The Opportunity from the Game Became Reality – Chapter 178
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The Opportunity from the Game Became Reality – Chapter 178
42. Dragonlands (4)
We discovered a new door in the forest.
It was located at the opposite end from the entrance we came through, and the distance from door to door looked to be at least 1km.
A space that couldn't possibly exist underground.
It must have been expanded by magic.
"It seems like a spatial expansion spell has been cast. I've never seen one on this scale before."
"At this scale, it's less like spatial expansion and more like spatial creation. I've heard it's a magic favored by dragons."
I expressed my amazement at Blake's explanation.
Spatial creation was a higher concept than subspace, and the pinnacle of the 9th-circle.
As expected of a relic from the Mythic Era.
No — even among Mythic Era ruins, this space felt particularly special.
We approached the door to head to the next room, and once again, no traps of note were visible.
For all of Blake's caution, the exploration had been far too easy.
But what Blake said next made my expression harden.
"As I thought, it's been too peaceful so far."
"What?"
"It means there's something beyond this. Something with a powerful presence, at that."
Something feels off.
If there's a Guardian protecting a ruin, shouldn't it be positioned near the entrance?
The key device (dimensional teleportation device) is at the entrance, yet the being guarding the ruin is deeper inside — it all felt unbalanced.
"Perhaps we came in through the back door."
"Is that possible?"
"It happens sometimes. No matter how intact it appears, this is still a ruin that's been around for at least tens of thousands of years. It wouldn't be strange for it to have glitches."
Blake said.
In this case, it's like hitting the jackpot — normally you just grab the good stuff inside and leave.
But considering the abilities of the exploration party and how special this ruin is, stopping here would be a waste.
So we decided to push forward.
"Assume battle formation."
Raising our guard, we stepped into the ruin's third space.
The third space had a completely different atmosphere from the first and second.
Should I say it felt more touched by human hands?
The pure white surroundings were the same as the first room, but all around were countless tables, dressers, and devices of unknown purpose.
"A dining hall? No, a lounge?"
I couldn't say for certain.
But one thing was clear...
[Intruder.]
[Intruder...]
[Unauthorized intruder.]
Three Guardians stood still like mannequins, then lifted their heads, radiating a pure white light from their eyes — their hostility was unmistakable.
Then, something like an angel's halo formed above the heads of those robed figures in white priest-like robes, and golden light particles began to burst from their backs.
Along with the golden particles resembling wings, their bodies rose into the air.
[Guardian of the Heavenly Tribe (?) / Relic]
-Presumed to be a Guardian protecting the relics of the Heavenly Tribe.
Within a Mythic Era ruin, the Myriad Mirror proved surprisingly useless.
"W-What are those?"
I asked Blake in a fluster, but he too only shook his head.
"I've never seen them before."
"What?"
"It's not like I know everything about the Mythic Era either. But one thing's certain — they won't be easy opponents. Especially the one in the middle..."
It's 3-on-3.
Both sides even have one notably powerful figure taking the role of captain.
But they're clearly holy attribute, while our captain Blake is shadow attribute — a disadvantageous matchup.
"Still, we've got a decent shot. You two handle the ones on the sides. They look a bit tough for you, though."
"We don't have a choice."
The captain Guardian is on par with Blake at Lordmaster rank, and the two on either side aren't Lordmaster-class, but can be considered top-tier among Grandmasters.
Is this because it's a Mythic Era ruin?
Even the Guardians protecting the facility are dragon-grade...
But what Blake said next was more than enough to raise mine and Arcia's spirits.
"And do you see? The weapons they're holding. The mechanism differs from yours, but those are Holy Swords too."
I opened my eyes wide and studied the enemies' weapons.
The two held one-handed swords, and one held a spear — not in the beam-sword form like my Excalibur, but the energy coating the blade in a fresh white layer was all too familiar.
[Heavenly Tribe One-Handed Sword / Holy Relic]
-A sword used by the Heavenly Tribe during the Mythic Era.
-A Mithril blade thickly coated with Orichalcum.
-When Mana or Divine power is channeled, it condenses, amplifies, and releases energy, taking on a form similar to an Aura Blade reinforced by Force.
-Materials: Mithril (1.2kg), Orichalcum (400g), Holy Blood Stone (32g)
Perhaps because of the Excalibur I possess, even as a Relic, the information was displayed precisely.
I was deeply impressed.
A Holy Sword is an implement capable of generating a Grandmaster-class Saint Blade on its own.
"The spear. That one's mine. I'm calling dibs."
I pointed at the spear-type Holy Sword — no, Holy Spear — among them and said that.
Blake let out a wry laugh.
"Say that after we win!"
Blake's figure blurred...
-BOOM!
He appeared before the Guardian radiating the thickest golden light among the three, swinging his sword.
The Guardian reacted in time and blocked the strike.
But being airborne, the Guardian was pushed back by Blake's force and sent flying.
It was as if he'd opened up distance for us to fight comfortably.
"Let's go."
Arcia and I decided to fight not 1v1, but 2v2.
In battle, the two of us move in sync like a single organism — I'm confident of that.
Arcia took the lead with her shield raised, and I stayed right behind her.
As we began to charge, the two Guardians facing us flew toward us as well.
Her charge speed wasn't as explosive as Blake's, since she had to match my pace.
"Warp Gate."
My magic erased the distance between the two sides.
A blue circular gate formed in front of us as we ran.
Passing through it, what came into view was the backs of the two Guardians flying toward us.
"That robe looks pretty sturdy — it won't burn away in one hit, will it?"
-CRAAAASH!
I gifted the two hastily turning figures a Hellfire — the ultimate 8th Circle spell.
Hell's black flames engulfed them, shaking the ruin.
But it was clear this wouldn't kill them, so we pressed forward straight into the heat.
-CRASH!
-CLANG!
Sharp impact sounds rang out in succession from Arcia's shield.
Arcia's defense was firm enough to have blocked a Lordmaster's Strike from Blake.
Though it was only a single exchange, it was enough to gauge the opponent's level, and I judged this:
'We can handle this?'
It felt easier than Blake's warning had suggested.
Defense succeeded — now came our attack.
But in the next moment, I realized why Blake had said it would be tough.
"Hah!"
"Hah!"
Arcia and I both gasped at the same time.
-Swoosh!
The reason: blades of Divine power had formed both beneath our feet and above our heads, surging toward us.
"Grand Shield!"
I defended the ground, and Arcia defended above.
Forming Grand Shield as a sphere could block both directions, but there wasn't enough time for the spell to fully take shape.
"They're using Holy magic too."
If Myriad Mirror had properly read their information, we could have prepared a bit, but since it couldn't, we were badly caught off guard.
The power of their Holy magic was at most 7th Circle level.
But Guardians with Grandmaster-class combat power also using 7th Circle magic — that's cheating, in my book.
Whether you're 8th Circle or 7th Circle, one bad hit from a failed defense means death either way.
"Blackie!"
I urgently summoned Black Eagle.
Because I needed to commit all my strength.
[Soldiers.]
Was it because I called in an ally during a 2v2 that they got angry?
-Screeeech.
With an incomprehensible utterance from the two Guardians, the ground split open, and snow-white skeletons emerged from it.
Those were the Dragonbone Soldiers, famous as the gatekeepers of dragon lairs.
"Your friends?"
Each one was at the level of a High Knight equipped with Force Equipment.
At a glance, there looked to be nearly a hundred of them.
"W-What!?"
Even Blake, who had been battling at an invisible speed, revealed himself in shock.
"This is way over the line."
But I wasn't flustered.
Because there was a weapon that would work well enough if it was at the level of a Vanguard of Aura Expert, not an Aura Master.
"Aegis!"
Then, above our heads, a perfect sphere of metal appeared.
A massive sphere of metal with a diameter of 100 meters.
"Clean up the Dragonbone Soldiers."
I then gave the command into the air.
And soon, that orb
-BOOM! BANG! BANG! CRASH!
Began firing.
It was one of the two summonable Heaven-Piercing Fortresses left by Grand Duke Lucas (Icarus, Aegis), and the defense-specialized Heaven-Piercing Fortress I obtained upon reaching the 8th Circle.
The reason I summoned Aegis rather than Icarus, which was made for offense, was simply because of its smaller size.
Still, saying it's defense-specialized is just a nice way to put it—a Heaven-Piercing Fortress is a Heaven-Piercing Fortress.
You can't ignore its firepower.
Aegis's bombardment didn't deal any damage to the Guardians, but it was extremely effective against the Dragonbone Soldiers.
'The Mythic Era certainly has a lot of incredible things, but this shows that Grand Duke Lucas wasn't called a great man who dominated an era for nothing.'
Seizing the moment when the Guardians' attention was drawn to Aegis, we launched our attack.
* * *
The battle didn't last more than an hour.
The result was our victory—surprisingly anticlimactic compared to the initial pressure.
It was a conclusion made possible because the Dragonbone Soldiers were pushed back by the Heaven-Piercing Fortress and couldn't do much, and Aegis's rampage kept drawing the Guardians' aggro toward it.
Thanks to Aegis, our battle became much easier, and although there were a few tight spots, we endured them well and seized victory.
"Calling the two of you was the right call. I was actually complaining earlier that the first two rooms were so easy we'd just split the treasure without much trouble. That complaint just vanished."
Blake struggled until the very end.
It seems the difference in attributes was something that couldn't be ignored after all.
Still, without him, winning against a dragon-class Guardian would have been a pipe dream.
While it's true that the victory was secured thanks to me, the one with the greatest contribution was still Blake—the discoverer of this ruin and the one with the strongest combat power.
"By the way, Manuel is amazing too. To create something like that."
This was my first time using Aegis in actual combat, and I could tell the title of defensive Heaven-Piercing Fortress wasn't given for nothing.
Because even though the Guardians' attacks struck Aegis multiple times, it completed its mission without major damage.
Considering that a normal Heaven-Piercing Fortress would fall helplessly to a Grandmaster's Sword Aura, this was an enormous difference.
"Now it's time for rewards."
We gathered the remains of the destroyed Guardians, the equipment they wore, and the treasures found by searching the third room.
"First, let's each take what belonged to the Guardian we fought."
"Yes."
From the Guardians, we were able to obtain a Holy Sword and a robe. The robe was reduced to rags, but it had a self-repair function, so it quickly returned to its original form.
The robe was made with precious Orichalcum as its core, mixed with White Dragon hide and Mithril thread.
It was an item on the level of an Empire national treasure.
But the biggest gain was, of course, the Holy Sword.
A Holy Sword, which could release energy like Force Equipment, was a weapon that outclassed the Force Sword and was a treasure with no substitute.
"Can a Dark Elf even use a Holy Sword?"
"As long as you wrap your hand in Aura to hold it, it's fine."
Blake stroked the Holy Sword he had obtained, looking proud.
The only problem is that every time his hand touches it, there's a faint smell of burning flesh.
Unless he wraps his hand in Aura, the Holy Sword is nothing but a cursed item that continuously damages him.