Strongest Swordman’s Re:START

Chapter 69 - Reunion With The Great Sage 1

Merc quickly turned to face the Dorum Gai after pulling her sword from the Dorus Gai’s corpse. She was afraid that now that she’d let her guard down after slaying its ally, it might attack her.

The Dorum Gai, on the other hand, didn’t even look at the deceased Dorum Gai and instead stepped away to the side.

It was as if it told Merc she could do whatever she wanted.

“You’re letting me pass?”

Merc asked. Naturally, there was no response. Regardless, Merc chose to descend the stairway past the Dorum Gai. Despite the fact that she didn’t sense any animosity from the Dorum Gai, she kept both of her weapons at the ready just in case.

However, it didn’t seem like the Dorum Gai any intention of fighting her.

So strange. Just what in the world is going on?

The entire scenario had taken Merc entirely by surprise. Regardless, there was no use in fighting if she could get away without fighting.

Despite the fact that she had prepared herself to fight both of them at the same time, she had struggled greatly against only one of them. She would be completely exhausted if she had to fight again.

And because there was no assurance that there would be no other enemies on the fifth floor, Merc wanted to save as much of her power as possible.

Come to think of it, will the Dorus Gai respawn?

After a certain amount of time had elapsed, the Magic Beasts within the Dungeons respawned. In general, the stronger the Magic Beast, the longer it took for it to respawn. The Dorus Gai would most likely take one to two days to respawn.

This meant that it probably wouldn’t respawn before Merc left the Dungeon. Rather, Merc wasn’t sure whether it would respawn at all. Because this Dungeon only produced Gai, the Dorum Gai and Dorus Gai had most likely appeared as a result of a sudden change or irregularity.

If the Dorus Gai was produced from a mutated normal Gai, the Magic Beast that would be reborn would most likely be a normal Gai.

Because the Dungeon of Probation had a set quantity and type of enemies, if an anomaly appeared and was defeated, it would generally not respawn. Merc wasn’t completely familiar with the specifics, but it was common knowledge.

Merc could attest to its truth based on the innumerable Dungeons she’d faced. In other words, this meant that the Dorus Gai wouldn’t respawn.

“But then again, even if Dorum Gai and Dorus Gai appeared as a result of a sudden change, why were they standing watch? Urgh… I can’t figure it out no matter how hard I try.”

It would be easier if she just questioned Astard, who she assumed would know the answers.

Merc nonchalantly went down the stairway until she reached the fifth floor. A wave of dense Mana swept over her as she stepped into the fifth floor, as if to overwhelm her.

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This powerful Mana torrent would easily overpower a small fry. Merc, on the other hand, calmly raised the amount of Mana around her and shrugged it off.

In the end, this attack was nothing more than a bluff. If the caster kept releasing this much Mana, he wouldn’t last long. Merc stood motionless with a calm expression on her face, but she was struggling on the inside.

“It seems like you didn’t come here by accident.”

Just as she had predicted, Merc heard a familiar voice. At the same time, the Mana that had been overwhelming her vanished. A black-clad figure arrived out of nowhere the next moment.

He was dressed in a black mantle with a hood that covered his eyes. Because his expression was hidden behind the hood, the man gave off a sinister vibe at first glimpse.

However, Merc simply smiled slightly as she saw him. She was taken aback by her companion, who looked exactly the same after all this time.

“To think that such a young girl could take down an Orange Grade Magic Beast… I shouldn’t have underestimated Count Fonan.”

With his eyes still covered behind the hood, Astard remarked, apparently oblivious to Merc’s smile. He then drew a familiar wand from his mantle and prepared to fight.

Merc wasn’t sure how he’d gotten an Orange Grade to obey him, but she was convinced that Astard had stationed the Dorum Gai and the Dorus Gai at the stairway to keep people away.

She was still thinking about it because such a feat was normally impossible, but she realized there had to be a method behind it now.

Nonetheless, Merc had another question to ask first.

“Um… It’s… You see…”

Even though they were meeting for the first time in a long time, Merc had no idea what to say and hadn’t given it any thought. Even though it seemed silly, Merc was still pondering what to say to Astard. Astard, on the other hand, cast a skeptical look at the suspicious girl in front of him. However, no one could blame him.

Merc was clearly acting strangely.

“Screw it… Answer me this, Great Sage. Just what are you doing sneaking around in this low-grade Dungeon?”

Ultimately, Merc decided that thinking about anything would be pointless, so she tucked her weapons away and raised her hand, referred to Astard just like she had in the past.

In contrast, Astard furrowed his brows behind his hood.

“Oh? So you know who I am? So Count Fonan really did hire you to steal this information from me… You don’t need to play dumb anymore.”

“Count Fonan? Who’s that?”

“Your employer. There’s no way you haven’t heard of him.”

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Astard appeared to have misunderstood that Merc was employed by this individual known as Count Fonan. This was a frustrating development because it meant Merc had to first clear up the misunderstanding before speaking with Astard.

Merc sighed reluctantly before nonchalantly approaching Astard. Astard retaliated by raising his wand towards Merc.

However, Merc didn’t stop.

“Listen here Astard. I… I am not the assassin that you’re taking me for. I don’t need your information. True, I have a lot of questions for you, but there is only one that is truly vital. Actually, the only reason I came to this Dungeon was so that I could ask you that question1.”

“Stop! Just what are you…”

“So? Tell me! Why did you disband Gust of Wind? Why did you do it?!”

“?!”

Merc eventually came to a halt at a distance where Astard’s wand tip could touch her chest. Merc glanced up, Astard’s wand pressing on her chest, and saw Astard’s eyes veiled under his hood.

She could see Astard’s Adam’s apple moving.

“That doesn’t concern you.”

Astard said while looking down at Merc’s jade-green eyes.

“What did you say?!”

Astard’s reply infuriated Merc, who grabbed his collar and dragged his face closer to hers.

“It doesn’t concern me? Don’t mess with me, you brat! I’m the one who named that party!”

“W-What are you saying?”

“It’s true that it was that the Hero led us, and that the Saintess supported us. And it was you who was always there to keep the party safe. I was probably simply dead weight in the middle of it all. But that doesn’t change the fact that I was the one who created Gust of Wind. Which gives me all the right to know just why in the hell you disbanded it2!”

Merc spoke as though she were venting. Astard, on the other hand, just stared at her, stunned.

“Es…rt?”

In a hazy voice, Astard muttered a name.

That name sounded exactly like a name Merc had heard innumerable times in her previous life. It sounded just like her past name. Merc was certain Astard had just spoken her name.

In this brief period, Astard had realized that Merc was, in reality, Estert3.