Boss: The Proclaimer #3
“Nike. Are you injured anywhere?”
“Nah, I’m fine except for twisting my ankle. But Victor, your head… you’re bleeding!”
Nike appeared to be unharmed. Yet her face was crumpled as if her beloved cat had just died.
“Victor! Your face…”
“What is it? Does my appearance look that severe?”
“Here, a hand mirror!”
Nike thrust a shattered hand mirror toward me.
It appears to have been quite a luxury item before it was broken. Some kind of emblem is drawn on the back. Perhaps collecting the remaining pieces would make it recognizable…?
“Nike, this mirror…”
“Huh? What?”
“Never mind.”
When I looked at my reflection in the gleaming glass, blood was indeed streaming from my forehead. Strangely enough, despite the dramatic sight, it didn’t hurt much. The skin’s surface had simply been cut, allowing the blood to flow. Even though my bones and muscles had taken such a beating, they remained completely uninjured. Was this thanks to my Steel trait? Any damage below a certain attack power was either halved or completely ignored. An astonishingly sturdy body.
Of course, Nike had no way of knowing this and began to cry.
“Victor, it’s all because of me! I couldn’t even keep a single promise!”
“Do not make such a fuss. We are partners, are we not?”
Nike was the type who couldn’t lie and had failed to keep her promise to me. Even so, she was an important partner in my business. If Nike retired to the likes of these Act 1 small fries, who would gather my new herbs? That was the point.
“Partners…”
Nike seemed to like the word “partners” I had used, repeating it several times under her breath. Then, as if having made up her mind, she wiped her tears and spoke.
“Then I’ll apply the medicine for you! I gathered tons of herbs!”
“Very well.”
Even a minor scrape could cause serious trouble if infected. And so Nike and I returned to the spot where the cabin had stood. Seeing the miserable wreckage, Nike grew gloomy. “Ugh, it’s completely collapsed…”
There was only one thing I could say to her.
“If a house has collapsed, we simply rebuild it.”
“You think so?”
“However, this time it would be better to construct something that actually resembles a cabin.”
“Ughhh…”
Nike looked like she wanted to argue but ultimately closed her mouth. Soon we salvaged a few usable Lowest-Grade Herb plants from the ruins of the house.
“The mortar’s completely destroyed. At this rate I don’t think I can grind the herbs.”
“There is no need to apply medicine.”
“I can’t do that! Victor, wait here!”
Nike shoved the herb straight into her mouth. She chewed it thoroughly, then—
“Ah! I accidentally swallowed it!”
“What exactly are you trying to do?”
“Just wait!”
Nike chewed another mouthful of the bitter herb, spat it out, and slapped it onto my forehead with a smack.
“……”
“It’s the method my dad taught me! The effect is actually better this way!”
What sort of folk remedy was this?
“Did you hear? Some vagrants wearing black masks were in the park…”
“The Student Council’s subjugation team is chasing someone called the ‘Proclaimer’ right now.”
As soon as I left the forest, people were already whispering everywhere. It was a classic game trope for passing NPCs to drop hints about current events. Experiencing it firsthand was rather amusing.
“So there was a fight in the park as well.”
In D&A, battles rarely occurred inside the academy grounds. You could only fight during duel events or raid events. Otherwise, drawing weapons in town was impossible. However, in the latter half of Act 1—when the boss Proclaimer Enrique stepped onto the main stage—masked assailants would appear all over the academy, turning the entire school into a battlefield. Monsters and bandits would spawn randomly in the marketplace and academy corridors, allowing players to experience combat there.
The current situation was exactly like that.
“Act 1 is already rushing toward its finale.”
Even though I had intervened, the middle sections felt far too abbreviated. Still, it didn’t matter.
“As long as I finish the showdown with Enrique properly, the Underground Market will open. That is a massive money-making opportunity.”
On the contrary, this was excellent. I could cancel this debt-ridden Act 1 as quickly as possible and rush straight through Act 2’s Underground Market and Act 3’s sailing content. What did episodes matter? Repaying my debt came first.
So, Luke, I leave it to you.
The Act 1 boss Enrique was merely annoying because of his pattern that summoned hordes of minions. The second phase where he fled across various locations was also a nuisance, but not particularly difficult. From the students’ conversation earlier, the Student Council’s subjugation team was currently pursuing the “Proclaimer.” Pursuit meant Enrique was running. It meant he had safely passed the most troublesome first phase filled with minion summons and had now reached the second phase where he bought time by fleeing.
There were four possible locations where Enrique could appear at this stage: in front of the statues in the plaza, at the fountain in the central student park, behind the old school building, or at the Student Council headquarters. Not knowing which one he would choose made patrolling the entire campus tiresome, but it also taught players every shortcut across the academy grounds. In other words, he was a boss created by the developers to say, “Try using these shortcuts.”
“I should be able to defeat second-phase Enrique without much difficulty.”
“Victor, why have you been muttering to yourself since earlier? Did you hit your head too hard? Shouldn’t you go see the healers?”
“……”
It seemed I would have to reduce my soliloquies from now on.
“Then, Nike. Afternoon classes will begin soon, so I shall take my leave. You must not skip class either. Only then can you aim for a scholarship.”
“Classes at a time like this…?”
With that, I headed for the classroom. Even if I received an excused absence for the morning, I still needed to attend the afternoon lessons. Besides, now that I knew Nike could handle the remaining Act 1 small fries by herself, there was no need to stay with her.
When I reached A-1 Class, the classroom was completely empty.
“……”
What was this? Had word spread that “this afternoon’s classes are outdoor lessons” without my knowledge? Had I been excluded from some group chat? Strangely, the neighboring A-2 Class and B-1 Class were also completely deserted. I had no choice but to stop a nearby student.
“You there. Halt.”
“Eek, Victor. My uniform is perfectly fine, okay?”
“I am not here to speak about your uniform. It is class time, yet neither students nor teachers are visible. What exactly is going on?”
“What, you didn’t hear? All classes are canceled today! Some weird organization has invaded Ludens, so the Student Council declared it!”
I see. So that was it. I had thought I was being ostracized. In any case, a sudden cancellation left me with free time. Normally I would have prepared cooking ingredients, but with Nike’s cabin—where I had stored the materials—now vaporized, there was nothing to do. On second thought, perhaps I should look for a new location? Securing a place to store ingredients, luggage, and sleep during my spare time would be wise.
Jingle.
Just then, I remembered the key Enio had given me recently. I had not been told where it could be used, but I could simply ask her directly. So I went to find Enio.
Locating her was not difficult. Enio was a councilor with her own private office in the Student Council building—a person of considerable status.
“What is this, Victor? You came all the way to find me in such a chaotic situation?”
“It is nothing serious. I wished to inquire about this key. Do you have a moment now?”
“Well… I was rather busy until a short while ago. Now is fine.”
Enio’s gaze drifted to the corner of the office where several vagrant students were tightly bound with rope. So they had targeted Enio as well.
“You lot dared to attempt harm against Lady Enio? Do we look that easy? Allecto, tie them even tighter!”
“…Yes. Understood.”
The sight of the nearly identical twin sisters conversing was rather novel. Enio spoke.
“Victor, I understand you came running out of concern for me. As you can see, I have excellent friends. Still, I will gratefully accept the sentiment.”
…No, I was not worried about you. I knew exactly how troublesome Megaira, Allecto, and Tisiphone were as opponents protecting Enio. The Act 1 minions who dared challenge her were the ones I pitied.
“More importantly, this key. Where can it be used?”
Enio laughed softly. “I see. You wish to evacuate to a safer place than these well-known locations? That warehouse is certainly quiet and secure. You have quite the sense for these things, Victor.”
I did not fully understand what Enio was saying, but explaining would be tiresome, so I simply nodded.
“It is as you say.”
“Good. Then let us go there. It is not far from here.”
We left the rather noisy and chaotic Student Council building. After passing several club-filled classrooms and walking for about five minutes—
“Here it is.”
The place where Enio stopped was quite familiar to me as well.
“This warehouse behind the old school building has been empty for a long time. You would know it well, Victor, since you were an enforcer.”
The old school building. It was a place I had visited extensively while completing the sub-quest “Ludens’ Seven Wonders.”
“It belonged to seniors from two generations above us. Apparently it has been abandoned and neglected for about two years.”
A single warehouse located behind the dilapidated old school building. I had quite the connection to this place. In the original story, this was where the protagonist Luke would later use the housing system to place furniture, decorations, and item storage boxes.
“……”
Was it acceptable for me to use it?
“Is there nowhere else?”
“Not at the moment. Originally the Student Council planned to sell this place as well. It is still under review.”
In the original story, this warehouse—sold to the Student Council—would later be transferred to protagonist Luke after he cleared Act 4, where he would decorate it however he liked. And now I was receiving it? Fine. Luke could handle himself. I had no time to worry about him right now.
“Then I shall enter.”
Clank. Clank. When I unlocked the firmly secured lock, a rather familiar-looking warehouse came into view. The floor area was quite spacious—about twenty pyeong. Large enough to place various pieces of furniture and belongings.
“It would be perfect as a club room as well.”
If I placed a bed over there, I could sleep here too. It was a bit dusty and full of cobwebs, but a single day dedicated to cleaning would solve that.
“Are these the previous owner’s belongings?”
I picked up a picture frame lying nearby.
The photo reads: “For the eternal friendship of the ‘Autumn Leaves’ club—”
Autumn Leaves. Where had I heard that name before? There were four photos in total of people smiling together. One in front of the plaza statues. One at the central student park fountain. One behind the old school building. One at the Student Council headquarters.
“……”
These locations felt familiar.
“Enio. You said this place has been abandoned since two years ago?”
“Yes, it’s quite worn down, isn’t it? A little cleaning and…”
“No, that is not what I wish to ask. Do you know anything about the student who previously owned this warehouse?”
“Hm? Not much. I think they said the student was expelled. Something about being involved in rebellious activities. Now that I think about it, it’s similar to what’s happening now.”
Not similar. Identical. A coincidence? The locations in these photos were exactly the same places the Act 1 boss Enrique would flee to during his second phase.
“So these were all places of memories for them.”
It seemed they were not simply four random spots. It was at that exact moment—
“Damn those guys… Haa, haaa…”
Someone burst into the warehouse, breathing raggedly. Height around 173cm. Dressed like a rider in a worn leather jacket. The red hair looked deliberately delinquent, and both ears and nose were covered in piercings. But what caught my eye most was the instrument the fellow carried. He held a long trumpet.
I knew his name.
“Enrique.”