Episode 109
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A triple S-rank monster hunter.
The name that Dale had acquired before he became a warrior of another world and a hunting dog of the empire in his previous life. Now, it was a distant past that even his memories were hazy, and now the feeling of that past was coming back to him.
Kaang, kang!
The monster in front of Dale… …every time Asura’s six-armed weapon was swung, every time he countered the blow.
‘Monster’.
This world is a world of swords and magic, so the existence of monsters scattered throughout the continent is not that rare. Just as ‘monster hunters’ who take on the job of hunting monsters upon request from people are a common occupation.
He deflected the six blows that were swung in sync from all directions with the black sword of the shadow cloak along with Peacemaker.
A practice that deliberately suppresses the use of magic and hunts monsters deep within the Great Labyrinth with only a sword. Dale only wanted to gain one thing through this practice.
Here, an unknown memory comes back to life every time you encounter monsters.
A sense of being a monster hunter.
After becoming a warrior from another world and gaining unimaginable powers, Dale from his previous life lost his ‘first power’ after undergoing merciless physical modifications at the Red Tower.
The first power obtained as an ‘Awakened One’ against the strange beings called ‘Creatures’… … A supernatural power that cannot be explained even by the aura of a knight or the magic of a wizard.
That lost power is slowly pulsating every time I clash swords with the monsters here.
‘What on earth are these monsters in the Great Labyrinth?’
It’s not a monster of the easily recognizable type that is common in this world.
Although, compared to the strength of the high-ranking monsters I fought in my past life, I was nothing more than a child.
The six swung weapons were deflected by the sword of the Shadow Cloak, and the Peacemaker’s sword dug in like flowing water.
Towards the heart of Asura.
Phew!
The sword tore through Asura’s chest and came out through his back. The movement stopped. After stopping, the monster’s body began to scatter and turn into ashes. Leaving behind a blood-red gem that fell to the ground.
Magic stone.
It is an expensive jewel that contains powerful magical powers in itself.
The more powerful monsters you defeat, the higher the purity of the crystals you can obtain, and the magic stones dropped by deep-level monsters are worth more than the lowest-level artifacts.
Needless to say, it is one of the essential main sources of income for adventurers who conquer dungeons.
That is why the existence of the labyrinths overflowing throughout the Demon King’s Territory, including the Great Labyrinth, is not an exaggeration to the term ‘magic stone mine’. It is not comparable to the sudden fortune of artifacts, but to put it bluntly, it is another ‘nodaji’.
──Monsters wandering the labyrinth do not leave behind a physical body when they die. Even demons like orcs leave behind a corpse when they die, but these are not like that.
In other words, the beings here are not creatures that exist within providence. They are creatures who were created with some kind of intention… … and are carrying out the Creator’s purpose.
The proof was the powerful magical power contained in the magic stone.
Like a monster that disappears, leaving behind its core.
“… … .”
So who on earth designed this labyrinth, created and released this unidentified being, and why did they hide the artifact in the labyrinth? At least, the people of this world do not have such technology.
So, as the sages say, do the beings called ‘ancient demons’ really exist?
What the people of this world took for granted was not so for Dale.
But at least there would be no answer right away. Dale took hold of the high-purity magic stone that had fallen to the floor and walked away calmly.
Not as the Viscount of Saxony and the ‘Black Prince’, but as the S-rank adventurer “Faceless”.
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By the time Dale emerged from the depths of the labyrinth and headed upward, the dusk of dawn was beginning to break.
The only place you can enter directly overnight is the first part of the depths, and even then, you need to have the skill to kill the monsters from the upper levels as soon as you encounter them.
The Great Labyrinth is made up of three major layers.
Upper, lower, and deeper.
But beneath the depths, unknown to the common people, lies another layer. A warrior of the past once reached the deepest depths, and beyond that lies another layer.
Abyss.
With Dale’s current skills, it is an unknown area that he cannot dare to approach. In order to go further than the first part of the depth where Dale first established his base, he has no choice but to be prepared to camp inside the labyrinth.
However, the current Dale is the ‘Virgin of Saxony’ who rules over the Demon King’s Territory before being an adventurer, and from day to night, he has a mountain of work to do to develop the Demon King’s Territory as a lord.
“P, it’s Faceless… …!”
“Hey! Faceless is coming back!”
“You already have the artifact?!”
As we got closer to the surface from the depths where no human footsteps had set foot, adventurers exploring the labyrinth began to appear one by one.
“If ragtag guys like us go to the deep end, we won’t have any life left… … .”
“He’s a monster, a monster.”
Those who were swept up in the whirlwind of the Northern Frontier, driven by the Artifact Rush.
In fact, the chance to make a fortune that Dale offered them was not a lie. However, the world is not a fairy tale, and opportunities are not given to everyone. Even if an opportunity is given, seizing it is another story.
The S-rank adventurer, Faceless, was the one who seized the opportunity provided by the ‘Artifact Rush’, and at the same time, was an object of awe that ordinary adventurers could not easily approach.
It is scary to face the shadows lurking beneath the hood, and it is overwhelming and frightening.
As with the ‘Black Prince’ of the House of Saxony.
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At that time, the Duchy of Lancaster.
There was a man who devoted himself to training from the time dusk rose at dawn.
Michael Lancaster, the second son of House Lancaster. A promising knight who was once said to be the continent’s greatest genius in swordsmanship.
And there was someone who claimed to be his training partner.
He was a strong man who was said to be closest to the ‘Continent’s Seven Swords’, and he was not at all inferior to Mikhail’s sword… … Rather, he was a man of such skill that he seemed to overwhelm him from start to finish.
Archduke Gabriel Lancaster, the Heavenly Sword.
The third grand duke, said to be the pinnacle of the empire’s grand barons… …the head of the Lancaster Duke family.
At the same time, he is the strongest knight who holds the nickname of the Heavenly Sword and, following in the footsteps of the divine sword Lord Badel, holds the title of ‘Imperial First Sword’ among the Seven Swords.
The three major ducal houses of the empire, the House of Saxony in the north, known as the dark clan, and the House of Barbarossa, who came from a simple pirate background. Strictly speaking, the image of the two ducal houses is far from what people think of as ‘nobles’.
By comparison, the Duke of Lancaster was, as their coat of arms suggests, the very epitome of orthodox nobility.
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The white-and-red rose, its symbol, signifies cruel nobility.
A fertile and rich estate worthy of the name of the Duke’s family, a noble bloodline that does not allow even a hint of vulgarity. At the same time, those who understand the duty they bear as nobles and are willing to shoulder that burden.
Phew!
Archduke Lancaster, the Heavenly Sword, avoids Michael’s knightly sword and creates distance.
“You must be tired from the very first morning of your journey, training.”
“I am sad that I cannot face my father’s sword even once more while I am away.”
Michael Lancaster smiled, his sword ready.
“As expected, he is my son.”
The Duke of Lancaster smiled, unable to hide his father’s delight.
A model student who has possessed the greatest swordsmanship in the empire since childhood and never neglects his training from dusk until dawn.
The most likely candidate for the next Continental Seven Swords.
However, at that time, there was a huge dark cloud in the heart of the Archduke of Lancaster who was looking at Michael.
It was a boundless emptiness that resided in my son’s sword.
As the second son of the Lancaster family, he was blessed with natural talent and the best bloodline. All he wanted was to have the world in his hands and follow the path to success laid out for him from birth.
Just as the magic of a wizard is a projection of thoughts, the aura of a knight is no different. That is why the aura that projects Mikhail’s thoughts was a ‘colorless and formless’ aura whose form is unknown. It was as if it reflected Mikhail’s emptiness itself.
But that day, when he was defeated by the eldest son of the Duke of Saxony at the Fight Club in Guild City. When he realized that he had been defeated by a child of the same age, and not by a knight but by a wizard, with a ‘sword’… … Only then did the emptiness that had been embedded in Mikhail’s sword disappear.
After that crushing defeat that day, Mikhail’s aura finally regained its color. Along with a new sword given to his son by his father, who had broken his own sword with his own hands.
It was a knight’s sword without even the slightest feature.
Two years later, a storm of ‘Artifact Rush’ swept across the continent from the Northern Demon King’s Territory.
The prelude to the Northern Frontier.
The Viscount of Saxony, the ‘Black Prince’, opened the Northern Demon Territory and called adventurers from all over the continent. After hearing this news, Michael Lancaster did not hesitate either.
When his son Michael soon afterwards announced that he would be going on a mission to the ‘Erland’ ruled by the Viscount of Saxony, his father, the Archduke of Lancaster, willingly respected his son’s wishes.
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“Hey, Adventurer!”
When Dale showed up at the ‘Guild House’, one of the receptionists turned pale and shouted.
“Oh, welcome! Are you coming back from hunting in a labyrinth?!”
At the same time, there were gasps of air from all over the guild house, and silence fell. Dale… … no, the S-rank adventurer ‘Faceless’ crossed the guild house without saying a word.
On the table, he put out all the high-purity magic stones he had obtained by hunting monsters. The blood-colored magic stones scattered around once again caused a commotion.
“Go, we will issue you a trading license as soon as the appraisal process is completed!”
──In the labyrinthine city of Labyrinth, there are several things that are stipulated in the name of the Viscount of Saxony.
First, all adventurers entering the labyrinth must register their information with the ‘Adventurer’s Guild’ established by the Count of Saxony.
Second, all artifacts and magic stones obtained there must be reported to the guild, and cannot be handled carelessly until a trading permit is obtained.
However, it is not known in detail what happens to those who break the rules.
Officially, it says, “Confiscate your goods and banish you from the Saxon counties, never to return.” The problem is that those who break the rules disappear, and no one has seen them since. Permanent disappearance.
In fact, Dale’s goal was not simply to develop the Northern Demon King’s Territory.
The true purpose of establishing the ‘Adventurer’s Guild’ to directly control countless powerful people from across the continent who gathered to test their skills.
The brokerage fees that adventurers receive from trading the loot of the labyrinth are also not negligible. However, more importantly, they can obtain and understand the details of the powerful people on the continent.
That was another reason why Dale himself was active as an S-rank adventurer, ‘Faceless’.
Just then, an adventurer whom the ‘Virgin of Saxony’ was watching with interest entered the guild house.
