Side Story 2: Undersea Dungeon 03

『Yo! I’m Master! Fran’s divine sword! Nice to meet ya!』

「T-The sword is talking?!」

I spoke using telepathy, and Silent Sea leapt up in shock. As a fellow user of telepathy, he immediately recognized the source was the sword on Fran’s back.

Either way, what a great reaction!

Perhaps even the best reaction out of all the people I’ve revealed my identity to. His face was surprisingly expressive for a wolf-like creature.

He dropped his jaw to the ground, his eyes practically bulged out, and his nostrils were flared into big circles. And for the final touch, his tail stood on end.

The way he stumbled backward and cried out in disbelief was downright comical.

「Nn. Master is my divine sword! The strongest sword ever!」

「A d-divine sword, you say?! And an intelligence weapon no less…!」

He stared at me while trembling all over. Well, not sure if he’s actually male or not, but I’m starting to like him for his reactions.

「I’ve heard rumors about a new divine sword wielder, but I never imagined that I would find you here! This must be a stroke of good fortune!」

Contrary to his name, he didn’t seem to be the “silent” type at all. Well, I can understand news from the surface taking a while to reach those living underwater.

『Once again, I’m Fran’s partner, Master! I’m technically a divine sword, but keep in mind that I can’t use my full power all the time.』

「Understood. Such is the nature of divine swords to begin with. If such enormous power were to exerted on a constant basis, the world itself would be driven to the point of collapse.」

『Yeah, good point.』

「Besides, my main request is for you to clear a dungeon. This will mainly test your skills as an adventurer, such as disabling traps and fending off magical beasts in tight quarters.」

「Nn. Leave it to us. Master is good at that kind of stuff.」

「Oh? So you can handle odd jobs as well? That is unusual for a divine sword.」

True, I certainly haven’t heard of a divine sword for disarming traps.

「Shall we get moving immediately? If you ride my back, I’ll take you there straight away. Or do you need more time to prepare?」

「Don’t worry! We’re always ready!」

「Impressive! I should have expected as much from a Rank S adventurer!」

「Hehe!」

Silent Sea promptly returned to his original size and we hopped onto his back. Then, we dove into the depths of the ocean, just like in the story of Urashima Taro.

His power allowed us to breathe underwater, so there was no risk of drowning. Plus, he had some weird ability different from telepathy that let us talk normally.

Along the way, he told us all sorts of fascinating things, about the ancient ruins we passed or the location of sunken ships. It was like taking a tour of beautiful underwater landscapes with a built-in audio guide.

Now was not the time for detours, but I’d love to explore them someday.

In the middle of this, Fran asked Silent Sea a question. Apparently, this was something that had been on her mind.

「Hey, Silent Sea. Do you know about any other divine swords?」

Now that she mentioned it, Silent Sea’s phrasing implied that he knew something about other divine swords. I had been meaning to ask him that too. Nice going, Fran!

「Indeed, I know of a few.」

「Ooh? Which ones?」

「I am aware of Alpha, Berserk, Chariot, Diabolos, Explorer, Jormungand, Krystalos, Raging Roar, and Wisdom.」

That’s a lot more than I was expecting! We learned a lot from the Bringer of Hope back on the continent of Gordicia, but his list had some unfamiliar names.

As expected of the kin of a divine beast. He must possess many tidbits of knowledge unknown to the world at large.

「Are you interested in the divine swords?」

「Nn!」

「Hmm. I suppose I can oblige, since you have accepted my request.」

「Ooh!」

Fran clapped her hands excitedly as Silent Sea began sharing his knowledge of the divine swords.

To be honest, we already knew most of what he said about Alpha, Berserk, Chariot, and Diabolos. After all, we had seen their immense power with our own eyes.

Oh, but we did learn something about Chariot. The mechs it summoned could apparently operate underwater.

After that, most of what he said was new information.

「Explorer, the Seeker’s Godblade, possesses the power to see across entire continents. It takes the form of a monocle, making it one of the few divine swords with virtually zero offensive capabilities.」

Right, we’ve heard about that one too. Explorer was a monocle that boosts your senses to insane levels.

「Moreover, it does not merely enhance your perception. A true master of Explorer’s power can even see into the near future.」

「It can predict the future?」

「Not that far ahead. But as long as you have a perfect grasp over your surroundings, it can make a highly accurate prediction of what will happen one or two seconds later.」

Wait, isn’t that insanely powerful? You would have an overwhelming advantage in battle if you can accurately predict your opponent’s movements.

「Additionally, the chain attached to the monocle will automatically intercept and protect against enemy attacks. Explorer possesses formidable defenses as well.」

So detection wasn’t its only power! Enhanced perception and automatic defense sounded a bit lackluster at first, but that’s combined with the wielder’s innate abilities. It could easily become one of the strongest.

「It was once held by a human adventurer. If I recall correctly, they were a Rank S adventurer known by the alias of ‘Wings of Freedom.’」

「Rank S adventurer!」

「Indeed. It was said they combined Explorer’s power with their unparalleled skill in archery, allowing them to snipe foes from an entirely different continent.」

『Wait, what? Seriously? Isn’t that guy still an active Rank S adventurer? I’ve never heard anything about them owning a divine sword.』

I feel like this was probably supposed to be a huge secret. Guess we accidentally stumbled onto it.

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