Chapter 55: The Dragon Slaying Campaign (8)

The dark swallowed Kyle whole. Kyle reached into the shop and grabbed a torch, lit it, then kept moving.

The tunnel was wide enough that the dragon had moved through it without brushing the walls. The ceiling went high and jagged, and the rock was gouged with claw marks all the way up.

Kyle kept his steps quiet and his eyes moving. No sign of the hero’s party.

The cave kept splitting—side passages that hit dead ends, gaps that opened into empty chambers, places where the stone had been worn smooth from the dragon sleeping on it.

He picked a branch that dipped down, then climbed back up, and followed it without overthinking.

Getting lost wasn’t a real concern. Most of the branches dead-ended, and every one of them eventually fed back into the main tunnel leading out.

The branch he’d taken did exactly that—ended in solid rock.

Kyle sighed and shook his head. So far, he hadn’t seen a single treasure. He was beginning to wonder if this dragon was poor.

However, when he wanted to turn around, he noticed something strange at the blocked end. He approached it a little closer and looked closely.

He immediately realized that the end was not blocked, but hidden. The shape of the end was not natural—it was clearly deliberately constructed.

The wall was slightly smooth, not very uneven, but almost flat. The quality and shape of the stones also seemed different from the rest of the cave.

Kyle came closer, filled with hope once again. In all the novels he had read, passages like this must hide something great behind them.

He tried to examine it further to find a way to get through.

He put his ear to the wall and knocked a few times, as he had seen in most detective novels, but all he got was some dust falling on him and pain in his knuckle.

Kyle thought about it for a moment, then made up his mind. He opened the shop’s screen and immediately bought a hammer.

It was heavy, heavy enough to smash the damn wall in front of him. Kyle lifted it and began hitting the wall, breaking it.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The loud sound echoed throughout the place, and his body was almost covered in dust, but he didn’t stop.

Kyle’s shoulders burned after the first five strikes. The wall was thicker than it looked—these weren’t the loose rocks of a dead end.

The wall cracked under the eighth hit. Splintered under the tenth. Kyle swung harder, putting his whole body into it. Then, finally, the wall gave way.

Kyle threw the hammer away, glancing at the space behind the wall. He grabbed the edge of the hole he had made and climbed through.

When he set foot on the other side, his eyes widened slightly. The other side was no different from the previous side, as if someone had placed a wall in the middle of the tunnel.

But he noticed something. At the end of the tunnel, he noticed a light.

Kyle walked cautiously toward the light at the end of the tunnel, studying his surroundings carefully.

With every step he took toward the end, the light grew brighter. Finally, he reached a point where he no longer needed the torch.

Finally, when he reached the end of the tunnel, it immediately opened up into a large cave.

Kyle stepped into a chamber that felt different compared to the rest of the cave. It was wider and cleaner. As if the place had been well cared for.

When Kyle lifted his head, he understood where the light was coming from—the ceiling was slightly open, and sunlight could be seen entering through it.

Kyle looked down, and then he saw it.

In the middle of the falling sunlight, there was an uneven slab of rock, that was black. Atop the black slab, something was embedded.

A sword.

At first glance, it looked almost decorative—too perfect to belong in this brutal cave.

But the closer Kyle walked, the more his chest tightened. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The blade was silver, smooth and unreal, reflecting the sunlight in a way that did not cause glare, but rather as if the glare came from the sword itself.

A faint golden shimmer ran along the edge like a thin, constant breath of light, illuminating dust in the air.

The hilt was simple and elegant—no silly jewels or impractical designs for combat.

It carried a sacred weight—something unmistakably unnatural

Kyle stopped a few steps away, staring. `...What is this?`

He reached out slowly.

The moment his fingers touched the hilt, warmth rushed through his hand, up his arm, and toward his chest.

His skin prickled and his heartbeat steadied. Then he felt a strange feeling.

Kyle felt himself becoming stronger, as if his strength stats had increased significantly in one go.

Not only did he feel stronger, but he also felt faster, more agile, and his body was more resilient. Even his mind became clearer than before and calmer.

Kyle’s eyes narrowed in disbelief. Then he tightened his grip and pulled.

The blade slid free with a smooth, silent release, as if the stone had never truly held it.

Golden light brightened faintly—just enough to paint the chamber in soft radiance.

Kyle lifted the sword and stared at it, almost mesmerized. `This sword...`

In the middle of his thoughts, Kyle heard footsteps coming from the entrance. His head snapped up.

Arthur’s party entered the chamber—Kaia first, bow half-raised, Celestia behind her, and Arthur at the front with hungry eyes.

They all froze the moment they saw the sword in Kyle’s hands.

For half a second, nobody breathed.

Then Arthur’s face twisted—not with confusion or surprise, but with overwhelming anger.

`That’s—` Arthur’s thought caught, then hardened instantly. `That’s mine!`

Kyle didn’t even have time to speak before Arthur’s hand flew to his own sword.

Steel rasped.

He stepped forward, with his eyes locked on Kyle.

"You," Arthur shouted, pointing his sword at Kyle. "You’re one of them! From that faction in the church. You came here to steal it!"

Kyle’s mouth curled slightly. He didn’t understand what this short bastard was saying, but his anger at what he had done before was palpable.

He remembered Weston’s body on the ground. Mira’s hands shaking. The circle collapsing because Arthur wanted glory.

And now Arthur is here—raising his sword, spouting nonsense that Kyle didn’t understand, like a rabid dog.

Arthur immediately rushed forward without waiting for Kyle’s response, grabbing his sword and quickly closing the distance.

Kaia’s eyes widened. "Arthur, wait!"

Celestia’s voice cut through, sharp for the first time. "Stop!"

Arthur didn’t stop.

He was rushing forward, anger evident in his eyes, just like the anger in Kyle’s eyes.

Kyle’s grip on the sword tightened.

Then he shifted his focus—not to the blade, but to distance.

Kyle never forgets his grudges, and he is now ready to take revenge for what the hero did before.

He instinctively counted the distance precisely with every step the hero took.

`twenty... nineteen...` His eyes flared crimson. `Now!`

His skill activated immediately, and set its target—the hero, Arthur.

Kyle’s lips curved into a wicked smile as he gave one clear command.

`Stop. Drop your sword.`

His crimson eyes remained fixed on Arthur, and his order was slipping into the hero’s mind.

But at that moment, a blue screen immediately appeared in front of Kyle—it was the system screen.

[Skill Activation Failed]

Kyle’s pupils shrank.

For the first time since coming to this world... his power didn’t obey him.

"Wha—"

SLASH!

He couldn’t utter another word as the hero’s sword cut through his chest.