Chapter 54
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Gale (1)
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Venden Kradil!
This was the third playable character he'd met since arriving in this world.
His epithet on the character selection screen was [Explorer].
He had achieved numerous glorious feats befitting that name, but among the playable characters, he met one of the most horrific ends.
'The original is surprisingly neat and tidy. He hasn't been cursed yet, I suppose.'
That was why Bran hadn't recognized him at first glance.
The appearances of playable characters residing in the Hall of Heroes reflected their state at the moment of their demise.
Venden's face, covered in dozens of curses when he died, was a far cry from his current one.
In a very, very bad way.
Still, Bran had recognized him thanks to his distinctive cheekiness and self-centered pace.
"This is quite the fun lineup. Two young humans and a dragonblood! A bit embarrassing for someone who calls himself an explorer, but this is actually my first time seeing a dragonblood in my life. What great lineage do you carry? Fire Dragon? Thunder Dragon? Or perhaps Storm Dragon lineage?"
Venden plopped down next to Bran without asking and kept his tongue wagging nonstop.
Ilrak let out a sigh as she spoke.
"...Fire Dragon."
"I knew it! The red fire dragon is the dragon among dragons, the incarnation of violent, greedy death! I'd love to record it, if you don't mind—could I just touch that beautiful tail once?"
"Try it if you want your wrist chopped off."
Ilrak growled.
Venden froze as her pupils narrowed like a reptile's.
Shk!
He yanked his hand back in a panic and knelt on his seat.
"S-sorry. I'll give you all my money, so please forgive me..."
"Damn. It's not that big a deal."
"No, I was rude. I'll stay like this until you forgive me."
"Ah."
Ilrak squeezed her eyes shut.
Even she, the most cheerful in their party, was completely deflated.
Leaning forward, Ilrak whispered in Bran's ear.
"Bran. Are you really going with this dwarf?"
"He's a good guy despite the chatter."
"Hm. If you say so, then maybe..."
Ilrak narrowed her eyes.
His manners were cheeky, but he didn't seem like a bad fellow.
Compared to the average dwarf, he was exceptionally fine.
She said,
"Haa... Fine, you're forgiven. Get up, please."
"Th-thank you! Truly grateful! But what if you wore gloves? If it's unpleasant touching with bare hands, that could be a good solution..."
Ilrak smiled.
If Bran hadn't mouthed 'endure it,' her fist might have flown out spontaneously.
That damned dwarf's head would have exploded like a watermelon, and the train would be drenched in blood.
Phew. Thinking that way eased her mind a bit.
Just as Venden sensed the killing intent again and prepared to kneel once more,
"Ugh... Where... is this...?"
"Oh, you're awake, Kael!"
"Wh-who are you?"
Kael shrugged his shoulders.
Anyone would react like that waking up from a faint to find a shaggy dwarf sitting opposite them.
Hop!
Venden jumped down from his chair and extended a hand callused thickly.
"Venden Kradil! I heard the gist from your friends, but let's shake on it. Nice to meet you."
"Uh, um... Nice to meet you?"
"And you're human after all! I thought you were a doll at first, seeing you asleep. Heh heh, even the finest deluxe items collected by central nobles wouldn't have such delicate facial sculpting!"
"D-doll?"
Kael shook hands with Venden, bewildered but going along.
He was talkative but fundamentally good-hearted, so they'd get along quickly.
Now he'd greeted all three.
Confirming no alert window appeared, Bran shrugged.
'So even this doesn't trigger the Weed Pack.'
He'd wondered if it might automatically accept him into the group.
Of course, it shouldn't now.
The condition for forming a pack was strong bonds.
Lucky, in a way.
Venden was capable, but the members needed for the next extinction run were set.
Bran, who had been gazing out the window, turned back to Venden.
"So. Mr. Venden's goal is to steal the relic left by the king?"
"Ahem, I'd prefer 'excavate' if possible."
The paused conversation resumed.
They were exchanging reasons for coming to the Kargai Plateau.
"But I won't deny it outright. I am after the king's relic."
Venden pointed to Bran's fairy tale book.
"You read my book, so you know. The tale of the great king who ruled the Land of Wind."
The cursed plateau.
Unrequested, a large sign was emblazoned on the cover.
"That's not a fairy tale—it's history. Information I dug up from countless books and ancient documents. The king lives on, roaming the Kargai Plateau."
It was true.
"So I believe his treasures exist too. A legendary bow wielding immense power, or an orb summoning winds. Without such things, holding out for years against the overwhelming empire makes no sense."
"Wasn't in the fairy tale."
"I omitted them on purpose. Didn't want dreamers wandering into Kargai."
"Aha."
A decent dwarf indeed.
Anyway, most of it was true.
"But I'm not after the king's relics for mere wealth or fame. Though those are nice bonuses."
"Then what do you want?"
"Knowledge!"
Thud. Venden slammed the book shut.
The playfulness had long vanished from his face.
"I seek history and truth. Not just the king's relics, but every trace in Kargai laid bare. Like birds soaring the skies or fish slicing currents—it's what I was born to pursue."
"Looking for clues to lift the curse on the plateau."
"Ha ha, sharp as a tack. Spot on."
Venden laughed.
"You're right. My ultimate goal is the curse's end. Once lifted, everything I want comes true. The souls of the people captured by the wicked king, suffering even in death, will find peace."
This differed from the truth.
"And the clue lies in the king's items. Near certainty—my instincts in this never fail. Might even get info on the cursing ritual."
"Hope it goes well."
"Thanks. I've prowled that haunted land over ten times; something's due. Feeling good this time."
A statement revealing why his epithet was Explorer.
Visiting Kargai over ten times and surviving unscathed.
A novice adventurer wouldn't last a step in.
Venden stroked his beard.
"Ahem, sorry for monopolizing the talk. Why are you heading to Kargai?"
"A friend lives there."
Bran answered flatly.
Venden let out an incredulous chuckle.
"Nonsense. No one lives on the plateau."
Instead of replying, Bran gave a meaningful smile.
The friend he was meeting undoubtedly resided on the Kargai Plateau.
As Venden opened his mouth to say more,
Screeech...!
The train halted with a metallic grind.
It was early dawn tinged blue, like when leaving Valkeros.
Outside stretched an empty station platform.
"We're here. Everyone off."
"...Tch! Already?"
Ilrak wiped her mouth with her sleeve and stood.
The cryptic talk between the two had lullaby potency rivaling Freida's childhood songs.
Kael peered outside, face pale.
"B-Bran... This place feels weird."
"Makes sense. It's haunted."
His high divine power made him sensitive to spirits, it seemed.
Bran patted his head.
"Don't freak, Kael. Kargai's your stage. Which god watches over you?"
"......Lady Raweina."
"Right. What kind of goddess is Raweina? Goddess of Morning. What power can grass-munching ghosts wield before her radiant light?"
Not wrong.
Suddenly, a message floated before Bran's eyes.
The Goddess of Morning Raweina shows faint interest in you.
She sure loves praise.
I thought she'd forgotten me entirely, but she's still watching.
Suddenly, Kael clenched his fist.
"Y-yeah. You're right, Bran...!"
"Oh."
"That's my mission. I'll do it, okay."
Seeing Kael burn with uncharacteristic zeal was commendable.
Soon, the group disembarked.
Whooooosh-!
A gale incomparable to Valkeros's battered them.
"Kah... This wind never gets easier...!"
"Feels refreshing. What's wrong?"
"Ha ha! Moving makes it bearable?!"
Bran and Ilrak quite liked the weather.
The stuffiness from two days immobile vanished instantly.
Maybe the thick yin energy made it feel cooler.
"How about it, Kael? Nice, right?"
"Y-yeah!"
Kael nodded.
He was freezing enough to want to wrap his cloak tight, but couldn't after his earlier bravado.
Get it together, Kael! Get it together!
Muttering inwardly, he moved to follow—then,
"Huh?"
His gaze landed on the opposite platform across the tracks.
A woman in white uniform waved with a smile.
Tall stature and attire suggested Habelga station staff.
Kael waved back in greeting and tugged Bran's sleeve.
"Bran. Even this station has staff."
"Staff?"
Bran raised a brow.
"Habelga and the previous one closed ages ago. Just a formal stop. No staff."
"Huh? But clearly over there..."
Kael turned—and froze.
The uniformed woman had vanished without a trace.
No footsteps either.
Only a tall signpost stood where she'd been.
Creeeak.
Creeeak.
Swaying left and right like a greeting, creaking in the wind.
Kael clutched his forehead, staggering.
"...Ahh."
"Varied visions."
Another apparition.
Due to high divine power—good or bad?
"Time to move! No curse until crossing the plateau boundary, but it's a grim land; no lingering."
"Sure. Let's go."
"First time, so I'll lead to the boundary. Where's your friend?"
"Anywhere we go."
"Hm?"
Venden tilted his head.
Sounded odd, but it was fact.
The wolf-like wanderer pursued both living and dead across the plateau.
Besides, Bran was quite interested in the king's relic Venden sought.
"So go wherever. I'll stick till we find the king's tent."
No fixed strategy for the king's tent.
The vast plateau and its constant 24/7 movement made it so.
Best way: Travel with insightful characters like Venden.
"Mercy no!"
"Why?"
"You say that not knowing Kargai's dangers. Nightmares in my book are but a fraction! I sneak alone; you'd die for sure!"
Venden was serious.
Sensible advice.
Kargai brimmed with ominous variables.
In-game, unless mental fortitude excelled or special characters owned, exceeding recommended level was norm.
"Fine. Not planning to sneak."
"What?"
"Wouldn't have come if sneaking all the way."
But they had both.
Crouching, Bran turned to Kael.
"Let's go."
"Yeah. Knew it'd be like this."
Kael sighed deeply, climbing onto Bran's back.
Better than being slung over.
Venden's face twisted in shock.
"Wh-what are you doing?"
"Wasted too much time. Ilrak. If you would."
"Keh heh heh, glad to. Let's roll."
Ilrak hoisted Venden effortlessly onto her shoulder.
"Heok!?"
Venden yelped in horror.
No time to protest the indignity.
Boom!
Leaping from the station once, Bran and Ilrak dashed toward the plateau.
"Kaaaaah!"
Venden's scream echoed across the fields.
Unlike the flailing fish-out-of-water Venden, Kael clung stably to Bran's nape, head low.
'This is experience gap.'
A three-day trek at Venden's pace shrank to mere hours.
As the dim sky brightened, Kargai Plateau's boundary appeared.
"D-don't cross there!"
Spotting the fence of beast bones and ropes, Venden screamed.
Beyond: cursed land.
Teeming wraiths, ghost warriors popping out—a demonic realm.
But Bran and Ilrak didn't stop.
Boom!
Hopping the boundary into the plateau—
"Shaaaa!"
"Ooh... O. Ooooh...!"
Black shapes erupted, tearing short-grass earth.
Flowing gaseous yet human-like.
Kargai Plateau's evil spirits.
Souls bound in torment till curse lifted.
Venden gasped.
"Hic."
Ancient Kargai folk or wronged travelers—unknown.
Only mattered: they hated the living.
As spirits overtook Bran and Ilrak effortlessly to attack—
Fwaaaaah!
Radiant light burst from Kael's staff.
Gentle, bright as morning sun over ridges.
Light swelled into a sphere.
The Serene Light of Morning blesses you!
The alert flashed before Bran's eyes.
Morning's Blessing's vitality spread through his body.
But today's blessing wasn't mere buff.
Fwooom!
Evil spirits touching the light shredded like explosions.
"What."
Venden's eyes widened.
Lethal contrast to the coziness.
Raweina's light decomposed all contacting spirits.
"...Wow."
Kael was stunned too.
Wide-eyed, he watched spirits perish in the morning light.
Surging at every step, none pierced the light barrier.
Bran grinned.
"Told you not to freak."