Chapter 120
Chapter 120
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: Appearance
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After sending Liche out, I turned back and sat in a chair at the round table. What on earth did it want to talk about? If it wasn't something important, the price for wasting my time would be steep.
"Why did you call me?"
[Luke... no, Outsider? Which do you prefer I call you?]
It specifically chose to call me Outsider instead of Luke. The World Tree seems to be as important in this world as it is in any other novel.
"Just call me Luke."
To be honest, I'm not too fond of my past life's name anyway.
[Then, Sir Luke, are you satisfied with your current life?]
"Yeah, I'm on a total high. Aside from a few inconveniences."
[You don't seem very surprised...?]
A character who knows the protagonist is a transmigrator—isn't that a tired cliché? Novels with that kind of plot are so common these days, it's not even surprising. Besides, I've already come out as a transmigrator, so plenty of people know.
"Is that all you called me for?"
If it wanted some kind of reaction, it should have called that toilet bastard, not me. The price for wasting my time on something so trivial will be the world's largest campfire. Setting the World Tree on fire would create a massive blaze, wouldn't it? I started searching my inventory for oil and something to light it with.
[No. It is because I have something important to tell you.]
"I don't know how important it is, but don't you have the wrong person?"
I'm just an extra, aren't I? That kind of principal's lecture should be for the protagonist, that toilet bastard. Why is it holding an innocent person like me captive for this?
[You are the one, Sir Luke.]
After speaking with a firm, certain tone, the World Tree paused for a moment before continuing.
[Fate has changed. Be careful.]
"What fate, and what am I supposed to be careful of?"
[I'm afraid I cannot tell you more than that.]
"Ah, fuck, I have a desperate urge to finger-pistol you right in the philtrum. Can't you just stop beating around the bush and speak directly? Like what's going to pop up in the future and how it'll turn out."
Why do these types always know things but just drop vague hints, saying you're not qualified or the conditions aren't met? Can't they just spit it out? It's so frustrating I could die. If it's going to be like this, it might as well have said nothing at all.
[Even so, don't you have some inkling?]
"Nope."
[Two Outsiders in one world... Too much has changed. Even with my foresight, I cannot see much. This has never happened before.]
"And that's my fault?"
[That is not it. However... unlike the times I have always offered advice, this time, I'm afraid I can offer none. Just this once......]
That last part was something it never said to Arthur in the original story, so it must be some huge piece of foreshadowing. But I'm not the type to think deeply, so telling me things like that is useless.
Besides, I have no idea what it means by telling an extra to be careful. Turns out it's not the World Tree, but just a senile old hag, isn't it?
And as if it had nothing more to say, the World Tree...
[That is all I have to say. Well then, I shall see you again during the raid.]
It said its piece and unilaterally ended the conversation. Since it didn't seem like anything more would happen if I stayed, I walked toward the entrance. As a bonus, I raised my right hand on the way out.
"Fuck you."
***
When I stepped out of the audience chamber, Liche and the other two were waiting for me at the entrance. The elf guide named Evangeline was with them, too.
"What did you talk about?"
"I don't know. It just spouted some weird nonsense. Maybe it's gotten dementia from living so long?"
It spoke in a way only it could understand, so part of the conversation was already fading from my mind the moment I left the chamber. It should have spoken clearly if it was going to speak at all.
"Then I shall guide you to your lodgings."
Evangeline, who had been turned from a Kanplin back into an elf with the World Tree's help, took the lead. Or rather, she was about to, but I stopped her.
"Wait."
"…Yes?"
"Before we go to our rooms, let me see what this seal looks like."
"There's not much to see, though."
Yeah, I know. To be honest, I don't give a damn about the seal. I'm curious about the man called the Weapon Master. You know how guys go crazy for 'swords'.
That's why people cheer when a samurai or some super-cool swordsman character shows up in anime, right?
The S-rank adventurer, the Weapon Master, who can use any weapon. In the story, there was even a scene where he cut down a monster with a tree branch.
They said earlier he'd be near the sealed area, so I want to go see what he looks like. It'd be great if I could even see one of his techniques.
"Understood. I will guide you."
We followed the elf to the place where the Volcanic Horned Dragon was sealed. It was some distance from Alfheim, so we had to walk for a bit.
"Mr. Luke. What kind of person is this Weapon Master?"
The fame of an S-rank adventurer is so great that there's hardly anyone who doesn't know of it. But it seemed that incredible fame meant nothing to Yui, who had been cooped up in a corner for so long.
"A storm of coolness."
"A storm...?"
It's limited to guys, but he's literally a storm of coolness.
"He's a training fanatic, and true to his name, he can use almost any weapon."
A training fanatic who trains every day despite being one of the strongest in the world. The reason he's not a Sword Saint or Sword Master, common tropes in fantasy, is that, as his title suggests, he doesn't only use swords. While his main weapon is a sword, if you hand him an axe, hammer, spear, or mace, he can use them all.
"Almost any weapon? Not every weapon?"
"Not quite every weapon."
The reason I said 'almost any weapon' instead of 'every weapon' is because he truly can't use all of them. If you give him something like a wizard's staff, he'd use it as a blunt weapon, but he couldn't cast magic. He also doesn't use weapons like bows. Well, he probably could if he wanted to... but why would he?
"And when you get the chance to see him, take a good look."
Like the Alchemist, the Weapon Master has a personality that loves to wander around. In the main story, the World Tree episode is his first and last appearance. I have to get a good look while I can.
"We've almost arrived."
As we were killing time with chatter, it seemed we had finally arrived. The elf leading the way stopped and looked back. She spoke to us with a serious expression.
"We are outside the barrier now, so monsters may appear. Please be careful."
"How strong can they be?"
"...The reason other humans cannot enter Alfheim is not only because of the barrier but also because of the monsters. Unlike typical forest monsters, these are ferocious and strong, perhaps due to the Volcanic Horned Dragon's influence. Thanks to them, even we have a hard time."
Strong enough to give elves a hard time... It seems they can go up to A-rank. If a goblin appeared here, would it be a D-rank instead of some E-rank trash?
'Then they'd give more experience, too, right?'
It was a known fact that the higher a monster's rank and strength, the more experience it gives. If I were to burn down this entire forest, how many levels would I gain? My mouth was watering. As I was having that thought...
"We have arrived."
A treeless plain. To be precise, she announced our arrival not on a plain, but in front of a massive, towering mountain.
"There's nothing but a mountain. What do you mean we've arrived?"
What, is it sealed on top of this mountain, so now we have to climb it or something?
"No. This entire mountain is the Volcanic Horned Dragon."
Her stunning words left everyone speechless with awe.
"...This is a monster?"
"It's a size I've never seen before."
"Whoa... Whoa... We have to fight something like this? Can't we just run away?"
It was described as colossal in the novel, so I had expected it, but seeing it in person, its majesty was incredible. According to the elf's explanation, moss had grown over its body because it had been sealed for a long time. Just how long must it have been sealed for it to be covered in so much moss that it looked like a mountain?
After her words, I looked around, and only then did other things come into view. Encircling the massive mountain were stone monuments placed at regular intervals. Unfamiliar characters were engraved on the monuments, emitting a blue light.
These monuments must be the source of the seal. I thought it would be sealed in something like an orb or a book.
"Sir Luke! Dodge!"
"Huh?"
-Swoosh!
At that moment, a chunk of rock came flying from somewhere. It struck me right on the head, and it was moving so fast that a normal person would have gotten a concussion.
"Ouch."
"...Are you all right?"
"No."
"But you look perfectly fine...?"
In truth, it just felt like a hard flick to the forehead. But it pissed me off. Some random bastard hit me with a rock while I was just walking by. Of course I'm not all right.
What kind of motherfucker throws a rock at someone minding their own business? I looked in the direction the rock came from and saw a monkey-like monster cackling with glee from a tree some distance away.
Hah... A mere beast dares to throw a rock at a human? When I get my hands on you, you're getting the road roller treatment. I'll find a huge boulder and crush you with it.
"...A Volador. A troublesome monster has appeared."
"You know this monster?"
"Yes... well... I see them often."
The elf's expression was like she'd just stepped in shit. The monster didn't seem that strong, so I couldn't understand why she was making such a face.
"It's a very cunning monster. It just throws rocks from a distance and sneers, like it's doing now, and if you get close, it runs away immediately."
"What kind of shitty monster is that?"
It was in a league of its own, but not in the same way as the monsters I'd seen before. The monsters I'd encountered, no matter how clever, sought ways to kill their opponents, not just to annoy them. It even looked like a monkey, and its actions seemed strangely familiar. It was like a monkey version of a bratty kid.
"And the other problem is that, while they aren't strong individually...."
The moment the elf spoke, many shadows fell over the treetops, and soon, countless monkeys appeared, swinging from the branches.
"...they move in packs."
"Um."
Even at a glance, there were nearly fifty of them. I had no idea where they'd been hiding, but even in this situation, the elf seemed calm. Did she have a plan?
"He should be here soon."
Who? I was about to ask, but by the time I opened my mouth, the monkeys' heads were already rolling on the ground.
Immediately after, someone landed in front of us.