Chapter 88
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Stele of the Oracle
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I had really captured a Dragon Rank Transcendent.
It had only been possible because of a perfectly designed trap.
If I hadn't been able to lure him into this space that I had so meticulously crafted for myself, there was no way I could have caught a Dragon Rank Transcendent...
No.
Now I fully understood the power of the trap I had created. Even a Dragon Rank Transcendent could suffer a fatal wound if caught off guard without knowing its structure or activation method.
I realized that if I could throw out unpredictable elements to sow confusion and buy time, then even now—before I had fully mastered all 7th Circle magic—I could handle Dragon Rank Transcendents with ease.
I had said I couldn't create a clone as lifelike as a human, but I figured out that it was possible by utilizing the natural mana within a 1-meter radius, which led me to this method.
Showing him ten Moonlight Afterimage Transcendents. And planting a bomb trap within them.
Zmoll already knew those ten, so he didn't show much wariness. His expression still held some unease, but if they had been strangers, he wouldn't have even approached.
In the end, I succeeded in capturing him.
And the first thing I brought up was Ad. If I had started by pretending not to know from the beginning, it would have taken a long, drawn-out exchange of questions and answers to even reach Ad.
After that, to extract information, I deliberately left him with the hope of survival. It was the exact same method I had used on the jackal.
That I had a task for him, and until then, I would keep him alive.
Of course, there was no such task. Once he spilled everything he knew, death was all that awaited at the end.
Zmoll was a Dragon Rank Transcendent. With the board set up like this, I could take him down easily.
But Ad was on another level. Even Esteemed Rank Transcendents followed his orders.
At minimum, he was of equal rank or higher.
I couldn't leave even a single seed of hope with someone like that.
'He already seems to have lost his mind, though.'
Zmoll's face looked utterly vacant.
I had planned to tell him that Ad had abandoned him and that I intended to take him in... but I wasn't sure if the words would even register.
Zmoll’s pupils trembled with unease, as if struck by an earthquake.
"You... you..."
Were there too many things he wanted to ask? He opened his mouth several times only to swallow his words.
I understood his confusion.
It wasn't a situation that could be sorted out all at once.
From freely changing my appearance, to unleashing powerful magic one after another. And then all sorts of other spells kept coming out.
That I could mimic Zmoll's magic so easily. And that I already knew about Ad.
It wasn't unreasonable for him to stammer like a child, spitting out only vague words.
Well, I had no reason to explain everything to him.
"You... are you really Probe Rank?"
He finally calmed down enough to ask what he most wanted to know.
I answered flatly.
"Yes."
"If you're Probe Rank... then how do you know about Ad?"
"I have no reason to explain that far, but I'll tell you this: he has abandoned you. The faction he belongs to has been completely driven out of the North."
"..."
"Do you know they were planning to establish and take control of their forces in the North?"
"...I didn't know."
He really had been abandoned. He didn't even seem to know about the faction called the Moonshadow Assembly.
Of course, he might not have been completely discarded. After being chased out of the North, they probably no longer had the capacity to worry about him.
The mission entrusted to the Moonlight Afterimage was one that was supposed to take quite a long time anyway.
It wasn't entirely good news for me either. The fainter the connection, the less information he knew.
I decided to change my strategy a bit.
Instead of pressuring him solely with the hope of survival, I would offer him the information he wanted in exchange.
Zmoll's confusion was gradually subsiding. And what newly rose in his eyes was regret.
"The elves came out in front and successfully ambushed them first, and after that, they vanished without a trace from the North."
"...So that's what happened."
With a deflated response, his body went limp.
Lying on the ground captured like that, he stared blankly at the sky.
Then, he suddenly murmured quietly.
"I'm not particularly well-traveled despite becoming a Transcendent late in life, but you're the first Transcendent like you I've ever seen."
"..."
"This... this... Honestly, I think it defies the natural order of the world. I can't even gauge where it all started unraveling... If you're really Probe Rank, shouldn't you raise your realm as quickly as possible? The higher your realm, the fewer opponents in the world who could stand against you."
I didn't agree with that. He seemed ignorant about the Great Beings as well. Well, aside from 'That One' from the forces of evil, it was questionable if any Great Beings had even appeared in this world.
As I listened silently without responding, Zmoll—who had been gazing into the void—slightly turned his head to look at me.
A bitter smile crossed his face.
"Feels like who's worrying about whom, doesn't it?"
Hearing that, I realized he had completely given up.
"I wanted to live a long life. Since I became a Transcendent later than others, I thought I had to climb faster. But my talent stopped at Dragon Rank. I realized no matter how much I struggled, I couldn't reach beyond that. So I became more obsessive... Grabbing Ad's hand was for that reason too. He said he would help me leap to another realm."
Another realm...
Something similar was written in Philip Deran's diary.
That he would lead him to a new magic system.
...The system of Creation?
No, absolutely not. It was far removed from antagonizing the Hero.
If not that, then it must be some entirely new system different from his. That fact was increasingly solidifying into certainty.
'I can't exactly eat the essence of evil to check... No.'
Within the range of natural mana I could manipulate, manifesting something truly human-like was possible, so there was a way to test the reaction without directly consuming the essence of evil.
The problem was that I didn't have the essence itself.
The essence of evil I had was attached to Philip Deran's clone and died to Ad.
It should have fallen somewhere near Evanveil...
Now that was elf territory.
Naturally, members of the chat room came to mind.
While I had been stirring up all sorts of trouble as Cedric, a lot had happened in the chat room too.
First, Anonymous (2).
As negotiations over the blood pact dragged on, the elves began properly managing the lands they had seized.
The territory had grown too vast for the tribal chief to rule alone, so various elders were assigned to different regions.
In that process, Anonymous (2) was rewarded with a plot of land for rallying the elves in advance.
That land was Evanveil.
If Ad hadn't recovered the fallen essence of evil there, Anonymous (2) would have it.
'Did Ad recover it?'
The essence of evil was originally meant to be consumed. Unless there had been suspicions about Philip's clone from the start, there would be no reason to recover it.
In that case, it could give some indication of whether Ad knew the clone's true identity.
'I can just ask as Anonymous (4).'
If it was in Anonymous (2)'s hands, I'd have to pay a price to get it.
On the other hand, Anonymous (1) was scouring everywhere to find the Stele of the Oracle, and Anonymous (3) was as quiet as ever. It was about time for him to have fully mastered Havdelier.
'It's about time for me to return to my true self too.'
I'd been Cedric for far too long.
While I was lost in those thoughts for a moment, Zmoll murmured hollowly.
"So I haven't been completely abandoned."
He seemed to have pieced together his own situation during that time.
As he said, he probably hadn't been fully discarded. If Ad's situation improved, he might come looking for Zmoll again someday.
But Zmoll had failed his mission. Even if Ad returned, he couldn't face him with confidence.
His hollow, self-mocking tone already revealed his state of mind.
He seemed to think that knowing that changed nothing.
"What do you want me to do? Tell me."
Zmoll's connection to Ad was faint, so he didn't know much.
Most of it just confirmed things I had already suspected.
It was Ad who had said handing over the Hero's item was the natural order. The true entity behind those words was probably 'That One' above Ad.
The timing when Zmoll put the Hero's item up for auction was right when the Moonshadow Assembly was beginning to discuss taking over the North.
They had tasked him with eliminating the Hero's bud 10 years ago, and now they ordered him to hand over the Hero's item and find them—while invoking the natural order.
The plan had changed. And after that, hadn't other drastic plans risen to the surface?
When I attended the regular assembly as Philip Deran's clone, they were ready to execute their plans at any moment.
If I hadn't stirred up chaos, all the plans would have been carried out in one fell swoop.
And they would have come out fully into the open.
Completely seize the North, and then eliminate the Hero.
Eliminate... which would mean the Hero who was supposed to form the blood pact would disappear...
'No.'
Ad had given him the essence of evil along with instructions to hand over the Hero together if found.
Wasn't the intention to corrupt the Hero with evil?
If so, why had they changed plans?
Of course, corrupting the Hero and bringing them to their side would be far more valuable than simply eliminating them.
But why had they gone from simply trying to eliminate without such a plan before, only to change now?
'Hmm... One last piece is missing.'
The intentions of Ad's faction.
I now knew almost everything, but one final puzzle piece was lacking.
In any case, it was truly fortunate that this had happened before Rozelin was revealed as the Hero.
If they had found out, then after bringing Rozelin into the chat room, the other members would have gotten entangled too.
Right now, I had no desire whatsoever to clash head-on with Ad's faction.
'The anonymous members all seem strong, but...'
From the circumstances so far, the being they called 'That One' was no ordinary existence. I speculated it was an absolute entity that had ascended to the ranks of the Great Beings.
Zmoll had no choice but to die. That was the conclusion fated for him.
And Zmoll knew it too. From the moment he realized Ad hadn't completely abandoned him.
That very realization was why I couldn't let him live.
I tidied up everything and exited the forest.
Now, it was time to report the situation to Rozelin...
Of course, that report wouldn't include the full truth.
After that, it was time to return as Ivan.
I had already revealed at the Academy that I was 7th Circle, after all.
There would be plenty of people looking for me.
I hadn't even replied to my family's letters.
Go back, sort out the situation...
'And I need to start training too.'
I had to achieve magical integration, and research pattern differentiation traps. Having used trap magic this time, I realized how effective it was and planned to develop it into my own technique properly.
Just then, the manaphone hanging at my waist vibrated.
These days, everyone was busy with their own tasks...
I picked up the manaphone and checked the message.
It was from Anonymous (1).
Found the Stele of the Oracle.