Cursed Sword Master

"Baku! I'll be a Seeker!

"... wait a minute, Thor. The Seeker is not that simple."

When I declared that I would be an explorer in the village, Baku said so in a low voice without moving a single eyebrow. Even in the village, if Baku, with a big, muscular face on his body, makes such a voice, I don't really know him. He's frightened and at a level where he can pull his hips off, but it's none of my business as a childhood trainer.

But that's when I didn't know what Baku was talking about.

"Ari's with us! They're going to make me marry some kind of sick guy. Well, if you want me to come with you, I'll give you a quick answer."

"What?........................ Ha, okay. Then I'll go too, because you're not the only ones worried."

"Hehe... I thought you'd say that, Baku!

Me and Baku had lost their parents long ago when the demons overflowed from the nearby woods, so there's nothing to be held back from. I mean, there was no one else to tell me to leave, so I wasn't going to come back to the village. I sorted things out around me and quickly traveled at a time when Ari was able to get out of the house.

I traveled and understood just a little of what Baku was saying. We couldn't have easily targeted a thousand bucks out of the country.

All I had was a tiny bit of gold and poor equipment.

Baku knew how to camp and how to be vigilant around him for some reason. Still fighting the occasional demons that come out, hearing rumors of bandits and changing paths, running out of food and outcasting starvation with just the weeds... I finally managed to get to a town like a little larger village called Dama with a small secondary tower with a lot of hard feelings.

But what was still waiting for us there was our immaturity and the harshness of reality.

First of all, the battle relied almost exclusively on Baku. Me and Earli were also training, but at the time I was dull because I was equipped with an excited iron breast and armor, and Earli didn't have enough basic muscle strength to work more than restraint.

The demons of the Second Tower were strong enough for us to manage to win, but that's pretty much it. The amount of demon stones sold from such demons was the best we could do in our three daily lives.

Still, I enjoyed being a searcher with my childhood friends Baku and Ari. I didn't eat anything good, and even the inn was a lodging full of dirty rooms.

Earli, who basically didn't put me on the table too much emotion like that, watched quietly, and Baku had nothing to say while he smiled bitterly. That's why I thought we both felt the same way.

I had no idea that Baku felt the limits of our quest for the three of us, nor did I realize that Ari wanted a dangerous battle as long as he was with Baku.

Then we left Dama in the form of taking on a merchant escort, feeling the limits of our exploration in Dama. That said, the only reward is a morning and evening meal, a guard who just chores on the original escorts.

The night watch was allotted the toughest time, and he was defused from pumping water at the water field, picking up firewood, and caring for the escorts' gear.

Still, the safest way to travel the streets on our strength was to follow these guys. Regrettably, you worked as you were told... and it was also Baku who had summed up this story at some point.

That's how we got there. The lay talk got us into the main tower. But the main tower was just huge. Even though I just kind of walked around, there were a lot of people on one level, and many days I couldn't quite meet a demon.

Still, you don't have to fight demons to stay in the inn. You walk all day and manage to defeat the demons you meet with a tired body. I make up for the recovery pills with the money I sold the demon stones I dropped and stay at the best lodging with the rest of the money. Many days I made less money just for dinner without being able to stay with two meals.

I always stayed in a small room for three, so I'm sure Ari, one woman, would have been a day I wouldn't be distracted... now I realize it's as easy as before to hit something like that, but I couldn't afford it at the time and didn't realize it.

I want to beat the shit out of me at that time when Baku was kicking his ass for wanting money to have two rooms every once in a while.

Thanks to Baku and Earli, we really grew up little by little in those days. Until now, I've decided to fight for just one tier with a focus on safety, but I think it's time to go for two tiers... it was enough to talk about that.

And... that day came.

We used as little morning time as possible to get to the tower as usual. Then, in the lobby of the tower, searchers were boiling, like us, targeting a sparsely populated time zone.

When I spoke to the guy who was nearby, he said that apparently the difficulty of one tier was decreasing. The encounter rate with demons is considerably lower, and it seems that the hierarchical owners are also coming out with relatively low-ranking demons. Seekers who were smoking on one level are rising to two levels.

"Baku! This must be a good opportunity for us too! I was just about to go for two levels."

When I heard that story, I knew it. Lately there was also the feeling that we were fighting well on one tier. More importantly, we wanted a track record of breaking through one hierarchy ourselves. Since I left the village, I haven't had the best of my daily life to achieve anything that seemed like an explorer.

"............ I have a bad feeling about it somehow. We should see how things go a little bit more."

But Baku shook his head to the side after he put his arms together and thought about it.

"Why! You might not get another chance like this! The fact that you don't run into demons means you don't have to fight for nothing, and you don't have to use healing pills because you don't get hurt. You can do everything you can to fight the Hierarchist!

…………

"Plus, we have a good collection of information on hierarchical owners. Any of the possible demons have been figured out how to fight? Let's go, Baku!

In the end, I pushed off Baku's hunch with momentum. But when I walked into the tower, there was certainly no demon. The directions to the Lord were already investigated, and we were able to reach the Lord without any problems without a single battle.

"Look, Baku! It's the Towerfangs of the top species of Towerwolf that the previous ones are fighting for. I thought it was the easiest victory of all the lords we had ever assumed."

It is an implicit understanding among explorers that they will not let the lay in unless the party fighting the hierarchy lord asks for help. We waited quietly for the battle to end.

The guys who fought before us were explorers who felt immaturer than us, not complacent, so I totally forgot about the nasty hunch Baku was feeling before entering the tower.

Eventually, the previous party managed to knock down the tower fangs and joyfully went up to the two tiers with the fries.

"Alright! It's our turn next! Baku! As planned, it's a preemptive operation aimed at the immediate aftermath of the gush."

"... oh"

I painstakingly slapped Baku on the back somewhere I couldn't boil it off, and when I smiled at Ari watching him quietly, he stepped into the midst of the Lord.

For the first time in, it looked like a space of cancer between the Lord. The large circular hall with no columns is cold somewhere and I get goosebumps unexpectedly.

It reaches near the center and is used to check equipment and relax the body until the Lord gushes. Calm down and fight and you can win without a problem. Worst of all, it's common sense that if you run from the Lord, the hierarchical Lord won't come after you. There's nothing wrong with it...... it should have been.

"Here he comes!

The hierarchy is showing itself seeping out of the ceiling (...), mainly to pull out our weapons and give us a pre-emptive strike.

"... wait. Something's wrong. Hierarchists should show up off the floor!

To? Was I? But there is nothing particularly wrong with getting out of the top or from the bottom. At the same time I came out... and at the same time...

I saw the whole body of the Hierarchist coming out of the ceiling... so big and intimidating that I was barely hipping for fear.

If you look next door, Ari's teeth are pounding. We knew at a glance... that it was a demon we would never beat.

A giant covered in its green scales and two large sickles...... eyes as if they emit inorganic light. I was ready to die and my head was white through fear. Sadly I shudder with tears and just lag behind with unconscious defensive instincts......

A dragon with a sickle-like hand that was in my sight like that was slowly about to shake up its right sickle.

"You idiot! Run! Run!

"Hey!

"Come on!

It was Baku's roaring voice and kicked ass pain that brought me and Earli back to sanity that had stopped thinking.

"Run back fast! If we leave the room, this guy can't come after us! Just like we had a meeting!

Baku shouts with his two-handed sword in front of us.

"Wow, okay! Ari! Let's go!

I managed to regain my sanity, and as soon as I get up and lend Ari a hand, I turn around and run out. But I still can't stop trembling. Me and Earli's feet don't move at all the way I think.

"Baku! You too!

"I'll be right there! Guh!"

"Baku!"

I heard a groan mixed with Baku's voice screaming back, and looking back slightly, a two-handed sword that took a sickle blow had just been bounced off.

"Don't worry! Go! Don't look back!

Baku was trying to take something out of his lumbar bag while holding the dragon down while losing his weapon but moving into small pieces. I did keep some small attribute demon stones for camp in Baku.

As soon as I remembered that, the intense light burned my eyes.

Ghhhhhh

"Thor! Over here"

So did Baku say not to look back? They've taken my sight. I follow Earli's lead and move on with my feet. Baku was told by a seeker who accompanied the escort that magic was the only way to use it, but might be talented about the amount of magic and the treatment of magic.

Probably overreacted the demon stone of the light attribute with its magic. So once in the camp, I was ruining the demon stone. I wasn't used to dealing with magic then and it was a coincidence, but I guess I did it for him this time. That guy's an awesome one! I'm not frightened in that situation, and I can even do that with my aggressive driving.

"Baku! Run, you too!

I still can't get my eyesight back. I move my legs desperately as I open my eyes thin and scream. But we were halfway out of the Lord when we were in formation near the center.

Shit! Shit! If I had been more careful! If you listen properly to Baku! I... I could do anything. I was jealous of Baku! And...

"Baku! Come on! Get out of here!

Ari, who is always calm and never absurd his voice. Earli refused to marry someone she didn't know. I tricked Baku into deciding to escape the house because he was with me.

I... I suck! You're putting Ari in danger after all!

Anyway, once we're out of the safe zone, we're gonna help Baku.

Finally move the healed leg of tremor. A blast behind the back at the same time, followed by a blast, a dragon growl to mingle with its sound.

"That idiot! Even the Fire Demon Stone..."

Where we landed blown up by the blast...

"Stay... here! Yay! I'm out of the Lord's midst!

"Baku!"

Unlike me, who relieves myself of being helped, Early rides himself out and screams all the way back between the Lord............ Kuh, I really don't feel sorry for him.

"Baku! Come!

I stayed in grip. Take the long sword and head between the lords. Go help Baku in some cases.

Baku was running. But you took a lot of damage from the explosion earlier. Hold your right arm, your left leg moves slightly strange. It seems that the dragon that follows that Baku is angry at the oddity of Baku twice. His eyes look bloody running.

"We're not gonna make it! Ari stay here! I'll go!

"Thor! No!

Ari stops trying to sneak at me. But if we don't go here, Baku will die. You're not gonna let him die before I do!

Use your strength to shake Ari off...

"Don't come! Thor! I'm all right!

"But Baku!

I can't! I can't make it! The moment I tried to scream so, the sickle blow of the dragon was capturing Baku's back.

"Baku!!

Fortunately, the leather armor I was wearing slipped me through the tip of the blade, and I don't seem to have received any fatal wounds, but there's blood splashing at my feet. And Baku's movements get even duller.

Twenty more steps away.

You can handle about 20 more steps if you risk my life! Tell me you can handle this, God! Hey, let's go! I'm going to help!

But Baku was flying through space under the chase of a dragon during such a pointless tour.

He was running unconsciously screaming as he felt his blood draw to the ominous sound of what a... The last twenty steps in the dragon's pursuit were halved... I ran over to Baku and lent my shoulder to Baku, whose consciousness was hazy, and ran mad in death.

I ran and ran with a selfless obsession and fell with my legs. It was Ari's white hand that softly suppressed my hand pulling Baku's as he went semi-frequent.

"Thank you Thor...... this is already out among the Lord"

I saw the dragon leaving toward the stairs. Earli was desperately treating Baku, unconscious in front of me, who collapsed nagging.

"Shit! Really, I'm the one! Early! Take all the pills I have."

Once again, when you put your strength into your body and make Baku feel more comfortable, you pass the whole bag of hips to Ari. There are a few cheap medicines for each of us that we have prepared that are restful. It's better than not.

Me and Earli's desperate treatment barely connected Baku's life. However, there is also a lot of blood lost, and it seems to have suffered considerable damage inside the body that was kicked in the end, and now that the medicine has been used up, Baku's life has been a wind headlight (and a bean).

"Damn it! It's not like this! Hurry up and get Baku out of the tower."

"I'll take care of the demons. Baku, please."

Ari also knows that Baku is not as bad as this. Pull out a fine sword (Rapier) with a determined look. I can't believe you gave that look to that Earli... a slight chest ache................ No, nothing! I just hit the flank when I fell earlier.

"Leave it to me. Baku, don't die!

"... wait... tol"

Baku grabs my ankle when he gives in to take on Baku, who's bigger than me.

"You noticed, Baku! Hang on, I'll get you outside and see a therapist soon."

"No... now... something is wrong with this hierarchy. If you hold me and move... all three of you will die. I'm still fine... so don't move."

"Baku! But..."

Earli with tears in her eyes gives a sad voice, but Baku didn't try to move hard.

In the end, we chose to wait on the spot, as Baku said. Believe the word Baku said this place is just a buffer zone.

And as the word goes, the demon never showed up while we were waiting. But our desperate care was also empty and Baku's life was definitely cut short over time.

"... Thor. What happened to Earli?

"I'm forced to take a nap now."

When Baku made a blurred voice with his eyes closed, the watch was in my turn forcing Ari to take a nap. Earli resisted if he wasn't sleeping at a time like this, but he was still wearing out, he was falling asleep as soon as I let him sit down and close his eyes......... well, it would be something significantly shallow as a sleep.

"Well... Thor... then just fine, listen... you are... straight and good man"

"Hey?... what are you saying, Baku"

"I... always think too much to move... so does Ari's marriage thing. I couldn't make a move in the end because of Ari's family circumstances and Ari's future ahead of me. But you weren't. You honestly straightened out your feelings and took Ari out without hesitation...... I liked you that straight"

"That's why you're telling me to wait... what's the last word I'm saying... without you... I can't believe I..."

"... it's okay... you can be a fine man to protect Ari..."

"... Baku... no, it's not. I don't... I don't want Ari..."

"Phew... then that's fine. I hope you're like you... Thor, I'm sorry but can you wake Ari up... it's time..."

I had a lot to say. There were plenty of things I wanted to ask... but I couldn't have been the only one to monopolize Baku's final hours.

Softly shake Ari and reposition next to Baku. I don't imitate stealing and listening to stories...... it was just so hard for Ari's sobbing voice to hear a leak.

Then we were helped by Souji and the others who came to help us. We were blessed with a new companion and a tough master. We managed to acquire the strength to live on our own.

Baku, if we had you here, we would have had a better party. He saved us on his own and died alone...

But I will never waste the life you gave me. I'm still immature, but I won't forget about you. I'll remember everything you've done. On top of that, I'll go beyond you on my own! Then... that's when I'll get Ari...................... That's good, Baku.

Well, it's a bad game of minutes if Earli's gonna dele on me. Laugh in the afterlife when you couldn't...... hey Baku.