Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: The Vault
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In the quiet silence.
The woman spoke in a voice filled with resolve.
“I’m getting out of here. And…… I’m going to get revenge. No matter what.”
It was a complete turnaround from her earlier outburst of tears.
‘Revenge, huh…….’
Not something I could call good, but not bad either.
A clear goal would serve as a stepping stone to move forward.
Even if that meant harboring poison toward her own parents.
“I’ll make them regret abandoning me.”
Whoooosh.
A deep violet glow bloomed in her eyes, brimming with fury.
At the same time, the surrounding mana began to flock toward her.
‘……Manipulation?’
I couldn’t help but be surprised anew.
She’d said she’d awakened her mana, but her level was higher than expected.
‘She’s got quite the talent.’
In [Devil Fantasy], awakening mana required going through three stages in total.
Enlightenment, Manipulation, Manifestation.
Stage 1, ‘Enlightenment,’ allowed one to see mana, while stage 2, ‘Manipulation,’ let one control it.
The final stage, ‘Manifestation,’ enabled casting spells with that mana.
Only upon reaching ‘Manifestation’ did one possess the bare minimum qualifications to be a mage.
Of course, “bare minimum” didn’t mean it was easy.
‘I have a mythic trait, so I shot straight to Manifestation…….’
Normally, even with a decent magic-related trait, it took two months of back-and-forth in a training hall to barely achieve mana manipulation.
In that sense, this woman—who surely hadn’t received any proper training—had remarkable talent.
She’d probably awakened a heroic-grade trait by some stroke of luck…… It gave me serious food for thought.
‘……Should I take her along?’
[Devil Fantasy] was a world you couldn’t clear alone.
This brutal world was designed from the start to progress by gathering numerous companions and losing them along the way.
For a mage especially, early-game companions weren’t optional—they were essential.
The sooner you gathered them, the better.
It softened the extreme early-game difficulty.
The only sticking point…… was trust.
‘Can I trust her?’
The shock of betrayal from the Old Man still hadn’t faded.
Because of that, I pondered carefully, oh so carefully.
Could I really trust this woman?
It didn’t matter what she’d been through.
Having gone through something awful didn’t mean she wouldn’t betray me.
It all depended on her character.
If she had a good heart, she’d make a reliable companion. Otherwise, she’d stab me in the back someday.
I couldn’t repeat the same mistake with a hasty judgment.
‘For now, I’ll watch and see.’
Either way, agonizing over it wouldn’t yield an immediate answer.
Humans aren’t animals you can size up from a brief glance.
It required long conversations and close observation.
With that, I put the decision on hold and recalled why I’d come here in the first place.
I stood and scanned the surroundings.
“……What are you doing?”
“Nothing here.”
It was too dark to see well, but at a glance, there was no safe or place to hide money.
Not that I hadn’t half-expected it.
They wouldn’t stash something precious in a prison-like dump like this.
And they sure as hell wouldn’t lock the woman up right next to it.
‘It’s hidden somewhere else.’
I glanced at the keyring.
Four keys left.
Where could it be?
“What are you looking for?”
“The safe.”
I told her on the off chance she might know.
Fortunately, my hunch was right.
“The safe…….”
She nodded as if she had an idea.
“I think I know. I’ll tell you, so follow me.”
She took the lead up the stairs.
“What? Not coming?”
“……Yeah, coming.”
She gave away vital info without asking for anything in return.
Gratitude for unlocking her cell? For listening to her story?
I wasn’t sure which, but……
Okay.
She passed the conscience test, at least.
***
“Not that one—Kayla.”
The woman who introduced herself as Kayla stopped abruptly in the second-floor hallway.
It was where I’d fought those guys.
Kayla stared at the corpses and scowled.
“……Bastards. Filthy scum not even worth feeding to demon grunts!”
She spat curses even though they were already dead.
Made sense—she had plenty of pent-up rage.
“How’d these guys end up like this?”
Kayla turned to me and asked.
Right, I hadn’t told her.
“I killed them.”
“You……?”
She gave me a dubious look.
Not offended.
Even I wouldn’t believe a scrawny beggar like me took out three men.
“Why’d you kill them?”
“They poisoned the food.”
“Poisoned it? Why?”
“Who knows. The dead guys would know.”
Of course, I’d heard from the Old Man that they were after my heart, but no need to say it.
That’d reveal I’d awakened mana.
Better to keep it hidden until we built trust.
“The slicked-back guy had some decent skill and gave me a bit of trouble…….”
I paused.
Mid-sentence, something felt off.
I slowly looked around.
A vast space with neat interior, antique decorations.
‘……Decent skill?’
When the Burly Man explained how this place came to be, he’d said:
—It’s the power of magic. Space, lighting, supplies… Nothing magic doesn’t touch.
And about that:
—Yeah, there’s a pretty high-level mage living here. Our leader, too. Oh, here he comes.
He’d said it like it was their leader, the Slicked-Back Man, who’d done it.
That was weird.
Creating a space like this required space expansion magic, infusing mana into everyday tools, massive investment—only a truly high-level mage could pull it off.
But the Slicked-Back Man?
No way.
‘Doesn’t add up.’
From fighting him, I knew the Slicked-Back Man was no “high-level” mage.
If he were, even I with my mythic trait couldn’t have dismantled his spells.
Mages who reached a certain level imprinted their mana with unique patterns.
Mana with such patterns couldn’t be manipulated by anyone else.
‘A mage who can use space expansion…… would naturally have that level of skill.’
Meaning, this wasn’t the Slicked-Back Man’s doing.
There was another mage. A far superior one.
Kayla’s words turned my suspicion into certainty.
“But where are the others?”
……No wonder it felt so spacious. This wasn’t just home to two people.
“……How many lived here?”
“Dunno…… When I got captured, there were at least twenty?”
“……Twenty.”
I assessed the situation coldly.
If the ones who’d left came back, could we survive?
And these weren’t ordinary beggars.
‘……Said it was made by ex-mercenaries.’
My judgment was swift.
‘We’re dead.’
Too big a gap in power between Kayla and me.
It wasn’t just numbers.
With even a slight chance of a skilled mage on their side, victory was off the table.
So, only one thing to do.
“Lead me to the safe. Hurry!”
Loot the goods and get the hell out.
Time was critical.
***
“Huff…… huff!”
Kayla reached the destination, panting heavily.
She wasn’t even running that hard, yet here she was—her stamina must be as bad as mine.
My breath was up to my throat too, but no time to catch it.
“This the safe you meant?”
“……Y-yeah.”
Clunk.
I jammed in a key.
Fortunately, the second one turned the lock.
But for some reason, it wouldn’t open.
“This…….”
Not physically jammed.
I quickly figured out why.
Crackle!
“Ugh!”
“W-what’s wrong!”
A stinging jolt ran up my fingertips.
Faint mana leaked from the lock.
Electric magic.
They’d layered it on the safe for double security.
“……They went all out on this. Double lock.”
“Double lock?”
“Yeah, seems like you push mana through the key to unlock it…….”
“Hang on, let me try?”
Kayla took the key with a confident look and stood before the safe.
But soon, a yelp followed.
“Ow, it stings! W-what is this?!”
Damn, no good after all.
I missed my zombie knight character.
Back then, I’d just smashed it open……
‘……No choice.’
I’d wanted to hide my mana awakening, but nothing else for it.
No time to search for alternatives.
Guess I had to step up.
I took the key back and exhaled shortly.
“……Hoo.”
“What’re you gonna do?”
“Open it.”
Small mercy: It wasn’t tuned to a unique pattern, probably out of consideration for the Slicked-Back Man.
Meaning, basic mana manipulation would suffice.
And it was calibrated to his level.
So.
‘Should be doable.’
Click.
Inserted the key and turned.
Using it as a conduit, I channeled mana into the safe.
Eyes closed, I focused on the mana.
“You, you?”
Strand by strand, like antennae, the mana probed the lock mechanism meticulously.
Soon, its structure formed in my mind—like a blueprint.
There was an obvious path for mana to flow through.
I sent it carefully.
First time trying this, but the mana didn’t deviate from my will at all.
Yeah, right here.
The safe door swung open right then.
Clunk!
“No way…… How? Wait, you’re an awakener? Mana too?”
Is that really what mattered now?
Ignoring her, I checked the safe first.
Gold light dazzled my eyes.
‘Gold coins!’
Stacks of them, neatly arranged.
More than enough to escape District 7 at a glance.
And beside them.
“Rocks?”
Kayla peered in and asked.
I stated firmly.
“Not just rocks.”
Perched delicately on a small box, it looked ordinary but was anything but.
“It’s an artifact.”
A high-grade one, at that.
In-game name: [Blink Stone].
A one-use consumable that teleported the user to a desired location.
Limited to places they’d been before, but perfect for emergencies.
“Why have something like this?”
“Probably for emergency escapes. This ain’t exactly a safe neighborhood.”
“……True that.”
As Kayla nodded, I swiftly pocketed the [Blink Stone].
Felt like I’d gained an extra life.
Kayla grumbled reluctantly.
“……This squares us.”
“Sure.”
I’d be a thief not to take it.
I swept the gold into a nearby bag of decent size, then thought of the next step.
‘……Money problems solved.’
Just escape this building. That’s when I judged it.
Screeech!
A faint sound from afar pierced my ears clearly.
No need to guess what.
Door opening.
Direction…… Central entrance. The building’s front door where I’d come in.
“……Already?”
They were back.