The Place Where Swords Lie Buried

Still reeling, Jinhyuk walked to the very edge of the cliff.

"Don't tell me that tiny speck is the bottom?"

It wasn't fog or clouds limiting his vision. The cliff was simply so high that gauging the distance with the naked eye was nearly impossible.

"Kancho, what do you think?"

"I can't see it either, sir!"

Kancho the Yordle Ranger had the sharpest eyes in the party. If even he couldn't see it, the bottom was truly, absurdly deep.

"Hey, Yordle raccoon. Come over here a second?"

Elia beckoned Kancho over with a wave. His face filled with indignation.

"If I'm a Yordle, call me a Yordle, and if I'm a raccoon, call me a raccoon — what the heck is a Yordle raccoon supposed to be, huh?! And that weird udon of yours!"

Kancho was mixing up jjamppong and udon again today. Still, his vocabulary seemed to be improving by the day, which was oddly heartwarming.

Elia rummaged through her bag and handed him a small cloth wrap.

"What's this supposed to be, huh? Looks like a foot rag."

"Ahem! How dare you! Calling the invention of the century a foot rag? I'll have you know this is an incredible survival item that'll keep you alive no matter how high you fall from!"

"That's a load of bunk, isn't it? And why are you handing me this all of a sudden?"

"You're a Yordle Ranger. You've got a duty to carry out the party's reconnaissance missions, don't you?"

"That's affirmative."

Elia pointed a finger at the cliff.

Jinhyuk and Momo clapped their hands over their mouths in shock.

"She's a demon."

They'd spoken in perfect unison, of course.

Kancho's reaction, however, was unexpected. Jinhyuk had been sure he'd scream something like, What the hell is this crazy old hag talking about?! Instead — perhaps because of the word "duty" — Kancho's face had gone deadly serious.

Cloth wrap in hand, Kancho approached Jinhyuk.

"Sir! Yordle Ranger Vice-Captain Kancho, reporting! I will carry out the reconnaissance mission and return!"

"No. We don't even know what's down there. And besides—"

Jinhyuk stepped closer and lowered his voice.

"This cloth wrap looks dangerous."

No matter how he turned it over, it was just an ordinary wrap. The Star Alchemist had handed it over, so it might have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠some hidden function — but betting a life on it and jumping was an enormous risk.

"It's fine, sir! A Yordle Ranger completes reconnaissance under any conditions, in any environment! Deploying!"

"Kanchoooo!"

Jinhyuk reached out a moment too late. Before anyone could stop him, Kancho had already flung himself off the cliff.

"Nooo! Kancho's gone! Who am I supposed to play games with now?! I always wanna win!"

Momo plopped down on the ground. Her reasons for grieving were a little off, but still.

Elia sauntered over, rubbing her chin.

"He actually jumped."

"The wrap's ability is guaranteed, right?"

"Master, do you know what the placebo effect is?"

"When a patient takes a fake medicine but their symptoms improve because they believe it's real?"

"That's right."

Jinhyuk's eyes trembled violently. He could already guess what came next, and he was too afraid to even ask. Elia didn't bother saying it, either. She just flashed a sunny smile and gave him a thumbs-up.

She's a demon.

He confirmed it once more and looked down the cliff. Kancho had already fallen so far that not even a speck of him was visible. For a brief moment, Jinhyuk hoped for the scout's safe return.

Then, with a wet splat, Kancho appeared. He was so thoroughly soaked that Jinhyuk wondered if he'd been caught in the rain.

"Sir! Yordle Ranger Vice-Captain Kancho, reporting back from reconnaissance!"

"Kanchooo!"

Jinhyuk pulled the safely returned Kancho into a hug.

"Fortunately, the cloth wrap worked perfectly, sir! Safe landing achieved!"

"That's my work for you."

Elia nodded, looking thoroughly pleased with herself. No doubt about it. She was a 3,271-year-old witch.

"The bottom is ridiculously deep, sir. Took forever to get down there. And I picked this up."

Kancho pulled a small stone from his Yordle pack. It had a smooth, polished texture and glowed with a mysterious blue light.

"Ohh... is this Lapis?"

"Granny, you're not just making stuff up again, are you?"

"Ahem. A 3,271-year-old elf doesn't have things she doesn't know, I'll have you know. This is a raw gemstone found only very rarely in lakes inhabited by spirits."

"Give it to Momo! This is super expensive!"

"It's not just a matter of being expensive, you know. Spirits don't inhabit just any lake. The water has to be impossibly clear, and overflowing with life force besides. This stone was forged by that energy over hundreds of years."

Immediately after returning from the ninth floor of the Mythic Tower, Jinhyuk quickly ran the Tower of Despair as well.

Momo sat plopped on the ryokan floor, sorting through the materials they'd gathered today, her back turned firmly to Elia in case her loot got stolen again. Not that it mattered — Elia was still snatching items one by one whenever Momo looked away.

That's experience for you.

Jinhyuk nodded and stretched, then examined the Lapis he'd brought out of the Mythic Tower.

He let out a low hum. The condition for entering the next floor of the Mythic Tower was completing the Legendary quest. Unlike with Raven, that meant he couldn't find the next sword inside the Mythic Tower itself.

It's either in the real world, like Muramasa, or it's in the Tower of Despair. And if it's the former...

He pulled out the Yoddle Compass.

"Grave of Swords."

The Yoddle Compass pointed the way to any destination you named, no matter where it was. But it didn't react to the name he'd just spoken. It wasn't that the place didn't exist — more likely, it went by a different official name.

Next, he brought out the Lapis. If there was another piece of Lapis somewhere, the compass would guide him there.

Please react!

He swallowed dryly and prayed. If it wasn't in the Mythic Tower and it wasn't here, that left only the Tower of Despair. There was no telling when a related floor might appear, which would make completing the quest completely unpredictable. And if it was a special floor that only showed up when you used a Floor Compression Ticket, that would be the worst-case scenario.

React. React. React. React.

He chanted it like a voodoo incantation.

Whirrrr.

The compass needle and numbers began changing rapidly. The direction locked in quickly, but the numbers kept climbing without pause. When they finally stopped, Kancho's jaw dropped.

"That's a big number, sir."

"No kidding. How many zeros is that?"

Jinhyuk counted the zeros one by one. Eleven thousand kilometers. Ridiculously far. Mount Yulong, which they'd visited searching for the Imugi, had been three thousand kilometers. This was nearly four times that distance.

That aside. The fact that the compass reacted...

He started rubbing his chin rapidly. It meant that the place Vice Commander ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Kahn and his knights had gone — the place Seira called the Grave of Swords — existed in this world.

He quickly opened a map app and estimated the location based on direction and distance. The country: Wales, in the United Kingdom. The location matching the distance: Snowdonia National Park, famous as a tourist destination.

"A tourist spot?"

A question mark practically materialized over his head. He'd assumed it would be some place no human had ever set foot in — a tourist destination was the last thing he'd expected. It would make getting there easier, sure, but whether the Grave of Swords and the third sword were actually there was another question entirely.

Hard to call it a hundred percent.

There was no rule saying Lapis only existed at the Grave of Swords. For all he knew, he could travel eleven thousand kilometers and find a single fragment of Lapis sitting there instead. Still, he had no choice but to go. Right now, the Lapis was the only lead he had on the sword.

"We're going far away again, sir?"

"Yeah. Way farther than last time."

"Momo wants to go too!"

"Of course you're coming. Let me check the airfare."

Now that he knew the location, there was no time to hesitate. He needed to go immediately if he wanted to climb the next floor of the Mythic Tower. Jinhyuk cautiously checked business class. Riding first class all the way to Japan had raised his standards a little.

"Oh."

He quickly unchecked it at the price that came up. For that kind of money, he could eat hundreds more fried chickens. By the Chicken Theorem, business class was hereby rejected.

Just then, Momo, who'd been sorting materials, came running over and latched onto him.

"Momo wants to ride the airplane too!"

"I want to look out the window and eat the in-flight meals too, sir!"

Kancho, Momo's best friend, dangled from Jinhyuk's waist. They'd been wanting to actually ride a plane since last time. Back then he'd said no because there weren't enough seats and he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠needed to save money — but looking at those terrifyingly sparkling eyes, his resolve was crumbling.

It's their first flight. I want to put them in nice seats.

He needed six tickets in total. Looking at the first-class prices, his hands trembled.

I-it's fine. There's plenty in the account.

He'd received this month's settlement from the Yeon Merchant Guild, so he currently had over four hundred million won. His friends had helped him get this far — he decided to splurge.

Ding.

A message ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠arrived. It was Team Leader Jin Yunho of the Player Hunter Bureau.

Huh? A support plan?

Completely unexpected. He wasn't even affiliated with the Hunter Bureau, so why? Figuring it was some kind of discount or benefit, he scrolled down.

"Huh...?"

He stopped scrolling. Then he had no choice but to rub his eyes. Something utterly preposterous — something that had no business existing in reality — was written there.

The top floor of the Ronia building, where the chairman's office was located.

The VIP elevator opened, and a group in white uniforms appeared.

"Who are you?"

Ronia's security team blocked their path. Hosaka Rito's face twisted.

"We're already losing our minds here — who the hell sent these people up?!"

"It's been a while, Rito."

A thin voice slipped out. From among the group, Innovation Party lawmaker Sato Tsubasa revealed herself.

"We met a few years ago, didn't we? I'd be hurt if you didn't remember. I even gave you a nice little money-making lead back then."

A flustered Rito glanced around. Fortunately, no one else had heard.

"Congresswoman Sato Tsubasa. I haven't forgotten. What brings you here? As you can see, we're quite busy at the moment."

"One minute."

"Excuse me?"

"Just let me in for one minute."

"This is where Grandfather... I mean, this is the scene where Ronia's chairman was murdered. I can't just let anyone in."

"I'm not just anyone, am I? I've kept your secrets well all this time. I think what I've done for you is worth at least one minute."

After a moment of hesitation, Rito slowly stepped aside.

"One minute. That's it."

"Thank you."

Tsubasa stepped inside and surveyed the scene. A moment later, she drew in a breath with everything she had.

And then they began to flow in.

Every last Lingering Scent that still clung to the scene.