A Swamp Doomkeep

The path to doomkeep was damaged by the Tenth Doomsday Wave. It had been a while, but the empire prioritized rebuilding human-occupied areas.

Each time a wave struck, the empire's budget took a hit from the costly rebuilding efforts. Plus, they had to supply food and clothing to those affected.

The effects of the Doomsday Wave remained even after six months had passed. Usually, improvements began to show around the eighth month.

"Why doesn't Empress Lyora just ignore the rebuilding? It's a waste of money because, eventually, everything will be destroyed again once the next wave starts," Leander complained as he got down from the horse.

Gris did not respond. The answer was obvious. The people would organize massive protests if the empire stopped rebuilding their territory.

That could trigger people to side with the Doomsday Committee because they were fed up with the constant chaos. According to the story, such things had happened in other kingdoms, so Amarthia was trying hard for the people.

"We will have to walk from here," Declan said, staring at the narrow, broken road that no horse-drawn carriage could pass through.

"It's okay," Gris walked first. "How long will it take us to get to the doomkeep?"

"That's close, about a ten-minute walk."

Gris spent his time looking around. There were no ruined houses, only a crumbling roadside barrier.

The Doomkeep stood by a river, with surrounding farmland still in the process of being repaired. The residents used this area as farmland since it was near the river. 

Gris scowled as his boots stepped on the muddy ground.

"Speaking of doomkeep, I wasn't told what kind of monster I'd be facing," he glanced at Declan and Leander.

Leander pointed at the muddy ground. "The doomkeep is located in the swamps. Can you guess what kind of monsters you will be facing?"

"Frogs, crabs, or maybe water snakes?"

"You guessed it right, except for the water snake. There are only frog and crab monsters in this doomkeep. Frogs won't defend and run away if you attack them. But crabs will retaliate against you."

Gris nodded in understanding. He shuddered a little at the thought of dealing with frog monsters.

He was not scared of frogs; he found them disgusting. However, rather than being frightened, this disgust would provoke him to attack the frogs.

Moments later, a big man appeared and stopped the three of them. It was Bertrand, the man the empire had sent to manage this doomkeep.

"Thank goodness you arrived safely!"

Gris frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"Recently, a group of criminals harassed the knights who wanted to train here. They steal the knights' weapons."

"It looks like they didn't come because it's morning."

Bertrand could only nod in agreement, bringing the three people closer to the doomkeep. He stole a glance at Gris.

'He must be Sir Blayz's son. I was shocked when Sir Blayz said he wanted to rent the doomkeep as his son's training ground.'

The doomkeep in Amarthia was wholly owned by the empire, even if it was located on land belonging to a certain noble. If that noble wanted to change the ownership of the doomkeep, they had to pay the empire.

Not only nobles but even commoners could buy them as long as they had the money, and the purpose of their use was evident.

The rent and purchase funds from the doomkeep would be cycled for rebuilding expenses, and nobody objected to this arrangement.

"Are we there yet?" asked Gris, staring at the wooden fences around a large area.

Bertrand cleared his throat. "This is a low-level doomkeep, so we only use wooden fences to mark it. High-level doomkeep uses stronger, higher-quality markers."

Gris frowned at the nervous Bertrand. Immediately, he remembered that Blayz had frequently contributed to the empire. Perhaps that was why Bertrand was anxious about the wooden fence markers.

The doomkeep's outward appearance resembled a typical area, but one could sense unease upon entering. Because its form was difficult to distinguish from the surrounding area, the empire sent a particular group to measure and mark the doomkeep area.

The doomkeep Gris was about to enter was protected only by wooden fences. He had no problem with that. After all, monsters would not come out as long as the Doomsday Wave had not been determined.

"See my father directly if my group is in trouble," Gris handed Bertrand an hourglass. "I'll send someone out every half hour to confirm my condition."

Bertrand accepted the hourglass with surprise. "But this is a low-level doomkeep. Nothing bad will happen," he explained.

"I know. But things could go wrong."

In the stories Gris had read, the main character sometimes entered a low-level dungeon only to find dangerous things hidden there.

Blayz carried the hourglass as a precaution. If he encountered a plot twist inside the doomkeep, Blayz could send people to rescue him.

"I didn't know you were so cautious," Declan spoke as Gris stepped into the doomkeep.

Gris gripped the Soulshard Axe tightly. "There's no one I can trust. Even appearances can be deceiving."

As he stepped into the Doomkeep, the air shifted, and a chill ran through him, raising goosebumps on his skin. The surroundings remained unchanged, still a swamp, just as he had seen before entering.

Out there, Bertrand could not see what was happening inside the doomkeep. All he saw was an ordinary swamp.

"I couldn't see them from the outside before," Gris muttered at the sight of the frogs with shiny dark green skin looming over the damp grass. 

Their eyes blazed with fiery red, accompanied by long, slimy tongues extending from their wide mouths. Apart from their enlarged size, there was little to distinguish them from ordinary frogs in appearance.

Gris estimated that they were as big as his head, with their size granting them an extended jumping distance compared to regular frogs.

"They're not as big as I imagined," he breathed a sigh of relief.

The original Griswalden had no particular memories of frogs, but he did. He often dissected frogs for clinical skills because the body structure of frogs was similar to humans in some aspects.

"You two wait here," Gris turned to Declan and Leander. He placed an hourglass on a large rock. "When the time is up, one of you will come out to confirm the situation and repeat it until I'm done."

Declan and Leander stood waiting by the rock while Gris went to start his frog hunt.

He ran into the grass, but his dragon-scale armor did not weigh him down. Alberic was right; it was light for someone with a weak physique like him.

The Soulshard Axe was quite heavy for him. It might affect his attack speed, but it did not matter since the frog monster was not aggressive.

"Please generate good dark energy, Mr. Frog!"

Gris swung his axe at a frog within his attack range. In one sharp swing, the monster was blown to pieces, causing blood splatters and its remnants to scatter everywhere.

"Dang, it smells weird!"

The blood spatter clung to Gris' armor. He covered his nose at the frog monster's odor.

"It smells like the scent of a corpse that decomposed quickly because it was in a humid environment. Ah, damn it. I have to endure this kind of smell?"

While Gris was complaining, a system notification popped up.

[You have killed a Miretongue Frog Monster 4(+2)! 

Dark Energy generated increased due to the use of Soulshard Axe: 14 >>> 20.]

[Do you want to bind the Miretongue Frog Monster?]

Gris shook his head. "Don't bind anything I kill here."

He ignored the stench that clung to his armor. Dark Energy was more important. To use the Route of Death, he needed 100 Dark Energy.

The foul odor emitted by the frog monsters upon being killed did not bother him. What mattered was that they did not fight back, allowing him to hunt them leisurely.

"Don't run away, my dark energy source!"

Gris called out to the frogs, who fled after he killed one of their friends. He focused solely on hunting down the frog monsters for the next few moments, not thinking about anything else.

He ignored the notices that popped up every time he slew the frog monsters. The moment he checked the system was when he took a break after thirty minutes. He saw Leander coming out of doomkeep.

"Good. This went well. How much dark energy have I collected?"

[Your total Dark Energy: 56.]

Within half an hour, Gris managed to kill six frogs. He glanced at another area and found crabs the size of his fist wandering around at the bottom of the swamp.

"Maybe I can get more dark energy from those crab monsters. They're stronger because they can fight back, right?"

Declan, realizing Gris was going to hunt down the crab monsters, shouted, "Young Master, be careful not to get grabbed by those monsters! Although weak, they can tear your skin and eat it."

Gris gave a thumbs up as a sign that he understood. He dragged his feet through the muddy path. A puzzled frown appeared on his forehead as he smelled a foul odor.

His steps halted as he went far from the frog monster area and came across a pile of human corpses.