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Chapter 71: In Search of the Demon Sword (3)
Whether they belonged to a national institution, a large guild, or wandered like ronin without being part of any group, heroes generally formed "parties" to act together.
Among them, the most preferred party size, regardless of the nation, was five.
Some say this is due to the influence of the "Five Great Heroes" who sealed the Demon God 500 years ago, while others claim it follows the principle of the five elements (Wu Xing).
But in reality, it’s simply because five people provide the most balanced and synergistic combat team, while also being optimal from a logistical standpoint.
When a party of five is formed, the "ideal" composition is usually three warriors, one magic user, and one support role.
Of course, sometimes instead of one of the warriors, a hero who doesn't fit neatly into any category, commonly called an "Irregular," is included.
However, the typical party makeup follows the 3-1-1 structure.
The biggest advantage of forming a party is that it doesn't just multiply the hero's individual power fivefold; it can increase the overall combat strength tenfold or even twentyfold.
A party that has long been working together can move as one, sometimes defeating an opponent whose strength is objectively far greater than theirs.
‘Of course, the opposite can happen as well.’
A newly formed or inexperienced party can sometimes be weaker than its individual members when they act alone.
Like right now.
"Iris, your response wasn’t bad. But given our party's strength, it would’ve been better to cast blessings instead of focusing on defense."
"Ah… I see."
After the recent battle, Iris nodded as she received feedback.
"And Berald and Camilla, you were too focused. You need to keep an eye on the leader's movements since you're not fighting alone."
"Ugh..."
"Grr... I'll keep that in mind, brother."
Both Berald and Camilla, who were easily overwhelmed by the sudden charge of the giant bat-like beast, nodded grimly.
"Lastly, Yuren."
"..."
Yuren hung his head, as if already expecting what I was going to say, lips tightly shut.
"Don't try to do everything on your own. A party isn't something you protect by yourself; it’s a group of allies fighting together."
"...Sorry."
Yuren, who had recklessly charged ahead and put the entire party in danger, lowered his head with a gloomy expression.
"Well, everyone makes mistakes at first."
I smiled slightly as I patted Yuren on the back.
‘To think there'd come a day when I’d be giving advice to Yuren like this.’
It was an exact reversal of the situation from when we first formed a party in our past lives.
Back then, I would recklessly charge in, trusting my immortal body, and put the party in danger instead.
"Sigh... We learned in school not to break formation, but..."
Yuren sighed, berating himself, and I shrugged with a wry smile.
"School lessons and real battles are different."
"Still, I shouldn't have made such a mistake against mere beasts like these..."
I could understand Yuren's frustration.
The bat-like monsters we just fought were low-level creatures that Yuren could easily handle alone.
‘This is a perfect example of how being too strong can be a disadvantage.’
Since Yuren thought he could handle the beasts alone, he hadn't even considered working together with his teammates.
Instead, he had envisioned rushing in solo and wiping them out.
"Anyway, shall we keep moving forward?"
"Yeah. I won’t make any more mistakes this time."
With renewed determination, Yuren gripped his sword tightly.
And so, we resumed our exploration of the ruins.
"I'll take the right, so cover the left, Berald!"
"Understood!"
"One's circling around!"
"Need support?"
"No! I can handle it on my own!"
"I’ll cast blessings first!"
Perhaps because everyone had decent skills, the party’s coordination noticeably improved with each battle.
‘This is more like it.’
The once-misaligned cogs were now turning smoothly.
From the rear, I watched my party members fight, providing support as needed.
Among them, Berald stood out the most.
‘I knew Yuren was strong, but... Berald's performance is a bit surprising.’
Berald had only been learning martial arts from me for about a month.
Before that, his fighting style had been little more than street brawling, but over the past month, his skills had improved drastically.
‘Well, considering his talent for martial arts surpasses even Yuren's, it's not too shocking.’
After graduating from the Hero Academy, Berald became such a martial arts master that he developed his own unique fighting style.
His sheer talent in martial arts was undeniable.
Of course, for now, he still had a tendency to rely on magic rather than martial arts.
"Stone Arrowww!"
Berald pulled a stalactite from the ground and hurled it as he chanted his spell.
Boom!
The bat-beast skewered by the sharp stalactite flew back as if hit by a ballista, pinning it to the far wall of the cave.
"Yeah, damn. Now that’s magic."
In his past life, Berald used to say that when physical power reached its peak, it was indistinguishable from magic.
"So, how was that, brother?"
"Much better."
When I gave him a thumbs-up, the whole party brightened (though Camilla briefly seemed to wonder, "Why am I happy about this guy's praise?").
"Good thing we came here."
At first, I wasn't sure if this expedition would benefit my teammates, but seeing how much they'd improved in just one day, I couldn’t help but smile.
"Alright, it's getting late. Let’s call it a day and continue the exploration tomorrow."
"Are we heading back to Valhalla City?"
"No, that would take too long."
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Even with a warp device near the ruins, the distance wasn’t short enough to make frequent trips practical.
Plus, we were already deep inside the ruins.
"Let's camp here."
"Heh! Don't worry, I packed plenty of camping gear!"
Berald tapped his bulging backpack with pride.
"Alright then, let’s set up the tents first."
Even though we were inside a cave, the name "Cave of Crimson Tears" was fitting, as red droplets continuously dripped from the stalactites, making tents a necessity.
“Two tents should be enough, right? One for men, one for women.”
“Huh? Wait, we’re all sleeping together?”
Yuren visibly flinched in surprise.
I looked at him as if to ask what he was talking about.
“Of course, we’re sleeping together. When do we ever set up individual tents for everyone?”
“I-I have my own personal tent….”
“Now, now, what’s this about a personal tent? The real charm of camping is all squeezing into a cramped tent together!”
“I don’t need that kind of charm, thank you!”
Yuren snapped, turning away sharply.
“Anyway, I’ll be sleeping in the personal tent I brought!”
“Hmmm.”
Come to think of it, even in the past life, Yuren was extremely averse to sleeping next to others.
‘As expected, noble boys...’
I clicked my tongue and nodded to myself.
“Fine. Then it’ll just be Berald and me sharing.”
“Haha, let’s enjoy some quality time together, brother.”
“Get lost, idiot.”
With that, the three tents were set up.
Afterward, the party had a light meal with the packed lunches we’d brought before entering their tents to prepare for bed.
“I’ll take the first watch, so everyone else go ahead and sleep.”
“Then I’ll go ahead and rest, brother. Wake me in a bit.”
“Sure.”
After the others retreated into their tents, it wasn’t long before I heard the sound of soft breathing coming from inside.
‘Seems like everyone’s exhausted.’
Well, it made sense.
We’d been fighting monsters all day, so they must’ve been worn out.
“Alright then. Time for me to get to work.”
I got up, set up a barrier around the tents to ward off any beasts, and headed deeper into the ruins alone.
Using "Wind Step" to move quickly, I sped through the depths of the ruins and made my way to one of its walls.
There was a wide pool where the red droplets had gathered.
‘This should be it.’
I placed my hand into the pool and channeled mana into it.
Bubble, bubble.
As soon as I sent mana into the pool, it began to bubble and boil.
‘Now!’
I directed the mana I had spread into the pool to infiltrate the barrier installed at the bottom.
Woooooong!
Immediately, the barrier activated, and red sparks flew as it tried to expel the intruding magic.
‘Nice try.’
Thanks to the magic theories I had learned from Senior Sophia, locating the "core" of the barrier wasn’t difficult.
After all, barriers were just another form of magic created from theory.
Rumble!
The cave trembled as if hit by an earthquake, and the red liquid in the pool drained away, as if someone had pulled a plug in a filled bathtub.
What was revealed on the bottom was a small hole, just big enough for a person to fit through.
This was the secret passage leading to the place where the "Demon Sword" was sealed.
“I had to go through so much trouble to find this back then...”
In my previous life, I found this place while working as a mercenary.
I had been hired to explore these ruins with my mercenary company, and after almost a month of investigating, we finally uncovered this hidden passage.
‘At times like this, having memories of a past life really pays off.’
Recalling the struggles of the past, I couldn’t help but smile as I effortlessly found the passage this time.
“Now, let’s see. If I go in here...”
I squeezed through the narrow entrance and walked down a dark, gloomy corridor.
[Turn back.]
A deep voice echoed inside my head.
[This is the resting place of a bloodthirsty fiend.]
Before me, a door appeared, from which blood-red mist seeped out.
The door was sinister, glistening in a crimson hue as though it had been doused in blood.
As I stood before it, the deep voice echoed again in my mind.
[The one who opens this door shall fall into grief.]
[The one who opens this door shall lose all hope.]
[The one who opens this door shall be buried in despair.]
“Man, you sure talk a lot.”
BAM!
I kicked the blood-soaked door, shattering it with force.
The voice faded away like a dying breath.
[The one who crossed the boundary shall pay the price with death....]
“Yeah, yeah, shut up.”
I stepped over the splintered remains of the door and into the chamber, filled with a thick, blood-red mist.
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