Chapter 316
The second hand went around and the minute hand finally moved to the next compartment, but I was never called to the spiritual world.
It was the same even though I checked the date and time again and waited until the morning to see if the watch was broken.
If so, how did this happen?
I talked with Amelia all night and reduced the number of cases, leaving a total of three.
Let’s sort it out one by one…….
1. A temporary error occurred by chance only this time.
If this situation was not due to someone’s handiwork, but was completely accidental.
First of all, the probability is not 0%.
Whether it’s an electronic device or a magic tool that contains the essence of magic, it’s because in the end, it’s made by people.
Although it is rare, there are cases where even a subspace ring breaks down and the item inside cannot be removed until it is repaired.
Well, the chances of that happening are slim.
Rather, this one is more appropriate.
2. Auril Gavis banished me from the spiritual world.
It was a more likely guess than number 1.
Looking at the old man’s attitude, there is no reason to banish me at this timing, but isn’t he a sly old man whose true intentions are completely unknown?
The possibility that this is also some kind of manipulation cannot be ruled out.
Anyway, next on this.
3. Auril Gavis had an unavoidable situation.
This, too, is a highly probable story.
No, I at least judged this to be the most powerful of the three.
I can’t even imagine what would have to happen if that monstrous old man was in trouble… but
isn’t it a world full of monsters?
Even that old man will have a threatening adversary.
For example, a king or something.
‘Okay, let’s go to sleep.’
There was no means to find out what the correct answer was, so it was pointless to think about it any further.
Therefore, I decided to wait until the 15th of the next month for this problem, and as the day passed, I went to the labyrinth once more.
[Ha ha ha! Well done this time too! If we keep doing this, we’ll all get rich soon!]
In the labyrinth, there was nothing special to say.
Just like last time, I was busy plundering looters until the day the labyrinth was closed.
This was the same around midnight on the 15th when he returned again.
[Didn’t I go again this time?]
[…Yes.]
Even though it was still time, my mind stayed in the body.
‘Ha, that’s really embarrassing…’
How the hell is things going?
As the cramped mind grew in size day by day, time passed by endlessly.
* * *
‘Time flies so fast.’
Effortlessly erasing the bitter smile, I folded the calendar in my hand and put it in my pocket.
Six months have passed since I came to the past.
Squeak.
As I got up and grabbed my coat, Amelia asked without looking in my direction.
“Are you going today?”
“Because there’s nothing to do here. What about you?”
“I’ll stay at the inn.”
After having a dry conversation with Amelia, I left the inn.
Most conversations these days are like this.
It is short, shallow, and always has an invisible blade.
‘Haha, it’s really inconvenient to death.’
At first, it was manageable, but recently, with only a few days left until D-Day, it has become much worse.
Well, I still haven’t been able to find a way to do this.
The community that I was supposed to have never opened since it was closed then.
‘……Did they really banish me?’
Now I’m starting to think about it and want to check it out.
Because the head of Orculis is in this underground city.
If you go and ask, you will be able to find out if I was the only one who was kicked out or if the community server itself was down.
‘What am I thinking? There’s nothing that’s going to change anyway.’
I sigh and walk the streets of the underground city.
I’ve gotten quite used to this place before I knew it.
With the exception of the alleys and the eastern area, which could be called Orculis’ stronghold, I had memorized most of the main roads.
“Ah boss! You’re here!”
As soon as I arrived at the clan house located in the lord castle, Dumbo greeted me.
After entering the labyrinth together for several months, there was no sign of fear or reluctance towards me like before.
No, if you look at what you do, there is no other henchman.
“Come, sit down! Would you like a drink?”
“Something light.”
“Haha wait a minute! I’ll bring it right away!”
As I was sitting in an empty seat, Dumbo quickly brought me a drink and sat next to me.
Then he started talking to himself like a jukebox.
Most of the time, I was talking to myself about rumors or recent events going around the city, but I didn’t get bored when I listened to him because I liked his voluptuousness— “That’s right, boss.
Have you heard about the barbarian heart?”
Suddenly, a story came out that couldn’t be flowed out of one ear.
“Heart? What are you talking about? Come on.”
“Oh, did you not hear? Well, rumors have already spread all over the world. The barbarian’s heart is used as a magical material and is sold at a high price.”
“……what?”
It will be about 10 years from now that the Mage’s Tower announces that the heart of a barbarian is a precious magic material.
Even after the fairies and barbarians waged war, it was much later.
But is that story already out there?
‘Could it be that the future has changed because of me? No, there’s no way…?’
I couldn’t believe it at all, so I asked Dumbo in detail, and the situation was like this.
“Probably it wasn’t announced by the Magic Tower. Rather, it’s just a rumor.”
“canard?”
“The leader said that he made a request to the Melter Merchant a few months ago. Spread rumors on the ground like that.”
‘what? Oh shit…….’
It didn’t take long, and there I understood the whole situation.
That’s natural.
Clan leader Felik Barker has only one motive for requesting such a request to the Melter Merchant, which is Noark’s only merchant corps and the link to the ground.
“Anyway, the captain seems to have thought that if such a rumor spread, the looters on the ground would be much more likely to fall for our tricks. Ah, I think the captain didn’t expect it to spread this far.”
Dumbo told me in detail, even the things I didn’t ask, assuming I didn’t understand.
Rumors go beyond spreading all over the world, and rumors are circulating and being exported back to Noark?
When I heard that far, curses came out of me.
“Nimiral.”
“…yes?”
“quiet.”
“…….”
At one word, Dumbo looked at me sharply and shut his mouth, and I calmly organized my thoughts.
My head was complicated.
It will probably soon turn out to be false rumors.
But…….
‘Maybe this could have been the beginning of this……’
I keep thinking about this.
Maybe because of the rumors spread by Felik Barker, some wizards started researching in earnest, and because of this, the value of the barbarian’s heart will be set 10 years later.
So, to put it simply…
‘Then you’re saying that I could have been the cause of that madness…?’
It’s still just a thought.
But the problem is that this doesn’t feel like a leap at all.
“Dumbo, then I’m going.”
“Yes? Yes!”
I wasn’t in the mood to be friendly at the Clan House.
But when he came out, he had nowhere to go.
So, the car went around inside the castle as if it were just taking a walk.
“Are you the iron mask?”
An old man passing by stopped suddenly and spoke to me.
It was just too much to ignore.
Because this world is exceptionally unkind to old people.
In order to survive to that age, you have to have that kind of talent.
“So who are you?”
When I asked carefully, the old man laughed and took out a magic stone the size of a fingernail from his pocket.
And…
“This kind of person.”
As soon as he opened his mouth, the magic stone emitted light and turned into bread.
* * *
Alchemist.
A transformation wizard with the innate ability to change magic stones into bread or iron.
‘……I never thought I’d meet someone like this in the hallway.’
In a way, the alchemist could be said to be a bigger person than the lord of the castle or the leader of Orculis.
No, at least it certainly was in Noark.
As far as I know, there are only two alchemists here.
Seongju, no matter who takes over, the city will not collapse immediately, but if the position of alchemist becomes vacant, the city will collapse.
Not a metaphor, really.
“Seeing how surprised you are, it must be your first time doing alchemy?”
It was my first time doing alchemy and I didn’t understand what it was.
Who would have imagined that I would run into a person who could be considered the very foundation of this city in the hallway like this.
‘Wait a minute, even if it’s within the lord castle of Amman, there’s no way an alchemist would wander around alone because he’s crazy…’
Thinking it didn’t make sense at all, I looked around carefully and felt eyes from all over the place.
Seeing how difficult it is to see with the naked eye, everyone seems to have eaten the essence of the stealth system…
“You’re more sensitive than I thought?
He was sensitive and showed his presence without intending to hide it in the first place.
A kind of warning not to even think about doing anything stupid.
“Ah, by the way, I haven’t told you my name yet. The old lady says it’s Marfa Ifaello. It doesn’t matter if you call it what’s convenient for you, but if you insist on calling it by your last name, it’s better.”
“…It’s an iron mask.”
“I know. It’s fate that we met like this, so why don’t we talk for a bit?”
“good night.”
I accepted his offer without hesitation.
Maybe it was another alchemist famous for having a bad temper. The old man’s name was familiar to Amelia.
‘The one who created Lethe’s blessing.’
That alone is worth having a conversation with.
“Hmm, as I’ve heard, you’re a very generous friend, right? Let’s go.”
‘It’s just as I’ve heard…… It’s not like we met by chance. They came to visit me.’
Soon, Ifaello started walking down the hallway first, and I followed him.
Even though I crossed the 3rd floor, where access was restricted, no one stopped me, probably because he was next to me.
The alchemist’s workshop arrived like that.
“It’s okay from now on, so let’s all go out.”
‘It looks similar to a wizard’s lab, but it’s a bit different.’
As soon as I entered, I was scanning the surroundings, so he kicked out the hidden escorts and offered a seat.
“Sit down. If you want something to drink, tell me.”
“Okay.”
Normally, it would have been the timing to take the lead in the conversation by insisting on asking for meat, but this time I just skipped it.
He was sure to hear something from Amelia if he was caught being rude.
This old man was a benefactor who took care of Amelia in her childhood.
Therefore, regardless of the position, you cannot treat them carelessly.
Well, he had the face of a barbarian, so he couldn’t use honorifics.
“So why did you call me?”
“I just wanted to know what kind of person he was. It was the first time that the children had so much fun talking about the labyrinth.”
I asked pretending not to know.
“Those children?”
“Laura and Amelia. Pretty children. Sometimes, whenever I’m alone, he calls me, brings me some snacks, and asks me to talk to him.”
“……I see.
” They are poor children, so please take good care of them from now on.”
“I will.”
I nodded and asked
carefully
. It’s not easy to do.”
He spoke roundly, omitting the details, but I knew that to some extent.
‘Originally, it was just a snack, but after one alchemist died, he took it out of the team and raised it himself.’
Perhaps the attempt to take it out before that failed.
Currently, there are two alchemists in the city.
As there are obvious alternatives, it is impossible to enjoy omnipotent power.
“How are those children these days?”
“How are they doing ? I’m trying not to do dangerous things as much as possible.”
“…I see.”
The topic of conversation that naturally followed after that was mainly the Rain Wales sisters. The alchemist Ifaello asked how the children were doing in detail, and I was open about it. He answered.
Then, after looking at the gap, he opened his mouth at the right time. “By the way
, can you hear our conversation over there?”
you won’t hear Do you have any questions?”
“Is there a way to use alchemy to solve the restrictions caused by the essence?”
“Restrictions? Poison or something like that is possible……”
He answered my question without much thought, then he blurted out his words and then opened his mouth again. ”
Are you sure
you’re talking about [unsound contracts]?”
I shrugged my shoulders. And
would
that have been enough of an answer?
“…That’s out of the realm of alchemy
.
”
In terms of regret, it was as good as mine, but I didn’t show any signs of it. Well, it’s not like this era is something that didn’t exist in the game.
“Is there anything else
you’re curious about ?” I asked about the pill called Lethe’s Blessing,
but a strange response came out.
“Lethe’s Blessing? What is that?”
“That… memory-erasing drug.”
“Oh that! But the drug doesn’t have a name yet…”
Uh, I didn’t expect this
……. Very romantic.”
I sighed silently at those words.
For some reason, I wondered why it
was “Lete”.
.