I Became the Hero Who Banished the Protagonist chapter 11

11. open (1)

holy sword.

A Noble Phantasm and sacred object of the Qing Church. The light of salvation and the only artifact that proves the myth. Its blade glows with a mysterious white color, and characters presumed to be in an ancient language are inscribed in intaglio.

It is unknown what the metal that makes up the blade is made of, and it is also unknown why a sword that is hundreds or thousands of years old is preserved as it is without being corroded or weathered. Alchemists and wizards mobilized all the rare metals in the world and compared them, but there was no such thing as a holy sword anywhere.

‘If there’s another weapon similar to this monstrous sword, it’ll be a big deal.’

The holy sword is also an ego sword with an ego. Although it does not speak, it chooses its owner directly. Those who have not been chosen by the holy sword cannot pull out the sword from the scabbard. It is questionable why such a god chose Illroy as his master.

‘Come to think of it, I don’t know as many facts about this sword as I thought.’

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No matter how possessed I am, I do not fully know the origin of the holy sword. Perhaps the author didn’t think it was very important, but in the original work, it only described the power when its power was released and the story of the holy sword known to the public.

‘Still, I’m glad you told me what kind of function the holy sword has.’

Indeed, if Arjen hadn’t made up his mind to use the holy sword that the hero had left after his death, he would have been in a really difficult situation. If I returned it to Seongguk, saying I didn’t need a protagonist, I would have died just like the original story, not knowing how to use the holy sword.

‘… It’ll be of no use if you don’t wake up.’

I smiled bitterly and tapped the hilt of my sword. According to the original work, the Holy Sword is opened in three stages. Originally, Illroy would have failed to reveal the true face of the holy sword. Because there was no reaction when I grabbed the holy sword.

“Well, after only a few weeks of hard work, will you be able to kick the castle?”

In fact, the conditions for opening the Holy Sword are not clear. I’m just guessing that regardless of the user’s strength, whether or not to open it will depend on the trials the user goes through.

Since it is a sword with an ego in the first place, it is a situation where it is impossible to fulfill the conditions according to the standard as if clearing a game quest. In the original work, it was opened with good timing when Arjen fell into a desperate crisis. As I did when I helped Daphne, I am not courageous enough to risk my life for an uncertain task.

So, all I can do is spend as much time as possible with the holy sword. The only thing I could do was to search for strong enemies on the line of immortality, make trials and go through trials, and hope that the holy sword would watch over all of this, and that it would reveal its power as soon as possible.

“… It’s much darker than I thought.”

I raised the torch. The place I visited to go through another penance was a deep and vast cave called ‘Ant Cave’. It is said to be teeming with monsters, and rare materials can sometimes be obtained during exploration, making it a good hunting ground for skilled adventurers.

‘Although no adventurer is eccentric enough to come alone.’

Let’s stop messing around and let’s start.

Just as I was about to enter the cave holding a torch in my left hand and a holy sword in my right hand, I felt a presence behind my back and quickly turned back, extending my sword.

“Ouch!! Seed! It’s a surprise!”

The sound of someone startled. What caught my eye was a party of three adventurers. As I put down my sword, they wiped their hearts in surprise and began to look closely at my face. I guess this is going to be kind of annoying.

“there… , Aren’t you a warrior?”

“Does it seem right? I was right.”

Someone’s fist landed on the head of the whispering adventurer man and woman. evil! After a brief scream, the two adventurers shook their heads and stepped back from the adventurer who dropped his fist.

“… excuse. Our party members are a little excited. Please forgive my rudeness, hero.”

The party leader who spoke politely was a tall woman. With her black hair braided down and wearing a bold and comfortable outfit, she felt like a barbarian female warrior. Befitting that image, the leader was holding a hatchet and wearing a circular shield.

“Nope. I would have acted like you two. It’s okay if you don’t apologize.”

Was my answer strange? The leader blinked, cleared his throat, and cleared his throat.

“Thank you for your understanding. By the way, what is the hero doing here?”

“… I came to practice.”

I nodded towards the entrance of the dark cave and said. Did you light the torch early for no reason?

“Then, would you like to go with me for a little while?”

At that time, the male adventurer who was rubbing his hair spoke first. The female adventurer next to her also nodded and her eyes twinkled as if in agreement.

“It won’t be that much of a hindrance. We just came here for treasure hunting, and we thought it would be nice to have a strong adventurer who would go with us even for a short time… . Would you like to stay with us until the first buffer zone? Ah, of course our leader is strong too, but it’s still nothing compared to the hero, right?”

As the two adventurers approached uncomfortably, I backed away. Meanwhile, the leader behind the scenes didn’t say anything and just stayed still. The male adventurer grinned after confirming that my gaze was on the party leader.

“That’s because our leader is actually a fan of the hero. I thought the leader would really like it if the hero accompanied me on this task just once… .”

“Hey, shut up. stop. You are talking nonsense.”

“Cock.”

The leader grabbed the male and female adventurers by the back with their faces stained red. The leader sent the two behind him again and glared at them terribly. Then he turned to me again and lowered his head slightly.

“sorry. I didn’t mean to ask too much, so I think you can just go to practice.”

I quietly looked at the adventurers. While pretending not to be the leader, he secretly glanced at me, and the other two adventurers stared at me as if they were openly looking forward to it. It would be right to go in alone to practice, but I wouldn’t have time to hang out with them for too long, but for some reason I couldn’t openly reject their offer.

“No, let’s accompany you for a while.”

“Really? really?”

When I said that, the male and female adventurers all lit up at the same time, and the party leader’s eyes widened. The two adventurers in the back gave high-fives as if they had succeeded and let out small screams of victory. Well, it won’t take too long, so it would be nice to accompany you for a while. It’s my first time going to a cave, so I wouldn’t know what I needed, and I thought it would be okay to have a couple of people with me in case something happened.

“Instead, I will take care of the monsters that appear.”

“Then thank you very much! If you need a porter, I will carry all your luggage.”

“ah… No, Jim is fine… .”

Looking at it now, it seemed that the female adventurers were porters, and the male adventurers were casual explorers. I pushed away the female adventurer who was trying to take my backpack and headed towards the cave first. The three adventurers followed me like ducklings following a mother duck.

‘… I’m sure no one is trying to trap me.’

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No one would be willing to kill the hero in this situation, probably. I shuddered as I thought for a moment of the conversation I had with Bishop Andrew yesterday. At that time, a female adventurer approached and cleared her throat. He wasn’t very tall, but he didn’t seem to have any difficulty lifting the load, perhaps because he had compressed muscles.

“I should start with an introduction. My name is Robin, and the thief over there is Harvey. And this… .”

When the adventurer glanced at the leader, the leader swallowed dryly and approached me, holding out his hand. The corner of the leader’s mouth shaking my hand was shaking. Maybe he’s trying to hold back his smile.

“My name is Leah. Thank you for listening to my request, hero.”

“It may only be for a moment, but please take good care of me.”

At my words, Leah nodded firmly. It felt like seeing a new recruit who was full of spirit. I shined a torch into the anthill and went ahead.

cool and damp

When I entered the entrance of the anthill, all I could feel was that much. A mixture of the smell of fishy water and wet stones, and the smell of moss and mold on stones, was floating in the air. The light from the torch is reflected in the stagnant water, making the cave red.

Upon entering the entrance of the ant burrow, a passageway as wide as the village hall continues downhill. Maybe it’s because it’s the beginning, but I haven’t felt the presence of the monster yet, but I’ve moved forward with the utmost caution. Behind her, the lights and sounds of the outside world began to fade.

“Even though the hero is so strong, he doesn’t neglect training.”

Leah, who had followed me before I knew it, said. Glancing back, Robin and Harvey were flirting and talking among themselves. Looking at Leah again, she was looking at me—Illroy with eyes full of envy. Somehow, the respect in those eyes felt a little uncomfortable.

“No matter how strong you are, what you lack is a hero.”

I replied as if to avoid it.

“Because no matter what comes, we have to take it down. Because I can never lose.”

I said that and glanced down at the holy sword. Something like the power to break everything. If this guy doesn’t open even one level, it won’t defeat the calamity, and it will oxidize before even getting close to it. I let out a sigh mixed with laughter and raised my head. Leah was looking at me with a blank expression.

“Did you answer too seriously?”

“… Nope. Thanks for the really good answer.”

I don’t know what the original Illroy would have thought. No, it doesn’t matter anyway. I held out the torch and tried to shake off my thoughts. The ant nest was the same everywhere I looked. However, it occurred to me that the narrowing of the passage was like the esophagus of a huge creature.

Knock. Knock.

The sound of water dripping from the stalactites continued to be heard from somewhere. The sound of the party’s footsteps echoed as if they were in sync with the sound, or not.

“The road narrows like this, and at some point there will be a fork in the road.”

Harvey was the first to speak, as if he couldn’t stand the silence. As I turned around, Harvey scratched the back of his head shyly.

“I’ve been here a few times, I. I don’t know all the ways, but I know the ways I know.”

Just as Harvey had said, the aisle narrowed and narrowed to just enough width for three men to pass through, and a fork appeared. An ice-cold wind was blowing from the two forked roads. I heard that the monsters that appear no matter which way you enter are the same, so I entered the left fork. The aisle gradually began to widen, revealing a much wider pupil than the entrance.

“Monsters will start appearing from here, so I think it would be better to be more vigilant.”

Saying that, Harvey raised the brightness of the lantern he was holding. slap, slap. There was a sound like a thin cloth hitting a wet rock. It was the kind of sound someone would make walking around a pool in flippers. It’s not something I’d like to hear in a cave.

“Is it over there?”

Harvey held out his lantern in the direction of the sound. The clicking sound was getting louder and louder. Feeling a clear presence approaching me, I firmly gripped the holy sword.

“… It’s disgusting.”

Robin said in a voice filled with disgust. Waddling along from the edge of the lantern light was a giant eyeless salamander. The entire body was white, probably because the pigment had disappeared because it never saw the sun. snap. The salamander took another step towards us.

“Hero, what is that?”

After Harvey tried to explain what kind of monster it was, I jumped right in front of him. The salamander was pretty nimble for an eyeless one, but much slower and weaker than a gray bear. Sliding down the slippery stone floor, he immediately cut off the salamander’s legs with his holy sword.

“fast… .”

I heard Robin’s muffled murmur. In order not to be crushed by the body of the salamander, I spurred to the side and jumped out, slicing the salamander’s neck and body. The salamander, as it were, was disassembled into four pieces of meat, which were slammed into various places in the cave. The fragments of the cut off body were still wriggling like wild octopus.

“let’s go.”

Everyone nodded quickly, probably not wanting to see that gross look.

We continued on our way inside. I cut down the monsters that occasionally appeared, and occasionally Leah helped. Harvey sometimes took something like amethyst hidden in the corner of the cave, and Robin packed Harvey’s luggage into his backpack.

“The deeper you go, the more monsters and the stronger they will become.”

However, contrary to Harvey’s words, there were no monsters that caught my eye right away. At least within 50 steps, there is nothing alive but us. The back of my neck subtly annoyed at the inorganic stillness. I stopped and looked back.

“… Something is strange.”

Harvey and Robin blinked as if they didn’t understand why, but Leia nodded stiffly, as if she understood what I was saying.

“There are no monsters. Unlike before, there are no traces of it.”

I frowned. There is no reason to take the risk now. It’s not like there’s no chance next time. I glanced down at the holy sword and turned around.

“Let’s go back at once. There is nothing wrong with securing an escape route in advance.”

Usually, bad things happen.

Seeing the ominous expression on the faces of the three adventurers, I moved on. I passed the road where I defeated the monster, and when I arrived at the pupil where the road widened again, it froze. The pupil was clear without a body. Harvey twitched and looked around.

“… But, did a corpse rot and disappear so quickly?”

“It didn’t rot and disappear.”

I entrusted the torch to Robin and grabbed the holy sword with both hands.

Who is not the possessor, does this kind of incident happen?

Click, click, click. square. square. square.

Harvey didn’t even try to lift the lantern this time. It sounded so familiar, I could tell what was lurking without looking. Together with the three people who had completely lost their blood, I looked at ‘the guy’ on the wall of my pupil.

“… It varies.”

A spider the size of a house had built a web on the wall where the pupil exit was, and was clicking its claws.