Chapter 32

[32] It Wasn’t a Coincidence

An emperor who’d unified the continent with a dragon sword.

‘If that’s the case…’

I remembered something Sia had told me a while ago.

Those who had drawn out the power of the Dragon Bone Sword had all left their mark on human history. Some had become Swordmasters renowned for their skill, while others had become emperors who unified the continent.

I didn’t know if the “dragon sword” mentioned here was actually the Dragon Bone Sword.

Maybe this dungeon, the Garden of the Dragon Sword, was a memorial park dedicated to the emperor who had wielded the Dragon Bone Sword.

‘I hope there’s something here I can take away.’

Of course, judging objectively, that didn’t seem very likely.

I wouldn’t know until I entered the Gate, but for now, it seemed like nothing more than a somewhat unusual Gate.

Maybe it was only called a dragon sword because its hilt had a dragon carved into it. The sword itself might have been perfectly ordinary.

‘Still… it’s too much of a coincidence.’

As I sat lost in thought, Taeseong asked me:

“Minjun, what are you thinking about?”

“I just thought it was strange that it’s called a dragon sword. The existence of dragons hasn’t even been confirmed yet.”

I played dumb and answered casually.

After all, no dragons had ever been officially reported.

At least, not officially.

Juwon, the Hunter who’d helped Taeseong explain the Gate to me earlier, chimed in.

“We’ve got Gates and orcs. It’s not like dragons can’t exist, too. Who knows? Maybe they’re already living among us.”

He said it lightly, as if he were joking. I wondered if he knew his words were true.

Screeech.

Before long, our vehicle arrived at the dungeon Gate.

We put on our gear before entering, then stepped through one by one.

The raid had begun.

The first things I saw upon entering were a bright sky, countless swords thrust into the ground like gravestones, and weeds that had grown to about the height of a child’s knees.

Of course, most Gates had scenery unlike anything you’d find on Earth.

But this place was more than unusual. It was downright bizarre.

The name “Garden of the Dragon Sword” made it sound grand, or perhaps beautiful. In reality, it was neither.

If anything, I found it creepy.

‘What kind of combination is this?’

I looked away from the countless swords, and saw the large statue Taeseong had mentioned.

A statue of the Dragon Sword towered over the weeds and the hundreds of swords planted among them.

Whoever had arranged it like this had absolutely no artistic sense.

“Pretty strange, isn’t it?”

As I was looking around the dungeon, one of the Hunters came over to me.

“This is my first time here, too, just like you, Minjun. But doesn’t this place feel different from the dungeon Gates we usually visit?”

“I was just thinking the same thing. I don’t know why, but it’s hard to get used to.”

While we were chatting, Taeseong clapped his hands and called to us.

“The monsters will be swarming in soon. Everyone, get ready.”

They were coming?

That meant monsters would appear from somewhere.

But no matter where I looked, I couldn’t see any.

Just then, black smoke began rising from the swords planted in the ground.

Could they be—

“…Ghost-type monsters?”

“Ah, I forgot to explain that. I’m so used to coming here with the same people.”

According to Taeseong, there was only one type of monster we’d encounter in this dungeon.

“They’re unique to this Gate. There’s no official name for them, so we call them ‘Sword Wraiths.’”

That reminded me of something I’d learned at the academy.

Dungeon Gates could contain strange monsters that didn’t appear in other Gates.

“Is there a special way to fight them?”

“They’re similar to other ghost-type monsters. And—”

Before Taeseong could finish answering, the smoke pouring out of the swords slowly grew larger, gathering into a massive cloud.

Then a formless mass of smoke took on a murky shape, let out an eerie howl, and charged at us.

How had our instructors said to fight ghost-type monsters with a sword?

I recalled what one of my academy professors had told me.

‘Swordsmen are at a serious disadvantage against ghost-type monsters. If you have to fight one, focus on infusing your sword tip with more mana than usual.’

The point was that when a swordsman fought a ghost-type monster, what mattered wasn’t where or how they swung their sword. The key was focusing on the mana at the blade’s tip.

I concentrated as much mana as I could at my sword tip and swung as quickly as possible.

Slash!

A single strike cleanly cut the black smoke in half.

But considering the nature of ghost-type monsters, cutting one in half didn’t mean I’d defeated it.

Just as I’d expected, the two halves of the Sword Wraith charged at me as if my slash had done nothing.

At the same time, the two pieces began to rejoin, as though trying to return to their original shape.

I didn’t give it a chance to recover. I poured in even more mana and swung again.

At my second strike, the wraith dispersed completely into smoke.

“Whew.”

I’d grown a little since last time, and my equipment was incomparably better than before.

But even taking that into account, I’d defeated it far too easily.

Ghost-type monsters were supposed to be a real struggle to take down.

They were troublesome to begin with, and I was a swordsman on top of that.

I dealt with the wraiths charging at me in the same way, while keeping an eye on the other Hunters.

Taeseong was a B-rank mage, which made him well suited to fighting ghost-type monsters. True to his role as leader, he’d climbed onto the statue in the center of the dungeon and was watching the Hunters, including me, while keeping the monsters at bay.

Since the purpose of this Gate was to train low-rank Hunters, he seemed to be keeping watch in case any of them started to falter due to their lack of experience.

The other Hunters, apart from Taeseong, were struggling to hold off the Sword Wraiths.

I was the only swordsman in the group, so theoretically, I should have been having the hardest time.

Instead, I was cutting down the wraiths with surprising ease—even to me.

Taeseong, watching from the high ground on top of the statue, seemed just as astonished.

A Hunter passing by me said:

“Minjun, are you really D-rank?”

“You should get reassessed. You look like C-rank at the very least.”

If other people were saying the same thing, maybe I was growing faster than I’d thought.

But that was beside the point.

‘When is this going to end?’

The Sword Wraiths kept charging at me so relentlessly that I didn’t even have time to check the clock. I had no idea how long we’d been inside the dungeon.

Gate raids were always hard, but I’d never seen monsters keep coming without a break like this.

Every time I cut one down, the same black smoke rose from another sword.

And when I thought I’d cut that one down, another cloud of smoke appeared to torment me.

“This is exhausting.”

Even if these weren’t ghost-type monsters—if they were slimes, the weakest kind of monster—a horde this large would still be a struggle.

The others seemed to be in the same boat. They were panting and grumbling.

Thanks to the healers’ constant, attentive support, no one had been injured.

But fighting monsters for two hours without even a moment to catch your breath was another matter.

‘So this is why dungeon Gates are used so often to train Hunters.’

It was tough, but it seemed like a good way to gain combat experience in a short time.

But I had something more important to focus on.

‘I was supposed to be working on mastering the dragon’s power.’

I kept telling myself to remember that, but every so often I’d forget.

Like now.

At some point, I’d stopped thinking about my ultimate goal and gotten caught up in fighting monsters that had the advantage over me.

‘Even now, I can still…’

In this situation, what was the most effective way to draw out the dragon’s power?

“One hour left!”

Just then, Taeseong’s booming voice rang out. There was one hour remaining until we cleared the dungeon Gate.

Two-thirds of the three hours had already passed.

The others were probably hoping that last hour would go by quickly. But I couldn’t afford to think that way.

This was a precious opportunity. I didn’t know when I’d get another one.

During that final hour, I had to draw out the dragon’s power sleeping inside me to its fullest.

‘So what should I do now?’

Should I keep swinging my sword as before, while thinking over the two ideas Rokan had advised me to focus on: “control” and “will”?

This time, though, I wanted to do things a little differently. I wanted to make my will more concrete.

For example, I could resolve to wipe out every last one of the countless Sword Wraiths here…

But how could I turn that will into reality?

Maybe it was a rash assumption, but I didn’t think sheer willpower would be enough to make it happen.

I needed another strategy.

Something that could turn the entire battle on its head.

Since there was a B-rank Hunter behind me, I was reasonably safe. So I decided to change my strategy without hesitation.

I chose to subtly alter the structure of the mana in my sword.

I wasn’t a mage who specialized in mana, so changing its structure in such a precise way wasn’t easy.

‘But I have to do it.’

Until now, I’d focused on making the mana “radiate outward.” From this point on, I wanted to “absorb” all kinds of energy, including mana.

If I could absorb the wraiths with my sword instead of cutting them, I might be able to create a new variable.

Since those wraiths were beings that defied the natural order, I’d have to defy it, too.

I didn’t know what would happen if those dark wraiths were absorbed into my sword.

But it would probably be fine.

This wasn’t just any weapon. The Dragon Bone Sword could hold its own against any legendary blade.

And perhaps the Garden of the Dragon Sword was an ideal place for the Dragon Bone Sword to show what it could do.

“Ah.”

A short gasp escaped me.

Could the sword itself be the reason I’d been able to fight ghost-type monsters so much more easily than usual?

While I was distracted by my thoughts, a wraith far larger and darker than the others hurtled toward me.

It was too close. I had no time to react properly.

I twisted my body, trying to dodge as much as I could, but the wraith still grazed me.

And yet—

I’d expected to feel a sharp, stinging pain.

Instead, my body felt strangely fine.

The pain was no worse than a light pinch.

Why?

The Sword Wraith had charged at me with all its might, full of hostility, just as it had the other Hunters.

So why had I barely felt anything?

‘I can afford to be more reckless.’

I forgot about protecting myself and started tearing through the battlefield like a beast.

With me focused entirely on attacking instead of defending, the wraiths rushed in, trying to exploit my openings.

But just as before, I barely felt any pain.

“Minjun!”

Seeing me expose myself to the wraiths’ attacks, Taeseong shouted in alarm.

I signaled that I was fine, then swung my sword even more aggressively.

The other Hunters seemed just as shocked as Taeseong, but I didn’t have time to worry about their reactions.

The more I swung my sword, the more I felt some unknown energy gathering inside it.

Could this be the dragon’s power?

‘Probably not.’

I didn’t know for sure, but it seemed unlikely that all these wraiths were connected to dragons.

If not, then what was this energy?

Even as I wondered, my swings grew faster and faster.

At some point, it felt as though I wasn’t swinging the sword. It was the sword swinging my hand.

The sensation was definitely similar to when I’d released that aurora-colored sword aura.

But there was a clear difference.

As the energy gathered, the Dragon Bone Sword didn’t release sword aura as it had before. Instead, it began to hum and glow gray.

“W-what is that?”

“Huh?!”

Before I could react, my sword flew out of my hand and shot toward the statue of the Dragon Sword.