Chapter 51: Mountain Fortress

Auren barely manages to stay upright as Neffi throws her arms around him with a bright smile.He immediately notices she’s dressed in brand-new clothes—mostly black, accented with purple designs. She’s wearing a sleek jacket, a cloak draped over her shoulders, sturdy gloves, boots built for harsh terrain, and a massive, flowing scarf that nearly touches the ground.

Is that her special gear from those elite companies? She almost looks like a damn assassin herself. How can she walk around like that? Maybe she even feels cool.

Sighing, Auren gently lowers her to the ground and asks, “What are you doing here? Why are you even here? Nice clothes by the way….”

“Welcome back! Didn’t you ask for transport? I wanted to come along! Also, thank you! These are my first prototypes, aren’t they cool? I made some for you as well! They are back home!” she says, grinning.

I won’t walk around like that, but let’s wait and see.

“Along? So who came to pick me up, then?” Auren asks, confused.

“It’s just me, brat!” a raspy female voice calls from the distance.

Auren turns in the direction of the voice and spots a small woman—shorter than both him and Neffi. She has grey hair tied into a ponytail and wears clothes strikingly similar to Neffi’s—all black, tactical, and intimidating.

Grunah… just like I imagined her.

To any bystanders, this must look like I’m getting abducted by two shady women. Why do they wear these outfits? Are they expecting a fight or something?

“Nice to meet you. I suppose I should thank you for coming to pick me up,” Auren says.

“Oh? It seems my first impression was wrong. You actually have manners. In any case, after what you’ve done for my student, I don’t really care. Do you want to leave right away?” she asks bluntly.

“Is it possible to stay a little while? I heard this city is famous for gambling, I think it has what I need,” Auren says.

Both Neffi and Grunah look at him with immediate disapproval.

“Don’t worry, I’m not here to gamble. I have things to sell,” Auren clarifies.

“Oh? What kind of things?” Grunah asks.

Auren casually unzips his massive duffel bag, revealing the gleam of stacked gold bars.

“Just around 100 one-kilo gold bars, along with a bit of jewelry I took straight off Kolmata’s corpse. I figured I might as well help myself to it, after dealing with him,” he explains.

Grunah stares at the contents and scoffs. “Don’t sell that here. You won’t get a fair rate with that volume. These bars are worth at least a billion Jenny—you’d be throwing away millions. Honestly, your luck is unbelievable.”

She picks up the jewelry and briefly inspects it.

“These are rare—ridiculously rare. I am not an expert, but any normal shop will scam you, without a doubt. Might not even be worth selling. You could auction them off at the Southern Piece Auction in September. As for the gold, sell it to proper companies that specialize in it and offer you the best rate.”

Auren nods, convinced. Her logic is sound.

“Yeah, I don’t need the money right away, so I’ll follow your advice,” he says, agreeing with her.

“We’ve got people who handle this kind of stuff for you. Don’t worry—it won’t cost much, and you can be sure you’ll get the best value out of your items,” Grunah assures him.

“Then I guess we can leave,” Auren says.

He follows Neffi and Grunah to their airship.

He sighs as he spots it. It’s a small vessel, just two decks total.

Upon boarding, he quickly realizes the design: a modest, half-open top deck and a single lower deck that holds a few beds, a compact kitchen, and a tiny bathroom.

Well… for three people, this is plenty.

Auren stands on the upper deck, letting the air rush past him. Despite the cramped quarters, there’s a unique charm to this smaller vessel.

I feel free… I don’t have to share this space with a hundred passengers. Yeah, I get why some people like these ships.

After a few peaceful minutes, he heads back inside and sits on a bench as Neffi takes the controls. Grunah sits across from him, casually observing him.

“Was it worthwhile? Do you regret participating in such an event?” she asks.

“Not really… assassination isn’t something I enjoy. However, I guess it helped that my targets were absolute scum. I can see it as something that may end a civil war and help a lot of people. I wouldn’t have volunteered for anything else,” Auren explains. Then he adds, “It was worth experiencing at least once. I also learned a lot, so I’m glad I took the job.”

Grunah nods with approval. “Good. That’s nice to hear. You seem pretty mature. Don’t blindly follow the path of your instructors.”

“Well… Zeno invited me personally. He said if I ever want to take assassination seriously, I could reach out to him. But I’m a Hunter, not an assassin. I’m only in it for the money—and only if the job feels right. I might need a fortune someday, but I’m not going to earn it by killing unknown people, especially not if they are innocent. This job was an exception.”

Grunah pauses, clearly taken aback. Her eyes widen in surprise. “He… really invited you? He offered to teach you?”

“Yes, he did,” Auren confirms.

“Your instructors are going to go crazy when they hear that. That means Zeno considers you talented enough to be trained by him,” Grunah explains.

“I even sparred with him… I got beaten, of course, but I landed a good hit. Drew blood, at least,” Auren says with a small smile.

Auren turns to Neffi. “I take it my knives and spear are secure?”

“Untouchable. No one but me can get to them. Maybe our leader, but they’re perfectly safe! Trust me!” she says proudly.

“I picked up two new ones, by the way,” Auren says, revealing his two new Ben’s Knives—one gifted from Silva, the other taken from Kolmata’s office.

“Even though I do appreciate knives, those sinister ones are terrible in terms of practical use,” Grunah comments while eyeing them. “Each one’s completely different. You can’t develop smooth techniques with them. From a handling perspective, they’re the worst. Their only advantage is that they are far more powerful if you infuse them with Aura. If you use Shu with one of these, the effect will always be superior to any standard weapon.”

Neffi, on the other hand, is staring greedily at them. “Nice! These are insane! You’ll let me play with them a little, right?!”

“Sure…” Auren replies.

Neffi smiles happily and hugs Auren before snatching up the knives and returning to the steering wheel. She expertly spins them in her fingers while keeping one eye on the ship’s course.

Auren turns to Grunah and smiles. “Looks like I’m spoiling her a little too… though I doubt it compares to what you’re doing.”

“I’m not so sure about that… I’ve gone way overboard. But you? I don’t know how you managed it…. It’s almost a miracle. That girl never talks about it, not a word… But it can’t have been easy. I want to thank you—for everything,” she says, lowering her head.

Auren shrugs. “Forget about it… I’m planning to stay a bit and get to know the rest of the Hollow Blade members. As promised, though, I’m looking forward to learning a bit about knives…”

“I can teach you how to use your Ben’s Knives—some of them are actually daggers, not knives—but I can also show you how to use throwing knives, if you're interested,” she offers.

Throwing knives… sounds interesting. Why not? With Limitless Waters, they could be deadly and effective. I need a long-range option that isn’t as Aura-consuming as my emission techniques. More options can’t hurt.

It takes nearly four days to reach their destination. During the flight, Auren, Neffi, and Grunah talk often. Grunah watches Auren spar with Neffi, and she keeps a close eye on his daily knife practice.

She doesn’t comment much, but Auren notices her quiet focus.

Is she just observing for now? She seems serious. That’s exactly what I want—someone strict to teach me. I guess the training will start when we reach our goal.

Eventually, they reach the southern Yorbian borderlands, directly south of Yorknew. Auren watches as the terrain becomes mountainous. What surprises him most is that the airship doesn’t descend—it keeps flying higher, directly over the peaks.

Soon after, he spots a massive mountain. At first glance, it looks like a volcano—the top is completely open. But the airship doesn’t stop—it flies right above the crater.

Inside the hollow mountain, Auren sees hundreds of buildings built directly into the rocky walls. A hidden mountain fortress town, completely cut off from the outside world. No roads or tunnels are visible. The only way in is via airship—or a mountain climb that would likely take even elite climbers weeks to complete.

“Surprised?!” Neffi grins.

“No, I expected something like that,” Auren replies.

Not something this over-the-top, but I expected something along these lines. Still… no roads? This place is isolated. Do they have their own infrastructure?

The airship descends and lands at a small airport—just a single building beside a flat landing area. More than ten other airships are already docked, some surprisingly large.

“Did I just join some secret cult? What is this place? You people sacrifice humans down here?” Auren asks, only half-joking, a little annoyed.

“It’s not a cult! We’re more like a big family. Most people here come from difficult pasts. Some are hunted by the outside world, others are just disillusioned. But here? Nobody can touch us. This is a sanctuary!” Neffi explains with pride.

“Neffi’s right,” Grunah adds. “You’re being a little too suspicious.”

As they disembark, a young, cheerful woman with a notepad walks toward them. “Welcome back, Elder! Hi Neffi! I’ve logged your return. Is this boy our newest member?” she asks, eyeing Auren curiously.

“That remains to be seen,” Auren replies. “Hopefully I’m welcome… even if it’s just as a guest.”

“Of course! Welcome to our little hidden town. I hope you enjoy your time here,” she says warmly.

Neffi and Grunah lead the way, and Auren follows. As they leave the open area-turned-airport, the true scale of the town becomes clear.

Hundreds of small buildings are carved into the interior mountain walls, wrapping around the entire crater. Among them are a few larger and mid-sized structures, all uniquely designed. At the center, dominating everything, is a massive palace-like building built deep into the mountain. Only its enormous front entrance is visible.

It certainly is a unique place!