Chapter 91
Chapter 91
Ch. 91 .｡.:✧ Chapter 91 ✧:.｡.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“It should be fine.”
“What on earth could it be…”
“It’s an artifact.”
“…!”
“There’s an artifact that Kayla and I were chasing… It seems that it’s in their hands now.”
“An artifact… in the possession of monsters?”
“It’s equipment. We had found a dungeon, but it had already been looted. In the process, we learned about the existence of the Minotaur tribe. As we chased them… we ended up here before we knew it.”
“…I see…”
“I became a mercenary to obtain an official identity, and at the same time to search for those we had lost track of.”
“…Indeed, if you become a mercenary, you do get immediate access to monster-related information.”
“That’s exactly it. In fact, thanks to that, we even caught a troll. Hahaha. Because of that, Master Otriokar came to view me favorably too.”
At the mention of an artifact, strong suspicion and faint greed appeared in Annelise’s eyes.
“But if you’re chasing an artifact, is it okay to give away information so easily? And even though it was a troll, you’re branching off in a different direction…”
“Ah. The reason I’m sharing information easily is that the artifact is sealed.”
“Those Minotaurs probably can’t use it properly. It needs to be unsealed, and only I know how to do that. I learned it while searching for the dungeon.”
For reference, this was true.
The artifact was indeed functionally sealed.
‘I know how to unseal it too.’
In fact, if it were just left to the Magic Tower, they could probably unseal it in a month or two, but given the situation, she seemed to believe my lie as it was.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter much even if the story leaks out.’
I already roughly knew the location of the Minotaur tribe.
Even if the information leaked, it would be fine as long as we claimed it first.
If anything, it would be helpful if mercenaries stirred up the Monster Forest looking for them.
‘They’ve settled in quite a nasty place.’
It wasn’t for nothing that the Minotaur tribe had remained unknown until now.
‘They’re hidden quite deep too.’
Annelise’s face hardened slightly at the mention that the artifact’s function was sealed.
She seemed to think it would be difficult to monopolize.
“Besides, we’ve been chasing them for several months now. We’ve lost track of them and it’s become difficult for us to find them on our own.”
“So, it’s not that you’ve branched off to something else…”
“It means we’re still pursuing them through other methods.”
By joining the Mercenary Guild to quickly obtain monster information, and…
“Even if others discover it, it’s a sealed artifact anyway. Only I know how to unseal it, so we should be able to purchase it at a relatively cheap price. We have some funds now after catching the troll too. If worse comes to worst, we could settle for just one.”
“…One? Don’t tell me there’s more than one artifact?”
“Yes. There are two. A sword and armor… We need the sword, so if the condition is to unseal the armor, I think we could at least get the sword.”
“By now you’ve probably guessed, but honestly, they’re not exceptionally outstanding artifacts. If they were, they would have become known long ago, and I wouldn’t be this relaxed. But still, since they’re artifacts…”
“They must be expensive.”
“They should be worth tens of gold. I need the sword for my research, and after the research is done, I plan to modify it and give it to Kayla.”
“So…”
For reference, the dungeon was made up, but most of the content about the artifacts was true.
The Sword of Regeneration and the Armor of Vitality.
They were one of the opportunities I was aiming for, and ancient relics that would be discovered by another mercenary group in the future.
“Tsk. Honestly, with our skills, if we just find them, killing them isn’t a problem…”
While Minotaurs were medium-large monsters and certainly powerful beings…
‘Our average skill level is too high.’
Compared to that, their skills weren’t enough to handle a Minotaur tribe.
In other words, if they wanted even a small share, they would have to stick with us.
The bait was cast.
‘It’s good if they take it, and not a big problem if they don’t.’
“What do you think, would you like to cooperate with us?”
‘She took the bait.’
Unfortunately, I didn’t get a definitive answer.
That was natural.
The leader wasn’t Annelise, but Cereo.
Moreover, Cereo couldn’t make decisions alone.
They weren’t an official mercenary group, but a party unit, meaning party members could leave at any time depending on the situation.
Therefore, it was natural that they needed to coordinate opinions with each other.
– I think everyone will agree. You said you’d provide compensation too…
Of course, I planned to pay the compensation in gold, not with the artifact.
If they found and brought it, that would be a different story, but if not, this was the natural result.
‘I’ve put up a lot of money too.’
I offered 5 gold on the condition of confidentiality.
‘I don’t know if we’ll be able to deal with them completely…’
From there on, it was a matter of luck.
‘Well, it’s difficult to take revenge based on grudges from the previous round in the first place.’
It was not just me, but a team of three.
Therefore, it wasn’t easy to deal with them without any reason.
‘Besides, if a party we’ve just become involved with is wiped out so soon after coming here, it’s bound to raise talk.’
I wanted to avoid that.
With so many radicals around, I couldn’t afford to give them any leverage.
It wasn’t for nothing that I said luck was involved.
‘Even if we can’t deal with them in one go, if we build a friendship through this incident, an opportunity will come in the future.’
Someday, a chance to deal with them naturally will come.
If we’re lucky, this might be that chance.
Of course, as I had initially decided, there was no further time spent with Annelise.
After making the proposal, I said I wanted a quick response.
She seemed to want to keep me longer, but given the size of the matter, she eventually gave up and we parted ways after just having a meal.
When I returned to the inn, Kayla, who spotted me, asked curiously.
“Did you drink?”
“Yeah. A little.”
“You said you had someone to meet…”
“It was for work.”
Kayla didn’t say anything more.
She just had a slightly curious expression, probably because I don’t usually drink much.
“If it goes well, we might act together with another party.”
“Hmm? Are there people who want to join us?”
Kayla spoke as if somewhat surprised.
“Yeah. There’s a good opportunity.”
“Are they not people who want something else?”
She seemed suspicious, probably because so many others had tried to entice her and Athena.
“That possibility can’t be ruled out, but as long as it benefits us, it doesn’t matter.”
“…It seems like it might be a bit troublesome…”
If Kayla’s suspicions were correct, it would inevitably be so.
But there was no need to worry about that.
‘Cereo eventually established a mercenary group in the future, after all.’
There might be some related forces, but the possibility of them being someone’s pawns was low.
“It’s something that will benefit you, so bear with it this time.”
“Me?”
I had used Kayla’s name when enticing Annelise.
Especially regarding the sword, I had said it would go to Kayla…
‘She should know about it.’
“You know I have quite a bit of information, right?”
“Yes. You don’t tell us the source, but that’s true.”
Since there were so many cases where I told them not to ask about the source in the first place, my companions didn’t ask me about the sources of information.
Of course, they might have personal doubts.
Maybe they even talked among themselves.
But that was all.
‘I have no intention of ever talking about the regression anyway.’
I was the one who knew information about the location of a dragon corpse that even the kingdom didn’t know about.
Although I hadn’t actually shown it, my companions believed that information, and given that I knew such information, they would probably just accept it if I knew other information at this point.
In fact, based on the information I had, we had retrieved artifacts and experimental logs from other warlocks’ dungeons.
“Could it be that there’s something in this area too?”
“…I thought you came here because it was a good place for easy activity and gaining fame…”
“Honestly, I didn’t plan to move this quickly, but an opportunity came up.”
“They approached you first, I see.”
“That’s right.”
Kayla still had a suspicious expression.
“There’s a monster tribe with artifacts.”
I relayed to Kayla the same story I had told Annelise.
“A sword and armor…”
“If we get both, I plan to unseal them and give them to you.”
“What I have now is already more than enough…”
It was made by Mutre, the dwarf.
Of course, its quality was good.
“You might think differently once you see them.”
“If you give them to me, I won’t refuse, but if it becomes dangerous…”
“They’re worth taking some risks for. I told them they were just ordinary artifacts, but they’re not just any artifacts.”
“They’re ancient relics.”
At the mention of ancient relics, Kayla’s pupils dilated.
“…I’ve agreed not to ask, but at this point, I can’t help but wonder what kind of person you were in the past, Master.”
Instead of answering, I just smiled lightly.
I couldn’t answer that I was a dimensional traveler and a regressor, after all.
“If they’re ancient relics… I certainly can’t help but think differently.”
There were various types of artifacts.
The artifacts created by modern magicians were the lowest level among artifacts, such as the temperature-controlled tents we used before, or boundary stones.
Of course, there were some exceptional ones among them.
However, those were really just a small fraction, and most didn’t even reach the level of the so-called ancient relics.
Ancient relics were also broadly categorized as artifacts, but they were called relics to distinguish them from those created in modern times.
They usually got this name because they were discovered in ruins, and they were at a level that current magicians simply couldn’t create.
Some even said they were artifacts made by dragons.
There were also grades among relics.
They were usually classified as Epic, Legendary, and Mythical, and the reason for those names was that the artifacts called relics often had functions similar to those used by characters in folk tales or legends.
Folk tales and legends were often passed down orally, so it was common for their transmission to be cut off, and relics were often discovered after wandering from place to place, so the identity of most of them was unknown.
Nevertheless, because these names were established early on, they continued to be called as such until now without change.
Similarly, there were also dungeon-excavated artifacts, but of course, these didn’t come from magicians’ dungeons.
Artifacts from fairly old dungeons were sometimes treated as relics, but what I was referring to as dungeon-excavated were artifacts found in dimensional rifts.
‘In the past, even dimensional rifts were treated like some magician’s dungeon.’
Later, it was revealed that dimensional rifts occured naturally, clearing up that misunderstanding, but since the name had already settled, they were still called dungeon-excavated.
Dungeon-excavated artifacts had a strong hit-or-miss nature.
Since they applied technology from other dimensions with different systems, some of them boasted performance no less than ancient relics, while others performed worse than low-grade artifacts made by magicians.
“For reference, the estimated grade is Legendary.”
“…Legendary, you say?”
“Yeah. It’s sealed so we’ll have to check, but it’s probably that.”
It was a common case where the transmission had been cut off, but the rumors I heard were that Legendary grade sword and armor were discovered, so it should be correct.
“…This is… I naturally thought it would be Epic grade…”
Only three Mythical grade artifacts have been discovered so far, and their transmission was clear.
In fact, Legendary grade could be considered the highest obtainable.
“Of course, it’s a secret. We have to treat them as ordinary artifacts.”
For reference, the Wind Dragon’s Fang that Athena obtained currently showed performance at the Epic grade level, and mid-level Epic at that, but considering Athena’s current lack of skill, Rithild’s explanation, and the material, it was too early to determine its limits.
‘My staff is the same.’
For now, it was Epic grade, and that was at the lower level.
‘It’s not fully restored yet, and considering the material, it’s guaranteed to be Legendary the moment I become a high-ranking warlock.’
“…Of course. Certainly at that level, it’s worth taking some risks. And if it’s Minotaurs…”
“But the location is the problem. That’s why I sought collaborators.”
“You said you needed someone who knows the area well.”
“Yeah. Originally, we were planning to spend time searching on our own, but we got lucky.”
I glossed over this matter appropriately.
Since I had spoken to Annelise as if I really didn’t know, I needed to add a bit of seasoning.
‘If I knew the exact location, there would be no reason to bring them in.’
Since I couldn’t explain that the revenge was due to grudges from the previous round, I had no choice but to choose this method.
“The problem is that they’re not trustworthy people…”
“It definitely won’t show on the surface.”
“You said it was sealed, so…”
Kayla nodded and said.
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[welp looks like were gonna get some new McMuffins on our way to killing the cheerios poster boy]
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