The Eastern Border of the Taranach Empire
A horse-drawn carriage moved slowly along the main road.
Its wooden wheels creaked whenever they rolled over a stone.
Creek... creak...
Inside the carriage...
it was rather cramped.
Far too cramped.
Several passengers sat facing one another.
Merchants.
Travelers.
A woman with her child.
And...
two people who looked completely out of place among them.
One of them was a large man clad in black armor.
Hax.
His body took up most of the space inside the carriage.
Even while sitting perfectly still...
several passengers had to shift slightly in their seats just to avoid brushing against him.
An old man sitting in the corner glanced at Hax for what felt like the hundredth time.
Then...
he whispered to the person beside him.
"A knight?"
The other person slowly shook his head.
"No idea."
"Armor like that..."
"He must be a noble."
Hax heard every word.
But...
he didn't care.
Fortunately, there was one ability that made this journey far more comfortable.
Skill: Lightweight.
The weight of his armor, which should have amounted to hundreds of kilograms, had been drastically reduced.
To Hax...
it felt almost as though he wasn't wearing armor at all.
Without the skill...
the carriage might have lost a wheel by now.
Hax looked out the window.
The scenery was slowly changing.
The trees were becoming sparse.
The road was growing busier.
In the distance...
stone walls began to come into view.
The Taranach Empire.
Hax leaned back against his seat.
But...
his gaze slowly shifted to the side.
Sitting beside him was a young man.
He looked around seventeen years old.
Blond hair.
Clear blue eyes.
A handsome face with the refined features of a young nobleman.
He wore clothes that looked expensive, though not overly flashy.
A white coat.
A neatly pressed shirt.
Black trousers.
Clean leather shoes.
A young nobleman traveling across the country.
At least...
that was what everyone else would see.
Hax knew the truth.
The young man was Mimic.
One of the Seven Enigma.
And his appearance wasn't merely a disguise.
Mimic had actually changed his body.
Skill: Mimicry.
An ability that allowed him to perfectly imitate other creatures.
Their face.
Their voice.
Their body.
Even their mana and aura.
As long as Mimic had enough information about his target...
he could become an entirely different person.
Hax stared at him for a moment.
Then...
Hax activated one of his skills.
"Skill: Mind Link."
There was no light.
No sound.
Only a connection of mana formed between them.
From that moment on...
their voices no longer had to pass through their mouths.
Their conversation took place directly within their minds.
That way, no one inside the carriage could hear what they were saying.
But Mind Link had one weakness.
The farther the distance, the more mana was required to maintain it.
For now, they were still within a safe range.
Hax initiated the conversation through the connection.
"Who are you imitating?"
Mimic didn't answer immediately.
He continued staring out the window.
"A noble."
"I know that."
Hax shifted his gaze toward the young man's face.
"His name?"
Mimic fell silent.
...
Hax waited.
Several seconds passed.
Then...
"I forgot."
Hax raised his head slightly.
Mimic finally turned toward him.
Those blue eyes that weren't truly his looked remarkably calm.
"But he's someone I met in the old world."
Hax fell silent.
"...I see."
He looked at the young man beside him again.
Only now did Hax realize it.
Mimic wasn't merely imitating someone's face.
He remembered that person.
Someone who had once lived in the game world of Unending Abyss, the game Hax himself had created.
And if that memory still remained with Mimic...
then it meant that it wasn't just their bodies and abilities that had been brought along when Hax summoned the Enigma into this world.
Their memories had come with them too.
Hax leaned back again.
The NPCs he had once created inside the game...
still carried fragments of the lives they had lived there.
Even after their world had changed.
Mimic looked out the window again.
"I only remember his face."
"And his voice."
"Nothing else matters."
He touched his own face.
"I just happened to have his appearance available."
Hax nodded once.
"What matters is that your disguise is perfect."
He looked Mimic up and down.
Indeed.
It was difficult to find a flaw.
Even Mimic's aura had changed.
There wasn't the slightest trace of the strange aura normally associated with a Shadow Mimic.
The person sitting beside Hax now...
looked completely human.
Hax turned his attention forward again.
Several passengers inside the carriage were still stealing glances at him.
Especially one young man sitting not far away.
He tried not to make it obvious that he was staring.
But every few seconds...
his eyes inevitably returned to Hax's black armor.
Eventually...
he couldn't hold himself back.
"Excuse me."
Hax turned toward him.
The young man looked slightly nervous.
"Are you a knight?"
Hax answered flatly.
"No."
"Oh..."
The young man nodded.
Then fell silent again.
A few seconds later...
"An adventurer?"
"Yes."
The young man's eyes lit up slightly.
"Really?"
Hax nodded.
Mimic glanced at Hax.
Then...
he suppressed a small laugh.
Hax ignored him.
The young man looked even more curious now.
"Are you from Etravia?"
Hax paused for a moment.
"...Yes."
A simple answer.
Yet...
several people immediately turned to look.
Apparently, the name Etravia was fairly well known.
"That's quite a distance."
"Did you come here alone?"
Hax pointed his chin toward Mimic.
"With him."
Every eye immediately shifted toward Mimic.
The blond-haired young man merely gave them a polite nod.
"Greetings."
His voice was calm.
Very different from the way Mimic normally spoke.
Hax watched him.
Not bad.
His disguise really was flawless.
A woman sitting near the door then asked,
"Are you planning to stay in Taranach for long?"
Hax answered,
"Not sure."
"We just want to see what things are like here."
The woman nodded.
"Taranach is a big place."
"If this is your first time here..."
"Don't trust everyone you meet right away."
Hax raised his head slightly.
An interesting piece of advice.
But before he could ask what she meant...
BRRRT!
The carriage suddenly jolted.
Several passengers stumbled in their seats.
The small child sitting beside his mother nearly fell.
Mimic immediately caught the child's shoulder.
His movement was fast.
Far too fast for an ordinary nobleman.
Hax glanced at him.
Mimic realized his mistake as well.
Yet his expression didn't change.
He simply returned the child to his mother.
"Careful."
The woman bowed her head.
"Thank you, young master."
Mimic nodded.
Then returned to his seat.
Hax sent his voice through Mind Link.
"Your reflexes were too fast."
Mimic replied without turning his head.
"I forgot I was undercover."
"Don't do it again."
"Understood."
Hax looked out the window again.
But...
Mimic glanced at him from the corner of his eye.
"...Your Majesty."
"What?"
"You almost laughed."
Hax fell silent.
"I did not."
"Of course."
Mimic turned back toward the window.
His tone sounded like someone who had just won an argument.
Hax ignored him.
The carriage continued moving.
Several minutes later...
the scenery outside changed completely.
Massive stone walls filled the horizon.
Guard towers stood at several points along them.
Taranach's banners fluttered above the walls.
And beyond them...
buildings far larger than anything outside the city came into view.
Main roads.
Markets.
Towers.
Stone houses.
A city brimming with life.
The coachman pulled on the reins.
"HO!"
The horses slowed their pace.
The carriage began passing through the gate.
One of the guards inspected the passengers.
"Purpose of entry?"
"Entering the city."
"Business?"
"Trade."
The guard nodded.
However...
before letting them through, his eyes returned to Hax.
His gaze lingered for quite some time.
Black armor.
A massive physique.
And a strange aura that was difficult even to explain.
The guard narrowed his eyes slightly.
"You..."
His gaze traveled from the top of Hax's head all the way down to his feet.
"An adventurer?"
Hax didn't answer.
He simply reached a hand beneath his coat.
Mimic remained silent beside him.
Then...
Hax pulled out a card.
An adventurer's card.
He handed it to the guard.
The guard accepted it casually.
But...
a few seconds later...
his eyes widened.
"...!"
He immediately looked at the card again.
Then at Hax.
Then back at the card in his hand.
"This..."
His voice unconsciously dropped to a whisper.
Mimic glanced at him.
The guard swallowed.
He hadn't expected this.
Not merely an adventurer...
but someone with a rank high enough to possess a card like this.
He quickly returned it.
"Apologies for holding you up."
The guard stepped aside.
"Please, proceed."
Hax took his card back.
Without saying a word, he climbed back into the carriage.
Mimic followed.
As the carriage began moving through the gate...
the guard was still staring at Hax's back.
Another guard approached him.
"Who was that?"
The first guard continued watching the carriage as it grew farther away.
"An adventurer."
"An adventurer?"
"Yes."
"What rank?"
The guard was silent for a moment.
"Whatever his rank is..."
"he's definitely not an ordinary adventurer."
He turned toward his companion.
"Looking at his build and equipment..."
"What do you think?"
The second guard watched Hax's black armor disappearing into the distance.
"...Rank B?"
The first guard shook his head.
"I think he's higher."
"Rank A?"
The guard didn't answer.
His eyes remained fixed on the carriage.
"I don't know."
"But if someone like that has come here..."
He paused for a moment.
"...I don't want to be the one who makes him angry."
The second guard chuckled.
"Does he really look like the kind of person who causes trouble?"
The first guard thought back to Hax's figure.
Quiet.
Calm.
Not particularly talkative.
And yet...
for some reason, the presence of that black armor made him feel as though he were looking at something far more dangerous than a mere adventurer.
----
Hax stared at the city ahead.
The Taranach Empire.
A country he had never visited before.
A country that knew nothing about his name.
Not yet.
A faint rush of air escaped through the gaps in his armor.
Hax fell silent for a moment.
If only he had an ability like Mimic's...
He could change his face.
His body.
His voice.
Even his aura.
Passing himself off as an ordinary merchant wouldn't have been a problem.
Unfortunately...
Hax lowered his head slightly.
He only had one body.
And that body was a massive black suit of armor that, even from a distance, looked like someone who had come to start a war.
"...Annoying."
Mimic, sitting beside him, glanced over.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Hax returned his gaze to the city.
At least...
there was one thing he had prepared beforehand.
His hand moved beneath his coat.
His fingers touched something cold.
His adventurer's card.
Fortunately, before leaving the capital of Etravia, Gilbert, the Guild Master, had updated his card after Hax sold the dragon materials he had brought with him.
And the result...
was rather troublesome.
His old card had been replaced with an exclusive adventurer's card.
Its surface was far smoother than that of an ordinary card.
But the most striking feature was a thin hologram that could only be seen by the card's owner.
A single letter.
S.
Rank S.
Hax remembered how he had obtained that rank.
At first...
Gilbert had even questioned whether the rank was too high.
But after discussing the matter with the kingdom's military commander...
the conclusion had been simple.
Someone capable of defeating a dragon alone...
was no longer someone who belonged below Rank S.
On top of that...
Hax had helped the kingdom when the Demon Lord's army attacked.
Those two things alone had been enough to settle the matter.
Rank S.
Hax stared at the card for a moment.
"...At least this is useful."
Mimic glanced at him again.
"Still thinking about that card?"
"This isn't an ordinary card."
"I know."
"You wouldn't understand."
Mimic fell silent.
Then...
he looked Hax up and down.
Black armor.
A massive body.
An aura that was nearly impossible to conceal.
Then...
he looked at himself.
Blond hair.
Blue eyes.
The face of a young nobleman who stood out in absolutely no way.
Mimic looked back at Hax.
"...You're right."
Hax tilted his head slightly.
"What?"
"Looks like my disguise really is much more practical."
Hax fell silent.
Mimic turned his gaze back toward the window.
"However..."
He paused.
"That armor has its advantages too."
Hax looked at him.
"What?"
"People will remember it."
Hax fell silent.
Mimic continued in an indifferent tone.
"And people tend to remember things they're afraid of."
Hax looked forward again.
"...That's not an advantage."
"I'd say it's quite useful."
Hax ignored him.
The carriage continued moving.
Meanwhile, behind his black helmet...
Hax could only accept reality.
Mimic could change his face whenever he wanted.
Hax, on the other hand...
would always be Hax.
A massive black Living Armor.
Difficult to disguise.
Difficult to forget.
And far more difficult...
to pass off as an ordinary person.
"Mimic."
"Yes?"
"From now on..."
Hax stared at the crowded streets of the city.
"...don't call me 'Your Majesty.'"
Mimic fell silent.
Then...
he nodded.
"Understood."
"In front of other people, I'll use the name we've prepared."
"And?"
Hax glanced at him.
"Don't use your real identity."
Mimic nodded.
"Understood."
The carriage continued deeper into the city.
Amid a crowd of people who knew nothing about them...
two strangers had finally arrived in the Taranach Empire.
Hax was walking through a country...
where no one knew who he was.