episode_0007

『To Leon from.』

『I’ve decided to stop wasting time with things like exchange meetings. I’m heading to Snow Mountain to find the Sword King’s Secret Art.』

『Those who want to follow, follow. Otherwise, just do as you please.』

* * *

The original purpose of the exchange meeting was for heroes to gather, confirm their individual growth, collect information on demonic beasts and the Demon King’s army scattered throughout the regions, and accelerate the subjugation of the Demon King. This exchange meeting failed to achieve such information exchange or growth confirmation.

【The Disappearance of Hero Leon】

The biggest issue of this exchange meeting, and the reason it went awry.

It was confirmed that Hero Leon had arrived in the capital of the Roman Kingdom, where the exchange meeting was to be held, but he did not participate in the exchange meeting and his whereabouts became unknown, causing great controversy. A hero who disappeared without saying a word even to his own party.

This fact naturally became a major incident and was the subject of much talk, and the rumors that began to spread were endlessly amplified, creating various gossips.

Some say.

The incompetent hero met his death at the hands of a demon.

Some say.

The incompetent hero could not bear the duty of a hero and ran away.

Some say.

The incompetent hero succumbed to the temptation of a demon and betrayed humanity.

However, none of these stories had clear evidence or basis.

Just inflated rumors.

Also, the Holy Kingdom only stated, “The Holy Sword has neither fallen nor been returned,” without expressing a clear intention.

In the end, unable to find out the whereabouts of Hero Leon, the disappearance of Hero Leon had to be concluded. The four women who were originally members of Hero Leon’s party decided to join the parties of other heroes and continue their journey. Anyway…, if the hero did not die or fall as the Holy Kingdom said, the hero party must continue to grow in order to be ready to reunite with Hero Leon when he returns.

* * *

Northern Pilgreah Continent. Lycan Principality, Snow Mountain.

The name is grandiose, but there’s nothing special about it; it’s just a snow mountain as the name suggests. However, the snow mountain is incredibly huge.

In the setting, it is larger than even Everest, the largest mountain on Earth.

As a result, the mountain range is very rugged and not a place where ordinary people can live, so those who generally stay on Snow Mountain are either fierce beasts adapted to the extreme environment, or criminals who have committed heinous crimes and fled to survive. If not, then they are truly insane eccentrics.

“And now I have to go up there to find that eccentric.”

『Sword King』

No one knows his real name at present, but it is said that he made his presence known 300 years ago by single-handedly subjugating the 【Earth-Eating Demonic Beast】, one of the seven disasters of the Pilgreah Continent. The Sword King, who was praised as a hero who saved the continent, disappeared from the world 200 years ago. Since the Sword King’s race is human, it is known among people that he eventually died because he could not overcome the limits of his lifespan, but in reality, he was alive, and Hero Leon and his party discovered traces of the Sword King, which began the Sword King event.

“The place where you arrive at the end of chasing those traces is this Snow Mountain.”

It is not revealed in the game why he settled here.

Hero Leon, who goes to find the Sword King, is recognized by the Sword King and inherits his swordsmanship.

‘Maybe it’s because of this situation, but this game had a lot of hidden backstories.’

The Sword King event, and the seven disasters of the Pilgreah Continent mentioned in this Sword King event, are not clearly revealed in the game.

Whether it’s foreshadowing for a sequel, or whether they couldn’t include it due to the game’s volume…, only the game developers know.

“Sigh…, it’s certain that he’s here, but I don’t know exactly where here he is….”

Snow Mountain has a total of eight peaks, and the Sword King resides in one of those peaks.

In the game, when you meet the Sword King, if you arrive at a small village located near Snow Mountain, you can meet the Sword King right away because it’s a direct event, but here you have to go directly to find the Sword King…. It’s frustrating.

Climbing each peak is also a considerable task.

“Most of the monsters around here have single stats that all exceed 100.”

Another name for the northern Pilgreah continent is the Land of Snow and Beasts.

Most of the area is cold and has an extreme climate with snow falling 80% of the 365 days.

The abilities of the beasts adapted to this climate cannot be compared to the wild animals in ordinary neighborhoods.

It’s impossible for me to wander around freely in this land, no matter how strong I am.

No, to be honest, I can somehow deal with the beasts. I can somehow deal with them, but this extreme cold is really too much. I’ll freeze to death if I wander around.

“Tsk…, but I don’t have any other clues….”

While worrying about how to find the Sword King, I smacked my lips while eating properly cooked meat and thick potato soup made with meat broth.

“Did you hear the story?”

“What story are you talking about?”

“The hero who appeared from the center.”

“Ah, are you talking about those guys who act cool as if they’re something special?”

Just as I was worrying about how to find the Sword King, the men who were eating at the inn’s restaurant began to chatter.

“I heard that one of the heroes, that Lemon or Lennon guy, ran away?”

“What? A hero ran away?”

“That’s what I heard.”

“I heard that the hero died?”

“Huh? I heard that the hero went over to the demons?”

“….”

It’s a world without anything like social media, but news spreads really fast.

But something’s strange.

I ran away?

It’s true that I didn’t participate in the exchange meeting and ran straight here…, but I definitely left a letter for those guys telling them where I was going, so why are strange rumors spreading?…

“….They couldn’t have not found the letter. Is it that Laguna bastard?”

I left the letter in my inn room on the day the exchange meeting started, so that my party members who came to call me could find it.

So, unless something special happened, there’s no way they wouldn’t have found it.

Then there’s only one possibility left.

My party members showed the letter I left to Abel and Laguna.

Abel doesn’t have any thoughts, so he probably just thought I ran away and laughed it off, but Laguna is different.

Anyway, the fact that I disappeared is true.

He must have used that to tarnish my reputation and at the same time amplify his own reputation by inflating the rumors. That must be the rumor I heard a little while ago that Hero Leon ran away.

“That’s a troublesome thing to do…, and if I think about it, I told them to follow if they wanted to in the letter, but seeing these rumors spreading….”

Those guys seem to have made a choice.

I left a letter saying that I was heading to Snow Mountain with at least some conscience, so follow if you want, but since there are no guys coming and these rumors are spreading, it seems like there’s no need to feel even a shred of conscience anymore.

“Yeah, it’s already too late since it’s the timing of the exchange meeting. Leon, I did everything I could? It’s your party members’ fault. So don’t feel sorry and just enjoy the refreshing revenge and success story I’m drawing.”

Ding-a-ling

“What, you’re not dead and you’re back again?”

“Heh heh. Do you want me to die?”

“It’s not that, I’m just curious. So did you get everything you needed? If you couldn’t get it, I can exchange it for a beast hide that grandpa hunted.”

“I’ve already got everything, so just bring me something light to eat.”

“That’s a shame,” says the owner with a hearty laugh and goes inside.

The old man with half of his hair white seems to be quite famous in this area, and the people in the store greeted the old man with a word each.

Putting together the stories I heard, the old man seems to be a hunter living in Snow Mountain.

He periodically hunts beasts living in Snow Mountain and comes to the village to sell them, and the beasts hunted by the old man are traded at a fairly high price because the hides are almost undamaged.

‘So, he’s a skilled hunter.’

I turned my gaze to take a quick look at what kind of person he was, and almost spit out the meat I was chewing in my mouth.

『Sword King』 Beldro

Level: 1 HP: 39875 / 39870

Strength: 285 Magic Power: 20790 / 20772

Agility: 312

Magic Power: 189

Technique: 422

Endurance: 275

‘Don’t suddenly stroll around in a place like this, Sword King!!!’

I was worried about how to find him, but I was embarrassed by the Sword King who suddenly appeared as if my worries were trivial.

This makes my worries seem trivial!

‘No, no. If I think about it, even if the Sword King is great, he’s still human. He would need food for a minimal life.’

That was the blind spot.

I never thought that I would wait for the Sword King to come down to the village to get food, rather than going to find the Sword King.

I calmed myself down and glanced at the old man who was the Sword King.

No matter how you look at it, he looks like an ordinary old hunter on the outside. Who would think that person is the Sword King?

Come to think of it, the Sword King’s appearance was not known in the game because it was painted in black shadows.

You couldn’t know because it just passed with a few lines of text.

Then the next worry is how to approach the Sword King naturally? But….

“I ate well.”

Already?!

When I look at the Sword King, he’s already paying and trying to leave.

After eating all the food in front of him, he quickly packed what he needed to take and hurried out of the inn, and I followed him.

Whoosh!!!

“Ugh, it’s cold!….”

I shook my body once and looked for the Sword King.

Even if he has monstrous stats, he can’t do anything about the cold. Moreover, if I miss the Sword King in this situation where it’s even snowing, my life will really be ruined.

“I found him!….”

I don’t know when he went that far, but I saw an old man pulling a cart towards the path leading out of the village and towards Snow Mountain.

I hurried to chase after the Sword King’s cart and ran in one breath, and the Sword King glanced at me.

“Do you have something to say to this old man?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Is that so?…, I don’t know what business the current generation hero has with an old man like me….”

“So you knew.”

“How could I not know when you’re staring at me so much.”

He’s already noticed my gaze.

Well, his technique is over 400, so of course he would do that much.

Just as I was about to open my mouth to say what I came for, the Sword King opened his mouth first.

“I don’t know why you came to find this old man…, but since it’s come to this, would you help this old man?”

* * *

“Hah…hah….hah….”

“You’re not using your strength very well.”

What the hell is this old man talking about right now?

I was so dumbfounded that I glared at the Sword King, but I closed my mouth and lowered my eyes. After all, I’m the one who’s desperate, not him. I have no choice but to endure whatever he says.

‘Damn…, he was staying on the most notorious First Peak of Snow Mountain!!….’

I don’t know how many times I almost died on the way here.

Climbing the rugged mountain range with unfamiliar snow and carrying luggage, I thought I was really going to die.

If my body was my original body, I would have died a long time ago.

Anyway, inside a large natural cave that the Sword King uses as his residence, we sat facing each other with a bonfire in the middle.

“So…, what is the reason why the current generation hero came to find me?”

“Hoo…hoo…, Sword King. I want to receive your teachings on the sword.”

“…Sword King. That’s a nostalgic name. I never thought I would be called by that name again in this era.”

As if immersed in the buried memories of the past, the Sword King closed his eyes tightly.

Only the sound of the crackling flames burning circles around.

“My answer is…, I’m sorry, but I refuse.”

“Huh?”

Suddenly a rejection event pops up here?

This was definitely an event to learn unconditionally in the game?….

Could it be that it’s changed because of reality correction?….

“Wait a minute! Reason!…, can I at least know the reason?”

“Reason, you’re too strong.”

“….Huh?”

What the hell is this nonsense again.

He can’t teach me because I’m too strong!

“….Do you know about the Sword Demon?”

“Sword Demon?….”

What is that?

Sword Demon? Black Magician?…, no, that’s the name of a boss from another game?

“You don’t know…, well, it’s understandable that you don’t know. It’s not a name that’s left in history, after all.”

“…Is that Sword Demon related to the reason why you’re not teaching me?”

“…I can’t even remember when it was anymore…., after defeating Behemoth, I was recognized by the goddess and became a Highlander, and I was able to gain freedom from the restrictions of lifespan. Then one day…, I took in a child.”

The Sword King said.

That child was a survivor of a ruined kingdom.

He took in the girl, the heir to a forgotten kingdom that no longer even has a name, and made her his disciple and taught her the sword.

The reason for teaching her the sword was simple.

To give her the strength to live in the world.

The Sword King knew that the world was not so kind for a young girl to live alone, so he taught her the sword to give her the strength to protect herself. Fortunately, or unfortunately.

The girl had talent for the sword.

The girl quickly learned the Sword King’s secrets and reached the point where she could be called the Sword King’s disciple.

And, tragedy struck.

The power that the Sword King gave to the girl, hoping that it would be the power to protect herself, gave the girl the power to take revenge.

“That child was strong. She destroyed the kingdom she lived in…, she destroyed the kingdom single-handedly.”

“!”

“That child was eventually called the Sword Demon (劍魔) and was called a disaster. I…, had no choice but to stop that child. That’s natural. Since it was the seed I planted, it’s natural that I’m the one who harvests it.”

But the girl was strong.

The girl’s talent was outstanding, so even the one called Sword King was in danger.

However, even so, Sword King.

It was not impossible to kill the girl, who was far from perfect compared to the Sword King, but the affection that had arisen while taking care of the girl created a gap for the Sword King, and in the end, he failed to kill the Sword Demon and missed her.

After that, he wandered the world to find the Sword Demon, but without finding the girl, the Sword King eventually confined himself to Snow Mountain as a way to atone for another evil he had unleashed on the world.

“I decided after that. I decided not to take any disciples. Especially you…, I had enough opportunities to see your inherent talent while coming here. You probably have…, the strongest talent I’ve ever seen. That’s why it’s dangerous. If you were to walk the same path as that child…, the world would surely be destroyed.”

Guarding against the reincarnation of a new Sword Demon,

He cannot teach me the Sword King’s Secret Art.

After listening to all of the Sword King’s story, I thought.

‘Isn’t this just a passing event?!….’

I have no thoughts.

I should have expected this situation and come up with a model answer, but I just thought it would be solved by meeting him, and I didn’t think much about it, and suddenly he’s releasing this backstory, and I’m the one who’s in trouble!!!

“The road down the mountain from now on will be difficult. You can stay here tonight. Descend when the sun rises.”

Ugh!…

Why did I waste my time coming here! I can’t go back empty-handed!

But I don’t have the eloquence to persuade that Sword King!!….

My head turned white and I couldn’t come up with a good answer, and before I knew it, I opened my mouth.

“I’m a hero.”

“?…, I know that?”

“Honestly, I don’t need power.”

It’s as if it’s not my body, it doesn’t listen to me.

Words that I didn’t even think about spew out on their own. As if someone is controlling my body.

“What I need is the sword energy that can cut down the Demon King.”

“Doesn’t it have to be my sword energy? Since you’re a hero, there are plenty of people who want to teach you.”

“No. Cutting down the Demon King is an achievement that no one has ever done before. And the hero is the one who cuts down the Demon King and brings peace to the world. In other words, the path that the hero must take is a path that no one has ever taken before. No one can tell you the direction, and no one knows the path.”

I don’t think that’s possible, but maybe….

‘Is it the original Leon…, who’s talking?’

“No one can tell the hero the direction of the path. Therefore, the hero must not doubt the path he wants to take. I…, thought for myself and thought that your sword energy was necessary for this path. It’s a journey to cut down the Demon King that must never be wrong. It’s a conclusion that came out after much deliberation on that path.”

“….”

“So, I ask you again. Please teach me your sword.”

The story is over.

As if I had said everything I wanted to say, the control of my body returned.

Since there’s nothing more to say anyway, I’m just waiting for the Sword King’s answer, and the Sword King looked at the burning flames without saying a word and opened his mouth.

“Is that so…, for you, power is…. just a means to an already determined goal.”

“….”

“I see. I’ll pass it on. My sword energy.”

“!!”

Good!

Success! That Leon, he’s a small-dicked idiot, but he speaks so well!!!

“Then I’ll pass it on right away.”

“Huh?”

“By receiving the goddess’s blessing, I gained some special powers as a Highlander. This is one of them.”

“Special power?”

The Sword King came to me and put his hand on my head.

“??”

“Secret Art, Injection Education!”

“What is tha!….”

At that moment, I lost my mind.