The room was not luxurious, but for rookies, it was more than enough.
Karry sat on the edge of the bed, the silence of the room pressing against him as the dim blue light above flickered faintly. In front of him lay dozens of files given by the higher authorities of Ritna.
Slowly, he opened the first one.
The moment his eyes moved across the pages, confusion filled his mind once again.
The world written inside those reports felt completely different from the one he had known. Kingdoms hidden from ordinary people. Ancient factions. Auraholders. Towers no one dared approach.
It felt as if he had not simply entered another city—
—but another world entirely.
A world where magic truly existed.
Karry clenched the papers tightly.
A bitter feeling rose within him. All his life, he had believed the world was simple. Yet in only a few days, everything he knew had shattered.
The files contained reports about missions assigned by higher authorities. Some involved disappearances, others forbidden relics, rogue auraholders, and hidden organizations operating beyond public knowledge.
Karry carefully searched through each file.
His eyes repeatedly looked for one particular name.
Tower of Arshan.
Arnold had mentioned it before, yet refused to explain anything about it. That alone made Karry even more curious.
But after searching through multiple reports, he found nothing directly related to the tower.
Only silence.
As disappointment slowly appeared on his face, another document suddenly caught his attention.
Most of the recent missions were connected to a single event.
Blood Clan Incident.
Karry narrowed his eyes and began reading.
> "The Blood Clan Incident caused the people of ritna to realize that something was terribly wrong."
That single sentence made Karry finally understand why the Chained Emperor was feared so deeply before he joined the Sinners.
Back then, Karry had viewed the Chained Emperor as nothing more than a ruthless but powerful ruler. A man with overwhelming authority and terrifying ideals who had dragged Ritna into a new era.
But the reports described something else entirely.
The Chained Emperor was feared because he would sacrifice anything for Ritna.
Even relatives.
Even allies.
Even innocent lives.
If something threatened the stability of the nation, he would erase it without hesitation.
That was the image the people of rings carried in their hearts.
Yet after reading these files, Karry began to suspect something else.
Could the Chained Emperor already know the truth behind these incidents?
Because an event on such a massive scale could not possibly remain hidden unless someone at the very top allowed it.
Karry turned another page.
Then suddenly—
his eyes froze.
A wanted poster was attached beneath the report.
────────────────────────
WANTED
Frank Newland
Description: Black Hair
Age: 20
Reward:
1,000,000,000 Rubeen
Alive or Dead
Before he reaches the Phoenix Empire
────────────────────────
The rough image of Frank stared directly back at him from the page.
Karry's eyes widened slightly.
"How can a single individual have this much bounty placed on him...?"
Below the poster was another document.
A detailed report.
Karry immediately began reading.
---
Frank Newland was born on ritna and was believed to be a direct descendant of the legendary Sword Saint—
James Newland.
A man whose name had survived for centuries.
According to historical records, James was born into poverty during the medieval era. Yet through sheer talent and terrifying strength, he rose from nothing and eventually became one of the greatest Auraholders in history.
At his peak, James Newland controlled nearly half the territory of the current ritna empire
Even the Rose Empire reportedly owed him over one trillion Rubeen in modern value.
His fame spread across nations.
The Emperor of the Rose Empire once offered the hand of the imperial princess to James Newland in an attempt to bind him to the empire.
But James refused.
Again.
And again.
The reports described James as an exceptional Karina user whose strength rivaled even the leaders of the Auraholder factions.
During that era, two major powers dominated the world.
The Xialake Faction.
And the Sword Saint Faction.
James stood at the top of the latter.
After repeated refusals, the Emperor of the Rose Empire finally declared war against Dylan Kingdom—the nation connected to James Newland.
The Rose Empire deployed its strongest Auraholders to hunt him down.
None returned alive.
Every single one came back as corpses.
The Rose Empire became desperate.
Foreign Auraholders were hired. Resources were exhausted. Entire military forces were mobilized.
Yet before another assault could begin, the Neutral Kingdom intervened.
They warned the Rose Empire multiple times not to continue the conflict.
The warnings were ignored.
So the Neutral Kingdom acted.
The royal family of the Rose Empire was captured and executed.
The official reason was simple:
The empire's actions threatened the balance of the world.
The Neutral Kingdom refused to waste more Auraholders in a meaningless war against someone as dangerous as the Sword Saint.
Karry's expression slowly darkened as he continued reading.
The report stated that after the conflict, the Neutral Kingdom established a new world order.
Auraholders would no longer belong to kingdoms.
They would become national individuals under the authority of the Neutral Kingdom.
Only two people were partially exempt from this rule.
Sword Saint James Newland.
And the Xialake leader—
Hans Oliver.
Hans Oliver himself was a king and one of the most influential figures of that era.
But eventually, even James Newland became viewed as a threat.
According to the report, the Sword Saint had refused an unknown order issued by the Neutral Kingdom.
After that refusal—
Hans Oliver finally received the order he had supposedly waited years for.
Kill the Sword Saint.
The battle that followed shook entire nations.
In the end, James Newland was forced toward a forbidden location—
The Tower of Arshan.
And after entering it…
he was never seen again.
No one knew what existed inside the tower.
No one who entered had ever returned.
The records also revealed another secret.
James Newland had a wife and child.
No one knew they existed until after his disappearance.
One hundred years later, the Neutral Kingdom issued another order:
Eliminate every descendant of the Sword Saint.
Karry's grip tightened around the papers.
The report continued.
After the fall of James, the Rose Empire eventually became part of Dylan Kingdom. Later, Hans Oliver rose to overwhelming authority, and the growing territory was eventually renamed—
Ritna.
Entire civilian populations had been evacuated during both the Rose Empire assault and the Neutral Kingdom attack.
The incident itself had been buried from history.
Hidden.
Erased.
The final section of the report focused once again on Frank Newland.
Initially, the bounty placed on him by the Neutral Kingdom had been one billion Rubeen.
But according to recent speculation, the reward could rise to two billion—
Alive only.
Because the Neutral Kingdom desired the Sword Saint's techniques.
Techniques considered to be of international-level value.
At the very bottom of the report was a signature.
> This is Chad reporting.
Silence filled the room.
Karry slowly lowered the file.
Questions flooded his mind endlessly.
"How could neutral kingdom kill its greatest Auraholder…?"
"Was the Sword Saint faction completely destroyed…?"
"Where was the Dark King of Mortals during the medieval era…?"
"If entities existed back then… why is there almost nothing written about them now…?"
His breathing became heavier.
Then another thought entered his mind.
The forest.
That strange forest.
The place where everything began.
Karry suddenly stood up.
"I need answers."
Without another word, he exited the room.
[End of chapter ]