[Translator - Kiteretsu]

    [Proofreader - Kyros]

    Chapter 22

    Dungeon Conquest

    Conquering a dungeon was akin to raiding a bandit’s hideout.

    No, it was actually far more challenging. While both involved breaking through an entrenched army, dungeons required an additional step: destroying the dungeon core.

    Of course, the core could only be destroyed after reaching it. To achieve this, one had to break through the monster hordes inside the dungeon.

    Thus, having a force capable of clearing a path was considered essential.

    For Alkas, this universally accepted wisdom made the current situation incomprehensible.

    “Are you really going in with just the two of us?”

    “Yes.”

    “My lord... it’s just the two of us.”

    “One person is enough to handle the fighting.”

    “But still... we’re severely outnumbered—”

    The dungeon was located on the outskirts of the capital.

    Most dungeons near the capital had already been conquered, but this one was different.

    It was in a barren area without any noteworthy towns nearby.

    It wasn’t situated along a major trade route, and the monsters from the dungeon weren’t particularly aggressive.

    As a result, the nearby villages offered only minimal rewards—post-payment at that—and the bounty was small.

    Furthermore, the dungeon’s element was wind, known to be the most troublesome attribute to deal with.

    An F-grade wind dungeon, with little value for a Civil Squad, had been left abandoned.

    Standing before it, Alkas desperately tried to dissuade Kaylen.

    “Once we enter the dungeon, at least 500 monsters are said to appear. Isn’t that too much for just the two of us?”

    “It’s fine.”

    “The monsters are harpies, known as the most persistent among lower-tier monsters...”

    Harpies

    Monsters with the head of a woman and the body of an eagle.

    They attacked from the air and, when cornered, would escape to the dungeon’s ceiling, making them incredibly frustrating foes.

    Using their aerial advantage to the fullest, harpies were notoriously troublesome monsters.

    They had only avoided extermination because they rarely left their habitat. If they had actively ventured outside dungeons, the kingdom would have intervened to eradicate them as airborne threats.

    ‘The seniors always said to avoid fighting harpies...’

    As a knight specializing in ground combat, Alkas naturally found harpies—aerial attackers—especially daunting.

    Recalling his academy training, he voiced his opposition to Kaylen, convinced this endeavor was impossible.

    However—

    “If you’re afraid of something like harpies, you can’t call yourself a Swordmaster.”

    “But still—”

    “Don’t you want to see the power of a Swordmaster?”

    Kaylen’s words left no room for further argument.

    Instead, Alkas found himself filled with a growing curiosity.

    ‘The power of a Swordmaster...’

    Swordmasters were long thought to be extinct in the modern era.

    Their legacy remained only in historical records.

    A single sword that dominates the battlefield—a living army, revered as the pinnacle of martial prowess.

    The ultimate goal every knight dreams of achieving.

    “...Understood. I’ll prepare myself.”

    Unable to dissuade Kaylen further, Alkas found himself joining him on this dungeon conquest with just the two of them.

    The two climbed the unnamed mountain slope, where the dungeon lay hidden.

    Alkas’s face was tense, his jaw set tightly.

    —Kiiiiii!

    From above came the cries of beasts.

    Flying monsters—harpies—circled the skies, drawing arcs above their heads.

    Initially, about ten harpies appeared, but soon, more began to arrive one by one, forming a perimeter around them.

    ‘I can handle this many for now, but...’

    Their speed and tendency to attack in groups made them troublesome adversaries.

    Individually, harpies weren’t particularly strong monsters.

    For a Sword Expert like Alkas, dealing with several at once would not be a problem.

    However, if more harpies joined the fray over time, the situation could quickly spiral out of control.

    Alkas glanced at Kaylen, who continued to walk leisurely, and offered his advice.

    “We should enter the dungeon before more harpies arrive. At least the dungeon has a ceiling; this place is far too open...”

    Schink.

    Before Alkas could finish speaking, the sword at his waist slid out of its scabbard on its own.

    “What the...?”

    Thunk.

    The sword flew smoothly through the air and landed in Kaylen’s hand.

    “Alkas, I’ll borrow your sword for a moment.”

    "No, it''s unnecessary. What you saw earlier was just a demonstration of the Sword Area. Once we enter, I’ll end it in an instant."

    "I see, understood."

    Just a demonstration? Even what he had already witnessed was astonishing. Alkas, filled with excitement and anticipation, followed Kaylen, walking with his hands behind his back. There was no longer any worry about the dungeon conquest.

    Whooooosh.

    As they stepped through the massive sky-blue dungeon portal, a fierce gust of wind rushed toward them, as if they were about to be blown away.

    "It''s the Wind Dungeon."

    "Yes. And now... the harpies will be even faster."

    Fire, Water, Earth, Wind.

    Dungeons ranked from C to F each had one of these four elemental attributes unique to them.

    Among them, the most dreaded attribute was Wind.

    The fierce wind was one thing, but...

    Kiieeee!

    It was the flying monsters, like the harpies, who could swiftly charge with the wind that made them so bothersome.

    The harpies'' attack was even faster than it had been outside the dungeon.

    The terrain of the dungeon was completely open, with no cover, making it highly vulnerable to aerial monsters.

    "A Master focuses on refining one specific element," Alkas said.

    "Yes, that''s right. It helps with the efficiency of mana suits and their attributes," Kaylen replied.

    "But a Sword Master isn’t like that."

    Whoooosh.

    As Kaylen extended his hand, the wind seemed to be drawn toward him.

    "The human body naturally contains all four primary elements. In addition, it also possesses the attributes of light and darkness."

    "Yes..."

    "A Sword Master, having pushed their body to its limits, should be able to handle all these elements. Like this."

    The wind that had gathered in Kaylen’s hand began to materialize into a green-hued sword.

    Whooooosh.

    The wind condensed, and the sword formed from it.

    The wild gusts of wind that had been swirling calmed down as the sword appeared in Kaylen’s grip.

    The wind’s speed drastically slowed.

    Kiieee?

    For a moment, the harpies, confused by the sudden change in the wind, hesitated.

    "Wind Sword Release."

    The wind gathered in the Wind Sword erupted, spreading outward and engulfing the harpy swarm.

    Whooooosh.

    What had seemed like just another strong gust of wind now tore through the harpies'' bodies, shredding them in an instant.

    ‘All that wind... it’s infused with the power of Aura...’

    In the vast chasm, hundreds of harpies were slaughtered by the blade of wind, their bodies torn apart.

    Alkas could only stare, his mouth agape.

    Heaven beyond heaven.

    The power of a Sword Master was so overwhelming that it seemed unreal.

    "Now, let''s go to the dungeon core."

    Kaylen discarded the Wind Sword and walked forward with steady steps.

    "Y-Yes...!"

    Alkas, who had been staring dazedly as the wind sword vanished, quickly chased after Kaylen.

    ‘Mana is running low.’

    Kaylen narrowed his brow as he checked the mana within his body.

    The power used inside and outside the dungeon had drained about a quarter of his mana.

    ‘To think that this little bit of mana is already drained...’

    No one would have called Kaylen''s power "little," but his standards were different.

    When he was at the peak of being a Grand Sword Master, just activating the Aura Sword would have been enough to tear apart the dungeon from the outside as well.

    He didn’t expect that much, but the mana consumption was far too high for the power he had used.

    ‘The absorption rate of mana is still too low...’

    Perhaps it was due to the lack of ambient mana in the air. Even though Kaylen had transformed his body into a mana body, his absorption speed was still slow.

    ‘Mana stones also have poor absorption efficiency...’

    Even with the potential to move beyond Sword Master, beyond 4th-circle Mage, he still needed to improve, but mana was holding him back.

    "I think we''ve arrived."

    Whoooooosh.

    Alkas pointed toward a red portal in the distance.

    It was another portal inside the dungeon.

    This was the space containing the dungeon core.

    "Let''s go."

    Kaylen stepped forward without hesitation.

    Inside the newly revealed chasm...

    ‘Hmm.’

    For the first time, he was face-to-face with the dungeon core of this world.

    [Translator - Kiteretsu]

    [Proofreader - Kyros]