WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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◈ Sword Master of the Fallen Kingdom

Chapter 22

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The Forgotten City (2)

For Kyle, an uncleared dungeon was not a serious problem, even if that dungeon was also a labyrinth and a ruin.

He had a lot of experience with this kind of place. Ten years was a long time. While working as a mercenary, he had explored countless dungeons and ruins, not just taken commissions. The reason was simple.

To break the curse embedded in his body.

In the end, he failed, but it was not a complete loss. The byproducts he stored in his Inventory Pouch sold for a nice price.

The relics and artifacts he found now and then went without saying. Even if they had nothing to do with the curse, they were still very useful.

That was why Kyle accepted Lena's proposal without much hesitation. Her payment. A connection to the Lenore Magic Tower. Even setting all that aside, he did not think he would die in a dungeon. In strength and in experience, he was thoroughly seasoned in places like this.

But right now...

"A ruin of the Kingdom of Alenos? No way..."

Lena blinked as if she could not believe it. More precisely, she looked like she was rejecting Kyle's words.

"I'm sure. Even if it isn't exactly that, it's deeply connected."

"But if it's a ruin related to the Kingdom of Alenos, there should barely be any left by now. I mean..."

"Because the Kingdom of Alenos's legacy was looted a long time ago. All of it. Right?"

Until its fall, the Kingdom of Alenos had been the strongest power in the south for over five hundred years. Magic was developed to an extreme there, and it produced countless magic towers and powerful mages.

Even the Elandor Empire, which now boasted the greatest national power on Velia, had been nothing more than a single kingdom back then, so its status needed no explanation. If not for the civil war over the throne, it could have remained ruler of the south for at least a few more centuries.

If that had happened, the Kingdom of Kirian and the Kingdom of Brendel would never have existed.

"If you're really right, Kyle-ssi..."

"..."

"Aren't we in huge trouble?"

"Who knows."

Kyle narrowed his eyes as he looked down at the Gold Coin in his hand.

If this was simply a dungeon, a labyrinth, or a ruin, there was no problem. Even a ruin of the Kingdom of Alenos was fine. Those could be cleared.

But a ruin of the Kingdom of Alenos that had gone uncleared for over three hundred years, while also being a dungeon and a labyrinth, that was a problem. He could not begin to imagine how difficult it was, or how many people had died here.

"Still, this wasn't a total loss."

"..."

"This place is a ruin. A ruin of the Kingdom of Alenos that hasn't been cleared for over three hundred years. Then the answer is simple."

"What is it?"

"We head for the center."

Whether it was a dungeon or a ruin, the form might differ, but one principle was always true. One way or another, there was always a way out.

"We were transferred here by teleportation, so somewhere in this ruin there should be a way to get back out. Since it's a magic kingdom, it's probably another transfer using spatial magic like before, not an ordinary secret passage. If it's a ruin, the center is most likely the answer. Important facilities and spaces are usually in the middle."

Kyle searched the corpse in front of him one more time. The mercenary who had died a hundred years ago had almost nothing on him besides his Mercenary Badge and Gold Coin, just a few silver and copper coins.

He had probably suffered serious injuries and then quietly died in this hidden room. His gear, including sword and armor, was not bad for a Silver-rank Mercenary, but compared to Kyle's, it was bulkier and lower quality.

It was not worth taking up space in the Inventory Pouch.

"We move with the center as our destination. I don't know how long it will take."

The ruin was enormous. Kyle still could not grasp its exact layout or scale.

"If we run into people who came in before us, we can get more information."

Whether through a fair deal or by force.

"How do we set direction? I heard normal compasses don't work in ruins like this..."

Lena asked, her voice trembling less than before.

"That's not a problem. We just follow the flow of mana."

"The flow?"

Lena looked confused. Kyle could do it because he was unusually sensitive to this, but for ordinary knights or mages, finding a path by relying on a very faint mana current was impossible.

That was exactly why the Mana Compass he gave Erik's group was sold as an exploration tool.

"Just follow behind me. More importantly, how much money do you need?"

No need to explain every detail. Kyle dusted dirt from his clothes as he searched the corpse.

"O-one thou..."

"Silver?"

"Gold..."

"...That's a lot."

"No, now that I think about it, maybe I'd need two thousand Gold to be safe..."

Kyle stared at her, and Lena avoided his eyes, mumbling.

"Did you get yourself into debt?"

"It's not that..."

Two thousand Gold was about a small city's yearly tax revenue. Even famous tycoons would struggle to hand over that much right away.

"Fine. You probably have your own reasons."

"Two thousand Gold is a lot, but if we're lucky, it's possible. In another dungeon maybe not, but this is a ruin of the Kingdom of Alenos. And one that's never been cleared."

A magical superpower that had fallen three hundred years ago. There was no need to explain how brilliant its legacy was. Relics from Alenos could fetch thousands of Gold at auction the moment they appeared.

Civilization did not always move in a straight line. That was true on Earth, and even more true in this world. Sometimes relics from the past were far superior to modern items. If it was a relic of the Kingdom of Alenos, it might contain lost techniques and show the very essence of magical engineering.

"First, we need to keep track of time."

Kyle put the Gold Coin into his Inventory Pouch and took out something else.

"A pocket watch? Is that one of your Magic Tools too, Kyle-ssi?"

"No. Just a regular watch. Its only function is being more accurate than normal watches."

An antique-looking pocket watch sat in Kyle's hand.

It did not shine like a brand-new piece, but the worn touch made it look even more refined.

"Still, it looks incredibly valuable."

"It was a gift from my one and only friend."

Kyle wound the stopped pocket watch. The resistance of the mechanism felt strangely unfamiliar, like it had been a very long time.

It had been around noon when they found the dungeon. Then they entered the cave, were transferred to this ruin, and about three hours had passed.

Current time... roughly 3 PM.

"With this, we won't lose track and flip day and night."

He released the winding stem. Tick, tick. A very faint sound came from inside the watch.

"Ah, right. The sun doesn't rise here..."

"Yeah."

Naturally, there was no sun in an underground ruin. Human biorhythms built around sunlight would inevitably break down here. Once sleep patterns broke, their condition would take a major hit.

"Let's go. Destination is the center of the ruin, but we'll also search for relics on the way. There's no point leaving empty-handed."

"Yes!"

After finishing up, Kyle left the stone chamber. Lena extinguished the floating light and followed him out.

Right before leaving, Kyle looked at the corpse sinking back into darkness. The corpse that had seen lamplight for the first time in a hundred years was still only bones. With a brief stray thought passing through his mind, he pressed one side of the wall deeply, just like before. A heavy grinding sound followed, and the door shut completely.

***

"Die! Die! Die, you bastard!"

"..."

"You dare! Ambush us! You cowardly bastards...!"

A huge double-headed axe crashed down from above. Every time it fell, thud, thud, blood and flesh sprayed in every direction.

"Bruno! Stop."

"Huff, huff..."

"They're already dead. All of them."

Erik placed a hand on Bruno's shoulder. Bruno's face, red from fury, slowly returned to its normal color.

"An ambush out of nowhere..."

Hanna frowned from one step behind them. In a shadowed corner beside the path down the stairs, two crushed corpses lay beyond recognition. They were nameless mercenaries who had tried to ambush first, then got their heads split by Bruno's axe and Erik's sword.

"It couldn't be helped. This is a dungeon."

Erik forced himself to stay calm and looked around.

Below the stairs, there were two doors, one ahead and one to the side.

The stairs hugged the left wall. The lower right area was almost invisible beyond the lamp's reach. That was where the two unknown mercenaries jumped out from. They had hidden in the blind spot on purpose and ambushed Erik's group as they came down. Their goal was to kill and loot them.

"I expected trouble, but I didn't think we'd be attacked this quickly..."

"It stopped being a normal dungeon the second we got teleported. This was my first time seeing magic like that too. I couldn't even feel the mana flow..."

Hanna muttered in an irritated tone, clutching her staff tightly. Erik and Bruno exchanged a short glance and walked toward the bodies.

"Let's search them first. Maybe they have something."

Their hesitation lasted only a moment. Soon both men searched the dismembered corpses with practiced hands. They felt no guilt over killing. The other side attacked first, and for Bronze-rank mercenaries, this kind of thing was routine.

"As expected, they have Mercenary Badges."

"What do they say?"

"Nothing special. Mercenaries active in the Kingdom of Kirian. Region is... Kersi."

"Kersi? That's pretty far from here."

"Guess the rumor spread to neighboring countries too. More importantly, there's a Gold Coin."

Erik pulled a shining Gold Coin from a beheaded corpse.

Bruno brightened at the mention of money and asked, "Oh, a Gold Coin? From where?"

"No idea. The design is weird. Definitely not southern, but it's not Imperial or Federation coinage either..."

"Give me that for a second."

Before he could finish muttering, Hanna snatched the coin from his hand. She examined both sides with a deep frown, then her mouth slowly opened.

"This is..."

"You think you know where it's from?"

"If I'm not losing my mind, this is a Gold Coin from the Kingdom of Alenos."

"...Alenos?"

Erik's expression turned serious at once. Bruno, next to him, cut in.

"Hanna, are you feeling okay? The Kingdom of Alenos already fell three hundred years ago. An Alenos coin?"

"I'm not lying. The emblem with a book between crossed staffs, that's the symbol of the Kingdom of Alenos. And judging by this wear, it looks extremely old..."

"..."

Silence hung between the three for a while. An ambush by mercenaries active in the Kingdom of Kirian. And a coin from a nation that fell three hundred years ago, found on their bodies.

"That cave door was strange from the start. I've never even heard of teleport magic that triggers the instant your hand brushes it."

Hanna lowered her head and muttered. The hand gripping her staff was shaking.

"Is this... even a dungeon at all?"

"So what are you saying, it's actually a ruin of a country that fell three hundred years ago?"

"High chance. Items from the Kingdom of Alenos sell for huge prices. If low-level mercenaries like those found this place, then probably..."

"Fuck. We're screwed. A ruin of the Kingdom of Alenos that's been uncleared for over three hundred years? Can we even get out of here?"

The three Bronze-rank mercenaries had not entered this dungeon out of huge greed.

Their plan was strict and simple. Pick up byproducts around the outskirts and leave. They were planning to retire after this job, so they cared less about massive profits and more about staying alive. Now they were not even sure they could leave alive.

"Calm down, guys."

As despair slowly started eating at them, Erik took a deep breath and spoke.

"No one here is dead or badly injured yet. It's not like we have no options."

"...How?"

"We were transferred here by teleportation, so there has to be a way out by teleport too. In ruins like this, important facilities and spaces are usually at the center. Let's head there."

"But compasses don't work here... ah."

Hanna inhaled sharply. In Erik's hand was a Magic Tool made by Arven Mage Tower.

"Mana Compass."

"Right. The Mana Compass Kyle-ssi gave us. If we have this, it can help us set direction here. It works in dungeons and ruins. If we keep survival first, we still have a real chance."

"But Erik, you don't think we're the only ones thinking that, do you? If they're quick-witted, they'll think the same."

Bruno spoke while shaking blood from his huge double-headed axe, his point sharp.

"Especially when this dungeon run involves House Filein and the guild master of Twin Fangs of Silence."

"..."

"I doubt those bastards are just watching quietly. And if this really is a ruin over three hundred years old, then there are probably already hundreds of people in here. More dead than that."

"That... can't be helped. But we can't just stand here forever. If we do nothing, nothing changes."

"True. Better to do something than sit and die. Twin Fangs of Silence is another story, but if it's Marquis Filein, maybe we can at least beg for our lives."

Bruno shrugged. The dark mood lifted a little.

The three started moving through the ruin again, relying on the Mana Compass. Bruno took point, Erik guarded the rear, and Hanna the mage stayed protected in the middle.

"Do you think Kyle-ssi and Lena-ssi are okay?"

Hanna asked from the middle. It was only a brief one-night connection, but maybe because Lena was also a mage, she could not stop worrying.

"Who are you worrying about? They've got a Silver-rank Mercenary and a mage from the Lenore Magic Tower."

"Bruno's right. And..."

"If we're lucky, we'll meet them again."

Erik absently touched the sword at his waist.

"For now, think only about surviving. If we die first, nothing means anything."

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