Chapter 95
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: N Divisions of Yor #6
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【Block the intruder—!】
【Over there—!】
While the serpentfolk rushed toward the offering chamber where Felix was rampaging, we hid behind a shadowy wall and waited for them all to pass.
“Curse Detection!” As the presence of people thinned out, Hermit slammed her staff down with a pang.
Waves rippled out.
Blue waves like pulses spread from the tip of Hermit's staff.
“…Two powerful curses! Those must be the totems we're looking for!”
Clatter—
Hermit dashed off somewhere, and Hammer and I followed behind her.
“Waaah! That's it, that's it! That one!”
A tower piled high with bones that looked like a mix of beast and human appeared.
About two meters tall.
It was just like a Christmas tree made of skulls.
The problem was that the tower sat in the center of a lake of bright red liquid.
Sizzle—
I dipped the tip of my shoe in the liquid, and the sole melted away.
‘Is it hydrochloric acid or something?’
Maybe this whole place was the stomach of some giant serpent.
If I stepped in there, I'd melt into a gooey protein shake.
“—Arcane Arrow!”
Hermit swung her staff and fired off a spell.
Pew-pew-pew—
The accuracy was amazing, but the power fell short, and the tower remained unscathed.
“…I! I can only use maybe two more spells from now on!”
Blue mana circuits glowed on Hermit's face.
It seemed using Curse Detection across this entire bone graveyard had taken too much out of her.
So who the hell was going to smash that tower in the middle of the acidic pond?
My throwing knives wouldn't even scratch it.
Just as I was wondering what to do, Hammer let out a deep sigh.
“We just need to smash that thing, right? Hup, here goes!”
Splash—he leaped into the pond.
Sizzle—
Hammer's armor began corroding and melting in an instant, but he swam powerfully with a carefree up-up.
“You fucking bone tower!”
Boom—!
Hammer's massive hammer smashed down on the tower.
The heavy impact must have been its weakness, because the bone tower crumbled in a rush, sending a thrill up my spine.
Fuck yeah! Toppling a painstakingly built tower felt this damn satisfying!
As I clenched my fist in delight, a buzzing voice echoed in my head.
【—My—】
【—Blessed—】
【—One—.】
It was Sabrannik's voice.
But the sound quality was poor, like a broken radio.
Whatever the case, after toppling the bone tower, communication with Sabrannik became possible.
There was one more such bone tower somewhere?
If we smashed that one too, contact with Sabrannik would smooth out even more.
“You fucking shit!”
Hammer returned along the path, fuming.
“My armor's all ruined!”
Seeing the silver tin he always polished and oiled now rusted in places made my heart ache.
The silver lining was that Hammer's body was fine.
Because Hammer's body was made of bones.
“Hammer! Good thing that pond only melts everything but bones!”
“Kahaha! True that! So, Hermit, where to next?”
We followed Hermit, determined to destroy the remaining tower quickly.
But the bone temple's interior was twisty and full of traps, making it hard to navigate.
“It's around here, but I can't pinpoint it!”
Hermit frowned.
Even magical detection wasn't omnipotent?
Fortunately, we had Hammer with his 'Overview Map'.
“There are about four rooms nearby! It has to be one of them… Yor! Which one do you think we should go for?”
Hammer showed me the map.
But since this was my first time here too, what good was looking at it?
“Let's check the closest room first!”
“Yeah, let's go!”
There were guards at the entrance to the nearest room.
Two serpentfolk.
「Black Scale Guard – Sisru Lv.17」
「Black Scale Guard – Shasra Lv.16」
High levels too.
As I wondered what to do, Hermit shouted.
“Angrath's Flame Jewel!”
Whoosh—blaze—
A massive fireball flew at the serpentfolk and exploded violently on impact.
The blast was so huge and intense that my face burned even though I wasn't hit.
【Gaaah! Hot!】
【Ughaaaagh!】
But the power was tremendous.
The scaled monsters writhed in agony as they burned.
I approached them and stabbed each in the back with my dagger.
“Die, you bastards!”
Clang—
「+1,000,000 Ether」
「+1,000,000 Ether」
“Holy shit!”
Even in a situation like this, picking up Ether felt great!
In high spirits, I entered the room and saw rings and jewels gathered there.
“Ooh! This is a treasure vault!”
Even amid Felix's rampage, there was a reason they guarded this room.
I stuffed as much visible treasure as I could into my satchel.
Then Hermit pointed somewhere.
“That's it! Bone totem!”
Now I saw the bone totem standing firmly in the corner of the treasure vault.
Once again, Hammer charged in and smashed the tower with his hammer.
“Die, fucker!”
Crack, rumble—
The bone totem crumbled satisfyingly.
Boom—
At that moment, a thunderclap-like noise exploded right in my eardrums.
“Urk!”
I instinctively covered my ears and crouched down.
When I came to, I was standing by a dark riverbank.
A bone python slithered toward me, wriggling.
“Fuck! Sabrannik! You didn't tell me about a monster like that!”
I vented my rage and frustration at Sabrannik.
I was so pissed, foam was about to bubble from my mouth like a mad dog!
【—Blessed One—.】
【—I fought Bloodwood to save you—.】
“Huh?”
【—I suffered heavy losses fighting Bloodwood—.】
【—No time to even tell you—.】
Sabrannik scolded me instead.
His voice carried a strong sense of hurt.
“…Even so, you could've warned me about a monster like that!”
【—Blessed One—.】
【—I don't know everything—.】
【—My followers are few enough to count on one hand—.】
【—My power is but a fragment of its prime—.】
Sabrannik hadn't known the situation was like this either?
“You're not bullshitting me?”
【—Doubting me?】
【—Even a gentle god like me gets angry—.】
“Hehe, just kidding!”
Anyway, putting that aside—
“So, does that bastard have any weaknesses?”
A level 37 monster.
How to shake it off and get the 'Night Flower'.
Sabrannik nodded vigorously up and down.
【—Sunlight—.】
Shhh—
That was the end of Sabrannik's words.
Sabrannik seemed like he wanted to say more, but whoosh—the surroundings faded back to normal.
Snapping to, I saw Hammer and Hermit staggering to their feet.
“Ugh, what the hell was that? My eardrums nearly burst!”
“Eek! My ears!”
Hammer wobbled, and Hermit freaked out.
Everyone seemed fine, no life-threatening injuries.
I relayed what had just happened to the group.
“Sabrannik says Kroom is weak to sunlight!”
“Sunlight?”
Hermit frowned.
Hammer clapped his hands.
“Oho! The sun should still be up outside! If we lure that scaly bastard out of the tomb? Won't it weaken in the sunlight!”
It was a brilliant idea.
The problem was how to lure the scaly bastard out of the tomb—
Fuck, there was only one way.
“I'll make it happen somehow!”
“Yor, how the hell are you gonna—!?”
“Hoo, here's the plan! I'll pickpocket that scaly bastard and run, so you two head outside and wait!”
Was there anything better than theft for luring someone out of their house?
Even a level 37 scaly bastard would lose his shit if his valuables vanished!
“You crazy fuck!!! Pickpocketing an idol!?”
“Hammer, I'm a thief.”
I am a thief.
Not a brutal robber or bandit, but a petty crook who steals things.
No matter how much I level up, my combat power has limits. I can't turn into a monster or cast spells.
But for thievery, I was confident I could outdo anyone in our party—and I had to.
‘This is my role.’
‘Fuck! I have to pull this off no matter what!’
Hermit trembled violently, looking utterly shocked by my resolve.
“Partner, you're going that far… just to get me the Night Flower….”
She teared up a bit.
She seemed to have misunderstood something, but there was no time to explain.
‘Fuck, I just want to survive and get back!’
I had no idea how much Ether we'd earned on this expedition.
Dying now and leaving it behind? I'd die with my eyes open.
“Then I'll go before Felix bites it!”
I sprinted with all my might.
My nose cleaved the wind, my black form melting into the darkness.
I arrived at the offering chamber.
Felix, battered and ragged, panted heavily.
Back in human form, his arm gripped in the scaled monster's massive hand, dangling like meat in a butcher shop.
What shocked me was Felix's right arm torn off and rolling on the floor.
I'd figured facing a level 37 monster wouldn't leave him unscathed, but—
【—What a pity—.】
【—Gathering lesser idols hastily to your body was overreach—.】
【—Had you met me sooner, you'd have achieved your desires long ago—.】
The scaly bastard seemed quite intrigued by Felix.
Felix's mangled eyes turned toward me.
“…….”
—Shh—
I pressed a finger to my lips.
Felix smirked.
“…Heh, just run like hell….”
【—Serve me—.】
The monster's thick finger stabbed into Felix's gut.
A hole pierced through his body like squished tofu.
“Grak!”
Felix screamed, and the serpentfolk cheered at the sight.
Their attention was fully on Felix now.
‘Did Felix pull aggro for me?’
I seized the opening he created and moved slowly.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
Deliberately.
Like becoming an unmoving object.
Blending into the scenery.
Pure focus.
Thump, thump, thump, thump—
Thump, thu—mp—
Thump—
Ultra-focus made even my racing heart feel slow.
Was it my imagination?
One second stretched like ten.
Everything elongated, as if only I were moving.
Thus, I reached arm's reach of the idol.
「Pickpocket Check Success!」
「Crescent Crown」
「Statue of the Tomb's Owner」
「Radiant Eight-Colored Gem」
I saw the idol's possessions.
And in that instant, I knew intuitively.
‘—One of these, I can definitely steal.’
‘Pickpocket success rate 100%.’
The question was which of these three had the highest value.
Then, a voice whispered in my ear.
【Kekekeke!】
【Blessed One!】
【See with a thief's eye.】
It was the goblin idol Ashibar.
Ashibar had always told me.
A thief must know what's truly valuable—
「Crescent Crown」
「Statue of the Tomb's Owner」
「Radiant Eight-Colored Gem」
Which of these three was the most precious?
Which to steal to make this scaly bastard rage and chase me!
My head felt like it would split, but the answer was clear.
「Crescent Crown – Pickpocket Success!」
「Statue of the Tomb's Owner – Pickpocket Success!」
「Radiant Eight-Colored Gem – Pickpocket Success!」
Fuck it, steal them all!
They're all mine!!!