Chapter 163
Chapter 163
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 163
Chapter Title: The Third Rune - 1
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“His Imperial Majesty personally appointed you as the Captain of the Ebony Nightfall Knights, didn’t he?”
“Yes.”
“It seems there was a reason behind that decision.”
‘As expected.’
It was ridiculous to worry about the Silver Dawn Knights’ storyline at this point, but Cassandra’s words made it clear that it had diverged far from the original knight order plot.
It was a situation I had anticipated long ago, so there was no surprise.
Depending on the route, in the Silver Dawn Knights path, they would subtly suggest whether the player had any intention of serving in their own territory.
Accept, and the subsequent story would change slightly; refuse, and it would proceed with the standard Silver Dawn Knights storyline. Branching like that was naturally implemented.
It was similar to the lines spoken if the player took a route tied to the Emperor. Something about how His Majesty had taken notice of you, praising the Emperor’s keen eye.
Cecilia showing such keen interest in me had probably played a big role.
‘Over half confirmed for the Imperial Palace route, I guess…….’
I mulled it over moderately, then shut it out of my mind. There was no need to think deeply about the future story. It wouldn’t help anyway.
I’d just handle whatever came up in the moment.
“Thank you so much for accepting my sudden proposal and resolving it like this. Captain of the Ebony Nightfall Knights. Thanks to you, I can breathe a little easier.”
Cassandra bowed her head politely. Her upper body tilted slightly, causing the neckline of her dress to dip lower. Cassandra showed no intention of hiding the exposed cleavage between her dress.
A noble with such a title couldn’t possibly be ignorant of proper decorum, so it was undoubtedly deliberate. I calmly returned the greeting.
Seeing no change in my expression, Cassandra looked briefly surprised, but soon flashed a radiant smile again.
From that subtle shift, I was convinced once more. Had I reacted, she would have come on much more aggressively than before. With no response, she cleanly backed off.
“Lady Cassandra, may I ask one favor?”
“Of course. Please, say anything. What is it?”
“You said to take all the spoils and byproducts from the dungeon, including the rune, but regrettably, nothing came out except the rune.”
“Yes, I understand. I should personally reward you for your efforts. Everyone, I invite you all to my manor.”
To put it bluntly, it meant since we got nothing from the dungeon, please compensate us instead—but perhaps because of her own earlier words, Cassandra nodded readily and turned.
While Cassandra walked away, I quietly called Helga over and whispered.
“I’m leaving the rest to you, Helga. Take the kids back to the manor first. I have something else to do. If they ask why I’m not there, just say that.”
“Understood. You mean that matter with the witch, right?”
“Yeah. Can’t leave her here alone and go in without her. I’m delegating full authority, so decide as you see fit.”
“Yes, Captain. Take care.”
Helga gathered her subordinates and followed behind Cassandra.
The lord paused briefly upon seeing the vice-captain in my place, but after Helga whispered something, she resumed walking.
Once Cassandra, her direct knights, Helga, and her subordinates had completely left, I ventured a bit deeper into the forest to prevent any voices from being overheard.
Then, I bellowed loudly.
“Nix!”
The moment I did, Nix appeared right in front of me. Her reaction speed suggested she’d been waiting solely for my call.
Nix, who had closed the distance in an instant, grinned creepily.
“Hee hee, you called me?”
“Yeah. Hiding because of that lord?”
Nod, nod. Her head shook vigorously up and down. Her chest jiggled along with it. I stroked her head gently. She seemed completely accustomed to such gestures now.
“You’re not going with them? I’m fine waiting alone until you guys are done.”
She added in a mutter that she’d already done plenty of waiting alone.
“Not really. I didn’t come here expecting something like that.”
That went for me, and the others too.
We hadn’t come purely for rewards, but that didn’t mean we’d handle it for free, so we’d ask for something. It also eased Cassandra’s psychological burden.
Claiming it was pure goodwill would burden her more; taking compensation and leaving was far better for reducing that. People felt at ease with an exchange.
“So, while waiting for them, let’s head somewhere for a bit. You can still do teleport, right?”
I’d planned to pick an opportune moment, but since Nix couldn’t enter the city anyway, this gap in time was perfect.
No way we’d wait in the forest all day for them to get rewards and come out. If teleport worked, better to knock it out quickly.
“Got it. Hee hee. Where to?”
Nix latched on immediately, not even asking what for. I pulled the map from my uniform’s inner pocket, cross-checking it carefully against my memory to locate the dungeon.
I felt her gaze staring blankly at me from right beside. Ignoring it, I pointed to a valley somewhere midway up a mountain in the Empire.
“Here. Can you get there?”
Nix nodded vigorously and pressed close to my side, preparing the teleport. I waited, map still in hand. It wasn’t time to fold it yet.
Compared to Minerva, who could pinpoint from one end of the Empire to the Holy Kingdom’s edge with exact coordinates, Nix’s teleport lacked precision.
Even traveling from Aurora’s territory to this city would’ve taken Minerva mere seconds with a wave of her staff.
But that was Minerva being an outlier monster; Nix wasn’t deficient, so I waited patiently. Soon, a black magic circle engulfed us both.
“We’re here.”
Nix succeeded in teleporting right to the rune dungeon’s entrance only after adjusting coordinates nearly five or six times. I confirmed it and tucked the map back into my pocket.
The entrance was exactly as in the game. Anyone checking would instantly know it was a dungeon.
Except it was midway up sheer cliffs, artfully concealed by rocks and trees, so no one would suspect anything by normal means.
“Let’s go in.”
“Yeah.”
Nix followed me silently into the dungeon. Just in case, I sheathed the Wingless Nightmare I’d been holding. No need for combat here.
This was a trap dungeon.
Like the place I’d gone to find the crystal scroll before.
‘Should be fine with Nix here.’
Back then, a berserk Minerva had cleared all the traps herself, but now Nix would handle that role. That’s why I’d brought her from the start.
Trap dungeons were more likely to draw “this game sucks” complaints than monster ones.
Cursed traps forcing you to detour ten extra minutes when the goal was just ahead, or making you descend a valley and climb back up instead of jumping.
But not this time.
“This is where the rune is, a dungeon packed with traps.”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll handle disarming and pathfinding, but sometimes there are traps too annoying or impossible to disarm.”
“Yeah.”
“You just smash those as we go, Nix.”
“Hee hee, got it.”
‘……She’s not asking anything?’
Others would’ve questioned how I knew, how I found it, how I sensed the rune without scanning waves, etc.
Well, it worked in my favor, so I let it slide. I couldn’t give a proper answer anyway.
“Wait. Stop.”
We hadn’t gone far inside when a cleverly protruding floor trap greeted us.
At a glance, it looked like a slightly misaligned brick, but step on it and your ankle gets snared, a massive boulder drops from above. Instant death, obviously.
The gruesome sound of the boulder crushing the player, blood spreading across the floor in a flower-like pattern for the death animation—it shocked plenty of users.
“Don’t step on that. Boulder falls from above.”
“Yeah.”
Nix gave another curt reply and skirted the switch by circling around, following my lead.
After that, it was smooth. I disarmed what I could, and for mazes or tedious midway traps, I called Nix to smash them outright.
Especially puzzle doors requiring back-and-forth material gathering, with more puzzles in collection—those we melted with raw firepower, puzzles be damned. Refreshing.
With me dismantling every maze and trap without hesitation, Nix showered me with admiring glances as we reached the dungeon’s heart. Almost there.
Nix blasted a rolling boulder from a slope with magic. Normally a timed dash-stop section, but we strolled leisurely.
Seizing the brief lull, I spoke. Perfect time to ask.
“Nix.”
“Yeah.”
“I heard from Helga. You said smashing their corpses was ‘useless here.’ What did that mean?”
“…….”
Nix stopped dead in her tracks.