Rebellion: Prince of Dawn

Chapter 17.6: Omen of Wild Warriors

---

JAIME FONTOYA

About two weeks had passed since the village grew. It took a while, but the newcomers had finally been accepted into the community. With their extra help, the wall would be completed in two days.

This meant I was safe enough to be apart from my sword. Ilias and I borrowed one of the fishermen's boats and took it to the middle of the nearby lake. Toshi was a fisherman's son, so he accompanied us.

"Most of the mana is concentrated at the bottom of the lake," Ilias explained. "So the further we go out, the safer we are. Also, this place isn't as strong as other labyrinths I've been to. If this labyrinth was on land, even the farmers could fight the monsters."

"Speaking of fighting, the wall is almost built," Toshi said. "You're going to train us, right?"

"We'd be fools not to. With just the men, we already outnumber the bandits two to one. You've got a lot of good weapons in your hidden armoury. But a spear is all you really need to be effective in battle. "

"How do you use a spear?"

I tsked. "You stab with the pointy end."

Toshi broke eye contact. "Oh."

He threw down an anchor when we arrived at the middle of the lake. We rolled up our pants and hopped out. It felt a bit weird standing in the middle of the lake. It was visually impossible.

The water reached up to our thighs.

"What do I do now?" I unbuckled my sword from my belt.

Ilias tied the sword to a log we brought, giving the rope about a yard of slack. The sword sunk but the log floated, acting like a beacon to let us know where it was.

"Are you sure that's going to hold it down?" Toshi asked.

"It shouldn't move around underwater too much. But if it does, the log will let us know where it is."

I noticed something by my feet. It looked like a stick at first, but it was a dagger in its algae-covered scabbard. The dagger lacked a cross-guard so it had a simple design. Unsheathing it revealed a blade corroded with rust.

"Be careful not to cut yourself or anyone with that," Ilias warned. "If you do, you might get tetanus. It's like a slow-acting poison. You won't feel it at first, but then your jaws will lock, your muscles will spasm, and your body will start to shut down."

"It's a nice dagger though. I want to keep it. Do you think it's cleanable?"

Ilias inspected it. "Give it to the blacksmith and he should be able to clean it up for you. But put it back in its scabbard for now so you don't cut yourself with it."

"Wait, this has been in the lake for a long time. Do you think it's a cursed artifact?"

"I'd be able to feel the mana coming out of it if it was. But there's nothing. It's a regular dagger."

"Ugh. So the chances of my sword becoming a cursed artifact is low? Plus, there's a chance it could have a bad ability?"

"The chances of turning an item into a cursed artifact are the same throughout all labyrinths. What varies is the quality of the cursed artifact. A strong labyrinth will produce better products than a weak one."

I dropped off the dagger to the blacksmith. He said the blade was made of low-quality iron—which was the reason why it rusted. He offered to make it stronger, but I denied.