Just imagine this.
You're a chosen office worker with slightly above-average talent. You've joined a fairly good company with solid benefits. The big boss is charismatic, and you admire him deeply.
One day, you finally earn the boss's recognition and are assigned a delivery job that's practically guaranteed to succeed. A chance to rise through the ranks and step into management is right in front of you.
And then… you ruin everything just to satisfy your trivial curiosity!
The goods are gone. The boss's approval is gone. Your life is about to be gone too!
Losing your life isn't even the worst part—just imagining the disappointed look on that boss you admire so much after learning you failed…
No. I don't want to think about that. I don't want to think about it!
I'd rather just die!
—that was Jed's current state of mind.
His heart was dead, his thoughts in chaos—he didn't even notice the lightning-fast spinning slash about to carve into his face.
The weapon… gone. Gone. Gon—
"What the hell are you spacing out for?!"
Spa's roar suddenly shifted from a human voice into something deep and guttural. The glowstones embedded in the rock walls cast massive shadows, as if some gigantic beast had appeared in the open space.
A beast? Where did that come from—did it just pop out of a Poké Ball?
"What was that sound?" The adventurers nearby turned their heads in confusion—but before they could react, they were struck by unavoidable backstabs. Their bodies stiffened as the surrounding exile soldiers finished them off.
The Banished Knight's twin swords came crashing down, the sound of flesh tearing echoing through the area. The sheer bloodshed practically gave him a "limited New Year skin."
But that blood… wasn't Jed's.
It came from something enormous.
A three- to four-meter-tall green giant… with an octopus head?
It crouched down and wrapped Jed tightly in its arms like a shield, taking the full force of the blow in his place—its back nearly split in two.
If wounds on the back are a warrior's shame, then this injury would be shameful enough to warrant immediate seppuku. But since it was taken to protect a comrade… whether it counts as shame is debatable.
"Ghk—!" Spa's voice came from beneath the octopus form. He shoved Jed away, and several tentacles lashed out at the Banished Knight.
The knight didn't stand idle—what followed was a fierce clash between twin blades and writhing tentacles.
Jed snapped out of it after being pushed aside, staring at Spa's mutated form in shock.
"You transformed here?!"
"What, you think I could save you without transforming?!" Spa roared. "If you're awake, stop standing there! Get over here and help! Look at the mess you made—we need to find the weapon again!"
Right… if the weapon was lost, they just had to go back and find it!
Coming to his senses, Jed turned toward the exit behind them—but unfortunately, once the battle had begun, the area was sealed off by an impenetrable fog. No one could enter or leave. The only way out was to defeat the boss.
With no teleport crystal and no weapon, this fight had truly become a battle for their lives. There was no room for hesitation.
He immediately pulled off the necklace hidden under his clothes. Hanging from it was unmistakably a round—Fallen Demon Egg!
Clenching it tightly, his body rapidly mutated and expanded. Compared to Spa, his form looked more "normal"—a minotaur-like figure covered in fish scales.
Wasn't this just the usual transformation into a half-human, half-demon using a Fallen Demon Egg? Just like those humans who had turned into demons before?
No.
The eggs used by these two Light Eagle Corps members were different from the ones provided by demons. They looked the same, but the aura after transformation was completely different.
They felt more like monsters—ferocious, violent—yet still retaining a degree of rationality. There was no trace of demonic energy.
The exterior was the same, but the essence was entirely different.
"Catch."
Jed tossed a crimson potion to Spa, who bit it open in one gulp. His injuries healed at a visible rate, and his body grew even more robust.
A blood-healing potion!
"Let's go, Spa!" Jed charged forward, each step shaking the ground as he rammed toward the Banished Knight. Spa lashed out with multiple sticky tentacles.
Come on—this is our blood-pumping combo attack!
Just before colliding with the knight, Jed glanced at Spa. Even though Spa now had an octopus head, the trust in his eyes—and the thrill of executing a joint attack—were unmistakable.
Both of them smiled.
In that moment, losing the weapon didn't feel like such a big deal anymore. There was no need to act like the world was ending. Once they defeated this enemy, they'd go look for it again. And even if they couldn't find it—
"Jed, my dear family. With your ability, completing this mission is easy. But if, by some one-in-ten-thousand chance, you fail, don't lose heart. What matters most is that you and Spa return to me alive."
Their captain's gentle voice echoed in Jed's mind, filling him with confidence as he locked his gaze onto the Banished Knight.
And then—
He noticed something strange.
The knight's body… was it becoming more transparent? Before, he had clearly been a solid figure in heavy armor—but now he looked almost like a spirit.
A powerful surge of music seemed to ring out—like the Banished Knight had just evolved into the top champion of Sol City!
"Hmph!"
The Banished Knight leapt forward, grabbed both their heads, and smashed them together violently!
(***)
"Relics? Interesting concept… feels like something I've seen in a manga before."
Wade examined the orb in front of him. This orb was the true form of the relic "Windwalker"; the arm ring had merely been a convenient container.
"But sacrifices… that sounds a bit evil. It makes sense for relics derived from demon king artifacts, but for something tied to a hero…"
He shook his head, then grabbed the Gengar beside him—tongue hanging out—and gave it a vigorous rub. Both of them let out satisfied sounds.
In the next instant, Wade appeared behind Gengar, then darted around the room, whipping up strong winds inside the dungeon lord's chamber.
Jed's sacrifice had fully charged the relic. Even Wade could now use it freely. He even had the feeling that if he transformed into wind, he could unleash a storm powerful enough to sweep across half of Bedford City!
He suddenly fell silent.
"…Still not as good as Dragon."
Thinking about how absurdly overpowered the monsters in his dungeon were, his excitement quickly cooled.
He knew this wasn't the relic's full potential. After all, this should count as a "gold-tier" weapon in this world—there had to be more to it.
"How long is this world's unknown history? And how many weapons like this exist?"
Even someone like Jed could toy with most dungeon monsters using the relic. What about stronger individuals? What if these things became widespread?
"Alright, stop. I'm starting to overthink nonsense."
He recalled the two mercenaries earlier. Thanks to Jed's constant chatter, he had learned all about relic mechanics—and that they were delivering this relic to someone who would fight Sword Saint Gapar.
"So that's it. No wonder Gapar's leaving… but you've been hanging around the dungeon for nearly a month, and now you're basically standing him up?"
At first, Wade thought the sword saint was heading for a classic duel between masters. But after seeing Jed and Spa transform with Fallen Demon Eggs, he began to suspect the demon race was involved.
But demons inviting a formal duel? That didn't add up.
And the transformations of Jed and Spa felt different from any demons he had seen before.
So he had planned to capture them alive and extract information—ordering the Banished Knight to hold back.
Otherwise, those two would have already been cut down.
But Spa did something completely unexpected.
He tossed his teleport crystal to Jed—then self-destructed!
Instant detonation. No time to react!
The explosion engulfed the entire battlefield, including Jed. Judging by the result… Jed was killed.
Since he had the teleport crystal, he should have been sent to the revival room upon death, right?
"…."
Wade looked at the half-remains of Jed's corpse—and the unactivated teleport crystal—and muttered:
"This is a huge problem."
For some reason, the teleport crystal failed to recognize Jed in his transformed state as a valid target!
Why?
It worked on Darrick's giant wolf and a beast tamer's pets—so why not Jed?
Regardless, he had failed to capture them alive. Still, the gains weren't small.
Obtaining the relic was one thing. Learning that Gapar would soon face an unknown opponent meant he couldn't just sit idle.
No matter how you looked at it, Jed and Spa's transformations were suspicious. Likely not a good organization—possibly even tied to the ever-troublesome demons.
And the old sword saint? He was practically a VIP customer—he had contributed nearly five-digit spirit energy to the dungeon.
Objectively, a dungeon should remain neutral.
But subjectively, Wade didn't want Gapar to die.
If he had to die… better to die inside the dungeon.
"Thinking about it, Gapar's level just skyrocketed recently, and he has the Star-lined Sword. I can't imagine how strong someone would need to be to defeat him. His opponent probably doesn't expect him to have grown this much in just a month."
"So I probably don't need to give him some overpowered crutch weapon… just something to keep him alive."
"And I should dump Geralt's corpse outside for people to find. Since this relic is meant for his opponent, Gapar should recognize the sacrifice method. This'll serve as a warning."
The next day, someone discovered traces of blood in a hidden forest outside Bedford City. Following the trail, they found the bodies of Geralt and another adventurer.
At the same time, before departing, Gapar entered Sein Dungeon to bid farewell to the Undead Legion. He killed a Mimic and picked up a potion.
[Divine Blessing]
[Holy water blessed by the Queen of Lothric. Fully restores vitality and cures all abnormal conditions.]
[She was the wife of the former king, Oceiros, and was revered as a goddess of abundance and grace. However, after giving birth to her youngest son, Ocelotte, she disappeared without a trace.]