The Dimensional Swordmaster C16

Chapter 16. The Whereabouts of the Sword (6)

The number of shards Siyoung summoned surged at once—no doubt the effect of the buff.

The Chosen One?

He had heard that title before. Somewhere… recently… in a dungeon…

Ah.

“No way…?”

Had that lunatic—Yurian, Yurial, whatever—come in here? Why? For what reason would he enter?

While Siyoung stood amidst that confusion, Yujin and Gu Jayoung also noticed the anomaly, muttering excitedly that someone must have come to help, given the sudden rise in attack and recovery power.

To Siyoung, however, it was nothing but an annoyance. The man’s presence would not help—only irritate him.

If he would just sit quietly where he was, things would go smoothly. Why insist on coming here?

He gestured sharply for them to stay put, only for more chatter to erupt from that direction. Siyoung pretended not to hear and glanced away.

Just then, the giant—bristling like a hedgehog with the shards embedded in its body—shifted. It poised itself for a second attack, cold gathering in its palm as it prepared to unleash a blast of azure wind.

But Siyoung suddenly noticed that the monster was looking somewhere else entirely.

Following its crimson gaze, he turned.

〈This is the realm of the chosen. Are you chosen?〉

As if answering the monster’s words, the system window lit up.

[“Warden of Niflheim” poses a question to .

Upon fulfilling the condition, Se■ed(■): ■■ will be unlocked.]

[“Warden of Niflheim” requests an answer.]

[All skills within a 10km radius are disabled. Time limit: 00:10:00]

+

A cracking sound split the air. The ice sphere shattered. Siyoung’s spells collapsed instantly. Yujin and Jayoung fell straight through the broken space.

“No!”

He tried to cast something—anything—but not a single spell responded. Their bodies plummeted downward toward a gaping void whose depth could not be seen.

What now? He ran through every support skill and item in his mind, but nothing worked.

Frantic, he clawed through the air for anything to grab—

And then, miraculously, warmth brushed his fingertips.

A pale hand seized his arm. From the air—where nothing had been moments ago—someone emerged as if blooming into existence.

“You—!”

Siyoung’s expression crumpled with shock as he stared into familiar blue eyes.

“How did you get here—!”

“Well, yeah. Why am I here?”

Yurian answered playfully, smiling with that infuriatingly bright face. Strength gathered in his grip as he pulled Siyoung upward, halting his fall with ease.

With one hand, he redirected Siyoung’s body—then pointed upward.

Yujin and Jayoung, who had been falling helplessly, were now floating midair, drifting where Yurian guided them with simple gestures.

Yujin’s eyes went comically wide.

“WHAT— What is this?! Skills are disabled! How are you doing that?! Who are you?! Why are you helping us?!”

The moment they were brought safely out of the pit, he shrieked hysterically.

“What skill?”

Yurian tilted his head, rolling his stiff shoulder as Siyoung strode forward and grabbed him by the shoulders. He shook Yurian sharply, snow scattering off him in soft puffs.

“Why are you even here?! How did you get inside?! Did you sneak in again?!”

“Nah, I didn’t sneak in. I just walked in through the gate-whatever thing. The guild master guy told me to play around inside for a bit… Wait—is that my sword?”

His pale finger pointed straight at Siyoung’s hip.

The shape was unmistakable. Siyoung stiffened and clutched the sword defensively.

“No! No, it’s not! I didn’t— I definitely didn’t go out of my way to look for it! I just saw it on the way here and picked it up! It’s not what you think!”

“Who said it was?”

A single sentence earned him a tenfold outburst. Yurian merely lifted his shoulders, amused, then reached casually toward Siyoung’s waist.

“Thanks for finding it.”

Though his face twisted like he wanted to avoid the gesture, Siyoung obediently surrendered the sword. Yurian hugged the broken blade to his chest with a radiant smile.

“…It was important.”

Siyoung muttered it under his breath. Yurian looked impossibly happy just to have recovered the thing.

And after acting like it was nothing? Did he take him for a fool?

“For the record, I DID NOT come into the dungeon to find that sword! I just happened to see it! So I picked it up! Don’t misunderstand!”

“I won’t. But thanks anyway.”

“There’s—there’s no need to thank me! I told you, it was just by chance!”

By the fifth repetition of “I didn’t find it on purpose,” Yujin and Jayoung—who had been watching from a safe distance—quietly approached.

“So… you two know each other?” Yujin ventured, awkwardly smiling. “You’re the one who came to help us?”

Gu Jayoung pointed sharply.

“In case you forgot, that monster is still right there.”

Indeed, the giant stood unmoving on the far side of the chasm, its crimson eyes fixed on them.

“Skills are still blocked… But seriously, who are you to be using skills right now? You have some insane item or something?”

With Siyoung’s S-rank abilities disabled, Yurian walking around freely defied all logic.

Yujin glanced back at his own system window—

[All skills within 10km remain disabled. Time left: 00:07:20]

+

Time was passing, but the restriction had not lifted.

“Pretty impressive, though,” Yujin admitted.

Siyoung did not share the sentiment. His expression darkened.

His own spells still wouldn’t activate—utterly impossible for an A-rank monster’s debuff.

And how was that man using abilities in the middle of all this?

Yurian had saved their lives—but the timing, the sudden appearance, the effortless movement—it was all too suspicious.

Without him, they would have fallen straight into the abyss.

The more Siyoung thought about it, the more irritated he became. Of all people he could’ve owed a favor to—why that lunatic?

“About that message—did you see it too, Siyoung Hunter?” Yujin asked.

“I did.”

“It said something about unlocking… something. But it was blurred out.”

From the way the sentence was structured, it seemed likely to be a rank, or perhaps a name.

“Could be an item,” Yujin mused. “Maybe that thing’s guarding it.”

“No. If it were an item, the system wouldn’t have used the word ‘unlock.’” Siyoung replied flatly.

What was it, then?

A dungeon inside a dungeon?

Or something entirely different?

Despite the shards sticking out of its body, the monster hadn’t moved. Its gaze remained fixed—unwavering.

Following the line of sight, Siyoung turned his head.

Standing right beside him was Yurian, tilting his head innocently while chatting with Yujin. He noticed Siyoung’s stare and silently mouthed, What?

“…Ah.”

The words the monster had repeated echoed back.

The way it stood frozen now—as if waiting for an answer—made chills crawl down Siyoung’s spine.

In that moment, the pieces snapped together.

Yurian had received the title as the reward for clearing the initial dungeon.

And the monster—

It had asked a question.

And when it asked, the system reacted as though awaiting his reply.

Siyoung checked the window again.

[“Warden of Niflheim” poses a question to .

Upon fulfilling the condition, Se■ed(■): ■■ will be unlocked.]

[“Warden of Niflheim” requests an answer.]

+

“It’s… requesting an answer,” Siyoung murmured.

Even the term boss monster had vanished.

Its true name was Warden of Niflheim.

Warden—a word heavy with purpose.

It existed to guard something.

And that something…

Was undoubtedly the door beneath its feet.