Chapter 129
Swish. Bang!
The head of a wolf-shaped, translucent spirit monster exploded, scattering particles into the air.
“Huff, huff.”
Ken rolled on the ground to avoid the horn attack of a deer-like spirit monster, barely catching her breath.
Whirr!
Her spear, enveloped in blue mana, struck the deer’s leg, but the creature seemed largely unfazed and charged at her again.
‘Tricky.’
Feeling a deep sense of fatigue, Ken sidestepped again to dodge the attack, this time slicing the deer’s neck with her spear. Only then did the deer’s translucent body start to fade.
“Haaat!”
Ken’s following thrust penetrated the deer’s forehead, finally bringing it down.
Drip, drip.
Hot sweat from the heat of battle dripped from her chin.
“Take that! Bash! Hi-yah!”
A little farther away, Josh was swinging his buckler and morning star, managing another spirit monster. Unlike Ken, who fought with precision and dodged every attack, Josh barely cared about defense, focusing solely on offense.
‘Is he alright?’
The attacks of spirit monsters rarely caused physical damage. However, when their attacks grazed the body, they drained stamina and energy, which, if accumulated, could lead to a heavy body feeling, hallucinations, and other mental issues.
Ken had also been hit by an attack, feeling a cold, chilling sensation that left her shaken. After that, she had been careful to avoid getting hit. But Josh wasn’t holding back at all.
“Come on! I won’t be defeated by the likes of you! Hyah!”
Whether it was because of his boundless energy or strong mental fortitude, he seemed unaffected by the spirits’ attacks.
Bang! Snap.
“Good for you! Come at me more, come on!”
Swinging his weapon at the empty air, Josh finally noticed there were no more monsters, and sat down on the floor.
“Phew, my body aches. Ah, Sir Ken, you’re done too? Let’s take a break.”
The two were dealing with spirit monsters because Raul had temporarily left. The small stone chamber they were in was walled off on all sides except for the entrance. However, their gaze was fixed on a certain wall.
“When will he return?”
“Well, he said he wouldn’t be long, so he should be back soon. By the way, Sir Ken, your spear skills are truly impressive! Watching you in action was eye-opening!”
“Don’t bother with unnecessary compliments. I can feel how this level of skill is nowhere near the Master’s.”
Josh, slightly stung by Ken’s self-deprecating tone, laughed awkwardly.
“That’s true. Everyone only thinks about the Master’s swordsmanship, but you can only understand his true skills when you come to the dungeon. Not many in the knight order know his real strength.”
Ken agreed with Josh.
Outwardly, the Master’s skill level was known to be between Beginner-Expert to Intermediate-Expert. But in reality, he had already reached the advanced level and possessed powers beyond just swordsmanship.
‘Is that possibly one of the divine powers?’
After becoming a full-fledged member of the First Knight Order, Ken realized that it was true—Master Raul was indeed a divine emissary.
The divine power known as the ‘System,’ provided exclusively to full-fledged guild members, accelerated her growth significantly.
While getting used to unfamiliar concepts like experience points and proficiency wasn’t easy, once she understood them, she found them incredibly convenient.
She could assess her strengths and weaknesses, and with growth quantified through training and combat, it fueled her motivation.
The existence of ‘Skill Books,’ which allowed her to quickly learn supplementary skills she had neglected while focusing on her main weapon techniques, was revolutionary.
And what about the ‘Guild Buffs’ and ‘Shared Skills’ that applied to all guild members?
The bonuses to experience points, proficiency, stamina, and mental strength were palpable through training and combat.
Furthermore, how could one not consider it a divine power when techniques were implanted in her mind as if she had learned them for years, even when she hadn’t practiced them directly?
In just half a year, she had advanced two levels in her rank, thanks in large part to these guild benefits.
‘Phew. It’s a good thing I wasn’t kicked out of the guild.’
At first, she was astonished by the sight of a hundred throwing knives sweeping away monsters, but now she thought, ‘Well, it’s Master, so it’s possible.’
‘Still, it’s really frustrating.’
The fact that she had to wield a mana blade and slash multiple times to defeat a spirit monster, while Raul could annihilate them effortlessly, made her question whether she could ever be of help to him.
However, the reason Raul could easily slice through the spirits was due to the ‘spiritual power’ imbued in his throwing knives. The spirit monsters in this dungeon were weak to the unique energy of psychokinetics, known as ‘spiritual power.’
It was a characteristic of this psycokinetic-exclusive dungeon. Regardless, Raul, who had caused misunderstandings for Ken and Josh, suddenly appeared as if he had phased through the small stone chamber’s wall like a ghost.
“You’ve returned!” Josh exclaimed, jumping up from the floor. Raul nodded, noting their sweat and scratch-covered armor.
“You’ve done well. I’m sorry, but we need to leave immediately. The passage won’t hold much longer.”
As Raul briefly touched the wall, it vanished as if it had been an illusion, revealing a corridor of flickering grey light. The reason why non-psychokinetics found this dungeon nearly impossible to clear was because of these hidden passages.
Walls that adventurers could neither find nor pass through without spiritual power had driven many to despair.
Swoosh.
As soon as the group passed through the corridor, it disappeared, and the grey wall blocked their retreat. The small stone room they now stood in had nothing but an old wooden door.
Creak.
“Whoa.”
As they stepped through the door, the bright sunlight greeted them, making the term “underground dungeon” seem irrelevant.
‘Ancient dungeons really are unpredictable.’
Even Raul, who had conquered countless dungeons, found it difficult to get used to sudden changes in the environment.
“Uh, where are we?”
Josh asked, puzzled. Before them lay a grand mansion, bathed in the radiant daylight. Beyond the iron gates, a beautiful garden was laid out, and behind it, two moderate-sized training grounds were aligned side by side.
Past the training grounds and a magnificent fountain stood a majestic five-story mansion.
“If you’re curious, we have to go in and see.”
Without hesitation, Raul pushed open the iron gate and stepped into the mansion grounds. Josh shrugged at Ken with a bewildered look but immediately followed Raul’s casual demeanor. Ken, however, paused, staring blankly at the mansion.
‘This layout. It feels so familiar….’
Though the details varied, the place looked strikingly similar to a location in her memories. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Ken followed the group. Whatever this place was, they would find out soon enough.
* * *
Fresh sunlight. A cool breeze. Colorful flowers that dazzled the eyes. Despite the dreamlike scenery, there was a sense of unease, likely because it lacked any ‘vitality.’
Contrary to what was seen, there was no feeling of life in this place. The flowers and trees swayed in the wind, but there was no scent, and not even a single insect could be seen.
“The atmosphere is a bit off. Could it be that there’s no one in the mansion?”
“It would be strange for anyone to be in such an ancient dungeon.”
“That’s true. Unless they’re ghosts, haha.”
With that trivial conversation, they passed through the garden and arrived at the training grounds. In the center of the two square-shaped training grounds stood a familiar-looking object.
“Wait, are those the statues from earlier?”
“They sure look like it.”
Although Raul already knew, the party members reacted as if they had discovered something astonishing. In the left training ground was a statue of Zeinak with clenched fists, while the right training ground held a statue of someone holding an intact spear.
“This looks suspicious. We should check it out.”
For some reason, Josh spoke with an uncharacteristically serious tone and demeanor. Unbeknownst to himself, cold sweat was dripping down his forehead.
‘He really does have a good instinct.’
Raul was impressed inwardly. That kind of intuition must have been what allowed him to survive the brutal mercenary world and even be considered a candidate for Mercenary King. Meanwhile, Ken was intently focused on the statue on the right and the spear it held, lost in thought.
“What do you think? Do you believe the rumors are true?”
Raul asked. Ken, snapping out of her thoughts, nodded in response.
“Yes. I couldn’t be sure just from the statues at the entrance, but now it’s clear. That statue is definitely Jeremiah de Greer, the founder of the Greer Marquis family.”
Ken’s expression was complex. Finding traces of her ancestor wasn’t purely a joyous occasion for her, and there was a reason for this.
As mentioned, the Greer Marquis family had lost part of their spear technique secrets during the great war against the Empire.
This ‘Zeinak’s Dungeon’ had always been in their minds because the statues at the entrance and some discovered artifacts were linked to the Greer family.
Hoping to recover their lost secrets, the Marquis family had attempted to conquer the dungeon many times whenever it appeared, but they always failed.
Most of the knights, soldiers, and mercenaries they sent were swallowed by the dungeon, which strained even a wealthy marquess family.
The most recent failed attempt was just five years ago, led by Ken’s brother, sean, the heir of the marquess family.
Sean, who was studying at the National Academy at the time, couldn’t resist the challenge when he heard about the dungeon’s appearance and led a group of bodyguards and soldiers into the dungeon. He never returned.
Thus, for Ken, this place was one of bitter memories and unresolved emotions.
“What should we do?”
Josh asked cautiously. Ken drew her spear and replied, “Leave it to me. Isn’t that why you brought me here?”
However, Raul shook his head and stepped gingerly into Jeremiah’s training ground. A warning message in bright red letters appeared before their eyes.
『Warning』
This is a forced quest area. Entering without the proper qualifications may result in death.
Recommended Qualifications: B-Grade or higher, spear Technique Proficiency Level 1 or higher, possessor of spear technique 『**』, descendant of the Greer Marquis family.
Stepping back, Raul turned to Josh and asked, “Sir Josh, have you had any training with spears?”
“Yes! I, Josh, have trained hard to handle any weapon.”
“And your proficiency level?”
“Ashton Knight Order Spear Techniques (B-), intermediate Level 2!”
“Excellent, Sir Josh. Can I entrust you with this exploration? Oh, and you’ll need to use a spear.”
“Leave it to me!”
Feeling honored to be chosen by Raul first, Josh drew his spear confidently and strode up onto the training ground.
Creak.
As soon as he stood on the training ground, the statue of Jeremiah began to move with a grinding sound.
Crack, snap, whirr!
As if its joints were loosening from long dormancy, dust fell away, revealing a steel figure with glowing red eyes from within.
“Who dares disturb my eternal rest?”
The statue shouted, and a blue aura spear extended almost two meters from the spear it held.
“Wha-what…?”
Josh, frozen with fear, looked back at Raul. His pale face and trembling lips silently formed the words.
‘What. Should. I. Do?’
Raul, smiling silently, pounded his fist against his chest, signaling support.
Surely being just a bit under the recommended qualification shouldn’t mean death, right?
‘He won’t die… probably…’
Raul silently wished him good luck.
(To be continued)
TL’s Corner:
Poor Josh.