Chapter 183
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 183
The Older Yaksha Sister pushed herself up from the ground. Beside her, the Younger Yaksha Sister, who had been waiting respectfully, also stepped back from the entrance.
“…Ah?”
And then, a profound silence fell over the crowd.
The opponent was “a randomly selected member of the Primordial Core.”
Since that was how it was phrased, it didn’t technically violate the rules.
But.
‘This is just too much.’
Every monster present had the exact same thought.
This was a matter of basic decency. Even among the most seemingly heartless monsters, a conscience existed—and the Primordial Core had just shattered it for all to see.
Otherwise, there was no way Swallow would have appeared as their opponent.
“…”
Come to think of it, there had been clues. First, the number of monsters assigned to this team was far too large. Furthermore, he had only appeared after a full six minutes had passed—likely a penalty imposed upon him for being a great Ancient Monster.
“Strangely, I thought luck was on our side today…”
“Why would he come here himself…?”
The monsters reacted in various ways as Swallow trudged through the entrance, but most were simply paralyzed with fear.
“…”
Watching them in silence, Swallow figured a brief explanation was in order.
“Well, I am technically a member of the Primordial Core,” he said.
“B-But still… for someone of your stature to personally come all this way…”
The monsters all looked utterly bewildered, unable to wrap their heads around the situation. Swallow heaved a deep, weary sigh.
“Phew.”
He didn’t particularly care if they understood or not, but getting them on board would make things smoother.
“Actually, we’re short on labor…”
“As expected! You came in person to test our skills yourself!”
As if.
“Exactly.”
Of course, that wasn’t remotely true, but since the truth didn’t matter, Swallow simply nodded, going along with the most convenient narrative.
“But we are currently being tested… Surely no one here would dare stand in your way, Lord Swallow.”
“That’s why I’m lowering the passing conditions for this round.”
“Lowering the conditions…?”
“If you can delay me for even a single second, you’re hired. Land a scratch on me, and you become an Administrator. Make it hurt, and you’re a Gatekeeper. If you win, I’ll give you the entire Primordial Core.”
No one had any intention of trying to make him hurt, and everything after “if you win” was just noise. However, the somewhat realistic goal of holding him back for a single second did cause a flicker of interest in a few monsters.
“Of course, I’ll be fighting back.”
Even that glimmer of hope was instantly extinguished.
The monsters gathered here were all sensitive to news concerning the Primordial Core. Rumors of what Swallow had done in Knecht—ostensibly to save monsters—had already spread far and wide during their journey.
‘One second… maybe we could somehow hold out for just one second.’
Unfortunately, they each had only one life. No matter how ambitious they were, none of them wanted to throw it away.
“Oh.”
Swallow, who had been staring blankly at the hourglass on the ceiling, looked back down with a soft sound of admiration as the situation finally progressed.
Perhaps some silent consensus had been reached. Though Swallow hadn’t moved an inch, the monsters began to step back one by one.
Soon, a path opened before him. The monsters parted to the left and right, clearing the way before kneeling in unison.
“Please, pass through.”
“Nice.”
He couldn’t care less about their lack of fighting spirit. Swallow smiled, satisfied that this was wrapping up much faster than he’d expected.
“…Very nice.”
His gaze drifted to the end of the path, and he admired the view once more.
Thud.
At that moment, something flew toward him. Swallow easily caught the object as it traced a slow arc through the air and inspected it.
It was an ice sphere radiating a freezing chill—a mana stone, akin to the heart of monsters blessed by the Ice Queen, commonly found in the northern regions.
“It’s a gift. I picked it up on my way here.”
While everyone else was kneeling, two Yakshas stood proudly at the end of the path, blocking his way.
“Yes, I was hoping at least you two would do something like this.”
Swallow’s voice was cheerful. It was far better to meet them here than to go out of his way to find them. Besides, it was a nice bit of entertainment.
“Your names?”
“We had them, but we discarded them when we came here. They weren’t names we were fond of anyway.”
The Older Yaksha Sister maintained her usual slouching, rebellious posture. Beside her, the Younger Yaksha Sister stood respectfully with her head bowed.
“Then what should I call you?”
The two Yakshas fell silent. Patrick had mentioned just yesterday that Yaksha names were needlessly long and difficult to pronounce, and they likely had no idea how to shorten them.
“Let’s just go with whatever. So, you’re blocking my path. Does that mean you intend to fight?”
“Well, I only have one life, too.”
The Older Yaksha Sister smiled bitterly.
No matter how competitive a Yaksha was, they never challenged a power that had been proven by their own kind. Swallow’s strength had already been thoroughly proven by the deaths of their kin. The Yaksha Sisters had no illusions that they could ever hope to match him.
“We just came to pay our respects.”
“So you don’t have anything to say.”
The Older Yaksha Sister nodded.
Just as Swallow took a step forward, intending to pass by since their business was concluded—
“This test is unfair.”
The Younger Yaksha Sister, who had been standing quietly beside her sibling, spoke up.
“Hey, you…”
The entire cavern seemed to freeze at her words. Even the normally boisterous Older Yaksha Sister turned pale.
As Swallow turned his head, the Younger Yaksha Sister stepped forward and continued.
“This plan… you designed all of it, didn’t you, Lord Swallow?”
Deciding there was no point in beating around the bush, Swallow nodded.
“And?”
“This test is flawed. We never stood a chance from the beginning. The same goes for the other teams, not just the one you joined.”
“…”
“An unfamiliar environment, a sudden emergency, and a short preparation time. On top of that, we haven't even adapted to the dungeon's energy, and it's absurd to ask us to attack members of the Primordial Core—who might become our superiors—without holding back. And look around us. The arrangement of the monsters is a complete mess.”
“Hmm.”
“It takes days for monsters to find their proper positions. Thrown together haphazardly like this, it’s only natural that we can’t even display the strength of a B-rank monster.”
The Older Yaksha Sister’s face stiffened. The expressions of the other monsters were beyond description.
“Furthermore, even with perfect preparation, we often fall to high-level human subjugation squads. Isn’t it fundamentally wrong to ask us to stop a Gatekeeper who can hold off those very squads single-handedly?”
“If you’re that unhappy about it, I’ll tell you the truth. It was actually Patrick who designed—”
“You must have intended to teach us a lesson. I didn’t realize your calculations ran so deep.”
“No, I designed it and had Patrick execute it.”
“But what is wrong is still wrong.”
“Patrick planned it.”
“Though it was certainly impressive.”
“…Stop twisting my words.”
Having said her piece, the Younger Yaksha Sister bowed her head and stepped back. The sweat dripping down the Older Yaksha Sister’s forehead spoke volumes of her tension. Every monster in the room envisioned their future: total annihilation.
“You have a point.”
Aside from the Younger Yaksha Sister, Swallow was the only one with a calm expression.
“But we can’t just pretend this never happened. What do you want to do?”
Swallow glanced at the hourglass. A rough estimate told him there were about seven minutes left. This room was much narrower than Room 1, so it would take about three minutes to walk to the exit. That left him with four minutes… plenty of time, but he had no desire to cut it close. It was time to wrap this up.
“Instead of complaining, why don’t you try attacking me?”
Swallow beckoned with his finger. All the monsters, including the Yakshas, stared at him. Though masked by their overwhelming fear, their ragged breaths betrayed their sheer bewilderment.
“As I mentioned earlier, we only have one life…”
“Do you really think I’d kill you?”
Silence fell once more. Even during the standoff, time ticked away. Just as Swallow, watching expressionlessly, was about to let out a small sigh—
The Older Yaksha Sister slowly straightened up.
“True. If not now, we might never get another chance to experience Lord Swallow’s power firsthand.”
Following her older sister’s lead, the Younger Yaksha Sister also began to lightly warm up. The other monsters split their attention between the Yaksha Sisters and Swallow.
“Since Lord Swallow himself has said as much…”
The eyes of the Yaksha Sisters glowed crimson.
*
By the time Swallow dragged his weary body back to his room, Rene and Patrick were already waiting for him.
“Everyone on my side failed,” Rene said.
“Same here,” Patrick added. “To be honest, a few had potential, but I couldn’t exactly go easy on them.”
“I passed two.”
At Swallow’s words, both Rene and Patrick flinched in surprise.
This hadn't been planned as a proper test in the first place; it was merely a performance to assert dominance. That was supposed to be especially true for Swallow’s group.
“Don’t tell me those two are…”
“Yeah, the two Yakshas. They did pretty well. I think we could even use them as Administrators.”
Clink!
The sound of the glass in Rene’s hand shattering echoed through the room. To Patrick, it sounded like her very heart breaking.
“That’s… so unfair. Why did the assignments have to be such a mess…?”
“I’m disappointed, too,” Patrick said. “I wanted to fight Mr. Dullahan.”
“…You don’t have to worry about that, Patrick. Rene beat him to a pulp.”
“Sigh… That’s exactly what I was worried about.”
Patrick banged his head against the table, his small hope evaporating into thin air. The sound of his skull hitting the wood was exceptionally loud, causing Swallow to furrow his brow.
“More importantly, is Melju the only one left?”
“Yes. Well, honestly…”
“I’m worried.”
“I feel the same way, Boss,” Patrick agreed.
Melju had grown strong—strong enough to serve as an Administrator without issue.
He could acknowledge that much. But even for a typical Administrator, facing sixty A-rank monsters at once was practically impossible. Above all, the difference in perception was huge. When facing Rene and Patrick, most of the monsters had been thoroughly intimidated.
Melju, on the other hand, was being looked down upon. The fact that the monsters, upon hearing the rules, were most looking forward to facing her said it all.
“Maybe I should have left her out after all.”
Originally, he had intended to exclude Melju from the test. But she had insisted so strongly that he had little choice, and Rene had also suggested they trust her.
“If things go wrong, Melju might actually die.”
“That won’t happen.”
Rene, who had been listening quietly, spoke up again, her voice firm.
“That will never happen.”
The sound of running water.
The stench of blood.
The smell of rotting entrails.
“This is my private room.”
Darkness surrounded them. Even Melju, who had excellent night vision, couldn’t see clearly.
At a gesture from Rene, the candelabra dangling above Melju’s head flared to life. Only then could she see her surroundings.
The space was larger than expected. Groundwater trickled in a corner, staining a pile of nearby stones a deep red. It was a stain built up from hundreds of layers. The lingering stench of blood and entrails were all traces of slaughter.
“This is where I dispose of any humans who don’t know their place and dare to attack.”
Rene inspected the condition of her blades in the corner. Melju looked around, feeling slightly intimidated.
This was an exceptionally deep part of the cavern. Just as Rene said, no one would ever enter here.
It also meant that whatever happened here, no one would ever know.
“I’ll ask you one last time,” Rene said, picking up a few well-maintained blades and turning to Melju. “Patrick is an excellent teacher. The fact that he has finished sparring with you means you are now stronger than the former Administrator of Room 4.”
In short, it was a final warning.
“Which means you don’t need to push yourself.”
Melju was well aware of this. Her progress had been tangible.
At first, she could barely exchange five blows with Patrick. Now, she could trade over thirty. Patrick had sheathed his sword, saying that further sparring would only breed bad habits. Her training was complete.
“Are you still sure about this?”
“I am.”
“I am not as kind as Patrick.”
“Even so, I ask this of you.”
“You might end up hating me.”
“I am already prepared for that.”
“…Understood.”
Rene said no more. She slipped the selected blades into her apron pocket. Lifting her skirt, she drew another blade from its sheath on her thigh garter.
“Then, let us begin right away.”
—From the moment Swallow and Patrick headed to Riaze to settle the situation, until the monsters brought by Scobina arrived at the Primordial Core.
For over two weeks.
A second training session had taken place.