We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Night camp training is for individuals.
Eventually, I trained in the Dragon Sword Dance until sunset and returned home.
“Are you prepared properly?”
Mother’s anxiety was understandable. After all, the very next day was our first night camp training, and I had been in the Dragon Forest until sunset.
But it’s all right. Mistral had prepared everything I needed. He even provided food from his own emergency supplies, so I didn’t have to spend any money, which was a big help.
I checked the backpack Mistral had packed for me and went to bed.
It had been quite a day with so many things happening at once.
As soon as I got into bed, I fell asleep.
The next morning. Before the sun rose. I was woken up by my mother and got out of bed.
After a hearty meal, I headed for the ruins.
The investigation of the ruins was a local gathering.
I shouldered my heavy backpack, filled with all the necessary items, and hurried on. Thanks to my daily trips to the Dragon Forest and my frequent, albeit unwilling, escapes from magic beast attacks, my stamina had greatly improved.
When I arrived at the meeting place, several of my classmates were already there.
To my surprise, one of the groups had apparently camped out in front of the ruins since the previous day. They were way too enthusiastic.
As I, a solo participant, waited with nothing to do, more and more students arrived, and the gathering spot in front of the ruins became lively.
“It’s time. Roll call,” the teacher commanded, seeing that the time was right. He took attendance and checked if anyone had forgotten anything.
After the roll call and the explanation of instructions, we were finally ready to set off into the ruins.
The night camp training, of course, would take place at night. But until then, we would explore the ruins in groups we had formed ourselves.
My classmates entered the ruins one by one, with intervals between them. Incidentally, the first group was Ristea and the Hero Party.
Solo participants like myself would enter later. The teachers clearly intended to group the solo adventurers together in the latter half, hoping that they would form companions here.
As I waited, my turn came, along with the other solo participants.
Those who intend to spend the year in nearby towns and villages, rather than embarking on adventures, are basically solo. Even if you form a party, you still have to find day labor jobs individually. You can accompany merchant caravans by paying them to travel to your destination.
I looked around at the other solo adventurers. About a third of my classmates were solo.
However, I was surprised to see Ruiseine, the miko, among them. I thought she was supposed to explore with Inea, another miko.
Among the girls in my class, I thought Ruiseine and I talked quite a bit. The other girls must have completely written me off as an idiot, as they only made polite conversation with me. In that regard, Ruiseine was one of the few friends of the opposite sex with whom I could exchange jokes.
When Ruiseine and I happened to make eye contact, I asked her.
“Actually, I ended up alone,” Ruiseine said, smiling apologetically. Ruiseine was a beautiful woman. Her flowing green hair was long, fitting for a miko, perhaps reaching past her hips. Although her figure was hard to discern due to her unique miko attire, she didn’t have much in the way of breasts. Beautiful women, like Mistral, often seem to have smaller chests.
“Where are you looking?” Ruineine’s sharp gaze made me hastily avert my eyes from her chest and prompt her to continue.
“Inea has recently started spending a lot of time with Ristea and his group,” Ruiseine said, sounding a little lonely.
“M-m-m-maybe Ristea’s new bride candidate…” How terrifying, the Hero. To think he’d set his sights on a second miko. Inea was certainly cute in a way Ristea would like, but there was already Kiri, a miko, who was a bride candidate. And now, he was reaching out for more. Hero, you’re going too far.
Ruiseine smiled at my wry amusement. The other solo adventurers who had been eavesdropping on our conversation were all surprised.
Meanwhile, it was our turn, and we entered the ruins, arriving at the first main hall.
From here on, everyone was supposed to head in different directions. The main hall had many corridors leading to various parts of the ruins.
I chose a corridor at random and proceeded. No one here would get lost choosing a path; everyone split up and went their own way. I secretly hoped Ruiseine might follow me down the same corridor, but things don’t always go as planned. Ruiseine chose a different corridor.
This ruin is said to be quite intricate the deeper you go. The ruins predate the founding of the kingdom and were rumored to belong to a long-vanished civilization.
Although it has ten underground levels, its depth is immense, and some levels are labyrinthine. Decades ago, there used to be three floors above ground, but they were destroyed by a wyvern attack. Occasionally, wyverns stray from their hunting grounds in the north and attack the capital, causing great panic and many casualties.
Inside the ruins, while vast, safety precautions are in place for amateurs like us to explore. A map of the entire ruin has been created, and there are markers at various points that allow you to pinpoint your location on the map, so you won’t get lost. However, low-level monsters occasionally appear. Therefore, we couldn’t let our guard down.
The purpose of this night camp training was to wander around the ruins during the day, defeat any monsters that appeared, and then cook our own meals at night with the supplies we brought, taking turns keeping watch.
But that doesn’t mean we have to walk around all day.
I found a small room at random and set down my luggage. Since I had plenty of time, I decided to train. I immediately sat down and began meditating.
Recently, I’ve been able to sense dragon veins even outside the Moss Garden.
“Elnea’s meditation is strangely captivating to watch,” Creacio once told me when he saw me meditating. Creacio could sense magical power but not dragon veins. He must have felt something different when he saw me sensing the dragon veins.
As I entered deep meditation, I felt my consciousness detach from my body and swim towards the dragon veins. Then, I saw what looked like a real, massive river before me. The river looked terrifying with its turbid current, but when I approached it to draw from the dragon veins, I felt a contradiction: it was a strong flow, yet warm and gentle.
Mistral taught me yesterday that magic beasts can travel within these dragon veins, physically submerged. So, if I can master the ability to discern the flow of dragon veins, I should be able to find even magically disguised magic beasts. It will likely be a long time before I can master it, though.
I continued meditating, taking breaks intermittently. When I first started meditating outside the Moss Garden, I had trouble sensing dragon veins and often fell asleep because I had my eyes closed, but that’s no longer the case.
Since the ruins are underground, sunlight doesn’t reach them. The small room surrounded by stone walls is lit only by the faint glow of a portable light, and outside the room is complete darkness. While larger corridors are equipped with constantly glowing light-attribute magic crystals, the only light source in my immediate vicinity was my portable light.
So, when a commotion erupted further down the corridor, I hastily grabbed my portable light and rushed out of the small room. Suddenly, a loud noise echoed from further down the corridor, followed by angry shouts and screams throughout the ruins. I immediately ended my meditation and, holding my portable light, burst out of the room. However, as I stepped into the narrow corridor, I could only see as far as the light cast by my flashlight. The commotion seemed to be happening in a passage a little further away, separate from mine. Screams and shouts echoed beyond the stone walls.
“Run!” “Go deeper!” I could hear the shouts of male students and the general chaos. This was no ordinary event. If it were just a monster, the panicked shouts wouldn’t be asking people to run. “What could it be?” My whole body tensed with anxiety. “No, my portable light isn’t enough to see what’s happening.”
I unhesitatingly extinguished the light. Then, I deepened my consciousness and sensed the dragon veins. I drew the necessary amount from the dragon veins, converted it into dragon energy, and flowed it into my pupils. The ruins, which should have been pitch black, became faintly visible. “Alright, I can handle dragon energy.” I quickly packed my belongings and rushed towards the area where the angry shouts were flying. I should probably play it safe and run, but an instinct I couldn’t explain was drawing me towards the commotion. I turned down several corridors and took a fork branching off, heading towards the presence of people. The noise grew closer, and as I rounded a corner, I saw the flickering light of a portable flashlight carried by one of my classmates. I ran into the light. My sudden appearance from beyond the illuminated area startled a female student, who screamed.
“What’s wrong!?” Trying to get a grip on the situation, I shook the female student’s shoulder.
“Elnea? You idiot, run quickly!” Another male student pushed me and ran towards the direction I had come from. The female student also fled in a panic. “Run, run!” There were three other students in the corridor, but their faces were etched with fear as they, too, fled for their lives. I had no choice but to flee with them. My pupils, enhanced by dragon energy, had already lost their effect, and I could no longer see into the darkness illuminated by the students’ portable lights. Perhaps it was because I was often chased by magic beasts. Even though everyone was panicking and fleeing, I was strangely calm. Besides, despite telling us to run, there was no sense of being chased by anything. In any case, I fled deeper into the ruins with my classmates. Along the way, I encountered other students and urged them to join in the escape without question. The commotion echoed throughout the ruins, drawing in students who came to investigate. Before I knew it, over ten of us were fleeing together. We turned many corners, passed through several large halls, and finally escaped into a room with a door. After confirming that everyone had entered the room, we closed the door. Perhaps it was the release of tension, but one of the female students started crying. The male students, including myself, who were still energetic, used the old chairs and desks in the room to barricade the door. I didn’t understand what was happening, but I went along with the flow, acting in line with everyone else. A short while later, as our breathing began to steady, I asked the male students, who had been yelling “Run!” for a situation. It turned out to be Kijirume. Hahaha, I was so flustered by the noise I hadn’t recognized him.
“What in the world happened?” Kijirume was one of those receiving sword training from Ristea. His skill was at the top among my classmates. And yet, he was the one frantically telling us to run. I knew this was no ordinary situation.
“W-well, I don’t quite know,” Kijirume, still agitated, took a drink of water from his canteen. After gulping it down, he took a deep breath and recounted the situation. “We were just wandering around the ruins aimlessly when we ran into a teacher. After that, we were moving through the ruins while talking with the teacher.” Teachers and royal knights acting as escorts are supposed to spend three days moving through the ruins, monitoring scattered students for any danger. He must have met one of those teachers. “We were moving and talking, and then, from the direction of the entrance, they appeared.” As if recalling something, Kijirume’s face turned pale, and he began to tremble. “That was a magic sword. No doubt about it. I could feel its ominousness just by looking at it…” A magic sword?! I was shocked. A magic sword. A cursed weapon forged by demons by refining demonic energy. A weapon forged by demons for demons, which curses other races when they wield it. The worst type of curse is one that enthralls the wielder, turning them into a magic sword user. Once cursed by it, they lose their reason and begin to slaughter. “A magic sword? Did demons come again, like before?” I trembled too. Despite my daily training under the Guardian Dragon of the Dragon Forest, I had no practical combat experience. Although I sparred with Mistral yesterday, I knew that facing an attack immediately would be impossible. Moreover, the sword I wore at my hip today was a medium sword I had borrowed from a teacher before entering the ruins, and I wasn’t used to it. “No… it was a magic sword user. A cursed human.” Kijirume said in a trembling voice. “N-no…” Not only I, but the other students listening in stunned silence. So, a person cursed by a magic sword had entered the ruins to kill? “T-the teacher and Ruiseine confronted them, but it was impossible. Two against five…” “What…!” How could this be? Five magic sword users, who were already dangerous! This was an abnormal situation! And for Ruiseine and the teacher to face them alone was utterly hopeless. I understood why the students were panicking and fleeing. “A-and what happened to Ruiseine and the others?” I asked timidly, wanting to know what happened next. “I saw the teacher get surrounded and cut down. Ruiseine was trying to buy time by creating a barrier to block the passage, but I don’t know how she is now…” Saying this, Kijirume hugged his head and crouched down, clearly not wanting to remember anymore. He was undoubtedly reliving the eerie magic swords and the sight of the teacher being cut down before his eyes, terrified. I, too, was often attacked by magic beasts, and although the situation was different, I understood his fear. But I couldn’t just stand by. I was worried about Ruiseine. She must have created a barrier to block the passage, buying time for the other students to escape. However, a barrier cannot be maintained forever. It would break when Ruiseine’s magical power ran out. I have to go help! I made my decision without hesitation. I might not be able to fight five magic sword users, but I’m sure I can escape with Ruiseine. I readjusted my backpack, broke through the defensive wall we had built at the entrance, and tried to go outside. “Hey, what are you doing?” A male student noticed and tried to stop me, but I shook him off, broke the wall, and opened the door to go out. Please, be safe. Wishing for Ruiseine’s safety, I deepened my consciousness. Perhaps it was the tension of the emergency, but I sensed the dragon veins more easily than usual. I converted the dragon veins into dragon energy and flowed it into my lower body, and then I ran.
