Since ancient times, the sword has been a weapon of choice for heroes, kings, adventurers, and knights. As simple as a long blade held by the hand, as complex as many possible ways to be swung and played with. Many old customs were passed down, and many styles, forms, and techniques were written, learned, and taught.
This one custom that the old man left Simon, a dance with the sword. Sword on chest, wave down, and a bow. It's a salute to invite one to start a sword dance, only the old noble clans and the ancients knew of this, a custom long gone.
The challenger must swing a hit with all his might to the champion. The champion must match their strength and speed to the challenger based on the first hit the challenger does. And thus, their sword dance begins. The goal was to disarm each other; they could only touch swords. Using only skills and techniques, no magic, no fancy tricks, only swordsmanship.
Simon was smiling. After he landed the challenger’s strike, he jumped back to check out the reaction of the doppelganger. The doppelganger went back into its stance. If it was really mimicking the old man, it would perform the sword dance... he was so sure.
The two started walking closer, moving into their range. “Percival!!! Open the barrier!!! You have to watch this!!!” Simon screamed. There was a tinge of fun in his voice; he couldn’t help it. There hadn’t been any challenges around. Percival followed suit, and the barrier went down. To the northerner’s surprise, the two were standing close with their sword stances. He was now sure that the doppelganger was the old man; the form of the stance was clearer when seen from the side.
The sword dance began. A dance of parry, sliding blades, feints, and wide slashes. Although Percival was not an expert with swords, he could tell that the doppelganger was matching Simon’s pace.
“Simon… can you do it?” Percival asked. He was ready to help him.
“Actually, this is the only way to do it,” Simon answered.
Why did the doppelganger of the old man match Simon’s skills? That was the question in Percival’s mind. It was not doing the same thing it was doing when he was fighting it earlier. Well, the dungeon is filled with mysteries, and this one is where he chalks it up to that, and Simon… he was enjoying it.
Maintaining the weight of his sword and the speed of his momentum, the two were going at it. Simon knew that he was at a disadvantage. First of all, the doppelganger didn’t need to breathe like him. Second, it didn’t have eyes, but it was reading Simon’s feints using his eyes. Still, it was fun. It really felt like he was fighting against the old man... but the language of the sword was gone... it was only skills that remained.
Simon executed a parry, then allowed the shadow's sword to slide down and, in momentum, used it to land a strike to the hilt of the shadow’s sword. It tried to recover its stance but was too late.
“I win,” Simon muttered, and the doppelganger stopped moving. The winner was allowed to ask anything of the loser; that was the consequence of doing a sword dance. Simon took on a high stance.
“You have to disappear...” he said, swinging his water blade down, dividing the doppelganger into two... diffusing it.
Simon immediately walked over to the boy who was infused with the ground. “No!! What are you going to do?!!!” the boy said worryingly. Simon skillfully cut off the meat that was on his lower body.
“Aargh!!” the boy fell to his knees.
“You are free now,” Simon said... the boy looked at his face as he started crying.
<--->
Although Percival offered the boy his back, the boy didn’t want to be carried; he wanted to walk. The two were polite enough to give him some rest. The boy would talk about the town he came from; the two were sure that it was not the port town of Trist. He was sold by his own family.
Every day, different creatures would be brought into the place. They were being ‘studied on’; that was the term the people inside used when they would do cruel things to them and him. Then they placed something on his chest, and after that, his memories became cloudy.
But one day, that day when everyone needed to be thrown, they forcefully tried removing the shard that was infused with him... hearing the screams of the creatures he befriended, he snapped and using the power inside the shard started summoning his copies.
Time passed, and he didn’t know how much, but he wanted to go outside. But he was different now; that’s why he was sending scouts around to act as humans, but they failed, and here they are now.
Although Percival offered the boy his back, the boy didn’t want to be carried; he wanted to walk. The two were polite enough to give him some rest. The boy would talk about the town he came from; the two were sure that it was not the port town of Trist. He was sold by his own family.
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Every day, different creatures would be brought into the place. They were being ‘studied on’; that was the term the people inside used when they would do cruel things to them and him. Then they placed something on his chest, and after that, his memories became cloudy.
But one day, that day when everyone needed to be thrown, they forcefully tried removing the shard that was infused with him... hearing the screams of the creatures he befriended, he snapped and, using the power inside the shard, started summoning his copies.
Time passed, and he didn’t know how much, but he wanted to go outside. But he was different now; that’s why he was sending scouts around to act as humans, but they failed, and here they are now.
Finally, Percival and Simon stepped outside of the man-made dungeon. The boy was behind them, hesitating. The two faced him while the boy was still inside the dungeon.
“You have to go out, kid... it's time,” Percival said. The boy’s body was starting to fade. His dungeon core, which has a dark-based element, would weaken once he comes out of the light.
“... You don’t have to come out... you can stay there and live. I will visit you sometimes,” Simon suddenly said. Percival was surprised at Simon’s words. The boy was a monster; it must be exterminated. But Percival remained silent. The boy with the shard smiled, his face seemed resolute.
“I want to be free like my friends,” he said as he stepped into the light. “Thank you for saving me!!” he said one last time as the shard dropped off his fading body.
Simon sighed. Percival used a cloth to take the dungeon core shard. “Let’s go back, Simon,” Percival said. Simon was still looking at the spot where the boy disappeared.
“Let’s go,” Simon answered back, and the two started heading back to the port town.
<--->
The gate was still closed; Percival had to knock on the same window that the driver knocked on earlier. “THEY'RE BACK!!!” the guard screamed as soon as he saw the northerner’s face. The gate was immediately opened, and the guards were already there, eager to see the faces of their saviors.
Praises of thanks and cheers were thrown at the two. In a while, a carriage arrived; it was the mayor of the town. “Please come with me!!!” the Mayor said, smiling. Simon and Percival rode to the mayor's house.
…
There were two of them at the table: the mayor and the guild master of the adventurer’s guild. Simon was sure he had seen this scene before, the same dungeon core shard on the table.
“This is the first time I have seen something like this,” the guild master said. He was also a Sam (Examiner) before, so he had the knowledge to examine the shard.
“We thank you from the bottom of our hearts!!” the mayor said. The guild master slammed down a bag full of gold.
“This is the reward for helping us in our time of need,” the guild master said, smiling.
“Actually, I have a request for the adventurer’s guild,” Percival said. He opened up the money bag and took out some gold and silver coins.
“Use what is left. I would request you to post on every adventurer’s guild... we are recruiting for a siege up the north walls. We will reward the participants, and you can take the down payment from that,” Percival said with a nod. That was a damn good idea.
“I got it… the problem has been going on for a year; it's just that this year it escalated so much that we had to close the gates. We are actually waiting for adventurers to come, but this year has a season for culling dungeons,” the guild master said.
It happened every five years, with dungeons getting pushed back deeper. This only applied to the dungeons that hadn’t been conquered. There are currently nine dungeons in the eastern frontier that haven’t been conquered, all under the supervision of the Elford.
“Well!!! I will shoulder the celebration tonight!!! Let’s celebrate!!” the mayor stood up as he said it. Finally, the trades would resume; there were actually three ships tied on the port of the town.
<--->
The town of Trist celebrated the duo’s triumphant return. Although it hadn’t opened for trades yet, they still had a surplus of food in their storage. The Mayor declared a one-day feast in honor of the two who conquered the dungeon south of their settlement.
With a few who knew how to play instruments, the townspeople started dancing. Music and the jolly laughter of the people permeated the air. From morning into the night, they feasted. Simon, keeping his eyes closed, was then thanked by the soldiers and townspeople around.
The driver told them that he would be staying in the town for a while... that’s when the owner of the inn was clinging to him while they were drunk. “My good man… you’ve got guts Hahahaha!!” Percival, who also had alcohol in his system, tapped the driver on his back.
The driver just laughed it away. The festive mood allowed him to do this with no awkwardness.
Percival then checked out Simon, who was silently drinking juice.
He approached him, “Simon… you should learn how to drink alcohol, you know. I was already drinking at your age,” Percival offered a swig, but Simon refused by using his hands.
“Alcohol dulls the mind,” he said resolutely…
“Hmm… then what’s on your mind?” Percival asked… he could tell that Simon was thinking about something.
“The old man told me once that he was sorry that he can’t leave anything for me… only freedom..” Those were the words of the old man. Even when Simon told the story of him and the old man to Percival before, he didn’t mention this.
Simon didn’t have a family or a place where he belonged. He was a drifter raised by a shady, old, grumpy man. “You don’t realize this right now since you have that freedom… but freedom takes a lot of strength… I somehow understand why the hell you are thinking about that,” Percival said as he took a swig.
The boy with the shard had to choose either to live inside the dungeon or to be free outside and die.
“It's sad, but we have to leave tomorrow. Let’s sneak out when the townspeople are knocked out!!” Percival declared as he raised his cup, and then he suddenly screamed, “CHEERS!!!”
“CHEERS!!” the townspeople responded too, raising their cups.
<--->
Although the town was in a festive mood, the guards still had to do their work. They shifted from time to time with three cycles and eight hours of guard watch per day. The guards passed on their duties and any necessary information to each other.
“We have a new resident,” one of the guards said, relieving the guardsman who was on the window.
“I see.” The guard being relieved stood up, but he hit the table and the Stone of Truth rolled down. It didn’t break, but its parts came off, dividing it into two pieces.
There was no magic stone inside. The next guard picked it up as if it were nothing.