Dawn Traveler

Operation Start

Part 1

The day of the Rendall family’s departure.

Most elves did not care of their departure but Allium came to see them off with tears falling from her eyes.

“Kid. You will be able to see her again someday. Let’s go.”

They first set their course to their house in Terace.

After stopping by Ellim to buy some horses, they passed by the cities that were nothing but cinder.

With all inhabitants and the living dead, the city was filled with countless crows and feral dogs.

Nedhand clicked his tongue with disapproval.

“The aftermath of the war is truly distressful. I don’t understand how humans can so easily kill their own brethren.”

Rendall also felt a little distress in his heart. Even though he has experience participating in wars, seeing dead civilians and torn down cities was difficult to see.

“It seems inventing the magic armor…..  actually brought more plight to the world when it was without it.”

As walls no longer provided proper defenses due to the existence of the magic armors, cities were destroyed easily.

Though monster extermination became easier thanks to the magic armors, for the common folks life became only more difficult

There were corpses lying around everywhere.

”Just a moment please.”

Laurelle got off her horse and went towards the corpses.

“May you abandon your hardships and return to the loving embrace of the Goddess.”

Laurelle prayed the ceremonial prayers for the deceased.

The foul smelling corpses miraculously became clean and dispersed into the earth.

Though her actions were good, there were simply too many corpses on the way to Terace.

Rendall made a troubled expression as Laurelle continued to send off the diseased.

“It seems we will be a little late due to the number of corpses. As it won’t be easy to stop her.”

“It shouldn’t matter if we are a little late to Terace. Without properly sending off the dead, a pandemic can break out in the vicinity, also the black mages will defile the dead for the sake of their experiments.”

Like the other magicians, Hereseh had a strong animosity towards the black magicians.

Black magicians take any actions necessary if it will grant them more power.

They give a bad name to all the other magicians, and even caused some magic towers to break down.

Thankfully, Terace was not damaged at all from the wall and was in perfect condition.

“Halt. Your identifications?”

“We are mercenaries sir. We also have a priestess in the mix.”

“If that is the case you may all pass.”

Having a priestess was like having an universal passport.

They were granted safe passage by the guards and safely arrived at their home.

Part 2 <Old Goods Exchange>

Rendall’s family had an antique shop.

Of course not as their core business but as a camouflage shop!

If you spend money in the city but don’t have a job, anyone would get suspicious.

Silver candle holders, silver spoons, gold rings, gold necklaces, painting that is hundreds of years old and antique vases.

They sold these goods to nobles or merchants who desired such goods.

There was no way the business was going to be good, but for the Rendall family it was good that there weren’t many customers.

As Hereseh also sold magic goods in front of the store, this alone generated enough revenue to repel any suspicions from the residents.

Nedhand was a dwarf to the core. All dwarves are at the least talented in blacksmithing.

Just by visiting a forge every once in a while, when he was bored, and refining the goods other blacksmiths made, he was able to earn himself some spending money.

Though in reality, the expenses from drinking beer with the other blacksmiths far outweighed the income.

Rendall opened the door enthusiastically.

“It seems quite a bit of dust and spiderwebs collected after leaving this place alone for a while.”

“We also have many things we need now that we left the forest.”

“Let’s go shopping first.”

Rendall, Laurelle, Hereseh, and Nedhand were all each busy doing their own things, buying goods, gathering information, or meeting other dwarves.

Just as the continent was still in chaos, there was just as much opportunity as a grave robber. Places heavily damaged by the war, places once inaccessible to the nobles’ armies were now accessible.

“Ah~. Allium……”

Even after arriving home, all Jiss could think about was Allium.

He did not realize it when he was able to see her often, but now he knew after coming to Terace.

“So Allium is my first love.”

Their age gap was a little over 120 years.

It did not matter she of was of a different race. All girls were allowed if they were beautiful.

Allium’s image kept on popping into Jiss’s mind.

Part 3

Jiss rested a little bit after arriving to his hometown then walked around the city by himself.

“Back then these roads seem so wide, now it just seems normal. I guess it is because I have grown greatly living the Elves’ Forest.”

Just as Jiss said, he was but a brat when he was last at the city.

Back then he was not allowed to wander about the city himself without his parents, due to the unstable police infrastructure.

“Euukeehet. Selling ripe apples here.”

“If you need weapons, won’t you give me a visit? If it is going to protect your life, it doesn’t feel wasteful to use an expensive weapon.”

The scene of Ferikeh race doing business was the same as usual.

Regretfully, Jiss was completely broke. This was because there was no need for him to have any allowance in the Elves’ Forest.

“It seems people are even more busy since the war had just ended. There are more people than usual as well.”

Though Terace was mostly unharmed from the civil war, many cities were in dire situation for rapid reconstruction.

There were many laborers and merchants working hard for the sake of recovery.

Although the previous center of the continent, the Gratess empire, was broken up, by utilizing the long stockpiled resources, the cities were carrying out reconstruction.

Before when Gratess empire was in power, there was no need for tall walls for the cities as the nearby kingdoms feared the Gratess empire.

However with the Gratess empire now broken into 5 kingdoms, each kingdom prepared for future war, all with the goal of reunification.

As each of the 5 kingdoms prepared for war, the atmosphere within the continent was uneasy to say the least.

The costs for magic armor users went up substantially, as well as the costs for magicians, mercenaries, and knights.

It was in everyone’s best interest to be careful, until one true order was once again in place.

“It seems our house is just as it was like before….. and it looks like there is no way I can get lost in here.”

The stores in the markets were also just as they were before.

However he noticed new unique restaurants have opened due to the war.

Because there were nothing but nutritious fruits and roots in the Elves’ Forest, just from the smell of food, Jiss’s mouth watered.

Of course he was able to eat pizza, chicken, and hamburger in the other world, but the food of this world also had different flavors.

Fresh meat and fruits.

In the Marka continent, all flavors of food is also infused with the life force of the ingredient.

“But that bastard is also exactly the same.”

Jiss looked far into the sky.

Something large was flying swiftly in the clear sky.

The tyrant Isla!

The emperor of the sky searched for prey with his fierce eyes.

Even though Jiss and Isla were far away from each other, their eyes met. Then, once again in a long time, Jiss read Isla’s mind.

– That thing looks delicious. That is the perfect age with the best consistency, truly a good age to eat.

“Yup. It really feels like I returned.”

Even Isla who looked at him with hungry eyes was same as before.

Part 4

When the night came, each adults who were at the dwarven streets, information guild, and with the neighborhood ladies regathered.

Strong alcohol smell leaked from Nedhand.

“Burp~. None of my friends died and they were all perfectly safe and sound. They told me business was very good due to the demand of swords and armor rising from the civil war. Since dwarven craftsmanship is respected everywhere. If this was going to be the case, I would have not gone to the Elves’ Forest either.”

It was easy to tell how much Nedhand drank with his brethren he hasn’t seen in a while. However telling a dwarf that he was drunk was a big offense.

The one thing you should never tell the prideful dwarves, is that they are drunk.

“First, I would like us to look at this.”

Rendall spread the newly purchased map on the table.

It marked the new nations, new borders, safe roadways, and monster habitats.

Of course traveling while trusting a map completely is same as suicide. However it didn’t hurt to have this information.

“As you can see from the map, the Earl Ronoba who use to be nearby has deceased.”

“Hooh. Even just before we left for the forest, he had considerable amount of forces under his belt.”

Hereseh showed great interest.

He went to the mercenary magician meeting, however he was not able to find any of his friends in the city.

Either they were traveling, or they were unable to return after being used by the nearby nobles.

There were also some that died serving a noble in the civil war.

Hereseh did not reveal in the magician’s meeting that he was now of the 6th circle.

A skill is not something that just disappears anyways, and he just needed to carry out a simple demonstration and he would be respected anywhere as a mercenary magician.

“Yes. Though the earl once had a strong grasp on that territory, after the civil war it has become a giant graveyard, a field for the dead.”

“There is no interest for the common dead, is there a ruin or a noble’s grave in that area?”

“As you know Robona earl’s heritage is of a short one. Due to this reason there shouldn’t be much grand noble graves there.”

They discussed the possible grave hunt candidates after opening up the map.

In the Gratess empire alone, there were 1700 nobles who had their own castle.

Due to the civil war around 300 castles were brought down and about 200 castle changed their owners.

This was a time of opportunity for tomb robbers.

The Kudon empire was dangerous to even enter due to the Pleyisen race, however there were still plenty of other places to rob graves.

Nedhand frowned after glancing over the map.

“To think even the city of freedom Miten has fallen, the scale of the war was truly gargantuan after all.”

Miten used to be a city that attracted tens of thousands merchants and travelers.

Ruled by the Mered family, it was once revered as the trading and cultural center of the empire. However there was now an X on the map where the city used to be, which signified that the city was no more.

With large monsters wandering the area, traders now had to take long detour away from the destroyed city.

“It seems the areas by the newly formed borders suffered the most. Even though we lack significant intel about the Kudon kingdom, it seems it is quite difficult to live in that area.”

“Em. One time I had to run away after failing to rob earl Postera’s grave, I still remember the taste of the wine the farmhouse lady treated me while I was hiding in the barn-house.”

“The Gratess empire as we used to know is no more. Though this can be considered the greatest time for grave robbers, it will be just as dangerous if we get caught by any soldiers.”

Past or present, grave robbing is one of the highest condemned crime in the continent.

If one were to be caught robbing a grave of a knight or a noble, the punishment was execution without trial.

Not just the robbers but their entire families lost their head.

Grave robbers absolutely had to be weary of the eyes of knights and soldiers.

“Still, since we finally came back to the world, we have to go look for work.”

“Of course sir. There should be usable items anywhere we go.”

In the face of such rare opportunity, Rendall aimed for a big operation.

“What do you think of going to Marquis Pedrobe’s area?”

Marquis Pedrobe used to be one of the top commanders of the Gratess empire.

He used to hold an army bigger than a typical medium sized kingdom.

However due to the civil war, he was defeated by Nedro, who is now the king of the newly found Heron kingdom.

“The more the history the family has, they should have just as much treasure. As monsters are active around the area, there shouldn’t be much people there and we will just have to quietly enter and leave the area.”

“Estimated operation time?”

“If we want to properly plan and carry out the operation, we will need about a month’s time. For the actual mission we will need to finish within 10 days to avoid danger. Monsters should be still attracting all the attention even by the time we are done with the operation.”

“Em…”

Hereseh and Nedhand meditated in their thoughts.

There was still pressure of invading a former marquis’s land. No matter how skilled they were as grave robbers, if they were caught it was all over.

Even though Hereseh had reached the 6th circle, he had not completely mastered the 6th circle yet.

Marquis must have had a large amount of magicians and countless knights under his command, so danger level was very high.

Jiss still had no vote in the matter, and had to follow wherever Rendall and Laurelle went.

Nedhand voiced his opinion with much difficulty.

“Well, we will just have to rob the place perfectly. We won’t have such a chance a second time.”

Hereseh also agreed with Nedhand.

“It will also be very regretful if we pass on such opportunity. Since we can’t learn everything here, let us first go to the Marquis’s land. After surveying the area, let us clean up the place if the situation allows us so.”

Rendall and Laurelle planned the operation time in their calendar.

They decided if the Marquis’s land was inaccessible, they would visit other sites on the return trip.

Not even one day had passed since they had returned to Terace, and they had left the city again.

Part 5

Guuuaaaaaaak!!!

As they heard the roar of the tyrant Isla, the group also traveled farther and farther away from Terace.

“The roar is always chilling.”

“I agree. Seeing as it is looking at us without contempt, it must already be pretty full right now.”

Nedhand and Grona shared a little interest concerning Isla.

Anyone who lived or visited Terace knew about the infamous Isla.

Typical normal wyverns do not wander around a city occupied with many people.

However for some unknown reason, Isla flew around the city and ate the monsters that approached it.

Wyverns being one of the most dangerous monsters, knights and magicians were many times released to exterminate Isla but all the attempts ended up as failures.

It wasn’t difficult for a wyvern to climb a wall to escape, and wyverns typically did not care much about their nests.

However after the extermination squads disband, the wyvern becomes angry and begins to ambush nearby residents and merchants.

They also tried to set traps by hiring archers and magicians, however the wyvern detected and avoided the traps like a ghost.

And as the wyvern dodged all spells fired at it from the land, Isla was a very difficult opponent to hunt down.

Even the continent’s most famous hunters refused to hunt Isla.

Thankfully after more than a dozen attempts to hunt the wyvern, it also stopped ambushing people to avoid confrontation.

Additionally with the fall of the Gratess empire, no one had the leisure or the resources to hunt Isla.

– Food is getting farther away. Short ones are not delicious. They are also difficult to chew if they are wearing iron.

It was very advantageous that Jiss could read Isla’s mind.

Not just Isla, but being able to read the minds of monsters before entering dangerous places were extremely helpful.

To avoid leaving a trace, the group went through the mountains after leaving the city Terace.

Even though there were other mercenaries on the road, they had to be extra careful since their target was Marquis Pedrobe.

Though it is difficult to find out who is the grave robber, it was still possible to be tracked down.

They were even wearing fake mercenary badges with different names.

Grona observed the footprints and wheel marks on the floor.

“It seems like these belong to a merchant or a traveler.”

“*Cheh. They must have been weary because the war just ended. They would be able to live without worry if they cherished people of their own race like dwarves.”

Rendall laughed after hearing Nedhand’s statement.

“Though on the other hand, many dwarves are found dead at the liquor store.”

“It’s fine if you die while drinking. After all it exists so we can drink it until the day we die.”

After leaving the city, the group always had to be on guard.

With the current state of the continent in shambles, the group was susceptible to be ambushed by monsters or bandits at any moment.

However with Grona’s skillful tracking and eyesight, they were able to reach the marquis’s territory without any trouble.

Rendall opened up the map after the group had a simple meal.

“There is a small fort here. We can take a detour but…. It would be useful to check out what kind of condition it is in. It will also be useful to know for our return trip just in case. Grona. We will need your help.”

“Yes. Absolutely.”

“I will go too.”

Grona and Jiss went forward and acted as reconnaissance.

Though Jiss was not able to completely follow the light footedness of the special trait of the dark elves, he had more than enough skills to act as reconnaissance.

As they covertly moved through the forest, they approached the fort.

“That place is the Braden fort. Can you also see it Jiss-nim?”

“It seems it was destroyed and is in very pitiful condition. Magic armors must have been used there. Hm, I really want one.”

Grona and Jiss hid behind the bushes and observed the fort.

“But it seems weird.”

“Huh?”

“I can smell blood.”

The fort’s gate and the walls were completely destroyed.

“But the civil war should have ended months ago.”

“You right. On top of that Marquis Lebode’s war even ended a year ago. But the smell of blood is still extremely strong here.”

There are countless scents in the forest.

Due to that reason it is difficult to pinpoint a scent in the forest.

Not only there was mana flowing everywhere in this world, it was not an easy thing to pinpoint a single sensation.

However if an elf says he or she smelled something, it was definite.

The elvish race had a keen sense of smell that rivaled a well trained hunting dog.

Of course dwarves also held pride in being able to distinguish the smell of countless different liquors.

Dwarves were able to tell if a beer went flat without even looking and didn’t even reach out to the flattened drink.

“Should we go tell my parents?”

“Let’s go a little closer. While still maintaining a safe distance.”

Grona and Jiss took out their bows and slowly closed in to the fort.

It is very difficult for a typical patrol to detect the dark elf Grona who was utilizing tree branches and leaves as camouflage.

However there were no patrols even when they closed in to the fort.

“It seems there are no patrols here.”

“But that can’t be. Fort Braden acts as the main gate of the marquis’s territory and plays an important role of keeping the monsters at bay. Even if it was destroyed, there is no way soldiers wouldn’t be dispatched here.”

Though Jiss shared what he had studied prior to the operation, he agreed with Grona in his mind.

One’s senses becomes more acute after living in the Elves’ Forest.

The strong smell of blood also signaled something terrible must have happened recently.

“Stay here. I will be right back.”

Grona ran towards the fort by herself.

It is difficult to spot a dark elf, who makes no noise while stepping and blends in with the shadows.

She moved at a speed beyond human logic, and the sound was practically undetectable even if you were to focus.

Jiss was already reading Grona’s mind and already had an idea what was happening at the fort.

– How horrible. They are all dead.

There were nothing left but corpses at the fort Braden.

To make matters worse, these were corpses of people who were killed by swords, spears, magic armors and so on.

Jiss already saw plenty of corpses in the past, however this was still not sight good to look at.

Long after a while, Rendall, Hereseh, Nedhand, and Laurelle also approached the fort.

“The trace left behind seem to belong to a knight who is quite skilled. I wonder if a battle occurred here.”

Rendall, who was very experienced in this field of work, explained after taking a quick glance at the surroundings.

“An official army recently attacked this area. There were no official news so it couldn’t have been the Heron kingdom, looking at the patterns on the soldier’s armors…. it seems this was the works of earl  Mollota.”

Marquis Pedrobe boasted of his great relations with rival families. However the problem was the marquis himself lost his life in the civil war.

Not only the family’s influence lessened, the person who had the authority to choose the next heir was hiding within the castle walls.

At this moment of weakness, earl Mollota gathered his forces and marched to steal his nephew’s land.

Nedhand brushed his beard that had grew long during the travels.

“Either way that means this is a battlefield.”

“Yes. It seems it will be dangerous, should we return?”

Grona wished to operate elsewhere.

She didn’t want Jiss to be involved in anything dangerous. She can project Jiss with her skills with preparation within a dungeon, however a battlefield was different.

This was because humans were potentially much scarier than traps or monsters.

Hereseh voiced his opinion.

“I believe this will actually make our operation more convenient. The grave of the marquis we are trying to rob is distanced away from the important cities or castles. Battle shouldn’t reach all the way to the grave sight.”

The plan was to rob the grave while the families were busy fighting.

“Em. It does seem dangerous but….. returning after coming all the way here would also be regretful….”

Nedhand looked at Rendall, unable to make a decision.

Rendall was not only the core of the group but the leader. His shoulders were heavy as he was often burdened with the important responsibilities.

Rendall meditated in his thoughts for a moment.

– We can return to Terace but…. As Hereseh-nim stated, the grave sight is considerably far away from the battlefield. The number of patrol in that area must have decreased as well.

Since earl Mollota most likely came to take over the marquis’s family entirely, it was also unlikely he would send any of his forces to the grave sight.

Rendall nodded his head.

“Okay. Let us quickly move avoiding the border as much as possible. If we cannot safely cross the border, we will turn back right away. Grona.”

“Yes.”

“It can get dangerous if we stay too long, so instead we will just dig the site for 2 days time. Also when we arrive at the sight, please continue to scout the area instead of entering the grave with us.”

“Okay, I understand.”

“Jiss. Carry Hereseh-nim on your back. From now on, we are going to move stealthily and quietly.”

Rendall carried Laurelle on his back, and Jiss took care of Hereseh.

Even though magicians themselves did not weigh much, they were tough leather clothing and carried tombs and magic ingredients in their satchel.

This meant Rendall had considered Jiss’s running and physical abilities very high.

In reality Jiss had plenty of mana within the body as well, so it wouldn’t even be a problem to climb a mountain with Hereseh on his back.

As for Nedhand, even though he had short legs, he was a dwarf so he naturally had strong physical attributes.

“Let us go.”

Grona lead the way with her wide field of vision.

Hereseh prepared to activate offensive magic at any moment, and Jiss readied his bow.

‘Looks like I may have to shoot arrows today.’

This was the first time he could have an actual confrontation, so he was filled with anxiety and adrenaline.

However, he decided he will not hesitate if the moment came because he’d rather not see his comrades get hurt.

“Soldiers are moving far in front of us. There is considerable distance between us but let’s wait a moment until they move away.”

Grona swiftly covered a large area and secured safe passage for the group.

– The marquis’s forces are weaker than expected. It looks like we will win this battle easily. It seems earl Mollota’s territory will increase substantially.

– Can’t wait until it is time to pillage the city. It’s been awhile since I’ve got to see any women due to training.

– It will be time for looting once the battle at the central castle is over. Even if they try to endure, since our preparation is solid, we should win no matter what.

As the soldiers of Mollota crossed the land, like a swarm of ants, Jiss read their thoughts.

Jiss was always able to acquire valuable information without talking to anybody else.

‘All soldiers should be gathering by the central castle since there is where the battle is.’

Without critical thinking or clear decision making skills, one cannot become a magician.

It was exactly as Hereseh had stated.

There was the family cemetery at the valley of the Mokaret mountain.

Mollota family’s legacy reaching all the way back to the infancy of the Gratess empire, the location of the family grave was in the middle of no where.

With Grona acting as the scout, the party was able to safely arrive at the site.

“There is a security checkpoint. But there is nobody guarding it. Looking at the tracks, it seems no one has been here for months.”

Due to the severe damages from the civil war, it was difficult to station dozens of guards just to guard a cemetery.

Even now due to the battle by the central castle, all the soldiers had relocated there.

If there were guards at the checkpoint they would have had to infiltrate into the cemetery, however there was no need for that.

“We better finish quickly and leave this area.”

Hereseh lead the way with his staff in hand.

“Dispel!”

There were several spells that reacted when invaded at the Marquis’s cemetery.

The removal of such spells marked the beginning of the grave robbing!

Crumble Crumble.

Three big lights shined by the closed Marquis’s grave, as the 6th circle magician Hereseh casted his dispel magic.

The magician who casted the trap spells were of high level as well, but magic power weakened as time flew by.

Not to mention Hereseh was an expert in trap magic removal.

“It seems it’s my turn.”

Nedhand walked forward with a pickaxe and a small shovel in his hands.

It was his job to create a pathway into the sealed tomb.