Chapter 106
Chapter 106
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: Wigon Ruins Assault
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[Chapter 105 - Drunken Heart-to-Heart]
The place in the ruin city known for being the most dangerous and claiming the most lives: Wigon Ruins.
Much like the Mirror Ossuary, it was an unexplored site that had gone untouched for quite some time. Thanks to its infamous reputation, hardly anyone attempted to conquer it these days.
Unless they were eccentrics like the Dawn Excavation Team.
“Gaaahhh!”
“Pull that guy out quick and fall back!”
As one knight screamed with his leg crushed and was helped back by a comrade, Lasur charged bravely at the enemy.
The foe he rushed toward was neither human nor magic beast.
They were soulless giants made entirely of cold metal, from their legs to their heads.
Commonly known as Steel Giants, these were the masters of Wigon Ruins and the primary obstacle blocking excavation teams.
Standing between 3 and 4 meters tall on average, with bodies packed solid with metal that made them incredibly heavy—yet possessing agility that belied their weight—they were formidable opponents even knights couldn’t afford to underestimate.
“Take this!”
With a shout, Lasur swung his sword at the enemy.
Its legs, built thick and sturdy unlike a human’s to support its massive weight and made of unyielding metal—Lasur’s blade sliced into them as easily as if carving up meat at a butcher shop.
Thanks to the faint glow emanating from Lasur’s sword.
The Cleaver.
This relic, known by that name, was one of the most powerful weapons ever unearthed in the ruin city, with only two examples discovered.
A weapon that emitted a light of destruction capable of slicing through nearly any material, save for a few special relics.
The excavation team named after it: the Cleaver Crew.
“Sliced it!”
“Finish it off!”
The Steel Giant with its legs severed toppled over, losing its balance—but it neither cried out in pain nor screamed.
It merely swung its fist at Lasur without the slightest hint of agitation, intent on ending his life.
“Urgh...!”
Lasur twisted his body just in time to barely dodge the punch.
Judging by the fierce gust of wind that grazed past, a direct hit would have smashed his head to pulp right then and there.
“Sir Lasur! They’re coming from behind!”
Someone’s warning. Turning around, he saw two Steel Giants approaching with heavy thuds, closing in to surround him.
“Ngh!”
Just before the charging giants could crush him, Lasur crouched low atop his Jin and slid between the giant’s legs like he was skating.
A dazzling feat that demanded both skill and courage, one that would earn admiration from anyone watching.
But escaping like that was only a temporary reprieve—it didn’t solve the root problem.
One knight with injured legs, another who had helped him retreat, leaving just Lasur, two warriors to assist him, and one mage.
As Lasur eyed the giants before him, nervously licking his dry lips from the tension, a voice came from behind.
“Fall back.”
“Kren!”
It was Kren, leader of the Dawn Excavation Team, coming to his aid. He charged in at ferocious speed astride his Jin.
Leaping with movements that made him seem weightless, Kren reached the head of the giant targeting Lasur.
A massive greatsword swung down, and the giant’s head fell limply.
Unlike the fierce vitality it had shown moments before, the headless giant collapsed to the ground and melted away in an instant.
With no time to savor the sight, Kren launched himself again.
The second and third giants had begun targeting him.
A kick aimed to sweep him away, a hand thrusting forward.
Kren zigzagged his body to evade both attacks’ trajectories, then leaped off his Jin, kicked off the arm of the reaching giant, and severed its head.
From there, he sprang off the giant’s body and landed back on his Jin.
“Whoa.”
Someone’s exclamation of awe echoed from afar. With the second giant gone too, only one remained.
Or so they thought—when an unidentified dark red liquid began oozing from the floor.
The liquid seeped up from the ground like it was rising through cracks, gradually swelling upward until it took shape and solidified.
Moments later, they had become giants even larger than the ones Kren had just slain.
Four giants glaring at Kren with glowing red eyes.
“Fuu...”
To focus his mind before the fight, Kren exhaled thinly and steeled himself.
At that moment, Lasur issued an order toward Kren.
“Come back, Kren. No chance of winning right now.”
* * *
“Ugh...”
After the battle ended and they had retreated outside the ruins, they took time to heal the wounded and regroup.
Fortunately, there were no fatalities. The worst injury was the knight whose leg had been crushed by a giant’s kick just moments ago.
Considering the giant’s weight and speed, the fact that his leg hadn’t been outright severed was a miracle.
“How’s the treatment going?”
“Coming along, more or less.”
But with so many injuries in such a short time, he added that their stamina was low and the phantom pains would be severe.
The excavation team’s mage made that declaration, and his comrades sighed beside him.
Approaching them, Kren said,
“We were so close to breaking through if we’d fought a bit longer.”
In his usual curt tone, he grumbled like a sulky child, and Lasur replied in a gentle voice as if soothing one.
“Even you’d struggle against four enhanced giants alone. We weren’t in any shape to help either.”
Kren nodded with a somewhat dissatisfied expression at Lasur’s words, then plopped down right there.
“This ruin’s tough.”
“Indeed it is. Who was it who thought this was the easiest of the Forbidden Zones to conquer?”
Lasur took up the words with a wry smile.
There were a few sites in the ruin city that most excavators avoided, known to be impossible to conquer.
Ruins whose locations were clearly known, yet had gone unconquered for decades or even centuries.
Among them, the top tiers were the Rania Ruins—commonly called the Mirror Ossuary—the Ire Ruins, infamous for their magic traps, and this Wigon Ruins.
One evaluator had claimed that Wigon, which could supposedly be brute-forced with raw power, was the weakest of the three great Forbidden Zones.
One of Kren’s subordinates shook his head in disbelief.
“Bullshit. The idiot who said that probably never even laid eyes on this place his whole life. The giants adapt to their opponents from the start...”
“Exactly.”
Lasur chuckled in agreement.
If Wigon Ruins only spawned a fixed number of giants, there’d be no reason it couldn’t be conquered.
If someone gathered a hundred knights and charged, what could a handful of giants do?
In fact, about 150 years ago, shortly after Wigon Ruins appeared, someone had tried exactly that.
Promising equal shares of any unearthed relics, he convinced other excavation teams to assemble over eighty knights and several times that many warriors for the assault.
The result? The ruin city entered a prolonged slump.
Over a thousand giants—several times their numbers—emerged and crushed the knights.
Even earlier, to avoid influencing the giants’ spawn, Kren and his group had deliberately held back from the fight.
The moment he joined, the ruins gauged his strength and spat out four enhanced giants.
“Anyway, we made gains this time too. Learned one more behavioral pattern of the giants. We even reached the second floor.”
With a persuasive tone, Lasur encouraged his comrades, insisting a little more effort would lead to success.
Unfortunately, the mood wasn’t uplifting.
Seeing this, Lasur’s expression darkened slightly.
“Should we head back?”
“Yeah...”
“We’re all pretty worn out, Sir Lasur.”
Not just Lasur’s men, but Kren’s subordinates too—all favored withdrawing now.
Listening from the side, Kren murmured softly.
“Disappointing.”
He didn’t want to either, but he acknowledged it was best given his men’s condition.
* * *
On the way back to the city, the Dawn Excavation Team’s elites didn’t draw much attention.
They were a respected group in their own right, but they hadn’t returned laden with spoils.
In the inn’s first-floor hall, Arsen asked the returning Lasur to regale him with tales of valor and proposed drinks.
Despite the fatigue from conquering ruins surely weighing on him, Lasur gladly accepted.
“You must’ve had it rough.”
“Indeed, very much so.”
Even after washing up and resting, Lasur’s face, as he accepted the drink, bore deep traces of exhaustion.
“Did you hear where I was heading this time?”
“The Wigon Ruins you mentioned before, right? Land of the Steel Giants.”
“Correct.”
After downing another drink, Lasur spoke with a flushed face.
“As I said before, it’s no easy place. We made more progress this time, but...”
True to his drunken state, Lasur rambled incoherently.
From this expedition’s achievements to their past endeavors, their goals, and the obstacles they’d faced—everything spilled out in a jumbled mess.
It was a tedious monologue even the most patient listener would struggle with, but Arsen stuck it out stubbornly, glued to his seat.
In the process, he gleaned some key information.
About Wigon Ruins.
“The third floor—accounts say breaking through to the third floor ends it, but even the second is brutally hard... I just can’t be sure we can reach it.”
“You’ll definitely succeed.”
As encouragement brought a lull, Arsen seized the chance to ask a question he’d prepared.
One he’d been dying to put to Lasur before he left for Wigon Ruins.
The very reason he’d suggested drinks.
Conquering several ruins, Arsen had felt a strange twinge of guilt.
Plowing through sites solo, as if pulling an item from his pocket, while others risked their lives—it somehow felt unfair.
Especially since Lasur and the Dawn team shared his goal, showed him great kindness, and helped him a lot, leaving Arsen feeling indebted.
Before tackling the final ruin, he wanted to clear his conscience.
“You know the goal of you and the Dawn Excavation Team.”
“Hm?”
“The plan to restore the world to how it was.”
Lasur laughed at Arsen’s words and replied.
“That’s right. So why bring it up suddenly?”
“What if someone else achieved that wish? Not you, Sir Lasur, or Sir Kren, but some total stranger uncovers the ancient secrets, purging the world’s poison?”
At Arsen’s question, Lasur’s face, slack with drink and smiles, turned serious.
The drunkard’s deliberation dragged on longer than expected. Arsen waited silently as minutes of silence passed.
How much time went by? Lasur suddenly answered.
“I’d be disappointed.”
“Disappointed...”
Arsen mulled over the word, then pressed further.
“That’s it? Just that?”
“Well, whether it’s me or someone else, the world gets better, right? I’d prefer to do it myself and claim all the glory and praise—I’m human, after all, greedy for fame. But... if someone more capable solves it sooner, that’s a good thing. Everyone gets to be happy that much faster.”
No malice showed on Lasur’s face as he answered.
Staring at that composed expression, Arsen relentlessly tried to read any ill intent.
But no matter how hard he looked, he saw nothing.
Then, Lasur spoke up abruptly.
“Sir Arsen.”
“Yes.”
“I hope things go well for you.”
The subtle tone caught Arsen off guard, stiffening his face involuntarily.
He realized he’d been the one read while trying to read Lasur—and that he’d adopted the defensive posture typical of someone exposed. He tried to relax his expression.
Even knowing it was pointless now that he’d shown it all.
“Thank you for the encouragement.”
“I mean it sincerely. It’d be even better if we did it together, but you’ve got your reasons. Prying wouldn’t be polite.”
Lasur’s implication was clear: he knew the “successful one” he’d hinted at was Arsen himself.
His eyes were now clear enough to belie any drunkenness.
“A long time ago, I vaguely heard a tale. About a special person who could pass through any ruin at will.”
No need to doubt it referred to the Successor—Arsen felt his attention drawn to the dagger hidden in his bosom.
He couldn’t even guess how he’d been found out. He’d disguised the Mirror Ossuary as just peeking at the entrance, and killed everyone who knew he’d gone to Ire Ruins.
Yet why?
“I’m pretty good at reading people.”
Lasur muttered to himself and took another drink.
Then, heedless of whether Arsen listened, he continued.
“From our first meeting, you gave me an odd feeling. At a glance, you seemed repulsed by mages, keeping your distance—but it looked contrived.”
He laughed, saying he’d seen Arsen unconsciously draw close, then pull away upon realizing it.
No more doubt needed. Lasur knew about the Successor and suspected Arsen.
Should he silence him? Beg? Threaten?
Unsure how to proceed, Arsen said nothing, pouring more drink into his empty glass to buy time.
The ruin city’s traditional brew, a reddish liquid topped with bubbles.
“I’m not certain, of course. Could just be my imagination. It’s such a legendary tale... If you don’t grasp what I mean, then it is my mistake. But if it’s true, I hope you succeed. I want someone—anyone—to make the world better, even if it’s not me. Kren feels the same.”
With earnest declaration, Lasur poured into Arsen’s glass.
Then, flashing a mischievous grin, he added,
“If it really is you, don’t tell me. I’m human too—I’d get jealous and envious.”
With that playful smile as the finale, they dropped the topic.
After some idle chit-chat devoid of substance, they ended the drinking session.