Chapter 162
[So you got that as a reward? Wow . Gods are also shameless . Shouldn't you get a different reward in exchange for being entrusted with the holy sword?]
[That's what I'm saying . ]
[So how long have you had that holy sword?]
[TL Note: I assume he's talking to the girl who's currently going through Hell Difficulty . ]
* * * * * *
[Rather than that, wouldn't it be better to slash downwards more heavily?]
"Maybe . If I consider the next motion, I think it'd be better to swing lightly . "
Seregia acknowledged my opinion .
Therefore, our three opinions were divided 2:1 .
However, the holy sword wouldn't accept it .
[Just slash downwards with all your might . Everything will be taken care of if I use my Barrier Magic . Summoning a Fire Wall or a Wind Wall to block their approach works too . If not, then even if you just shoot a lightweight magic like Magic Missile, you'll be able to block the enemies that are trying to aim for your weak spot . Of course, you have to wield a magic sword that can do that first . Hoo hoo . However, where would you find another magic sword as great as me in the world? Haha . ]
He really is a natural at getting caught up in his own boasting .
I got irritated every time I heard the holy sword bragging .
This guy would boast all the time .
He's at the level of a narcissist .
[Warrior, you've been extremely lucky . There's not another sword like me in this world . Hahaha . ]
I can't snap at him in times like this .
I realized that in the past few days .
If I say something, the holy sword wouldn't accept it and we'd start arguing .
And that argument would usually be sprinkled with the holy sword’s boasts .
If I didn't want to hear that, the answer was to just ignore him .
So I just stayed silent .
Seregia stayed silent for the same reason .
[… Huh?]
Nobody responded, so when I heard the holy sword's flustered voice, I felt a little more cheerful .
I stood up .
"I think I've rested enough, so shall we go?"
[Yes . I believe three days’ rest was enough . Let's depart . ]
After Seregia calmly spoke, the holy sword, whose humility had reached its limit, spoke .
[At last, this is the start of a new journey . Warrior! Adventure! Friendship! Love! Justice! New bonds in a new world! And those new bonds will create a new legend of the holy sword! Ah… these are words from my early childhood, travelling here and there on the continent was my hobby . ]
Damn it .
I want to sew his mouth shut and throw it away .
Ah, that guy doesn't have a mouth, does he?
I want to infuse the Thousand Arms sheath with a Silence Magic .
In truth, I had checked the store to see if there was anything like that .
If the holy sword didn't have a Dispel Magic function, I definitely would've bought it .
I ignored the holy sword that refused to stop boasting and stood atop the portal .
I passed a bonfire room and was transported to the stage .
I explained to Seregia and the holy sword that I travelled between dimensions and that like the mercenaries who worked as Warriors, I would travel to this or that world, and my job was to accomplish a specific goal .
Because of that, the title of Warrior was quickly discarded .
Also, I told Seregia to use my name and speak informally .
In truth, it didn't matter if they disregarded my title, but since Seregia personally insisted that she was more comfortable with the title, we just decided to keep it as is .
The holy sword had also told me to call it by its name Ahoubuch, or whatever, but it was hard to pronounce so I just decided to call it the holy sword .
The holy sword was disappointed as expected, but I ignored him .
Other than that, Seregia and the holy sword couldn't perceive the portal, the waiting room, or the Tutorial at all .
They could only understand to the extent that they were a means of transportation and safe lodging .
It was unfortunate, but since they can't even perceive it, I did not pity them as much .
[Welcome to the 27th floor stage . ]
There was a village built in front of a large cave on the 27th floor .
No, I should call it a town instead .
There was a fairly large number of people walking around and I also saw a lot of buildings compacted together .
But from just a glimpse, it was a town so squalid that it seemed to be more of a village for natives of a jungle .
[Warrior, what is your objective here?] Seregia asked .
The holy sword maintained his silence .
The holy sword had to be alert when he went outside, so I told him to talk as little as possible .
Maybe it's because I stressed it several times, but the holy sword was silent just as he promised .
Honestly, it was because of this that in this round I canceled my plan to rest and hurried into the stage instead .
I don't know how long the holy sword will be silent and keep his promise, but it was a relief he was well-behaved, even if it was for only a short while .
"I'm not sure . Let's wait for a little bit . "
I couldn't immediately respond to Seregia's question, since I don't know yet .
I briefly stood at the center of the town and waited .
[The 27th floor's challenge is starting . ]
Explanation: To the east of Gravia , there are two trade routes to the western continent . The first route is the sea route, crossing the sea between the continents, and the second is via the enormous subterranean cave beneath the ocean . This subterranean cave that is well-known as Gravia's underground dungeon, is made up of three stairways . Also, there is an existence that is occupying the lowest floor alone . In the lowest floor of Gravia's underground dungeon, please vanquish the ruler of the lowest floor and seize the earthworm's treasure .
You will need a special guide in order to reach the lowest floor of Gravia's dungeon .
Please enter the building made of red bricks and obtain a guide .
[Clear conditions]
1 . Defeat the earthworm .
2 . Acquire the earthworm's treasure .
It was a fairly comprehensible stage .
So I attack the underground dungeon and defeat the boss mob .
Plus, I also have to acquire the boss mob's loot .
The clear condition concerning the existence of the earthworm caught my attention more than the stage's concept .
An earthworm, huh .
But “an earthworm” normally refers to an actual worm .
However, if it were just the average earthworm, there would be no way it would have a treasure worthy of being the stage's clear condition .
In any case, isn't it a dragon?
[TL Note: The previous section is the author’s wordplay . The Korean word for “earthworm” can be taken apart and literally translated to mean “earth (dust) dragon,” though it is not usually used this way . This is Ho Jae’s perception of the term, not what the clear condition actually says . ]
Didn't it say that it was on the lowest floor of the underground dungeon?
Didn't it say that it’s occupying the lowest floor alone?
Perhaps exactly as its written, it's a dragon living underground?
I was a little excited .
Seregia and the holy sword had also learned of the clear condition through the message .
[I'm looking forward to it . If possible, I hope that there will be a lot of enemies on the path leading to the lowest floor . ]
[To defeat a wicked evil dragon . . . ]
Seregia also showed her anticipation .
In the holy sword's case, it was excited about something and started talking, but when I gripped the hilt, it immediately stopped talking .
[Um… Warrior . ]
The holy sword that had been briefly silent spoke furtively .
"What?"
[Can't I just speak casually with you as well? I won't be too noisy . ]
"You can't . I don't trust you . "
[You're too much . Isn't this favoritism?]
It is favoritism .
"If you don't like it, then you can go back into the inventory . "
[Yes . I'll remain quiet . I love you, Warrior . You know that I always respect you, right?]
What are you talking about?
After we finished our conversation, I walked towards the red building .
I didn't walk that far before I reached the front of the buildings made of red bricks .
It should be sufficient to simply pick a guide from here and travel to the dungeon .
Kiri Kiri had advised me to pick my guide carefully .
However, what did she mean by ‘pick carefully’?
I have no idea .
I confidently shoved the door open and entered without much thought .
The scenery inside the building was typical .
An adventurer's guild inside of a game would look exactly like this .
They were selling alcohol and plain food and the people sitting at the tables all looked like vagrants .
There was a large wooden block situated in the middle of the building's interior, pinned with information notices and advertisements regarding this and that .
[It's a noisy place . ] Seregia commented .
It was actually really noisy inside the building .
[It also reeks . ]
After she said that, the holy sword beside me commented as well .
I have no idea how the holy sword could smell it when he didn't have a nose, but this place honestly reeked of a disgusting smell .
I briefly looked around the building and found a person who looked to be the front-desk clerk or a worker .
She was a fairly old-looking middle-aged woman .
She was sitting at the counter and either telling people about this and that or diligently writing something down on paper .
No matter how I look at it, she didn't act like a customer at all .
If I were to point a out a peculiar point, it was just that she had a red eye tattooed on her forehead .
I approached the middle-aged woman at the counter and asked outright .
"I'm looking for a guide that can guide me through the dungeon . "
"You're that dual-wielding swordsman that I saw talking to himself over there . "
"I'm sorry?"
"It's nothing . You said you were looking for a guide?"
It seems like she had seen me talking to my swords outside the building a little while ago .
Then again, it must've looked a little strange .
If you just look at me, I carried around two conspicuous swords and I had stood in the middle of the street muttering to myself .
"What is your destination?"
"The lowest floor . "
"Are you by chance looking for a spot to kill yourself?"
"No . "
Her voice that abruptly asked whether I was going to kill myself was sad, but I calmly responded .
"I’m visiting . "
Immediately after I had told her that I wanted to go to the lowest floor, the woman began furrowing her eyebrows right in front of me .
If I had told her that I was going to kill the dragon, it seemed like she would call it a bluff and chase me out of the building .
"As you may know, even if we can guide you there, we cannot guarantee your safety . That is…"
"I don't need it . "
When I bluntly told her that, the woman retained her crumpled face and pondered for a long while .
Then she pointed to a corner of the building and said, "Ask that child over there . That child's probably the only one who will guide you . "
I saw a kid that didn't even look ten in the corner that she pointed at .
"Are there no other guides?"
"I'm not sure . That child's probably the only guide who needs to make money today or else he’ll die tomorrow . "
I had no choice but to accept this guide considering the circumstances .
I roughly said my goodbyes and I approached the child squatting in the corner .
Right when I was about to introduce myself and raise the child up, the child abruptly stood up .
"Hello, Swordsman . Did you say you were going all the way down to the lowest floor? Woah, you're an amazing person . You're manly, you've got courage, and moreover, you have a couple of swords . You don't have to worry too much about the lowest floor . Especially since the scary rumors regarding the lowest floor were made up by all sorts of people . But for a swordsman like you who's the real deal, it won't be a very dangerous place for you . Haha . "
Perhaps he was listening to my conversation with the middle-aged woman, but the child already knew about my destination .
Because of that, it seemed like I wouldn't have to separately explain it to him .
Strangely, the child had a red eye tattooed on his forehead just like the middle-aged woman .
[In his first meeting with you he's smoothly flattering you; he's an unusually rude little kid . ]
The holy sword muttered .
Look who's talking .
[Rather than flattery, I also hear it as sarcasm . ]
It was just as Seregia said .
That's how I heard it .
This little kid wasn't sincerely being sarcastic with me .
That's just how I heard it .
Since I heard the kid's words that way, it seems like his expression was hugely affected .
His thin voice that hadn't yet gone through puberty was also probably disturbed as well .
This young dirty kid revealed his white teeth and was smiling brightly .
However, his smile only formed on the sides of his mouth .
He bowed his forehead slightly and the eyes that looked up at me weren't smiling at all .
He was repeatedly rotating between observing my facial expression, my clothes, and my weapons .
Seeing as how he's repeatedly looking at the places he's observed before, I could tell that the child's mental state was extremely anxious .
[He's a child without much attentiveness . His focus is also terrible . ]
Seregia criticized .
I agreed with everything she said .
[If he wielded a sword, he'd die outside of his home within a month . ]
This time, the holy sword commented .
It was a little uncertain, but I agreed .
The child seemed to be an existence that exhibited all the habits or peculiarities that you can't have as a swordsman or a warrior .
His intentions are written all over his face .
His attentiveness and his focus are lacking, and he wasn't even sure of what he had seen himself .
He looked around carefully for other people's gazes, but he turned his eyes towards too many things, and he couldn't identify what was most important .
For example, my eyes that are looking straight down at the kid .
His breathing was so erratic that he may as well have had tuberculosis, and his standing posture was terrible .
Even if you look at his build from the outside, it's terrible; the space between his legs when he steps is erratic .
No, the angle that his feet are touching the ground is strange .
There may be some kind of problem with his feet .
[Warrior . I maintained my ego for a considerably long time, but this is my first time seeing such an untalented human in the world . ]
The holy sword didn't drop its criticism .
This kid isn't even a swordsman, so why do his talents matter?
It's fine as long as he guides me well .
[Yes . He really does have the worst ability . Even in the academy where numerous students gather, there wasn't anyone that bad . He's still young and he doesn't seem to have been given any particular education nor has he been trained . Even if we consider his malnourished and unhealthy state, it's really hard to find a human like that . He's a dunce sent by heaven . ]
Seregia supplemented .
The holy sword's and Seregia's criticism combination was too cruel that even I, the one listening, felt sorry for the kid .
"Swordsman? Is there any problem…?"
"No, there's none . Then, can you give me an explanation regarding the dungeon? I need to test whether you have enough knowledge as a guide . "
"Yes . First, please sit over there . I'll explain after you sit down . "
I had thought of this before, but it came up again .
Kiri Kiri had advised that I need to pick my guide well .
I don't really understand the meaning behind that .
The only option I had was this kid .
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