Queen’s Garden (5)

Arthur drew his sword first.

“Now then, can Isiel and I cover it and let Lei go inside? Cel will be on the lookout outside.”

“Right. I will open the circle after getting as close as possible to the master clock. I will burn everything inside the circle, so take care of those outside of it. Got it?”

Finding Kleio’s proactive response curious, Cel regarded him calmly before realizing his intent.

“You want to go lie in a bed right now, so you’re going to deal with it. Lei, you’re a really easy-to-understand human.”

“Yes, I want to sleep for thirty-six hours after soaking in a hot bath.”

Kleio opened his pocket in advance, preparing some bronze and cast iron that he then divided into his other pockets. He couldn’t make a mistake when he used them. Then, he carefully examined his remaining ether.

‘It won’t be a problem if I fire one or two big shots off.’

.

.

.

Shuuuuuu!

Shhhhh!

A sword, twice the length of the metal blade, flashed out sharply. Arthur cleanly cut through three thorny stems at once, causing the beast’s ichor to spread out through the hot and humid air. The leaves of a giant palm tree swung like a sickle over his head.

Klang!

Isiel, who cut off the vine, jumped up and struck the leaves above Arthur’s head. The inside of the greenhouse was a nightmarish jungle, with a dense population of beasts too many in number to even read their names. Promise had caused a sensory overload when he tried to use it, so they moved forward quickly as they cut through the branches. Arthur was in the lead, shouting.

“I can’t push anymore; these roots are too thick! Lei, can you break the clock?”

“Yes! Now, both of you come to me!”

With Perception turned on, his sense of distance became more precise. The center of the greenhouse fell just within the circle, thanks to Isiel and Arthur’s hard work. The trio had approached by valiantly cutting through the branches and vines that tried to block their passage.

Kleio now spread out his circle, not using the [Defense] formula. He couldn’t cast [Achilles’s Spear] with it turned on, as he had spent too much magic to double-fire such a spell. Once he drove away these beasts with overwhelming power, he could use that gap to activate his magic. Isiel and Arthur put their backs to him, sticking close behind him. He could feel their warmth, suffocating in the humid air, through his clothes. The smell of blood and acid spilled by the beasts blocked his nose.

He had to move quickly. Kleio produced the cast iron ore from his pocket and threw it upward. Before the branches could grab it, his wand reached out towards it. [Attribute Amplification], [Ignition], [Tracking], and [Acceleration] combined in the magic circle, soaring up from the beast’s roots that were swelling up. Kleio’s voice rang out through the greenhouse.

“[Armed Angels! Follow to the end of the sky in a fearless onslaught! The chaos of flames await your fall!]”

He recited the mantra to ensure the destruction of the demon. In the bright light, the iron resonated with his words and shattered into countless pieces. Thanks to [Attribute Amplification] and [Ignition], they began to glow like molten pieces of metal, casting light throughout the garden.

‘It’s the same as what I read!’

When using the [Fire] magic formula, cast iron began to emit heat and light, as the ore itself possessed the property of fire. He had just memorized it, not knowing why that was the case. Scarlet flames began to flow down through the beasts that were rushing to consume Kleio, Arthur, and Isiel, preventing the branches from harming the trio.

Kugugugugu!

[Tracking] gave the fire direction, drawing a blazing trajectory through the air. It was a magical combination that wasn’t usually used because it wasn’t easy to control precisely, but the power of Promise took care of that. The iron fires wouldn’t extinguish until the opponent was neutralized, as the powerful fire penetrated the roots of the demons within the circle’s range. The embers were persistent, causing scarlet light to reflect off of the hazy glass above them as they pursued the enemy. Arthur lowered the tip of his sword to the ground, a sign of homage to the great magic he bore witness to. No further attacks were needed.

“This magic…”

“It is [Emperor Angel’s Fire].”

Kleio, wiping away the blood flowing from his nose, pulling the bronze ore from his pocket as the fire continued to wend through the garden. Now his ether had been worn down; it was time to use his last magic. As he began to prepare [Achilles’s Spear]…

Klang! Klang!

Cold air started to flow in. Beyond the burning beasts, the back wall of the greenhouse shattered. He had no time to figure out what had happened. If he could only destroy the master clock, then the remembered world would follow. Rather than wasting time assessing the situation, Kleio tried to load another magic formula.

However, long reptilian tentacles stretched out at an incredible speed to attack Kleio.

“Lei!”

Arthur, hurriedly pushing Kleio out of the way, cut down the tentacles. Kleio hit the ground helplessly, unable to move.

“Ouch!”

The ashes left from the dying plant beasts didn’t vanish, so Kleio had kicked up a fair bit into his own mouth as he rolled through it. He folded his hand that held his wand tightly towards his body as he fell, hurting his wrist but keeping a firm hold of his wand. The bronze ore had dropped away from him, however. A snake’s tail was wriggling in front of him, purple blood flowing out as a grassy smell filled the greenhouse.

‘Why is there an animal monster here?’

That didn’t happen in the last manuscript. His body began to quake, but Kleio tried to avoid panicking as he hurriedly turned on Separate. His head was ringing, and he could taste blood in his mouth, but at the same time, an artificial calm came over him, slowing his heart.

Klang!

The glass in the greenhouse shattered as an explosion rang out, sharp fragments of glass pouring down on the three’s bodies. Kleio reflexively unfolded his barrier, recognizing the blast as the mana stones Cel was using.

Tink! Tink! Tink!

Glass fragments pattered off the shield as Arthur began to shout.

“I can hear Cel’s voice! She’s saying there’s a bunch of demons in the lake! Isiel, protect Lei!”

“Okay!”

Arthur ran outside the greenhouse without hesitation, jumping over the branches and roots of the beasts. Kleio, who couldn’t stop him, became lost in his thoughts.

‘Ah, no!’

He could see a bunch of brown and green tentacles creeping out from the shallow lake beyond the greenhouse; the view now opened up.

[Beast of the Lake

-Category: Evil

-Level: 7]

It felt like watching a video in slow-motion as Perception and Separation slowed down the passage of time. The golden letters disappeared into the lake as the demons surged. It meant it had a weakness, but it wasn’t of a level he could see.

‘7th level?! What is this?! What is this?!’

The difficulty of the first dungeon had risen to a strange degree. If Kleio hadn’t followed, he didn’t know what might’ve happened to Arthur if he dealt with such a 7th level beast.

‘Although Arthur has a common skill, he just got it! This guy’s manuscript is really too much!’

This was an enemy even a 3rd or 4th level knight wouldn’t be able to escape from. Arthur, bloodied once more without the possibility of treatment, kicked off the ground and put his sword in the middle of the tentacles. The tentacles split into two by Beg’s blade tried to grab at Arthur’s limbs, but his speed was faster than the beast. However, the blood and mucus from the tentacles contacted the exposed skin of Cel and Arthur, who reacted like they were being burned. The two, not caring about the pain, continued to confront the demon fiercely, but they couldn’t last forever. The tentacles appearing from the water seemed to have no end. Arthur was leading the charge, but Cel, dragging one leg, wasn’t far behind. Briefly, above her head, the message [Level 4 Swordsmanship] appeared.

“Wow! I’ve leveled up! It’s nice to see the message here, and not just in my head. Haha, I guess it means I need to kill all of you!”

Cel, holding the purple blood-stained sword, severed the tentacles still coming out of the water and jumped into the lake.

Klang! Klang!

Ahhhhhh!

The demon’s speed began to decrease. In that gap, Isiel tried to pull up Kleio, but all he could do was sit down. With his legs splayed out, Kleio turned toward the ceiling above them. The iron that cast a shadow over the clock had yet to be damaged at all.

‘I have to break that…!’

The magic that formed his shield was slowly fading. Despite Arthur and Cel’s struggling, a disgusting beast was stretching out to the broken greenhouse again. It convulsed like it was being electrocuted, but it continued to slam against the shield.

“Isiel, the [Defense] magic will fade soon. Stop him while I break the clock.”

“…Leave it to me.”

Kleio pulled another bronze lump out of his pocket, but his ether was insufficient due to his defense magic.

‘But I have no choice.’

As the shield vanished, the beast wriggled in an attempt to envelop Isiel and Kleio.

Shaaaaaa!

Isiel, with her sword spread out, severed several of the beast’s limbs with a single strike. Her speed was frighteningly fast, but more strands were coming in quicker than she could cut down. The hem of her shirt was torn, and the beast’s venom splattered on her exposed shoulder.

Kiiiiii!

Grinding her teeth, Isiel held her sword to the side and deflected the tentacles as Kleio activated the magic formula of [Attribute Amplification][Throw][Acceleration]. Once more, his circle began to shine.

“[Angered by those who brought countless calamities, sharp bronze spear, crash down!]”

His throat was cloyed with his own blood, and his voice wasn’t loud, but his ether faithfully fulfilled the declaration. The bronze lump that couldn’t be adequately tossed due to his lack of strength soon soared high into the sky, leaving a golden trail. Isiel, who had backed off from the storming tentacles, looked back to see Kleio. The boy was gazing upward, soaked in blood. The magic that emerged from the ground shone and danced around the boy like a garland. At that moment, Isiel felt engulfed by an odd sentiment.

‘His magic… Isn’t it too beautiful?’

Even though it had such destructive power.

Craaaash!

The bronze blades shattered the master clock on the ceiling before burying themselves into the greenhouse floor. At the same time, it consumed a tremendous amount of ether. Kleio gazed down at his blood-stained legs as Promise offered the expected warning.

[―The remaining amount of ether is insufficient]

Promise’s words entangled confusingly with the dungeon’s messages.

[―The Master Clock of the Remembered World has stopped. The Queen’s Garden has lost temporal synchronization.

―Reward: ‘Cape coat of the Summer Garden’… ]

[—User’s narrative involvement has increased.

—Narrative intervention also confirmed; cumulative rate: 23.1%

―As the narrative intervention increases, the search error of the belonging functions is improved.]

It felt like the inside of his head was ringing like a bell due to the depletion of ether. Promise continued to shine on his hand as it drooped. It felt like his finger was burning.

[-Clio’s Promise has entirely attributed to the user.

-In any world, Clio’s Promise will be left to the user. This declaration isn’t overridden.]

‘Clio…?’

Isiel grabbed Kleio, who was about to collapse. Kleio couldn’t recognize it as the ruin of the remembered world began to collapse; the view in front of him seemed distant.

1) 『Paradise Lost』, John Milton, edited.

2) Translated from 『The Iliad』, Homer, Robert Fagles.