Chapter 127
Chapter 127
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: Possessed in a Mod-Heavy Game
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After the World Devourer departed, the empire was somehow managing to restore order amid the chaos.
No human could have simply stood there enduring while a dragon prowled the skies, so the miraculous fact that there were zero casualties played a big role.
The damage was mostly limited to buildings and streets since the beast hadn't rampaged wildly but had simply satisfied its curiosity before flying off.
For a visit from Brenak 4's final boss, things had ended remarkably mildly.
"Was it really just here to confirm how I killed it? What kind of messed-up creature is that?"
Of course, there had been some collateral damage in the form of my sanity taking a hit in the process.
Thanks to that, our audience with the emperor had naturally been postponed. According to Aurora, we'd have to stay in the imperial palace for at least a month.
In cases of such major incidents, guests were usually sent away with schedules rearranged for later visits, but for some 'unfathomable reason,' Kaisilia had refused to let us leave.
She'd emphasized that 'unfathomable reason' part while giving me a pointed look. With so many guilty secrets, I couldn't even muster a proper rebuttal.
"...She definitely saw it."
Ever since I'd confronted the World Devourer, Kaisilia's gaze toward me had completely changed. It was the look of someone dead set on making me hers.
Still, the treatment we received was top-notch. Even Aurora and the knight commanders were baffled, wondering if we really deserved such luxury.
It felt eerily similar to our time in the Holy Kingdom.
"Minerva, don't you want to research the Crystal Scroll?"
"You're finally taking me to find it?!"
With Aurora tied up with lingering matters and the knight commanders volunteering to help their former subordinates restore order in the capital, I slipped away to find Minerva.
I'd used the Crystal Scroll as bait to convince Kaisilia.
It wasn't a bad deal for Minerva either. From the start of our negotiations, I'd made it clear that we'd go after I got my weapon.
My plan worked perfectly, and after several hours of Minerva's grand-scale 'persuasion,' we secured permission to leave the palace.
"I need to do something quick."
If her interest in me was already this intense, I wouldn't be surprised to wake up one day in Kaisilia's bed.
Unlike Rize, who had said women could be added anytime as long as she got all the firsts, or the popes who openly hinted at polygamy being fine, Kaisilia seemed to have massive possessiveness too.
"That doesn't mean I'm planning to recklessly add more women, though..."
Just Rize, Floretta, and Luna were enough to prick my conscience.
Especially with Rize.
"Child, the Crystal Scroll—"
"I told you. After I get my new weapon."
"What if we get the scroll first—"
"If I fetch it first, do you think you'll have the confidence to step outside the Magic Tower?"
Minerva, who had nagged me repeatedly about when we'd go for the scroll, shut her mouth at my words.
She knew full well that once she found the Crystal Scroll, she wouldn't focus on anything but research. Just like in the game.
"Then at least tell me if we can set out right now."
"Preparations are almost done. Time to get started."
Finally, I grabbed the brooch the popes had given me, half depicting the sun and half the moon. That was the end of the preparations. My weapon was broken anyway, and Minerva had the rest covered.
Minerva was trying to maintain some dignified air, but her every action dripped with urgency. She was ready to toss four hundred years of reputation out the window.
The elegant, mysterious aura from our first meeting was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's the teleport location?"
"Hold on, the position is..."
I unrolled the map. It was the one Minerva had brought.
The empire was marked down to the finest details, the Holy Kingdom less so but still fairly precise, while the northern and southern parts of the continent were vaguely outlined.
Unlike in the game, where terrain revealed itself just by walking, people had probably mapped it using magic or legwork.
So it was no surprise that the southern Poison Marshes—practically a magic realm—and the northern Frost Mountains, said to be eternally frozen, lacked proper maps.
"The Poison Marshes might come up later. No need for the Frost Mountains, though. Nothing worth picking up there."
I cross-referenced user-made maps in my head with the one before me, scouting the target location. Minerva fidgeted beside me.
She really wants that Crystal Scroll that badly.
"Somewhere around here. We'd have to check in person for the exact spot."
I pointed to a spot at the empire's edge. The map's scale was much larger than in-game, but it should be nearby.
"Got it. Get ready."
Minerva immediately prepared her spell. Thud—the tip of her staff tapped the floor lightly. A magic circle formed in an instant, shooting a blue pillar of light into the sky.
Now so accustomed that I felt no thrill from the floating sensation, our bodies were suddenly deep in the mountains.
Grass and trees surrounded us. The dense ancient trees blocked daylight, leaving it dim even in broad afternoon. Minerva tapped the floor again with her staff, illuminating the area.
"Is this the place, child?"
"We need to search more from here. I don't know how far off we are from what I remember."
I'd pinpointed a spot on a continent-spanning map and teleported nearby. The margin of error was unknown—could be dozens or hundreds of kilometers.
Even this was only possible with a mage of Minerva's caliber. An ordinary one couldn't have teleported here, let alone pinpointed the coordinates.
She wasn't called the Eternal Mage and hailed as a living legend by nearly every mage on the continent for nothing.
Though her image had cracked a bit from her earlier whining to hurry up and find the scroll.
"I'd have been in real trouble without real Minerva."
Offering the Crystal Scroll in exchange, anticipating the attention, had been the right call.
Quest execution aside, just reaching the place would have been an issue. How do you find one house in this vast, dense forest and mountain range?
"Can you scan the surroundings, Minerva?"
"We're looking for a house?"
"Yes. Or any structure that looks human-made."
Everything around was forest and mountains, so probably the same here.
Even if people lived here, few would build homes in such thick woods, so we could check them one by one.
Minerva closed her eyes and channeled mana into her staff. A circular wave emanated from the silver staff, spreading outward. Grass and trees briefly glowed blue where it passed.
How long after sending the wave? Minerva, eyes closed the whole time, slowly opened them.
"Found it."
"What does it look like, Minerva?"
"Wooden structure, ordinary one-story house, with one section made of stone."
"Yes, that's the building."
I nodded firmly, and without hesitation, Minerva teleported us. In the blink of an eye, we stood before a house.
A wooden structure blending ordinary home and shrine aesthetics, with a deformed section of stone. Definitely the place.
"We're here. Thank you, Minerva."
"Just doing what needed doing. Let's go in."
Minerva practically shoved me toward the building. After climbing a few steps to the door, I knocked vigorously on the entrance. Thud thud thud! A dull sound echoed.
We waited, but nothing happened. I knocked again. Still nothing. Third time. Nothing.
Minerva, watching me from the side, spoke up with a slightly annoyed expression.
"No one's inside?"
"No. Someone's definitely there."
"Then they're deliberately ignoring us. If you want me to break it down, just say the word, child. I'll do it right away."
"It's fine. They'll show up soon enough."
In the game, you had to select the knock option five times in a row for the NPC to appear. So at least five here too.
For reference, the third knock triggered a message saying it seemed empty, tricking countless players into wasting time.
The fourth and fifth knocks followed, and just as an impatient Minerva raised her staff with a furrowed brow—
"Argh, you persistent pest! I tried ignoring you, so why won't you give up!"
The door flew open, and someone burst out. A woman with long orange hair and orange eyes.
Seeing her deliver the exact line from my memory, I chuckled slightly. In-game it was a male NPC, but now female—no surprise there.
I'd be more shocked by unchanged genders, wondering what role kept them the same.
"I have a request."
I cut straight to the point. Her personality seemed unchanged, so game script should work.
"A request? What is it?"
As expected, she showed no confusion at a stranger's sudden plea. That was her nature.
"Could you give me one of the weapons you've made?"
"A weapon I made?"
"Yes."
Her orange eyes stared straight at me.
"I don't know where you heard the rumors... but I could. Got one. For nothing?"
"Of course not."
Hoping the quest's overall structure hadn't changed, I continued.
"If you give me a weapon, I'll fetch the materials for the elixir you're making now."
It was time for Brenak 4's dirtiest, cheapest, most infuriating quest.