew once more.
Luon avoided the attack by rotating with his right foot as the axis, rather than blocking the whip, because he was afraid the sword would corrode.
In the meantime, two homing flames flew in.

Looking at the flames that filled his vision, Luon felt a crisis for the first time in a long time.
Feeling a reluctance to destroy his composure, the man who has now become a warrior in a fantasy world, grabbed his sword.

‘Yeah, he is the devil’s servant.’

Luon, who jumped with explosive energy, rotated his body as he felt hot flames pass beneath his feet.A sword that made use of his superhuman strength and speed struck the force field.

Crack!

The shield broke with a bang.
For a brief moment, Salvetor saw a sharp sword cutting through the wreckage of the shattered force field.
And he saw as it tore his muscles and pierced his heart.

In the meantime, he tried to chant a spell, but Luon’s hand, which flew faster, grabbed his neck.

“Kek!”

Just before the strong grip broke his neck, Salvetor pulled his wrist with all his might for the last time.

A whip that flew in late hit Luon’s back, and at the same time, Salvetor’s body dropped with a squeaking sound.

Luon quickly took off his armor.
As soon as it fell to the floor, he clicked his tongue as he looked at the armour that had corroded all over its back.

“Sh*t.
He should be a little nicer.”

It wasn’t just the armour that broke.
The black sword that was excessively overused to break the protective shield was worn out, making it difficult to repair.

Luon began to search the body of the dead Salvetor, hoping to find something worthwhile to make up for the damage to his sword and armor.

As a result, he found a dagger with an impressive skull decoration, three pieces of luxurious parchment sheets, and a palm-sized stone tablet.

He couldn’t even guess what the stone tablet was for, but the skull dagger looked quite good.
However, he felt an ominous energy, so he didn’t pull it out right away and fixed it on his waist.

Luon, who tried to carry all the parchments in his arms as it was because he didn’t know what would happen after opening it carelessly, one of them rolled over and opened, confirmed there was no seal on them.

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It was written in a beautiful handwriting that caught his eye.
It was a biography written by Salvetor himself.
He was a narcissistic bastard.

Salvetor was born as a farmer’s child, but after feeling skeptical about life, he ran away from home.
By chance, his magical talent was recognized, and he entered a magic tower and devoted himself to his studies.
He grew up to be a rising star of the Tower, but he was not satisfied with it, and after killing his master, he signed a contract with the devil.
After committing all sorts of evil deeds, he decided to corrupt the Altar of the Old Gods in order to gain greater power near small villages, and he disguised himself to infiltrate the monastery of Tibella.

In summary, it was something like this.
There was no back story written, but Luon was able to guess the content without difficulty.

It was clear that he was trying to gain power from the devil.
Pretending to be a magician belonging to the tower, he entered the monastery, killed the unwary, and insulted the gods.

It was confirmed late, but the floor was full of pentagons and unidentified patterns drawn with the blood of the victims.

‘This is worse than I thought.’ Luon, who kicked Salvetor’s body with all his might, wiped the pentagon and patterns drawn on the floor with his feet.
After that, he turned his attention to the piled-up corpses and carefully laid the victims’ bodies one by one on the floor.

It was the last consideration for the villagers.
The pile of bodies was not a sight for the general public.

“This is enough.”

The moment Luon got up, wiping his hands, a bright light burst out from the front.

At the same moment, Luon, who instinctively opened up the distance, drew his sword and lifted it.

A beam of light began to seep into the skull dagger.
Light was pouring down from Tibella’s statue.

As black smoke began to escape, the skull dagger began to change gradually.
The dagger, which was about the length of a hand, was elongated enough to be called a long sword, and the skull decoration at the end of the handle shimmered to a pommel with the head of a stag.

Luon’s eyes widened at the mysterious change.

Luon, who was looking at the sword that showed off its shape, raised his head.
The statue of Tibella looked down on him.

“Did you give it to me?”

There was no answer.
Still, Luon added blankly.

“····Do you know why I came to this world?”

There was still no answer.
Luon smiled bitterly and grabbed the handle of the new sword.

It may have been a reward for punishing the existence that defiled her monastery, but it was a sword that Tibella herself had given to him.

Luon said to the statue, which still had a faint light.

“Anyway, I will use it well.”

The experience points he obtained by killing Salvetor and the things obtained through it were all satisfactory.
It felt like he had taken a meaningful step after a long time.

After lightly checking his condition, Luon left the monastery and walked towards the village.
The sun was slowly setting.