Chapter 12: I Always Feel Like Drawing My Sword Will Level Up
Joshua stared at the strange tattoo that had suddenly appeared on the back of his right hand. He felt like he had seen it somewhere before.
Flipping through the memories in his mind, it didn't take long for him to recall.
"Van..." he murmured to himself, his gaze seeming to pierce through distance. Not long ago, when he had met with the old steward, he had carefully examined the old man's aged hands, and on the back of Van's hand, there was also a tattoo—different, yet very similar!
"Back then, I was too focused on Van's unnatural aging and didn't notice other details."
Although he had found the source of the familiarity, it didn't help the current situation at all. Joshua touched the tattoo on the back of his hand in confusion, unsure why it had appeared or what it meant.
"Joshua, what's wrong?"
The series of strange movements had actually happened within just a few seconds. Chris and Nolan only saw Joshua suddenly grab his wrist and let out a muffled groan, without detecting any abnormal fluctuations in magic. They hurried forward to ask, "Were you injured in the previous battle?"
"No, not at all." Shaking his head in reply, Joshua flexed his wrist, feeling fine. The earlier sensations of burning heat and coolness seemed as if they had never happened. Aside from the extra tattoo, he had suffered no aftereffects, and his combat ability hadn't been weakened.
"If you're not in good condition, don't force it. I have a hidden safe house in the city where you can rest quietly."
Still somewhat worried about Joshua's state, Nolan, as a Silver-rank Shadow Walker, had much sharper observation skills than Chris the Alchemist. She could tell that the warrior before her was troubled by something, and that the muffled groan hadn't been faked. To show her sincerity, Nolan said seriously, "Just wait one day, and I can mobilize people to provide you with a full set of armor and weapons. After that, whether we take advantage of my brother's absence to assassinate Dania or do other things, we'll have a basic guarantee."
But Joshua was stunned.
It wasn't because he was about to agree to Nolan's proposal. Although the gray-haired Shadow Walker's idea was good and very reasonable, he didn't plan to do that. He was stunned because of something else.
Just as Nolan said the word 'weapon,' the tattoo on the back of Joshua's hand suddenly burned hot for a moment, and he suddenly recalled something extremely important!
"That's right! It's not just the tattoo on the old steward's hand—the Radcliffe family crest is also like this!"
Too common, and it was easy to overlook. Joshua pulled out a pocket watch he had stored in an inner pocket. The time showed it was currently six-thirty in the morning, but more importantly, on the back of the watch, there was an exquisitely carved, incredibly detailed crest.
A hand raising a sword, while a serpent coiled around both, binding them together like a chain.
"It's practically identical..." Joshua was no longer in a hurry to head to the Lord's Mansion. He furrowed his brow, staring at his family crest, and began to ponder, "Does it have some meaning—wait!"
The recent events were connected by a single thread. Joshua's eyes widened as he suddenly understood, "So that's it!"
"Van once said, 'The qualification is not some kind of illusory title, but a tangible object.' Although this tattoo isn't an object, it was something Van had before that I didn't."
The logic gradually became clear. Ignoring Chris and Nolan, who were looking at him in bewilderment, he continued to himself, "Van doesn't know that I already know he's a Divine Mechanism. So the next step is easy to deduce—the weapon on this tattoo represents the Divine Mechanism, and the hand holding it on the family crest is the successive heads of the family, that is, those who possess the qualification!"
"So-called qualification is the possession of the Divine Mechanism!"
The logic was clear and simple. With enough information, even a child could figure it out. But Joshua had only recently crossed over and couldn't recall things in such detail, which was why it had taken so long. However, before he could feel happy, the tattoo on the back of his hand once again flared with a hot, strange sensation.
Unlike the previous pain, this time it was at most like soaking in warm water, actually somewhat comfortable. Besides the warmth, Joshua felt that, in some intangible way, the tattoo seemed to be guiding him to a certain place.
(I don't know where the master put it, but you should know.)
The old steward's words echoed in his mind. Joshua nodded slightly, "Indeed, I should know..."
He took a deep breath, then exhaled. The white mist from the warm, moist air gradually dissipated in the windless alley. Joshua's expression returned to calm. He turned to look at Chris and said in a tone that brooked no refusal, "You, follow Nolan to the safe house."
Then, facing the gray-haired girl, he said, "Take him and leave. Also, what rank is your brother at Gold?"
Nolan was startled by Joshua's tone. She thought the warrior was about to turn hostile and fight, but instead he only wanted her to take the man to the safe house and ask for information. She immediately breathed a sigh of relief, "No problem. As for my brother, he's naturally Gold Low-rank. He's only twenty-nine and just broke through—how could he be Mid-rank?"
"Then there's no problem." Joshua nodded, then walked out of the alley without any hesitation. "Now, you just need to stay put. You'll hear good news by tomorrow. Especially you, Nolan. I'm very interested in the branch family behind you. There might be opportunities for cooperation in the future."
"...Yes!"
Although they wanted to dissuade him, they didn't know how to start. Coupled with Joshua's incredibly fast movements, the two could only respond verbally, watching him quickly leave and disappear into the street.
After leaving the alley, the warrior didn't pause. Half an hour had passed since he had forced his way through the city gate and encountered Chris, the Silent Warrior, and Nolan. Based on experience, that was enough time for the enemy's main force to pull back. They were probably now searching near the city gate and the Lord's Mansion, but a full-scale city-wide search wouldn't happen that quickly.
Since the opportunity for a direct surprise attack was lost, Joshua wasn't in a hurry. He decided to first follow the guidance of the tattoo on the back of his hand and see what this was all about.
The main city of Moldavia was his hometown. He had grown up here and lived for over a decade. From the residential area to the forge, from the commercial street to the barracks, Joshua was intimately familiar with every inch of this land.
Dodging around several blocks where the sound of marching soldiers could be heard, Joshua took alleys and shortcuts, quickly heading toward the target indicated by the tattoo.
"Almost there." The strange, hot sensation at his wrist grew stronger. Joshua had arrived at the western edge of the city, beside a church.
Behind the church was a large cemetery. Iron railings prevented ordinary people from entering but allowed them to see the standing tombstones.
This was the Warrior's Cemetery.
Not everyone could be buried in the church's backyard and receive people's blessings. Only warriors who had fought to protect the city against magical beasts, monsters, and the Black Tide could be laid to rest here amid the prayers of the city's residents. The reason the cemetery was enclosed with iron railings instead of brick or stone was so that everyone could see these warriors who had died for the masses.
[Glory belongs to the warriors who fulfilled their duty. They are buried here.]
A stone tablet stood at the church entrance, with this sentence cast into it using molten iron.
Nodding slightly in respect, Joshua quickly walked inside.
It was a Gothic church. The towering, pointed bell tower was somewhat worn, but the main door was still sturdy. Opening the door and stepping inside, Joshua didn't find any priests or nuns. That was normal, because there was a larger church in the city center where the priests mostly lived. Originally, a few tomb-guarding knights were stationed here, but they had certainly been driven away by Dania and his men.
And Dania's group didn't even have enough people to patrol the city—how could they spare anyone to guard this somewhat old church?
"The guiding sensation on the back of my hand has disappeared. It seems this is the destination."