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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: 3. Legacy of the Ancestors (2)
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In the dark cave, red eyes gleamed.
Yuri stammered as he opened his mouth.
"No way... since when do mages throw around words like 'ghost'?"
"If you're dead and come back to life, you're a ghost."
"Use the proper term."
"Death Knight?"
"Yeah, like that."
Yuri said so and nudged Jared with his foot.
"Jared, wake up."
"Ugh... uh..."
"I said wake up."
When Yuri kicked his butt hard, Jared shot to his feet.
"Where! Where is this?!"
He looked around frantically and spotted the Death Knight, immediately drawing his sword in alarm.
"Death Knight!"
Yuri calmed him down.
"Hold on a sec."
"Pl-please take cover behind me, Your Highness."
"Well, aren't you..."
Jared swallowed hard, tense as could be.
A Death Knight was, quite literally, a knight returned from death. It happened when a knight with deep grudges was corrupted by demonic energy or tainted by black magic.
"It's dangerous."
Jared was confident he could cut down most monsters, but Death Knights were the exception.
When a knight died and became a Death Knight, they grew stronger than they had been in life.
Long ago, the knight Gerdt of Adelvine had been resurrected and destroyed his own kingdom—a famous case.
"No."
Yuri shook his head.
"That guy's not dangerous."
"How do you know?"
"Just a feeling."
Yuri stepped forward.
"The guardian of our founder's dungeon wouldn't turn against me, Yuri Brioll, a direct descendant of the founder."
"That's way too optimistic!"
"You'll see."
Yuri felt an odd confidence.
He'd felt it ever since drawing the sword.
Who could've guessed that rusty blade buried deep in the ground would come out so easily?
Even when he'd fallen underground, the whole dark dungeon seemed to welcome him somehow.
So that Death Knight wasn't a guardian blocking his path—it had to be a guide come to greet a scion of Brioll.
"Right?"
[Wrong.]
The Death Knight swung his sword.
"...!"
The blade flashed.
Hernando muttered in despair.
"Whoa, His Highness's head just got sliced in half..."
"Watch your words."
"Whoa, His Highness's bangs just got sliced in half..."
Yuri's fringe fluttered away.
Just like when he'd fought Jared, his bangs never seemed to survive the day.
"For real?"
[Pretty much.]
The Death Knight replied.
His voice was deep and gravelly, like it rose from the depths of the cave.
[Your cocky attitude pissed me off, so I swung on impulse.]
"Cocky?"
[Just like that guy.]
"Who?"
[Erich.]
Hernando let out an exclamation.
"Ooh..."
It was a name every citizen of Brioll knew.
The founder of House Brioll, the first king of the Kingdom of Brioll, the peerless swordsman who unified the continent with a single blade.
Erich Brioll.
"Am I the first to come here?"
[You are.]
"Only Erich's bloodline can?"
[You can't draw that sword without Brioll blood.]
"No way... this is the legendary sword the founder wielded..."
[It's the blade I used.]
Yuri flinched and tossed the sword away.
[...]
"S-sorry."
[Mad because it's mine?]
"No, you shouldn't touch other people's stuff without permission. Slipped my mind."
[Use it if you want. It's not mine anymore.]
The Death Knight turned around. His tattered cloak fluttered like rags.
Yuri picked up the sword again and whispered.
"Let's follow him."
"You sure? We should go back and report to His Majesty..."
"No."
Yuri shook his head.
"We're going now."
"It's dangerous."
"How else are we getting out?"
"Pardon?"
"That skeleton bastard..."
The Death Knight suddenly turned back.
Yuri froze. Luckily, it didn't seem like he'd heard.
"...gonna let us go just like that?"
Jared immediately asked the Death Knight.
"Death Knight. We'd like to come back later."
[You think this is some corner store you can pop in and out of whenever?]
His red eyes flared menacingly.
[Or did you think I wasted all that time waiting just to play games with you? Does this look like a joke?]
Unable to withstand the killing intent, Jared spoke up.
"S-s-sorry."
He stammered twice over.
Yuri snickered.
"Scaredy-cat."
"It's for Your Highness's safety."
"Sure, sure."
Hernando, ever the type to look out for himself, had been keeping his mouth shut since meeting the Death Knight, but now he burst out laughing at Jared getting scolded.
"Quiet down, Sir Hernando."
"S-s-sorry."
"Ugh..."
"L-let's get going."
Jared sighed. These guys refused to take anything seriously.
Hernando started humming a tune.
"A dungeon... exciting."
"All thanks to me."
"Of course."
As he watched the excited Hernando and the bold prince's back, Jared pondered how things had come to this.
"Hoo..."
Was it really okay to be messing around here?
It had been just another commute home.
Then suddenly, they'd ended up at Sword Mountain, entering some mysterious dungeon.
Unreal.
"No way..."
None of it made sense.
Yeah, it started that day.
Ever since the third prince had demanded a duel, his life had flipped upside down.
This wasn't the Royal Guard life Jared had envisioned.
Just putting in the hours peacefully, retiring comfortably when the time came.
He'd never harbored any ambitions.
Who could've imagined he'd end up in the dungeon left by Brioll's founder?
It felt like fate itself had twisted, sweeping him into the storm stirred by that boy.
"Hey."
Yuri, walking ahead, turned back.
"Gonna make me wait?"
Jared took a deep breath.
It was dark.
No light but the faint rays from the fissure above, so the prince ahead was shrouded in shadow.
Yet that grinning face turning back was somehow vivid.
Something overlapped with it.
A blood-smeared face.
'Hey, cut the crap.'
A fleeting hallucination.
Would the prince look like that when he grew up?
A handsome man drenched in blood, smiling wearily. It stirred a feeling like he'd stake his life for him—then it faded.
An eerie déjà vu.
"You coming or not?"
Jared couldn't answer.
His feet wouldn't move.
"Then wait here."
Just like he said, Jared wanted to stay put.
He didn't want to get shipwrecked following this reckless prince.
But if he did...
'Boring, right?'
The prince had said that.
Visions of his predetermined life flashed by. Then the mad, ferocious face of the prince charging wildly overlapped.
Amid the swirling thoughts.
His body moved on its own.
He took a step forward unthinkingly.
Once he started, it was easy.
"Your Highness."
"Yeah?"
"I'm coming."
Yuri turned and grinned.
"Should've followed sooner."
Jared grinned back.
"Sudden darkness... needed time for my eyes to adjust."
"Good excuses."
"Not an excuse."
"Hurry up."
"Yes, sir."
And so, he ran toward the back of the willful third prince.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The Death Knight led Yuri's group to a vast cavern.
A massive crystal atop the altar emitted a deep blue glow.
[So the day has finally come...]
The Death Knight muttered. Yuri asked.
"What day?"
[None of your business.]
"Good day?"
[Shut it.]
Jared took a step back.
From his view, Yuri casually chatting with the Death Knight looked insane.
Hernando whispered to Jared.
"What if it stabs him? Why provoke it?"
"That's too much."
"If His Highness's head gets lopped off here, we're in deep shit."
"Enough."
"Or it stabs his chest, blood gushing out, and Sir Jared gives tearful CPR..."
"Shut up."
The Death Knight stood before the altar.
Yuri spoke.
"Hey, Death Knight."
The Death Knight looked at him, and Yuri continued.
"I am Yuri Brioll, descendant of Erich Brioll and third prince of Brioll in this era. Pass his legacy to me."
The Death Knight shrugged.
[Who said you get to take the legacy whenever?]
"I'm Brioll blood."
[Brioll, huh...]
His eyes flared.
[I bore that name once too.]
The words carried deep meaning.
Yuri stared in shock, while Jared and Hernando behind him froze.
No way.
Was this Death Knight Erich Brioll, Brioll's founder?
"Are you Erich Brioll?"
[No.]
"You scared me."
Yuri sighed in relief.
"Our revered founder wouldn't end up a skeleton like you."
[Fearless mouth you've got.]
"Inherited it all."
[Yeah, that part especially.]
The Death Knight chuckled briefly. It wasn't a pleasant sound.
[Not sure I trust you, but time's come to fulfill my duty.]
"What duty?"
[I'll give you what you seek.]
The Death Knight perched on the glowing crystal.
A massive flow of mana surged.
"Your Highness, get back..."
Jared sensed something off and tugged Yuri's collar.
Hernando said.
"It's a mana stone. Never knew one that big existed."
"That huge thing?"
"Yes."
Mana stones absorbed and held mana on their own, allowing magic without external sources—rarer and more valuable than diamonds of the same size.
"It can be that big?"
"Unreal. That size could buy a city."
"Why bury something like that?"
"In other words, the founder left something even more precious than that mana stone."
The Death Knight stared at them.
[Everyone ready?]
A heavy silence fell.
The Death Knight didn't wait for a reply.
[Hope you're worthy.]
As his words ended, blinding light burst from the mana stone.
Their vision went white.
Yuri closed his eyes, then opened them.
...
The dungeon was gone. A barren wasteland stretched out.
"Where's this?"
Yuri looked around in confusion.
Nothing but wasteland and a straight horizon surrounded him.
Suddenly, he spotted an unidentified figure approaching from afar.
"Hey there?"
Yuri called out.
"Halt! Halt!"
It showed no sign of stopping.
"Founder?"
No, impossible.
"What is that?"
It wasn't human.
A translucent humanoid form, see-through enough to glimpse the other side.
The problem: it held a sword.
"This is..."
Only then did Yuri realize he held a sword too—not the one from the tomb, but a standard military iron blade.
"A fight?"
As if answering, the figure charged.
Yuri blocked its sword.
Plain exchanges followed.
"Huh...?"
A change occurred.
A bluish hue rose within the figure's translucent body.
Centering on its heart, it swirled through its body and extended to the sword.
Clang!
Each clash made the heart pulse, the blue energy expanding and contracting in sync.
Yuri realized.
"Mana Circulation Method..."
The dummy circled him, exposing its chest.
Through the transparent flesh, the path of mana was vividly traced.
Now Yuri understood.
The swordsmanship, the Mana Circulation Method, the fighting style—all Erich Brioll.
Their founder was truly insane.
"Learn by fighting directly?"
Luckily, the dummy seemed to go easy on him.
Tap, tap.
The dummy pointed to its heart, then stirred mana, showing the blue energy spreading through its body.
"Hahaha..."
Mana Circulation Methods ingrained in the body were nearly impossible to change.
So this training assumed a subject without one, yet demanded immediate mana sensing and control.
Ridiculous demand.
Something only a second-lifer could pull off.
"Me, huh."
Yuri plopped down immediately.
Mana filled the entire space richly.
Pure mana began flowing into him.
In his past life, to hide his identity, Yuri had deeply studied Mana Circulation Methods. He was confident in handling mana.
"Like this...?"
He mimicked what he'd just seen.
A kid without a Mana Circulation Method wielding mana like a seasoned knight— even a dummy might be surprised.
He glanced sideways at it.
"...!"
The dummy stood frozen, elbows bent vertically, one hand up, one down. Looked like its mouth was agape too.
Impressive emotional expression.