Chapter 152
Chapter 152
Ch. 152 .｡.:✧ Near Miss (1) ✧:.｡.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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The final battle was approaching. The day when I would kill all the Heavenly Kings, destroy all the dungeons, and face Draken was not far off.
Of course, the gap between Draken and me was still immense. Just entering the other world was enough to incapacitate me.
Even that was only possible thanks to my Mental Fortitude trait.
Anyone else would become a mindless drone or, like Transylvania, tremble at the mere mention of Draken’s name.
To increase my chances of winning, I had to draw him out of his home turf.
The Dimensional Converter, Longinus’s Spear. I would use it to drag Draken into the dimensional gap and fight him there.
I didn’t know when that battle would occur, so I had to complete Longinus’s Spear as soon as possible.
Only one part was missing. The navigator, which would control the dimensional coordinates.
Before heading out to find it…
“Oh dear…”
“It’s completely destroyed.”
We stopped by Clockwork City.
Cern and I picked the lock on the mansion door, and we were greeted by Linda, a gaping hole in her chest.
She had used her own hand to pierce her outer shell and crush her engine.
“Do you have any idea why Linda would do this?”
“What are you expecting? Just because I built her doesn’t mean I can read her mind. She’s practically human now. Don’t ask the creator; ask the crime scene.”
He was right.
Linda wouldn’t have a self-destruct function. She had chosen to shut herself down.
Cern wasn’t her father; asking him would be pointless.
“Perhaps there was a hacking attempt?”
“Nonsense. How can a clockwork doll be hacked? It’s a completely closed circuit. The only way to hack Linda is to directly tamper with her circuits…”
Cern froze mid-sentence as he examined Linda’s insides.
His eyes widened, and his voice trembled.
“Her circuits… are altered…”
“Someone intruded. Let’s collect footprints and fingerprints.”
“No… that’s not it. Someone else didn’t alter them. She… she did it herself.”
“What do you mean?”
“She used the fuel meant for the engine, her magical power, to alter her own circuits.”
This was a headache.
This had happened on the night when the ‘change’ affected all monsters worldwide. I had concluded that the phenomenon was returning monsters to their ‘normal’ state.
Monsters had become weaker, and Undecided had regained the blessing of forgetting. But why had Linda’s circuits been altered?
‘She was strong enough for Draken to offer her a position as a Heavenly King. It wouldn’t be strange for her to receive special treatment.’
Had Draken tried to take control of Linda, and she chose to shut herself down to resist? That seemed the most plausible explanation.
If she had failed…
“Haa…”
The thought was chilling.
Linda was currently my communication hub, relaying information from all over the world. If Draken had taken control of her, he could have manipulated the information, and I would have walked right into the Heavenly Kings’ traps, just like Belphegor had fallen for my and Jill’s trap.
It was a close call.
“Can you fix her?”
“Of course. I’ll have her repaired within a month.”
“That long?”
“I have to redesign her circuits to prevent magical power leakage. Just trust the expert.”
Linda’s repairs would take a while.
I wouldn’t have access to my communication network for at least a month… I needed a replacement.
“Cern, while you’re repairing her, could you collect the incoming mail and relay the information to me through the communicator?”
“You want me to play messenger boy? I’m not interested in eavesdropping on your love life with those women.”
“It’s not like that. It’s important.”
“Fine. But… hmm… the communicator is broken too. Tch.”
Cern examined Linda’s insides and clicked his tongue.
The communicator was broken too? My communication network was completely shut down.
“How long will it take to fix that?”
“About a month. Which do you want me to prioritize? The communicator or Linda?”
“Linda, please.”
Linda was the priority.
I needed to hear what had happened.
It was unsettling to be cut off from communication, but I couldn’t afford to stay in Clockwork City for a month, worrying about what might happen.
I had to keep moving.
“I’ll be back in a month.”
“Very well. But… your sister seems more cheerful than before.”
“…She’s not my sister… she’s my…”
Undecided, her arm linked with mine, made a V sign.
Her smile was still a little unnatural.
“Well, let’s just say we’ve improved our relationship. We’ve been through a lot.”
“That’s good to hear. Some people might judge you, but don’t mind them. She might look young, but she’s older than you, so there’s no problem. I’m rooting for you.”
“Um… thank you.”
“…Hmm?”
Cern patted my shoulder, a strange look on his face. I didn’t understand what he meant, but it seemed like a well-meaning comment, so I just thanked him.
Who would judge us?
I couldn’t understand it.
“And who is this?”
“Her? She’s like… a pet spider.”
“A… pet… spider…?”
Cern frowned at Nameless.
He seemed to find the term “pet spider” strange. But spiders were surprisingly intelligent, comparable to cats and dogs.
Of course, Nameless seemed to possess human-level intelligence, but…
“Look.”
“Woo…”
“She even makes sounds! A strange spider indeed.”
I stroked Nameless’s head with my pinky finger, and she melted into my hand, making cute noises.
I had found her creepy at first, but now I found her rather endearing.
I had been petting her so often that she now actively sought my touch.
“Hee hee…”
“My, my. Like a puppy…”
Nameless rolled around on my hand, making adorable sounds.
She even flipped onto her back, tickling my fingers with her eight legs, begging for more pets.
I gently poked her belly.
“Woo… mmm…”
A white, sticky substance oozed out of her spinnerets. It was spider silk.
“You can finally produce silk! I’m so proud of you!”
“Hee hee!”
Nameless puffed up her chest proudly.
I tossed her in the air playfully. So, all that straining and groaning had been her practicing to spin webs.
She was growing up, from a spiderling to an adult spider. I felt a sense of pride, even though I had only been raising her for a short time.
I offered her my silk-covered finger, and she scurried over and licked it clean.
Producing silk seemed to consume a lot of energy, so she reabsorbed it for nutrients.
Her instincts were working properly; she seemed to be a healthy specimen.
“Yes… she’s cute… but do people often tell you that you have… peculiar tastes?”
“No, not really.”
Cern looked at Nameless, then at Undecided, then back at me with a pitying look.
My tastes were perfectly normal.
I didn’t understand what he meant.
Since Linda and the communicator were broken, and I was cut off from communication, I decided to take advantage of the situation and visit a remote location.
My destination, the Saint Francesco Sea Fortress, located on a small, rocky island in the middle of the ocean. The island was too small and barren for self-sufficiency, and its harbor could only accommodate a few ships at a time.
The seemingly useless fortress was actually a research facility.
A stable, land-based structure was better than a swaying ship for observing and studying underwater life.
And more importantly, most of the researchers suffered from severe seasickness.
Of course, they wouldn’t have needed a fortress if they were studying harmless creatures, but their research subjects were dangerous, Sea Dragons, Sky Whales, and other such creatures.
If they let their guard down, the entire island could be wiped out by a Sea Dragon.
The final component for Longinus’s Spear, the navigator, was at the Saint Francesco Sea Fortress.
Well, not yet, but it would be there by the time I arrived.
“We’ll have to wait for the supply ship.”
We finally arrived in Liang, a bustling port city on the western coast of the Gallia Kingdom. Ships of all sizes came and went constantly.
Since Saint Francesco couldn’t sustain itself, it required regular supplies, and a supply ship traveled back and forth every two weeks.
The supply ship, after loading up with supplies, would stop at Liang for a day of rest before heading to Saint Francesco.
It was scheduled to arrive in two days.
Two days was more than enough time. Enough time to clear about ten dungeons in the area.
‘I haven’t had many opportunities to visit the Gallia Kingdom. I should clear out the black dungeons while I’m here.’
The black dungeons in the Holy Empire were practically depleted, but there were still several remaining in the Gallia Kingdom.
I couldn’t travel all over the country, since I had to leave in two days, so I decided to focus on the dungeons near Liang.
“Let’s start with this one.”
I chose the nearest dungeon. I wasn’t expecting any trouble. But the moment I stepped inside, a wave of icy air washed over me, and I knew something was wrong.
[The monsters in this dungeon have been empowered by Saintess Jill’s blessing.]
[The monsters in this dungeon have gained a weak poison effect due to Witch Yulia’s curse.]
[The temperature in this dungeon has decreased due to Frost Duchess Yerina’s resentment.]
This was very, very wrong.
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