SWNOVELXO Chapter 59 - The Hundred-Step Ceremony (1)
Chapter 59: The Hundred-Step Ceremony (1)
The blue-haired girl grinned as she climbed onto the carriage.
“This is perfect! This is how it should be done!”
Without waiting for anyone to stop her, she quickly nestled her bottom into Poppy’s crossed legs.
Then, she comfortably leaned her back and head against Poppy’s chest.
The scene resembled a father holding his little daughter on his lap.
Of course, the problem was that not only were they not father and daughter, but they were also complete strangers who had just met for the first time today.
Yuri, who was surprised by the blue-haired girl’s sudden action, and Poppy, who was even more shocked and frozen like a stone, stood there stunned.
In contrast, the excited blue-haired girl began to chatter.
“Wow, this is more comfortable than I thought! It feels like I’m sitting in a plush chair! At this rate… huh?”
The girl, who had been babbling on, suddenly grabbed something she felt against her thigh.
“What is this?”
At that moment, Poppy shuddered, a deeply troubled expression on his face.
“I-I’m hungry!”
Squeeze, squeeze.
“Huh? What is this? It’s getting bigger all of a sudden!”
Poppy’s face turned as red as a boiled octopus, the color spreading even to his scalp.
“Hung… hungri… ee… eeee…!”
With a strange cry, he grabbed the girl by the waist and threw her into the air.
He used so much strength that the girl flew several meters up into the sky.
“What, what the heck?!”
The girl, who gracefully spun once in the air, softly landed back on the carriage, blinking in confusion.
Meanwhile, Poppy…
“I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry…”
He hugged his legs tightly and repeatedly muttered, “I’m hungry,” like a rapid-fire gun, almost as if he were humming a song.
“What’s wrong with him? Why is he like that?”
The girl, oblivious to what she had done, tilted her head in confusion.
On the other hand, Yuri, who had watched the whole scene unfold, had a gut feeling.
“…Damn it…”
He realized that he had encountered a new kind of crazy.
The sight of 100 carriages rolling down the forest path in a long line was a spectacle in itself.
And leading the entire procession was the carriage with the one-eyed man.
He was lying down, occupying a space meant for four people, casually swinging his legs.
As he lay there, enjoying the moment with his eyes closed.
“Huh?”
His eyes slowly opened.
Through the narrow slit of his gaze, he spotted a black dot quickly approaching from the distance.
As the black dot drew closer, its shape morphed into that of a Black Sword Corps member, who then leaped onto the one-eyed man’s carriage.
Tap.
The suddenly appearing Black Sword Corps member was a woman in her late thirties with a proud demeanor.
Seeing her, the one-eyed man greeted her lightly.
“You’re here?”
“Deputy Commander.”
She gave a slight nod, acknowledging him. She was a senior officer under the one-eyed man’s command and someone who filled in the gaps left by his lackadaisical attitude. Among the subordinates under his command, she was known as the “Mother.”
Today, she had completed the tasks the one-eyed man should have handled, and her voice carried a slight edge as she spoke.
“What are you doing here, Deputy Commander?”
“Just lying down.”
“The ceremony is right around the corner. You need to get ready.”
“Ready for what? Don’t you see I’m working?”
“What work?”
“I’m leading the rookies, aren’t I?”
“…You could’ve easily left something like that to anyone! You know the ceremony is several times more important than this!”
“Precisely because it’s so important, you should be the one handling it instead of me. Don’t you agree, Mother?”
The one-eyed man grinned, and the woman’s lips quivered in irritation. If he hadn’t been her direct superior, she might have slapped him.
Barely suppressing her anger, she managed to straighten her twisted mouth.
And then she remembered her primary mission.
“Phew… I’m here to report.”
“Go ahead.”
“All rehearsals for the ceremony have been completed, and everyone is on standby.”
“Good job. Now go and wait. Oh! Do you want to ride with me? This has a certain charm.”
The one-eyed man patted the seat next to him, but the woman didn’t budge.
There was still more to report, and that was the real reason she had come.
“…I have another report.”
“Huh? Weren’t you finished?”
“Records confirm that a first-year cadet made a purchase at the special sale on January 1st.”
“I thought you were going to say something important. Isn’t that what the store is for? Of course, there’s a record of… Wait a minute…!”
The one-eyed man, who had been dismissing it as unimportant, suddenly sat up straight.
“How… how many years?”
“I said a first-year cadet, sir.”
“…A first-year cadet went to the mainland on that day and used the special sale?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“…”
The one-eyed man was speechless.
The first-year special sale.
For decades, no one had used that special sale, and there was only one reason it still existed.
It served as a hidden quest.
The quests given by the Cradle were numerous, and among them were various hidden quests besides the official ones provided by the Cradle.
The first-year special sale was one such hidden quest.
The quest was to discover the existence of the hidden first-year special sale and use it.
This “first-year special sale quest,” proposed by who knows who, had existed for decades.
And in all that time, no first-year cadet had ever used the special sale.
Not once.
‘This wasn’t a quest designed to be completed in the first place.’
Over time, the Cradle had classified this “first-year special sale quest” as “impossible to achieve.”
As a result, it was a quest that might soon disappear.
But now, someone had completed it.
‘Who the hell…?’
As that thought crossed his mind, a name suddenly came to him.
In a low voice, the one-eyed man asked.
“By any chance, is the name of the first-year cadet who used the special sale… Yuri Holland?”
“How did you know?”
“…?!”
His suspicion had turned out to be true.
They say the unexpected always happens.
“…It’s him again.”
What on earth has that guy been up to?
He had gone to the Cradle’s mainland and returned to the Forest of Beginnings.
And as if that wasn’t enough, he had even raided the Black Sword Corps’ camp, including his own tent?
The one-eyed man was curious about how Yuri had managed to travel between the mainland and the Cradle, but he was even more curious about what was going on in that kid’s head and what he was thinking.
The one-eyed man clicked his tongue.
Then, as something came to mind, his expression hardened, and he hesitantly asked.
“If I remember correctly, didn’t we… put that in the first-year special sale this time?”
As if anticipating the question, the woman nodded.
“Are you talking about the Bone Clan’s Secret Technique?”
“Yes, that! That’s it!”
“Yes, we put it in.”
“Why?”
“Why? Because you told me to put it in. I asked you three times if you were sure you wanted to include it.”
The deputy commander was at a loss for words at her subordinate’s blunt response.
She wasn’t wrong, so with a sour expression, he nodded.
“…That’s right, I did say to put it in just to fill the list.”
The reward for a quest improves as the difficulty increases.
Typically, the most challenging quests, performed by fifth-year cadets, offer the best rewards.
However, the first-year special sale quest was classified as an “impossible to achieve” quest.
And the reward was “buying items at a greatly discounted price.”
Here’s where the problem arises.
How many points could a mere first-year cadet, especially a rookie, have?
Therefore, the items in the first-year special sale had to be affordable enough for a first-year cadet to purchase.
And since it was an “impossible to achieve” quest, the items needed to be of high quality.
It was difficult to meet both criteria, so the first-year special sale had always included a mix of low-quality and high-quality items.
But this time, one of the high-quality items they had included was the problem.
The required number of high-quality items hadn’t been met, so they had been added anyway, but the truth was, they didn’t truly qualify as high-quality.
With a heavy sigh, the one-eyed man asked, “…How much?”
They had been together for so many years.
The lieutenant understood the deputy commander’s cryptic question and answered, “300,000 points.”
That was quite a lot of points.
An amount that an ordinary cadet wouldn’t even dream of.
But if it was that kid who had been strangely hoarding points in the Forest of Beginnings?
Gulp.
The deputy commander swallowed dryly and asked again, “Don’t tell me… it’s been sold?”
“…….”
The woman answered the disjointed question with silence.
However, it wasn’t difficult to infer what that silence meant.
“Heh heh…”
The one-eyed man, Duran Vikovich, one of the deputy commanders of the Black Sword Corps, looked up at the sky and let out a chuckle.
“…Heh heh heh.”
One of the items that had ended up on this special sale list was the Bone Clan’s Secret Technique.
The name, which was passed down along with the efficacy and effect of this legendary elixir, was as grand as the elixir itself.
That great name was…
“…That brat really hit the jackpot.”
It was the “Elixir.”
Yuri held up the pendant hanging around his neck to the sky.
The deep green liquid glistened in the sunlight, looking incredibly tempting.
Gulp.
‘I wonder what this tastes like?’
Would it be like green apples?
Or maybe like green grapes?
The delicate appearance of the liquid, resembling a gourmet dessert, stimulated Yuri’s appetite.
But Yuri suppressed the urge with superhuman willpower.
‘Hold on… just hold on.’
If it was poison, the moment he drank it, he’d be saying goodbye to this world.
Even if it was medicine, who knew what kind of side effects it might have?
For example…
‘Hair loss?’
Yuri glanced at Poppy’s bronze, bald head without meaning to.
And just like that, the strong appetite he had felt moments ago disappeared entirely.
‘…I should ask the old man when he comes back before I drink it.’
Johan would know what this was.
Even though his temper was terrible, he was quite a knowledgeable person.
Praising Johan, Yuri tucked the pendant back inside his clothes.
Then, he glanced over at Poppy.
Sitting there was the blue-haired girl, curled up.
While Poppy and the girl had been engaged in a bizarre scuffle, the wagon had set off, allowing the blue-haired girl to claim the very end of the wagon.
Yuri had thought she would try something strange again, given how desperately she wanted to board the wagon.
But contrary to his expectations, the blue-haired girl had simply introduced herself as “Arin Helga” and then closed her eyes.
It was so calm an outcome that it was hard to believe she had caused such a commotion just to ride along.
‘Then why on earth did she make such a fuss to get on?’
Yuri suddenly realized something.
‘Trying to understand the actions of the insane is pointless.’
There were no humans as unpredictable as they were.
‘Well, at least it’s quiet now.’
After that, Arin didn’t open her eyes even once, sleeping the entire time, and Poppy huddled a bit away from her.
Although Poppy kept leaning toward Yuri to avoid touching Arin, making it a bit cramped, it was still a hundred times better than being noisy.
Yuri enjoyed the silence.
Meanwhile, the other 50th cadets were busy looking around as the wagon moved.
“This is… the Cradle.”
“We’ve finally… finally arrived at the Dragon’s Cradle!”
They were deeply moved by the fact that they had endured a hellish month and had finally reached the Dragon’s Cradle.
Although the surrounding scenery was not much different from the Forest of Beginnings, they attributed special significance to the air, merely because this was the Dragon’s Cradle proper.
But that didn’t last long.
Clop-clop.
An hour passed as the wagon carrying the cadets continued to move.
“…How much longer is this going to take?”
“Are we still far off?”
Even after moving for an entire hour, the unchanging scenery puzzled the cadets.
They still held onto the hope that they would arrive soon.
But Yuri, who had been to the mainland before, had long since laid back comfortably.
‘At this speed… it’ll take a while longer.’
If the procession was heading toward the central region, they wouldn’t arrive in just one or two hours.
And Yuri’s guess was spot on.
Seven hours had passed since the wagon had set off.
Screech.
The wagon gradually slowed down and finally came to a stop in a spacious clearing within the forest.
As soon as the wagon halted, groans erupted from all around.
“Are we… finally here? Right?”
“Finally… sniff…”
The cadets, who had been curled up for so long, rose like zombies, their joints creaking as they stretched out their bodies.
But they weren’t given any time to rest.
“Form ranks!”
Startled by the commanding voice, the cadets hastily got off the wagon and gathered at one side of the clearing.
Once all 300 cadets had assembled, the march resumed immediately.
Trudge, trudge.
The cadets, not knowing where they were headed, merely followed the Black Sword Corps soldiers.
A short while later, the tiresome forest path they had been traveling on for hours finally came to an end.
At that moment, the giant circular arena that appeared in front of them elicited gasps from all directions.
“What is that…?”
“Wow…”
“Wait, I’ve seen something like this before.”
“Yeah… it’s a circular arena where slave gladiators fight!”
Even as the 50th cadets were awed by the arena’s imposing size, their footsteps didn’t stop.
Slowly and steadily, they continued forward.
Eventually, they passed through the northern gate that Yuri had walked through just a few hours earlier.
Up to this point, everything had been as Yuri expected.
He thought they would now be greeted by the forked paths.
But instead of the forked paths, what greeted the 50th cadets was something else.
Yuri’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
‘There’s another path?’
The forked paths at the northern gate had formed a T-junction.
However, what had once appeared to be a dead end was now wide open, revealing a new passage.
And the moment they stepped into that passage…
Thud.
Yuri sensed a change in the air.
It was heavy and mixed with a strong, unpleasant odor.
And the atmosphere felt eerily familiar.
Yuri’s brow furrowed.
‘…What is this? It wasn’t like this before.’
It was a strange sensation, something he hadn’t felt the last time he was here.
And Yuri wasn’t the only one who noticed.
The small talk that had been going on just moments before had completely died down.
Trudge, trudge.
All that could be heard were the footsteps of hundreds of cadets.
Everyone could sense it.
At the end of this dark passage, beyond the distant light of the exit, something awaited them.