Chapter 150: Raid (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 150: Raid (1)
Alon wore a blank expression.
Thinking this might be an illusion, he blinked twice, but the man before him remained, sporting a gallant smile and looking at Alon with eyes full of admiration.
"……Prince Karsem, is that really you?"
"Eh? Ah—yes, it is. Hahaha—I suppose I have changed quite a bit."
Seeing Karsem scratch his head awkwardly, Alon barely managed to keep his jaw from dropping.
Seolrang seemed uninterested, but Evan, who had been tilting his head in doubt, couldn't hide his shock and let his mouth hang wide open.
A person could change, but this was an utter transformation.
Alon recalled the Karsem from six months ago and compared him to the man laughing awkwardly now.
Back then, Karsem was, quite frankly, nothing more than a walking pig. His clothes always looked like they were about to burst, and his face was constantly clouded with irritation and inferiority.
Was that all? His personality was so arrogant that 'scoundrel' was a more fitting description than 'troublemaker.'
But what about the Karsem now?
The fat that had once threatened to turn a double chin into a triple? It was gone. No, it had simply vanished.
His eyes, once steeped in annoyance and insecurity? They were clear. So clear, in fact, that he looked remarkably kind-hearted.
Furthermore, for some reason, he even seemed to have grown significantly taller.
"……You’ve changed a lot."
"I have. It is all thanks to my brother—no, thanks to you, Marquis!"
"Is that… so?"
"Yes……!"
Alon’s mind was still struggling to process this. No matter how he looked at it, the man’s transformation felt surreal.
‘……This is like a scene straight out of a webnovel.’
Unconsciously, he recalled the webnovels he used to enjoy.
Usually, the plot went like this: an ordinary person possesses the body of a gluttonous, scoundrel prince or noble. After working hard to lose weight, they become a handsome man and receive applause from the servants.
Honestly, he hadn't quite understood it back then. Even if someone lost weight, the original shape of their face and body should remain.
However, Alon was now personally experiencing the feelings of those novel servants who had clapped so enthusiastically.
‘……I get it. It’s worth clapping for.’
Just as he was thinking that.
"Please, have a seat. My father will be here shortly."
"I shall do so."
At Karsem’s invitation, Alon’s party sat down as if drawn by a natural force. A short while later, Karmakeses III arrived.
Alon, finally snapping out of his daze, began to enjoy the banquet. However, the atmosphere was a bit burdensome.
"To think you’ve already reached the 1st Tier. Truly impressive."
"Not at all. It is all because the Marquis gave me his guidance."
"Is that so?"
"Yes!"
……The reason was that Karsem spent the entire banquet putting Alon on a pedestal.
"……He always speaks of the Marquis."
"I see."
"If it weren't for the Marquis, I would likely still be living a worthless life……. That is why I am always grateful!"
And he was doing it a bit much.
"No. I didn't really do anything. It is an achievement the Prince earned himself. There is no need to credit me."
"That’s not true! As I said, if it weren't for the Marquis, I would still be that pathetic mess!"
He was being excessive.
Alon felt his hands, hidden beneath the table, curl in embarrassment at the passionate gaze Karsem was directing at him.
……Karsem seemed truly, deeply sincere.
* * *
The day after the banquet—which had been purely cringeworthy for Alon—ended.
"Marquis."
"What is it?"
"I looked into it, and it seems the public perception of Prince Karsem has really changed a lot."
"To that extent?"
"Yes. I didn't know this, but his reputation is actually better than the 1st Prince’s now."
At Evan’s report, Alon asked with a hint of curiosity behind his stoic face.
"Is it really that significant?"
"Yes. In fact, they say the atmosphere inside the royal palace is getting a bit strange because of it."
"……I suppose Karmakeses isn't managing things separately?"
"I heard the King is remaining silent as well."
Even the King was silent?
Only then did Alon let out a low exclamation of realization.
‘So that’s why Karan looked at me with those eyes.’
He recalled Karan’s gaze from their last encounter. He had been puzzled by the hostile look from someone he was meeting for the first time.
If the atmosphere within the kingdom had truly turned strange, it made sense. Karmakeses III not lifting a finger to settle the palace atmosphere was no different from tacitly permitting a succession war.
‘……From a King’s perspective, it’s not an incomprehensible decision.’
The 1st Prince, Karan, was better than the old 2nd Prince. However, he wasn't exactly the type of talent who would make a great king. He was only 'better' in a relative sense.
In such a situation, with the 2nd Prince showing a better side over the long term, it was natural for the King’s heart to waver. Karmakeses III was a father, but he was also a man burdened with the title of King, and he was someone who thought as a 'King' rather than a parent.
‘……The strange thing is how a power struggle is even possible between the 1st Prince, whose succession was confirmed early on, and the 2nd Prince, who only recently started gaining recognition……. Well, it’s not something I need to worry about.’
Regardless, putting all the pieces together, he could understand the general situation.
‘……Karan thinks Karsem changed because of me.’
Of course, from Alon’s perspective, it was a bit baffling. He hadn't done anything particularly special for Karsem.
"Marquis, what do you plan to do now?" Evan asked.
Alon replied immediately.
"I’ve finished my business in the Colony, so I plan to wrap up the remaining tasks and head back."
"Remaining tasks? Ah, the Abomination you mentioned before?"
"Yes."
"Am I on standby here again?"
"You are……. You look quite happy about it, though?"
"Ayy—no way."
Evan’s face clearly screamed, 'Oh, yes! Lucky me, I don't have to suffer!'
Alon felt strangely irked. He briefly considered dragging Evan along, but he soon let the thought go with a light sigh.
In truth, this visit wasn't to finish off the Abomination in the desert, but rather to do some preliminary work.
Alon thought of the desert Abomination, 'Scolpirion.'
‘I’d like to deal with it while I’m here.’
Unfortunately, that wish was difficult to fulfill. First of all, he didn't know Scolpirion’s exact location. Unlike Rikrakakmur, whose location was clearly defined, Scolpirion was simply known to be 'somewhere in this vast desert' without any specific landmarks.
Even in the game, finding Scolpirion’s location took time. One had to clear the temples that provided directions, a preliminary process that took about three months, before one could go hunt Scolpirion.
Of course, one could wander the vast desert without going through the temples to search for its lair.
But why did no one do that? Because finding Scolpirion’s cave was like finding a needle in a haystack.
Additionally, there were the 'Scolpirion Soldiers.'
The Scolpirion Soldiers guarded the Abomination’s cave. This was the second reason Alon was only doing preliminary work for now.
They were called soldiers, but for a Mage class player, they were even more troublesome than Scolpirion itself. There were over a hundred of these sand-made soldiers, they resurrected endlessly even after being killed, and in terms of game levels, each one was an annoying Expert-level entity.
On top of that, their weapons were all coated in poison; a single hit could be fatal.
However, there was a strategy: if you received the directions from the temple and then headed there, the Scolpirion Soldiers would all crumble into sand and vanish.
"I plan to move tomorrow."
Alon made his decision.
"I’ll be on standby then—"
"……."
Looking at the strangely annoying Evan again, Alon thought:
……Maybe I should just take him with me.
* * *
At that moment.
Somewhere in the vast desert, inside Scolpirion’s cave.
Or rather, in a place far too vast to be called a cave, the Scolpirion Soldiers—who should only be awake when an intruder appeared—were standing.
However, they weren't moving. To be precise, they couldn't move.
The hundreds of soldiers who had awakened to stop the intruder……
Crackle—! Zap!
……were all skewered by black lightning, shivering between life and death.
And through these Scolpirion Soldiers, a Wolfman with silver-gray hair walked slowly. His steps were perfectly ordinary, perfectly relaxed.
He walked leisurely through the hundreds of Scolpirion Soldiers until he reached the center of the cave.
Ssssh—!
From beneath the cave floor, more soldiers began to wake up. And that wasn't all.
■■■■■■■—!!!
A force twice the size of the one at the entrance surged from the sand in an instant, surrounding the man. Soon, the roar of Scolpirion, who had been slumbering deep within the cave, began to echo.
Yet, there was no sense of crisis on the intruder’s face.
"Ho—"
Instead, the man let out an amused exclamation.
Crackle—!
Black lightning swirled around his body. In the next instant—
Flash—!
His figure vanished.
When the man reappeared, the Scolpirion Soldiers were no longer around him. Instead, what stood before him was……
■■■■■■■───
The Abomination.
Scolpirion, a scorpion that had lived for nearly a thousand years, harboring an Artifact of the Five Great Sins within its body.
However, even as the scorpion dripped venom while staring at him, the man merely wore a pleasant smile.
"Well, fine. I was disappointed that the Seeds weren't sprouting as well as I expected after coming up to the surface—"
He lightly tapped his finger against its head.
"But you’ll do as a helper."
The moment black lightning flowed from his hand—
■■■■■■■■■■!!!!
Scolpirion thrashed violently. Soon, the brown hue of the Abomination began to be dyed.
Into an ink-black color, like the abyss.
Watching this sight, the man—no, the Apostle of Pride—turned his gaze toward the Colony.
"I might as well meet my younger sister while I'm at it."
He wore a deep smile.
* * *
The following day.
Alon began preparing to move for the preliminary work as planned, feeling somewhat at ease. There would be combat, but Seolrang and Line had agreed to help him.
‘……Line said she’d stop by the palace briefly, so we’ll leave once she returns.’
Thus, Alon shared a somewhat relaxed conversation with Seolrang, who was hugging a limp Blackie.
K-BOOM—!!!!
Until a massive noise suddenly erupted.
A giant roar, heard from afar but clear to everyone’s ears. Alon instinctively stood up and looked out the window.
He couldn't hide his shock at the sight that greeted him.
"……Scolpirion?"
The massive Abomination was forcing its way through the crumbling walls of the Colony.
And then.
"……Brother?"
Alon heard Seolrang’s voice beside him, whispering in disbelief.