Chapter 16: The World Quest Scroll

'A World Quest scroll? Insane. I never thought it'd be here...'

Racking my brains through my memories, there was no event in the Sword Tomb capable of altering the continent's history. Back when I led the northern conquest as the Iron Kingdom's king, all the minor nations of the continent had already vanished. And when I took down the Corrupted Goblin, it hadn't dropped anything noteworthy either.

What the hell is this?

I stared at the scroll wrapped in vivid crimson thread, curiosity burning about what lay inside.

"Is this Master's sword?"

Kael Harun's voice echoed from atop the altar. I slipped the quest scroll into my pocket for now. The basic inventory only had five slots, and with the magic stone, staff, and now the scroll, over half were already filled.

The inventory system itself was an unrealistic game mechanic, so Dimension World adopted a method of expanding it with tools as you progressed. It was a bit of a hassle, but since you could buy 15-to-20-slot bags in starting cities, there wasn't much backlash.

Need to expand inventory before tackling dungeons. If there's someone who knows unsealing magic, they could make a special bag infused with mana... but that's way later.

I mulled over ways to increase inventory space.

Village bags aren't worth much. Weight matters in inventory too, so without a magic tool that reduces weight, you often can't add more slots because of it anyway.

Exceeding inventory weight slowed your movement, and in the worst case, you couldn't move at all.

One more detour on the way central. Good thing Sandorim Forest is close to the north...

I nodded and slowly approached the altar where Kael Harun stood.

Srrrring—

Kael Harun slowly drew Gullak's sword from the altar. The refreshingly sharp blade's ring tickled my ears.

That's weird? I think there was one more reward...

I tilted my head at the alert window, puzzled. The initial hidden quest alert had listed two rewards.

"Fine sword. As expected of the blade wielded by Gullak, the War God."

Strange as it was, I continued talking to Kael Harun. I couldn't see the item info, but at a glance, the honed edge screamed Gullak's sword.

"Hmmm..."

Kael Harun examined the blade closely.

Curious. In my memory, when he lost to me, he said the outcome might've changed with just Gullak's sword. If he's lucky, getting this could trigger a hidden class quest.

Watching him, I reflected. Yong-gong Geom-sik, the Iron Kingdom's royal secret art that earned me the title Sword Emperor, was exceptional swordsmanship. Yet no records claimed any Iron King was the continent's top martial artist. Past kings had mastered it too.

Was I just more talented with the sword than my predecessors?

Doubt it. History called Iron Kings the finest knights among all, reaching Swordmaster ranks.

But the histories said that. War God. The title no Iron King ever claimed went solely to Gullak.

No one disputes he reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship.

That's why I chose the Northern Plateau start. To trace Gullak's elusive footsteps hidden in the continent's history, unknown to others.

I prioritized affinity with Kael Harun while playing for clues on Gullak. Chil-ya swordsmanship. Kael Harun, the sole successor, had learned it—but I had no intention of learning from him.

Why? He lost to me, who knew Yong-gong Geom-sik. Learning Gullak's art from him is pointless.

Harsh, but learning from the weak is meaningless.

My real goal: stopping that thing called the Calamity. Hidden classes won't cut it.

I'd even abandoned the legendary Yong-gong Geom-sik for the strongest class.

Of course, Chil-ya might be the continent's finest, but Kael Harun's talent fell short.

Which made learning from him even worse.

It'd prove his shallow grasp of swordsmanship. Little's known of Chil-ya. Maybe even Kael Harun didn't learn directly from Gullak.

So I had to confirm.

Why Kael Harun lost despite the continent's strongest sword art. Was he weak... or as he said dying, did Chil-ya only complete with Gullak's sword?

Now, with Gullak's sword meeting Chil-ya's heir, I'd get answers.

"I know not how to thank you."

Kael Harun gazed at me gravely.

"You've recovered one of our tribe's lost relics."

"I merely fulfilled Lord Gullak's final words."

"I think not."

"Pardon?"

"You never met Master, did you?"

"..."

His unexpected words choked me. But I quickly relaxed and replied.

"Haha, what do you mean? How else would I know the Sword Tomb's location?"

"I know not why, but Master wouldn't leave his sword with our tribe."

"...Pardon?"

Kael Harun smiled faintly at me.

"This isn't Gullak's sword."

"Wh-what...?"

"It's the blade of Tesaro, first disciple among Master's Five Heroes, called First Sword. The one you broke earlier was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠likely his prior sword."

Speechless at his revelation.

No way... the sword I found wasn't Gullak's?

"How can you be sure?"

I demanded incredulously.

"Impossible to miss. He was our chieftain—my father."

"...!!!"

"And this sword was forged by our tribe. See the horn mark below the hilt—Kalun Tribe's symbol."

He turned the sword, showing the decoration. A horn mark indeed.

"Likely an altar for the Hero's sword... I fault not your deception. Without you, I'd never recover Father's blade. You're still Kalun's benefactor."

Grateful as he was, I couldn't hide my dismay.

Why didn't I think of that? Even dream me isn't omniscient—just a loser to that thing. My judgments were mere guesses, like now.

In the dream, conquering the tomb and claiming this sword, I assumed it was Gullak's. Blind faith. Why no doubt if dream me erred?

I sighed at my foolish mistake.

Now I've lost a lead on Gullak's swordsmanship...

"Know not how Father's sword returned, hidden here—but now it breathes home's air."

He gripped it tight.

"..."

His words fell on deaf ears.

"Take it."

That snapped me. Doubting my ears, I asked again.

"...Pardon?"

"Father's sword is yours."

My hearing was fine.

"Killing the Goblin Mage—the true reward seems this sword. You slew it, so it belongs to you."

"Nonsense. You said it's your father's blade. A former chieftain's sword belongs with the tribe."

"Take it."

He insisted despite my refusal.

"A mere outsider? Nay. But I owe you."

Stunned, I eyed Tesaro's sword. Its blue edge gleamed hungrily in the dark.

I see. The reward list's question mark vanished on completion—that's why.

Now it clicked: this was the hidden quest's true reward.

Quests chaining like this... utterly unpredictable.

I reached slowly for the sword Kael Harun offered.

Krak—!!

Gripping the hilt unleashed blinding white light.

Hm?

Maxing affinity with Kael Harun leveled Affinity, granting a new skill slot.

Sociability...?

Decent ability. Perfect for my plans to borrow NPC power.

Level up adds slots? Useful for tricky NPCs too.

I nodded, satisfied.

"You're no longer Kalun guest, but comrade. Now go. Business here done."

"..."

Kael Harun turned to leave.

But gripping Tesaro's sword, I stopped him.

"Kael. You learned Chil-ya, right...? Directly from Gullak?"

"To you, aye. No secret. I learned not directly from War God—just glimpsed Father's book on partial Chil-ya sword forms. One of seven: mere 1st Form, incomplete even."

Ha, haha...

Dry laugh escaped. I eyed Tesaro's sword.

Thump... thump...

It makes sense now. Swordsmanship sealed in the blade...

Heart pounded at finding the lost thread to Gullak's art.

"War God taught each disciple one form. Father, chieftain Tesaro, mastered Chil-ya 1st—but without War God's leave, couldn't pass it to me."

Now I understood his incomplete Chil-ya and loss to Yong-gong Geom-sik.

Not just talent.

But shocking: his "Chil-ya" was just the 1st Form.

My Yong-gong Geom-sik barely edged his incomplete 1st Form.

Embarrassing, yet it hit home how phenomenal Gullak's Chil-ya was.

Sudden thought—I pulled the scroll from inventory. Unopened, tradable. A World Quest crimson tie? Astronomical price.

But I tore it without hesitation.

Fwoooosh—!!!!

Scroll burned instantly; iridescent light birthed a window before me. No chime—deep resonance like heartbeats.

Woooong...

"Quest name..."

My hunch ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠confirmed in stark text.

"Chil-ya."

I murmured the name, clutching my racing heart.

Finally found. The way to end that Calamity's breath.