Episode. 10 To the Demon Realm (2)
kiik-
“her.”
After checking the contents, I opened my mouth in a daze.
Aaron couldn’t even open the wooden box and his eyes were taken by my sword.
– You sent a pretty good sword.
I remembered what the family head said while handing over the wooden box.
This is just a ‘pretty good sword’.
Then, what is a famous sword and a masterpiece?
“It’s more than I could have imagined.”
A sword hilt made of leather of an unknown material.
Above it, the blade of the ink-colored sword was spewing anticipation.
I raised my sword with trembling hands.
Compared to the long sword, its weight was never excessive, and it seemed easy to use with one hand.
Aaron was amazed to see it.
“They say that the weapons made by the dwarves are worth a thousand gold… … .”
I know it when I hold it myself.
Why did the knights hang themselves on such good weapons?
As if absorbing light, the intaglio engraved on the dark body of the sword stood out.
Dragon Tooth.
It was a pretty fitting name.
I inserted the sword into the scabbard that was kept with it. I felt reassured as if I had met my soul mate.
I never thought the day would come when I was so excited about a single sword.
“Congratulations. You seem to have found a connection.”
Aaron let out an incomprehensible sound.
I heard that all knights meet a weapon that makes my heart beat.
“okay. To pull out a dragon’s heart, dragon’s teeth must be perfect.”
Of course, I had to go to the Elven Forest before that.
I no longer thought that it was impossible to penetrate the demonic realm surrounding the forest.
Rather, he was only looking forward to meeting the elves.
“I want to try it.”
I grabbed the molars that would be with me in the future.
◈ ◈ ◈
As soon as the day dawned, Aaron and I hugged the bottle and went out the front gate of Batten Street.
“Bocchan, are you really okay with this?”
Aaron, tightly wrapped around my arm, asked anxiously.
Of course, the road from Battenga to the Devil’s Land was not a day or two away.
A horse was a must, unless you were going to walk for a few months.
The problem is that I don’t know how to ride a horse at all.
Well, he had never touched an animal called a horse, so he must have learned to ride.
“For now, just start.”
In the end, I had no choice but to ride behind Aaron, who was good at horseback riding.
Dagdak-
I gave strength to the arms that embraced Aaron, so that I would not fall off the horse kicking the ground with a strong kick.
Still, it was comfortable at first.
Perhaps Aaron was considerate, but the feeling of riding was not as bad as I thought.
“Ugh!”
But as time goes by, my butt gets tingling… … .
‘It’s getting hard to hold on.’
I never thought riding a horse would be such a hard job.
It’s been less than an hour since we left.
“Shall we go get some rest?”
“… … it’s okay.”
I shook my head. If I go for only an hour and take a break, what time will I arrive at the Demonic Realm?
“It will only last for a few days.”
Of course, I had no intention of moving like this all the time. Looking at Aaron’s broad back, I watched carefully how he rode his horse.
Those rough days were repeated for several days.
We ran nonstop to the north.
『Speciality – Horseback riding has been obtained.』
『Current proficiency – F』
at las.
I grabbed my aching buttocks and glared at the system window in front of me.
It should show up sooner or later.
“Let’s get another horse in the next town.”
After that, things got much better. I spurred on the horse I had saved from a fairly large village.
“… … Did you know how to ride a horse?”
Aaron, who was running side by side, asked with strange eyes.
Surely, you don’t think I deliberately wanted to sit with you?
“I learned from watching you do it, why.”
Despite my answer, Aaron’s eyes were still grim.
It’s because he’s so suspicious of a guy called a knight under his direct control.
I ran for a few more days like that again. The lower part of the North Continent was plagued with undead, but the upper part was really peaceful.
It’s to the point where even a common monster doesn’t appear.
“Usually you’ve been so upset, but this time you don’t even show your nose.”
A muttering could be heard as if Aaron had the same thought.
It was a look of regret.
“I guess you are impatient to try using a spear?”
The name of Aaron’s spear made by the dwarves is ‘Horntail’.
It was a practical spear that went well with Aaron’s usual personality.
Aaron looked straight ahead and ran in silence, as if he had been hit. But since I also wanted to swing a new sword quickly, I understood.
◈ ◈ ◈
It was when we got close to Borhem Kingdom that monsters appeared and blocked our path.
“I deal with… … .”
“Bocchan, I’ll take care of it right away!”
Before I could finish my words, Aaron spurs on his horse.
As I opened my eyes and gripped the window sill, I could see the shape of the window at first glance.
… … It was just like a crazy person.
I also wanted to wield Dragon Tooth.
The pitiful monster was skewered by Aaron’s charge without any time to stop it.
“This is real! You don’t even listen to me saying that you’re an article under my direct control!”
At my words, Aaron joked, ‘How can you let your lord deal with an outrageous monster?’
Even the honest knight was like a child in front of a new favorite soldier.
Aaron asked after wiping the window with a cloth.
“By the way, are you going to visit Borhem Kingdom?”
“no. Just head straight to the Magic Realm.”
The Kingdom of Borhem has been fighting the demons descending from the Devil’s Land for a very long time.
Being close to the kingdom of Borhem meant that they had almost arrived at their destination.
“however… … Is the forest of elves really in the center of the demonic realm?”
“Because it is.”
Even though he had already said it several times, Aaron’s expression showed a hint of disbelief.
“Don’t think too hard. In a way, it is the natural order of the ecosystem.”
An elven forest filled with the essence of life.
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And the demons surrounding it.
At first glance, it seems like a very unsuitable combination, but in fact, it was woven in a very natural causal relationship.
Demonic spirits faithful to their instincts were drawn to the life force emitted by the World Tree.
Because those vicious beasts gathered and gathered together, it came to be called the Devil’s Land, the Forest of Demons.
It was an ecosystem that wasn’t too bad for the elves. There is no better shield than the Devil’s Eye to hide their resting place.
“I see you over there.”
After riding for a long time, I came across a dense grove in the distance. Looking at the endless green waves, I felt that this was not an ordinary forest.
◈ ◈ ◈
“Haam… … Uhm?”
A soldier from the Kingdom of Borhem who was yawning, Wilson.
He saw something in the distance.
When I narrowed my eyes and looked closely, I saw two figures on horseback advancing toward the Demonic Realm.
They must have seen Walson, too, and immediately changed their heads.
“Who are you, identify yourself!”
Walson thrust the tip of his spear at the two who had come close to him.
However, the face of one of them was familiar, as if I had seen it somewhere.
“A lot of hard work. Are you a soldier of Borhem?”
A boy with a crown on his head and a thick mantle wrapped around his body opened his mouth.
Walson studied the boy’s face intently.
A handsome man with long thin eyes and black hair.
Seeing that he had a crown on his face that looked noble even if he pretended to look like it, which kingdom’s prince was he?
‘I haven’t heard of foreign royalty visiting our country.’
Even with his doubts, Walson raised his words cautiously.
“The direction you were going was the Magic Land. Please identify yourself!”
“This is the blood of Battenberg, Master Richard Battenberg.”
It was the knight next to the boy who actually opened his mouth.
However, the contents were shocking. Battenberg’s sons were not royalty, but rather noble and dangerous.
Only then did Walson realize why the boy’s face looked familiar.
I had seen his portrait once.
Along with specific rumors about him.
“Bar, son of Battenberg, Mr. Richard Battenberg, see you!”
Wilson abruptly bowed his head.
Identification and all, no one in the North Continent has gone big enough to pretend to be a son of Battenberg.
Besides, it’s rare to find a face as handsome as mine.
“Good. take care of us Go find it later.”
“Yes, yes?”
Richard and Aaron quickly dismounted from their horses and handed over the reins.
Walson, who took it in a daze, blinked his eyes in despair.
Was it his own illusion that the appearance of the young master in front of him seemed like he would enter the demon realm?
“I, uh… … !”
“thanks. Good job then.”
Richard tapped him on the shoulder a couple of times and passed right away.
Then he suddenly turned around and opened his mouth to Walson.
“It is a secret that you saw me here. By the way, I hope that your kingdom’s forces won’t attack the Devil’s Realm in search of me. sincerely.”
His mouth was smiling, but his eyes were fierce.
The attitude that if you make a mistake, you won’t stay still.
Indeed, it was as rumored.
“Lee, Master Richard! It’s not possible!”
Despite the white-faced Walson’s desperate cry, Richard’s gait was unstoppable.
“Boss, wouldn’t it be better to get rid of travel and go?”
Aaron, who followed him, asked in a worried voice. The Devil’s Nest is a place so dangerous that a kingdom should be shutting it down.
The fatigue accumulated in their bodies was too much for them to head there, who had been running nonstop on horseback.
But Richard also had a reason.
“If I knew I was going to the Devil’s Realm, I wouldn’t stay still in Borhem. Then no trouble.”
◈ ◈ ◈
“Don’t relax.”
Upon entering the entrance of the Demonic Realm, the atmosphere around them changed in an instant.
In a dense and quiet forest.
At first glance, it seemed like a peaceful landscape, but the reality was completely different.
The silence hovering in the forest was not peace, but obvious tension.
Richard and Aaron continued on their way. After walking for some time, something huge appeared in front of them.
Unsightly green skin with bumps here and there. A monster whose legs are thicker than the waist of an adult man.
It was a troll, one of the regulars who rotted the inside of Borhem Kingdom.
“Aaron, don’t interfere.”
Richard’s eyes lit up as he saw the troll, who was too lazy to deal with any other intermediate knight.
As he pulled out the dragon tooth he was wearing on his back, his eyes sank deeply, and at the same time, a bitter cold raged.
-Koowoah!
After avoiding the troll’s fist, Richard swung his sword.
Slow-!
only once.
With a single swing, the troll’s nape splayed open, revealing a thick neck bone. And before the thick green blood could flow, the wound froze.
-Koo, kuhek!
A merciless slash continued at the troll grabbing its neck, and a 4-star monster on the same level as Snow King quickly fell to the ground.
With ice flowers blooming on the scars all over her body.
“This is perfect… … .”
Isn’t it weaponry?
Richard looked down at the sword.
The dragon tooth he finally wielded was much sharper than he thought, and it hit his hand several times more than he expected.
He didn’t use aura, faith, or even divine power.
I just swung it, and it easily split the tough Troll’s hide.
“A sword of that size would be called a luxury even among the dwarves.”
“yes?”
Richard sympathized with the admiring Aaron. If the Dwarves were able to make a sword like this, the continent would have become their world.
‘They said they had an alliance with Battenberg, but it’s not a sword worth offering.’
Leaving aside his rising doubts, Richard turned his gaze toward the troll.
-Grrr!
The green monster was getting up with a bloody boiling sound.
Before I knew it, most of the wounds on my body had healed.
No matter how great the anticipation of the Dragon Tooth was, the mere swing of it was enough to cut through skin and muscle.
“Trolls die only when the magic stone is broken.”
“I know.”
And in order to break the magic stone, you had to split the hard bones first.
coo woo-
A beam of light climbed up his molars.
Richard smiled as he saw the troll running towards him.
thud!
The troll’s right arm was cut cleanly and flew away.
It was a single sword.
thud-!
He swung his sword again, and this time the troll’s left arm fell off.
Come on. It was not an ordinary Aura, but the Holy Aura had that much power.
Its sharpness was sharper than that of a fully matured high-ranking knight, and the buffs transmitted to the body were superior to those of the royal family’s heirloom-class artifacts.
-Wow!
The dismembered troll lay on the dirt floor. As if he didn’t even feel pain, he only glared at Richard and gritted his teeth.
“I was lucky. A troll appears right away.”
Richard muttered as he moved his hand.
“Bocchan, what are you doing now?”
To kill a troll, you have to drive a sword through its heart to destroy the magic stone, but Richard was the first to stick his hand into it.
“To gather magic stones.”
Before long, he removed his hand from the troll’s chest and grinned.
Dark vitality shook from the magic stone that ran into his hand.