Revelation and Trial (1)
Step, step.
Stepping inside the building, I walked forward without hesitation.
Having played the game and visited this place hundreds of times, the layout of the factory was etched into my mind.
My destination was the seventh basement floor of the abandoned factory. It was where the entrance to Hidden Dungeon II of the dark city, Dawnguard, was located.
"Here it is."
It didn't take long for us to reach our destination.
The corridor on the seventh basement floor connected directly to a pitch-black cavern.
Fluorescent water dripped from the stalactites and pooled in the underground lakes. According to the game's lore, the cavern had been severely contaminated by toxic runoff from the factory above.
"Groooaaar!"
Right on cue, a chilling roar echoed from the depths of the cavern.
The ominous atmosphere was palpable. Adelia, looking visibly unsettled, spoke up.
"How on earth did you find a place like this...?"
"I received a revelation."
A revelation.
A prophecy granted only to the chosen few, such as Sword Masters.
Hearing those words, Adelia pressed her lips together for a moment before nodding in understanding.
If it were anyone else, they might have doubted it, but as a member of the noble Goldheart family, she could not dare dismiss a divine revelation.
Especially since she firmly believed I was a Sword Master.
If "savior" was the magic word that worked on Lea de Karayan, then "revelation" was the perfect equivalent for Adelia.
Anyway.
Ending my train of thought, I glanced down at my mana bar.
MP: 1/1
It takes about twenty-four hours to recover a single point of mana.
In other words, Soul of the Sword Master was an ultimate move that I could only use once a day.
Considering the brutal world of Lost Elder, where danger lurked around every corner, a single charge was dangerously insufficient.
It meant I had to save it strictly for life-or-death situations.
Which meant...
"Adelia, take the lead."
...I was naturally going to let my high-level carry handle the dungeon clearing.
"...?"
She paused.
Adelia turned back to look at me, a look of confusion on her face.
She asked in a suspicious tone, "Wait a moment. Did I ever tell you my name...?"
I quickly made up an excuse.
"I received a 'revelation' about that as well."
"...Ah."
She nodded slowly.
Adelia bobbed her head as if everything made sense now.
As expected, my magic word worked like a charm.
You have entered Hidden Dungeon II of the dark city, Dawnguard.
I followed Adelia past the cavern's entrance.
The notification popped up in front of my eyes.
I ignored it and kept walking, and the translucent window quickly faded away.
"It's dark," Adelia murmured, her brow furrowing slightly as she walked ahead.
Just as she said, the cavern was pitch-black.
Only the glowing fluorescent lakes and puddles cast a faint, eerie light over our surroundings.
Hum!
Drawing her sword, Adelia began to channel her Aura.
Soon, a brilliant blue-green energy enveloped her blade.
With her sword blazing like a torch, Adelia advanced cautiously, relying on its light to guide her way.
Skreeeech!
How much further had we walked?
We finally encountered the dungeon's first pack of monsters.
Lv. 51
Lv. 52
Lv. 50
Whoosh!
Several forearm-sized creatures shrieked and lunged at us with terrifying speed.
They were so fast that I couldn't even react.
"Hup!"
But Adelia was different. As she swung her sword, things began to rain down from the air.
Thud!
Splat!
I looked down at the ground.
Half a dozen glowing fairies lay scattered, sliced clean in half.
Adelia's strike had severed their upper and lower bodies with surgical precision.
"I will continue to lead the way," Adelia reported flatly.
I nodded, maintaining my calm exterior, though my mind was screaming in panic.
What the hell? How were they that fast?
They were Polluted Tinkerbells.
Level 50 monsters born from the illegal experiments conducted in the abandoned factory.
They were kamikaze-type monsters that would charge at players and self-destruct, dealing massive damage if they weren't shot down first.
In the game, reacting to them was a piece of cake...
But in reality, they moved so fast my eyes couldn't even track them.
It was probably because my Agility stat was a measly 1.
I need to raise my physical stats as soon as possible.
As I was lost in thought, Adelia spoke up.
"Um... Lord Sword Master?" she asked, glancing back at me tentatively.
My title had suddenly been upgraded to "Lord Sword Master," but whatever.
"I don't know if it's appropriate to ask in a place like this, but... could you tell me what you thought of my swordsmanship just now?"
It was a rather sudden question.
Hearing this, I had to keep my mouth shut for a moment.
What did I think of her swordsmanship?
I couldn't even see it, so how should I know?
To my eyes, there was just a flash of light, and then the monsters were suddenly in pieces.
But I couldn't just tell her that.
Especially not when Adelia was looking at me with eyes full of anticipation.
Well, I suppose.
Technically, I was supposed to be mentoring her.
After a brief moment of deliberation, I just spouted the first thing that came to mind.
"Your blade's path was clouded with hesitation."
"...!"
"A strike born from a cluttered mind can never be clean. When you hold your sword, forget your worries and focus entirely on the present moment."
Adelia's eyes widened.
"I will keep that in mind."
A faint smile played on her lips.
She seemed genuinely satisfied with my advice.
Hmm.
Why did this feel so familiar?
Suddenly, a famous quote I had seen on the internet crossed my mind.
"Be famous, and they will applaud you even when you take a shit."
...She's absolutely thrilled even though I'm just talking out of my ass.
Indeed, the old sayings were never wrong.
In most RPGs, you gain experience points by hunting monsters. Once that value reaches a certain threshold, you level up.
However, the progression system in Lost Elder was structured quite differently from other RPGs.
Players can increase their stats through repetitive actions or training.
Of course, you could still level up by defeating monsters, but that was under the lore premise of gaining "enlightenment" from real combat experience.
Therefore, no matter how many times you hunted the same type of monster, your experience wouldn't rise past a certain point.
Meaning, mindless grinding is useless in Lost Elder. You can't level up that way anyway.
That was the reason my level remained unchanged even after killing Barba, the Human Butcher.
Anyway.
Why was I suddenly bringing this up out of nowhere?
Well...
Stamina has slightly increased. (1 → 2)
Strength has slightly increased. (1 → 2)
...It was because walking through this rugged cavern had actually increased my stats.
My Stamina and Strength actually went up.
Indeed, muscle aches were starting to flare up all over my body.
My legs were trembling, and I was starting to lose my breath.
I've barely walked, and I'm already exhausted.
It was pathetic, almost pitiful.
Meanwhile, Adelia, who had been single-handedly slicing through all the monsters in the dungeon, hadn't shed a single drop of sweat.
"Phew."
She stopped in her tracks.
Taking a short breath, she flicked the blood off her blade. Fluorescent slime splattered onto the stone floor.
Adelia slowly raised her head, staring at the massive obstacle that had appeared before us.
"It seems we've reached the end of the cavern."
Rumble...
A massive stone gate, standing nearly ten meters tall, loomed before us.
Its surface was carved with a gruesome mural depicting children being kidnapped and subjected to horrific, illegal experiments.
It was a very familiar entrance to me.
...And for good reason. This was the boss room of the dungeon.
"Well then, let's head in."
Adelia pushed the stone gate with both hands.
With a loud grinding noise, dust and debris rained down from the ceiling.
Creak!
The view beyond the entrance slowly revealed itself.
It was a cavern with an incredibly high ceiling.
Faint moonlight filtered through the partially collapsed ceiling, dimly illuminating the subterranean chamber. The flooded floor glowed with a sickly fluorescent green light.
Reinforced steel pillars from the factory barely managed to support the crumbling ceiling.
And right in the center of the clearing, a massive figure radiating a sinister aura sat hunched over.
Lv. 82
Flutter!
Translucent wings twitched beneath its tattered, torn green rags.
Six grotesque arms each clutched a massive greatsword. Its bumpy, coarse skin was stained a filthy brown and fluorescent green.
Its appearance was highly reminiscent of the Asura from Hindu mythology.
If this were the game, a boss name would have appeared above its hideous face:
Level:82
"Ah..."
She faltered.
Adelia took an involuntary step backward. The sheer pressure radiating from Peterpan was so intense that even she, at Level 77, froze for a moment.
Mental Strength 'MAX' resists the opponent's pressure.
Of course, I was completely unaffected.
The passive effect of Soul of the Sword Master granted me immunity to all mental debuffs.
I glanced at Adelia and spoke.
"I trust you've warmed up on the way here."
"..."
"This is the final stage of the 'training' I mentioned earlier. Can you handle it?"
Peterpan.
The name might sound silly and familiar, but he was considered one of the worst bosses in the main game.
Putting his high stats aside, his attack patterns were incredibly tricky.
If the current Adelia fought him, she would probably die seven times out of ten.
"Phew."
There was no way Adelia didn't know this.
Powerhouses over Level 75 could gauge their opponent's strength at a glance, unless the gap in their power was absolute.
So she must have realized that her chances of winning against Peterpan were slim.
Shring!
Yet, Adelia raised her sword without a shred of hesitation.
She began to step cautiously toward the beast.
"If it means I can gain enlightenment, I will challenge it as many times as..."
Clang!
At that exact moment, crimson sparks flew.
Peterpan had closed the distance in the blink of an eye, swinging his sword right in front of Adelia's face.
Deflecting the blow purely on instinct, Adelia's eyes went wide.
"What...!"
The attack was fast and heavy.
Perhaps due to the impact, Adelia's hand holding the sword trembled violently.
But she had no time to catch her breath.
Six massive blades immediately descended upon her like a tempest.
"Wendyyyy!"
Whoosh!
Fluttering his wings, Peterpan leapt into the air, twisting his body to unleash a barrage of strikes.
Faced with attacks that were deceptively fast for his massive size, Adelia was forced onto the defensive, stumbling backward as she struggled to block.
The strikes she failed to deflect left deep gashes on her body.
Less than five minutes had passed since the battle began, but Adelia was already covered in cuts and bruises.
As expected, it's too much for her.
Yes.
Peterpan was a far more formidable opponent than I had anticipated.
I had hoped Adelia might gain some enlightenment from this fight, but at this rate, she would die a dog's death before she could learn anything.
My decision was swift.
Having reached a conclusion, I immediately prepared to play my trump card.
You did well, Adelia.
I thought to myself as I watched her desperately block another strike.
She had already done her part just by escorting me to the boss room.
I was fully prepared to handle everything from here on out.
Shring!
I drew the Feather Sword.
The weightless blade fit perfectly in my hand.
Suddenly, my vision went dark. It wasn't a conscious action; remembering the gale that had erupted last time, my body reflexively closed its eyes.
And then...
MP: 1/1
Tick.
MP: 0/1
...In that fleeting split second, an explosive sense of omnipotence surged through my entire body.