SWNOVELXO Chapter 113 - General Quest (3)
Chapter 113. General Quest (3)
The green cave, where one could be severely injured if unlucky.
The red cave, where only those with good fortune could hope to return alive.
The difference between the two was immense.
And it was information that wasn’t easy to grasp unless someone told you.
“Charlie?!”
Several of those waiting at the bottom of the cliff hurriedly climbed the stairs.
“Charlie!”
Bang, bang, bang—.
They pounded on the iron door, but it showed no signs of opening.
Yuri blinked as he watched the scene from afar.
“Is he really dead? He hasn’t been in there long.”
“He’s dead.”
Theresia’s face was emotionless as she confirmed it.
She gazed at the red cave and spoke with indifference.
“He was too hasty. And foolish.”
Theresia could say that because she had seen many die just like the 50th batch who had perished moments ago.
It had been the same during the 49th batch.
Many had challenged the green cave, and as they gradually adapted, they gained confidence.
Eventually, they all came to the same conclusion.
[“At this point… the red cave might be worth challenging.”]
But there was no more foolish or idiotic misconception.
‘Fools. If the difficulty of the quest ranges from 2 stars to 7 stars, there’s obviously a reason for it.’
However, excessive confidence and arrogance clouded their judgment, leading them to overestimate their abilities.
None of those who challenged the red cave returned alive.
Just like that 50th batch who died today.
As Theresia stared at the firmly shut red cave, Yuri’s cynical voice reached her ears.
“Tch, yeah. What on earth made that fool think he could go in there? Idiot.”
Theresia glanced at Yuri, a hint of surprise in her eyes.
“…Are you okay?”
“What?”
“Someone just died.”
“So?”
“Aren’t you shocked?”
“I was.”
“…….”
Theresia looked at Yuri intently.
Surely, Yuri had shown some initial surprise.
But he had adapted strangely quickly.
And his reaction wasn’t so much ‘Oh my God, someone died!’ but more like, ‘So, they really did die, huh?’
Noticing Theresia’s gaze fixed on him, Yuri smirked.
“So should I be freaking out and crying, ‘Oh no, someone died! What should I do?’”
“That’s not what I meant, but…”
“From the start, one of the requirements to become an official cadet was writing a will. Doesn’t that mean that if you want to reap the benefits from the Cradle, you should be prepared to die?”
Yuri had prepared thoroughly, and he had put his life on the line to defeat the tiger-like Greta and seize the victory.
If Yuri had been even slightly less prepared, or if his abilities had been slightly lacking, he wouldn’t be standing here alive and well.
‘Even so…’
Yuri’s gaze fell on those lingering near the red cave.
“Those idiots who challenged a 7-star quest without any plan or thought, and the fools who cheered them on… They’re all just morons.”
“…….”
“It’s truly unfortunate that a life has been lost, but to mourn such a reckless death…”
…He had already witnessed too many deaths.
The countless people who died in the burning village.
And the lives he had taken with his own hands.
Even during his time wandering the continent, Yuri had been involved in the deaths of others, both directly and indirectly, just to survive.
So, Yuri couldn’t easily grieve over death.
But he didn’t bother to voice these thoughts.
“……?”
When Theresia tilted her head at his trailing words, Yuri brushed it off.
“It’s nothing.”
“……?”
“Well, if you die, Senior Tetsha, I’ll feel a bit sad for you.”
“…That’s comforting.”
“So, where are we going now?”
At his question, Theresia pointed in one direction.
“There.”
She pointed towards a small makeshift building made of wood.
“Let’s go.”
Yuri took the lead and walked towards it.
Theresia, who had been watching his back for a moment, followed suit.
When Yuri arrived first, he understood exactly what the makeshift building was for.
‘So, this is why Theresia mentioned the rankings earlier.’
Inside the building, a man was dozing off in a chair with his arms crossed.
Behind him, on the wall of the building, small wooden plaques were densely hung.
Yuri closely examined the finger-sized wooden plaques and the letters inscribed on them.
‘Rank, batch, name, and score?’
The rankings went up to 100th place.
And since the quest had only been around for a short while, all the names currently listed were from batches below the 35th.
Yuri skimmed through the names in the rankings.
Then, a soft exclamation escaped his lips.
“Oh? Senior Tetsha, you did pretty well?”
Theresia’s name was listed second among the 100 plaques.
[2nd / 49th Batch / Theresia Winchester / 198 points]
As Yuri marveled at this, his gaze shifted upwards.
[1st / 48th Batch / Gunther……. ]
Yuri tilted his head in confusion.
“Gunther?”
He was reminded of a certain honest boy with a similar name.
But the thought quickly faded when he saw the surname attached to the name.
[1st / 48th Batch / Gunther Ryder / 199 points]
“…Ryder? No way, that Ryder?!”
Yuri blinked at the familiar but rare surname.
Just then, Theresia’s voice reached him from behind.
“That’s right.”
“…What do you mean, ‘that’s right’?”
“It’s the Ryder you’re thinking of.”
There might be people or families somewhere in the world with the surname Ryder, but everyone would immediately think of one person when they heard the name Ryder.
‘The Sword Master, Luke Ryder.’
Yuri’s eyes widened as he turned to Theresia.
“Really? That Ryder? The Sword Master’s? So that 1st place is the Sword Master’s grandson?”
Theresia chuckled softly.
“You’re half right and half wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“That Ryder is indeed the Sword Master’s, but he’s not his grandson.”
“Huh?”
“He’s his son.”
“……?!”
Yuri blinked, wondering if he had heard correctly.
“Son… you say? How old is he?”
“He’s two years older than me, so he should be eighteen this year.”
“Eighteen, and he’s a son?”
Yuri tried to recall the Sword Master’s face.
‘Wait, hold on… How old is the Sword Master again?’
He didn’t know the exact age, but he had heard that the Sword Master was in his nineties, nearing a hundred.
Yet, he had an eighteen-year-old son, not a grandson.
‘No way… at that age?’
The Sword Master wasn’t called the Sword Master for nothing.
As Yuri marveled at the Sword Master’s prowess, Theresia continued speaking.
“Gunther Ryder, he’s the youngest son who’s said to have inherited the Sword Master’s blood most strongly… and he’s also the Black Dragon Plaque Holder.”
At the mention of the Black Dragon Plaque Holder, Yuri couldn’t take his eyes off Gunther’s name.
This was the first time Yuri had encountered another Black Dragon Plaque Holder, and he couldn’t help but be fascinated.
And in a way, it made perfect sense that Gunther Ryder was the Black Dragon Plaque Holder.
‘The one who inherited the Sword Master’s blood most strongly…’
That meant that he also inherited the monstrous talent of the Sword Master.
If someone like him didn’t receive the Black Dragon Plaque, who else could possibly deserve it?
Yuri asked Theresia.
“That score… Is 200 points the maximum?”
“That’s right.”
“Hmm.”
A score of 199 out of 200 points.
And right in front of him, Theresia had a score of 198 points.
As soon as Yuri realized this, a strong sense of competitiveness flickered in his eyes.
“Is there a procedure for registering a quest here?”
“No, there isn’t.”
“How many attempts can you make?”
“For the green cave, it’s unlimited.”
“So, I can try it right away?”
“Suit yourself.”
Theresia shrugged slightly.
There was more information she could share, but seeing the look in Yuri’s eyes, she realized there wasn’t any need to do so now.
In fact, even if she did explain, it seemed unlikely Yuri would hear a word of it.
As if to prove her point, Yuri briskly walked towards the cliff.
Step, step—.
Yuri stood in front of the green cave.
He surveyed the surroundings.
‘That must be the clock that measures the record.’
At the cave’s entrance, a peculiar clock with 120 ticks hung overhead.
‘One hand and 120 ticks… It must indicate one tick per second, totaling 120 seconds.’
The clock’s mechanism was simple to deduce.
But one thing puzzled him…
‘What’s that?’
Yuri’s attention was drawn to a strange indentation on the left side of the cave, next to the button that activated the record-measuring clock.
A thin, rectangular slot about the length of two finger joints, with a wide tray beneath it.
Its purpose was unclear.
‘Well, I’ll find out soon enough.’
With that thought, Yuri pressed the button to start the clock without a moment’s hesitation.
Click—.
The moment a small mechanical sound was heard, Yuri immediately dashed into the cave.
And no sooner had he entered than he was greeted by two diverging paths.
But the left path was blocked by an iron gate.
‘This is clearly meant to force you to take the right path.’
Judging it as such, Yuri immediately entered the right passage.
Just as he took a few steps forward—
Thunk—.
The ground beneath him sank slightly.
And then—
Rumble, thud—!
An iron gate suddenly descended, completely sealing the entrance to the passage Yuri had entered.
At the same time, the ceiling of the passage split slightly on both sides, revealing small luminous stones.
As if guiding him to follow the light.
Normally, Yuri would have marveled at how they embedded such expensive luminous stones even in a place like this.
But he had no time to admire it.
After all, time was ticking away even now.
Yuri quickly ran, following the path indicated by the luminous stones.
And with each step, obstacles began to emerge, one after another, to hinder his progress.
Whizz—.
A steel ball on a string swung toward his head.
Rattle—.
A wooden barrel rolled swiftly towards his ankles.
Whoosh—.
A dozen arrows flew at his back.
Thunk—!
Sharp spearheads shot out from various parts of the passage.
Moment by moment, traps were triggered throughout the passage, all targeting Yuri.
But Yuri deflected each trap and avoided them all cleanly.
His speed was so quick it was as if he knew in advance where each trap would spring from.
Swish—!
Avoiding the steel ball that dropped from above, Yuri’s eyes narrowed in curiosity.
‘This is harder than I expected. Is this the usual difficulty for a 2-star general quest?’
The traps were so elaborate and challenging that it was reasonable to think so.
While the traps weren’t particularly lethal, if one were careless, they could suffer serious injuries—or worse, if luck ran out, even death.
Of course, none of this applied to Yuri.
Whizz—.
Clang—!
Yuri easily deflected a pendulum aiming for his chest and soon arrived at a U-shaped turning point.
‘This marks 25 meters.’
Without slowing down, Yuri made the turn and kept running.
On the way back, more traps were triggered, but Yuri evaded them effortlessly.
Finally, at the end of the passage—
‘It’s open.’
The left passage, which had been closed when he entered, was now wide open.
Yuri dashed through the entrance without hesitation and exited the cave.
Slide—.
Sliding out at the same speed he had been running, Yuri stretched out his hand and pressed the stop button on the clock.
Click!
‘What’s the time?’
Yuri looked up at the clock.
The lone hand on the clock was pointing at the 19th tick.
And Yuri wasn’t the only one who saw it.
“…19 seconds?”
A voice tinged with astonishment.
Yuri turned to the source of the voice and saw Theresia standing there with a dazed expression.
Yuri approached her and asked.
“So, Tetsha-senpai, now that I’ve done this, how is the score calculated?”
Finally snapping out of her daze, Theresia answered.
“Oh, the score is… it will be tallied here soon…”
She pointed to the small rectangular slot with a tray beneath it.
It was the very slot that had piqued Yuri’s curiosity earlier.
Just as Theresia pointed at it—
Rustle—clatter—.
A folded piece of paper suddenly popped out of the slot and landed on the tray.
Picking it up, Theresia continued.
“…It’s tallied and displayed like this.”
Theresia unfolded the paper.
As she read the number written on it, her body flinched and froze momentarily.
Meanwhile, Yuri, who now understood the purpose of the slot, asked eagerly.
“Oh, so that’s what it’s for. So, how many points did I get?”
He leaned in close to Theresia, trying to see the score written on the paper.