With those words, the great warrior’s body began to collapse.
Watching it finally crumble apart piece by piece, Ian let out a small sigh of relief.
“Whew.”
By then, Tarian had already approached and was looking at Ian.
“Young Master.”
“Ah, I’m fine—”
“As expected, Young Master, you are insane.”
Tarian said it in a slightly more excited tone than usual.
Ian stared blankly at him for a moment.
“That’s a compliment, right?”
“It is the greatest compliment of my life.”
Tarian smiled brightly.
***
-I was trapped in this place for countless years.
-A life spent endlessly waiting for something. I thought that was my fate.
-Thanks to you, I was able to personally defeat a powerful warrior of the past. As a warrior, I offer you my thanks.
[You have successfully completed your Pact with the Ancient Northern Steel Sword (Normal).]
[The proficiency of ‘Northern Swordsmanship (A)’ has increased.]
[‘Northern Swordsmanship (A)’ ▶ ‘Northern Swordsmanship (A+)’]
[‘Northern Swordsmanship’ has reached Mastery!]
Messages rapidly filled Ian’s vision.
Mastery.
It was a stage reached after raising a Skill’s proficiency beyond a certain point.
In practical terms, the Skill was nearing completion.
‘I didn’t expect it to rise this far.’
In the game, simply raising proficiency would have been enough.
But now that this world was reality, things were slightly different.
Proficiency was essentially knowledge.
To truly be called a master, he would have to completely embody that knowledge.
And Mastery was not merely a title.
‘It comes with various additional effects.’
[Northern Swordsmanship (A+)]
[Rank : Normal]
[Description : Swordsmanship used by northern warriors. Crude, but weighty.]
[Mastery : Reduces the chance of dropping your weapon or having it destroyed.]
Ian clenched his fist as he looked at the newly added effect.
For a moment, exhilaration surged through him at having reached such a stage.
“Young Master, I believe we should start gathering everything.”
“Looks like it.”
The ice that had covered the entire chamber began to melt, and the weapons embedded within it started falling free.
The Dungeon would begin collapsing before long.
“Come inside.”
“I-Is it already over?”
The soldiers began entering with startled voices.
“You see those weapons over there?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s move them.”
“Pardon?”
Saying that, Ian immediately strode forward and took Frost Fang.
At the same time, the surroundings began melting even faster.
“We’d better hurry.”
“I will help.”
With Tarian joining in, they led the soldiers and hurried toward the Dungeon exit.
Then Ian realized that the greatsword left behind by the great warrior had not disappeared.
He immediately took that as well.
Perhaps because they had gotten at least a short rest, the soldiers were still in decent condition.
They barely made it outside before the Dungeon began collapsing.
‘We got everything worth taking.’
Frost Fang.
The greatsword the great warrior had used.
And he had reached the new stage of Mastery.
On top of that, his Standing had risen from Sword Beginner to Sword User.
-This wielder is a young warrior.
-To think you defeated the great warrior and now hold me.
-You have passed the first trial.
[You have successfully completed your Pact with Frost Fang (Rare).]
[You have acquired ‘Frost’s Blessing (C)’!]
A message suddenly appeared before Ian’s eyes.
‘The Pact is already complete?’
The thought surfaced instinctively.
He had not even expected to complete a Pact with Frost Fang.
Frost Fang was a Rare-grade sword at minimum, so he had naturally assumed an even more difficult Pact would await him.
But.
‘I already fulfilled it?’
While Ian was still bewildered, Frost Fang’s voice continued.
-The Pact has already been formed.
-To possess strength befitting my stature and overcome the trial.
-Young warrior, you have earned that qualification.
He had already earned the qualification?
Could swords above a certain grade form Pacts at their own discretion?
It did not really matter.
Whether he carried them out was still his choice.
And besides......
‘If that was the first trial, that means there are more stages after this.’
That was welcome news.
It meant he had gained another means of becoming stronger.
There was a reason Frost Fang was called a magic sword.
The effect of the newly acquired Frost’s Blessing was simple, yet astonishing.
[Frost’s Blessing (C)]
[Rank : Rare]
[Description : Frost Fang’s blessing settles over the entire body. Magical power efficiency increases, and frost dwells within your mana. At times, Frost Fang places a Frost Curse upon the opponent.]
‘Elemental mana, and a Frost Curse?’
Judging by the description, it worked by inflicting a freezing debuff on the enemy.
It was practically an additional Skill.
Frost Fang itself already contained cold, so the synergy was impossible to overstate.
Even setting aside the increased magical power efficiency......
‘This is insane.’
And it was a Rare-grade Skill, something he had never obtained before.
It was unmistakable proof that his Standing had risen another stage.
“Your presence has changed.”
“Has it?”
“Yes. You feel completely different even compared to a moment ago.”
Ian held Frost Fang and swung it around experimentally.
As expected, he still could not properly draw out mana yet.
His next goal would be to train his magical power and bring his mana to bloom.
“As far as swordsmanship is concerned, it would be fair to say you have already reached the upper ranks of Sword User.”
“I’ve still got a long way to go.”
“......Indeed.”
Tarian looked as though he wanted to say something, but gave up.
Of course, Ian understood his own growth rate better than anyone.
It was on a completely different level from anything before.
But he was still hungry.
‘I need to grow stronger.’
There was still plenty of room left for him to improve.
“Whoa. What are all these weapons......?”
“Don’t these look like the kind of weapons decent knights would use?”
“If we had this many, gulp.”
Greed entered the soldiers’ eyes as they looked over the weapons they had gathered.
They really were high-quality weapons.
In the Rashid Territory, which lacked both budget and skilled artisans, top-class weapons like these were rarely seen.
“You’ll be able to receive some once we return.”
“......!”
“They’ll be distributed according to ability, though.”
Ian planned to hand out most of the weapons without hesitation.
After completing their Pacts first, of course.
“According to ability? Then that means......”
“W-We’ll train! We’ll train even harder!”
Motivation flared in the soldiers’ eyes.
‘I was planning to give these guys some anyway.’
Probably better not to tell them.
They had already pulled a step ahead of the other soldiers by sparring with him so often.
If this made them train more proactively, Ian could not ask for anything better.
“Then let’s head back.”
After collecting the magical beast materials they had stored nearby, they began making their way back toward the territory.
With the weapons and all the materials together, they had nearly a full wagon’s worth of supplies.
The Dungeon had not been very far from the territory, but it was already quite late, so the return journey still took time.
“At this rate, we will not arrive until around dawn.”
“It’d be better to camp here and return afterward.”
They had dealt with the Dungeon, but the surrounding area was not completely secure yet.
While everyone prepared to camp outside, Ian inspected the greatsword he had obtained as well.
-You are the one who granted my master his rest.
-I can clearly see the qualities of a warrior in you.
-I ask that you grant me rest as well.
[Grant rest to the Weary Ancient Northern Greatsword (Normal)]
[0/1]
This Pact felt different from the ones before.
A sword asking for rest.
‘It wants me to break it.’
It strongly gave the impression that it did not wish to be wielded by anyone else.
That made sense.
Ian did not know when the Dungeon had formed, but there was no doubt the sword had been used for a very long time.
“All right.”
There was no reason not to grant its request.
Ian slowly gripped Frost Fang and swung hard at the greatsword.
CLANG—!
“......?”
Tarian looked at him in confusion at the sudden strange act.
Like its master, the greatsword had already been cracked.
It soon broke in half and reached the end of its usefulness.
-Warrior, thank you. As one final gift......
With those words, the voice faded away.
[You have successfully completed your Pact with the Weary Ancient Northern Greatsword (Normal).]
[You have acquired ‘Frigid Hide (C)’!]
And so Ian acquired another new Skill.
Its effect was extremely simple.
[Frigid Hide (C)]
[Rank : Normal]
[Description : A physical conditioning method used by ancient northern warriors. The skin becomes tougher and is less easily wounded.]
‘Oh, this is......’
It was a Skill he had never seen before.
Ancient northern warriors.
In the original game, they had existed only in the setting, so Ian had never even imagined they would have their own Skills.
This was good enough to receive a favorable evaluation on its own.
It essentially meant increased defense, making the build even more useful.
‘Does it increase natural healing too?’
The wound beneath his bandages felt as though it were healing more quickly.
Apparently, the Skill also granted a certain amount of regenerative ability.
“This is nice.”
“It certainly is a fine sword. To break a greatsword like that without even taking a scratch.”
“Well, that too.”
Tarian had apparently misunderstood him, but Ian had no reason to correct him.
Despite being an ancient sword according to the setting, Frost Fang was still honed to a razor edge.
‘Perfect as my main weapon.’
He could not exactly face the powerful enemies he would meet in the future with training iron swords or wooden swords.
After standing watch in shifts through the night, morning arrived.
Ian and the soldiers gathered their spoils and began heading back toward the territory.
“F-Finally!”
A soldier murmured quietly.
After the exhausting journey, the outer walls appearing in the distance slowly grew larger.
“Ian!”
And standing in front of them was his brother, though Ian had no idea how long he had been waiting there.
“Brother.”
“You returned safely.”
Relief was evident on Cain Rashid’s face.
“You did well.”
“Not at all. You’re the one who’s had the harder time, Brother.”
Indeed, exhaustion filled the area around his brother’s eyes.
Ian watched him for a moment, then began showing him what they had brought back.
“W-What in the world is all this?”
“Spoils from the Dungeon, and materials we obtained while subjugating magical beasts.”
“Ian.”
“Yes?”
“You truly are a blessing to our family.”
With those words, his brother immediately pulled him into an embrace.
Ian had no particular interest in being hugged by another man, but it was quite warm.
“The Monsters near the territory have been decreasing rapidly. We’ll finally be able to resume trade reliably.”
His brother continued with a bright smile.
“Rather than standing here, let’s go inside. The soldiers must be exhausted as well.”
“We should.”
“There’s also something I need to tell you.”
“......?”
“An invitation arrived.”
His brother showed him a letter.
Its contents were simple.
The hegemon of the North.
The bulwark of the Empire.
An invitation had arrived from the Bahen Grand Ducal House.