Chapter 109
Chapter 109
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Echoes of the Past
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Triple S-rank monster hunter.
A name Dale had earned in his past life, before he became the Hero from Another World and the Empire's hound. It was a past so distant his memories of it were hazy, but now, the sensations of that past were reawakening.
Clang, clash!
Every time the monster before Dale—an Asura—swung the weapons in its six arms, every time he parried the blows.
‘Monster.’
This was a world of sword and sorcery, so the existence of monsters scattered across the continent was not uncommon. Just as 'monster hunter' was a recognized profession for those who made a living hunting monsters on commission.
He deflected the six off-beat strikes coming from all directions with Peacemaker and the black sword from his shadow cloak.
A form of training where he intentionally suppressed his magic, hunting the monsters of the Great Labyrinth's depths with only his sword. There was one thing Dale sought to gain from this training.
The inexplicable memories that resurfaced each time he clashed with the monsters here.
The instincts of a monster hunter.
After becoming the Hero from Another World and obtaining unimaginable power, and after the Red Magic Tower's ruthless physical modifications, the Dale of his past life had lost his 'first power.'
The first power he had gained as an 'Awakened' to fight against the aberrant beings known as 'Creatures'… a transcendent power that could not be explained by a knight's aura or a mage's magic.
That lost power was now stirring, bit by bit, each time he crossed swords with the monsters here.
‘What exactly are these monsters in the Great Labyrinth?’
They weren't the straightforward kind of monsters found throughout this world.
Though compared to the strength of the high-level creatures he had fought in his past life, these were mere child's play.
Parrying the six swinging weapons with the sword from his shadow cloak, he thrust forward with Peacemaker, his blade flowing like water.
Toward the Asura's heart.
Schlick!
The sword tore through the Asura's chest and burst out its back. Its movements ceased. Then, the monster's body turned to ash and began to scatter. Leaving behind a blood-red gem on the floor.
A Magic Stone.
A valuable gem that in itself contained potent magical energy.
The stronger the monster defeated, the purer the crystal one could obtain. A magic stone dropped by a monster from the depths was worth more than a low-grade artifact.
Needless to say, it was one of the indispensable sources of income for adventurers who braved the labyrinth.
Thus, the labyrinths that filled the Demon Lord's Domain, including the Great Labyrinth, were nothing short of 'magic stone mines.' While not comparable to the fortune one could make from an artifact, they were, to put it plainly, another kind of 'gold rush.'
—The monsters that roamed the labyrinth did not leave behind a body when they died. Even demonic beings like orcs left corpses, but these did not.
In other words, the beings here were not creatures that existed within the natural order. They were constructs, created with a certain intent… carrying out their creator's purpose.
The potent magical energy contained within the magic stones was proof of that.
Just like the creatures that vanished, leaving only a Core behind.
“...”
Then who on earth designed this labyrinth, created and unleashed these unidentified beings, and why did they hide artifacts within it? The people of this world, at least, did not possess such technology.
So, could the beings known as the 'Ancient Demonic Race,' as the gossips claimed, truly exist?
What the people of this world accepted without question, Dale did not.
But he knew he wouldn't find the answer right now. Picking up the high-purity magic stone from the floor, Dale calmly walked on.
Not as Viscount Sachsen, the 'Black Prince,' but as the S-rank adventurer, 'Faceless.'
* * *
By the time Dale left the labyrinth's depths and headed upward, the dim light of dawn was beginning to break.
The deepest one could go in a single night was the very entrance to the depths, and even that was only possible for someone skilled enough to instantly kill any monster from the upper levels they encountered.
The Great Labyrinth was composed of three main levels.
The upper levels, the lower levels, and the depths.
But below the depths lay another level, unknown to ordinary people. A level beyond, which the hero of the past had reached by traversing to the very bottom of the depths.
The Abyss.
An unknown realm that Dale, at his current level, could not dare to enter. To go any deeper than the entrance to the depths where Dale had established his grounds, one would have to be prepared to camp within the labyrinth.
However, Dale was not just an adventurer; he was Viscount Sachsen, ruler of the Demon Lord's Domain. Once the sun rose, a mountain of duties awaited him as the lord responsible for developing this land.
“I-It's Faceless...!”
“Hey! Faceless is coming back!”
“Did he get an artifact already?!”
As he moved from the untrodden depths closer to the surface, he began to see adventurers exploring the labyrinth, one by one.
“Small fry like us wouldn't last a second in the depths...”
“That guy's a monster, a real monster.”
These were the people drawn by the Artifact Rush, swept up in the frenzy of the Northern Frontier Era.
The chance at a fortune that Dale offered them was not a lie. But the world was not a fairy tale, and opportunities were not given to just anyone. Even if an opportunity arose, seizing it was another matter entirely.
The S-rank adventurer, Faceless, was one who had seized the opportunity presented by the 'Artifact Rush,' and at the same time, an object of awe and fear that ordinary adventurers dared not approach.
The mere sight of the shadow cast beneath his hood was enough to intimidate and overwhelm them.
Just like the 'Black Prince' of House Sachsen.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the Lancaster Duchy.
A man was engrossed in his training, starting from the dim light of dawn.
Mikhail Lancaster, the second son of House Lancaster. A promising knight once hailed as the continent's greatest genius with the sword.
And facing him was a man who had offered to be his training partner.
A formidable warrior said to be the closest to joining the 'Seven Swords of the Continent,' a man so skilled that he was not pushed back by Mikhail's blade in the slightest… in fact, he showed the composure to dominate the exchange from start to finish.
The Heavenly Sword, Archduke Gabriel Lancaster.
An Archduke of the Empire, head of one of the three great ducal houses that stood at its pinnacle… the patriarch of the Archducal House of Lancaster.
He also held the title of Heavenly Sword, the strongest knight who, after Lord Badel the Divine Sword, had claimed the title of 'Greatest Sword in the Empire' among the Seven Swords.
Of the Empire's three great ducal houses, there was House Sachsen of the north, known as the clan of darkness, and House Barbarossa, which originated from mere pirates. Strictly speaking, the image of these two ducal houses was far from what people considered 'noble.'
In contrast, the Archducal House of Lancaster was the very model of orthodox nobility, just as their crest suggested.
The white-and-red rose; its symbolism was one of cruel nobility.
A fertile and prosperous domain befitting a ducal house, and a noble bloodline that permitted not a trace of baseness. At the same time, they were people who understood the duties they shouldered as nobles and were prepared to bear that weight willingly.
Whoosh!
The Heavenly Sword, Archduke Lancaster, deflected Mikhail's knight's sword and created distance.
“Training on the very dawn of your departure? Won't you be tired?”
“I only lament that I won't be able to cross swords with you, Father, even once more while I am away.”
Mikhail Lancaster smiled, readjusting his grip on his sword.
“Just as I'd expect from my son.”
Archduke Lancaster smiled, unable to hide his fatherly pride.
A model student who possessed the Empire's greatest talent for the sword from a young age and never neglected his training, even at the crack of dawn.
The most promising candidate for the next generation of the Seven Swords of the Continent.
But back then, a great storm cloud had loomed in the Archduke's heart as he watched Mikhail.
It was the boundless emptiness that dwelled within his son's sword.
The innate talent and supreme bloodline he was given as the second son of House Lancaster. It was as if he held the entire world in his hands, his life nothing more than walking the path of success laid out at his feet from birth.
Just as a mage's magic is a projection of their ideals, a knight's aura is no different. Therefore, the aura that projected Mikhail's ideals was a 'colorless and formless' one. As if it reflected Mikhail's emptiness itself.
But on that day, when he was defeated by the eldest son of the Ducal House of Sachsen in a Guild City fight club. After realizing he had been defeated in 'swordsmanship' by a child twelve years his junior—who wasn't even a knight, but a mage… the emptiness in Mikhail's sword finally vanished.
After that bitter defeat, color at last imbued Mikhail's aura. Along with the new sword his father had bestowed upon him after he had broken his own.
It was a knight's sword, with no distinguishing features.
Two years passed, and the frenzy of the 'Artifact Rush' from the northern Demon Lord's Domain swept across the entire continent.
The prelude to the Northern Frontier Era.
Viscount Sachsen, the 'Black Prince' himself, had opened the northern Demon Lord's Domain and summoned adventurers from all over the continent. Upon hearing the news, Mikhail Lancaster did not hesitate.
Shortly after, when his son Mikhail announced he would be leaving for training in the 'Demon Lord's Domain' ruled by Viscount Sachsen, Archduke Lancaster willingly respected his son's decision.
* * *
“A-Adventurer!”
When Dale appeared in the 'Guild House,' a receptionist cried out, her face turning pale.
“W-Welcome! You've just returned from a labyrinth hunt, I presume?!”
At the same time, gasps could be heard throughout the Guild House, and a hush fell over the room. Dale… no, the S-rank adventurer 'Faceless,' crossed the Guild House without a word.
He laid out the high-purity magic stones he had acquired from hunting monsters on the table. The blood-red glow of the magic stones sent another wave of murmurs through the crowd.
“A-As soon as the appraisal is complete, we'll issue you a sales permit!”
—In the Labyrinth City of Labyrinthus, there were a few regulations established in Viscount Sachsen's name.
First, all adventurers entering the labyrinth must register their information with the 'Adventurer's Guild' established by Viscount Sachsen.
Second, all artifacts and magic stones obtained therein must be reported to the Guild, and they cannot be handled freely until a sales permit is obtained.
However, the consequences for breaking these rules were not detailed.
Officially, it was written that 'the goods will be confiscated, and the offender will be exiled from Viscount Sachsen's domain, never to return.' The problem was that those who broke the rules tended to disappear, and no one ever saw them again.
Permanent disappearance.
In truth, Dale's goal was not merely to develop the northern Demon Lord's Domain.
His true purpose in personally establishing an 'Adventurer's Guild' was to gather countless skilled individuals from across the continent who sought to test their abilities, and to control them.
The brokerage fees earned from adventurers trading their labyrinth spoils were not insignificant. But more important than that was the ability to acquire and grasp the details of the continent's most skilled individuals.
That was another reason why Dale himself was active as the S-rank adventurer 'Faceless.'
Just then, an adventurer whom 'Viscount Sachsen' had been observing with great interest walked into the Guild House.