Chapter 45
Chapter 45. The Dungeon (Formerly)
‘Transforming that gate… into a personal training area?’
Who casually drops a bombshell like that without offering a single shred of context?
Honestly, he could have just kept quiet and brought it up afterward.
Regardless, the moment Rokan revealed his plan to repurpose the gate into a practice ground, my mind began racing with endlessly distracting questions.
Considering that the dungeon belonged entirely to the Maple Guild, how on earth was he planning to acquire it? Furthermore, why go to such extreme lengths to remodel it purely for my sake?
An avalanche of questions fought for my attention, but he had already insisted on withholding the explanation until after our duel. For the time being, my only option was to spend the subsequent sixty minutes pouring every ounce of my remaining vitality into swinging my blade.
Grit gritting between my teeth, I traded hundreds, maybe even thousands of clashes against Rokan.
The relentless swinging pushed my body to its absolute physical threshold, while the sight of every single strike being effortlessly deflected tore away at my mental endurance. There were multiple instances where I felt like dropping my weapon and giving up, yet I ground my teeth together and weathered that agonizing sixty minutes.
Eventually, Rokan finally signaled that the session was over.
“Well handled.”
The second his words landed, my legs gave out and I tumbled directly to the earth, entirely devoid of the energy needed to utter a syllable.
Having gripped and swung steel continuously for over an hour, both of my palms burned a harsh crimson, and a deep, throbbing ache flared through my wrists at the tiniest twitch.
Honestly, this felt far less like a duel and much closer to outright torment.
As I lay sprawled across the floor unable to even part my lips, Rokan cast restorative magic over my battered body and handed me a container of water.
I gulped down the contents in a single, desperate breath, panting heavily once it was empty.
“…I honestly thought my life was over.”
“You are breathing, are you not? Then it was adequate.”
Though he spoke playfully, Rokan offered genuine praise, remarking that keeping up under such intense strain was a commendable feat.
Taking a sip from an extra restorative mixture he offered, I struggled to steady my breathing while fixating on the blade Rokan had shoved into the ground.
Prior to our practice, that weapon had been pristine, yet now several jagged notches lined its edge. Witnessing that damage gave me a sharp reminder of just how punishing today’s routine truly was.
Wrenching the weapon out of the earth, Rokan invoked Dragon Tongue to warp the two of us back to his private lair.
With my stamina far from restored, I sank heavily into a nearby seat and spoke up, “Rokan, can you finally explain that dungeon you brought up before?”
He had stated outright that he intended to convert the entirety of the Garden of Dragon Swords into a training space reserved solely for me.
Dangling such a massive detail in advance had caused my curiosity to torment me throughout the whole hour of combat.
“Very well. Were you truly that restless to know?”
“Naturally. You could have easily kept it to yourself until our session was finished.”
Hearing my mild grumbling, Rokan broke into an amused grin.
“I revealed it deliberately. I wished to observe whether your focus would waver when your mind was burdened with such thoughts.”
‘Ah.’
It turned out to be another calculated test of concentration rather than simple teasing.
‘…Does that kind of mental strain actually improve practical combat focus?’
“Regardless, I shall start by recounting what unfolded when I paid a visit to that dungeon.”
Rokan detailed how, on the previous day, he had joined members representing both the Maple Guild and the Hunter Association for a follow-up expedition into the Garden of Dragon Swords.
Originally, I was slated to participate in the initial sweep rather than Rokan, but unsurprisingly, the team had found nothing of value.
We likely should have caught on the moment the system indicated that the dungeon’s completion state had completely reset. Stepping inside revealed that the entire labyrinth had mysteriously reverted to the exact condition it possessed before “that incident.”
During that first trip, a guild delegate had even questioned me, asking, “Is there a hidden mechanism within Minjun’s sword?” before urging me to unsheath the blade to unseal the underground burial pathway.
I simply fabricated an excuse, stating that the weapon had shattered beyond repair after the chaos and could no longer operate.
Revealing secrets tied to the existence of dragons to the wider public was clearly a terrible idea.
Consequently, that first search concluded without unearthing a single breakthrough.
Evidently, the Maple Guild remained utterly determined to unveil the secrets veiled within the labyrinth, prompting them to assemble a significantly larger second expedition. Rokan had blended into that very gathering without drawing notice.
Yet even throughout that second foray, the mortal investigators departed with empty hands once more. Accessing that secluded zone necessitated an artifact charged with genuine dragon power, such as a Dragon Bone Sword, making their ultimate disappointment an absolute certainty.
Ultimately, their grand endeavor amounted to nothing more than squandered sweat, and they vacated the perimeter empty-handed.
“Once I ensured every human had departed, I made my way back into the depths.”
Venturing back in absolute secrecy, Rokan retrieved an extra Dragon Bone Sword stored within his pocket dimension and triggered the hidden passage leading beneath the burial grounds.
He thoroughly surveyed the subterranean chamber until he eventually set foot within the personal realm of Minos, the very domain where I had once been confined.
Initially, I pondered how he could casually stroll into such a restricted sanctuary. Yet taking a moment to reconsider, Rokan was an authentic dragon; stepping into such a place was about as difficult for him as entering his own living quarters.
Regardless of how ingeniously mortals constructed a labyrinth, an artificial dungeon could never hope to hold a dragon captive.
At any rate, Rokan stepped into the region where he presumed I had been held captive and began examining his surroundings.
I use the term “presumed” because the environment I originally encountered while imprisoned looked vastly dissimilar from the spectacle Rokan observed.
He recounted a surreal dimension where reality itself appeared shattered into countless shards, heaped clumsily on top of one another. Fractures webbed across the planes in every direction, producing an unsettling, chaotic atmosphere.
According to Rokan, the sight resembled a bizarre theatrical exhibit envisioned by a mind deep in the throes of delirium. Above all else, he noted, “The human known as Minos was absent. For an individual utterly consumed by Dragon Tongue to remain unresponsive even upon the arrival of a living dragon, my conclusion is…”
“He shrank away in terror?”
“Far from it. I could not detect the faintest trace of his lingering presence. Most likely, witnessing you speak Dragon Tongue finally resolved his centuries-old yearning, allowing the stubborn remnant tethered there to quietly dissipate.”
‘…So his entire desire really was just to watch a mortal harness Dragon Tongue?’
In a certain light, that obsession might have been the purest manifestation of insanity.
“Be that as it may, that is not the crucial matter here.”
Perhaps his throat had grown parched from the detailed narrative, as Rokan poured a cup of water, drank it down, and carried on.
“That man Minos was truly eccentric in a multitude of ways. Even accounting for his position as a monarch, I never would have anticipated him amassing such an absurd quantity of relics tuned to dragon power.”
Within the burial halls, Rokan had discovered not merely Dragon Bone Swords, but an entire catalog of rare artifacts forged to channel, intensify, and preserve draconic energy.
“He hailed from an entirely separate plane, making a precise monetary comparison difficult, but measured against the realm I once inhabited… a single one of those relics would equate to the two- or three-year treasury of an entire regional territory.”
Rokan clicked his tongue in mild disbelief, clearly reflecting on the vast hoard he had examined.
Given that Minos ruled as an emperor, possessing several magnificent heirlooms was hardly shocking, yet Rokan claimed to have located well over a hundred such items.
“Every relic he gathered was integrated into a unified formation. Upon studying it, I found the entire matrix densely layered with incantations specifically tailored to assist the application of Dragon Tongue.”
Put differently, the chamber had not merely been designed to emit or boost draconic power. The entire layout had been deliberately built to grant profound assistance to anyone attempting to manifest Dragon Tongue.
“I plan on bringing Shasha along soon so she can witness the site personally.”
For an authentic dragon like Rokan to offer such high praise meant the formation’s supportive power for Dragon Tongue had to be genuinely extraordinary.
The further I grasped the truth behind Minos, the more staggering his obsession appeared.
He had lingered as a wandering spiritual remnant within his burial mound across countless ages solely to behold that single phenomenon, sinking an unimaginable fortune into making that vision reality.
Judging from Rokan’s description, the complex runes etched across the sepulcher were far from commonplace.
‘I really judged you too harshly, Minos. I thought you were just a twisted maniac, but in truth, you were an utterly awe-inspiring visionary of madness.’
“Only a single thought crossed my mind upon viewing that sight.”
“That the location… would serve as an ideal environment for my growth?”
Rokan nodded in agreement. “Precisely. Though minor alterations will be required, that chamber provides every element necessary to nurture your growth. Assembling an infrastructure so flawlessly tailored to a mortal wielding Dragon Tongue would prove daunting even for beings of our lineage.”
With a dragon of Rokan’s caliber voicing such glowing commendation, there was little room left for doubt.
The realization that I could soon undergo far more structured, efficient training than ever before filled me with a sudden surge of thrill.
Yet that excitement proved fleeting.
Looking at the reality of the situation, that place was ultimately a crypt.
Essentially, I would be spending vast stretches of time honing my techniques right next to a resting corpse.
‘That is going to feel distinctly eerie.’
Who spends their days practicing inside the mausoleum of an otherworldly monarch, particularly one remembered by his subjects as a just and revered sovereign throughout his reign?
Seeing me sink quietly into contemplative unease, Rokan let out an amused chuckle.
“I have a good idea of what is crossing your mind, yet you must bear with it. It remains undeniable that, through that very man, you forged your initial genuine breakthrough in mastering Dragon Tongue.”
‘…He is right about that.’
I had endured a grueling ordeal within those walls, yet that trial had undeniably advanced my control over Dragon Tongue in a tangible way.
If anything, it was entirely fair to say that Minos had hastened the moment I could walk beside Sia without restraint.
“…You speak the truth.”
“At any rate, keep that in mind. My schedule will be quite full moving forward, handling the acquisition of the dungeon and overseeing the structural adjustments.”
“Hold on, Rokan. What happens if the guild refuses… to part with the property?”
Considering that a royal crypt had just been unveiled inside, the site’s market worth had surely skyrocketed. Furthermore, it served as an invaluable training ground for up-and-coming talent.
If the leadership of the Maple Guild belonged to me, I certainly would not give it up without serious resistance.
Rokan offered a calm, matter-of-fact response, as if dealing with an utterly obvious query.
“They will surrender it. Do mortals not possess a familiar proverb? Whenever wealth fails to resolve a dilemma, it merely indicates that the sum offered was insufficient.”
‘Ah.’
That made absolute sense. Sia carried around countless high-tier treasures, precious ores, and jewels wherever she wandered. What sort of boundless fortune must Rokan, who previously sat upon the Throne, hold in reserve?
While feeling awestruck by that unfathomable wealth, a profound wave of gratitude washed over me, knowing he was willing to mobilize such astronomical assets purely for my sake.
“I understand. Truly, thank you, Rokan.”
“Save your appreciation. Recover your strength for a short while longer, complete your recuperation drills, and only then may you take your leave.”
“Understood!”
“One additional detail.”
Rokan called back, pausing momentarily as though searching for the most suitable phrasing before continuing.
“It appears I have an abundance of pleasant news to deliver to you today.”
“You mean…?”
I fixed my gaze upon him, my eyes wide with hopeful expectation.
“I believe it is now permissible for you to share a bit more time alongside Shasha going forward.”
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