The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 130

106. Labyrinth of the Minotaur (1)

“What do you think?”

“What do I think about what? It’s not like S-rank dungeons are unprecedented.”

“That’s… just something that happened a long time ago.”

Aven spoke, still looking at the black dungeon gate with an uneasy tremor.

“Well… that’s why I’m worried. I’m afraid something might happen.”

“If you’re so worried about your friend in the dungeon, you should have followed him. I could have protected Twin Armor. You could even offer Turtle Castle for the effort.”

“Don’t be ridiculous…”

Aven said with a smirk at Marze’s words.

“I’m not worried about him. I just hope this dungeon is the end of it. If… if this dungeon is a prelude to another one, that would be terrible.”

Aven said in a low voice.

“Dungeons sometimes summon lower-ranked dungeons before they appear. That’s called a prelude. Until now, we’ve been able to gauge the difficulty of a dungeon through those preludes.”

“That’s right.”

Even if you don’t subjugate the lower dungeons and leave them alone, the higher-ranked dungeon will still be created.

In other words, subjugating the lower dungeons before the main dungeon appears is a way to mitigate even greater damage.

“There have only been a few times in the history of the continent when an S-rank dungeon has appeared. Kaie Essir purged one 250 years ago, and before that, the Council of Seven Elders hunted monsters.”

Marze nodded at Aven’s words.

“Right. There are still a few S-rank dungeons left in the south, but the Digon clan thoroughly hunts monsters from the outside, so there’s no danger of them emerging.”

“For them, the dungeons in the south are practically a livelihood. But why this feeling?”

Aven said, looking at the shimmering entrance of the dungeon.

“I just have a feeling that this S-rank dungeon might be a prelude to another one.”

At Aven’s words, Marze slapped him on the back as if telling him not to say ridiculous things.

“Don’t talk nonsense. You’ve been cooped up in the castle, so you must be scared like a turtle and want to hide.”

“……”

“If an S-rank dungeon is a prelude, does that mean the world is going to end?”

“…I was just saying that because I wish it was just my worry. I just feel uncomfortable looking at the entrance of that dungeon.”

Aven stared at the black dungeon gate, shimmering as if it had been filled with ink.

Most common dungeons resemble caves. But the dungeon created here now resembles a door rather than a cave.

As if…

A feeling that it was connected to another place, not this world.

“But it’s not like there have never been cases where an S-rank dungeon was a prelude.”

Marze chuckled at Aven’s words.

“You’re getting old and just worrying about unnecessary things. How long ago was that…? It’s just a legendary story. We don’t even know if it really happened.”

At his words, Aven clicked his tongue.

Long before the Council of Seven Elders existed, there was an event that only existed in documents, making it impossible to confirm its reality.

Just one incident called the Great Cataclysm.

Exordiar [Latin for “beginning” or “prelude”].

‘A terrible nightmare that is said to have turned the entire continent into a dungeon.’

The result of that nightmare was darkness.

「For 365 days a year, the sun never rose, and there were no moon or stars, as if darkness had devoured the continent, making it impossible to see even an inch ahead.」

「Darkness swallowed mankind, and the monsters that parasitized within it gnawed at them. Only white bones remained where darkness had swept through.」

「The survivors called this a disaster and passed it on to future generations, telling them never to forget it.」

It was just a legend from a book I read as a child, but strangely, Aven kept remembering it whenever he looked at the entrance of that dungeon.

But soon he shook his head and said.

“I guess so. I must be getting old… I’m just spouting nonsense like this.”

“Pull yourself together and focus on the enemy in front of you. The Imperial Army hasn’t retreated yet.”

“I have to.”

“They may be cowardly old men who couldn’t enter the dungeon, but at least we have to stop them from interfering.”

Marze said in a tense voice, looking at the Imperial Army lined up as far as the eye could see.

“But what on earth is it? Just holding their position without doing anything is enough…”

Aven shook his head as if he couldn’t predict it either.

“It’s been a while since I felt this tension. If the Imperial Army pushes forward like this, we won’t be able to stop them.”

“Heh heh… To think I’d be entrusting my life to the words of a kid who hasn’t lived even half as long as we have. You live and learn.”

Marze also looked ahead with a tense face.

After clearing out the monsters, the two of them did not retreat their troops to the castle.

The orthodox thing to do would be to assume that they should defend the castle against the large army, but Khalil’s plan was the opposite.

-When we enter the dungeon, I want you two to lead the troops in the area and line up in front of Twin Armor.

After clearing out both minotaurs that appeared in the field, Khalil said to Marze and Aven.

-Move the troops outside…? What if the Imperial Army sees that and advances instead? We won’t be able to stop that large army without the help of Twin Armor.

Khalil shook his head at Aven’s words.

-The Imperial Army won’t move. They’ll be suspicious of my suddenly deploying troops. And I’ve laid a little groundwork.

He didn’t bother to mention that he had appeared in front of the Imperial Army alone.

-Besides, we stopped the monsters with less damage than the Imperial Army expected. If we face them head-on, the Imperial Army will have to suffer considerable damage as well. It will be difficult for them to make a hasty decision.

Khalil pointed to the two Twin Armors and then to the moat in front of them.

-Twin Armor has a wide moat. Place the front line along this moat, mainly with knights and swordsmen units with good mobility, and place magic units and archers on the walls.

Aven and Marze nodded at his words.

-It’s important to give them the impression that we can advance from this side. I’ll deploy my troops with them. 1,000 is a small number, but it’s enough to make them suspicious.

-Are you sure it’s okay…?-

-Only I and these people will go to the dungeon. The inside is complicated, so if a large army moves, they might get lost.

Marze looked at Khalil with a curious look, as if he knew the newly created dungeon well.

Without paying attention to his gaze, Khalil continued to explain the plan.

-Taking an aggressive stance is a way to confuse them. Why did they come out without defending the castle? Is there another reinforcement? Prince Ruon’s head will be spinning.

Aven couldn’t help but admire Khalil’s words.

‘Amazing…’

The audacious plan put forward by a boy who was not even twenty years old seemed dangerous, but it seemed possible enough.

Whooooosh—

For a moment, an eerie wind blew across the battlefield.

Aven thought, recalling Khalil while adjusting his armor once more.

‘The key to the success of this plan is whether the move he prepared works or not, although I don’t know what it is.’

For some reason, Aven agreed to this operation, which he would never have accepted at any other time, without saying a word as soon as he heard Khalil’s words.

Age is not important on the battlefield. Strangely, when Aven was talking to Khalil, he felt like he was facing a knight with more battlefield experience than himself.

“I’ll trust you, Khalil.”

He muttered with a tense face, looking at the shimmering entrance of the dungeon.

* * *

“Be careful. In terms of size, it’s a maze larger than the Imperial Palace. If you get lost, it’s hard to get out.”

Beykan and Kinu Mukari nodded at Khalil’s words.

Torches were hung on both sides of the wall, and the well-organized feeling, although old, made it seem like a man-made castle if you didn’t know that monsters lived there.

“Still, I feel like I’ve conquered quite a few dungeons so far, but this is the first time I’ve seen a place like this. It’s not a dungeon; it’s more like…”

“Like a ruin? Just like humans made it.”

Khalil answered first, as if he had anticipated what Grace was going to say.

“That’s right.”

He nodded.

Ruins where you can obtain relics left on the continent are sacred places said to have been created by ancestors or sometimes by gods in the distant past.

However, unlike the two barbarians, Viola and Grace found it difficult to accept that a dungeon with monsters had such an appearance.

“You’re not wrong. We used to catch gray orcs and lizardmen. Beykan, do you know what they have in common?”

“Um… They form villages like humans?”

Khalil nodded at his answer.

“That’s right. Unlike other monsters, they live in groups. You could say they are the most similar to humans among monsters.”

“Could it be…”

Viola looked at Khalil with a hardened face at his words.

She had an expression as if she had recalled something she didn’t want to think about.

Khalil said to her.

“The most powerful monster among those demi-humans is the minotaur. They have disappeared from the continent and cannot be seen now, but according to legend, the minotaur is a strange species born between humans and monsters.”

“The reason why gray orcs and lizardmen became the prelude to this dungeon is because they resemble humans? …In that context, it feels terrible.”

Grace frowned and said.

“I agree. Distinguishing them based on that standard is like saying that humans and monsters are similar.”

“Well, if the person who divides the definition of humans and monsters is neither human nor monster, then he may only see the difference in degree.”

“Are you talking about God?”

Khalil smiled bitterly at Viola’s question.

“The one who created this dungeon may be the same as the one who created the ruins.”

He didn’t bother to say the name of God.

Instead, he slowly scanned his surroundings.

He had felt it before, but the inside of the dungeon felt similar to Parel [a corrupted area or dimension].

When he first purged the dungeon in the south, he wondered if the dungeon was also a type of Parel.

Because although corruption does not come out, dungeons violate the laws of nature and create monsters.

‘Low-level dungeons such as the Double-Headed Eagle’s Nest and the Gray Orc Village were not in Parel.’

Khalil was able to turn that suspicion into certainty after entering the Minotaur’s dungeon.

‘The form of the labyrinth is the same as what was in Parel.’

He nodded slowly.

‘Then I can use the method I used back then.’

Khalil grinned.

“……”

Beykan shuddered without realizing it, as if he was seeing that smile for the first time in a long time since Gurun.

‘Minos, Aiakos, Radamanthys [Judges of the Underworld in Greek Mythology].’

Thump- Thump-

Khalil walked fearlessly along the path of the labyrinth.

‘I’ll catch them all at once.’