Chapter 83
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Veronica
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There should be a round groove near Veronica's solar plexus. Just insert the orb there.
A groove?
It was odd to think there was a groove in a person's body, but on second thought, she was undead.
While I figured it would probably be fine, Otil replied that it wasn't an issue at all.
I heard it was made from a dimensional transfer experiment. But don't worry, there are no problems.
From what I overheard at the council, it seems like she has her own will. Is that right?
At the council, the Great Witch Moriana had asked the witch named Tainil to lend her Veronica.
Tainil had said she'd check with Veronica's own wishes, so I thought she probably did have her own will.
Yes, she does. So get along well with her.
'As expected.'
I'd anticipated she had her own will, so it wasn't surprising.
Besides, considering I'd be relying on this Veronica in the future, it seemed best to get on good terms with her.
Do you know what Veronica likes, by any chance?
Unfortunately, no. I've never really talked to her.
Guess I'll have to get to know her bit by bit.
Oh. I think I heard she likes killing people.
"......"
I regretted hearing that unnecessary bit of info.
'If I hadn't heard that, I could've approached her normally.'
The idea that her favorite activity was murder sent a chill down my spine for some reason.
I considered returning her, but since the Great Witch and Otil recommended her, I decided to trust them.
Anyway, thanks. I'll talk to her.
I'll say it again: don't die. Contact Melani when you have time later.
Otil ended the one-on-one chat with that.
Friend, 'Ice Queen☆' has requested a 1:1 trade.
This is the first trade list.
After finishing today's trades arranged by Ice Queen, I checked the Awakening Stones and Bloodstones I'd gathered so far.
1 Superior Awakening Stone.
12 Intermediate Awakening Stones.
46 Basic Awakening Stones.
'Bloodstones: 3,948.'
Checking them, it looked like I could raise Telekinesis to level 30 right now.
Separately, I was concerned about how Channel 3 mostly bought weapons and armor.
'Because of the raiders Ice Queen mentioned before?'
There were a lot of spears, bows, and crossbows among the weapons too.
Bows and crossbows weren't very effective against zombies, so it was probably for raiders.
'When we're already short-handed fighting zombies.'
Or maybe they were arming up in preparation for potential threats.
Considering it all just speculation for now, I decided it was time to take out Veronica.
"Hero, let's take a short break."
"Fine by me, but why?"
"Something came from Channel 5."
Elisicia nodded and stopped walking.
Rubyel showed curiosity at the mention of Channel 5 and asked what it was.
"Channel 5? Did they send mana potions?"
"If it was something like that, we wouldn't need to stop."
With that reply, I pulled Veronica out of my inventory.
A tall figure about 180 cm clad in full-body armor appeared, startling everyone.
"What the hell? Did Channel 5 send a corpse?"
"I heard it's undead."
The mention of undead made everyone grimace.
"Undead? Why the hell would they send undead?"
"It's supposed to protect me so I don't die."
"Protect you? You don't trust us?"
Rubyel asked, clearly offended, if I didn't trust them.
"Of course I trust you all. But the Channel 5 witches think differently, it seems."
"Still, sending undead? How strong can undead even be...?"
"Ah. I don't know much, but they said it's a quasi-transcendent."
"......What?"
I didn't know what a quasi-transcendent was, but the Hero Party did—they looked shocked in the complete opposite way from before.
"A quasi-transcendent? You sure you heard right?"
"No mistake. But what's a quasi-transcendent?"
"It's what they call someone right on the verge of becoming a true transcendent."
Rubyel explained, but I still didn't get it.
Judging my question was off, I rephrased to ask about transcendents instead.
"What about a transcendent, then?"
"It means someone who has broken free of mortal limits and become half-immortal. Some call them demigods."
Demigods...
"Can a person actually become a demigod?"
"It's extremely difficult. There are very few transcendents in this world."
"You said transcendents are immortals. None left now?"
"Yeah. They're all dead."
"...?"
If they're dead, weren't they not immortals?
Rubyel seemed to read my confusion but didn't explain further.
"I'll tell you about that later. More importantly, this undead is a quasi-transcendent?"
Rubyel still sounded incredulous.
Elisicia looked at Veronica with a different expression than before and said to me,
"Castaway, so this one will help conquer the labyrinth?"
"Probably?"
I replied and took out the soul orb too, eyeing the full-body armor Veronica wore.
They said there was a groove near the solar plexus for the orb, but the armor made it tricky.
'Come to think of it, there's a small cover over the solar plexus area.'
Upon inspection, I unlatched it and lifted it up, revealing pale skin.
And there was a round groove carved into the pale skin. I inserted the soul orb directly.
Fwosh—
A burst of light came from the soul orb.
Shk—
Veronica in her full-body armor slowly raised her upper body.
She looked around at me and the Hero Party, then spoke.
"Who’s the Castaway?"
Veronica's voice was a cold mid-low tone.
Otil said to get friendly, but that seemed tough. I raised my hand first.
"That's me."
"A human. And a man, at that."
Human? Man?
"Yes. Is that a problem?"
"No problem. I just hate humans most, and men next."
"......"
Coincidentally, I fell into both of Veronica's top two most-hated categories.
My affinity dropped before I'd even done anything, making me wonder if getting close was possible.
"But it's a request from the Great Witch and Tainil, so no helping it. Castaway, I'll protect you."
Veronica said she'd protect me reluctantly.
Rubyel patted my shoulder while eyeing her.
"How about sending her back?"
"......"
Tempting, but I decided to talk first.
"More importantly, Veronica, could you help conquer the labyrinth too?"
"Why should I?"
"It'd be good for both sides?"
The Hero Party gains power, and Veronica can go back sooner.
Veronica seemed to get it and nodded, but didn't agree.
"Still, fighting for a human doesn't sit right."
The labyrinth conquest was ultimately to save Channel 2's world.
Conversely, Veronica protecting me was because she thought I'd save Channel 5 someday.
'So she's protecting me reluctantly for Channel 5's sake.'
With that thought, I came up with a childish idea and asked,
"What if I actively join the fights?"
"To protect you, I'd have to fight too."
Veronica answered coldly, her voice even chillier than before.
She'd fight, but it signaled our relationship would worsen even more.
'Should I really send her back?'
Of course, with Veronica, I'd be much safer.
A quasi-transcendent—possibly even stronger than Elisicia—protecting me.
'And she said it herself, so she'll keep her word.'
She seemed the type to honor her own statements.
Elisicia stared at Veronica for a while, then said it was fine.
"If she'll protect you, Castaway, that's enough for me."
Veronica helping with the labyrinth would boost our strength immensely.
But Elisicia didn't want to force it; protection was sufficient.
'That means both Tipina and Veronica guarding me.'
Did I need two? But Veronica's attitude bothered me more.
'Feels like forcing her along for my safety.'
Plus, getting friendly seemed hard, so I leaned toward sending her back.
"Hey, Veronica. If you really don't want to, should I send you back?"
"Planning to drag me into the labyrinth conquest that way?"
"Huh?"
Surprised at the implication, Veronica explained calmly.
"If I go back and you die? Then there's no saving the witches. I'd feel guilty toward them."
"......"
Did it come off that way?
'Yeah, she could see it like that.'
It could be interpreted as holding her and the Channel 5 witches' lives hostage to blackmail her.
"Sorry, that sounded misleading. My apologies."
As I apologized, Rubyel grumbled, displeased.
"I thought Channel 5 witches were skilled in magic, but apparently not. Relying on one guy like this."
"......"
"......"
I wondered if Channel 2 wasn't the same.
The rest of the Hero Party seemed to think so too, silently staring at Rubyel.
"Anyway, Veronica, looking forward to working with you."
With a quasi-transcendent protecting me, safety wouldn't be an issue, at least.
I said as much, but Veronica coldly replied, still disliking me as a human man.
"Just stick to your roles."
"......Yes."
Getting close to Veronica anytime soon seemed unlikely.
Channel 3.
Even in a world where zombies appeared once a month in lightless places.
There were raiders who ignored that, plundering everything from others for their own desires.
Vroooom!—
In one urban area, a motorcycle roared loudly, drawing zombies.
It lured them toward a known survivor group. A watching survivor shouted,
"Raiders!"
The survivor yanked a pre-set rope hard.
Bells tied along it rang loudly, alerting everyone.
"What? Why are the bells ringing?"
"Raiders! Raiders are here!"
"Damn, what do they want with us?!"
The survivor group numbered about 120, with 50 combat-ready rushing to prepare.
Seeing the motorcycle gather every zombie, one said fearfully,
"No way he's bringing all those zombies here, right?"
There were roughly 300-400 zombies, including level 1 and 2 variants—too many for a frontal fight.
"It's fine. We have barricades. A motorcycle can't get through."
As a survivor trusted the car-and-furniture barricade at the entrance,
Fwosh—
A change occurred with the raider.
His body and motorcycle turned translucent blue, phasing right through the barricade.
"He phased through!"
"What kind of ability is that?!"
The pursuing zombies slammed into the barricade.
Zombies quickly climbed over each other or poured through breaches in the barricade.
"Damn it, prepare to evacuate!"
"Tell everyone!"
The raider stopped his bike briefly, cackling at the panicking survivors.
"Love this ability specialization."
He could originally only etherealize himself.
But specialization let him etherealize his motorcycle too.
"Test successful anyway. Time to hit the real prizes."
Having tested his power, the raider grinned nonstop at the thought of looting the group properly.