156 – Dungeon Exploration. (2)
“I won’t use magic.”
“Alright.”
Ruslan ran at Prach, his sword raised.
Screech-!
His thrust was simple, but fast and strong.
Clang!
However, Prach easily parried Ruslan’s attack.
‘As expected, he’s strong.’
Ruslan thought as he was pushed back. He realized that Prach was stronger than him after just a single exchange.
The clash just now wasn’t a mere test. If someone unskilled had received it, their sword would have snapped in two.
But he had been repelled with ease.
In that instant, Ruslan saw how this duel would end, but he ignored it and readied himself once more.
This was still just a duel, but he wanted to see how much he had improved. Even if he lost, it didn’t matter. Hadn’t he already abandoned the foolish idea of risking his life over a duel?
If he lost, then so be it. It would mean he still had a long way to go.
Clang, clang, clang!
A barrage of sword strikes shot towards Prach, tearing up the floor of the training hall. Even without magic imbued in his sword, the force of his strikes alone was enough to crack the ground.
He modified the Empire’s swordsmanship to suit himself and chained together techniques. His movements transitioned in an instant, creating the illusion that he was attacking from multiple directions at once.
In that moment, Prach’s sword moved.
To Ruslan, it felt like a colossal wall had suddenly appeared before him. An impenetrable wall.
The wall was so high and sturdy that even if he struck it with all his might, he wouldn’t be able to leave a scratch.
Every path his sword took was blocked. No, to be precise, the flow of his power was cut off before he could even properly exert it.
‘What is this?’
He had expected a gap in their skills, but he never imagined it would be this large. Ruslan felt a sense of emptiness. But would he give up because of that?
The answer to that question was no.
He gripped his sword tightly.
If the wall was sturdy, then he would just have to keep hitting it until it broke.
If his opponent’s sword was so sturdy that it wouldn’t budge, then he would just have to create cracks in it.
He planted his feet firmly and lunged forward. Prach also realized that Ruslan was going all out and readied his stance, swinging his sword. In that instant, Ruslan felt as though a tidal wave was crashing down on him.
A wave of sword strikes, far more powerful than anything he had done before, came crashing down on him with no room to dodge.
There was no space to escape. Even if he moved his feet, the wave would follow him. There were no fancy or flashy techniques. It was just overwhelming physical strength and fundamentals that formed this tidal wave of sword strikes.
How could he possibly perform such feats without magic? Questions arose, but he didn’t have the time to ponder them.
Clang, clang!
Every time he blocked a strike, his advancing feet were pushed back. He couldn’t move forward.
What kind of swordsmanship should he use? Was there a way to break through this situation, besides just blocking?
He didn’t know. He couldn’t tell.
Clang!
But he knew that he couldn’t just stand there. He planted his feet firmly and swung his sword at the tidal wave of sword strikes that Prach was unleashing.
He used the one sword technique he had practiced over and over since the day he decided to walk his own path.
No finesse. All he needed now was brute force, enough to literally tear through the tidal wave. He poured all his remaining energy into his sword and unleashed it.
Even that moment was a moment of realization for Ruslan. When faced with a wall, how should he overcome it. What means could he employ?
What was necessary, and what was not.
He judged it, and poured out what he had built up until now.
Ruslan unleashed his strongest swordsmanship towards Prah.
The tidal wave of swordsmanship faltered, and split apart.
A path had opened. Ruslan did not hesitate, and stepped forward while putting more strength into his hand.
Bang!
The floor of the training hall exploded at the point of his step, and the extended swordsmanship finally pierced through Prah’s swordsmanship.
However.
Clang!
The swordsmanship he extended was simply flicked away by Prah’s sword.
Soon, a cold chill touched Ruslan’s neck.
“……I lost.”
Ruslan quietly spat out.
“You worked hard. It’s amazing.”
“You as well. I thought you’d be stronger, but… I didn’t know it’d be to this extent.”
A sense of defeat gushed out from his lungs, and admiration proportional to it. Ruslan knew that this miraculous rise in Prah’s skill was not something achieved by mere coincidence or luck.
It was not a lie that he had worked hard. Just before going to the Holy Kingdom, hadn’t he said that he had caught the eye of the Captain of the Imperial Knights and was even receiving personal guidance?
Since he had put in that much effort, and his own talent had blossomed, this was not impossible. Even the Holy Knight Este, who they had met on the way to the Holy Kingdom, had been defeated by Prah alone.
Still.
Ruslan was able to be somewhat satisfied. Just by piercing through the tidal wave of swordsmanship he had faced earlier, he felt that he had taken a step forward.
‘It’s only up to here for now. But I’ll be able to go further in the future.’
If he took it one step at a time, without being impatient, he would surely be able to go beyond that.
* * *
He was much stronger than I thought.
That was my impression while watching the guy swinging his sword in the training hall today. Maybe, I didn’t have to worry so much.
Ruslan was getting stronger in a different way. Honestly, even I was surprised that he pierced through my attack earlier. If only the guy was a bit stronger, what would the result have been?
However, I was rather happy about that fact.
Even if I don’t step up, the guy is finding his own way. In that case… Yeah. I guess I’ll just have to make slight adjustments so that the guy’s path doesn’t get distorted.
If I just create the right environment, the guy will get stronger. That’s the guy I set up.
As expected of the protagonist. I didn’t think he’d catch up this quickly, even though he’s a bit behind. Even though he didn’t use any magic, and didn’t even take out Salus… Ruslan’s growth was beyond my expectations.
Honestly speaking, he had gotten stronger than in the original story. It seems like he had some kind of strange realization, but I don’t know what the cause of that realization was. Maybe it was the influence of the distorted narrative.
In any case, it was about time to get to the main point.
“So, what’s the main point.”
At that moment, Ruslan opened his mouth first.
“Hm?”
“The fact that you’re hanging around me like this, it can’t just be for the sake of sparring.”
“That’s true. Well… If you’re asking what I need, it’s still the same. Come with me somewhere.”
“Where?”
“A dungeon.”
“A dungeon, you say?”
“Yes. Apparently, the aftermath of the demonic incursion has spread magic power throughout the empire, and many dungeons have been created without our knowledge. As it happens, several dungeons have appeared nearby, so I thought we could explore them.”
“Why bother?”
“We need to gain some practical experience. We won’t have time to do it later, and we have less than a month of free time left.”
One month. The academy’s midterms will begin before then.
Ruslan nodded in agreement.
“……You’re right. Practical experience.”
“Besides, I’ve been itching to get some action… Don’t you think this is a good opportunity?”
“Not bad. Alright. When and where should I go?”
“Just come to our mansion.”
“Who’s coming with us?”
“Asti, me, you, Aris, Yohann, Diana, Adrian. And some knights as backup, just in case.”
“……Quite the entourage.”
“We’re all precious, so if anything happens to us, it’ll be a disaster. Anyway, I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll let you know when we’re ready to go, so be prepared. And sharpen your senses… but I don’t need to tell you that. I’m sure you’ll do fine.”
“I understand.”
“Then I’ll be going.”
With that, I waved my hand at Ruslan and returned to the mansion. We’ve already decided on our destination for this dungeon exploration.
The Mad Mage’s Laboratory.
It’s a dungeon created by a sorcerer who dreamed of becoming an archmage, but fell into corruption and made a pact with a demon to create chimeras from various demons. Chimeras are quite powerful, so they should be excellent opponents for Ruslan’s growth.
Chimeras have even more drastic physical mutations than demons, and their attacks often follow strange trajectories. They also have bizarre special abilities… so they should provide Ruslan with some unexpected challenges.
Of course, this applies not only to Ruslan, but also to Yohann, Diana, and Aris.
They all need to improve their skills. And Adrian too.
We don’t know what the future holds, so we need to improve the abilities of the main characters as much as possible.
There are no other rewards in the Mad Mage’s dungeon. It was originally designed to provide practical experience for the main characters.
The quality of the experience you can gain there is extraordinary. While chimeras may seem easy to deal with, they are actually quite powerful because they are formed from the fusion of individual demons that survived the demonic incursion that swept the empire.
Well… it might be helpful for Aris.
A sorcerer’s abilities increase in proportion to their knowledge.
The Mad Mage may have forgotten his own name, but his magical achievements are considerable. His research materials will be in the dungeon, so it’s not like there’s no reward at all.
Besides, the Mad Mage won’t be in the dungeon. He was probably devoured by his own chimeras long ago. If he were still alive, the chimeras in the dungeon would have been released.
Since this will be our first dungeon exploration, there’s a lot to prepare for. We need to make sure we’re well-prepared.