CH 11

Holy Sword.

“… It’s a lot darker than I thought.”

I lifted the torch. I’d come to undergo another round of torture in a deep, vast cavern, the so-called ‘ant cave.’ It is said to be infested with monsters, and the occasional rare material can be found during exploration, making it a great hunting ground for adventurers of skill.

Though I doubt any adventurer would be foolish enough to come here alone.

‘Enough stalling. Let’s get going.’

I was about to charge into the cave, torch in my left hand and holy sword in my right, when I felt a movement behind me and quickly turned around, sword outstretched.

“AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

I heard someone yell in surprise. I turned to see a party of three adventurers. As I lowered my sword, they patted their chests in shock and began to study my face. ‘This is going to be an awkward situation.’

“Hey… isn’t that the Hero?”

“See, I told you so….”

A fist landed on the heads of the chattering adventurers. Letting out a short scream, the two adventurers clutched their heads and squatted away from the clenched fist.

“…Excuse us. My party members were excited. I hope you’ll forgive their rudeness, Hero.”

The polite party leader was a tall woman. Her black hair in a bun and bold, revealing attire made her look like a Barbarian woman warrior. True to her image, the leader wielded a hatchet and a circular shield.

“I don’t mind it. I would have done the same if I saw someone I admired, so you don’t have to apologize.”

Was my answer strange? The leader blinked, coughed, and cleared her throat.

“Thank you for your understanding, but what are you doing here, Hero?”

“…I came to train.”

I said, nodding toward the entrance to the dark cave. I had lit the torch too early.

“Well, why don’t you come with us, if only for a little while?”

The male adventurer rubbing his head, spoke up first, and the female adventurer next to him nodded, her eyes twinkling in agreement.

“We won’t be too much of a disturbance, we’re just here for some treasure hunting, and I thought it would be nice to have a strong adventurer to go with us for a while… Why don’t you join us just to the first safe zone? Our leader is strong, but she’s nothing compared to you, right?”

The two adventurers approached me, getting all over my face, so I took a few steps back. Meanwhile, behind them, the leader remained silent and still. The male adventurer, noticing my gaze on the party leader, smirked.

“Well, our leader is actually a fan of yours, and I thought she’d be thrilled if you could accompany her on this one just once….”

“H-hey, what nonsense are you talking about?”

“B-boss pl-please, can’t breathe here….”

The leader grabbed the other two adventurers by their necks, her face red. The leader sent them behind her, then glared at them fiercely before turning back to me and bowing her head slightly.

“I’m sorry, we must have bothered you. You should just go ahead and continue your training.”

I stared at the adventurers in silence. The leader was sneaking glances at me while pretending not to be, and the other two adventurers were looking at me expectantly. I knew I should go in alone to train and wouldn’t have time to hang out with them for too long, but I couldn’t refuse their offer outright.

“No, I’d like you to accompany me for a while.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

When I said that, the male and female adventurers’ faces turned bright red simultaneously, and the party leader’s eyes widened. The two adventurers behind her high-fived and let out a small squeal of triumph. I’m not in a hurry anyways, so keeping some company is fine. Also, I have no clue what dangers lurk ahead, and it would be nice to have a couple of people with me in case something happens.

I replied evasively.

“Whatever comes, I must defeat it, for I must never lose.”

As I spoke, I glanced down at my holy sword. The power to crush everything. If I can’t awaken its first level, I’ll get oxidized before I can even get near the Disaster, let alone take it down. I let out a sigh mixed with laughter and looked up. Leah was staring at me with a blank expression.

I don’t know what the original Elroy would have thought. I thrust the torch forward, trying to shake off my thoughts. The anthill was the same everywhere I looked. Except that the increasingly narrow passageways looked like the esophagus of a giant creature.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The sound of water dripping from the stalactites was still coming from somewhere. The sound of the group’s footsteps echoed in time with it.

“When the path narrows like this, we’ll eventually reach the fork ahead.”

Harvey was the first to speak, unable to bear the silence. When I turned, he scratched the back of his head.

“I’ve been here a few times. I haven’t searched every corner, but I remember the paths I’ve taken.”

True to his word, a fork appeared as the passage narrowed, barely wide enough for the three men to pass. An icy cold wind blew from both paths. I was told monsters appeared whichever way we took, so I went to the left passage. The passageway gradually widened, revealing a large opening, much more expansive than at the beginning.

“From here on out, we’ll start seeing monsters, so we’d better be on our guard.”

With that, Harvey increased the brightness of the lantern he held. Tap, tap, tap. There was a sound like a thin cloth stepping on wet rocks. It sounded like someone walking across the pool in socks, which is not exactly what you want to hear in a cave.

“That way.”

Harvey pointed the lantern in the direction of the sound. The tapping was getting louder and louder. I gripped my holy sword tighter, feeling the unmistakable presence moving toward me.

“…Gross.”

Robin’s voice was filled with disgust. Stumbling out of the lantern light was a giant, eyeless salamander. Its entire body was white as if it had lost its pigment from never seeing the sun. A flash. The salamander took another step toward us.

“Hero, what is that?”

I jumped forward, not explaining what was before us to Harvey. The salamander was agile for something without eyes but slower and weaker than the ashen bear. I slid across the slippery stone floor, slicing through the salamander’s legs with my Holy Sword.

“Fast….”

I heard Robin’s dazed muttering. I jumped out of the way of the rolling salamander’s body and slashed at its neck and torso, trying to avoid being crushed. The salamander was cut into four pieces and scattered around the cave. Its dismembered body still wriggled like an octopus.

“Let’s go.”