Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The Swordsmanship Genius Who Transcends Through a Pact Chapter 7

The longer I fought the skeletons, the more I could feel them adapting as well.

‘So they aren't completely incapable of learning.’

That only made me want them more. Training dummies that grew on their own and fought back?

It was practically optimized for training. While admiring my own brilliant idea, I began thinking.

‘Should I find a necromancer?’

Hmm. Probably impossible.

Necromancers were considered heretics in the Empire, after all.

And the religious orders would oppose it fiercely as well.

‘Still, it'd be nice to have something similar.’

At first, I couldn't feel anything.

I merely understood that they were regenerating through mana.

But as time passed, something caught my eye.

‘There are certain parts that always reassemble first when they regenerate.’

First around the core in the chest, then the left shoulder, pelvis, right shoulder, arms, and legs.

‘A kind of circulation.’

The flow of mana within them had become visible through the way their bodies reassembled.

‘It's not just that the parts closest to the core reconnect first. It's more like blood circulating...’

It flows.

From the core throughout the entire body.

The instant I realized that.

‘I can feel it.’

I began sensing the flow of deathly energy residing inside them.

And at the same time, the flow of mana around me gradually entered my perception.

‘Ah, so they use mana even to move.’

‘Regeneration consumes quite a lot of mana.’

‘Tarian's mana is spread all around him.’

As I understood that, I could also feel mana flowing throughout my own body from the center of my core.

The moment I realized it, the exhilaration of reaching a new level spread throughout me.

‘So this is what knights have been seeing?’

Moving or using it myself would be difficult for now, but that too was only a matter of time.

‘I'll manage somehow.’

With that thought, I looked down at the skeletons, which had all but stopped regenerating.

“Are you sure we can't take them with us?”

“No.”

“That's a shame.”

The mana inside their cores had already nearly vanished anyway.

I slowly approached and drove my sword into each of their cores.

The skeletons began crumbling into powder.

“Hoo...”

I chuckled at the soldiers sighing in relief.

-Perfect... No, this was beyond brutal.

-Can that really be called honorable...? No, you certainly did well, but...

The Heavy Iron Sword itself sounded uncertain whether any of this was right.

-I don't know anymore. This user is frightening. Next time, please show some mercy...

[You have successfully completed your Pact with the Heavy Northern Iron Sword (Normal).]

[The proficiency of ‘Northern Swordsmanship (B)’ has increased.]

Watching the message appear, I slowly sheathed the sword.

Mercy for a training dummy?

‘Using it for experience is mercy.’

It had taken quite a bit of time, but I'd definitely grown.

Completing the Pact was satisfying, but the fact that I'd finally sensed mana mattered even more.

[The Savior's standing has increased!]

[‘Sword Beginner’ ▶ ‘Sword User’]

[You can now form Pacts with Rare-grade swords.]

‘Yes.’

My standing increased the moment I sensed mana.

I'd finally reached the level where I could properly be called a knight's squire.

Thinking about normal game progression, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call my growth speed insane.

‘Rare-grade swords, huh.’

One grade above Normal.

But there were a few swords among them with exceptional performance.

Weapons that rivaled even Epic-grade items.

‘Frostfang is exactly one of those.’

The cold contained within the sword itself was potent enough to affect even northern monsters with cold resistance.

There wasn't a better weapon to obtain this early.

At that moment, Tarian's mana shot toward me like a spike.

Startled, I immediately tightened my grip on my sword.

“Young Master, it seems you can feel it now.”

Tarian was staring directly at me.

“You noticed immediately.”

“...We'll have to change your training regimen again.”

I shrugged at him.

“Exactly what I wanted.”

Then I slowly turned my gaze forward.

The dungeon wasn't over yet.

‘I'm looking forward to this.’

If this was only the entrance.

I found myself even more curious about what awaited deeper inside.

* * *

After completely dealing with the skeletons.

Exploring the dungeon proceeded fairly smoothly.

“Nothing else is really showing up.”

“They probably expected the skeletons to hold intruders there for quite some time.”

“True. There was a lot of mana concentrated there.”

Now that I'd awakened to mana, I could tell that quite a large amount of it had been concentrated near the dungeon entrance.

Of course, that probably wasn't all.

“Still, I wonder if they'll be all right.”

“What are you worried about?”

“The mana seems to be getting denser.”

I glanced back toward the soldiers.

They hadn't even fought the skeletons and were merely following us, but their expressions were gradually darkening.

[A debuff has occurred due to the accumulation of intense deathly energy.]

[‘Cold Heart (C+)’ resists the debuff!]

“It is fairly severe mana for ordinary soldiers to endure.”

“W-We're fine!”

“Compared to sparring with you, Young Master, this much is...”

I chuckled at their words.

“If you're saying that, I guess I can increase the intensity of our next sparring session.”

“What?”

“I'm joking.”

Even as I said it, I couldn't help worrying.

Dense deathly energy.

It was unmistakably a debuff.

Considering that, it made sense the soldiers were struggling to endure it.

‘At least it's deathly energy, not demonic energy.’

In the future—more precisely, by the time the game began—this dungeon would be engulfed in demonic energy.

Naturally, the first enemies weren't skeletons but demonized humans.

Thinking about it now, those were probably skeletons that had soaked in demonic energy and transformed...

‘And it isn't something that only happens to skeletons.’

If the dungeon had already become demonized, these soldiers would have suffered tremendously.

And not only the soldiers.

Cold Heart gave me considerable resistance against debuffs like this, but even I would've struggled against one caused by demonic energy.

“We're almost there. Just hold on a little longer.”

“Yes!”

As I encouraged the soldiers, we'd already begun approaching the dungeon's end.

After the skeletons at the entrance, we'd encountered only the occasional trap and no major threat.

‘Now that we're this far in, I'm sure.’

The terrain itself wasn't significantly different from what I remembered in Last Savior.

If we continued straight ahead, the boss room should appear.

During gameplay, it had contained a powerful demon rather than merely a demonized human.

‘But this isn't that era yet.’

Which meant another boss would appear instead.

With that thought, I calmly followed the increasingly dense mana until a massive door appeared before us.

“This must be the central chamber.”

“It appears so.”

Tarian immediately agreed.

Judging by the mana leaking out from within, it certainly wouldn't be easy.

“Like I said, only interfere if things become dangerous.”

“It may become genuinely dangerous.”

“I don't care.”

“Haa... I knew you'd say that.”

Tarian gave a small sigh and a wry laugh, and I shrugged.

It was obvious.

There was no way I'd waste a dungeon that could serve as such good training.

“Besides, who was it that said practical experience was important?”

“This wasn't quite what I meant...”

Even while looking bewildered, Tarian smiled and slowly approached the door.

“You guys wait here.”

“Pardon? But...”

“You can barely stand properly right now. And we don't know whether something might suddenly come from behind.”

The chance was low, but it was still possible.

The skeletons we'd dealt with earlier might even come back under the influence of the deathly energy.

“Young Master, we're here to protect you...”

“I know. That's why I'm asking you to watch our backs.”

I smiled and lightly patted each soldier on the shoulder.

“I'm counting on you, okay?”

“...Understood.”

In their current condition, following us would only make them a burden.

Apparently realizing that themselves, the soldiers nodded with stiff expressions.

“Looks like you'll need to train even harder once we get back.”

“Seems so.”

“Damn it. I can't even argue.”

The soldier I'd sparred with most often spoke, and the others looked mildly devastated.

Well, as long as they had the will to train, it was fine.

《Skill》

[Normal] - Northern Swordsmanship (A), Frost Step (A), Cold Heart (C+)

Before entering, I checked every skill I'd learned so far.

Definitely not bad.

There were only three, but considering how little time had passed, this was better progress than in any game I'd ever played.

“Are you ready?”

“Yeah.”

I was in perfect condition.

My breathing had barely changed compared to when we'd first entered the dungeon.

I wasn't suffering from fatigue, and my strength hadn't diminished either.

“Then I'll open it.”

Grrrrr—

The enormous door opened, revealing the interior.

The moment we entered, the massive chamber began filling with ice.

Sharp icicles hanging from the ceiling resembled stalactites.

Flowers and grasses made of ice grew across the floor.

And at the far end, countless weapons scattered about were embedded within enormous pillars of ice.

‘There it is.’

And among them, a single sword stood embedded at the highest point.

That was ‘Frostfang.’

The greatest reason I'd come to this dungeon, and a weapon capable of helping me advance my standing another level.

“Hah. Quite a beautiful tomb.”

“It certainly is.”

And standing between us and it was one large, muscular man.

He clearly wasn't an ordinary human.

Even at a glance, I could see decay spreading across parts of his body.

‘Not a skeleton-type.’

His body was rotting in places, and some parts looked completely frozen, but he wasn't a skeleton.

“...”

As the dungeon boss slowly raised his head without a word, I immediately gripped my sword.

It was one I'd personally taken from one of the skeletons earlier.

-An ancient northern great warrior!

-I've always wanted to fight someone like this. At last, I have my chance!

-Defeat him!

[Defeat the Draugr with the Ancient Northern Steel Sword (Normal)]

[0/1]

Along with the newly appeared Pact, the boss slowly approached.

“A new, warrior, has come, to face, the trial.”

“You can talk?”