Finally Got Stronger but Ended Up Regressing

Chapter 8 Rather an Opportunity (4)

The circular staircase extended so far that its end was not visible.

Below, pitch-black darkness spread out.

It looked like a ghost might pop out.

I turned on the flashlight attached to my X-band. The place I was heading to now was an underground cavity.

It was a kind of ruin.

‘Finding runes is one thing, but discovering ruins is no easy task either.’

All the dungeons in this world are connected to another world. A world where different beings like dragons, spirits, knights, warriors, wizards, and shamans exist, along with various regions like empires, alliances, lordships, and churches.

The magic books used by magic soldiers also come from there.

Shaking off my idle thoughts, I hurried my steps.

I must hurry so I won’t be late for the assembly.

I don’t know exactly how the underground cavity is structured.

But they said there was a stone box, and the rune was inside it.

If I just take that out, game set.

How far down have I gone?

I can finally see the end. I had been staring at the ground the whole time, worried I might trip, but I finally lifted my head.

A large room with wide open space appeared.

It was an underground cave.

“Here it is.”

On both sides, murals of strangely shaped beasts were drawn, and the ceiling was full of bright blue and yellow stalactites.

It was definitely far from an ordinary cave.

It had a strong feeling of being ruins from another world.

I carefully moved forward. Thanks to the flashlight, there was still no problem with visibility.

But something was strange.

“Huh?”

I couldn’t see the stone box. There wasn’t even a single rock or stone, let alone the stone box.

“…What is that?”

At that moment, I discovered a statue standing calmly on the right wall.

A sense of unease washed over me.

“Damn, could it be that it wasn’t a stone box but a statue?”

No matter how much I looked around, the stone box was nowhere to be found.

It seemed that was the case.

The rune seemed to be inside that statue.

I could open a stone box, but what should I do with a statue? Should I break it?

As I seriously contemplated this and took a step towards the statue.

Chill.

A shiver ran down my spine, and I instinctively stopped.

The eyes of the statue, which had been closed, opened.

Clang!

A great sword, which might have been in its hand, was grasped.

I was so startled that I took a step back.

“Crazy, this is driving me nuts.”

A statue monster that appears in cave-type dungeons. Most of them are created by magic or sorcery, like golems, but sometimes there are exceptions.

When the soul of the main body melts in and gains life.

The statue in front of me was exactly that.

A gleam that only living creatures could have was seeping out.

It was obvious what the main body was.

A knight.

Both its appearance and the greatsword in its hand indicated so, and the effect of the rune itself was related to knights.

Yes, I thought it was a good ability, but it was obtained too easily.

Ha.

It was my mistake.

I should have recalled the memory more clearly.

There was no exit to escape. The massive statue was already blocking the stairs.

It didn’t move an inch from there.

“You’re not thinking of dying quietly, are you?”

It was a question that didn’t need to be asked. The statue answered by slicing the air with its greatsword.

Vwoom!

The heavy sword strike was quite fast.

It was a situation where I was pretty much screwed.

‘It’s not that there’s no way.’

I also drew my sword. Compared to the statue’s, mine was much narrower. At least the length was similar.

But this sword was a special hunter military sword made to deal with monsters.

It was different in strength from the training sword I used yesterday.

‘Whether it’s a golem-type or a semi-living type with the soul of the main body, if you remove the core, you can kill it instantly.’

For the latter, the core is located in the left chest. Because it follows the position of the main body’s heart.

I confronted the statue. If I could defend against its attack with [Efficient Parrying] and then aim for the momentary gap to stab its heart with [Thrust], theoretically, I would win.

But I wondered if it was actually possible.

Even at a glance, the difference in physical strength was too great.

I laughed and relaxed my stiff body.

‘I blocked the attack of an officer from the Hunter Corps, so I should be able to block this stone chunk’s attack.’

I licked my upper lip and slowly advanced towards it. I also took out a dagger from the X-band in advance. This would be the dagger that would cut its breath.

It still held its ground, not giving way.

It was a stroke of luck for me.

Because I could steer it in the direction I wanted.

Vroom!

The greatsword swung again. It was fast, but not so fast that I couldn’t dodge it.

However, the follow-up movements were immediate, making it impossible to recklessly counterattack.

Not that I had any intention of doing so.

Thud!

The moment the vertically raised greatsword struck the ground, I moved to its side.

This time, it swung the greatsword horizontally.

The opportunity was now.

Right now, when its body rotation was incomplete and its strength was diminished.

I raised my sword straight in front of my chest. At the same time, a heavy impact was transmitted throughout my body.

Clang!

It felt like a bear had collided with me, not a sword.

I almost lost my grip on the sword.

In that brief moment of less than a second, its continuous attacks unfolded. I extended the dagger I was holding with both hands with all my might.

To its heart.

Slash!

Not leather, but stone. The dagger pierced through the hard surface in an instant.

There was a reason why a weakness was a weakness.

Flash!

The statue, emitting a fierce glare, tried to strike me down.

The greatsword was right above my head.

But that was as far as it got.

Thud.

The dagger was deeply embedded in its heart.

The fierce glare quickly faded, and the statue collapsed powerlessly. The stone that formed the human shape shattered into hundreds of pebbles.

I finally caught my breath.

“Hoo.”

Blood was flowing from my palm. The recoil had torn my skin.

I just laughed.

This was an honorable wound.

I squatted down and rummaged through the gravel.

Soon, a shiny fragment emerged.

It had a brilliant turquoise color, almost like a jewel, but this was a rune.

I roughly brushed off the blood and picked up the rune. Including before my regression, it was the first time it had ever been in my hands.

A priceless treasure.

A rare item that couldn’t be bought even if you had the money.

If I sold it, I could make a fortune, but life was about seeing the forest, not just the trees.

I took out my canteen and swallowed it with water.

Gulp.

The mystery unearthed from the ruins of another world entered my body.

A warm energy spread from my heart to the tips of my fingers and toes.

Would it feel like this if I ate a hundred-year-old ginseng?

The notification rang at that moment.

“Bascal, based on his outstanding skills, revived a fallen family and reclaimed territory occupied by monsters with only a few dozen soldiers.”

The chronicle of a knight named Bascal. He was the person the statue represented.

“Furthermore, he…”

The notification unfolded like parchment. It was filled with text.

It was quite enjoyable to read.

It felt like a novel.

“…thus, Bascal achieved countless victories in many battles.”

A typical iron-blooded knight. Judging by the lack of mention of titles or ranks, it seemed he didn’t rise to a high position, but from my perspective, this was more than enough.

From the beginning.

“Would you like to imprint Bascal’s story?”

“Imprint it.”

“Bascal’s story has been imprinted.”

This was not an ordinary ability. It was a special ability that could only be obtained by imprinting a story, something that others could never acquire.

“A new ability [Soul of the Iron-Blooded Knight] has been unlocked.”

“From now on, you will not easily be intimidated by any enemy. Your proficiency in all swordsmanship will increase more rapidly.”

The effect can be summed up in one word: momentum and martial arts. The former will keep you calm even if you suddenly face an enemy like before, and the latter will literally greatly increase your growth rate.

In game terms, it’s a passive skill, so there are no conditions for activation.

It is maintained 24 hours a day, every day.

It’s not without limits.

Against a much stronger enemy, you’ll inevitably get scared.

The growth rate also won’t increase beyond a certain percentage.

But that was enough.

Aren’t I a private right now?

I won’t have any battles or training that hit the limit.

‘This has laid the foundation.’

The process has changed a bit, but the result is as desired.

Still, I need to reflect.

I almost died alone in this dark space.

The corpse would have rotted away.

Because this place won’t be discovered for a few more years.

My family wouldn’t find me either.

‘Wait, come to think of it, I haven’t seen my family.’

I’ve seen them continuously before the regression, but seeing them now has a different meaning.

Not my elderly parents, but my parents in their prime.

I was a useless son who only burdened them, but now I think I should be more filial.

I decided to go out or take a leave this coming weekend and left the cave.

Climbing the hundreds of stairs again made my legs a bit heavy, but my heart was lighter than ever.

*

16:45, assembly point next to the exit.

“I knew it. Why did the piss-bum come here again?”

“The search platoon leader was grumbling earlier too. Even if it’s called an alien energy, it’s all just monster by-products. Most of them are just dung lumps.”

“I think I smell dung from the soles too.”

“Why?”

“I stepped on it earlier.”

“Ugh, get away. Don’t come near me.”

After searching for over three hours, nothing was found.

The only result of scanning the surroundings until my eyes hurt was fatigue.

But in this field, you had to do what you were told.

Even the search platoon leader couldn’t say a word in front of Captain Oh Jun-beom.

“Nothing has been found, sir. It’s unfortunate.”

“Is that so? I had a feeling about this place.”

Corporal Byun Ji-tak, who was listening to their conversation from behind, frowned and thought, ‘Feeling, my ass. The only feeling you’ll get is me beating you up later.’

It would be understandable if other soldiers who had worked hard said that, but you slept all day.

You’re the one who should be beaten.

“What are you looking at, you b*stard?”

And Captain Oh Jun-beom was right. If runes were considered artifacts, this dungeon was definitely worth investigating again.

This is why pioneers always have a hard time.

“Hey, why are you swearing at Yun-ho?”

“So what, you b*tch.”

“Crazy b*stard.”

While I was lost in thought for a moment, Corporal Jung Ye-som and Corporal Byun Ji-tak were growling at each other.

I couldn’t let Corporal Jung Ye-som get into trouble because of me.

“Private Koo Yun-ho. I’m sorry.”

At my apology, Corporal Byun Ji-tak turned his head forward. But his head turned back again, holding a dagger in his hand.

Towards me.

Swish!

A sharply honed dagger was suddenly right in front of my nose.

A heinous act.

Corporal Byun Ji-tak used to scare me like this. He enjoyed watching me break out in a cold sweat and laughed heartily.

The days I had forgotten now came back to me.

But not now.

Even as the blade was about to touch my skin, it just felt like child’s play.

“?!”

It was the power of the [Iron-Blooded Knight’s Spirit]. The ability to not easily get intimidated by any enemy.

Thanks to that, I didn’t even blink. Instead, I moved my face closer.

“Shouldn’t you add more to surprise them like this?”

“You, you b*stard…!”

Now it was Corporal Byun Ji-tak who was flustered.

His hands were trembling.

It wasn’t me, but him, who was sweating from both temples.