WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Oblivious
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◈ The Weakest Knight Became a Swordmaster, But Only in Dungeons ◈
Chapter 65
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<For Elise> Chapter 2, Act 6, the Winter Training arc.
Elise was stranded in the snowy mountains by magical beasts seeking her fairy power.
If I successfully completed a special playthrough here, I could obtain a valuable opportunity and an achievement.
My goal was to get stranded with Elise, help her obtain that opportunity, and earn an achievement for physical experience points myself.
I had already prepared to look after Elise.
“Class 2 will take Route B! You don't know what's beneath the snow, so watch your footing at all times and keep your aura sense active! Understood!?”
“Yes!”
Crunch, crunch.
The sound of footsteps in snow came from all around us.
The first-year cadets marched through the snowy mountains, bundled in thick clothes and carrying field packs.
The marching groups had been divided by class.
“Phew...”
White breath drifted from between my lips.
As I climbed the sloping snowfield at a brisk pace alongside the Class 2 cadets, I raised my head.
Snowflakes drifted gently down from the white sky.
The mountaintop was hidden behind a massive blizzard, leaving nothing visible.
‘Proswalgr Mountain... It was roughly 7,000 meters above sea level, right?’
It had long been a tradition for the Empire’s Magic Knight Order and Griffin Knight Academy to hold Winter Training here on Proswalgr Mountain.
They said that as one approached the summit, one had to face a snowstorm charged with mana. It was extremely dangerous.
It disrupted the mana flowing through one’s mana circuits, and the cold was severe enough to claim lives easily.
‘The damage-over-time effect in the game was no joke, either.’
Still, Winter Training only went halfway up the mountain, so one normally had no reason to encounter the summit’s blizzard. There had never been an accident due to the snowstorm before.
Even the Magic Tower that studied Proswalgr Mountain had concluded there would be no problem.
...Though there would be a problem today.
‘And the difference from the original story is the White Wing knights.’
I glanced sideways at the White Wing knights marching through the mountains with the cadets.
My master, Lucia, had sent the White Wing knights assigned to the academy to join Winter Training.
It was a cruel and regrettable order, practically forcing them into harsh cold-weather training, but...
‘From our perspective, our safety is better guaranteed.’
That was good news for me.
I had been worried about the cadets’ safety, but with the White Wing knights here, we had enough combat power.
Whoooosh!
The wind and snow gradually intensified. Even so, we continued forward at a pace close to a run.
“Pant, pant...”
“Elise? Are you okay?”
“Hm?”
I approached Elise and asked.
Her face was flushed as though she had caught a cold, and she was struggling to regulate her uneven breathing.
“You normally don't get tired this quickly. Are you sick?”
Elise smiled faintly and shook her head.
“You were worried about me? That makes me happy.”
“Don't change the subject.”
“Mm, I just don't feel well. I'm okay.”
“...Tell me if anything happens.”
“Okay. Thanks, Ron. You're sweet.”
‘It's starting. It’ll get worse and worse.’
It had been the same in Chapter 2, Act 6 of the original story.
Elise would resonate with the Fairy Sword sleeping deep within Proswalgr Mountain. Her mana circuits would heat up, and she would suffer from a severe headache.
‘I'm worried, though.’
The original story had not described in detail how much Elise suffered.
As I continued onward with Elise, I paid close attention to her every movement.
“Elise Lorendia, are you all right?”
Partway through the march, one of the academy knights approached Elise and spoke to her.
Instructor Logan and the White Wing knights were also watching Elise from the corners of their eyes.
They seemed to have noticed that something was wrong with her condition.
“I'm fine. I just don't feel very well.”
“If you are sick, report it immediately. We will excuse you from the training. Understood?”
“Yes.”
Unless someone was in a serious condition, such as being unable to control their body, the academy’s policy was to prioritize the will to train.
Just like the military in my previous life.
How far had we climbed? The snowfall gradually grew heavier.
‘A whiteout.’
The blizzard made it hard to see ahead.
“Hm?”
Soon, Instructor Logan listened to the small golem resting on his shoulder. It was Instructor Rachel’s golem.
“Everyone, halt!”
When Instructor Logan raised his clenched right fist and gave the order, the Class 2 cadets stopped at once.
[Logan. The march is suspended for now. Orders have come down to evacuate to the first camp as quickly as possible.]
The small golem relayed Instructor Rachel’s voice.
“Why?”
[For some reason, the blizzard from the summit is moving lower and lower. If this continues, we'll get caught in it.]
“Didn't the Magic Tower forecast that there would be no issue? That blizzard has never come down before.... Why all of a sudden?”
[I don't know.... This is the first time this has happened. Anyway, we'll talk later. They say we'll be out of its range once we leave the middle of the mountain, so evacuate first.]
“Understood.”
Instructor Logan turned toward the cadets. His voice carried through the blizzard.
“Everyone, the march will be suspended for now! From this point, we will return to camp by the route we came! Understood!?”
“Oh...! Yes!”
The cadets’ voices rose. Small cheers broke out here and there.
Well, it had been exhausting. They must have welcomed this unexpected change.
‘So it happened just like the original story.’
The mountain march had also ended early in the original story.
The reason the summit’s blizzard was descending so unusually was the Fairy Sword sleeping deep within the mountain.
‘One of that sword’s basic abilities was mana amplification.’
It was probably violently welcoming the fairy power Elise possessed and drastically amplifying the mana of this mountain.
That sword really was incredible....
“Everyone, follow me...! Hm!?”
Just as the instructor was about to lead us back down, frigid mana washed over my skin. My eyes widened reflexively.
I quickly turned toward the upper part of the mountain. Everyone else must have felt the same thing, because they all looked in the same direction.
The White Wing knights and the higher-ranked cadets had already been watching it.
Above us, a red eye-glow glimmered within the hazy blizzard.
Grrroooar...!
It was the strange, low roar of some monster hidden by the snowstorm.
Then massive shadows charged toward us from beyond the blizzard.
Each time their heavy feet struck the ground, the snow sank deeply beneath them.
Graaaah!
Grrrugh!
“Ahh!”
At last, the shadows burst through the blizzard and revealed themselves.
A pack of Ice Trolls, gripping clubs of mana-infused ice.
They were monsters that lived on Proswalgr Mountain.
Their leader remained hidden in the blizzard, with only its eye-glow glinting.
‘They came for Elise?’
Were they after her fairy power? Sly bastards.
“Ice Trolls have appeared! We will engage them! Instructor Logan, please descend quickly with the cadets!”
“Understood! We’ll regroup at camp! A few of you, follow me!”
Shing!
Crash!
Slash!
The academy knights and White Wing knights cut through the blizzard and began confronting the monsters.
‘Just as expected of the knights!’
They were fast and strong!
Trolls had powerful regeneration and notoriously stubborn vitality, but...
‘They should have no problem.’
We had enough combat power.
“Everyone, evacuate!”
Instructor Logan led the cadets rapidly down the mountain. Two White Wing knights followed behind us as well.
‘Ugh, it’s freezing.’
The cold of the blizzard gradually seeped into my mana circuits and spread a chill through my entire body.
It was harder than usual to pour mana into physical enhancement, and even my aura sense was not functioning properly.
‘Is the summit’s blizzard already this close?’
The summit’s mana-charged snowstorm must have been descending and causing these adverse effects.
Whoooosh!!
I ran frantically through the blizzard.
To make matters worse, the blizzard grew fiercer and fiercer.
“Pant, pant...!”
“Elise?”
Elise’s condition looked much worse already. Did she no longer have the energy to answer me?
As Elise slowed down, the two of us fell behind the formation.
Grrroooar!
“What!?”
In the middle of our evacuation, a group of Ice Trolls burst out of the blizzard and blocked our path.
The huge leader guiding the Ice Trolls revealed the glow of its great single eye as well.
It roared, and the Ice Trolls began to rush us.
“Ha, what the hell are you bastards doing!”
Shing!
Instructor Logan gave a hollow laugh, cursed, and drew his sword.
The other White Wing knights did the same. They immediately leaped at the monsters and swung their swords.
“Everyone, draw your weapons just in case...!”
It was then, as Instructor Logan gave the cadets an order.
Boom!
“!”
The snowfield beneath Elise’s feet suddenly exploded, spraying snow into the air.
Rumble!
“Gasp!”
“W-What is that!?”
The snow poured downward, revealing a deep fissure, a crevasse.
The cadets around us instinctively kicked off the ground and retreated, but Elise vanished into the crevasse.
“Elise!”
There was no time to think.
I was beside Elise, so I jumped into the crevasse without hesitation.
“Ron Hazely jumped in!”
“What do we do!?”
Urgent voices from the cadets rang out above me as soon as I fell.
‘Wow. This is incredible.’
The inside of the crevasse was filled with blue mana light. It looked like some mysterious cliff.
Whoosh!
Elise was rapidly moving farther away below me.
A troll-shaped magical beast, its lower body wrapped in powerful wind magic, had seized Elise by the ankle and was dragging her away.
‘Just as expected.’
I narrowed my eyes and glared at the troll.
In the original story, all kinds of magical beasts had targeted Elise. No matter where she went, the scenario always led to her falling.
Elise must not have been able to react immediately in her current state. She would not even be able to use Fairy Transformation.
Shing!
Elise painfully drew her wavy-bladed dagger. It was the kris she had obtained from the Demonkin Nadia.
The poison magic formula engraved on the blade glowed dark crimson.
Whoosh!
Stab!
Elise drove the kris into the back of the troll’s hand holding her ankle.
Graaagh!!
With a pained scream, the troll released Elise’s ankle.
Black light began spreading from the back of its hand, racing up its arm and through its entire body.
It had to be agonizing. Its regeneration would not be able to function properly under the effects of the deadly poison magic.
However, Elise seemed to have spent all her strength on that strike and could no longer move.
But don’t worry.
‘I'm here!’
Shing!
Crackle!
I swiftly drew my sword and poured aura into its blade.
The lightning raged more fiercely than before. I could really feel how much my Mana Capacity had improved.
I raised my sword upward.
‘Accelerate!’
Boom!
My aura exploded, increasing my falling speed.
I adjusted the power so that I would not be crushed by the recoil and would not become too fast. That was enough.
I corrected my posture.
Boom!
I exploded my aura once more and swung my sword downward.
“Die!”
A trail of blue lightning.
Raging Thunder Sword, Lightning Strike.
Slash!
Crackle!
The troll split apart without resistance. More than a dozen sparks of lightning scattered through the air along the path of my sword strike.
Deadly poison magic had spread through its body, and then it had taken my full-power strike. It could no longer regenerate and must have died.
“Elise!”
“...”
Elise looked at me with unfocused eyes.
I supported the back of her head and pulled her into my arms.
Elise did not have the composure to calculate magic formulas right now. She was only barely enduring through superhuman willpower.
Still, I had caught Elise, but...
‘Aaaah!’
This is terrifying...!
Throughout the fall, I desperately calculated magic formulas on pure survival instinct. Had my mind ever worked this fast before?
At last, beyond the crevasse, we reached a vast cavern.
The walls glowed blue with mana, and beautiful trees emitting pale-blue mana filled the ground.
Though it was a cave, it looked like a forest. It was a mysterious place.
Based on the magic formula, I released mana.
Whoooosh!!
Heavy wind wrapped around us, and our falling speed rapidly slowed.
Then, Thump!
Using wind magic as a cushion, I landed softly on my back.
“Ha, we made it....”
I sighed deeply in relief. I thought my heart was going to fall out....
This was why people needed to learn wind magic.
‘Thank you, Professor Violet...!’
Thanks to her, I survived.
Seriously, I wanted to hug Violet like crazy as soon as I got back.
“Ron...”
Elise, still in my arms, called my name weakly as she let out shallow breaths.
Her breathing was rough. Her entire body had gone limp.
‘She’s so delicate.’
It struck me again how strange it was that someone overwhelmingly stronger than me had such a delicate body.
Right. It was my turn to protect her now. First, I needed to reassure her.
“It’s okay. You’re okay.”
“...”
Elise did not answer.
I got up and gently laid Elise down beside me. The ground was cold stone.
Had these trees grown through the rocky ground? Incredible.
“Pant, pant...”
Like someone with the flu, Elise struggled to breathe with her eyes shut.
Cold sweat beaded on her forehead, and her magenta hair was damp with sweat.
‘Well, she needs time to adapt.’
She would gradually adapt to resonating with the Fairy Sword.
In the original story, she had slowly improved as time passed.
Though the debuff persisted until she passed the trial given by the Fairy Sword.
I rummaged through my field pack and took out a sleeping bag.
Then I easily lifted Elise in a princess carry and laid her in the sleeping bag.
‘At least this...’
I also took out a potion with recovery and pain-relieving effects.
The academy had distributed them in case of emergencies.
Its effects were weaker than healing magic, but it was better than nothing. It had helped in the original story, too.
“Elise, drink this.”
“Mm, okay...”
I supported Elise’s upper body and gave her the potion.
She seemed not even to have the strength to move her arms, so she could not wipe away the potion running from the corner of her mouth.
Using the back of my gloved hand, I gently wiped the potion from Elise’s mouth and laid her back down in the sleeping bag.
“Pant, pant.... Ron...”
“What?”
“I think... I’m sick....”
Elise smiled as she spoke, and a hollow laugh escaped me.
“Seriously, you’re only being honest now?”
“Earlier, I really could endure it.... I thought I’d definitely get better.... But it suddenly got worse....”
I pulled the sleeping bag’s blanket up over Elise’s shoulders and took out a handkerchief to wipe away her cold sweat.
“Enough. Rest for now. I’ll guard this place.”
Elise stared at me with half-lidded eyes, then peacefully closed them.
“Mm, that’s reassuring.... Sorry.... I’ll rely on you for a while....”
* * *
Griffin Knight Academy.
Tap, tap!
A carrier pigeon flew over and pecked at the window of a private room.
Karen, the short-haired secretary, accepted and read the letter the carrier pigeon had brought. Her brow twitched.
Secretary Karen urgently reported to Lucia, commander of the White Wing Knight Order.
“Commander. Elise Lorendia and Ron Hazely.... It appears the two of them have been stranded.”
“...”
Lucia’s gentle smile hardened.
Then she spoke firmly.
“Karen.”
“Yes.”
“Prepare a carriage. The fastest one.”
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