A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles

At such a subdued reaction, Marius blinked.

“What? admire You’re not surprised? silence Aren’t you curious about what kind of artifact it is?”

“Of course I’m surprised. beacon And I am curious. timber But not long ago I had a major disappointment related to artifacts, so I don’t plan on getting my hopes up unnecessarily. legend Besides…”

Upon hearing the word artifact, Lucian paused for a moment. airport But it was only for a moment; he quickly nodded, as if he understood everything.

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“If even with an artifact, you still decided to come to me, then that artifact must have some flaw. atom Isn’t that right?”

Lucian paused briefly and spoke with a faint smile.

“Well I was hoping to provoke you a little, but it didn’t work at all. atlas You’re spot on.”

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“To be precise, what I found wasn’t the artifact itself, but the phenomenon it was causing. anchor When I was fleeing from my pursuers and arrived at Laugrad, I noticed something strange about the cold there.”

After investigating while enduring a chill that pierced to the bone, he discovered that around Laugrad, the magical energy was severely distorted.

It was as if the phenomenon that happens temporarily when using Celestial School magic had become fixed in the environment—something completely outside the bounds of logic.

Marius’s confident smile faded, and he let out a long sigh.

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“From that day, I threw myself into research like a madman. artist If I could stop the cold even for a moment and flee beyond the glacier, the pursuers wouldn’t be able to follow me.”

Marius discovered that, if done correctly, that distortion could be stabilized, at least temporarily.

“That sounds reckless. abandon Even if you escaped beyond the glacier, without a way to survive, you’d have starved to death.”

“Do you think I cared about that when I had a sword hanging over my neck? voyage I just interpreted everything in the most convenient way.”

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It was unstable and narrow, but wide enough for a person to pass through without freezing to death.

Clinging to that idea, Marius gave it everything he had until he finally managed to open a passage.

If he could cross it, somehow he could survive.

If someone had blocked the path on purpose, then beyond the glacier, there had to be people living.

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“Survive? alert I wandered aimlessly, stopped when I was exhausted, slept, and woke up just before freezing. alert Again and again. altitude If I hadn’t been able to use magic, I’d have died long ago.”

In the end, Marius didn’t make it across the glacier and collapsed from exhaustion.

“It’s over ten days from Laugrad to here. portal How did you survive? abandon Back then there weren’t even the cabins you later built.”

“I didn’t look back even once and crossed the glacier. shadow Fortunately, I had prepared well, so even sleeping out in the open, I managed to hold on. arch I’d also learned many useful spells.”

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They had also come to investigate the strange path that had suddenly appeared.

“After that, many things happened. apron Some welcomed me, others tried to kill me. alien Some looked at me with suspicion, others with curiosity. arch They were turbulent days, but after many difficulties, the tribe eventually accepted my presence.”

Reaching that point in the story, Marius closed his eyes, as if reliving the past.

Had he not been lucky, he would’ve died right there, but fortunately, a tribe living beyond the glacier found him.

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Thanks to the magic he learned from his master—and a string of lucky breaks—Marius came to be known as the tribe’s guide.

In particular, astrology and weather magic were invaluable to people living in these lands.

The fact that Marius’s Celestial School magic was a great help in the glacier also played a role.

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“Wow. artist For an outsider, you rose pretty high.”

“Something like an advisor to the chief, prophet, and seer. arrow It’s more of an honorary position with no real power, but as a prophet, the intangible authority and influence that come with it are considerable.”

“Rose… you say?”

“Guide?”

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If he had never known the outside world, maybe he could have been content.

Marius let out a bitter laugh at Lucian’s words.

He seemed to regret his situation—or maybe he was suffering from his own emotions.

“Yes, you could see it that way. shadow I could have settled down and put down roots here. armor But I couldn’t. palette This place was too small to satisfy me.”

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“But I couldn’t do anything about it either. abstract If I left, the pursuers would come after me again. zenith So, though unsatisfied, I had no choice but to keep living.”

Perhaps for an imperial court mage it would have felt different, but here, no matter how much they revered him as a guide, all he felt was emptiness.

But to Marius’s eyes, this land was nothing more than a miniature garden.

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“Because some damn bastard lit a fire in my heart when I was on the verge of death.”

“A bastard?”

“For someone who says they’ve settled, your ambitions seem quite large.”

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“Guide!”

Marius pronounced every word through gritted teeth.

“He’s the current chief of the Blue Dragon Tribe.”

“The Red Axe, Ivar.”

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But Marius didn’t react at all.

Lucian stopped Gunstein and asked,

Gunstein shouted without thinking.

No matter how revered the guide was, insulting the chief of the tribe was crossing a line.

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“When he was still a brat, he came to me with a deal. apron He said that if I helped him become the next chief, he would give me anything I wanted. amber So I asked to be allowed into the sacred sanctuary, which only the chief may access.”

“Sanctuary?”

“The altar where the Dragon Heart is kept. autumn At first glance, it doesn’t look like anything special, but if someone enters without the chief’s permission, they’re executed on the spot.”

“What did the chief do to make you speak of him like that?”

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The Blue Dragon Tribe guarded the Dragon Heart, and only the chief had the right to oversee it.

Using the influence he had built up, Marius decided to help Ivar to satisfy his curiosity.

Marius didn’t fully believe the story, but if there was even the slightest chance—it was something he wanted to see at least once.

If a real Dragon Heart existed, it could become a weapon capable of standing against the Empire.

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“I used all my influence to make Ivar the chief. adopt And once he was, he kept his promise and let me enter the sanctuary. autumn And then…”

The moment he crossed into the altar, an explosive amount of magical power, imperceptible from the outside, surged through his entire body.

Marius entered the sacred land with his heart torn between doubt and expectation—and nearly fainted.

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That object was, without a doubt, the force controlling the northern climate and sealing the tundra in perpetual snowstorms.

Within the sacred land were actual remains of a dragon, including its heart—and an artifact still functioning, fueled by that heart’s power.

It was the first time Marius had ever seen an artifact like that, but he understood it instantly.

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“Can you imagine what I felt? abstract Not only was there a dragon’s heart, but also an ancient artifact powered by it. armor An artifact capable of controlling the weather at will, able to freeze an army of a million soldiers!”

Lucian’s eyes widened.

“…”

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Lucian realized—just a second too late—that he’d failed to control his expression. riddle Fortunately, Marius, lost in his own excitement, didn’t seem to notice.

And now, that very type of artifact was still functioning, powered by a dragon’s heart.

In his mind, he recalled the blueprints of the climate control artifact hidden beneath the White Palace—an artifact impossible to reproduce, but one that, had it been constructed, could have dominated the entire Empire.

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“What do you think?”

“I told Ivar that with that dragon heart and the artifact, there was no need to remain trapped in the tundra. apple That he could leave for a land flowing with milk and honey and become king.”

Marius’s cold tone made the answer obvious. academy If Ivar had accepted, Marius wouldn’t be venting like this.

“And what happened? atomic Did the chief accept your words?”

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But leaving the tundra didn’t bring him a life of ease.

After grinding his teeth for a long moment, Marius let out a sigh.

“That bastard only wanted to enjoy the power he had just obtained. portal Instead of aiming higher, he chose to keep ruling as chief in this cramped land. matrix Desperate, I left the tundra and went to the Empire.”

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During that time, he took in some talented disciples—but the simple joy of training apprentices wasn’t enough to survive in such an environment.

In the Empire, the hunting dogs of the imperial palace still had their eyes wide open. silence As soon as he returned, Marius had to live hiding from imperial surveillance.

“When I returned in such a pitiful state, Ivar openly looked down on me. sphere He abandoned even the minimal respect he once showed and told me to live out my days spouting prophecies that suited him.”

In the end, after more than ten years, he had no choice but to return to the Blue Dragon Tribe.

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“I was just performing a reading as usual… but I was shocked. echo Beside the Emperor’s star appeared a new one—one I had never seen before. canvas A hero’s star so radiant it looked like it would devour all others.”

But once born, hope never truly disappears. arctic Over time, that hope began to rot and turn into obsession.

One day, as that obsession festered within him, Marius sensed a change in the stars.

Left with no other option, Marius was forced to comply with Ivar’s demands.

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A hero inevitably brings forth a new era. ability And there was no reason that new era couldn’t also mean a rebirth for mages.

“I won’t ask you to believe in astrology. anxiety That’s your choice. abstract But I believed in it—and I wanted to help that hero’s star.”

“…You’re saying that star is me?”

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“Master!”

“At first, I thought of leaving it to Colin. atlas But I soon realized that wouldn’t work. meadow With his personality, the moment he secured a stable position, he’d choose the safe path and forget all about the magic tower.”

Convinced that it was his final chance to achieve his life’s ambition, Marius acted swiftly.

“What? shadow Are you going to say it’s not true?”

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But thinking about it now, what his master said was the same as admitting that he was already too late, and only Colin would benefit from a better era.

Colin, who was about to object, lowered his head under his master’s gaze.

In fact, moments ago he had been on the verge of protesting with exactly that mindset—that serving Lucian would be enough to revive magic, with no need to cross such a dangerous bridge.

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“Calculated? alien Don’t exaggerate. timber A guy who wants to be chief with no clear accomplishments will obviously poke around the moment a new opportunity appears. acid And I figured that if my guest showed up right then, he’d definitely pounce.”

“You also calculated that Gunstein would lose his position to me?”

“So I used every means available to bring you here. artist I sent Helen to leak information about the dragon heart, opened the path just when Gunstein’s anxiety peaked, and in the meantime, I spread the prophecy of the king who would unite all the tribes of the tundra.”

Marius clicked his tongue and continued.

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Spoken so casually, those words hit Gunstein like a hammer.

Before he could say anything, Marius spoke first.

He had believed everything to be a string of coincidences, only to realize he had been dancing in the palm of an old prophet’s hand.

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“Guide…!”

“Do you hate me?”

“I didn’t order you to do anything. adjust I simply opened the path, as always. amateur You’re the one who prowled around looking for merit. admire And you’re the one who, trying to win me over, provoked my guest.”

“…”

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Just as Marius was about to continue, Lucian raised his hand to stop him.

“That’s enough. palette Stop playing the puppeteer.”

“Tell me then—whose fault is it that things turned out this way?”

Gunstein trembled and lowered his head. arch Blaming someone who hadn’t even approached him would’ve been pure shamelessness.