The Genius Son-in-law of the Swordmaster Household—Blessed by Authority-Chapter 43 : Vampire Ruins Gate (4)

Vampire Ruins Gate (4)
While Ian and Sophia went into the Vampire Ruins to scout.
― Clack! Clack!
― Murmur! Murmur!
The porters finished setting up a base camp in front of the ruins' entrance and were chatting amongst themselves.
"Those guys..."
One of the porters glanced discontentedly at Johnson's party.
"How long are they going to just lounge around like that?"
Johnson's party was sprawled in one corner of the camp, idly consuming supplies.
"I can understand the injured ones, but shouldn't the ones who are perfectly fine have gone into the ruins by now?"
It had already been nearly three hours since Ian and Sophia entered the ruins.
"I get that they're in a bad mood from just getting beat up, but they still need to do their job. Those young swordsmen went in over two hours ago. Even if it's just scouting, does it make sense for only the two of them to enter the ruins? We should follow them in before something happens!"
"Yeah, seriously. Those young swordsmen. They couldn't be more than twenty. They're much more mature and grown-up than those guys. Why did those losers even come to raid the gate?"
"Hey, keep it down. If those guys pick a fight with us just because they're pissed off, it'll be a real headache."
The other porters snickered at that.
"Come on. How would they hear us from here? If there's ever a time to gripe, it's now. Honestly, I felt relieved earlier. To see that thug Johnson finally get taught a lesson like that."
"Exactly. When I heard Johnson's group would be leading this raid, I thought we were screwed—thought we'd spend the whole time tiptoeing around them. But you never know how things will turn out in this business. Look at this situation now."
"Those young swordsmen—they said they were from Hisperion, right?"
"Yeah."
"Damn... No wonder the swordsmen from there must be on another level. For all his faults, Johnson's a seasoned veteran of the trade. Yet some kid who probably hasn't even started shaving just flattened a silver-rank adventurer like him in a matter of seconds."
"... Hey, but isn't Johnson an Expert? Can a kid who's not even fully grown overpower an Expert just like that? At their age, even the best would be high-rank user at most."
"Mm... It's tough, but not impossible. I hear the good families in Hisperion get you started on advanced martial arts from a young age. It's not the same as someone like Johnson who learned whatever from the streets. They're different from the root."
"Still, the age difference must be at least fifteen years. Even with great genes and insane martial arts, how do you flatten a veteran with fifteen more years of experience? And it's not like Johnson just got surprised. He started the fight, then got crushed himself."
"Now that you mention it... maybe he had some sort of artifact?"
"That's possible. But even that's unlikely. Artifacts powerful enough for a high-rank to crush an Expert aren't something you bring into a gate like this."
Gates were fundamentally extremely sensitive to magic power.
The stronger the artifact, the more magic power it contained.
If someone did bring such a high-powered artifact into a small gate like this, there would surely be an overload.
"If it wasn't an artifact, and it wasn't overwhelming martial arts or aura, then... what was it? How did that young swordsman trounce Johnson?"
"If we knew, would we still be hauling boxes for a living? We'd have quit and gone off to be full-time adventurers or knights ourselves."
"It's a mystery, that's what it is."
"True nobles must have some secret advantage."
For a moment, silence lingered among the porters.
"... Hey. Those young swordsmen—how long has it been since they went in?"
Another porter next to him checked his watch.
"Just... over three hours now."
"Already? Huh... Shouldn't they be coming back soon?"
"Yeah. For a first scout, most would return in under two hours."
A fleeting anxiety passed among the porters.
"Do you think something happened to them inside?"
"Johnson's crew still don't look interested in going in... Maybe we should go check?"
"What, are you crazy? Stay put. Let's just wait a little longer."
"If anything happened to those young swordsmen... that'd be bad. Johnson and his punks would definitely use that chance to get back at us."
"Ugh! Don't say such unlucky things. I don't even want to imagine it. If those young swordsmen aren't here, we'll have to depend on those thugs for the whole raid."
"That's a nightmare. Just thinking about having to suck up to them makes me sick."
"And they're probably pissed as hell now that they've been humiliated. God knows what kind of trouble they'll cause... haaa..."
"... They'll come back, right?"
"They'll come back. They have to. They must."
"Please..."
* * *
Deep within the Vampire Ruins.
"Young master! Above you!"
Sophia shouted, pointing at the ceiling.
"Kyahhh!"
A ghoul dropped from the ceiling, lunging down at them.
"Nice support."
Ian swung Vladiark as if he were slamming a ball that had come flying at him.
― Pow!
"Grrk!?"
― Boom!!
The ghoul, struck in the side by Vladiark, burst like a water balloon in an instant.
― Splaaash!
― Dripdripdrip!
The foul-smelling blood and entrails rained down on Ian and Sophia.
"G-ugh! Uegh!"
Sophia gagged as the sharp stench stabbed into her nose.
"Ugh..."
Ian found it unpleasant too.
Wiping the blood from his face, he checked on Sophia.
"Sophia. Are you okay?"
"Urgh! W-what's that smell...! Ueghhh! Eugh!"
Man, she's really struggling.
"Sorry, I couldn't hold back."
The more monsters I slew, the more Vladiark grew by absorbing their blood and flesh...
To avoid making monsters explode like this, he'd need to adapt and gradually hold back more as the weapon grew—but this wasn't easy yet.
"Urk...! Y-You, are you okay, young master!? Ugh, ueehh!"
The closer Ian got, the harder Sophia gagged.
"Hm..."
Ian looked himself over.
He immediately understood why her reaction was so intense.
If Sophia was splattered as if by a shower, Ian was soaked as if caught in a torrential downpour.
"Y-Young m-urgh! Young master, a-are you all right?"
Sophia, face contorted with disgust, kept gagging but still looked worried about Ian.
Caught off guard, Ian waved his hand and couldn't help smiling.
"No need to worry about me. Just breathe slowly—I'll wait until you get used to it."
"H-how can you...! Urk! T-This is really... too much... Urghhh!"
...
Of course it's bad.
This was probably one of the worst smells a person could ever encounter in their life.
But Ian had gotten used to these things after so many times covered in filth in his previous life.
'This takes me back.'
Seeing Sophia like this reminded him of his own rookie days in his past life.
'I used to be just like Sophia. Now that I think about it, that was at a gate too.'
There was nothing unusual about it.
The only places one had such filthy experiences were on the battlefield or in gates like this.
'Of all places, I slipped in a rotten swamp.'
It was in a lizardman gate, and he'd fallen into a poisonous swamp full of monster droppings, debris, and parasites.
'I threw up more than twenty times that day.'
All things considered, Sophia was holding up remarkably well.
A ghoul's blood and entrails stank like rotten corpses.
Yet even after being drenched in that, all she did was gag—she didn't actually throw up, which meant she had a sturdier stomach than past Ian.
"Ah, right."
He remembered he'd brought something for this sort of situation.
"Sophia, let me open the bag."
"Urk... y-yes!"
Still gagging, Sophia handed over her backpack.
Ian rummaged around and soon found what he was looking for.
'Slime tissue!'
A hygiene item made from slicing up the soft bodies of slimes that feed on mold and filth, then combining them with cloth.
They were excellent for soaking up grime from the body or clothing—an invaluable item in a place like a gate, where there was nowhere to wash up.
"Sophia, use this to wipe your face. You'll feel much better."
Ian offered the slime tissue to Sophia as she crouched over, retching.
"U-urg... y-you should wipe first, young master!"
"I'm fine—"
"Nnhh... Give it to me. Face! Hold still! Whew, hnnnnhh..."
Sophia snatched the tissue and grabbed Ian's chin.
"S-Sophia?"
"Hnnngh...!"
Holding her breath, she started wiping Ian's face first.
"..."
I said I'm fine.
It's a consumable, after all—best to use it sparingly.
The more you use it, the less it absorbs.
― Swipe...
As Sophia went to wipe Ian's clothes too, he frantically waved her off.
"That's enough. Just the face is fine. Now you wipe yourself."
"U-urg... Yes!"
Only then did Sophia finally rub her own face vigorously.
"Phwah! Whew! That's so much better! Huuuh..."
"Right? It neutralizes the smell and sanitizes too. Make sure to clean your hands and hair well."
"Yes...!"
Sophia scrunched her face as she carefully wiped her head and sleeves.
But as a 'tissue', it had its limits. It could never clean as thoroughly as a proper wash.
'If only we had a cleansing magic artifact...'
But artifacts were hard to bring into gates.
'She's still having a hard time.'
Sophia snuffled at her clothes, looking miserable at the lingering odor.
"Tough, huh?"
"Huh? Ah, n-no. Whew... It's not that bad. Just the smell is... urgh."
...
It looked pitiful, but this was just another step toward becoming a Swordmaster.
'It pains me, but she has to adapt now or it's worse in the long run.'
If you go easy or try to coddle them, training becomes inefficient, which just leads to more pain later.
Better to let her adjust to this as much as possible while it lasted.
"You'll get used to it soon."
"Nnnh... Okay... I feel queasy."
Sophia honked her nose into the slime tissue.
"But young master, how are you so okay? You've never even cleaned a bathroom before... Eh? Don't tell me you're hiding something good for yourself!?"
Suddenly, Sophia started patting Ian down and pulling at his collar.
"H-Hey! What are you doing! There's nothing!"
Ian recoiled in horror.
"That's strange... Your face would go pale with just a little dog poop, but now... Is this the difference that aura makes?"
...
Ian just stayed quiet.
He didn't want to risk blurting out it was thanks to a past life, and he didn't like telling clumsy lies.
It was best to change the subject.
"A-anyway, let's hang in there a bit longer. We'll find the gate core soon enough. Let's just think about getting back to the inn and washing up."
"H-huh!? We're going further in!?"
"Yup. Even if we turned back to camp now, wouldn't we still feel gross? And there's nowhere to get properly clean..."
"N-no! I mean, I'm not worried about that—it's you, young master! You're not just trying to rush out because of me, are you!?"
"Hm?"
"We've already killed multiple monsters coming this far! I'm more worried about your condition than mine!"
"Oh."
So that's what you meant.
But for him, there was nothing to worry about.
"I'm really fine. I mean it."
Thanks to Vladiark, his stamina was basically limitless.
'If anything, I'm even more energetic than when we entered the ruins.'
Absorbing magic power from monsters and meditating had left his dantian brimming with aura, far fuller than when he first entered the gate.
'And...'
─────────
◆Properties absorbed by Vladiark
-[Gargoyle's Petrification Lv.32]
-[Ghoul's Night Vision Lv.28]
-[Vampire Bat's Echolocation Lv.24]
─────────
Vladiark had absorbed not just magic power, but the very abilities of the monsters.
Night vision, echolocation—everything was proving tremendously useful in these ruins, making the raid go smoothly.
Honestly, Ian would be disappointed if he stopped now.
"Really? Young master, are you sure you're okay? Are you sure you aren't hurt somewhere without realizing? Are there any aches or pains?"
"I said I'm okay. Do I look hurt or tired to you?"
"N-no... Actually, you look more energetic than I do..."
"Right?"
"Yes! If you're okay, there's absolutely no problem on my end! I'd rather just get out of here fast!"
"Good, but tell me if it gets to be too much. We can always rest if we need to."
"Oh come on~ I haven't exerted myself at all. I've just been following you. Sniff... Ugh. And I'm actually starting to get used to the smell."
At Sophia's words, Ian nodded.
"Great. Then let's keep going. Let's hurry up, finish this, and have a nice cold soda at the inn—plenty of ice."
"Ooo! Yes! I'm getting a double helping of ice cream too!"
Despite saying she felt queasy seconds ago, Sophia's eyes sparkled at the thought of food.
At this rate, finishing the raid by the end of today shouldn't be a problem at all.
'When I walk out of this gate, I'll have quite the haul.'
From the Blood Demon Jade and Blood Light Mushrooms needed to make Elder Vampiric Sense, to all the aura and abilities absorbed from slaughtered monsters.
'If I get more aura here, I'll extract Dark Hook Throw from Vladiark right away.'
Dark Hook Throw (黡葛投)—the assassination art of the assassin who broke into Ian's annex a few weeks ago and was devoured by Vladiark.
It was a technique that formed hooks of aura to snatch distant objects.
'With this, I can extend Vladiark's attack range by a huge margin.'
Swinging a hook of aura linked with Vladiark would increase its effective reach by at least fivefold.
'Johnson, was it? Those punks picking a fight actually worked out in my favor.'
That pathetic adventurer party that tried to steal Sophia's sword.
Because they were sulking and not coming inside, Ian could monopolize all the monsters and loot.
'Let's make sure to devour everything before they come in after us.'
Ian strode deeper into the ruins.
Sophia, after adjusting her backpack, hurried after him to match his pace.
For an ordinary adventurer party, this raid would have taken at least three or four days.
But Ian thought he could finish everything—from defeating the boss to organizing the loot—as soon as today.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Is there such a thing as too OP?
In a power fantasy like this, I don't expect the MC to struggle against mobs...
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】