Chapter 112

It feels like I’m drifting through space.

It’s not just a feeling; it’s actually happening.

In a dark, vast space where I can’t tell front from back, up from down, I was being transported somewhere.

All around me are faint masses of light.

So many that it’s pointless to count them.

I could intuitively tell that each one was a dimension.

The world I came from must look like one of them from a distance.

At the same time, something flashed through my mind.

It’s a ticklish feeling. I know what this is.

It’s a kind of epiphany.

Dimensional Travel magic is, after all, a part of spatial travel.

The formulas for it floated haphazardly through my mind.

If this continues for just a little longer, my Comprehension Level of magic will increase dramatically…

But such moments, as expected, don’t come easily.

A light flashed right in front of me.

Fwaaah-!

At the same time, the pressure of the space spat me out.

I opened my eyes, not knowing when I had closed them.

Like a machine that had been turned off and was now rebooting, my senses returned one by one.

I quickly gripped Durandal.

It was to prepare for the worst-case scenario I had anticipated.

A situation where Demons and the Demon King were swarming, glaring at me, ready to devour me.

I even imagined unleashing all my Mana, fighting a bloody battle, and barely managing to return to my original world.

But nothing of the sort happened.

A lush forest comes into view.

Not a horrifying place like the Demon Realm Forest, but just an ordinary, peaceful forest.

I took a deep breath. Mountain birds sang, and a pleasant breeze blew.

-This is my homeland.

“Are your memories coming back?”

-No. Not at all. But I can certainly tell that my homeland doesn’t feel like a homeland.

I agree.

Despite the peaceful atmosphere, I can feel Demonic Energy floating in the air.

Like oil and water, it drifts about, unable to mix with Mana.

The ratio is about 6:4.

The Demonic Energy is higher.

Still, this is pretty good.

It’s a far cry from the hellscape I had imagined. It feels like things are going too smoothly…

I raised my head to the sky.

It was an almost instinctual movement.

Of course, the sky is clear, with nothing in it.

Then why did I feel that chill?

It was then.

Several System Messages simultaneously obscured my vision.

-??? has detected your entry into the dimension.

-??? has begun to track your location.

-Current Tracking Rate: 15%

-Warning. Using Mana will increase ???’s tracking speed.

-Warning. Please hide your identity until you enter a safe zone.

This is a first.

A warning sent by the System itself.

The content is even more shocking.

It’s telling me not to use Mana unless absolutely necessary.

But it makes sense.

It’s obvious without being told that those question marks refer to one of the Seven Demon Kings.

I thought it wouldn’t be easy, but I didn’t expect this.

-Let’s go back, Master. The power of the Almighty Lu is already dying here.

“I can’t do that. I have to show you around your homeland, Durandal, after all the trouble you went through for me.”

-I’ve seen enough, so let’s go.

“Why are you so anxious?”

-I have a bad feeling. A very bad one.

“I feel the same, but I still have to find the traces.”

-Traces?

“Ian’s Traces.”

There must be something Ian arranged somewhere in this world.

I have to find it.

And until I do, I must move with the utmost caution.

“First, let’s go to a place with a lot of people.”

Though they might all be dead already.

-You said you had to be careful while looking for the traces.

“I need to know how the world is turning.”

I feel like I’ve been dropped in the middle of the ocean.

The most important thing is how much time has passed since the world of Ian that I know.

The search for the traces starts from there.

My clothes are fine.

I dressed to blend in as much as possible with this fantasy world.

As I thought this, I opened the message again.

Current Tracking Rate: 15%

There was something I had to do first and foremost.

Fwoosh-

I created a flame with F-Rank Mana.

There’s no change in the tracking rate.

I went in order, through E-Rank, D-Rank, and C-Rank.

Still, it didn’t move from 15.

Then, it happened when I generated Mana equivalent to B-Rank.

Current Tracking Rate: 16%

It went up by 1%.

What about A-Rank?

Current Tracking Rate: 20%

Four percent.

I didn’t bother trying S-Rank.

It’s obvious it would go up by more than 10%.

It was then.

I felt a presence right in front of me.

Actually, I had known about it for a while through my tracking magic.

If I walk straight down from here, there’s a city.

It was a man walking from there.

As I strode forward, a middle-aged man came into view.

At the same time, I could gauge the man’s level.

C-Rank, around Level 220.

In the world of Ian that I remember, he’s skilled enough to have become a Knight and then some.

I simultaneously gathered my Mana.

Around Level 150 should be appropriate.

But the middle-aged man was frozen like a frog before a snake.

He just observed me from head to toe with wary eyes.

He suddenly prostrated himself.

“You must be the one they said was coming from the Society. It is an honor to meet such a distinguished person.”

“The Society?”

When I asked back, the man cautiously lifted his head.

His face was confused.

“Were you not a Priest from the Demon Subjugation and Restoration Society?”

I’ve heard that name before.

Sanna, was it?

I remember it as one of the secret organizations of the Lu Order, to which the woman who was a High Priestess belonged.

Various thoughts raced through my mind.

But putting this man at ease came first.

“I was on my way down after getting lost on the mountain.”

“…Pardon?”

I pointed to where I had just come down from.

“The mountain… top?”

The confusion on the man’s face deepened.

His eyes flickered to my scabbard.

“S-So, you’re not a member of the Society… is that right?”

“Yes.”

“Are you, by any chance, human?”

I nodded at the strange question.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

The man immediately slumped to the ground.

“Phew, you scared me. I almost had a heart attack.”

The man dusted off his trousers.

His attitude was completely different from a moment ago.

“Lost on the mountain? Good grief. You’ve lost your marbles. What do you think you’re doing climbing up here?”

“Where is this?”

“What?”

He stared at me like I was crazy, thinking I was joking.

“What mountain is this?”

“You climbed it without even knowing what mountain it is?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sick somewhere?”

“I think I might have hit my head.”

The man’s eyes narrowed. The suspicion was strong.

It’s natural to be wary of a stranger, but this felt a bit excessive.

“If you’re heading down to the city, let’s go together.”

“Together?”

“Is that not allowed?”

After a moment of thought, the man nodded.

“…Follow me.”

The man gestured.

His steps became extremely cautious. I nodded and followed him.

As we descended toward the city, I continued my questions.

“Which way do I go to get to the Eastern Mage Tower?”

“……”

“What year is it now, by the Imperial Calendar?”

“……”

“Do you know of Saint Dragorin Ian?”

Every time I asked a question, the man just stared at me like I was insane, without giving any real answers.

At the same time, several Mental Magic spells that could open the man’s mouth came to mind.

Although the side effects would be severe…

Then I shook my head.

You crazy bastard.

No matter how urgent things are, let’s not go that far.

Besides, there’s no need to needlessly raise the tracking rate.

There was no need to be frustrated.

I’d find out naturally once I got to the city anyway.

As we left the mountain, the city was revealed.

The high-rising lord’s castle, the gate.

It was familiar.

“Odore.”

It was Ian’s hometown.

The city where he lived before meeting Isaac.

This was where I had landed.

“Did you time travel or something?”

The man looked at me strangely.

“It’s like I’m looking at someone from a hundred years ago.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because this isn’t Odore, it’s Sector 18, and we threw out the Imperial Calendar a long time ago.”

The man answered that much and then fell silent again.

“I hit my head on the mountain. I think I’ve lost some of my memory.”

“Right, right. I get it, so let’s part ways here.”

The man pushed me toward the gate as if shooing away a troublesome burden.

“He says he got lost on the mountain. Lost his memory, too. He’s not a Demon. I checked.”

“Is he human? What’s his Rank?”

“He’s a low D-Rank. Looks like he learned swordsmanship.”

“Isn’t he a noble? Anyway, good work.”

The soldier guarding the gate pointed at me.

“You, come over here.”

This time, it’s a young woman.

The woman’s Level is also 160.

She’s excessively strong for a grunt guarding a gate.

Is this also one of Ian’s Traces?

I’m not frustrated.

I had just decided to take my time and look around this world.

I needed to play along.

“Hey. Where are you coming from? What’s your name? Where’s your hometown? Oh, right. You said you lost your memory. That’s not a lie, is it?”

The soldier let out a deep sigh.

“Just follow me for now.”

“I’ll be heading home now.”

“Good work. Who’s that behind you?”

“He’s a man Mr. Bucks picked up on the mountain.”

“Bucks? The Bucks who said he was bringing a priest?”

“Yes.”

The man who appeared to be the soldier’s superior flinched.

“Uh, then is that person…”

“He’s not a priest. And he’s not a Demon either.”

“? Then what is he?”

“He says he’s lost his memory.”

In the meantime, I rustled through the last page and closed the book.

It was a book that had been on the wall, a book detailing the history of the Odore family.

It wasn’t very useful, but it did solve one question I had.

I then raised my head.

“Is it the year one thousand by the Imperial Calendar?”

“It is, so just sit there quietly.”

Exactly one hundred years had passed since Ian’s Dream.

A hundred years.

A lot can change in that time.

Most of the people who knew Ian would be dead.

The soldier who had nodded looked back at her superior.

“See? He’s completely lost it.”

“Maybe he ended up like that after fighting a Demon or a Monster.”

“But even the fingerprint identification magic can’t confirm his identity. He’s not a noble either.”

The soldier shook the fingerprint identification magic device.

It was a rather advanced artifact, something I hadn’t seen in Ian’s Dream.

It was also an item that clearly showed the immense progress made in the last hundred years.

“That’s why I’m saying he’s suspicious. He’s learned swordsmanship, but his identity can’t be confirmed, and he says he’s lost his memory.”

“He could have learned it illegally without joining a guild.”

“So, what do we do with him?”

“You take charge of him for the time being.”

“What? Me? No way!”

“I’ll tell the inn to put him up. Just do that for today.”

“Why go to all that trouble?”

“In a situation where every single person is needed, a D-Rank is decent enough. You said he’s not a Demon.”

The superior looked me up and down.

“Hey, you. What’s your name? Oh, right. You said you don’t remember.”

“Please call me Isaac.”

“…Isaac? Well, fine.”

The superior replied hesitantly and continued.

“Isaac. I’ll permit you to stay here until you regain your memories. On the condition that you participate in any battles that may occur.”

“Understood.”

“Okay, that’s settled.”

The superior, who had nodded, grumbled.

“Damn it. By the way, when the hell is that priest who was supposed to come? Those bastards. Don’t tell me they’re not coming.”

“No way. They might abandon other places, but would they abandon Sector 18?”

“I certainly hope so.”

The soldier sighed and stood up. She looked at me as if I were a piece of luggage.

“Follow me.”