Suspicious Movement (1)
Suspicious Movement (1)
Shrouded in darkness, watching everything, Seria squinted.
Redin's movements were unexpected.
"Thud!"
In one fell swoop, both of them were subdued.
Handcuffed with mana suppression.
On top of that, your stamina is completely depleted.
"Aaaaaah!"
Nevertheless
The four who drank the stamina potion were being outclassed, and the next two pounced, but Redin snatched the dagger from one of them, ending the situation.
'Is that possible?'
Decisive moment.
No hesitation with the dagger.
It was a near-perfect battle.
Perhaps he drank a stamina potion, or has some other special ability.
Otherwise, it was hard to justify.
Persistence beyond one's imagination.
Even breathing seemed difficult.
Looking at Redin now, She can see that he fought with a lot of grit and determination.
'I need to take care of this now.'
Seria calmly evaluated the situation.
If he's completely out of stamina now, she can handle it.
Seria unlocked the cuffs on her hands.
Handcuffs that, once put on, are not easily removed. But with her training, it's not a difficult task for Seria, given the time.
Seria drew on the mana within her body.
'...!'
Something strange ran through her body. Redin's breathing slowed, and he slowly raised his head to look up.
A pair of calm, narrowed eyes.
A deep chill in the air.
Seria held her breath.
She was perfectly concealed, so how did he know where she was?" Seria wondered, and moved quickly.
Choorah!
Dozens of specially crafted small daggers scattered into the air. The mana-filled daggers moved to Seria's will.
To snuff out Redin's life.
Dozens of daggers rained down.
The fearless Redin spoke up.
"Aris."
A voice that echoes in the room.
With that, Seria's body came to a halt.
momentary stillness.
Swallowing hard, Seria gathers her wits and starts to reorient herself.
Redin stepped forward.
"Aris."
Seria's eyes widened at the gentle voice. At first, she thought she'd heard wrong. It didn't sound like something that would come out of Redin's mouth.
Aris.
It was the nickname her dad called Seria as a kid, and it was a nickname only he knew.
But how can...
"You... what... the... hell......."
"I would have preferred to pretend I didn't know, but now that you're trying to kill me, I can't help it."
Redin said while shrugging his shoulders.
"Who are you!"
Redin threw the dagger in his hand to the ground.
A sign of not wanting to fight.
Seria bit her lip hard.
swish
She held the dagger in her hand toward Redin's throat.
"How do you know that name?"
"Ian Grace."
Imprisoned with your father.
He was Brassel's¹ second in command, and Seria's uncle.
"He's my father."
"Don't be ridiculous. My uncle never had any children."
"Of course not. I'm a bastard²."
Seria looked into those eyes.
"How can I trust you?"
"A shadow that blooms where there is no light."
It was one of those secret codes that only the top brass at Brassel knew.
An outsider would never know.
"No way..."
"Believe it or not, it's your choice."
Redin raised a finger and pushed Seria's dagger aside.
He turned and walked toward the door.
Watching his back, Seria asked in a shaky voice.
"If it's real... are you here to save Uncle Ian too?"
"Nope."
"Then?"
"I'm here to kill you."
creak!
Redin opened the door and turned his head for a moment. He looked at Seria, who was shocked.
"So let's go our separate ways."
Bam!
The door closed and silence fell on the training ground.
"...."
Seria's mind was a jumble of Redin's words. From being called Aris to being the illegitimate son of Ian Grace.
'Was everything he said true?'
She bit her lip hard.
As much as she wanted to believe otherwise, Redin knew the organization's secret password. Her head swam with the realization that she had moved too quickly.
'I should have moved more calmly...'
Seria lifted her head and looked toward the door. She sighed deeply at the sight of the closed door.
"Haa......."
Redin was more of an ally than an enemy.
They had different goals, but the same objective: to go underground. If they worked together, they would have a much better chance of achieving their goal.
Seria covered her face with her left hand.
From accusing him of a crime and putting him in jail to trying to kill him today. Her relationship with Redin had already gone awry.
A feeling of regret spread through her body.
But she can't just wallow in despair. She needs Redin's help to save her father, so she must find a way.
"Somehow... I have to get Redin on my side."
* * *
Stepping outside into the cold air woke him up. All the tension was gone, and my legs were shaking.
Redin took a deep breath.
He remembered what had just happened in the training center. When the world turned red, there was no blue path to show him the way.
His first reaction was to panic.
'What?'
The Eye of Arrakis was not all-powerful. As he recalls, it worked at the caster's level, even when he left the ship.
that much.
It must mean that the gap between Seria and him is large. So much so that if she really wanted to kill Redin, he'd end up dead.
Whoo.
Just when Redin thought he was screwed, a cold rush kicked in, clearing his mind of distractions and giving Redin an idea of how to fix the situation.
"Ian Grace..."
He has no illegitimate children.
It wasn't in the in-game settings, Even Seria, one of his closest confidants, told in person that he wasn't there.
There's no risk of getting caught.
Seria's father is the only one alive ten layers underground right now. Ian Grace is already dead.
And now that he'd told Seria Brassel's secret password.
No matter how level-headed Seria is, she won't be easily suspicious anymore.
Instead.
She might want to ask for help.
It's so much more empowering to have a teammate with the same goals than to be alone in an unfamiliar world.
It wasn't exactly what he had planned, but it didn't turn out badly.
"The problem is...."
'It's my skill.', Redin thought to himself.
The first, three steps of a sword test Redin got today.
In particular, the Third Core, which contains the mana discipline.
"Soon..."
This opens the way for the third heart to be obtained.
-Imperial year 104. 10 days after the ship exploded. The Magnes organization attempts to break out all of its members imprisoned in Burning Hell.
That moment when chaos strikes.
That's where the opportunity comes in.
* * *
The other four, with the exception of Seria, were sent packing for using stamina potions and attempted group assaults.
Time passed quickly after that.
Hazing ceremony by night, training by day.
The lack of sleep and increased physical demands led to a number of eliminations.
A week-long hazing ceremony.
There were 29 trainees who made it to the end, including Redin.
"Well done! Trainees."
"You know what, You'll probably going to miss this week."
"You've walked right into hell."
With a rough welcome from the seniors.
The hazing ceremony was over, and we had two days to rest before the real work experience.
Redin dragged himself back to the quarters, exhausted.
After he washed up, the seniors called them to the dining hall.
When Redin got there, there was a table full of food and all sorts of drinks.
"Indulge yourselves for today."
"Thank you, sir!"
Redin took a seat in a corner with Heather.
"Wow... what is this? It's really good."
Heather looks ecstatic over a plate of spicy chicken and a beer. He may not be familiar because he is from the Crane Kingdom.
In the settings of this game.
There are only so many places you can eat chicken, and even then, it's a ways away from the Crane Kingdom.s
Redin picked up a leg and popped it in his mouth. The frying was crispy from freshness, and the sweet and spicy seasoning was amazing.
It even comes with craft beer³.
It's a great feeling to get rid of all that fatigue.
If there's a heaven, it's right now.
"Wow...wow...wow...this is so good. What is this?"
Heather's string of exclamations made Redin feel proud. It's like when a foreigner comes to his country and eats chicken and admires it.
"Chicken."
"chicken?"
"That's the food name."
"I want to eat nothing but chicken every day.."
Chicken wasn't the only food on the menu.
Spaghetti, pizza, etc.
After eating a moderate amount of food, Redin quietly rose from his seat, and Heather asked, him face flushed red.
"Where?"
"Training."
"Ughhhhh... You're such a toxic bastard. Why don't you take the day off and have a beer with me!"
"You're drunk."
"Enjoy."
"Fckn, bast-"
Redin left the dining hall.
He shivered from the alcohol and the chill in the air. It wasn't unbearable, so he started walking toward the training center.
Bam!
With a bright moon in the night sky, the road to the training center wasn't too dark.
He walked down a quiet street at night.
It's been a week since He woke up in the games world. For the first few days, He had a small glimmer of hope.
He wondered if it was a deep lucid dream.
As time went on, even that hope completely faded, but it was still a good time to let off some steam.
I can run with only one eye on the road.
"Status Window"
[Status Window].
Name: Redin
Occupation: New prison guard
Body: First class.
Mana: F
Luck: F
Talent: F
Possessed Skills - Copy (EX), Cold Heart (A), Eye of Arrakis (S), Strong Mind (B), Harungel's Swordplay (S), Indomitable (A), Bloodline (?)
'As I progressed to the next level of physical training, I noticed a big change in his body.', Redin inwardly thought.
The skin has firmed up a bit.
At first, a simple swipe of the blade would make him bleed, but now it takes force to make him bleed. If he continues to improve.
'I might be able to make it through.'
"The problem is..."
When Redin reached First Class, He gained a skill called Bloodline, which is ranked '?' There's no explanation of what it does or how to use it.
Skills he'd never seen in game.
He spent days and days thinking about it, but he didn't figure anything out, just that there was something in Redin's character's background.
Right now, He had no clue about the lineage.
"Whoo."
Because there is plenty of time.
He'll figure it out as he goes.
Redin relaxed by moving lightly. Standing in front of the training ground like that, He felt a presence from behind.
When Redin turned his head, He saw Seria.
She was looking at him with a calm, subdued expression, not the playful one she usually displays.
Since that day.
He didn't say a word to Seria. He didn't approach her, or make eye contact with her in passing.
'Have you finally cleared your mind?', Redin mused.
"What's going on?"
"I have a proposal."
"I thought we talked about that, let's go our separate ways."
"You want to go underground, and so do I. So let's work together."
"I don't need your help."
Seria bit her lip hard.
"I'll make it up to you."
"You know what I'm going to ask for?"
"Anything."
It sounds like she've made up her mind.
'I won't give you what you ask for right away.'
"How to manipulate shadows. Give me that and I'll help you."
The power that allowed Seria's father, Henry Baskervan, to create Brassel and rule the Shadowlands.
Five chances to copy.
This is the skill Redin wanted to get using one of them. Since it's a progression skill, He wanted to use it right away on the completed Henry Baskervan, not the unfinished Seria.
If only he could learn it for free.
He can save his copy skills and use them to gain other skills.
"That's not possible."
Seria narrowed her eyes.
Redin smirked at that and shrugged.
'I thought so.'
"Really?"
He took a slow step to make sure he nailed it. One more step and he'd be face to face.
He looked into Seria's eyes.
Since he's come this far, it's a race against time. Ceria will eventually accept his offer.
"I'm not going to join forces unless it's that, so I want you to think about it until the end of the training session."
***
TL/N:
1. Criminal Organization Brussel changed to Brassel
German: nickname for a glutton from Middle High German brasseln prasseln 'to indulge or feast'.
Reason: Brussel = Capital of Belgium full of Art Deco taverns, unique Flemish art and does not match for a criminal org.
2. A person born of unmarried parents; an illegitimate child.
3. Craft beers are produced with the most premium quality ingredients in small batches by a small or independent brewery. While Draft beers are made like regular canned or bottled beer