Wandering Mercenary in an Open World

Looking at the blacksmith’s eyes filled with burning desire, Ruon quickly shook his head.

“Three days for a fortnight is a bit excessive. Didn’t you say you had a lot of work to do?”

The dwarf snapped his fingers and said.

“Nonsense! For every dwarf, there is no more glorious opportunity than to receive a request from a warrior of the forge. As for the other work… well, I can just pay the penalty.”

Ruon chuckled and retorted.

“That doesn’t sound like something a craftsman would say. I just wanted to shorten the deadline a bit, not to abandon the work I had to do.”

The dwarf’s face reddened as if he had hit the mark and he coughed.

“Ahem, I was too eager and made a fool of myself. Then, can you give me five days? I think I can proceed without any trouble in that time.”

Ruon nodded generously.

“Very well.”

“I heard from a friend who has a connection with Roberduck that a new warrior of the forge was born for the first time in a hundred years, but I never dreamed that I would take his request…”

The dwarf’s voice trailed off as he widened his eyes with emotion.

“I’ll prepare something that won’t disappoint you!”

After that, thanks to the blacksmith’s passion to make a weapon for the warrior of the forge, Ruon provided him with various things such as the posture of holding the sword, the shape of the grip, the width, etc. and was able to leave the smithy after a long time.

Before he knew it, the sun was setting and a red curtain was spread over the gray buildings. Along the road that began to exude a serene atmosphere, Ruon, who was hurrying his steps, still took in the noisy scenery of the city.

The guards, who had belatedly discovered the corpse in the inn, were busy roaming the streets to find out the truth of the incident, and the people were murmuring with anxiety about the city’s security that had fallen to the ground.

And as if that didn’t matter, a girl with a pile of fresh bread on her chest ran with a happy face. It was the same girl who had guided him to the smithy.

As he walked and watched various scenes, Ruon, who had arrived at the inn, suddenly stopped his steps to the entrance when he heard a familiar cry.

Heeheeheeheeng-

The annoying cry came from the stable next to the inn. It was the nightmare.

What’s the problem now?

Sighing, he approached the direction of the sound and found an old stableman who had bruised his buttocks on the floor.

“Ouch!”

He immediately went to the stableman and reached out his hand.

“Grab it.”

With Ruon’s help, the old man struggled to get up and tapped his lower back with his fist, as if it was uncomfortable.

“Th, thank you.”

“I told you. Be careful, he’s a fierce one. Or did he cause trouble?”

The old man shook his head vigorously at his words.

“No, no. I remember your words well. He hates being touched, so be careful. I made a mistake. I’m sorry.”

Ruon tilted his head as he watched the black horse repeat the rough snort behind the fence.

“Why bother?”

The old man opened his mouth slowly, hesitating.

“I couldn’t help but think that he looked just like the horse I saw a long time ago… I made a mistake without knowing it.”

Then he quickly added.

“I’m getting old, too. It’s been almost thirty years since then. Without any sense…”

The old man muttered to himself with self-mockery, but Ruon stared at him intently, wondering if his thought might not have been wrong.

He asked with interest.

“If you still remember him after thirty years, he must have been no ordinary horse.”

The old man nodded vigorously, as if he had been waiting for his words.

“Of course! How could I forget that majestic appearance? The black mane that flew like a Ruon, the thighs like logs, the hooves like iron, and the smoky eyes. He was a true steed.”

He got excited and continued talking, even though Ruon didn’t say anything.

“But that’s not it. That’s not the only reason I remember him. I’ve seen quite a few famous horses in this line of work, but they all fade away over time, you know?”

He explained enthusiastically with a wrinkled face, and Ruon matched his pace a little.

“He must have had something different.”

Then the old man clapped his hands and asked.

“Right. Do you know what it was?”

Ruon blinked his eyes at the sudden question and answered.

“Well, maybe it was the name of the horse’s owner?”

The old man laughed heartily at the answer he spat out without much thought.

“As expected! I knew you would answer like that.”

What are you looking at?

While Ruon was thinking that, the answer continued.

“You got it right. No matter how good the horse is, it’s useless if the rider on top is worthless. In that respect, that black horse was different. Its owner was the famous Thunder King, Imrek.”

A normal person would have exclaimed in admiration at this timing, but Ruon, who didn’t know who Imrek was, just tilted his head with a puzzled expression.

Rather, the reaction came from an unexpected place. The black horse, which had been quietly listening to the old man’s words along with Ruon, suddenly let out a long cry.

Hee-hee-hee-hing!

It didn’t stop there and slammed its head against the fence that blocked its way. The force that was contained in it was so great that the fence started to collapse with a creaking sound.

“Uh, uh?”

Passing by the startled stable keeper, Ruon approached the black horse and wrapped his arms around its excited neck.

Of course, that’s how it looked on the outside. In reality, he was using his strength to prevent it from escaping outside.

Then, the black horse’s mane fluttered and an invisible force swept the stable.

“Ugh!”

The old man, who had closed his eyes tightly at the force that exploded in the air, opened them cautiously when he felt no pain.

“…What is this?”

He saw a faint dome. He couldn’t see inside it because of his old eyes, but his long life had taught him.

That thing saved your life. The reason why the surface of the dome was rippling was because it had absorbed the force inside.

As he realized that, he collapsed on the floor. At that moment, inside the shield, Ruon smiled fiercely.

“You’re more rebellious today.”

The black horse, despite the dreadful force squeezing its neck, kept emitting the formless force in all directions.

It was lucky that Ruin, who was quick-witted, activated the shield himself. Otherwise, the stable would have suffered a lot of damage.

What should I do?

Ruon, who was enduring the swirling force inside the shield with his bare body, frowned.

Even though he was choking its neck to the point of breaking its bones, the black horse showed no sign of losing consciousness. Rather, it poured out its unorganized force more nervously.

Ruon sighed lightly as he looked at its bloodshot eyes.

He had no other way to solve it without killing it. He reluctantly decided to push his holy power into the black horse’s body.

He knew that holy power and cursed power were incompatible, but this was not a situation to be picky.

That’s when it happened.

A bright light burst out from under Ruin’s sword hilt at his waist.

The light, tinged with red, seeped into the black horse’s forehead. Surprisingly, its snout, which had been breathing roughly, began to calm down. Soon, its mane, which had been fluttering, slowly settled down.

Soon, the black horse, which had regained its sanity, realized that its neck was being strangled and twisted its body with difficulty.

Only then did Ruon release his arm that was wrapped around its neck. The black horse spat out its blocked breath and glared at him.

“You spared me.”

Ruon, who hit its head with his thick palm, turned his body with a scream behind him.

He reached out his hand to the stable keeper who was trembling on the floor and said.

“Old man, you and this guy will remember me for a few years, right?”

The old man, who was supported by Ruon again, muttered with a pale face.

“…Until the day I die, I guess.”

He didn’t say anything to Ruon. He firmly believed that curiosity would shorten his life.

I’ve caused you trouble.

Ruon handed him a gold coin, looking at the old man who was watching him and saying nothing even though he was hurt.

“Add it to the stable repair.”

“What… That’s too much. I can’t take it.”

The old man, who shook his head vigorously, clenched the coin in his dry hand.

“Don’t be burdened. I’m also paying a fair price.”

“What do you mean?”

“Didn’t you give me valuable information?”

He said that and pointed to the black horse with his thumb.

“Thanks to you, I found out who its previous owner was.”

“What, what do you mean? Really, Thunder…”

Ruon pressed his index finger to his lips with a stern expression. The old man quickly stopped his words and swallowed his saliva.

“He started to go crazy as soon as he heard that name. I guess that’s probably the case. Of course, it’s still just a suspicion.”

The stable keeper, who blinked his eyes with a blank expression, clenched his hand with the gold coin.

“…You gave me this big money, not just for the repair cost or the information fee. I get it. I promise. I’ll take everything I heard and saw today to the grave.”

What are you talking about?

Ruon was about to say that there was no need for that, but he swallowed his smile at the solemn old man’s face and nodded.

“Suit yourself.”

He left a word of thanks for the speech and headed straight back to the inn, where he flopped down on the bed and stretched.

He relaxed his tense body and sorted out the events of the day in his head.

The surprise attack of the assassins who joined forces with the human hunters, the request for a new item at the forge, and the runaway nightmare.

It was a day when he gained a lot from a series of incidents.

He had a vague idea of the outline of the group called the Waning Moon, and soon he would have a new weapon in his hand, and he had also found some clues about the past of the nightmare that was shrouded in a veil.

Ruon muttered softly.

“…I’ll have to ask Tarwan who Imrek is when he wakes up.”

It seemed certain that the person named Imrek was the former owner of the nightmare.

A being with an ominous nickname of the Thunder King and a horse that was cursed after losing such a master.

He felt that there was something more to this story as he rubbed his chin, and he turned his head to look at his waist.

He asked Ego Sword.

“What did you do earlier? You tried something and the nightmare calmed down.”

The blade of Ruin emitted a faint light. It felt like a child’s tantrum, as if asking why he was asking now.

The sword proudly conveyed what it had done, and Ruon chuckled.

“Is that all you said?”

At his question, Ruin repeated the words it had said to the nightmare, as if asking for praise.

-The past is the past. Our master now. Ruon-