I Became a Dark Knight in the Game - Chapter 48



47 – Gabi Merchant Group (2)

Somewhere inside Kriel, a voice whispered, seeking self-preservation.

‘Don’t risk danger by drawing the demon sword. Just saving people is enough to fulfill your duty as a human. There’s a reason for the saying, “Don’t fix your shoes in a cucumber field.” There’s no need to invite suspicion even after helping.’

As soon as he heard that, another part of Kriel’s mind rose up.

‘Go! Chivalry does not compromise!’

‘Are you crazy?’

‘How can you not do your best in front of innocent people in danger! Are you still a knight?’

‘Isn’t that so-called chivalry good at compromising with the abyss!’

At this point, a brilliant idea came to Kriel’s mind.

He could use Tuon.

‘First, put out the fire with Tuon’s power, and if anyone suspects the presence of the abyss, just blame it on an abyssal spawn!’

A knight must be noble. Defeating the abyss is always noble – as long as it doesn’t drive innocent people into a corner.

In other words, adding a spoonful of blame to the abyssal spawn Kim Abyss (tentative name) who blew up the three-story Gabi Merchant Group building was undoubtedly noble.

Since the danger of the creature had increased, the capture of the abyssal spawn would be expedited. Having constructed a perfectly chivalrous and reasonable logic for shifting responsibility, Kriel drew Tuon without hesitation.

[Finally! Have you realized that I am the weapon most fitting for your dignity!]

Kriel did not bother to respond to Tuon’s words. His aura flowed down the blade. Even without using dark energy, Kriel’s natural aura was dark. It was an ominous black, as if darkness itself had melted.

However, the aura infused into Tuon and mixed with the power of the demon sword gleamed in a different color. The originally endlessly dark aura, which did not even suit the term sword light, was tinged with a bit of blue, turning into a dark blue.

The color, resembling the night sky, changed to suit the name “radiance” in appearance.

Through the aura that enveloped the entire blade from the hilt, Tuon could sense his master’s will. It might seem foolish to place ice against fire, but if the cold was deep and intense enough at Tuon’s level, it could yield different results.

From the upper left to the lower right. Kriel swiftly swung his sword. The altered sword energy by the cursed sword swept through the burning corridor.

Normally, such destructive power would have accelerated the collapse of the building, but Tuon, imbued with Kriel’s aura, diluted the sword energy’s destructive force to exclude any physical phenomena other than overwhelming cold.

The fire demon was covered by the cold of snow.

[Such ordinary flames cannot stop my power. Ordinary flames and the frost of the cursed sword are completely subordinate!]

“Be quiet.”

Even in the midst of chaos, openly mentioning the cursed sword would be troublesome if anyone heard.

The blue cold radiating from the sword tip flowed through the corridor, moving up and down the building. The sound of boiling water and the cracking of ice were heard simultaneously.

Confirming that the flames were roughly under control, Kriel began to run, searching for signs of life.

*

Mazar Gabi felt a dull pain pressing heavily on his entire body. The blunt pain from being hit and the sting of burns were felt simultaneously.

His body felt heavy.

‘Heavy?’

Mazar was bewildered as he recalled his memories. It was strange that he was alive. The sudden explosion while reviewing documents on the third floor. His last memory was being thrown by the shockwave.

The protective artifact he usually wore? It must have exhausted its utility by merely preventing instant death from the first explosion. It couldn’t have protected him from burning or suffocating due to flames or smoke.

‘Did a guild member save me?’

To be pulled out from the epicenter. Mazar, convinced that he had some reputation in the Gabi guild, opened his eyes.

“Oh.”

In his sight was pale white hair.

“Why are you here?”

“Because I saved you.”

Kriel stroked his chin, recalling his memories of Mazar Gabi.

‘In the original game, he didn’t look like this young man.’

In the Tirnanog RPG, Mazar Gabi appeared as a child who might have just entered kindergarten. The Gabi family wasn’t such a prosperous guild either.

When the quest begins, Mazar Gabi dies mysteriously. The family, plunged into internal strife with the death of their beloved youngest member, falls into a terrible cycle of fratricide and suspicion… This was the content of the Gabi family’s tragic side quest.

‘No wonder I didn’t recognize him, he changed from a kid to a young man.’

Forgiving himself generously, Kriel reflected on the Gabi family’s tragedy.

‘In the end, who killed Mazar Gabi is never properly revealed.’

There is a subtle hint that the abyss was involved in Mazar Gabi’s death and the Gabi family’s downfall. At that time, the Gabi family was in charge of supplying the Imperial Abyss Front.

In that context, Kriel also judged that the recent attempt to assassinate Mazar Gabi was the work of the Abyss.

‘They probably used something like a magic scroll. The remnants of the scroll would have naturally burned up in the explosion.’

In fact, even if the scroll remained, it would be difficult to trace it with the characteristics of a dark knight if it was a mass-produced product purchased from a war-specialized magic tower rather than something made directly by an Abyssal spawn.

“…Thank you.”

Mazar’s calm expression of gratitude brought Kriel out of his thoughts.

“I have no doubt that there are questions like how you happened to be there and why you saved me. But first, I must fulfill the duty of the saved. I am simply grateful.”

Hearing the honest expression of gratitude, Kriel shrugged his shoulders.

“Any proper knight would have tried to save a person in that situation.”

Mazar nodded in agreement outwardly, but inwardly he was somewhat skeptical. Judging by the words spoken during the trial process and the current conversation, it was clear that Kriel had a bit, no, a great illusion about knights.

Not wanting to argue with his savior, Mazar let it go quietly, but he had seen quite a few knights abusing their privileges as members of the upper class during his travels.

“Since you are grateful, may I ask you something?”

“Is it an extension of the previous question?”

“If you put it that way, yes…”

Kriel stroked his chin. He had suspected that there was an Abyssal spawn behind it ever since Mazar expressed concern about his family.

Seven out of ten incidents in Tirnanog were the work of the Abyss. And now, recalling Mazar’s identity, his suspicion had almost turned into certainty.

But the question Kriel wanted to ask right now was different.

“Have you ever met the heroes?”

“…Heroes? Suddenly?”

Kriel nodded. This world had many similarities with the game, but it wasn’t exactly like the game.

For example, the number of heroes. Tirnanog RPG was a single-player game. There was only one player. But weren’t there a total of three heroes who appeared before Kriel drifted here?

Kriel suspected that one of the heroes who fell long ago had prevented the ‘Tragedy of the Gabi Family’. The survival of Mazar Gabi, the lack of division in the family, and the ability to maintain the title of military supplier would have caused a chain reaction leading to the current merchant group.

“It’s not something to hide. Yes. I met one when I was a child.”

Kriel nodded. Most of the people he met while tracking the whereabouts of the heroes were main story characters.

Since the main story of Tirnanog RPG was about defeating the Demon King, most of the prominent characters had some degree of martial prowess. And Kriel’s status as a ‘wandering knight’ gave him a reason not to be turned away at the door by at least those in the same knightly order.

Few would coldly reject a junior knight wanting to hear the experiences of a senior knight who had served in the Demon King War.

Thus, most of the witnesses Kriel met as a wandering knight were knights. It was very rare to meet someone from a different profession. Mazar Gabi, who was neither a knight nor a main story character, was the first witness of this kind.

“Have you ever met the heroes after defeating the Demon King?”

“…No. I thought about writing a letter to ask for help with the family matters, but by then, the heroes had already disappeared.”

From noble mtl dot com

I thought so. Since it was a question asked without much expectation, there was no disappointment. Kriel was satisfied with the more certain evidence that what couldn’t be changed in the game could be changed in reality.

The hope that he could remove the ‘dark’ from ‘dark knight’. That hope overflowed in Kriel.

“I sought help…. Is there some misfortune befalling your family?”

Mazhar Gabi closed his eyes, unsure if he could be honest.

However, the fact that Kriel asked about the ‘connection with the hero’ as soon as the conversation started suggested that he had some certainty about the Gabi family’s incident.

“Officially, my father, Tushkin Gabi, is said to have stepped down during the test to inherit the position of the head of the merchant guild.”

“What is the reality?”

“He is bedridden. But it is not due to a simple illness. I am convinced it is a curse.”

Gabi hesitated one last time, then spoke with his eyes tightly shut, as if chewing his words.

“Because I suffered the same curse in my childhood.”