Chapter 111
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: Wood Wiki
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After wrapping up the meeting late into the night,
Jun opened his eyes again the next morning.
Having wolfed down his meal like a storm and returned to his room, he muttered to himself alone.
"Honestly, it might not be such a bad thing."
Yesterday... no, even when he'd met the count, the gravity of the situation had kept him from sleeping (though exhaustion had knocked him out anyway).
But after a good night's rest, his thoughts had cleared up a bit.
"Fame... That was something I had to deal with eventually anyway."
Standing out like this and striking a deal with the count might actually be the better play.
"So now it's just a matter of waiting for the count's summons..."
That was when it happened.
"Mage? Are you inside?"
"What is it?"
"Lady Cloi is calling for you."
"I'll be right there."
What could she want now?
Jun rose from his seat and headed straight to Cloi's office.
"How's your body holding up?"
"Not quite back to normal, but I can still move around fine."
"How long until you're fully recovered?"
"About a week?"
"Plenty of time, then."
"Hm. Sounds like something's happening in a week."
"You got it."
Flashing a mischievous grin, Cloi handed Jun a letter.
It was adorned with golden embellishments and stamped with the imperial crest.
Even at a glance, it screamed importance.
"An invitation...? Wait, is this real gold?"
"Of course. Do you know whose name it's under?"
"The imperial family...? Hold on. You don't mean..."
"That's exactly what I mean."
Only then did Jun realize what this burdensome letter truly was.
"Barvern's Praise?"
The festival named after the god of war.
The grandest celebration in the entire empire.
It marked the end of Blackout season, honoring those who returned alive and those who perished gloriously.
Festivals usually kicked off simultaneously across the empire... so why this invitation?
Because not every event was identical everywhere.
'This invitation... it's like a VIP pass.'
As Jun sensed, the golden envelope was personally issued by the emperor to summon the season's most standout heroes.
Even most nobles could only dream of attending; it was reserved for the heavy hitters in the central political sphere.
Its value was beyond measure.
'Never thought I'd lay eyes on one of these.'
The game had mentioned it in passing.
But reaching the level to earn one meant hitting mid-game... by which point, this festival no longer existed.
The capital would be engulfed in flames.
The emperor's death, power struggles among the imperial houses, and finally, the rise of the Heavenly Church.
That's why even Jun hadn't recognized it at first glance.
"Huge opportunity, right?"
To a merchant like Cloi, this letter was practically a treasure.
Connections were everything, and this was a chance to stack them sky-high.
But instead of nodding eagerly, Jun tore open the envelope to check the contents.
-For the heroes who have completed their great journey, we send this invitation.
A fancy script accompanied a single map.
"...Location's the Intrass Mountains?"
"That's a haul this time."
"Less an opportunity... more a test."
"Ah, gotcha."
Cloi caught on quick.
The Intrass Mountains were over two weeks away even by carriage from here.
And two weeks was the problem.
"A ton of people are gonna come at you."
"The count's testing if I can hold my ground in the thick of it."
"Man... Nobles' mindsets are terrifying."
Cloi shook her head, equally fed up.
'Talk about loose change and all that.'
And now this test.
Not like he could just skip it.
But word of the White Whale Mercenary Corps' survival was probably spreading by now.
The road there would be fraught with peril.
"Hm... No specific method given, so we're good."
"Huh? What've you got in mind?"
"A way. But I'll need something from you."
"Name it!"
Any connections Jun built there would soon be Cloi's too.
She was more than willing to invest.
"A grimoire."
"What kind?"
"Illusion magic."
"Ah...?"
Going in openly would be a hassle, so sneaking in would do.
'Bonus: pick up some new utility spells.'
Eat the pheasant and get the egg too.
"H-hey, Aiden."
"Ah, Senior!"
Around noon, he spotted Aiden just finishing his meal.
"How's the body?"
"Muscles are still sore, but nothing major."
"Same here."
"Haha... really?"
"Anyway, you've eaten, so let's talk."
"Talk?"
Jun's expression held its usual faint drowsiness, but a glimpse of seriousness flickered through.
'It's about that.'
Aiden pieced it together instantly.
He followed Jun to his room.
Door shut, Jun circulated his mana once, then activated a borrowed artifact.
The Veil of Silence.
"Good work out there. This season was nonstop hell."
"Haha, not a single easy day."
Like a highlight reel, memories from Blackout flashed by.
Death's door multiple times, yet they survived.
Growth unlike anyone else's.
Aiden didn't regret tagging along.
"We'll save the debrief for when the other two are here... You know why I called you, right?"
"My condition?"
"Yeah. About that power you showed in the Head Dravan."
Jun's face turned fully serious.
Did he know something about it?
That power had saved them from crises, but Aiden knew it wasn't normal.
The sense of losing himself, paired with insane boosts.
Memories fuzzy, but...
It was uncontrollable.
That much was clear.
"The power you showed... it's a form of sorcery."
"Sorcery...?"
Why bring up sorcery out of nowhere?
"A kind of possession. Trading your body for borrowed power. Extremely dangerous, obviously."
Jun asked if he'd heard any voices when it triggered.
"I think so. Definitely..."
-If you want to save your comrade,
-Accept me.
Those voices had echoed.
Repeating them made Jun's expression grave.
"...Not certain, but probably from encountering an outer god's soul when you dropped to the fifth layer."
"That voice was an outer god...?"
"Dunno about that far. But it's a soul on that level of power."
"Dangerous stuff... Keep using it, and it'll take over my body?"
"High chance."
Chilling words.
But Aiden pondered.
'Without that power...'
He couldn't have protected Jun.
Twice over.
The fifth layer was that deadly, and he wasn't sure he could resist using it again in the same spot.
'Better than watching Senior die right in front of me...'
Risk was preferable.
Though losing his body terrified him,
Watching a comrade die was worse.
Maybe another form of his familiar 'escapism.'
Turning away from grim reality.
"If you ever..."
"...Yes?"
"Think about using that power for me or the others, forget it."
"...!"
"Don't dump your burden on us."
"..."
"None of us would be happy if someone died in our place. We'd carry that memory forever."
"B-but."
"If one of us died for you, could you accept it?"
"..."
Unthinkable.
Aiden got it completely.
"So... avoid using that power as much as possible."
"No way to control it?"
"Not yet."
"...!"
Implying a way later?
"You need a bigger vessel. So it can't be taken easily."
"Vessel meaning?"
"Soul growth. Raising your tier. Not easy, and it'll take time."
"..."
"We'll talk details later. For now, promise me—on your name—you won't use it."
"...Understood."
Only after extracting the promise did Jun smile, satisfied.
Aiden left, and alone, Jun flopped onto the bed.
"Haa... Somehow bluffed my way through."
He chuckled wryly.
"Sorcery? Wish it were that simple."
What happened to Aiden went beyond basic sorcery.
"Possession... similar in result."
The outcome mimicked possession, but the process was worlds apart.
And the fallout? A whole other league.
"Founding Emperor, this guy's showing up already."
The entity in Aiden's body was none other than the Founding Emperor, Adrian Rune Wybone Arshio.
"Damn it, why didn't they block that outer god bastard?"
Muttering irritably, Jun started reworking his future plans.
The story was progressing abnormally fast compared to the game.
Likely changes from his presence.
To survive the storm, he needed a airtight plan.
Desperately activating Exceptional Memory, he recalled the main storyline and stood.
"For a tree to weather a typhoon, its roots have to be healthy."
Roots meant the empire.
And the empire's roots were starting to rot right now.
He had to fix it while he could.
"Damn, shoulda read that Wood Wiki at least once."
The lack of info hit hard.