Chapter 131: Summer Vacation (3)

The road was rough and uneven, but the luxury magi-car, worth well over hundreds of thousands of gold at a glance, glided across the wild off-road trail with surprising speed.

His car looked sleek. However, it didn’t mean that he had brought along one of those flashy sports magi-car popular among the younger generation of the Republic. No, the one Jules had driven here was what people liked to call a “President’s car,” a high-class sedan. It was the kind with buttery leather seats that seemed like they would melt into you at the slightest touch and a spacious backseat favored by wealthy moguls across the Republic.

But no matter how luxurious a magi-car was, on a road this rough, comfort was hard to come by. It was especially so with four of us—Camilla, Iris, Yurina, and me—crammed into the back.

I jolted at the bumpy road. “Ugh.”

“Are you all right, Dale?” Iris asked.

“Ah, yeah.”

“You don’t have to sit so stiffly. You can lean a little closer to me,” she added.

I glanced at Camilla, who was seated on my other side. “That’s…”

Camilla was glaring daggers at me with an expression that said, “Just try moving closer to the Saintess and see what happens.”

I could only give an awkward smile.

Yurina grinned as she tugged at my arm. “Come on, Dale. Lean this way. We’re both guys, right?”

“Oh my! At a time like this, does being male or female really matter? I think Dale would find it much softer on my side,” Iris replied.

“Hahaha. Iris, you really say bold things sometimes. Not very saintly of you,” Yurina retorted.

“And you, Yuren, are saying strange things yourself. From what I know, men, even as friends, usually dislike being pressed up against each other, don’t they?”

Their eyes clashed over me, tension sparking in the air as the two of them waged their little war.

From the passenger seat, Berald turned his head. “Brother, would you like to switch with me and sit up front instead?”

“If you get in the back, this magi-car will explode,” I replied.

It was already cramped enough as it was.

Jules, hands on the wheel, caught my eyes in the rearview mirror with a sheepish smile. “Ugh, sorry. If I had known, I would’ve brought a bigger car.”

“No, really. Just driving us here is more than enough,” I replied.

“By the way, why exactly are you going to the Iron Canyon?” he asked.

“Well, let’s just say a bit of group training,” I explained.

Jules shook his head with a weary expression. “Right when summer break starts? You’re way too diligent for someone whose grades are… Well, you know.”

“Shut it.”

Jules laughed lightly. “Ahaha, I’m kidding.”

Jules is joking around with me, huh, I thought.

Ever since I had handed him that money last time, the distance between us had shrunk quite a bit.

He changed the topic and asked, “Anyway, have you heard the rumor?”

“What rumor?”

“That the Legacy of the Iron Fist is buried in the Iron Canyon.”

“Ah!”

Of course, I knew. The rumor was practically legendary, even if it was all nonsense.

The Iron Canyon ruins we were heading to was the first dungeon I had ever conquered in my past life together with Yuren, Berald, Iris, and Senior Sophia. When we had uncovered the hidden ruins, Berald and I had gotten all excited, thinking we would finally discover the Legacy of the Iron Fist. But once inside, apart from the guardian golems, the place had been empty.

Still, defeating those golems would give us a high-grade mana stone. While the guardian inside was far stronger than the one we had fought during the final evaluation, since we were here partly to train anyway, it would kill two birds with one stone.

Berald, seated in the passenger seat, muttered under his breath, “The Legacy of the Iron Fist, huh.”

Jules glanced at him. “Come to think of it, J-Junior Berald, right?”

“Heh. Just call me Berald, no need for formalities.”

“Uh, sure. Berald then. I was gonna ask. Your family, House Ryu, is connected to Iron Fist Ryu Jin-Sung, aren’t you?”

“Well, yes.”

The Ryu family, one of the Republic’s core powerhouses, descended from Ryu Jin-Hyuk, the younger brother of the famed Iron Fist Ryu Jin-Sung. Unlike his brother, a man born with unparalleled martial talent, Ryu Jin-Hyuk had shown an extraordinary gift for magic. That gift was passed down his bloodline, and over generations, the Ryu family became the Republic’s most prestigious mage family.

Jules’s eyes sparkled with curiosity, showing his interest in such tales. “Then shouldn’t you know something about the Legacy of the Iron Fist?”

Berald chuckled bitterly, shaking his head. “Heh. Not necessarily. What I heard growing up is that our ancestor and Ryu Jin-Sung didn’t exactly get along.”

“Wait, Ryu Jin-Sung and Ryu Jin-Hyuk? They were brothers, though,” Jules replied.

“Being brothers doesn’t guarantee that they get along well, does it?”

“That’s true.”

Blood ties didn’t always prevent conflict. In fact, it was often because of blood that brothers clashed even more bitterly.

“Anyway, because of that, our ancestor deliberately kept his distance from Ryu Jin-Sung,” Berald explained.

“I see.”

“And since Ryu Jin-Sung never had children of his own, once his only blood relative grew estranged, the so-called Legacy of the Iron Fist simply faded into history.”

Jules let out a sigh of disappointment. “So, that’s why no one’s found it for over five hundred years.”

I glanced back at him with a small smirk. “You seem really into this kind of thing.”

“Uh, wha—? N-no! It’s just… I mean, it’s the legacy of one of the Great Five Heroes! Of course, I would be curious!”

“Well, fair enough.”

It was only natural, especially since, unlike the other heroes, Ryu Jin-Sung had passed nothing down to anyone. The mystery surrounding him was bound to draw more interest.

But when I thought about it, I was not even sure if that legacy ever existed at all. Even during the centuries I had wandered the continent in search of the Primordial Flame, the Legacy of the Iron Fist had never been found.

However, that didn’t matter currently. What did matter was helping my companions grow stronger through real combat and securing the offering needed to cure Berald’s father. Chasing after a legacy that probably didn’t even exist was far less important.

***

After about half a day of driving, we finally reached the mouth of the canyon. Jules stopped the car, frowning at the jagged rocks that choked the path ahead.

He said, “This is the entrance to the Iron Canyon, but I don’t think the magi-car can go any further.”

“Thanks, this is far enough. I appreciate you bringing us here,” I replied.

“Hehe, it’s nothing. So, you’re all going into group training now?”

“Yeah.”

For a moment, Jules looked at us with eyes full of envy. Still, it wasn’t easy to ask him to join. If the gap in ability between party members was too wide, it could do more harm than good.

Jules wasn’t weak by any means. Compared to the average cadet, he was quite strong. But in front of Yurina, Iris, Berald, and even Camilla? He was outclassed. Not only were their skills far beyond that of ordinary cadets, but even most active heroes would struggle to match them.

“Well, I’ll head off then! Call me if you ever need help again!” Jules said.

“Yeah. Get home safe.”

With a bright smile, Jules slipped on his sunglasses. “Oh, and let me know when your training ends. I’ll come pick you up then.”

“Thank you, Jules,” Iris said, bowing politely.

Jules’s eyes widened, flustered at receiving gratitude from the Saintess herself. He waved in a panic and frantically shook his head. “N-no, really, it’s just a favor for a friend.”

Iris tilted her head, smiling slyly. “Hmm. Is that really the reason?”

“H-huh? What do you mean?” he asked.

“Hehe. The reason you’re so willing to help us…” Iris glanced at Berald before leaning closer to Jules. “It’s because of Berald, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“You said it before, didn’t you? That you had feelings for… a certain man,” Iris explained.

Jules’s face instantly went pale. “Ah! N-no! I don’t!”

Before he could stammer out an excuse, Iris patted his shoulder and flashed him a big thumbs-up. “Don’t worry! I’ll be rooting for your love!”

Beaming, she turned and walked away.

Left alone, Jules clenched his fists and bowed his head, trembling. “Ugh! No. I don’t. I don’t swing that way.”

* * *

The Iron Canyon was the place where the Iron Fist Ryu Jin-Sung was said to have spent his twilight years. It was infamous for its perilous terrain and maze-like passages. Ferocious monsters lurked in the shadows, and venomous plants and insects thrived there in abundance. Even heroes found the place dangerous.

As Yurina walked, the ground beneath her collapsed like a hidden trap. She leaped back just in time, sighing under her breath. “Whew! No wonder this place is banned for most heroes.”

I stepped around the crumbled earth and glanced at my party members, who were looking worn out. “Not much farther to the ruins now. Hang in there.”

Berald and Yurina both eyed me curiously.

“But, Brother, how did you even know there were ruins in a place like this?”

“Yeah, I’ve never heard of ruins inside the Iron Canyon before.”

I explained, “Remember when I followed Professor Baldwin outside the academy for a while?”

“Oh, right. After the finals ended?”

“Yeah. That’s when I picked up some information about ruins hidden inside the canyon.”

In truth, it was knowledge from my previous life. But I wasn’t ready to tell them everything yet.

Yurina frowned, still looking doubtful. “Hmm, is that so?”

Despite her reaction, I kept walking. After we pressed deeper into the canyon for several more hours, a massive cave entrance finally came into view.

Iris looked around. “Is this the place you were talking about, Dale? The ruins?”

“That’s right.”

“But… it doesn’t really look like a ruin. Just a big entrance, and not even a deep one,” she remarked.

She was right. The cave ended so shallowly that we could see the back from outside. It looked less like a cave and more like a landslide had carved out a giant hollow.

Suppressing a grin, I stepped inside. “If the entrance were this easy to spot, someone would’ve found it in the last five hundred years.”

The truth was, an ancient magic spell had sealed the cave. To the naked eye, it looked like nothing more than a dead end. In my past life, we had struggled to break that seal.

To reveal the ruins, we would have to hunt down several sealing stones scattered throughout the canyon and arrange them in the right order inside this cave. However, if we actually did that, the entire summer vacation would be over before we finished.

Fortunately, I knew a shortcut—a far quicker, simpler method. I turned to Berald. “Berald, remember that magic you used when the cafeteria door broke?”

Surprised, he asked, “You mean the Unlock spell?”

Grinning, I summoned a blaze of ashen fire. “Exactly.”

Gray flames roared to life around my clenched fist. “That’s the magic I’m going to use.”

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