Chapter 126
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 126
Chapter Title: Limbo (2)
Sure enough, the one I wanted to meet first here was the Covert Scales. This works out perfectly.
The more I see, the more intriguing you get.
The plains? That's a completely different spot from the one I told you about.
Mind if I ask how you found out in such a short time?
I can't tell you that.
If it's your unique ability, I understand.
Your path to transcendence was unusual from the start. Like the Tower of Intellect, you're the one I'm most curious about.
It would be nice to meet you someday.
I'll check him out first and let you know what kind of guy he is.
The Tower of Intellect's words about leaving a review of me made me briefly reconsider if it was really okay to show my face.
Of course, my decision didn't change. I just wouldn't describe my real appearance in minute detail.
Should I take it that you're all coming here to help me too?
You seemed confident you could handle it alone.
We can judge based on the situation, right?
The Covert Scales might be human, but if the Tower of Intellect comes anywhere near here, you'll face massive backlash.
That's not a problem.
You're the one overflowing with confidence.
Then let's see who's right.
I won't try to stop you anymore.
I need to prepare too.
As the conversation wrapped up, I left another message as '0'.
...Busy, so busy.
Apostle of the Forces of Evil, Asma.
He's the one behind this incident.
Apostle...?
So the Forces of Evil have beings called apostles too.
That was predictable ever since the great being, the archenemy of '0', formed his faction.
Does this mean an apostle versus apostle showdown?
Sounds fun.
In the past, just the thought of facing the Tower of Intellect in person would have felt like a huge burden.
A being of inaction like him could erase me from existence in an instant if he wanted to.
I would have seen revealing myself as a risk and immediately considered sending an avatar instead.
But as I said before, bonds had built up.
I had full confidence that the Tower of Intellect wouldn't kill me without reason.
That trust had accumulated enough.
Being overly cautious here and making a fuss would just be foolish.
I moved without hesitation.
After obtaining the Manaphone ID of Blazing Glory, I'd been heading to the Newverna Plains even while chatting with the others in the room.
I planned to arrive before the Tower of Intellect.
I figured doing some groundwork in advance would help with whatever came next.
Newverna Plains.
It was one of the last places I'd visited while wandering the entire continent.
I'd turned back here, unable to go further south.
Deeper south lay the volcanic region where I'd trained, but strictly speaking, there was quite a distance between them.
The moment I arrived at the plains, I deployed several portable scout avatars around the area.
I knew Blazing Glory had picked up the Manaphone here, but I didn't know the exact entrance to Limbo.
Of course, I wasn't searching blindly without clues; I meticulously adjusted the avatars' paths based on the hints I'd gathered so far.
Limbo was a space so harsh that, except for the special case of humans, even approaching it was difficult.
That meant it couldn't exist in ordinary terrain anyone could pass through.
Moreover, the southern desert the Benevolent Crown mentioned—likely the old entrance.
I was certain there was a rift leading to Limbo somewhere between there and the Newverna Plains.
The scouting range naturally narrowed to that section.
The meeting with the Tower of Intellect was set for the day after I arrived at the plains.
I could have come sooner, but with the Forces of Evil potentially stirring up trouble at any moment, I couldn't delay further.
And unexpectedly, I found the suspected entrance to Limbo fairly quickly.
I hadn't located the direct entrance, but while sending out scout avatars for a day and reviewing their records one by one, something oddly off caught my eye.
The avatars were returning from strange places.
Tracing their paths, they'd deviate from the straight routes I'd clearly assigned and reappear from random directions at some point.
There were no noticeable anomalies in between. It was as if perception itself had been distorted.
Some kind of illusion?
If I'd walked there myself, I might not have noticed. The distortion was so natural yet uncanny.
I wanted to investigate deeper, but it was almost time to meet the Tower of Intellect.
For now, I had to settle for pinpointing the suspicious spot.
I waited for the Tower of Intellect in the middle of the Newverna Plains.
Of course, my outward appearance was Cedric's.
I'd decided from the start to stick with the Cedric concept when entering the chat as Anonymous 4.
Someday—though I didn't know when—Roselin would learn that the Covert Scales was Cedric.
But there was no discrepancy between the two personas. They were all one consistent concept.
She'd be surprised, but there was nothing disappointing about it.
As I was thinking that, an unfamiliar voice suddenly spoke up.
"Oh ho, so you're the one."
A mid-low voice.
Sensing it was the Tower of Intellect, I turned to see a man whose black wings behind him vanished in an instant.
The most striking feature was the long tail extending from his back.
He'd hidden the wings but apparently saw no need to conceal the tail.
At the thick tip of the tail, the Manaphone was coiled around it.
...Does he carry it like that all the time?
Suddenly, it made sense why he'd reacted so quickly until now.
With the Manaphone attached like that, he'd feel the vibration the moment a message arrived.
He approached me and said,
"Your epithet makes sense with that appearance."
Cedric's form was shrouded entirely in jet black, with no skin exposed.
As he said, it fit the name Covert Scales perfectly.
In contrast, the Tower of Intellect had long gray hair and was strikingly handsome. This humanoid form was probably polymorphed, so not his true appearance...
"Not much of a talker in person either, huh?"
True to his impatient nature, he couldn't even wait while I sized him up.
"I need time to look you over too."
"What are two guys even looking at each other for."
"...True. We're not here to chat."
"And you're all covered up— that's cheating, isn't it?"
"You're polymorphed too."
"Oh, right."
For a brief moment, a flicker of light shimmered in his pitch-black eyes.
And then came an immense... pressure.
Suddenly, my entire vision twisted. The surrounding space seemed to warp all at once, unnaturally so.
My breath caught.
"Hup...!"
Pressure? Could it even be called that?
If anything, it was like the entire world tilting toward me.
Or like suddenly plummeting into a black hole.
My vision faded, and a ringing hum filled my ears.
Then, in the center of the black hole I'd fallen into, an illusion hit me: a single massive eye filling my entire view, scrutinizing me.
In one instant, it all vanished cleanly, as if it had been mere hallucination.
My restored vision showed the ordinary plains and the Tower of Intellect with a faint smile.
"Hah... hah..."
As I gasped for air, he picked at his ear and said,
"Ah, sorry about that."
His tone showed zero remorse.
"Just wanted to flex a bit."
"I... already know... your power is plenty."
"Tch, takes the fun out of it then."
Was showing off really his goal...?
I'd thought mentioning polymorph might prompt him to reveal his true form.
Or... did he know I couldn't handle it and make excuses?
Did just seeing his true form exert this kind of pressure?
"Anyway, shouldn't we hurry? Seems like we're pretty late."
"Not that late yet."
"Oh? Got some reason to be so sure?"
If something had happened, Blazing Glory would have alerted us.
There were no changes around the suspected Limbo entrance yet either.
Instead of explaining at length, I figured showing him directly would be better.
"To be clear, I haven't found the exact entrance location."
"Yeah?"
"But I have a suspect spot."
He grinned widely and nodded.
"That's as good as finding it. Lead the way."