An Outing (Part 3)
Having dragged Danas along as my guardian and somehow wrangled an official excursion pass out of the administration, I squirmed with unbridled joy.
That said, one small problem remained. Considering I had met Danas wearing nothing but a patient's gown, it went without saying that I hadn't actually been discharged from the infirmary yet. In truth, this was nothing short of an illicit breakout.
Well, I left a note, so it shouldn't be that big of a deal... right?
I had scribbled a brief message explaining that I would be out for a little while, so surely nothing catastrophic would come of it. Naturally, finding the bed empty with only a scrap of paper left in my place might give them a start, but leaving a quick note explaining my absence was bound to cause less of an uproar than simply vanishing into thin air.
I suppose mages will be mages.
Really, that Stella... Just how engrossed in her magical research was she?
Even as I set down the note Danas had fetched for me and slipped out the door, Stella hadn’t noticed a single thing. Normally, the moment I made a move to leave, she would interrogate me about where I was going, but today she had remained utterly silent, her gaze glued to her tome. Given that no frantic shouts were echoing down the halls, she likely still hadn't realized I was gone.
People often said that when mages plunged into their studies, the rest of the world ceased to exist, so perhaps it wasn't completely unusual. Still, to be so deeply absorbed that she didn't even register me saying goodbye right in front of her? Talk about a state of total trance.
"Um... but why do I have to come along?"
Evan's thought waves drifted over, brimming with bewilderment.
For Evan, who had been diligently practicing his swordsmanship alone in the training grounds, the sudden summons was understandably baffling. He had been in the middle of a perfectly good drill when I barged in, announced we had somewhere to go, and effectively dragged him along. Well, calling it "dragging him along" was a bit of an exaggeration—it was more that Evan had readily agreed when I pleaded for him to accompany me.
Trying to explain the real reason would be an enormous hassle, which left me with only one viable excuse: a divine oracle.
"[I received an oracle.]"
Though Danas had somehow caught onto my white lies earlier, Evan would never doubt it if I framed it like this. In truth, our destination was a hidden dungeon that no one would ever have any reason to visit under normal circumstances.
In the game lore, it was a secret dungeon designed in the distant past to nurture the Hero's growth, but so much time had passed that it lay buried deep beneath the earth. Even the legendary Party of Salvation probably hadn't cleared it out. Had they raided the place back then, they would have handed the necklace down to Evan just as the previous Hero had used it; since Evan possessed no such heirloom, it was clear that Arhen hadn't passed it along.
Nobody's swiped it already, right...?
In the game, the item was called the Necklace of Experience, granting bonus experience points whenever the wearer slew monsters or cleared quests. In short... an experience booster.
That was precisely why I insisted on obtaining it as early as possible. An item that granted a flat percentage boost to all earned experience was best acquired right at the start to maximize efficiency. Veteran speedrunners tackling New Game Plus always prioritized clearing these hidden dungeons first, as they yielded gear that made subsequent playthroughs infinitely smoother.
My Red Stone of the Bright Sun fell into the exact same category. With my base stats, I would have struggled against even an advanced-rank demon, yet channeling the Red Stone of the Bright Sun—a holy relic of the Sun God—had allowed me to vaporize a high-rank demon's entire arm in a single burst.
Looking back, it really is kind of hilarious.
Back then, I simply brushed it off as video game logic—a dungeon tailor-made for an ancient Hero, a necklace infused with the accumulated battle experience of past champions, and so forth. While playing, I never gave it a second thought, but now that everything had manifested as reality, the sheer existence of such items bordered on absurd. I had no idea how a "faster experience gain" would translate into real life, but surely it would allow him to grow stronger much quicker than he currently was. With no way of knowing how brutal the upcoming difficulty spike would be, securing it and shoving it into Evan's hands as soon as possible was the only logical move.
"Wait... isn't this the Academy Rear Mountain? Why would something be out here...?"
Looking at the location alone, the developers had made it so blatantly convenient that it almost felt shameless.
A mountain and a forest right behind the school... isn't this the imperial capital?
While dungeons like this often cropped up right in the backyard of the main stage, this was pushing it. Sure, Arhen Academy was located in the capital city of Arhen, but the fact that a whole rugged mountain and forest sprawled right behind it was faintly ridiculous—let alone housing an ancient trial dungeon. Oh well, video game geography. After all, Seoul had mountains right behind it too. Same difference, I supposed.
"[Brother Evan. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you manifest the purifying divine power of the Holy Sword in the shape of a flame?]"
"A flame?"
"[Yes.]"
Naturally, an ancient ruin of this caliber wouldn't let just anyone waltz in. The secret dungeon was tuned specifically to the divine power of the Hero's Holy Sword, yet simply radiating energy outward in search of a reaction would yield nothing. To find the path, one had to kindle the Holy Sword's energy into a purifying flame and observe the direction in which the embers drifted.
Even my boundless divine power as a Saint was useless here. It responded strictly and exclusively to the Holy Sword wielded by Evan.
As the purifying flame flickered to life, the golden sparks didn't drift harmlessly into the sky. Instead, moving with deliberate intent, the holy embers aligned and pointed directly toward a specific coordinate. Evan and Danas both stared in astonishment.
"Saintess... what is this...?"
"[Simply follow the embers.]"
Only then did Evan seem genuinely convinced by my claims of an oracle. Swallowing hard, he stepped forward, trailing the guiding sparks just as I instructed.
"What would happen if we didn't follow these embers?"
"[You would never find it. The ruins are sealed behind a barrier that can only be reached by walking the precise path traced by that divine power.]"
From here on out, even a veteran player like me would be helpless on foot alone; the layout shifted unpredictably, and though people referred to this area as the Academy Rear Mountain, the ruins were entombed within a long-lost ancient barrier. Blindly wandering around out here, you could search for a lifetime and never stumble upon the entrance.
Though Evan and Danas had been full of doubt at first, witnessing such a bizarre phenomenon with their own eyes finally melted their skepticism. Wearing far graver expressions than before, they matched their strides to the drifting embers.
Nothing was going to jump out or ambush us along the way. Of course, once we actually entered the dungeon, the brutal weed-out process disguised as a 'trial' would begin in earnest. But since I already knew the solutions to every single trial inside, it hardly posed a problem.
After following the sparks for who knew how long, the flame began slanting downward until it pointed at a stark ninety-degree angle—straight at the forest floor.
"What in the world...?"
The sight of embers, which by all natural laws ought to ascend into the sky, pointing rigidly straight down into the dirt was truly bizarre.
We've arrived.
Buried underground, just as expected. Everything was proceeding exactly according to my memory.
"Um... is it down there?" Evan asked, bewildered by the fact that we had arrived only to be met with empty earth.
I nodded calmly.
"[Channel your divine power and thrust the Holy Sword into the ground.]"
—Wait, what?! No way! I don't want to get shoved into the dirt!
Estelle wailed at the prospect of being plunged headfirst into the soil, but what choice was there? This was the only way to unlock the trial gates. Ignoring Estelle's shrieks, Evan gathered his divine power and drove the blade firmly into the earth.
In the original game, players would stumble upon a rumor during a side quest about an ancient proving ground built for a past Hero, which prompted them to investigate. In short, it was an entirely optional side quest you could take or leave as you pleased. Naturally, the side quest that revealed the existence of this trial grounds also contained a poetic hint on how to open the door. How did it go again? Ah, right...
“O wielder of the Holy Sword, plant your strength into this earth and prove yourself.”
“Only then shall the path of trials reveal itself.”
KABOOM!
"What in the world...?"
Danas and Evan watched the spectacle unfolding before their eyes in sheer disbelief. The earth shuddered and parted, slowly unveiling an enormous ruined archway in the shape of a colossal gateway that had long been buried beneath the ground.
Toward the two men who stood rooted in place, staring dumbfoundedly at the ancient trial gate of the Hero, I stepped forward and cast my thought waves with a gentle smile.
"[Shall we enter?]"
They had better brace themselves not to see the light of day for the rest of the day. A trial was still a trial, after all—and it would serve as invaluable nourishment for Evan's growth into a true Hero.