WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Oblivious
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◈ The Weakest Knight Became a Swordmaster, But Only in Dungeons ◈
Chapter 42: Puppet (3)
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Manipulation Technique.
It was Demonkin Kilohr’s unique magic.
It did not work on Elise due to a special ability granted by the fairy’s power, and it did not work on Lara because some kind of blessing protected her.
In the end, Ron Hazely became the target, but...
“What on earth are you...?!”
Ron, who had been a feeble man at Tier 2 just moments ago, suddenly began radiating an immeasurable amount of mana.
Kilohr was confused. Still, there was one conclusion she could draw with certainty.
“Were you the one who’s been interfering with us all this time...?!”
Ron answered with a smile.
Kilohr gritted her teeth. She had to flee at once and report this to the Exchange Realm Society.
A Demonkin could leave through a Gate they had created. However, Ron was blocking that path.
At this rate, she would not be able to escape the Dungeon.
Kilohr twisted her face into a vicious grimace and manipulated the puppets.
Slide!
Clatter, clatter, clatter!
Creak, creak, creak, creak, creak!
The puppets piled into a mountain scattered and rose all at once.
Their forms varied, but they all had the same face.
Kilohr’s face.
“Ugh, that’s creepy.”
Ron clicked his tongue.
Whoosh!
Kilohr leaped backward and shouted.
“All of you, go kill him!!”
Clatter, clatter, clatter, clatter!!
Creak, creak, creak, creak!!
The army of puppets rushed toward Ron like a swarm of ants.
Each one glowed purple, enhanced by demonic energy. It was as though a violet tide were rushing in.
Thud!
Two enormous puppets rose on either side. They took the strange forms of giants.
Giant Puppets. Massive weapons raised for large-scale warfare. The pair served as a single Dungeon boss.
They began bringing their huge hands down on Ron.
A sharp whistle split the air, and a broad shadow fell beneath Ron.
But to Ron, they all looked like fragile toys.
“First demolition.”
Ron swung Ravenous Wolf Sword Kalzak in a wide arc.
Wheeeeeeng!!
A silver-gray blade storm swept through the area along the sword’s path.
The Dungeon’s stage-like scenery, the two Giant Puppets, and the puppets rushing in were all ground apart by the blade storm and scattered into fragments.
Whoooosh!
The blade storm whirled around Ron before dispersing.
However.
Whirr!
Click!
The scattered fragments rapidly reassembled.
In an instant, the puppets returned to their original forms. Even the Giant Puppets did.
The immortal puppet army charged at Ron again.
“It’s useless!”
Kilohr shouted at Ron with ferocious eyes.
Ron shrugged one shoulder.
‘So this is what happens when I just grind them up... Either way, it’s the same as the original story.’
Infinite regeneration. It was truly an ability no different from a nightmare on the battlefield.
It was a curse carved into each puppet. As long as Kilohr supplied demonic energy, they would quickly reassemble again and again.
Still, the curse itself was weak. It only worked so easily because the puppets were under Kilohr’s complete control and influence.
“In that case...”
Whooo...
The blade wind suddenly stopped.
“What is this?”
Kilohr watched Ron warily. There was no way someone that strong would give up the fight here.
Soon after.
Crackle.
Crack-crackle!
Blue plasma began to rage along Ravenous Wolf Sword Kalzak’s blade.
It was Ron’s aura.
“They’ll be good enough for a test.”
Ron poured mana into his aura at full output.
Crack-crack-crack!!!
Booooom!!!
In an instant, Ron’s aura swelled in size and swept across the surroundings, scattering vast amounts of plasma in every direction.
The blue aura rapidly expanded in a circle, engulfing the area and covering the sky and ground in flashes of lightning.
Craaaash!!
Heaven and earth seemed to split apart.
A world dyed blue. A flickering field of vision.
Ron’s aura unleashed countless lightning strikes and spread flashes of light, mercilessly destroying everything.
At one stage of the Swordmaster’s Realm, aura itself became a disaster.
“Ah...”
Kilohr could not close her mouth at the overwhelming sight.
The lightning released by Ron’s aura violently swept over the puppets, burning and smashing them to pieces.
Kilohr formed a shield of demonic energy and blocked the lightning rushing toward her.
“Get up already... What?”
For some reason, Kilohr felt something was wrong.
No matter how she moved her fingers or poured in demonic energy, she could not regenerate the destroyed puppets.
As though the demonic-energy connection had been severed.
“Could it be...?”
Kilohr stared blankly at the light brown-haired swordsman who ruled the area with lightning as if he were a god.
It was unbelievable, but Ron’s signature color had undoubtedly destroyed the demonic energy.
Shocked, Kilohr let out a desperate scream.
“What kind of inner self do you have...? How badly, how badly must you want to tear Demonkin apart and kill them to awaken a signature color like that?!”
Ron stepped forward.
Lightning spread in all directions with that step, destroying the puppets in droves.
“Demonkin aren’t worth keeping alive anyway.”
Ron answered as calmly as ever.
“Ah...”
Kilohr realized it.
That damned swordmaster was Demonkin’s natural enemy.
He was a slaughterer with an extreme mindset, a monster who swung his sword solely to exterminate Demonkin.
Death was coming.
“Aah!!”
Kilohr screamed and resisted fiercely.
Rumble!!!
Even as the two Giant Puppets took direct hits from the aura’s lightning, they brought their hands down on Ron again.
“Second demolition.”
Ron kicked off the ground and shot forward like a cannonball.
Boom!!
A shockwave erupted where Ron had stood.
Crackle!
Slash!
An irregular blue trail annihilated every puppet, including the Giant Puppets.
Fierce lightning spread along the sword strike, finally collapsing the stage-like Dungeon.
[You have cleared the Dungeon boss.]
[You have obtained an Exit Gate Key.]
[You may create an Exit Gate anywhere around the Gate through which you entered.]
Fwoooosh.
As the two Giant Puppets that made up the Dungeon boss shattered, a green light appeared in midair and became a key.
Ron swiftly snatched it up, then, in midair, extended Ravenous Wolf Sword Kalzak behind him and exploded his aura.
Boom!!
A fierce thrust sent Ron flying toward Kilohr like a meteor.
“Aaah!!”
Fwoosh!!
The swords left behind by the shattered puppets flew toward Kilohr all at once.
All the swords formed a semicircle behind Kilohr like the spread feathers of a peacock, each connected by demonic energy.
A high-grade artifact, Kilohr’s Magic Shackle.
It was a binding artifact created by Kilohr, who specialized in domination and control, using her unique ability.
Countless swords became fiercely saturated with purple demonic energy at once.
This was Kilohr’s maximum output.
The entire mass of swords swung at Ron all at once.
Ron swung Ravenous Wolf Sword Kalzak in response.
Craaaash!!!
Crackle!!!
In an instant, chain-like lightning embroidered the air, knocking away and destroying the mass of swords.
It was a battle so one-sided it was almost absurd.
“No...”
There was no hope. Tears streamed down Kilohr’s face as she staggered back.
“Spare...!”
Ron brought down his sword.
Raging Thunder Sword, Lightning Strike.
Crack!!
Slash!!
The lightning sword strike split Kilohr apart.
* * *
‘Demolition complete.’
Click.
I watched Demonkin Kilohr turn to ash and disappear, then sheathed Ravenous Wolf Sword Kalzak. My aura had already faded.
The Dungeon, which had boasted a stage-like design, had been completely ravaged.
I could not sense any other presences with my aura sense. I had killed every enemy in this Dungeon.
Shhhhhh.
As Kilohr disappeared, the countless puppet fragments also began scattering as mana dust.
Some of those puppets must have been human before they died.
‘Rest in peace.’
I silently wished them peace.
Ding!
[You have gained the achievement “Dolls That Regained Their Freedom”!]
[Requirement: Defeat “Demonkin Kilohr” and all “Puppets.”]
[Reward: You have gained mana experience points.]
‘Oh, so I got it after all.’
In For Elise, this achievement could not be obtained through a normal playthrough. You had to follow a special strategy.
As long as Kilohr was around, the puppets regenerated infinitely.
As an aside, the reason Elise’s group, including the commander, had been able to defeat the boss and escape in Act 10 of Chapter 1 was because Kilohr had fled.
Without Kilohr, the puppets could not regenerate.
‘Anyway, I’m glad it worked out.’
I got the achievement and mana experience points, so...
‘Time to loot.’
A black ring lay where Kilohr had disappeared. I picked it up.
‘A high-grade artifact, Kilohr’s Magic Shackle.’
It was an artifact that could only be obtained by following the route where you directly subjugated Kilohr with a veteran player’s strategy.
It consumed the wearer’s mana to forcibly restrain and secure a target. A bound target moved along with the wearer.
However, the more mana the target possessed, the more difficult it was. The target’s mana resisted, so the wearer had to pour in that much more mana.
Weapons or artifacts bound to the wearer were exceptions. Their mana did not resist.
‘It was a function tailored to Kilohr.’
Kilohr’s Manipulation Technique let her handle all the weapons fixed by the Magic Shackle at once. You could call it an inferior version of Lara’s Fish Sword.
Of course, since I did not have Manipulation Technique, I could not use the Magic Shackle the way Kilohr did.
And...
‘The reason Kilohr didn’t use the Magic Shackle to bind me was probably because she knew she couldn’t handle the cost.’
Binding a Swordmaster? I could not even imagine how much mana it would require.
I slipped the black ring, Kilohr’s Magic Shackle, onto my index finger.
[Artifact “Kilohr’s Magic Shackle” welcomes you as its new master.]
Fwoooosh.
Like any other high-grade artifact, I converted Kilohr’s Magic Shackle into mana and stored it inside myself.
Alright, looting was done.
‘What now?’
Elise’s group would arrive soon.
‘I can’t just pretend to be unconscious inside the Dungeon...’
Traces of my aura were scattered all over the Dungeon. If Elise’s group saw them, they would surely realize who I was.
‘Should I leave first?’
Hummm.
Whoooosh.
Using the Exit Gate Key, I created a green Exit Gate before the underground cave.
With this, the entrance Gate would disappear, so no one would be able to enter the Dungeon.
As I passed through the Exit Gate, a forest dyed in sunset light filled my view.
“Ughhh...”
As expected, the Swordmaster state wore off, and an overwhelming sense of weakness rushed over me.
I staggered for a moment, then quickly steadied myself and calmed my breathing.
Since I was outside the Dungeon, I should be able to contact Violet. I raised my left hand, which wore a bracelet made of mana, and pressed a spot on it.
“Violet.”
“Mr. Hazely...!”
Violet’s startled voice rang in my ears.
“Are you alright?! What happened...?”
“I’m fine. It’s over now. I’ll explain later.”
“Phew... I’m glad you’re safe...”
She was worried about me. What a thoughtful one.
“By the way, where are Elise and Lara now?”
“Ah, they’re...”
Violet must have been watching the situation through an undead servant in spirit form.
“They’re heading toward where you are, Mr. Hazely. They’re still a little way off.”
“Really? Okay.”
Then...
‘Should I take a nap?’
The weakness was intense. I felt like I could fall into a deep sleep right away.
Once Elise’s group found me and woke me up...
‘I’ll just say I was begging the Demonkin loudly, then suddenly lost consciousness.’
Kilohr really did possess an ability that could do that to those she turned into puppets.
Even if the Exchange Realm Society learned the details of this incident later, they would not find that part suspicious.
Anyway, my current plan was to make it seem as though someone had resolved the situation while I slept.
I lay down on the ground.
‘Ah, I’m falling asleep already...’
Not long after I closed my eyes, my consciousness sank away.
* * *
Elise swallowed back the nausea rising in her throat.
Now was the time to focus on saving Ron.
‘An ability that controls living creatures like dolls...’
The mysterious Demonkin who had taken Ron away had apparently controlled Mary and Ron.
She had a very ominous feeling. Although Scenario Note had not yet foretold what terrible thing would happen, she could imagine it.
Tap, tap, tap!
Elise, Lara, and three knights, five people in total, raced through the eastern forest.
The wind raised by their sprint shook the trees and bushes.
Then.
Ding!
“!!”
A translucent notification window appeared before Elise’s eyes.
[“Scenario Note” has been updated.]
[Would you like to view it?]
[Oh, Elise. Elise Lorendia.]
[Originally, you, your friend, and the knights protecting you were supposed to be mangled and killed by the puppets controlled by the Demonkin.]
[But that Demonkin and all the puppets have been shattered to pieces! What a relief. Once again, someone outside fate has protected you. To protect you, Elise!]
[You have been saved again! Another page of bad endings has disappeared. Congratulations, Elise!]
Elise’s eyes widened.
Once again, the tragedy had been resolved before it was foretold.
If it was someone outside fate, it must have been the mysterious Swordmaster who had saved Elise until now.
But a question arose.
‘What about Ron...?’
The victims of the tragedy mentioned by Scenario Note were only Elise, Lara, and the knights.
There was no mention of Ron anywhere.
‘No, don’t think about that now.’
This was not the time for questions. What mattered was that the tragedy had been resolved.
Elise accelerated even further with wind magic.
“Wait, it’s dangerous to go ahead alone!”
Elise ignored the messy-haired knight Mary’s warning and ran on.
Then someone registered in Elise’s aura sense. It was in the direction Mary’s compass had indicated.
Thinking, ‘Could it be?’ Elise ran ahead and saw him.
A light brown-haired man lying in the grass before a green exit gate, breathing evenly.
Elise slowed down and gradually came to a stop.
“Ron...”
Elise’s voice was filled with breath.
The countless fears that had haunted her receded. Fierce relief filled her chest.
Soon, Lara and the three knights arrived.
“How...?”
Lara’s voice trembled. Her mouth hung open.
“An exit gate?”
“What is this...?”
The knights were confused.
Mary was the same. She could no longer sense the mana that had controlled Ron and her earlier.
Her aura sense stretched out around them, but it could not detect the Demonkin she had seen before either.
“Urgh...”
Mary’s chest tightened.
She did not know what had happened, but the mere fact that Ron was safe made emotion well up inside her.
Step. Step.
Elise approached Ron and shook him.
“Ron, wake up.”
“Mm, yeah...?”
As though he had just woken up, Ron slowly raised his eyelids and sat up.
“Elise...? Huh?!”
Soon, Ron jolted in surprise and looked around.
“W-What? Why am I here...?”
“Ron.”
“Yeah...?”
Elise looked down at Ron’s hand on the ground.
Then, gently stroking his fingers as though handling something precious, she softly moved her lips.
“I’m glad you’re safe...”
Elise raised her head and smiled more brightly than ever before. The sunset light embraced her smile.
“...”
Ron stared blankly at that pure smile, completely free of pretense, for a long time.
Whoooosh.
A cool breeze blew through, stirring Ron and Elise’s hair.
Chapter 1 of For Elise had come to a complete close.
Author’s Note
I’m sorry for the delay...ㅠㅠ
I’ve had the beginnings of a cold since yesterday, but my symptoms got worse today, so I can’t think straight...
I tried to be careful not to catch a cold, but...ㅠㅠ
I’m sorry for being such an inadequate author...!!
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