Chapter 20

Chapter 20: The First War (5) >

As time passed, Theo’s pace slowed down significantly.

This was because the number of dire wolves, which had initially appeared one at a time, started showing up in packs.

From two or three to as many as five.

Each time Theo faced them, he felt as if death was lurking nearby.

Finally, about four hours after entering the dungeon, Theo returned outside once again.

“Aaah! Young Master!”

“Haa... haa... Calm down, I’m fine. Don’t make a fuss.”

“But, right now...!”

“Really, I’m fine. Could you just let me rest a bit?”

Theo barely managed to calm down the maid who was startled by the sight of his bloodied appearance, and then opened his inventory.

Thankfully, while the dungeon could certainly drain a person’s energy, it didn’t leave him completely without hope.

+

[Beginner’s Healing Potion]

· Type: Miscellaneous

· Effect: Restores 10 points of health and heals wounds.

+

Theo pulled out a bottle filled with a red liquid and gulped it down.

Paaaah-

As soon as he drank it, a red glow spread over his body, healing his wounds and making his breathing much easier.

‘It would have been a lot easier to clear this if more of these things showed up. Damn it.’

He should have realized it from the moment the quest difficulty first displayed a C.

It was a place that drained his energy but was just manageable enough to survive.

However, if he made one wrong move, he could lose his life in an instant.

“At least the beasts don’t seem to be able to come out beyond the door. I guess that’s a relief.”

Theo muttered to himself as he wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.

Paaaah-

At that moment, the Beginner’s Ring on his left ring finger glowed.

The sluggish flow of his magic, worn down by fatigue, suddenly quickened, and strength returned to his body.

Thump, thump!

Since all of Theo’s magic was currently stored in the Dragon’s Heart, the ring’s effect was amplifying the energy throughout his entire body.

‘If it weren’t for this, I would have collapsed a long time ago, or I would’ve had to run from the dungeon early.’

The reward from the first quest had already proven to be this helpful.

If he could use all the other rewards as well?

The dungeon clear would become much easier.

‘I need to reach level 10 quickly.’

Luckily, it seemed like he only needed to hunt a few more dire wolves.

But there was one problem.

“...The condition of my weapon is really bad. What should I do?”

The Beginner’s Training Sword was now so worn out that its edge had become completely dull, rendering it unusable.

He needed a different weapon.

Was there a decent weapon somewhere?

While glancing around the room, Theo noticed three swords hanging on the wall.

They were ornamental swords, gifted by his mother, Cecilia, on his fourteenth birthday.

At the time, his conflict with Cecilia had been so severe that he had completely forgotten about them.

“......”

Theo quickly took the swords down from the wall and opened their scabbards.

Clink—

Shiiing!

“The blades are still quite sharp, aren’t they?”

Contrary to his worries that the edges might have dulled, the swords were sharp enough for immediate use in combat.

There wasn’t a single trace of rust.

Theo held the sword high, reflecting the chandelier’s light off its blade.

The blade was as white as the snowfields commonly seen in the North.

So white, in fact, that it was almost blinding.

“It seems they used ‘Snow White Ore’... These must have been expensive. How did she manage to get them?”

Having handled information directly in his past life, Theo knew very well how rare Snow White Ore was.

It was a mineral mined only in very small amounts from the eternally snow-covered mountains of the Winter Range.

The ore shone like stars even in the darkest nights, and its hardness and durability were extraordinary.

Because of this, even in House Ragnar, it was mandated that a certain percentage of Snow White Ore be mixed in when forging treasured swords.

Naturally, the price was astronomical, far beyond what any ordinary swordsman could ever hope to afford.

Yet, the swords Cecilia had gifted him contained that very Snow White Ore.

And not just in one, but in all three of them.

With a considerable percentage, too.

That wasn’t all.

In line with their ornamental nature, the decoration on the scabbards and hilts was extravagantly elaborate.

Compared to when he was level 1, it had increased by a remarkable 14 points.

Thanks to this, he could now move with considerable speed.

‘Even [Luck] is nearly at zero now.’

This change had occurred after rumors spread that he had withstood a blow from Kyle’s sword.

Just seeing his stats improve day by day made him feel as if he was full, even without eating.

Perhaps that was the reason?

Recently, a faint smile rarely left Theo’s lips.

– Hey, hey. Doesn’t the Young Master seem different lately? It’s not just me, right?

– Yeah, I know. Is he in love or something?

– Oh, stop it! What nonsense! He spends all his time swinging his sword!

– Exactly. Going to the training grounds at dawn, practicing alone in his room all night. He doesn’t even let us into his room after evening these days.

– He seems to have grown taller recently too.

– I know, right? The tailor came by last time and was shocked. He’s grown almost 10 centimeters in just a few months!

– He’s building muscles too... Especially those veins popping on the back of his hands when he clenches his fists...! Hehehehe.

– Ugh, gross! Can you wipe your drool?

Among the maids, Theo’s transformation into a more masculine figure had become a major topic of conversation.

With his long hair tied back and swinging his sword while drenched in sweat, he appeared more handsome than ever.

– But why does he take ten practice swords with him every day? What could he be doing with all those?

– Right? You never even hear the sound of the swords breaking.

– What kind of training is he doing?

The training swords had become a temporary solution Theo had chosen when the edges of his ornamental swords began to dull.

To conserve the ornamental swords, he utilized his inventory’s unique capacity to store a large amount of items.

The problem, however, was that as he progressed deeper into the dungeon, the monsters became stronger, and the iron swords didn’t last long.

So, every day, Theo had to prepare more than ten swords to bring with him.

Naturally, the maids and servants found this strange.

But although they were curious, none of them suspected anything odd.

Theo’s single-minded focus on training left no room for doubt.

And then.

[You have entered the 5th floor.]

[You are entering the boss room. A powerful monster will appear. Be cautious.]

At last, the final obstacle stood before him.

* * *

“This is the first time I’ve seen a message warning me to be cautious.”

Theo tensed up as he read the message.

From the moment he entered the fifth floor, he could feel something unsettling crawling up his spine.

The air was thick, oppressively so.

It was hard to even breathe.

“......”

The fifth floor was significantly smaller compared to the other levels.

In the center of the vast cavern, a massive creature lay curled up, deeply asleep.

‘A dragon?’

For a brief moment, Theo wondered if it was the mythical dragon he had only heard of in stories, but he quickly realized it wasn’t.

It had no wings on its back.

Still, even curled up, its size was overwhelming. Its dark blue scales shimmered like gemstones, and its snout, which protruded like a dragon’s, looked as though it could spew fire at any moment.

A Drake.

A lower-tier dragon species, categorized as a predator due to its ferocious temperament and insatiable hunger for prey.

But why was such a creature, which typically only existed in the Demonic Sea, here?

‘Luckily, it seems to be a lesser drake... but still!’

Theo quietly returned the iron sword in his hand to his inventory and drew one of the ornamental swords instead.

‘This isn’t going to be easy.’

At the same time, another thought crossed his mind.

‘Ragnar is also known as the descendant of dragons. And yet, the final boss of this strange quest is a dragon species...? Is this really just a coincidence?’

His mind swirled with questions.

However, one thing was certain.

In order to clear this, he had to defeat that monster.

‘I’ll use One Flash.’

One Flash was a piercing technique Theo had recently devised by mimicking Dragon Flash.

By squeezing every bit of power from the Dragon’s Heart, it allowed him to unleash an explosive attack powered by his near-100 stat in [Strength].

Though he hadn’t yet mastered it to the point of creating beams of light, he was confident that this first strike would deal a critical blow to the enemy.

“Hooop-!”

Theo took a deep breath, twisting his body tightly.

Thump... thump...!

The Dragon’s Heart pulsed violently, imbuing the ornamental sword with immense power.

Swish!

The blade left a long, pure white streak as it plunged into the sleeping drake’s right eye.

Thwack!