Became the Unjust Contract Slave of the Archamage’s Book

The journey to Elfenbine was smooth. The occasional bouts of silence were awkward but bearable. Binaeril had developed a habit of talking to himself. 

“It’s been a long time since I’ve traveled alone,” he muttered. 

Except for the time he left the Hoenberg Mountains and headed to the Thornwinter Swamp, Binaeril was always with someone: Rike, Sylvia, Duke Dux and his soldiers, Priya, or Vivian.

“It feels a bit strange not having anyone to talk to.”

-Do you want me to keep you company?

“No. You’d just whine all day about losing the magic sword.”

Veritas had been lamenting about missing out on both the magic sword Mimung and the sacred sword Starfall ever since they left. Binaeril was sick and tired of hearing about the pages they’d lost.

-The next page is at the southeastern end. It’s far from here. We’ll have to hurry.

“Before that, I’ll visit Elfenbine. I need to see Dean Yulio.”

After the bitter defeat at Rotfallen, Binaeril felt the need for a turning point. Like when he learned magic from Priya at the Thornwinter Swamp.

-It’s pointless. Collecting the pages will make you stronger. Why take the hard way?

“No, that’s not true.”

Veritas, the Ring of Spirits, and the Imperial Scepter. As he collected more pages, Veritas’ power increased, and naturally, Binaeril’s mana also grew. Binaeril could feel it. Searching for the pages was helpful.

No matter how much water you store in a reservoir, if the spout is narrow, the amount you can pour out at once is limited. Looking back, Binaeril grew much stronger when he developed his abilities rather than just collecting pages. Collecting pages alone wasn’t the solution.

“In the end, what’s important is my own ability.”

Binaeril recalled Duke Dux’s shout when facing Balram. ‘You can’t harm me with that cursed power!’ it was.

Veritas had introduced Binaeril to the world of magic, but to avenge his brother, the power had to belong to Binaeril himself. He couldn’t neglect his training by relying solely on Veritas’ power. He needed that vigilance.

“Like the Duke said, there’s a limit to cursed power alone.”

Just like Balram, who relied entirely on Mimung’s power, was shattered by Paladin Matthias’ sword. 

When Binaeril put it that way, even Veritas couldn’t argue further.

“That’s why I want to meet the Dean.”

Just as Priya had advised him on magic, Binaeril believed Dean Yulio could help him grow.

“But are we going the right way?”

Caught up in his thoughts, he had been walking aimlessly along the path.

-We’re almost out of the Duke’s territory. Once you cross the Altrang Bridge, you’ll be completely out.

Veritas was indeed convenient at times like these. A living world map and guide.

“Altrang Bridge?”

-It’s an old, long bridge that spans the gorge. That’s the Altrang Bridge.

As he said, the path began to narrow, indicating they were nearing the gorge. The closer they got to the bridge, the busier the previously quiet road became. Travelers with simple attire, messengers on horseback, and merchants with carts started to appear. At the entrance of Altrang Bridge, a crowd of various people had gathered. 

The crowd was so dense that it was hard to see the other side of the bridge.

“What’s going on here?” Binaeril dismounted and approached them.

“I’m a traveler trying to cross the bridge. Is there a problem?”

A man who seemed like a fellow traveler looked Binaeril up and down before answering.

“You’re in the same boat as us. It’s a mess. Some lunatic is blocking the bridge and demanding a toll.”

“A toll?”

According to Veritas, the Altrang Bridge marked the boundary between the Duke’s territory and Count Huber’s domain on the other side. This side of the bridge belonged to Duke Dux, while the other side belonged to Count Huber. Torben Dux was not the type to collect tolls for personal gain. If it were the Count’s territory demanding tolls, the crowd should have been gathered on the other side of the bridge.

“Who on earth would do such a thing?” Binaeril asked.

The traveler glanced towards the bridge entrance and lowered his voice. “I don’t know. Looks like some northern guy, but he’s got a fierce demeanor.”

Curious about the bold person demanding tolls in the Duke’s territory, Binaeril tied up his horse and pushed through the crowd. At the entrance of the bridge, a man leaned against a post with his arms crossed. The unexpected bandit was as tall and sturdy as a duke and had a similarly shiny bald head.

Several carriages stood in the middle of the road. A merchant in luxurious attire, who seemed to own the carriages, stepped forward to confront the man.

“What is the meaning of this?”

“If you want to pass, pay up,” the man’s voice rumbled like it came from deep within a cave.

“Are you a soldier of Duke Dux or Count Huber?”

“Dux? Huber? Who are they? I am myself.”

The merchant was at a loss for words at the man’s overly confident response. ‘Why is he so confident? Is he crazy?’

“Then, who are you?”

“Me? A bandit.”

The suspicion was confirmed. He was indeed crazy.

“I’ve crossed the Altrang Bridge countless times but never seen anything like this!”

The man uncrossed his arms and placed his hands on his hips. Only then did Binaeril notice he couldn’t open one eye. With his raised right eye glaring, he spoke.

“Does it matter? If you can’t pay, you can’t pass. That’s my rule.”

The merchant trembled with indignation. He couldn’t find words to respond to such brazen irrationality.

“How much do you want?”

The bandit tapped the merchant’s carriage. “Half of what you have. I won’t take the carriage because it’s cumbersome to carry. Just the money.”

“This is absurd….”

The bandit was crazier than he appeared. However, he wasn’t heavily armed. He wore light cloth and only had metal bracers from wrist to elbow. The merchant, seeing this, backed away to his carriage. He had hired mercenaries for his trade.

“Drag this madman out of here!”

The bandit cracked his neck. Despite being surrounded by armed mercenaries, he remained unfazed. ‘Is he a mage?’ Binaeril wondered. It was puzzling why the bandit was so confident despite being weaponless.

Though his appearance was more suited to a local thug than a mage….

“Fine. Let me show you what happens when you get bitten by a mad dog.”

The bandit seemed accustomed to this. He clenched his fists and took a fighting stance.

‘A brawler?’

Binaeril had to revise his judgment based on the bandit’s stance. The onlookers, as well as the mercenaries, laughed at the bandit. Fighting armed mercenaries with bare fists?

Even in a one-on-many situation? It was a ridiculous fight.

But in the next moment, the smirks on people’s faces disappeared completely. One of the mercenaries lightly swung an axe, intending to push the man back. The bandit caught the blade with his bare hand.

“What the…?”

The one-eyed bandit smiled at the mercenary’s shocked expression. As he exerted force with his fingers, the iron axe blade shattered like a piece of wood. The bandit then delivered a chop to the mercenary’s neck, causing him to collapse with a groan.

“What is this guy?!”

Two of the remaining three mercenaries wielded short swords, while the last one, who seemed to have the most wealth, carried a more impressive longsword. As the bandit took a step forward, he suddenly stood right in front of the longsword-wielding mercenary. In such close quarters, the longsword was cumbersome. The mercenary couldn’t react properly before the bandit headbutted him. A sound like a watermelon breaking echoed, and the longsword mercenary collapsed, foaming at the mouth.

With the situation escalating, the two short sword mercenaries coordinated their attacks, thrusting their swords at the bandit. But the man was no pushover. He positioned his arms to catch the incoming blades. 

Clang! Clang!

The two short swords scraped against the bandit’s bracers, producing a metallic noise. The bandit then spread his arms wide, deflecting the swords and causing the mercenaries to lose their balance and stumble forward. The bandit crossed his arms and struck the mercenaries’ temples, finishing them off with a gasp.

The bandit had effortlessly dealt with four mercenaries.

“You… you…!”

The merchant, who had instigated the fight, stammered, pointing at the bandit in disbelief. 

“This is impossible.”

Binaeril was just as astonished as the merchant. The bandit’s movements were precise and economical, and his speed was so quick it was hard to follow. Yet, there wasn’t a trace of mana coming from him. He had defeated the burly mercenaries purely with his physical abilities and martial prowess.

“Hey, moneybags. Got anything else to say?” The bandit clanged his bracers together as he approached the trembling merchant.

“D-don’t come any closer!”

“Seeing as you’re hauling around a carriage, you must be quite wealthy. As a penalty for testing me, you’ll cover today’s toll. Everyone else can pass.”

The onlookers sighed in relief and hurriedly moved on, leaving the merchant, who had gone pale, to enter his carriage with the bandit.

After crossing the Altrang Bridge, Binaeril found a moderately sized village. He paid for a stay at an inn that had a stable.

“If I keep going for about another fortnight, I’ll reach Elfenbine.”

Except for the afternoon’s incident, it was a remarkably peaceful journey. The journey from Elfenbine to Essen had been fraught with difficulties….

“This must mean the Duke’s territory has become more secure.”

Now that he had entered Count Huber’s domain, the journey might not remain peaceful. 

After finishing an early dinner, Binaeril went up to the room assigned to him on the second floor to rest. As he was relaxing, he suddenly noticed a commotion downstairs.

“What’s going on?”

He opened the door slightly and listened. The innkeeper was arguing loudly with someone.

“I told you, no credit!”

“I’ll pay you back tomorrow, I swear!”

A low, rumbling voice echoed through the inn. ‘That voice?’

“Listen, if you think you can scare me with that look, you’re wrong. We don’t do credit here. No way, no how, not even if you beat me to death!” The innkeeper’s voice was firm. Judging by the conversation, it seemed to be a quarrel over lodging fees.

Binaeril leaned over the railing to see who was involved. It was the man from earlier, the one blocking the Altrang Bridge. The bandit frowned down at the innkeeper, who was a head shorter than him. Considering the incident at the bridge, Binaeril expected the man to cause trouble again. But to his surprise, the man sighed and turned toward the inn’s entrance.

‘He has some principles, it seems.’ Stealing money from strangers but not causing trouble at an inn that refused him credit was a strange standard. Nonetheless, he turned to leave.

Something felt off. Didn’t he collect money from the toll earlier?

“Excuse me.”

Three pairs of eyes turned toward Binaeril, who was peeking out from the railing.

“If the issue is the lodging fee, I can pay it for you.”

The bandit raised his right eye in surprise, staring at Binaeril. 

“Well, if you insist,” the innkeeper said, coughing awkwardly and stepping back.

Binaeril came downstairs and opened his purse to pay for the man’s lodging. The one-eyed bandit stood silently, observing the situation with his mouth tightly shut. He scratched the back of his head, then abruptly extended his thick hand to Binaeril in a handshake.

“Don’t know who you are, but thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Who are you, anyway? You look familiar….”

It wasn’t surprising that he didn’t recognize Binaeril, who had been hidden in the crowd.

“Me? I was just a passerby watching the scene.”

“Ah, from earlier? Well, if you’re helping, I won’t refuse.”

The man shook Binaeril’s hand vigorously and introduced himself.

“My name is Inyakan.”

At that moment, Binaeril had no idea that this small act of kindness would forge a significant bond with Inyakan. Completely, utterly unexpected.