Will I End Up As a Hero or a Demon King (WN)

Chapter 278

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Chapter 278 – The Real Graveyard

I sent the light orb ahead to illuminate the path as I descended into the depths of the hole.

The hole remained about 1.5 meters wide, allowing me to walk upright. Still, the smell wafting from the depths was unbearable.

It was an unpleasant stench unlike anything I had ever smelled before.

(It wasn’t like chemicals, nor was it like hot springs…)

Retrieving the sword would settle it anyway. To distract myself from my unease, I told myself, “I’ll be back soon,” and pressed on.

The location of the sword, as indicated by the Investigation, and the direction I was heading were the same.

Then it must be—

“Impressive. This is…”

I couldn’t tell how many there were.

But the word “sword” suddenly triggered a reaction spreading from deep within. As I nervously switched the Investigation command to “weapon,” the number swelled even further, showing me a reaction nearly as large as a massive mass.

“Could this be… the real graveyard?”

It made perfect sense.

Hunters had challenged Gargouille countless times before. Those who fell were likely swept into this hole, bearing the burden of the drain like my weapon.

If Gargouille didn’t devour them, they had nowhere else to go.

Proceeding cautiously, I found that my sword was caught on a rocky protrusion midway through the hole.

This was probably because it was a greatsword, nearly two meters long.

A longsword would have flowed further without snagging on anything.

The stench grew stronger the farther in I went.

But I was almost at a place that could be called a “treasure trove.”

Normally, it would be filled with water from the underground lake. Only those who defeated the boss could probably reach this place.

However, if this was the hidden room beyond the boss field—the terminus of the underground cavern—then the worst-case scenario was certainly possible.

Should I go on or turn back?

I pretended to agonize.

(I’m sick.)

I knew this hesitation was pointless.

Having come this far, I would inevitably succumb to curiosity.

I advanced through the cavern slowly, taking steps slow enough to avoid death.

I was always ready to teleport away.

I was always alert, ready to detect any presence.

I was ready to instantly detect any movement of magic.

It’s fine. It’s fine. There’s still distance. Even after this turn, there’s still…

Given the situation, I knew I was jumpy; my shoulders would twitch at the slightest sound.

But I didn’t understand why my entire body was on edge simply from walking cautiously through a cave.

So, when the space I was looking for finally came into view…

Without using a skill, I grasped the approximate danger level and gasped, my eyes wide.

The space ahead was quite large.

Though I couldn’t make out the structure, I could see that weapons were piled up like mountains. For some reason, a faint light illuminated the room.

Deep within the room, a dragon sat. It was so enormous that the word “huge” couldn’t begin to describe it. Its form was tattered, seemingly rotting and melting away.

But it was alive.

I couldn’t explain why, but I knew it for certain.

It had no eyeballs and showed no sign of movement—but if it had, it would have seemed infinitely more dangerous than anything I had ever faced.

(What should I do? Should I use it?)

This wasn’t a moment to agonize over whether to fight.

I spent several minutes pondering whether to use my skill to gauge its power.

In the end, though, my curiosity won out.

Even knowing I’d regret it afterward, I wanted to recognize the gap between myself and this new “target.”

―Insight―

“Ahh… Hii… Hii… Hihii… Ugh!”

Even though I knew it would make me feel like I was dying, I still used it.

▽ ▼ ▽ ▼ ▽

“Oh, you’re back! How’d it go? Did you manage it?”

“Ah, yeah. I brought it down without a hitch. I brought the whole corpse back, so I’ll hand it over later.”

“O-oh…?”

“You don’t seem happy at all, huh?”

“Hmmm, it doesn’t look like you took any serious hits. Did something happen?”

“Haha… It felt like seeing hell on earth?”

“””???”””

By the time I returned to base, it was dark. The three of them were sitting around the fire, eating their meal.

So, when I blurted out something so incomprehensible, it’s no wonder they all looked utterly bewildered.

But that feeling…it wasn’t something that could be captured by words.

It was like being forced to witness all the ways I could die at once or having my soul ripped from me.

The greater the disparity in strength, the stronger and longer-lasting the impact.

I have no idea how long I spent in that hole before I finally pulled myself together.

When I came to, my stomach was completely empty.

But I did learn one thing this time.

The criteria for the Insight check.

I’d always wondered what they used to judge strength. But after the Gargouille fight, I got the sense that the skill’s performance, scalability, and compatibility aren’t really factored in.

Gargouille’s Insight check is pretty strong, but it’s probably just a vague “it’ll be a good fight” kind of thing.

In fact, it might be easier to say that I didn’t really get that sense of unease from Gargouille.

This was true during scouting and even after preparing for the main battle.

When we actually fought, Gargouille was strong but surprisingly manageable. It wasn’t an opponent that I had to fight to the death to beat.

I was even worrying about the material state after defeating it while we were still fighting.

The battlefield was water-based, and my proficient Lightning Magic gave me an advantage.

Gargouille’s signature “fatal” skill was significantly mitigated by my Flight and Spatial Magic.

These factors created a sense of ease, but Insight doesn’t seem to prioritize such “synergy” much. It judges strength more by “stat values” than by skills.

This impression grew stronger from this result.

Well, it’s just a hunch.

After confirming that my magic was regenerating while carrying the corpse, I told them that I would take it to the dismantling site where Carla often worked the next morning. Then, I headed to the upper plateau.

Since it was nighttime, all the goddesses were either building houses or wandering about freely. After letting them know, I started preparing the bath on the upper plateau.

I had built it but had never used it myself; today, I just felt like a change of pace.

As I filled it with water, I thought, “Damn, I built this in one hell of a spot.” Then, I superheated a suitable stone with my skill.

As I soaked in the slightly warm water, I stared blankly at the countless stars and recalled the decaying dragon I had seen that day.

What the hell was that thing?

It was hiding, but its body wasn’t concealed. Was it fair to categorize it as a hidden boss? That fundamental question arose first.

(Even after spewing out my entire insides, I was still vomiting. The sensation was probably stronger than what I felt with Hans-san.)

It wasn’t there before entering Waltz, but in my current state, its presence made me acutely aware of the vast strength disparity.

Why was it there? What skills did it possess that I couldn’t see? Could I obtain any usable materials by defeating it?

And when… when would I be able to face that monster head-on?

“What’s wrong? You seemed off, but now you look like you’re having fun.”

“Huh? Did I seem like that?”

I turned toward the voice and saw Ril just landing on the edge of the bathtub.

“Your face was smiling.”

“Oh… I guess that’s how it always ends up.”

“?”

Gamers are like that, I guess.

Pursuing strength is ultimately a world of self-satisfaction. Still, it’s nice to have a place where you can show your results.

The fact that I’m applying that to a life-or-death real-world situation just proves that my brain is fried.

“Hey, I saw a really powerful monster today.”

“You mean that boss?”

“No, another one deeper inside. Probably a hidden boss or something.”

“I see… You made it back alive, huh?”

“Haha. The air felt off even before I encountered it, so I was super cautious.”

“But if there’s another monster deeper inside, that means you defeated the one you were supposed to. Good for you.”

As she said this, she put her hand on my head. The emotion that had been completely overwritten by fear surged back up.

(That’s right. I took down a raid boss alone. A boss that had been left untouched for years—all by myself!)

“Hehe, thanks! Since everyone’s here anyway, how about we have a party with that rare boss meat you can’t find in the market? I was also going to tell you about the specs of that Soul Armor you gave me once Ril’s feeling better!”

“Wh-what!?” Then I’ll go tell everyone! I’ll get things ready, so get out of the bath quickly!”

Ril dashed off toward the house with a whoosh.

What a racket.

I almost missed it, but finding the location of that hidden boss is clearly progress.

Getting there will probably take a long time, but someday…

Gazing blankly at the moon, which looked no different from Earth’s, I quietly reached out my hand, thinking that I would grab it someday.

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