Season 3: Chapter 84: Excalibur
This…
Sitting in the palms of Slimey disguised in her human form, I had been led by Lhikan to a place surrounded by a field of colorful flowers. A spot that was a hidden sanctuary amidst the blight and smog that coated the air and clung to trees.
But it wasn't just any oddity but one protected by a holy sword of lore.
My sword.
Through Slimey's eyes, I saw Excalibur, my blade, a weapon I had created through the efforts of my friends. A tool to mimic my boyish dreams of King Arthur and his knights.
However, unlike the weapon from my memory, its once bright luster was gone. The sheen and holy pressure it exuded was gone. Every facade of the weapon that had made it so beautiful… was gone.
But more than that, below the sword, was a coffin of dense magic. One made of enchanted glass where a familiar face lay.
Hector… not my skeleton minion but the REAL Hector. The roguish womanizer of my original party. The troublemaker who never knew when to shut his mouth.
Slimey…
“Of course my Lord.” Slimey said, getting closer and laying my rubber shell on the coffin of enchanted glass.
My friend…
He hadn't aged a bit despite the thousands of years… his sharp features perfectly preserved beneath the spell.
But he was dead. The wounds of his final battle still fresh up on his corpse and despite his body being intact, even revivify wouldn't work on a corpse so long deceased.
“We tried bringing the sword to you… However, given the nature of your entombment, we felt it prudent that you would wish to bear witness to your companion’s resting place.” Lhikan said, the stoic paladin kneeling alongside his companions.
Below me, I could see the gear Hector wore, legendary armaments that still hummed with a myriad of enchantments and mythical materials. No doubt the power that had once flowed through them had waned, but that only diminished the value by a fraction.
Despite misconceptions, so long as the materials were intact, an artifact could be recharged and reused, even re-enchanted if needed.
And I could feel it, the slight hum of magical energy that lingered below.
As for the sword itself, despite the waning of its former luster, it still held power, the weapon acting as a pylon for mana to fuel the enchantment that allowed this meadow of flowers to bloom in these accursed lands.
Now the question that hung over me…
Should I take the sword? Should I descracrate the grave of a fallen companion?
The answer…
Was no.
I already had the Muramasa, and the power required to re-enchant the man’s gear would be astronomical if I were to pursue it.
And most importantly, despite how useful the gear would be for its materials, it felt wrong looting my friend, my brother.
It was one thing to recycle wayward adventurers into compost, but to do so to a friend that I could still see? To dig up his grave for his materials? I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Hector Jr. could definitely benefit from the arnaments, but seeing the original’s face behind the glass, it was almost surreal in the way he looked just as I remembered him, WHEN, I remembered him.
Indecision took me. My pragmatic side said to take Excalibur and to take the Hawk’s armor. But my sentimental side said no.
So… instead. I sat there, way into the night, reminiscing on the adventurers Hector and I had with hours passing as the papal soldiers set camp for the night and began cooking.
Eventually, Jesse approached, sitting beside me with stew in hand.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“So… What was he like?” Jesse asked, the man taking a hearty bite of whatever slosh he was eating. “The Raven.”
At his question, Slimy turned, my minion glaring at the man who shrugged.
“What? It’s just a question. I’m genuinely curious,” Jesse replied, not backing down despite the hateful glare given to him by Slimey. “Its not everyday you get to talk with a livin-eerr legend.”
“Its ok,” I said, taking over Slimey, her form shifting to imitate mine. “If you're really curious, Hector…”
I trailed off, brow furrowing as Jesse leaned in and the gnome snuck her way to sit beside me with stew in hand.
“Was a good frie-” My eye twitched, a memory hitting my mind of me being thrown out of an spa and then chased around town half-naked with Hector laughing. “An ass. A complete and utter ass.”
Jesse was taken aback, the man not expecting the response to leave my mouth.
“Seriously! The amount of trouble he got me in was almost not worth being his friend!” I spat, almost fuming as a memory of him stealing my swimsuit at a beach aggravated me. “Yet… despite that… he was a good friend. He always had your back and always had an escape route plotted. Some would call him a coward but those that knew him knew he wasn't just looking out for himself, even when he would suggest fleeing it was always because he was worried.”
A smile settled on my face, my eyes shifting to Hector and the flesh torn away at his neck.
“Damn bastard… you stupid idiot…”
And like that, my smile faded away, recalling how the most joyful of us had literally lost his head to save my life…
Despite having no tear ducts, an overwhelming desire to cry took me.
But. I had no tears. And I could not cry. Instead I sat there staring into the darkness, the warmth of the campfire taking me back to the days of my Hero adventures.
The gnome opened her mouth, her eyes gleaming with lust for knowledge, yet whatever she was about to ask was stifled by Simone yanking her back.
Eventually, stillness settled on the toxic forest, the only sound being the crackling of flames and the party devouring their stew.
Before long, my timer was up and I was back in my yellow shell, Slimey taking hold of me and holding my body close to her bosom for comfort.
Eventually, the others went to sleep, leaving me alone in my shell that could never sleep. That was always on. My mind only able to percieve the area around me and what Slimey saw.
Staring at Excalibur, I couldn't help but I think of Lyndis had left it here for me. Maybe hoping upon hope that I would somehow reclaim it.
But… I wouldn't. Excalibur was a symbol of what I once was. A symbol of my past. Brandishing it anew felt wrong and sullying the resting place of my friend felt worst.
So instead… I would leave it.
Double standard? Hypocrite? Maybe. But I don't care. Hector was my friend. And his final rest would not be disturbed.
I opened my dungeon menu, every line glitched and shifting wildly.
[Du&&eon Sy#@+em Inte
9face!]
[Name: Hiro Dungeon (MARKED!)]
[Le34Ll: 5]
[HP: 1&�/1/@00]
[?P: )($00/3$&#]
[DEVOTION: 850]
[EXP +2;?0/@000]
Ta6Ed M0&sters: 59/&0
p+7ons: 10/1$
[Quest: Survive The Arbiter]
Not sure why I opened it… maybe I was looking for comfort. Maybe I wanted something to distract myself from the past. Whatever the-
Huh?
Wait.
Nani?
I focused on my system, noticing two things that hadn't been there the day prior.
One, I was marked, and two, I had a new quest. One that said to just…
Survive the Arbiter?
The hell is an arbiter? Why am I marked?!
Was this why my system was glitched? Was I being tested by the system? Tested by God? Had he remembered I existed?!
Alarm bells rang in my head, my mind formulating hundreds of possible scenarios to explain why I was being hounded.
No. Don't freak out. Whatever this arbiter thing is, it has me marked. Can't risk my plans coming undone, I just need to move quickly.
Slimey!
“Yes my lord?” Slimey.
Wake them, we move at once! The sooner we get to our destination, the sooner we'll meet shields!
At my command Slimey spun, “WAKE UP!”
Slimey's voice boomed, startling the adventurers who rose in a panic.
“Attack! Attack! We're under attack!” Tipsy yelled, the gnome running in circles with sleepwear on her face as Simone stood up with twin balls of light mana in her hands.
“The Lord has demanded we move at once,” Slimey spat, placing me atop her head. “Board your carriages meat shields. We must make haste to fuffil the Great One’s wishes!”
Lead by Lhikan, the party quickly sprung into action, the group sleepily, but quickly moving.
Uh… Slimey.
“Yes my great beloved?”
How about we speak to our allies more nicely? They are our allies after all and we have need of them.
“....” Slimey's left eye twitched.
Slimey?
The Slime went still.
Please don't tell me you've gotten so powerful I need gym badges for you now.
“Of course not Milord, I am yours to command.” Slimey replied finally, putting on a wide smile that belied her true murderous feelings.
Right. We're definitely going to have to talk about human etiquette.
****
Elsewhere, an eighteen-wheeled monstrocity churned, the metal chassis screeching across a battlefield littered with corpses. Many had tried to stop it, many had failed, the beast known as Truck-Kun across the universe striking down all foes that dared to stand in its path.
To the worlds, she was known as Truck-Kun, but she was a girl! A GIRL! NOT A BOY! But the universe had branded her as such. So, with fury in her headlights, angst as her fuel, Truck-chan steamed her way through the two armies warring against one another on a foreign land.
Demon, human, elf, dwarf. None of it mattered before her headlights and mythril grill. Many attempted to cast a spell, dozens had brandished spears, hundreds had fired arrows, all a desperate attempt to stop her gore covered wheels.
But to this primitive world, they were no match before her 326 horsepower brought out by four-cylinder engine.
So the armies of demon kind and humanoid fled, creating a parted sea of bodies for her to traverse as she pursued her quarry.
Hiroyuki! I'm coming for you!