The Guardian's Treasure

After rescuing Circe, X laid out everything that had happened.

"You're telling me this is one of the Hero's Trials?"

Circe found it hard to believe. She had no choice but to take his word for it, but the claim was so wildly out of left field that her skepticism was only natural. Who could have guessed that getting swept up in a spatial teleportation accident would dump them into a Hero's Trial of all places?

"At this point, hanging around you is starting to scare me. You're like a walking storm of bad luck."

"You think I wanted a life like this?"

His luck stat was zero, after all. Misery was a constant companion. Still, having Circe caught in the accident was a stroke of fortune in one respect — it made explaining the situation a lot easier.

Getting called lucky after a disaster like this is just insulting, though...

He was still sighing when Circe spoke first.

"So what now?"

"We should start by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠checking whether anyone else got pulled in with us."

The first person who came to mind was Lola. She had been standing closest when the spatial artifact ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠activated. Then again, if Lola had been dragged here, the labyrinth would have been echoing with violent explosions this entire time — and it had been quiet so far, which was strange in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠its own right. There was no chance she would have gone down helplessly to a pack of skeletons, so the odds that she hadn't been caught in the transfer were reasonably high.

"The nobles have some nerve. Targeting a prince inside the academy? They must be begging to have their entire houses wiped out."

"They're definitely a faction drunk on power. Once we get out of here, I'll need to discuss countermeasures with Lord Darius."

"Discuss? What's there to discuss? Find every last one of them and wipe their houses off the map. This isn't something you can paper over by covering for the nobility. This is attempted assassination of the imperial bloodline."

Circe's voice was sharp, each word landing with the weight of a verdict.

"I've noticed this about you. You're terrified of anyone connected to you dying. But you can't save everyone forever. Sometimes a situation only ends when someone dies."

X swallowed.

He knew. A world where everyone survived, where everyone turned out good... that kind of happy ending didn't exist in any novel he knew. The empire's Doom Scenario alone had already claimed countless lives, Elia's among them. He knew that insisting on saving everyone was greed.

"It's not as easy as it sounds..."

"Take your time thinking about it. I'm not asking you to steel yourself to kill someone overnight. You're still just a student — of course you'd struggle with this. Consider it an early warning, nothing more."

The contents of this body aren't exactly a student, though.

The conversation circled back to clearing the dungeon.

"Unfortunately, I never went through this particular trial in my previous life. Which means you're the only one here who actually knows this place."

"There's not much beyond what I already told you. Gather troops, capture the Fortress at the far end of the dungeon. That's the only way out."

He had already made a full circuit looking for a path that connected to the outside. True to the dungeon's design — once you entered, you couldn't leave — there was no entrance or exit anywhere. He had long since given up on any clever escape.

"Two problems need handling right now. First, food. Second, the hundred-man companies."

To get food, they had to claim the treasure chests guarded by the Trial Guardians. The Flag of Command was inside those chests as well. It was a step they simply couldn't skip.

"As for the hundred-man companies, I intend to avoid them whenever possible. There's not much to gain from wiping them out. If we could pick off just the officers, that might be a different story..."

"Avoiding unnecessary fights is the right call. But you said they patrol constantly. The more our numbers grow, the harder they'll be to dodge. You should be ready for a fight."

"Mm..."

That was the part that worried him most. Until now their force had been small enough to run. He couldn't count on that remaining true.

What other tools do ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I even have?

Knowing the original story wasn't enough. The information was too thin. He needed to gather as much as he could, first.

"Let's scout the area for now. We should also check what the Guardians have on their end."

"I just came out of a fight, so I'm out of mana. I'll be leaning on you for a bit."

Circe and X walked together. For better or worse, no combat broke out while they surveyed the surroundings. It may have been because the two of them had already torn through everything in the vicinity without discrimination.

"Clearing this dungeon means that, doesn't it?"

Circe spoke as they walked.

"Means what?"

"You said this is a Hero's Trial. If you clear it, you'll receive the Hero's power. You are a Hero, after all."

"...That's a possibility I'd rather not think about."

"Why? Getting stronger would be a good thing, wouldn't it?"

X's expression soured at the question.

"Because Leon needs to acquire the Hero's power in full. One of the prerequisites for slaying the Demon King is clearing every Hero's Trial. I was hoping that, at least, wouldn't have any variables."

If X cleared a Hero's Trial, Leon might not receive the power. If that happened, the campaign against the Demon King would fail. Stopping every other Doom Scenario only to lose at the finish line would render everything meaningless. It was an outcome he was determined to avoid.

"On top of that, in the future I saw, the trial rewards work by drawing out a person's latent abilities. If it were a weapon or an artifact, I could just hand it over to Leon. But it's not..."

"Who knows? Maybe your latent ability is beyond anything we can imagine. This could be your chance to slay the Demon King as a Hero yourself."

"Please don't even joke about that..."

Fighting the Demon King was something he would rather die than do. The only idiot who would throw himself at a being that was destruction itself — a concept that unmade heaven and earth — was Leon. If X tried the same thing, he would just stand there shaking with overwhelming terror. That much was certain.

"Anyway... I'm still trying to figure out what to do. I wish there were a way to clear the dungeon without taking the reward..."

"You really do make life hard for yourself."

"I'd love to take it easy, believe me."

Talking as they went, they found a vast chamber in the heart of the labyrinth. Inside it was exactly what they had been looking for.

"There's a treasure chest over there."

"And a Guardian watching it."

The room was large enough to swallow several buildings. A single object sitting in a space that size might have made the place feel empty — but this room was anything but. An overwhelming presence pressed down on the air itself, pouring off the thing standing at the center.

"...It's bigger than I expected."

A stone statue so massive it was almost nauseating, roughly the size of a two-story house. The statue's face was carved into a savage grimace, and it stood planted in place gripping a colossal stone greatsword larger than its own body. One hit from that blade and there wouldn't be enough left of a person to bury.

Circe frowned at the sight.

"Doesn't look like the two of us can take it."

"Can you analyze it? If it's a statue, it's basically a golem — could you interfere with its mana and shut it down, like last time?"

"That statue is closer to an undead, like the skeletons. Naturally formed mana life-forms are nearly impossible to disable through interference. If you try and it puts the thing on alert, you'll just throw away any chance of a surprise attack."

Of course it wouldn't be that easy. Something of that caliber was a fight for someone on Leon's level.

So we'll have to spend troops after all.

He was settling into that conclusion when his gaze snagged on something — the ring on Circe's finger.

Python's Leap...

An artifact loaded with Blink, the short-range teleportation spell. The moment he saw it, an idea flashed through his mind.

"Circe, could I borrow Python's Leap?"

"What? No! Giving it to you and then taking it back is too much, don't you think?"

"I'll return it. I have something I want to try."

"Try? Try what?"

X told her what he had in mind. Circe's face crumpled at high speed.

"Wouldn't it be better to just send the troops in and deal with it? That's way too dangerous. There's no guarantee any of it will go the way you think."

"We're out of good options, so we might as well throw the dice. If it goes south, I'll run immediately. Don't worry."

"That's not something you get to say while actively making me worry..."

Circe sighed and handed over Python's Leap. The hesitation in her grip made it obvious how much she treasured it.

It really is a first-rate artifact, I'll give it that.

X took Python's Leap and fed mana through it, checking the functions. He cast the spell a few times first, getting a feel for it. The last thing he wanted was to fumble and have his body sliced in half.

"I'll help you."

With Circe's assistance, he Blinked several times until the sensation settled in. He had only ever heard about it, but the performance was so outrageous he couldn't help but click his tongue.

Items in this category are all broken, every last one of them.

He was ready. For the first time in a while, X invoked Demonification.

His eyes took on a demonic cast, and thin ribbons of black smoke began to seep from his body.

"Still unsettling, no matter how many times I see it."

Circe grumbled beside him. X just shrugged, as if to say there was nothing he could do about it. The instinctive, species-deep revulsion and sense of wrongness toward demons was unavoidable. He figured as much himself.

Holding the sensation of Blink in his mind, X took up the Dragon Sword and moved forward. Cloaked in demonic power that blurred his presence, he approached the statue with painstaking care.

If it's a naturally formed mana life-form like the skeleton soldiers, its functions should be similar. This thing only activates when someone is actually inside the room, after all.

The distance closed, bit by bit. Even as he drew considerably nearer, the Trial Guardian statue did not move.

If I can just stay in its blind spot...

At about ten paces, X watched the Guardian with his nerves wound tight, ready to flee at the slightest hint of motion. The Guardian remained standing, still as ever.

His gaze passed beyond it to what lay behind. The treasure chest. A massive iron coffer the size of a person's torso, as heavy and solid as the original novel had described.

Get it done and get out. Fast.

Without hesitation, X poured mana into Python's Leap. The ring answered, triggering the spell sealed within.

His form flared with light, contracted in an instant, and reappeared somewhere else. In a single heartbeat, X stood directly in front of the treasure chest.

Grab this and Blink out, and—

Acquire the chest intact, without a single exchange of blows. A method only X could pull off, thanks to the demonic power that let him veil his presence. Get as close as possible, steal the chest, and leave. Blinking with the chest in tow would cost a fair amount of mana, but he had more than enough to spare. If this worked, he could simply repeat the theft in every other Guardian chamber.

Damn, this thing is heavy—!

He was still startled by how much the chest weighed when Circe's warning ripped through the air behind him.

"X! Get out of there!!"

He glanced back, and what he saw made his blood run cold.

The building-sized statue was slowly rising, its gaze locked on the treasure chest. Savage light burned in its eyes as it hoisted the colossal stone greatsword, ready to butcher the thief who dared steal its hoard. A single clean hit and X would leave this world as ground meat, chest and all.

It wakes the moment you so much as touch the chest—?!

That situation had never come up in the original, so he had no idea. He didn't have the luxury of lamenting it now. X scrambled to prepare a Blink — and the instant he fed mana into Python's Leap, he felt the problem.

It's eating way more mana than I thought—!

The chest was heavier than he had imagined, and Blink demanded correspondingly more mana for the added weight. In that sliver of a gap, the statue brought the stone greatsword down without mercy.

He could drop the chest and run alone — but then he would lose every supply they needed. So he would take the chest with him, no matter what. He had just sworn that to himself when—

SHRAAAK—!! CRASH!!!

Something detonated against the statue's back, kicking up a storm. The sudden ambush rocked the Guardian's stance. The falling greatsword's path twisted, ugly and off-line, and slammed into the floor beside X instead of through him.

KRA-KOOM—!!!!

The blow alone sent debris flying in every direction and a thunderclap rolling through the chamber.

"Get out of there!!"

Circe shouted while he was still reeling from the shock. X snapped back to himself and finished preparing the Blink. He triggered it without hesitation, teleporting with the treasure chest in his arms — and landed right back where he had started.

Couldn't get far, huh—!

He had no choice but to heave the chest up. Hellish training had at least given him confidence in his raw strength. He broke into a full sprint with the chest in his arms, and behind him a pounding gait drew steadily closer. The statue, its face a demon's mask, was giving chase.

"Circe! We're leaving!!"

"I don't need you to tell me that!"

Circe poured magic into the statue until X reached her, slowing its lumbering advance just enough. Thanks to her, X made it out of the Guardian's chamber.

Only after putting a healthy distance between themselves and the entrance did the two of them breathe. The doorway was smaller than the Guardian; it couldn't follow them out. Once they were clear of the room, they were safe.

"It shouldn't come any farther than this..."

"You're sure? The look in its eyes said it would chase us to the ends of hell."

"Even so, it wouldn't try to leave the cham—"

KUUUNG—!!!

An ominous impact from the Guardian's chamber cut him off. And it wasn't just one. The shocks kept coming.

KUNG—!! KUNG—!!! KUUUUNG—!!!

No complicated explanation was required. Contrary to every expectation, the Guardian was trying to smash its way out, pulverizing the narrow entrance to rubble.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me...!"

X yanked the treasure chest open and scattered its contents in every direction. Circe stared at him in horror.

"Hey— what are you doing?!"

"It looks like it wants the chest back, so we give it back. The contents, we keep. You lot — pick up everything on the floor, as much as you can carry!"

The skeleton soldiers obeyed at once, scooping up the scattered items. There were so many of them that the floor was cleared in an instant. X pointed at a skeleton with empty hands.

"You. Grab this chest and run that way! Move!"

The skeleton clattered as it hoisted the empty chest and bolted down a vacant corridor. X and Circe left the spot as well, ducking out of sight.

KRAAAAAASH—!!!

The entrance to the Guardian's chamber exploded into ruin. Murderous intent rolled off the Guardian in waves as it surveyed the area, then thundered off in a heavy sprint — straight toward the skeleton carrying the chest X had sent away.

Fortunately, the Guardian was chasing the chest itself, not its contents.

"We're alive..."

"If it's going to be like this every time, no number of lives will be enough..."

And just like that, the two of them had secured their supplies. Food, a Flag of Command, and a handful of unusual items besides. Enough to set the next plan in motion.