Survive as a Prison Guard in the Game

Chapter 47
Enlightenment (2)

The moon rose brightly in the night sky.

Redin stood up from the ground and grabbed the sword that had been thrown to him earlier. Standing in the center, he closed his eyes in silence.

Then he heard the voice of the swordswoman.

-You learned the sword way too easily.

He learned skills through the use of a system.

Naturally, he has been using skills as simply as pressing the skill button, just like in the game, but it’s clear that this method has its limitations.

-okay. It feels like an empty gangjeong.¹

Despite being in a game world, everything didn’t work like it did in the game. If he thought about it, the status window he was seeing wasn’t perfect either.

If only it were perfect.

The moment he’d gained all of Harungel’s heart, and absorbed his insights, he should have become a Swordmaster.

Why didn’t he realize it?

-I think you had some fun with your swordsmanship…

Harungel’s swordsmanship was strong, as the Swordswoman said. There wasn’t a foe he encountered who couldn’t be subdued by his swordsmanship.

So it appears he was mistaken.

His sword skill is near perfect, and the only way for him to become stronger than he is now is to increase the amount of mana he possesses.

-Take a look at your swordsmanship.

He erased everything from his mind.

On a clean slate, he envisioned the life of the Sword Saint that he’d gained through Harungel’s heart. Starting with his youth, he traced it back little by little.

He was drafted into the war at a young age.

After surviving the brutal battlefields of blood and flesh, it naturally became an obsession to become stronger.

He brandished his sword every day.

How to become more powerful, how to kill enemies efficiently, how to ensure survival.

He never ceased to seek to improve.

The battlefield was his teacher, and as he continued to develop and improve, he created his own unique sword art.

That’s how the first half of the 3 Forms was born.

A sword technique forged on the battlefield.

The Gale Slash was a speed-focused sword technique created by Harungel after his first defeat to kill a stronger opponent.

Quick movement and a single, all-out blow.

A technique to catch the opponent off guard and kill them before they can fight back.

He had Storm Slash, a three-second move.

It packs the same amount of power, but is more reliable and powerful. However, its mana cost was a waste, and as the mana cost decreased, its power dropped significantly.

Simple mobility.

It had become a nebulous technique, nothing more, nothing less, but it also allowed him to use Storm Slash multiple times.

“Ahhhh..!”

A small question came into his mind.

So, did Harungel continue to use this technique until the end?

He tried to rummage through his memory to find the answer.

There were no answers to the questions within the memories obtained through Harungel’s heart.

All that remained was

All Redin could find was Harungel’s creation of the technique. How it was transformed and utilized, he was unable to find, as if the memory had been erased.

Opening his closed eyes.

So this is what it’s meant for to be dark under a lamp.

It should have been obvious if he’d bothered to examine it.

“Huuu….”

Redin felt regretful, but quickly brushed it off.

*Squee!*

He clenched his sword hard.

Recalling the words of the swordswoman, He adjusted his stance.

-Unfold them slowly, unfold them quickly. Try combining them, try dividing them, try everything you can think of

Gale.

A fast and furious wind.

What should he do to slow down that wind?

Is it moving slowly?

He moved his feet slowly, using the same amount of mana, and his body stiffened and his feet became twisted.

“Shit!”

He quickly extended his hand and caught himself with it.

He managed to avoid falling face-first into the ground. With a sigh of relief, he pushed himself to his feet. He raised his sword again and took a ready stance.

Unless he went slower.

Perhaps he should shorten the distance.

One by one, he tried the first thing that popped into his head. He slammed directly into the ground and dug in.

Redin didn’t know how much time had passed.

His limbs went numb and he slumped to the ground. Pausing for a moment, he brought his thoughts back to the beginning.

“Hhhmmmmm….”

He thought back to the situation with the sword saint.

Harungel was on the battlefield, fighting many enemies. He must have developed his swordsmanship in a way that was relevant to the situation.

Low mana consumption and high devastation.

Redin wondered how to contain both.

He was frustrated because he felt like he could make something up, but couldn’t. It felt like his head was going to burst if he thought about it any more.

“Today went poorly…”

Realizing he was being too greedy, he gave up and rose from his position.

Sheathing his sword, he spun around.

*Swish*

A cool breeze blew in.

Feeling the refreshing sensation of it blowing away his sweat, something popped into his head.

“Huh?”

He stretched his palm forward.

There was a faint resistance from the wind.

Wait a second.

If he could eliminate the wind’s resistance, he’d be able to move faster, and with more speed comes more power.

Redin raised his sword and stood facing the wind.

“It cuts through the wind.”

When he was experimenting with his various slashing techniques, he had once cut the wind.

He stood in place and took a single step forward.

Grasping the sword in both hands, he made a long, upward motion. Mana flowed from the sword, cutting through the wind.

*Sssh!*

The wind temporarily split.

At the same time, he kicked the ground and dashed forward.

His speed increased as the resistance disappeared.

When the split winds began to coalesce again, he swung his sword lightly with his increased speed.

*Whoosh!*

A gust of sword wind rose and swept the area.

“Wow…”

Normally, he would have had to swing the sword several times harder to produce this kind of power, but now he was able to do it with just a little effort.

[Ding!]

[Your comprehension of gale slash has greatly increased. You can use more varied and efficient techniques].

[Sword Saint’s Enlightenment Acquisition Rate 28%]

“So… that was the answer.”

As his understanding grew, things that he hadn’t thought of before, such as combat methods and other applications, popped into his head.

I became clear in his mind.

He felt like a long-standing problem had been solved, and adrenaline surged through his body.

“This is exhilarating.”

He smiled with a strange sense of pleasure.

As tempting as it was to continue on to the next issue, it was getting late and he wasn’t feeling well.

For now, he decided to go back and rest.

“Ugh…….”

The hand and arm that held the sword shook from the exertion. Despite the pain in his pulled muscles, he couldn’t stop laughing.

“This is the best I’ve felt today.”

* * *

Redin woke up in the morning with no lingering after-effects, thanks to the rejuvenating blood circulation method.

“Gust slash..”

The excitement of the new day.

From the moment he rolled out of bed, the time flew by as he tried to figure out the best way to start his second day.

*knock, knock!*

“Sir Bahad.”

Reto’s voice brought him back to reality.

“What’s up?”

“It’s time for lunch.”

‘Already?’

Redin turned his head to look at the clock, and it was indeed past twelve. Scratching his head, he climbed out of bed.

“I’m just about to go out.”

“I’ll be waiting for you downstairs.”

After a quick shower, he headed downstairs.

Reto and him grabbed a quick meal in the hotel’s cafeteria.

By the time they finished eating, it was time for dessert.

Reto walked out for a moment and came back with a big grin on his face.

“I found the person you were talking about.”

“Really?”

He temporarily put aside the ideas of sword skills that were swirling around in his head. Now is the time to get moving on what he came here for.

“Let’s go.”

He went to his room, grabbed his sword and subspace pouch, and went downstairs. With Reto waiting for him, they left the hotel.

The streets were crowded with people.

They pushed past them until they reached an alleyway at the end of the street. A smelly place, stained with all manner of filth.

Among the collapsed buildings.

A few boarded-up houses could be seen.

“It’s supposed to be here… but my informant says it’s a dangerous place, not even maintained by the Guild.”

“I know.”

Within the Labyrinth City, no one manages the territory; each guild protects a specific area and charges a fee for its protection.

A shanty town with no economic value.

Naturally, the guilds didn’t manage the shantytowns, and they had become lawless with all sorts of people gathering there.

He looked down at the ground.

A small line of red bricks beneath his feet.

As long as no one in the shantytown crossed this line, the Guild would not intervene. Conversely, if someone crossed it, the Guild would do nothing.

That’s the law of the Labyrinth City.

“Are you sure you want to go in?”

“Just tell me where it is, and I’ll go in by myself.”

“He said it’s at the wall with the red rose on it, once you get inside, turn right.”

“Give me your cloak.”

Reto grabbed the cloak he was wearing.

“Go back and find a place for dinner.”

“Are you sure you can handle this?”

“I’m fine.”

Leaving Reto behind, he walked into the alleyway.

The atmosphere was quiet.

In the game setting, this is the time of day when the shack dwellers sleep, as they move around at night when normal people sleep.

A group of shacks near the entrance.

He can sense the people inside, but their steady breathing indicates that they are sleeping.

Using the ghost walk, he began to stroll.

Eventually, he came to the fork in the road that Reto had mentioned. After checking the surroundings once more, Redin turned to the right.

A crumbling wall in the distance.

There was only one beggar at the foot of the wall with a red rose painted on it.

Slowly, he approached the man.

“Yo… Yo…….”

In a small voice that was hard to hear unless he came closer, a story from the Bern Chronicle History came to mind.

Hidden Story

A boy dreamed of becoming a fairy.

-During the time of the Oberg Empire, a boy met a fairy. Their beautiful wings made him dream of becoming a fairy himself.

Time passed and the boy grew older.

After the war of the Six Kingdoms, he wandered the continent in search of a fairy.

And so he came to Zarkal.

-Zarkal, the city of fairies.

The boy dreamed of being reunited with the fairies, but all he found was a ruined landscape.

A World Tree burned by the Demon Cult.

Where its roots once stood, a labyrinth had been created, and its dungeons were filled with creatures corrupted by magic.

Elves, fairies, spirits.

The boy watched it all and thought to himself.

-I will destroy this labyrinth and make this city what it should be.

The main hero of this story.

A boy who dreams of being a fairy.

He was the beggar right in front of him.

“Fairy…….”

Redin stood in front of the beggar and lowered his posture.

Through his tattered and dysfunctional cloak, his gray hair was visible. His hands and feet showed signs of age.

The old man slowly raised his head.

His face was covered in black veins. This is what happens to those who have been infected by demonic energy. A demonic curse that would kill them unless they were cleansed with holy water.

-Too much time had passed. The boy could no longer hold the sword, could no longer control his body.

-He closed his eyes and dreamed of becoming a fairy.

-Forever.

This is the ending of this story.

And when you have seen the ending, the player will be given a quest to change the ending by meeting the boy before he closed his eyes.

The reward for that quest is a Fairy Heart.

“The fairies… are waiting…….”

At that moment.

Arrakis’s eyes activated, and green energy flowed from the old man’s body.

“Let me help you.”

He reached out to the old man and used his [Fire of Purification (S)]. He looked into the old man’s eyes, which were becoming clearer in color, and asked.

“About the fairies. Can you tell me more about them?”

** ** **

TL/N:

1. Those small ball sugary Rice Puff snacks