Episode 31
The unique power “Dragonkin Domination,” acquired by absorbing Bahamut’s heart, activated.
[Would you like to subjugate the target dragonkin?]
“Not sure what that means, but let’s give it a shot.”
However, a warning message soon appeared.
[Your power is insufficient to subjugate this dragonkin.]
[Failed to subjugate the corrupted dragonkin.]
It seemed that having the power didn’t guarantee success in subjugation.
Just then, a thundering noise echoed from outside the door, as if the Hydra had abandoned its severed heads and left.
Zeke pondered what to do with the Hydra’s heads wedged in the door and decided to use his Devour skill.
Rumble!
Zeke’s shadow rippled and expanded towards the Hydra’s heads. The three severed heads were slowly absorbed, as if sinking into a black swamp.
Absorbing all three Hydra heads took quite some time.
Once the absorption was complete, a message appeared.
[You have devoured the severed heads of a corrupted dragonkin tainted by malevolent energy.]
[Your depleted stamina, mental strength, and mana are replenished.]
[Devouring a designated target creature has increased the rank of your Devour skill.]
[You have imperfectly absorbed the bloodline ability of the devoured creature, gaining a constitution immune to all poisons.]
After devouring the Hydra’s heads, Zeke felt his energy restored. He confirmed that his constitution now included the trait “immune to all poisons.” Additionally, his Devour skill had advanced from novice to adept.
“A designated target creature, huh. So, eliminating dragonkin beasts like the Hydra yields better rewards.”
Zeke closed his status window and, after ensuring the door was fully shut, finally ventured deeper into the ruins.
The ruins were structured similarly to the Sanctuary of the Dragonslayer. While the Sanctuary was mostly gray, the surface of Kaishir’s ruins was smooth and white.
According to legend, the Hero King Kaishir was a half-human, half-fairy born to a wise sage and a fairy king. However, due to the schemes of an evil sorcerer, Kaishir was separated from his parents and abandoned in the mountains.
A sacred wolf found the crying young Kaishir in the mountains, fed him its milk, and raised him to adulthood. With unparalleled strength, Kaishir saved oppressed humans and established the human kingdom of “Chronos” on the central continent.
Though the Kingdom of Chronos was also a legendary realm, its existence was uncertain. However, the imperial family of the Rom Empire had long claimed descent from the Hero King Kaishir. The sacred wolf, the symbol of the Rom Empire, originated from this legend.
Though the Hero King and the Kingdom of Chronos remained mere legends, these ruins served as evidence of Chronos’s existence.
Zeke marveled at the massive, solid structures. The fact that they had endured for over two thousand years was astonishing.
He opened his minimap and proceeded deeper into the ruins. A long corridor stretched between towering columns on either side.
Zeke walked cautiously down the corridor. As he ventured further, a door appeared.
When Zeke reached out to the door, a message appeared.
[Opening the Sanctuary of the Hero King Kaishir.]
The door opened, revealing a surprisingly small space inside. The circular room, entirely white, had an altar-like structure in the center. The map indicated the altar as the target location.
Zeke crossed the room cautiously and ascended the steps to the altar. At the top, he found a pedestal with a large, ethereal sky-blue gem floating above it.
“A gem? Not the Hero King’s secret swordsmanship manual?”
He needed to find the swordsmanship manual to complete his mission. Zeke searched the pedestal but found no trace of the manual.
As his hand reached towards the gem, a message appeared.
[You have discovered a permanent record left by the Hero King Kaishir.]
[Transmitting and storing the permanent record in the system.]
Zeke looked at the gem on the pedestal, prompted by the system’s message.
[The message left by the Hero King Kaishir is now playing automatically.]
Suddenly, a video appeared before Zeke’s eyes. The screen showed a delicate young man with snow-white hair and eyebrows. His eyes shone with a clear sky-blue hue, reminiscent of a fairy from legend.
The young man began to speak, but Zeke couldn’t understand a word. Frustrated, he frowned until a message appeared.
[Ancient Chronos language detected. Automatically translating to the common language of the central continent.]
The young man’s words were translated into the common language.
“So, I went up the mountain and said, ‘Hey, are you the Giant King?’ And he immediately got all up in my face. Back in the day, I would’ve just grabbed him by the neck and cracked his skull. But by then, I had a family to think about and had to maintain some dignity. So I asked him politely, ‘Why do you keep crossing into our territory?’ And he flipped his eyes and started acting crazy. So I said… Hey, hold it steady. The screen’s shaking. Shaton, you idiot! Are you going to keep messing up? Where was I? Damn it, I lost my train of thought because of you!”
Zeke blinked, bewildered by what he had just heard. The man on the screen, with his foul mouth, seemed to be the Hero King Kaishir, but something felt off.
“The records don’t match Kaishir’s face at all. And Shaton was supposed to be the most loyal knight of the Clock Tower, a symbol of nobility.”
For about thirty minutes, Kaishir continued with a colorful mix of curses, self-praise, and vivid insults directed at Shaton.
[You have completed viewing 1 out of 546 episodes of the Hero King Kaishir’s Chronicles. Would you like to continue watching?]
Zeke was stunned to see a message indicating there were over five hundred episodes of such videos. The Kaishir he imagined was so different that he couldn’t quite process it.
Regardless, the important thing was Kaishir’s secret swordsmanship. Zeke, clutching his throbbing head, addressed the system.
“Find the parts about Kaishir’s secret swordsmanship.”
Zeke had become somewhat adept at navigating the system. A message appeared.
[Searching for videos related to secret swordsmanship within the 546 episodes of the Chronicles.]
[12 videos found.]
Zeke was taken aback by the search results.
“Only twelve videos about the secret swordsmanship out of over five hundred?”
His headache worsened. Still, he decided to watch the twelve videos that had been found.
Kaishir reappeared on the screen, this time holding a sword. He looked at the camera and raised his sword.
“What is a sword? A sword is just a sword. It’s the old fools who can’t even swing a sword properly that confuse people with their nonsense. A sword just needs to stab and cut well. There’s no need to overthink it. Hey, that was good. Shaton, write that down in the annals. What? The annals aren’t an autobiography? Just do it, why so much talk? Just do as you’re told!”
After another round of scolding Shaton, Kaishir finally picked up his sword again.
“So, that’s what a sword is. How do you use it well? Just swing it a lot, and swing it hard. That’s all there is to it. Just swing it like this!”
Kaishir suddenly took a stance with his sword.
Whoosh!
A mirage-like aura emanated from his body, enveloping both him and the sword. He swung the sword.
Swish!
Zeke felt as if his neck had been sliced by Kaishir’s sword in the video.
“Gah!”
Instinctively, Zeke stepped back using his Shadow Step. Such was the overwhelming force behind Kaishir’s sword.
Zeke paused the video.
“What was that? It didn’t seem like he was using aura.”
He rewound the video to watch Kaishir’s sword swing again. Even on a second viewing, it was a chilling move.
A system message appeared.
―Sudden Linked Mission―
[Learn the secret swordsmanship left by the Hero King Kaishir. No time limit.]
[Sudden Mission Reward: Tear of the Fairy King]
[Note: You cannot leave Kaishir’s Sanctuary until you have learned the swordsmanship.]
“What is this?”
Zeke was flabbergasted by the sudden linked mission. He couldn’t leave until he mastered Kaishir’s secret swordsmanship.
“This is insane! How am I supposed to learn Kaishir’s secret swordsmanship just from watching these videos?”
Though no one was listening, Zeke shouted in frustration. He turned off the video and tried to open the door using the system.
[Mission in progress. The exit cannot be opened until the mission is cleared.]
“This is driving me crazy.”
Despite the daunting situation, Zeke knew he couldn’t wallow in despair forever. He decided to explore the space to get his bearings.
The circular room had three doors, which opened automatically as Zeke approached.
The first room seemed to be a food storage area, with thousands of preservation boxes containing various foods.
The second room was a living space, equipped for sleeping and washing.
The final room housed weapons and armor from the Chronos era, along with a wide array of books on various subjects.
Each book bore the name of Kaishir, as if he had used and read every single one of them.
Though the texts were written in ancient Chronosian, the system’s translation feature allowed him to read them effortlessly.
It felt as if this place had been prepared in advance for him to undergo secluded training.
In the end, he had no choice but to stay here and train.
With a deep sigh, Zeke played the video again.
Sword in hand, Zeke carefully mimicked Kaishir’s movements from the video, skipping over the unnecessary curses.
Thanks to his unique talent, Zeke was able to follow along.
After watching all twelve videos and grasping the basic forms of swordsmanship, Zeke attempted to replicate the moves from start to finish.
But no matter how many times he swung the sword, he couldn’t capture the essence of Kaishir’s movements.
Just then, a message appeared before him.
[You have acquired the basic form of the Elemental Sword left by Hero King Kaishir.]
[Concluding the basic stage and advancing to the practical stage.]
[Summoning the spirit of the Hero King.]
Rumble!
Suddenly, the altar in the center of the room began to descend.
Once it had fully lowered, only a pedestal with a sky-blue gem remained floating in the center.
The gem shimmered, and something began to materialize in front of it.
“What… what is this?”
From the light, a human figure gradually took shape.
To Zeke’s astonishment, Kaishir from the video appeared right before him.
Stunned, Zeke gaped at the sight of Kaishir standing there.
“Is that… the real Kaishir?”
Kaishir frowned slightly, then swiftly drew his sword and swung it at Zeke.
Whoosh!
Zeke hurriedly raised his own sword, Bahamut, to block the attack.
Clang!
The force behind Kaishir’s strike was so powerful that Zeke was sent flying into the wall.
Crash!
With his sword resting on his shoulder, Kaishir looked at the fallen Zeke and spoke.
“Get up immediately.”
His stern reprimand pierced through Zeke.
“You think you can master my swordsmanship with skills like that? The knights of old would weep in despair.”