Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: In the Name of Glory (18)
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***
A sacred glow filled the cavern so completely it seemed to pierce the heavens. At that very moment, the Professor yanked his hand back from where it was embedded in the demon's heart, startled.
[Item: Nelphia's Light / Holy Power Amplification / Indestructible until all remaining holy power is depleted (374/4500) / Slowly recovers holy power when placed in light / Locked / Locked / Locked]
"Whoa, holy shit! That was close as fuck!"
- Soy Sauce Gaybar: So close! If the demon had just been a bit tougher!
- Take a Look: It would've been hilarious if that thing had shattered right there with a crack!
- Empty-Handed Comers: Why are people here so desperate to see the Professor fail? He seems pretty good at the game and not a bad guy.
- Jokasss: Haha, must be all the newbies. Can't believe people like this exist.
- Highway Nacho Man: Mansu, that's 'cause you didn't see him from the start. This isn't even a crisis in Professor play.
- Soy Sauce Gaybar: Gorum gorum. This guy's a hero who chased off Edeorna with a durability-90 body. No matter how much we curse him and throw him into the pit of despair, he'll just talk his way out and survive.
- Empty-Handed Comers: 90? A rusted, broken straight sword has 115 durability. How?
- Soy Sauce Gaybar: Somehow he grinded it up. He's famous on the community now. Miracle Man, Unidentified Hero Collector, Tongue of Sector 47, Professor-nim. Haha, hits different seeing it now. Feels like yesterday he was whining in the Sector 47 chat about wanting to kill himself, and now he's leading a caravan, a ranker streamer, and the hope of World 3.
- Mukaba: Look at him now. Casually crawls into a 5th-circle Black Mage's— one who can even summon demons—fully prepped domain, and one-shots him with a holy relic to the gut. This ain't the Professor we knew who worried about bleeding out just from walking. He's a ranker, full ranker.
- Deer Drug Please: None of that matters. If the relic had shattered there, he'd be a continental criminal! Then he could've bolted to the great desert and lived happily ever after with Anaya! Stupid thick-headed bastard kicking away heaven's gift!
- Speed Wagon: Gotta admit he's smart. How'd he think to use the relic like that?
"No, I just figured it was a sturdy weapon infused with holy power..."
- Jokasss: It's not a weapon, it's a relic! Nelphia's Light is meant to be worn around the neck, shooting holy rays out that center hole.
"So what? Sturdy and hits hard, it's a weapon. You think I knew it'd go off like that?"
Thanks to burning through nearly 90% of its holy power in one shot, the demon's corpse wasn't just crumbling—it powdered away into nothing. But nearly losing the relic had my own morale turning to dust.
"Ugh, seriously. I just wanted a quick stretch on the way, why'd a 5th-circle Black Mage pop out?"
Grumbling, the Professor pulled Nelphia's Light from his hand and quickly stowed the now strapless relic in his inventory. It recovered holy power in light, but this was a Black Mage's corrupted domain. If he paraded it around photosynthesizing and it touched some lingering black magic residue, spewing light again? If the holy power hit zero for real?
The "indestructible" option meant this relic wasn't forged by physical laws but by holy power itself. The moment it reached zero, it wouldn't just become destructible—it'd shatter to pieces on the spot.
"Ugh... If I broke the relic the church gave me just days after leaving on my hero's journey..."
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'Laaaturaaa!!! Ro Haaaaraaaak! Aaaak!! Uwaaaak!!!'
'How could we let that villain escape! The relic! Ro Haram's relic!!!'
'Unforgivable blunder, a blunder to end all blunders!'
'Kill him!'
'Flay his skin!!!'
'Chew his flesh!'
'Latura!'
'Laturraaaa!!!!'
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.
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"Just imagining it is horrifying."
Staring at the relic with its holy power hanging by a thread, visions flooded my mind of holy knights shedding bloody tears, berserking with maces. Ugh, scary. Better just shove this in inventory and return it nicely.
"Hey— Boss! You alright—!"
As the Professor patted his pounding chest, Borka's voice echoed from above. Beside him, Aldrich and Ottoman's faces appeared too—no more threats around here, apparently.
'Well, yeah. Holy power that ground demon flesh to dust exploded. No regular undead could've survived.'
The Professor waved roughly upward to signal it was over, then flopped into the pit amid the piled white powder. Ottoman leaned over the edge and shouted.
"—Hey! Professor! You okay—!"
Okay— Okay— Okay—
"Yeeeah! Just outta strength! Pull me up—!"
Up— Up— Up—
Echoes rang through the empty cavern. Soon, water seeped from the nearby ground, slowly flowing around the Professor. They were using it to lift him up.
"Hm?"
Watching the water rise, something sparkled where the demon's bone dust had washed away.
No need to think. Kinda gross, but this was a game, I'd just killed a massive demon, and something dropped from the corpse—
"Item!"
Just before the gathered water lifted his body, the Professor snatched the glimmering thing and rode the rising water pillar upward.
***
Splash!
"Oof, easy does it, old timer!"
"S-Sorry! I'm still not calm..."
"Hm? Oh, another mage, huh."
Riding the water out of the cavern, he rejoined the mage and Notum he'd left behind.
"Notum, anything on your side?"
"Grr. Saw rotten kin. Plenty. Tough."
As expected. They'd sent plenty of undead their way too. Multiple undead trolls. Solid force. Probably planned to capture the seemingly weak Notum crew as leverage against us.
"Wet weaklings, good tricks. Made it easy."
"N-No! Without Notum, we'd be dead! Over ten massive undead charged us, but Notum blocked them desperately, buying time to finish our spells."
"Grr. Wet human. Good."
Notum patted the beaming mage's head fondly. Worlds apart from before entering the village.
'Fight back-to-back on the battlefield, betting lives on each other, and you bond fast. Even I feel way closer to Ottoman, Borka, and Aldrich now.'
Oh right, speaking of which—Aldrich reminded me of something I'd forgotten.
Drained from berserk, the Professor rolled sideways on the ground toward Aldrich.
"Aldrich."
"W-What?"
Aldrich, who'd been side-eyeing the Professor since exiting the cavern, startled as he rolled up.
"Got any juice left?"
"Juice meaning black magic?"
"Yeah. Simple stuff, if you don't mind."
"Hmm, not much mana left, so depends on the spell. What exactly?"
"Soul-calling ritual. Wanna ask the dead Black Mage something."
Somehow we'd bagged a monster that was "failed lich-ified, rampaging, demon-possessed Black Mage"—hard to even say—but the original goal entering this village was light practice and intel-gathering. Why was a Black Mage who should be happily churning undead from western front corpses buried in this eastern boondock hobby-farming? That's what I wanted to know.
"I know everyone's tired, but I hear these rituals are easiest right after death."
"True enough. Soul-calling... Yeah, doable."
"Thanks, then."
"In exchange, mind if I examine you after?"
"...Pardon?"
Aldrich's eyes burned with a strange zeal, like a water mage finding an oasis after desert wandering.
"Nell clearly saw it on your neck. Two souls in one body, coexisting quite amicably."
"Nell? Who's that?"
"I'll explain everything later! So, your answer?"
"Uh... Sure, why not."
Eyes a bit creepy, but... Black Mages are mages too. Normal reaction. Aldrich's a soul mage.
With permission, Aldrich grinned and gathered mana.
"Hmm. Freshly dead, easy to find... But soul's pretty fragmented."
"So... conversation tricky?"
"Somewhat. Souls are memories, after all. Wait. I'll gather the pieces. We soul mages usually avoid this, but..."
Whoosh!
Darkness pooled over Aldrich's hand, then burst! A pale, hunched old man's form appeared, cowering.
"This soul deserves suffering. No qualms here."
"Ready to ask?"
"Whoa, hold on. Procedure matters."
Aldrich rummaged Notum's bag, pulled the filthy curtain the Professor had gifted earlier, and blocked the sunlight.
"His power blocked sun while alive, but now? Scatter without this."
Indeed, the soul stabilized noticeably in the shadow. Prep done, Aldrich inhaled deeply and addressed it.
"Lend your ear."
Sss—
At his command, the old soul lifted its head.
"Soul of the sinner, I am Aldrich Conwell. Before the true name etched in the heavens, speak: what did the world call you at your first breath?"
His voice pierced the soul. The jerky, off-kilter old spirit rasped back in a cracked voice.
[Ull...mann. Ullmann von Lastea....]
Surprised, the Professor said,
"Noble? What noble does black magic?"
"Old-looking, probably from the Noble Wars era. Every Black Mage is a tragedy. Now, use his name—he'll answer fully. Names mean a lot to them."
"But... didn't he just say it in front of me?"
"He was gonna anyway. Nell likes you and your friend."
"Who the hell is Nell."
"Gonna chat all day? Unstable soul could vanish anytime."
Fair.
Heeding Aldrich's jab, the Professor stepped up and fired away.
"Ullmann von Lastea. Black Mage soul. Right?"
[Yes.... The great Black Mage, master of curses and necromancy calls me....]
"Yeah, yeah, confirmed. Cocky talker, overcasting beyond limits for a 5th-circle—fits."
Aldrich chuckled. Nodding, the Professor pressed on.
"Alright, Ullmann. Question. You're 5th-circle or higher. Mutts and Lordric at war—why here, not western front? Deal with Mutts?"
The Black Mage soul Ullmann pondered, then darkened, face twisting.
[Mutation Blood is, in black magic history, the finest creation. A masterpiece.]
"Yeah. You Black Mages made Mutts. Still controlling them?"
Fwoosh!
[At first. Queen weak to pain. We hoped growth; she absorbed many test subjects on command.]
"Ullmann, that's not answering. Does the Queen still—"
"Shh, no rush. He's answering—just dredging memories."
As Aldrich restrained him, Ullmann droned on slowly.
[After first progeny born, they eyed us warily. No matter. Queen heard us; they heard Queen. Change came after third progeny. 'Palcatus of the Morning Star.' Queen's progeny all loyal, but his extreme.]
'Palcatus of the Morning Star?'
- professor: Anyone heard?
- Soy Sauce Gaybar: Nope. Queen's kids fixed except a few—vary by seed?
- Speed Wagon: Order or Edeorna's hero units affect, but limited pool, so probability-based same output table. New one not in data? Likely player data imported, not world data.
- Mukaba: Checked community. Fixed: Edeorna, Zignil, Termakian, Dox, Barzur—five. Variable up to 30: Nigmi, Adalua, Yol, Tuk... Palcatus never appeared.
'So, Queen's progeny based on my player data?'
Right—Turan, Edeorna sucked my blood. Second probably from Charlotte's info. Third, Palcatus from mine.
"Palcatus. What'd he do to cause the change?"
The soul radiated dark emotion.
[That vile, filthy, cunning, inferiority-complex-ridden worm progeny! Deceived all us Black Mages! Sweet-talked high-rankers, split sides, divided us! Stole the Queen's heart we guarded!]
"Wow... explosive info. Hm? Professor, why the face?"
"Oh, nothing."
"Like you ate shit."
"...Tch."
Not aimed at me, but bugs me. Should've pulped that Black Mage bastard slower.
Even unknown Mutts progeny, but hearing Palcatus trashed stabbed oddly at the Professor.
***
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