Chapter 130
Chapter 130
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: Fatigue (2)
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Late at night, Oliver returned to his house with the warehouse.
His body felt incredibly heavy from wandering all over the place until late.
What a hectic day.
How on earth had it turned out so busy...
Oliver headed straight up to the second floor, leaned his quarterstaff against the wall, stripped off his clothes, and gave himself a quick wash.
His body had felt grimy from all the running around, but the wash left him feeling refreshed enough.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, Oliver lay down in bed.
After pulling all-nighters or catching only brief naps for days, he just wanted to sleep soundly tonight.
Without a thought in the world.
He pulled the blanket over himself, rested his head on the pillow, and closed his eyes.
"........."
"........."
"........."
"........."
Oliver opened his eyes.
It was truly bizarre.
He was sleepy. He wanted to sleep. And yet, for some reason, he couldn't.
He was just lying there with his eyes closed. He couldn't drift off into that cozy realm of unconsciousness.
This had never happened before.
Really.
From the orphanage at the start of his memories, to the mines, the sausage factory, the beggar gang, the inn, and now this warehouse—he'd stayed in all sorts of places, but he'd never had trouble falling asleep.
Tired or not, the moment he decided to sleep and lay down, he was out in seconds.
But now he couldn't sleep. It was strange.
He was plenty tired, and the bed was decent enough.
There was no explaining it other than bizarre.
After pondering for a bit, Oliver got out of bed.
Then he headed downstairs.
To the basement beneath the warehouse.
The basement was much cleaner now than when Oliver had first arrived.
Well, he'd cleaned it, so that was only natural. And by the same token, it had a bit of a laboratory feel to it.
Compared to Gleep or Puppet's setups, it was child's play, but it had the bare minimum: an experiment table and tools, shelves, reagents and materials, books, and so on.
If Oliver kept taking fixer jobs, saving money and building connections, he might one day set up a lab to rival Gleep's or Puppet's.
It didn't seem like a pipe dream, at least.
Then he could practice black magic more comfortably, make multiple corpse puppets, and maybe even uncover the nature of that beautiful light and harness it.
A very, very nice and beautiful future.
To reach it, though, he'd need patience and diligence.
For now, he needed rest.
Then he could think about the next steps.
Rest a bit more, make a corpse puppet from the ordered bodies, or take on new jobs to earn money.
No problem at all. It'd even be fun and easy.
That was that.
With his thoughts sorted, Oliver closed the basement door and went back up to the second floor to bed.
And finally, a few minutes later, he got up again.
"Ah... This won't do."
"An unexpected guest. And at this late hour... What on earth is it?"
In the late wee hours, Cant asked as he rubbed his eyes, having been roused from sleep.
At his side stood sturdy men from the Poor Brothers, lanterns in hand, armed with shotguns, clubs, and pistols.
Oliver bowed his head politely in apology.
"I'm truly sorry for the late hour. There's something I need help with."
Cant calmed his tense subordinates and replied.
"It is a sorry thing. Even if you had business, you shouldn't have come straight here—you should have gone through someone. I told you, didn't I? The locals don't like outsiders showing up unannounced."
Oliver nodded and apologized again.
Cant stared at him wordlessly for a moment before speaking.
"...But if you went this far, there must be a reason. What is it?"
"I need some help."
"What kind?"
Cant asked, sensing the unusual air. Oliver answered.
"Do you happen to know a way into the contaminated zone?"
"Contaminated zone? You mean the one in Sector F?"
"Yes, that's right."
Cant started to ask something, then realized there were too many ears around and dismissed everyone.
"Is that alright?"
"It's fine. Don't worry about me."
He said that to a young beggar who seemed like the action leader, then led Oliver into his tent.
"You always manage to surprise me."
Oliver replied once inside the tent.
"I'm sorry."
"It's not that I mind... Have you slept at all? You look exhausted."
Oliver rubbed his sleepy eyes and answered.
"Yes, I'm fine. Just a restless night."
"Strange. In the short time we've known each other, I've never seen you toss and turn. You sleep like the dead. No snoring, no teeth grinding."
"I'm surprised too."
"...You want to know if I know a way into the contaminated zone?"
"Yes. I want to go in, but the surface is locked down tight by the city defense forces. I don't know the underground paths. Do you know an underground route to the contaminated zone, Mr. Cant?"
Cant didn't answer right away.
He stroked his chin, lost in thought.
"Hmm... I know of one."
"Could you guide me?"
"I could, but it's not easy. The underground paths are a maze, dangerous, and full of folks claiming their own territories."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, murders happen now and then. That's why we tread carefully down there, even though it's our Poor Brothers' turf and main routes."
"I can help, but not for nothing."
Oliver pulled out his glutton pouch.
"I don't have much on me right now. How much would it be?"
"Forget it. Put your wallet away. I've taken plenty from you already."
"Then...?"
Cant stroked his goatee.
"...Why do you want into the contaminated zone?"
"Something I need to check."
"You're dodging like it's not you. Tell me straight if you want my help."
At Cant's words, Oliver let out a small yawn and told the truth.
About the missing Rossburn and Martel.
Cant's expression and emotions darkened immediately, but his reaction wasn't much different from others.
"What's that got to do with the contaminated zone?"
"I want to check there. If Rossburn was really taken as a test subject."
"How?"
"The World Tree."
"World Tree?"
"Yes. Apparently there's some in the contaminated zone. I can check there."
"...I must be hearing things. World Tree? Sorry, Oliver... but only mages with mana can use it."
Instead of explaining, Oliver pulled a test tube from his pocket. The one storing his extracted mana.
"That's..."
Before Cant could finish, Oliver extracted the emotion.
"...So you were a regression case?"
"Yes, I only learned recently."
Oliver answered as he toyed with the mana in his hand. He was as adept with it now as with emotions.
Cant fell into thought, then spoke.
"There are World Trees all over, not just in the contaminated zone. Why there of all places?"
"To avoid tracking. Civilians aren't allowed to use them, right? Someone might show up the moment I connect."
"Ho... You've done your homework. But having mana doesn't mean you can use the World Tree. Didn't study that part?"
"No, I can use it."
"Look, I'm no expert, but—"
"—Don't worry, Mr. Cant. I can use it. I've used it before."
"........."
Cant stood there with his mouth agape like a fool, speechless.
He had a million questions—when, how, do you know the codeword?—but precisely because of that, he couldn't bring himself to ask.
Not that he didn't believe him.
In normal circumstances, he'd doubt it, but strangely, Cant believed every word.
Somehow, it felt like Oliver could pull it off.
It was an absurd notion, but Oliver's very existence was convincing.
"...Then all the more reason not to go."
"Why?"
"You're a rare case, Forest gave a warning, and now a kid close to you heads to Martel... Doesn't that strike you as odd?"
"...They took Rossburn to lure me in?"
"Not certain, but not impossible. Too much hassle to grab you first, so they try luring you out. And it works surprisingly well."
Oliver suddenly recalled that Cant had been a fixer in the past.
"Then what should I do?"
"Go home and get some sleep."
"What about Rossburn?"
"Pretend you don't know and forget it."
"...That's surprising. Mr. Forest said something similar."
"We've been together since we were green rookies. Did he teach you the city's rules?"
"He did. 'Don't buck the trend.'"
"Right. That's taboo here. Without a miracle, you won't escape death."
"It's weird hearing that from you, Mr. Cant."
"Not weird. I have some leeway, so I help where I can, but what you're trying... it's just pointless madness. Drop it. Go home pretending you know nothing. Who'd dare blame you?"
Oliver stared at Cant silently.
His emotions were genuine concern for Oliver.
After a long stare, Oliver spoke.
"...I'm grateful, but I'm not trying to save him to avoid blame."
"Then why? Is that kid special to you?"
Oliver shook his head.
He'd just helped when asked, and they'd promised to meet again later. That was all.
Nothing more, nothing less.
"Then what's the reason?"
"Nothing much. If I just pretend not to know, it'll pop into my head now and then—while eating, before bed, during research or study. That'd be... annoying, I guess."
Whether Oliver's words got through or not, Cant agonized for a long while before agreeing to help.
But not for free. He attached the condition that Oliver help him in the future if asked.
'So please, don't overdo it and die.'
Oliver agreed, and Cant led a small group of beggar comrades into the sewers.
The path to the contaminated zone was terribly long, even taking shortcuts.
"This is as far as we go. Furthest we can guide you."
Cant said, stopping.
"Keep straight from here, and you'll enter the contaminated zone."
Cant meant it.
Oliver focused his eyes upward to the surface. Countless emotions up there.
Seemed like city defense forces.
"Thank you, Mr. Cant."
"...Honestly, I wonder if this was the right call. I want to drag you back even now, but it pains me I lack the power."
"Thank you for indulging me."
"We must go now, elder. Been here too long."
One of the beggar comrades whispered to Cant.
"Alright... Hey, Dave."
"Yes, Mr. Cant."
"As a friend, I ask again. Please, no dangerous stunts."
"...Were you and I friends, Mr. Cant?"
"Well... I sincerely want to be your friend. Will you allow it?"
"...The honor is mine. Happiest words today. Sincerely."
Cant's eyes widened slightly at that, then he nodded and withdrew.
Once Cant vanished into the darkness, Oliver removed his current leather mask, swapped it for a new one, and moved on.
Fortunately, as Cant said, going straight led into the contaminated zone.
He'd entered a similar underground passage as when he'd faced Puppet before.
Oliver walked along the sewer for a good while.
Then he sensed a space that felt utterly alien to the rest.
Oliver focused his eyes, expanding his field of vision in all directions.
Further. Further. Further.
Eventually, he spotted something and approached a dead-end path.
Oliver pressed his extracted emotion against the wall.
The Black Light emotion slithered along the brick crevices, and like clockwork gears meshing, the bricks shifted to reveal a small secret space.
It was narrow and dark, but there was one peculiar thing.
A single, withered World Tree branch, shriveled to the point of near death.
The silver lining: it wasn't fully dead, so still usable.
Proof was the multicolored mana flowing through it like pipes.
Oliver stepped inside, closed the door the same way he'd opened it, and was alone in the darkness.
He extracted mana and emotion, then pressed them to the World Tree.
Pak—!
With a strong gust like snuffing a candle, Oliver connected to the World Tree's inner abyss world, the Root Net.
Smoother than that accidental first connection.
Oliver looked around.
A sky-less, ground-less void of pitch-black space like the night sky in every direction.
Only colorful mana streaked by like shooting stars.
Still wondrous, but the second visit made it feel a bit familiar.
Lucky. He could dig into Martel info for what happened to Rossburn, and if needed, pull building schematics to figure an escape.
Oliver reviewed his plan and was about to move. Ah... So tired.
"Life Research Lab Martel."
Oliver spoke, and mana flew from afar, bursting like fireworks before his eyes.
With it, countless codewords arrayed in the void. The sheer volume would be a slog to read.
'Gonna take time to go through it all? No... No. Filter with keywords to skip the junk and save time.'
Oliver rubbed between his eyes, recalling from the book.
As he raised his hand to gesture, an intense gaze hit him.
Déjà vu.
Like the first time connecting to the World Tree.
He turned toward the gaze, and sure enough, a massive eye made of swirling mana floated in the void.
[Who are you?]
[Who are you?]
[Who are you?!]
The eye was now right in his face, pressing with overwhelming intensity. Oliver could even feel its fierce will.
Oliver swung his hand at the gigantic eyeball.
Pop—!
The mana eye shattered like glass shards and vanished. Oliver rubbed between his eyes, then entered keywords into the Martel info to filter out the irrelevant data.
"Keyword... Experiment, test subject, Rossburn."