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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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The Brown Canyon region, on the outskirts of Eastvan.
Deep, sheer canyons stretched as far as the eye could see, the wind whistling through them, creating eerie, mournful sounds. Untouched wilderness.
“It’s been a while since we worked together, Reus.”
Arthur said. We were following Reus through the canyons.
“Has it?”
Reus replied in a flat tone. It was the first time they had been on the same team since the final exam.
I had given Reus two conditions.
First, he had to form a party with Arthur and me to clear the dungeon.
Second, he had to join Arthur’s club with Sonny.
Reus, after some thought, had agreed.
‘Ethan, you… Never mind.’
He had seemed about to ask me something, but he had stopped himself. He was probably suspicious of me.
A gust of wind blew through the canyons, and a long silence followed.
We stopped. A large opening gaped in the canyon wall.
“This is it. The dungeon.”
Reus led the way into the cave. We emerged into a large, open chamber.
It was clearly an artificial structure.
Unfamiliar symbols covered the walls, and an altar stood in the center, a statue of a goddess looking down at us.
Iros, the Goddess of Light.
Stone statues of knights, their swords planted firmly in the ground, lined the path leading to the altar.
“This doesn’t look like an ordinary dungeon…”
Arthur said nervously, looking around. He used a small flame spell to illuminate the symbols on the wall.
But even his system couldn’t decipher them.
He then read the inscription at the base of the statue. Unlike the symbols on the walls, this was written in the Imperial language.
“This is the sacred altar of the Goddess. Only those recognized by the Goddess may enter.”
Below the inscription were the same conditions Reus had mentioned. Reus placed his hand on the statue, and a hidden entrance appeared on the altar.
The entrance pulsed with blue mana.
“And this is the true entrance to the dungeon. Shall we enter?”
Arthur and I nodded.
We stepped through the entrance and found ourselves in a completely different place.
It was a ruined city beneath a purple sky, wyverns circling overhead.
“The demon world? Why is the Goddess’s altar connected to the demon world?”
“It probably means we have to go to the demon world and kill all the demons and monsters.”
I replied casually. This place was a border region between the human world and the demon world. There was a gate to the demon world here.
“We don’t have time for that now.”
Suddenly,
A dark figure lunged at Arthur, a gust of wind swirling around it.
Whoosh!
Reus struck the attacking statue with his spear. The statue’s head shattered with a dull thud.
“…A golem? Or… a Guardian of the Demon World?”
Guardian of the Demon World.
After his awakening, Arthur could see the names of monsters. And the name “Guardian of the Demon World” was probably floating above their heads right now.
The headless statue remained in a fighting stance.
Crunch.
Reus crushed the statue’s head beneath his foot. But the guardian continued to swing its sword, its movements clumsy but persistent.
Reus’s spear, infused with blue mana, pierced the statue’s abdomen. It exploded, shattering into pieces.
“So, these are the guardians of this dungeon.”
The other statues began to move.
Crack—!
The sound of cracking stone echoed through the ruins as the statues came to life, shedding their outer layers of stone.
They were clad in bronze armor.
“Garsarapi, Raywor.”
Their guttural language sounded harsh and grating. Arthur and I released our mana.
At least this wasn’t a cramped space.
Arthur unleashed a wave of blue mana.
Bang!
The mana engulfed the statues, creating a cloud of dust.
When the dust settled, a group of shield-bearing guardians stood there, some of them smirking.
“What? Why didn’t it work?”
“Did you sleep through class, Arthur Pendragon?”
Reus chuckled.
“Huh…? But they weren’t there before…?”
“They have Adamantium embedded in their shields.”
He was right. Small pieces of Adamantium were embedded in the center of their shields.
Adamantium, a metal that nullified magic.
Arthur nodded in understanding. They couldn’t defeat them with magic.
The guardians charged, thrusting their spears. I ducked and weaved through their attacks, my black blade slicing through a guardian’s arm.
The arm fell to the ground, no blood spilled. I dodged a shield bash and spun to the side.
My mana-infused kick struck a guardian’s waist.
Bang!
A crack appeared on its armor. I followed up with a pommel strike to its head.
The headless guardian continued to attack, using its shield. I used the shield as a springboard, leaping into the air.
The guardian’s shield struck another guardian behind me, sending it stumbling.
I landed behind it and sliced it in half.
It finally collapsed.
“Arthur! We have to fight them in close combat!”
Arthur nodded and swung his sword, cutting a guardian in half.
The upper half of its body fell to the ground, but it continued to crawl towards us.
Crunch.
I crushed its head beneath my foot and used the momentum to leap towards the guardian who had given the initial command.
“Ger Taha! Lirjuarha!”
The shield-bearing guardians surrounded their leader, their spears pointed outwards.
They were using formations.
I unleashed my mana and teleported behind them.
Blink.
I vanished, then reappeared a short distance away.
“Wait, Ethan, you can use Blink?”
“I’ve been practicing.”
Arthur stared at me, dumbfounded.
“Arthur, focus on the battle.”
“Oh, right… you’re right.”
“Runtar!”
I summoned Runtar.
A red magic circle appeared on the ground. He unleashed a torrent of fire, engulfing the guardians and the surrounding ruins.
It was a large-scale attack, possible only because they were in a ruined city. I couldn’t have summoned Runtar like that in the academy or in a forest.
“Wow… that didn’t work either.”
But the guardians were still standing, their shields protecting them from the flames.
They were each as strong as a Lizardman Knight. Thankfully, they weren’t using mana or demonic energy.
“Ethan, you idiot! Are you deaf? I told you magic wouldn’t work!”
Reus yelled.
“That wasn’t magic. It was spirit magic.”
It had been a test. But as expected, their shields absorbed the flames.
There were about fifty or sixty of them, each as strong as a Lizardman Knight.
In the original story, Sonny had used his cloning technique.
He had pulled out handfuls of his hair, and Arthur had worried about him going bald.
Thankfully, these guardians weren’t radiating demonic energy like Lien had when he was a Death Knight.
‘Wait… Lien?’
The guardians smirked, waiting for us to tire. I smirked back.
“Reus, can you defeat them?”
“What do you take me for? That would be child’s play.”
Ah… is that so?
Achilles had single-handedly dominated the Trojan War. He must be confident in his close-combat abilities.
“Work smarter, not harder, Reus.”
“What? My scores are higher than yours, in both practical and written exams.”
Reus frowned, annoyed.
“Let’s make a deal.”
“A deal?”
“Yeah, keep this a secret.”
Reus and Arthur exchanged puzzled glances.
I had initially considered using my mana to hurl rocks at them, like I had during the practical exam.
But I didn’t think it would work against their shields.
“I’ll help you clear this dungeon. You just have to watch and cheer.”
Reus chuckled condescendingly.
“Fine. Let’s see what tricks you have up your sleeve.”
He crossed his arms, a smug look on his face. I glanced at Arthur. He nodded curiously.
Reus, despite his arrogance, had kept Sonny’s secret in the original story.
“Okay, watch closely.”
An army is meant to be used, not hidden in the shadows.
“Answer my call.”
The assassins materialized. They were all wearing hoods, their attire unchanged.
Linkea, at the front of the group, knelt before me.
“You summoned me, my lord.”
Her long, red hair swayed in the breeze.
Lien was taking care of Hessia, and Janet and a few others were hidden in Hessia’s shadow. But there were still almost seventy assassins standing before me.
“Destroy them.”
Linkea nodded, drew her curved sword, and charged, followed by the undead army.
“W-what is…?”
Reus stared at the scene, dumbfounded.
But this was just the beginning.
The assassins and the guardians clashed, a cacophony of shouts and the clang of metal against metal. The assassins released their mana, attacking from behind and using their speed to overwhelm the guardians.
But they were still assassins, not warriors. They were no match for the guardians in close combat.
The bodies of Linkea’s troops began to pile up.
But they were undead. And I had an endless supply of mana.
“Rise.”
The fallen assassins stood up, their bodies healed.
An immortal army against an army of tough guardians.
The outcome was inevitable.
“You… you’re a Hero Candidate, and you’re using necromancy?”
What was he talking about?
He was the one who had kissed a corpse. Achilles had kissed Penthesilea, the Amazonian queen, after killing her.
Of course, there were different versions of the story. And he had dragged Hector’s corpse behind his chariot.
The heroes of Greek mythology weren’t exactly known for their compassion.
“Ethan, who are they?”
“The Black Brotherhood.”
“Ah…”
Arthur seemed to have finally realized that I had annihilated the Black Brotherhood for Arianna.
Only Linkea and the last guardian remained.
Linkea leaped forward, her blade slicing through the guardian’s neck.
The headless guardian swung its sword wildly. Linkea’s blade flashed again.
The guardian was sliced in half, from head to groin, and collapsed with a thud. The battle was over.
“I have fulfilled your command, my lord.”
Linkea knelt before me.
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