The Dungeon Awakens
As I stepped out into the backyard of the guild's tavern, the adventurers glanced around nervously and cleared out. In front of the gathering crowd, I beckoned to a nearby adventurer and gestured for his sword. I snatched the flying blade out of the air. A magic sword would be cheating, so I jammed it into the ground and raised a normal one instead.
"Draw your sword."
Elena pulled her blade from its sheath. "Th-this is a real sword, though?"
"Come at me."
Elena moved first. Unlike her earlier hesitation, once she started, her eyes sharpened as she closed the distance. Fast. It was hard to believe this was a newbie with less than two months under her belt. But I predicted her next move from where her foot planted and the direction of her blade. I deflected it. Anticipating the path of her returning sword, I plunged into her guard and grabbed her by the throat, slamming her to the ground.
"Guh...!"
"That's all you got?"
Elena got back up and launched another assault. Clang! I knocked her sword aside. As I did, she twisted and chained into a second strike. A combo. Third, fourth. The more we exchanged blows, the sharper her swordplay became. She'd hunted big monsters like trolls and crown mountain goats, so she swung wide, circling to my flank. Her real combat experience had clearly taken root.
But, "That's wrong against people."
The moment her fifth strike missed, I hooked her foot. She lost her balance and staggered, and I lightly pressed the flat of my blade against the top of her head. "Gah!" Elena clutched her head with both hands and dropped to her knees.
"One more time."
"Yeah. Keep going."
I held my sword vertical to parry Elena's. But the result was the same. Again and again. Her blade sliced empty air, blocked by my sword every time, and she took a one-sided beating. Tears welled in her eyes, but she gritted her teeth and endured. Still, she eventually collapsed.
"Hah... hah..."
Harsh breaths. Elena plopped down on her butt in the dirt. She let out a long sigh. "Mister, you're seriously strong."
"You're just weak. Your overall skill has improved, but you're lacking in the details. And don't go all-out in sparring like this."
I glanced at the onlookers. Some were shocked by Elena's movements, others by the fact that I'd handled them all effortlessly. Through the adventurers' eyes and ears, my strength would be gauged. It's good to show moderate power, but revealing too much is a headache.
Elena nodded and sheathed her sword. "I'm happy."
"Even after getting one-sidedly wrecked?"
"If you're this strong, that means I can get even stronger."
"..."
How much longer until Elena surpasses me? Less than a month remained before she overtook me. But I couldn't stop her from growing stronger.
"Elena, you're missing technique."
"Technique?"
"Your swordsmanship is fine. Stamina's decent too. You can even use mana, so no one will call you weak anywhere. But."
I held my sword horizontal. Mana gathered along the blade. I swung it across the middle of the backyard. A slashing wave extended from the tip, carving through the yard.
"..."
Elena fell silent. She could feel it in her skin—this wasn't just dumping mana onto the blade and firing it off.
"Details matter, but the technique you'll learn from now on is this."
"What was that?"
"Far Slash. The basic sword art using mana."
Elena's eyes widened. "You're gonna teach me?"
"No." I shook my head. "My mana pool is pathetically small compared to yours. I've never been properly trained. This is just my self-taught version. What I can teach you is something else."
"Who's that?"
"Lady Barie."
Elena shut her mouth. "She won't refuse my request after seeing your skills. And." My voice dropped. Elena perked up her ears. "In two days."
"Two days?"
"Until then, focus on planting potions in the Northern Mountains. No need for scouting."
"What's going on?"
"Keep it to yourself."
I leaned in close to her ear and whispered so only she could hear. "Monsters are gonna swarm out of a dungeon. What you're doing now buys time. Whether the city gets time to respond is up to you guys."
"...!"
She straightened up. "Got it?"
"Yes!"
Elena's face hardened with resolve.
The chill of early dawn air brushed my cheek. Elena and her party members, who had set out for the Northern Mountains at first light, began planting the potions they'd brought in the open field. Dorea’s alchemist shop had filled their magic backpacks to the brim. They dug into the earth with shovels and buried the potions, repeating the process until they ran out. They spaced them evenly and spread them as wide as possible.
'Be careful in two days.' The mister's words echoed in her mind. Today was that day.
'The first of those careful days...'
Elena gazed out over the field, letting the wind whipping across it buffet her body. She felt an ominous vibe in the air just then—Mira called out to her.
"Elena, over there."
Someone was approaching the field at the base of the Northern Mountains. They wore crisp white clan uniforms. Daryl of the Yasmel Clan stood at the front.
"Playing in the dirt out here?"
Daryl snorted and eyed the holes Elena's party had dug. She picked up a potion planted at her feet. "This your secret weapon?"
"What're you talking about?"
Daryl's eyes bulged red. "Mana grass. We already know you're delivering batches of it every day—that's why we're here! I thought you had some mana grass-finding magic tool, but you're straight-up cultivating it?"
Daryl's face glistened with greed. "Jackpot. Elena, if you don't want this secret spreading around the city..." Her lips curled into a sleazy grin. "Hand over some mana grass. Give us 30 percent of your haul each time, and we'll keep quiet."
"That's ridiculous. And we found those ourselves in the mountains."
"Don't lie."
Daryl held up the buried potion. "Then what's this? And what the hell are you doing right now?"
"..."
Elena's eyes narrowed. Pressure built in her gut instincts. She turned her head—and then, kuuuguugugu! A bizarre vibration like a beast's roar rumbled from underground.
"Wh-what the?!"
Daryl staggered, losing her balance. Ripples shook the flat ground, making it hard to stand. The epicenter was close. Elena's gaze locked onto the source, facing the surging waves of mana. A brutal sigh of mana that could tear skin scoured her body. The grass rippled, and the air beyond the field warped. Massive mana had awakened whatever slumbered below.
"M-monsters!"
One of Daryl's party members screamed. Monsters stirred all around, rising and glaring at Elena's party and Daryl's amid them.
"Wh-what the hell..."
Daryl fell on her ass in shock.
"Run! Kyaaah!"
"Wh-what is this!!"
"I don't wanna get raped againnn!!!"
Daryl's all-female party—scarred by past lessons—outnumbered the monsters at first, but they got grabbed and toyed with like playthings. Daryl trembled, reliving that old terror. Her legs went numb, and a warm trickle leaked between her thighs. Orc hands reaching for her were sharply severed. Elena's sword had intervened. The monsters holding Daryl's party members fell one by one. Elena shook off her blade.
"Daryl! Get up!"
"Huh? Oh, yeah!!"
Daryl rallied her party and fled from where the monsters were awakening and swarming. As they rose, potions shattered. The grass grew explosively, entangling the monsters. It shot up to human height in an instant, blooming flowers that bared fangs. Ancient plant monsters, dormant for ages, had awakened. Even if flowers were torn or sliced, as long as roots remained, the plant monsters regrew endlessly, snaring ankles and devouring foes for nutrients. Once potions ran out, monster blood fed them.
But some monsters broke free. Wolf monsters faster than humans. High-speed beasts like iron-armored boars chased the party members.
"Daryl, how much will you pay for help?"
"Huh?"
"Hurry!"
"A-a hundred gold coins!"
Elena leaped toward Daryl's party members about to be overtaken by an iron-armored boar. She channeled mana into her blade. Details. That's what the mister meant by details, right? The 'threads' in her vision sharpened. The thickest, easiest-to-cut thread. Thin fragments around it. That gap—I can slice it.
Elena's sword cleaved the iron-armored boar; the legless beast tumbled. "Mira!"
Three of Mira's arrows flew in succession, piercing the wolves' throats and flanks. "What!"
"Go first! Tell them!"
Elena took a deep breath. "A dungeon appeared!!!"
She turned to face the approaching monsters, shielding her slower party members. Beyond the swarming monsters, an ominous mana spread, prickling her skin like needles. Just like the mister said. She'd never doubted it.
"This is worse than I imagined, mister."
Cold sweat dripped as she confronted the horde of varied monsters. They burst from underground or poured from holes—dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands at a glance. More was beyond sight. It was like apocalypse.
"Run!"
Elena barked at Daryl's party, who scrambled away on all fours from the monster horde. But some of Daryl's members were slow. Fast monsters broke from the pack to strike. Each time, she stepped in. Each time, she thought: Would the mister tell me to ditch them?
His past deeds made the current him hard to picture. But if that savage past led to who he was now, shouldn't she emulate it? Adventurers are responsible for themselves. Don't pity those who can't save themselves. His words.
She'd demanded money from Daryl, but at this rate, the massive horde would catch them. The main body was slow, but fast outliers threatened the members. Stopping to fight only brought the horde closer.
...I can't! They hadn't done anything to deserve death yet! She still had the capacity to help, so she couldn't look away.
Then—kuugagagagagak!!!
A colossal plant monster reared up from the horde's rear. Most of the monsters turned their attention to it.
"Yes!"
It didn't end with grass binding ankles! As expected of the mister! Escape now. Elena hauled Daryl's party members up by force and bolted toward the city.