The Incompetent Hero's Treasure Scramble

"Huh!..."

What... what was that?...

An irresistible drowsiness had suddenly crashed over me, and my eyes must have slipped shut...

When I came back to myself and looked around, thankfully it didn't seem like all that much time had passed.

The Sword King was still sitting there, keeping watch over the campfire.

...But when had he put a pot over the flames?

"Sleep well?"

"Ugh..., I..., did I fall asleep?"

"You did. Soundly, at that."

"I-I'm sorry."

After everything he'd done to pass on his techniques, I'd just dozed off.

The Sword King only chuckled and shook his head at my apology.

"Haha, I'm not scolding you. That's one of the side effects of the technique."

"You mean... falling asleep?"

"Exactly. The secret art—cram education. It pours every sword technique, theory, and memory I've built over a lifetime straight into you. The mental burden is inevitable. Honestly, I'm surprised you woke so soon. I expected you to sleep the whole day, yet you only managed about six hours."

Six hours?!...

I'd been out for six hours? Was that technique even safe?...

The moment I realized how much time had simply vanished, my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠body wasted no time announcing its hunger with a loud growl.

Honest body, aren't you.

"Have some."

"Th-thank you."

As if he'd expected it, the Sword King handed me a bowl of soup.

I accepted it and ate while confirming the new skills that now decorated my skill window with my own two eyes.

I already knew about the Sword King Secret Arts.

But Memory of the Sword King... I'd never seen that before.

Lv: MAX, huh.

When I'd played the game, skill levels had capped at 8... and the detailed description had stuff I'd never seen either.

Reading the new text, it seemed the reason the Sword King Secret Arts had felt weak in the late game was simply because Leon himself had been weak.

And this "Qi" stat was something I'd never seen last time either... probably an effect of the Sword King Secret Arts hitting max level.

"You won't recall much right away. But the more battles you fight, the more the memories I passed on will prove useful."

That had to be referring to the Memory of the Sword King skill.

Activation condition would be combat. And if the Sword King's memories surfaced... did that mean I could learn the Sword King's skills?

Now that was tempting.

"Thank you. I won't forget your teachings, Sword King."

"Hm? What are you talking about?"

The Sword King tilted his head as if he genuinely didn't understand.

Something about that expression sent an ominous chill through me, so I carefully opened my mouth.

"Um, what do you mean by..."

"I've crammed all the theory into you through the education, but true technique only comes when theory and practice are in harmony."

"...Meaning?"

"Did you know? Snow Mountain is a mysterious region almost untouched by human hands. Because of that, many naturally formed labyrinths appear here."

He laughed heartily and looked straight at me.

"About ten years should be enough to finish the basics."

That's way too long!!!

Two weeks later.

Snow Mountain, Third Peak.

An ice labyrinth filled with bluish ice.

Born from the vital energy of nature and an extreme environment, the naturally generated labyrinth had twisted into something powerful and high-difficulty.

The average stats of the labyrinth monsters sat around 100.

They were beasts that could slaughter most adventurers in an instant—monsters worthy of the name.

And into that labyrinth stepped a single man.

Grrrrrrr

As if rejecting anything that wasn't one of their own, the beasts caught the invader's scent and charged with bared fangs.

The distance between beast and man vanished in a heartbeat. Just as jaws were about to tear him apart, the man drew his sword.

A massive slash that could cleave a great mountain horizontally bisected every charging beast, scattering blood through the air.

The man who had just displayed the secret art of cutting down an entire pack with one stroke didn't even glance at the carnage. He merely flicked his eyes toward empty space, then shook his head.

"Still no level-ups. After clearing this many labyrinths, you'd think I'd have gained something by now."

The man who had entered the labyrinth—Leon—walked deeper into its depths.

A labyrinth was essentially the same concept as an instance dungeon in a game.

They formed for all sorts of reasons: natural occurrence, construction by ancient humans, the residual influence of a powerful monster's death, and so on.

Leave them alone and monsters drawn by the labyrinth's mana would absorb that power, grow stronger, and eventually trigger a disaster called a Monster Party. That was why they had to be cleared early.

And the simplest, most common way to clear a labyrinth was...

KRAAAAAAAAH!!!

"There you are."

...to eliminate the magical beast that served as the labyrinth's core.

In that sense, the core of this particular labyrinth was a massive wolf with fur as white as fresh snow.

On top of that, it was the annoying type that kept a pack of subordinates around it.

Naturally irritated by an invader barging into its home, it let out a roar and ordered the surrounding pack to attack. Each one had solid stats, and their bulk reached about waist-height on an average adult man.

"Too slow."

Shlick.

I casually cut the beasts down and took a light step forward.

At the same time, the labyrinth boss—enraged that its underlings had all been slaughtered—opened its jaws wide.

The creature never even realized it had been cut. It charged straight at me and split cleanly in two, its life snuffed out on the spot.

"...Well then. Time to start farming."

Clearing a labyrinth came with several advantages.

One of them was that you gained ownership of every magical beast you defeated inside.

Labyrinth beasts were stronger than ordinary ones. And because of that, the materials harvested from their corpses were treated as higher-grade goods.

Money was always welcome, so stocking up now would come in handy someday.

Or I could turn their hides into armor and use it myself.

"Oh, a magic stone... lucky."

Being a boss, it dropped something expensive.

I roughly stuffed the gathered corpses into my inventory and stepped out of the labyrinth. Waiting at the entrance was the Sword King.

"You finished even faster this time."

"...Thanks to you."

"Haha. Looks like my memories are adapting better than I expected."

"Yeah, they are."

Probably thanks to the Technique stat.

This Memory of the Sword King skill was far more effective than I'd imagined. In just these two weeks, the skills it had given me were enough to count on one whole hand.

"..."

These were only a portion of the skills the Sword King possessed. I couldn't even begin to guess how many he actually had.

I'd expected learning the Sword King Secret Arts would make me considerably stronger, but I never imagined it would be this much.

"You can come down now."

"Huh? But you said it would take ten years..."

"I did. But your talent turned out higher than I thought. In a mere two weeks you've already settled into a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠proper vessel. You can descend. Come with me for a moment, will you?"

The place the Sword King led me to was a hidden cave on the First Peak where he resided.

He went inside and, a short while later, brought out a black wooden case.

"What's this?"

"Before that, let me ask—what are your stats roughly?"

"Y-yes?... Why the sudden question about stats..."

"I've been watching you. Your power feels quite alien. Normally, whether stats or levels... those are things achieved through long training. Even with a goddess's blessing, that remains true. But not for you. It's as if... you suddenly gained power. That sort of feeling."

Scary sharp, this guy.

At this point, no amount of denial would work.

Besides, he was the master who had taught me. There was no real reason to hide it.

"All stats are 999."

"999... Truly a monster."

"You believe me?"

"Why wouldn't I? You have no reason to lie to me."

Well... that was true.

Still, a 999 stat block was absurd enough that most people would balk, yet he accepted it so naturally.

"You have an excellent body, but you lack the experience to fully use it. Power granted by the goddess rather than forged by your own hand—that can't be helped. But never forget: what matters is not a good sword, but the person who wields it."

"I understand."

"Your movements are like a child who possesses great strength yet doesn't know how to use it. That gap creates awkwardness, and awkwardness leads to fatal mistakes. Make good use of the memories I gave you."

As expected... this was the caliber of someone called the Sword King.

Every word was advice that would become flesh and blood.

"Well, what I wanted to give you isn't that. This is a graduation gift. Normally I'd forge a sword for you the way I did for my other disciples, but you already have a fine enough blade."

The Holy Sword...

Come to think of it, the Holy Sword had one major problem of its own...

I'd deal with that later.

I accepted the black wooden case the Sword King held out.

It wasn't particularly heavy, but I wondered what was inside and opened it.

"!"

A G-Great Elixir Pill?...

Why was something like this here?...

I looked at the Sword King in shock. He chuckled as if reminiscing about the past.

"About... a hundred and fifty years ago, was it? I received it while visiting the Yeom Kingdom on personal business. The pill's energy has weakened considerably by now, but it should still help stabilize your unstable physical condition."

"Ah..."

Then I should eat it right away!

I popped the Great Elixir Pill the Sword King had given me into my mouth.

The moment I swallowed, the pill melted away. The taste... honestly wasn't great.

But the pill that had seemed to dissolve transformed into formless energy and spread through my entire body.

"!"

My HP and MP had recovered massively! And my Qi stat had gone up too.

"Looks like your condition has improved considerably. Good."

"Not only teaching me swordsmanship, but even this... how am I supposed to repay this kindness..."

"If my sword continues through you and that sword can sever the Demon King's head, that alone would be glory enough, wouldn't it? I had no use for it anyway, so don't worry about it."

Having said that much, the Sword King paused as if considering something.

"...However, there is one thing I would like to ask of you."

"What is it? If it's something I can do, of course I'll do it."

"The Sword Demon... if you ever meet my former disciple, kill that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠child for me."

The Sword Demon.

The Sword King's first disciple, and his dark history.

The one who, drunk on revenge, had committed a great slaughter. Was he asking me to do what he himself, bound by affection, could not?

"But hasn't she already died? With how much time has passed..."

"That child is not a pure human."

"!"

"Therefore, that child is still alive."

"I understand."

I was curious what "not a pure human" meant, but the atmosphere made it clear he didn't want to say more, so I held my tongue.

"So, what will you do from here? Head straight for the Demon King?"

"Of course not. I need to put a party together."

"I see. So you intend to find companions who share your purpose."

"Ah, but before that, there's something I have to take care of."

"You're certain this is the place?"

"Y-yes!... It is!"

Hero Ragna and his party were currently aiming to clear a certain labyrinth.

Clearing a labyrinth already offered high rewards from the monsters that appeared inside, but the real prize was the treasure at the very center. Naturally formed labyrinths often lacked such treasures, but artificially created ones were different.

For example, when someone built a labyrinth because they wanted to hide something, or when a powerful artifact itself generated a labyrinth. Naturally, the first person to clear it claimed whatever treasure they found.

"I-I received a clue about this labyrinth as payment back when I was in Leon's party... I'm sure this is the place."

"Hmm..."

Ragna looked at Marie—who was carefully reading his mood as she answered—with cold, sunken eyes.

"Do you remember why I took you from Leon's party?"

"Y-yes! Of course!"

"Good that you do. I brought you because I valued your talent highly. But you have disappointed me."

"..."

At Ragna's single cold remark, Marie's body trembled.

"So... hm?"

Up ahead, others had arrived before them.

"Abel..."

"What, how did you lot get here?"

"That's what I'd like to ask... though I can already tell without looking."

Ragna's lips curled as he looked at the two women beside Abel.

The former priestess and hunter who had once been in Leon's party.

The man in front of him had also come here wanting the labyrinth reward Leon had discovered.

"Looks like the labyrinth boss is just ahead. Shall ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠we fight for it?"

"...No. Forget it. There are plenty of other places I've found anyway. Right, Marie?"

"Y-yes!!"

"Hmph. Boring."

Higher-difficulty labyrinths yielded better rewards.

That was common sense. The difficulty of clearing this particular labyrinth had been quite low. Low enough that Hero Leon, who had put it off for later because he couldn't clear it, seemed pathetic.

"A labyrinth of this difficulty would only have mediocre rewards."

"...Th—"

"What is it?"

"...N-no. Nothing..."

Strange... was the difficulty here really this low?...

Back in the old days with Leon's party, this place had definitely been a high-difficulty labyrinth.

In fact, they had failed to clear it and had only managed to deal with the monsters enough to prevent a Monster Party from forming.

But compared to then... the magical beasts were clearly weaker now.

"Cowardly bastard."

Abel sneered at Ragna's retreating back, then turned his gaze toward the boss room.

"So we just clear this place, right?"

"Yes."

"...Yeah."

Noren nodded. Philia frowned and nodded reluctantly.

"Great~ Then this body of mine will clean up after Leon for him~"

He opened the door.

"Huh?"

And what Abel found inside the vast labyrinth chamber was nothing but a massive diagonal slash as if a giant had swung a sword, and the corpse of the labyrinth boss.