Chapter 18
Chapter 18
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Dungeon Depths (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“You lot, what are you doing over there?”
Edwin and Lieselotte, who had been resting in a corner of the dungeon, snapped their heads up at the sudden voice.
“It’s Group 3.”
“How’s the exam going?”
As they spoke, Cain and Robel scowled with weary expressions.
“We just asked, but what are you doing in the middle of the exam?”
“What are you up to in the dungeon?”
“Well...”
“We were getting hungry, so Edwin’s cooking.”
Just as Lieselotte said, Edwin was currently cooking over a small fire.
“We caught a cave rabbit and are grilling it simply.”
“That’s exactly it! Why are you doing that during the exam?!”
“Huh, wasn’t this part of the training? Procuring food on-site during a mission.”
“That’s...”
“Come on, sit down and have a taste. Edwin’s a great cook.”
“......”
Cave rabbits had plenty of fat for rabbits.
As the oil sizzled and the aroma of roasting meat filled the air, the growing boys couldn’t help but swallow hard.
In the end, Cain and Robel sat down by the campfire together.
“You guys are way too relaxed.”
“How many mana crystals have you collected?”
“Fifteen. No point in gathering more, so we’re just resting before heading back.”
Cain and Robel’s faces darkened at Lieselotte’s answer.
“You’ve already got fifteen? We’ve only managed ten.”
“We need to find five more fast... The leader’s gonna chew us out again.”
Five per person meant fifteen per group.
“Speaking of which, where’s your Group 3 leader?”
“The leader’s off acting alone.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Huh? Come to think of it, where’s Sion?”
“Sion’s acting alone too. And...”
As she handed portions of rabbit meat to the two, Lieselotte flashed a bright smile.
“My guess is ten will be plenty. So both of you, relax and enjoy the grilled rabbit.”
“......?”
Unsure what she meant, Cain and Robel tilted their heads together.
* * *
How much time had passed?
Amidst the corpses of countless monsters, I caught my breath.
Since I was using some of the absorbed mana for stamina recovery, I felt no fatigue.
[Hey, you feel that?]
‘Yeah, I did.’
It was such an intense presence that even I, without Igzard’s senses, could detect it.
Deep in the dark underground space was something brimming with immense mana.
[Be careful. Doesn’t seem like an easy one.]
Heeding Igzard’s warning, I advanced into the darkness.
The air grew increasingly humid.
[Looks like a flooded section.]
A wide area held a lake-like pool of water.
It seemed water was seeping in from outside the dungeon.
And in that pool... was a long, reptilian creature.
[A lesser dragonkin?]
‘Yeah, a nucker.’
Nucker.
One of the pseudo-dragons, resembling a salamander.
It had wings like a typical dragon but couldn’t fly—just used them as fins in the water.
[Lesser dragonkin or not, it’s still dragonkin. Don’t let your guard down.]
‘No worries.’
With that reply, I stepped forward.
The nucker, wriggling in the water, turned to me and its eyes gleamed.
“Grurr...”
Lesser dragonkin weren’t just physically inferior—their intelligence was low too.
Seeing a sudden human, it probably only thought, ‘Rare prey has appeared.’
It wouldn’t consider me a predator that could hunt it.
“Grrruuurr!”
Splashing water, the nucker lunged.
Opening its massive jaws to bite me.
‘Limbs are vestigial, and it can’t use magic or breath attacks.’
The nucker’s main weapons were two.
The first: its jagged fangs protruding from its snout.
[Block it!]
Swinging my sword at Igzard’s shout.
The blade traced a blood-red arc and clashed with the nucker’s snout.
“Grrru?!”
Startled, the nucker recoiled.
Blood dripped from its mouth, shredded by Igzard-empowered edge.
But not fatal. As dragonkin, the nucker’s durability was exceptional.
‘Its fangs are tougher than you. Maybe ditch you and use those instead.’
[You brat! It’s dragonkin—can’t just slice it up that easily! Back in my prime, I’d cut through that like cake!]
Just as I was far weaker than my Archbishop Hausel days, Igzard was diminished from its peak.
[Quit yapping and focus! Body slam incoming!]
‘Such a worrier.’
Coolly replying, I leaped aside.
The wounded nucker twisted its massive body in a charge.
Starting close-quarters combat with its second weapon: its enormous bulk.
“Grrruuurr!”
Among pseudo-dragons, the nucker was on the large side.
A direct hit would shatter a thirteen-year-old kid’s bones.
Even with mana shielding my body, it’d be a heavy blow.
‘Counter with speed.’
I boosted my physical abilities with mana.
This had to be my power alone, not Igzard’s.
Dodging the nucker’s wild thrashings by a hair’s breadth, I waited for an opening.
[This guy! Dodging well!]
‘No, still got a ways to go.’
Far from my Archbishop Hausel prowess.
My immature thirteen-year-old body and 3-star mana held me back.
‘This is my limit for now.’
[Is it?]
‘But...’
I reversed my grip on the sword.
Almost simultaneously, the flailing nucker smashed its head into the dungeon wall.
‘Gotta surpass limits.’
Sliding over the nucker’s slick scales as it reeled from the impact, I sought its vital spot.
In that moment, crimson flames erupted across my body.
[You’re already using that...!]
‘Time to make use of it.’
The essence of Dialogue Church mana circulation: Crimson Lotus.
A technique that dramatically boosted physical abilities by surging mana instantly.
Due to severe side effects, the Holy Spirit Church banned such extreme enhancements, but with proper control, it unleashed tremendous power.
[Then I’ll go all out too!]
Igzard’s sword aura on the blade maximized.
I drove the evilly glowing, blazing sword into the nucker’s vitals using Crimson Lotus-amplified strength.
“Grrruuurrrr!”
Impaled in its vitals, the nucker thrashed.
But I held firm, thrusting the sword deeper.
“Grurr! Grrruk...!”
It convulsed wildly for a while.
But... it finally stilled, staining the pool red.
[You did it!]
‘Yeah.’
A slight dizziness hit me.
Side effect from the mana surge.
A normal person would suffer worse, but my Archbishop Hausel experience let me mitigate it.
‘To reclaim my peak power, I need to master Crimson Lotus.’
The Dialogue Church had many aggressive techniques.
Crimson Lotus was the foundation.
Master it freely, and I could wield the devastating ultimate arts from my Hausel days.
A long road, but one I’d walked before—shorter than my previous life.
[Hey.]
‘What?’
[Mana emanating from inside the pool. Something’s there.]
‘More monsters?’
[No, not alive. This is... an ancient relic.]
Dungeons often yielded ancient relics.
Holy Knights trained in dungeon exploration partly because the Holy Spirit Church collected them.
[Submerged, so the knights missed it.]
Then I’d dive in and retrieve it.
‘Sure, but first...’
I turned back to the nucker’s corpse.
Raising my sword once more at the limp lesser dragonkin.
‘Not far to 4-star now.’
Its uniquely vast dragonkin mana flowed into me, filling my core.
* * *
After the exam ended.
Returning to the fortress, Helmut headed straight for Godwin’s office.
“Helmut Debanski reporting.”
“Come in.”
Entering, Godwin sat at his desk, stroking his goatee.
He and Helmut were quite close. Ten years ago, when Helmut was a 2-star knight, he’d been Godwin’s orderly as a field commander—that was the start.
Helmut teaching trainees here instead of the front lines was at Godwin’s special request upon taking charge.
“I’ve heard already. Casualties in today’s exam? True?”
“Yes. Seems they entered the depths and got hit by a redleg centipede.”
“Tsk tsk... Every year, one falls there. Probably wandered in alone like an idiot.”
Even hearing of the death, Godwin didn’t reprimand Helmut.
“Why not seal it off completely? Better than leaving it open like now.”
“Leave it. It filters out fools who can’t tell forbidden zones. Better they die early than screw up a mission later.”
“Understood.”
“But what’s this about? Not just to report the death.”
“Candidate Sion Aleyas entered the depths too.”
“......!”
Godwin shot to his feet.
“Sion?! He went into the depths?!”
“Yes, with the deceased apparently.”
“Damn! S-So, is Sion safe?”
“Yes. No injuries.”
“Thank goodness...!”
“But...”
“Another issue?!”
“Candidate Sion Aleyas found this in the depths.”
Helmut placed a small box from his pocket on the desk.
“What’s this?”
“See for yourself.”
“From the depths... Don’t tell me...”
With trembling hands, Godwin opened the box.
“Candidate Sion Aleyas found something incredible.”
“Ah...!”
Confirming the small relic inside, Godwin let out a gasp.