Chapter 14

Chapter 13 The Rock Man 1 Zara was traveling quickly up a rocky path, holding a war hammer with a slim handle and a relatively small head. He heard a hiss, and another rock snake leaped out from behind a rock and attacked him. His hammer whooshed through the air as he swung it, connecting with the snake’s head, which made a crunching sound on impact. Anyone who saw that would have been amazed this adventurer had the force to crush the creature’s head in midair. They would have also marveled at his skill with a hammer. A war hammer could be difficult to control thanks to the center of gravity being at the end of its long shaft. But Zara himself wasn’t satisfied with his skill. If Uncle saw that, he would probably say something like “that’s the sound your hammer makes, boy?” He had a massive hammer stored in his Treasury, which Logan had given him as a parting gift. Because of its weight, however, it drained his stamina almost instantly whenever he used it. The hammer he was using now was a bit smaller, and he’d had it for longer. Rock snakes lunged at him from left and right. Zara adjusted his position and crushed the heads of the two in a single swing. He also took care to avoid the venom that splattered from their bodies on impact. At first, he had used a one-handed sword as he always did. Though they were weak monsters, rock snakes were formidable adversaries and attacked in waves. As a result, his swords quickly became damaged and unusable. After being forced to put a third one-handed sword back in his Treasury, he’d decided to fight with this war hammer. Lord Percival would probably say that a sword won’t get damaged if swung skillfully enough. Zara wondered how Percival would handle the situation in which he currently found himself. He very much wanted to be more like him one day. No, Lord Percival would probably run through them all and avoid their attacks without even drawing his blade. As Zara pondered this, a group of desert orcs appeared in front of him. Zara moved the war hammer to his left hand, drew his sword with his right, picked up speed, and charged directly at them. It’s at least true that this is a road where lots of monsters appear. That was what he thought about as he engaged the orcs. 2 The Great Ravine was a giant gash in the earth. According to legend, it was created when the giant god Boho used his bare hands to rip apart the land between the Gahra Mountains and the highlands as a demonstration of his strength. In a different legend, Chakrapokka, the god of water, washed away the land along with the greedy humans who lived upon it. The Great Ravine was surrounded by the Gahra Mountains on one side and a mountain range continuing into the highlands on the other, both of which were difficult to travel through. In contrast, the inside of the ravine had a warm climate and was easy to traverse, despite the occasional strong wind and rain. There was also a river flowing through it. As a result, there were lots of settlements in the Great Ravine, and it had even become a road connecting east and west and was often traveled by merchants. There were grasslands and forests in the ravine as well, but the road Zara was on right now consisted only of steep cliffs and rocks. Zara headed east after parting ways with Shariezara. He slept outside for three days and found a village on the fourth. As he was having a meal at an inn, he was approached by three villagers. One of them introduced himself as the village headman. “Are you an adventurer?” “Yes.” “Would you be willing to accept a request of ours?” “A quest? You mean without going through the guild?” “There are no adventurer guilds or anything of the sort around these parts. I assume you won’t take a request unless it’s through the guild?” “No, that’s not true. I’ll hear what you have to say first, and then I’ll give you my answer.” “Here’s the situation. Two months ago, a giant made of rock settled down in a valley on the edge of this village.” “A giant made of rock?” Zara had never heard of such a thing. It was most likely some type of monster. “That’s right. It’s three times— No, five times taller than humans. It occasionally cries out in an unsettling voice. It’s a terrifying sound, which carries all the way to the edge of the village. The residents are scared and unable to focus on their work.” That voice might have had a curse effect on the villagers, causing them to lose their nerve. “If that was all, we could have just ignored it, but in these last two months, three villagers have gone missing. Fearing the worst, we approached the valley, and when we looked down into it, the missing people’s clothes and belongings were in the monster’s usual spot.” “Huh. Something needs to be done about it.” “You’re right about that. But there’s more to the story. The clothes in the valley were not just from this village. It seems a number of travelers have been falling victim as well.” “Does the monster ever leave the valley?” “We have never seen it do so. There are some who say it uses its cursed voice to lure victims into the valley.” “Cursed voice?” “Believing the number of casualties would only rise until the monster was eradicated, the villagers got some money together. We then asked a passing adventurer if he would accept our request. Once he saw the monster, though, he said the money we were offering as a reward was too little.” The village headman told Zara how much the villagers had managed to scrape together. It definitely wasn’t a sum for which one would want to risk their life. “We then turned to Narillia for advice.” “Who is Narillia?” “A married couple of apothecaries moved into this village four years ago. The wife’s name is Narillia, and she has a great deal of knowledge about many things.” “Ah, I see.” “Narillia said she would try out a number of poisons she had in stock. Unfortunately, none of them worked.” Poison? For a rock giant? Poison isn’t very effective against rock-type monsters. It’s not very effective against giants, either. A poison effective against a rock giant would have to be very powerful. It isn’t likely that an apothecary in a remote village like this would possess such a poison. “I then asked Narillia if there was any means available to us, and she said there may be one.” “Oh really? What did she mean?” “I suppose it would be better for Narillia to explain from here.” The village headman turned to the person at his back. “Jaka, bring Narillia here.” Jaka nodded and left. When he returned, there was a woman following behind him. She was most likely Narillia, the apothecary. Her luscious black hair fell around her in waves, glistening brilliantly, as if she had just taken a bath. She had jade eyes and thick eyebrows, a pointed nose, deep-red lips, and a slightly protruding chin. She was dressed like an ordinary villager in her reddish-brown blouse and faded skirt, but even so, she had a powerful presence. If she wore the proper clothes, she would probably pass for a noble. “Oh my. I wasn’t expecting someone so young.” “This is the apothecary, Narillia. Narillia, could you please tell Zara about the method you proposed for defeating the monster?” “Of course. Zara, was it? In order to kill the rock man, we need a certain poison. A special ingredient is required to make it, and that is the venom sac of a ketsarupa.” A ketsarupa? “There is a cave slightly north of this village, and it’s said there are ketsarupas in there.” “Yes, that’s right. There have always been ketsarupas in that cave. That is common knowledge among the villagers,” added the headman. “Poison isn’t very effective against rock-type monsters, but ketsarupa venom will undoubtedly work. Purification is a bit difficult, but with a bit of processing, I’ll be able to make a poison strong enough to kill even a stone golem.” The cave was close enough that you could walk there and back in a day. Zara was given a map, but because it was mostly just one road, it seemed like there was no need to worry about getting lost. There were, however, lots of monsters on the road, making it dangerous to travel for nonadventurers. “But this is too big a burden for a young adventurer like you. You don’t need to do anything unreasonable, Zara.” “What are you saying, Narillia? Didn’t that rock man kill your husband?” interrupted Jaka. “Oh, darling, I don’t believe my husband is dead. His belongings haven’t been discovered, after all. I’m sure he’s just fooling around somewhere, fawning over the discovery of some rare medicinal herb,” she insisted as the three men looked at her with pity in their eyes. “Hmm. In short, this terrible situation is going to continue until someone reaches that cave. I just have to get there and procure a ketsarupa venom sac, is that right?” The three men nodded in confirmation. Narillia looked somewhat flustered. “Th-that’s right, but, Zara, do you know what a ketsarupa is?” “Yes. I am an adventurer.” Just then, a voice echoed from some distant place. Nnnnooooo……eeeee……raaaaaaaa… “Ah, th-that’s the monster’s cursed voice.” “I see.” The village headman seemed very frightened, but to Zara, the voice sounded more sorrowful than scary. It didn’t sound very “cursed” to him. “Understood. I accept your request.” “Oh! You’re actually taking it?” “Huh?! Don’t be reckless, Zara.” “I’ll be careful.” 3 He arrived at the cave. The road there turned out to be very simple after all. Zara opened his Treasury and took out a dagger. He had a sheath attached to the side of his belt, and he stowed the dagger inside it. Without this dagger, he probably wouldn’t have been able to accept this request. Ketsarupas were magical beasts with a monster level of 60. They looked like giant centipedes. Their individual attacks weren’t very powerful, but they existed in great numbers in the dark caves they inhabited and had lethal venom in their pincers and tails. Their bodies also released a poison mist, so just the act of venturing into a cave inhabited by ketsarupas was deadly. Subjugation tasks were always assigned to parties of S-rank adventurers. A ketsarupa’s venom sac was located behind its heart, so it couldn’t be extracted without killing one. Zara held a one-handed sword in his right hand and a kite shield in his left. Maybe I should switch out the one-handed sword for more power. No. I need to become capable of fighting powerful enemies without relying on blessed weapons. That should be one of my major goals. Even using this dagger would be excessive. After making up his mind, he ventured into the cave. He activated a Night Vision skill, and about two hundred steps in, an enemy appeared. A ketsarupa had dropped from the ceiling. It nimbly twisted its body as it fell and attacked with the large pincers on its head. Zara dodged out of the way, waited for the enemy to land, and after its pincers clinked together, he severed one of them at its base. The pain caused the ketsarupa to flinch, at which point he cut off its other pincer. Another ketsarupa leaped at him from the left. Zara angled his body to dodge its pincers, and it then swung its tail down from above its head. He blocked the tip of its tail with his kite shield and slashed at one of its pincers near the base. His aim must have been off, however, because it didn’t look like it took any damage. The first ketsarupa rejoined the fray and tried to crush him. Zara delivered a vertical slash to its soft underbelly, and it lurched backward, falling over and leaking bodily fluids. The second ketsarupa surged from the left and attacked with its pincers, but after Zara dodged, it crashed into the first and lost its balance. Zara then cut off one of the second monster’s pincers. At that moment, his Sense skill told him a third was approaching. I need to move now. Zara made a quick decision, spun around, and ran for the entrance. The two injured ketsarupas chased him, but the third did not. It hadn’t yet gotten close enough to Zara to acknowledge him as an enemy. He ran until he was close enough to the mouth of the cave to see some dim light and turned around to face his two pursuers. When ketsarupas ran, their bodies extended almost into a straight line, which made them a very easy target if you had the proper speed and skill. One venom sac is probably good enough. Zara sprang nimbly into the air and did a somersault above the leading ketsarupa. Then when its head was directly below him, he thrust his sword down, slicing vertically through its entire body as it charged past. Naturally, its heart and venom sac were bisected as well. The other ketsarupa flew past him, stabbing with its tail as it did. Zara twisted his body in midair and largely avoided the strike, but it did end up lightly grazing his left leg just below the knee. He landed and gathered himself. The ketsarupa’s momentum carried it far past Zara. It turned around and charged again. Zara leaped backward so the monster he’d already taken down wouldn’t get in his way. It was writhing on the ground, venom flying from its sliced-open back. The ketsarupa charging at him was the one he’d cut both pincers off. It knocked aside the carcass of its dead companion as it ran at him. Zara dodged easily, then sliced open its shell at a joint in the middle of its body. After that, his work was easy. He slashed off its rattling tail and waited until it almost completely stopped moving. He then cut out its venom sac, took a container he had previously been entrusted with from his Treasury, and placed the prize inside. He checked his left leg, but his clothing wasn’t torn. It seemed he had only suffered a light bruise. I’m disappointed I couldn’t do this without taking any damage. Zara reflected on the fight as his instructor Logan’s angry face flashed across his mind. 4 He knocked on the door. “Comiiiiing. Who is it?” answered a voice from inside, and the door opened. Narillia’s beautiful jade eyes opened wide after she saw Zara. “N-n-no way. Y-you’re back?” “Yes, and I successfully procured a ketsarupa venom sac. Please have a look.” “Really?! Ah, well, a-anyway. Come inside.” Narillia invited Zara in and then inspected the delivery. “There’s no doubt. This is a ketsarupa venom sac. You actually got one.” “Yes, I did.” “W-well. Ah, have you eaten lunch?” “No, not yet.” “All right, I’ll go throw something together, so wait here.” The meal was extravagant and consisted of a lot of meat, so Zara couldn’t imagine it had actually been prepared so impromptu. Whether you were a noble or a commoner, courtesy dictated that you use your own knife when eating at someone else’s house, so Zara used his dagger to cut the meat. “This is delicious. I don’t know how you managed this taste after poisoning the food. You could work as a chef for a noble family.” After she heard that, Narillia dropped her act. Her cheerful and kind demeanor vanished, and her beautiful face turned cold and arrogant. “When did you notice?” “The moment we first met. I’ve spent nearly two full years delving into a labyrinth. I know a monster when I sense one.” “Why are you not dying?” “The antidotes found in labyrinths don’t work in the outside world. It’s also common for items with poison-resistance blessings to not work outside, either. Still, some items are exempt from that rule.” “I see. Since you managed to get a ketsarupa venom sac, your level must be high, right?” “I’m level sixty-eight.” “Sixty-eight? What is an adventurer as powerful as you doing in a place like this?” For some reason, her expression and tone suddenly shifted back to that of a normal villager. Her amicable demeanor might have actually been her true character, surprising as that was. “All right then. You’re level sixty-eight.” Narillia closed her eyes, thinking about something. Her eyes then flashed open, showing vertically split irises. “Then die!” Her body began to morph dramatically, her clothes tearing in the process. She doubled in height. She remained the same beautiful woman on the top half of her body, but the bottom half transformed into that of a giant snake. She’s a lamia! Lamias were hellish creatures that possessed the faces of beautiful women and long, serpentine bodies. They led their victims to ruin by tricking them with heresy. They belonged to the demon family of monsters and were female spirits that hated humans and their blessings from the gods. As soon as he realized what she was, Zara threw his dagger. It pierced her heart the moment her transformation ended. “Owwwwww.What…is this? What is this?” Now it was Zara’s turn to be surprised. Why? Why did a demon survive being stabbed with Kaldan’s Dagger and its holy element? “Ah, this feels somehow nostalgic. This really…hmmm…puts me at ease,” murmured the lamia, wrapping her hands around the dagger still in her heart. Zara was at a total loss for words. Then came a knock at the door. 5 “Narillia, you’re in there, right? Open the door. It’s me, Jaka.” Zara had sensed someone coming. He’d decided it would be best to show the village this woman’s true form, but now that didn’t feel right. It would be better for the village not to know what she was until he fully understood what was going on. “Narillia. Please don’t let him know that I’m here.” Zara quickly retrieved his dagger and hid in the bedroom without making a sound. “Huh? Um. Huh? I—I—I… Huh?” Left alone, the lamia glanced around at her exposed form, the remains of her clothes on the ground, the food on the table, and then looked at the door. “Narillia, is everything all right? I heard a shout. Is everything okay?” “Ah, Jaka, h-hello. U-um, I was just… I was just having a meal. But I’m not dressed right now. Please don’t come in.” “…Why were you eating without your clothes on?” “W-well. I was eating. And then… My hair… Yeah, I got soup in my hair. So I started to wash it. And then… It spilled onto my clothes and body, too. So I’m wiping myself off. I-I’m naked right now, so don’t come in. P-please wait just a bit!” “Oh, is that right? Sounds rough. Got it. I’ll wait as long as you need.” Narillia returned to her human form, wet her hair, and cleared away her torn clothes. She was about to open the door but then realized she was still naked, so she went into the bedroom, put some clothes on, and welcomed Jaka in. When she locked eyes with Zara in the bedroom, she gave him the dirtiest look she could manage and hissed at him to let him know they had unfinished business. “I accidentally made too much food. You can have some if you like, Jaka.” “W-wow. Of course, that would be great. Man, you just made my day, Narillia.” Jaka was in very high spirits after being offered some home cooking. As if thinking she needed one more push to fully deceive him, Narillia offered him some alcohol as well. He refused at first, out of formality, but before long, he obliged and was plastered in no time. He then began flirting with her. “Narillia. I know you’re aware of my feelings. Your husband has already kicked the bucket. Won’t you be mine?” “No, my husband will definitely return. I know it.” “He was nowhere near as faithful to you. He probably abandoned you after catching sight of some other girl.” “No, my husband still thinks of me every day. Even now. I know it.” “A woman like you deserves better than a good-for-nothing man who couldn’t offer you more than this pitiful lifestyle. If you change your mind and decide you want to be with me, I can offer you lots of beautiful clothes.” “Oh my. Have you become a powerful man, Jaka?” “Just take a look at this. And this, and this. I’ll give them all to you.” “Wow, these are beautiful. Huh? Isn’t that the ring Mina wore before she went missing…?” “Huh? Ah, well, I guess it does look similar.” “And this is the bracelet I gave Zando’s daughter. You… You’re the one who killed everyone!” “Ah, sh-shit. Shut your trap, woman. I’ll kill you, too.” “That’s enough.” Jaka paled at the sight of Zara suddenly appearing from the bedroom. “Y-you… You’re that kid who went to the cave. Shit. You set me up.” Jaka tried to run, but Zara subdued him. “Y-you bitch. You doubted me from the beginning, didn’t you? Then you had the adventurer hide, and you seduced me into giving you the ring and bracelet. S-so that’s how it is. The village headman must have been involved with this, too. Th-that was dirty. You’re a dreadful woman. You’re a monster. A demon. I’m going to call you a lamia from now on!” “U-ummm…thank you?” 6 They dragged Jaka to the home of the village headman, and he confessed to his crimes. When they searched his house, they found a significant amount of damning evidence. This meant that fighting the rock man was no longer worth the small amount of money the village was offering, so the request was canceled. Zara didn’t mention he had already gotten the venom sac. “So you missed out on the reward money. At least take the ketsarupa venom sac. Honestly, you’ll be able to sell it for a much higher price than the request would have paid you.” “The reward I want most is information. Would you mind telling me about yourself?” “Right. That’s only fair. Come to my house one more time.” The two of them returned to Narillia’s house, and she made some sweet smelling tea. “Where should I start? Ah, before that, can I see your dagger?” Zara gave her the dagger, and she hugged it to her chest. “I knew it. This aura reminds me of Lady Kaldan,” she cooed. “That’s a blessed item known as Kaldan’s Dagger, and it cures poison and status ailments, among other effects. Did you know the wicked dragon Kaldan?” “She wasn’t a wicked dragon! Lady Kaldan was a very, very kind goddess!” Surprisingly, Narillia said she was over one thousand years old and that she’d served as an attendant for the goddess Kaldan when she was a human. The goddess Olgoria, however, was jealous of Kaldan’s beauty and popularity, and after convincing the surrounding countries of Kaldan’s wickedness, she brought to ruin all the nations to which Kaldan had given her blessings. Narillia had stayed by Kaldan’s side longer than any of her other attendants, and Olgoria personally turned her into a lamia. Kaldan was unable to lift the curse. She’d apologized tearfully to Narillia, asked her to do her best to find some modicum of happiness, and then departed for the edge of the world along with the spirits of her husband and her familiars. Zara was surprised by her tale. The goddess Olgoria was associated with wisdom and harmony and was worshipped in Baldemost and the northern part of the continent as one of the six major deities. Anyone in Baldemost would have said Narillia was speaking utter nonsense. But Zara thought he should hear her out. He chose to listen because before he leaving on his journey, he’d been told another side of a legend widely believed in Baldemost. 7 On the day he would embark on his journey, Zara had gone to say farewell to Julius. Their houses were of equal rank as they were both noble, landowning families, but House Goran wouldn’t have existed without House Mercurius. They owed everything to Julius for making Panzel his vassal. And that wasn’t all. It was House Mercurius that had taken Zara in and raised him. Zara’s loyalty would forever lie with the royal family and with them. Julius had prepared Zara an extraordinary present: the five blessed items treasured by House Mercurius. Alestra’s Bracelet, which negated magic at the user’s discretion. Kaldan’s Dagger, which protected the user from status ailments and poison. Raika’s Ring, which fired offensive magic. Ende’s Shield, which reflected physical attacks back at the user’s opponent. Bolton’s Charm, which absorbed magic power and granted invisibility. These five treasures were regularly taken into the labyrinth by the former head of House Mercurius, Percival. Two of them, Alestra’s Bracelet and Kaldan’s Dagger, had been in the possession of the minotaur. It was thought that the minotaur obtained them after killing Percival. Alestra’s Bracelet was then given to Zara’s father, Panzel, by the minotaur when he was a young boy. Panzel had returned the bracelet to Julius, which was the impetus for bringing the boy in to serve House Mercurius. Panzel borrowed and used the bracelet from the time of the Pantram Revolt until his death. Panzel also received Kaldan’s Dagger from the minotaur after becoming a knight and defeating it. The blessings of the dagger were what allowed Panzel to make it safely back to the surface from the bottom floor of the Sazardon Labyrinth. He then returned the dagger to Julius. Panzel had been able to use all five of the blessed items. When Zara turned fourteen and it came time for him to challenge the Sazardon Labyrinth, Julius had him test them all out. When he did, Zara was able to activate all five blessings. Julius loaned Alestra’s Bracelet and Kaldan’s Dagger to Zara at that time. Zara was able to become an S-rank adventurer in such an astoundingly short time thanks in large part to those two blessed items and to Bora’s Sword, which he’d inherited from his father. “I want you to have these five blessed items on your trip.” He summoned a servant sorcerer who specialized in rune carving. The servant then engraved Raika’s Ring, Ende’s Shield, and Bolton’s Charm with Zara’s mark of ownership. Alestra’s Bracelet and Kaldan’s Dagger were already marked. That was how the five treasures of House Mercurius wound up in Zara’s Treasury. Julius had dismissed the servant and spoken to Zara with a hushed voice. “This is a secret of our family, but I want you to hear it.” It was widely told that Alestra’s Bracelet was bestowed upon the founding king by the goddess Pharah and that the founding king then granted it to the first head of House Mercurius. According to the story passed down in House Mercurius, however, Alestra’s Bracelet and all five of the treasures were given to the first head of the house by the dragon god Kaldan to reward him for his bravery and undying loyalty after he defeated her. It was also said that all five treasures could only be used by people whom the head of House Mercurius had recognized as worthy. Baldemost Kingdom was established by the founding king and the heroes under the protection of the goddess Pharah after they defeated the wicked dragon Kaldan, who had caused so much suffering. It was fair to say this secret would cast doubt on the very origin of the kingdom. In other words, if word were to get out, it could spell the end of House Mercurius. Zara was deeply moved that Julius trusted him enough to share that kind of secret with him. “Arza. No, I should call you Zara. I looked up to my deceased father. I also looked up to Panzel, who was a hero this country could be proud of. I wanted to defeat that monster myself, but my battle is not in the labyrinth. Right now, I’m preparing myself for the most important battle of my life.” Julius was forty-two years old and held the position of Blue Minister, the third-highest ministerial position. It was believed that he would soon rise to Red Minister, which would spark a battle between Julius and the Duke of Riga as each attempted to steer Baldemost’s government in the direction they desired. “Zara, I am lending you these five blessed items until the day you defeat that monster. Take them on your trip and learn how to use them. And make sure to become so strong that you do not instinctively rely on their blessings.” 8 “What kind of person is your husband?” “My husband? We met in the borderlands to the west. He was still a child at the time.” Narillia said she’d spent ten years living with a family until they were killed by thieves. She then traveled alone with the one boy who survived, telling people they were mother and son. Due to the fact that Narillia never aged, however, that relationship eventually stopped making sense, so for some number of years they had been telling people they were married. She had been living inconspicuously as an apothecary, helping people by utilizing the knowledge she had gained from Kaldan long ago. “Is your husband still alive?” “As I’ve been saying, he’s alive. You’ve been hearing his voice every day.” “Does that mean the rock man is your husband?” “That’s right. He was…cursed.” “Why did you curse your husband?” “I didn’t curse him! He just wanted so badly…” “What did he want?” “…He said he wanted so badly to be my real husband. I told him he would be cursed if we lay together, because I’m a lamia… Ngh… Hic… Sniff…” “…Do you need a moment?” “No, I’ll be okay… My beloved’s body became covered in snake scales, and even now, he suffers from a curse of creeping poison.” “Snake scales? That doesn’t match the description I heard.” “To speed up the removal of the curse, I covered his body in dirt, which enhances curse and poison removal and raises stamina recovery. Also, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand the poison if he’d remained the size of a normal human, so I made him significantly larger. I then used a charm to harden his skin and prevent the dirt from falling off. There’s a river in the valley, and even berries and edible grass, so he should have had enough food and water. I told him to stay quiet, but he’s been making an awful racket.” The rock man’s true identity turned out to be that of a human in the middle of recovery. According to Narillia, he would return to his normal form in just two to three weeks. 9 Zara stayed at the inn for one more night and then departed early the next morning. For some unknown reason, his level had increased to 71. Narillia kindly came to see him off and gave him a wide variety of medicines, which she said she had made herself. Some had questionable effects, however. Zara thanked her, and when he was about to leave, he heard the voice again. Naaaaa……uiiiiii……laaaaa… Zara strained his ears and listened. “Was that your husband again?” “Y-yes.” “What is he saying?” “You should know. You’ve heard it enough times!” “I’m sorry, I can’t understand him.” Narillia looked away and spoke in a small voice. “He’s calling my name. He’s saying ‘Narillia.’ ”