Chapter 20 - The First War (5)

As time passed, Theo's progress became much slower.

At first, the Dire Wolves appeared one by one, but at some point, they began to appear in packs.

From 2–3 wolves to up to 5.

Every time Theo clashed with them, he had to face the threat of death.

Eventually, after 4 hours of being inside the dungeon, Theo returned outside.

"Caaah! Young Master!"

"Hah... hah... It's fine, so don't make a fuss."

"But right now...!"

"Really, it's fine. Can you let me rest a bit?"

Theo barely calmed down the maid who was startled by his bloodied appearance and opened his inventory.

Fortunately, the dungeon, though torturous, wasn't completely devoid of help.

[Beginner Healing Potion]

Type: Miscellaneous

Effect: Restores 100 health and wounds.

Theo took the red liquid-filled vial and poured it into his mouth.

Fwoooosh-

Immediately, a red glow rose above his body as his wounds healed, and his breathing became easier.

"If only more of these came out, clearing would be a lot easier. Damn it."

He should have suspected the difficulty when the quest first showed as C.

It was a level that drained the life out of you but was just about manageable.

But one wrong move, and he could lose his life.

"Still, I should be glad the monsters can't come out of the gate."

Theo grumbled, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

Fwoooosh-

At that moment, the Beginner's Ring on his left pinky began to glow.

The mana circulation, which had slowed down from exhaustion, quickly regained its pace, and strength returned to his body.

Thump, thump!

Currently, all of Theo's mana was contained within the Dragon's Heart, so the ring's effect was spreading throughout his whole body.

"If it weren't for this, I'd have collapsed already or fled the dungeon earlier."

The reward from the quest's first stage turned out to be incredibly useful.

What if he could use all the rewards like this?

Clearing would be much easier.

"I need to reach level 10 as soon as possible."

Luckily, it seemed like he only needed to defeat a couple more Dire Wolves.

However, there was one issue.

"...The weapon's condition is awful. What should I do?"

The Beginner's Training Sword had already lost its edge, making it unusable.

He needed a new weapon.

Was there a decent weapon around?

As Theo looked around the room, he spotted three swords hanging on the wall.

On his fourteenth birthday, his mother Cecilia had given him ornamental swords as a gift.

He had been in a severe conflict with Cecilia at the time and had completely forgotten about them.

"..."

Theo quickly took the swords off the wall and opened their sheaths.

Clink-

Shing!

"They're still sharp?"

Contrary to his concern that the blades might be dull, they were sharp enough to use in battle without any issue.

There were no signs of rust either.

Theo raised one of the swords high and reflected the chandelier's light off it.

The blade was as white as the snowy fields commonly seen in the north.

It was so white it could be blinding.

"It seems like it's made from 'Seolbaekgwe.'... It must have been quite expensive. How did mom get this?"

Since he had directly handled the information in his past life, Theo knew exactly how rare Seolbaekgwe was.

A mineral that is only extracted in small quantities from the winter mountain ranges where snow accumulates year-round.

Even in the darkest of nights, it shines brilliantly like stars, with exceptional hardness and strength.

Thanks to this, even in Ragnar, it was mandatory to mix a certain percentage of Seolbaekgwe when producing high-quality swords.

Naturally, it was extremely expensive, and ordinary blacksmiths could never even dream of using it.

However, it turned out that the swords Cecilia had given him were made with Seolbaekgwe mixed in.

Not just one, but all three of them.

In a substantial proportion.

And it wasn't just that.

To preserve the ornamental features of the swords, the decorations on the scabbard and the hilt were so elaborate.

Even Theo, who had little understanding of art, could clearly see the effort that went into them.

Theo suddenly recalled the image of Cecilia happily dressing him in various clothes.

Perhaps she had been just as joyful when selecting and having these swords made?

Yet, he had left them untouched for so long, merely hanging them as ornaments.

A lump formed in his throat.

"..."

Theo silently gazed at the swords for a while before placing them all in his inventory.

The only thought that came to him at that moment was this:

He wouldn't repeat the same mistake he made in his past life.

Theo set off for his second attempt at clearing the dungeon.

Inventory usage was truly fascinating.

It felt almost like a spatial artifact.

'There's no weight at all, and storing items is so convenient. There seems to be a limit to the space, though.'

Thanks to this, he could easily carry the three ornamental swords along with various other tools, moving freely without any difficulty.

Creeeek-

***

Three giant bears, each easily over 5 meters in size, appeared.

They were famous predators even in the harshest regions.

But strangely, Theo didn't feel afraid.

It felt like they would be easy to take down.

Swish-

With two of the ornamental swords, one in each hand, he rushed forward.

Fwoosh!

Two streaks of pure white trail remained where he passed.

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

As expected, Theo's movement was incredibly fast.

It was hard to believe he had been wandering around like this when he first entered.

Perhaps it was due to the [Strength] coefficient reaching the realm of the extraordinary.

Or maybe it was because of the swords, which carried his mother's sentiment.

Still.

By the time he passed halfway through the cave, he had already surpassed level 10.

From this point on, as expected, he could equip the entire Beginner's Set.

[Beginner Set]

Effect: +13% mana efficiency, +6% health recovery speed, +5% weapon speed, +5 to all stats

The Beginner's Set greatly enhanced Theo's abilities.

Mana circulation became so smooth, and his sword swinging speed significantly increased.

Dragon Slash

The trajectory of his sword, now trying to catch up with the slash he's seen his father do, became sharper.

One strike, one kill.

'I'm getting stronger. Very quickly.'

Theo felt as if something that had been holding him back for so long was finally falling away.

At this rate, he felt he could easily defeat Axion soon.

[Cleared all of Floor 1.]

[Entering Floor 2.]

***

Time passed in the blink of an eye.

One day passed, then two, three...

A month, two months.

At first, he couldn't even take a few steps.

Now, however, he had made considerable progress and was nearing the end of the dungeon.

'I've finally reached level 15.'

Thanks to this, the [Strength] coefficient had already reached 91.

The goal of 100 was within reach.

And that wasn't all.

Theo Ragnar (15 years old, Male)

Level: 15Stats (▼)

Strength: 91

Agility: 25

Health: 20

Mana: 198

Intelligence: 19

Luck: -6

[Not Viewable]

[Not Viewable]

As the life-or-death battles continued, his other stats steadily increased as well.

Among the changes, [Agility] had seen the most remarkable improvement.

It had increased by a whopping 14 points compared to when he was at level 1.

As a result, Theo could now make quite fast movements.

'[Luck] is almost close to zero now.'

This change had occurred ever since the rumor spread about him receiving a sword strike from Kyle.

Seeing his stats improve day by day made it feel as though he didn't need to eat to feel full.

Could that be why?

Recently, a subtle smile had been present on Theo's face at all times.

***

"Hey, hey. Doesn't it seem like the young master has changed lately? I'm not the only one who feels this way, right?"

"I think so too. Is he in love?"

"What?! That's ridiculous! He's the one who swings swords all day!"

"Right? He's up at the crack of dawn in the training hall, and he spends all morning in his room training alone. He doesn't even let himself relax at night."

"His height has been growing too. I noticed that too."

"Yeah, the tailor was shocked the other day. He's grown nearly 10 centimeters in just a few months!"

"And his muscles are really coming along... Especially when he clenches his fist, the veins on his hand really pop out... Hehe."

"Ugh, gross! Don't you ever wipe your mouth?"

Theo's recent transformation into a more masculine figure was the most talked-about topic among the maids.

The sight of him tying his hair back, drenched in sweat, and wielding a sword was simply too captivating.

"By the way, why does he carry like ten practice swords with him every day? What does he even use them for?"

"Yeah, and don't you hear them breaking. What kind of training is he doing?"

Theo had started using practice iron swords as a temporary measure once the edge of his regular swords began to dull.

He also used his inventory to store a significant number of items, saving the swords while maintaining practicality.

The problem, however, was that as his quest progressed, the monsters' strength also increased, meaning the iron swords didn't last long.

Thus, he had to take ten or more swords every day.

The maids and servants found this strange, but none of them questioned it.

Theo was so blindly devoted to training that no one thought to doubt him.

And then…

[Entering the 5th floor.]

[Boss room. A strong monster will appear. Be cautious.]

Theo had finally reached the last hurdle.

"This is the first time I've seen a warning message like this," Theo murmured, his body tensing in response.

From the moment he stepped into the 5th floor, there had been something eerie in the air.

The atmosphere was too heavy.

It was almost difficult to breathe.

"..."

The 5th floor was much smaller than the others.

At the center of the vast space, an enormous monster lay curled up, deep in slumber.

'A dragon?'

For a moment, Theo wondered if it was the legendary dragon from myths, but quickly dismissed the idea when he saw it had no wings.

Yet, despite lying curled up, it was still massive. Its dark blue scales shimmered like gemstones, and its snout protruded like a dragon's, as though flames might burst out at any moment.

A Drake.

A ferocious predator, categorized as a lesser dragon breed, known for its vicious temperament and insatiable hunger.

But what was it doing here?

This was supposed to be a place for lesser beasts.

'Luckily, it looks like a lesser Drake... but still...!'

Theo quietly put the iron sword in his inventory and drew his ceremonial sword instead.

'This won't be easy.'

He couldn't shake the thought.

'Ragnar is said to be a descendant of dragons. And now, the final boss of this strange quest is a dragon kin... Could it be just a coincidence?'

His mind was swirling.

But one thing was certain.

To clear this, he had to defeat that beast.

'I'll use One Slash.'

One Slash was a technique Theo had recently developed, attempting to imitate the Dragon Slash.

It was a thrusting technique that concentrated nearly 100 points of [Strength] into a single, explosive motion, aiming to crush the heart of a dragon.

He wasn't yet able to create a light blade, but he was confident it could deliver a fatal blow as a first strike.

"Ugh—!"

Theo took a deep breath and twisted his body.

Boom...! Boom...!

His heartbeat thudded loudly as the power surged into the sword.

Swish—

The ceremonial sword left a long, white trail as it plunged deeply into the slumbering Drake's right eye.

Fwoosh!