Mightiest Melee Magician - Chapter 123

Mythic Rank Quest

Legacy Fragment I of The Destroyer of Worlds, Draka

*The following quest requires at least 10,000 strength.

*You must gather the four fragments of Draka’s Legacy that scattered when the Destroyer of Worlds fell to ruin.

*When all four fragments are combined, Draka’s Legacy will be reborn.

That was all the description I got.

It was a different kind of quest to normal. There was no time limit, nor known completion reward.

Seeing that it was a ‘Mythic Rank’ quest, it was bound to be unique…

During the short stop for lunch, I immediately went to find Straang.

Straang was laying on her back in an otherwise-empty carriage, but as soon as I entered, she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

“Are we here?”

“No, not yet. Before that, do you know what Draka’s Legacy is?”

“……”

Hearing that, the look in Straang’s eyes instantly changed, and she was now wide awake.

“…Why are you asking me that now?”

“I got a quest.”

I shared the details of the quest with Straang.

But then, she muttered to herself with a weak voice,

“I haven’t heard that name in a long while. Of course I know it.”

“Really?”

“To be precise, it’s a holy relic. Right now, it’s scattered into four different fragments, but after getting them all back together, the holy relic will be complete.”

“…Those actually exist?”

Holy relics.

Religious icons that had been instilled with the authority of a god.

Normally, things like this would be found in religious establishments, like monasteries, but in reality, none of these holy relics could be proven to contain any authority of a god.

They were just symbolic items used for religious belief and worship.

However…

“They do. Really.”

“……”

The authority of gods did exist.

Hearing this, I only had one question.

I rubbed my chin as I asked,

“But why does no one know about this?”

“No, they do know. Humans also believe that holy relics contain the authority of a god, even if most of them are just useless imitations.”

“Does that mean that humans can use the powers of a god?”

“Yes and no.”

“What does that mean?”

“The conditions are very tricky. Draka’s Legacy requires a minimum strength of 10,000. You also need to be proficient in magic, since its fundamentals are quite similar to magic. So since you need to be extremely strong and knowledgeable in magic, most normal people can’t even meet the requirements.”

“Strength and magic…? So it’s perfect for me.”

“That’s right. It’s an item for you and Draka. That’s why it hasn’t appeared in the world yet. Because humans wouldn’t know things like these even exist.”

“So, if I get the four fragments and reform the relic, I can become stronger?”

“Maybe… But it might not be that simple.”

“Why not?”

“Even if you obtain unparalleled strength, you wouldn’t be able to use it. Your body won’t ever be able to handle it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about the power to use your strength to defy gravity and create an entirely new force.”

“…What?”

“How’s that? Pretty hard to imagine, right? That’s Authority.”

I was left speechless.

Defy gravity with strength?

Was this a joke?

“Your expression says you can’t believe it.”

“Well, that’s…”

But the look in Straang’s eyes told me this was the truth.

She sometimes made impish jokes targeting me, but she never lied.

However, haven’t I lived a life that also felt like a joke and a lie?

There was no point in getting surprised at one more event like that.

“…No, I believe you.”

Straang continued.

“Draka created the holy relic and obtained overwhelming power, enough to shake the very foundation of the world. However, being able to use this power as he wished was a different story. His body couldn’t handle it, and in the end, he perished.”

Hundreds, no, thousands of years of a dragon’s life, the life of the greatest existence on the continent, still wasn’t enough to handle this power.

This power…

“But for a human, who is weaker than an orc, to endure that? Maybe. I can’t say anything for certain, but your weak body will most likely get torn to pieces.”

…was something that a human’s body would never be able to obtain.

Yeah.

I understood.

However, Straang had one misconception.

Wasn’t my existence built upon impossibility?

“Straang. A human’s body isn’t that weak. In a sense, we might be stronger than any other species.”

“Eh?”

“Think about when you first met me. Did you think that I would be able to build up 10,000 strength in just one year?”

“…Not really.”

“Or did you think I would successfully arm wrestle 100 ogres?”

“Of course not, but this isn’t a problem of that level…”

“Yeah, I get it. It’s extremely dangerous, but it’s the greatest strength, right?”

“…That’s right.”

A holy relic that only Draka and I could use.

I already knew approximately where the first fragment was.

The minimap got a ‘Full Map’ update.

It was an image showing a bird’s eye view of the entire continent.

On this map, there was a marker that showed the likely location of a holy relic.

And that place was Seta Malkiri’s home country, the Kingdom of Sand.

Oyota.

A reason I couldn’t go to this place?

Didn’t exist.

* * *

* * *

I smiled brightly.

“…This is pretty cool.”

I decided where I would be going.

“Are you really going to go look for the holy relic fragment?”

“Yeah. After finishing up the things I need to do in Ardell, that is.”

Of course, since I had something I needed to do right now, I would have to push this back a little.

Nothing was more important to me than the expansion of Ardell.

“Haah.”

Hearing my answer, Straang shook her head with disgust.

“All human males get crazy about strength. Authority, physical strength, virility…”

Then…

Slam!

The door to the carriage was flung wide open, and Jason peeked his head in.

“What? I think I heard a very suspicious word from Straang right now. Did you say virility…?”

“……”

This guy…

How was that the only word you heard?

At this point, you probably only go around listening for lewd words.

“Why does ‘virility’ come out in a talk between cousins?”

“……”

As Straang and I both kept our mouths shut, Jason hurriedly covered his mouth with his hands and muttered,

“Huat! A-are you guys… perhaps—”

“What are you talking about? She said mentality.”

“…Ah, really?”

Sorry, Jason.

“Anyways, what are you two doing being by yourselves for so long?”

“Who knows? Nothing.”

“What? That’s a bit suspicious.”

“What’s suspicious about what? Moreover, why are you here?”

“…Eh? That’s right, why am I here?”

Jason spaced out a second before facepalming and saying,

“Ah, right, right. Hansen!”

“Hansen?”

“Yeah. Come quick. There’s an interesting scene happening.”

An interesting scene involving Hansen?

What did he mean by that?

* * *

I was dragged out of the carriage by Jason.

At this relatively late lunch, the people that were going down to Ardell weren’t just my friend group, but also the 3000 soldiers.

This meant it took a long time for these people to have their food served and cleaned up.

“The knights were getting bored just waiting, so they asked to see Hansen’s skill.”

“…Really?”

The knights, who got bored of waiting, had called upon Hansen, who had just completed his Knightly Vows, to show off?

“Ah! They already started!”

By the time Jason and I arrived at the scene, the sparring had already begun.

“Huak! Haah…!”

“Are you worn out already?”

“N-not yet…”

It was a spar between Hansen, who was breathing hard to regain his rhythm, and a young knight who faced him leisurely.

“Oi! Velcs! Go easy on him! Aren’t you trying too hard against a kid who’s only just finished his Knightly Vows?”

“I got it, I got it.”

I sat to the side and started to watch the entertaining spar.

Then…

“So you were here as well, Young Master.”

“…Huh? You’re also here, Sir Bolvar?”

Sir Bolvar Patten seemed to have watched the spar from the start, as he had a spark of joy in his eyes.

“Yes. You can’t miss an entertaining scene like this. The young lady is also watching from over there.”

“Ruina is?”

It was real.

The Rose Knight that protects Ardell.

Ruina Ardell was serious in watching her senior knights spar.

Her desire to learn the sword at least looked to be genuine.

I asked Sir Bolvar,

“How do they look?”

“They’re both pretty good.”

How would it feel to be the great senior who was looking at the duel between two of his much younger juniors?

No.

I wanted to ask the opposite.

If those knights knew that this Knight Captain of Ardell, wearing such a warm smile, was the legendary Spear Saint Bolvar Patten, how would they react?

However, I unfortunately couldn’t ask them such a question.

“Oh ho.”

Kling! Clang!

Hansen and the knight called ‘Velcs’ had continued their duel.

“Aah, is this your limit?”

“He’s pretty good for a new blood, but it’ll be difficult for him to defeat Velcs.”

A knight was a knight for a reason.

The skill difference between the two was quite evident.

Hansen was forced into the defensive, and Velcs was overpowering.

However, Sir Bolvar’s attention was elsewhere.

“That young knight, was he your friend, Young Master?’’

“Yes, that’s right. He’s Hansen.”

“He’s quite talented to be able to do this much against a Golden Knight.”

“…A Golden Knight?”

Now that I saw it, the insignia on the knight called Velcs’s shoulder was indeed golden.

He was a knight of the Golden Light Knight Order, the ones who protected the royal family.

His level, from what I could see using the Player’s Eye, was 5th-rank.

It wouldn’t be wrong to call him the kingdom’s elite, but Hansen was able to put up a good defense against a man like that.

“Although he doesn’t seem to have much real experience, his adaptability is quite strong. If he hones his basics a little more, getting to 5th-rank will be no problem.”

As expected, Sir Bolvar was able to completely see through Hansen’s talent.

I pointed at Hansen.

“Ah, I didn’t tell you this before, Sir Bolvar, but Hansen will stay in Ardell from now on. As a knight of our territory.”

“…Is that so?”

The look in Sir Bolvar’s eyes immediately turned to one of interest.

I pressed on.

“Will you perhaps be able to teach Hansen?’

“……”

If Hansen was to get stronger, it would be a boon for me, for Hansen, and for the entirety of Ardell.

However, rather than accepting, Sir Bolvar said something else.

“For that, you shouldn’t ask me, but that young lad.”

“Pardon?”

“Unlike when I was teaching you, I will be very strict with the knights.”

Very strict, unlike with me?

I thought I was getting roughed up pretty hard.

“Then, we’ll need to start getting ready to go. The road is still long.”

“……”

Just how much harsher was he planning on teaching them?

I was able to get the answer the moment I woke up early next morning.

“Th-that man is Sir Bolvar Patten?”

“……”

The legendary Spear Saint’s, Sir Bolvar Patten’s, special knight lessons.

This rumor spread like wildfire among the knights that had joined the expedition.

——