Chapter 87
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Erdari #2
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It was an intensely crimson, massive tree.
[Offer your slaughter.]
[Ascend the branches of ascension.]
It was bewildering, but it felt similar to dealing with an idol.
Could this be the Blood Tree that the Erdari worship?
[Offer your slaughter.]
[777th Ascendant, Yor.]
[Climb the branches and ascend...]
Right then—splash. Something nearby rippled the blood river's surface.
I turned my head and saw unidentified humans staring right at me from beside me.
Their eyes were vacant and lifeless, just like corpses.
"Wait...!"
A few of their faces jumped into view.
One was the recently deceased Lady Dantes.
And there was the one-eyed thief with a massive wound over one eye.
1. Erdari's Cruelty – The Blood Tree rooted in your body stimulates your aggression. Greatly increases critical hit probability on attacks.
2. Erdari's Tenacity – The deeply embedded roots make your body even sturdier. Reduces damage taken when hit and increases HP recovery.
3. Erdari's Grace – Erdari benevolence blesses you. Increases equipment acquisition rate and Ether yield.
No Ether required for the deal?
The Blood Tree craves only slaughter.
The effects were incredibly potent.
Is this why the Erdari hold sway?
Throb throb.
At that moment, the root inside me seemed to whisper.
Accept the offer.
Earn even more Ether that way!
Especially that "Erdari's Grace"—it was insanely tempting.
Equipment item drop rate and Ether gain boosted?
How could anyone resist?
But I had no idea what consequences this choice might bring.
Deals that sound too good are usually scams.
It was right then.
[No...]
[My Blessed One...]
Rumble rumble crash.
A massive bone serpent, like a mountain, appeared and coiled around the Blood Tree.
It crushed one of those vein-like branches—spurt—blood spraying like a fountain.
"Oh, fuck! Sabrannik!"
Rumble rumble.
The massive tree's roar shook the world.
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Rumble.
An earthquake so fierce I thought the Great Wall might crumble jolted me awake.
"Hey, Yor. What the hell was that?"
Felix was awake too.
He really seems like an idiot sometimes.
"Earthquake or something?"
"You think I asked 'cause I don't know?"
I rubbed my dry face and checked the mirror first.
Just in case I'd turned into an Erdari.
Fortunately, my appearance was unchanged.
No pointed ears or sudden urges to kill.
"Phew, that's a relief."
Good thing Sabrannik showed up right on time.
All those stones and Ether offerings paid off.
I washed up clean and headed to the strategy room.
Hammer and Hermit were up early, having breakfast.
"Yor, how's your condition? Heard you swallowed some weird root."
Pat pat.
Hammer patted my shoulder.
I shot Hermit a glare, but she yelled back instead.
"...Lady Yona said it's best to be honest with party members!"
"Yeah, Yor! If we wanna fix this before you turn into a crazy Erdari, we gotta pool our strength, right?"
She had a point.
Better to brainstorm as a group than one person racking their brain alone.
"Then let's head to Cunning Town today."
Hammer announced the day's schedule.
We were all going to Cunning Town for personal time.
Jingle.
Felix gripped his bell, steeling himself.
"Hammer, I'll dig deeper into the orphanage."
I had plenty to do in Cunning Town too.
Errands that might take days, but I wanted to wrap them up fast if possible.
"Alright, Mass Teleport!"
Hermit slammed her staff down—my feet sank into the ground.
When I came to, we were in pitch-black underground ruins.
The very ruins where Stone Dragon Isidore had rampaged before.
Grrr—Nimble growled in irritation.
"Lizard stink."
Reptile stench?
Was that terrifying dragon Isidore still in these ruins?
Staying on high alert, we followed the underground passage up to the surface. Plenty of petrified statues, but no sign of a dragon.
We reached the surface relatively safely.
"Hammer, see you later."
Felix split off from the group.
Hammer thumped his armor in response.
"I've got someone to meet for armor maintenance, so we'll split here for today. Don't forget—regroup in this spot in two days!"
Did that mean I was stuck with Hermit?
As I thought that, Hermit grinned.
"I'm heading to the magic shop. Wanna come, partner?"
"Magic shop?"
"Saw it last time—tons of forbidden tomes for sale. Who knows, maybe there's a book on curing my condition!"
I pictured a shop piled high with dusty old books.
I'd just fall asleep if I went.
"Pass."
Jingle.
I eyed the jar containing the root.
Time to deliver it to Narakje and get my personal time.
"Nothing better to do, so I'll tag along."
Nimble volunteered to accompany me, thankfully.
Only Nimble knew the location of the cage holding the dwarf and noble lady.
Nimble glanced around.
"So where the hell did that dragon go?"
I'd heard it burst from the underground ruins and trashed parts of Cunning Town.
But the town felt relatively peaceful now.
"Subjugated?"
That thought crossed my mind as we arrived at Narakje's palace.
It was undoubtedly the grandest mansion in Cunning Town.
Guards everywhere blocked me.
"Scram."
"Unless you wanna die."
Their scowling mugs were criminally ugly.
I scowled right back and flipped them off with my middle finger.
"I'm here on Narakje's errand."
"The Seventh Ring?"
"You're Jackpot Yor!"
Jackpot Yor.
Narakje had called me that before.
Guess that's the nickname that's stuck in Cunning Town.
I wanted something like Massacre Yor or Erdari Nightmare, so it was a bit disappointing.
Nimble and I entered Narakje's palace like that.
Women in sheer, slutty lingerie everywhere.
All of them puffing hookahs and staring at me blankly—Nimble pinched his nose.
"Ugh, poison weed stench! My nose is gonna twist!"
The hallway reeked of sour smoke.
Nimble gagged as he spoke.
"I fucking hate bitches like that."
"Why?"
"They just fawn over men for scraps. Bet they couldn't survive a day alone in the woods."
Nimble utterly despised working girls.
He was being so blatant, I worried a fight might break out.
Then Nimble added.
"And the underground prison I saw seems to be beneath this building. Same poison weed smell back then."
So the dwarf and noble lady were locked up underground here?
Impressive intel. That's when a massive door and its guard halted me.
"Who goes there?"
"Narakje's errand runner, sir."
"Errand?"
The guard scanned me top to bottom.
I scanned her right back.
A blue-eyed woman.
Face masked, but her voice was clear as a nightingale.
Her figure in that skin-tight leather was killer—she had to be a knockout.
I glimpsed her left ring finger: the number "2" marked on it.
Second-in-command, huh.
Wonder if her skills match Germain's.
As I pondered, a voice from inside.
—Let him in.
"Enter."
Creak.
The massive door opened to a reception room with lavish lion and tiger pelts on the floor.
"Yor, you're earlier than I expected."
Narakje lounged on the central sofa as half-naked women giggled and brushed past me.
Been noticing it since earlier, but was this palace full of nothing but women?
Fuck! The world is so goddamn unfair.
"Got your item here."
Anyway, I handed the jar with the root to Narakje.
His eyes gleamed black as he took it.
"Hoh, you actually brought it."
"Now pay up. Bled my ass off for it."
"Heh, yeah. Finally in my hands. Yor, you know what this is?"
"...No clue."
I shook my head.
Narakje eyed me and chuckled lewdly.
"Makes sense. If you knew, you wouldn't have handed it over so nicely."
"Expensive? Looks like just some weed root."
"Weed root? Nah, this is no ordinary thing. A one-of-a-kind elixir. With this, I—"
Narakje's eyes burned with greed.
That's when I thought.
"Idiot, it's a fake!"
Seems like not much was known about Blood Tree roots.
Even the almighty Narakje couldn't tell fake from real.
Worth all the chili powder tears making that knockoff.
"Alright, Yor. Time for your reward."
"Heh heh, pay up like the legend you are."
"Anything in my palace is yours."
"...For real!?"
"Yeah, but only one item. Choose wisely."
Most stuff in Narakje's palace had to be priceless rarities.
Take anything? Perfect.
Especially since I needed free rein to search for the prisoners underground.
"So, can I wander the palace while I think?"
"Knock yourself out."
Narakje's eyes were glued to the root.
Like nothing else mattered.
Staring so intently made me uneasy.
"Hope he doesn't spot the fake..."
So I quickly slipped out of Narakje's office.
Time to head underground.
But a masked guard blocked the basement path.
A pointy-eared Erdari guard, no less.
"Beat it, you Rend bastard."
Real asshole attitude—befitting the demon-blooded Erdari.
Narakje hires trash like this?
"I just got permission from Narakje. Said I can roam the mansion, so step aside nicely."
"Dumbass, I didn't hear shit. Scram before I gut you."
Prod.
The Erdari guard shoved my shoulder.
Stronger than expected—I stumbled back.
"Annoying pointy-eared fuck, wanna get wrecked?"
Grrrrr.
Beast-girl Nimble bared her fangs, radiating open hostility.
Right then, I felt the "root" in my veins react.
The Erdari shuddered violently.
"C... Could you be an Ascendant...!?"
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