After counting all the silver coins Orkus possessed, Rychlen gained his recognition and subsequently became one of his protégés.
Needless to say, with the large sum of money received from Orkus, Rychlen improved his family’s livelihood immensely.
The amount of money was so vast that Rychlen’s parents reportedly became wealthier than they were even before Rychlen was born.
Thereafter, under Orkus’ patronage, Rychlen repeatedly sought out rumors of powerful monsters and defeated them, steadily raising his renown. Among the monsters vanquished by Rychlen’s hands, the most famous was said to be the Immortal Snake.
—
Immortal Snake.
A mighty monster rumored to have been born when a snake stole and ate an elixir of immortality created by someone. Its scales are harder than well-refined iron armor, and despite being wounded, it sheds its skin once every week to heal all injuries—a massive serpent capable of such feats.
Its body is as thick as a centuries-old giant tree, and the poison concealed in its fangs is potent enough to trouble even a god imbued with divinity.
Even gods feared this snake, but it fell to Rychlen.
Though its scales could deflect blade strikes, they couldn’t completely absorb blunt force impacts. And no matter how deadly its poison might be, it posed no threat if the fangs didn’t bite.
For three days and nights, Rychlen relentlessly beat the Immortal Snake with a sturdy cudgel until it realized it couldn’t win against him and fled in panic.
Having escaped far away, the snake entered a deep cave to shed its skin and recover.
But that exact moment was what Rychlen had anticipated.
Creatures become weakest immediately after shedding their skin. No matter how much the Immortal Snake could heal itself through molting, there was nothing it could do about its vulnerability during the process.
When the iron-like scales fell off along with the skin, leaving it weakened, Rychlen struck the snake’s top of the head with his cudgel, killing the supposedly immortal creature.
Thus, Rychlen crafted armor from the snake’s skin and extracted its poison to use as venomous arrows.
—
Rychlen’s fame soared even higher after defeating the Immortal Snake, inevitably attracting jealousy from others.
Among those envious ones was the renowned Epona Cavalry of the era.
Together with the Sirius Temple, they guarded the entrance to Arcadia. When Rychlen’s reputation grew, the Epona Cavalry sent him a letter—an invitation that doubled as a challenge to duel.
Regardless of what thoughts led the Captain of the Epona Cavalry to send that letter, the result was that the Epona Cavalry ended up battling Rychlen.
What began as a one-on-one duel between the Epona Captain and Rychlen gradually escalated, culminating in a situation where Rychlen fought the entire Epona Cavalry.
In the end, Rychlen emerged victorious after a closely contested battle.
Following this, the Epona Cavalry set aside their jealousy and began treating Rychlen as a true hero. They declared that should Rychlen ever need it, the Epona Cavalry would be at his service.
However, Rychlen simply shook his head in response.
—
As Rychlen continued to gain fame and defeat countless monsters, new news reached his ears.
This time, it wasn’t about a monster.
It was about a divine beast cherished by the God of Sacred Flames that had escaped and was rampaging in the desert.
The massive lion with fiery mane roamed free beyond the desert, wreaking havoc, yet because it was a divine beast, no one dared to intervene easily.
Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of Procyon’s mages, it was prevented from escaping beyond the desert.
Approaching the rampaging lion, Rychlen faced it unarmed, without even wielding his cudgel or bow.
The lion, whose fiery mane burned endlessly and claws could tear apart black rock, fearlessly charged at Rychlen. In response, Rychlen subdued it barehanded—breaking its arms, grabbing its waist, throwing it around, and finally strangling its neck until it collapsed exhausted on the ground.
Through this, Rychlen’s fame rose even further after capturing the divine beast cherished by the God of Sacred Flames.
—
“Captured a divine beast? Is that not an exaggeration?”
“It actually happened. Though, to be exactly precise, it wasn’t exactly a divine pet but more like a lion that got bored and had some power infused into it.”
At the Dragon Priestess’ words, I was at a loss for words.
How could a human subdue a divine beast barehanded? Or rather, was it not a divine beast but just an animal with some strength added?
“That… how can that be possible?”
“Well, think of it as a testament to how strong he was. Now, let’s move on.”
—
With the return of the captured divine beast to the God of Sacred Flames, Rychlen’s fame soared sky-high.
By then, he had become so busy slaying monsters that rumors of new ones coming through Orkus had grown scarce.
Thus, the now-idle Rychlen thought:
“If there are no monsters to slay, I’ll explore dangerous places instead.”
His first destination was the forbidden land managed by the Church of Life.
A land overseen by the pilgrims of the Church of Life, filled with the Energy of Death, where no one was allowed entry. However, Rychlen used his renown to secure the privilege to enter.
—
“Land filled with the Energy of Death… The Dragon’s Tomb?”
“Yes. Back then, it was merely known as the forbidden land.”
“So Rychlen was the first to explore it?”
The Dragon Priestess nodded slightly.
“He was the first outsider of the Church of Life to step into the Undead-infested land. Before him, only members related to the Church managed it.”
“That’s… something I haven’t heard before.”
“The Church of Life kept it secret to avoid aspiring ‘second’ or ‘third Rychlens’ turning up dead there. But eventually, they did open the entrance after some time.”
“This could attract significant interest if published in academic circles.”
To my statement, the Dragon Priestess smirked and replied,
“That part you can publish without issue.”
“What about Baal?”
“Baal is off-limits. Not yet, anyway.”
At her firm response, I found myself unable to reply.
What secrets lie behind the name Baal?
—
Upon returning from exploring the forbidden land, Rychlen brought back a colossal dragon skull.
He explained that the land, due to the death aura emanating from the corpse of a dead dragon, was unsuitable for life and warned others accordingly while presenting the dragon skull as evidence, causing shivers down everyone’s spines.
Thus, the forbidden land came to be known as the Dragon’s Tomb.
Later, Rychlen traveled the world, exploring and repelling monsters. Among his notable adventures, one stands out—the palace located in the deep sea far out in the ocean.
Deep beneath the sea, beneath an endless vortex, lies the palace of the God of the Sea.
The queen revered by the mermaids resided there, a place inaccessible to Rychlen without the aid of the merfolk. There, he met the beautiful Queen Thetis, who honored his bravery by gifting him a pearl-sized treasure as big as a fist. After flaunting it for a few years, Rychlen eventually returned it to the merfolk.
—
After visiting the death-ridden forbidden land and the mermaid-guarded palace deep underwater, Rychlen decided on a new challenge.
It was to reach the bottom of the Infinite Maze located in Minoa and return alive.
Stories from his childhood taught by the King of Minoa spoke of this maze—its structure changing daily, growing deeper with each passing day, with no one having ever reached its end. Conquering it was only natural for Rychlen.
—
“The story of the Infinite Maze is widely known.”
“Hmm. Only Rychlen and Asterios who accompanied him managed to reach the bottom and return.”
At the Dragon Priestess’ words, I nodded in agreement.
Through multiple cross-verifications, Rychlen’s conquest of the Infinite Maze was an undeniable fact, especially since he achieved it alongside his mentor, King Asterios.
“True, though Asterios was past middle age, he was still formidable. It’d be a stretch to say he conquered it alone.”
“But isn’t it unique that only the two of them managed to conquer it?”
The Dragon Priestess nodded slightly.
“At that time, the total number of floors in the Infinite Maze was roughly 100. With two legendary heroes combining their strengths, it wasn’t impossible.”
“100 floors…?”
The exact number of floors has never been clearly determined, yet the Dragon Priestess seemed to know. Moreover, she spoke as if she had witnessed Rychlen’s exploits firsthand… somehow knowing which events were certain amidst the murky line between official and unofficial history…
Who exactly is this Dragon Priestess standing before me?
“Besides, Asterios had lived in the maze during his youth after being abandoned by his father, so he knew better than anyone how to find food within it. Thanks to his help, Rychlen alone wouldn’t have been able to conquer the maze.”
I don’t know. Who exactly is this Dragon Priestess standing before me?
A creeping suspicion arises, sending chills down my spine.
As if warning me not to dig too deeply into the truth…
My instincts scream caution, telling me that delving deeper won’t end well.
“Now, lastly… we can’t skip this. Rychlen’s journey to the Underworld.”
Unaware of my thoughts, the Dragon Priestess began recounting the most famous tale from Rychlen’s adventures: the story of the great hero who visited the Underworld and returned alive.
