Chapter 117
Translator: penny
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Sun, Moon, and Stars - 2
Among the achievements added in the DLC, half can be obtained by progressing through the DLC main story.
But the other half is the problem.
Fortunately, there are no grindy achievements like S-Rank Mentor or S-Rank Adventurer, or other "Master of ~" types.
However, you have to clear the side quests that appear with the DLC, and those are incredibly tedious.
They're not quests where you can just skip to the end—they require completing all the linked quests.
The silver lining is that there aren't that many of them.
Come to think of it, that's not much of a consolation.
Who the hell bought this DLC?!
"Hmm..."
"What are you thinking about so intently?"
"Oh, nothing."
I had been lost in thought about the most efficient and quickest way to unlock the new achievements, neglecting Lucille.
After reassuring her, who was gazing at me with concern, I spotted a fork in the path and raised Moonlight.
Seeing Moonlight, which had been in staff form, stand upright, Lucille tilted her head.
"What are you doing?"
"It's a spell called 'Balance.' You haven't learned it yet, right?"
"No..."
"It's pretty useful, so learn it when you have some spare time."
The light emanating from Moonlight grew brighter.
What it created was a single scale.
The scale, centered on Moonlight, slowly began to tip to the right.
"Balance is a spell used when there are two possible answers. It points to the right path depending on what you set as the standard."
What I wanted was the fastest route to the third floor of the ruins.
I didn't care what dangers lay along it.
"You can use this to gain more benefits when navigating dungeons or ruins. It's also a big help during wars."
I picked up Moonlight and headed down the right path.
As Lucille followed, tilting her head, I raised Moonlight.
Moonlight's moonlight pierced the darkness, revealing what was hidden.
"Those are..."
Scattered here and there on the walls were slimes dripping their viscous fluid.
In typical games, slimes are treated as trash mobs, but this world is different.
Especially the slimes inhabiting ruins—they're mostly highly acidic, inflicting piercing and corrosion damage, and in the worst cases, even "instant death."
"When fighting slimes, it's best to rely mainly on magic attacks. If you get caught, your survival depends on how quickly you escape. Their fragments are acidic."
-Splat!!
The slimes spotted us and began to move.
As their fluids gathered and a large droplet splashed toward us, I swatted it away with Moonlight.
"Eek! That startled me!"
"Physical impacts and slashes are nullified, so be careful. Of course, if you deflect or dodge them, the bursting slime can splatter on your gear and reduce its durability."
I knocked away the flying blobs, and fragments splattered onto my robe.
Perhaps because of that, Lucille panicked and tried to cast purification on me, but I shook my head.
"That's why gear with 'indestructible' properties, like my robe, is so valuable. When you ascend to the throne later, make sure to equip your knights and guards with indestructible cloaks or robes. It could save their lives someday."
Some terrorists deliberately send swarms of slimes to ruin guards' equipment before attacking.
Lucille nodded, and I brushed off my robe to remove the slime fragments.
"There are basically two ways to deal with slimes. The first is magic. Most slimes are weak to fire-based magic."
Lucille raised her staff.
Moments later, a magic circle formed at the tip of her staff, and dozens of fire arrows shot out.
-Whoosh!! Roar!!
The slimes began to writhe and resist as they caught fire.
But shaking off the flames already clinging to them wasn't easy.
With about half the slime pack burned away, only glossy-surfaced slimes remained.
"But metal slimes are immune to fire attacks too. What do you do then?"
"Hmm... Pour ice on them?"
"Correct."
The metal slimes changed shape, mimicking the adventurers or mercenaries they had devoured.
As shiny-bodied enemies began to appear one by one, Lucille lightly slammed her staff down.
"Master, please step back—it's dangerous. Ice Age."
She's handling ice magic effortlessly now.
As I took a step back, a massive magic circle formed centered on her staff.
The metal slimes within it froze solid before they could even resist.
-Crack, crack... Shatter! Crash!!
The legs of a slime mercenary, approaching us unaware, snapped.
It seemed to try crawling closer even as it fell to the floor.
But being in the Ice Age's range, it only froze even colder.
And just like that, six perfect ice statues.
With the metal slimes neutralized, Lucille slowly raised her staff, looking smug.
"Ice Age is advanced magic, but its mana cost is almost as high as top-tier spells. In cases like this, it's more efficient to handle them quickly with single-target spells rather than Ice Age. Keep that in mind."
"Oh... Yes, got it."
Lucille blushed slightly, looking embarrassed.
I didn't mean to nitpick.
I patted her head once, then cast Warm to maintain body heat as we traversed the corridor still lingering with Ice Age's aftermath.
"Hmm... Looks like no one's been through here."
"You mean Cecil the Archduke took another path?"
"Probably."
"So the traps and defenses here are still intact."
"Likely."
In ruins, even if traps or defenses are destroyed, the ruin's core regenerates them over time.
Of course, regeneration times vary, but most take at least twelve hours, so Cecil's group definitely didn't pass through here.
"Then shouldn't we take another path to intercept Archduke Cecil?"
"Chasing them would be slower... and who knows what interference we'd face. Better to go ahead, don't you think?"
Safe routes come with proportionally more obstacles.
Especially if someone like Lukal is blocking the way again—that alone would take time.
"What happened earlier was good luck. We avoided unnecessary fights."
"With you, Master, that luck seems endless."
"You reap what you sow. Now, look over there. That's a defense mechanism. Looks like a trap, right?"
The end of the corridor came into view.
Inside was a large room.
Nothing special—just ceiling, floor, and walls composed of various colors.
"How do you think we get through here?"
"It looks like a pitfall trap where the floor collapses."
"Correct. Step wrong, and the floor gives way—you plummet to your death."
"Isn't there a hint for how to pass?"
Of course there would be hints.
But I doubted they were inside this ruin.
"Prior research on the ruins or materials from related ruins could serve as hints."
In other words, showing up to explore ruins empty-handed means you'll rarely find hints.
"So how do we do it?"
"What do you think we should do?"
"Hmm..."
Lucille pondered deeply, then snapped her fingers.
"What about gravity magic? If we keep destroying the floor with it..."
"That's a good idea. But sustaining gravity magic like that would consume a ton of mana. And who knows what's in the next room?"
"Oh..."
"Remember this: how efficiently you conserve and move is key. And that is..."
I lightly placed my hand on Lucille's shoulder.
"...the path to becoming an archmage."
After awakening via the ultimate skill quest, every class can ascend beyond.
Of course, for a sage like me, it didn't matter much.
"This is exactly when you use tactical disposable defenses."
I raised my staff, and the ones I'd captured earlier emerged from the shadows as shadow humans.
The first shadow human moved at my command, stepping on the floor.
-Crash!!
It fell midway and died.
I confirmed the path it had taken, then nodded to the remaining shadow humans.
"Go."
I used up nearly all the shadow humans, but I wasn't particularly regretful.
They weren't that essential to begin with.
Lucille thought for a moment, then asked cautiously.
"In traps like this... you could use innocent people too, huh."
"Exactly. Or gather a bunch of shamans like me and send them through a battlefield, using them to clear the way. There's no single answer."
Shadow humans have a fixed maximum number.
This applies equally to grand sorcerers or newbies who just learned shadow shamanism.
Quantity solves numerical issues.
Wealthy people hire shamans that way to explore ruins.
Of course, it's not ideal.
The supplies needed for ruin exploration, or the stress from traveling in a large group—none of it can be ignored.
Everything has pros and cons.
"It's tough."
"Nothing easy in this world. Alright, next room. Just monsters here, it seems."
As soon as we opened the door, iron bars blocked the entrance and exit.
What appeared was a massive beast with a pig's head.
Think of it as a beastman, but it was a bit different.
-Oinkeee...!!
What stood before us was unmistakably a demon beast.
"...Ugh."
Lucille flinched and stepped back instinctively.
I understood.
-Oinkeee~!!
-Save me...!
-Oinkeee~!!
-Oinkeee~!!
-Save me...!
-Oinkeee~!!
-Oinkeee~!!
-Please...
It wasn't the pig head crying—dozens of mouths on that burly chest were wailing.
Cecil would have freaked out.
She's weak to grotesque stuff like that.
Anyway, no need to just stand there watching it.
"What did I say to do in situations like this?"
"Strike first?"
"Correct."
Lucille's eyes gleamed as she swung her staff.
Dozens of mana bullets shot out simultaneously.
As the summoning demon beast fully materialized and tried to roar.
-Oinkkeeee!!!
Dozens of mana bullets pummeled it, and the battle began, capitalizing on our preemptive strike.
In this manner, chaining battles and trap clearances, Lucille and I pushed through the ruins.
As Balance had advised—the most dangerous but fastest path—we found the way down to the third floor sooner than expected, after a few hours.
"No signs of anyone else yet, Master. So..."
That was when.
Footsteps echoed from another passage.
"...Sage? And even Princess Lucille?"
Oh. They caught up.
At the front was Cecil, properly equipped with magic-use gear.
Beside her stood a tall woman with jet-black hair, dressed in a butler's uniform.
Cecil Claudia's closest aide, an awakened archmage.
Her swordsmanship could devour most swordsmen.
Karin Cloud, who held the mage position among the Eight Star Pursuers.
Finally, members of the Bikini Knight Order—no, the Duchy Knight Order.
The moment Lucille saw them, her face flushed bright red.
"Th-those..."
"Your master's favorite armor."
"...A-Aa... Ah... It's a beautiful armor. I could never wear it, though..."
Lucille looked up at me blankly, tears welling in her eyes.
What? Why? What.
"...D-Do I... h-have to... w-wear that too...?"
"Why would you wear that? Anyway, Cecil."
"What."
"Why are you here?"
Cecil thought for a moment, then smirked.
"Before that. Sage. Of course I don't think so, but just for courtesy's sake."
"Go ahead."
"According to records, those who possess the emblems are chosen by the Outer God of Time, Chronos, to become his apostle and reverse time. So."
Her gaze locked onto Moonlight in my hand.
"The emblem of the moon. As the owner of Moonlight... are you planning to become the Outer God of Time, Chronos's apostle, reverse time, and start everything over? To fix some regret... or resurrect the dead?"
I replied to her seriously.
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
In the game too, one of those qualified with the emblems of sun, moon, and stars becomes Chronos's apostle, so we don't know who yet.
But whoever tries to become Chronos's apostle and reverse time—I'll rip them apart with my own hands before they can cause trouble.
The more time reversals, the closer the conditions for Chronos's descent.
That means game over—the world's end.
Author's Note
See you tomorrow! Have a good night~! Bye~!!