Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Path of the Sword King (2)
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“Item information?”
“I just meant I wanted to touch it for a second...”
Before I could even finish, he quickly tucked it back into his robes.
“That would be problematic. There's no guarantee you wouldn't just snatch it...”
“Come on, I need to know what it is to get motivated.”
“You've rested enough. Let's begin again.”
That cheap bastard.
“Before that, what are your criteria?”
“Land three consecutive attacks successfully. Only then would Lord Bio acknowledge you.”
Three successful attacks? I could barely block and dodge three times.
“It sounds like you have no intention of giving it to me...”
“Lacking confidence?”
Seeing Arpeus acting so smug sparked my competitive spirit.
A mythic item for three successful hits?
“Lacking confidence? Not a chance. Alright, let's do this.”
****
How much time had passed?
In reality, it might not have been that long.
The Sword King's training ground was a space where one needed neither food, drink, nor sleep.
*Whoosh—*
The branch Arpeus aimed at my head grazed past me by a hair's breadth.
He switched to a slash, but I parried with my own sword.
*Clang—*
It was just a branch, yet far from cutting it, I was the one being pushed back.
The resistance was as strong as if I'd struck an iron pillar.
“Your lower body is exposed.”
Arpeus, who had closed the distance in an instant, pointed it out and swung his sword, but it was a feint.
*Clang—*
I deflected the branch that was aiming for my left arm.
“I've fallen for that more than five times already. You think I'd fall for it again?”
I slashed my sword diagonally.
*Whoosh—*
Arpeus deflected it with ease and continued the exchange.
Compared to when I first started, getting beaten up without even being able to counter properly, this was a huge improvement, but...
*Thwack—*
In the end, I was hit on the head again without landing a single effective blow.
The pain vanished quickly, but I couldn't feel at ease.
“Tsk, tsk. It seems your skills are regressing the longer this goes on.”
“Are you the one whose memory is failing? Let's go again.”
I readjusted my grip on the sword and charged at Arpeus again, but after dozens of exchanges, the result was the same...
Honestly, I felt like my spirit was about to break.
It wasn't because of the beatings.
I could even accept that I might not have any talent.
What tormented me the most was the loneliness.
The saying that humans are social animals really seemed to be true.
Arpeus was here, but we never engaged in any small talk.
Nix, a bit dim-witted but full of charm.
The cute Golden Dragon, who had become much more mature lately.
The ever-kind Hanna and Timi with her charmingly clumsy advances.
Milli and Alpen, who were awkward at first but had recently started to fit in well...
And finally, Rina, who was prickly and dishonest with her feelings but worried about me more than anyone.
I missed them all so much that I wanted to forget about the mythic item and everything else and just go back.
Of course, Arpeus had firmly refused.
‘You'd give up halfway through a task requested by Lord Bio? Don't be so weak.’
Sure, when my skills were improving rapidly at the beginning, I was interested and motivated, but I soon hit a wall and lost all enjoyment.
“Still, you seemed a bit faster just now.”
“Faster? Check Rank.”
[Oh Hyeon-ung's current proficiency rank is C+. All stats are reduced by 40%.]
“The rank is the same.”
Faster, my ass.
Feeling like a complete C-plus, I flopped onto the ground.
“Taking a break?”
“Yeah.”
“Ahem, proficiency rank isn't everything, so don't worry too much about it.”
He's unusually talkative today.
“Arpeus, how much time do we have left here?”
In the Sword King's training ground, 100 seconds was equivalent to 1 second outside.
The secret dungeon's collapse time was 72 hours, and about two hours were spent on battles and conversation, leaving roughly 7,000 hours.
That was nearly ten months.
“Not much time left.”
“Can't you tell me exactly?”
“If I told you, you'd only become more impatient. Such emotions are not conducive to training.”
He cut me off sharply.
“Whatever, you're so great.”
“Hmm, honestly, I'm more surprised. Your rate of improvement is faster than mine was.”
“Did the sun rise in the west today? I can't believe you're complimenting me.”
“The sun doesn't rise in the training ground.”
“Who said anything about the actual sun... Ugh, forget it.”
This is why I felt lonely even with him here; we just couldn't communicate.
“And for the record, that wasn't a compliment to you. I was just thinking that I might be a better teacher than Lord Bio.”
...This guy is truly impossible to like.
Even Rina could be annoying, but she was never this bad...
“Let's begin.”
Lying around was a waste of time.
If I just lay here, I'd only think of my companions and get even more depressed.
That's how it is—thinking sad thoughts makes you genuinely sad, even if you were fine before...
Wait a minute.
“Shall we start?”
“No. Just a moment...”
There is power in thought.
Was it when I'd just reached C+?
I once had an opportunity when Arpeus dropped his branch, whether by mistake or not, but the fallen branch had flown up and struck me in the head.
I'd argued with him then, saying it was ridiculous how the branch not only blocked my sword but could also fly and attack on its own, and accused him of using a special item.
At that time, Arpeus had silently handed the branch to me.
I was sure it was some special item, but when I took it, no system window appeared.
He told me to apply force, and when I did, it snapped easily.
‘As you can see, it's an ordinary branch. Its earlier movements, and its ability to block your sword until now, were all because I enhanced it with the power of my thoughts.’
I didn't understand it at all back then, but now, it felt like I was on the verge of a breakthrough, an itch in my brain.
“I'm starting.”
“No, I said wait...”
I felt like I could figure it out if I just thought a little more...
*Whoosh—*
I dodged the branch swung by the rapidly approaching Arpeus.
I thrust my sword in a counter, but as always, he deflected it lightly with his branch.
*Clang—*
But I had fully anticipated this, so I used the recoil from the impact to retreat.
I was about to call for a timeout when a thought suddenly flashed through my mind.
It might be a ridiculous idea, but I dashed toward him again to test it.
Dodging his thrusting branch, I aimed diagonally for his arm.
*Swish— Clank—*
As always, sparks flew upon impact, but this time they came from his arm, not the branch.
*Snap—*
The top part of Arpeus's branch, severed by my sword, fell to the ground.
Thinking sad thoughts makes you sad.
So, I wondered if thinking I could cut it would actually let me cut it—and it turned out to be the right answer.
“Is that a success?”
It didn't even leave a scar, but my blade definitely touched his body.
“Yes. It seems you're finally getting the hang of it.”
It sounded absurd now that I thought about it, but until now, I had never swung my sword with the true intent to cut.
My stats were overwhelming.
My sword was unique.
I'd always swung my sword without much thought, assuming, *This should be enough to kill them.*
“Alright. Let's keep going.”
It was my first success, but I couldn't be satisfied yet.
Arpeus's condition was three successful attacks.
“Let's.”
Another branch appeared in Arpeus's hand.
He was much faster than before, but I was no longer afraid.
I just had to cut it again.
*Clang—*
What?
Unlike before, it didn't break this time.
Arpeus seized the moment of my hesitation and pressed his attack.
*Whoosh—*
I dodged by a hair's breadth, but I was flustered.
“What? Why didn't it break this...”
“Do you think you're the only one who can use will? I've imbued this one with a much stronger will not to break than before.”
“Hey, you said you'd match my level...”
“But you've improved, haven't you? If your will cannot overcome mine, you won't be able to achieve the same result.”
In short, it was a battle of wills. And if that's what it was, I was confident.
“Understood.”
As I spoke, I rushed at him again.
*Swish— Thunk—*
The sword I swung this time not only cut the branch but also left a gash on his tough skin, though it wasn't a deep cut.
“H-how did you cut it in one go?”
“I told you, I'm confident when it comes to a battle of wills.”
Seeing the once-smug Arpeus looking flustered was incredibly satisfying, like a weight I'd carried for ten years had been lifted.
Into that last swing, I had poured not only the will to cut but one other feeling as well.
The desperate desire to escape this wretched place and return to my companions—a desire that had been growing since I first entered this training ground and had now become uncontrollable.
“One more to go. Should I give you some time to treat your wound?”
“No need. Since this is the last one, I too will cast aside my half-heartedness and get serious.”
As Arpeus spoke, dozens of branches materialized in mid-air.
“A-Arpeus? Hey, wait a minute...”
The dozens of branches floating in the air scattered in all directions and rained down on me.
I stopped talking and tried to dodge immediately, but every single branch pursued me like a homing missile.
Even when I cut them with my sword, their numbers only increased, making things more difficult.
*Thwack— Thwack— Thwack— Thwack—*
In the end, I couldn't avoid getting thoroughly beaten not just on my head, but all over my body.
“Isn't this cheating?”
“Cheating? I never said I'd only use one weapon. I said I was going to get serious.”
His smug tone was incredibly irritating.
“...You call that an excuse.”
“Well, in exchange, I'll get rid of the reset. Just one more successful hit will fulfill the condition.”
If the count didn't reset, it seemed doable.
“Don't go back on your word.”
“A dragon never breaks a promise.”
****
Had it been about a week?
Ever since I realized the power of will, I had been fighting nonstop.
Because just one more successful attack meant I could go back.
I tried everything I could think of: dodging the branches to aim for him directly, pulverizing the cut pieces so they couldn't be reused, and even imbuing the branches with my own will to disrupt his control.
I tried every method I could imagine, but I failed time and again against Arpeus's barrage of branches.
“It's a shame, but we should wrap this up soon. We're almost out of time.”
“Don't I have a chance for one more try?”
But this time would be different.
“I doubt one more try will change anything, but let's get it over with.”
As Arpeus raised his hand, the branches lying on the ground rose into the air.
Their numbers stealthily increased until there were well over a hundred.
“Not coming? Then I'll come to you.”
The branches rained down on me at a ferocious speed, but I had no intention of dodging or blocking.
I didn't move a single step.
“What are you doing? If you were just going to stand there, why did you ask for another try...?”
*Thud-thud-thud—*
Just ten centimeters away from me, all the branches plummeted to the ground.
As I strode quickly toward Arpeus, the fallen branches rose to attack me again, but it was useless.
*Thud-thud-thud—*
No matter how many times they tried, the branches fell every time they got near me.
“What is this nonsense...?”
Before he knew it, I was in front of him, thrusting my sword.
*Clang—*
Sparks flew, but it was a solid hit.
“That was close, but it's a success.”
“H-how did you do that?”
It seemed even Arpeus couldn't figure out this method.
“You can imbue will into a sword or a branch. So I wondered if I could imbue it into the space around me.”
“Filling a space with will without a medium? How could you possibly...”
“It wasn't easy, but it wasn't impossible either.”
I replied with a grin, and Arpeus's face was one of pure admiration.
“I knew you were a talented human, but this is beyond my imagination. As expected of Lord Bio's summon.”
*Well, I got Bio from a gacha pull, so I don't think it has much to do with me...*
“Anyway, you said we're out of time, right? The reward...”
I was about to ask for it when the space suddenly began to shake.
[...1 second remaining until dungeon collapse.]
Since my vision didn't change immediately, that must be based on outside time, which meant I had exactly one minute and forty seconds left.
“Hurry up and give me the reward!”
“The reward? Ah...”
Arpeus reached into his robes, but his movements were slower than usual.
“What are you doing? You're not stalling on purpose, are you?”
“Of... of course not. Let me just explain...”
I urged him on, and he took out the purple orb I'd seen before, but instead of giving it to me, he started explaining something.
Seeing that time was short, I quickly snatched the orb and shoved it into my inventory.
“No, the explanation...”
It must have been the right call, because a flash of light erupted and my vision changed.
I looked around and saw that I wasn't inside the secret dungeon anymore, but near the Harpy Queen's nest where I'd first entered.
“Kkyuing!”
“Ppoyo! Ppoyo!”
The Golden Dragon and Nix flew toward me, but my companions were nowhere to be seen. It seemed they'd been unsummoned.
[You have cleared the secret dungeon, Demonic Dragon's Rest.
Rank: SSS
(Secret dungeon rank is determined by the conqueror's actions and acquired rewards.)
SSS Rank Reward: All stats +10]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
I had killed most of the monsters, but even without killing Arpeus, I got an SSS rank.
And I'd gained a ton of levels.
It was probably because of the experience gained from the training, but that wasn't what mattered right now.
I immediately opened my inventory.
Next to the Orb of Wishes, I saw a small purple orb and immediately took it out.
[Orb of the Dragon God Kalonipe (Mythic)
An orb containing the power of the Dragon God Kalonipe.
Upon use, you can select and enhance one trait.]