"Lower your weapons. I'm not an enemy of the Highlanders."
Even after Zeke's words, the man in black who wielded dual swords and the swordsman who held a bastard sword remained silent.
They seemed to ponder how to respond to Zeke's words without letting their guard down.
'These guys were always so damn suspicious.'
The two Highlanders in front of him were people Zeke had connections with in his previous life.
'Adnan and Bodmir. It had been a while since he'd seen both of them.'
Adnan was an Ishtar-born warrior who had taught Zeke about poisons and body techniques, while Bodmir was a northern warrior who had been his comrade when they hunted barbarians and magical beasts in the Giant Mountain Range.
Since the Highlanders were forbidden from interacting with the outside world after their oath, almost no one knew of their existence.
They simply repeated the cycle of receiving missions to hunt magical beasts on the High Table's orders, waiting until the next assignment, and then moving out again.
As a result, even among themselves, interactions were limited. So when talk related to them came from an outsider's mouth, it only heightened their wariness.
Zeke slowly pulled out the mirror given to him by the Hermit of Stories from his inventory.
"There's no need to be on guard. I learned about the Highlanders from the High Table member, the Hermit of Stories."
He tossed the mirror lightly in front of the two men.
They kept their weapons trained on Zeke without relaxing.
Then Bodmir extended his sword and prodded the mirror Zeke had thrown, glancing back at Adnan.
"It seems genuine."
At Bodmir's words, Adnan relaxed his stance and picked up the fallen mirror from the ground.
As he removed his hood, his face was revealed.
Tanned skin covered in scars across his face.
It was exactly the face of Adnan that Zeke remembered from his previous life.
He examined the mirror from all angles before tossing it back toward Zeke.
Catching the mirror again, Zeke spoke to the two men.
"My name is Zeke Draker."
At those words, Bodmir, with his thick beard and bear-like build, sheathed his bastard sword and laughed.
"Puhaha! That's the guy. The one who snagged Lady Nigel's Nine-Headed Dragon."
Hearing Bodmir's words, Adnan looked at Zeke and said,
"Why is a knight of Draker here?"
Just like in his previous life, Adnan was highly suspicious and thorough in everything.
Highlanders had a rule that they must operate in pairs or more during missions, so the meticulous Adnan was often paired with the relatively free-spirited Bodmir.
Such pairings were also decided by the High Table.
'As my master said, the other High Table members dumped everything on the leader because it was a hassle.'
Recalling the past, Zeke said to Adnan,
"I've come to rescue the Zoin Tribe leader, the beastman leader, and the family knights who are isolated due to the sudden appearance of these monsters." Bodmir nodded at his words.
"As expected of the guy who caught the Nine-Headed Dragon."
Adnan pointed to the hunting dogs behind him and asked,
"What's your relation to those?"
"As you can see, they're enemies. Those are the hunting dogs, the direct unit under the Rom Emperor."
"So you're saying you're not connected to the monsters and magical beasts that appeared here."
"That's right. If it were my doing, I wouldn't be going through all this trouble." But Adnan still didn't drop his suspicion.
'He was as prickly as ever.'
Clicking his tongue inwardly, Zeke asked Adnan,
"Are all those guys dead? If any are alive, I'd like to interrogate them."
"We don't operate that way."
For the Highlanders, security was paramount.
The moment they were spotted, the hunting dogs were as good as dead.
'Adnan was a pain, but at least he was reasonable. Since things had come to this, it might be good to borrow the Highlanders' strength.'
Zeke spoke to Adnan once more.
"I heard from the Hermit of Stories that the Highlanders are warriors specialized in hunting magical beasts."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"We need to cross a ravine full of monsters to return to the Autonomous District. If you can help us, we'll make it worth your while."
At those words, Adnan glared at Zeke and said,
"You're mistaken about something regarding the Highlanders. We're not mercenaries who hunt magical beasts on commission from outsiders." Bodmir, standing beside him, interjected suddenly.
"We do it sometimes. Just for pocket money?"
Adnan shot Bodmir a glare for adding unnecessary words.
Bodmir turned his head and whistled, pretending not to notice.
Zeke said to Adnan,
"You're here on a mission to deal with the magical beasts in this area anyway, right? Our side has strong knights, Zoin tribesfolk, beastmen, and even barbarians. Plus, I can wield the power of light, which is advantageous for hunting magical beasts."
At Zeke's words, Bodmir looked at him with curiosity and asked,
"Power of light? What's that?"
Zeke drew Roland and unleashed the Sacred Radiance Technique.
Woooong!
A soft light enveloped Bodmir and Adnan's bodies.
"Hoo!"
Bodmir drew his softly glowing bastard sword and swung it around experimentally.
Adnan looked at Zeke and said,
"If you have a power like this, you shouldn't need our help."
"Even with this power, escorting over a few hundred people through a monster-infested ravine isn't easy. Since you're familiar with such things, you probably know a safe path across the ravine. It would be even better if you could provide escort." The reason Zeke brought this up was none other than Bodmir's ability.
From his previous life, when they had carried out a mission together in the Giant Mountain Range, Zeke knew that Bodmir was skilled at finding hidden paths.
'I could check the overall terrain with the system map, but it didn't mark hidden routes...
No matter how I looked, I couldn't figure it out. Bodmir knew a safe way.'
Adnan looked at Zeke and said,
"If we accept your proposal, what do we gain?"
"I'll draw their attention. That should make it easier for you to hunt the magical beasts." Adnan pondered Zeke's words before glancing at Bodmir.
Bodmir nodded to Adnan.
After organizing his thoughts, Adnan said to Zeke,
"Knight of Draker. We'll accept your proposal. We'll tell you the path. Escort is impossible. We have our own mission."
Zeke was a bit surprised inwardly that Adnan accepted his proposal so readily.
'I thought he'd be more stubborn. Unexpected.'
Bodmir approached Zeke and extended his large, bear-paw-like hand.
"Puhaha. The guy who caught the Nine-Headed Dragon. I've wanted to see what kind of fellow you were. You're younger than I thought. I'm Bodmir. That stingy one over there is Adnan. He's sensitive, so watch out." Zeke shook hands with Bodmir.
"I didn't expect to run into Highlanders here. Surprising." Bodmir nodded at Zeke's words.
"Same for us. We didn't expect magical beasts to suddenly appear here. This is our first mission in this area."
In Zeke's memory from his previous life, the two had never been dispatched to the ghetto region.
'It wouldn't make sense to urgently send Adnan and Bodmir just to hunt magical beasts.' Adnan, standing behind, spoke to Zeke.
"The reason we accepted your proposal is to complete our mission."
"Isn't the mission to hunt magical beasts?"
"That's a given for Highlanders. There was a separate directive from the High Table." As Adnan brought up the directive, Bodmir interjected in surprise.
"Hey, Adnan. Is it okay to tell an outsider about that?" Adnan clicked his tongue at those words.
"Bodmir. Read the oath rulebook more carefully. When cooperating with someone, it's the rule to properly inform them about mission details." Bodmir scratched his head at Adnan's words.
"Was there something like that? The rulebook's too complicated. As long as you know it well, it's fine."
Adnan shook his head and turned back to Zeke.
"The higher-ups suspected that a dimensional rift had appeared here." Zeke furrowed his brow at Adnan's words.
'If that was true, this could be a headache.'
Zeke knew what a dimensional rift was but feigned ignorance as he asked Adnan,
"What does a dimensional rift mean?"
"It means exactly that—a gap between dimensions. Demonic energy leaks out from those gaps, and most magical beasts are monsters or beasts transformed by exposure
to it."
It was common knowledge among all Highlanders, but it was rarely known outside.
If this fact were revealed, it could lead to exploitation like the current empire's practices, so the Highlanders strictly controlled knowledge about it.
Zeke knew of the Hermit of Stories and the Highlanders' existence, so Adnan was sharing this much.
Most magical beasts came over from the Giant Mountain Range, and the High Table speculated that a massive dimensional rift behind the mountains was the source, with magical beasts corrupted by the leaking demonic energy crossing over.
There was a rumor among the Highlanders that the High Table's leader was sealing that dimensional rift, so the frequency of magical beast appearances would naturally decrease over time, but it hadn't been confirmed.
'If a dimensional rift had opened here, the demonic energy might infect and transform brainwashed monsters into magical beasts. And if ancient variants or aberration species appeared on top of that...'
As the dimensional rift widened, not only demonic energy but also impure entities trapped in the abyssal space could emerge.
These were more powerful than regular magical beasts—things like ancient variants and aberration species.
Zeke looked at Adnan and said,
"Is closing that dimensional rift the mission?" Adnan nodded.
"Yes. We also need to find out how they opened it."
"Perfect. As I said earlier, I'll draw their attention. Once my group passes through the ravine, I'll detonate mana bombs in various spots to sow more chaos among them." Bodmir grinned at Zeke's words.
"You're straightforward—I like it. Zeke Draker, was it? For a Draker, you're a decent guy."
Adnan also agreed to Zeke's plan.
"Very well. We'll accept that proposal."
*
Zeke left Adnan and Bodmir behind and returned alone to the camp.
The camp was littered with the corpses of slain magical beasts everywhere.
Thanks to Zeke's buff, they had dealt with the magical beasts that assaulted the camp without much difficulty.
Zeke told Helen, the Song of the Crouched Flame, and Big Joe that he had found a way to escape the ravine while avoiding the monsters.
When Big Joe asked how he had found a path they didn't know about, Zeke pondered briefly before answering.
"While scouting the area, the phoenix happened to discover a hidden path."
At the mention that the auspicious phoenix had found the way, not only Big Joe but even the Song of the Crouched Flame immediately accepted it.
Even Helen beside him nodded in understanding.
'They're one thing, but why even you, sis?'
The phoenix was useless in most ways but handy as an excuse in tricky situations.
Zeke wrapped up the explanation like that, then led the group along the path Bodmir had described into the depths of the ravine.
He found a cave cleverly hidden behind some rocks.
'No wonder the map couldn't detect it, hidden like this.'
The entrance was narrow, but the cave widened gradually as it went deeper.
Checking the internal terrain with the map, Zeke realized that this cave system spread throughout the entire ravine like an ant colony.
'It didn't seem like a natural cave—more like something artificially created long ago.'
Ancient artificial structures and thousands of ancient monsters summoned from the Demon Realm.
Something clicked in Zeke's mind.
'Could this be the base where the Demon Kingʼs Army fought the Chronos Allied Forces?'
Zeke recalled that the Kingdom of Chronos had once been located where Baranaon now stood.
If the Demon Kingʼs Army had stationed troops to attack Chronos, this region would have been the most suitable.
It would have been right under Chronos's nose.
'Then these monsters weren't brought from the Forest of the Forgotten but excavated directly from here.'
He couldn't figure out how they had revived monsters from over two thousand years ago, but given the Highlanders' suspicion of a dimensional rift here, it fit.
At that moment, Zeke spotted something through the vision of the ghost trooper he had released.
'Those hunting dogs...'
Zeke felt a chill from his own assumption.