Chapter 247: Dragon-Slaying Sword 'Balmung' (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 247: Dragon-Slaying Sword 'Balmung' (1)
Even among the Relics classified as the highest tier of existing items, there are grades.
It was only natural.
After all, a sword used by a nameless general with only a few lines in history couldn't possibly be treated on the same level as Mjolnir, the hammer of Thor, the great hero of Norse mythology.
For this reason, the Tower of Trials measured the grades of Relics using seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
And.
The Dragon-Slaying Sword, 'Balmung', kept deep beneath the Empire.
This greatsword was a top-tier Relic that had received an 'indigo' rating.
'I must secure it, both to deal with the Dragon Race and to stand against them.'
Of course, there were a few prerequisites to resolve first.
"We will depart in thirty minutes."
Jinhyuk started a timer.
"Thirty minutes... That should be enough time for me to finish the necessary preparations for the exploration."
"Then, I'll see you in front of the tomb."
Naturally, there would be guards and imperial knights on the way to the tomb.
But slipping past ordinary soldiers was child's play for the two of them.
Leaving Phesis's room, Jinhyuk headed to a terrace that offered a clear view of the imperial capital's lake and nightscape.
It was a deserted spot, perfect for taking in the scenery while he was at it.
The dawn was steeped in silence.
The lake, reflecting the moon and stars, seemed to make him forget all his worries and anxieties.
"..."
He thought this often, but the Tower of Trials really had many scenic spots.
It was a great place to lose oneself in contemplation.
And it was perfectly optimized for having conversations without worrying about anyone eavesdropping.
"I know you're watching, so why don't you show yourself now?"
Jinhyuk muttered toward the empty air.
Then.
[Ho. Players shouldn't be able to peer beyond the barrier. How did you notice my presence?]
Veliel spoke to him.
"Knowing your personality, there's no way you'd just help and disappear. I figured you'd be creepily stalking me from up there. As expected, I was right."
[You are the first human to be so nonchalant in my presence. My, my... your audacity is a perfect fit for our side. What do you say? How about becoming my Black Apostle? If it's you, I could pour everything I have into making you the perfect apostle. I can also grant anything else you desire.]
"I believe I already rejected that once. Don't you remember? I said a tiger cub can't serve under a chihuahua."
He was grateful for the help, but he had no intention of selling his soul for it.
Of course, he didn't plan on completely cutting ties either.
Being on speaking terms with a high-ranking deity was highly beneficial in many ways.
[Hmph. Still a prickly response, I see. You'd better think carefully. The other Demon Kings besides me do not think highly of you. In fact, they view you as a threat that must be eliminated as soon as possible.]
Well, of course they would.
He had already expected the Demon Kings and the Demon Race to be gnashing their teeth at him.
So...
"I just need to maintain a good relationship with you, right? If I do, I think I can hold my own against the other Demon Kings to some extent."
[If you were to become my apostle, perhaps. But why should I continue to help you when you only take the benefits and then play dumb?]
"Because I know exactly where the 'Crown' in the Demon World is, and what needs to be done to obtain it."
Jinhyuk casually let the words slip.
And at those words.
Veliel's mocking voice vanished as if it had never existed.
Silence ensued.
Though it was a split second lasting less than a few seconds in real-time, that moment felt like an eternity.
[What... on earth are you? How does a player know about the existence of the Crown, one of the deepest secrets of the Tower? No, more than that, you even know its location?]
The emotion bleeding through the voice was unmistakable bewilderment.
And it was only natural.
The Crown was a Relic absolutely necessary to challenge the summit of the Tower, and at the same time, a symbol of dominion over the highest floors.
Not only the deities, but even the Demon Kings and True Ancestors were desperate to get their hands on this Crown.
Yet, a mere player knew about it?
It was too poor of a joke.
Too absurd to even pass off as a casual joke over drinks.
If.
If the person saying this hadn't been Jinhyuk, Veliel would have dismissed it as nonsense not even worth listening to.
"Don't lump me in with ordinary players. You haven't forgotten already, have you? I'm the one who replicated your unique holy spear. Above all, the very fact that I know about the Crown's existence makes my proposal well worth your serious consideration."
The truth of the information wasn't important right this second.
Verifying it could be done slowly later; there was no rush.
What mattered now was that the other Demon Kings were unaware of this enticing bait.
If it turned out to be a lie, he could simply make Jinhyuk pay the price later.
If it was true, he would be able to seize the Crown from an overwhelmingly advantageous position.
Low risk, high return.
The hesitation didn't last long.
[Puhaha! Amusing! Truly amusing! Yes, this is exactly what I expect from the human I acknowledged. Very well. I shall play along with your tune.]
Veliel burst into a mad laughter, genuinely amused.
* * *
After his chat with Veliel.
Jinhyuk and Phesis returned once more to the Emperor's Tomb, where a fierce battle had recently taken place.
"What do you plan to do now?"
"Please wait here for a moment."
Jinhyuk slowly examined the crevices in the floor.
Although his vision was subtly obscured by the shadows of the statues standing on either side...
If one looked closely, there were grooves carved into the floor, each about the size of half a grain of rice.
'Is this the starting point?'
First, one.
The next was probably to the left, right?
Jinhyuk quickly began scanning his surroundings.
Within minutes, he found more grooves between the pillars, the walls, and the statues.
There were six in total.
[Lv10 'Primordial Flame' is activated.]
As the flames connected the grooves in straight lines, a massive hexagram appeared.
At the same time.
Hummmmm!
Red characters began to manifest on the surface.
It was the unique language of the imperial family, which only revealed itself when subjected to heat of a precise temperature.
"..."
Phesis stared at Jinhyuk in utter disbelief.
It was only natural for him to be flabbergasted, seeing how Jinhyuk had found the entrance to a passage that even the imperial family didn't know about.
Phesis had also seen information about the entrance in ancient texts, but he hadn't been confident he could open the door so quickly.
"However, simply finding the entrance isn't enough to go down. We need a key..."
"You mean a token that can prove Reinhardt's lineage."
Blood, saliva, and the like.
The entrance was designed to open only when the bloodline of Reinhardt was verified.
"That is... correct."
"Of course I brought that."
Jinhyuk pulled a golden goblet out of his subspace inventory.
He had swiped it a few hours ago at the grand banquet while the Emperor was drinking from it.
Since he had swapped it with Cheon Yu-seong's goblet when the Emperor was moderately drunk, even if a culprit were to be caught, the one charged with lèse-majesté would be Cheon Yu-seong.
Furthermore, because he had Wolyeong do the swap, his alibi was absolutely flawless.
'A perfect crime isn't impossible.'
'People just lack the effort.'
This was the moment his past obsession with American dramas, specifically binge-watching CSI, truly shone.
Slide!
Jinhyuk aligned the surface of the goblet with the groove.
At that very moment.
Rumbleeee!
A low, heavy rumble echoed through the tomb.
The floor began to split apart like Tetris blocks, soon revealing a space large enough for a person to fit through.
[The Hidden Place, 'Where the Dragon Sleeps', is opened.]
"Shall we go, then?"
Jinhyuk smiled brightly at the dazed Phesis.
* * *
A musty, damp odor assaulted their noses.
Since no one had set foot inside for ages, the interior was choked with cobwebs and dust.
"From here on, I'll need your help, Phesis."
What was recorded in the texts only went as far as how to open the entrance.
To bypass the countless traps inside, he needed the skills of Phesis, the explorer.
"I'll give it a try, but this is my first time exploring a site of such a high level. Seriously, thanks to you, Jinhyuk, I'm experiencing all sorts of things."
"I take it that's a good thing?"
"Of course. It really gets my explorer's blood pumping. Haha."
[Phesis summons Lv16 'Multidimensional Map'.]
With a flushed face, Phesis brought out a translucent map.
The 3D map, which showed the overall layout of the interior, marked various traps in different colors.
The red flame-shaped icons and... the black spheres looked quite dangerous.
The blue ice crystal shapes were probably traps related to the ice attribute.
Just looking at it from the side, Jinhyuk couldn't get a sense of how the traps would trigger or how to avoid them.
"...This is definitely difficult. No matter which path we take, it won't be easy."
Phesis examined the map with a grim expression.
If Phesis, who had explored countless forbidden areas, was saying this, the difficulty of this place was indeed off the charts.
Well, that made sense, considering Balmung was kept here.
"Still, isn't there a path with the highest probability of success?"
"There is one place, but..."
Phesis trailed off.
"Is there a problem?"
"Some traps require someone to trigger and endure them while another person passes through. The structure makes it impossible to dodge or block."
"So you're saying we need a scapegoat."
"Yes..."
"Let's head there first. I think I can find a way to deal with that."
At Jinhyuk's words, Phesis flinched.
Given the personality Jinhyuk had shown over the past few days, there was a very real possibility he would use Phesis as the scapegoat.
However, Phesis couldn't bring himself to say that out loud.
How long did they walk along the tangled passages following Phesis?
The air lingering in the passage shifted.
A chilly sensation brushed against their skin.
It was the exact spot corresponding to the ice crystal icon on the map.
"This is as far as we can go while avoiding the traps. Here, take a look."
Phesis picked up a small pebble and tossed it forward.
The moment the pebble, drawing a parabola, passed a certain point in the air—
Crackle!
Slender streams of ice shot out from both sides, completely freezing the pebble solid.
The freezing speed was shocking enough, but what was even more startling was that the ice streams tracked the trajectory of the pebble.
"Wow. Tracking magic... plus acceleration and reinforcement magic. And they're all at least 8th-circle level."
"As expected, you noticed. On top of that, if you try to block it using unique abilities or skills, there's a special effect that accelerates the freezing speed."
In short, passing through by normal means was close to impossible.
But there was no need to worry.
He had prepared something just for this kind of situation.
"Everyone, come out for a second."
Jinhyuk opened his subspace inventory and summoned several of his familiars.
T-Bone and the Ancient Soldiers appeared first.
Clack. Clack.
Their bones rattled as they looked left and right.
"Master. What is the matter?"
A question mark practically floated over T-Bone's head.
"It's nothing major. We need to get past a trap, and I heard we need a meat shield."
"Pardon?"
"You guys are undead."
"W-well, that is true, but..."
"Then you won't die."
There was no scapegoat more perfect than this.
Even if they froze, they could just be thawed out slowly later and revived good as new.
"M-Master... even so, asking us to run through there with our bare bodies is..."
"Oh?"
At T-Bone's whining, Jinhyuk's eyebrows furrowed into an inverted 'V' shape.
Had he been slacking on their discipline lately? When he gave an order, they were supposed to obey immediately.
They had too many excuses—this was bad, that was scary. They talked back way too much.
They were acting like a complete ragtag militia.
"Goguma. Aren't you going to discipline them properly?"
Jinhyuk's gaze shifted to Goguma, who had emerged late.
"Mogi?"
His large, amber eyes trembled slightly.
Goguma, suddenly getting scolded out of nowhere, wore an aggrieved expression.
Jinhyuk's heart twinged slightly, but it couldn't be helped.
In these situations, things only ran smoothly when you cracked down on the one at the top.
The classic trickle-down discipline.
According to the hierarchy established within the subspace inventory, Goguma was at the very top.
"Mogi. Mogi!"
Goguma suddenly chomped down on T-Bone.
Munch, munch.
Clear drool trickled down the white bones.
"Hieeeek!"
T-Bone thrashed around, but he couldn't escape Goguma's grip.
"Do you want to become a bone snack right here, or are you going to run forward as fast as you can?"
"I-I'll go, Master! I'm actually incredibly good at enduring the cold!"
Clack, clack!
T-Bone and the Ancient Soldiers scrambled to run forward, competing to be first.