The Swordmaster Wants To Live Peacefully [EN]: Chapter 144

Swordmaster Wants to Live in Peace – 144

Hetris (4)

There’s an easy path and a difficult path.

The easy path is comfortable but yields nothing, while the difficult path is arduous but rewarding.

Most people choose the easy path, but Yoo Seong-woo was the opposite.

A person who chooses the difficult path to gain much, rather than settling for nothing on the easy one.

Hraesvelgr’s Perch seemed to test people’s desire for challenge, with each route varying in difficulty.

Some led to caves, while others required climbing narrow cliffs.

The path chosen by Sword Spirit was one such place.

Most of the route involved climbing steep cliffs.

Sword Spirit’s guild members tied themselves together with ropes and began to climb.

Among these guild members, Yoo Seong-woo was leisurely walking up, his feet firmly planted on the cliff.

While others used both hands and feet to climb, he ascended comfortably with his hands behind his back.

“You crazy bastard! How are you doing that?!”

Yoo Ji-woo shouted, watching Yoo Seong-woo casually walk past her.

It was like something out of a ninja movie, walking up a cliff with his feet planted on it.

Everyone stared at his unbelievable feat, but Yoo Seong-woo simply stood firm against the strong gusts of wind and continued walking.

“Hurry up. The last one has to go back and forth.”

* * *

It was about an hour of climbing before the Sword Spirit divers found a space to rest.

The strange space protruding from the cliff was quite large, enough for everyone to rest.

“Last place, round trip.”

“…Just tell me to fall and die. Seriously.”

The last place was, of course, Hetris.

Although Hetris was a B-class diver, she specialized in production rather than combat, so her physical abilities were lower than the other divers.

Moreover, all the divers participating in this expedition were A-class or higher, so it was practically a given that she would be last.

Yoo Seong-woo considered kicking her off the cliff as a joint responsibility, but then stopped himself.

There were too many signs of something approaching from the sky.

“Oh…….”

Monstrous birds were flying towards Sword Spirit.

The giant birds, over 4 meters in size, revealed themselves from the clouds and flew swiftly, flapping their wings.

The wings shone as if they were scales, and their claws and beaks looked like steel.

Their blood-red eyes clearly showed hostility towards them.

“Prepare for battle,” Yoo Seong-woo spat out, as the others had not yet sensed the presence of the monstrous birds.

At the same time, those who had been resting immediately stood up and took their positions.

“You, come over here.”

Yoo Seong-woo grabbed Hetris by the scruff of her neck and pulled her towards him.

The alchemist, who had no combat power, had no choice but to be dragged along by him.

“Be careful not to break the foothold, and try to handle it on your own.”

With those words, Yoo Seong-woo grabbed Hetris by the scruff of her neck and walked up the cliff to another shelter.

He placed Hetris there and spread out an aura barrier to hide their presence.

This should be enough to hide them from the attention of those monstrous birds.

He plopped down on the spot and asked Hetris.

“Do you have any idea about those monsters? You seem to know a lot about mythology. Tell me if you know anything.”

“Huff, ha, huff… From the looks of it, they seem to be Hraesvelgr’s children?”

“Hraesvelgr’s children?”

“Yes. In Norse mythology, Hraesvelgr is a giant bird that lives at the northern end. Hraesvelgr’s wing flapping is said to be the source of the wind. Since they control the source of the wind, only Hraesvelgr’s children are allowed to flap their wings in this world.”

“Never heard of it.”

“There are unrecorded myths too. Many records were lost during the Great Cataclysm [a world-altering event], so I don’t think there’s any place with as many records as our family.”

Hetris said with a proud face.

Yoo Seong-woo stared at her for a moment, wondering if he had brought her along for nothing, and then replied.

“If those are Hraesvelgr’s children, how old do you think they are? It seems like we’ll be seeing a lot of those kinds of things from now on.”

“Aren’t they just hatchlings that have just hatched from their eggs? Hraesvelgr’s size… isn’t described in detail, but if it’s said to be the source of the wind, it must be enormous.”

“I see.”

Yoo Seong-woo imagined how big Hraesvelgr would be and looked down at the people below.

The monstrous birds, which had descended at a rapid speed, threatened them with their strong claws and beaks.

However, the ten divers formed a battle formation and used a tactic of enduring as much as possible to prevent the foothold from collapsing, shooting them down from the air.

Choi Ah-yeon’s throwing knives and Yoo Ji-woo’s magic were the most effective.

Choi Ah-yeon’s throwing knives flew through the air and accurately pierced the necks or eyes of the monstrous birds, shooting them down, and Yoo Ji-woo’s magic also shot down the monstrous birds with perfect accuracy.

“They’re doing well.”

It’s worth the hard work.

Although they are Hraesvelgr’s hatchlings, their strength is on a different level as monsters of the 1st class Abyss [a dangerous dungeon or area].

However, the ten of them stood firm amidst the monsters’ barrage and gradually took them down.

As the number of monstrous birds gradually decreased, and when not a single one remained, Yoo Seong-woo shouted.

“Alright, come back up now! Hardship is for the young!”

The road ahead was still long and arduous.

* * *

Black Sky Dragon chose a different route from Sword Spirit. Not a cliff path, but a gentle path that could be walked on.

It wasn’t the easiest Route 2, but Route 5.

“It seems to be this way.”

Black Seon-woo led the way.

What they were looking for was the Demonic Cult’s sacred artifact, the Demonic Mirror.

Heuk Sa-hyang needed three sacred artifacts to achieve the true realm of the Demonic God.

He already possessed one and had come all the way to Northern Europe to find another.

That’s why they were desperate to determine the order of entry.

They didn’t know why the Demonic Cult’s sacred artifact was in an Abyss in Northern Europe… but they followed the guidance of the Demonic Cult’s priest and moved forward.

“Sword Spirit, did they go the most difficult way?”

“It seems so. He said that you can’t grow if you settle for the easy path.”

“He even possesses profundity…….”

Black Seon-woo, who answered Heuk Sa-hyang’s question, nodded slightly and looked ahead.

Hraesvelgr’s children flew towards them as well, but they were able to handle them without much difficulty because the foothold was relatively safe.

Heuk Sa-hyang didn’t even have to step in, as Black Seon-woo and the other divers took care of it.

“They don’t seem that strong for 1st class Abyss monsters.”

“Don’t be careless. We’re still at the entrance. Stronger enemies will be waiting as we go further in.”

“I misspoke.”

They advanced quickly, but not too quickly.

The Demonic Mirror was the most important thing, but safety was also important.

The force they had invested to obtain the Demonic Mirror was not small.

It was a force that could not be lost due to a moment’s mistake.

Their goal was to recover the Demonic Mirror rather than to conquer the Abyss.

There was no need to move too hastily. Black Seon-woo, who was climbing the rocky mountain, said.

“…I wonder if it would have been okay to ask Yoo Seong-woo for help. Oh, Demonic God.”

“Nonsense. The Demonic Mirror is a sacred artifact of the cult, so how can we recover it with the help of others?”

“I misspoke.”

“The Demonic Cult was built by our own hands. If someone else’s influence starts to creep in, the foundation will be shaken, so it’s best to refrain from such talk in the future.”

“I understand.”

* * *

“I’m glad the path is getting better from here.”

“I thought I was really going to die climbing up… I’m a mage, not a warrior.”

Jeanne complained at Baek Woo-hyun’s words. She was usually patient and wouldn’t even complain, but this time was different.

Not only was she forced to come, but it was also a forced march.

Jeanne grumbled and eventually got a flick on the forehead from Yoo Seong-woo and shut her mouth.

“…I won’t help you next time.”

“Then you should complain to the Witch Society.”

“Tsk…….”

Jeanne felt so sorry for herself.

She was one of the twelve elders representing the Witch Society, yet she had to be treated like this…….

But she had volunteered to come from Korea, so she couldn’t argue any further.

“I’m sorry. My brother… he wasn’t like this before.”

“…What was he like before?”

“He was kind. He was so kind that if I said I wanted to eat ramen at night, he would wake up in the middle of the night and cook it for me.”

“Did such a brother really exist in the world? Really?”

Jeanne’s eyes widened in surprise, and Yoo Wol, who had approached her, listened to the story with great interest.

“Wow, the only brothers I know are the ones who stab you in the back with a knife…….”

“What kind of world is that? Well, it’s not necessarily wrong…….”

And just as Yoo Ji-woo was about to start another story, Yoo Seong-woo put his hand on her head and said.

“Ugh, ugh! My, my head!”

“It’s because you’re so bad at cooking that you can’t even cook a bowl of ramen, so I cooked it. If you cooked it, you would definitely make a mess of the kitchen, and I would have to clean it up.”

“Ah, that’s the behind-the-scenes story…….”

“What are you talking about! I’m a great cook!”

“Do you even know what it feels like to have eggshells in your ramen when you can’t even see the egg?”

Yoo Seong-woo put so much force on her head that a handprint would be left.

Yoo Ji-woo’s scream briefly grew louder but then became as silent as death, and he released his hand and said.

“And don’t relax. It seems like this Abyss hasn’t even started yet.”

With those words, Yoo Seong-woo stood towards the cliff and looked down.

It seemed like they had climbed quite a bit, but it didn’t look that far from where they had started.

Looking up, the top was obscured by clouds.

The gusts of wind were getting stronger as they climbed, but there was nothing to see.

‘…It doesn’t seem like there’s much to an Abyss related to mythology.’

Or is it because we’re still at the entrance?

Yoo Seong-woo looked up and down alternately, clicked his tongue, and said.

“Hetris, do you have any more stories about Hraesvelgr?”

“That’s all I told you earlier. Norse mythology doesn’t cover Hraesvelgr in detail…….”

“Then I guess we have no choice but to bump into it.”

The feeling of challenging the unknown that he had felt in a long time was revived.

He even seemed to be excited about what he could find on the rocky mountain where the gusts of wind were blowing.

And of course, this excitement wasn’t just about those things.

‘There’s a strong one.’

Yoo Seong-woo raised his head.

He couldn’t see it, but he felt a faint gaze looking down at them.

Maybe it’s because it’s an Abyss related to mythology.

It seemed like there was a being comparable to a god.

It was so strange that this place was designated as a 1st class Abyss.

“This is going to be very interesting…….”

It’s time for a fun conquest.