Kyle and Ray rolled their eyes as if telling me to explain.
I looked at the massive one-eyed creature and said,
"The eye under the Moonlight Pomegranate Stone."
Ray and Kyle nodded.
"Let's try stabbing that eye. It's big enough that even if the three of us attack together, we can keep coordinating until it works. If not, I'll climb up and stab it myself."
"Can't we absorb it?"
Ray muttered.
He was also a Child of the World Tree. He'd tried absorption many times before.
But I didn't like the idea.
As I pursed my lips, gauging the distance for a sword slash, Kyle replied from the side.
"At that size, absorption won't be easy."
It was a valid point.
"It's full of energy, so it'll resist a lot. It might be impossible altogether. Let's try facing it with our swords first."
A sword slash flew out.
While it closed the distance, we launched several more attacks.
Boom, kwang!
The strikes that hit the target scattered like the wind, futile. I'd expected it, but I hadn't thought effective hits would be this hard to land.
I'd guessed as much, but the outer shell was too tough.
Even with steady attacks on the eye's mucous membrane, there didn't seem to be any real damage.
I guessed I'd have to rush in and stab the eye.
"I'll go for the eye, so draw its attention."
"Got it."
"You sure you'll be okay?"
Kyle agreed readily, while Ray turned to look at me.
With my gaze fixed on the massive creature, I gave a faint smile.
"It won't be harder than a dragon."
Though back then, I really had been on the verge of death.
My skills and stamina had improved since fighting the dragon.
Narrowing my eyes, I observed the creature's movements.
"It's heading left."
I dashed to the left.
Ray and Kyle started attacking from its right side. It was an action they took the moment I bolted left.
Thanks to that, I quickly climbed onto its left limb.
Grabbing what I assumed was its front left leg, I leaped upward step by step.
The creature thrashed to shake me off, but I dangled like a pendant and reached the eye.
"I'm stabbing!"
I drew my sword and shouted.
No response came, but I didn't mind.
I thrust my sword into the eye.
Then I pushed the tip deep inside.
Oh?
It touched something...
Kwaaaang!
I was hit by an enormous shockwave and tumbled across the wasteland.
For a moment, I couldn't grasp what had happened.
But the oncoming pain and the hard ground against my back quickly brought me to my senses. The eye had exploded. I sprang to my feet and hurriedly searched for Ray and Kyle.
Fortunately, they seemed to have offset some of the shockwave with their swords.
I spat out blood and shouted at the approaching knights.
"Block it from reaching the village!"
The creature, now resembling amber melting and flowing between the rocks, was slowly turning its body.
Its eye had been amber-colored—perhaps something had burst from it.
But attacking the main body wouldn't land an effective hit anyway.
So I was about to suggest digging a trench to keep it from heading to the village when Kyle's sword slash cut across the wasteland.
"Oh, nice."
"Are you okay?!"
I was admiring the neatly carved trench when Ray shouted.
Seeing my slightly pale friend, I grinned.
"So far, yeah."
Ray started to say something but stopped.
I didn't press him and charged toward the massive creature.
Ray followed. We soon reached Kyle's side, and from there, it turned into a chaotic melee.
As expected, no effective hits landed. Even when all three of us attacked the same spot at once, there was no effect. In a pinch, we shaved down the wasteland and trapped the giant thing in a massive pit we'd carved out.
We'd trapped it, but it kept trying to escape, and effective hits still weren't landing.
I looked down at the orange liquid staining the dark rocks.
"I need to stab the eye one more time."
Kyle and Ray turned to me.
"It wasn't completely ineffective."
"Hey, what if it explodes again!"
"Now that we know it'll explode, we can block it right after stabbing."
From a distance, we'd tried attacking the eye, but after the explosion, the rock creature had kept its eye shut.
But up close, I could probably stab between those closed lids.
Beside the protesting Ray, Kyle narrowed his eyes.
He eyed me and replied,
"Then I'll do it this time."
"You can't climb."
"I'll jump down."
True, now it was trapped in the massive pit we'd created.
"Get ready to block the shockwave."
He didn't wait for our response.
No sooner had he finished speaking than Kyle leaped onto the rock creature.
Ray and I watched as he headed for the closed eye.
He couldn't climb, but he was good at hanging on—he safely positioned himself by the eye.
"I'm stabbing!"
Kyle adjusted his sword's angle and said.
No need for a reply, I suppose.
Indeed, the black-haired man didn't wait for my response and plunged his blade in.
I could see it sink in properly.
But... nothing happened.
"It went in?"
"Try stabbing a few more times!"
At Ray's shout, Kyle thrust his sword in several more times, puuk puuk.
But still, nothing happened.
What's wrong?
As we all puzzled over it for a moment.
We three felt the sudden surge of air pressure and flinched back simultaneously.
It's going to explode.
"Hey, get out!"
At my shout, Kyle leaped out of the pit.
The moment he did, it exploded.
Kwaaaaaang!
Our eardrums tore.
We deflected the incoming shockwave with our bodies. But we couldn't block it all. The impact that our sword slashes couldn't fully offset struck our bodies. Our forms were pushed back along with our swords.
And the part we hadn't been able to offset.
The portion we couldn't neutralize raced across the wasteland toward the village.
This is bad.
At this speed and force, it'll reach the village.
Feeling my heart drop, I whipped my body around. Pale-faced, I chased the wave extending toward the village with my eyes.
And I spotted the figure standing between the village and the wave.
"Kisis?"
Why is he here...
The moment the thought crossed my mind, Kisis drew his sword.
Kwaang!
The wave vanished.
The shockwave heading for the village scattered. It was a very concise movement. Anyone without keen eyes might think he'd merely drawn his sword.
But that powerful wave wouldn't dissipate from just that.
A Swordmaster launches an attack while drawing his blade.
Is that possible?
Speechless, I watched the prince close the distance.
The prince, seeing our stunned faces, smirked.
"Good work mining the gem."
He passed us and stopped at the pit's edge.
"And you even dug up something like this in the meantime."
Another sword slash followed.
It was a very quiet attack. Not flashy like ours, but neat. It contrasted with his reputation for scandalous private life and boiling whims.
But it was beautiful.
So much so that no sense of defeat arose.
I took in the sight of Kisis's sword slicing through empty air.
Sreuk
The rock creature split in half.
Its tough outer shell, which we'd strained against without landing an effective hit, fell away like paper.
"You fledglings."
And the owner of the sword slash, Kisis, swept his gaze over us and sneered.
"You've got a long way to go."
We stood in silence for a long while.
Gazing down at the felled creature.
Until the beautiful woman who had come to fetch Kisis drew a spatial teleportation circle on the ground.
*
"Clear your sixth day of the week."
"You've already seen that my skills are nothing special."
We returned to the empire using the power of the mage who served the prince.
The moment we arrived, I offered him the Moonlight Pomegranate Stone, and Kisis peered into my eyes as he said that.
Kisis curled the corner of his mouth, while Kyle and Ray quietly watched us.
Kisis took the Moonlight Pomegranate Stone and tilted his head.
"Yeah. You're sorely lacking. Cutting my hair wasn't mere coincidence, after all."
"Yes. As you can see, I'm not particularly outstanding. So please withdraw your undue interest."
"Undue interest?"
"I'm not superior to the two fellow knights behind me in any way."
"Why not?"
The prince gave a strange answer.
I blinked several times, unable to understand his response.
Why not? It's true. Ray, Kyle, and I were evenly matched in skill. I wasn't so oblivious as to miss that. We each had strengths and weaknesses, but overall, our abilities were comparable.
Especially since all three of us were Children of the World Tree.
He should see that better than anyone, so why...
Kisis's sword suddenly pointed at my throat.
Kyle and Ray, who had been quietly observing the conversation, reacted immediately.
"Sir Kisis!"
"You're wearing that expression like you have nothing to lose."
Ray raised his voice, while Kyle gripped his sword hilt and furrowed his brow.
The emperor's illegitimate son smiled as he looked straight at me, holding out my palm to tell them to stay put.
"Like a conquered subject who survived alone."
His purple eyes narrowed.
"You don't have any particular reason to live, do you? You."
Ah...
It was undeniable, so I blinked blankly, my face expressionless.
Then I slowly replied.
"Yes."
"You didn't even want to become a knight."
"I'm sorry."
"You just drifted into it and became one."
The sharp sword tip lifted my chin upward.
I didn't resist.
Silence filled the barracks. Kisis examined my impassive face, then deepened his smile.
It was the kind of smile that instinctively made the nape of my neck prickle.
"For a stray dog without an owner, the first one to put on the collar becomes the master."
Nobles always used these bizarre metaphors.
"You wander because you have nothing to lose, so I'll make sure you do."
It was an order-like tone.
"Find it within the imperial capital."
Would that even work?
And even if it did, I doubted he'd be included in that "it."
I wasn't foolish enough to voice my inner thoughts.
Instead of replying, I lowered my eyes and kept silent. Kisis didn't rebuke me for choosing to shut my mouth. Instead, he removed the sword from under my chin and turned away. After brushing off the wasteland dust from his clothes, he left the barracks without another word to us.
The receding presence.
We didn't move until that presence faded from our senses.
Swallowing the belated sense of defeat.
*
"Money?"
"If you need it, just say so."
One month after the Moonlight Pomegranate Stone extraction.
I was finally voicing the hesitation I'd been harboring to Kyle.
"I don't have anywhere to spend it. Aren't you sending your entire salary to the underprivileged?"
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