Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Linian's Secret
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Linian, the enigmatic informant who deals in the highest-grade secrets as a hidden NPC in Libertà.
Even the residents of Libertà barely know of her existence, but if you pay the appropriate price, she'll reveal nearly every hidden element in Holy Warrior Brayden NX.
The catch is that her "price" is entirely up to her whim. Sometimes she demands an absurd amount of wealth that defies reason, other times a contest of skill against her, and occasionally she'll just kill you without a word.
This unpredictable NPC's existence became widely known through a few players, but her utterly capricious behavior—driven by logic no one could fathom—earned her a torrent of abuse.
Even when players met the exact same conditions, she'd sometimes kill them on sight without warning. That's why Linian was one of the most reviled NPCs in the game, and plenty of players quit in frustration over her insane antics.
Infamous as a rage-quit inducer, she's an unhinged NPC I could never fully figure out myself.
And her true identity? She was a dragon—one of the Ancient Races, the most powerful beings in this world.
She always appeared in human form, never once revealing her true self in the game, no matter the circumstances.
Getting information out of Linian was a massive gamble, but there was one consistent trait: if you demonstrated a "skill satisfactory to her standards," she'd at least be amicable.
And thanks to the Eye that Pierces Truth, I learned a new fact about her that even the game couldn't reveal...
'Lost the way to return to her original form? So that's why she never once transformed into a dragon, even after her identity as the Blue Dragon came to light.'
It was the moment one lingering question was finally answered.
Linian, whether she knew I'd uncovered her secret or not, gazed at me with a curious smile.
"So, what brought you crawling all the way here? Tell me what someone skilled enough to pass this great astrologer Linian's test might be curious about. I'll hear you out."
"If I showed you an object destroyed by some magic or curse, could you tell whose handiwork it was?"
"Not the exact identity, but at least what kind of power they wield."
"Then take a look at this."
I pulled out the shattered barrier stone I'd taken from the mid-slope of the Fresia Mountains.
Even though it was destroyed, Linian recognized it the moment she saw it.
"A barrier stone from the mid-layers of Fresia Mountains. Come to think of it, I've heard gargoyles have been multiplying abnormally there for the past few weeks. What, you want me to fix it?"
"No. The issue there is already resolved, so the stone isn't urgent. What I'm curious about is the identity of whoever broke it."
"Ho, you're awfully sure someone deliberately smashed it?"
"If you've got the skill to satisfy you first, you can figure that much out."
Linian burst into laughter at my words.
"Pfft... Hahaha! What a cheeky bastard. Do you even know who I am to act like this? Fine, hand it over. Since you've shown some decent skill, I'll humor you."
Linian took the shattered barrier stone and focused her mind briefly. Soon, a faint black aura rose from it.
It was almost identical to the black aura that had emanated from the King Goblin's corpse when Ravi and I explored the goblin cave before.
Ravi, remembering it too, glanced at me with wide eyes.
And as Linian appraised the item, her expression soured in real time until she whipped her gaze toward me with a furious scowl.
"You... where did you get this... No, who the hell did this?! You said you know who did it! Where did they go?! Tell me!!!"
Linian, uncharacteristically losing her composure, grabbed my collar with bloodshot eyes.
Stunned by how different she was from the game, I kept my cool and maintained my attitude.
"Calm down first. Is it fitting for the great astrologer Linian to lose her dignity like this?"
Realizing she'd grabbed my collar, Linian panted heavily, reined in her excitement, and let go.
"I'll say this upfront: I don't know who they are, when they destroyed this barrier stone, or where they went. All I know is that some unidentified group destroyed it and vanished via teleportation."
Linian, still seething, spat out her words like they were poison.
"The traces of mana on this barrier stone... it's certain. Those bastards are the Underground Vermin."
"Underground Vermin?"
The name I'd just learned from her ability.
The ones who'd set the trap keeping her from regaining her draconic form.
"I don't know exactly what they do. But one thing's for sure—they're vermin skulking in the shadows of this world, trying to twist it to their whims. I gave them that name myself. Fits their filthy deeds perfectly."
"If the Underground Vermin destroyed this barrier stone, then the recent gargoyle surge in Fresia Mountains was their doing too. But that's odd."
"Odd how?"
"They like to toy with the world on their terms, but they don't favor crude chaos like this. They need some order in place to manipulate things from the shadows. And above all, it's even stranger that you're still alive."
"Me? Why me?"
"You're asking like you don't know? You're a Holy Warrior, the goddess's apostle."
Linian pointed at me with a look that said she'd heard every ridiculous thing under the sun.
Her words left me so baffled I forgot what to say, just blinking at her before catching up.
"Holy Warrior? What Holy Warrior? I never even went through an investiture ceremony."
Ravi and Elfin chimed in from the side.
"Alvis... a Holy Warrior? That's a bit..."
"Pfft... Puhaha! I thought you had some amazing power, but turns out you're just a con artist! Alvis, a Holy Warrior? Hey, fortune-teller. If you're gonna scam, at least make it believable. She wasn't even at the investiture, and skill-wise she's way below Brayden. How could she be a Holy Warrior?"
Elfin's mockery made veins bulge on Linian's forehead.
"You damn primitive pointy-eared bitch, how dare you spout such insolence! You're not even worthy to utter trash like that!"
Linian hit Elfin's two biggest sore spots at once—elves hated being called primitives or pointy-ears. Elfin's laughter cut off as her eyes bulged and she shot to her feet.
"Pri... primitive...? Pointy-ears...? You crazy bitch, there's shit you can say and shit you can't! Hey, say that again."
Tragically oblivious to Linian's true nature, Elfin was shoving her head into the tiger's mouth.
With things about to escalate to Linian actually killing her, I stepped between Elfin and the mana-coalescing Linian, soothing her.
"Liniaras."
At her true name, Linian froze in shock.
"What did you just say?"
"Wouldn't the Daughter of the Three Twinkling Stars show mercy just this once? She didn't know."
"!!!"
Called by her proudest epithet, the mana surging from Linian's body vanished instantly.
Elfin halted too, breaking into a cold sweat.
Any elf with history would know of the Ancient Races, even if they'd never seen one.
"D-Daughter of the Three Twinkling Stars...? Th-that's the Ancient Race... the dragon from elven legends...? H-how do you know that...?"
"Because the fortune-teller right here in front of us is the Daughter of the Three Twinkling Stars."
"I've lived thousands of years, but I never imagined I'd hear 'hey' and 'you' from a tree-trunk-eared brat, let alone 'crazy bitch.' Live long enough, you see everything. Right, pointy-ears? Don't believe me? Want me to project visions of your kind's lives five generations back, right here?"
Linian snapped her fingers, and the surroundings shifted dramatically.
A much smaller Arborness sacred tree surrounded by elves slowly building a village. And around it, a colossal Blue Dragon bestowed star blessings upon the tree.
Elves bowed before the dragon, carving murals of the moment into the wood. Then the brief vision ended.
"Uh, uh, uh..."
Elfin trembled like a leaf in shock.
"Your descendants live in an ever-verdant tree rooted in the richest soil thanks to my blessing, and you dare crawl up here? That mural you just saw—is it on one side of Arborness's sacred tree or not? Still don't believe me? Want me to rip out your guts and spread them here? How many seconds till you believe?"
Tears streaming, Elfin prostrated herself flat.
"I-I deserve death! I-I failed to recognize your exalted self and spoke out of turn...! P-please, spare my life!"
Meanwhile, Ravi—the bunnykin with instinctive terror of Ancient Races—shook in fear and prostrated beside her.
"G-Greetings, great one! I-I didn't say anything! Please don't think ill of me!"
Linian glanced down at the quivering pair and turned to me.
"You... how much do you know?"
"Probably everything?"
"...Figures. I sensed that intriguing power embedded in you the moment you arrived."
Linian grinned and pointed at me.
"You're definitely the goddess's chosen Holy Warrior."
"Dunno about that. I'm no Holy Warrior."
"Deny it all you want, but that light inside you proves otherwise."
"This?"
I activated Light Saber and displayed it before her eyes.
Linian watched with interest, but to me, it was just absurd nonsense.
"This is just a trick. It's light, sure, but it has nothing to do with the goddess's light. For starters, something tied to the goddess wouldn't just be rolling around some dungeon floor. The one chosen by the goddess through investiture is someone else."
"Hm? You really believe that?"
"?"
Linian eyed me briefly, shrugged, and smirked.
"Well, you'll learn best by feeling it yourself. For now, do as you please. With that in you, the Underground Vermin will come sniffing around on their own."
BOOM!
At that moment, the small underground room shook faintly.
A loud noise echoed from outside, followed by mass footsteps and shouts as crowds rushed somewhere.
"Did those Underground Vermin already track us down?"
"No, I'd know first if they had. Let me check..."
Linian closed her eyes to listen, then Ravi and Elfin murmured upon hearing something too.
"Fall back...?"
"Some noble house? Purification operation? Get lost?"
"Ah, that again."
Linian smirked and gestured for us to go out.
"Lately, some clueless noble idiot's been stirring up a 'purification operation' in Libertà, pissing off all the outlaws here. Perfect timing. Hey, you—Alvis, right? Why don't you go handle it? Raise your name as the goddess's Holy Warrior."
"What? Why would I stick my neck into this hellhole city's mess? And if kingdom nobles are involved, it's not something I can just butt into—"
THUD—
This is such bullshit.