Having successfully taken Dannes with me and obtained a permit to go out, I wriggled in joy.
However, a problem remained.
Considering that I was still in my hospital gown when I came out to meet Dannes, I hadn’t actually been discharged from the hospital yet.
In essence, this was a situation where I had secretly snuck out.
‘Since I left a note, it shouldn’t be a big issue, right?’
I had left a note saying I would be out for a while, so there shouldn’t be any significant problems.
Of course, if someone found out that I had suddenly disappeared without saying a word, they would be surprised, but leaving a note about where I was going would cause less of a fuss than vanishing without a trace.
‘So this is what being a magician is about.’
Stella, seriously…
How engrossed had she been in her studies?
Even when I left to go outside, she hadn’t noticed at all that I was leaving after placing the note I asked Dannes to bring.
Normally, she would ask where I was going when I tried to leave, but today she remained silent, fixated on her book.
Even now, with no sounds coming from her, it seemed like she still hadn’t realized I was gone.
Normally, when magicians focus on their research, they can become oblivious to everything else, so it wouldn’t be too strange, but I wondered just how immersed in her studies one must be to not notice when I said goodbye.
Isn’t that what they mean by being in a state of trance?
“Hey… why do I have to follow you?”
Evan’s curious thoughts reached me.
It was no surprise that Evan, who was isolated in the training grounds practicing swordsmanship, was confused by my sudden call.
I had dragged him out, insisting he follow me to a place I needed to be.
Well, I wouldn’t say I dragged him out since there was a place I needed to go, and he agreed to follow.
It was too bothersome to explain everything, so I decided to stick with a prophecy.
“[I received a prophecy.]”
For whatever reason, Dannes caught on to this, but Evan wouldn’t realize it if I said it this way.
In truth, the place I was headed was a hidden dungeon that I shouldn’t have had any reason to visit.
In ancient times, it was set up as a secret dungeon for the hero to grow, but it was so old that it lay buried beneath the ground.
If a party of saviors had raided the place, they would have given the necklace used by the previous hero to Evan long ago, but since Evan didn’t have such a necklace, it meant that Arhen hadn’t given it to him.
‘Still, I hope no one took it away…?’
In the game, it was called an experience necklace, which granted additional experience points for defeating monsters or successfully completing quests.
In other words… it’s a type of experience-boosting item.
My insistence on getting it as soon as possible stemmed from that reason.
If it boosts the experience gained by a percentage, then it would have to be obtained quickly for efficient use.
In fact, for those who play multiple cycles of the game, the first thing they do is clear these kinds of hidden dungeons.
It’s because it gives them items that make subsequent playthroughs much easier.
My Lightstone is such an item.
Under my original specs, it would be difficult to face an upper-level demon, but using the Lightstone which is a relic of the sun god, I could easily take out an entire arm in one strike, right?
‘Looking back now, it’s amusing.’
At that time, I considered it a game mechanic and overlooked it, but seeing that it’s a dungeon made for ancient heroes or a necklace containing the experiences of past heroes made me realize how ridiculous that is.
Since it was a game, I didn’t pay much attention to it, but now that everything has become reality, the existence of such items is quite surprising.
I’m unsure how quickly experience gain will work in reality, but at the very least, I should be able to grow stronger faster than now, right?
In this situation where I have no idea how brutal the difficulty is, the best course of action was to get it quickly and hand it over to Evan.
“This is… the Academy’s back mountain? Why here…?”
Seeing that it was located at the Academy’s back mountain felt exceptionally blatant.
‘The back mountain and a forest… this is the capital, you know…’
Though dungeons of this type often appear behind the scenes of the setting, this was perhaps too blatant.
Although it is the Academy in the capital of the Arhen Empire, given the location, it was ridiculous that a back mountain and forest existed here.
Having such a dungeon in this terrain is absurd.
Anyway… let’s just say that it’s a game.
I mean, doesn’t Seoul have back mountains as well?
It’s kind of like that.
“[Evan, if it’s not too much trouble, could you ignite your sacred sword in the form of fire with your divine power?]”
“Fire form?”
“[Yes.]”
Of course, if it’s a relic of that type, it should be made inaccessible by just anyone.
The hidden dungeon is designed to be drawn to the sacred power of the hero’s sword, but it was made so that it wouldn’t be easily found if one looked for it widely.
To find the path, one must use the sacred power of the sword as a purifying divine power to see which direction it flies in.
Even I, as a saint, couldn’t do it.
It could only be done with Evan’s sacred sword.
As the purifying flame rose, it didn’t rise passively into the sky, but rather a flame made of divine power directly moved and pointed in one direction.
Both Evan and Dannes, who were watching this, had startled expressions.
“Saint… what is this…?”
“[Just follow that flame.]”
Finally, Evan, having gained trust in my words about the prophecy, swallowed hard and followed the flame as I instructed.
“What happens if we don’t follow this flame?”
“[You won’t be able to find it. It’s designed so that you can only reach the ruins hidden within the barrier by following the path shown by the divine power.]”
From here on, even for someone like me who was familiar with the game, paths change regularly, and since it’s buried beneath the past’s lost barrier, walking around randomly for a lifetime wouldn’t help us find it.
At first, both Evan and Dannes were filled with suspicion, but after witnessing such an outrageous phenomenon with their own eyes, they finally took my words seriously and began to follow the flame with more solemn expressions than before.
Nothing pops out or any incidents occur along the way.
Well, once we enter the dungeon, trials will begin under the guise of challenges.
But since I already know how to clear those kinds of trials, there shouldn’t be any major issues. After walking following the flame for a while, it began to move slightly downward until it pointed straight below at a perfect 90-degree angle.
“What is this…?”
The flame, which should have risen to the sky, was instead extending downward, which was truly bizarre.
‘I’ve arrived.’
Indeed, it was buried beneath.
It’s flowing just as I remembered.
“Hey… is it down there?”
Evan, who had arrived but saw nothing, questioned me about whether it was really below.
I nodded my head.
“[Drive the sacred sword into the ground.]”
– What? Wait, I don’t want to do that!
Suddenly, when I told them to pierce it into the ground, Esther shouted, but there was no other way.
There was no way to open the door to trials without this method.
Ignoring Esther’s outcry, Evan gathered his divine power and drove it into the earth.
Originally, during the story progression, players would hear rumors in side quests that there’s a trial chamber for ancient heroes here.
Well, it’s a quest that’s fine whether you clear it or not.
Naturally, the side quest that reveals the identity of this trial path includes figurative instructions on how to open the door as well.
What was it again…
『O wielder of the sacred sword, anchor that power in this land and prove yourself.』
『Then the path to trials shall reveal itself.』, I think.
Kuwakuwakuwakwang!
“What the…?”
Dannes and Evan watched in astonished expressions as the large door-shaped ruins that had been underground slowly began to reveal themselves.
To the two of them, who were staring blankly at the fully revealed trial door of the ancient hero, I stepped forward and said,
“[Let’s go inside.]”
They should assume they won’t be able to come out today.
After all, trials are trials, so this will greatly help Evan grow as a hero.
