After the hunt, Shan lay sprawled on the ground, utterly exhausted, and watched two lights approaching from a distance. They belonged to Roden and Vent, who were clutching torches and looking around tensely.

“Hey, Shan! Shan! Are you there? Answer me!”

“Here...”

He scarcely had the strength to speak. Only after he had called out several times in a near whisper did the two finally find him and the cockatrice sprawled beside him. Horrified to see him lying covered in blood, Roden rushed over.

“Gods! How badly are you hurt? Father, heal him, quickly!”

“Not... badly...”

He did have a few wounds, but they were merely light grazes and scrapes from rolling across the ground. All the blood covering him had come from the cockatrice’s severed neck. Realizing this, Roden sighed with relief.

“You scared me... Then why do you look half dead? You had me worried.”

“Spirit.”

“Ah.”

Beside them, Vent shone his torch over the enormous monster’s corpse and let out a quiet exclamation.

“You really killed it! A cockatrice, all by yourself!”

“Not... by myself.”

Without Zerpo’s enchantment, he would never have cut all the way through its neck. Without Vent’s blessing, he could not have recovered his stamina after landing those earlier attacks. And without Roden throwing him weapons, he would have been forced to lumber around with several of them hanging off him and likely taken a vicious blow.

He had fought alone, but he had won because they were all with him. Shan genuinely believed that.

After hearing him out, Roden laughed incredulously and helped him to his feet.

“Fine, let’s say we all did it together. For now, let’s get some sleep, O mighty hero.”

They were all far too tired to worry about dealing with the cockatrice’s remains. Shan alone had done the fighting, but the other two had been forced to follow a battle with no certain outcome through sound alone in the pitch darkness.

The three staggered back to their temporary shelter and lay down beside Zerpo, who was already fast asleep.

Fortunately, the cockatrice seemed to have been a tyrant that the city’s snake monsters feared beyond measure. All four survived until morning without incident.

Zerpo was the first awake. He stared incredulously at the other three.

“Don’t tell me you all slept without posting a watch!”

“I suppose... we must have.”

“Good grief.”

Had even one snake from the outskirts slithered in, they probably would have been wiped out. After a brief round of self-reproach and an agreement never to do that again, however exhausted they might be, they left the shelter.

At last, it was time to reap the rewards of their hard work.

* * *

“Ha...”

Having seen the cockatrice’s corpse, Zerpo ran his hands over its stone body in disbelief.

“To think I would live to examine a cockatrice this closely.”

“Do you know what we can harvest from it?”

“Well, scrapings from its stone skin can be used as an alchemical catalyst. But they’re too heavy, and despite their rarity, their uses are rather limited, so they don’t fetch much. Let’s leave those. The membranes on its feet are quite elastic and make good material for tools. Its eyes can’t petrify anything, but their properties resemble a basilisk’s, so they should be useful for making magical tools...”

Following Zerpo’s instructions, Shan butchered the useful parts. Roden, who could not handle blades properly, took them from him and sorted them or hung them up to dry.

While cutting open the body to remove the heart, however, Shan noticed a strange stone right beside it. Translucent red and slightly larger than a human torso, it was—

“A magic stone!”

“Oh, the cockatrice’s magic stone? Of course! A monster this impressive was bound to have one!”

Magic stones mostly came from high-order monsters, and the stronger the monster, the better the stone’s quality. In fact, the kind of troll Shan had killed before also yielded magic stones fairly often. He had simply been unlucky that time.

Once the stone was extracted, Zerpo tested it with various spells and nodded.

“There’s no question. It’s of the highest quality. The guild will pay at least ten thousand gold coins for it.”

“Ten thousand...!”

It was a sum he could scarcely imagine. Even the few hundred coins awarded for the troll hunt had been inconveniently heavy to carry. An amount like that would be almost impossible to take around with him. He would have to open a bank account.

Roden had barely begun grinning over their immense haul when he suddenly remembered something and cried out urgently.

“Ah! Don’t do anything to the head!”

“I’ve already taken the eyes out.”

“That’s fine. But we mustn’t alter its overall shape. First, cut away the neck...”

Even after trimming off the neck made it considerably lighter, the cockatrice’s head was larger than a full-grown adult’s torso, and its rocky skin made it monstrously heavy. They would probably have to devote one of their four horses entirely to carrying it.

But a monster’s severed head was the surest proof of a successful hunt. Whatever its practical value, they had to take it, if only for its symbolic significance.

Roden grinned as he carefully applied preservative to the cut surface and every crevice in the stone skin.

“I can’t wait to see people’s faces when we bring this back...”

A boy in his early to middle teens had slain a monster that would require more than ten knights to attack it, with roughly half of them prepared to die. It was so preposterous a tale that even the epics of Emperor Baren and the other great knights of history would not have included it.

All the more reason they needed irrefutable proof.

While Roden prepared the head, the others finally entered the mansion where the cockatrice had lived. Scuff marks and scratches covered the corridors, which were large enough for the monstrous lizard to pass through.

“Who could have lived in a place like this?”

“Certainly no ordinary person. I’ve never seen a house this large in any Altoan ruin we’ve passed through...” Vent murmured in answer to Shan’s question.

The mansion was so vast that the three split up to search it more efficiently. Vent and Zerpo searched the first and second floors, while Shan went up to the third so that he could jump down whenever he was needed.

‘It really is huge.’

The largest house Shan had ever seen was the Wievers mansion in the capital, but this place dwarfed it. The doors and corridors alone were so enormous that giants might have lived here; he suspected the total floor area might be more than ten times as large.

Was this what the royal palace of Pendia looked like?

Strangely, though, the furniture was much the same size as that used by ordinary humans. Perhaps the cockatrice had been too heavy to climb to the third floor, for there were no scratches along the corridors. Most of the furnishings were nevertheless shabby and worn, presumably from the immense passage of time.

‘There’s less worth taking than I expected.’

He had assumed the owner of such an immense mansion must have been wealthy, yet there was surprisingly less left here than in the other mansions nearby. Had the owner been unexpectedly frugal?

Puzzled, Shan opened the largest door, leading into the last room at the end of the corridor, and let out a quiet cry at the sight within.

“Oh...!”

Beyond a canopy that had crumbled with age, a sword lay atop a pile of dust that he guessed had once been a bed. Judging by the room’s size and splendor, this had probably been the owner’s bedchamber.

Shan approached slowly and drew the sword from a wooden scabbard already so battered it was on the verge of falling apart.

Hilt and blade together measured about a meter. The guard was relatively short, and the grip looked suitable for either one hand or two. One look at its blue-gray blade, reminiscent of cold winter weather, and the magical patterns glowing softly upon it told him this was no ordinary weapon.

“An enchanted sword?”

His voice trembled as he murmured, scarcely able to believe his unexpected good fortune. Then he gave the sword a light swing through the air. Like his own body, the enchanted sword was a little lighter than an ordinary iron sword of comparable size.

“Roden! Vent! Zerpo!”

Shan burst through the door, calling loudly to his companions, and leaped straight from the third floor to the first. The other three hurried over from their searches on the other floors and the preservation work at the entrance.

“What is it?”

“I found one! An enchanted sword!”

“Really?!”

“I knew it!”

Enchanted swords were among the most expensive of all magical devices. Everyone’s face lit up.

Yet for some reason, Zerpo’s expression froze as he examined the sword after hurrying down from the second floor. He glanced at Shan, Roden, and Vent in turn, looking almost frightened.

“C-could this possibly be...?”

“It’s a good one, isn’t it?”

His reaction did not seem positive, and Shan found himself pressing for an answer.

Zerpo, who had even broken into a cold sweat, swallowed hard and spoke quietly.

“Just a moment. I should run some tests, to be certain.”

While he chanted spell after spell over the sword, the other three sat together nearby and chatted. They discussed what powers it might possess and how much it might be worth, expecting it to rival the cockatrice’s magic stone as the greatest prize of their journey.

“Well, it certainly doesn’t look like ordinary metal, does it?”

“Of course not. Ordinary steel could never have that color. Perhaps it’s alloyed with one of the rare metals from the Kingdom of Ajun.”

Among the specialties of the northern Kingdom of Ajun were metals with unusual properties rarely found elsewhere. Some offered durability comparable to iron at about half the weight, while others did not rust.

But when Zerpo finished his tests a short while later, what he told them surpassed anything they had imagined.

“This sword is made of truesilver. Nearly pure truesilver, with hardly any impurities. It seems the cockatrice stayed here to feed on the power leaking from it.”

“Ah...”

“That’s absurd. A sword that size, made entirely of it?” Vent murmured, staring at the blade in disbelief.

Shan had learned about truesilver during his general studies.

Trueiron, the prince of metals, was the hardest substance of all.

Truesilver, the queen of metals, was the most receptive to magic.

Truegold, the king of metals, could be worked into anything and was therefore called the omnipotent metal.

Even a tiny amount of any of those three metals, enough merely to mix into an alloy, was a treasure coveted by countless kings and princes. Yet this weapon was made entirely of one, rather than containing a small admixture?

“About two hundred years ago, Libert and Ajun went to war over a mine where three kilograms of truesilver had been unearthed. Tens of thousands of soldiers were mobilized, and if I recall correctly, each kingdom even had a king killed...”

The Kingdom of Ajun had won that conflict, later known as the Truesilver War. They had divided the truesilver into seven portions and made weapons from them, which remained a source of pride to this day.

Judging by its size, this sword must weigh more than a kilogram—roughly a third of the amount two kingdoms had gone to war to obtain.

As they all reeled in astonishment, Zerpo let out a strained laugh.

“If it were merely a truesilver sword, that would be one thing. But the enchantment on it is even more ridiculous.”

“What does it do?”

“It manipulates physical properties. There are limits, but you can lengthen or shorten it and even alter its shape and hardness. It’s a miracle modern magic couldn’t reproduce no matter how hard we tried. The enchantment may well be worth more than the truesilver.”

Even hearing about it was enough to know how outrageous that ability was. If it truly could do all that, knights would have no need to go to the trouble of acquiring every sort of weapon.

“Hmm...”

Only then did Vent and Roden understand why Zerpo had looked so overwhelmed the moment he saw the weapon. Shan, unable to understand their reactions, asked,

“If it’s good, it’ll be worth a lot. Isn’t that a good thing?”

“The trouble is that it’s too good. This isn’t merely an enchanted sword. Offer it to any of the Alliance’s five royal houses, and they would pass it down as a royal heirloom for generations.”

“If we tried selling it to the explorers’ guild, Count Shedil would march straight over with his knights, slaughter us all, and take it. You can’t expect anyone to pay for something this precious.”

A treasure needed to be convertible into money, but this was so valuable that selling it and dividing the proceeds was impossible. Had the four belonged to some great power, they might at least have attempted a transaction. But if a mere jeweler’s son, a priest, a mage, and an Altoan boy tried it, the buyer would plainly attempt to seize it at once, kill them, and bury their bodies.

On the other hand, whoever took possession of it would effectively receive ninety-nine percent of the expedition’s rewards. If they had to put a price on it, it was so precious that kings would offer hundreds of thousands of gold coins to acquire it.

After a long silence, Shan offered a clear-cut solution.

“Then shall we cut it up?”

“Hm?”

“What?”

“Truesilver may be hard, but I don’t think it’s unbreakable. I’ll concentrate all the spirit I can and cut it into four pieces. Then we can each take one. Oh, come to think of it, weren’t our shares not exactly a quarter each? Roden probably knows...”

Roden, Zerpo, and Vent stared at one another, momentarily speechless. Then, almost as one, they burst out laughing.

“Pff, heh heh... Ahahaha!”

“Dividing it like that...”

It seemed like a good idea. Why were they all laughing?

As Shan stood there looking sulky, Zerpo wiped the corner of his eye and explained.

“That would probably destroy the sword’s enchantment. Its value would instantly drop to less than half.”

“Oops.”

“Besides, you have a much simpler option, Shan. Just stab Vent and me once each and take it.”

They had only known one another a few months, and he had defeated the cockatrice on his own anyway. There would hardly be much to trouble his conscience, Zerpo said matter-of-factly.

Shan shrugged, as though wondering why he would say such a thing.

“You’re only saying that because you know I wouldn’t.”

“That’s right. To be honest, I frightened myself thinking you might, until a moment ago. But after hearing you suggest cutting it into four pieces, I feel rather foolish for having thought it. That’s not an experience I have very often.”

Learning exactly what the sword could do had made Shan want it even more, but the thought of killing Zerpo and Vent for it had never crossed his mind.

Kill friends who had fought beside him for his own benefit, when they had done nothing to betray him?

To Shan, that was simply something he could not do.

Not merely something he must not do.

“But then, couldn’t you simply have kept quiet about what it was?”

“And how would I deal with the consequences of deceiving a warrior who can kill a cockatrice single-handedly?”

“Fair point!”

Still chuckling, Vent looked at Shan and said casually,

“Just keep the sword yourself, Shan.”

“What? Is that really all right?”

“Under our existing agreement, your share was eighty percent anyway. And it would be entirely fair to credit you with one hundred percent of the crucial cockatrice hunt. If a dozen or more knights had come instead of you and killed it with our help, do you think they would have credited our contribution with so much as a copper?”

Put that way, they certainly would not have. Vent and Zerpo might be a fairly accomplished priest and mage, but there were plenty of others who could replace them.

“Still, I don’t feel right just taking it.”

“Then give us generous shares of the proceeds from the magic stone and the other materials as hush money. And keep that thing’s existence a secret.”

“Exactly. Nobody can find out.”

Roden nodded vehemently in agreement.

If word spread that a mere Altoan boy owned such a peerless treasure, he would quite literally become the enemy of the entire world. Before he could openly declare his ownership, he would at least need the strength to protect it.

* * *

Even after dividing their excessively large prize, they still had plenty to do. Much of the enormous mansion remained unsearched, and they had not finished exploring all the surrounding buildings before fighting the cockatrice either.

After nearly two days exploring the city center, Green Eyes decided it was time to sort their finds and head back. They had collected so many artifacts that they would struggle to carry anything else they unearthed.

They had only four horses. One had to carry the cockatrice’s head, and another their food and drinking water, leaving less room for cargo than they had expected.

“Shall we leave this cabinet? It’s just one item, and it weighs over eighty kilograms...”

“Absolutely not. Find the right buyer, and it could be worth more than ten other trifles!”

“Don’t leave that jewelry box! The enchantment on it is exceptionally rare!”

“That sort of thing doesn’t make money!”

While the other three debated the matter fiercely, Shan was utterly absorbed in his new sword.

The first function he tested was its adjustable length. The instant he wished it, the blade, about a meter long, shot outward.

“Whoa!”

Watching an object made of solid metal change shape was almost unsettling. With a mere thought, the extended sword shrank to its original length, then shorter still, until it was the size of a one-handed sword.

Shan grinned as he imagined how devastating it would be in a fight against another person. A change of just ten centimeters in blade length would let him drive it into an opponent who had carelessly assumed the attack was out of reach. And, naturally, most sword fights would already be over at that point.

As he experimented further, he discovered more creative uses for its abilities than he had expected. He could shorten the grip and remove the guard to use it as a dagger, or make the rigid blade as flexible as cloth. Taking that a step further, he could round the blade and stretch it out until it was effectively a rope.

He could even turn it into a spear or an axe, though that was harder, perhaps because those shapes differed so much from its original form. By this point, he wondered whether it was even right to call the weapon a sword. Still, perhaps because that was its original shape, it remained most stable and strongest in sword form.

Next, Shan transformed it into a long, thick greatsword and gave it a swing, then tilted his head.

‘This isn’t so good. Is it too light...?’

Increasing the blade’s length and width did not increase its weight. Air resistance only made it harder to swing, without adding the corresponding force. Conversely, making it into a small dagger and throwing it produced a compact, one-kilogram blade with more destructive power than he had expected.

He swept the now supple, flexible sword through the air, slicing into what remained of the butchered cockatrice. With an iron sword, he had needed every ounce of strength to penetrate its stone shell. Now, even a light infusion of spirit let the blade bite deep.

‘An iron sword can’t even compare with this edge. And it’s so strong, too...’

By flattening it as thin as cloth, he could even extend it to nearly five meters. The only truly heartbreaking thing was that he could not use such a magnificent weapon in front of other people.

If that bothered him, his only choice was to become a knight and rise in the world as quickly as possible. As Count Shedil had said before, perhaps nobody would object if he became a king’s knight.

Not that he knew much about what sort of man the king of Pendia was.

His thoroughly enjoyable diversion ended when the others finally finished packing. Their lengthy debate had paid off: the four horses carried loads that would only just allow them to endure the long march.

Everything else was buried in a pit nearby.

“I wonder if we’ll ever come back for those.”

“We will. But selling what we already have will take quite a while.”

Flooding the market with so many artifacts at once would send prices plummeting, so they would have to sell them gradually over time. Of course, even selling everything in one go would bring enormous profits, but why not make more for less effort?

As they talked, Vent looked at the baggage piled high on the saddles and let out a small sigh.

“Well, that’s the end of my exploring days.”

“What? Why?”

“I’m retiring! This will be more than enough to keep our monastery running for a hundred years without donations.”

“My earnings from this expedition should fund my research until I die of old age, too. Though if I spend recklessly enough, I may have to work again.”

“Oh...”

Only then did Shan remember that the two of them had been exploring as a sideline to support their true callings. Even a portion of the proceeds from this excavation would equal the earnings from dozens of ordinary expeditions. They no longer had any reason to keep risking their lives.

Seeing Shan’s disappointed face, Zerpo gave his customary self-important smile.

“You seem sorry that we won’t be accompanying you anymore, but it can’t be helped. My brilliant intellect belongs in a workshop.”

“I’ll even miss that insufferable way you talk. As for me, I’ll spend my days at the monastery, looking after the children to my heart’s content.”

Vent laughed heartily and stroked his horse’s mane.

Then Roden looked at Shan and suddenly cried out, as though he had only just realized something.

“Wait, where’s that sword? You didn’t leave it behind, did you?”

Now that he looked, the truesilver sword was nowhere on Shan’s person. The weapon at his waist was clearly the steel longsword he had bought before, and nothing resembling a sword lay among the horses’ baggage.

Shan grinned and tugged his collar aside. Something blue-gray was wrapped around his chest.

“Ah, don’t tell me...”

“Yes. I made the whole thing thin and soft, hilt included, and wrapped it around myself.”

“I never thought of that.”

Hidden like that, it would be all but impossible to discover. Was this the most expensive underwear in the world?

As Roden laughed in disbelief, Shan announced proudly,

“I’ve even named it this time. It won’t break as easily as my old weapons.”

“What is it?”

“A Thousand Forms!”

The name certainly suited its abilities. It was so straightforward that anyone hearing it could guess what the weapon did, which was a drawback, but most magical devices were like that anyway.

Their cheerful laughter and chatter did not last long. Once they left the central district, they grew tense again and prepared for combat as usual. They had already dealt with the snakes in this area on their way in, but others might have crossed over from neighboring districts.

As they advanced, alert for an ambush that could come at any moment, Shan suddenly closed his eyes and sniffed.

“What is it?”

“Something’s burning. It smells pretty strong...”

“Burning?”

“Hmm, I think I can smell it too,” Zerpo replied, likewise concentrating on his sense of smell.

The smell of burning was uncommon in the Demonlands. A fire spirit might occasionally appear, but as a rule, monsters did not use fire.

They continued on in puzzlement, and before long discovered the source of the smell.

Brilliant white flames blanketed the city’s outskirts and were slowly advancing toward them.