episode_0026

I remembered.

Hedy Marigold.

The heroine who, in her pursuit to become a Sword Master by honing her swordsmanship skills, coincidentally encounters the protagonist of the story, Cain, at the academy.

Cain is a swordsmanship genius.

Drawn to his strength, Hedy initially approaches him with the intention of taking much from him, but as time passes, she finds herself harboring feelings of love for him.

Tired of men, she begins to apply the etiquette she learned from her family.

She starts grooming herself.

Putting on makeup and dressing up, trying to impress Cain.

In this process, driven by her determination, she abandons her family, whom she had always resented bitterly, and changes her name after discarding the prestigious Marigold family name.

Thus, ‘Herin’ emerged, having shed the name of the Marigold family.

Consequently, people actually started calling her Herin and accepted the change.

…It was all because of this.

This caused me to forget.

The name ‘Herin’ became so familiar that I completely forgot she originally held the name Hedy.

Moreover, it was a time when she wasn’t dressing up and beautifying herself, which made it even harder to recognize her. The difference between a woman before and after transformation is truly remarkable….

It was hard to recognize her.

However, I decisively realized that Hedy absorbed my swordsmanship by imitating me.

Herin has exceptional talent for absorbing swordsmanship.

My lack of interest in the heroine system was also significant. I was only obsessed with leveling up and increasing stats, unable to do more than superficially read the heroine narrative.

“Ugh….”

“……”

I thought as I looked down at her groaning beside Twilight Queen’s corpse.

A real mess.

I interfered with the heroine narrative.

I should have just left it alone.

By intervening, I created a connection between her and me that didn’t exist before.

As a result, instead of awakening at the last moment and her having to defeat the Twilight Queen alone….

She ended up getting critically injured without awakening.

…It’s probably because of me.

Now, I pulled out the forgotten magic stone from my pocket.

A shining blue stone that absorbed my magic before.

This is not a user stone.

This small crystal-shaped stone, imbued with blue mana and emitting a blue light, was a unique item exclusively for heroines.

*

“Cough-!”

She coughed up blood in agony as she fell.

I need to find it quickly.

Since I’ve already intervened, shouldn’t we save people?

I rummaged through the Twilight Queen’s body diligently.

And soon found it.

‘…As expected.’

A glossy black orb.

My core.

‘Usually, high-level demons carry these inside their bodies…’

Occasionally, they can be found in the bodies of mid-level demons that have lived for a long time.

…I knew my core would be inside the Twilight Queen.

Because….

‘This place was intentionally created as a breeding ground for my cores.’

We’ll discuss the details later.

I extracted my core from within her.

Approaching her still in pain, I said,

“Hey!”

“Ugh, ugh….”

I lifted her body up with both hands.

“Deep breaths. Breathe deeply! And….”

“…Ugh.”

Handing her my core, I continued,

“Eat this. You have to meditate after eating it. Otherwise, you’ll die!”

“……”

Whether she understood me or not, she struggled to swallow my core, trembling.

-Gulp.

And at that moment.

“……!”

She opened her eyes wide.

Grasping her core, she began to suffer in agony.

“Aaargh-!!”

“Get yourself together! If you lose consciousness there, it’s over! Meditate quickly!”

Forcing herself to endure the pain, she placed both hands on her thighs.

And she began to meditate.

“……”

-Shhh….

Watching her close her eyes and delve into meditation, I finally let out a sigh.

Her previously furrowed expression gradually turned blank.

The urgent fire has been extinguished.

This Inner Pill accelerates the overall growth of the body rapidly.

As a result, even wounds around the Dahnjeon should heal in no time.

However, since its effects can be explosively potent, without meditation, one might shock themselves to death.

Now that she has started meditating, the chances of dying are slim.

“Sigh….”

I am already at least a third-stage cultivator, so this Inner Pill is practically useless for me.

It wasn’t a waste.

…I took out the gemstone I had retrieved earlier.

A gemstone with a shape resembling an ice crystal, emitting a faint blue light.

As mentioned before, this is a unique item belonging to me.

Originally, in the story, Heddy discovers this gemstone while defeating the Twilight Queen in the final moments….

But I found it first.

By absorbing my mana, it became my exclusive gemstone that only I can use.

Its function is to store or manipulate mana, and when refined into a weapon, it becomes quite useful. That’s what I know.

I didn’t feel any guilt.

After all, isn’t the person who finds something first its rightful owner? I didn’t steal it; I obtained it fair and square.

I glanced at Heddy, who was still meditating with sweat dripping down her face.

“……”

It stung a little, but what can I do?

She is destined to become a Sword Master in the story.

I haven’t heard of any direct connection between this gemstone and the narrative. So, there shouldn’t be any issues.

And I’m the one who needs this gemstone the most.

…I needed to obtain anything and grow stronger to survive in this world.

I also need to prepare for the worst-case scenario where Cain recognizes me and comes for revenge.

That’s why this gemstone is a more suitable item for me.

Since I’ve acquired it, I’ll make good use of it.

After finishing her meditation, Heddy regained her complexion and felt a change in her body.

She felt lighter. Naturally, having taken the Inner Pill at a lower cultivation level, its effects would be significantly felt.

Once she finished assessing her physical condition, she suddenly asked me:

“…Who are you exactly?”

Who am I.

It’s probably not a philosophical question about existence.

But even so, I didn’t understand the intention behind the question.

As I continued to look puzzled, she repeated impatiently:

“What’s your deal? Are you a mid-term student from the Academy?”

I shook my head.

“Not really.”

“Not really…? If someone like you was attending the same lectures, there’s no way I wouldn’t have known….”

It’s natural not to recognize me. It would be troublesome if she did.

I’m in the middle of identity concealment.

I don’t want to stand out or draw attention to myself.

So, meeting Heddy in this labyrinth was awkward.

“I’ve always preferred living quietly.”

“What’s your cultivation level? You used aura earlier.”

“Third stage.”

Not entirely accurate, but…

“Third stage…?!”

She looked surprised.

For our age group, being at the third stage might seem high.

But objectively speaking, I don’t think it’s that impressive.

The protagonist Cain reached the seventh stage when he was sixteen and received the imprint of a hero from the heavens.

So, I consider myself to be at an average level in this world.

Heddy, having consumed the Inner Pill, probably reached the end of the second stage.

As long as she grows enough not to die easily, that’s sufficient.

“…I don’t particularly feel like my cultivation level is high.”

“……”

I felt Heddy’s gaze on me, seemingly amazed.

I tried to avoid her gaze.

Although I got involved with Heddy somehow, she will eventually become a character attached to Cain as Herin.

Since I spared her life, there’s no need for further involvement.

From now on, we should keep our distance.

I stood up.

“Once you’re fully recovered, let’s take a piece of the Twilight Queen’s remains and find a way out of this labyrinth before it’s too late.”

I looked to see if Heddy agreed.

And so, we moved on and left the cave.

I handed a few pieces of jerky to Heddy from the bag I brought along.

I also walked with Hedy, chewing on jerky as we searched the cave.

“The escape portal must be somewhere around here.”

This place is an artificially constructed labyrinth.

An artificially created dungeon. A breeding ground artificially made to produce younglings.

So, if there’s an entrance, there must be an exit too.

Even if we defeat the final boss of this maze, the Twilight Queen, many Big Spiders still remain, so it’s safer to find it quickly.

After finding it, I need to gather the remaining party members like Victor, Zeke, and Monaka to escape.

We continued walking.

It was about an hour later when I felt it.

“Wait.”

“…?”

I stopped Hedy who was following me.

I hear something.

Footsteps… different from those of the Big Spiders.

Are there more enemies?

Soon, the approaching footsteps drew near.

I calmly raised my sword and prepared myself.

In the darkness across the path, a figure gradually revealed itself.

By the time it became fully visible…

“…! Kid?!”

The person who had just revealed themselves seemed to recognize me.

I, too, calmed my surprised heart upon seeing him.

It’s only in situations like these that you realize how comforting familiarity can be.

“Zeke?”

“Kid! It’s you! Hahaha…!”

It was Zeke.

As he approached, Hedy asked me with a puzzled expression.

“Do you know him?”

I nodded briefly and explained that he was a party member who had been transported here with us.

“You’re alive, Zeke.”

“That’s right! But kid, I need your help…”

Zeke’s demeanor seemed troubled.

He must have faced many hardships in this labyrinth as well.

His armor was battered and dirty, his expression urgent.

“What’s wrong?”

“I found the escape portal!”

“…!”

He found the escape portal?

That was good news.

Hedy also showed surprise at Zeke’s words.

“Where is it?!”

“Let me guide you. It seems like it won’t activate unless magic is infused! So, kid, I need your help!”

At that moment, it clicked.

He must have been searching for me after failing to activate the portal alone.

Though slightly annoyed, I reluctantly agreed.

“Lead the way.”

With that, Zeke began to lead, and we followed him.

*

Several Big Spider corpses were scattered around.

I fell silent at the sight.

The atmosphere grew tense, and for a moment, everything fell quiet.

Hedy looked puzzled, not understanding why I was reacting this way.

…In the center of the corpses, one person lay fallen.

They seemed lifeless, not even twitching.

Beside them, a broken greatsword lay.

I approached the fallen person.

I checked for a pulse, but it seemed they had been dead for a while.

I turned back to look at Zeke.

And I asked, “What happened here?”

“…”

He remained silent.

Standing in place, he chose to stay silent in the face of this situation.