HRB 48

The tournament was open to anyone who applied, whether they were a novice who had just picked up a sword or a renowned Swordsman. It had a free-for-all atmosphere, but of course, that freedom must have come from the confidence that they would weed everyone out in the preliminaries.

“Participants, please look this way.”

Among the participants, who numbered well over a hundred, a man who appeared to be a manager amplified his voice with Sorcery and shouted loudly.

“We will now begin the preliminaries. Please listen carefully to the instructions.”

As soon as he finished speaking, mages who appeared to be tournament officials summoned a shimmering, transparent object like a slime into the space where the participants were gathered in a circle.

People who had never seen such a mysterious thing that was neither a living being nor anything else gasped softly, and the mage cleared his throat.

Of course, the sound was also amplified by Sorcery, making it very loud, so the people around him quickly quieted down.

“This is a slime created by Sorcery. In case you’re wondering, it’s not a living creature, but it has the same texture. As you can see, it’s wobbly.”

He said this and tapped the slime with a stick. The wobbly surface was easily crushed, but the shape didn’t collapse, so the durability seemed good.

“You must cleanly bisect this. You only have one chance.”

The sound of people murmuring could be heard. It seemed like an easy task, but it also seemed difficult.

“Also, as you know, only Swordsman who use ‘swords’ purely can participate in this tournament, so the use of Sorcery or other weapons besides swords is strictly prohibited, and you will be disqualified immediately.”

Following that, the mage took a step back with a warning that the court mages were watching for cheating since this was an event organized by the Imperial Palace, so don’t do anything foolish.

Then he took out a long, long pile of parchment, cleared his throat, and began to read from the top.

“Participant number 1, Huchi.”

At that, a clumsy-looking young man raised his hand and answered, “Yes!”

“Come out and begin.”

Starting with that man, people came out one by one and began to cut the slime-like object.

“No way. I knew the application process was too easy. They’re weeding people out like this?”

“They’re weeding out the riff-raff like us.”

Two men who appeared to be friends were chattering near Ketron. Since the application process was so easy and it wasn’t a brutal tournament where you had to kill each other to win, there were quite a few people who applied lightly to gain experience or to see famous Swordsman up close.

“Anyway, the likely winners are obvious, right? We’re just here to watch. ‘Kane of the Wind’ or Lord Ulstar, ‘Sword of the West,’ will win.”

“Well, that would be worth seeing in its own way… but I’d rather see a new face win if possible.”

“That would be fun in its own way. Do you see anyone who stands out? You’ve always had a good sense since you were a kid.”

“I don’t know.”

The mumbling man glanced at Ketron, who was standing alone in a corner, and whispered in his friend’s ear.

“Actually, I’ve been bothered by that black cloak over there… I thought he was a famous Swordsman, but I’ve never heard of a Swordsman dressed like that. Besides, his face is too young.”

“Hmm?”

The man who had craned his neck to look at the corner saw Ketron and flinched involuntarily, shrinking his shoulders like a turtle.

It was strange. It wasn’t like their eyes met, and it wasn’t like he had a strong presence, but somehow he felt a sense of tension all over his body, like a herbivore realizing that a predator was quietly approaching from behind.

But if he were asked why, he would have no answer.

“It feels a little strange.”

“Right? Those kinds of kids always cause accidents at tournaments.”

The two men were chattering away in quiet voices, but unfortunately, those small voices were easily heard by Ketron.

Of course, Ketron wasn’t so naive as to react to people chattering, and he didn’t care what they were saying, so he was quietly observing the situation around him.

As expected, the task that replaced the preliminary round was not as easy as he thought, as it was a test of whether or not they were qualified to participate in the main competition.

In Ketron’s opinion, less than half of the hundred or so people here would pass. Considering the number of people, it was a very appropriate preliminary round.

“The tournament is only today, so we don’t have much time. Please hurry so that we don’t waste any time.”

The tournament was only for one day, and a lot of people had gathered because it was such a hot topic.

Everyone was waiting for their turn with tense faces, nervous about the difficult preliminary round, but Ketron was standing alone in the corner, not particularly nervous, and thinking about other things.

The soft face that had smiled and tapped Ketron’s cheek when he asked if he would be okay alone was floating in Ketron’s mind.

“I want to see Ketron win.”

Eddie had said that, which was rare. If it were anyone else, Ketron wouldn’t have bothered to participate in such a troublesome event just to grant such a wish, but the other party was who he was.

He wants to see me win.

It wasn’t a difficult request, so there was no reason not to grant it.

Somewhere, he felt that his memory of Eddie saying those words was a little blurry, but that thought was quickly scattered by the voice he heard.

“Number 54! Ketron!”

Ketron took his back off the wall.

There was not the slightest hesitation in his steps toward the slime.

When Eddie first saw the ending of 〈The Hero Doesn’t Hide His Power Too Well〉, he searched for information about Part 2 like a madman. No, even a side story would do.

“Hey, this ending is too much!”

To call this an open ending would be an apology to all the open doors in the world, and to call it a sad ending would be inappropriate since the main character was still alive, so if he had to call it something, would it be a merry-bad ending? No, he didn’t even want to call it an ending.

Of course, there was no Part 2 or side story that the author hadn’t written, and Lee Jeong-hoon, who had scoured all kinds of social media, was frustrated by the loose ends that never came to fruition.

He had enjoyed it so much, but he hadn’t been this anxious even when he saw an old, completed Part 1 that would never have a Part 2, a practically unfinished work. He must have been so fond of the main character, Ketron, that the frustration and sense of loss were so great.

But then, what he had been so desperately searching for at that time, what he had failed to find in the vast sea of the internet, was right in front of Eddie’s eyes.

〈The Hero Doesn’t Hide His Power Too Well Part 2〉

Eddie, who was unconsciously stroking the Part 2 letters embossed on the dark-colored, thick leather, which he didn’t know what kind of leather it was, stared at the book in front of him with a dumbfounded look.

The book was not as thick as he thought. Considering that the original 〈The Hero Doesn’t Hide His Power Too Well〉 was as long as 20 volumes, which was not a very long series even by the standards of well-selling fantasy novels, it bothered him that it was too thin to be lumped together under the name Part 2.

But Eddie somehow felt a sense of déjà vu in that thinness.

It was similar to the feeling he had felt that day when he first discovered the history book in the library.

The moment when the book became heavier without him even realizing it, and when it transformed into a thick history book that anyone could see.

Eddie stared at the cover of the book for a long time because he couldn’t believe the title of the book.

He had to open it, that was what he had to do at this moment… but somehow he couldn’t bring himself to do it, and Eddie’s hand hovered over the cover of the book for a long time.

Was he frustrated by that?

Suddenly, a wind began to blow from somewhere, and the cover of the book began to turn. After a few unnecessary pages, the first chapter of Part 2 began.

[Eddie was the Owner of ‘Eddie’s Inn’ located in the central square of the capital.]

The beginning was not the story of Ketron after his Darkening, but the story of Eddie.

My story…?

It was like a bolt from the blue for Eddie, who had firmly believed that he was just an extra, let alone the main character.

Of course, it wasn’t like there were no stories that started with the appearance and activity of an extra, but this was not the case.

Then, a few stories about Eddie’s appearance and his day at the inn followed, but before Eddie could even check the contents, the pages continued to turn in the wind.

In the meantime, there was one sentence that caught Eddie’s eye.

[Of course, this name ‘Eddie’ was not his real name.]

What?