episode_0103

Marie’s failed creation, also known as the ‘Magic Compass for Finding Trash,’ has finally found its full functionality in my hands.

By infusing magic, it can expand its range and pinpoint old objects I desire to find like a compass.

If an archaeologist were to see this compass, they would undoubtedly be amazed by its capabilities.

Furthermore, through Algote, I had access to all sorts of information about heroes and demons.

Among the mountain of data, there were historical records indicating the approximate year when the first hero appeared.

In other words, it was possible to roughly estimate the year when the first hero emerged.

According to history, the cycle of demons and heroes facing off against each other occurred approximately every 200 years.

Including the trash hero who died at the hands of Bloodstain, the number of heroes recorded so far is five.

The story goes that the first hero defeated the demon at least 800 years ago.

According to the data, the kingdom at that time had a capital different from the current Piphnel.

As the first demon nearly brought the kingdom to the brink of extinction, the capital was destroyed.

Of course, the information obtained from the kingdom was narrated from a strictly human-centric perspective, unlike what was heard in the underground world.

The story of the demon invading the peaceful human kingdom, only to be defeated by a hero in their time of need, was told.

The part about humans banishing the demons they lived with before was conveniently omitted.

However, even if history was narrated favorably towards one side, it should roughly align with the era.

So, if I use my magic compass to find objects from the time when the demon and hero first appeared, could I uncover some clues?

Adjusting the magic of the compass to react to items from about 800-1000 years ago, I set out to explore the related locations and widen the search range as much as possible.

Honestly, I don’t think there’s a high chance of finding something meaningful even if I do this.

Since the information available about demons and heroes at the present moment is so limited, I had no choice but to delve into the past.

“Yunoa wanted to uncover the truth of when the demon and hero first appeared in this world using Marie’s magic compass.

Remarkably, that thought was one of the best options he had at the moment.

But even if it was the best option, it didn’t necessarily guarantee success.”

The narration made a vague comment that could be interpreted as either praise or criticism.

If it’s the best option, then trying it out is the right thing to do, isn’t it?

Just because it’s not guaranteed to succeed doesn’t mean it can’t succeed, right?

***

Preparing to depart with the compass and some basic equipment.

The destination was the ruins of Bandur, the former capital of the ancient kingdom.

It seemed that no other city had been built there after the capital was moved due to ominous reasons.

This time, I decided to go alone without calling anyone else.

It wasn’t a request, and I felt bad dragging others into what I was doing every time.

But before leaving, I wanted to stop by the Adventurer’s Guild and inform them that I would be leaving for a while.

As I entered the guild, something clung to my back.

The soft touch and faintly sweet scent… it was Meruda.

“Yunoa!”

It’s been a while since someone clung to me like this as soon as I entered the guild.

I wondered what was going on, but the guild was strangely quiet.

Normally, it would be bustling with adventurers.

“It seems a bit empty here today, doesn’t it?”

I asked Tina with Meruda clinging to my back.

“Well… the demon’s power has been growing stronger lately, so a notice was sent to the guild.”

“A notice?”

“Due to the current difficulty in dealing with demons under the current ranking system… the Adventurer’s Guild is undergoing a complete overhaul.”

Tina was explaining to me when the door to the study opened, and Algot appeared.

“With the current ranking system, adventurers are facing more accidents. Although there haven’t been any issues so far, with the monsters getting stronger, the guild needs to reorganize for the safety of adventurers,” Tina said.

“I see.”

Guild reorganization…

Indeed, the current system of Bronze, Silver, and Gold rankings doesn’t accurately reflect the combat abilities of adventurers. The difference in abilities between Bronze and Silver is significant, but from Silver onwards, it’s mostly down to individual capabilities. With monsters getting stronger, even adventurers of the same Silver rank are finding it harder to handle tasks.

As for Gold rank, it’s not just about skill but also about political motives or other reasons for promotion. It’s understandable that with monsters getting stronger, most requests can’t be classified as the highest rank.

“So, Yunoa, you haven’t been promoted at all?” Algot asked, looking at me with narrowed eyes.

I didn’t feel the need for promotion, as Gold rank seemed more trouble than it was worth in terms of benefits. Honestly, in terms of combat abilities alone, I felt far above the average Silver-ranked adventurer. I possessed a somewhat unique magical power and my ability to manipulate magic was also beyond the average adventurer’s level.

Staying in the Silver rank might not look good in the eyes of the guild master.

“There have been various reasons… and no opportunities for promotion,” I replied.

“When the reorganization is done, we’ll think about adjusting your rank, Yunoa.”

I nodded, seeing no reason to refuse.

But there were many aspects of my current actions that others might not understand. Right now, all I hoped for was to find something meaningful using Mariel’s magical tool in the ruins of Bandur.

***

The ruins of Bandur were a vast place, once a former capital city.

Traces of tall stone buildings still stood, covered in moss and vegetation. The terrain was rugged, with large holes in the ground, making it difficult to navigate.

It was clear that this place had been destroyed by the Demon King’s forces in the past, leading to its current state.

Despite the increase in the Demon King’s power and the heightened danger of monsters, I didn’t feel any significant problems yet.

Encountering several monsters in the ruins, I was able to handle them all easily.

Arriving near the center of the ruins, I took out my compass and infused it with magic to expand its range. I adjusted the compass to search for items from the time of the first hero’s appearance.

Ping-

After a moment, the compass needle spun before pointing in a direction.

Carefully navigating the rough terrain, I followed the direction indicated by the needle until I stopped in front of a small hill made of rocks and dirt.

“There seems to be something here.”

The compass was pointing towards the inside of the hill.

As I turned around the hill, the needle was moving, indicating the hill itself.

Upon closer inspection, some remnants of what seemed to be an old building were protruding from the pile of dirt on the hill.

Without hesitation, I immediately drew my Dragonyte sword.

While using a pickaxe or shovel would generally be more efficient, using magic allowed me to blast away the hill with my sword.

“Hap!”

Bang!

Adding a bit of explosive force to the magic imbued in the sword, I struck down, causing the hill to crumble away as if a small explosive had gone off.

I could probably blast it all away in one go with all my strength, but doing so might damage the items inside.

So, over several attempts, I carved away and destroyed the hill, searching for the item indicated by the compass.

And finally, after a while, I unearthed the item.

“What is this…?”

The unearthed object was a small statue.

A palm-sized statue that seemed to be carved in the likeness of a goddess.

“Yunoa excavated a goddess statue of archaeological value.

However, this was just an antique with no use in finding a way to prevent destruction.”

Well, finding it all at once would be too easy.

Still, it seems that something does come out when I excavate.

This statue was probably one of the items made during the time when the first hero appeared.

Adjusting the magic of the compass again, I finely tuned it to not point at the statue but at the time period of the item I was looking for.

In this way, when the compass pointed elsewhere, I dug there to find the item, adjusted the compass again, excavated again…

Continuously hoping for something to come out, I kept up with the excavation work.

As the day began to darken, I had accumulated dozens of antiques that I had excavated.

They were all definitely old items, but there were no visible clues.

Perhaps this was too reckless of me.

To excavate this place without knowing what I was looking for, relying solely on the compass and narration…

Thinking this, I unearthed the next item.

“Hmm? What is this…?”

This time, a rather beautiful item came out.

Covered in dirt and dust, but when I roughly wiped it with my sleeve, it shone smooth and bright like a gem.

At the bottom of the gem, there was a decoration of two women carved in an unknown metal supporting the gem.

“Darn… another antique…”

It seemed like I had misunderstood something.

What I had in mind was not this.

I thought that by excavating here, I could find information related to the first hero and the demon king.

But as much time had passed, there would be no documents left, and finding a bunch of items from that time would mostly be meaningless.

What is this compass that only finds antiques that are necessary for me?

If the narration didn’t deceive me… then I must have misunderstood the usage.

Or maybe I used it wrong.

“Yunoa finally found the item that would prevent destruction.

But to Yunoa, who couldn’t see the item, it just looked like another antique.”

Huh?

Wait, what did you just say…

As I was about to throw the gem among the pile of antiques I had excavated, the narration reacted.

“The goddess’s gem. The ultimate artifact created by gathering the sacred power of all the kingdom’s priests at that time.

It was used to directly call upon the goddess for salvation when the kingdom and humanity were facing annihilation by the demon army.

The act of humans calling upon a god directly was considered blasphemy, so it was never used until the kingdom fell, and the gem was used to summon the goddess.

Anyone who knew of the existence of this gem was all killed by the demon army.”

The moment I heard those words, the weight of the editing tool in my hand suddenly felt significantly heavier.

I had unearthed something tremendous.