71 – 32. Sealed Demon Sword (1)
Upon hearing the report that Leviathan had been discovered in Ark, Pires frowned.
As the first prince of the Empire and someone who had led a complicated life, ascending to the position of Edenria’s Grand Chancellor, he was not easily shaken by shocks.
“Hmm… So, Leviathan possessed Ariel Volkhanov’s body and Ian took care of it.”
Fortunately, the incident was resolved before any major problems occurred. However, there was no reason to be entirely pleased.
Not only did Leviathan reveal itself in Ark, the heart of the Empire and the cradle of the Holy Warriors, but it also did not take control of the warrior’s body.
“Ian Volkhanov took care of what we were supposed to do.”
At first glance, it may seem like the Empire’s fault alone. However, Edenria also had its share of responsibility.
As the child of Eris, it was their duty to suppress the existence of demons that disrupted peace and manage the warriors.
But they had failed to do any of that.
Both the Empire and Edenria. Pires, who had deep affection for both nations, was even more restless.
He felt grateful towards Ian for preventing a major disaster.
“I don’t know how to repay him.”
If it were the first time, it would be understandable. Ian had already cleared countless dungeons, having defeated four Demon Kings. It was time to prepare a suitable reward as soon as possible.
“According to Erzabeth, he doesn’t particularly like anything. He’s focused on getting stronger. In that case, would it be appropriate to give him an opportunity to conquer a dungeon?”
Considering the news that the start of the school year had been delayed due to this incident, Pires found himself in a situation where he had nothing to do.
While others might be busy going out, at least Ian, whom Pires knew, would go for training.
He thought Ian would be satisfied if he could provide a suitable dungeon for him.
“Yes, giving him a chance to conquer a dungeon would be good.”
Hunting monsters not only enhances practical skills but also provides opportunities to obtain by-products. Moreover, Edenria’s dungeons were renowned for yielding excellent items.
If given the chance to conquer such dungeons, it could be a valuable gift. The rewards were decided. Now, the remaining challenge was overcoming the obstacles.
“The problem is how to persuade Archbishop Raymond…”
Raymond, displaying a strong conservative stance against Ian.
As long as he held the position of archbishop, despite being a figure causing a stir, it was impossible to provide an opportunity to conquer dungeons without his approval.
“What should I do…”
Fires sighed deeply while gazing into the void, recalling the recent conversation.
“The Saint said… it could be done as I think.”
Glendia, the saint whom he coincidentally met while wandering through the garden in frustration.
Initially, it was just a greeting as she passed by. However, they ended up having a casual conversation, and upon hearing his concerns, she clearly stated, “Do as you think.”
She advised him to push for what he desired. As it was a well-intentioned act, she added that the Archbishop wouldn’t necessarily oppose.
Of course, this didn’t completely ease Fires’ worries.
“Can I really do that?”
Archbishop Raymond. Fires didn’t know much about the kind of person he was.
At the very least, the person Fires knew wasn’t someone who would easily back down.
Not a rigid and naive individual, but certainly not someone who would easily bend to others’ opinions.
Moreover, considering his history with Ian, there might be underlying tensions.
It was for that reason.
‘I have to somehow persuade him….’
This was the decision made after standing in front of Archbishop Raymond’s office for a long time.
He must somehow ensure compensation for Ian. Regardless of politics or anything else, if one understands the duty one should fulfill as a person, isn’t that the right thing to do?
Suppressing his trembling heart and preparing to persuade Raymond with determination, he boldly opened the door and entered. Unfortunately, the conversation didn’t last long.
“A dungeon, right? I’ve already given that.”
“Yes? Did you say you’ve already given it?”
“That’s right. I promptly sent compensation when I heard the news of capturing Leviathan. Ian Volkanov is someone deserving of such compensation, unlike others. Anything else to say?”
Raymond, staring with a composed expression… At that moment, there was only one thing Piers could say.
“It’s nothing. I’ll go back.”
Faced with a Raymond completely different from what he knew, Piers’ mouth remained tightly shut.
***
What weapon suits the King of All Diseases?
There could be many choices. There are spears that can be learned relatively quickly and have overwhelming reach, and bows that can be shot from a long distance.
If not, there are also daggers that are portable and allow agile movement.
However, Ian had a weapon in mind that he considered suitable for the King of All Diseases.
‘A sword. In reality, you wouldn’t know, but in Heroic Academy, a sword is the best.’
A sword. He thought that it was the weapon most fitting for the King of All Diseases, as the majority of protagonists in works of fiction use it.
The reason? There wasn’t anything special.
‘Aria uses a sword.’
Heroic Academy seemed to tailor a majority of hidden pieces and items that could boost a character’s stats to those who wielded swords, perhaps because the protagonist, Ariel Volkano, was a warrior who used the Holy Sword.
In simpler terms, if one used a different weapon, they would have to go through a lot of trouble, but if they wielded a sword, they could quickly catch up by finding a few hidden pieces.
Was this advantage due to the fact that Heroic Academy players had analyzed a lot to find the best sword?
Over time, candidates began to emerge.
‘Among them, the ones considered the best were the Holy Sword Elysion and the Devil Sword Lebrion.’
The first was Ariel’s unique weapon, Elysion, and the second was the Devil Sword Lebrion created by Leviathan.
Unlike Elysion, Lebrion could be used by all characters except for warriors. Ian knew well about that weapon.
‘I’ve used it a few times while raising other characters… It wasn’t bad.’
At first, he was skeptical, but upon reflection, it was a quite decent weapon.
Created by the devil Leviathan, it had a crazy characteristic that adjusted according to the gap with the opponent, just like a weapon made by the jealous demon Leviathan. Moreover, being a devil sword, its durability did not drop easily.
Despite the debuff that, when used by non-dark attribute characters, continuously reduced health and made recovery impossible, it was frequently used due to its absurd performance.
‘Before the seal is released, it’s just a sword that gets the debuff. But once it’s released, the performance is not just good; it’s at a monstrous level. No wonder the developers didn’t create dark attribute characters.’
Honestly, even as he wrote this, he questioned whether it was accurate.
In the community, there were those who called Elysion or Lebrion the best, not just in one-on-one battles. Some even referred to Elysion as a devil’s broomstick with exclusive demon damage correction and powerful AoE attacks, while calling Lebrion the true Holy Sword.
‘They used to joke that a Holy Sword is something you use while enduring hardships and challenges.’
Of course, it was nonsense, but one undeniable fact was that Lebrion was an outstanding weapon comparable to Elysion.
That was the reason.
“The weapon comes from here?”
He was surprised as he looked at the fallen Levrian on the floor.
The drop rate of Levrian, like a powerful cursed sword, was extremely low.
There was an analysis result that showed there were fewer people who had Levrian than the achievement item of Chapter 5, where Leviathan appeared as the main boss.
In a situation where he had obtained a weapon that was uncertain to drop even after killing Leviathan thousands of times, it was inevitable that Ian wouldn’t be pleased.
“It was a weapon that I couldn’t obtain even after possessing it in my previous life, let alone now that I’m in a game… I never thought I would get this.”
Although he couldn’t touch it yet due to the “Hatred of Blades,” he opened his mouth as he looked at the brilliant appearance of Levrian.
[There is not much time left until the curse “Hatred of Blades” is removed! Currently, 95% of the curse has been lifted!]
He felt confident that he could use the weapon that had only been something he could look at.
There wasn’t much time left until the curse was lifted. He could feel his face turning pale at that fact.
“I didn’t pay much attention to how long the curse has been going on… If it goes like this, it’s too good.”
Of course, even if the curse was lifted, he would mainly use the hand-to-hand combat techniques he was familiar with, but it wouldn’t be bad if he could use a sword.
“If I can use both a sword and my fists, no one will be able to beat me in close combat.”
If he had mediocre skills, he wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the situation and would end up in a situation where he couldn’t do anything… But Ian didn’t think that would happen.
“I’m confident that boxing and jujitsu will be enough. And I can learn swordsmanship.”
It might be a somewhat bold statement, but didn’t he know the talent he had felt all along?
He was confident that there was no one in this world who could match Ian Volkanov’s talent.
It might be a problem to learn swordsmanship, but if necessary, he could learn it by sparring with Alex Volkanov.
“So, what’s left is solving the seal of Levrian, right?”
In that moment, Ian’s expression hardened once again.
The seal of Lebryon.
Although it was overshadowed by the curse, which was the biggest thorn in his side, the truth was that breaking the seal was no easy task.
“To undo the seal, I have to go to the dungeon where the item that can break the curse on the weapon drops. That place is called Edenria.”
He clearly remembered where and how to obtain the item.
The problem was how to get there.
“At least if I were in the Empire, I could contact Bedon and figure out what to do… From what I remember, it’s somewhere in Edenria.”
There was no choice but to worry about resolving the seal.
It was true that Edenria and the Empire had established friendly relations. But would they simply hand over a dungeon?
“The dungeon is the perfect place for training… They won’t just give it away.”
Dungeons were places where mana was concentrated in caves with sparse human presence. They were created there. They were subject to thorough management because hunting the monsters that appeared there yielded tremendous experience points.
Would they give that away? To someone from the Empire, no less?
“What should I do? Especially since relations with Edenria are already strained due to the incident with Archbishop Raymond…”
As he thought about it, he lowered his head deeply.
Clank!
“Squad leader, I brought medicine for burns.”
It was Eri, who approached with an expressionless face.
Looking down at Ian, who was sitting on the floor, she stared at him with chilly eyes, holding the medicine in her arms.
“…Didn’t I tell you to lie down? You’re so injured.”
“The burns on my hands have already healed with rapid regeneration, but…”
“But you are hurt, aren’t you? Don’t do anything strange and just rest.”
Unable to resist Eri’s piercing gaze, Ian reluctantly lay down on the bed.
What could he do? It was true that he had caused her to worry. Even if he spoke harshly, he couldn’t help but think of her, sobbing as she tightly held her charred right hand.
It was in that moment, as he entrusted his body to the soft bed.
“Oh, by the way. You should take a look at this.”
“What is it?”
“A letter sent by Archbishop Raymond.”
“Raymond… then it must have been sent from Edenria.”
He took out a letter from his chest.
The letter Eri handed him had the symbol of Edenria drawn on it.
Could it be that she couldn’t resist and came to visit again?
With a hint of anticipation, Ian quickly checked the letter. And he could see.
[…We sincerely thank Ian Volkanov for his dedication in dealing with the jealous demon Leviathan. We feel ashamed that such an incident occurred, especially after the warm welcome we gave despite the previous rude visit.]
“What’s this? Suddenly having a change of heart?”
Raymond’s writing style had improved significantly compared to before.
Relieved that the catastrophe he had feared hadn’t happened, he continued reading the letter.
[Therefore, we have sent a gift. We hope you will like it.]
“A gift? What did they give?”
Something inside the envelope. At first, he thought it was just paper. But upon closer inspection, it was not ordinary paper.
From Noble mtl dot com
[We have made arrangements for you to conquer our Edenria dungeon. If you show the accompanying document, we will allow you to pass.]
“Huh?”
It was the moment of finding a clue to break the seal of Levrian.
Somewhat cliche that the one thing he needed is given like that but I like it. I only just realized this series is like 3 months old and this chapter is like 2 weeks old.