The Incompetent Hero's Sword King Secret Arts

The Hero Conference had originally been meant for the heroes to gather, confirm one another's growth, pool intelligence on the demonic beasts and Demon King's forces scattered across the land, and drive the campaign against the Demon King forward with renewed force. This particular conference, however, managed none of that information exchange and none of that confirmation of growth.

That was the single greatest issue of the conference — and the reason the whole affair fell apart.

Hero Leon had, by all accounts, arrived in the capital of the Roman Kingdom where the conference was being held. After that, he simply never showed up. His whereabouts went completely dark, and the scandal exploded. A hero who vanished without so much as a word even to his own party.

Naturally the story became a major incident, passed from mouth to mouth, and the rumors that began to spread inflated without end, spawning every kind of wild speculation.

Some said the Incompetent Hero had met his death at the hands of the demonkin.

Some said the Incompetent Hero had fled, unable to bear the duties of a hero.

Some said the Incompetent Hero had succumbed to the demons' temptation and betrayed humanity.

But not a single one of those stories had any clear evidence or basis behind it.

They were nothing more than inflated rumors.

The Holy City, for its part, offered only a single statement — "The Holy Sword has neither been corrupted nor returned" — and refused to express any firmer position.

In the end, with Hero Leon's whereabouts still unknown, the case of his disappearance had no choice but to be closed. The four women who had originally belonged to Hero Leon's party each joined other heroes' parties and continued their journeys. One way or another… if, as the Holy City claimed, the hero had neither died nor fallen, then the hero parties needed to keep growing so they would be ready to fight alongside Hero Leon whenever he eventually returned.

Northern Filgrea Continent. The Grand Duchy of Lycan. Snow Mountain.

The name sounded grand, but there was nothing particularly special about the place — it was exactly what it said on the tin, a snow mountain. The only catch was that the mountain was absurdly enormous.

Lore-wise, it was larger than Everest, the biggest mountain on Earth.

Because of that, the terrain was brutally treacherous, no place for ordinary people to live. The ones who generally stuck around Snow Mountain were either savage beasts adapted to the extreme environment, or criminals who had committed such heinous crimes that they fled here just to survive. And if it was neither of those, then it was some genuine lunatic of an eccentric.

"And from here on out, I've got to climb up and find that eccentric."

The Sword King.

At present, not a single soul knew his true name, but three hundred years ago he had made his existence known by single-handedly slaying one of the Seven Calamities of the Filgrea Continent — the Demonic Beast That Devours the Earth. Praised as a hero who had saved the continent, the Sword King vanished from the world two hundred years ago. Given that his race was human, people assumed he had simply failed to overcome the limits of his lifespan and died. In truth he was still alive, and when Hero Leon and his party discovered traces of the Sword King, the Sword King event began.

"Follow those traces to the end and you arrive here, at Snow Mountain."

Why he had settled in this place was never revealed in the game.

Hero Leon sought out the Sword King, earned his recognition, and inherited his swordsmanship. That was all.

Maybe it's just because of the situation I'm in, but this game sure had a lot of weird hidden backstory buried all over the place.

The Sword King event was one thing, and the Seven Calamities of the Filgrea Continent mentioned during that event were never clearly explained in the game either.

Whether they were foreshadowing for a sequel or content the developers simply couldn't fit into the game's scope… only the people who made the game would know.

"Hah… I know he's here. I just don't know exactly where on this mountain…"

Snow Mountain had eight peaks in total, and the Sword King resided on one of them.

In the game, the moment you arrived at the little village near Snow Mountain, the event kicked in automatically and you met the Sword King right away. Here, I actually had to go find him myself. It was maddeningly frustrating.

Climbing every single peak one by one was going to be a serious undertaking.

"The monsters around here mostly have individual stats over a hundred across the board."

Another name for the northern Filgrea Continent was the Land of Snow and Beasts.

Most of the region was bitterly cold, with snow falling roughly eighty percent of the year — an extreme climate. The beasts adapted to that climate had stats that put ordinary local wildlife to shame.

Wandering around a land like this without a care was more than even I could handle.

No — honestly, the beasts I could manage somehow. Somehow. But this extreme cold was the real problem. Keep wandering around out there and I'd freeze to death.

"Tch… but it's not like I've got any other leads…"

I smacked my lips over a meal of properly cooked meat and a thick potato soup simmered in rich meat broth.

"Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"About that hero who showed up in the central lands."

"Ah, those bastards strutting around like they're something special?"

Right as I was fretting over how to find the Sword King, some men eating in the inn's dining hall started running their mouths.

"Apparently one of the heroes — Lemon or Renon or whatever his name was — ran away."

"What? A hero ran away?"

"That's what I'm telling you."

"I heard the hero was dead."

"Huh? I heard the hero went over to the demonkin."

"…"

This is a world without anything like social media, and the news still spreads ridiculously fast.

But something's off.

I ran away?

Sure, I skipped the conference and bolted straight here — that much is true… but I left them a letter explaining exactly where I was going. And somehow weird rumors still got out…?

"…They couldn't have missed the letter. Was it Ragna?"

I had left the letter in the room at the inn where I'd been staying, positioned so my party members would find it when they came to fetch me on the day the conference started.

Barring something extraordinary, there was no way they wouldn't have found it.

Which left only one possibility.

My party members had shown the letter I left to Abel and Ragna.

Abel wouldn't have thought anything of it — he'd just laugh it off as me running away. But Ragna was different.

The fact that I had disappeared was true either way.

He would have used that to tear down my reputation while inflating his own, pumping up the rumors. That had to be the source of the story I'd just overheard — that Hero Leon had fled.

"What a pain in the ass… And come to think of it, the letter said anyone who wanted to follow should follow. Judging by how these rumors are spreading…"

They had made their choice.

I had left that letter out of the bare minimum of conscience — I was heading to Snow Mountain, so anyone who wanted to come along was welcome. Nobody came, and instead these rumors were flying around. Seemed I no longer needed to feel even that scrap of conscience.

"Yeah. At the conference timing, things would have already gone as far as they were going to go. Leon, I did the bare minimum of what was right by you. Your party members are the ones who screwed up. So don't you go feeling sorry either — just sit back and enjoy the revenge-slash-success story I'm about to write."

Jingle-jingle.

"What, you didn't die? You're back again?"

"Heh heh. Hoping I would?"

"Nothing like that — just surprised, is all. So, did you get everything you needed? If you really couldn't find it, this old man can trade you some of the beast hides I hunted."

"Already got everything. Just bring me something light to snack on."

The innkeeper's booming laugh — ah, that's a shame — followed the man inside.

The white-haired old man with his scalp half bare seemed to be quite well known around these parts; the people in the shop each tossed him a greeting as he passed.

Piecing together the chatter I overheard, the old man was a hunter who lived on Snow Mountain.

He periodically hunted the beasts living on the mountain and came down to the village to sell them. The beasts he brought in had hides that were almost completely undamaged, so they fetched extremely high prices.

In other words, a hunter with serious skill.

I flicked a glance over to size up what kind of person he was — and nearly spat out the meat I was chewing.

Hey — the Sword King does NOT just casually stroll into a place like this!!!

I had been agonizing over how to find him, and then the Sword King himself showed up out of nowhere as if to say all that fretting had been worthless. I was thrown completely off balance.

This makes all my worrying look pathetic!

No. Wait. Think about it. No matter how incredible the Sword King is, a human is still a human. He would have needed food for the bare minimum of living.

That had been the blind spot.

I had never once considered simply waiting for the Sword King to come down to the village for supplies, instead of going up the mountain to find him.

I collected myself and flicked another glance at the old man who was the Sword King.

From every angle, he looked like nothing more than an ordinary old hunter. Who on earth would look at that man and think Sword King?

Come to think of it, even in the game he had been painted over as a black silhouette, so you never got to see what the Sword King actually looked like.

A few lines of text scrolled by and that was it — of course you wouldn't know.

So the next problem was how to approach the Sword King naturally…

"That hit the spot."

Already?!

I looked toward the Sword King and he was already settling his bill and heading for the door.

I shoveled down every scrap of food in front of me, grabbed only what I absolutely needed, and hurried out of the inn after him.

Whoooooosh!!!

"Ugh, cold!…"

I gave my body one hard shiver and searched for the Sword King.

No matter how monstrous your stats were, there was nothing you could do about the cold. And in weather like this, with snow coming down on top of it, losing the Sword King now would be a one-way ticket to ruining my entire life.

"Found him!…"

I had no idea how he had gotten so far already, but out beyond the village, on the path leading toward Snow Mountain, I spotted the old man hauling his load.

I broke into a full sprint after the Sword King's cart, and he glanced back at me.

"Does an old man like me have some business with you?"

"Yes. I do."

"That so…? I can't imagine what business the hero of this generation would have with an old man like me…"

"So you already knew."

"With you staring that hard, how could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I not notice?"

Meaning he had already caught my gaze.

Well, with Technique over four hundred, of course he would manage that much.

I was about to open my mouth to state my business when the Sword King spoke first.

"I don't know why you've come looking for this old man… but since things have turned out this way, would you mind giving me a hand?"

"Hah… hah… hah…"

"You really can't put any power into it, can you."

What the hell is this old bastard muttering right now?

I glared at the Sword King in sheer disbelief, then clenched my teeth and dropped my eyes. I was the one who needed something here, not him. Whatever he said, I had no choice but to endure it.

Damn it… so he was living on the most infamous peak of Snow Mountain — the First Peak!!…

I had lost count of how many times I nearly died on the way up.

Hauling luggage over unfamiliar snow trails up a brutal mountain range, I genuinely thought I was going to die.

If this had been my original body, I would have been dead long ago.

At any rate, inside the large natural cave the Sword King used as his dwelling, the two of us sat facing each other across a campfire.

"So… why has the hero of this generation come looking for me?"

"Hoo… hoo… Sword King. I want to receive your teachings in the sword."

"…Sword King. A nostalgic name. To think I would be called by that name again in this age."

As if sinking into buried memories of the past, the Sword King slowly closed his eyes.

Only the crackle of the burning flames filled the silence.

"My answer is… I'm sorry, but I must refuse."

"Huh?"

A rejection event pops up here, of all places?

In the game this was a guaranteed learning event…

Did reality correction kick in and change things…?

"Wait a moment! The reason!… Can I at least know the reason?"

"The reason, is it. You are simply too strong."

"…What?"

Okay, what kind of nonsense is this now.

He can't teach me because I'm too strong?!

"…Do you know of the Sword Demon?"

"The Sword Demon…?"

What the hell is that?

Sword Demon? Dark swordsman…? No, wait, that's a boss name from a completely different game.

"You don't know… Well, I suppose you wouldn't. It isn't a name that remained in history."

"…Does this Sword Demon have something to do with why you won't teach me?"

"…I can barely even remember how long ago it was now… After I slew the Behemoth, I received the Goddess's recognition and became a Highlander, freed from the constraints of lifespan. Then one day… I took in a child."

The Sword King spoke.

That child had been a survivor of a fallen kingdom.

He had taken in a girl — the heir of a forgotten kingdom whose very name no longer remained — made her his disciple, and taught her the sword.

The reason he taught her was simple.

To give her the strength to live in the world.

The Sword King knew the world was not kind enough for a young girl to survive alone, so he taught her the sword to give her the power to protect herself. Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate was hard to say.

The girl had talent with the sword.

She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠absorbed the Sword King's secret arts at a remarkable pace, reaching a level worthy of being called the Sword King's disciple.

And then the tragedy unfolded.

The power the Sword King had passed on, hoping it would let her protect herself, instead gave the girl the power to take revenge.

"That child was strong. The kingdom that had destroyed her own… she destroyed that kingdom single-handedly."

"!"

"In time she came to be called the Sword Demon, spoken of as a calamity. I… had no choice but to stand against her. Of course I did. I was the one who had sown the seed. It was only right that I be the one to reap it."

But the girl was strong.

Her talent was so exceptional that even the man called the Sword King found himself in danger.

Even so — he was the Sword King.

Killing a girl still so immature compared to him should not have been impossible. But the affection that had grown while raising her created an opening, and in the end he failed to kill the Sword Demon and let her escape.

Afterward he wandered the world searching for her, but never found the girl. Eventually, as atonement for the new demon he had unleashed upon the world, the Sword King sealed himself away on Snow Mountain.

"From that day forward, I made a decision. I would take no more disciples. And you especially… on the way up here, I had more than enough opportunity to see the talent lying within you. You likely possess… a stronger talent than anyone I have ever seen. And that is precisely why you are dangerous. If you were ever to walk the same path as that child… the world would surely be destroyed."

Wary of the rebirth of a new Sword Demon, he could not teach me the Sword King Secret Arts.

Having heard the Sword King's entire story, I thought:

Wait, this wasn't just some throwaway event you breeze past?!…

I had nothing. No thoughts at all.

If I had anticipated a situation like this, I might have prepared a model answer. I figured just meeting him would solve everything and hadn't thought about it at all — and now he dumps this entire backstory on me out of nowhere. I'm the one in trouble here!!!

"The path down the mountain from here will be harsh. You may stay the night. When the sun rises, descend."

Damn it!…

What did I waste all this time coming here for?! I am absolutely not going back empty-handed!

But I don't have the silver tongue to persuade that Sword King!!…

My mind went completely blank. I couldn't produce a proper reply. And then, without realizing it, my mouth opened on its own.

"I am a hero."

"?… I am aware."

"Power, for me… honestly, I don't need it."

It was as if the body were not my own. It wouldn't listen.

Words I hadn't even thought of spilled out on their own, as though someone else were controlling me.

"What I need is sword energy capable of cutting down the Demon King."

"It doesn't have to be my sword energy, does it? You are a hero. There must be no end of people who would love to teach you."

"No. Cutting down the Demon King is a feat no one has ever accomplished. And a hero is one who slays the Demon King and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠brings peace to the world. In other words, the path a hero must walk is a path no one has ever walked before. No one can point the way. No one even knows the way."

That can't be right… but wait. Could it be…

Is the original Leon… the one speaking?

"On a hero's path, no one can tell you which direction to go. That is why a hero must not doubt the path he has chosen for himself. I… decided for myself that your sword energy was necessary for this path. The journey to cut down the Demon King — a journey that must not go wrong. This is the conclusion I reached after agonizing over it again and again."

"…"

"So I ask you once more. Please teach me your sword."

The speech was over.

Whether he had said everything he wanted to say or not, control of my body returned to me.

I didn't have anything more to add anyway, so I simply waited for the Sword King's answer. He stared silently into the dying ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flames for a long moment, then opened his mouth.

"Is that so… For you, power was nothing more than a means to an already decided end."

"…"

"Very well. I shall pass it on. My sword energy."

"!!"

Yes!

Success! Leon, you tiny-dicked idiot — but damn, you can talk!!!

"Then I shall transmit it at once."

"Huh?"

"When I received the Goddess's blessing and became a Highlander, I gained several special powers. This is one of them."

"Special powers?"

The Sword King approached me and placed his hand on my head.

"??"

"What the h—!…"

In that instant, my consciousness went blank.