Chapter 118
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: Companions
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[A shame.]
“What is?”
[That we couldn’t find ‘her’ by the time we got here.]
“What could I do? We mobilized the Guild, the fiends, the Hao Mun, the Divine Heretic Hall, and even Scramble, but couldn't find a single clue.”
[…Yes, it seems we were too late after all.]
“That’s why I said we should have put a bounty on her.”
[I told you. Placing a bounty with such vague conditions would have resulted in thousands of innocent victims.]
“So what?”
[…]
“I’d get it if she were someone important, but who cares if a few thousand ordinary people, who are a dime a dozen anyway, disappear?”
[Now that you have the King of the Dark Grotto’s legacy and the Witch of False Evil, you of all people should know that even a commoner has the potential to become something more.]
“That’s even more reason to do it. Considering ‘her’ value, it’s a good trade even if we have to grind through hundreds of high-level Awakened Ones.”
[…Even if you found her that way, it would be difficult to gain her cooperation.]
“Hmph, you’re always too cautious, Voice.”
[Has it never occurred to you that you might be too reckless?]
“Not at all.”
[Remember this. Every being in Odobaekryeong is a traitor stained by sin, but that doesn’t mean you need to make enemies intentionally.]
“Why not? More enemies means more things to kill for EXP. Isn’t that a good thing?”
[…]
***
Coincidence.
Inevitability.
Destiny.
They were all the same in that they happened unexpectedly.
But Dion didn’t pay much mind to these unforeseen variables, which were perceived so differently depending on their outcomes and methods.
He knew all too well how meaningless it was to distinguish and care about such things.
Through the experience of his second life.
And above all, through the Voice.
He had learned more than enough.
That was why he simply enjoyed it with interest, even when things that hadn’t happened in his second life occurred, such as his encounter with the Masked Man.
However…
“…ster.”
“Master…”
“—Young Master!”
“Hm?”
Dion turned his head.
Parsha, her face unusually expressionless, was looking at him and asked the boy a question.
“Are you all right?”
“Is there any reason I shouldn’t be?”
“...You were spaced out for over a minute like a pigeon hit by a slingshot. That’s more than enough reason.”
“Ah, was I?”
“Yes, you were…”
“Do you have any idea how worried I was when Master suddenly broke down?!”
“Sorry, sorry. I was just thinking about the old days.”
What old days could a kid so young be thinking about to make him zone out like that?
Suspicion.
Questions.
Doubt.
Analysis.
Worry.
Tension.
As gazes filled with their respective emotions were fixed on him, the first person Dion looked at was the fox-eared girl with a troubled expression.
“Hmm. If this young man is the cause of your unease, I apologize.”
“Ahem! How could that be? The young master must have attained some new enlightenment.”
“But Do—I mean, uncle…”
At the lizard-headed giant’s attempt at reassurance, the stunningly beautiful fox girl’s face relaxed.
Just as Dion was about to speak to them, a flash of insight.
Some of the more sensitive individuals tensed as they felt a presence approaching the warehouse.
“Hey, Young Lord. The kids have already cleaned this place out.”
“You think I came all the way here without knowing that, you idiot?”
“…Then why did you come to an empty warehouse like this?”
“Why, you piece of shit? It’s a surprise inspection in case you scumbags hid some valuables for yourselves.”
“No, that’s a false accusation we got because you took our tribute for the Lord and kept it for yourself…”
“You wanna die?”
“…Ah! Look, there’s something strange over there at that warehouse!”
“...!”
It happened in an instant.
As if the previous commotion had been a lie, they all held their breath amidst the agitation and quickly exchanged glances.
‘I’ll do it.’
‘Just stay back.’
‘Just leave it to me…’
‘Uh, can I just hide?’
‘????’
‘…’
It was utter chaos.
No one spoke a word.
They communicated only with their eyes and gestures, which ironically prevented Dion’s group from acting immediately.
Raja and the little fox were too busy exchanging glances to break the silence.
*Creeak.*
The closed warehouse door opened.
And in that moment, as two figures appeared faintly in the gap…
“Hiek!!!”
*KRA-BOOOOM!*
“Gack!”
“Keuk?!”
“…”
“?”
Along with a terrified scream, a large fist swung out.
The warehouse door was completely shattered, and the two figures were turned to pulp.
Amidst the sounds of pirates, startled by the loud explosion, swarming from all directions, the Masked Man, frozen with his fist still extended, spoke defensively to the group staring at him with dumbfounded expressions.
“Ah, no, I mean, I was startled, so…”
“…Are you seriously offering that as an excuse right now?”
It was a truly perilous situation.
As if she wanted to kill the Masked Man before dealing with the bloodthirsty pirates swarming them, Parsha, radiating killing intent, clenched her gauntlets, while the rest of the group glared daggers at him.
Dion spoke up casually.
“Everyone.”
“…”
“—Let’s bounce.”
Dion Unlight.
It was a rare moment when the boy, whose words had only ever invited argument, gave a perfectly reasonable command.
***
What followed was a fierce battle.
Or perhaps, a frenzy.
The moment the Captain of the Six-Line learned he had lost his trusted high-level Awakened One and kinsman in the sudden commotion, his eyes turned bloodshot as he set out to find the culprits.
The fight to evade him, dozens of other high-level Awakened Ones, and hundreds of pirates was so intense that the mere thought of it was dizzying.
But Dion’s group ultimately succeeded in shaking off the Captain and his pirates.
It was a feat that would have been impossible for Dion alone, made achievable only with his companions, who had grown accustomed to the living hell of the Labyrinth during their last expedition.
“I see… I finally understand why the White-Masked Young Master’s reputation is so renowned in the Deformed City.”
That was why.
The Masked Man, sitting on one side of the Divine Beast carriage led by a one-star Divine Beast, an Armor Bear, which was battered and bruised from the sudden escape, couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
The battle with the pirates, the outwitting of high-level Divine Beasts, and the mad dash through the complex Labyrinth.
The adventure of finally shaking off all pursuit was truly something to marvel at.
But Dion himself just shrugged nonchalantly.
“This is nothing special.”
“No need for humility. Not even the five legendary heroes could have pulled this off so easily.”
“Hmm…?”
Hearing this, Dion tilted his head slightly.
He stared at the Masked Man for a moment before speaking.
“That rendezvous password, did you come up with it?”
“…Why do you ask?”
“It’s just surprising that someone would use a phrase about the five heroes as a password in this day and age.”
“Well, it’s true that the Lord of Nangnang Castle is not one to admire the five heroes.”
“You seem to admire them, though.”
“They are worthy of it.”
Roughly a thousand years ago, when the Labyrinths overflowed and the Old Kingdom fell, Odobaekryeong was said to be far more destitute and chaotic than it is today.
At the time, most races hadn't even adapted to the Labyrinths, let alone known how to survive in them.
The intelligent races barely subsisted, relying on the Divine Beasts and purified water left by the goddess, and even those were gradually being lost as they headed toward extinction.
It was then that figures who would change history appeared.
The five heroes.
Originally treated as incompetent scoundrels, they began to distinguish themselves at a certain point, proving their talents.
They organized the five classes—Ranger, Fighter, Summoner, Caster, and Driver—and discovered how to grow in their class by consuming magic stones.
By conquering numerous Labyrinths, which had been nothing but objects of terror, they expanded the territory of the intelligent races several times over, creating the Odobaekryeong of today. They were the last heroes.
Legends claimed that without them, most of Odobaekryeong would have fallen long ago.
Above all…
“The very reason we are alive today is because the five heroes vanquished the Seven Calamities.”
“Hmm. A lot of people these days think the Calamities weren’t a big deal and that the five heroes' fame is exaggerated.”
“That is absurd.”
It was then that a clear, bell-like voice interjected.
“The Seven Calamities were exactly that—calamities. They were beings that could not be stopped by the power of intelligent races, for it was so.”
A calamity is, by its nature, a natural disaster.
No matter how numerous, no matter how strong, no matter how advanced…
Just as human strength cannot stop storms, earthquakes, or volcanoes, each one was an irresistible force of destruction capable of ending the world.
They were beings that not even the Hundred Great Families dared to confront.
Subjugating the Vile Dragon, burning the Vile Tree, burying the Vile Sea, slaying the Vile King, severing the Vile Army, shattering the Vile Sword, and sealing the Vile Demon.
For the past several hundred years, no one had been able to replicate even one of the seven great deeds of the five heroes, and it was likely no one ever would.
If not for them, Odobaekryeong would have been destroyed by the Seven Calamities, and all intelligent races would have vanished.
Contrary to her clear voice, she spoke in a very archaic manner.
Dion narrowed his eyes as he looked at the fox girl, who was a full head shorter than him.
“You talk about the Calamities that disappeared hundreds of years ago as if you saw them yourself.”
“…I haven't seen them myself, but I’ve heard many stories about them, so I suppose that’s why. Yo.”
“Kahahaha! This child has the talent of a storyteller, you see. I’ve told her all sorts of tales, and now she’s quite good at spinning a yarn.”
“Hmm, so that’s why she talks so strangely.”
“A unique way of speaking is a storyteller’s weapon.”
“An information broker should compete with the reliability of their information, not act like some kind of clown…”
Perhaps because, as an emissary of the Guild, he disliked unlicensed information brokers, Naru grumbled from the side. Parsha watched them with a blank face, the Vault Keeper wore a peculiar expression, and Kael subtly boasted of his own contribution in using his familiars to guard the Divine Beast and carriage.
Dion watched them quietly.
‘Truly, you never know what the world has in store for you.’
The paranoid Masked Man.
The shamelessly smiling Raja.
The demure little fox girl.
The three of them had escaped the execution ground with him and were now his companions.
Among them, the Masked Man was the one Urk had entrusted with the ‘precious item’ that would decide the war's outcome, a person valuable enough for Dion to seek out personally.
Depending on their relationship, he could significantly influence Dion's future in the Deformed City, but…
At this moment, Dion’s focus was less on the Masked Man and more on the other two—specifically, the fox girl.
It was inevitable.
If the Masked Man was a being who could merely influence the future of the Deformed City, the little fox girl was a being who held the fate of numerous cities in her hands.
Her very life and death could change the future of not just the Fox Spirit Ridge, but Odobaekryeong itself.
That was why, in his second life, he had scoured Odobaekryeong and tried every method to find her, but to no avail. To think that he would meet her like this, the one he had resolved to find by any means necessary this time around.
It was, in many ways, unimaginable.
Could he have mistaken her for someone else?
It was enough to make him doubt himself.
But while others might be mistaken, Dion was certain.
Although this was their first meeting, the little fox girl was undoubtedly the one he was looking for.
‘It’s been a long time, even if her restoration is incomplete.’
It wasn’t just because he knew all the stories her disciple had told.
Dion had the cheat known as the status window, and…
‘—An opponent whose status window I can’t read.’
Name: ■■■
Race: ■■ Fox (Yo■)
Titles: [■■■■■■■], [Yo■■■], [■■■■].
Class: ■■■■■ (Bold)(Inactive).
Traits: 【■■■■(M)】(Sealed), 【■■(M)】, 【■■■■■(M)】(Inactive), 【Nation-Toppling ■■(SR)】(Inactive), 【■■■(SR)】…….
『The target's level is too high to view their status window.』
…the very fact that Dion couldn’t read her status window was the greatest proof that the little fox girl was her.