Trial of Strength

The Bronze Golem raised its body.

Though separated into top and bottom, it soon merged into one.

Like a wound healing and disappearing, the seam that had split the Bronze Golem in two vanished smoothly.

When the [Ultra Iron Golem] reattached its severed arm, it seemed to use magnetism, but this seemed like a much more advanced technique.

While Americano was marveling, the Bronze Golem stood up.

It looked at Americano and knelt on one knee.

“What’s the situation?”

‘(It acknowledged you.)’

“Acknowledged?”

‘(Give it an order.)’

Cappuccino urged.

What should she order?

“Lead me to where you were originally.”

The Bronze Golem slightly brightened its green eyes and straightened its kneeling knee.

It stood up and bowed once more, a well-trained and polite Golem.

The Bronze Golem began to head somewhere, and the direction was north, towards the area where the ruins mentioned in [Knight Chris’s Last Words] were located.

Its pace was slow. Americano wondered if she could just carry the Bronze Golem. She knew there were NPC escort quests in games, but the downside of those quests was that the NPCs were so slow.

Was the Bronze Golem like that too?

Full Dive emphasized freedom.

She decided to try whatever came to mind.

She commanded, “Run.”

The Bronze Golem began to run.

Americano’s face brightened.

“Run faster.”

“Run faster!”

“Faster!”

In response to her commands, the Bronze Golem ran faster and faster.

Still, it wasn’t fast enough, and she demanded more speed, but soon the Bronze Golem’s feet slowed. The green light in its eyes faded to black.

‘(Ah, it’s discharged.)’

“Too bad.”

The Bronze Golem stood still, frozen like a stone statue.

Americano tapped its chest, but there was no response.

This was a forest.

The middle of a forest.

It was still morning, not even past noon, so it was far from night, but the thought that [Death Knight] might appear again made her look around warily.

The thought that she could recharge it with Magical Power came to mind, and she immediately tried to do so.

“Ah, right.”

Something came to mind.

She had a request for Cappuccino regarding appraisal.

She took out [Death Knight]’s helmet and showed it to her.

“Cappuccino, this is Death Knight’s, what do you think?”

‘(Death Knight? Yours?)’

“Yeah.”

‘(You caught it?)’

“I did.”

‘(Not that it retreated because the morning sun rose? You caught it?)’

“After I broke its sword, it lost its will to fight. I cut off its head and killed it.”

She made a gesture of slicing a neck with a hand.

“This is the Loot. Is there any curse or special power or anything?”

‘(Heeol.)’

Cappuccino gasped.

‘(If it’s Death Knight’s, appraisal won’t be easy.)’

“Even Witch can’t do it?”

‘(I just said it wouldn’t be easy, not that she couldn’t. It’ll take a lot of time.)’

“How long?”

‘(About a week?)’

“That’s a really long time.”

‘(It’s Death Knight’s item, what do you expect? If I appraise it wrong, I’ll be cursed by Death Knight’s resentment.)’

Then there was no helping it.

Americano looked around.

“I can’t do it here, right?”

‘(We need a safe place.)’

At least not here.

If [Death Knight] appeared again at night, she couldn’t fight while protecting Cappuccino.

Far from protecting her, Cappuccino would end up dying in the aftermath of the fight.

‘(Let’s do it later.)’

She decided to do that.

After recharging the Bronze Golem, Americano ran north.

She tried carrying the Bronze Golem along the way, but it didn’t work.

It seemed to only follow a set path, and if she put it down, it would return to the point where it started running, showing an inflexible attitude, so she had no choice but to follow it.

As she went north, the climate changed to winter weather.

The surface of the water froze, the leaves thinned, and coniferous trees filled the area. The monsters’ fur also became thicker, and the clothes of the people she met along the way were also covered in fur.

Cappuccino was using [Heater] Magic to warm herself.

‘(Aren’t you cold?)’

Not really cold.

Just a little chilly.

At that moment, the Bronze Golem stopped.

It slowed its pace.

She looked to see where it was going and saw a cliff.

Walking along the cliff, she discovered a structure built into it.

[Divulging Secrets of Heaven] also acknowledged it.

[You have discovered an ancient ruin.]

The [Quest] also changed.

[Knight Chris’s Last Words] displayed the [Quest]-related location on the [Map] with the discovery of the ancient ruin.

She estimated the distance, and it wasn’t far.

The Bronze Golem entered the ancient ruin.

She followed.

She discovered a wide open space.

It looked like a training ground.

It was located near the entrance of the ancient ruin, and there were traces of people living there.

Entering the ancient ruin through the entrance and passing through a huge corridor, a huge room appeared.

It looked like a training ground, and crystals embedded in the ceiling were connected to the outside, gathering sunlight and spreading it inside.

Since the sun was supplying the light, it was as bright as outside during the day.

In a corner of the bright room, wooden objects were placed in a room made of marble, out of place with the environment.

On a roughly carved wooden desk, there was an old handwritten note.

[My Understanding of Northern Empire Swordsmanship]

[- Christopher]

The title and the writer’s name were written on it.

She carefully turned the pages.

One page.

Two pages.

Three pages.

Christopher. Probably the real name of [Human Knight Chris].

Christopher wasn’t a very strong opponent.

She hadn’t received the impression that he was strong enough that she, who was ignorant of swordsmanship before properly learning it, had been able to hold out against him.

He was the first opponent to teach her what a sword was, but honestly, she didn’t get the impression that he was good with a sword.

It was a handwritten note written by such an opponent, and it seemed to be a transcription of his own views on swordsmanship, but after about 10 pages, a blank page appeared.

He couldn’t understand it and eventually gave up.

“Well, it was hard to learn because of Anti-Magic Power.”

Northern Empire Swordsmanship was a great technique.

It required large movements and the action of gathering Strength.

To use the power she had named Anti-Magic Power, she needed skills related to Magical Power beyond swordsmanship.

Thanks to the privilege as a Player called Awakened, she almost passed the skills related to Magical Power for free, but the acquisition of Anti-Magic Power was quite difficult, to the point where she felt a difference in level.

It was only 10 pages, but even those were just introductions to Northern Empire Swordsmanship from Chapter 1 to Chapter 6.

Even in Chapter 6, which she seemed to understand to some extent, she didn’t understand Anti-Magic Power at all.

“But he wrote down everything else.”

Northern Empire Swordsmanship from Chapter 1 to Chapter 6.

Only the forms of the movements were briefly written.

In the last Chapter 6,

[It is impossible for me to master or understand swordsmanship.]

“….”

She closed the handwritten note.

As can be seen from the last phrase, [Knight Chris’s Last Words] remained in the Tower, leaving traces for Hero.

The content of the [Quest] itself was close to a request to show the light of the ruins that had not been revealed to the world because of his own greed.

There was one more handwritten note.

[Ruin Investigation Log]

Only Christopher’s investigation records from living in the ancient ruin were collected.

Once she carefully scanned it, [Map updated.] and the internal map of the ancient ruin was developed on the [Map].

“Good to see.”

Last Words.

Christopher died without revealing the ancient ruin to the world.

Did he die after entering the ruin?

Americano headed to the middle of the training ground.

In the middle of it, the Bronze Golem stood as if it were in its place. With the crystal above its head, like the main character on a stage.

The Bronze Golem that Americano had brought.

It stood as if it were a champion waiting for a challenge.

Looking at the contents of the log, was it closer to a Gatekeeper?

To enter the ancient ruin, she had to defeat the Gatekeepers.

She approached.

A square mark drawn on the marble floor.

As she stepped onto the stage drawn with that mark, the Bronze Golem’s eyes glowed green.

She drew a rusty sword that was in the training ground and pointed it.

“I’ll finish you in an instant.”

An opponent she had already settled with.

Before the Bronze Golem could react, she swung her sword, and the Bronze Golem blocked the sword with its shoulder.

Without even reacting, it was cut in half and fell to the floor.

The last time she fought it, she had taken her time to supplement Northern Empire Swordsmanship, but now that there was no need to do so, she had even become stronger than before after going through [Death Knight].

She passed the Bronze Golem.

If she defeated it, the door would open.

That’s what was written.

“[Bbiririk.]”

The Bronze Golem made a sound.

It repaired its broken body as if floating and raised itself.

“[Congratulations on proving your Strength.]”

“….”

“[I manage the Trial of Strength.]”

“….”

“[You have proven your Strength by defeating me. You are qualified to challenge the trial. But I warn you in advance. The trial comes with danger. But if you pass all the trials, you can be called Hero.]”

‘(You’re already Hero.)’

“It must be a recording.”

Anyway, she was intrigued.

With a rumbling sound, the marble walls inside the training ground moved, revealing an entrance.

She walked down the corridor.

A clean corridor.

She went deeper than the training ground at the entrance of the ancient ruin and continued in a straight line.

She entered a room without a door, and the name of the room appeared in the [Information Window].

[First Evil’s Field]

A stage similar to the training ground she saw at the entrance.

The light coming down from the crystal in the ceiling illuminated the stage more intensely.

A Golem with a design similar to the Bronze Golem was standing under the light with its arms crossed.

First Evil’s Bronze Golem unfolded its arms at the appearance of the guest.

The dust accumulated on its body scattered and drifted like smoke under the light. First Evil’s Bronze Golem bowed politely.

There were no lines.

She drew her sword.

Was it coming?

Contrary to her expectations, First Evil’s Bronze Golem demonstrated swordsmanship.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

It showed a total of five movements of the sword and then repeated the movements from one to five again.

That series of flows was the same as what the Bronze Golem had shown in Debirude Village, but the swordsmanship it was demonstrating was not the movements of Chapter 6 of Northern Empire Swordsmanship.

Cappuccino was saying what it might be, but it would be faster to ask directly.

“Can I ask you something?”

“[Please ask.]”

First Evil’s Bronze Golem stopped its movements and returned to a polite posture.

“Why are you suddenly demonstrating swordsmanship?”

“[The Trial of Strength preserves the swordsmanship that symbolizes the Strength of the Empire. If the challenger shows the Strength and qualities befitting it, you can move on to the next Trial of Strength.]”

“Is the swordsmanship you showed Northern Empire Swordsmanship?”

“[Yes. The official name is forbidden to be spoken, so I cannot tell you, but it is okay to call it Northern Empire Swordsmanship. If you can follow the swordsmanship I can teach you, the door to the next room will open.]”

First Evil’s Bronze Golem swung its sword.

That was also Northern Empire Swordsmanship.

But it wasn’t Chapter 6.

“What chapter are you using?”

“[Chapter 1.]”

The Bronze Golem at the entrance showed Chapter 6, so she could learn everything here.

Suddenly.

“By the way, tell me one more thing.”

“[What are you curious about?]”

“How many chapters are there?”

“[There are up to Chapter 6.]”

‘Then Christopher went all the way to Chapter 6.’

‘(Easy?)’

“I guess so.”

Christopher.

So [Human Knight Chris] also went to Chapter 6.

Even if it was the Trial of Strength, it was only that much, and if [Chris] could clear the trial, she couldn’t expect a high level of difficulty.

First Evil’s Bronze Golem showed swordsmanship again.

Americano imitated the swordsmanship.

It immediately became a Skill and became hers. After practicing a few times, she immediately challenged First Evil’s Bronze Golem.

She won.

It wasn’t even a match.

“[Excellent.]”

What was so excellent about it.

It was like a high-level player being praised for catching a boss in a low-level zone.

Rumble.

The marble walls split to the left and right, and the entrance to the next room opened.

‘After clearing everything, I should go to the Tower.’

She moved directly to the next room without a corridor.

The [Information Window] announced the room name.

[First Evil’s Room]

It wasn’t Ilma.

Slightly puzzled, she moved on, and in the middle of the room was a square stage.

That stage emitted light, creating a pillar of light as high as a pillar.

Something dark was trapped inside the pillar of light, and as she looked at it, a sound flowed throughout the room.

“[Behold the First Evil. Cut down that Evil Energy and prove your sword.]”

A challenger called Black Smoke, the target to be cut down, emanated from the room.

She walked to the stage where the light was rising and looked at the First Evil.

[First Evil]

Ominous black letters.

“….”