Chapter 48: The Necromancer (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 48: The Necromancer (2)
Her showdown with Sally's team had taught Yernil one simple rule.
If Caleb was wary of someone, they were genuinely dangerous!
Of course, this necromancer wasn't a plunderer like Sally. An experienced adventurer like Birtanen would never have recruited a new party member without vetting them. He would have definitely checked their references with their previous party and investigated their reputation through other adventurers.
Coming from the 4th floor, he'd have a long adventuring career, so there would be plenty of information. The necromancer Antonelli was probably a verified adventurer.
But…
‘If Caleb attacks, I’ll shoot without hesitation!’
Yernil steeled her resolve.
She wouldn't hesitate in a situation like this again. The last time she did, her entire party was nearly crushed by Sally's team.
"Whoa, hold on."
But aside from Caleb and Yernil, everyone else was bewildered by this sudden turn of events.
"Let's all calm down first."
Birtanen grabbed Caleb's hand and lowered his wand.
"Yernil, you calm down too. I'll admit, I'm shocked as well, but let's give Antonelli a chance to explain."
Birtanen tried to cool the overheated atmosphere.
"As you all know, necromancy isn't inherently evil. Antonelli is no criminal; in fact, he's a verified wizard who's even received a plaque of merit from the Adventurer's Guild."
But Caleb didn't let down his guard.
"Besides what I just mentioned, is there any other reason for a 4th-floor wizard to come down to the 3rd floor by way of a 2nd-floor party?"
"I've been hearing your name mentioned among wizards lately."
“…”
"I see now how you managed to attract so much attention in just a month. That was a reasonable deduction."
Antonelli said.
"I'll be honest. Almost everything you said is correct. I want to go down to Floor 3.5."
"Antonelli!"
Disappointment was thick in the Birtanen party's shocked cries.
"I apologize for hiding this from the three of you. But I absolutely had to get into Floor 3.5 this time. Since you don't know the 3rd floor well, I thought you would follow if I led you on."
"How could you!" Emma shouted.
"You lied about your undead magic, and you had a separate plan for Floor 3.5...!"
"But I never intended to harm any of you. I needed a vanguard to protect me while I searched for the ossuary, and a priest to heal in an emergency."
“…”
"Even if we had gone to Floor 3.5, no one would have been hurt. I would have protected you well."
"Hey. You must think we're a bunch of fucking idiots, huh?" Jikal shot back, displeased.
"No matter how much better an adventurer you are than us, we're not fools. You think we'd just trail after you to the stair gate because you said so?"
"You would have," Caleb said.
"Because of the 3rd floor's delirium."
The 3rd floor periodically casts a delirium spell on all adventurers. When affected, one's judgment becomes clouded, as if heavily intoxicated.
The priest has defensive magic, but as a weaker team on their first visit to the 3rd floor, one slip-up would mean a failed defense. If Antonelli persuaded them then, they would have followed easily.
And by the time they came to their senses, they'd already be on Floor 3.5.
"It's a problem when you secretly make separate plans and keep secrets like this, Antonelli," Birtanen growled, clearly displeased.
"Furthermore, you can't just go trying unauthorized experiments without permission from the Adventurer's Guild! If something goes wrong, the entire party will be held accountable, which means we'd share the blame."
"That's the one part you're wrong about."
Antonelli said, looking at Caleb.
"My reason for seeking the ossuary isn't for an experiment."
"Is there any other reason for a necromancer to seek an ossuary besides something like soul harvesting?"
"Yes. I..." he said. "I used to be a member of Hijikata's party. The adventurer whose soul was taken by the ossuary is also my friend."
*
Hmm.
This is certainly unexpected.
From what I gathered, this is the story.
A few years ago, a trio of adventurers from the distant East came to the Labyrinth City of Sohen.
The party leader was a swordsman who wielded a two-handed sword, Swordsman Hijikata.
His party members were Yuri, a Spirit Race Taoist, and Gildal, a Dokkebi warrior.
During their adventures on the 3rd floor, they felt the need for a wizard and recruited a skilled one from a 2nd-floor party.
His name was Antonelli.
Thanks to his departure, his original 2nd-floor party fell apart. In exchange, Hijikata's party swept through the 3rd floor with stability.
Until a recruitment offer came from the 4th floor.
This time, the situation was reversed. Hijikata's party was the one to lose Antonelli.
Hijikata's party became a trio once again.
"Have you ever heard of the Labyrinth Intestine Theory?" Antonelli asked.
"You mean the one that says the Labyrinth is the intestine of a giant demon?" Birtanen asked back.
I knew this one. It's one of the plot points that comes up when you decipher the stone tablets that appear in the Labyrinth's Abyss at various difficulties.
The Labyrinth is the intestine of a giant demon.
Like a carnivorous plant, the demon opens its maws all over the surface, luring adventurers with the sweet scent of treasure.
Some parties are digested on the 1st floor, some on the 3rd, and some make it all the way down to the 10th.
Just as protein is dissolved in the stomach, fat is broken down in the duodenum, and water is absorbed in the large intestine.
And the most nutritious adventurers who make it to the very end are said to be savored by the Labyrinth Master.
The most interesting part of this theory is that once a party's 'digestion' begins, they're hit with a continuous string of absurd misfortune and unfair situations that accelerates their downfall.
For example, Aimus's party, after losing Back Attack, was soon attacked by plunderers and disbanded.
The 2nd-floor party that lost Antonelli also suffered all sorts of unfair setbacks until it fell apart.
"Hijikata's party also began to be digested. Around the same time they lost me, they lost another member."
The adventurer who was seized by madness and went missing was named Gildal.
He was a Dokkebi warrior who could wield a giant iron club and use tricky magic.
Hijikata's party was reduced to a duo.
In such cases, the remaining two members usually become edgy, blaming and fighting with each other, often leading to the party's dissolution.
And no one would want to join a party like that.
Despite this, Hijikata miraculously managed to recruit a new adventurer through his Eastern connections and re-entered the Labyrinth as a trio.
"Because Caleb's revival of Back Attack confirmed a way to save Gildal."
For Hijikata, this adventure is a final gamble, with their lives and entire careers as adventurers on the line.
Either they fail to keep the party together and get digested on the 3rd floor, or they retire.
Or, like Back Attack, they miraculously rescue Gildal and head for the 4th floor.
"I want Hijikata to be able to make it to the 4th floor."
“…”
"It's true that I joined Birtanen's party to get to Floor 3.5. And it's also true that I want to go there for the ossuary. But I have no intention of conducting a necromancy experiment," Antonelli said.
"The reason I didn't get permission from the Adventurer's Guild or consult with the university or the temple is because it wasn't necessary. It was never for an experiment in the first place. I'm not the kind of wizard who acts so recklessly, Caleb."
“…”
"I just want to return that item to Hijikata."
A brief silence fell.
His story was more or less acceptable.
However.
"If that's the case, shouldn't you have joined Hijikata's party?"
I hadn't let go of my suspicions yet.
"You said they're a trio now. There's an open spot, so why did you start from the 2nd floor?"
"Hijikata is a proud man. If I, who once left the party, contacted him, he would never accept me back. So I planned to secretly retrieve the ossuary and just hand it to him. He wouldn't refuse that, surely."
"Even if you find the ossuary first, there's no way to revive the dokkebi named Gildal unless he appears as the exit boss. And you can't take the ossuary out of the Labyrinth."
"Hijikata's party plans to hold out on the 3rd floor until Gildal appears as the exit boss. Rumors are rampant in the Adventurer's Guild that they came in with a massive supply of food and consumables."
"Then."
I took a message-sending wand and a notebook from my bag.
"Would it be alright if I asked Hijikata to confirm?"
"Caleb."
Birtanen came up beside me.
"Do you really have to go that far?"
Honestly, I didn't know. Did I really have to go this far?
At least, so far, there was nothing wrong with Antonelli's answers.
Logically, his current testimony was more plausible than the possibility of an adventurer of his caliber using necromancy on an ossuary on his own, without permission or consultation from any institution.
Throughout his statement, his expression and demeanor didn't seem like a lie either.
If this was an act, he deserved the Sally Award for best actor in the Labyrinth.
‘Am I just being paranoid?’
Every time I entered the Labyrinth, I was thrown into all sorts of shitty situations, so maybe I was overreacting.
But was there any other way besides verifying things as thoroughly as possible?
Antonelli wasn't a plunderer like Sally. If I attacked him here based on suspicion alone, I'd be the criminal.
So, as a next-best option, I had to do this.
"A message transmission. Go ahead. Though I'm not sure if Hijikata has a message-sending spell..."
Antonelli's reaction was positive.
I wrote down all the testimony I'd just heard from him in my notebook, tore out the page, and aimed my wand at it.
"Message Transmission."
I'll wait for Hijikata's reply.
If there was a lie in what Antonelli said, or if he made any suspicious moves, I would flip the hourglass that very instant.
“…”
“…”
A tense silence followed.
No reply came.
"Hijikata's team is an Eastern party. Dokkebi and Fox Spirits can use magic, but their system is different from the standard magic system."
"They don't use wands much, either. They probably don't even have the message transmission spell."
Based on my knowledge, it wasn't common for adventurers from the East to use things like message-sending wands.
"Ahem. Caleb."
After a little more time passed, Birtanen began to wrap things up.
"How about we leave it at this for now, and if we run into Hijikata later, you can ask him then?"
Emma chimed in from the side.
"It's true Antonelli made a mistake with us, but I don't think he's lying about this."
I thought so too.
But why did I feel so uneasy?
"Is it true that Antonelli was part of Hijikata's party?"
"Umm."
Birtanen sighed, looking troubled.
"Caleb. Can't we stop now? The reference check we did was with a 4th-floor party, but Antonelli is a verified wizard. Although it's true he had other intentions, he admitted and confessed everything honestly, didn't he? To doubt him any further seems a bit rude."
“…”
Finally, I understood the reason for my anxiety.
It was probably because this was different from the game.
‘If this were a game, I would have just killed Antonelli.’
It wouldn't matter if he was innocent or not. It wouldn't even matter if he was a good person trying to find the ossuary for Hijikata, just as he claimed.
I would have killed him because I hate the risk of leaving a potential threat at my back.
If this were a game.
But this is reality, so I can't do that.
The probability that Antonelli was an innocent and loyal wizard was much higher, and if I attacked him here, I'd be the one who looked like a lunatic.
It would probably turn into a 4-on-4 battle. And even if we won, all that would remain are wounds.
Someone like Aimus would be furious. He'd ask what the difference was between us, who came looking for Back Attack's ossuary, and Antonelli now.
That we had just committed murder.
And if Aimus testified outside, I'd be taken to the Public Security Headquarters and interrogated for murder.
This really is developer difficulty.
It's not just hard. To think I have to worry about things like this.
Next time I get a skill at the fountain, should I pick 'Mind Controller' and then have Aimus initiate in a situation like that?
Then, after the situation is dealt with, I could just rally my party and move on.
‘Wait a minute.’
Since when did I become such a psychopath?
Just a month ago, I don't think I could have considered killing someone so easily.
Antonelli isn't even a plunderer. In fact, he even received some kind of merit plaque.
Calm down.
Birtanen is right.
I'm being overly worried right now.
"Understood."
I lowered my wand.
"My apologies, Antonelli."
"Not at all. It was a perfectly suspicious situation... af...ter... all..."
Poof!
Suddenly, a slip of paper materialized between me and Antonelli.
It fluttered down and landed softly on my palm.
[This is Hijikata.]
The note was rather shocking.
[Who is Antonelli? He's not from our party.]
Fuck.
Was my third run of the Labyrinth supposed to be a thriller?
"Ah, I almost got away with it. Who would've thought Easterners would carry something like a message transmission spell."
Antonelli drew his wand.
"Looks like these guys have fully localized."
Right.
You're screwed now.
"Bone Armor..."
I cut him off mid-chant.
With the hourglass.
[Your turn. Time remaining: 60 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■■■]
Now, let's think.
We have a significant numerical advantage.
How do I take down a 4th-floor wizard?