Ch.1111. Opening (1)

Holy Sword.

A sacred treasure and divine artifact of the Blue Orthodox Church. The light of salvation and the only relic proving the myth. Its blade shines with a mysterious white light, and characters presumed to be in an ancient language are engraved on it.

The metal composing the blade is of unknown origin, and it remains unclear why a sword hundreds or thousands of years old has been preserved without corrosion or weathering. Alchemists and magicians have compared it with all the rare metals in the world, but nothing like the Holy Sword exists anywhere.

‘It would be disastrous if there were another weapon similar to this monstrous sword.’

The Holy Sword is also an ego sword with its own consciousness. Though it doesn’t speak, it chooses its master directly. Those not chosen by the Holy Sword cannot even draw it from its scabbard. It’s a mystery why this divine artifact chose Ilroy as its master.

‘Come to think of it, I don’t know that much about this sword.’

Even as a possessor, I don’t fully know the Holy Sword’s origins. Perhaps the author didn’t consider it important, as the original work only described its power when unleashed and the stories about the Holy Sword known to the public.

‘At least they explained what functions the Holy Sword has.’

Truly, if Aryen hadn’t vowed to use the Holy Sword left behind by the fallen hero, I would have been in serious trouble. If the protagonist had returned it to the Holy Kingdom saying he didn’t need it, I would have died like the original Ilroy, fumbling around without knowing how to use the Holy Sword.

‘…But you’re of no use if you don’t awaken.’

I tapped the hilt with a bitter smile. According to the original work, the Holy Sword awakens in three stages. The original Ilroy would have failed to unlock the sword’s true form. There was no reaction when I grabbed the Holy Sword.

“Well, a few weeks of hardship wouldn’t be enough to satisfy it.”

In truth, the conditions for awakening the Holy Sword aren’t clear. I can only guess that regardless of the user’s strength, the awakening depends on the trials the user experiences.

Since it’s a sword with consciousness, I can’t fulfill conditions like clearing game quests. In the original work, it conveniently awakened when Aryen faced a life-or-death crisis. But as with helping Daphne, I’m not brave enough to risk my life on uncertainties.

So all I can do is spend as much time as possible with the Holy Sword. Find strong opponents without dying, create and endure trials, and hope the Holy Sword is watching all this and will reveal its power as soon as possible.

“…It’s much darker than I expected.”

I raised my torch. The place I visited for another ordeal was a deep, vast cave called the “Ant Hole.” With monsters crawling about and occasional rare materials to collect during exploration, it’s a decent hunting ground for skilled adventurers.

‘Though no adventurer would be odd enough to come alone.’

I should stop dawdling and get going.

Just as I was about to enter the cave with a torch in my left hand and the Holy Sword in my right, I sensed someone behind me and quickly turned around, extending my sword.

“Whoa!! Shit! You scared me!”

A startled voice. What I saw was a party of three adventurers. After I lowered my sword, they clutched their startled chests and began examining my face intently. This looks like it’s going to be troublesome.

“Hey… aren’t you the Hero?”

“I think so. I told you it was him.”

A fist dropped on the heads of the whispering male and female adventurers. With a short yelp, the two clutched their heads and retreated behind the one who had struck them.

“…Excuse us. My party members are a bit excited. Please forgive our rudeness, Hero.”

The party leader who addressed me politely was a tall woman. With black braided hair and bold, practical attire, she looked just like a barbarian warrior. Fittingly, she carried a hand axe and wore a round shield.

“No, I would have acted the same way as those two. No need to apologize.”

Was my response strange? The leader blinked, then cleared her throat with a fake cough.

“Thank you for understanding. But what brings you here, Hero?”

“…I came to train.”

I gestured toward the dark cave entrance. Perhaps I lit the torch too early.

“Then, would you mind if we joined you, even briefly?”

The male adventurer who had been rubbing his head spoke up first. The female adventurer beside him nodded enthusiastically, her eyes sparkling in agreement.

“We won’t be much trouble. We’re just here for treasure hunting, and we thought it would be nice to have a strong adventurer with us, even for a little while… Would you join us just until the first safe zone? Of course, our leader is strong too, but she’s no match for you, Hero.”

As the two adventurers approached uncomfortably close, I stepped back. Meanwhile, the leader remained silent behind them. When the male adventurer noticed my gaze shift to their leader, he grinned.

“You see, our leader is actually your fan. If you join us just this once, I think she’d be really happy…”

“Hey, shut up. Stop it. What nonsense are you spouting?”

“Gack.”

The leader, her face flushed red, grabbed the two adventurers by their necks. She sent them back behind her and glared at them fiercely. Then she turned to me, slightly bowing her head.

“I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to impose, so please go ahead with your training.”

I quietly observed the adventurers. The leader pretended not to care but kept glancing at me, while the other two openly stared with expectation. Though training alone would be better, and I couldn’t spend too much time with them, I somehow couldn’t bring myself to refuse their offer outright.

“No, let’s go together for a while.”

“Really? For real?”

When I said this, the male and female adventurers simultaneously brightened, and the party leader’s eyes widened like saucers. The two behind her high-fived and let out small victory cries. Well, it shouldn’t take long, so a brief companionship would be fine. Since this is my first time in the cave, I don’t know what I’ll need, and having a couple of people with me might be good in case something happens.

“But I’ll handle any monsters that appear.”

“That would be great for us! If you need a porter, I’ll carry all your luggage.”

“Ah… no, the luggage is fine…”

Looking at them now, the female adventurer seemed to be the porter, and the male adventurer an agile scout. I pushed away the female adventurer who tried to take my backpack and headed toward the cave first. The three adventurers followed me like ducklings following their mother.

‘…I hope no one’s trying to lure me into a trap.’

In this situation, there shouldn’t be anyone who wants to kill the Hero, probably. I briefly recalled my conversation with Bishop Andre yesterday and shuddered. The female adventurer approached and cleared her throat. Though not very tall, she didn’t seem to struggle with carrying luggage, as if she had compressed muscles.

“We should introduce ourselves first. My name is Robin, and that thief back there is Harvey. And this is…”

As the adventurer glanced at the leader, the leader swallowed dryly and approached me, extending her hand. The corners of her mouth trembled as we shook hands. She was probably trying to suppress a smile.

“I’m Lea. Thank you for accepting our request, Hero.”

“It’s only for a short while, but I look forward to working with you.”

Lea nodded firmly at my words. She reminded me of a new recruit full of fighting spirit. I led the way, shining my torch into the Ant Hole.

Cool and damp.

That’s all I could feel when entering the Ant Hole. The air was filled with a mixture of fishy smell, wet stone, moss, and mold. The torch light reflected off stagnant water, making the cave appear red.

Upon entering the Ant Hole, a passage about the size of a town hall extends downward in a gentle slope. Being at the entrance, I couldn’t sense any monsters yet, but I proceeded cautiously. The light and sounds of the outside world gradually faded behind us.

“Even though you’re so strong, Hero, you never neglect training.”

Lea, who had somehow caught up beside me, said. Glancing back, I saw Robin and Harvey chatting and giggling among themselves. Looking back at Lea, she was staring at Ilroy—at me—with eyes full of admiration. Somehow, the respect in those eyes made me a bit uncomfortable.

“No matter how strong, a hero is always lacking.”

I answered evasively.

“Because I must defeat whatever comes. Because I must never lose.”

I glanced down at the Holy Sword as I spoke. The power to crush everything. If this thing doesn’t awaken even to the first stage, I’ll be vaporized before I can even approach the Calamity, let alone defeat it. I let out a laugh mixed with a sigh and looked up. Lea was staring at me with a blank expression.

“Was my answer too serious?”

“…No. Thank you for giving such a wonderful answer.”

I don’t know what the original Ilroy would have thought. But it doesn’t matter anyway. I tried to shake off my wandering thoughts as I held the torch forward. The Ant Hole looked the same everywhere. Only the passage was gradually narrowing, making me think of the esophagus of a giant creature.

Drip. Drip.

The sound of water dropping from stalactites kept coming from somewhere. The footsteps of our party seemed to match the rhythm of those drops, or perhaps not.

“The path will narrow like this, and then at some point, we’ll reach a fork.”

Harvey, unable to bear the silence, spoke first. When I turned around, Harvey scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

“I’ve been here a few times. I don’t know all the paths, but I know some.”

As Harvey said, the passage gradually narrowed until it was just wide enough for three men to pass through, and then a fork appeared. Ice-cold wind blew from both paths. Since I’d heard that similar monsters appear regardless of which path you take, I entered the left fork. The passage gradually widened until it revealed a cavern much larger than the entrance area.

“Monsters will start appearing from here, so we should be more vigilant.”

Harvey said this as he increased the brightness of his lantern. Splash, splash. A sound like someone tapping wet rocks with thin cloth was heard. It sounded like someone walking in a swimming pool wearing flippers. Not a sound you’d want to hear in a cave.

“Over there.”

Harvey extended his lantern in the direction of the sound. The splashing sound was getting louder. I gripped the Holy Sword tightly, sensing a clear presence approaching me.

“…Disgusting.”

Robin said with a voice full of disgust. At the edge of the lantern light, waddling toward us, was a giant salamander without eyes. Perhaps having lost its pigment from never seeing the sun, its entire body was white. Splash. The salamander took another step toward us.

“Hero, that thing is—”

Ignoring Harvey’s attempt to explain what kind of monster it was, I darted forward. Despite having no eyes, the salamander reacted quite nimbly, but it was much slower and weaker than the Ash Bear. Sliding across the slippery stone floor, I immediately cut off the salamander’s legs with the Holy Sword.

“So fast…”

I heard Robin’s dazed murmur. To avoid being crushed by the falling salamander, I kicked sideways and leaped out, slicing through its neck and body. The salamander was immediately dismembered into four pieces that splattered across various parts of the cave. The severed pieces were still wriggling like live octopus.

“Let’s go.”

Everyone nodded quickly, probably not wanting to look at that disgusting sight.

We continued deeper. I cut down the occasional monsters that appeared, with Lea sometimes helping. Harvey occasionally collected things like amethysts hidden in corners of the cave, and Robin packed the items Harvey gave her into her backpack.

“The deeper we go, the more numerous and stronger the monsters will become.”

But contrary to Harvey’s words, there were no monsters currently detectable by my senses. At least within about 50 paces, there was nothing alive moving except us. The inorganic silence made the back of my neck prickle uncomfortably. I stopped walking and turned around.

“…Something’s wrong.”

Harvey and Robin blinked, not understanding what I meant, but Lea seemed to understand, nodding with a tense expression.

“There are no monsters. Unlike before, there’s not even a trace of them.”

I frowned. There’s no reason to take unnecessary risks now. It’s not like I won’t have another opportunity. I glanced down at the Holy Sword and turned around.

“Let’s go back for now. It never hurts to secure our retreat path first.”

Usually when this happens, something bad follows.

Seeing the ominous look on the three adventurers’ faces, I started walking. We passed through the path where we had defeated monsters and reached the cavern where the path widened again, and then I froze. The cavern was clean, without a single corpse. Harvey looked around, his lips trembling.

“…Do corpses decay and disappear this quickly?”

“They didn’t decay and disappear.”

I handed my torch to Robin and gripped the Holy Sword with both hands.

Just like a possessor, why do these events always happen?

Click, click, click. Rustle, rustle, rustle.

This time, Harvey didn’t even try to raise his lantern. The sound was so familiar that we could tell what was lurking without seeing it. Along with the three people whose faces had drained of color, I looked at “that thing” clinging to the cavern wall.

“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”

A house-sized spider had built a web on the wall where the cavern exit was, and was clicking its pincers.