Chapter 320
Chapter 320
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 320
Chapter Title: The Faceless Throne and Dwarf Brew
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I wonder what it would feel like to sit there?
It was a thought that had never crossed her mind before, yet she felt nothing strange about it.
Her consciousness slowly merged with the chair. The faceless ones stopped their whispers and turned to gaze at her. Their expressions should have been invisible, yet somehow they felt like they were smiling.
Everything was steeped in eeriness, but she didn't register it. The urge to sit in that chair right now consumed her mind.
｢You ■■■ ■■■.｣
Ignoring 'her' cries, just as she was about to sit, her gaze suddenly shifted to one of the faceless ones.
Up close, she could see it.
His body was cracked like a shattered mirror.
The moment she realized it, she awoke.
"......"
Waking up drenched in cold sweat from this familiar yet unpleasant dream was deeply uncomfortable. She roughly pushed open the glass wall and exited the biocapsule, habitually grabbing her pad.
She frowned at the long message on the pad's screen. Her eyes locked onto one word in the message: 'Analysis Failed'.
"...A failure, then."
She had succeeded in slaying one of her long-held goals—a monster—but savoring the victory was difficult. The damage she had sustained was far from minor.
During the fight, she had lost a crystal battery. Now, she only had enough energy left for two uses of the 'Abyssal Destroyer'.
'This won't be enough to kill Akira.'
Mega Corp's CEO, Akira Yujin, was a genetically modified being like Sihyun. He might have even as many genes implanted as the monster she had killed.
In other words, even the Abyssal Destroyer might not kill him in one shot.
Akira was a cunning foe, more so than any monster. If something similar happened during their battle as it had this time, she would surely lose.
"So I was counting on this... Hoo."
She set down the pad with a sigh.
With the relic unusable now, she needed a new alternative.
What she had newly pinned her hopes on was the blood staining her powered suit 'White Maiden'. The monster had been completely incinerated by No. God's attack, but the dried blood on the suit remained.
Sihyun had ordered the research lab on the flagship to analyze that blood. If she could transplant the monster's genes into her body, she could gain immense power.
But contrary to her expectations, the blood analysis kept failing.
There were simply too many types of genes in the blood, mixed with a lot of foreign substances.
To resolve it, more samples were needed, but the monster had evaporated without leaving a corpse. It was an impossible demand, of course.
In the end, the research team concluded that analysis was impossible with current facilities. At least, not with the flagship's equipment.
'If it were Mega Corp's database, maybe...'
Mega Corp's database on the moon had the finest research facilities. Perhaps there, they could analyze the monster's genes.
The problem was that infiltrating the Mega Corp database was no easy feat.
The heart of Mega Corp's intelligence was guarded so tightly that even Yujin's shadow would need to risk its life multiple times to breach it.
Dying during infiltration would be putting the cart before the horse. Unless there was no hope at all, infiltrating the Mega Corp database should be put on hold.
'Is the only option left that one, after all?'
Sihyun recalled the incomplete map Banho had left behind.
Her current situation wasn't much different from before arriving at Berzan 02. She had somewhat recovered her forces, but she had lost the hidden card called the relic.
To fight the formidable foe Akira, she needed a new weapon. In this situation, she could only hope that map would yield meaningful results.
The problem was that there were no clues to complete that map.
If she had plenty of time, maybe, but she didn't. Mega Corp's civil war was already in the process of ending. Once the war concluded, Akira would come to clean up Sihyun Yujin's forces.
She had to complete the map somehow before Akira's pursuit fleet moved.
"...My head hurts."
Was it because of the nightmare she had every day, compounded by these realistic problems?
She needed to cool her head. And wash off her sweat-soaked body while at it.
She staggered toward the bathroom.
"How about this one? It feels similar to me."
｢.......｣
Sky Mother, the griffin wolf in her powered suit, narrowed her eyes at my question. Her amber eyes fixed on the terminal pad's screen.
PS-111 beside her leaned in to look at the pad as well. The red camera lenses replacing its eyes contracted and expanded repeatedly.
I wasn't alone in this mansion right now. After getting information on the Coldblood slaves from Roberts, I had called the kids over.
"Comparing with the growth prediction simulation of the search target, it matches 78% of the features mentioned by the 'middle kid'."
｢...Wait. Saying it like that just confuses me more.｣
As you can see, Sky Mother and PS-111 were verifying the slaves I had shortlisted. No. 26 and Adhai had gone to explore the inside of the mansion.
｢The impression has changed a bit, but it seems to match.｣
"Yeah?"
｢It's been a while since I last saw them. If anything, they've changed less than I expected.｣
Sky Mother stared silently at the screen for a moment before nodding slightly.
'Good.'
The search for the rank 22 player that started in the Avenue of Light was nearing its end.
Two months ago, Arcadia had sold the presumed rank 22 Coldblood to Roberts, the slave trader in the Water Fortress.
And Roberts had rented the purchased slave to a luxury hotel.
By setting, Cults don't view Coldbloods positively. They're treated as heretics or criminals, unfit to work as staff in high-end hotels.
Asking the facehugger, the hotel had specifically requested them for serving other races. For a Coldblood, their looks weren't bad, and they were obedient to guests, earning decent reviews.
'Just hearing about it, they sound like a player.'
It was unusual for a Coldblood to work in a Cult luxury hotel. However, it wasn't conclusive proof of being a player.
Moreover, rank 22 was being hunted by the dominant faction rankers. Why would they hide in a place frequented by the upper echelons of each faction when they should be laying low?
'Or maybe allied with another player?'
I thought that might be possible before coming. But now that I'm here, it's ambiguous.
If they had allied with a non-dominant faction, why be a slave?
Cults aren't humane toward slaves just because they're more humane than Mega Corp or Star Union. If they were, they wouldn't use the term 'slave'. Unless promised an extraordinary reward, it's not easy to make a player serve as a slave.
It's also hard to see them as a semi-forced slave, since Roberts said they were rated as a good slave. Mental domination or parasites can physically suppress, but not make someone work well.
'I need to see their face directly.'
Since it's not confirmed they're really rank 22, overthinking it won't help much.
｢Still, we need to meet them in person to be sure.｣
Sky Mother added, thinking similarly to me. I nodded in agreement.
｢Big Grown-up｣
Then Adhai called me.
The guy, who had been excitedly scampering around like a large dog in a new house, approached me. I could see its long, plump tail wrapped around a wooden barrel.
｢This｣ ｢Eat｣
[Zu? (Huh?)]
It set the barrel down beside me and tapped my leg with its tail. A sweet aroma wafted from the barrel and its body.
'Liquor?'
While handling Roberts' slaves, I had seen a place stacked with things resembling oak barrels. One slave came out with a wine bottle, so I thought it might be a liquor storage, and it was.
｢Isn't that liquor?｣
"Seems like it."
｢Tasty｣ ｢Together｣ ｢Eat｣
Liquor, huh. I hadn't drunk any since coming to this world.
To be honest, I didn't enjoy liquor in the real world either. More precisely, I couldn't enjoy it.
Whenever I drank, the burn scars on my face and body would redden. It made me look hideous, like zombie flesh patched onto my body. Because of that, I couldn't even imagine drinking alone, let alone with others.
｢They say it's tasty, so I'm curious.｣
Unlike my mixed feelings, Sky Mother seemed quite welcoming.
"You like liquor?"
｢Not to the point of loving it. I just didn't have many chances to drink here or there.｣
"An alcohol-mixed beverage intrigues me."
We already confirmed where the presumed rank 22 slave was. All that's left is to find a good opportunity to meet them. With today's tasks done, taking a break here is fine.
'Shall I try it?'
Since both Sky Mother and PS-111 want to taste it, I'm tempted too.
I leaned down and grabbed the barrel with my small chest arms. Piercing it with the tusks on either side of my mouth, caramel-colored liquid gushed out with a sloshing sound.
The liquor, sweet and sticky like its color, flowed into my mouth. The buzz was brief, followed by a matured flavor like reduced sugar spreading through my mouth and throat.
｢This｣ ｢Tasty, right?｣
"Yeah?"
｢I｣ ｢Dwarf nest｣ ｢Search｣ ｢Found｣ ｢Success｣
"Good job."
Adhai puffed up proudly, stretching its neck high with wings slightly flared. The liquor was good enough for it to act so confident. It was the tastiest drink since the Hellside Hornet pupa.
'Both aged drinks, maybe?'
In terms of depth, the pupa wins, but this feels more like a well-crafted product. Sweetness-based with varied flavors, well-balanced without chaos.
｢I want to try too, but no glasses. Where'd you get this?｣
｢Over there｣ ｢Other nest｣
"Just drink straight."
｢Nah, we need glasses.｣
｢Glasses here!｣
｢Thanks... Huh?｣
Sky Mother paused while receiving the glass from the pink tentacle.
'No. 26?'
｢For Big Kid and friend too!｣
No. 26 had approached unnoticed and handed me a plate. It acted so naturally that I noticed late.
[Zuzu Zu Zu Zuzuzuzu Zuzuzuzuzu (Brought it to drink from these?)]
｢Yeah. Human food goes in 'glasses' to eat! Cool, right?｣
It held various items in its tentacles: wine bottles, jars, decorative vases. Among them was the psychic training kit I gave it when it arrived at the mansion.
'Learned from that already?'
While Adhai tasted the liquor, it must have checked the gift kit. As expected of a smart one, it quickly absorbed knowledge and applied it.
'Liquor in a plate.'
｢Like the fox and the crane fable.｣
"Don't say useless things; it'll hurt the kid's feelings."
｢Joking.｣
I set down the barrel and stroked No. 26. Receiving praise, it glowed brightly in delight.
[Zu Zu Zuzuzuzu (Shall we pour into glasses together?)]
｢Yeah! Sounds fun.｣
I filled the vase it brought with liquor. It inserted a tentacle like a straw and slurped it up.
｢Tasty!｣
｢Me｣ ｢Want｣ ｢Too｣
As the tentacled two enjoyed the liquor, Sky Mother brought a full glass to her beak.
｢Not bad? Similar to whiskey, but sweeter and more aromatic.｣
"Right. Seems lower proof too."
｢I like this strength.｣
｢Ugly friend｣ ｢Taste｣ ｢How?｣ ｢Like?｣
｢Would be better if you didn't say that.｣
｢Tasty!｣
While the three passed the liquor around, I poured some for PS-111 too.
"PS-111, here."
"Thank you."
PS-111 gripped the bottle of liquor with its hook talons and extended its tongue—a mix of organic tissue and machinery—to lick the liquid inside. The taste must have impressed it, as its eye area twitched faintly.