My Alter Ego’s Path to Greatness - Chapter 101
#101
Northern Mountains (2)
The undead unrest in the four western kingdoms of the continent was slowly calming down.
Of course, it was not because they handled it well, but because the situation turned out unexpectedly.
Immediately after the Immortal King openly showed his strength and sent a signal, the undead, who had been moving as they pleased, such as attacking humans or hiding in remote areas, all showed the same movements in unison.
The immortal army, which learned each other’s locations through the reply, followed the king’s orders and began to avoid fighting as much as possible and unite in groups close to each other.
‘Of course, in the meantime, there were groups that clashed with humans or were completely subdued.’
The army that succeeded in gathering to a certain extent was able to grow in size to the point where it would be burdensome to deal with only the troops of a single territory.
In response, the kingdoms showed bustle, keeping a close eye on the movements of the undead and summoning troops… but
at some point, they disappeared without a trace.
The Immortal King Hans personally visited them, took care of them all, and then disappeared.
So even though the humans escaped the threat of the undead, they could not feel at ease.
It was not a case of subjugation and complete defeat, but rather a situation where the enemy gathered his scattered troops and retreated.
How can one be at ease when one does not know when and where so many armies will target them?
‘In such a situation, this time even the monsters started causing trouble.’
This is not an ordinary uproar, but a continental scale tribulation is predicted.
Among them, the Kingdom of Tulk was bordering the northern mountain range, which was called the paradise of monsters, so it was even more headache-inducing.
We must do our best to defend the North, but we have no choice but to prepare for the Immortal King’s raid.
The reason was to borrow the power of the mercenaries in Tarak by promising them the best compensation possible.
‘Hans doesn’t really have any intention of stabbing someone in the back… but there’s no way they would know that.’
Meanwhile, a separate nomination request came to Harley, who was about to head to the Steel Fortress.
So now he had come to the central government office in Tarak to meet his client.
Of course, the lord’s name was burdensome, but he was not forced to submit to power and accept it.
Just based on the briefly provided information…
‘Because the region where the request was carried out was the northern mountain range.’
Rather than simply stopping monsters like the others, there was a high possibility that he would be tasked with a more dangerous mission, but the risks were none of his business.
‘The destination is the same, the rewards are much greater, and there is no need to be hated by the ruler of this region, so it would be better to accept it. I’m also curious about what’s going on in this situation.’
After arriving at the government office and waiting for a while, Harley was finally able to face her client.
Of course, it wasn’t the lord himself.
He may have been trying to emphasize the importance of the request, but he used the lord’s name, but how would someone in that position meet a mere mercenary in person and entrust him with the task?
“…I heard the story well. “It’s very big.”
The client he encountered was a driver in his 30s with a blunt appearance.
“More than anything… he’s very unique.”
As expected, he couldn’t help but say something when he saw Harley’s appearance, and he expressed such sentiments with a shocked expression on his face.
‘Well, that kind of reaction is normal.’
He is a muscular man well over 2 meters tall, his upper body is naked, and he wears a witch’s head on his head. His body is covered in tattoos, and one eye is an odd eye that glows green.
The driver was at a loss for words for a moment at the sight of the sight, which can never be forgotten, but then continued speaking with a light cough.
“Hmm, okay. Are you that Harley? “He’s a very famous mercenary, right?”
“Ahaha! This is so embarrassing! “Well, it’s true that I’m famous!”
As someone who had come out to fulfill a request in this city full of mercenaries, he didn’t particularly care about Harley’s rude words and actions as usual.
“Let’s move on to work. “The reason I nominated you is because I need someone who knows the northern mountains well.”
“Hmm… Finding directions isn’t really my specialty. “There is nothing you can’t do if you want to decide, but if you need guidance, it would be better to look for someone else.”
Rather than observing the mountain path and entering the mountain in a planned manner, he was closer to hunting and returning, tearing apart the monsters that stood in his way with his incredible mobility and force.
I could at least get directions in the forest, but I wasn’t at the level where I could be hired as a guide and even accept requests for names like this.
“Oh, don’t worry about that. The request has been given not only to you but also to other mercenaries. “We have already hired one of the best guides in Tarak.”
“Ohh! In that case… But in that case, you don’t really need me, do you? Wouldn’t they be enough on their own?”
“He is strong enough not only to travel in and out of the northern mountains, but also to frequently complete high-level quests that require going deep into the depths, and to single-handedly deal with high-ranking monsters that are difficult even for a party.”
The driver spoke slowly at Harley’s seemingly curious words and then looked at him quietly.
“Is there anyone else in Tarak who is more qualified than this?”
“I guess I’m the only one! Hahahaha—!”
Harley was smiling cheerfully, but the driver seemed to have gotten used to it by now and continued to say what he wanted to say without changing his expression.
“That was a long story. This is the main point. “The location is inside the Northern Mountain Range, the deadline is as quickly as possible, the type is the factor, and the target is zaonic steelstone.”
“Zonic Steelstone?”
‘Who is that?’
The driver paused for a moment as if his feelings were conveyed, and then slowly opened his mouth.
“Specifically, he is a blacksmith belonging to the territory. “The race is… dwarves.”
***
As the client was directly submitted by the territory, the work proceeded smoothly.
All the items needed for the mission were already prepared, and colleagues who would go with them began to gather one by one.
It is said that the person to be rescued was not an ordinary person, but as soon as he sensed something abnormal, he dug a hole and hid in it, and then sent a communication to the magic tool to request rescue.
It is not an immediate emergency as there is enough emergency food, but it is impossible to know when and what will happen in that dangerous area.
As soon as preparations were made, Harley entered the northern mountains with six companions who would carry out the mission together.
About a day passed like that.
“Kaaaaaaaah! Damn it, did that guy really have to climb the mountain in this situation?”
“Well, I guess I didn’t know at the time that things would get this far. “It doesn’t happen for a day or two that dwarves like rare minerals.”
Right after another battle.
When Mikel, a female mercenary armed with a crossbow, spit on the ground and became irritated, the middle-aged man who was guiding the group down the mountain path scolded her.
“But it sure looks like something big is going on. I’ve been coming here for over ten years and this is the first time something like this has happened. “All the monster boundary and habitat information that I had organized so far has become trash.”
Marcus, a middle-aged mercenary, sighs while leading the group again.
Even though it had only been a day since they entered the mountain range, they were keenly aware of the abnormality of the monsters.
Until now, the ecosystem had been maintained with its own rules, but now there was no trace of it.
Also, to hide his body odor, he spread an unknown juice all over his body, avoided battles as much as possible, and dealt with them as secretly and quickly as possible when he had to, but now even that was slowly reaching its limit.
“I’ll be back in a moment.”
At that time, everyone in the group held their breath as Harley muttered softly.
“some?”
“…Is it a bit much? I think I’m well over 30… I’m coming here with this intention. “I think I sensed traces of a previous battle.”
Everyone’s brows furrowed at his words.
Even though we were so careful, it seems like it wasn’t enough to fool those with more developed senses as something strange happened.
“Do you know what the types are?”
“Hmm, it’s roughly the same size as an orc.”
Everyone was skeptical at first, but now everyone trusted Harley’s sense of perception.
That has to be the case.
It was natural because it had already happened several times throughout the day and his warning had never been wrong.
Grumble—
“I can’t help it. “I have no choice but to deal with it as quickly as possible and leave.”
Robin, a knight wearing leather armor, slowly drew his sword and opened his mouth with the same blunt expression on his face as when delivering a request.
‘Anyway, that guy is great too. I thought he would just deliver a request, but I never thought he would participate in the operation himself.’
Of course, in addition to him, a veteran ranger from the Iron Citadel had also joined the group, but I had no idea that a knight or so would join them wearing leather armor.
Even for such a dangerous operation.
Monsters steeped in madness are extremely aggressive and do not die easily, and this is the northern mountain range that is their home.
Up until now, we had been proceeding by dealing with them as quickly as possible and avoiding the area…
but as we entered the interior of the mountain range and the density of monsters increased, there was bound to be a limit to that.
“We will spread a veil of shielding around us. “Once they are fully inside, deal with them as quickly as possible.”
Mercenary wizard Fabiella frowned, as if the frequent use of magic was starting to put a strain on her magic power.
Although he was a wizard, he had trained his body to a considerable level and was quite famous in Tarak, and he was quite capable of going on rough hikes to live up to his reputation.
“…come!”
Harley’s warning continued again.
But this time, everyone could tell even without his words.
Doo doo doo doo—!
“Kuwook—!”
“Keuek!”
Without any intention of hiding the sound, I heard the vibrations of the ground and the cries of monsters who had lost their senses.
As soon as the orcs, steeped in madness, entered the realm of the veil, the fight began.
Hiss— puff!
It started with bolts and arrows flying from behind.
And Harley, standing on the vanguard with knight Robin and taciturn swordsman Flora, is just like usual…
“Hahaha—!” “Let’s have some fun!”
Quaaaang!
I burst out laughing, which I had been holding back for so long, and kicked the ground and lunged at them with my bare hands.
The explosive power emanating from the luminous imprint and the continuously writhing muscles instantly brought his body in front of the orcs who were engulfed in madness…
Crunch!
Ttuduk!
That mighty power was enough to tear off the heads of those guys.
The sight of him carefully cutting off each and every head while dodging the weapons of the orcs who were frantically rushing towards him seemed like a scene of sacred labor… Could there be any sense?
“Hahaha!”
The act of the vicious barbarian laughing viciously was merely a scene of one-sided violence.
“…I don’t know who the monster is. “Is that possible?”
“No matter how many times I see it, I still can’t get used to it.”
Even his comrades who were fighting together looked fed up when they saw him.
Harley was showing with his whole body why he was a ‘person who should never be touched’ in the Tarak mercenary world.
At first, it was a fighting method that was started to avoid the smell of blood as much as possible, but when this was combined with Harley’s monstrous body, it became as good as fighting with a weapon.
The Orcs who were running at him were getting hit by them and their neck joints were out of range of motion.
But he wasn’t just fighting mindlessly.
‘It’s strange. ‘For a while now, whenever I fight a monster, I feel something tickling.’
Even though he strengthened his senses with biological auras and imprints, he was still bothered by the feeling of something scratching him that he could not sense even with the wildness engraved in his instincts.
Poop—!
“Kwaek!”
Even as Harley continued to think, she continued to hit the orc’s head, kick him in the stomach, and return his chin with his elbow.
Then at some point.
Was the problem that I was too preoccupied?
Phew—!
His fingertips suddenly became sharper and dug into the heart of an orc.
“ah.”
I was fighting with my bare hands on purpose to prevent blood splattering, but perhaps because of the “wild nature” that activated unconsciously, I instinctively made the most lethal attack.
Fortunately, I had at least some sense of reason left, and only the tips of my fingernails became slightly sharp, so my “physical transformation” was not noticed by those around me, but my efforts were for naught and my arm was splattered with blood.
“Tsk—.”
Harley clicked her tongue lightly and pulled out her hand.
In his hand, he was suddenly holding a magic stone that had been embedded in the heart of an orc.
‘There’s nothing we can do about what’s already been done. ‘It’s just a matter of cleaning up the blood.’
Even more than that, my energy was running out little by little.
Now that I have it, I guess I should put it to good use.
Harley put the magic stone into his mouth without thinking.
Crack!
That moment.
Excited!
My heart is beating violently.
Blood flow throughout the body began to flow roughly.
The tingling energy I had been feeling felt even more clearly the moment I consumed the orc magic stone.
‘What’s happening all of a sudden?’
As my senses expanded, I was able to understand things I had never known before.
‘…no way? This….’
It spread across the world, covering the sky, melting into the air and surrounding them, and dwelling on the orcs who were running towards them with their eyes turning bright red.
And…now it has started to sprout inside Harley’s body.
Yes it is.
It was ‘madness’.