Chapter 72: Nazrea, City of the Dead (3)
eeYzYi1It was during the winter holiday of my 2nd year in this world that I met Master Erin.y3hqwV
tYMU『Bro. Did you still not fix that habit I told you to fix?』MyB
bHN『Is there a need to bother fixing it? Now that things have come to this, I just have to stick to the end.』SLEB
JmhFpT『…』TTuR
QeZQS8Park Sihu didn’t seem impressed by my reply. He wasn’t the type to overly express his emotions and feelings so I had to rely on the faint frown on his face to tell his mood.moXq2IN
HSWj6『Sihu.』9doEvZ
mV0SM『…』MnelCy
vY2assr『Your bro’s talking to you, Sihu. Look me in the eyes.』vTZT3iM
oP8kYId『Bro my ass. You’re weaker than me.』T0h4r8M
8PaCEmDespite his ungentle set of words, he still looked back at me.Vwwd
GmY『Uiguu~. Were you that worried about my injury?』LCsmy
7gsPM『Tch. That’s not it.』XD6HF
uJNHAAd『Sure, of course. Things turned out well because of that though, right?]Fjbl
WTUG『We got lucky. You need to realize your own position, bro. If you keep on sticking your nose into other people’s business like that, you’ll die in a flash.』M5RO
LMWaZA『It’s all good if there are fewer people dying.』FgZ3eq
Axwh7『……』AeZgAOf
OteXFor a very long time, he kept his silence. There was a big difference in values between me and him, and we had several ideological conflicts because of that.rLn4AS
3Z2jTH『You said you wanted to be stronger, right?』an2T2Gk
Vnji53After a long hesitation, he slowly opened his mouth.gGTEcvZ
8goBf『I’ll introduce you to a master that can make you stronger.』ZJwU
Y7xWhThe right of a player.gTu1X
x1VThe real identity of the Chairman came to light when clearing the 4th Arc of the main scenario, the ‘Tower of Mages’ incident, and the player got to create a connection with her.jWsWmej
PoQtEven though Park Sihu and I already knew about it, we pretended to be clueless until the right moment in order to follow the original storyline.m0w
V5nJ『So you are Korin, huh. I cannot take you in as my disciple but… I can give you some guidance.』Q3z1sCx
9iP8Later, she chose me as her successor.Gng1f
bBXdQ****25Jt569
sQyxzB“That shall do. The undeads won’t be able to enter this building now.”MZSdWLo
nMfSKThe beauty wearing a robe came down from the 2nd floor. Erin Danua, who proved herself by carving all sorts of runes on the building to hide it, was a Rune Mage that was incomparably more skilled at it than me.tVR
aoRVm“T, thank you. Umm… Would you like chocolates?”r51S6j
oB975“Thanks for the offer but I’ll have to refuse it. You can’t consume food from other timelines in this place.”paC8o
8hn“Ah, right…”rZpZBWg
Q3oThis was the place where the incident from 300 years ago was repeating itself.QkYHcQ
GgbOne of two things would occur as soon as food from 300 years ago went into our bodies. The food would either go back to its timeline, or the person that consumed the food would be stuck to this timeline.pXhv
FQQXIt was a bug and a reaction from the world that occurred because of the jumblement of timelines and a paradox of time. Even though we weren’t sure what would happen if things went the other way around, there would probably be some kind of repercussion for them as well.NtPOZu
bQ8“So, why are you here?”lMt1l
5zNoxW“Are you not going to call me master?”Jz3j
IkWX1“…”RN4UM7H
bs02LIy“Hmm~. I see.”XCfK
Z9H9UShe caressed my hair with a warm and knowing smile on her face, but I didn’t reply to her question until the end.Oko9FY
bahjJ6H“Right! So Mr. Korin’s master is from a super long time ago, right? You must have been in the city 300 years ago when it happened, but…”NXzK
7HM8DThis was a place that replayed the incident from 300 years ago. All the citizens and corpses of this place were stuck in the prison of time and were going through the same process, so why and how was she able to keep her consciousness?sht
D3Gp“It’s because I became friends with the Grim Reaper.”tA4AmQL
Lk4mq“Sorry? What do you…”ZtFQR
1FZ3TAfter that, Erin brought her finger to her lips and said, ‘Shh’.JGy
2eNU“Nazrea is a lonely city giving birth to undeads and here, I am stopping the birth of the ‘Immortal King’.”4HeX
haamCAccording to the original plan of the black mage, this spell that isolated Nazrea and grew endless undeads was supposed to give birth to the ultimate ‘Immortal King’. Immortal King was a disaster among disasters that could control every undead of this world. Even in the game, there was a mention that the world would have been destroyed if the Immortal King was born with a million under its immediate command.YvXgdLX
86nu“T, then… you mean you were in this city for 300 years doing…”t4i
kaWAlicia’s face turned pale by imagining just how painful and lonely she would have been during all that time.kHxAG
jemdN“Don’t worry. I am used to hunting monsters.”Fau35lp
YYieldShe said with a smile to relieve Alicia.Dyp
Qutw“Erin.”dQzNf
TGUovlA“Mhmm?”cWymY4f
2mFTI“What are you going to do from now?”nhYCyu
f9HUiTlErin seemed slightly surprised by my question… or rather by my attitude, but she accepted it before long.jqaV0VL
w7HmG“The Immortal King is about to be born at the center of the city, and I must stop it.”n7jqes
3HxGp“Is that so?”VdbEKk4
cEZFgysI stood up with a stretch as Erin tilted her head in doubt.GdKdn
j51“What are you doing?”hH4S7Hs
YoBly“You said you have to stop it right? Let’s go kill the Immortal King.”gcyGRYL
3pvvZz“…It’ll be dangerous.”9FIkV
21lG9yu“I know. That’s why somebody needs to do it.”wbi51
4cwCd16“It’s also something I have to do.”8QQv8DO
MMOw7h5“Don’t you need an assistant?”oK92Q
a7Zsa“…”1B5
IYIdbgMErin was silent.sWVm
MxgzEVZRight – this was the original main quest of Nazrea.Fxva
OcoAfter visiting the City of the Dead, the player had to help the Grim Reaper and a ‘mysterious spearman’ to stop the birth of Nazrea’s Immortal King.tUdO
EkhThis was a lot earlier than usual and there was also a group event happening at the same time, but even then, it should be fine for me to replace the player for this quest.fomI
On1Wt6After all, this was one of those quests that could be done at any moment.Syx3
3eN0b“Hmm… I see. I would appreciate some help but… there’s no reason for you to…”yn6
J7vOYQ“P, please let us help you!”Jmc
IywXRL4Alicia shouted with vigor.K3yu6
OUn6“I, it will be dangerous if the Immortal King is born right? Please let me help if I can assist you in any way!”trr
YbSiwVSaying that, she flexed her biceps while going, ‘Hutt!’ to show off that she was also quite strong, even though there was no need for that.3fHSJh
abTBZM“We also have a group event anyway. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone.”0FA
GXzgaky“Hmm… Alright. I guess I will accept the help of our young juniors then.”ah3
Ng3DXUErin accepted my offer after a slight hesitation. That was natural, because there was no option for her to ‘decline’ my quest from the start.Az2QG
m0qNauThat was just how it was.klYu
Mq6nt8****UPm
ZU8icu“We must defeat three undeads to weaken the power of the Immortal King.”uDEjtT
JA2gRevenant Titan,SwM3QP
zvfAbyss Shrieker,ddNvFnd
khyJ0zWight King.dxVogZN
TmgLFirst off, the three of them headed to the barracks of the town’s security guards, where Revenant Titan tended to appear.uBB6qq
Bjhk6q– Guwooooooo..!!7cx
iRf5The giant raced forward. The large greatsword that could slash through buildings was being swung around as lightly as a twig in its arms.vmu6eyT
FBx3N54– Kwaang! Kwagang!yT5
zuD5TpThe houses of the city were being crushed with each of its attacks. With one breath, the monster pounced up like a jet to chase after Korin and Erin.jFFPcJ4
jGV8“This way…!”s8qY
VlzdsM7Two spearmen were at the end of the giant’s gaze. Like a leopard, they skilfully trod across the complicated streets of the city but the roads were soon blocked by the undeads that hoarded in after hearing the roars of the giant.P2va
kUdPHorizontal Sweep of a Tiger,N5lMU
t4ocLThe swinging form in Six Ways of the Spear.EqI
jsx7dBP– Vuung!oPK09vO
Br8A conjunctive explosion of the mind, the aura, and the body slashed through the dimension. The wind merged with the spear and turned into a gust and a tornado of the battlefield that could sweep across thousands of men.NJN8kN
EAlk1WWhen two people simultaneously used that tremendously powerful attack, the legion of undeads collapsed like leaves falling in the autumn wind.OWrO
JUQNTkMErin and Korin – the two of them stopped for a moment to sweep through the legion of undeads using the same skill as if they had decided on it together beforehand, but that short moment was enough for the giant to finish its chase.FYAnt
IYm– Guung!sx8
CMKThe greatsword traveled across the air. Meeting that violent storm from the front were the thin wrists of Erin.plCa
pu0Using a spear that appeared like a twig in front of the greatsword, she displayed the exquisite laws of Lan, the outer trap, and deviated the path of the sword.f3mMK
vnRDemonstrating the Demonic Arts of Trap and Stab, she used Lan and Na to save herself from the greatsword.nC8UliZ
LYo1tHowever, the principles of Lan Na Zha did not simply end with altering the path of the enemy’s weapon – it needed the finishing move, Zha, which penetrated through the opponent’s core to mark the conclusion.rDW
xhUkijO“Mhmm…!”3uALu
SzKtFgBut Erin had to use all her power in just parrying away the giant’s greatsword. Even though she was parrying it sideways instead of blocking from the front, it still took a large toll on her body.6dQcNC
UiDKorin made up for the short pause that appeared in her movement due to that impact.Xq8v
WscHkZScavenging the Grass for the Snake,GRdDM5
SJ2NTThe essence of Zha penetrated through the giant’s chest.VBsI7aQ
Nf3oncOne person altered the path of the enemy’s weapon while the other stabbed following the principles of Lan Na Zha. It was a combination attack that happened without them even needing to discuss their plans.Tr47qzn
OI7UB“Go now, Alicia…!”79o
I2PSWhen the greatsword pierced through the ground after going astray and the giant faltered after being stabbed in its chest, a new figure was seen racing at the giant’s back.z2vFt
aQtFeDI“……”Ddr
5PyKAThe swordswoman was deathly quiet as if she forgot how to breathe. The scabbard of her demon-slaying sword was rampaging with a shapeless aura.MhPg7m
nXjsZ– Flinch!9dIgMo
lBjI“Grrr?”WhNVK
droYYjThe giant noticed something with its instincts and subconsciously tried to turn its head. However, it was stopped by the runes carved with thin fingers.duJ
2j0e“Guhk…!”x7BnNw
0QgAyfIt was a Rune of Restriction that even suppressed its breath. Seven rune letters appeared in the blink of an eye to form a sentence that bound the giant and bought time for Alicia to arrive and unsheathe her sword.qGb
s7PRzWhat happened after that was only witnessed by two people in the entire world. Korin and Erin looked at each other as Alicia took a step forward in that suspended world.BXM65QZ
bIls– Hududuk!WXDsLF
KSzsVomThe giant’s head rolled on the floor. Showing how even an undead revived from the dead could not live after being beheaded, the large body of the giant fell to its demise.vE7rZP
ACHuEv4****hVA
eCIATkDestruction of Merkarva.QL7Dx1
v0JuQbIt was the largest event near the end of ❰Heroic Legends of Arhan❱ and one that marked the start of Tates Valtazar’s full-on assault and was not something we could prevent.blWk
XMzOluNPerhaps… Park Sihu, who I thought was helping me stop the incident, might have been instigating it from behind.PoAdmfE
pgck『Korin. Run away.』IkD
EoI17H『Master!』qUj3Iy
G6Apcm『Bro! What are you doing!』frA4Dg
qUiTates Valtazar was in front of us along with the king’s subjects including Fermack Daman.z2SFfRL
tNevRCWe had to run away with our party members by breaking through the hordes of monsters but… Master Erin firmly stood her ground with her back towards us.CNN
OEa『Someone needs to buy time.』FNjwLh
pM5glqJIt was an event that did not occur in the game. The enemy had broken in a lot earlier than scheduled, and things were direr than ever before.IRxSrRv
drrEven so, Erin Danua gladly decided to stay behind.XnvSn
yDnxS『Why would you do that, Master! It’d be better if…!』kbQ9
IJ9ywWiping off the tears in my eyes, Master opened her mouth.RzPaw
pPAp430『Child, I am an adult. As long as I am an adult, I have the duty to prioritize your safety as a child.』piYouHf
55KF‘You don’t know me,’ I wanted to tell her. ‘I am not Korin Lork. I am also a full adult; not a child under your protection.’SDdFTu
cisEW8『Everything will be fine.』Lrn
usMLThat was my last memory with Master.aeT
yyOrf3oIt was a chillingly painful memory.73Uw4v
f0t****tS4ujfC
LHGU8Usually, when going to sleep during a mission, it was a common principle to create a camp and sleep at night, but you had to do it the other way around in Nazrea.wQV
yeiBecause this was a strange place where night was dangerous and the day was extremely safe.TUbSNf
EiVGC“Has Alicia gone to sleep?”AMsg
8Ma3P“Yes.”TBeewja
v24QOn a rowdy noon, we sneaked into an empty building in the outskirts of the city and decided to take a rest there.NoOzeQt
2vYvc“You should sleep with her. No one will touch you even if you sleep during the day.”Sbp4ExG
Nb1“It’s okay. A few days without sleep is not going to affect my condition.”BOUmxK1
n4VMQxp“That’s not good. Children should go to sleep early and wake up early.”RtdG8
Gqx47E“Do I look like a kid?”97SY6xI
hTWmYU1“Of course you are a child; what else would you be?”JFhlQ
WhLbErin smiled while covering her mouth. Her twitching lips displayed her playfulness.MCNdSwl
hRK37“So, do you think you’re doing well with that test you’ve mentioned?”7ByB
RApA4oh“Yes. I think we should pass without a problem.”kuJ
kk7vKKI replied while picking up the enormous Moonstone from Revenant Titan, which was as big as a rugby ball. The focus of this test was more on quality than quantity.6a2B
jJiqA Moonstone of this size should easily let us pass through the group event.QTRkDLv
AylQ“Hmm…”xCvmX
fo1Erin said after deeply gazing at me.C1W0Q9F
2Nch“Anyway, it seems that I have taught you everything.”iiMe
2hFd“Six Ways of the Spear, Void, Primal Rune. I learned all that from you. Quite unexpected right?”0dELe
4zXx“…Yes. I wasn’t even expecting me to choose a successor, and definitely not someone as normal as you on top of that.”UOqV7AZ
HHoSf“You could say I’m just that special.”pXy
rj59I0f“Huhu.”YQmA
5rwdAoI didn’t bother mentioning the successor she chose before me. In this timeline, she had yet to meet Valtazar and there was no reason to tell her about something which she had been regretting and self-reprimanding about for 80 years.KyHJzLb
M0qI2NqShe already had way too many things on her shoulders. I didn’t want to add an extra burden to her, who was living a repeating life ever since 300 years ago…nMh
U9T“What is it that you are trying to hide?”SeERoB
0TofR“Sorry?”PsH
MeytltPutting an end to my line of thought, she raised her chin up high and revealed her long neckline as well as a smile, before walking up and sitting next to me.6lX7sa
WtePzOM“Huhu. I must be an incredibly blessed woman. To think I’m being loved so much by my disciple.”qQR6iV
PAFl“Where did this come from?”sM9T
wRuI15S“I can see that you have truly loved your master.”vfF
A0Skz9g“…”5A3p
q8WVbTShe gently placed her soft hand on my palm with a sad light in her eyes.HKME
1X6“It seems that my future is not the brightest one the world has seen.”xnwPJt
emfVT“No…”LxK7cE
cr1X“You know who I am as my disciple, do you not?”bay
qLPrrL“…”7OVoN9
I9RlpdOf course I did. She was an adult who stood against the great evil. She was the benefactor who led me, taught me, and changed me, who also had to lose her life to protect me.0Roz
7RwTFhAThat heartrending and chilling memory squeezed my chest.v21F
oAA4“Tell me. Sometimes, it is a blessing to have someone listen to your story.”WueOBZ
SvSYErin said while giving me a long hug. Even though she was smaller than me, her hug was so relaxing and warm that I couldn’t help but subconsciously fall for its comfort.4LH
zz41l“Good boy. It’s okay. Everything will be fine.”hFLcXNA
j92ohHer consoling whisper tickled my ears.exPe6
cX9k………XXS9
hQbdVvl……pW2
rqh…gaKGN
DlxcrDP“Like… I was just stupid. There were plenty of things to be suspicious about and yet…”CS9nSoW
Zs79dU“I have a different opinion though.”Mjk1y0
DNSScpYErin replied while gently pinching my nose. I tried to look away but she straightened my head and made me look into her eyes.UltJmV
L6FL“You did fail.”r4BfVK
zzmcdsq“…That’s true but you didn’t have to mention it like that.”ZRe
1ize“Huhu, boy. Fools linger on the failures of others, but the wise know how to linger on their own mistakes. At the very least, you are in the latter, are you not?”pnLNyQ
niL“I have never considered myself wise.”ijfdB
VM2“Were you a hero from the start? Did that child called Sihu, who knew how to avoid failures, succeed in the end? No. Heroes are not people that only know how to avoid situations that might cause mistakes and failures. That is already the biggest mistake.”TItO84e
UM6I didn’t say anything in detail but after just hearing the bits and pieces I shared, Erin immediately said something that pierced through the core of the whole story.VUBN
WZkY“…Would you say the same thing even if you were the one that failed?”Nm0Pmwp
JQEXA“Huhu. Child, I have made countless mistakes and failures until now. However, it seems that I wasn’t mistaken at least when it comes to you.”LDMAu
9RoBRrHLike the gift she always gave me, Erin gave me a soft kiss on my forehead. The breath from her lips weighed on my chest.Zmox
OoU“I, the Queen of Paradise, will gladly bless you for your future.”OVlaq
z1M4cQBThat smile was one that I hadn’t been able to see for a very long time.XAngp
lYj“You can rest for now. Take a short nap. Everything will be fine.”STst7
ekgZLike that, I fell asleep in her arms.uAC
Xwk****OkH
83QdtuGerolge the Black Mage thought to himself, that something was going wrong.FR0xBEo
XqQbpI“Damn it. How did this happen? And why? This is not it. Was my calculation wrong? That can’t be…”lAld7uD
Tj3He ransacked through the messy grimoires in his workshop. Relying on the ambient light of the lamp brightening up the dark and gloomy room, he searched through words with oddly large eyes.gHAoj
ljHm7Nc“Huu, huu… Weird. That was the best timing. That was almost a miracle. So how could this…”IIa6FN
y6fHAWLike a madman, he continued murmuring to himself. The fact that he forgot to swallow his drool made him look all the more like a madman.LJtu
VoqI9D“Weird. Who. Who is it? Did someone interfere? Why did this happen? How did they do it?”u22vF
7PWWithout settling his coarse breath, Gerolge looked for his records that were left behind in a corner of the bookshelf.i6xhRw
sSNIIt was by sheer luck that he saw the upcoming miraculous celestial phenomenon that had a super moon, a blue moon as well as a blood moon. He realized that it would be possible to create an incredibly enormous ritual that the world had never seen by making use of the mana of the moon drenching the earth, and thus prepared for it.ojQdJ
knbfxmSThe ritual was successful and… wait, was it a success? I didn’t activate the ritual though? No, wait, did I activate it yesterday? But then why is the city so peaceful?Aii
kKkUGerolge rummaged through the books again like crazy. He checked the magic circle again even though he had already seen them hundreds and thousands of times.UToJ
k1uHe then slowly started to realize something.0HO
121SWith cold sweat flowing down his spine, he came up with a hypothesis.qfWO1eI
nKpD8“Witch. A witch. That witch.”Z3eJhSL
hdzLEHe tipped the lamp brightening up the room. It was a very intentional and academic attempt.9QN
pYW3bU– Hwaruk!e7AU
zSmZcThe lamp broke. The oil and the ember inside the lantern fell as the room immediately turned into a sea of flames…HYQX
axRHJ“Ha, haha… Hahaha!”515xIA
OkBLT…Or at least it should have.nKdW
jEYJ9xwHe realized it. He ended up realizing it.02s
CzbjAk“Witch. That witch. That accursed spearman. Silver hair. Blue eyes. Monster. Rune Mage.”STDTsO
khi5sahLike a fool, he slowly arranged the pieces of information. No one knew that it was Gerolge the Black Mage’s desperate attempt at regaining his clever intellect. Even Gerolge himself did not know what he was doing.nMxQE
IKpV“Witch! Witch! Witch!”YdjN
MqhzGerolge ran out of his dark room and gazed at the city.UXvQ
S676LpTThe City of the Dead that had contained more than a million undeads until the previous night… was way too peaceful and normal.eGqei
6hbygMI“The Witch! It’s all because of the Witch! That Witch must be the reason!”hSB1X
e1nzrhHe felt enlightened as life sparked down his spine. The Witch… yes, that Witch was the one who caused all this to happen.sqV
jtAHis legs lost power. While limping, Gerolge took in the sight of the peaceful city and observed the faint scent of a magic circle hidden in the sky.93B
yvRIt was the magic circle he carved into the city with the support of the lunar mana. It contained the purest and most intense form of mana that no other grand spells until now could have possibly possessed.WuGsMX
76hQNBecause of how perfect everything was, it didn’t take long for him to notice that an ‘irregular letter’ had been carved into the great magic circle.4qMjY0
D6i8XA[ n ]p3oB
rUqAt a glance, it looked similar to common language, but it had to be from way back in the past considering its magic meaning.rjsF3
gxne6BWThe language of the origin – the special alphabet that was starting to be forgotten and lost 300 years ago.EipgUX
lUOhCThe meaning of this Rune of the Prime that completed a sentence with 8 of those ancient letters was… ‘Paradise continues’.taG6
iMsbEy“Uhah, uhahaha…! I know it! I know! Witch! I know your secret! I ended up noticing it! Prime! It was the Prime…!”h99
GEGc“Hello Gerolge.”O8A5
3ramZPsHe, who had been blabbering without even stopping for a breath, finally paused himself for a bit but continued before long.O6ws
NrLu“It was you! You! Time is being repeated! You were the one that made it happennnnn….!”FyaEh
jBA8wEHis voice lost its shape as his clear vision turned dim. His flesh began to swell and behind his swelling flesh, the black mage glared at the wily blue eyes of the Witch.Z87eol
YTktc“Immortal King Gerolge. Stay faithful to your role.”uLkdr
oxfAs always, the 3,203rd enlightenment of Gerolge the Black Mage was in vain.nfJTp
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