Chapter 44 _ The Silver Awakening, or the Thunder of the Soul
The silence that followed Adnan’s request
weighed heavily on the room.
“…So this is the place,” I murmured.
“Morne Cave… the dungeon where Roger—
no, where Roger Brown lost his life.”
Hans nodded quietly.
“Yes… you figured it out quickly.”
“It was the only thing that made sense,” I continued.
“When Wilfred went silent, there could only be one reason.
I’d heard about Roger before—
how he entered a low-level dungeon rumored to hide treasure deep within.”
Wilfred clicked his tongue.
“I’m not shaken.
I’m not that soft.”
But then, after a pause—
“…Still, I never thought I’d set foot there again.
Feels like fate dragging me back.”
“Do you… not want to go?” I asked.
“…That’s what I can’t figure out.”
Wilfred stared into the distance.
“Roger was a master ranger.
Stealth, detection—he excelled at all of it.”
His voice dropped.
“And yet… he died without resistance.
Burned to ash in an instant.
That means one thing—
there’s a high-tier monster down there.”
The room fell silent.
Wilfred wanted revenge.
But bringing a low-level adventurer like me
risked repeating the same tragedy.
That conflict bound him.
Breaking the silence, Frey spoke sharply.
“So, Wilfred.
What will you do?”
“Obviously,” he replied without hesitation.
“I’ll avenge Roger.”
“Then there is nothing to debate.
You fight.”
Frey’s tone was absolute.
“A fire-breathing monster that pierces stealth
narrows the candidates greatly.”
“You already know?” Iris asked.
“Of course.
Only a Sphinx fits.”
“A Sphinx…!?”
Iris and I exchanged glances.
The name alone sent chills down my spine.
“You fear too easily,” Frey scoffed.
“Are you not preparing to face a Divine Dragon
and the Demon King themselves?”
“A Sphinx is nothing compared to them.
And this time, thanks to Roger’s sacrifice,
we know what we’re dealing with.”
“…All right,” Wilfred said.
“Let’s do it.”
The next morning,
we entered the fog-shrouded Morne Cave.
As expected of a so-called beginner dungeon,
the monsters along the way fell easily to Wilfred’s blade.
Soon, we reached the deepest chamber.
An ancient ruin—
precisely cut stone blocks forming a massive hall,
thirty meters long and ten wide.
At the far wall stood a lion statue.
“This is it,” Wilfred explained.
“Turn the statue, and it opens a sealed chamber.”
He swallowed.
“That’s where we found Roger’s body.
There was a short sword on a pedestal…
but we prioritized recovering him.”
“…Let’s go,” I said.
“Iris—are you ready?”
“…Y-yes.
I’ll give everything I’ve learned.”
I turned the statue.
The wall rotated, revealing the chamber.
At its center stood a pedestal—
and upon it rested a blade.
Not a short sword.
A foil—
needle-thin, razor-sharp,
emitting a pale, silver-blue glow.
The moment I reached for it—
Clack.
The floor sank.
And then—
The wall behind us rotated again.
From the deeper chamber emerged the Sphinx.
It was nothing like the stone monuments of legends—
its human-like face disturbingly alive.
Sensing my fear,
it spat a massive fireball.
“Anti-Fire Sphere!”
Frey’s spell formed a glowing white dome around us.
The fireball crashed into it—
and vanished harmlessly.
Wilfred charged instantly.
“Blizzard!”
Hans’s spell veered slightly to the right.
The Sphinx dodged left—
exactly as planned.
Wilfred’s blade struck deep.
But the monster barely flinched.
Another fireball gathered.
I fired my crossbow.
The bolt pierced its shoulder,
forcing the spell off course.
“Good cover!”
Wilfred struck again—
this time, the damage was clear.
Then—
The Sphinx roared.
Its wounds closed rapidly.
“Blizzard!”
“Thunder!”
Hans and Iris cast simultaneously.
And yet—
The Sphinx avoided Iris’s weaker Thunder,
enduring Hans’s Blizzard instead.
(Why…?
It’s afraid of Iris’s magic?)
Ignoring the damage,
the Sphinx charged straight at Iris.
“Look out!”
I shoved her aside.
Pain exploded down my arm as claws tore through flesh.
“Mario!!”
Ignoring my scream,
the Sphinx pressed on.
In desperation, Iris grabbed the glowing foil
and drove it into the monster’s face.
The Sphinx recoiled ten meters.
“Iris!
Thunder of Disaster—NOW!”
She raised the blade skyward.
The air shattered.
“THUNDER OF DISASTER!”
This was nothing like before.
Her aura, erupting from within,
merged with mana through the blade—
becoming a colossal pillar of silver lightning
that pierced straight through the Sphinx’s brow.
A thunderclap shook the chamber.
The beast was incinerated from the inside out,
disintegrating with a final scream.
“…We did it,” Hans breathed.
“Well done,” Frey said, healing my wound.
“But tell me—
why did you think Thunder would work?”
“The Sphinx endured Hans’s magic,” I explained.
“Yet it avoided Iris’s Thunder.
That meant it was a weakness.”
“…But the power was completely different
from when we fought the ogre.”
“…Was it the sword?” I asked.
“Partly,” Frey nodded.
“But the truth lies deeper.”
She turned to Iris.
“You are, without doubt, a spellblade.”
“Me…?”
“Your magic stagnated because of your overflowing aura.
You were unconsciously suppressing it
just to produce mana.”
She smiled gently.
“Use your aura as it is,
and your magic becomes monstrous.”
Tears welled in Iris’s eyes.
“This… is my power…”
Wilfred and Hans knelt,
hands to their chests—
offering the victory to their fallen friend.
We joined them.
“…Thank you,” Wilfred said quietly.
“For honoring Roger.”
Then he stood and faced me.
“Excellent judgment, Leader.”
He offered his fist.
I met it.
“Looking forward to working with you, Sword Saint.”
Wilfred smiled faintly.
It was the smile of a man
who had finally laid his past to rest—
and accepted me as a true comrade.
