Chapter 123
Chapter 123
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: Corpse Retriever (2)
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“It looks just like the underground waterways in the west.”
A waterway shaped like a sort of tunnel.
It didn’t look much different from the ones back west in appearance.
‘This is kinda what it felt like heading to the black market.’
The main difference was that there was more standing water here than in the west.
Splash—
Water sloshed with every step.
It wasn’t loud enough to be a real nuisance, but any noise at all could become a problem.
“Seria.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you happen to know Stealth?”
“Stealth? You mean like this?”
Seria took careful steps.
It was one of the assassin skills that muffled footsteps.
‘I think there was a way to use Stealth on the whole party.’
He tried to recall the assassin skill tree, but the memory wasn’t crystal clear.
It was a non-combat skill to begin with, and there were hardly any situations where you’d need to sneak around NPCs secretly.
“What if we combined it with Party Link?”
“Stealth and Party Link together? Got it. Like this...”
Sss—
Mana flowed from Seria, seeping into the group.
Even as they moved their feet, no water sounds followed.
‘That’s it. Covert Party.’
Mixing certain skills sometimes triggered linked effects.
It was one reason even non-spellcrafters could explore skill trees in creative ways.
Covert Party worked the same way.
As long as they didn’t make any loud noises, it’d be hard for anyone else to sense their presence now.
‘Perfect for infiltration.’
They picked up the pace.
He’d been worried about getting spotted by the guards handling corpses.
But with the noise risk gone, their options had opened up.
‘A fork.’
Thud.
He pulled out a blank scroll.
Then tucked it neatly into a corner.
‘That should do it.’
The scroll wedged between the waterway walls.
It was visible if you looked closely.
“In case we ever have to split up.”
“Hm?”
“I’ll mark forks like this. Just follow the signs to get back outside.”
“Hm.”
“You never know what might happen.”
It was insurance for the worst case.
In case someone got separated, or the whole group scattered.
‘Left.’
Thud.
‘Right.’
Crunch.
They pressed deeper, leaving markers at every junction.
‘Good call on the markers.’
Even Regin was starting to get turned around at this point.
He could figure out their position by memory if he focused.
But if things got chaotic, these signs would help Regin too.
“Regin.”
Seria, with her sharp senses, had been walking a bit ahead when she stopped and turned to him.
“We can’t cross here.”
When Regin and the others arrived, the space ahead came into clear view.
Water pooled in large quantities, with muddy streams flowing from holes here and there.
“I’d believe you if you called this a river.”
“They probably sealed off the water here in the west to use it as a black market, right?”
“Likely.”
It would’ve been nice if they’d borrowed a flying carpet or something.
Regin gave a wry smile and continued.
He’d come to check if it was crossable, just in case.
“Let’s backtrack. We’re almost there anyway.”
The detour wasn’t far from here.
Regin turned right, pushing aside his regret.
Sniff sniff—
“Smells like blood.”
That was when it hit.
Seria stared at the flowing water in a cold voice.
The already murky water, combined with the waterway’s darkness, made it nearly impossible to see.
But Seria had her senses on high alert, glaring at the current.
“Something’s there. Faint, but it reeks of human blood.”
“A corpse?”
“Probably.”
Something bobbed in the flow.
The current wasn’t fast, giving them time to think.
“Let’s check it out.”
“Got it.”
Once it was clear it wasn’t moving, Seria tossed something right away.
‘Made from Grantrula spider silk, huh.’
True to her assassin roots, she knew how to craft all sorts of odds and ends.
She’d processed the silk into fishing line, with a sharp hook at the end for grappling.
Whoosh!!
With just the right force, the hook latched perfectly.
Seria tugged, but it wasn’t some lightweight object.
“I’ll help.”
Greg grabbed the line and pulled too.
Thanks to him, the thing—which had nearly vanished from sight—was dragged back bit by bit.
“Ugh.”
Greg’s brow furrowed.
Jack retched beside him.
Only Seria and Regin stared it down properly.
“It’s a corpse, alright.”
What they’d hauled in was a man’s body.
Wearing nothing but underwear.
The odd part was that it didn’t look long dead.
“One arm’s missing.”
Thud—
As Seria hauled it up, she kept talking.
“Missing an arm, and the wound hasn’t even healed. Might’ve died right as it was severed.”
“There’s a stab mark on the head too.”
“Hm.”
One arm gone.
It looked like some beast had torn it off.
Seria glanced at Regin.
“A body the kingdom dumped?”
“Who knows. Circumstances make it possible, but...”
Regin shook his head, eyeing the direction the water flowed from.
“The spot it came from is tricky. That way’s near the capital’s main gate.”
“Near the entrance?”
“Bodies flowing in from the entrance doesn’t add up.”
“You said our destination’s pretty far from the main gate.”
“Yeah.”
Maybe the disposal site location was off.
Or maybe it wasn’t a criminal’s body at all.
“The mana I sense says it’s no criminal worth disposing of anyway.”
Not being a demon was the clincher.
The kingdom only secretly disposed of demon corpses.
“Someone killed this guy at the capital entrance and dumped him in the sewer.”
“Makes sense. What about the body?”
“Send it back into the wate—”
The circumstances screamed sudden death, yet this man couldn’t even rest in peace.
He’d been about to give it a proper send-off, but changed his mind.
Rustle—
Regin pulled a blanket from his bag and continued.
“We’ll wrap it and carry it.”
“Carry the corpse?”
“Yeah.”
They couldn’t ignore what might come next.
“If swiping a body proves tricky, we can use this for a switcheroo.”
* * *
They moved on, carrying the blanket-wrapped corpse.
Greg had it slung over his shoulder. He’d seemed uneasy at first, but adapted quick.
“...I’m just pretending it’s a log.”
Decent mind control skills.
They drew closer to the corpse disposal site.
‘Hold up.’
Regin’s gaze chilled as he eyed the blanket.
‘Arm torn off by a beast...?’
Come to think of it, hadn’t Jack mentioned it earlier?
‘Something about a stray dog loose in the capital.’
“Let’s hurry.”
He couldn’t explain to the group, but a hunch hit him.
Things were unfolding that he’d never seen in DAT.
Still, one priority stood above all.
‘Always assume the worst.’
That’s how Regin had cleared DAT.
Same here.
He didn’t let the small unease slide, spinning contingency plans in his head.
“Didn’t know a space like this existed.”
They reached the rumored disposal spot.
A massive hall-like area filled their view.
“Looks like they do something here, but... no people?”
“Two ways to read it.”
“Two?”
“We’re too late.”
“Hm.”
“Or too early.”
The center seemed primed for corpse processing.
But no one was in sight around it.
It was so empty, they wouldn’t even need Covert Party.
“Let’s wait and see.”
Regin found a decent hiding spot.
“We can improvise if we move before they process the bodies.”
He scanned for preemptive hideouts.
One good one caught his eye.
Water drained from the hall’s edge into a passage—they slipped in.
“We’ll hold here.”
“One thing I’m wondering: how do we snag the bodies?”
“Depends on the situation, but plan’s to recover them post-processing.”
Demons needed mana burn scrolls to dispose of.
Like Regin had on the 8th Floor.
But mana burn scrolls weren’t commercialized yet.
‘Klinna’s just starting development now.’
So they’d burn the mana with skills? But a mage strong enough wouldn’t need this setup.
“The kingdom probably uses magic tools to strip the mana.”
“Hm. No mana burn spells?”
“Tough magic. Hard for mana-based casters to master.”
“So, mana removal via tool, then disposal?”
“Center shows burn marks from something.”
He figured they mana-burned with tools, then incinerated the corpses.
“That’s when I planned to swipe them.”
Ideally before the tool step.
‘But that means taking down the handlers ourselves.’
Gulp.
He swallowed hard.
This was under the capital, picking a fight with the kingdom.
‘Not at that stage yet.’
So they’d wait for the mana burn.
“Mana burn via tool takes longer than you’d think.”
“How long?”
“Rough guess: two hours.”
No wonder mana burn scrolls were broken.
Klinna inventing them wasn’t a shock anymore.
‘Late game, she vanishes, and the kingdom claims the scrolls. Mystery maker was probably her.’
“Anyway, that’s when we swap this body in.”
“That’s why you kept it instead of floating it away.”
“Exactly.”
A lucky find—no reason not to use it.
As he glanced at the blanket-wrapped corpse, Seria spoke up.
“I’ll grab it and swap when the time comes.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.”
Sss—
Seria vanished from view.
“Shadow Hide. Makes her near-invisible in the dark.”
...Yeah, assassins are built for this.
Regin nodded, and the group settled in to wait.
“Someone’s coming.”
Tension etched Seria’s face as she dropped the skill.
The group fell silent at her words.
Wheel sounds echoed from afar.
“At least only three bodies today. Last time it was seven at once.”
“That happened?”
“Yeah. Bunch executed together. Heh. Eight years ago already. You weren’t here then?”
Two guards wheeled in a cart.
One body lay under a royal blanket inside.
‘Ferma’s corpse is in there.’
Thud.
The three bodies were laid out in the hall’s center.
“Let’s get to it.”
They activated a magic tool beside them, strange mana leaking out.
“This is the boring part. Ugh. Gotta watch for three full hours.”
“We really stare at this for three hours?”
The guards chatted while eyeing the corpses.
“Don’t stare too hard. Just keep a loose watch. No one’s coming here. Rest till I’m back.”
“Where you headed, senior?”
“Was gonna nap here, but the gate guards aren’t responding. Receivers aren’t dead either.”
“Checking on that?”
“Heh, you think I’m off for fun? Wait here. Be right back.”
Chance.
Regin murmured softly.
‘One guy...’
Knock him out, grab a body—easy.
One guard fiddled with a mana stone and left.
Seria waited, then drew a blowdart.
‘We take out the last one the second he’s alone.’
She signaled with her lips, timing it till he was fully gone.