Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Holy Sword Mitra Awakens
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[Chapter 1 - Floor 1 #16]
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“Hero!”
Lucille cheered.
With her wings spread wide in midair, she flew straight toward Cheon-ho.
“Are you okay? We won!”
She lowered herself beside Cheon-ho’s head and smiled brightly as she spoke. Lying down, Cheon-ho nodded.
“I’ll heal you right away.”
Lucille hurriedly summoned a pink light.
They had won, but Cheon-ho’s condition was a total mess.
His palms were soaked in blood, and from rolling across the ground nonstop, his body was covered in small scratches. There were also several thin, long gashes on his arms and legs from dodging the tree branches.
“Haa…”
As the healing flowed in, Cheon-ho closed his eyes for a moment.
Even though he was exhausted from using martial arts continuously, and his whole body ached from the minor wounds, a smile kept creeping onto his face.
He had won. Victory.
Using his father’s martial art, the Four Guardian Kings Martial Arts, no less.
And thus, he had protected them.
Holy Sword Mitra and Lucille.
Himself.
“Hero, look at that.”
At Lucille’s call, Cheon-ho opened his eyes.
Kneeling by his head, she gazed into the distance with soft eyes.
Cheon-ho followed her gaze.
It was the spot where the wall had been shattered by his mother’s scroll.
The sight beyond it.
“Ah.”
Cheon-ho let out an involuntary exclamation. He couldn’t help it.
The world outside the tower had originally been entirely ash-gray.
But not anymore.
Limited to the vicinity of the tower, the sky had regained its blue, and sunlight poured down, restoring the earth to its original colors.
The tower’s liberation.
The purification of the surrounding area.
“The Great Labyrinth is the Demon God’s domain. The fragments of our world encroached upon by the Great Labyrinth are all corrupted by the Demon God’s unique energy.”
Lucille had said something similar just this morning.
A world being encroached upon by the Great Labyrinth.
A world doomed to become part of the Great Labyrinth and vanish if they couldn’t reach its lowest floor and expel the Demon God.
“Defeating the Demon God’s minions and weakening his power won’t last forever… but for a short time, we can restore the world to its original state, like now.”
It wasn’t permanent.
Moreover, there were no living beings left in this area.
Purifying the unique energy here wouldn’t stop the world’s overall slide toward destruction.
Just a tiny bit.
As indicated in the Light Spear’s records, only the slightest change.
But Lucille smiled warmly. She thanked Cheon-ho.
“It’s thanks to you, Hero.”
That a portion of the world had briefly regained its true form.
Cheon-ho couldn’t maintain his poker face. In response to Lucille’s warm smile, he gave an awkward, foolish grin of his own. He sat up and looked once more at the purified world.
Somehow, he understood.
Why his father had fought for Phaien.
The sights his father had witnessed in Phaien.
Why he had returned without hesitation when Phaien called for help again.
“Someday, you’ll understand too.”
It was just a small first step now.
But Cheon-ho nodded.
[How touching. But won’t you explain things to me now?]
A low, husky, androgynous voice.
Snapped out of his emotions, Cheon-ho looked down at his right hand. He was still gripping the heat dagger—Holy Sword Mitra—tightly.
“Hero?”
At Lucille’s question, Cheon-ho held up Mitra and asked.
“Mitra, can’t you speak to Lucille?”
Lucille’s eyes widened at the name Mitra.
Mitra spoke.
[I can, but it’s difficult right now.]
[I’ve used up too much mana. I lost the body I’d been using for so long.]
[Communicating with you isn’t hard, but with others, it will be. This makeshift body is too weak.]
‘Because I’m the Hero?’
The reason communication with him was easy.
Holy Sword Mitra had been forged for the founding emperor of the Aiter Empire—the first Hero of the Labyrinth World.
“Then, if I find you a better sword later, will that be okay?”
[I’d be grateful. Make it a powerful magic sword if possible.]
“Understood.”
Wrapping up his talk with Mitra, Cheon-ho turned to Lucille, who was looking at him with a puzzled expression.
“Lucille, this is Holy Sword Mitra.”
“Holy Sword Mitra?”
“Yes. Since the decoration on the hilt is the main body, it’s taken up residence in my heat dagger for now. That final strike succeeded thanks to Mitra’s help.”
“Wow… So you’ve been talking to Mitra this whole time.”
“Yeah. Say hi, Lucille.”
[Hmm… It sounds right, but it’s embarrassing somehow.]
Mitra’s voice sounded like it would have blushed if it had a face.
Cheon-ho chuckled softly and handed the heat dagger to Lucille. She smiled brightly and greeted Mitra.
“Hello, Mitra. I’m Lucille, the angel who serves the five goddesses.”
[Pleased to meet you.]
But Lucille couldn’t hear it.
Waiting quietly for a response, Lucille smiled awkwardly at Cheon-ho, who nodded slightly.
“She says she’s pleased to meet you. It seems hard for her to project her voice outward yet.”
“No helping it. Thank you for helping the Hero, Mitra.”
[Of course.]
“I’m grateful too. That final strike would have failed without you.”
[Hmm, your skill was excellent too.]
[And just Mitra is fine. No need for ‘Mitra-sama.’]
It seemed to be quite shy.
The low, husky voice sounding embarrassed was oddly cute.
[Anyway, what exactly happened? With all this chaos, what have the imperial knights been doing?]
At that moment, Cheon-ho recalled his first conversation with Mitra.
Mitra speaking as if the whole thing were a dream.
“Mitra, were you asleep the whole time?”
[Yes, until that powerful magic woke me. What was that magic anyway? If such a powerful mage infiltrated the palace… the imperial family might be in danger.]
Mitra’s voice turned serious. Her concern for the empire and imperial family was palpable.
Cheon-ho bit his lip and glanced at Lucille.
“Lucille, can you explain the recent events to Mitra? It seems she’s been asleep the whole time.”
“Yes, Hero.”
Nodding gravely, Lucille looked at Mitra.
She began her story slowly, in as gentle a tone as possible.
When it was all over, Mitra let out a low breath.
[So that’s how it is.]
Mitra’s voice was subdued. Sigh, resignation, and countless other hard-to-fathom emotions mingled within.
[So that’s how it happened.]
The empire had effectively collapsed.
The imperial line had been severed.
Mitra’s epithet was Empire Guardian Sword.
As a sword with a will, she might have made some promise with the founding emperor.
‘Protect the empire. Protect the human nation we built, Mitra.’
Mitra fell silent for a while.
Cheon-ho and Lucille understood, so they waited without a word.
How much time passed?
[I understand.]
[You’re the Hero, she’s an angel, and I’m the holy sword—so what we three must do from now on is clear.]
[I’ll join you.]
[For vengeance on the empire’s behalf, for its reconstruction, for liberating this world.]
Let’s conquer the Great Labyrinth.
Expel the Demon God and free the world from the Great Labyrinth.
Cheon-ho nodded. Gripping the heat dagger housing Holy Sword Mitra tightly, he replied.
“I’ll fight with you.”
“Me too!”
Lucille quickly chimed in.
The party of two had become three.
Right after, Mitra spoke in a very small voice.
[Hmm. A bit embarrassing.]
“Yeah.”
Truth be told, Cheon-ho felt the same.
He’d gone along with the mood, but he couldn’t do it twice from sheer embarrassment.
But Lucille was different, her eyes sparkling as she clenched her fists tightly.
‘It’s 3:50 now…’
Checking his wristwatch briefly, Cheon-ho looked back at the scenery outside the tower.
It was still daytime.
The purification zone included the stairs to the 2nd floor, so with haste, they could reach it before nightfall.
But Cheon-ho shook his head.
‘Rest when you can.’
The 2nd floor’s environment and situation were unknowns.
Pushing down without recovered stamina would be reckless.
‘Rest fully and regroup.’
Deciding that, Cheon-ho turned his gaze higher up.
Things he’d put off checking despite their importance.
[Loot]
[Casablonda’s Essence]
[Casablonda’s Root]
[Imperial Knight’s Armor Set]
[Hidden Quest Reward: Holy Sword Mitra / Fragment of the Empire Guardian Sword that Holy Sword Mitra inhabited]
[Hidden Quest Reward: Demonic Tree Seed]
[Sub Quest Reward: Librarian’s Relics: Librarian’s Hat, Librarian’s Robes, Librarian’s Notebook]
[Sub Quest Reward: Maid’s Relics: Maid’s Dress, Royal Maid’s Sewing Kit (Already acquired.)]
[Sub Quest Reward: Knight’s Relics: Guard Captain’s Insignia, Imperial Knight’s Sword]
“Hmm.”
Just looking made him pleased.
Among them, what especially caught Cheon-ho’s eye was Casablonda’s Essence.
The red-glowing Casablonda’s Essence.
Similar in size to the Mad Crawler’s essence, but brighter and clearer in color.
“Aah, aaaah…”
Absorbing the essence brought an indescribable pleasure again.
It didn’t just fill his empty dantian—it expanded the dantian itself.
“Hoo-ah.”
His maximum internal energy felt nearly doubled.
In great satisfaction, Cheon-ho turned to the other items—the ones that next drew his interest after Casablonda’s Essence.
“It’s the same as Noir’s clothes.”
Lucille spread out the maid dress wide. As imperial maid attire, it was closer to a modest dress than the typical maid outfit Cheon-ho imagined.
“Hmm.”
A shame.
Expressing his regret inwardly, Cheon-ho unfolded the imperial librarian robes, just like the ones Notrang had worn.
A bit small for him, but baggy enough to wear somehow.
‘A change of clothes is precious.’
A one-outfit life meant laundry was impossible.
‘If I remove the bulky decorations, it could work as sleepwear.’
Examining the librarian robes this way and that, Cheon-ho folded them neatly and handed them to Lucille.
‘The Imperial Knight’s armor… I’ll think about it later.’
Equipping it was an option, but as full plate mail, it seemed too heavy and cumbersome.
Turning the imperial knight’s helmet over in his hands, Cheon-ho drew the imperial knight’s sword.
A standard longsword shape—not a magic sword, but well-balanced and sharp-edged.
‘The empire’s symbol is the lion.’
Pocketing the palm-sized Guard Captain’s Insignia engraved with a roaring lion, Cheon-ho picked up the Demonic Tree Seed.
“Hmm, planting this seed will grow a Demonic Tree?”
Gazing at the black seed the size of a ping-pong ball, he asked. Lucille and Mitra each replied.
“Probably. Demonic Trees take on traits based on how their owner raises them, so if raised well, it could become your loyal servant, Hero.”
[Demonic Trees are trees, so they need roots. Plant it at a base, and it’ll serve as a gatekeeper.]
“Hmm.”
Useless for now, but it seemed handy eventually.
‘Worst case, make a flowerpot.’
Nodding lightly, Cheon-ho finally picked up the Empire Guardian Sword—Mitra’s former body.
Snapped in two, but the blade’s material was clearly extraordinary at a glance.
[It’s made of true silver.]
Mitra said in a bitter tone.
Feeling unnecessarily sorry, Cheon-ho wrapped the broken sword carefully in waterproof cloth.
Impossible now, but someday he could repair it or melt the blade for something else.
“Hero, your level went up a lot too, right?”
“Yeah, now level 23.”
Just the second day in the Great Labyrinth—an insane leveling speed.
His Olympic-gold-medalist physical abilities had strengthened further, inching toward human limits.
‘Anyway, loot sorted…’
Cheon-ho looked around anew. The 5th floor with its gaping wall hole was no good, nor the 4th floor’s sea of flames.
The 2nd or 3rd floors, with the spring, seemed best for sleeping.
“Lucille.”
“Yes, Hero.”
Lucille’s eyes strangely brimmed with energy as she replied.
She seemed to have guessed what he’d say.
So Cheon-ho grinned and said it.
“We’re staying in the tower tonight. So let’s get to work.”
[Work?]
Unlike questioning Mitra, Lucille nodded with sparkling eyes.
Work.
What would he make this time?
Her heart raced now just hearing the word work.
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[Chapter 1 - Floor 1 #16] End