Chapter 24. Welcome, Heroes! (3)
Chapter 24. Welcome, Heroes! (3)
4
There's a saying.
No matter how fast you run, there's always someone flying above you.
And there's another saying.
Next to every hunter who wields a sword, there's a hunter who wields soldiers.
That one was spoken by the great Confucius himself.
"Hey, what the hell is that!"
"Huh? Judging by the outfit, he's a hunter like us...?"
The battlefield. Hunters who had been swinging their swords with all their might stopped and turned their heads. In the middle of monsters howling, they were letting their attention wander—a dangerous thing to do. But fortunately, the hunters had the luxury of looking away for a moment.
I had personally created that luxury for them.
"O Hero!"
The general glanced back over his shoulder and shouted.
"Are you certain of this direction?!"
The general's body shook. My body shook too. That was only natural, since the two of us were riding the same horse. The general drove the horse with the reins in his hands, and I sat behind him.
Even though the ride was absolutely terrible, my mood was through the roof.
"I'm certain. Keep going straight like this, then turn right, and the Demon King's army corps commander is there. There are some monsters around, but, well, it's fine. Just sweep them away."
"Ohh! Understood!"
Because right now, a thousand soldiers were following behind the general and me.
"All forces, follow me!"
The general raised his baton.
"The Goddess's Hero watches over us!"
"Uwaaaaah!"
The soldiers roared and followed the general. A single-point breakthrough! The soldiers, who had been stuck on the defensive until now, pushed back the monster horde. Goblins and orcs blocked their path but collapsed helplessly.
"Heh heh."
It was the effect of the minimap.
I had advised the general to deliberately target only the points where the monster forces were thinnest.
"Ah. Turn right here."
"Understood! O Hero of the Goddess!"
Of course, I hadn't earned the general's trust with the minimap alone. It was thanks to repeating this day, I suppose. It required a fair amount of preparation beforehand.
When I acquired the skill, I also witnessed the general's trauma... but let's talk about that later.
'Status window.'
Right now, I needed to focus on the battle in front of me.
First, the skills. The skills I had acquired were as follows.
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Name: Kim Gong-ja
Rank: E-rank
Skills (5/5)
1. I Want to Be Like You (S+)
2. Regressor's Clockwork Watch (EX)
3. Sword Constellation (A+)
4. Goblin High Society (F)
5. Eye for the Battlefield (B)
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'The new skill is war-related.'
[Eye for the Battlefield] was, as the name suggested, the ability to grasp the battlefield. Whether our side was at an advantage or disadvantage. Where to strike the enemy to achieve a breakthrough. Those things came to me intuitively.
In short, it let me pass myself off as a decent expert.
'Skills aren't everything, though.'
I grinned and raised my sword.
It wasn't an ordinary sword. It wasn't the dagger I had used to kill myself, either. The blade emitted a faint holy light. The hilt was carved in the shape of a lion with its jaws open. As the silver light pierced the air, soldiers gaped here and there.
"It is the light bestowed by the Goddess!"
"The Founder's holy sword... Ahh, God has not abandoned the Empire!"
"Long live the Aegim Empire!"
That's right.
This sword was the final puzzle piece for me to command the army.
It was the item I had chosen through the Merchant God's blessing.
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[Lefanta Aegim's Holy Sword of Protection]
Rarity: Legendary
Description: "He who seizes the holy sword shall seize the continent." So goes the legend of the Founder's holy sword. It is said that the Founder who built the Aegim Empire received it from the Goddess. "He who seizes the continent shall be seized by fate."
The Founder named his successor and departed. Did he take his own life? Was he struck down by rebellion? In an age when legend and history had not yet diverged, his whereabouts became unknown, and the holy sword vanished as well. Leaving behind only a single line of prophecy as a signpost.
"On the day destiny arrives, he who seizes the holy sword shall also arrive."
The owner of the Holy Sword of Protection receives absolute support and trust from those of the Aegim Empire.
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The power of a Legendary-grade item was incredible.
"Long live the Empire! Long live the Hero!"
"O Goddess, protect us!"
"Attack! Sweep away those filthy monsters!"
The soldiers charged with redoubled courage.
"Kyaa."
In the soldiers' eyes, the skill and I were truly a hero out of legend. The one actually commanding was the NPC general, and I was nothing more than an advisor, but... it felt as if I were personally reigning over the troops.
I felt like I was soaring.
'This is nice. Ah, I like this. Just seeing a sight like this makes clearing the hidden stage feel worthwhile, you know?'
-It's a piece of trash item!
While I was soaring, the guardian spirit was throwing a fit.
-It's just a slightly sturdy, shiny sword!
'Tsk tsk. Maybe it's because you're a ghost, but your sensibilities are so barren. It's a sword that's slightly sturdy and shiny, and it makes the NPCs from floors 11 to 20 go crazy. You get it? NPCs aren't just tools that hand out quests.'
It was a simple shift in thinking.
'They're beings you use to clear quests!'
And this idea actually worked.
While other hunters were sweating like dogs fighting on the ground, I was dashing across the battlefield with the general.
"Wh-what is that...?"
Every time we passed near the hunters, someone was baffled. Some were even horrified.
"Why is he the only one going around with the general?"
"Isn't he an NPC?"
"Whoa, wait. It looks like he's giving orders to the general..."
"No, look at his clothes. He's a hunter!"
"Who is that person...?"
Voices of surprise. Voices of suspicion. Voices of envy and jealousy.
The reactions people commonly have when looking up at another person.
'Ah.'
I was drunk on it.
'This is it. This right here. Keuh, it's amazing.'
-...This lunatic. I taught him aura, and instead of training with the sword like I told him, he goes and strengthens his hearing to eavesdrop on gossip. Zombie, you're incredible. You really are a zombie-like bastard...
'What do you want me to do when it honestly feels good!'
The charge was succeeding. The monster forces were falling one after another.
There were signs of them scrambling to block us, but...
"Hup!"
On the left flank, elite hunters led by Sword Saint were slaughtering orcs.
"Ahahaha! Ah, what a moving day! A new battle! A new era! How truly..."
"Shut up! If you've got time to run your mouth, go kill another goblin!"
On the right flank, members of the major guilds, including Heretic Questioner and Viper, were performing brilliantly.
The enemy's wings had collapsed. There were no reserve troops anywhere to block our breakthrough. Clatter! Clatter! Beneath the cavalry's hooves, goblins' skulls shattered, and orcs' lungs were pierced by the soldiers' spears.
"We can win!"
"Follow the general! Follow the Hero!"
Charge. And charge again!
Before long, a hole had opened in the enemy camp. We had arrived right at the doorstep of the Demon King's army corps commander. On the minimap, the corps commander was marked with a particularly red dot.
-G-growl.
When I looked straight ahead over the general's shoulder, far in the distance, a Goblin King was flailing about in confusion.
'Huh.'
I sneered inwardly.
'I wondered what kind of monster the enemy commander was, and it's a Goblin King?'
Of course, it was probably stronger than the Goblin King I'd caught on the 5th floor. It commanded a monster legion of over a thousand. But no matter how strong a goblin gets, it's still just a goblin. If the cavalry charged and swept through all at once, there was no way it could withstand it.
More than anything.
[Activating skill.]
I had a skill specialized against goblins.
-Growl! Growl!
The Goblin King raised its staff and urged on the surrounding monsters. Translated into human speech, it probably meant something like "Stop those bastards! You idiots!"
Toward that Goblin King, I bellowed.
"Growl!"
In absolutely flawless goblin language!
-G-growk?
"Growl!"
-Growk?
The Goblin King was visibly flustered. When the leader panicked, the nearby monsters fell into confusion too. Naturally, our allies were still charging during all this. The last hope that might have stopped our charge had just flown away.
-Growl?
The Goblin King floundered. It seemed to have realized it had been tricked.
But it was already too late.
I channeled aura into the Holy Sword of Protection and swung it with all my might.
"That was a good growl!"
The holy sword cut through the goblin like slicing tofu. Thunk! The part where the blade briefly caught with a dull resistance was probably the monster's neck bone. The goblin couldn't even let out a proper scream before its head went flying.
"Ohh!"
The general slowed his horse and shouted.
"The Hero has slain the monster!"
He wasn't saying it to me. He was saying it for the soldiers to hear. The general channeled aura into his voice, straining to make it ring out even over the din of war.
The adjutants charging nearby immediately caught on to the general's intent.
"The monster has been slain!"
"The Goddess's Hero has defeated the enemy commander!"
From the general to the adjutants, from the adjutants to the regimental commanders, from the regimental commanders to the soldiers under them. The voice rang and rang, echoing, and the echoed voice thundered across the battlefield.
"Uwaaaaah!"
The regiments waved their banners in response. Battle cries, cheers. On a battlefield where comrades fell dead and monsters swarmed, the soldiers finally cheered.
"......"
I dismounted and suddenly looked around.
My eyes met those of a standard-bearer. He seemed to have lost his left arm in the fighting. With his one remaining right arm, the standard-bearer was waving the flag. When our eyes met, the one-armed standard-bearer broke into a beaming smile. And he raised the flag even higher.
Sunlight poured down over the soot-stained banner.
"Long live the Aegim Empire!"
We had won.
"Sweep away the remnants!"
"Attack! Attack! Don't let a single one escape alive!"
The tide of battle had completely turned.
-Kek, kerur...
-Grrr!
The monsters, which had been as fierce as wild beasts, began to flee.
"Huh?"
"Look at these bastards."
At that, the hunters' eyes changed. A fight between armies was one thing. But chasing down scattered monsters one by one was a hunter's specialty. The hunters bared their fangs and pounced on the goblins and orcs.
"Kill them all!"
The time of the hunt had arrived.
The slaughter didn't last long.
Before long, a voice as vast and clear as the echoes of the battlefield rang in our heads.
[Stage Clear!]
[Today, the 11th-floor stage has been cleared.]
It was the voice of victory.
[Announcing to everyone once more.]
[Today, the 11th-floor stage has been cleared.]
Cheers erupted.
"Uwaaah! Is this for real?!"
"Aren't we seriously too strong?"
"Long live the Black Dragon Guild!"
This time it was the hunters cheering, not the soldiers. Just like in the plaza earlier, some hunters threw their hats into the air, and some embraced each other.
The 11th floor cleared in less than a single day!
It was a tremendous feat, a tidal-wave advance.
[Measuring clear participants... Measurement complete.]
[The number of participants has been exceeded.]
[Selecting the top 10 clearers.]
The hunters looked up.
A list was being engraved in light across the sky, enormous.
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[Clear Contribution Rankings]
1st. Kim Gong-ja
2nd. Sword Saint (劍星)
3rd. Heretic Questioner (異端審問官)
4th. Viper (毒蛇)
5th. Paladin (聖騎士)
6th. Black Witch (黑色魔女)
7th. The Count (伯爵)
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.
.
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Familiar names appeared in a cascade.
But as the list neared completion, the hunters murmured intensely.
"Huh? First place doesn't have an alias?"
"Sword Saint is second?"
"Kim Gong-ja, that's..."
It hadn't been long since my name had been released to the media. It was understandable that people were confused. But the confusion was brief—someone in the crowd shouted.
"Ah, it's the 10th-floor clearer!"
"Right! The 10th-floor clearer's name was Gong-ja!"
"A hunter who didn't even get an alias from the Tower is first place again?"
"Maybe he's some kind of hidden master or something."
Hearing the people whisper, the guardian spirit made a sulky face.
-Oh, sure. Hidden master, my ass. He's just a slick little schemer...
'You acknowledge it's a skill-based game now, right?'
-I don't acknowledge it! I won't!
The guardian spirit whipped around. He seemed to be pouting because I still wasn't training with the sword. How should I put it... this ghost had a strong tendency to value fundamentals over skills.
I gave a wry smile.
'I'll train in swordsmanship before we finish the 20th floor, so cheer up.'
-Huh? Really?
The guardian spirit's ears perked up.
'Yeah, of course. Do you think I'd travel with the Sword Emperor and finish without learning anything? You're someone who broke through to the 99th floor. If anything, I should be begging you to teach me the sword.'
-That's right!
As if he'd never been deflated at all, the guardian spirit spun through the air.
-Kyaa, now the zombie finally recognizes my true worth. I mean, sure, the tower you're climbing now is a little different stage by stage, but in my world, I climbed the tower like a whirlwind. The 11th floor was just a light warm-up for me...!
Ah, so easy.
This ghost is so easy to please.
How can he be this easy?
"O Hero of the Goddess."
While I was watching the guardian spirit float around, the general approached. His whole body was stained with monster blood. But his face, at least, had been wiped clean, and a bright smile sat there.
"We were able to win thanks to you. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you."
"Not at all. We all worked hard and won together."
"Ahaha."
The general scratched his cheek, looking a little sheepish.
"I worried for nothing."
"Pardon?"
"Long ago, an oracle came down at the temple. It said that the Demon King's army would arrive, but that heroes from another world would also be summoned someday, so we need not worry... But I was skeptical. This isn't even their own world, so would these so-called heroes really fight hard for us?"
The general smiled.
"But it was nothing more than needless worry. I offer my thanks once again."
The general extended his hand.
A handshake. Even though our worlds were different, the meaning of the act of clasping hands was similar. Perhaps because humans have two hands, whether in this world or ours.
"I look forward to your continued fine work."
"I'll do my best."
We shook hands.
[Calculating clear rewards... Calculation complete.]
[Granting rewards to the top clearers.]
At that moment, light enveloped me along with the voice.
It wasn't just me. Light shot up from all across the battlefield. One, two, three, four. Ten pillars of light in total soared into the sky.
[The top clearers will enter the 12th floor first.]
[The remaining clearers cannot enter the 12th floor until the top clearers have received their rewards.]
[Announcing once more to everyone. The top clearers...]
I see.
So the ten who contributed the most to the clear receive their rewards first. I felt a little sorry for the hunters who narrowly missed out at 11th or 12th place, but it was a fairly reasonable system.
Just before the light completely enveloped me, the general spoke.
"Please, take good care of our Empire."
And we were summoned to the 12th floor.