Chapter 19: The Headless Horseman
"Traces of the undead in the Southern Region?"
Durin, who had just settled down after releasing the mission for female adventurers in the adventurer's guild, received this information from the receptionist.
Facing his surprise, the girl continued quietly, "There have been rumors for the past few days. Because we haven't had any powerful monsters in the Southern Region, once these terrifying undead creatures appear, we advise adventurers not to leave the city for a short time. After all, the last lich incident caused us huge losses, and now there are fewer people willing to become adventurers. We can't afford to have another accident with important adventurers like yourself at this time."
Understanding why she was telling him this, Durin asked, "Do you know what kind of undead they are?"
Undead vary in strength depending on their type. For example, the lich mentioned earlier is one of the top undead because typically, only high-level mages become liches. Even after death, they can still use magic through various means or simply resort to necromancy.
Apart from liches, there are various undead creatures, ranging from skeletal soldiers to bone dragons. Just by their names, one can gauge their level of danger.
Realizing that this young man seemed to be very knowledgeable about undead creatures, the receptionist continued, "This time, the sightings were of the Headless Horseman..."
"The Headless Horseman?!"
Suddenly, everyone, including Durin, showed surprised expressions.
Yes, the Headless Horseman was also one of the top undead. However, unlike liches, which represent an entire race, the Headless Horseman refers to only one entity: Beldia, the empire's strongest knight who died on the battlefield in the North hundreds of years ago.
Unlike the Southern Region, which enjoys peace year-round, the Northern Region borders the unexplored realm of magic. As a result, it experiences various magical surges and monster attacks almost every year. To defend against these crises, the empire's most elite knights and warriors gather at the northernmost defense lines.
Beldia was indeed one of them. Despite his young age, he had reached the level of a Fifth Rank Sword Saint, making him one of the most dazzling prodigies of his time. His swordsmanship was unparalleled, and he was even touted as the most likely candidate to become the first mortal to reach the Sixth Rank of knighthood, the uncharted realm.
Yes, just like mages, the knights and warriors of this world are divided into six ranks. Due to the widespread use of sword weapons, these ranks are: Novice Swordsman, Swordsman, Sword Master, Sword Soul, Sword Saint, and the last one, which remains unnamed to this day due to no one having reached it. Similarly to how the sixth rank of mages is named "Sage" by the first Grand Sage, the sixth rank of knights remains unnamed because no one has reached it yet.
Beldia, as the most likely candidate to reach the sixth rank, gained numerous military merits on the battlefield. He was supposed to be directly promoted to the position of Imperial Knight Commander upon his return from the border. However, tragically, in a frontal battle with the undead, he was targeted from the outset and ultimately fell in battle due to a sneak attack. His body was then turned into material for a necromantic spell, resurrecting him as the Headless Knight.
Since then, legends of the Headless Knight have circulated throughout the empire. It is said that he resisted the control of the liches on the battlefield, killed the lich attempting to control him, and fled the scene. However, due to the undead's inherent bloodlust, he was unable to restrain his impulses and became a demon slaughtering innocents.
Due to the passage of several hundred years, most people now consider these tales mere idle legends. Yet, occasional rumors of sightings of the Headless Knight seem to proclaim to all that the bloodthirsty monster has never left, lingering within the empire's borders.
At this moment, upon hearing the receptionist's words, Durin couldn't help but ask with interest, "May I ask where the sightings occurred?"
"Um... well..."
When the receptionist showed a subtle expression, a heated argument suddenly broke out at the adventurer reception desk in the distance. Faced with this rare commotion, a group of adventurers, who were originally idle, immediately rushed over, eager to see what was happening. Durin and his companions were no exception, joining the crowd with curiosity.
Amidst the crowd, a young-looking woman was arguing with the guild administrator with an excited expression, clearly in a hurry.
In contrast, faced with the woman's anxiety, the administrator simply shook his head silently, displaying a helpless expression. Upon witnessing this scene, Durin quickly inquired with the people nearby and received the following response:
"That woman who came out of nowhere suddenly appeared at the adventurer's guild, insisting on finding an adventurer of the Grand Mage level. Come on, if she's looking for a Grand Mage, she should go to the Mage Tower. There's no way our Southern Frontier Adventurer's Guild would have Grand Mages. Even after the administrator clearly told her that it's impossible for an adventurer of Grand Mage level to take her mission, she still refused to leave. I don't know what's going on..."
"I see."
Nodding, Durin thought for a moment after learning the situation, then observed the woman in the distance once again. Her body was wrapped in a brown cloak, concealing any details, and her long hair peeked out from under the hood. Although Durin couldn't see her face, he could sense that she was a young woman. However, the term "young" seemed to be in quotation marks because he couldn't detect any signs of life emanating from her.
"Undead? Is there really an undead daring to come openly to the adventurer's guild these days?"
Muttering to himself, before the others could react, Durin had already made his way through the crowd to the woman and the administrator. Faced with his sudden intrusion, not to mention the stunned woman, the administrator immediately spoke up: "This is none of your business. Don't come over here."
Ignoring the administrator's words, Durin shook his head without acknowledgment and glanced at the cloaked woman before speaking: "I heard you're looking for a Grand Mage?"
Unexpectedly, Durin uttered these words, and the woman looked up in surprise. As her cute face emerged from under the hood, she also asked in confusion, "Who are you...?"
Without any teasing, Durin simply said, "If you're looking for a Grand Mage, I might be able to help."