Chapter 17 — A Higher Being like an Ancient Dragon or Whatever
After destroying the mountaintop fortress, Hanakawa’s group was walking through a cave on their way to the imperial capital. Although it would have been faster and safer to use the roads, the Master Oracle’s prophecy had led them here instead.
“You really could do this all by yourself, couldn’t you?” Hanakawa commented, watching Ragna.
The enormous cavern, illuminated by their magic light, was filled with monsters. But the creatures posed no threat at all, as whenever something approached them, Ragna would dispatch it with ease.
The young man didn’t possess any particular ability that made him stand out; he was just very strong. So even though Hanakawa was once again walking at the front as bait, he wasn’t in any real danger.
“Ah, that must be it,” he commented. “Fighting with such an aura wrapped around you truly smacks of being a protagonist.”
Ragna’s aura protected him, enhanced his sword attacks, and at times even fired off on its own. That was his method of fighting.
“What’s an aura?” Ragna asked, stepping up to join Hanakawa after cutting down another group of monsters.
Hanakawa’s classmates were waiting a little ways back. They were still determined to carry out the pointless Hanakawa-as-bait plan.
“Uhh, it’s the thing hovering around your body.”
“Oh, that’s nothing impressive. It’s just basic healthy living. Everyone in my village is like that, remember? If you breathe with a certain rhythm, your body gets warm, so maybe it’s like steam or something?”
“I don’t think you can call that just ‘steam.’”
Ordinary monsters were annihilated merely by touching the aura, so it was obviously something special, but Ragna seemed to truly believe that it wasn’t.
“Hey, piggy, go left.” With the monsters blocking their progress now vanquished, the Master Oracle Shigehito Mitadera gave further instructions.
“That is easy to say, but the path only proceeds in a single direction. All that stands to our left is a wall. You don’t expect me to burst through the rock or anything, do you?”
“Actually, that sounds fun. Try it,” Rei Kushima, the Femme Fatale suggested, her interest piqued.
“Curse my foolish tongue!”
“If you don’t hurry up, the bug in your ear will explode.”
Within Hanakawa’s ear was an object fashioned by the Creator, Akinobu Marufuji. It was set to explode if he should ever disobey their orders.
“Fine, I’ll go!” He turned to the wall and ran. Luckily, he possessed Healing Magic, so if he were to injure himself, he’d still ultimately be fine. “It will hurt, though...”
Preparing himself for the worst, he threw his body into the wall and passed right through it effortlessly. There was no impact. With nothing to catch him, his momentum threw him forward, and he landed, sliding facedown along the ground.
The magic light followed Hanakawa into the hidden passageway, illuminating the space around him. It was huge. In front of him were a number of close-built stone structures. It was obviously a city, but there were no signs of life within. How long had it stood there? The aged buildings riddled with cracks spoke of untold years of abandonment. Looking up, the ceiling was so far away that their light couldn’t reach it, so it was impossible to gauge how high up the cavern went.
Turning back, Hanakawa saw that behind him was a wall of solid stone, glowing where he had passed through it.
From within that light, Shigehito’s voice called out, “It’s an ancient city. One of the materials for the Omega Blade is in there. And once we get out, we’ll be pretty close to the capital, so we’re killing two birds with one stone.”
Shigehito’s class was Master Oracle, so his special ability must have told him that. His Book of Prophecy was like a handbook or a strategy guide to this world.
“This is a shortcut, then, is it not? So why are none of you coming in?” Seeing that no one was following him into the city, Hanakawa began to get a bad feeling.
“Both the shortcut and the material will require a bit of work to reach.”
“Ha, ha ha. You mean to tell me that I must solve the riddle of the ancient ruins to gain passage and treasure? But doing so without any hints is too much even for me.”
Still, if they wanted him to do this on his own, he had no way of refusing them.
“Don’t worry; it’s coming.”
“What are you talking—”
The sudden appearance of a distant presence rendered Hanakawa speechless. Although he couldn’t see anything yet, the distant sound of beating wings provided him with an instinctive realization that the ruler of this place now approached.
“Wh-What is that?!” Hanakawa was fast. Recognizing instantly that he was in danger, he ran straight for the glowing wall. But as one would expect of any wall, he merely bounced off it, falling backwards into a heap. “Wait, what is going on?!”
“Sorry, it’s a one-way door,” Shigehito replied.
“Then how are we talking through it?!” Jumping back to his feet, Hanakawa felt the wall with his hands. It was solid. It was hard to believe he had run through it moments before. “Hey! Something is coming!”
“Well, of course. They’re ancient ruins, so naturally they’ll have a guardian of some sort.”
The sound of wings was growing louder, sending a chill through him. A slow, creeping despair was filling the air as something landed behind him.
“I get the feeling I’d be better off not turning to look!” But he turned anyway. In a way, it was even more terrifying not knowing what was there.
It was watching Hanakawa from atop one of the decrepit buildings. Its body was covered in glittering black scales, supported by four powerful limbs, and it boasted a pair of wings whose magnificent size could be recognized even as they sat folded on its back. Its reptilian head sported horns and a jaw filled with razor-sharp fangs.
Hanakawa screamed, falling onto the ground. “A d-d-dragon?!”
His Discernment skill showed nothing, which meant that its stats must have been hidden, but one hardly needed such a skill to tell that this monster was anything but ordinary. It was like a living disaster—a being far beyond the potential of mankind against whom the idea of fighting seemed absurd.
Hanakawa was paralyzed. The sight of the creature was enough to freeze the breath in his lungs.
“Mortal one, what business brings you to this holy—”
Its head suddenly fell from its shoulders. Hanakawa scuttled backwards with a yelp as the dragon’s disembodied face struck the ground in front of him.
“Ha ha, you’re exaggerating, Hanakawa.”
At some point, Ragna had appeared beside him. The oppressive atmosphere that had frozen him in place melted instantly.
“Uhh, did you perhaps slay the dragon?”
“Oh, come on, that’s not a dragon. That was just a big lizard. There are tons of these living around our village.”
“Huh? Wasn’t it talking, though? Something like ‘mortal one’? It sounded like something a higher being like an ancient dragon or whatever would say.”
“Ah, I suppose you wouldn’t know since people in the city only see the meat at the end of the day. They do talk sometimes. They like to act as if they’re a lot more important than they are. It’s kind of a weak tactic, but I suppose it is a sign of intelligence in its own way.”
“So, you kill them for meat even though they can talk?” Hanakawa was a little turned off by that.
“I mean, it is food, and it sells pretty well. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel at all bad about killing something that can talk, but that’s what it means to hunt animals.”
I see. It’s still a bit unclear, but it appears he is the naive country hero archetype. In that case, no matter how much knowledge he is provided with, he will continue to have these kinds of misunderstandings about the wider world.
It seemed like too much work to try to correct the young man’s misconceptions, so Hanakawa decided to treat the situation in the simplest way he could.
Well, he is honest and straightforward and reasonably considerate, so I’m sure he’ll protect me!
Under the circumstances, Ragna could be considered Hanakawa’s lifeline. Without the young man, he would have died long ago.
“You’re pretty good, Ragna,” Shigehito commented as the other three finally arrived. “Well, that does it for the Blackgleam Dragon’s horn. Can you cut it off for us?”
Ragna easily separated the horn from the decapitated head.
“I suppose that horn will become the blade of the sword,” Hanakawa mused. “Do we really need it?”
Even without the Omega Blade, Ragna’s aura seemed more than capable of cutting through anything with an ordinary sword.
“I suppose we need the proof that we killed it too. We should find the Blackgleam Dragon’s jewel,” Shigehito said before turning to Hanakawa. “Hey, piggy, go get it.”
“But where would I even look?”
“It’s a jewel, right?” Akinobu replied. “Why not try checking where you always find the ‘family jewels’?”
Although he knew Akinobu was only messing with him, Hanakawa couldn’t disobey. He reluctantly approached the corpse that had fallen from its perch.
“What’s that face for? Didn’t you come with us so you could do this kind of stuff?”
I came because you forced me to! Of course, he couldn’t say that out loud. “Ha, ha ha ha! How exciting! I do love this kind of dirty work!”
Hanakawa approached the dragon’s privates. Although it had been acting like some kind of higher being, it still had the body of a reptile, so it should have had some way of expelling waste. Naturally, that part of the body was filthy, and its stench filled the air around him.
I will definitely, definitely kill them! Someday! Definitely!
The jewel turned out to be in the dragon’s hand.
Akinobu Marufuji, the Creator, considered himself to be the strongest. His Gift allowed him to create all sorts of creatures. While he couldn’t create life from absolutely nothing, there was no doubt that it was an extraordinary power.
Akinobu’s ability was able to give inanimate objects souls. He couldn’t use it on animals, but it did work on plants and dead bodies. Basically, it wouldn’t work on anything that already had a soul.
Akinobu himself didn’t really believe in the existence of a soul per se, but looking at it in that way made his abilities easier to explain. Whatever he created would follow his orders. He could give his creations all sorts of abilities and so indirectly had access to those powers himself. If there was a limit to his skill, it would be that he had to physically touch a thing to give it life, but even that was a restriction he could bypass by acting through the creatures he had already created.
For example, he could create something like a tree and have its roots spread as far as he wished. As long as he was touching the thing he created, he could use his own powers through it. There were limits to the size, speed, or number of his creations, but those could be overcome by continuing to strengthen his Gift.
In Akinobu’s mind, he would someday be able to rule the world.
Shigehito Mitadera, the Master Oracle, considered himself to be the strongest.
He could see fate itself. No matter how high a person’s stats were or how powerful their abilities, if they couldn’t see the future then someday they would fail. If they wielded their power aimlessly, they would eventually come across someone stronger and be defeated. On top of that, being strong didn’t mean that things would always go their way. There were even cases where that strength would be the ultimate cause of their failure.
In order for someone to accomplish their objective, they needed information... What to fight and defeat and what needed to be left alone. Where to go, what to get, who to meet. Shigehito’s Book of Prophecy told him exactly how to accomplish his goals, and the exact actions he needed to take. As it took the form of a book, it couldn’t contain everything, but it did have the minimum information necessary to proceed. It took some practice to figure out how to read it properly, but Shigehito was already in the process of mastering that.
By deciding on an objective, the Book of Prophecy gave him the knowledge that he needed to accomplish it. Currently, his objective was to wipe out the Sages and take over the world. Of course, in a straight fight, he couldn’t beat Akinobu or Ragna, nor could he beat the Sage who had given him the Gift in the first place. But being unable to defeat her merely meant that he couldn’t use his Gift directly against her. The book would still be able to give him the information he needed to succeed. So, while a Creator couldn’t triumph in that regard, there was a chance that a Master Oracle could.
Shigehito was gathering the resources, both human and not, to do just that. Luckily, it didn’t seem like they had any sort of time limit. Following the Book of Prophecy, proceeding carefully forward, made it seem like an achievable goal.
In Shigehito’s mind, control of information was the same as control of the world.
Rei Kushima, the Femme Fatale, considered herself to be the strongest.
Her power was to evaluate the usefulness of the men she met and manipulate them accordingly. In short, she could recognize those who had some worth and seduce them. Neither the Creator, Akinobu Marufuji, nor the Master Oracle, Shigehito Mitadera, realized that they were under her control. At some point they had simply lost the ability to disobey her, and their desires had naturally begun to coincide with hers.
Shigehito had originally had no desire to defeat the Sages and conquer the world. That was the direction Rei had sent him in. There was no particular reason for it either. She had just wanted to test how far she could push the men she ensnared.
She was quite excited to see how things would go. If all she wanted was to live in peace and safety, that was easy enough. But she wasn’t interested in a tranquil, boring life. She had no idea how she could possibly get back to her home world, so she decided to live a life that was as flashy and thrilling as possible.
In Rei’s mind, there was nothing more appealing than a life of excitement.
After passing through the ancient city, Hanakawa’s group ascended a frustratingly long staircase, which eventually emerged into a forest on the surface. The exit disappeared without a trace once they’d passed through it, so it seemed to be another one-way door.
Leaving the forest behind, they immediately found a road to a walled city not far off. It was the imperial capital of the Empire of Ent. Although the seemingly endless fortifications highlighted the enormous size of the city, Hanakawa couldn’t help but feel disappointed. It looked just like every other city he had seen here.
“I was hoping, after hearing this was an island country in the east, that it would have more of a Japanese aesthetic, but it doesn’t seem much different from what we’ve encountered before.”
He was walking ahead of the group, as always. He hadn’t been given any specific instructions, so he was just heading towards the buildings. There was no guard posted at the city gate, so they were able to walk in without confrontation.
“All right, we made it to the capital. Now what?”
“Next is the adventurer’s guild,” Shigehito said, looking through his Book of Prophecy. “We’ll need the Blackgleam Dragon’s jewel there.”
“I see. I was unaware that such an institution existed,” Hanakawa replied. There had been a similarly named organization in the capital of Manii, but it had only sold entry rights to the Underworld, so it seemed functionally different.
Shigehito’s book had a map in it, and by following it they were able to reach their destination quickly. The inside looked like an ordinary pub. There were a number of tables, and along one wall were posted numerous job requests. Customers were happily drinking away even in the middle of the day, so it seemed like the proprietors were running a fairly successful business.
“It’s remarkable how much this place matches the template!” Hanakawa gushed. “So, have we come here with the intention of registering with the guild? Actually, no matter how I look, I am already level ninety-nine! I’m sure they’ll be quite shocked when they do the standard stat check on me!”
In spite of having been dragged there against his will, he was still somewhat looking forward to it. Ever since coming to this world, he had been suffering nonstop. No matter how ordinary or clichéd it might be, he was looking forward to a good experience for once.
“Sorry, but Ragna’s the one who’s getting that experience,” Shigehito interrupted.
“Oh... Ah, so that is why we procured the jewel! As he goes to register for the guild, he will say, ‘Oh, by the way, I defeated this on my way here.’ And when he shows them the jewel, they’ll all be shocked!”
This was still an interesting development as far as Hanakawa was concerned. It was unfortunate that he himself wouldn’t be the center of attention, but watching it happen firsthand would be good enough.
“All I have to do is register?” Ragna asked.
“That’s right. Once you do, we can make money by defeating monsters and the like,” Shigehito said, urging him forward, though Ragna didn’t quite seem to know what was going on.
Ohh! Perhaps it is a bit late, but I’m starting to get excited! I am going to become an official adventurer!
The reception desk was at the far end of the building, so they had to walk through the bar to get there. As they did, they passed by several drunks, and as if it were entirely natural, one of those men stuck his leg out to block the way.
Hanakawa immediately felt moved. Delinquent adventurers were picking a fight with the newcomers. Such a cliché was something that he had never expected to see with his own eyes.
The lanky hoodlum wore leather pants and a studded jacket. He had such a picture-perfect “punk” look that it had to have been on purpose. Three beautiful women were sitting with him, so he likely wasn’t the low-class thug he appeared, but it was hard to overcome that first impression of him being a weakling.
“Hey, hey, hey! Never seen you lot before, have I? Who d’you think you are, walkin’ by us without even saying hello?”
“Hello!” Ragna greeted the man politely, failing to understand the situation.
“Yes, hello... The hell do you mean, ‘hello’?! You an idiot or somethin’?”
“Then what do you want?”
“You’re planning on registerin’ with the guild, yeah? I’ll be the judge of that,” the punk answered, standing up. He was just as tall and lanky as expected, still giving the impression of being fairly weak.
“Judge? What do you mean?” Ragna asked.
“If you want to join the guild, you’ll have to beat me first!” He brought his fists up in a guard stance. And then, making the sound effects himself, he began swinging punches at the air. He looked amusingly pathetic, but Hanakawa decided to inspect his abilities anyway.
The man was level ten. For Ragna, who was over level fifty thousand, he could be easily beaten with a single finger.
“Oh, Yoshifumi, would you stop it?”
“Come on, let’s just drink!”
“Who cares about some newbies?”
The women he was with were clearly fed up with him. It seemed this was a regular routine, but this Yoshifumi was so weak that any “newbie” would have no problem taking him on.
“Well, that’s a problem. I don’t know how I feel about fighting you.”
“Don’t think about it too hard, Ragna,” Shigehito urged. “How about you just knock him to the floor? That should be good enough.”
If they were planning on registering with the guild, killing or severely injuring this guy wasn’t a good idea.
“Okay. I just need to knock him over?”
“Huh? Sure, if you can knock me down, you win!”
In spite of the threatening behavior, Hanakawa wasn’t the least bit scared. The fight had been decided long before any blows were struck. The actual fight was just for show.
“Okay, here I go.”
“Bring it!”
Ragna’s head was promptly blown clean off his shoulders. Hanakawa had no idea what he had just witnessed. His companion’s neck was suddenly gushing blood, painting the ceiling red. The headless body fell over, spilling a bloody mess onto the floor.
“Come on, Yoshifumi. The receptionist is going to get mad at you again.”
“Cleaning up after you do that is a lot of work!”
“This is why we don’t get any new members!”
Yoshifumi took a seat again, wiping off his fists as the women complained. “Yo, Sage candidates. Sorry for introducing myself so late. I’m the Emperor of Ent, the Sage Yoshifumi. Nice to meet ya.”
“Wh-Why... Why would the emperor... Why would a Sage be in a place like this?” Shigehito was completely dumbstruck.
“And how did the hoodlum win?!” Hanakawa added. “This is nothing like the template at all!”
To defeat the Sages, you need the World Sword Omega Blade! Your main objective in Ent is to obtain the World Sword...but beware! The Sage Yoshifumi is also there! If you encounter him before obtaining the sword, you will be wiped out! However, unlike most Sages, Yoshifumi acts as the Emperor of Ent, so his area of movement is fairly restricted. If you are careful, you should be able to avoid him!
Hanakawa remembered the words of the Book of Prophecy.
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