Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 027
Chapter Title: Thousand Forms
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After the hunt was over, Shan, who had collapsed in exhaustion, spotted two lights approaching from afar.
It was Roden and Bent, clutching torches and scanning their surroundings tensely.
"Hey, Shan, Shan! You there? Say something!"
"Here..."
He didn't even have the strength to speak properly, so he whispered a few times before the two finally spotted him and the cockatrice sprawled beside him.
Roden rushed over in shock at the blood-soaked sight.
"Oh no! How bad are you hurt? Priest, heal him quick!"
"It's not... that bad..."
There were a few wounds, but they were just light grazes or scrapes from rolling on the ground. The blood on his body had all come from the cockatrice's severed neck.
Realizing this, Roden let out a sigh of relief.
"You scared us... But why do you look such a mess? Making us worry like this."
"Ki-back."
"Ah."
At that moment, Bent, who had been illuminating the massive monster corpse with his torch, let out a low sigh.
"You really took it down. A cockatrice, all by yourself no less."
"Not... by myself."
Without the magic Jerpo had cast on him, he wouldn't have been able to fully sever its neck.
Without Bent's blessing, he couldn't have recovered his stamina after landing those initial strikes.
And without Roden tossing him a weapon, he'd have been weighed down by a bunch of awkward blades and taken a fatal hit.
He'd fought alone, but he'd won because everyone had fought together. That's truly how Shan saw it.
Hearing the story, Roden chuckled in disbelief as he helped Shan to his feet.
"Fine, let's say we all did it. For now, let's head back and get some sleep, oh great hero."
Everyone was too drained to bother with disposing of the cockatrice or anything like that.
Shan had done all the direct fighting, but the other two had been stuck listening in pitch darkness to a battle whose outcome was anyone's guess.
The three staggered back to their makeshift camp and flopped down beside Jerpo, who was already fast asleep.
Fortunately, the cockatrice had been an absolute tyrant to the city's snake monsters, so all four made it safely to morning without incident.
Jerpo, waking first, stared at the other three in disbelief.
"You didn't post a watch and all slept!?"
"Probably... yeah."
"This is bad."
One snake from the outskirts could have wiped them out.
They vowed never to do that again no matter how tired they were, held a quick reflection session, and set out from camp.
Now it was finally time to reap the rewards of their hard work.
"Ha..."
Confirming the cockatrice corpse, Jerpo ran his hands over the stone body in disbelief.
"Never thought I'd get to examine a cockatrice this closely."
"Know what trophies we can take from it?"
"The stone skin can be scraped for alchemy catalysts, but it's too heavy, rare but not that useful, so low price—skip it. The foot membranes have good elasticity for tool materials, and even without petrification, the eyes are basilisk-like for magic tools..."
Shan butchered the usable parts per Jerpo's instructions.
Roden, no good with blades, handled sorting the pieces or hanging them to dry easily.
But while splitting the heart, something odd caught his eye right beside it—a translucent crimson stone a bit larger than a person's torso.
"A magic stone!"
"Oh, cockatrice magic stone? Figures a beast this big would drop one!"
Magic stones mostly came from high-rank monsters, better quality from stronger ones.
Actually, the troll Shan had hunted before dropped them often too—he'd just been unlucky then.
Jerpo verified the extracted stone with various spells and nodded.
"No question. Top-grade. Sell to a guild, at least ten thousand gold coins."
"Ten thousand...!"
An unimaginable sum.
The troll bounty of a few hundred had been heavy to carry; this would require a bank account.
As they grinned at the haul, Roden suddenly shouted.
"Ah, don't touch the head!"
"Already got the eyes."
"That's fine. But don't mess with the overall shape. Cut from the neck first..."
The severed head, lighter now, was still bigger and heavier than an adult's body, covered in rock-hard skin.
One of their four horses would be dedicated to it.
But a severed monster head was the surest proof of the kill—symbolic value demanded they take it, price aside.
Roden carefully applied preservatives from the cut surface to the skin gaps, grinning.
"Can't wait to see their faces when we bring this back..."
A mid-teen boy slaying a monster that took ten-plus knights, half ready to die.
Even epic sagas of Baron the Great and historic knights didn't have tales this absurd.
Proving it required ironclad evidence.
While Roden prepped the head, the others entered the mansion where the cockatrice had lived.
Hallways wide enough for the lizard monster bore scrape and gouge marks everywhere.
"Who lived in a place like this?"
"No ordinary person, that's for sure. Biggest Altoin ruin house I've seen..."
Bent muttered in response to Shan's question.
The vast mansion led them to split for efficiency: Bent and Jerpo took floors 1 and 2, Shan floor 3 for quick jumps down if needed.
'Really big.'
The largest house Shan knew was the Webers mansion in the capital—this dwarfed it.
Doors and halls giant-sized; overall, maybe ten times bigger.
Pendia palace like this?
Oddly, furniture was normal human scale.
No scratches on floor 3—cockatrice too heavy maybe—but time had worn most items shabby.
'Not much worthwhile.'
Owner of such a mansion had to be rich, but less left than nearby houses.
Frugal personality?
Puzzled, Shan opened the last door at hall's end—the biggest.
And let out a low gasp at the sight.
"Oh...!"
Amid tattered curtains and dust mound that was once a bed lay a single sword.
Room size and grandeur suggested the owner's bedroom.
Shan approached slowly, drew the blade from its crumbling wooden scabbard.
Blade and hilt totaled about a meter; short kissaki, hilt for one or two hands.
Cool bluish-gray steel evoking winter, subtle glowing runes—clearly no ordinary sword.
"Magic sword?"
Unbelievable luck; his voice trembled as he swung lightly.
Like his body, lighter than a normal steel sword its size.
"Roden! Mr. Bent! Mr. Jerpo!"
Barging out, Shan leaped from 3rd floor to 1st, yelling for his comrades.
The three, searching other floors or preserving at entrance, hurried over.
"What is it?"
"Found it! Magic sword!"
"For real!?"
"Knew it!"
Magic swords were priciest magic items.
Everyone's faces lit up.
But why? Jerpo, rushing down from 2nd, froze stiff at the sight.
He eyed Shan, Roden, Bent with a hint of fear.
"Th-this... no way...?"
"It's good, right?"
The reaction didn't seem positive; Shan pressed unwittingly.
Jerpo, sweating coldly, swallowed hard.
"Hold on. Better inspect it, just in case."
As he chanted nonstop over the sword, the other three sat nearby chatting.
About the presumed top haul alongside the magic stone—what powers, value.
"Not normal metal, right?"
"Obviously. Color iron can't have. Maybe alloy with rare Azun kingdom metal."
Azun's north specialties included unique metals scarce elsewhere—half iron weight same durability, rust-proof, etc.
But Jerpo's post-inspection words exceeded imagination.
"Made of true silver. Pure, almost no impurities. Cockatrice stayed to leech its power."
"Ah..."
"Unbelievable. Whole sword that size?"
Bent stared at it, incredulous.
Shan recalled true silver from lessons.
Hardest substance: prince of metals, true iron.
Best magic conductor: queen of metals, true silver.
Most malleable: king of metals, true gold.
Tiny alloys of these were treasures kings coveted.
This was pure?
"Two hundred years ago, three kilos true silver mine sparked Libert-Ajun war. Tens of thousands soldiers, two kings assassinated..."
Ajun won the True Silver War, split theirs into seven weapons—still boasts.
This blade over one kilo—third of that amount.
As all gaped, Jerpo laughed nervously.
"Pure true silver aside, the enchantment's insane."
"What?"
"Matter manipulation magic. Limits, but lengthen/shorten, reshape, hardness. Modern magic couldn't touch it. Might cost more than the silver."
Absurd just hearing it.
If real, no need for knights' arsenals.
"Hm..."
Now Bent and Roden understood Jerpo's dizziness.
Shan, not getting it, asked.
"Good item means expensive, so good, right?"
"Too good. Not just magic sword—fit for any alliance royal house heirloom."
"Sell to explorers' guild? Count Shedil brings knights, slaughters us, takes it. Royals don't buy relics like this."
Treasures needed liquidity; this was too rare to sell without issues.
A jeweler's son, priest, mage, Altoin boy trying to trade? Stolen and buried instantly.
But owning it meant claiming 99% rewards.
Worth kings paying hundreds of thousands gold.
Silence hung; Shan offered clear solution.
"Then cut it?"
"Huh?"
"Pardon?"
"True silver's hard but breakable. I'll max ki-back, quarter it. One each. Wait, shares not exactly quarter? Roden knows..."
Roden, Jerpo, Bent blinked at each other, then burst laughing.
"Pfft, haha, ahaha!"
"Cutting it up like that..."
Good idea, why laugh?
Shan pouted; Jerpo wiped tears, explained.
"Breaks the enchantment. Value halves instantly."
"Oops."
"Plus, simpler for you: stab me and Bent once, take it."
Few months acquaintance, you soloed cockatrice anyway.
No guilt? Jerpo said flatly.
Shan shrugged like what kinda talk.
"You know I won't."
"True. Thought you might till the quarter idea—makes me feel stupid now. Rare experience."
Knew its power, wanted it more—but not enough to kill comrades.
Betray a friend who hadn't first, for gain?
Impossible for Shan.
Not shouldn't—couldn't.
"Then why not hide what it is?"
"Fool the guy who soloed cockatrice? How handle backlash?"
"Fair!"
Bent chuckled, tossed casually to Shan.
"That sword's yours."
"Really okay?"
"By old splits, your share 80%. Cockatrice contribution 100%. Knights helping us instead? Credit them a copper?"
Made sense.
Bent, Jerpo skilled, but replaceable resources.
"Still, just taking it..."
"Then take fat cut of stone/other sales as gag fee. Keep existence secret."
"Absolutely. Can't leak."
Roden nodded fiercely.
Altoin boy owning this? World enemy.
Reveal only with power to protect it.
Even after divvying the oversized prize, work remained.
Mansion unsearched spots aplenty; hadn't cleared all buildings pre-fight.
After two days combing central district, green eyes decided pack and return.
Relics piled too high for more.
Four horses: one head, one food/water.
Limited cargo.
"Skip this shelf? One item's near eighty kilos..."
"No way. Find owner, worth ten junk pieces!"
"Don't skip that gem box! Rare enchantment!"
"Won't sell!"
Three debated fiercely; Shan obsessed with new sword.
First test: length adjust.
Intend it—blade whooshed meter-long.
"Whoa."
Metal morphing felt creepy.
Shrunk back on thought, then dagger-sized.
Shan grinned imagining PvP: 10cm extend fools guard, stab.
Most swordfights end there.
More fiddling revealed creativity: shorten hilt/remove guard for dagger; stiff blade to cloth-flexible.
Coil/extend thin: rope.
Harder, but spear/axe forms.
Sword? Barely.
Original form strongest, stable.
Greatsword form swing: headtilt.
'Eh, no good. Too light...'
Size up, no weight gain—wind drag, no power.
Dagger throw: compressed kilo, destructive.
Whip soft sword: shredded remaining cockatrice stone armor easy with ki-back.
'Sharper, tougher than steel...'
Thin to near-five-meters.
One tragedy: can't use publicly.
Become knight, rise—or bust.
Count Shedil said king's knight might slide.
Pendia king unknown.
Fun toyed ended: packing done.
Debates bore fruit—horses loaded to long-march limit.
Rest buried in pit.
"Come back for those someday?"
"Gotta. But processing this takes ages."
Dump relics slow or prices crash.
Even bulk sale huge profit—but max gain min effort best.
Mid-chat, Bent sighed at saddle piles.
"Explorer days over."
"Huh? Why?"
"Retiring! Monastery set hundred years no sponsors."
"My cut funds research till death. Unless blow it all."
"Ah..."
Shan recalled: side gig for main jobs.
This haul dwarfed dozens normal runs—no more risking life.
Jerpo smirked at Shan's regret.
"Sad without my brilliance? Can't help—genius belongs in workshop."
"Miss that obnoxious talk. I'll watch kids freely at monastery."
Bent laughed, stroking horse mane.
Roden eyed Shan, suddenly startled.
"Wait, where's the sword? Not left behind?"
No true silver visible; waist steel, packs no sword.
Shan grinned, tugged collar: bluish-gray wrapped chest.
"No way?"
"Yup. Thin/soft whole hilt, wrapped body."
"Never thought that."
Foolproof concealment.
World's priciest underwear?
To laughing Roden, Shan boasted.
"Named it too. Won't break like old ones."
"What?"
"Thousand Forms!"
Perfect fit.
Too obvious flaw, but magic items often so.
Excitement faded leaving central; back to alert combat prep.
Snakes cleared passing, but others might migrate.
Bracing ambushes, Shan suddenly sniffed, eyes closed.
"What?"
"Burning smell. Strong..."
"Burning?"
"Yeah, faint here too."
Jerpo, focusing nose, confirmed.
Burning rare in Demon Realm.
No fire monsters usually—beasts no fire use.
Curious advance revealed source.
Pure white flames engulfed outskirts, creeping closer.