episode_0064

When I opened my eyes, I was met with the familiar ceiling of an inn.

[Skill: Swordsmanship has increased by 5 levels.]

The swordsmanship level, which I thought had been stagnant for a while, had sharply risen. As if everything that had been blocked until now had suddenly broken through all at once.

‘Well, not that I’m complaining.’

I closed and opened my eyes again. The traces of wielding a sword still lingered in my hands.

Hyeoncheon (玄天). The elves’ swordsmanship was Amwol (暗月, Dark Moon). The orcs’ swordsmanship was Heukha (黑海, Black Sea).

And the swordsmanship of humans was the sword called Hyeoncheon.

‘It was… unusual.’

Amwol was a swordsmanship that brought down darkness. Heukha was a swordsmanship that tore through darkness.

And Hyeoncheon was a swordsmanship that rekindled darkness.

‘……They seem fluidly connected.’

Heukha felt somewhat isolated, but Amwol and Hyeoncheon seemed deeply intertwined.

Still, as I continued to learn swordsmanship, I’d likely fill in the gaps.

‘There’s still the beastmen’s and dwarves’ swordsmanship left.’

There might be something similar to the orcs’ swordsmanship.

I couldn’t help but feel anticipation for what those two would bring. The reason was simple.

‘……The swordsmanship styles are organically linked.’

The elves’ swordsmanship, which humans couldn’t learn, and Hyeoncheon, which only humans could master— These two swordsmanship styles shared an organic connection. In other words—

‘These two swordsmanship styles were originally one.’

And one more thing. These swordsmanship styles weren’t about one-hit kills but rather—

‘They complement each other’s swords organically.’

They were techniques that pressured the opponent like linked strikes (連擊).

It felt a little absurd. All of these swordsmanship styles were peerless techniques. They allowed me to ignore level differences.

Amwol, for example, let me destroy a scarecrow at Level 1. Heukha allowed me to defeat Burkhan. And Hyeoncheon—

‘…Turned my fight with Diago into a victory.’

Though, to be fair, Diago had held back midway through that fight, and a strange sword had intervened to heal my wounds.

But the fact that such desperate swordsmanship techniques might actually be linked skills— Thinking that far, I recalled the strange sword again.

‘……Why did he even have something like that?’

I let out a deep sigh. The fact that I had stolen Diago’s sword in a desperate struggle—

‘That was a holy sword meant for the Sword Hero.’

I knew it instinctively. All heroes had weapons that corresponded to them.

No matter what other weapons they used, a hero would inevitably possess a holy sword. That’s why the title Sword Hero had practically become set in stone.

‘In contrast, the Thief Hero is fixed with a bow.’

Because, traditionally, elves had always been the Thief Heroes. The only question was whether that thing could even be called a bow.

Anyway, the Saintess wielded a cross imbued with divine power. The Mage carried a staff infused with the power of a thousand mages.

Each had their corresponding weapon. But I was clearly an anomaly.

Despite having the qualifications of the Thief Hero—

‘I handled a holy sword.’

Not only that, but the holy sword had even healed my body.

My head was a mess. I shook it off and stood up. I’d be heading into the labyrinth soon—it’d be a shame if my movements were sluggish over something like this.

‘Unfortunately, I didn’t level up.’

Usually, after a major event, I’d level up. But maybe because Nokgolma was treated as a monster that emerged from the labyrinth? This time, killing Diago wasn’t an option.

I finished preparing and stepped outside. There, I saw Erme making an awkward expression.

“Are you okay?” “Yeah.”

My condition wasn’t bad. In fact, it was on the better side.

“Selly is… doing well, I see.”

Behind Erme, I could see her sleeping soundly.

“She’s still young, so she gets tired easily. If you’re not feeling well, we can postpone until tomorrow.” “It’s fine.”

Honestly, my condition was pretty good. Not overflowing with energy, but not bad either.

When Erme and I went downstairs, Diago was there.

‘Huh? Why’s he here?’

I thought yesterday’s incident was more or less over. As I stared at him, Diago gave a wry smile.

“Sorry about yesterday.” “As long as you know.” “Don’t sulk over something like this, kid.”

Diago threw something at me. Instinctively, I caught it.

What I received was a strange mark.

“What’s this? A rune?” “Rune?” “You attach it to weapons to upgrade their performance. Some runes increase defense when placed on armor, and others boost magic power when embedded in earrings.” “Is it good?” “High investment, low efficiency. But it’s expensive, so take it.”

So, it’s a money sink.

“You seem like the type who relies on agility and speed. If you slot this into your shoes, it’ll be pretty effective.”

Following Diago’s advice, I attached the rune to my shoes. Immediately, my body felt a little lighter.

‘……It’s somewhat effective.’

In terms of stats, it felt like my agility had increased by about 1. But I didn’t feel the urge to get more. If even Erme said it was inefficient, it must be true.

Still—

‘I have money now, so I’ll just keep it in mind.’

I looked at Diago.

“So, why are you here?” “To apologize for yesterday.”

Diago sighed deeply after saying that.

“And… there’s an issue with the weapon you wielded yesterday.” “……?”

I was puzzled. I didn’t know why Diago had a holy sword, but I had stolen it from him and used it briefly.

‘Well, “used” is a stretch.’

I just grabbed the hilt, and it started glowing on its own before healing my wounds. Not that I’m complaining—it worked out for me.

“Why is that a problem?” “Well, it wasn’t a big deal at first, but… it seems the damn thing took a liking to you.” “……What?”

Before I could react, Erme’s eyes widened as she stared at Diago.

“What the hell are you talking about, Master?” “You haven’t changed. Still using honorifics but refusing to add ‘-nim’ to me.” “No, what the hell does that even mean?!”

Erme, rarely, lost her temper.

“Originally, that sword was hidden by the Empire… Ah, but this isn’t something we need to hide. Anyone who should know already does.”

As Erme tried to cast some kind of barrier, Diago stopped her and continued.

“Anyway, it was supposed to be the holy sword for the Sword Hero, who the Empire had been hiding… While transporting it, I heard rumors that a demon lord was targeting me, which led to me meeting you.” “Wait, so you weren’t meeting with the demon lord?” “……Tch. It was a request from someone I knew, so I had no choice.” “Then that person was the culprit? Did you catch them?”

Diago smirked coldly at Erme’s question.

“Caught? More like made them pay for using me.” “Then why is this a problem now?” “Ah, right. Back to the main point—anyway, I was transporting the holy sword at her request. Normally, it wouldn’t be an issue, but…” “……”

I stared at Diago with a bewildered expression.

So, to summarize—

‘I stole the holy sword Diago was transporting, and just by touching it briefly, the sword took a liking to me, and now that’s a problem?’

-Honestly, it’s not that strange. Your talent with the sword is bizarre even by my standards.

‘……That’s not the point.’

I felt like I’d been dragged into something incredibly troublesome. The scale was different from anything before.

The people in the Empire, the hidden Sword Hero—had they found out about me?

‘No, why?’

-If anything, they’re the incompetent ones. They failed to recognize someone like you and left you alone all this time.

Risiel grumbled. I’d rather they didn’t recognize me.

-Of course, part of it is how fast you’ve grown. You’re becoming stronger at the fastest rate in labyrinth history.

‘……Well.’

It’s because I’ve been cheating. If others had the system, they could’ve leveled up just as quickly.

As I was silently conversing with Risiel, Diago casually dropped a bombshell.

“So, here’s the deal—you’re the Sword Hero now.”

……What the fuck?

“What kind of bullshit is this?” “Just because you’re using honorifics doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want.”

Diago let out a dry laugh.

“It is what it is. The weapons of heroes have wills of their own. The problem is that this holy sword took a liking to you.” “I don’t like it.” “It’s a holy sword. Forged from stardust in the Milky Way, tempered again in the galaxy itself. No force in the material realm can break it, and it grants its wielder all sorts of mystical powers. Some say the Sword Hero was killed dozens of times by the Demon King but kept reviving.”

That sounded horrifying. In other words, the Sword Hero had been killed by the Demon King dozens of times.

And more importantly—

“I was never a candidate for the Sword Hero to begin with.” “What the hell are you talking about?”

Diago looked at me like I was insane. Probably thinking I was making excuses because I didn’t want the holy sword.

“Yuseong really is a thief.” “What kind of… Wait, hold on.”

Diago stared at me blankly.

“Now that I think about it… When we fought, my mana and stance were disrupted, my speed slowed, and the holy sword ended up in your hands. Don’t tell me…” “I stole it.” “……You stole it? That doesn’t make sense. You can’t just steal form or concept…”

Diago was stunned.

-I can see why he’s confused.

Risiel nodded in agreement, siding with Diago.

-Your Gift breaks common sense. It doesn’t matter if it’s a concept or a soul—you can steal anything.

Risiel then looked at me with a strange glint in his eyes.

-And you can even destroy part of what you steal.

‘Is that so?’

Honestly, since I’ve had this from the start, it doesn’t feel that unusual. It does feel odd at times, but it’s convenient, so I use it.

“That… could be called a demonic technique.” “A demonic technique… It does sound like a Gift that’s never appeared before.”

Erme nodded along with Diago’s words.

Who are you calling a demon?

“But you’re a thief? No matter how I look at it, that swordsmanship…”

Before Diago could finish—

BOOM!

An explosion-like sound came from the door.

Standing outside was a woman in a delinquent pose, one leg propped against the door, glaring at me.

“W-What the hell? An intruder? Did the Kingdom or the orcs catch wind of…”

Diago immediately turned to face the door.

“Oh, it’s just the Violent Saintess.” “The hell are you talking about? Why the hell do I have to come here and listen to this crap? Ugh, pisses me off!”

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Veronica stomped over to the table in front of me, making it clear she was furious.

“What, you know this tempermental freak?”

Diago, now suddenly acting familiar, leaned in. I shook my head.

“Who the hell are you, anyway?” “I’m from the Empire—” “Ah, an errand boy? Scram.”

Veronica waved him off dismissively before turning to me.

“Feed me.” “……”

Why the hell should I feed you?

I glared at her coldly, making Erme fluster.

“No, don’t cook for anyone else but me!”

What’s the big deal over some food?

‘It’s just food with MSG.’

Was it really worth making such a fuss?

“Anyway, you’re the sword’s owner now, so—” “Shut up, errand boy! I said feed me!”

Veronica threw ten gold coins at me while throwing a tantrum.

‘……Fine.’

I’ll cook first. I can’t resist ten gold coins.

After feeding Veronica and leaving Diago behind, Erme and I headed to the adventurer’s guild separately.

“Hey.” “Hello.”

Glasses greeted us upon arrival, while Teresa stood expressionless.

Behind them, Rosante looked pale.

“Ah, h-hello…” “Why does she look half-dead?” “Probably hungover. Still, at least she’s not on drugs, so that’s a pass.”

Is this really the standard for priests?

As I pondered this seriously, Glasses tapped my shoulder.

“What’s with the deep thoughts? We’re heading into the labyrinth soon.”

And so, we entered the labyrinth.