Chapter 254: Open World (3)

Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 254: Open World (3)

Huff, huff.

I ran through the flames, inhaling smoky air through my nose.

Boom! Boom!

I sprinted through the rubble of a building that couldn't take the fire and collapsed. Oh, the reason my footsteps sounded like this was simple. I'd turned on Giantization to raise my Flame Resistance if only a little bit.

How far in have I gotten?

I tried to somehow figure out where I was while running, but I couldn't know for sure. The palace, which always served as a way to measure distance whenever I came to this part of the city, was invisible because of the smoke. All I could do was keep running.

Whoosh!

Anyway, in the hour I spent running around, I learned two things.

Whooosh!

First, no matter how I looked at it, these flames tearing through the city couldn't have been caused by a simple spark. Flames that didn't stop at just spreading and continued to explode at regular intervals?

It must be magic.

Kwaaaaaang!

I stopped that thought in its tracks and quickly moved my shield in the direction of the explosion—a red shield with an entirely different price tag than the shield I'd temporarily borrowed from the knights after hearing about the assassin.

[The Lava Shield has absorbed the flames. Your Soul Power is restored in proportion to the amount absorbed.]

No. 4819: Lava Shield. I brought it along because it came with a passive +30 Flame Resistance bonus when equipped, but it was really coming in handy now.

Ha, it would have been a big problem if I came in with nothing.

In life, it was always better to be safe than sorry. Since this was an item that only reacted to attack skills and magic, I thought the Soul Power part of its abilities would be useless. But without this, I would've had to save my energy and conserve Giantization for later.

The second thing I realized was that everywhere I went, things were quiet. Buildings were collapsing and the sounds of flames roaring and burning down the city filled my ears, but I encountered no survivors. Not a single scream was heard, let alone a call for help.

...Still, what's fortunate is there aren't many corpses.

The corpses I encountered were all lying face down and pointing in the opposite direction I was. They had fled further into the capitol to escape the fire, which had started from the outskirts because the palace was there too.

I hope Raven got there safely...

While I hoped she had escaped this catastrophe, I continued to run through the flames because that might not have been the case. According to what the guard had told me, the entirety of Karnon's southern neighborhood was engulfed in flames. Raven's inn was in the very center of South Karnon.

It should be somewhere about here...

Tap.

I stopped in my tracks. In front of me was a stone structure covered in hazy smoke.

Banggg!

I was injured all over by the explosions going off even now, but because it was such a big building, it wasn't hard to recognize it as the Third Public Platform of the imperial capital of Karnon. I quickly glanced around and was left dazed.

God damn it.

The address Raven gave me was right around here, but of course, I didn't know the exact location. But what did that matter? No matter where I looked—north, east, south, west—nothing was intact.

I tried holding my breath to focus on the sounds around me as well, but I still heard nothing but the goddamn fire. What happened to Raven? Had she managed to escape like I'd been hoping?

"Arua Raven!"

Just in case, I screamed as loud as I could, figuring that someone in the area may have been waiting for help. But despite several calls, there was no response. I was just about to keep moving toward the palace when a voice rang out in my head.

"...Mr. Yandel?"

Secret Voice was a basic spell that all wizards could do.

"What? What are you doing here, Mr. Yandel?"

So she really was nearby. What would have happened if I'd left like I was planning to? Feeling dizzy, I hurriedly cried out, "Where are you?!"

"Come a little further down the road on the other side of the platform. Then you should be able to see me."

When I followed Raven's instructions, a plaza appeared. Raven was by the fountain in the center with ten survivors.

Slide.

When I stepped into the sphere of mana keeping the fire at bay, I could see Raven's small form standing proud. "Why on earth are you here, Mr. Yandel?"

Um, can't you give me a little welcome?

It seemed reality was different from the movies after all. Normally in the movies, they came running in for a hug.

"Did you... come all this way for me? Through that fire?"

You wish.

"I was on a walk," I blurted, feeling embarrassed for some reason. I was really glad that she was safe. "But why are you still here and not near the palace? If there is a fire, you should run away immediately. Have you lost your mind?"

After joining Raven, I first stopped to hear her side of the story. Why was she still here near her house and not the palace? The reason was really simple.

"Well..." Raven had been testing her newly acquired knowledge in the temporary lab she had set up in her inn. That was why she didn't hear about the fire in time when it broke out. "It's convenient being near the platform, but it tends to be noisy. I usually block out that noise, so..."

By the time Raven noticed the change, the surrounding area was already covered in flames, but it hadn't been as late then as it was now. She could have gotten out.

"If I just left then, everyone would have died."

However, the moment Raven saw a woman lying on the street with a child in her arms, she decided to stay there. She may have been a fan of cold logic, but she tended to stick to her morals as much as she could. She had probably been unconcerned at the time, assuming that the fire would be extinguished soon with just a bit of patience. She probably hadn't expected the situation to turn this serious.

"...Let me apologize first. I never dreamed you would come looking for me, Mr. Yandel."

I told you I was on a walk.

"Don't apologize." This tiny thing was pretending to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be an adult. "Well done."

"...Pardon?"

I glanced around at the survivors gazing at us with anxious eyes and said, "You have to save whoever you can."

God damn it.

The address Raven gave me was right around here, but of course, I didn't know the exact location. But what did that matter? No matter where I looked—north, east, south, west—nothing was intact.

I tried holding my breath to focus on the sounds around me as well, but I still heard nothing but the goddamn fire. What happened to Raven? Had she managed to escape like I'd been hoping?

"Arua Raven!"

Just in case, I screamed as loud as I could, figuring that someone in the area may have been waiting for help. But despite several calls, there was no response. I was just about to keep moving toward the palace when a voice rang out in my head.

"...Mr. Yandel?"

Secret Voice was a basic spell that all wizards could do.

"What? What are you doing here, Mr. Yandel?"

So she really was nearby. What would have happened if I'd left like I was planning to? Feeling dizzy, I hurriedly cried out, "Where are you?!"

"Come a little further down the road on the other side of the platform. Then you should be able to see me."

When I followed Raven's instructions, a plaza appeared. Raven was by the fountain in the center with ten survivors.

Slide.

When I stepped into the sphere of mana keeping the fire at bay, I could see Raven's small form standing proud. "Why on earth are you here, Mr. Yandel?"

Um, can't you give me a little welcome?

It seemed reality was different from the movies after all. Normally in the movies, they came running in for a hug.

"Did you... come all this way for me? Through that fire?"

You wish.

"I was on a walk," I blurted, feeling embarrassed for some reason. I was really glad that she was safe. "But why are you still here and not near the palace? If there is a fire, you should run away immediately. Have you lost your mind?"

After joining Raven, I first stopped to hear her side of the story. Why was she still here near her house and not the palace? The reason was really simple.

"Well..." Raven had been testing her newly acquired knowledge in the temporary lab she had set up in her inn. That was why she didn't hear about the fire in time when it broke out. "It's convenient being near the platform, but it tends to be noisy. I usually block out that noise, so..."

By the time Raven noticed the change, the surrounding area was already covered in flames, but it hadn't been as late then as it was now. She could have gotten out.

"If I just left then, everyone would have died."

However, the moment Raven saw a woman lying on the street with a child in her arms, she decided to stay there. She may ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have been a fan of cold logic, but she tended to stick to her morals as much as she could. She had probably been unconcerned at the time, assuming that the fire would be extinguished soon with just a bit of patience. She probably hadn't expected the situation to turn this serious.

"...Let me apologize first. I never dreamed you would come looking for me, Mr. Yandel."

I told you I was on a walk.

"Don't apologize." This tiny thing was pretending to be an adult. "Well done."

"...Pardon?"

I glanced around at the survivors gazing at us with anxious eyes and said, "You have to save whoever you can."

No matter how I looked at it, these people didn't just look like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠NPCs to me. They were people, same as me—even if people like them called people like me evil spirits.

But looks like there are no nobles.

Taking a quick look around, I realized that most of them looked like ordinary lower-middle-class citizens. That made sense. After all, even if this was the imperial capital, 90 percent of the population of Karnon were commoners, people who lived and worked here to make the lives of nobles easier.

"But where did you get that equipment from?" As the situation began to sort itself out, Raven questioned my firefighter equipment and Lava Shield.

Was it because she was a wizard? Even in the middle of all this chaos, her curiosity came first. I briefly filled her in on the source of my equipment.

The look in Raven's eyes grew strange. "That's unbelievable. Master I understand, but the others are not the type of people to do that."

"You can say that even though I didn't tell you who exactly I was talking about?"

"To an extent. The wizard community seems big, but it's small enough that everyone knows each other."

Oh, I see. But since we can't stand around talking about this forever, let's change the subject.

"So how's this barrier of yours? Can you keep it up while moving?"

When I got down to business, Raven's expression also shifted, growing serious. "I can. Although it'll be much weaker."

"So, what's your opinion? You think you can hold it?"

"You're using the Orb of Fire, right? If I use Cold Blood here, I think I'll be able to hold out."

"And you're good on mana?"

"...I'll have to try it to find out." Raven, like any proper wizard, didn't offer false assurances willy-nilly. Simply put, that meant this could go either way, but neither of us mentioned abandoning anyone.

"Did you all hear that? We're going to get moving so if you have any objections, please tell me now." Raven explained the plan to the survivors once again, and there were naturally no objections. "Then let's go."

Once Raven finished transforming the barrier into its mobile form, we stepped into the fire.

"How is everyone? Doing okay?"

"I-It's bearable, Ms. Wizard."

The survivors were sweating profusely but the air within the barrier wasn't hot enough to burn. They appeared to be having difficulty breathing because of the smoke, but Raven periodically used wind magic to push the smoke away and replenish our oxygen.

"Stay close so that you don't fall behind."

The radius of the Orb of Fire was fifteen yards. Adjusting our speed to make sure the survivors didn't fall out of that range, we started at a canter.

Banggg!

I blocked the explosions in front and Raven was in charge of the back.

"Mana?"

"Still plenty, don't worry."

Aside from the fact that Raven's mana was being consumed in real-time, we were moving at a fairly steady pace. After traveling for a long stretch, we got our first bit of good news in a while.

"The flames have definitely gone down."

"Does that mean we'll be able to get out of here soon?"

"If my predictions are correct."

Even the survivors, who had reached their physical limits, showed surprising tenacity now that they had hope fueling them. But where there was good news, bad news was sure to follow.

"Mana ahead!" Raven suddenly exclaimed, urgently cutting through our conversation. In response, I hurriedly faced forward. And at that moment—

God damn it.

A huge fireball appeared in front of me. I reflexively raised my shield to block it.

[You've exceeded your single absorption limit. Your Soul Power is consumed in proportion to the amount absorbed.]

In sharp contrast to the boost the shield had been giving me thus far, I felt a huge amount of energy drain right out of me.

Shit. A Fire-attribute attack that can't be blocked with a Lava Shield? What kind of bastard...?

I raised my head. The first thing I saw was the ruins of buildings floating in the air.

Crumble...

The flaming chunks of stone were packed densely together and were turning into the shapes of golems.

Raven's distraught voice rang out behind me. "Mr. Yandel. This spell is—"

"Stop, you don't have to tell me. I know."

It was the rank-five summon spell, Fire Giant. A spell I remembered seeing once before.

...No wonder the fire was strangely hot.

I gripped the mace tighter and continued to stare straight ahead.

Step, step.

I couldn't hear the sound of footsteps, but an old man with another man following behind him soon appeared through the flames.

"I never thought I'd see you here." The old man stopped walking and said, "Luck is on my side."

Yeah, there was no way things could go this smoothly. The Fallen Scholar, Belbev Ruingenes.

To think I'd run into him here.

Already, a corner of my heart felt tight, but this at least told me one thing.

So it really was those bastards from Noark.

These guys were the culprits behind the fire. Well, it made sense ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠when you thought about it. Who else would wreak havoc in the city like this?

"Raven." I set that all aside for now and gave orders. "You take the people outside. Since you said we're almost there, you can do that without me, right?"

"But..."

Oh, you and your smart mouth.

"Do as I say. When have I ever been wrong?"

The answer came after a moment of silence, not with her physical voice but in the form of a Secret Voice transmission. "...I'll bring help here as fast as I can."

Afterward, Raven used a wind spell to push the flames away, creating a path and leading the survivors through it. Surprisingly, Fallen Scholar let her be. I was prepared to stop him as soon as he tried something funny.

Yeah, it'll be easier for you to deal with me without a wizard, eh?

I could roughly guess what he was thinking. Not that it didn't seem out of character anyway, but I figured there was no reason he would let them go so easily if not that.

"When?"

Huh?

"I heard you were in the palace. When did you get here?"

What the hell was he talking about now? Before I could even tilt my head, the answer appeared before my eyes.

"Just now." A man in his twenties emerged from the flames like he had been there from the start. "Hey, Dentures."

"...Dentures?" I asked.

Baekho furrowed his brow at Fallen Scholar. "Who said you could set a fire without my permission?"

No matter how I looked at it, these people didn't just look like NPCs to me. They were people, same as me—even if people like them called people like me evil spirits.

But looks like there are no nobles.

Taking a quick look around, I realized that most of them looked like ordinary lower-middle-class citizens. That made sense. After all, even if this was the imperial capital, 90 percent of the population of Karnon were commoners, people who lived and worked here to make the lives of nobles easier.

"But where did you get that equipment from?" As the situation began to sort itself out, Raven questioned my firefighter equipment and Lava Shield.

Was it because she was a wizard? Even in the middle of all this chaos, her curiosity came first. I briefly filled her in on the source of my equipment.

The look in Raven's eyes grew strange. "That's unbelievable. Master I understand, but the others are not the type of people to do that."

"You can say that even though I didn't tell you who exactly I was talking about?"

"To an extent. The wizard community seems big, but it's small enough that everyone knows each other."

Oh, I see. But since we can't stand around talking about this forever, let's change the subject.

"So how's this barrier of yours? Can you keep it up while moving?"

When I got down to business, Raven's expression also shifted, growing serious. "I can. Although it'll be much weaker."

"So, what's your opinion? You think you can hold it?"

"You're using the Orb of Fire, right? If I use Cold Blood here, I think I'll be able to hold out."

"And you're good on mana?"

"...I'll have to try it to find out." Raven, like any proper wizard, didn't offer false assurances willy-nilly. Simply put, that meant this could go either way, but neither of us mentioned abandoning anyone.

"Did you all hear that? We're going to get moving so if you have any objections, please tell me now." Raven explained the plan to the survivors once again, and there were naturally no objections. "Then let's go."

Once Raven finished transforming the barrier into its mobile form, we stepped into the fire.

"How is everyone? Doing okay?"

"I-It's bearable, Ms. Wizard."

The survivors were sweating profusely but the air within the barrier wasn't hot enough to burn. They appeared to be having difficulty breathing because of the smoke, but Raven periodically used wind magic to push the smoke away and replenish our oxygen.

"Stay close so that you don't fall behind."

The radius of the Orb of Fire was fifteen yards. Adjusting our speed to make sure the survivors didn't fall out of that range, we started at a canter.

Banggg!

I blocked the explosions in front and Raven was in charge of the back.

"Mana?"

"Still plenty, don't worry."

Aside from the fact that Raven's mana was being consumed in real-time, we were moving at a fairly steady pace. After traveling for a long stretch, we got our first bit of good news in a while.

"The flames have definitely gone down."

"Does that mean we'll be able to get out of here soon?"

"If my predictions are correct."

Even the survivors, who had reached their physical limits, showed surprising tenacity now that they had hope fueling them. But where there was good news, bad news was sure to follow.

"Mana ahead!" Raven suddenly exclaimed, urgently cutting through our conversation. In response, I hurriedly faced forward. And at that moment—

God damn it.

A huge fireball appeared in front of me. I reflexively raised my shield to block it.

[You've exceeded your single absorption limit. Your Soul Power is consumed in proportion to the amount absorbed.]

In sharp contrast to the boost the shield had been giving me thus far, I felt a huge amount of energy drain right out of me.

Shit. A Fire-attribute attack that can't be blocked with a Lava Shield? What kind of bastard...?

I raised my head. The first thing I saw was the ruins of buildings floating in the air.

Crumble...

The flaming chunks of stone were packed densely together and were turning into the shapes of golems.

Raven's distraught voice rang out behind me. "Mr. Yandel. This spell is—"

"Stop, you don't have to tell me. I know."

It was the rank-five summon spell, Fire Giant. A spell I remembered seeing once before.

...No wonder the fire was strangely hot.

I gripped the mace tighter and continued to stare straight ahead.

Step, step.

I couldn't hear the sound of footsteps, but an old man with another man following behind him soon appeared through the flames.

"I never thought I'd see you here." The old man stopped walking and said, "Luck is on my side."

Yeah, there was no way things could go this smoothly. The Fallen Scholar, Belbev Ruingenes.

To think I'd run into him here.

Already, a corner of my heart felt tight, but this at least told me one thing.

So it really was those bastards from Noark.

These guys were the culprits behind the fire. Well, it made sense when you thought about it. Who else would wreak havoc in the city like this?

"Raven." I set that all aside for now and gave orders. "You take the people outside. Since you said we're almost there, you can do that without me, right?"

"But..."

Oh, you and your smart mouth.

"Do as I say. When have I ever been wrong?"

The answer came after a moment of silence, not with her physical voice but in the form of a Secret Voice transmission. "...I'll bring help here as fast as I can."

Afterward, Raven used a wind spell to push the flames away, creating a path and leading the survivors through it. Surprisingly, Fallen Scholar let her be. I was prepared to stop him as soon as he tried something funny.

Yeah, it'll be easier for you to deal with me without a wizard, eh?

I could roughly guess what he was thinking. Not that it didn't seem out of character anyway, but I figured there was no reason he would let them go so easily if not that.

"When?"

Huh?

"I heard you were in the palace. When did you get here?"

What the hell was he talking about now? Before I could even tilt my head, the answer appeared before my eyes.

"Just now." A man in his twenties emerged from the flames like he had been there from the start. "Hey, Dentures."

"...Dentures?" I asked.

Baekho furrowed his brow at Fallen Scholar. "Who said you could set a fire without my permission?"