Chapter 667
Chapter 667
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 667
Chapter Title: A Twisted Objective
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667.
“Thank goodness we can get a comfortable night's sleep!”
Karl grinned brightly as he entered the tent.
The artisans of Ivaldi had rebuilt the ruined fortress.
However, that didn't mean the interior of the fortress was completely restored.
Key structures like the main administrative building were solidly built, but the rest remained in ruins.
As a result, the residents of Ivaldi were living in tents like this one.
“There are no residents around here.”
“That's to be expected. We're outsiders, after all. It seems we've cleared the initial suspicion of being spies… but that doesn't mean they've completely let their guard down.”
Luke said, and Karl replied while taking off his shoes.
Their party's tent had been pitched not far from the fortress walls.
It was some distance from where the Ivaldi residents lived, a spot convenient for those guarding the walls to keep an eye on them.
Hearing Karl, Haviden let out a small sigh.
“Being under suspicion isn't a pleasant feeling.”
“Can't be helped, can it?”
Shrugging, Karl arranged his shoes neatly.
“This was an era rampant with traitors.”
“...”
Luke and Haviden fell silent at Karl's words.
Even now, 5,000 years after the end of the Age of Calamity, there are still traitors who betray the world.
Those known as Hero Hunters.
One could only imagine how it was during the Age of Calamity.
“The Hero of the Beginning executed countless traitors, after all.”
Duran said calmly.
The story of Kyle burying countless traitors in the shadows is already well-known.
“We just have to clear the suspicion. Besides, we're not here on vacation. Being close to the walls is actually a good thing.”
Clenching and unclenching his fists, Duran curled his lips into a smirk.
“It means we can be deployed into battle at any moment.”
“That's certainly true.”
“We'll need to stay in top condition.”
Haviden stroked his chin, while Luke clasped his hands together, showing his firm resolve.
“Ugh. I just want to relax.”
“Excuse me!”
Just then, the tent flap opened, and Iliana entered, a sleeping bag tucked under her arm.
Seeing her, Karl stood in front of his own sleeping bag in the corner of the tent.
“I have no intention of trading, so go back.”
“What do you take me for! That's not what I was thinking.”
“Then why did you come to our tent carrying a sleeping bag?”
“Um… to sleep here?”
“You've got to be kidding me.”
“Tch!”
Iliana clicked her tongue.
“Don't be so stingy and just trade with me! Mine has a huge hole in it! The wind blows right through!”
Luke gave an awkward laugh at the scene.
“Would you like to trade with mine?”
“No, Luke. You'll spoil her.”
As Karl spoke coldly, Iliana planted her hands firmly on her hips.
“I'm not asking for a free trade! Let's decide with rock-paper-scissors!”
“Looks like you already lost.”
“Yeah.”
“I refuse. Don't drag your tent's problems into ours.”
“Hey! Duran! You're so petty!”
As Iliana pouted, Luke spoke up.
“Then I can mend it for you.”
“Huh?”
“I'm quite good at that sort of thing.”
Luke skillfully pulled a needle and thread from his pocket.
“You're pretty resourceful, huh?”
Luke scratched his head at Karl's comment.
“It's nothing special. I even used to make dolls for the village kids when I was young.”
Smiling warmly, Luke began to stitch Iliana's sleeping bag.
“Karl, can we come in?”
Just then, Chelsea's voice came from outside the tent.
“Come in.”
At Karl's word, the tent flap opened, and the female students entered.
“What? You were here?”
“It's the loser.”
Chelsea looked dumbfounded, while Ar covered her mouth, gloating.
“Who are you calling a loser!”
“You.”
Eliza scoffed, and Iliana shouted.
“One more round! Let's play one more round, dinner's on the loser!”
“Senior, please calm down.”
Aina tried to calm the agitated Iliana.
“It's true that you lost. You need to learn to accept defeat...”
“Waaaargh!”
Iliana grew even more agitated.
“Aina, what are you doing, provoking her even more?”
Aina looked flustered at Karl's words.
“Huh? Me?”
“You don't even realize it?”
“Pathetic.”
Chelsea shook her head.
“Chelsea, you seem like the most senior student here.”
“Isn't that obvious?”
“Even though you're the smallest.”
“Hmm? You want your arm broken?”
“Alright, enough chatter! Let's sort out the situation before the professor, Leo, and Driana get back.”
Karl hastily changed the subject.
Currently, Leo, Artian, and Driana had gone to see the outsiders who had arrived here before their group.
They needed to confirm if the unconscious people in the infirmary were the advance scouting party that came before Leo's group.
“First, the current timeline. Well, Leo already confirmed that through Sir Dweno, so that part isn't too difficult.”
“It's before he joined the Great Hero's party.”
At Chelsea's words, Iliana scratched her head vigorously.
“This is a problem.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Why is it a problem?”
Luke asked with a puzzled expression. Aina explained.
“There are no hints for clearing it.”
“Ah!”
Clearing a World of Heroes is fundamentally based on the past deeds of the hero in question.
This is also why Heroics, the study of heroes' deeds, has become the most crucial subject for heroes.
In that sense, all the students at the hero academies were well-versed in the stories of the Great Heroes.
They had been exposed to countless tales of the Great Heroes since childhood.
Even if there were discrepancies with actual history, they could piece things together to find hints for the clear.
The problem was that there were no records of Dweno's actions before he joined Lisinas's party.
And they had unfortunately run into Dweno from a period they knew nothing about.
“It's not just Sir Dweno. We don't know anything about this place, Ivaldi, either. Literally, aside from the fact that this is Sir Dweno's world, we have no clues.”
*‘Well, Leo probably knows, so it shouldn't be a huge problem.’*
In response to Karl, Haviden said.
“Still, we can't just sit back and do nothing. Let's start looking for clues, step by step.”
“Right. First, let's try to deduce the objective. If this is Sir Dweno's world...”
Karl trailed off, and Ar crossed her arms.
“It's highly likely the objective is related to the Giant King, Gias.”
“Hmm... probably. Seeing as this is a fortress, maybe we have to fend off the Giant King's assault like last time?”
Leo's party put their heads together, focusing their efforts on understanding the current situation.
The state of the fortress's defenses.
The condition of the people inside the fortress, from what they'd briefly seen.
They were discussing what they had seen and felt firsthand when...
“By the way... is this world really... a World of Heroes?”
Luke spoke up cautiously.
“If it's not a World of Heroes, then what?”
“Well... for instance, a World of the Legion...”
At those words, everyone's expression changed drastically.
“Right, that's a definite possibility!”
Leo had been certain it was a World of the Legion when Dweno didn't recognize him, but the rest of the party wasn't.
“So a World of the Legion went berserk? But didn't Leo say that the Legion's Records are too unstable to go berserk in the first place?”
“No, Leo doesn't know everything. Especially since the Legion's Record was something he never expected to find, right?”
“Mmm!”
“Karl's right. Even the Black Rabbit isn't omniscient.”
After listening to the conversation and thinking for a moment, Aina spoke up.
“There were two ways to clear a berserk Hero Dungeon, right?”
The moment it infringes upon reality, the World of Heroes maintained by the Hero Record becomes unstable.
As such, the clear method...
To be precise, the option to eliminate the world itself becomes available.
At Aina's words, Duran began to speak.
“The first method is to achieve the valid clear objective. The second is...”
“To destroy the fragment of the Hero Record, which is the world's core.”
Eliza continued Duran's sentence while filing her nails.
“If this is a World of the Legion, isn't the second method the easiest for us?”
The party had initially ruled out the second method completely.
Because no matter how berserk it was, it was still a fragment of Dweno's Hero Record, and recovering it had to be the top priority.
The second method was, quite literally, a last resort.
But if this is a World of the Legion, that changes things.
Chelsea nodded at Eliza's words.
“That's right. All we'd have to do is find the dungeon entrance, enter the World of the Legion, and find the record fragment. It's the easiest way.”
“For now, this seems to be as far as we can get with this discussion. We'll have to wait for the Black Rabbit to return to decide on a course of action.”
The party nodded in agreement with Ar's statement.
“Alright, alright, let's rest now. Go back to your own tent.”
“My sleeping bag isn't fixed yet.”
“There's nothing to do if we go back anyway. Karl, you got any snacks?”
“Did you entrust your snacks to me or something?”
“Yeah, I did. That snack delivery service you started in the magic department dorms. I'm a VIP, you know.”
“Ah, that's right.”
Karl pulled a bag of cookies from his subspace.
“You carry things like that in your subspace?”
Ar looked incredulous, and Karl let out a smug laugh.
“The subspace of the great Karl, proprietor of a one-stop shop, has everything you could ever need.”
Watching the smug Karl, Eliza gave him a look of utter disdain.
“Hmph, as if cleaning up after others is something to be proud of.”
“Aww, there you go again.”
Karl laughed good-naturedly.
[System Error: An unauthorized being has invaded the world.]
“Huh?!”
Karl gasped in surprise.
It wasn't just Karl.
The expressions of the entire party changed drastically at the message that appeared before their eyes.
But that wasn't the only message.
Another one followed.
[Quest Objective: Repeat the glorious history of victory. Massacre all residents of Ivaldi.]
***
Guided by Enniha, Leo, Driana, and Artian were on their way to see the outsiders who had arrived earlier.
The rest of the party had already gone to their lodgings for the duration of their stay.
“Are the outsiders who came here before us in serious condition?”
Artian asked with a worried tone. Enniha gave a bitter smile.
“Yes. It's a miracle they're still alive.”
At Enniha's words, Driana clenched her fists.
It hadn't been confirmed that they were the advance scouting party, but given the timing, it was almost certain.
Noren, the leader of the advance party, was also a professor at Damian.
And Driana herself had been one of Noren's students.
[System Error: An unauthorized being has invaded the world.]
[Quest Objective: Repeat the glorious history of victory. Massacre all residents of Ivaldi.]
Three messages suddenly appeared before the three of them.
“Hm? What's wrong?”
Enniha looked at the three of them, bewildered.
“Ah, it's nothing...”
“We were just startled by something, Enniha.”
Artian and Driana forced awkward smiles, trying to act as natural as possible.
Leo, however, was staring intently at the last message.
“Leo?”
Artian called out to Leo cautiously.
*‘What the hell is this?’*
A murderous glint flickered in Leo's red eyes.
[Quest Objective (Hidden): Capture the vile Dweno who survived alone.]