F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 308: En-route Discussion (2)

The two youngsters looked at the exalted elder with seriousness and a hint of alarm.

"I...would’ve said fun, but the consequence of a World Breach sounds worrisome," Daru responded soberly.

The worrywart naturally had something to add:

"What exactly is a World Breach, Lord Caladbolg?"

To their bewilderment, the Sword Saint only shrugged. "How the hell would I know?"

Then sighed.

"That darned Overseer just suddenly decided to dump the responsibility of choosing the representatives on my poor old, overburdened shoulders. I don’t even know who I should choose, so I went all the way to Edgehaven to ask Hailey.

She said I lucked out because the decision wasn’t too hard. That I should just choose whoever the Four Starblades are — cheugy-ahh moniker, by the way — and Lil Bro Daru over here. So, under her suggestions, I decided to take on this interesting little side-quest to check out one of the five potential representatives of our race. A World Breach does sound high-key ominous, so I can’t be too irresponsible with this one."

Daru fell silent, pondering the matter.

Meanwhile, Caladbolg secretly observed him from his peripheral vision, which was somehow far clearer and sharper than the two youngsters’ central visions.

"Well, I can’t say for sure that I’m the best for the job, but I’m a great choice, I’d say...I heard people mentioning that my opponent in the finals of the Inter-Class Representative Competition, Skylar Ashwind, is a top-tier SS-ranker. My victory at least proves I’m worthy."

The exalted elder nodded.

"W. If you’ve defeated a rotten Ashwind, you’re indeed worthy, at least... Still, there will be an official meeting for this in a few days. Expect to be flown to the main headquarters in Northern Noravia by your guild. There, you’ll meet the other winners of the Inter-Class Representative Competition, and there we will decide who will represent our race."

"Lord Caladbolg, from what I know, all those winners have already sworn themselves to a faction. What would those factions gain by allowing their new, talented members to participate?" Caleb asked, curious.

Caladbolg grinned.

"Well, it’s more like they’re just trying to make lemonade out of lemons. I can choose to send anyone I like, after all. And they know me."

"I-I see..."

"Of course, the government still has to at least give the representatives some benefit for fighting for humanity, so the promise is exposure in official news channels, newspapers, official pages, etc. — Both for the representative and the guilds. Oh, and also a claimable Heartsoul Gem should a brat or two die. Haah...and guess who has to obtain them?" the exalted elder added, shaking his head and sighing.

"What is the event called, Big Ed? And what are the rules?"

"The event is called the Yggdrasil Race. As for the rules, I unfortunately don’t have a clue, either. All I know are the consequences for losing, which is a World Breach. There are rewards for winning, of course, but only the representatives would know the exact details. Everyone’s going in more or less blind, basically."

Daru fell silent, pondering for a few moments before declaring:

"Alright, I have decided, Big Ed. I will join the event."

Caladbolg turned to look at Daru in amusement, inwardly chuckling. Wasn’t it he who should be deciding?

"Alright then, Lil Bro Daru. You’ll be a strong recommendation. Some will probably challenge your participation, though, so be prepared. Those with Soulbound Swords of a higher rank would find it difficult to believe you’re more worthy than them, after all."

Daru nodded in acknowledgement.

The conversation steered into more casual topics after that. Noticing this, Caleb took liberties and slowly snatched his attention away from the exalted elder.

"Ah, right, brother Daru, sis had mentioned to me that..."

The worrywart mostly gave him reminders, though.

Do’s and don’ts in a guild, the possibility of a low-quality Whisper Sigil’s contents being stolen should one use them near a city, and many more small but useful tips.

Basically, Hailey wanted Daru to do really well in the guild.

He was also prohibited from contacting any government-affiliated agents while he was building his career and strength in Iron Lotus.

Of course, there would still be instructions from time to time, but it would be the government that would reach out.

He could only wait and receive.

"I understand, but if Miss Hailey told you all this, why didn’t she just tell you the reason for sending me to Iron Lotus?"

"She said it would be easier for her to control things from the shadows if the pieces didn’t know much and acted naturally. Honestly, I don’t understand how that works, either, but as Lord Caladbolg said, let’s just trust her plans." Caleb shrugged, then added with a grin: "Like you, my task is to just grow stronger for now. You’d better work hard, or I will leave you behind."

Daru faintly smiled in response.

"I will."

The exalted elder only listened, though it was quite evident from the slight smile on his face that he appreciated the two top-ranker brats getting along so well.

He interjected once the topic was drifting off to more casual ones:

"Brat, have you said everything you need to?"

"Ah, yes, Lord Caladbolg. I’m pretty sure I did."

"Well then, let’s speed things up a bit."

In the next moment, the two youngsters’ worlds shook. They hadn’t even noticed that they were already tightly secured in Caladbolg’s arms like luggage.

Then, the world fast-forwarded.

Tears, a bit of snot, and saliva flew everywhere as skin and mouth flapped for a dozen seconds.

Before the two could even complain, they were already outside the familiar, high, black metal fences of the Cemetery of the Damned.

An Ashen Cleaner even patrolled by.

"L-Lord Caladbolg! You could have at least warned us." Caleb complained.

The exalted elder’s brows rose.

"Huh? I literally warned you, fam. I said, ’Let’s speed things up a bit.’"

The cherry blossom-haired young man could only swallow his subsequent words.

Meanwhile, an intrigued grin emerged on Caladbolg’s face as he looked beyond the foggy horizon.

He then turned to look at the two youngsters.

"You two said you were about to challenge this cemetery and that Gravewarden at its heart with a small army that can’t use Sword Skills?"

Daru and Caleb glanced at each other and nodded at the exalted elder.

"Why, you two lucked out that you didn’t have to. None of you would’ve returned."