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Chapter 299: Dwarf Cave Mantamia (1)
It was an extremely satisfying result.
The long journey to the eastern continent had been worth it.
But there was one problem.
“How am I supposed to absorb this?”
How to use the Dragon Bone to consume the mysteries within it?
“Should I just bite into it?”
The idea of approaching it like a beast gnawing on bones to get the marrow occurred to him. The Holy Sword spoke hesitantly.
[That... shouldn't be possible... No, wait. If it’s you, it might actually work.]
The Dragon Bone was the hardest substance in existence.
No ordinary method could touch it, especially since it was filled with mysteries.
Crushing it with teeth was, under normal circumstances, impossible.
But since it was Ketal, the Holy Sword quickly changed its tone and explained.
[It won’t work like that. You were able to absorb the fragment of divine power because it was refined. But the Dragon Bone is unrefined. It’s more like raw material than a catalyst.]
It would need to be trained and refined into a proper catalyst.
[However, because the material is of such high grade, normal methods won’t work.]
“Meaning it could work if I use something abnormal. Where should I go?”
[…Oh.]
The Holy Sword paused, as if reluctant to say.
Ketal looked at the sword in silence.
Unable to withstand the pressure, the sword finally relented.
[…Probably the Dwarf Cave. Mantamia. You could do it there.]
“Whoa!”
Ketal's eyes sparkled.
‘Dwarves!’
One of the most iconic fantasy races.
Dwarves.
Now that he thought about it, it made perfect sense.
If elves were beings of nature, dwarves were beings of the earth.
They were renowned as exceptional blacksmiths, crafting incredible weapons.
If anyone could refine the Dragon Bone, it would be them.
Ketal mumbled as he connected the dots.
“Now that I think about it, you were created by the god they worship—the Blacksmith God, right?”
[…Yes. That god created me.]
“Perfect timing.”
He would head to the Dwarf Cave, refine the Dragon Bone into a proper catalyst, and in the process, ask the Blacksmith God about what to do with the Holy Sword.
If the corpses of the White monkey and the rat’s front paw could be used, he would find a way to utilize them too.
‘And also…’
Ketal glanced toward his waist.
There hung a black axe.
‘I need to ask about this as well.’
His reason for going was clear.
Ketal made his decision.
‘I can head south, and on the way, catch up with Arkamis or Karin after a long time.’
With his decision made, Ketal smiled broadly.
In contrast, the Holy Sword seemed uneasy.
[Couldn’t we find someone other than the dwarves to do the refining? It’s not like I’m afraid of meeting the god they worship.]
“Oh, I see.”
Ketal realized the sword’s concern.
The Holy Sword was currently broken.
It had not fulfilled its purpose.
However, because of this, it had gained freedom.
Had it fulfilled its purpose, it would have met its owner and then lost its consciousness a few months later.
For the sword, meeting the god would be a dangerous affair.
The sword could be restored and placed back in the god’s sanctum.
Ketal patted the sword.
“Don’t worry. I’ll talk to the god for you. What you’re worried about won’t happen.”
[Ugh, okay… I understand. I’ll tell you the location of Mantamia. I suppose I should prepare myself.]
The Holy Sword reluctantly agreed.
Ketal moved immediately.
He informed the guildmaster that he would be leaving for the southern continent.
“Wait, what? You’re leaving?”
The guildmaster was startled but quickly composed himself.
“Oh, alright! If you’re leaving, we have no choice but to accept it!”
“You look disappointed.”
“…To be honest, I thought you would stay longer.”
The guildmaster scratched his head.
The eastern continent was the most dangerous of the four.
There weren’t enough heroes of Ketal’s caliber to turn the tide of the war.
But with Ketal present, there was some breathing room.
His sudden departure was alarming.
Of course, Ketal wasn’t planning to leave without doing anything.
“Before I go south, I’ll clean up a few battlefronts. That should be enough, right?”
“That would be much appreciated! If you have business elsewhere, we certainly can’t stop you!”
The guildmaster quickly replied.
Ketal opened a map.
Several battlefronts were located on the way to the southern continent.
“I’ll clear those while I’m at it.”
Ketal muttered.
* * *
“Ugh…”
“Blegh.”
Hundreds of mercenaries and mages formed uneasy lines.
Among them were Gainert, Barak, and Marcy—mercenaries who had cleared raid dungeons with Ketal.
And in front of them, hundreds of monsters were charging.
The large leader shouted.
“Form up! Brace for impact! We must hold this position!”
“Ugh…”
The hands of the mercenaries holding weapons trembled.
They were in rough shape.
Many of them were covered in crude bandages, clearly wounded.
They were guarding an important passageway on the eastern continent.
If it fell into the hands of evil, the supply lines would be cut off.
Numerous attacks had been launched from Hell, and they had barely managed to hold them off.
Now, with this massive force of monsters, it seemed like the final push to break through.
The mercenaries were prepared to die.
Boom!
A strong gust of wind blew.
“Aaah!”
“Kyah!”
Several mercenaries lost their balance and stumbled.
As the wind died down, they opened their eyes.
“…Huh?”
Their eyes widened.
In front of their formation stood a barbarian.
He looked at the mercenaries and smiled.
“Oh! Gainert, Barak, Marcy! You’re here too!”
“K-Ketal?”
Gainert was shocked.
It was Ketal, the mercenary who had cleared a dungeon with them in the Denian Kingdom.
“Did you come to join the fight?”
“No, not really.”
“Huh? Then why…”
“I’m here to end it.”
“…What?”
Ketal turned to face the monsters.
Hundreds of them charged towards him.
The strongest of them were only first-rate in strength.
“Not much to worry about. I won’t even need to use any mystery for this.”
Crack.
Ketal flexed his arm.
His sheer power was too much for his body, and it began to break.
“O-Oh…”
“Everyone, fall back!”
Sensing something unusual, the mercenaries hastily retreated.
It was the right decision.
Had they stayed, they would have been swept up in the shockwave and tossed around like ragdolls.
“Hup.”
Ketal threw a punch.
The sound of something tearing filled the air.
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It was as if the world itself was breaking apart.
The mercenaries instinctively flinched and covered their ears.
“…Huh?”
When the shockwave subsided, the mercenaries cautiously opened their eyes and gasped.
“Where did they go?”
“Huh?”
The hundreds of monsters charging towards them, whom they had prepared to risk their lives fighting, were gone without a trace.
Not only that, but the land had been neatly cleared.
It was so clean that laying down bricks for a road would have been easy.
“…No way.”
After a moment of shock, the mercenaries realized something.
That barbarian’s punch had erased the monsters from existence.
In a single blow, the enemies they had been ready to die fighting were all obliterated.
“It’s over.”
Ketal dusted off his hands lightly.
"Then, the rest is up to you. Do your best to deal with the demons from hell."
"Ah, understood?"
Rumble!
Ketal disappeared.
His figure vanished from sight in an instant.
The people stared in the direction he left for quite some time, unable to do anything.
* * *
On his way, Ketal dealt with two or three more fronts.
It didn't take long.
A single punch, at most three, and it was done.
Leaving behind the dazed people, he headed south.
And he finally arrived.
In the Schwarzwald, a forest the size of a country, where the sacred land of the elves lay.
[Are you planning to meet the elves?]
"I have some ties with them. Before visiting the dwarves, I need to assess the situation in the south first."
Ketal had very little information about the dwarf cave, Mantamia.
All he knew was that before the demons began their full-scale invasion, a meteor that had fallen from the stars had been stolen.
He intended to head to the elves' sacred land to understand the current state of affairs.
"Hmm."
Ketal stood in the middle of the forest.
He knew where the sacred land of the elves was.
But he didn't proceed toward it.
'Back then, I had a hard time finding the sacred land.'
At that time, he couldn’t locate it on his own and had to travel with the queen of the elf tribe.
But now that he had gained control over the mystery, what about now?
Ketal closed his eyes.
Rather than using the mystery to strengthen his body, he connected it to his senses and expanded them.
[W-wait! You can't!]
The Holy Sword was alarmed.
She hurriedly tried to stop him, but it was too late.
Ketal's senses began to press down on the forest.
At that very moment, in the sacred land of the elves, the elves were standing guard.
Their faces showed signs of boredom.
Given that the demons were invading, they weren’t as tense as they should have been, but it was unavoidable.
For the past few months, demons hadn't shown up near the sacred land of the elves.
After one raid, they had set up their defenses with all their might.
Even if the demons tried to attack, they wouldn't easily breach the defenses.
Moreover, the demons had already stolen the branches of the World Tree.
They had no further business in the sacred land of the elves.
Burning the World Tree wasn't possible at this point; it was something for much later.
As such, the elves were not highly tense.
They were merely standing guard out of obligation.
At that moment, something enormous pressed down on them.
Rumble!
"Ugh!"
"Huh!"
The elves in the sacred land suddenly collapsed to their knees.
Their faces went pale in an instant.
"Wait!"
The High Elf knight, Parco, rushed to the outskirts of the sacred land in panic.
"What’s happening?"
"We don't know! Suddenly, something began pressing down on the sacred land!"
"Is it an attack from the demons?"
Parco gritted his teeth and summoned the wind spirit.
"Come forth! High Spirit, Brunstad!"
[…What is this?]
"An enemy attack! Synchronize your senses with mine and extend them!"
[Understood.]
The wind spirit synchronized with Parco’s senses.
Parco intended to identify the enemy pressing down on the sacred land.
The wind spirit quickly spread its presence to the outer parts of the forest.
And because of this, Parco realized.
[…Parco. This is—]
"A-ah."
It wasn't an attack pressing down on them.
It was simply someone expanding their senses, turning the entire area into their domain.
The only reason the elves mistook it for an attack was that the presence was so vast and powerful that it exceeded their understanding.
And the area affected wasn’t just the sacred land.
The entire Schwarzwald, a forest the size of a country, was now within the domain.
The being that appeared was encompassing the entire forest within its range.
'Wh-what…?'
Parco's face turned pale.
This was a being with power far beyond his comprehension.
At this level, it was comparable to a demon lord.
No, it was even beyond that.
'A… a lord of hell?'
He thought one of the four lords of hell had come to erase the elves from existence.
His legs began to tremble.
'No, that's not it.'
This was the sacred land of the elves, hidden by the barrier of the Spirit God.
No matter how powerful this being was, they couldn’t possibly locate it.
But Parco’s hope was quickly shattered.
Crack.
Cracks spread through the space.
The barrier surrounding the sacred land was rapidly breaking.
Clatter.
Through the gap in the shattered barrier, the immense presence of the intruder was felt.
“…Ah.”
The elves’ legs gave out completely.
The ones who had collapsed could only stare blankly at the barrier.
They were the sacred land’s guards.
They were supposed to defend the sacred land with their lives, burning with determination to face any invader.
But they couldn’t.
No one rages at a natural disaster.
A sense of helplessness engulfed them.
Crack!
Finally, the barrier shattered.
The elves sensed death approaching.
Parco was no different.
He squeezed his eyes shut tightly.
"Just as I thought, using mystery to expand my senses allows me to detect even places hidden by a barrier. Not bad at all."
But at that moment, a familiar voice rang out.
Parco cautiously opened his tightly shut eyes.
And his eyes widened.
“…Lord Ketal?”
"Parco! It's been a while!"
Bursting through the shattered barrier, the barbarian Ketal greeted him with a friendly face.
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