Chapter 31

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 31

Chapter Title: Foggy Mine (6)

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"My condition is simple. Kill Kaliune's Knight, and I'll give you 2,000 coins."

Cheisi eyed Algeo suspiciously as he boldly made his claim, already knowing his track record.

"What."

"You don't even have any coins."

"...Look, I get why you don't trust me. But it's true."

Cheisi turned to the knight.

"This guy's full of it. No way he's giving you 2,000 coins."

"Why not?"

"If it were a real quest, the quest window would pop up. It hasn't. Plus, he tried to scam me once before. And his name's literally Gambler."

"I see."

The knight nodded as if he understood.

"So it is a scam."

"...I have no idea what you two are talking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠about, but it's real!"

Algeo grumbled, sounding genuinely aggrieved.

"I wasn't going to mention this, but Kaliune's Knight is guarding a treasure-filled 'mausoleum.' Kill him, and you can grab all sorts of amazing stuff from inside."

"...For real?"

"Why would I lie?"

It bothered her that these words were coming from someone so untrustworthy, but Cheisi had half-expected something like this anyway.

'Figures an elite monster wouldn't just be hanging around for nothing.'

The word "mausoleum" lit up the chat, which began scrolling at breakneck speed.

Viewer count: 20,000. The barrage was so intense it was hard to read.

'A mausoleum, huh.'

Cheisi fell deep into thought.

A treasure-packed mausoleum. It sounded ominous just hearing about it.

And Algeo seemed serious this time, so her gut told her the info was legit.

"Thanks for the tip."

Cheisi bowed politely to Algeo and turned to leave.

"H-Hey! You're just gonna go like that?!"

"I don't need you anymore."

Now that she knew the 2,000 coins were coming from the mausoleum, Algeo was surplus to requirements.

"W-Wait! You're seriously ditching me just like that?!"

Algeo frantically grabbed Cheisi, who had actually started walking away.

"Fine. Damn it. I didn't think I'd have to pull this out."

Algeo rummaged in his pocket and produced a pristine white flower.

"This is your ticket into the mausoleum."

"A ticket?"

"Yeah. Without it, even if you kill Kaliune's Knight, you won't get inside."

Now that was intriguing.

Cheisi stopped in her tracks.

"Whew. Let's lay out the terms properly. We take down Kaliune's Knight together and head into the mausoleum. We split the treasure fairly. Deal?"

"I'll take it."

Cheisi accepted the quest.

To hunt Kaliune's Knight, they needed maximum preparation.

Cheisi decided to level up some more first.

Current status: Level 10, 35%. Better to max it out as much as possible.

"You coming along?"

The knight had gotten the same quest, so she asked if he'd hunt with her.

"...Of course! To think you'd invite me to hunt together—such noble valor! It's profoundly moving!"

The knight replied without a moment's hesitation.

"But does this game even have parties?"

"It must."

The knight fiddled with something, then deflated.

"It says you need to be over Level 10 for this too..."

"What's your level right now?"

"Still 9."

"Then let's just hunt separately."

"Very well. How noble. Sigh."

After arriving at the Foggy Mine via mine cart, Cheisi parted ways with the knight and began hunting.

She prowled the fog, ambushing wavering shapes on sight for massive damage, making hunts fly by.

Slaughtering the wraiths mercilessly, Cheisi steadily racked up EXP.

Level 12 achieved.

Regular wraiths were starting to give diminishing returns, so Cheisi shifted to targeting shield wraiths.

A bit trickier, but with ambushes, they were doable.

She resumed hunting, focusing on shield wraiths.

"...Level 12, 95%."

She was right on the cusp of 13.

Cheisi gripped her dagger.

A shield wraith stood before her, HP nearly depleted.

One more, and she'd level.

"This'll get me to 13."

Staring down the wraith, Cheisi activated the skill 'Ambush.'

Or tried to.

Her vision went white, tinnitus ringing in her ears.

'...Ugh.'

A splitting headache hit moments later, forcing her eyes shut.

It was excruciating, but she gritted through it, hoping it'd pass.

When the pain finally eased and Cheisi opened her eyes...

"...Huh?"

Seo-hwa wasn't in the fog-shrouded mine anymore. She was staring at the familiar interior of her capsule.

Logged out of the game. She realized it instantly.

'...Why?'

Clutching her throbbing head, Seo-hwa tried logging back in.

"What...?"

A never-before-seen message blocked her login.

"Finally... Level 10."

A metallic voice echoed from within the black helmet.

The knight gazed contentedly at the number on his status window.

Level 10. The moment he'd been waiting for.

"A long and arduous wait. My noble efforts have borne noble fruit. Ah, such nobility."

The knight murmured in satisfaction.

"Now I can finally add a friend."

He'd rushed to Level 10 not just to grow stronger in Ariant World, but mostly to friend Cheisi.

That was the bigger motivation, honestly.

"Shall I reap this noble harvest, then?"

The knight began wandering the Foggy Mine.

His goal was no longer hunting monsters.

He sought Cheisi amid the dry, choking dust to request her friendship.

Guessing where she might be, the knight roamed until he finally spotted her.

"You there! I've finally reached the level where I can add you as a frie—"

As he stepped toward Cheisi, she suddenly vanished.

"...Hm? Logged out?"

Approaching where she'd been, the knight found an abandoned creature.

"Isn't this the creature that was perched on your shoulder, Cheisi? Good to see you."

Tuu?

The lens monster tilted quizzically at the stranger addressing it.

"Did Cheisi abandon you and log out?"

The lens monster nodded affirmatively this time.

"I see... Hm. Looks like we're both stuck waiting for her."

The knight offered his arm to the lens monster.

"Care to rest here for a bit?"

The lens monster plopped onto the knight's shoulder with a squelch.

Suddenly, something new appeared in the knight's fog-obscured view.

"...Hm?"

The knight stared puzzled at the odd rectangle in the corner of his vision.

"Chat window?"

"Abyss?"

The knight eyed the rapidly scrolling chat before speaking.

"This should keep things from getting boring. From now on, allow me to enlighten you all on the nobility of the Death Knight."

"Before I begin, I hope you've seen the anime The Great Death Knight—or GreatDes for short."

The knight began his tale, gazing into the fog and the chat.