The Hero's Blood (3)
As we made our way deeper into the dungeon, the young lady suddenly asked me a question.
“So why exactly did we come here?”
“There’s something I need to find.”
“Something you need to find?”
“A treasure… I suppose you could call it that.”
I answered calmly and took her hand, guiding her through a corridor thick with darkness.
“Are you talking about a mana stone?”
Mana stone.
The core and heart of any dungeon.
Of course, a mana stone was certainly valuable enough to be considered a treasure. The immense mana stored within it offered endless ways to make use of it.
But that wasn’t what we had come for this time.
“It’s something even rarer than a mana stone. After all, it’s an item that can no longer be obtained anywhere else.”
“Then what is it already!”
Heh heh. Now I finally understand why uncles love teasing their nieces and nephews so much. With a reaction this good, how could anyone resist?
When I kept dodging the question, the young lady tugged impatiently at my hand, clearly frustrated.
Even so, was she still worried about me being a patient? Her pulls weren’t very strong. Just enough to show her displeasure.
Somehow, the young lady’s behavior was getting cuter and cuter. Maybe she was excited now that she had left Dranaris territory and arrived in a new environment. Heh heh.
“I said, what is it!”
“Alright, alright. Calm down. By any chance, do you know how Stella Academy was originally built?”
“That’s obvious. The First Hero built it after kicking a dragon out of its home! I read it in a fairy tale book when I was little.”
Kicking it out? I’d appreciate it if she could refrain from using such barbaric language. There’s a much more elegant term: permanent lease of premises.
Besides, the dragon wasn’t actually driven out. It was more like… Ah, now wasn’t the time to explain that.
“Well, you could see it that way. But to be precise, after fighting the dragon for three full days, he earned its recognition and borrowed the land.”
“Isn’t that the same thing? But what does that have to do with us being here right now?”
“This dungeon is what was created back then.”
“…What do you mean?”
What I meant was that this dungeon was the very place where the First Hero and the Red Dragon had fought for three days and three nights.
The legendary First Hero, said to have defeated the Demon King with nothing but a human body, married the Saint, and became the progenitor of the Libertan Imperial Family.
He had one particular dilemma.
Where exactly should he build the capital of his new empire?
After all, it was a nation founded by the First Hero himself. He couldn’t just pick any random spot. He needed land that was geographically sound and carried strong symbolic meaning.
After searching for a long time, one location finally caught his eye.
It was the Crevos Mountain Range ruled by the Red Dragon — the land that would later become Libertan.
Any normal person would never have the insane idea of building a capital in territory occupied by a ferocious dragon and treacherous mountains. But the First Hero was mad enough to consider it, and unfortunately, he also possessed the power to make that madness a reality.
Oh? If I shave down those mountains a bit, this place could work.
But a dragon owns it? Eh~ I’ll just take it then~
The Red Dragon fought the suddenly invading hero for three days and three nights. The aftermath of their battle erased the Crevos Mountain Range from the map entirely.
Having lost its home to the hero, the Red Dragon eventually acknowledged the First Hero and handed over dominion of the land.
Thus the Libertan Empire was founded on that very ground. And to express his gratitude to the Red Dragon for so generously yielding the territory, the First Hero built a cradle for talented individuals right on top of its nest. That is the legendary origin of Stella Academy.
…Now that I think about it, stealing someone’s land and then building an academy on it as a commemorative gesture… maybe he just really wanted to teabag the dragon.
“But that happened almost a thousand years ago.”
“That’s true. Which makes it even more impressive, doesn’t it? The fact that mana from a thousand years ago still remains and has turned into a dungeon.”
The mana unleashed during the battle between the First Hero and the Red Dragon a millennium ago still lingered, transforming the area into a dungeon… Just how monstrous had the First Hero been?
In the game, the First Hero only ever appeared as a setting character who was occasionally mentioned. Every time he did, though, he displayed such ridiculous personality and strength that fans nicknamed him the Cheat Hero or the Trash Hero.
“In short, this dungeon is the byproduct born from a dragon and a hero passionately coveting each other’s bodies.”
“…That sounds completely wrong!”
Was that description a bit too suggestive for the young lady to understand?
Anyway.
Because of that particular origin, this place was the location within Stella Academy that carried the strongest traces of the First Hero.
“Which means the First Hero’s treasure is here.”
“It feels a little weird to call it a treasure… but yes, that’s the idea.”
“Where on earth do you learn about all this stuff?”
“The truth is, I’m actually a person from another world. I saw it while playing a game there.”
“What are you talking about! At least put some effort into your lies!”
But it’s the truth….
We continued our conversation as we headed toward the deepest part of the dungeon. That was when it happened.
While walking with my cane, something appeared within my Mind’s Eye.
“……I’ve found it.”
At my words, the young lady who had been walking ahead stopped in her tracks.
Before us stood a massive door.
It wasn’t made of rock or iron, but of some black substance whose nature I couldn’t identify. Its enormous size made it seem as though it had been built specifically for a dragon.
Alright. Now that we’ve come this far, it’s time for the young lady’s help to truly shine!
“Come here, young lady~ Over this way~”
“What’s with the sudden change in tone? That’s exactly the voice you use when you’re about to trick me…?”
“How could you say something so hurtful~? Don’t you know how much I cherish you? Come on, it’s fine. Just come over here~”
Tsk. She’s sharp. But it’s too late. Once we’ve reached this point, it’s already over.
At that moment, a blue magic circle glowed to life beneath the young lady’s feet.
I quickly offered her an apology.
“I’m sorry, young lady!”
“Dia, wait! What is this?! Why can’t I move my body!”
Her startled cry echoed through the dungeon.
The magic circle that had sprung up beneath her feet began greedily devouring her mana like a starving beast, channeling it toward the door.
The door, having absorbed her mana at an incredible rate, soon began to open with a tremendous rumble.
Rumble—!
As expected of the young lady. She really is incredible.
This door normally required several mages working together to open, yet she managed it all by herself….
Well, it’s all thanks to how well I’ve trained her. From that perspective, it’s practically as if I cleared this dungeon alone. Looks like the young lady carried me the whole way~
Still, expending that much mana in one go must have been quite taxing. I could sense her legs wobbling as the last of her mana was drained.
I rushed over and caught her around the waist just before she hit the floor, pulling her into my arms.
“As expected of our young lady. You’re truly amazing. Opening a door like this all by yourself.”
Her slender body was trembling from mana exhaustion, but what I felt from her as she lay in my embrace wasn’t fatigue — it was pure killing intent.
“You… are so dead… once we get out of here.”
Oh dear. She’s seriously upset.
I gently brushed aside the sweat-soaked hair clinging to her forehead and poured out sincere praise.
“All that teaching I’ve given you has really paid off. You opened the door so perfectly. You were absolutely magnificent today.”
“…You’re trying to… get out of this… with compliments again…!”
Even as she bit her lip in frustration, her eyelids grew heavy from mana depletion. She leaned her head against my chest and continued huffing angrily.
Before long, she had fallen fast asleep in my arms. I began walking forward at a leisurely pace while carrying her.
Well, it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, isn’t it?
If I had told her the truth beforehand, she would have whined and refused. It was an unavoidable choice.
It was definitely not revenge for her waking me up this morning because she was hungry and whining. Absolutely not.
After walking for about ten minutes, the straight corridor suddenly widened as if by magic, revealing a vast, open circular space.
This was the dungeon’s deepest core — the Core Room where the mana stone was located.
The moment I stepped inside, I felt an overwhelming wave of mana that made every hair on my body stand on end.
In the center of the Core Room, a mana stone floated in midair, radiating power worthy of being called the dungeon’s very heart.
It pulsed with a regular rhythm like a living creature, asserting its presence.
Thump. Thump.
Every time the mana stone released a wave, the surrounding air rippled, endlessly supplying mana to the dungeon.
The mana unleashed a thousand years ago during the clash between the First Hero and the Red Dragon had condensed over time and now circulated endlessly within that stone.
“So this is a mana stone… It really is incredible.”
The dignity it exuded was overwhelming. It was far too massive and threatening to simply be called a clump of mana. With just this one stone, one could power major magical facilities for decades. To someone with ambition, it could become absolute power capable of shaking the entire empire.
But my main objective today wasn’t the mana stone itself. I’d grab it later, of course.
I carefully laid the young lady down on a flat section of floor beside the altar and walked toward the mana stone.
Then I slowly ran my hand along the bottom of the altar where the stone rested.
Soon my fingertips detected a section of floor that felt distinctly different.
“Here it is.”
Click.
When I pressed down, a perfect mechanical sound rang out as the floor slid open naturally. Inside, a glass bottle came into view. As if simply hiding it wasn’t enough, a thick barrier had been placed around the bottle. But to me, a magic-made barrier might as well not exist.
I carefully retrieved the glass bottle.
Though I couldn’t see it, I was certain this was the hidden piece I had been seeking.
There was no way any other liquid could emit this kind of presence.
“Found it.”
The only other item left behind by the First Hero — an object treated as pure legend even within the game.
Hero's Blood
I held the bottle tightly, feeling a thrill run through me.