Chapter 159
Chapter 159
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 159
Chapter Title: Unexpected Identity - 1
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“Ahem, ahem. My deepest apologies for the grave discourtesy. I am truly sorry, Captain of the Ebony Night Knights.”
The lord of this territory, who had introduced herself as Cassandra, sat on the sofa with her ears flushed bright red, clearly embarrassed by what had just transpired.
Helga’s gaze toward Cassandra was one of utter pity. I was probably wearing a similar expression.
It was my fault for phrasing things ambiguously enough to cause a misunderstanding, but she was the one who’d dramatically self-destructed by asking if I wanted her body.
“So, about the conditions you proposed in your letter—”
At the mere mention of the word “letter,” Cassandra flinched, her body trembling. Noticing the bewildered stares directed her way, she cleared her throat awkwardly, her own guilt making her squirm.
“...Are they all true?”
“Ahem, ahem. Yes. We will transfer ownership of all the loot and byproducts from the rune dungeon, including the rune itself in that list. And if you desire, we can offer additional compensation. In exchange, we ask that you keep the matter of the rune dungeon completely confidential.”
“Understood. We’ll do that.”
I agreed without much hesitation. Cassandra’s eyes widened in surprise.
“You’ll... you’ll accept? Just like that?”
“There’s no real reason to refuse, is there?”
“Forgive my impertinence, but you do realize this amounts to deceiving His Imperial Majesty?”
“Of course. I’ve fully considered that aspect before reaching my decision.”
The rune we’d gain here was among the better-performing ones. It might not last until the endgame, but in our current situation with hardly any runes, it’d more than suffice as something to use and replace later.
Kaikilia wouldn’t kill me just for snagging a rune or two, so the returns far outweighed the risks. No reason to turn it down.
“Very well. Then, do you require any additional compensation or rewards? Whatever you wish, we’ll provide.”
“...”
As my eyes narrowed slightly while I pondered possible demands, Cassandra hurriedly added,
“I-I’m not offering my body! I mean material compensation!”
“I know. I was just thinking if there’s anything worth demanding.”
Cassandra froze for a moment at my response, then flushed crimson again, clutching the hem of her dress tightly.
I had no idea what was going through her head to make her jump straight to that conclusion. From her vibe, she half-believed I was after her body—and honestly, she looked like she’d hand it over if I asked.
Of course, I had zero intention of doing so.
“Captain.”
Leaving Cassandra to wallow in her embarrassment, Helga tugged at my ear. A soft whisper reached my ear.
“What?”
“Are you really okay not reporting this incident to His Imperial Majesty?”
“It’s fine. Worst case, what’s she gonna do—kill us?”
“...”
My flippant answer seemed to unsettle her. She looked a bit crestfallen.
I was confident Kaikilia wouldn’t kill us, which was why I was so casual about it. But Helga didn’t know the full story.
At best, she figured I was just that favored—enough for Kaikilia to hand over the Golden Twilight Knights without a second thought. It was natural for her to see my response as irresponsible.
And I couldn’t exactly explain why Kaikilia took such a keen interest in me. Doing so would inevitably force me to reveal what I was hiding.
“Besides, I’ve already pulled something like this before. If I could do it once, what’s stopping me from doing it twice?”
I showed her the rune tattoo etched on the back of my left hand. Helga’s eyes widened slightly at the sight.
Even the Silver Dawn Knights, who’d maintained their loyalty to the Emperor for years after being exiled to the borderlands, had handed a rune over to me. That made the so-called rule basically meaningless.
What good was a rule demanding immediate reports of rune discoveries as national property when even the famously loyal Silver Dawn Knights openly flouted it?
It might hold water in a theocracy, but in the Empire, it was effectively pointless. In the game, players rarely faced punishment for pocketing runes that were found.
If anything, Cassandra trembling in fear like this might be the abnormal reaction.
“That’s a bit surprising.”
“What’d you think?”
“I assumed His Imperial Majesty had granted us to you along with the rune when he assigned us.”
It wasn’t entirely wrong to say a rune had been given.
Finish all the subquests the Emperor assigned, and he’d toss you a rune as “proof of loyalty.” It was next to useless outside of achievements, though.
“W-Well then...”
Cassandra spoke up, drawing Helga’s lips into a thin line. Her embarrassment seemed to have eased a little; she was fanning her face repeatedly. Her cheeks were still red.
“Would you care to rest at the manor to recover from your journey? Or perhaps after the subjugation?”
“We’re heading out right now.”
We’d left the others in the forest. Couldn’t exactly lounge around just the two of us.
“Kee-hee-hee, you’re back?”
As we entered the forest, the casual-speaking Nix greeted us with a creepy cackle. Looked like her personality had switched in the meantime.
Makes sense. Normally, I had no idea what the ratio was, but once she’d switched to polite Nix in the city, she’d stuck to that mode. About time for a change.
“No signs of fighting... Good. You did well.”
Like I’d done with polite Nix, I absentmindedly patted her head—then caught myself and stopped. But Nix grabbed my wrist instead, rubbing her head furiously against my hand like I’d offended her by pausing.
Helga stared blankly at Nix, who was now grinding my hand against her entire face, then dropped a single remark.
“Not enough with Lady Lize and the lord?”
“Helga, you sure don’t hold back, huh?”
Her slovenly demeanor and looks didn’t match her personality at all—she didn’t seem to filter her words much. I’d noticed it before.
I gave a few more casual pats before pulling away, and Nix settled right behind me with a sinister grin.
Standing before the rune dungeon’s entrance, I drew Wingless Nightmare. The sound of weapons being unsheathed followed from behind.
“Remember what I said?”
“Yes. You’ll handle the rune guardian, Captain, while we block any other intruders from outside.”
Helga spoke nonchalantly, her longsword shimmering with silver light. She sounded casual, but she’d nailed the key points.
“Good. Moving in.”
I stepped into the rune dungeon. Nix followed second, the regular knights in the middle, and Helga brought up the rear. The interior felt like roughly hewn bedrock throughout.
I walked casually, and the knights, puzzled that I wasn’t even scouting the surroundings, hurried after me. No enemies here anyway.
We hadn’t gone far when the path suddenly widened into a vast cavern. Circular holes pocked the walls, stalactites dangled from the ceiling, and beyond the narrow passage lay an open chamber.
I’d been here before.
Unlike the first three games, which were linear despite their large maps, Bralk 4 was open-world enough to earn the label—and that meant way more bosses.
Every region needed bosses, main story beats required them, dungeons got them, and mid-boss numbers ballooned too.
So, recycling dungeon layouts and palette-swapping boss models was inevitable. This dungeon was one such case.
Featuring the notoriously bullshit boss, the rock centipede.
‘Not even comparable to the original, though.’
Fortunately, this version didn’t demand the same infuriating gimmicks. That’s why it got less hate despite near-identical dungeon and model recycling.
It was a boss you fought straight-up, not gimmick-gated. Copy the gimmicks wholesale, and it would’ve been pure ragebait.
“These are...”
Someone murmured. Dented, scratched, bloodstained armor lay scattered about.
Predicting the fate of their owners was child’s play.
“What shall we do? Retrieve the armor?”
Helga’s question snapped me back. Right—in the game, this was just background set dressing, unpickable. Here, we could actually collect it.
“Not now. Gather it on the way out. Pile it in one spot for now.”
“Yes, sir.”
The knights bustled about, stacking the armor in a corner. Pathetically few pieces for over ten casualties, but even this much surviving was a miracle.
Devoured armor and all by the centipedes—how could traces remain? I knew from seeing that death scene ad nauseam in Bralk 4.
“Everyone, battle ready.”
I issued the order the moment I reached the cavern’s center. The knights gripped their weapons, tense. I advanced a bit further, and rustling echoed from all sides.
“Remember what I said? I’m going ahead. Handle these and hold position here.”
“Understood. Good luck.”
Leaving Nix, Helga, and the regulars behind, I headed down the slope. Crashing sounds erupted as centipedes burst through the bedrock behind me.
From here, mid-dungeon territory—mobs gave decent XP, but I held off because it forced multi-mob pulls instead of controlled 1v1s.
Bralk 4’s combat made soloing one strong boss easier than juggling dozens of middling trash mobs.
Wanted to bring Nix, but her AoE risked hitting me too—she couldn’t aim as precisely as Minerva.
Deeper in. Being a recycle of the rock centipede dungeon, it was far shorter than the original. Boss room came quick.
Just around the corner waited the rock centipede’s downgraded palette-swap, the boulder centipede—
“What the fuck?”
I cursed out loud the instant I spotted the boss inside.
I don’t usually swear like that, but shock made it reflex. Never imagined this thing would spawn here.
First thing that caught my eye: angular blue body. Elongated frame, curved hood on top, countless wheels below.
Chimney jutted from where the head met the body, red framework supporting the innards.
And the face—pure nightmare fuel. Huge round eye taking up a quarter of it, triangular brows, bulbous nose, smiling mouth with laugh lines.
Where the boulder centipede should’ve been sat a blue steam locomotive.
That goddamn little train engine.