Section One: Darmorsk

Komer's gift seemed to have paid off, as when he received the invitation from Prince Thomas, Komer knew his words had touched these guests from Rosenborg.

A gift, no matter how precious or rare, is but a stepping stone; what truly attracted them was his own speech.

Komer could imagine that once his words came true, the benefits and influence they would bring were obvious. Perhaps for Komer, benefits came first, but for Thomas, it was probably the greater influence that was his main reason for the invitation, considering the throne of the kingdom might well be his ultimate goal.

Komer swayed his body leisurely, immersed in thought, as if the liquid in the wine bottle on the table was also swaying with its master's movements.

Ever since the night at the Rose Lounge, Komer found himself falling in love with mellow wine, particularly the slightly intoxicating effect it had on him, making him feel utterly relaxed and at ease. The desire to indulge both his spirit and body felt incredibly wonderful, whether in moments of joy or when feeling restless, as one cup could grant him a sense of liberation.

Sitting opposite Komer, Puber was nowhere near as relaxed, having thrown himself into fervent preparations ever since he had resolved to join Komer on the expedition to the Caucasus.

His family was aware that he and Komer were close companions, almost like brothers in arms, but they hadn't expected him to accompany Komer to the Caucasus to face death. Even his father, who rarely inquired about his personal affairs, solemnly spoke with him once, advising against a rash decision out of impulsiveness.

However, after he declined the advice, no one in his family tried to persuade him further.

To his family, seeking hardships and adversity seemed just another pursuit and right of an individual, albeit surprising, especially for someone like Puber who enjoyed a life of pleasure.

Observing Puber, who was earnestly perusing documents across the table, Komer felt a touch of emotion.

They say adversity reveals true friendship, and after all, Puber was a companion with whom he had grown up. For Komer's own matters, Puber toiled and labored, while he himself appeared to be an idle man with nothing to do. Seemingly unable to contribute to Puber's busy tasks, he could only feign offering help and then continued his pursuit of tasting fine wines.

Puber was indeed overwhelmed with work. Having decided to take on the role of Administrative Officer of the Caucasus Region, he planned to do it well, though it was a position in a remote and impoverished area.

The massive amount of books and documents they had borrowed from the library in the Homer region seemed to provide scant and vague information about the Caucasus, leaving little existing literature for reference.

The southern part of the Homer region was already the poorest, with the Caucasus located at the southernmost border. The roads were distant and rugged, the population sparse, and the area lacked even a proper fair. The past Dukes seemed to lack interest in that place, to the extent that there wasn't even an accurate map of its boundaries.

The only relatively complete map was very simplistic, a few mountains and rivers sketched with a charcoal pencil in sparse, rough strokes, making it hard for Puber to believe this was a map treasured by the library.

Still, these weren't the problems that worried Puber the most. He was earnestly looking for any materials related to Damarlinsk Castle.

Looking at the fame of the Caucasus region, most of it actually stemmed from Damarlinsk Castle.

Damarlinsk Castle was built 160 years ago when a distant relative from the Philip Family was banished from Cyprus City for misconduct and relegated to the Caucasus Region. For some reason, upon reaching the Caucasus, this relative suddenly prospered and began to build his own castle.

To construct this castle, the relative spared no expense in using sea routes to purchase vast amounts of food from across the Continent, exchanging it with the Barbarians who lived in the Cordillera Wilderness to the south for a massive quantity of Qingling stone.

It was a type of stone from the Baden Gold Mountain Area, smooth as jade when carved and polished, and naturally cool to the touch, making it a precious building material in the warmer southern regions. After twelve years, the construction was finally complete.

Damarlinsk Castle covered over 120 acres, divided into the East and West Castle sections, with the famous Angel Square in between. The square was long and separated the two parts of the castle; however, on the second floor, there were corridors connecting them. Inside the castle, there were more than 350 rooms, not including over ten basements.

These circumstances didn't hold much value, Puber was eager to understand the situations of the former lords there.

Viscount Morin, the founder of Damarlinsk Castle, died from a strange natural disaster three months after the castle was completed. While he was hunting, a large rock suddenly rolled down the mountain and crushed him and his horse into a pulp. From that moment on, a cloud of fear shadowed Damarlinsk Castle, and rumors about it swirled.

The most famous rumor was that Damarlinsk Castle was built on the 'Dark Eye' of the Caucasus land, and any creature living on the Dark Eye would be cursed by the magic of the earth. It was therefore not surprising that Viscount Morin met such a fate.

The rumor quickly spread throughout the Homer region. Since then, no one wanted to be ennobled there; it was already a desolate place, and with such rumors circulating, who would want to take the risk?

It wasn't until fifty years ago that Viscount Burke, a favorite of the Duke at the time, wagered a bet with another noble and brought a large group of warriors and a mage friend to spend three months of summer vacation in Damarlinsk Castle. However, he died mysteriously one night in his bedroom, and the attendant sleeping at his door and the mage in the next room heard absolutely nothing.

Since Viscount Burke was a favorite of the Duke and his family had some renown in Cyprus, his corpse was transported back to Cyprus after being treated, and the Duke invited Mr. Nighting, a renowned medical master of the Continent at the time, to diagnose him. Even Mr. Nighting could not determine the cause of death, only speculating that he might have died from some organ failure brought on by a tremendous shock, and other reasons could not be clarified due to various factors.

The knights and mages sent by the Duke returned without achieving any results, with no signs indicating anything out of the ordinary.

Ever since then, Damarlinsk Castle became forbidden territory throughout the Homer region and even the Kingdom of Nicosia; no one dared to live there. The subsequent two lords, although they did not reside in Damarlinsk Castle, each met a terrible fate, casting a dreadful shadow over the entire Caucasus region.

Twenty years ago, Baron Fayez was demoted and ennobled to the Caucasus. Only three months after his arrival, he incited a rebellion among the locals. The mob killed the warriors and guards he had brought with him, and he was killed on Angel Square inside Damarlinsk Castle.

Although the knights regiment quickly suppressed the rebellion of the mob, from that point on, the Caucasus truly became an ill-fated place in the Kingdom of Nicosia.

The experience of Baron Hawkins ten years ago further proved this point. In an act of bravado to showcase his bravery, he daringly resided in Damarlinsk Castle for several nights but then suddenly went insane while walking along the Catania River, nearly falling into the river. Fortunately, his attendants followed him and caught him just in time. However, his sanity had completely collapsed, and he had no choice but to be sent back to Cyprus for treatment, where he has yet to recover. The reason for his sudden madness remains unknown.

Komer listened silently to Puber's introduction of Damarlinsk Castle, not saying a word. The beautiful Damarlinsk Castle actually had so many haunting and touching tales associated with it, which perhaps posed a rare challenge for him.

Passing by Damarlinsk Castle did not mean he understood it. In fairness, the information Puber had collected was quite detailed, but it lacked concrete and accurate explanations for the deaths of the lords, relying mostly on conjectures and doubtful phrases like "said to possibly probably." This reduced the reliability of the information significantly.

However, Komer never believed that these pieces of information alone could uncover the mysterious and terrifying reasons behind Damarlinsk Castle. Many things might only be revealed through personal experience, which was necessary to establish oneself in the Caucasus Region—though it could potentially cost him his life.

But none of these were enough to dissuade Komer, who had undergone many dark experiences. His former teacher had led him purposely through various places filled with darkness and death, hoping to stimulate his so-called spiritual veins with the energy of the dark spirits, to enhance his mastery of dark magic quickly.

However, to his teacher's disappointment, he seemed not particularly sensitive to the energy of the dark spirits, and his progression in dark magic was very limited. By the time his teacher passed away, there hadn't been much substantial progress in Komer's dark magic skills.

Komer was more interested in the cultivation of various magics, especially the fantastical necromancy and dark arts. Of course, the Light Series magic was also not bad, but he felt that the magic unknown to most was more suitable for his somewhat twisted psyche, whereas the Light Series magic seemed more apt for concealing and disguising himself.

His former teacher had once analyzed Damarlinsk Castle. Although he had never visited, he thought that the infamous notoriety of Damarlinsk Castle must have a special reason—either a demon was causing trouble or necromantic creatures were at mischief.

Whether this land really possessed factors incomprehensible to the average person was also unknown; there could only be these few reasons.

However, being able to analyze the reasons didn't mean that the problems could be solved. Understanding some insider information was at least a good start, especially since he had no other choice, the more he could learn, the better.