Chapter 10
BACKTICK`CHAPTER_TITLE: The Hidden Passage
As my senses spun in confusion, I took one cautious step after another. Suddenly, the thick cloud blocking my vision began to thin, and my senses returned to normal.
Delphina’s steady footsteps behind me—clinging to my back, gripping my shoulders—finally settled.
The far side of the bridge came into view.
My senses were restored, but I continued walking without a word. Only after crossing the entire span did I finally release a long breath and collapse onto the ground.
“Hoo…”
“Whoa! What the hell was that? What kind of trick made my senses go haywire? Was it actual magic?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure… Let’s rest for a bit. You mentioned a shack and a spring over here, right?”
Ion rose and headed left. Lotte and Delphina, still worn out, struggled to their feet and followed.
After walking a short distance, a small spring bubbled up, trickling downward. Beside it stood a shack built from branches and grass.
Ion cupped his hands, drank deeply from the spring, and lit a fire in front of the shack using stray branches. When your energy was spent and your qi was depleted, the best cure was food.
He filled a small pot from his bag with water, boiled it, and added dried meat and hard biscuits. A hearty stew resulted. Delphina, who carried her own provisions, added plenty of ingredients, turning the dish into a thick, meaty porridge.
Once it was ready, Delphina pulled out her own wooden bowl and began eating. Ion filled his bowl with cold water to cool the stew and offered it to Lotte, then drank the rest straight from the pot.
Filling his stomach brought his mind back into focus.
“It doesn’t seem like magic after all.”
“Hmm?”
After finishing his stew, Delphina dipped some water into her bowl to drink and suddenly perked up her ears.
“Not magic?”
“Doesn’t seem that way to me.”
“Then what do you think it was?”
“There was a sticky feeling inside the cloud. The clouds up on the higher peaks didn’t feel like that. It looked like something was mixed in with the cloud.”
Delphina tilted her head.
“Isn’t that a kind of magic?”
“I’m not sure. We’d need to investigate further, but it felt like smoke.”
“Smoke?”
“First, we should investigate this cliff. I might need to descend further.”
Hearing that Ion might descend the cliff, Delphina’s eyes lit up at the idea of rock climbing.
She shivered and shook her head.
“I can’t climb down. If you’re going, go alone.”
“Fine. Let’s start investigating from here.”
Ion and Delphina stood. Lotte, who had been dozing by the fire, reluctantly rose as well.
They were curious about what the herb field would look like. It was a neatly circular plot surrounded by a sturdy fence, where various herbs had been planted and tended.
Because the bridge had been impassable for nearly a year, the weeds had grown tall, but the field itself showed no major problems.
While examining the plot, Lotte—sniffing the sweet aroma of the herbs—lifted her head and pricked up her ears. At the same moment, Delphina did the same, looking in the same direction as Lotte.
Ion stopped and asked, “What is it…?”
“Shh!”
Delphina held up a finger to her lips.
Their senses were far more sensitive than a human’s.
It seemed they had sensed something Ion had missed. That must explain why Delphina and Lotte had felt more disoriented on the bridge.
Delphina whispered quietly, “Someone is here.”
She silently drew her short sword, reduced her footfalls, and moved with care. Ion did the same, drawing his own blade.
On one side of the cliff where the herb field lay, a pile of rocks hidden behind trees and weeds stood. A presence could be felt there.
Before the presence fully registered, two red dots appeared on Ion’s map.
Rounding the back of the rock pile revealed an entrance large enough for one person.
Ion and Delphina stood on either side of the entrance, listening intently to the sounds coming from inside.
――How is it?
――I’ve burned all the Isae leaves.
――They should have gone back by now.
――Probably.
Isae leaves were a common folk herb. Covering raw meat with fresh leaves removed its foul odor, and the juice applied to burns or insect bites calmed them. Drying them allowed them to be burned as an insect repellent. However, burning too many caused dizziness.
That must have been the smoke mixed into the cloud. The dizzying smoke clung to the bodies and seeped in, while the bridge swayed in the wind, causing the people below to panic.
More voices echoed from inside the rocks.
――Then shall we go?
――Shouldn’t we check above first?
――No one’s watching, so why bother?
――Heh, fine. Let’s just go.
The voices faded, and no footsteps followed. It felt as though they had retreated.
Ion murmured softly, “I’ll go down. Lotte, stay here and guard the area.”
“Are you sure you’ll be all right alone?”
“I’ll do some scouting first. We need to guard this side too.”
“Understood. Be careful.”
Ion nodded and slipped into the gap behind the rocks.
――* * *――
The space behind the rocks was a narrow secret passage carved into the natural crevice of the cliff. It looked very old. Since even the village chief and hunter Malon had not mentioned it, the villagers likely knew nothing about it.
The first priority was to descend and uncover its true purpose.
At some point—though Ion couldn’t say when—the map had changed. The red dots no longer showed the same height; one now appeared at the lower level.
While descending, he noticed Lotte’s green dot and Delphina’s blue dot still visible on the map, about ten meters above and below him. They hadn’t been there before.
This blessing had clearly evolved while he wasn’t looking. He didn’t know if it simply expanded as he grew stronger or if there was a deeper reason. For now, he would use the expanded map, grow stronger, and watch for further changes.
As he descended, they reached the position where the earlier voices had been heard. Unlike the descending passage, a gaping hole in the cliff ahead allowed a view outside. Inside, large storage-like walls had been hollowed out on either side, and dry Isae leaves were piled high.
A bit further ahead, he saw where leaves had been burned in a protruding space. From here, the cloud bridge was clearly visible in the distance.
Anyone passing by below must have been met with burning Isae leaves to keep them from investigating. He still didn’t know who these people were, but they had blocked access to a passage the villagers themselves didn’t know about.
Ion continued downward. After descending further, six red dots appeared. The lower space wasn’t visible, but the positions of the dots suggested the general scale.
Waiting briefly, he heard no voices. After catching his breath, he continued down the stairs.
A circular space carved like a cave held a hearth. Soft grass had been spread around it. Five soldiers and one knight lay resting there.
“…”
The soldiers and knight stared blankly at the sudden appearance of Ion.
Then they sprang up in panic, drawing weapons. Ion spoke first.
“Where do you people come from?!”
Naturally, no answer came. Instead, swords flew at him.
“Kill them! We can’t leave witnesses!”
The knight’s shout was followed by the soldiers lunging first.
Ion twisted, dodged the incoming blades, and drove one soldier’s forehead straight into the ground with a pommel strike.
One man went down. As he did, Ion swept the leg of another soldier charging from behind. The soldier spun half a circle before collapsing unconscious.
Seeing two men fall so quickly, the knight shouted, “Enough! You’re not worthy of me!”
Why wait until after two had already fallen?
The remaining soldiers dragged their fallen comrades back and retreated. The knight stepped forward and addressed one of them.
“Tilo! If I fall, you know what to do, right?”
“Y-yes? Th-that’s what you mean?”
“Just in case. Understood?”
“Yes! Understood!”
Tilo answered fiercely and sent the fallen soldiers and the others down the descending passage, standing guard alone at the entrance.
Ion watched quietly before addressing the knight blocking his way. “I can tell you’re not here with good intentions. Who are you?”
The knight gripped his sword lightly with both hands and took the basic stance. “I am Adnan Panwitz, a knight of Polska! That is all I will say!”
“I am Ion Rise, a free knight of Bergen.”
“Why is a free knight here?”
“Free knights investigate strange things. Aren’t we perfect for the job?”
Adnan snorted. “Hah! Free knights are the foolish words of those who can’t find someone to pledge their loyalty to.”
Suddenly, memories of his pre-regression life surfaced. Though some people thrived on loyalty, it wasn’t the happiest path for Ion.
“Loyalty? I’ve given that up long ago. It’s not my path.”
“What do you mean?”
Adnan looked confused as Ion pointed his sword at him. “Pretending to speak of loyalty while performing acts that must never be seen by others? If you don’t want to explain why you’re hiding here, then come at me!”
“Fine! No more words needed!”
Adnan kicked off the ground and lunged.
Clang! Ion blocked the strike, and Adnan, as if expecting it, twisted his wrist to change direction and thrust again.
Ion slid his blade at an angle, scraping the incoming sword’s edge.
Screech!
Sparks flew.
This time Ion stepped inside, twisted his wrist, and slammed the pommel of Adnan’s gauntlet with the handle of his sword.
“Ghk!”
Adnan didn’t break a bone, but he felt a sharp jolt in his fingers and staggered back.
A basic but always effective technique.
Approaching the retreating Adnan, Ion swung his blade in a short arc. The space was narrow, and Adnan seemed weak in close combat.
Though he looked ordinary, over twenty years of pre-regression experience and a lack of being a great knight meant Ion stuck to basics.
Adnan blocked the attacks while retreating. The narrow space caused him to hit the wall behind him quickly.
“Ugh!”
Adnan leaped off the wall and slashed wide. Strong counterforce struck Ion as he pushed forward. Instead of backing away, Ion tilted his body sideways to dodge and slammed his shoulder into Adnan’s chest.
“Cuk!”
Again, Adnan’s back hit the wall. Ion kept pushing with his shoulder to keep him pinned, driving his sword forward until there was no room to swing. He lifted his knee and pressed it against Adnan’s pelvis, immobilizing his waist.
Completely pinned to the wall and unable to move, Adnan could offer no resistance against Ion’s power.
Soon he began to suffocate. Ion’s shoulder pressed harder against his chest, and his armor began to crumple.
“G-gah!”
The strength he had gained from fighting enemies was now enough to crush an opponent’s armor in close combat. Adnan could do nothing but gasp his last breaths before passing out.
Ion set the unconscious knight down. He would be his prisoner for now.
At that moment, Tilo—the soldier standing at the passage entrance—pulled a burning stick from the hearth and tied it to the rope hanging from the wall. He then ran down the passage.
Chiik!
The burning rope spread flames with terrifying speed, racing across the ceiling to another rope. The end of the rope was tucked into a small hole in the ceiling.
‘Danger!’
Leaving Adnan behind, Ion sprinted upward through the passage. He didn’t know what the rope was, but it looked extremely perilous.
The flames racing up the rope entered the ceiling hole.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A massive explosion rang out, and the passage shook violently—too much for anyone to climb out of.
The floor began to collapse.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
――Cough! Cough!――
Ion, coughing violently and covered in white dust, ignored the collapsing stairs and leaped. He dived into a side hole beside the cliff entrance and hid inside the pile of Isae leaves.
No shrapnel had struck him, but the collapsing passage had filled the air with dust. He coughed dryly for a long time.
‘Almost died.’
Even with his increased strength, being crushed under collapsing rocks would have been useless.
Still, he wondered why the knight had risked his life to hide something like this. For a search party, he would have to descend anyway.
First, he stepped outside. Then he entered the interior. The lower level was completely collapsed, but the upper level was not.
The stairs he had built and piled up had crumbled away, but the stairs carved into the passage wall remained intact. He had to climb like a rock climber, gripping the walls.
After a long climb, he emerged from the rock hole. Lotte charged forward and licked his face frantically. It seemed she had taken a liking to him.
“What on earth happened?”
“Just a moment. Let me rest a bit and talk.”
Ion simply lay on the ground.
……
……
……
Resting for a moment turned into sleeping.
The night had already fallen. Lotte lay beside him, and Delphina had lit a bonfire and boiled water to make tea.
“You’re awake? Would you like some tea?”
Ion sat up and nodded. Delphina poured the tea into his wooden bowl.
The bitter taste cleared his mind at once.
“What kind of tea is this?”
“I saw silver-leaf herb in the herb field. I picked it fresh and boiled it, so it’s quite bitter. The dried version isn’t as bitter.”
Silver-leaf herb was good for the stomach and sweet, so it was always added to other herbs. However, its thick stem made it unsuitable, so only the thin leaves and stems were used. It seemed Delphina had added the whole thing.
It was harmless to add; the effect remained the same.
Ion sipped his tea and briefly recounted what had happened in the passage.
After listening, Delphina spoke. “Then we don’t have time to rest here. The escaped soldier must have told someone.”
“Yes. I don’t know who, but the higher-ups will have been informed. The village could be in danger. We need to leave quickly.”
Ion and Delphina gathered their things, doused the bonfire with dirt, and headed toward the cloud bridge.