Academy’s Genius Swordmaster - Chapter 37

37. Scream in the ground (4)

#37

“If you kill something, something will come out.”

“Kwoaaaaaaaa!!”

The cave giants roared simultaneously. Grabbing La Mancha, Ronan jumped forward.

As long as he knew the power of the sword, there was no need to hesitate. Ronan rushed in a straight line and swung his sword. The two feet of the leading giant were separated from the legs.

“It’s big…!”

The legless giant’s body collapsed forward. Ronan jumped off the back of the falling giant and landed on the shoulder of the giant right behind him. squeak. As La Mancha circled in the air, the giant’s head fell to the ground.

thud!

“Keuwoah!”

Blood gushed from the clean cross section. The giants on both sides slammed their fists in anger. Ronan dodged the attack by jumping vertically. Kwaaang! Two massive fists collided in the air.

‘He really looks like a dick.’

If it had been hit, it would have been crushed beyond recognition, but it didn’t matter because it didn’t. Ronan, who was contemplating between right and left, rode on the arm of the left giant, who was a little uglier.

Awesome! Again, La Mancha drew an arc. A yellow line formed around the giant’s nose, and the top part fell off. Seeing the face of his half-disappeared colleague, the giant widened his eyes.

“Kh…kwok?”

“What you looking at.”

Ronan quickly turned around and slashed the right giant’s eyeball. Chow ah! A yellowish liquid gushed out of the pupils that had been split in half.

“Keu keu uh uh uh!!”

A scream of pain erupted from the giant’s mouth. Even though he was cutting rocks, there was nothing that caught him like water. Even without mana, it was this much.

The blind giant raised his hand and covered his eyes. Ronan’s arm shot forward. hooked! La Mancha, digging through the cracks in his fingers, penetrated the giant’s brain and escaped.

“Guwok.”

After the soul left, the body began to tilt. It took less than a minute to get here. The sword body that drank a lot of blood was shining brightly. said Ronan, looking around at the other giants.

“At this point, it’s okay to be scared. Aren’t you scared?”

Gradually, I began to think that killing was unnecessary. To be honest, Ronan was hoping that the giants would run away if he gave them enough scares. The giants that howled as if in reply recklessly rushed at them.

“Kwoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

Ronan sighed. It seemed that he had no intention of quitting. Ronan murmured as he leaped towards the other giant.

“If so, what?”

The flowing sword continued like a snake. As always, it didn’t take long for the job to be finished.

****

“Wow, that’s amazing. It works like this.”

Ronan was dipping the tip of La Mancha’s sword into the pool of blood at his feet. At the same time as the puddle was rapidly shrinking, a haze-like aura was rising over the sword body.

Behind him lay the dismembered corpses of cave giants. Ronan, who looked around at the devastation, shrugged.

“After all, what did these guys want to do?”

“…what are you?”

Doron looked at Ronan, stunned. Steam was rising from the body covered in the blood of giants.

I couldn’t even believe it when I saw it. Ronan never set foot on the ground until he annihilated the twenty-six giants. It was like a bird of prey hunting.

“Don’t you have a sheath for this? If I carry it on my back like this, I think my butt will break.”

Ronan drank all the blood and swung La Mancha into the air. There was a sound like a ghost whistling. Doron, who came to his senses belatedly, opened his mouth.

“Ah… Looks like I’ll have to remake the scabbard. I’m sorry, but please wait a little bit.”

“Why do I have to remake it?”

“I entrusted the finishing touches to another old-timer’s workshop, but they came in. It’s not broken, but it’s probably buried somewhere deep in the rubble.”

“Um… I made it at best, but I’ll look for it later. Anyway, what were you trying to say?”

“What were you trying to say? That’s right. You have a good memory.”

Ronan nodded. I couldn’t hear Doron’s words until the end because of the inadvertent stones. Doron opened his mouth without taking his eyes off the unrealistic horror.

“I’m thinking…maybe the King of the Cave Giants has appeared.”

“A king?”

“okay. Whether it’s a king or a captain, he’s the one who plays the role of the boss. Like the strangely large crowds, I felt the power of organization in the actions of the cave giants today.”

“Isn’t that too hasty a judgment?”

“Of course it is very likely. But as you know, we dwarves are the race that has the most contact with the monsters underground.”

Doron told the story of the King of the Cave Giants, which had been passed down by word of mouth among the dwarves. It was said that the king, who was several times larger than the average cave giant, lived deep underground and ruled over the kingdom of the cave giants.

“Then, are you saying that the attack on the miners in the mines and the dozens of them following them to the smithy were the orders of the King of Stones?”

“I can’t be sure, but other than that I can’t really guess. I’ve never seen or heard of anything like this before…”

Ronan touched his chin. It seemed like a nonsensical story, but something was plausible. Well, right now ten years from now, winged thugs will come down and change the world, what’s not to believe?

“Good for you. Then I’ll follow where these guys came from. If I kill the king or whatever, this won’t happen.”

“Wait a minute…! How about waiting a little bit? Did people call you?”

“That’s why I’m going even more now. I don’t know who the girl will call, but no one will let the student go alone to the basement where monsters lurk.”

I realized when I saw the reckless side of me just now. The cave giant was a monster that could not coexist.

Determined, Ronan stretched. He scooped the giant’s blood with his finger and rubbed it on Didican’s nose.

The blood smelled of sulfur. Didican, who was wriggling between his eyebrows, woke up with a game.

“Kheuhuh! Whoops…! what what?! What does this smell like…”

“Didikan. can you move No, you have to move.”

“Ronan? Ugh… Damn it. What happened? Why do you think the corpses have increased?”

Didican hung his head like someone suffering from a terrible hangover. Ronan briefly explained the current situation. When he heard that he was going to find the king of giants out of nowhere, Didikan’s face twisted.

“What do you mean? Are you a king?”

“I don’t know either. I’ll finish it on my own, so go upstairs with Old Man Doron. If you ask Sheeta, she will heal most of your injuries, so keep that in mind.”

“Sita?”

“You saw it last time. That black, rootless-looking kid.”

“ah.”

Didican nodded. He stared with disgust at the cave giant’s head rolling at his feet. Suddenly Didican’s eyes widened.

“Wait, Ronan.”

“what’s the matter?”

“What is this?”

Didican pushed the giant’s head with his foot. He narrowed his forehead and examined the back of the giant’s head, then stretched out his index finger.

“this.”

“What is this?”

Ronan narrowed his eyes. Where Didican’s index finger pointed, something like a pattern was engraved. It gave off a very different impression by emitting light, albeit faintly.

“Do these guys have tattoos too?”

“I don’t think so. It feels strange… Wait a minute.”

Didican narrowed his eyes and began examining the corpses of the other giants. Although the parts were different, the same pattern was engraved on each body.

The werewolf’s intuition was sending a warning. Didikan, who was drooling, called out to Doron.

“Doron, come over for a second and look at this.”

“Hmm?”

Doron, who had been toddling along, inspected the pattern. Doron, who was stroking the pattern with his wrinkled hand, opened his mouth.

“This… I don’t know. It seems like a kind of magic…”

“Magic?”

“okay. But I have no idea what kind of magic it is. Was this engraved on the bodies of giants?”

Ronan nodded. Doron, who was contemplating while rubbing his beard, shook his head. It was something he had never seen, even for hundreds of years.

More and more doubts were growing. Ronan spat out a curse.

“Damn, that makes me more curious. I’ll be back.”

“Even if you dry up, you will leave anyway. Please be careful.”

“Yes, Ronan. Something is unusual about this.”

“Don’t worry, nothing will happen. What is there to be afraid of?”

Ronan shook La Mancha. After seeing the two of them off, he headed deep into the joint. After walking for a while, a huge passageway leading further down appeared. Traces of the giants passed were clearly visible.

“After the king of the cave, it’s unknown magic.”

There was only darkness in the eerie passage. It sounded like water was coming from somewhere.

Maybe I should have brought a torch. I wonder if people are going to save everyone. Ronan thought about this and that and continued walking.

how much time has passed The narrowed field of view widened, and an open space appeared. Ronan stopped walking. The wonders of the underground that make Gran Cappadocia colorless unfolded before my eyes.

“This is…really…awesome.”

It was so vast that it was impossible to fathom its end. Ronan looked around like a distraught man.

Colorful luminescent moss covered the walls and ceiling of the vast cavity. Rather than a cave, it felt like being thrown into a starry night sky.

Water flowing in from somewhere formed a stream. Animals that were confused whether they were birds or insects were flying around. Huge mushrooms with tentacles like jellyfish were growing everywhere.

An independent ecosystem was formed in the night sky that Jijeo embraced. It was an environment where it would be okay to build a village rather than a few blacksmith buildings.

‘Does the kingdom of stones really exist?’

Ronan took a slow step. The damp floor was imprinted with the footprints of cave giants. I don’t know where it’s hiding or if it’s because Ronan killed them all so I can’t see it, but it’s not difficult to infer that the giants were originally gathered here.

‘No, that’s not it. After all, something is strange.’

Ronan groaned. All of the remaining footprints were new. If this was the kingdom of giants, older traces should have remained. Ronan developed a hypothesis based on clues.

The giants who roamed all over the underground gathered here for a while. The gathered giants collectively moved toward Gran Cappadocia. As if someone ordered it.

“Ugh!”

At that time, Ronan, who was walking while looking at the floor, hit his forehead with something. As I raised my head while swearing, I saw a wall made of yellow crystals.

The wall stretched upwards in a gentle curve. What’s this thing in the middle of the common? It was the moment when I inspected the wall without much thought.

“Fuck.”

Ronan sighed and stepped back. I almost missed the hilt.

It wasn’t a wall. A giant whose entire body was covered in crystal sat crouching. Ronan saw the giant’s back and mistook it for a wall.

It was a different size from the usual cave giants. It was this much even when crouching, but I couldn’t even guess how much it would be if I got up.

But something was strange. Ronan tilted his head.

‘…dead?’

The giant crouched and did not move. There was no heartbeat, no smell of brimstone leaking from the cave giant’s breath.

What the hell is this? Was the cave giant right? It was the car Ronan was trying to get a closer look at the giant. I heard someone’s voice from the other side.

“You said there was a problem?”

“It’s not very accurate. However, the connection to the last sent object has been lost.”

“Damn it then what? There are no giants left now.”

“does not matter. We confirmed that all the facilities were destroyed anyway.”

Ronan instinctively hid his presence. Clinging to the giant, he slowly moved in the direction of the sound. It wasn’t long before I saw two men and women talking.

“Well, that’s okay. With this, the Empire’s metallurgy and smelting will suffer considerable stagnation.”

“There is a high possibility that it will go backwards. Most of the artisans must have died.”

‘What are those bastards?’

Ronan, who overheard the conversation, frowned. In terms of physique, both were human. The woman was wearing a white robe and a man’s armor.

The appearance of the robe was particularly unusual, and the hood that covered the face down to the nose reminded me of a god of death in a fairy tale. Then the woman raised her hand and interrupted the man.

“Wait.”

“hmm? Why?”

“I think there is an intruder.”

“intruder? Nothing was detected on the Mana Boundary Stone?”

“It smells like sulfur. right there.”

The woman pointed in the direction of Ronan with the tip of her chin. The man in the armor tilted his head.

“okay? I don’t know.”

“Wait. I’ll be there.”

“no. One shot and you’ll know. Fireball.”

The man who suddenly raised his arm chanted an incantation. A fireball shot from his hand flew straight towards Ronan.

“What the fuck…!”

Ronan, who jumped out and spat out curse words, rolled on the floor. The fireball that touched the giant exploded and created a roar. The man who saw Ronan whistled in admiration.

“Hey, what really happened?”

“The movement is nimble. Be careful not to miss it.”

“No matter what. Fire Wall.”

It was the moment when Ronan turned to the man. Roaring! A wall of fire that arose out of nowhere surrounded Ronan’s four sides. The man slowly approached Ronan and said.

“What are you?”

“…That’s what I want to ask. What are a man and a woman doing alone in this gloomy basement?”

“Hey, you’re a cheeky kid. You don’t like it?”

The man snapped his fingers in the air. The wall of fire slowly began to narrow. Mushrooms and moss that touched the fire ignited and made a popping sound.

“how will we do it. Would it be right to kill him?”

“It raises a lot of questions, but… I think it’s better that way.”

“yes. Such trivial errors can delay the arrival of the stars.”

“what?”

Ronan’s eyes widened. My heart started beating fast in response to certain words. Upon hearing Ronan’s voice, the two turned their heads.

“What is it, kid? Do you have anything to say?”

“What did you just say?”

“Hmm?”

“What do you mean by the coming of a star?”

The man and woman faced each other. The woman shook her head. The man scratched the back of his head and looked at Ronan again.

“This guy’s mouth is arrogant… I’m sorry, but I can’t answer that question. I’m going to die anyway, so tell me something else.”

The man shook his head as if he was sorry. Ronan grabbed the hilt. I felt my breathing quicken. A slightly elevated voice escaped from between his lips.

“No, no. you guys have to answer Both of you should go with me.”

“Hey, are you going to catch me?”

The man snorted. This is a really funny guy. The moment he was about to say that, Ronan’s figure disappeared from sight. Only the broken wall of fire remained in the darkness and swayed.

The man’s eyes widened. A voice came from his ear.

“huh.”

Ronan, who had disappeared, appeared between the two. Took. The man’s left arm fell to the floor.

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