The Hidden Prize
“Whoa! An elf!”
Whoosh—! A violent gust of wind whipped past my ears. “Wow—so this is what it feels like?” I’d transformed once before, but I’d been so out of it back then that I couldn’t properly savor this exhilarating sensation. It felt like I’d become a veteran soldier slaughtering giants! It was incredibly fun. Plus, seeing the guards flying around, unable to keep up with my speed? It felt twice as real. And weren’t their legs and necks their weak points, just like the others? The corners of my mouth curled up, betraying my excitement.
“Pii…”
“What? It’s cool, isn’t it…?”
I was having the time of my life when a pathetic gaze pierced through me. It was Geomdung-i, clinging tightly to my chest and staring up at me. If you look at me like that, I’m really going to get hurt, you know… “Fine, fine, I’ll focus.” I eventually fled from that judgmental stare. Right, let’s focus on the guards. I’m not some kid with ADHD, after all.
I shook my head and looked back at the guards. “Whoa, a phalanx, huh?” Before I knew it, they had formed a circle, like a defensive formation, to counter my high speed. They really were a ‘swarm’—to think bugs would actually use tactics like that. But it didn’t mean much.
“Geomdung, hold on tight.”
With a simple warning, I tensed my entire body. Let’s not have you falling off and breaking my heart. Fwoosh—! In an instant, I leaped through the air. I could feel the weight at my neck. The air, tearing apart, brushed over my head and swept across my body. My perspective shifted in a blink, and the circle of guards began to spin like crazy. Well, actually, I was the one spinning. They probably couldn’t even see where I was. If their dynamic vision had been good enough to track me, they would have swatted me like a fly ages ago.
Kruuu… The guards flinched, unable to move easily. Just as I expected, they couldn’t even land a single proper attack. Through my rapidly shifting field of vision, I spotted a gap. The space between the guard’s head and its legs. There, in that tiny opening, I saw a ‘connection point.’
Whoosh—! “Weak point spotted!”
I pushed my speed even higher. I might not be a jet, but I was at least as fast as an eagle. In the midst of that rising velocity, I didn’t miss the target. And then—
Kueh?! The guard, momentarily distracted by my speed, left itself open. I lunged hard into the space between its legs. It didn’t even notice me approaching. A guard losing its enemy in its field of vision? Well, then you deserve to be punished.
Slash—!
Kueeeek—!
Boom—!
Fast, like a hawk eyeing its prey, I passed through that gap in an instant. Since the creature was so massive, even a small opening was enough for my frame to slip through. And the result was—
“The formation has collapsed!”
It was the downfall of the guards who had been holding their phalanx formation. I’d struck the weak point perfectly, and one of the guard’s front legs was completely severed. Since they couldn’t track me with their eyes, they went into full defensive mode. It wasn’t a bad tactic, but if you don’t move, you’re bound to be breached.
The formation crumbled. The guards desperately tried to regroup, using the fallen one as a pivot, but I wasn’t about to just stand by and watch.
Whoosh— Slash— Rip—!
“Eyes out—!”
Before they could even move, I used guerrilla tactics, like a Viet Cong soldier, targeting their Achilles' tendons. Eyes, legs, tails—I left nothing untouched, turning them into complete cripples. I made sure they couldn’t even dream of getting back up. But even a worm will turn if you step on it.
Kueeeeng—!
“Whoops—!”
The dying guards spat out green acid in a final, desperate struggle. The acid splashed right past my body. I felt a subtle heat where it grazed me. Geez, leave it to bugs to put up such a nasty fight. The situation, which I had been dominating, almost turned around in an instant. I pulled myself together. That’s right, they were a swarm, and they were bugs. They had more tenacity than I gave them credit for, and they were the type to attempt suicide attacks if pushed.
I steadied my mind and gripped my sword properly again. I put some distance between myself and the guards. Slowly, higher, even higher. I rose to a height where that acid couldn’t reach me. And then—
I gripped my sword carefully with both hands. Geomdung-i, who had been in my arms, was already up on my shoulder. Nothing to worry about. I focused all my attention on the sword.
Fusion Form: White Light Sword
Fwoosh—!!!
With my will to deliver a powerful blow, the sword erupted in white light. I looked down at them without a word. They looked like pests with a flyswatter hanging over them. A great expression. “Excalibur!!!”
With the momentum to pierce the heavens, I swung the sword down violently. A pillar of light that dominated the space descended upon the guards.
Kueeeek—!
They realized their end had come and poured out every attack they had left, but it was useless.
Kwoooooong—!
Light burst from the pillar. It pierced their corneas. The overwhelming power swallowed everything around it.
“Whoa—I feel like something just drained out of my body…?”
My vision returned. The light lost its power and gradually faded. Now I could see a bit better. I felt a sense of exhaustion, as if all the energy had been sucked out of me. It seemed I’d used up all the energy available in this fusion form with Heindung-i. I felt hollow inside. With that strange sense of emptiness, I looked around.
“Hmm, handled them properly.”
They were dead. And properly at that. Except for a few bits of their legs, their bodies and tails had been completely obliterated, leaving nothing behind. But something was strange…
“Is the power I’m using in this state… not Divinity?”
How am I still alive? Well, looking at the state of the dead guards, it looked exactly like the result of Divinity. It was as if everything outside the range had been ‘erased.’ Of course, the color of the energy was white, not gold… but still, the result looked exactly like Divinity. So why didn’t I explode? Sion, you told me during training that if I used Divinity, I’d explode and die. Did you lie to me, Sion?
“……No, that can’t be it.”
For a moment, I wondered if she’d lied to me, but there was no reason for her to. It’s not like she was trying to eat me by stopping me from using Divinity. I guessed that maybe this current state was just a little special, or since Sion said the circle in my heart was unique, it had something to do with that.
Just as I was organizing my thoughts, Fwoosh—!
“Ah, I guess time’s up.”
White light leaked from my body. The form was deactivating.
Pii…!
“Oh… good work.”
Heindung-i popped out of my chest as if thrown. I carefully caught the little guy and placed it on my other shoulder, opposite to where Geomdung-i was sitting.
Piii…!
“Yeah, yeah. You did great.”
I praised the little one as it hugged my cheek tightly. It must have been exhausted. It was half-asleep, leaning against my cheek. I gently stroked Heindung-i with a tender touch and let it rest.
“Rest up.”
I didn’t know the principle behind how we could transform, but since I’d moved so violently, it must have been hard on them too. I took my eyes off the resting Heindung-i and approached the guard’s leg, placing my hand on it. Even though half of it had vanished, it still maintained its sturdy, massive posture. If someone else saw it, they might mistake it for a pillar of a giant temple. But I had no interest in things like that. Only—
“Are you a material or not… that is the question.”
My entire focus was on whether or not this was a crafting material. “Hmm, I wonder if I can harvest this.”
Could my Daiso Rose Knife really cut through this massive, hard leg? It wasn’t even coated with mana stones, after all… I carefully ran my hand over the guard’s leg and brought the Rose Knife to it. My strength stat had increased by about 10, so maybe it was possible. I was hopeful.
“Hoo—” I took a slow, deep breath. I pushed the knife forward as if preparing an ingredient. In my head, I was already imagining a future where I was married to the sliced-up legs. But—
Kreeeeek— Kreeek—
“Oh, for f*ck’s sake, it’s a fireworks show!”
Clap, clap, clap— That future burned away in the sparks flying right before my eyes.
“Ugh—! So it’s just that my damn self-suggestion isn’t strong enough, huh?!”
I vented my pointless anger. The guard’s leg wouldn’t cut. The reason was clear: lack of self-suggestion and a cheap knife. But, well, knives cost money. In the end, it just meant my ability was lacking. Damn it.
“Or should I just take the whole thing…”
The leg looked three times taller than me. Take it? I’d be lucky if I didn’t throw out my back. It was doubtful I could even lift it in the first place.
“…I’ll definitely come back for you someday! You just wait!”
I pointed at the embedded leg and said that, then entered the space the guard had been protecting. I’d come back once I’d mastered this self-suggestion thing or whatever. With that short vow, I took my eyes off the leg and inspected the inner space.
“Well, I was half-sure, no, almost certain, and I was right.”
As I illuminated the dark space with my flames, the contents filled my vision. Eggs. And a hell of a lot of them. They were wrapped in something like spider silk. “Still, it’s less gross than I thought.”
Wrapped in silk, it was actually less disgusting. If they had been translucent eggs like in Alien, it would have been pretty—no, very—f*cking gross. I was relieved. I took my eyes off the eggs and inspected the space in detail, as if picking it apart.
“Let’s see, is there any good loot?”
Wouldn’t a hidden item spawn? We hadn’t seen one since the 5th floor… I’m going to get sulky, you know? There was no mention of a hidden item on the 10th floor in the walkthroughs, but a guy can hope, right? Ten minutes passed.
“Damn it, would it kill you to give me something?”
I checked every nook and cranny. But all that came out were more of the same eggs. Hidden item? There wasn’t even a uniquely shaped rock. My excitement died down instantly. I’d thought there wouldn’t be one from the start, but now that there really wasn’t, I felt bitter.
“Ah, whatever, burn it all!”
I didn’t care anymore. I’d already taken the eggs that might be useful as materials. Five of the smallest ones that looked like they’d take the longest to hatch. So, you guys without any hidden loot, you can all burn. A crimson flame flickered at my fingertips. The moment this dropped, the eggs would all say goodbye to this world. I slowly lowered my hand to bring the flame near the eggs. That was when—
“…What’s that over there?”
Just before the flame touched the eggs, a peculiar spot caught my eye. It was a bit different from the rest of this place. I could see threads connecting, but there were no eggs in that area.
“…Is that… a hidden spot?”
Was it? I hurriedly extinguished the flame in my hand. A space like that in an egg storage? It wasn’t ordinary. My head was consumed by the thought that it was definitely a hidden spot. Before I could even think about what that space was for, my body moved on its own. I ran like crazy. Hoping that my hidden-item-chan would be there. And what I saw in the space I stepped into was—
“…An elf?”
It was an elf with apricot-colored hair, bound tightly and restrained by threads all over her body.