Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented-Chapter 158
**Duchy of Roeide.**
The Duchy of Roeide was where the "Adventurers from the Stars" would be active during this expansion.
Usually, when one thinks of a duke’s family, particularly a grand duke, they think of a powerful central noble family. But the *Duke of Roeide* was different. This founding family of the *Alpharion Empire* ruled over the eastern outskirts, a barren wilderness bordering Erin’s Canyon. In many ways, they could be considered just powerful provincial nobles.
“Oh.”
Still, a duke’s estate was impressive.
I marveled at the enormous castle gate before me. While it wasn’t as grand as the inner palace of the capital, the size of the estate clearly demonstrated the nobility’s strength.
And, as expected of a knight’s family, even the guards at the gate appeared to be knights-in-training. The ceremonial armor they wore was exceptionally shiny.
*Tap, tap.*
With a confident stride, I approached the gate.
“What is your business here?” asked one of the guards, politely addressing me as I reached the entrance.
“Uh.”
I scratched my head awkwardly. I had come without any real appointment.
“Um, I’m here to see someone I know. Lady Eleonora. Uh... what was her title again?”
“...Master Eleonora? Are you referring to a central noble?”
“Noble? Not exactly.”
The guards exchanged confused glances and began whispering to each other.
Suddenly, a loud commotion came from the gate tower above, and a knight, likely the commander of the guard, hurried down.
“Huff, huff...! The Silver Blade...! Could you be Lady Rain?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, please, come in! Hey, open the gate! What are you doing?!”
“Yes, sir!”
*Rumble.*
“Oh.”
I watched in amazement as the massive gate opened easily for me.
---
“Salute, swords up!”
*Clang.*
*Clang.*
I gaped in astonishment.
What was this? A ceremonial salute?
As I entered the inner courtyard of the Duke’s estate, I saw a long path lined with armored knights standing on both sides. Each knight stood at attention, swords raised in salute, their expressions stoic as they faced forward.
*Clang.*
Once again, the knights pounded the ground with their spears in unison.
And at the end of the path formed by these knights, stood *Master Eleonora*, smiling warmly at me, her gaze filled with reverence.
“Welcome to the *Duke of Roeide’s* estate.”
“...What is all this?”
“It’s the formal welcome ceremony for honored guests of the duke’s household.”
I could hear the faint murmurs of the surrounding knights.
“...She’s so small? Isn’t she just a kid? But they say Master Eleonora calls her the Marquis of Roeide’s mentor.”
“She must be a Master too, right? You know the rumors about Masters—they get younger after reaching their peak.”
“She’s really young though, isn’t she?”
I winced at their comments.
---
“Greetings. You are the Duke of Roeide, Lady Eleonora’s father...?”
“Oh...! Are you truly the one? Yes, I am indeed the Duke of Roeide. Please, speak freely.”
The man before me was a large middle-aged nobleman with graying hair. He stood from his seat in the guest chamber and bowed deeply to me.
I awkwardly accepted his gesture, scratching my face with one hand while whispering to Eleonora, who stood by my side.
“This is a bit overwhelming.”
“Is that so? My apologies. But please understand, this is how much our family reveres you.”
So, it was just the three of us—*the Duke of Roeide*, *Master Eleonora*, and me—gathered in the guest chamber for conversation.
“Did you introduce me as Eleonora’s mentor?”
“You didn’t want the world to know you were an old companion of the Roeide family’s ancestors. But to me, you are the one who showed me the path I should walk.”
“Hm....”
She wasn’t wrong, in a way.
Still, I had a different reason for coming today.
“...I see. In Erin’s Canyon, at the *Heavenly Basin*, the source of the magic...”
“Yes, if you look at this map....”
The Duke of Roeide had a map of the Erin’s Canyon area, too. It wasn’t as polished as the maps available to players in the game’s system, but the duke’s family had over a thousand years of accumulated knowledge. Even though the land was barren and monster-infested, they had studied it thoroughly, likely with the hope of one day incorporating it into the *Alpharion Empire*’s territory.
The Duke stroked his chin as he spoke.
“We’ll dispatch knights and mages from the duchy to dispel the magic barrier. It will take some time, but once the barrier is lifted, we can deal with the source—be it a monster or a demon lurking within.”
“And after that, we’ll need to purify the magic so no more creatures born of it arise.”
“Purification?”
“Father, the artifact...”
“Mm.”
At Eleonora’s prompting, the Duke of Roeide took an object from his pocket and placed it on the table.
“...!”
I recognized it instantly.
A palm-sized metal emblem.
A sacred relic that could only be held by high-ranking priests of the *Divine Church*.
“The *Divine Mark*.”
“I see you recognize it.”
“Well, I did fight alongside the Saintess of the *Divine Church* a thousand years ago.”
“Indeed, the stories say so.”
It was true. I had once fought beside *Saintess Elena*.
But didn’t the *Divine Church* cease to exist in this world?
“Though the power of the Divine has waned, relics left behind by the priests still retain some of their strength. It’s proof that the Goddess has not fully abandoned this world.”
“Is that so.”
I couldn’t tell them the truth.
That the Goddess of this world was long gone.
“The *Divine Church* continues to exist in name only in the *Alpharion Empire* and other countries. But in the *Betarion Empire*, it seems they still hold more influence.”
“Betarion has many relics, right, Father?”
“Indeed. While there aren’t priests performing miracles, believers gather for worship, maintaining the faith.”
“In the *Betarion Empire*?”
“I don’t know the details, but they call this continent a world forsaken by the Goddess and are gathering relics, claiming they will bring the Goddess back.”
I didn’t like the sound of that.
After dealing with the *Eastern Legion Commander*, I might need to investigate the *Divine Church* of the Betarion Empire.
---
“There’s something I need to show you.”
After reporting the discovery of the elite dungeon, *The Heavenly Basin*, and entrusting the duke’s family with the task of dispelling the magic barrier, Eleonora led me to a tower located within the vast inner grounds of the duke’s estate.
I had a feeling I knew what it was.
Like the *Tower of Training* in *Silva Plains* or the *Ice Tower* in *Par Snowfield*.
The third solo dungeon.
“This place...”
It wasn’t particularly tall, but it had an imposing presence. The architecture was ancient, resembling styles from over a thousand years ago. It stood apart from the other buildings within the duke’s estate, feeling slightly out of place. Yet, despite its age, the tower seemed untouched by time. Perhaps that was due to magic.
“This land belonged to the *Roeide family* long before the empire was established. Even after the founding of the empire, the *Duke of Roeide* remained here.”
“So the reason this became the duchy’s land wasn’t just to guard the eastern frontier.”
“Indeed. This land has belonged to our family for over a thousand years, even before the *Alpharion Empire* was founded.”
Eleonora gazed up at the tower with reverence.
“And this tower was built by *Master Melissa* in collaboration with the family’s mages.”
“What!?”
I was stunned.
Melissa had never mentioned anything like this during our time together.
Then again, she rarely spoke about her family’s history.
The Roeide family’s land.
A tower that had stood for over a thousand years.
And the *Duke of Roeide* family, who never left, even after all this time.
“Has this tower remained sealed all this time?”
Eleonora nodded.
“Yes. The key to opening it was the ‘name.’”
In this world, names hold great power. It made sense that the first act of great evil was to erase the names of the old heroes, preventing their strength from being passed down to future generations.
The lost name of the Roeide family.
The family’s ancient hero, *Master Melissa*.
“Before this tower was opened, we couldn’t claim the title of a family of heroes.”
“So now it’s open.”
“After a thousand years. And thanks to you.”
Eleonora smiled warmly.
“In this tower, you’ll face illusions that feel very real. Since you restored the name of our ancestor, all the knights of our family have taken on this challenge. And, though it’s embarrassing to admit, I managed to reach the top floor.”
“Congratulations.”
“I still haven’t defeated the illusion of myself. We’re evenly matched in strength, but our swordsmanship is on different levels. It must be an illusion of *Hero Melissa’s* swordsmanship. Even knowing it’s just a vision, losing my head still shocks me. The
impact is intense.”
Eleonora tensed up, rubbing her neck as she recalled the experience.
I chuckled inwardly.
It felt like I had juniors now.
New n𝙤vel chapters are published on freeweɓnøvel.com.
It’s not real death, but still no easy task, huh?
I stared up at the tower for a moment.
Before I tackle the *Heavenly Basin*, this will be my challenge.
The tower Melissa built.
And what I must face at its peak.
---
[Level Requirement: 53]
[Sword Graveyard]
[1-Player Dungeon]
