Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Fateful Encounter
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I hauled out every diving suit from the treasure warehouse and lugged them all the way to the sedimentation tank.
Well, I'd come this far, and the opportunity cost was too damn high.
"Gotta at least break even."
They say knowing when to cut your losses cleanly is a real skill?
That's the kind of crap scaredy-cats who never make bank spout off.
"Let's see... Assembly is the reverse of disassembly."
Which means getting dressed is the reverse of undressing.
-Creak clunk clunk
"Ugh, why's it so damn stiff? No grease around here?"
I'd gotten a rough idea of the sequence by stripping the suits off those janitors.
Poksoon, who was lounging nearby watching me squat and fiddle with it, spoke up.
"Master."
"Yeah?"
"Don't tell me... you're planning to wear that and dive in?"
"You caught on quick."
That's my Poksoon.
Her stubborn streak's kinda cute.
"Master! This is insane!"
"It's fine. Look at it. I won't die."
Sion was freaking out like the rice cake shop was on fire.
"You will die! What the hell are you thinking?! Eek! No way! Give it here! Ngh... Nngh...!!"
The fake True Ancestor waddled off clutching the helmet I'd picked up.
I watched with a dad smile until she tried chucking it into the sewage.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Freeze! You crazy bitch!"
That's the last decent helmet left!
I body-slammed her to stop it just in time.
"If you die here, how am I supposed to get out?!"
Sion wriggled under me.
"Sheesh, I told you I won't die. We tested it earlier."
"I never would've revived you if I'd known you'd pull this shit!"
Why's she so vicious all of a sudden?
"You pissed 'cause I said we'd drink then dragged you back to work?"
"It's not just the drinks! You promised rice cakes too!"
"No one's saying I won't buy 'em."
"Dead men can't buy shit!"
Fair point.
To her, it must look like I fished her out just to crawl right back in.
But I've got my reasons.
No more time to waste.
"I'll buy double if I come back alive."
"For real? Ahh! You sneaky bastard! Using tricks like that!"
I snatched the helmet from the easily duped fake.
"Find the slush fund, and I'll buy out the whole damn place. Pray for me."
I shoved her aside and started suiting up.
It looked complicated enough from the outside, but actually putting it on was a nightmare.
Stuffing my limbs into this sandpaper-stiff material.
Then lacing up the lead shoes that felt like ten sandbags strapped on. What next?
Sion, who'd given up and squatted nearby, asked.
"Why go this far?"
"Huh?"
"You just clawed your way back from death's door. Aren't you scared?"
She grumbled like she couldn't wrap her head around it.
"Aren't you promising material?"
"Promising? Me?"
First compliment like that I've ever gotten.
"Compared to me, you're just a bug, but I saw it. In that split second, you expanded and rebuilt the concept of magic. You've got real mage talent."
Guess slicing "object" with Death Verdict impressed even her.
Yeah, even I thought it was GOAT-level badassery.
"Dummy, that's why you gotta hype me up from now on."
I grinned while connecting tubes to the suit.
"That's exactly why I don't get it."
Sion shook her head.
"I don't understand why you're risking it all to hide me. Hyun-gwi's got the boss's favor, and you've got magic talent... You could live legit in this city easy. Why cross this dangerous bridge?"
She tapped her neatly crossed toes together as she continued.
I was about to brush it off lightly.
But I caught the implication in Poksoon's words.
She's playing coy, but it's her roundabout way of saying spill the truth.
Maybe she sees me as a comrade now.
"That's..."
But it's not something I can explain anyway.
"Dummy, how the hell do you live legit and upright in this city."
I thumped the fake's head and donned the helmet.
Locked the neck clasp, twisted the valve.
-Hiss!
Air filled the helmet and suit with a sound.
No separate oxygen tank; it's structured to keep breathing the oxygen pooled in the helmet like an air pocket.
To surface, release the weights on ankles and waist, float up with the suit's air.
Basically a one-man submersible.
"Don't worry too much. I'll be back."
I gave the suit a final check and stood before the black lake.
-Rumble!
"Hm..."
Tense like a cliff dive.
"Changed your mind already? Let's head back."
Sion kept peeking at me like a kid desperate for the toilet.
We tested it, but actually doing it... yeah, second-guessing now.
But...
She's right.
This is crazy. The act of a madman.
Meaning it's a route only madness can clear.
I trust my gut and luck.
Positive thoughts. Fun thoughts.
What if it's a dead end and I die?
Then water burial or rare Death Verdict: tentacle attack acquisition?
So...
Calling out to my loved ones as I dive!!!
"Arbel!!! Poksoon!!!"
"Uwaaaah! Master!!! At least go slow...!"
-Splash!
Sion's nagging dissolved into bubbles.
The lead on my ankle anchored me, dragging me down to the bottom. Deeper bottom.
-Rumble...
The waterfall roar on my helmet turned to dull vibrations rattling my skull.
Vision plunged into darkness.
This much was expected.
Vision dark, fumbling blind like treasure hunting the floor.
But this...
"Way fucking worse than I thought?"
Figured basketball court size, grit through some manual labor.
Can't see my hand in front of my face.
And...
How deep does this go?
Straight down.
Keep sinking. Keep sinking.
"Huff... Huff..."
My tense breaths boomed like thunder in my ears.
Water pressure mounting through the suit.
Like a massive snake coiling around me.
-Clang!
Finally, a huge metallic clang as my toes hit the sedimentation tank floor.
"Fuck, balls are gonna shrivel."
Worst case, crushed by pressure.
Rift gear holds up though.
Feels like dozens of meters down, but hanging in there.
Then.
"Whoa?"
Tiny observation window in the helmet.
Vision, pitch black moments ago, cleared like fog lifting.
Not crystal clear like grade 1 water.
Black sludge toned down to murky.
Enough to make out front from back at least.
"Lucky."
Suit's solid.
I scanned around.
Regular cleaning or something?
Not much trash surprisingly.
Just sticky sludge carpeting the floor.
Doesn't this bury the True Ancestor's slush fund too?
"After all this bullshit, if it's gone, I'm gonna lose it."
Kicking through sludge piles.
Something alien caught my eye, half-buried in sediment.
"Whoa?"
A huge rock the size of a man's torso, tied to thick white rope.
But not just any rock.
Everything sticky sludge and floaters.
Except pristine around that rock.
"...No way? For real?!"
-Clank clank
I fought the crushing pressure, bolted over clanging footsteps.
Doesn't look ordinary!
Holy vibes!
The instant my hand touched the rock.
"Huh?"
Crushing pressure vanished.
No more sludge filling vision, no deafening roar.
"What."
Instead.
Crimson maple leaves flickering like flames in a chill breeze.
I stood smack in the middle of that forest.
And right beside me, an identical rock to the one I'd touched.
Feels like I got charmed by a flower snake.
"Ha... fuck, still regret handing over that settlement back then."
As I vented the valve and removed the helmet. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ :::New Area Entered (NEW!)::: Eternal crimson maple leaves that never fall. A serene shrine where the scenery whispers beauty. This is the noblest prison, 'Depth 0: Crimson Moon Shrine'. :::Challenge (New!)::: - Discovered hidden rift. +5pt "What."
New area entered?
Depth 0?
Rift within a rift?
"Inception?"
And the tooltip's glitched.
Usually gives tips too.
"Hm... Crimson Moon Shrine."
Looks True Ancestor-related for sure.
That rock's a portal or something.
Stashed the slush fund in a separate rift?
Not the point right now though.
"Ahh, finally... finally..."
Thrill's got me shaking.
Gonna nut hands-free.
Hid it this airtight, and someone looted it first?
Fine, I concede.
You win.
I stripped off the bulky suit and strolled the serene autumn forest path.
"Man, the foliage is gorgeous."
This heals the soul!
Wanna bring Sion and Arbel.
Oh, and Ceres hag too.
This is why people need nature.
Up the path, on a hill ahead.
Mossy steps stretched up.
At the top, a vermilion torii gate stood like it divided gods from mortals.
"I know this spot!"
Guy and girl come here, fireworks go off, then bush-bang in the woods!
"Lemme join!!!"
Too hyped, I bolted up.
The shrine came into view.
Sleek wooden shrine with black lacquer pillars and gold leaf accents.
Neat stone lanterns and courtyard.
Even a sensibility-dead Sedric couldn't help but gasp at the shrine's vista.
"This... screams cash..."
Gotta be loot inside.
Necropolis thieves wouldn't leave that gold leaf.
For future guests, peel it all off so they don't get confused.
As I moved to enter the shrine.
"......"
I froze.
Straw gold rope strung like police tape between torii pillars.
White paper zigzags fluttering, and something else dangling.
-Jingle
Clear, heavy metallic chime in the breeze.
"This is..."
Universal Currency?
Rubbed my eyes. Not a hallucination.
Square-holed gold coins.
Strung thick like ancient cash bundles, dangling heavy.
"This is..."
I looked around.
Gold ropes weren't just at the torii.
Shrine roof, pillars, walls.
All wrapped in glittering Universal Currency ropes.
Even dumping God's Dropped Pouch full of Universal Currency wouldn't cover 5% of this spectacle.
Instinct screamed alarms.
"...This looks insanely dangerous."
If I had 2-3 hundred mil bios, no fear.
Scoop it up sweet as honey.
Universal Currency trades with the world if properly formed.
So... not abandoned without an owner, but clearly for a 'purpose'.
"Leave it in front of that."
Sudden presence made my heart drop.
The voice was familiar, doubling the shock.
I turned toward it.
A woman sat on the offering box veranda, turning book pages with a long pipe.
Those red, menacing eyes.
Slightly sakura-tinted white hair.
"Poksoon?"
No way.
So flustered I blanked for a sec.
Then who...
-Thud
Book closing sound, then.
"Oh ho?"
Voice right in my face.
What? When?
No time for that.
She'd been way back on the veranda.
Now here beyond the gold rope, no sound, no sign.
Like she'd always been there.
"So you're the half-assed punk who barged in?"
Languid yet chilling voice.
Locking eyes with those crimson orbs full of cruel playfulness, like a cat.
Couldn't twitch a finger. Couldn't breathe.
"Fun. So fun."
Ah, having fun, huh.
Not me.
No need to explain further.
The woman greeting me in the supposedly empty slush fund vault.
This shrine's owner...
Sion Tsukimiya.
The sole crimson moon.
True Ancestor. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Fateful Encounter effect activates!] [Encountered key figure in the scenario!]