SSS-Rank Hunter Reborn: Private Tutor to the Count's Bastard Son

The 'something' sealed in the Arcane Swamp.

The moment he heard it was about to awaken, his first thought was that he should run away. It clearly seemed too much to handle alone.

Ferda turned around without hesitation.

But at that moment! A warning message filled his vision.

=====

[Warning]: An anomaly has occurred in the dungeon.

-The entrance will be sealed for a certain period.

-Time remaining until opening: 05:59:59

=====

"This crazy..."

His brow furrowed automatically.

There were occasionally cases like this on Earth too. When unexpected anomalies occurred and both the entrance and exit of dungeons were completely sealed.

As far as he knew, there were two ways to escape such situations.

One was to quietly wait until the entrance reopened, and the other was to defeat the dungeon's boss monster.

"...Do I have to hide for six hours?"

Fortunately, there were plenty of places to hide.

But it was disappointing that he couldn't escape in time. Ferda frowned and turned around.

Then, Prang spoke to him.

<What? You're not going to fight? It should be quite weak by now.>

"What?"

Weak? Was there some basis for that?

Just as Ferda was about to ask that, Prang continued first.

<Well, it's been sealed for three hundred years, right? After that long, even a decent monster would have all its strength drained. Of course, the same goes for me...>

Prang muttered in a self-deprecating voice.

Meanwhile, Ferda fell into brief thought.

Listening to it, it wasn't entirely unreasonable.

'If it really was a powerful boss monster...'

A warning message about its appearance would have appeared immediately upon awakening from the seal.

But there was nothing like that this time. After a moment, Ferda raised his head again and spoke to Prang.

"Tell me the details."

<About what?>

"About the guy sealed here."

He had no immediate intention of fighting.

But if he was going to avoid it, it would be good to know at least minimal information.

Ferda thought so.

<It's a guy called Arcane. A fool who failed trying to become a dragon, but maybe because he lived for quite a long time, he's stronger than expected. Also, his dignity was surprisingly high. With Lucian's dignity at the time, it was impossible to annihilate him, so he sealed him here.>

As Prang continued answering, Ferda suddenly interrupted.

"Wait, there's something I don't understand."

<Huh? What?>

"If there's a difference in dignity, is it impossible to annihilate them?"

This was the first time he'd heard such information.

It wasn't mentioned in the novel, and it wasn't information from Earth either.

But Prang answered as if stating an obvious fact.

<Why are you asking something so obvious? No matter how strong you are, if there's a difference of one or more levels in dignity, it's impossible to completely annihilate the opponent. However, you can kill them if they haven't manifested their dignity yet. For example, if they're young, or if they haven't awakened their dignity.>

"Then Lucian Arcdute was..."

<He had Hero dignity. The one sealed here had Legend dignity. So even after tearing off his limbs and pulling out all his teeth and claws, he couldn't kill him completely.>

Listening to Prang's story, Ferda's eyes sparkled.

Why wasn't this written in the novel? It was quite an interesting setting.

Then he suddenly recalled Silvan's dignity and immediately nodded.

In front of someone with Mythical dignity, there would be no monsters whose annihilation was impossible. There would have been no need to describe it in the novel.

<Of course, my dignity is Legend grade. But magic swords inevitably receive the user's influence, you know? In other words, to use me perfectly, the contractor must also have Legend dignity...>

Prang, who had been chattering away, suddenly closed his mouth.

During the quiet silence that followed, the blade trembled faintly.

After a while, Prang's voice came again.

<But looking at you now, you probably can't perfectly kill that fool either.>

A tone that sounded like he'd realized it belatedly.

Ferda asked with a puzzled expression.

"Because my dignity is low?"

<No, I can't see any dignity at all. In cases like this, either the dignity is sealed or you're an ignorant fool who doesn't even have Person dignity...>

Just as Prang was trailing off ambiguously!

Rumble rumble rumble—

The swamp area suddenly shook violently.

The swamp flowed into the forest, and trees with weak stems broke with cracking sounds. Ferda instinctively lowered his body and waited for the vibrations to subside.

Meanwhile, a warning message appeared.

=====

[Warning]: Magical beast 'Arcane' has awakened.

=====

The master of this swamp had finally opened his eyes.

Now it was time to choose. Run away for six hours, or face it in battle.

The information that Arcane had weakened was somewhat appealing, but he was still drawn to the option of running away for safety.

Just then, a question suddenly occurred to him.

"I'm curious about something else."

<Yeah yeah. Ask anything. I'm starved for conversation right now, so I'll listen to anything.>

Along with Prang's energetic voice, Ferda asked his question.

"Why did the seal that was maintaining well suddenly break?"

And of all times, why did the seal break now when Ferda had found the dungeon?

Actually, he had one suspicion.

Ferda stared intently at Prang with narrowed eyes.

"Don't tell me it's because I pulled you out..."

<Well, that's one of the reasons. I was tasked with guarding the seal. Huh? Wait a minute. What are you doing now?>

Seeing Ferda walking back toward the swamp area, Prang felt a bit of anxiety. To this, Ferda replied in a nonchalant tone.

"I'm thinking maybe if I put it back where it was, it might be sealed again."

<That's impossible! Wait a minute! Agh, don't get me muddy!>

After a bout of commotion passed, Prang continued speaking.

<Of course, my job was to guard the seal. But the fundamental cause of the seal breaking is an external factor!>

"External factor?"

<Right! It was about a month ago, wasn't it? There was an enormous magic storm that swept through from outside. It was nether mana, and anyway, due to that influence, the holy relic maintaining the seal cracked, and that's when the seal started to break!>

Thinking about it, right above this area was the cemetery.

The cemetery where Silvan had awakened as a necromancer.

"Ah, come to think of it..."

He hadn't thought that nether mana would seep underground.

As an awkward expression appeared on Ferda's face.

<But are you really going to run away without fighting?>

Prang spoke to him again.

<From what I can see, someone like you should be able to seal it again. If you can hear my voice, you don't have no dignity at all, right? It's probably sealed for some reason or something.>

The latter was probably correct.

If talent grade was treated as 'dignity' like with Silvan. Ferda also possessed one outstanding talent.

<I can tell you how to seal it. I remember everything. The holy relic is a bit cracked, but it should be safe for another ten years or so!>

Prang spoke in a confident tone.

Seeing this, he suddenly felt something was off. Ferda asked with a puzzled expression.

"I understand about me, but why are you so obsessed with sealing?"

Prang was a magic sword. His contractor Lucian had long since died.

Then there should be no need to fulfill the contract anymore. Above all, Prang had hated Lucian. Just earlier, he'd been calling him a bad guy.

But why was he so active about sealing?

Ferda was curious about that.

To that question, Prang gave a surprisingly simple answer.

<Because that's my mission.>

A chatty magic sword who rambled on about things nobody asked.

Such a guy had closed his mouth with just the answer "mission" without adding detailed reasons. Seeing that serious-looking appearance, Ferda let out a quiet sigh.

"Sigh, it can't be helped."

He bore some responsibility for this too.

If Ferda had handled it properly, the seal might not have broken.

"I'll take a look first, and if I judge it's too difficult, I'll run away."

<Don't worry. I'm sure you'll be able to seal it again!>

Listening to Prang's words showing groundless confidence, Ferda moved forward.

***

Ferda really intended to do just that.

Take a look at Arcane from a distance, and if it was stronger than expected, run away without looking back. And hide persistently.

Whatever Prang said, that was his plan.

But to conclude, it all went wrong.

=====

[Warning]: You have been marked.

-'Arcane's Mark'

-Your location is shared with Arcane.

-Time remaining until mark disappears: 11:59:59

=====

"Damn it."

Ferda's face crumpled again.

"What grudge does it have against me..."

To chase him even by marking him?

A sigh came naturally. But that was only momentary—Ferda slapped his cheek hard with his palm. Along with stinging pain, his mind returned.

"...It can't be helped."

He had no choice but to fight with all his might.

Even if the entrance reopened and he could get outside, if he was marked, the outside wouldn't be safe either.

Arcane would surely follow him outside the dungeon too.

'I don't want to get Silvan involved.'

So let's settle this here.

Ferda's eyes flashed fiercely. Meanwhile, Prang suddenly spoke up.

<Leave finding Arcane's location to me!>

He'd fought it several times before, so he'd probably know its location.

So he moved following Prang's guidance without suspicion.

However, this was a mistake.

<Uh, huh?>

A voice clearly showing bewilderment.

<Where did it go? It was definitely here in the old days...>

He couldn't even guide properly. A sigh came naturally.

After a moment, Ferda looked around.

This was probably the right place where Arcane had been sealed. The problem was that Arcane had already awakened, and he didn't know where it had gone.

And one more thing.

"Croak! Croak!"

"Crooooak!"

From somewhere, dozens of Toadmen had surrounded the area.

It was surely a scheme devised by Arcane.

<Ah, looks like we fell into a trap.>

Prang muttered as if it were someone else's business.

At that attitude, Ferda frowned. But Prang, not noticing this, continued chattering in a still cheerful voice.

<Then fight hard and see you later! Waaaah!>

Prang screamed.

That made sense, since Ferda had suddenly swung Prang and slashed a Toadman. Surprised by the sudden action, Prang let out a shriek.

<What are you doing!>

"This is the only weapon I have."

<I only lend my power to contractors! Just swinging me around like this makes me nothing but a sturdy sword! You'd be better off swinging something else...>

"Sturdy?"

That's good. He'd been needing a sturdy sword.

Ferda smiled coldly and gripped Prang tightly.

About ten minutes later.

Clang—

The one-sided massacre ended.

He'd used up all his magic power, but recovered by drinking potions. The amount of remaining magic power potions was also considerable, so there was no problem.

As he was picking up items that had fallen on the ground, something caught his attention.

It was a stone with a spiral pattern carved into it.

<Ugh, swinging me around so crudely. Magic swords should be handled more delicately!>

Leaving behind Prang making crying sounds.

Ferda picked up the stone. Then he immediately sent magic power into it to retrieve information.

=====

[Name]: Ancient Magic Stone: [Return]

[Grade]: High

[Type]: Consumable

-A stone with ancient magic formulas carved into it. A 'return' magic that can move outside the dungeon is inscribed. However, please note that this item will disappear once you leave the dungeon 'Arcane Swamp.'

[Movement Location]: Closed Underground Waterway

=====

"As expected, there's no law saying you should just die."

A smile formed on Ferda's lips.

This, called a 'return stone,' was one of the most precious items for hunters. Because it was a grateful tool that allowed escape from dangerous areas.

It was such a good item that it could be described as a spare life. That was this return stone.

"I can move more boldly now."

If things went wrong, he could just use the return stone.

Though he was marked, he had thought of one solution.

Running away to where Count Arcdute was.

He was a Sword Master after all. He'd fight well on his own.

Feeling like he had reliable insurance, Ferda grinned.

Just then.

Hisssss—

Suddenly, shadows fell on the ground. Usually this phenomenon occurred when clouds covered the sun. However, there were no clouds or sun here.

<Uh, uhh! Above! Look above!>

Prang shouted urgently.

Just from that reaction, he could tell what had appeared. Ferda stuffed the return stone into his chest, then quickly threw himself into a cave where shadows hadn't fallen.

Crash!

An enormous roar from behind!

Rocks crumbled and the ground split. Soil, sand, and mud scattered in all directions. As he watched the scene of murky water mist rising, a huge shadow suddenly burst out.

"That's..."

A massive body like a high-rise building. Bumpy horns sprouting all over its body!

A monster that looked like a giant kaiju.

The moment he saw it, Ferda intuited.

That was the master of the swamp, Arcane.