episode_0079

The Hero’s True Sword Art.

When the Holy Sword explained the technique to me, it said this:

—What you’ve learned now is not a killing move.

‘Not a killing move? So this is just a basic strike?’

—Yes. That technique was never meant to be that kind of move. It was created to eliminate countless monsters. Naturally, its quality is bound to be inferior.

In other words, I could still use my other sword arts as they were.

For me, that was even better.

Moonless, Heavenly Abyss, Black Sea.

Since I could still wield those sword arts as before.

‘Well, if I’ve learned something incredible, I might as well put it to use.’

As my thoughts reached that point, a realization suddenly struck me.

Moonless, Black Sea, Heavenly Abyss.

These three sword arts were designed to function organically together.

Moonless and Heavenly Abyss were like that.

As for Black Sea, I couldn’t be certain yet since I hadn’t encountered its counterpart.

‘The answer is probably the sword art possessed by the Beastkin or the Dwarves.’

Unfortunately, I hadn’t seen that sword art during this journey.

But I trusted the talent my system had given me. No matter how much I thought about it, the fact that I had talent was bizarre.

Moonless and Heavenly Abyss had a strong synergy.

Darkness descends.

And then, darkness rises majestically.

To put it more intuitively, it’s like a single massive explosion that deals devastating damage to the opponent.

‘And Heavenly Abyss is…’

It continuously deals damage while restraining the surroundings.

As my thoughts reached that point, a strange intuition began to form—if I honed this Hero’s True Sword Art, I could wield them in perfect harmony.

The reason I’m explaining this is—

‘The True Sword Art splits a single attack into multiple strikes.’

Or rather, it’s closer to duplicating them.

If that’s the case—

‘……Can I duplicate these sword arts?’

—That is impossible.

The Holy Sword denied my thoughts.

—No matter how unparalleled you may be in this world… that is beyond reach.

‘You said it was impossible to learn the Hero’s True Sword Art all at once.’

—…….

The Holy Sword exercised its right to remain silent.

I respected its free will, so I didn’t press further.

And then, I trained.

A full day passed like that.

‘My sword energy has increased.’

A single swing now produced three slashes.

The noticeable speed of my growth made it all the more enjoyable. I trained diligently while making Diago handle the carriage.

“We’ve finally arrived at the village.”

Before heading to the Cradle, we decided to stay overnight in a nearby village.

Diago’s excuse was that he was tired of driving the carriage himself, and it would be better to dispose of it here and just use the Adventurer’s Guild to travel to the Cradle.

“Besides, you’re sick of sleeping outdoors too, aren’t you?” “Well, I guess.”

I thought sleeping under the stars had its own romance, but that illusion shattered on the very first night.

‘Damn those fucking bugs.’

The reason was simple.

This place was teeming with insects. Because of them, getting a proper night’s sleep was nearly impossible.

Anyway, for that reason, I could agree with Diago’s plan to stay here for the night.

“Ahem, well, I’ll find an inn for myself. You go find somewhere else to stay.” “…….”

—No matter how you look at it, he seems very interested in some action.

At the Holy Sword’s words, I nodded.

If it was about women, there was nothing I could do. With that thought, I let Diago go.

“There’s a carriage heading to the Adventurer’s Guild tomorrow. Make sure you’re on time.”

Honestly, I’m more worried about him than myself.

After watching Diago scamper off somewhere, I fell into brief contemplation.

‘I do need to find an inn, though.’

With a blank expression, I stared down the street.

Somehow…

‘It feels like it’s been ages.’

As I walked around, I retraced the path I’d taken before.

And then, I spotted a familiar face—a kind-looking middle-aged man.

‘……That guy.’

I remembered him immediately.

Wasn’t he the one who had shown me kindness and even given me a gold coin as charity?

—Hoh, a rare soul in this day and age.

‘Thanks to that gold coin, I was able to live somewhat decently even in the Cradle.’

—A good man, indeed. But why doesn’t he recognize you?

‘Well, I did pick his pocket back then.’

—……Did I misunderstand the meaning of “charity”?

‘Since I’ve lived well thanks to him, it’s about time I repaid the favor.’

I had been wondering when to do it.

Leaving the bewildered Holy Sword behind, I entered the shop where the gold-coin uncle was.

“Welcome.”

The uncle greeted me with a warm smile. I glanced around the store.

‘Some seriously luxurious items here.’

There were things like gemstones, shampoos, and women’s undergarments.

It was like a small department store.

Since I was here, I figured I might as well pick up some gifts for my companions.

—Bonds with comrades are important. As a hero, it’s only right to take care of them.

‘But what do women even like?’

—I don’t understand the hearts of women.

‘…….’

This guy claims to know humans well.

And yet he doesn’t know that?

I started selecting gifts for the others—a bracelet for Rosenta, a hairband for Erme, and something Teresa would like…

‘Actually, Teresa would probably prefer straight-up gold coins over a gift.’

Still, I picked out a bracelet for her.

I ignored Veronica’s gift, then chose a hairpin for Clara, who occasionally taught me magic, a brooch for Viola (who would soon join our clan), and a bracelet that would suit Lisiel.

—You seem to have decent taste.

‘You think so?’

—It feels like you’ve picked gifts for women quite a few times before.

‘…….’

At the Holy Sword’s words, I silently picked out a gift for Angyeon.

‘If it’s glasses, maybe she’d like something related to glasses?’

But even this didn’t seem like a great choice.

Because I knew Angyeon already owned at least ten pairs of glasses.

She was the type to bring two spare pairs into a dungeon.

‘……Maybe I should just get her alcohol.’

I’d have to go somewhere else to get Rosenta some booze anyway.

Might as well settle for these items for now.

“That’ll be 50 gold coins.” “…….”

It was more than I expected, but I paid.

The price of one gold coin had returned as a debt of fifty.

‘This is genuinely depressing.’

It really, truly was.

—

The next day.

With nothing else to do, I headed straight to the Adventurer’s Guild early.

The only oddity was that Diago was already there.

“What’s this, why are you already…?”

I was about to ask why he was here so early, but then I noticed the handprint on his right cheek.

“Uh…… Hang in there.” “……Thanks.”

Diago muttered in a sorrowful voice.

As we stood there, a group that looked like adventurers began to gather.

“What a nostalgic sight. Both you and I must have seen scenes like this before.”

The word “old-timer” almost slipped out, but I held back.

Instead, I nodded with an appropriate expression.

“You haven’t been an adventurer for long, but you must have had moments like this too.” “It is a bit nostalgic. It’s already been two months.” “Yeah, two months… Wait, what?”

Diago made a dumbfounded face.

He looked like he’d misheard, then—

“You didn’t even investigate me?” “No, I trusted Sir Volkan’s recommendation and the Holy Sword’s word.”

Is this guy for real?

At the very least, he should’ve done some basic research on me.

‘……Are we really on the same side?’

Even if he had some urgent mission that made him neglect looking into me…

‘……He’s seriously lacking.’

To call himself Erme’s master—

And the one who entrusted the Holy Sword to me—

He fell far short.

“It couldn’t be helped. The mission was too urgent.” “What mission?” “It’s the kind of knowledge that hurts.” “Then I won’t ask.” “……No, you can ask.”

After saying something utterly ridiculous, Diago spoke to me.

Unbelievable.

“So, what mission was so urgent?” “Heh… Don’t be shocked. It’s information regarding the Saintess.” “The Saintess?” “Veronica. That woman who keeps appearing at your inn.”

……I suddenly didn’t want to hear this.

As my face twisted in displeasure, Diago chuckled and continued.

“Still, hear me out first. This might be useful for you.” “What is it?” “There are rumors that the Saintess has a proxy.” “…….”

Ah.

I see.

“What’s with that look? Wait, don’t tell me you already knew?” “……I found out by chance.” “What? You knew, and yet you’ve been letting Veronica approach you?” “She’s the one coming to me on her own.” “Then why is Veronica visiting your inn?”

Good question.

I’d like to know too. What the hell does she even want from our inn?

‘……Well, I do have Veronica’s purity, but—’

I swear to the heavens, I’ve never used it for anything weird.

“Still, your information network is impressive. Even I, Diago, couldn’t have guessed.”

I recalled my first meeting with Diago.

He hadn’t even realized he was being used by a demon.

He saw my desperate fight and, convinced it was some dark art, swung his sword at me.

‘……Is he actually reliable?’

This guy.

“By the way, I heard you formed a clan.” “Yeah, I did. I’d like to head to the lower floors soon.” “You made a clan, even gave it a name, and yet you don’t mention it… You must not want to talk about it.” “…….”

The clan’s name.

Honestly, it’s not bad, but…

It’s kind of cringey, so I’d rather not bring it up.

‘In the game, I could say it with confidence, though.’

Names like Piccolo’s Stumbling Path Guild or whatever.

“Still, it’s better than ‘One Silver Coin,’ right?” “Isn’t that just normal?” “No, it’s a place that gathers orphans bought for a single silver coin.” “…….”

That’s horrifying. The Adventurer’s Guild clans are something else.

As I chatted with Diago, a massive carriage arrived.

“Those heading to the Cradle, please gather here.”

We boarded the carriage.

—

Sitting in the carriage, I was suddenly reminded of the past.

Even though it had only been a few months.

Back then, I must have been quite anxious.

Fortunately, I managed to latch onto a stroke of luck named Erme.

‘What was that mage’s name again?’

Hanwoo?

No, it wasn’t something as delicious-sounding as that.

For some reason, that guy popped into my head.

‘The phrase “stamping out sprouts” comes to mind.’

Their method of eliminating potential threats before they could grow.

Now that I think about it, it makes even less sense.

‘Are they some kind of anti-empire coalition?’

A rebellion group like Rebellion.

Or an organization led by the Demon King.

As those thoughts crossed my mind, mealtime arrived.

“…….”

The moment I took a sip of the soup, knowledge surfaced.

‘Green Serpent Venom.’

A paralytic toxin with a bluish hue, undetectable by taste or smell.

Quite a useful poison.

Sigh, my life really is something.

—

Garnet was an adventurer who had just set out for the Cradle.

‘I have to succeed.’

Her younger sibling had already settled there.

Originally, she had planned to call them back to the shop she ran, but…

A rival business spread malicious rumors, and because she refused to bribe the nobility, her shop was ruined.

It had been thriving, but there was no recovering.

She had no choice but to sell it off for a pittance.

‘……It was practically stolen.’

She should have gotten at least a few dozen gold coins, but…

All she had left was a single gold coin.

Swallowing her bitterness, she ate her soup that day.

Thud. Thud.

The sound of people collapsing began to echo.

One by one, the people around her fell.

At the same time, she realized her own body was growing numb.

‘……Ah.’

No sound came out.

Her body felt cold, as if poisoned.

‘……Why?’

Before she could even process the confusion—

A man and a woman appeared.

“Ugh, this is such a pain. Of all the jobs, it had to be this one.” “What can we do? The Guild Master’s starting to catch on. We’ll make one last haul, then move our base to the Empire or the Kingdom.” “Tch, and we had to run into those annoying bastards.” “Let’s just grab these guys and go. Hopefully, some of them have talent.” “Those little shits look down on us too much! After they caused this mess, they expect us to hand over the talented ones? As if!” “What choice do we have? They’re the Guild Master’s favorites.”

The woman grumbled while the man tried to calm her.

Nothing about their conversation sounded good.

Mysterious forces were planning to abduct them.

‘This is bad……!’

She had to escape.

But where? How?

Just as those thoughts crossed her mind—

A man appeared.

Dressed entirely in black, his dark coat fluttering behind him, he approached the pair.

“Huh? There’s someone the paralytic didn’t work on?” “……Wait, those eye colors—”

Eyes of a violet hue—

Like the dreamlike colors of the night sky.

The man’s eyes gleamed as he stared at the two and spoke.

“How should I do this? Crush you slowly to death? Or slice you into tiny pieces?”

Shiver.

Garnet could do nothing but tremble.

If those two seemed like petty villains—

Then this man carried the aura of a Demon King who could plunge the world into darkness.

‘P-please… let those two win.’

Being kidnapped by that pair sounded far better than facing him.