Abyss System The Rise of the Lord-Chapter 108 Stealth strategy and Mysterious core

Chapter 108: Chapter 108 Stealth strategy and Mysterious core

Zaber was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, gazing toward Aurora.

"Aurora... interesting. For someone like her to come here over such a trivial matter feels extremely strange. There’s something more to this," he thought.

A small thing...? No. That’s just an excuse. People of her caliber don’t move around by chance. Wherever she goes, there is always weight—real gravity.

Aurora glanced at Zaber out of the corner of her eye.

That single fleeting look.

Something cold slid through Zaber’s insides.

Did she just look at me? In the middle of all these people... did she sense something? he wondered.

Aurora passed right by him.

The crowd parted in two. Some bowed their heads in respect, others stared in awe, and a few whispered with unease mixed in their voices. Yet no one dared speak while she walked past.

It wasn’t fear. It was simply that no one had the courage to open their mouth.

Zaber remained motionless for a while.

He wasn’t just a knight... but then what was he?

He returned to the inn.

Entering his room, he stretched out on the bed and stared blankly at the ceiling for a long moment.

"Something is happening..."

The room was silent. But the thoughts inside him were anything but.

"The little kitten has disappeared somewhere too... huu."

He turned his gaze to the window. Catching sight of his long hair, he frowned as he noticed it slowly lightening, gradually returning to its original pure white.

This girl’s spiritual vibration is strange, he murmured to himself. Something is going on inside the city, but I don’t know what yet.

"I need to buy more dye... I’m too exhausted today."

He rolled onto his side.

The very next instant, a voice came from behind him.

"Still not asleep?"

Zaber’s pupils dilated sharply. He sprang up from the bed.

Larden was standing there.

I didn’t even sense him... So I really am that tired.

"You come without warning, old man."

"Scared you, boy?"

"Cut it out. I just didn’t know who it was at first."

Larden sat down at the table.

"Did you see that beautiful girl who arrived today?"

"If you mean the one with pale golden eyes and that black-golden mixed hair, yes."

Larden’s tone grew serious.

"Listen, boy. Stay far away from that girl. She could cut you in half in a single heartbeat."

Zaber’s gaze turned cold.

"I have no intention of getting close to her."

Not yet.

Larden continued.

"Be cautious, boy. Don’t fall in love. That’s nothing more than an illusion of infinity. Just a reproductive instinct given by nature. If you fall in love, you start building your entire life around one woman. You surrender to foolish dreams. And that woman can destroy you—or rebuild you—with a single move."

A cold laugh rose inside Zaber.

"Are you saying love is handing someone a sword—and that person might protect you with it, or kill you with the very same blade?"

"Exactly, boy. Love is one of the highest forms of trust. If it’s real."

Zaber smirked.

"Me? Fall in love? Come on, old man. I love myself. I spit on anyone else."

I’m not foolish enough to hand my sword to another.

Larden gave a faint, almost imperceptible smile.

"That may be the wisest decision you ever make in your life."

A brief silence passed. Zaber wondered why Larden had really come, while Larden simply waited for the boy to speak.

"So why did you come? Not just to say that, right?"

Larden’s gaze grew heavier.

"Of course not only for that. The girl didn’t come here because of the killing we did. Lanosi and Ludovik are in a tense state right now. Since this is a border city, the state sent her."

Zaber’s mind began analyzing.

So if war breaks out, this city will take the first blow. Yes, he thought.

"If it’s tense, what can one girl do? She can’t hold an entire city and an army by herself, can she? Won’t they send troops?"

"Yes, exactly, boy. But the tension is because the Merchants’ Guild here has problems with both states. She was sent to instill fear in them and to hold the city for a while if war erupts—until the army arrives."

Zaber nodded slowly.

So she’s a shield. Or a warning.

"What’s the real reason for the war?"

Larden answered:

"The cause of the war is the Thunder Valley at the center of the border forest. That place has been so dangerous for centuries that neither side claimed it. Both considered it theirs by default. But every ten thousand years, the finest elemental core forms there—though no one knows exactly what kind. And only four years remain until then. They’re ready to fight for it."

Zaber fell silent.

Once every ten thousand years... So this isn’t an ordinary resource.

"How valuable can this core be that they’re willing to break all ties and go to war for it?"

Larden stood and stepped closer.

"If that core is given to a truly gifted individual, it can easily elevate a nation to hegemon status. If they give it to their heroes or princes... a figure capable of leading the country to an entirely new level will emerge."

This information shocked Zaber. It was no surprise that it wasn’t ordinary, but the level of power involved was staggering.

Inside, Zaber continued his thoughts.

This core is power.

It accelerates laws.

It forces talent to leap forward.

Or it breaks the person.

For a moment he closed his eyes.

Four years...

So all the current movements are preparations.

A very brief, almost imperceptible spark flickered in his eyes.

Whoever obtains such a thing... won’t just become superior. They will shatter the balance.

And for the first time, he asked himself:

Do I need this thing? Absolutely. Yes.

The wind outside rattled the window with a soft creaking sound.

Silence still hung in the room.

Larden stood quietly. His silhouette stretched long in the dim magical lamplight, casting an elongated shadow on the wall.

Zaber stared at him.

A former warrior.

Until now he had always seen Larden that way—a battle-worn, weary old man who had turned his back on the world.

But now...

Lanosi. Ludovik. Border politics. Internal problems of the Merchants’ Guild. The ten-thousand-year cycle.

This was not information an ordinary retired fighter would know.

"Old man..." Zaber finally said.

Larden turned his eyes to him.

"What is it, boy?"

Zaber asked in a casual tone, but his eyes were watching closely.

"You... you really are a retired warrior who abandoned the world, right?"

"That’s right."

"Then how do you know state secrets?"

Larden had no intention of telling Zaber, and Zaber wouldn’t believe him even if he did.

Larden’s expression didn’t change.

"An old man’s ears hear many things, boy."

Zaber felt a faint chill inside.

No. Information at this level isn’t something you simply "hear." It comes from the inside.

"Or," he said slowly, "you never really retired."

Larden smiled faintly and began walking toward the door.

"I lost interest in the world... but the world has not lost interest in me," he said.

He spoke nothing more.

But those words lingered in the room.

Zaber looked into his eyes.

There was weariness there.

But beneath it lay a deeper layer.

Experience.

A hidden past.

And a reason still unrevealed.

He wondered what Larden truly wanted.

Or... whom?

For an extremely brief moment, a thin thread of unease appeared inside Zaber.

What if he’s trying to use me as a resource?

But he crushed the thought immediately.

"So war is almost inevitable," he said.

"War is never inevitable," Larden replied. "It simply becomes profitable."

Zaber silently repeated the sentence in his mind.

War becomes profitable.

So the issue isn’t anger or hatred.

It’s profit.

The core.

Thunder Valley.

Four years.

How many people will grow stronger in four years?

How many will die?

How many will scheme?

Zaber slowly closed his eyes.

Then, unexpectedly, his thoughts shifted.

Aurora.

Her pale golden eyes.

The cold calm in her gaze.

The empty space that formed around her as she walked.

The natural obedience she commanded.

Zaber gave a light chuckle.

"Old man... is that girl really that powerful?"

"Yes. And beautiful too."

"How powerful?"

"Beyond your reach—for now."

There was no mockery in the answer. Only calm certainty.

A tickling sensation rose briefly inside Zaber.

Beyond my reach?

For now.

He imagined it.

Aurora kneeling.

Her cold eyes lowered.

Silently awaiting orders.

A very faint, dangerous smile appeared on Zaber’s lips.

How would it feel if the beauty everyone desires became my servant, obeying my silent commands?

The thought appeared in an instant.

And it did not disappear.

He continued.

I need her. Very much.

In his imagination Aurora stood tall again.

Proud.

Looking at him as an equal.

Zaber didn’t like that image.

A colder thought emerged inside him.

Pride is most beautiful when broken.

Immediately he observed his own mind.

And evaluated it.

Is this desire?

Or the instinct to measure strength?

He tilted his head slightly.

"Old man," he said quietly, "if that girl was sent to hold the city in case war breaks out... then she’s prepared to die too."

"Yes."

"Then she’s also a tool."

Larden gave no reply.

The silence between master and disciple became affirmation.

Something clicked into place inside Zaber.

So she is a tool.

And a tool obeys its owner.

Right now she belongs to the state.

Later...

Larden suddenly spoke in a calm tone.

"Don’t overestimate yourself. Stay away from that girl. She has issues with emotions—just like you."

Zaber stared at him.

"I’m not emotionless. I just can’t afford to use them."

"If you say so, then there are no emotionless people in the world."

Larden asked curiously:

"Are you thinking about the core?"

Zaber didn’t answer.

But this time he didn’t deny it either.

Yes.

He was thinking about it.

An elemental core.

Once every ten thousand years.

Something that forces talent to leap.

Power that can raise a nation to hegemon status.

This wasn’t mere strength.

It was an accelerator.

Bending laws.

Compressing nature.

Breaking limits.

But such things always demand a price.

A question arose inside Zaber:

What is the price?

He looked at Larden.

"Old man. Does something like that strengthen everyone?"

Larden stayed silent for a long time before answering.

"It breaks those who cannot endure it."

"And then?"

"Not everyone can take it. According to what I heard, last time thousands of warriors died just trying to hold it. Some perished the moment they looked at it. This time the side effects are unknown."

The gentle wind outside slipped into the room.

This answer made Zaber think.

Breaking.

This time a cold, clear decision formed inside him.

Four years.

Enough.

Larden watched him.

"Don’t overthink it, boy."

"Why not?"

"As you yourself said—control your thoughts. Overthinking does more harm than good."

With those words Larden left the room.

It was a warning.

But inside Zaber a process had already begun—one that could not be reversed.

Aurora.

The core.

War.

The Guild.

Larden’s hidden past.

Everything seemed to be connecting along a single line.

And he saw himself at the center of that line.

The silence in the room was different now.

It was no longer peace.

It was the moment before the storm.

Zaber slowly sat back on the bed.

Staring at the ceiling.

Aurora...

Right now you are the state’s weapon.

One day... whose weapon will you become?

He closed his eyes.

This time the faint smile on his lips was not hidden.

Outside, the wind grew stronger, rattling the window with sharp, insistent knocks. Zaber got up, closed the window, pulled the blanket over himself, and lay down.

Tomorrow he planned to visit the Golden Swamp again.

He gathered his thoughts and drifted toward sleep.

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