Chapter 88

Chapter 88: A Duel with Acresia's Second Successor

The dwarf set down the pickaxe in his hand, unrolled the bundle on his back, and offered me three pieces of jerky and something that resembled a boiled potato.

I accepted them and began eating.

Food for the first time in five days.

'What kind of meat is this jerky made from?'

The meat had a strong gamey smell.

But strangely, despite the gamey taste, it was delicious.

'Is this the effect of going hungry for five days?'

And it was not just ordinary hunger.

I had wandered the Rift for four days without sleeping or resting, burning through an enormous number of calories.

I ate the boiled potato-like thing as well.

'It tastes like an undercooked potato that was boiled.'

It was astringent.

But because I was so starved, even this tasted good.

The dwarf then offered a waterskin.

"Please have some water as well."

"Thank you."

I gulped the water down.

For the past two days, the only water I had consumed was small droplets falling from the ceiling.

Even drinking water was happiness.

Indeed, one had to experience hunger to understand the true value of food.

Until now, with Ria, the S-Rank trio, the knight quartet, and others — I had always been the cook, preparing food for the hungry.

Now I was the one starving, on the receiving end of someone else's food.

I quickly finished two pieces of jerky and one potato-like thing that he had offered.

"Thank you for the meal."

"I am glad to have been of help to my master."

With my hunger somewhat sated, it was time to satisfy my curiosity.

"Sir, what is your name?"

He looked clearly much older than me, so I used formal speech.

"My name is Maxim Eckard. Please call me Maxim."

"Understood, Sir Maxim. But how do you know about Acresia?"

"Our Eckard family has served Lord Eos, the hero of Gillieta, for three generations. Lord Eos was the second master of Acresia."

"I see."

So there had been a master of Acresia before me.

Gillieta was the name of the world from which Ashley had crossed over.

I was curious about this person called Eos.

"What kind of person was Lord Eos?"

"Lord Eos was the hero who saved the dwarves from the evil dragon."

An evil dragon — so there were villains among the dragons too.

He continued his explanation.

Among the elder-class dragons, there had been one called Iskalf who had been particularly brutal in oppressing and extorting the dwarven race.

The other dragons remained silent about Iskalf's atrocities.

Then, before the suffering dwarves, a hero named Eos appeared and used the power of Acresia to devour the evil dragon.

'So Eos absorbed it with Acresia and had it Devoured......'

I envied that — Devouring an elder-class dragon.

Having Devoured a monster one rank above Transcendent-Grade, Acresia's rank had probably risen to S-Rank.

'I am relieved that this Eos was a hero rather than a villain like Yaike.'

Quite the opposite, in fact.

I would need to ask Ashley later whether she knew of Eos.

Maxim continued,

"And Lord Eos was a high elf."

"A high elf? Is that different from a regular elf?"

"Yes. A being who transcends the limits of regular elves. For reference, elves and dwarves have a poor relationship between their races. Had Lord Eos been a regular elf, the dwarven race would have found it difficult to accept him as their hero."

So even if he had been their savior, they could not have elevated a regular elf to the status of dwarven hero.

The wall of resentment between dwarves and elves ran deep.

"I see. By the way, what is this dungeon Rift used for?"

"This is a mining dungeon within the Rift. Lord Eos created this place."

"Created it? Is it possible to create a dungeon?"

"It is, with the power of Acresia. It seems that the new successor has not yet fully realized Acresia's capabilities."

Acresia was indeed still at A-Rank.

Its growth was currently stalled.

"That is correct."

"This aligns with the final words Lord Eos left before passing."

Final words.

"What were those final words?"

"'A rightful successor will come to this place. He will not yet have brought his abilities to full bloom, so guide him to my home.' Those were his final words."

He had known that I, the successor, would come someday.

Perhaps Acresia had shown me this place and guided me here.

"And so our Eckard family has waited for the successor across four generations."

"Four generations — how long has it been since Lord Eos passed?"

"Five hundred and fifty years have passed by the Gillieta calendar."

"Five hundred and fifty years...... Your family waited for the Acresia successor across generations for that long? Why?"

"Because Lord Eos was the benefactor who saved the dwarves. And the first-generation ancestor who initially served Lord Eos swore that the family would serve him through the ages. When Lord Eos passed, the third-generation ancestor swore to Lord Eos that should a successor appear, the family would serve that person for generations to come."

So that was why he had called me master.

"Please follow me. As per Lord Eos's final words, I will guide you to his home."

"Understood."

I would follow for now.

Eos must have left something behind — otherwise, he would not have instructed to guide the successor to his home.

Going there might yield new information about Acresia.

In any case, it seemed I would survive and return safely.

'Just moments ago, my survival was uncertain, and I was worried I might never see Ria's face again.'

As we walked, I asked Maxim,

"But why is Mana unusable in this dungeon?"

"Because Lord Eos designed it that way. This is a Mana-free space. Monsters feed on Mana to grow stronger, so in a Mana-free space, no monsters can take root. Additionally, as a precaution against intruders, the area was designated as a Mana-restricted zone so that abilities could not be used. Lord Eos created it this way to protect the Eckard family members working here."

"Ah, I understand now."

So this dungeon was a safe mining dungeon that Eos had created for the Eckard family of dwarves who served him.

His employee welfare was solid.

'Acresia had the ability to create dungeons too.'

Truly a staggering ability.

I wanted that power.

About thirty minutes after following him, we passed through a long corridor and reached the exit of the dungeon Rift.

'I am saved.'

Once I went through there, I would be able to use Mana again.

Then I could return to the Rift house.

'Just wait a little longer, Ria, Rin.'

Together with the dwarf, I exited the dungeon.

A forest spread out before us.

"Where are we? Is this also inside the Rift?"

"Yes, this is also a space Lord Eos created. It is a massive dungeon."

"Fascinating."

It resembled a plain more than a dungeon.

It must have been an incredibly large dungeon.

Beyond the forest, a towering castle came into view.

"Is that Lord Eos's home?"

"It is. Let us head there."

I had expected the home to be a small house, not a massive castle.

I followed him toward the castle.

In front of the castle stood several houses and one grand, magnificent residence.

Maxim pointed to them.

"Those are the homes of the Eckard family members. Families who manage the castle or work in the mine live there."

"Then they are all your relatives or family, Sir Maxim."

"That is correct."

When Maxim brought me to the area, the dwarves came out and stared at us.

"Head of House, who is that person? Could it be......?"

At a young dwarf's question, Maxim nodded.

"That is right. The successor of Acresia."

At Maxim's answer, the dwarves erupted in cheers.

They were overjoyed that the person they had awaited across generations had finally arrived.

"I will take the new master to Lord Eos's home for now."

"Ah, understood."

What was that?

I sensed a flicker of apprehension in the young dwarf's tense expression.

Could there be some kind of test to become the true successor?

I asked Maxim directly as we walked toward the castle.

"Is there some kind of test I need to pass?"

"I do not know the details myself. Lord Eos only said that it is a power that must not be obtained by one who lacks the qualifications."

Qualifications.

Honestly, this was how I felt:

There was no one more suited to be Acresia's master than me.

'I fed it a Named Doppelganger. I fed it a Lich and a Bone Dragon. Is there anyone who could have Devoured three Transcendent-Grade monsters in such a short time?'

No. Absolutely not.

Luck was also a skill.

Of course, it was only possible because Ria had been by my side.

Regardless, I believed there were very few masters who could grow Acresia as quickly and use it as efficiently as I had in such a short period.

So I was confident in whatever test awaited.

"Let us go."

"Yes......"

We arrived at the castle entrance.

'Magnificent.'

It had the grandeur of an old European royal castle.

The meticulously carved decorations throughout were deeply impressive.

The castle had most likely been built by dwarves.

We opened the castle gate and entered.

The interior was also lavishly decorated and immaculately maintained.

Maxim guided me to the study on the third floor.

"What am I supposed to do here......?"

There was nothing but books lined up on various shelves.

"I do not know either. I was only told to guide the successor to the study. I will wait outside the door."

THUD!

Maxim closed the study door and stepped outside.

This was not an escape room, for goodness' sake.

I examined the books one by one.

They were written in the ancient language, so I could not read a single one.

Patiently, I pulled books out one at a time and inspected them.

Then, when I touched a book with a worn, brown leather cover —

WHOOSH!

The book transformed into one with a black cover inscribed with golden ancient script.

Simultaneously, Acresia reacted.

HUMM!

This book was the trigger.

In an instant, the scenery before me changed.

A circular combat arena resembling a colosseum.

And standing before me was a translucent woman with sky-blue hair and pointed ears — strikingly beautiful.

The woman spoke to me.

-If you desire the true power of Acresia, prove your qualifications.

This must be some kind of phantom left by Eos.

'Eos was a woman.'

She extended her hand toward me.

Subspace openings materialized around her.

"Could that be Acresia......?"

That Subspace was unmistakably Acresia.

And openings appearing in every direction meant she was about to use the Release Skill.

Arrowheads emerged from Acresia.

I gripped my spear tightly and braced for the attack.

Arrows began firing toward me.

"Damn it!"

I never imagined I would be attacked by my own Acresia.

I thrust my spear at an incoming arrow.

The spear's innate skill — Spatial Thrust.

CRACK!

One arrow shattered in midair.

I twisted my body to dodge another arrow aimed at my side.

Three arrows fired simultaneously in succession.

The released arrows were too fast, and the awkward angles made it impossible to dodge them all.

Ria's advice came to mind.

-When you cannot dodge every attack, you must block while accepting only the minimum amount of damage. Give what you must give.

In other words: concede what must be conceded.

I swung my spear diagonally to deflect the arrow aimed at my heart.

I tilted my head just enough to let the one targeting my skull graze my cheek.

But —

THUNK!

The one aimed at my thigh hit dead-on.

That was the concession.

Without the extreme sparring training with Ria, all three would have hit me and I would have died instantly.

'Being attacked by my own skills — this is infuriating.'

It felt like having my own property stolen.

Could I use Acresia as well?

I tried activating it straight ahead.

HUMM!

It activated normally, independent of the opponent's.

I immediately used the Absorption Skill against the incoming volley of arrows.

Every arrow was absorbed.

I then Released those arrows right back at the opponent.

'Now you try getting attacked by your own stuff and see how it feels!'

But Eos's phantom did not absorb them back. Instead, she moved her body to dodge.

Her movements were at Transcendent-Grade level.

'She is strong.'

Was I supposed to defeat a Transcendent-Grade phantom wielding Acresia?

What kind of impossible test was this?

Regardless, I had to win if I wanted to survive.

Then I would use every means at my disposal.

'Ashley, I will put your gift to good use!'

The best way to utilize the spells I had stored through Ashley.

That was to Release all stored spells simultaneously across a wide area.

No matter how Transcendent-Grade the opponent, without Blink magic, this was absolutely unavoidable.

Ria herself had said that even she would suffer significant damage from such an attack.

I Released Ashley's spells in every direction toward the phantom of Eos.

Three spheres of Hell Fire and a homing Lightning Storm were unleashed.

The phantom of Eos flung herself to the left.

Simultaneously, she opened Acresia and absorbed one sphere of Hell Fire.

'I would have responded the same way.'

Hence, it was the expected reaction.

That was why I had narrowed the blast radius of the Hell Fire spheres.

The spacing was set just wide enough that she could not absorb two at once.

The other two Hell Fire spheres struck the ground.

BOOM!!

A devastating firestorm of hellish flames engulfed a wide area.

The phantom of Eos had one foot within the blast radius.

-Grgh!

The intense heat caused the phantom to writhe in agony.

And that was not all — the homing Lightning Storm scored a direct hit on the phantom, who had recoiled from the heat.

The phantom shuddered violently and collapsed face-first to the ground.

Now was my only chance.

I endured the pain in my pierced right thigh and sprinted toward the phantom.

I reached her and leveled my spear.

"My victory."

The phantom raised her upper body and spoke.

-Indeed, it is your victory. As my successor, you now know what must be done, yes?

I understood her meaning.

"Yes."

I opened Acresia.

I used the Absorption Skill on the phantom of Eos.

The phantom spoke to me.

-Congratulations on becoming the true master of Acresia. I beseech you — fulfill the fate of the successor that I could not.