About a month before the meeting with Baron Gilbert, Lord of Riviera.
That is, before Baron Gilbert received Shylock’s letter of introduction.
I was strolling slowly along the outskirts of the Sanctuary with Jan, chatting as we walked.
“Now all that’s left is to get the Academy Recommendation Letter from Baron Gilbert. By the way, your swordsmanship has improved a lot.”
At my compliment, Jan smiled shyly and replied,
“All of that is thanks to God watching over me and bestowing countless blessings. Especially the help from this book God gave me.”
With that, Jeanne d’Arc carefully pulled a book from her bosom.
On the cover was written:
[Book of Haedong Swordsmanship – Beginner’s Manual]
Not long ago, I had found this very book in my father’s study.
It was a beginner’s manual containing the basic theories and training methods of Haedong Kumdo.
My father had been a famous kendo athlete in his youth.
Even after retiring, on his days off he would often swing a wooden sword in the backyard.
Whenever that happened, I would stick close beside him, awkwardly swinging my tiny wooden sword with my small hands.
‘…This might be quite helpful for Jeanne d’Arc.’
With that thought, I had immediately handed over the Haedong Kumdo manual.
Jan treasured that manual so much she always carried it on her person.
She even placed it gently beside her when going to sleep.
“This is a special and precious book given to me by God. I will treasure it all my life.”
Of course, giving Jeanne d’Arc the Haedong Kumdo manual also benefited me quite a bit.
I pulled out my smartphone and searched for the Creator TV channel on Mutube.
[Creator TV]
▶ A foreign girl uses Haedong Kumdo? [Joseon’s Best Sword] Jeanne d’Arc!
- Views: 700,000
[Creator TV]
We’ll show you real Haedong Kumdo. Blonde beauty Jeanne d’Arc’s beginner video!
- Views: 590,000
[Creator TV]
▶ “Why is this so light?” Blonde beauty wields an 8kg wooden sword like chopsticks?!
- Views: 550,000
[Creator TV]
Article)
100 slashes! 100 stabs! 100 overhead strikes! A hobbyist saint!
- Views: 670,000
Looking down at the phone, I smiled with satisfaction.
‘Wow, the Haedong Kumdo content is really pulling in views.’
Just as I expected, the mascot of Creator TV, Jeanne d’Arc, practicing Korean Haedong Kumdo was a sensational hit.
I clicked on the video with the highest views and checked the comment section.
- What’s this? Kendo video again??
- No… she’s so good at Haedong Kumdo;;
- Ahhh, I’m signing up for the dojo right now. Haedong Kumdo, perfect.
- Jeanne d’Arc unnie! Marry me~~
- Hey hey!! Isn’t Haedong Kumdo Korea’s original swordsmanship?!
- Nooo; tone blocked srsly
- L WIS
The comments were overwhelmingly positive.
Subscribers were also skyrocketing day by day.
Just a few days ago, Assistant Manager Yeo Jin from MonsterBox had called.
“Creator! The growth metrics are insane! This is one of the best Mutube channels I’ve ever seen! How do you come up with this content? … I told you, Creator, you have talent!”
Assistant Manager Yeo Jin’s voice was bubbling with excitement.
But the soaring success of Creator TV was also due to Yeo Jin’s fantastic video editing skills.
Unlike when I had edited crudely on my own, the addition of well-chosen BGM and crisp image enhancement raised the overall video quality drastically.
Anyway, it had been a few weeks since I gave Jeanne d’Arc the Haedong Kumdo manual.
Like a sponge absorbing water, she had mastered the basic stances of Haedong Kumdo in a short time.
Moreover, she demonstrated remarkable adaptability by harmonizing it with her original Northern Swordsmanship style.
Whenever she swung her wooden sword, I caught glimpses of my father’s past movements.
‘…There are still awkward spots here and there, but she’s definitely past the beginner stage.’
At that moment, Jan, clutching the manual tightly, looked up at the sky and smiled warmly.
“God, always… thank you. If you hadn’t saved me from the wolf pack that day, I wouldn’t be standing here now. But you granted me even more grace. You healed my father, sheltered the unfortunate, and gave us a place to call home.”
She then folded her hands neatly and spoke in a clear voice.
“God, I will become a knight. I will become a knight who slays the enemies blocking Your path and protect those who follow You, becoming Your sword and shield.”
A resolute determination shone in Jeanne d’Arc’s blue eyes.
Then—
- Ding!
An alert sound rang out, and far off in the northern mountain range of Riviera, a red arrow appeared.
It blinked like a warning light.
‘…What’s that?’
Zooming in, I saw the entrance of a cave on the foothills of the northern ridge.
Staring closely, a system window popped up.
[Orb of Verdure Dungeon]
- Due to the increase in monsters, the Orb of Verdure Dungeon is at full capacity! If saturation continues, the dungeon’s barrier will weaken, and monsters will spill out!
※ Creator! The Orb of Verdure Dungeon is in trouble! Please help!
As I finished reading the system window, a new Quest window appeared.
- Ding!
[Quest]
Clean and Clear
- Help Jeanne d’Arc clear the Orb of Verdure Dungeon.
- [Special conditions apply]
Experience +50, Divine Power +5P
[Clean and Clear – Special Conditions]
- Jeanne d’Arc defeats the Master of the Dungeon alone.
Special Reward: Orb of Verdure
‘Dungeon clearing, huh… I did hear from Jeanne d’Arc before that there are all kinds of dungeons scattered across the Small World.’
The reward was only slightly better than an ordinary quest, but what really caught my eye was the word ‘Special Reward’ in the special conditions.
“…Orb of Verdure?”
Come to think of it, the system had said special rewards would be given upon fulfilling special conditions.
I didn’t know what the Orb of Verdure was used for, but since it was labeled ‘special,’ it had to be something valuable.
I was also curious to see the monsters existing in the Small World firsthand.
Plus, I wondered if Jeanne d’Arc’s combat skills could hold up against monsters.
But even putting all that aside, there was one more reason I wanted to go to the dungeon.
‘…This is definitely a million-view Mutube video in the making!’
The mascot of Creator TV, Jeanne d’Arc, filming a dungeon exploration vlog?
Just thinking about it, so many Mutube content ideas flooded my mind: Rule of the Dungeon, One Night, Two Days in the Dungeon, Infinite Dungeon Challenge, Dungeon Escape Number One, and more.
‘By the way, can I even say ‘dungeon’? Hmm… maybe just call it a cave to keep it simple?’
After mulling over various ideas, I turned to Jeanne d’Arc and said,
“…There’s something we need to do now.”
The rugged northern mountain range of Riviera.
After climbing along a rarely traveled path for some time, the large cave entrance finally came into view.
“…So this is the Orb of Verdure Dungeon that God told us about.”
A small warning sign was planted at the cave entrance.
[Sign of Warning – Lord Gilbert Wald]
[Warning]
This cave is the Orb of Verdure Dungeon, a place where dangerous monsters appear in large numbers.
Therefore, civilian access is strictly prohibited.
- Lord Gilbert of Riviera
Jeanne d’Arc opened her mouth with a determined expression.
“Then we shall enter. God, please grant me strength and courage.”
“Don’t worry too much. Just keep going straight ahead.”
If things went wrong, I could always protect her with Creator Power.
Jeanne d’Arc seemed somewhat reassured and calmly stepped inside the Orb of Verdure Dungeon.
The interior of the dungeon wasn’t much different from an ordinary cave.
There was just one distinctive feature.
The walls were studded with green crystals emitting a glowing light that brightly illuminated the dungeon.
‘…Those look like emeralds. Pretty expensive gemstones, aren’t they?’
I checked on my smartphone just in case, and sure enough, they were emeralds.
But Jeanne d’Arc didn’t seem very interested.
She only stared quietly at the green light emanating from the crystals and remarked,
“…Such a beautiful light.”
It seemed that to the residents of the Small World, gems weren’t considered particularly valuable.
“…That must be why the kids pick up gemstones rolling around as offerings.”
I resolved to send Sanctuary residents later to mine them all.
After a moment’s gaze, Jeanne d’Arc moved deeper into the dungeon.
Not long after, we encountered the first monsters.
Hundreds of round, greenish creatures surrounded by a viscous liquid blocked the path.
‘Ugh, that’s a disgusting amount. No wonder the dungeon was saturated and triggered the warning.’
- Ding!
[Green Slime]
- Monsters composed of green mucous.
They are the dungeon’s janitors, endlessly roaming and dissolving miscellaneous debris with corrosive mucous.
Because they are covered in elastic mucous, physical attacks are ineffective.
Unless their Core is destroyed, they instantly regenerate.
“There are slimes… I’ll clear them out immediately!”
Jeanne d’Arc swiftly closed the distance and swung her sword.
Her sharply honed Sword of Jeanne d’Arc easily sliced through the slimes, splitting their cores cleanly in half.
“Yikes!”
Slimes without cores emitted high-pitched shrieks and dissolved into goo.
Then Jeanne dashed toward the next group of slimes.
Chaaak— chaaak— chaaak!
One slime. Two slimes. Three slimes.
Jeanne d’Arc moved like the wind, smoothly clearing the slimes blocking the path.
However, the problem was that as she cut through the slimes, their mucous gradually stuck to the shortsword’s blade, dulling the edge.
…
Eventually…
Thunk~!!
“…Ugh?!”
Jeanne’s shortsword, now completely covered in green slime, bounced off without cutting.
She quickly took out a thick cloth from her pouch and wiped the mucous off her sword.
Then she immediately got back into fighting stance.
But if she kept handling slimes this way, it would take too much time, and the shortsword might become unusable.
“…Step back from the slime cluster for now.”
“Yes, understood!”
At my order to fall back, Jeanne d’Arc quickly put some distance between herself and the slimes.
Once she was far enough away, I opened the thermos in my right hand.
- Ding!
[System]
- 20 Divine Power points consumed.
Then—
Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter!
A steaming, milky-white liquid poured mercilessly over the slimes’ heads.
“Eek!”
“Ack!”
“!”
The slimes screamed in pain.
At the same time, their squishy mucous began to dissolve.
‘Good thing I prepared this separately while Jeanne was fighting.’
On my smartphone screen appeared a Living Point column.
[This Week’s Living Point – If slime toys get on clothes, dissolve them with hot water and toothpaste!]
- Slime, the squishy and sticky toy!
The main ingredient of slime is polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), a component of water glue.
When a small amount of borax is added, the viscous, elastic slime is formed.
If slime sticks to clothes or skin, all you need are these two things: boiling hot toothpaste water!
The hot water dissolves the slime’s mucous, and the abrasives and surfactants in the toothpaste wipe it away.