How to Live as a Knight After the Ending - Chapter 110



Only Krnovel

Episode 110. The Treasure of the Ruins (1)

The broken blade rolled across the floor.

The power of the sun had already disappeared, and the blade had returned to its original obsidian form.

Ossian slowly looked back.

The Guardian was looking down at the broken sword with a blank expression, as if he hadn’t thought he would lose.

In the end, it was Ossian who emerged victorious in the final showdown.

Even though he could have taken a high point, Ossian fought by throwing himself into an unfavorable situation.

It was a judgment so old-fashioned that it could be called foolish.

And yet the Guardian was defeated.

Even if you had ten mouths, it was a complete defeat that could not be disputed.

Ossian stared quietly at the back of the guardian.

The guy is injured and will self-destruct if left alone.

There is no need to swing the sword any further against a guardian whose life will end without you even touching him.

‘And if he is a knight, he will know that his defeat will mean death. He will accept that naturally.’

When you share a sword, there are times when you come to realize things that you couldn’t even feel through conversation.

Slurp. Smack.

Ossian put his sword back on his waist.

It was the moment when he finally tried to witness the Guardian’s end.

The Guardian leapt up from his seat, stepped on the wall, and disappeared beyond the ruins’ collapsed ceiling.

“……huh?”

That was something Ossian could never have imagined.

The guardian ran away.

The guardian guarding the relics fled from the intruder.

But what shocked Ossian even more was this.

But the fact was that the knight ran away, even throwing away his weapon.

‘The knight ran away from here?’

I was speechless because it was so absurd.

Although Ossian was the type of person who never expressed surprise even in difficult situations, this time it was different.

“her.”

Those empty words expressed Ossian’s complicated feelings.

Then Terence and Balud, who had been watching the fight unfold from afar, approached.

“Surely you really defeated the Guardian? That monster?”

Terence looked at Ossian, who was standing there unharmed, and asked in surprise.

“Didn’t I tell you to back off? You should have run as far away as possible.”

“If you die anyway, we’ll become the next target too, so what’s the use of running away?”

Balud responded nonchalantly, staring at the part of the collapsed ceiling.

“More than that… …Did the Guardian run away?”

“I guess that’s how it is.”

“I never knew that was possible. I thought guardians were usually beings who guarded relics or dungeons until they died.”

Ossian also agreed with that.

Guardians are meant to protect the relics, so where would they run away to save themselves after losing?

It was such a surprising case that it was hard to say that anything had changed over time.

‘I knew he had intelligence, but did he develop an ego so great that he would abandon his duty as a guardian?’

Perhaps what he wanted most at this moment was survival.

‘Then, from this moment on, we can consider him a living intelligence rather than a guardian.’

Although it wasn’t intentional.

A being with the power of a knight opposing one’s own was born.

*

Since nothing would change by talking about the Guardian who had already escaped, Ossian decided to focus on the matter at hand.

‘Still, there is something to be gained from fighting.’

First of all, [Seonggwang] and [Wolheun] can now be used at the same time.

Before, when using only the Holy Light, only the Holy Light was used, and when using the Wolheun, only the Wolheun was used.

In the game, it was impossible to use skills with different characteristics at the same time, but now that it was reality, it was different.

‘There’s no need to be too tied down to the knowledge of the game. You need to think a little broader and more diversely.’

Depending on how you think, the variety and range of technologies you can utilize will expand.

The last technique used was the same.

A technique that I used without realizing it, thinking about swinging a sword compressed to the limit through the moonshot.

Instead of waiting for a given skill to be unlocked, new skills are created on the spot.

‘Free imagination.’

A unique key that will open up new paths for you in the future.

‘Still, I got something out of it, so it’s not so bad.’

When he rejoined the group, the way people looked at Ossian had changed quite a bit.

Originally, he was just treating her as a formal party member, but now, even his eyes were filled with awe.

The [Grand Cloister] Academy cadets couldn’t even make eye contact with Ossian, especially at the fact that he had single-handedly defeated a Guardian they could not even imagine defeating.

This is because I remembered that I used to look down on him as a secret problem solver.

There were times when I didn’t want to believe it, but Terence himself testified, so I couldn’t help it.

Thanks to this, Ossian was treated as a noble within the party, and naturally, Illua, Ossian’s employer, also rose in status.

“Oh, I feel like I’m not getting used to it.”

Illua was taken aback by the reactions of people who had suddenly become kind to her.

It wasn’t bad to begin with, but now that I was being treated like some kind of boss, it was burdensome.

“I’ve never been treated like this before.”

“Get used to it. It will be more like this in the future.”

Should we say that it was thanks to Ossian defeating the Guardian?

Illua’s share of the relics and rewards from this ruin in the future will be close to over half.

All she did was hire Ossian.

Hiring excellent people was also one of the virtues and abilities of an employer.

Besides, it wasn’t like Illua was doing nothing.

Based on rich archaeological knowledge and various books and papers, it helped find traps, paths, and hidden spaces in the ruins.

The wizard is able to do it because he has magic, but the fact that Illua, who doesn’t know how to use magic, was able to do it shows how great she is.

The exploration continued.

The tension that was high at first has now eased considerably.

It was a natural reaction since the guardian was gone.

With such a strong guardian gone, it was safe to say that there was nothing inside the ruins that could threaten their lives.

I was a bit worried that the Guardians would appear again, but who cares?

Here, there is a person who single-handedly took down the Guardian.

Of course, Ossian, the person involved, didn’t have any particular concerns either.

‘The main boss of this ruin is a mutant doppelganger anyway. It’s not that there aren’t other boss monsters in the deepest part, but they’re pitiful compared to the doppelganger.’

Moreover, it is said that the mutant doppelganger was in a state of hibernation before someone came in, so he escaped time.

In the case of the boss at the deepest part of this ruin, the possibility of that seemed significantly low.

‘It’s likely that it will remain, but at least it will be weakened.’

The expedition team finally reached the entrance to the innermost part.

A large stone gate blocked the way.

Originally, the door was supposed to be opened by operating the lever mechanism on either side, but the mechanism was worn out and would not work.

“Then should I break down the door?”

When Terence tried to use magic, the other explorers strongly discouraged him.

“What if I make a mistake and the relic inside breaks?”

“Besides, this gate itself has considerable archaeological value. Is there really no need to destroy it?”

Terence can understand that feeling, but then how can he open the door?

That question was resolved more easily than expected.

It was right after Ossian and Balud stepped forward.

“You came all the way here to show off your strength?”

“If you want to show off your strength, why don’t you eat something?”

Ossian and Balud each took one side of the stone gate and pushed with all their might.

Ddududduk.

The old stone gate was slowly pushed inward with a loud noise.

The wizards and explorers were speechless at the sight.

I knew Ossian was strong, but I just couldn’t get used to his physical abilities.

What about Balud, who is showing power equal to that of Ossian?

Just by looking at the stone gates that were pushed out by the ton, Balud was no ordinary strongman.

I used to think of North Blinders as just a criminal organization, but I got to see it again.

Old dust fell and spread thickly around the door.

Terence blew it away with the wind magic of the Ventus School.

As the dust settled, a massive hallway emerged.

“Wow. This is the kind of architecture it is.”

“They built something like this underground and it’s still intact. The architectural skills of the ancients are truly something not to be laughed at.”

The archaeologists were dumbfounded. Illua was no exception.

“Oh, I want to investigate quickly!”

The old corridors were filled with dry tree roots and trunks. Perhaps they were plants that only grew underground.

Even the pungent smell felt sweeter than any perfume.

Illua couldn’t contain her joy at the vivid sense of presence that she couldn’t feel from books.

My father in his hospital bed would definitely be happy about this.

“Everyone, don’t let your guard down. There might be another danger here.”

At Ossian’s words, the wizards immediately used detection magic.

A wave of magical power spreads throughout the hallway.

The wizards soon sensed the presence of something beyond the darkness of the corridor.

“There is something.”

At Terence’s words, people immediately took their positions.

The same was true of explorers from the Archaeological League.

They knew how to distinguish between public and private matters because they had a keen sense of the danger of the ruins on their way here.

Ding ding.

The last guardian of the ruins moved with the sound of something guiding his body.

The guy who is actually called the boss monster noticed the presence of the intruder in this hallway long ago.

What appeared faintly in the darkness was something made of wood.

“Why on earth were there plants growing in the underground ruins, and why was that guy guarding them?”

Thalia muttered in surprise at the sight of the living, moving tree.

Although the creature’s body was made of wood, it also looked like a person wearing armor.

In what could be called an arm, he was holding a large blunt weapon, also made of wood.

There were no eyes on the roughly gathered mass of stems that were presumed to be the head.

But I felt like the guy was definitely aware of this.

Just looking at the way it was slowly but surely approaching, it was evident.

‘That’s him. The incarnation of underground roots.’

The Incarnation of the Underground Roots is the last guardian and boss monster of this ruins, a monster born from the roots that fell into the ruins.

‘I guess it’s because it’s a plant that it hasn’t been affected by the passage of time. But looking at its condition, it doesn’t seem to be completely fine.’

The moment the Incarnation of the Underground Roots spots an enemy, he would rush forward, wielding a blunt weapon in both hands.

But the guy was walking slowly, holding a blunt weapon in one hand.

A closer look at the body revealed that the wood that made up the body was rotten all over, and whenever it moved, broken pieces would scatter along with the dust.

The intruder had come and moved, but so much time had passed that the body itself had decayed.

‘Come to think of it, what did you give me when I caught that guy?’

From what I remember roughly, they gave me a small amount of money and materials to strengthen the potion bottle.

However, since potion bottles do not exist in the world today, I wondered what use that material item would be.

‘In reality, even if I catch it, I guess I won’t be given anything in return.’

There was no need for Ossian to come forward against the Avatar.

The moment the wizards saw him, they were already preparing to fire their magic.

Flame magic dyed the dark corridors crimson.

The scorching heat burned the pillar’s trunk and roots, engulfing the incarnation.

The Avatar was extremely vulnerable to fire attributes because its body was made of wood.

Besides, there were more than just one or two magicians gathered here.

The incarnation collapsed without any significant resistance to the heat they poured out simultaneously.

Although he was an incarnation who somehow managed to keep his place, he was weak and helpless in battle.

After dealing with the incarnation and examining the corridors, the group confirmed that there were no more guardians or monsters left.

People’s eyes lit up at those words.

In other words, from now on, it was time to collect the relics and rewards hidden in the ruins.

‘It’s a treasure.’

Ossian lightly stroked his chin with his hand.

‘By any chance, is that still there?’