Chapter 23: I Am Not a Possessor
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 23: I Am Not a Possessor
Never in the history of the Adventurer's Guild had the formation of a 1st-floor party been this chaotic.
Bernard, the Lizard Paladin who had arrived at the guild armed to the teeth with superior equipment, strength, and divine magic, felt that things were taking a strange turn.
“No, that can’t be.”
“An exit room inside an exit room.”
“I remember now. They said some third-rate party was attacked, and Back Attack jumped into the gate.”
“Were you the one who made it out alive? The Monk?”
Thanks to the Monk’s emotional appeal, the entire mood of the place had shifted to Back Attack and his tragic tale!
“Caleb! Pick the Monk! You have to give him a chance to right his wrongs!” the emotional swordsman, Hijikata, shouted.
“If the price is right, why not let him join us to recover Back Attack’s soul? It’s the decent thing to do,” Birtanen added, clearing his throat to lend his support to the Monk.
Oh!
This was not right.
Bernard flicked his tongue over his eyeballs.
“How dare they taint a sacred financial transaction and contract with mere sentiment…”
If Nathaniel were to see this, he would be furious!
“Let’s proceed with the interview!” Bernard shouted.
A paladin of Nathaniel does not shy away from such challenges. He would face him head-on in an interview battle.
And Bernard would win.
Why?
Because that Monk was just dead weight in a party that was a one-trick pony revolving around Back Attack.
He couldn’t even pull his own weight there, causing the party to fall apart. There was no way he could get in here.
And while a monk is a close-combat specialist, which fits the frontline position Caleb was looking for, their nature was different.
Monks are agile, but they are weak.
“Try lifting the oak barrel first!”
The test itself was poison for a monk.
“The oak barrel… you smashed it!” Hijikata yelled, annoyed.
“How about lifting me instead?” Birtanen puffed out his muscle-bound chest. “Without my armor, my body weight is about the same as one of those oak barrels from the tavern.”
“Then take off your armor and…”
“It’s fine.”
The Monk leaped forward, grabbed Birtanen’s belt and pauldron, and hoisted him up like a weightlifter.
“Whoa!”
“I’m clumsy, but I’m ridiculously strong.”
“What the hell is that…”
“Why is a monk that strong?”
“Look at his forearms!”
“What kind of monk has monstrous strength…”
A murmur spread through the adventurers.
Aimus Renick was, without a doubt, a pathetic monk who struggled even on the 1st floor.
He lacked passive skills like ‘Mystical Evasion,’ which was basic for monks, and he didn’t have any relentless attack skills like ‘Iron Bird Fist.’
Because he’s too clumsy.
He had encountered the fountain on the 1st floor several times, but unlike other monks, Renick had not been blessed with its skills. He wasn’t qualified.
The adventurers who knew him called him a Strength Monk—strong, but nothing else.
*
I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Caleb! Now you just have to pick one!”
Shut up, dwarf. Let me think.
‘Escape the Venomic Spider’s exit room immediately with Birtanen vs. Yernil.’
This was the biggest choice I’d faced since then.
This really wasn’t easy.
A lizard paladin with a few screws loose, and a Strength Monk in his mid-forties.
This was the final round of my ideal tanker tournament.
Talk about a perfectly balanced dilemma.
Both had their minor flaws. From my perspective, the Strength Monk was obviously better than the Paladin, but unfortunately, the Paladin was younger.
Mentally, the Paladin also seemed better suited for the front line. Could that 40-something-year-old monk really step up to the front and tank fearlessly?
If this were a game, it wouldn’t matter; I’d just place him at the front and be done with it.
But now that this was reality, I had to consider things like personality and age.
I had no idea how many more years I’d have to spend running labyrinths here.
From the looks of it, the Monk was already married and had kids. What if he got older and his family convinced him to quit? What if he just bailed on me?
If I went knocking on the Paladin’s armor then, he’d probably be too offended to come back.
This really felt like I was interviewing a new hire.
Hmm.
In times like these, price negotiation is the best way to go.
“Gentlemen, what share of the profits do you want?”
“As a paladin of my order, I pledge on my honor to never desire more than 25%. I swear this to Nathaniel, the God of Contracts and Transactions,” the lizard said confidently.
Next, the Monk answered.
“I don’t need to be paid.”
“The Monk is hired!”
“Blasphemy!”
The moment I chose the Monk, the lizard threw a fit.
“Zero percent! Such a profit share cannot exist! It’s blasphemy, blasphemy! How can one work without being paid!”
That, my dear lizard, is what you call working for passion.
But in truth, I had no intention of making him work for free.
“Instead, I will provide you with your gear.”
A Strength Monk in light leather armor with fist weapons? Good heavens. No wonder you were struggling on the 1st floor.
That’s like Yernil trying to tank with a sword and shield.
“Wait a minute!”
The lizard seemed to have a hard time accepting the situation.
“I cannot tolerate this. As a paladin of Nathaniel, I find the results of this recruitment to be tainted! This was not a decision based on thorough calculation and rational judgment!”
It was, in fact, a decision based on thorough calculation and rational judgment.
But I could understand why it was hard for the lizard to accept.
“Hiring a guy who’s just ridiculously strong but too clumsy to use any proper monk skills? Anyone can see he’s a dud!”
His words were harsh, but no one could refute them.
“Because he’ll work for free? Because you feel sorry for him since he knew Back Attack? Don’t make me laugh! Don’t you even dream of committing blasphemy in front of me! This recruitment should have been a fair contest of merit!”
The lizard raised his mace and shouted.
“Still, I’m the party leader. I do the hiring.”
“...That’s true, but…”
Unable to contain his anger, the lizard panted for a moment before shouting again.
“If we’re going to be in the same party, we need to see how our skills and magic synergize. Show me your magic! If you can defeat me, I will accept this result as the will of Nathaniel! But this body will never fall! For the wrath of Nathaniel is with me! Nathaniel! Grant me strength!”
What a talkative lizard.
But he was right that I needed to show them my magic.
The timing wasn’t bad, either. Maybe I should give them a little taste of one of my spells?
It would be good for teamwork, and Yernil hadn’t seen it yet either.
“Of the tropics…”
I aimed my wand and began the incantation.
“Heatwave.”
“Guardian’s Shield!”
Bernard blinked as he layered a protective barrier over his shield.
That’s not going to block it.
Did he think it was a magic projectile like a Fireball?
“Uh…?”
He must be feeling dizzy. His breath would catch in his throat, and his head would start to spin.
That’s heatstroke.
You poikilotherm.
*
The gate would open in eight days.
This time, I would enter with three people: Aimus Renick, Yernil, and Back Attack.
I was fully prepared. This was different from my time as a slave, thrown into the labyrinth with almost nothing.
Of course, I still didn’t know what would happen once we were inside.
The Sanctuary of Souls was not a place to be taken lightly.
Besides, the fact that Back Attack had appeared as an eccentric boss on the 1st floor suggested that the labyrinth here was more unpredictable than the one I’d known in the game.
But these were not problems I could solve by worrying about them now.
There was something else I had to deal with first.
“Renick, you can go now. Please practice what I told you earlier. Yernil, you and Back Attack head back to the dormitory.”
“What about you, Caleb?”
“I’m going to stop by the Magic University.”
What was the biggest threat hanging over my head right now?
It was the Magic University itself.
If there was some kind of possessor cartel within the university, then I was essentially deep inside the lion’s den.
And they were probably 100% certain that I was a possessor.
They would be monitoring my every move.
What were my options?
First, I could perform a ‘Possessor Coming Out’ to friendly factions like Professor Dalstream or Isilof and seek their protection.
Was this a viable option?
No.
It had to be dismissed immediately.
I was too weak to protect myself, so entrusting my life to others? That was insane.
Besides, I hadn’t even figured out the power dynamics and politics among the professors yet.
And the biggest problem was that I didn’t know which of them were possessors.
They wouldn’t reveal their identities, but I would reveal mine? You could call that crazy.
Then, the second option.
‘Prove that I am not a possessor.’
By doing so, I could shake off the excessive surveillance on me and hide beneath the surface.
Not as a ticking time bomb of a possessor, but as a ridiculously talented genius wizard.
That way, whether it was Meldini, Isilof, or whatever possessor cartel was hiding behind them, they could all be friendly towards me.
A genius rookie who posed no risk of a labyrinth eruption, but whose outstanding abilities could be helpful to everyone.
Let’s make myself look like that.
Is it possible?
It is.
“Caleb.”
As I entered the university’s main building, the Halfling professor, Meldini, was standing there with a terrifying expression on his face.
You took the bait, Meldini.
To provoke you, I had been acting recklessly for the past few days.
Right in front of Professor Dalstream, I openly selected and submitted unfamiliar spells, and I succeeded in actually binding them, even showcasing a brand-new spell called Heatwave at the Adventurer's Guild.
Then I readily accepted Isilof’s difficult quest and brought the undead Back Attack to the Adventurer's Guild, causing a stir throughout the entire city.
On my way here, I could hear people chattering everywhere.
There were nearly twenty applicants, but they all failed. Even Bernard failed. He picked some monk. A slow, clumsy monk who’s just ridiculously strong. Bernard was knocked out by a single spell. Even Hijikata, a 3rd-floor adventurer, failed.
…Rumors like that were flying around. Though Hijikata’s case was a bit different from failing an evaluation.
“We need to talk.”
Meldini’s hands were trembling with a mixture of indignation and tension.
How dare a possessor act so brazenly in front of me.
…That was the look in his eyes.
It was lunchtime. Graduate assistants and professors were pouring out of their labs to eat.
The lobby was rather crowded.
“It seems you succeeded in binding a spell. What magic was it?” Meldini began to interrogate me.
Sensing the tense atmosphere between us, other professors stopped and glanced over.
“Are you referring to the one I used at the Adventurer’s Guild?”
“Yes.”
“It’s a spell called Heatwave. I bound Humidify and Hot Wind.”
“Caleb, binding magic isn’t something you can do with a simple guess like, ‘If I raise the humidity and add heat, I can create extreme heat to subdue an opponent.’ There are far more cases of failure with that kind of approach. You must be incredibly lucky, aren’t you?”
“…”
“And what about that other spell, Ash Dust? Why did you include that?”
“When a volcano erupts, the volcanic ash acts as a coagulant, capturing the moisture rising with the updraft to form water droplets and create clouds. I thought I could replicate that with magic.”
“So you put those spells in your memory book, and the God of Wisdom granted you a binding spell?”
“Yes.”
“What!”
The Halfling professor’s face turned pale.
At his harsh tone, other professors and senior wizards began to gather one by one.
“Then… are you saying you bound two Tier 2 spells using three Tier 1 spells?”
The Halfling’s speech shifted from formal to informal.
“No. I bound three.”
“Th… three…”
I wasn’t exaggerating.
Meldini gritted his teeth.
“You bound three…? A two-pair and a triple?”
“The first pair is the binding of Humidify and Hot Wind for Heatwave. The second pair is the binding of Hot Wind and Ash Dust for Dust Explosion. The triple binding is a spell called Cumulonimbus.”
“Hey—!”
Suddenly, the Halfling roared.
“Do you think we’re a joke?!”
He was a bit rougher than I expected.
It seems that labyrinth eruption 12 years ago left a pretty deep scar on you.
“How is that possible unless the God of Wisdom himself blessed you! Huh? Is that something you can achieve with mere logical reasoning?”
“…”
“Hmm.”
Dalstream, who had been watching quietly from the side, let out a small chuckle.
“Perhaps he really was blessed by the God of Wisdom?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Professor!”
Meldini no longer bothered with pleasantries, even with the elder professor.
“Succeeding in just one magic binding is an achievement worthy of a thesis! But to claim that picking three Tier 1 spells resulted in three bindings—that’s absurd!”
“Meldini!”
Isilof, arriving a beat too late, rushed over in alarm. His face was grim, as if he sensed that something had gone wrong.
“Professor Meldini! What is the meaning of this! Right now…”
“Stay out of it!”
He shook off Isilof’s attempt to restrain him and drew his wand.
“Caleb! I’m going to have to cast Lie Detection Magic on you.”
“…”
“Prove that you are not a possessor!”
“Meldini!” Isilof shouted, now angry as well. “What is this rude, un-wizard-like behavior! Caleb is a free citizen!”
“A free citizen? Don’t make me laugh!” Meldini yelled. “According to the laws of the labyrinth city of Sohen, an otherworld possessor is not protected as a free citizen!”
“…”
“Caleb!”
The Halfling strode forward.
“If you are truly innocent, prove it here. If you are truly not a possessor, I will apologize properly and compensate you accordingly. But!”
He aimed his wand at my forehead.
“If you are a possessor, I will kill you right now. Of course, I will be punished. But not for murder! Why? Because you are not an inhabitant of this world!”
“…”
“I will be punished for the unauthorized use of Lie Detection Magic, but I don’t give a damn about that! I will gladly accept it, if a sacrifice of that magnitude can eliminate a bomb that will threaten this city in the future!”
“Meldini!”
Isilof rushed forward and forcefully knocked Meldini’s wand aside.
Now Isilof had also drawn his wand and was aiming it at Meldini.
“He is a student in my club. If you commit such an act of disrespect one more time, you and I will settle this right here…”
“Do it.”
I spoke as calmly as I could.
“What…?”
The two professors’ wide eyes turned to me.
“The Lie Detection Magic. Cast it on me!”
The supporting cast had all gathered, and all the professors were here. If you’re going to put on a show like this, it’s best to go big and sear it into as many people’s minds as possible.
And I needed to observe their expressions, too.
“Cast… the magic?”
The Halfling ground his teeth.
“Yes, Professor Meldini. You did the same thing at the Slave Management Department. While the Lie Detection Magic was still on me, you took the opportunity to pry into my personal life and test me, didn’t you?”
“…”
“Stop suspecting me, monitoring me, and insulting me like this! Just cast the spell now!”
“Lie… Detection Magic.”
Magic erupted from the tip of the enraged Halfling’s wand.
“Caleb!” Isilof shouted. “Resist it! Think about rejecting the magic! Lie Detection Magic is easy to resist! Shake it off!”
So Isilof was also convinced I was a possessor.
Now, I would disappear beneath the surface.
“Professor Meldini!” I shouted with all my might. “Why are you doing this to me? Why do you ask when you’ve already decided on the answer? Isn’t this what you want to hear? Should I say it for you?”
Loudly, so everyone could hear.
“I!”
I screamed.
“Am an otherworld possessor!”
Silence.
Everyone froze, as if hit by a wide-area stun spell.
“Are you satisfied?”
Professor Meldini’s enraged hand and the tip of his wand trembled violently.
Up and down.
And then they stopped.
[Your turn. Time remaining: 60 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■■■]
Because I had flipped the Hourglass.
*
Now, let’s examine their faces.
Those who are gasping, ‘Oh no!’ like Isilof, are circles.
They are the ones who would want to protect me even if I were a possessor.
Those like Meldini, with a ‘You’re fucking dead now!’ expression, are triangles.
They are the ones who won’t touch me if I prove I’m not a possessor.
If there is a possessor cartel in the Magic University, what kind of expression would they be making at this moment?
Probably one of two things.
‘Ah, that bastard just went off the rails. I was thinking of recruiting him if he was useful, what a waste!’
Or.
‘Our cartel is already full. Poor bastard. I was wondering how to deal with him, and he just self-destructed. What a relief.’
Let’s see if there’s anyone with an expression like that.
Of course, I can’t be certain with just this, but I can make a rough sketch.
First, the elder professor, Dalstream.
Hmm.
‘I can’t tell.’
That old man seems to have no expression at all. Is he a master gambler?
And the other professors.
The assistants.
I’ll check as many as I can.
A hasty judgment could create prejudice and actually impair my analytical ability, so I’ll be as conservative as possible.
‘Professor Enver.’
There wasn’t as much to gain as I’d hoped, but that one person is a bit suspicious.
Because right now, he looks ‘excited.’
Wow, I was bored, and now some real entertainment has broken out! I have to go tell the cartel bros about this!
…He was snickering with that kind of vibe.
I’ll have to mark him and keep an eye on him.
[Your turn. Time remaining: 11 seconds]
Shall we wrap this up?
“Professor Meldini.”
It’s true that I was lure-fishing with you as bait, but I have no personal feelings about messing with you like this.
I believe you are just a citizen trying your best to protect this city and university in your own way.
“I’m sorry.”
Seven seconds left.
Now, I’ll add one cute little lie.
“The Abyss of the Labyrinth is the best god-tier game of my life, a fucking masterpiece that deserves to win GOTY for a hundred years straight. Playing that game was the greatest luck of my life, shit! Everyone! Go play The Abyss of the Labyrinth!”
[End Turn.]
[The Hourglass has been flipped again. Cooldown: 60 seconds]
*
A rash broke out on my skin. My whole body felt hot, like an allergic reaction.
“Keuk…!”
My breathing started to become ragged. Tears, snot, and saliva streamed down my face.
Because I had lied while under the effect of Lie Detection Magic.
“Uh… ugh…”
“Caleb!”
Amid everyone’s shock, Isilof caught me in his arms.
Shall I look at Meldini? What kind of expression is he making?
Hmm.
The nasty magic professor, Meldini, who illegally cast Lie Detection Magic on an innocent genius freshman and pushed him so hard that the hot-blooded student snapped and made a perjurious declaration—‘This is what you want to hear, right? I am an otherworld possessor! Are you satisfied?!’—causing him to have a seizure.
He was trembling from a shock beyond imagination, stumbling backward.
I feel a little bad for him.
Sorry, Professor.
But you started it.
“Hah…! Hah…”
And this damn magic. The backlash is more intense than I thought. My whole body is itchy and burning.
Still, I got all of you, didn’t I?
“...!”
The person of interest I’d noted earlier, Professor Enver, also looked extremely surprised.
You were laughing your ass off just a moment ago, you bastard. Serves you right.
You were so sure I was a possessor, watching me with your surveillance network, weren’t you? You’re flustered now that I’m not, right? Ever see a protagonist in a martial arts story get caught in an inescapable net?
Of course I’d get away.
I can’t make a false statement true, but with the King-God-Hourglass, I can make a true statement false.
And just like that, I made the words ‘I am a possessor’ appear to be a lie.
I will not be caught.
I will not be found out.
I’ll be the one to catch you from behind.
I will find you first.
Whether it’s negotiation or combat, seizing the advantageous position is an essential skill for clearing this shitty game.
“What are you all doing! Get him inside! Quickly—!”
I lost consciousness as I heard Isilof’s shouts.