Chapter 319: Memory (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 319: Memory (4)
How strong had I become? This was a question I had been asking myself for the past few months. In the game, I could get a sense of my growth through stats, but in real life, it was hard to tell based on that alone. This wasn't just a game.
In that sense, he might be the perfect match for me.
Even an ordinary knight capable of harnessing an aura was on par with a rank-six adventurer, and when it came to interpersonal battles, they would be ranked even higher. But my specs weren't all that shabby, either. Of course, my Spirit Imprint was still at stage six, and my level was still so low that I had an overwhelmingly small number of essences compared to the strongest fighters of this era. But from Ogre to Bayon to Storm Gush, I had a whopping three rank-three essences. The combination of said essences also had thought behind it and was specially designed with synergy in mind. More importantly, the main reason a tank couldn't compete with a knight was because they lacked in the damage department, but in this case, Demon Grinder could make up for that.
So in other words... we're on a level playing field. One hit, and we're both dead.
A tense silence fell on the dark steps. I supposed he was also uneasy about how confident I was acting.
Did I come on too strong for no reason?
My opponent spent so much time measuring the distance between us that this question came to mind. The more he did, the more I honed my concentration. Just as they said that a battle between swordsmen of old was decided in one breath, this battle was likewise decided in an instant.
Slide.
The one to make the first move was the other side. He took a single step. The moment he climbed one stair to compensate for his lack of reach, I sprayed the acid blood I had been storing up in my mouth by biting my tongue.
"Puhuuup!"
The bastard didn't dodge it. Like a boxer who didn't even blink an eye when a punch was thrown at him, he took a neutral stance and thrust his sword. This was the reason why Corpse Golem essences were so overpowered. Not a single son of a bitch knew about Acid Blood. He must have figured getting covered in blood was no big deal.
Chhh!
The acid blood reached him before his sword reached me. There were no screams—just the sizzle of something melting. But even if he was trained to handle things like this, no human being could have perfect control over their body. He reflexively closed his eyes, which made the tip of his sword waver. Taking advantage of that opening, I twisted my body to the side and pounced.
Dash.
The hovering sword grazed my side. It wasn't an injury worth worrying about, but did he realize what was going on just from the sensations he felt through the sword?
Slide.
He raised the shield in his left hand. Since his first move had failed, it seemed he was choosing to use defense to get through this round. Judging by the white light forming on the surface of the shield, it looked like he had at least one defense-related ability. However, this was his second self-mate. This hammer had Armor Penetration.
Clashhh!
The moment I mercilessly brought the hammer down on him, his mouth fell open and he spewed out blood. "Kurgh!" His eyes were full of shock. Well, I was sure it must have been hard for him to understand why his body had been pulverized when he had blocked the attack with a shield. But understanding something and accepting it were two different things.
Dash.
Accepting that he was in a tight spot, he retreated down the stairs. The attempt to somehow buy time to regroup was his third self-mate, because I also had a grab ability.
Whoom!
Using Transcendence followed by Eye of the Storm, I stopped him from getting away from me.
"N-No...!"
Yes.
Crash, crash, crash!
I brought down the hammer again and again until his head was turned to paste.
"Ugh, I'm sweating."
After hitting him enough to kill him three times over, I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead. Although the battle had only lasted a few seconds, it consumed considerable mental energy. The rewards were still unmistakable, though.
Wow, what kind of equipment starts at grade four?
I guessed the castellan had invested quite a lot because the knight's equipment was very good. I couldn't bring myself to leave it behind, so I quickly stripped it and threw it in sub-space. I had to abandon the least valuable items that were in there because I was out of space, but that was unavoidable.
Suddenly, I remembered the note Amelia left behind.
Take the Fragment of Records Stone and leave on my own? Leave where? I still haven't found a place to bury the equipment yet.
How could I leave this all behind after all that work? I couldn't go anywhere until I dealt with that first. I didn't even know how to use the stone in the first place, anyway.
At any rate, an opportunity like this will never come again so I have to take it fast.
When I finished looting, I left the naked body behind and went down the stairs.
Tap.
The stairs themselves were very wide but when I traveled to the bottom, a passageway big enough for twenty people to easily pass through appeared. There was a large door at the end.
It's slightly open.
There was no one visible in my immediate surroundings, so I approached the door, making as little sound as possible. Beyond the door of what seemed to be a shelter, only one person was seated. His hairline had been peeled back by the ravages of time. He had a fat, lumpy belly, a fancy outfit that clearly looked like it was made of quality fabric, and eyelid creases deep enough to leave you feeling uncomfortable. This had to be the castellan, whom I had only seen from afar once before.
The castellan seemed to sense my presence at that point, as he spoke up in an anxious voice. "...Sir Omanus?"
Hmm, what to do?
After thinking about it for a moment, I just revealed myself.
"You are... Iron Mask?" The castellan flinched when he spotted me. "Where is Sir Omanus? He went to check on what's happening..."
"Omanus is dead. Ah, just to be clear, I killed him."
When I calmly relayed this information, the castellan's eyes widened and he started to back away.
What a useless thing to do. You think you can run away like that?
When I quickly walked over and lifted him by the back of the neck, the castellan of Noark's castle started to flail around in a fit of rage. "Ugh! Let go! I said let go! How dare you!? Do you know who I am!?" It was an extremely bad look for the ruler of a city.
Welp, then you should have brought more guards to your secret panic room.
"W-What do you want...?! S-Stop! Use your words!"
Whoom!
Using Transcendence followed by Eye of the Storm, I stopped him from getting away from me.
"N-No...!"
Yes.
Crash, crash, crash!
I brought down the hammer again and again until his head was turned to paste.
"Ugh, I'm sweating."
After hitting him enough to kill him three times over, I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead. Although the battle had only lasted a few seconds, it consumed considerable mental energy. The rewards were still unmistakable, though.
Wow, what kind of equipment starts at grade four?
I guessed the castellan had invested quite a lot because the knight's equipment was very good. I couldn't bring myself to leave it behind, so I quickly stripped it and threw it in sub-space. I had to abandon the least valuable items that were in there because I was out of space, but that was unavoidable.
Suddenly, I remembered the note Amelia left behind.
Take the Fragment of Records Stone and leave on my own? Leave where? I still haven't found a place to bury the equipment yet.
How could I leave this all behind after all that work? I couldn't go anywhere until I dealt with that first. I didn't even know how to use the stone in the first place, anyway.
At any rate, an opportunity like this will never come again so I have to take it fast.
When I finished looting, I left the naked body behind and went down the stairs.
Tap.
The stairs themselves were very wide but when I traveled to the bottom, a passageway big enough for twenty people to easily pass through appeared. There was a large door at the end.
It's slightly open.
There was no one visible in my immediate surroundings, so I approached the door, making as little sound as possible. Beyond the door of what seemed to be a shelter, only one person was seated. His hairline had been peeled back by the ravages of time. He had a fat, lumpy belly, a fancy outfit that clearly looked like it was made of quality fabric, and eyelid creases deep enough to leave you feeling uncomfortable. This had to be the castellan, whom I had only seen from afar once before.
The castellan seemed to sense my presence at that point, as he spoke up in an anxious voice. "...Sir Omanus?"
Hmm, what to do?
After thinking about it for a moment, I just revealed myself.
"You are... Iron Mask?" The castellan flinched when he spotted me. "Where is Sir Omanus? He went to check on what's happening..."
"Omanus is dead. Ah, just to be clear, I killed him."
When I calmly relayed this information, the castellan's eyes widened and he started to back away.
What a useless thing to do. You think you can run away like that?
When I quickly walked over and lifted him by the back of the neck, the castellan of Noark's castle started to flail around in a fit of rage. "Ugh! Let go! I said let go! How dare you!? Do you know who I am!?" It was an extremely bad look for the ruler of a city.
Welp, then you should have brought more guards to your secret panic room.
"W-What do you want...?! S-Stop! Use your words!"
I lifted him with one hand and gave him a simple pat-down to search him. Before long, I found what I was looking for. Amelia said he would most definitely have it on him and she was right. I didn't know it would be in the form of a necklace, though.
Tap.
I forcefully ripped off the necklace and released the castellan. He let out an angry shout about a treasure left behind by his predecessors getting taken away from him, but he did not fight me.
Okay, I have it now.
Worried that just touching it might activate it somehow, I held onto just the chain of the necklace and placed the Fragment of Records Stone in the sub-space.
"You...! Do you know what that is!? Give it to me now! I said give it to me!"
"Ugh, so noisy. Want me to rip out your teeth?" Once I got the castellan to shut his mouth, I calmly asked, "Do you know how to use the Fragment of Records Stone?"
"You! That's what you were after—!"
"Just answer the question. It's just you and me here."
"...You think I have anything to say to you!?"
The castellan was a surprisingly tough nut to crack. At first, he got angry, then he said he didn't know, and it was only after a beating that he revealed the story that had been passed down by his predecessors.
"There's no way to use it?"
"A-At least according to all known records, y-yes... But it is said that when a person who will answer the call of the times comes near it, a light will shine."
I wasn't expecting that at all. Amelia told me that even the castellan himself didn't know how to use it, but in reality, he seemed to know everything about it.
So it won't activate unless a condition is met.
It was a good idea to ask just in case.
"If that answers your question—"
"Uh huh, just tell me this. What does a person who 'answers the call of the times' have to do if he wants to go back?"
"What...? Why would you ask—" I guessed he must have had more than zero brain cells after all, because the castellan's eyes went wide. "Wait, are you...!?"
Well, you would have to be a moron not to figure it out after all those hints.
I had no intention of hiding it, so I just nodded. "It's as you think. So tell me what I need to do to return to my original time period."
"N-No wonder... I was wondering how you reached this place no one knows about. I guess that was how..."
"Another thing I didn't ask."
When I reprimanded him, the castellan turned pale and hurriedly answered my question. "I-I heard you leave the same way you come. That after you complete all your work here, the stone will call you forth again..."
"How bothersome."
"...Can I also ask a question?" As I was wondering what to do now, the castellan spoke to me. "W-what kind of person am I in the future?" he asked, his eyes sparkling unpleasantly.
Did he expect to leave his mark on history like a hero? "Why are you asking that?"
"I-It's just curiosity... Although now that you're here, that future won't exist... I can still be curious."
So, he actually didn't know anything. Well, I was sure that was why the rumors all said this was a treasure that could take you to the past and change history—even Noark's leadership didn't know how it really worked.
"Ah, how does the operation today end up going? Orcules, did we succeed in driving those bastards out of the city?" the castellan asked.
"Are you that curious about the future?" He nodded at me. "Then close your eyes."
"...They're closed."
"What do you see?"
"I don't see anything."
That was a relief. It would have been a problem if he said he saw something.
"That's your future." I brought down the hammer with all my might.
Slump.
The castellan's body slumped and a red pool of blood began to collect where he fell. I looked away without much interest. If even half the things I heard and saw while living in this city for the past few months were true, he fully deserved to die.
He was fated to die on this day too.
The murder of the castellan would be known as the work of Orcules to the public, and that was what Amelia believed as well. But as it turned out, the real culprit was me.
Well, that's not surprising anymore.
In truth, I debated whether to kill him or not until the last moment. Still, there was only one reason why I finally brought down the hammer. Even if I just up and left, the castellan would be killed by someone today and history would come to pass. That would most definitely be the case no matter what. Unless, by the slimmest chance, the one I killed was a fake and the real castellan fled and completely fooled the entire world for twenty years or something. Unless it was a scenario as ridiculous as that, the results wouldn't change.
"Huh...?" At that moment, my feet stopped on their own. "Wait."
I thought I could understand how the philosopher who shouted Eureka! felt.
"...Fool the entire world?"
It felt like an electric current was flowing from my head to my toes.
I lifted him with one hand and gave him a simple pat-down to search him. Before long, I found what I was looking for. Amelia said he would most definitely have it on him and she was right. I didn't know it would be in the form of a necklace, though.
Tap.
I forcefully ripped off the necklace and released the castellan. He let out an angry shout about a treasure left behind by his predecessors getting taken away from him, but he did not fight me.
Okay, I have it now.
Worried that just touching it might activate it somehow, I held onto just the chain of the necklace and placed the Fragment of Records Stone in the sub-space.
"You...! Do you know what that is!? Give it to me now! I said give it to me!"
"Ugh, so noisy. Want me to rip out your teeth?" Once I got the castellan to shut his mouth, I calmly asked, "Do you know how to use the Fragment of Records Stone?"
"You! That's what you were after—!"
"Just answer the question. It's just you and me here."
"...You think I have anything to say to you!?"
The castellan was a surprisingly tough nut to crack. At first, he got angry, then he said he didn't know, and it was only after a beating that he revealed the story that had been passed down by his predecessors.
"There's no way to use it?"
"A-At least according to all known records, y-yes... But it is said that when a person who will answer the call of the times comes near it, a light will shine."
I wasn't expecting that at all. Amelia told me that even the castellan himself didn't know how to use it, but in reality, he seemed to know everything about it.
So it won't activate unless a condition is met.
It was a good idea to ask just in case.
"If that answers your question—"
"Uh huh, just tell me this. What does a person who 'answers the call of the times' have to do if he wants to go back?"
"What...? Why would you ask—" I guessed he must have had more than zero brain cells after all, because the castellan's eyes went wide. "Wait, are you...!?"
Well, you would have to be a moron not to figure it out after all those hints.
I had no intention of hiding it, so I just nodded. "It's as you think. So tell me what I need to do to return to my original time period."
"N-No wonder... I was wondering how you reached this place no one knows about. I guess that was how..."
"Another thing I didn't ask."
When I reprimanded him, the castellan turned pale and hurriedly answered my question. "I-I heard you leave the same way you come. That after you complete all your work here, the stone will call you forth again..."
"How bothersome."
"...Can I also ask a question?" As I was wondering what to do now, the castellan spoke to me. "W-what kind of person am I in the future?" he asked, his eyes sparkling unpleasantly.
Did he expect to leave his mark on history like a hero? "Why are you asking that?"
"I-It's just curiosity... Although now that you're here, that future won't exist... I can still be curious."
So, he actually didn't know anything. Well, I was sure that was why the rumors all said this was a treasure that could take you to the past and change history—even Noark's leadership didn't know how it really worked.
"Ah, how does the operation today end up going? Orcules, did we succeed in driving those bastards out of the city?" the castellan asked.
"Are you that curious about the future?" He nodded at me. "Then close your eyes."
"...They're closed."
"What do you see?"
"I don't see anything."
That was a relief. It would have been a problem if he said he saw something.
"That's your future." I brought down the hammer with all my might.
Slump.
The castellan's body slumped and a red pool of blood began to collect where he fell. I looked away without much interest. If even half the things I heard and saw while living in this city for the past few months were true, he fully deserved to die.
He was fated to die on this day too.
The murder of the castellan would be known as the work of Orcules to the public, and that was what Amelia believed as well. But as it turned out, the real culprit was me.
Well, that's not surprising anymore.
In truth, I debated whether to kill him or not until the last moment. Still, there was only one reason why I finally brought down the hammer. Even if I just up and left, the castellan would be killed by someone today and history would come to pass. That would most definitely be the case no matter what. Unless, by the slimmest chance, the one I killed was a fake and the real castellan fled and completely fooled the entire world for twenty years or something. Unless it was a scenario as ridiculous as that, the results wouldn't change.
"Huh...?" At that moment, my feet stopped on their own. "Wait."
I thought I could understand how the philosopher who shouted Eureka! felt.
"...Fool the entire world?"
It felt like an electric current was flowing from my head to my toes.