Chapter 4: Magic Sword

Before setting off for the dungeon, I made a small confession to Fran at the front door.

“I wanted you to join the party. If you had, I might have been able to endure it a little longer.”

The heroes were carefully chosen by the king and other high-ranking officials.

Sometimes, an entire existing adventurer party would be selected, but more often than not, individuals were picked from across the kingdom.

Considering teamwork, the former had its advantages, but given the hero’s unique role, the situation changed.

The current mainstream approach was to assemble experts from different fields.

The average party size was four.

Among them, swordsmen and mages were essential roles and the most highly valued.

Fran had also been a candidate for the mage position, but she voluntarily gave up her qualification.

“I have no interest in fame. Besides, do you really think those guys would welcome a gloomy witch?”

Fran who had changed into her robes answered matter-of-factly.

“That gloominess is part of your charm, though.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“Ugh!”

She smacked me on the head with the staff she was holding.

“You could’ve just overpowered them with your skill… Claria is a step below you, after all.”

“That would’ve just made them even more resentful. I don’t even need to see it to know.”

“Mm… I can’t argue with that.”

In a way, she had been wise.

Even without experiencing it firsthand, she had predicted that hellish daily life.

“That bastard was staring at her chest!”

A loud, rough, and comical male voice echoed through the middle of the street.

For the record, it wasn’t mine.

The source was the staff Fran was holding.

“Levasthan, if you suddenly say things like that, people will start looking at me strangely.”

“So what! I’ll always say whatever I want, whenever I want!”

A wooden staff with a red crystal embedded at its head.

A sentient magical tool and Fran’s longtime partner, Levasthan, raised its voice.

“That lowlife, or whatever his name is…Louis was staring at Fran’s chest the whole time! If you keep hanging around with a pervert like that, he’s going to assault you one day! No way am I letting you be in the same party as a rapist!”

It ranted furiously while cursing Louis.

Come to think of it, this wasn’t the first time. Even when we were invited by the king, it had acted the same way.

Now, it’s just a memory, but back then, it was a real headache.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Levasthan was at least half the reason Fran never became a hero.

“That’s quite the leap. It’s only natural for men to be drawn to large breasts.”

“So you’re one of them too! You damn pervert!”

“Try thinking a little less extremely.”

I wasn’t exactly defending Louis, but on this point, I had to take his side.

Because, honestly, Fran’s chest was really big.

So much so that most men on the street would turn to look as she passed by.

Even without any ill intentions, it was only natural for eyes to be drawn to it.

“Don’t make my chest a topic of conversation.”

“Yeah, you lecherous bastard! If you think you can grope her just because you’re childhood friends, you’d better wake up from that dream!”

“You keep your mouth shut too.”

At Fran’s command, Levasthan immediately fell silent.

Seriously, that staff was as loud as ever.

Whoever had given it intelligence had clearly botched the job.

“What’s this? Are you getting embarrassed? Didn’t take you for the shy type.”

“Learn to read the room. You just sexually harassed me in the middle of a busy street, and yet you act so confident?”

Fran lightly tapped me on the head with her staff once again.

It was Levasthan who had brought up the topic of breasts in the first place.

“Well, I’m off. I’ll probably be back in about a week.”

“You don’t have to come back.”

“And what about the money I lent you?”

“…I’ll let it slide. Until you pay me back.”

Despite her curt words, Fran gave me a small wave as she saw me off.

***

At the bottom of a cliff lay a dungeon still largely unknown to the world.

A nameless cave deep within the forest, its origins shrouded in mystery.

In reality, it was an ancient ruin where treasures lay dormant, yet it had long been forgotten, lost to time and neglect.

If events followed their natural course, an adventurer would discover it about a year from now. But this time, I had beaten them to it.

“A sword would be the obvious choice.”

I had come here in search of a weapon.

My goal was to obtain a legendary magic sword and strengthen myself.

I wondered if Claria might have arrived first, but there were no signs that anyone had been here before me.

It was clear that no human had set foot in this place for centuries.

“That selfish woman wouldn’t bother helping others this early on.”

Claria was only on her second regression, and she was a mage at that.

There was no way she understood the true value of a magic sword.

Even if she had come across information about it in a past cycle, she would have dismissed it without much thought.

“It’s been a while since I tackled something solo.”

Lost in nostalgia, I stepped into the cave.

There was a time when I wandered the world, searching for places where powerful magic artifacts lay hidden.

All to change the future.

I would gather information, map out the optimal route, and once preparations were complete, I would set out with my comrades.

Louis, with his strong opinions, often put up the most resistance. It was always a struggle with him.

Only after barely managing to persuade him and successfully acquiring the artifact would I finally receive recognition for my efforts.

Looking back, it was a wonder how I had endured all that hardship.

After walking for a bit, I encountered three goblins.

Monsters that had made this abandoned ruin their home.

They let out their characteristic croaking sounds as they dragged their clubs along the ground, closing in on me.

I was alone.

As expected of low-ranking monsters, they failed to assess my strength and underestimated me.

The goblins steadily narrowed the distance before launching a three-pronged attack.

“Hup!”

I ducked low, narrowly avoiding a club swing, and drew the dagger from my belt.

Then, I slashed at the leg of the nearest goblin.

Its scream echoed through the narrow cave.

“Kreegh!?”

The other two flinched and instinctively stepped back.

Their gazes darted to their injured companion and their faces twisted in fear.

Realizing they were no match for me, they turned to flee. But it was already too late.

I cut their throats with swift movements.

Blood spurted like a fountain.

Without even a final cry, they collapsed lifelessly.

“…This won’t do.”

It was a flawless victory, but that was all.

I had dodged, caught up, and swung my dagger three times.

Even against mere goblins, I had needed too many movements.

If it had been Louis, a single strike would have been enough.

With one powerful slash, he would have cleaved all three goblins clean in half.

The reason for this difference was simple.

I was a Thief.

A Thief. Not a criminal, but a combat class.

Highly perceptive and adept at unlocking mechanisms. The Thief class was versatile, but their combat ability was somewhat lacking.

In game terms, they served as both a secondary damage dealer and a support role.

The real issue lay in their choice of weapon. The dagger.

It was optimal for maximizing agility, but only when fighting as part of a party.

Now that I was alone, wielding a sword would have been the more balanced option.

That was precisely why I was so eager to get my hands on a magic sword.

As I explored the ruins, I cut down any goblins I encountered along the way.

The map was already drawn in my mind.

Without losing my way, I reached the innermost depths.

“Finally, I’m here.”

A massive door blocked my path.

It was several times as tall as I was. Its surface was covered with dense hieroglyphs that I couldn’t decipher.

It was constructed in a way that made it impossible to open by sheer force.

A special key was required to pass through.

I took out the crystal I had purchased from the antique shop the day before and placed it into the indentation at the center of the door.

Clunk.

With a deep, heavy sound, the door began to open.

This was the key.

I hadn’t haggled over the price and spent 300 gold coins for nothing.

“Everything’s been smooth so far, but…”

Beyond the door lay a vast, domed chamber.

The walls were embedded with crystals that emitted a faint blue glow, and a pentagram was etched into the ceiling.

The air was stale, which was to be expected in a place that had been sealed off for ages.

And at the center of the room—

Atop the round altar, a single sword was embedded.

Its blade which was darker than the night sky immediately caught my eye.

Smooth and without a hint of rust, it looked sharp enough to cut through anything.

The legendary magic sword, long spoken of in myths, radiated an overwhelming presence.

I ascended the steps and stood before it.

I gripped the hilt and tried to pull it free with all my strength, but the sword remained firmly in place and refused to budge.

True to its legend, it was a weapon that only the chosen hero could wield.

As if unwilling to acknowledge me as its master, it resisted fiercely.

—Or at least, that was the kind of tale you’d find in a novel. In reality, I simply wasn’t strong enough.

“Looks like I need to work out.”

My body was specialized for the Thief class.

I knew all the best training methods, but having only just returned to the past, I lacked the strength to pull the sword out.

That was why I had come prepared….with explosives.

“People back then sure had a thing for grand displays.”

The effort put into embedding the sword into stone was impressive, but not many would just give up because they lacked the strength to pull it free.

There were stories about how forcing it out without the proper qualifications would break the blade, but there was always a workaround.

The trick was to place explosives in just the right spots and detonate them.

After countless trials and errors, I had mastered the technique.

With practiced hands, I placed a bead-shaped explosive at the base of the altar.

After connecting the fuse, I stepped back to a safe distance and lit it.

Boooooom!

A deafening explosion shook the entire chamber.

Dust filled the air, and cracks spread across the shattered altar.

The ground where the sword had been embedded also fractured, loosening its grip enough that I could pull it free with one hand.

As I carefully grasped the hilt, a dark aura shimmered from the blade like a mirage.

“Never thought I’d see the day I’d wield a magic sword.”

The magic swords scattered across the continent.

Among them, the one known as Shadow Fang, also called the Pitch-Black Magic Sword, had fallen into my hands.

“I was always the one handing these over to Louis.”

Magic swords were weapons meant for swordsmen.

For the sake of the party, I had always given these weapons to Louis.

He would say thanks, but more often than not, he just messed around.

Whenever I geared him up with powerful equipment and he got stronger, he would flaunt it as if it had been his own skill all along.

Well, to be fair, he was naturally talented.

“Not this time. This one’s mine.”

I slid Shadow Fang into the scabbard I had prepared in advance.

***

On my way back to Alto, the city where Fran was waiting.

After pushing through the forest for more than half a day, a narrow road finally came into view.

“…Maybe I should hitch a ride.”

Since the ruins had been so deep in the wilderness, I had spent the entire day walking.

In the hope of catching a passing carriage, I made my way down the road.

[The third regression of Claria has been completed.]

[A new timeline has been activated.]

So, another bad ending.

For me, though, this was good news.

Not because Claria had died and regressed, but because the timing was perfect.

I had secured the magic sword and updated my “save point”.

At this point, there was no longer a timeline where she could take everything from me.

She must have started to notice that her regression point was being pushed further and further back.

Right now, Claria was nowhere near my level. But complacency was never an option.

As I walked down the road, lost in thought, a commotion erupted up ahead.

I rushed toward the noise and saw a carriage lying on its side, engulfed in flames.

It looked like it had been ambushed by bandits.

“S-Someone, please—gaah!”

The coachman’s plea was cut short as the bandits cut him down without hesitation.

Then, a silver-haired girl was dragged out of the carriage.

“Jackpot! We hit the jackpot!”

She was dressed in an elegant gown and was thrown roughly to the ground.

After she got surrounded by rough-looking bandits, she trembled in fear.

As I watched the scene and began approaching, one of them noticed me.

“Who the hell are you?”

The man who seemed to be their leader shouted, and his underlings immediately moved to surround me.

I had been in a good mood, but they just had to ruin it.

Still, this was an opportunity….to test the power of my magic sword sooner than expected.

I drew Shadow Fang from my waist.

“Just a passing swordsman.”