Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Dungeon Depths (1)
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“Hah...!”
Hades stared at his now-useless sword in a panic.
“W-What the hell... how is this...”
“What are you going to do now?”
When I spoke coldly, Hades flinched.
The look in his eyes as he glanced at me was filled with terror.
“Damn it!”
That was the worst choice Hades could have made right then.
He turned his back to me and bolted away blindly.
[Foolish fool.]
Just as Igzard commented, it was a foolish move.
Going deeper in here was truly dangerous.
“Gaaahhh!”
A wretched scream echoed out soon after.
Hades, who had run off alone, had been ambushed by a predator lurking in the darkness.
“S-Save me... save... ugh...!”
What attacked Hades was a centipede the size of a human.
It was a centipede-type monster that dwelled underground: the Redleg Centipede.
A highly aggressive carnivorous monster with venom, so we’d been taught that if we ever encountered one in a dungeon, we should call for a Grade 1 Knight’s help.
[Tsk tsk... Guess that’s his fate.]
With his throat torn out, Hades died on the spot.
But the Redleg Centipede put off devouring his corpse for the moment.
Because I was still there.
“Hiss...”
Moving its red legs, the Redleg Centipede watched for an opening.
Having caught the scent of blood, other centipedes had already gathered around.
[About seven of them. Tougher opponents than a hundred kobolds.]
Igzard muttered leisurely in my head.
[Well worth coming in here, eh?]
“Yeah.”
I nodded in response.
“Now I can finally do some proper hunting.”
Proper hunting.
That was why I had come here.
But Hades wasn’t the target.
The powerful monsters right in front of me now—ones I’d never get a chance to face normally—those were the prey I needed to hunt here.
[Thirteen years since your reincarnation, and now you can finally do some proper hunting. Thanks to Hades, huh.]
I hadn’t come to the dungeon depths just to teach Hades a lesson.
I needed an excuse to hunt the monsters down here, something about dealing with him where no one else was around.
‘If I just went in on my own, Helmut would chew me out.’
I’d already talked to Helmut about it.
I wanted to sort out Hades, so he should turn a blind eye to me heading into the dungeon depths.
[Helmut would never have guessed your real goal was monster hunting.]
Igzard chattered on, sounding amused.
[So, what’s the plan? Fight using just your mana to form sword aura like before?]
“No need for that.”
There were no eyes on us here.
I could unleash my power freely.
‘I didn’t need to borrow your strength for Hades, but from here on, it’d be better to.’
[Good thinking.]
“So...”
I gave Igzard his orders.
“Unleash the demon sword’s power, Igzard.”
The moment I commanded it...
A dark crimson energy began to infuse the sword I held.
* * *
The true form of the Demon Sword Igzard is an incorporeal energy.
It’s similar to mana yet different in nature, and it can even be released outside the body like sword aura.
That’s why it can be used as an ‘Intangible Sword’ with no physical blade—just Igzard’s energy alone. That’s how I survived the baptism ritual, by using it as an Intangible Sword.
But...
Its true might shines when bestowed upon a proper physical blade.
[A fine sword.]
The sword Ianus Aleyas had gifted me.
Dark crimson energy began to seep into its blade.
Normal sword aura merely coats the surface of the blade.
But Igzard now permeated not just the surface, but the blade’s very core.
That was why its power far surpassed ordinary sword aura.
“Hiss...”
Seven Redleg Centipedes surrounded me now.
They moved their red legs, waiting for a chance to pounce.
But no such chance would come.
[Think you can handle it?]
“Of course.”
Dark crimson light flashed in the darkness.
My sword moved like lightning, slicing the nearest centipede cleanly in two.
Redleg Centipedes have shells tough enough that even a 3-star knight’s sword aura struggles to cut through.
Yet my blade cleaved through it effortlessly.
This was Igzard’s sword aura.
‘This is... a demon sword!’
My current form was far from that of a holy knight.
I was a demon sword wielder, slaughtering lives with malevolent power.
If my father, Kurt, saw me like this, he’d faint on the spot.
Grandfather Ianus... he’d probably draw his Holy Manifest Sword and demand I be slain as a wicked fiend.
[They keep coming! Sweep them away!]
‘Don’t rush me.’
Slash!
Six Redleg Centipedes lunged from all sides.
I swung my sword, carving three arcs through the air.
That alone reduced all six to pieces.
Foul fluids dripped down, but not a drop stained my blade.
Thanks to being coated in Igzard’s sword aura.
[Hmm, you’ve hunted quite a few now.]
Then, something happened to one of the twitching Redleg Centipedes on the ground.
An invisible energy leaked out from it, drawn straight into the sword I held.
[The difference between monsters and regular creatures is that monsters possess mana within their bodies.]
Lowliest monsters like kobolds have only a pittance of mana, but something like a Redleg Centipede holds more than an ordinary person.
The mana is what makes their shells so hard, resistant even to sword aura.
[And I... have the property of absorbing that mana.]
Igzard was a demon sword.
This malevolent blade had the ability to absorb the mana of the enemies it felled.
The mana from the seven Redleg Centipedes was sucked in by Igzard... and absorbed into me.
“...”
A heavy centipede mana settled around my heart.
Being from a venomous monster, it burned sharply.
‘Hey, my chest stings right now.’
[Does it? Just endure it.]
‘You bastard.’
Grumbling, I circulated the Dialogue Circulation Method.
The Holy Knight Order’s Sacred Celestial Eight Emperors Method had no way to handle impure mana like this, but the Dialogue Circulation Method—apostle of apostles—could manage it.
[How’s that? Full without even eating, right?]
‘Feels like I stuffed myself on nothing but spices.’
I felt the mana coalescing around my heart.
I’d burned through quite a bit of mana in the fights so far. Overcoming a child’s physical limits required massive amounts.
My circles had been mostly empty, but now I could refill them with the mana absorbed from the centipedes.
[Even so, that should fill your circles back up.]
‘Yeah.’
Whether swordsman or mage, we draw on the mana stored in the circles around our hearts.
More circles mean greater total mana, but overuse empties them anyway.
Circles naturally recover by absorbing ambient energy, but refilling a completely drained one takes at least 24 hours.
That’s why in real combat, rationing mana is key... but with Igzard’s help, I could absorb enemy mana for instant recovery.
‘And... my circles themselves feel a bit heavier now.’
[Same as taking in natural energy to expand them.]
The circles formed by the Dialogue Circulation Method felt denser and sturdier than before.
Not only had my spent mana recovered, but my maximum capacity had increased too.
‘Still not quite 4-star level, though.’
[You greedy bastard...]
‘Just saying.’
Even absorbing natural energy only boosts mana bit by bit, and the same went for stolen monster mana—only a fraction accumulated in my body.
[Still, keep absorbing like this, and you’ll reach higher realms far faster than others.]
‘Yeah, that’s gain enough.’
I already had more mana than a typical 3-star knight. I’d kept training, so soon I’d hit 4-star levels.
Once I pushed to 6-star knight mana... I could add another circle and reach 2nd circle in the Dialogue Circulation Method.
‘So, how about you?’
[Me?]
Igzard let out a sinister chuckle.
[I ate my fill too.]
‘You probably took more than me.’
The mana Igzard absorbed didn’t all go to me.
The sword itself absorbed mana, converting it into its own unique energy rather than storing it as mana.
[Keep it coming. I need to regain my peak strength too.]
‘I know.’
Just as I hadn’t recovered my mana from my Archbishop Hausel days, Igzard was far from its prime.
So it needed to absorb mana to regain power.
‘A sword that grows stronger the more enemies it kills... you really are a demon sword.’
[What, bringing that up now?]
Anyway, Igzard and I were bound by fate.
The stronger it got, the stronger I got, so I had to keep hunting to build its power.
[Hey, don’t forget that guy’s corpse over there.]
‘Got it.’
I’d already absorbed the mana from Hades’s fallen body. Now I walked through the darkness, scouting for the next prey.
“Grrr...”
“Hiss!”
As expected, the dungeon depths teemed with powerful monsters.
But I wasn’t tense in the slightest. Neither was Igzard.
Powerful monsters meant more chances for me to gain mana.
[A feast fit for a king!]
Igzard laughed inside me.
Absorbing mana from monsters seemed to give it the thrill of devouring a delicious meal.
[Devour them all!]
As Igzard bellowed, various monsters charged toward us.
I raised my sword, dark crimson energy rippling along its edge, and met them head-on.
‘Come at me harder.’
Everything that threatened me would only make me stronger.