Chapter 61 - Prepare For Departure
In the Demon Queen’s office.
“Your recovery seems to have flown by surprisingly fast. Take a seat.”
“Well, some things happened, but I’m alright now. Thanks for the help; Jiera, too.”
Making quick small talk as he entered the office, Jae did as Leila said and sat opposite her without much reservation. At the same time, he briefly recalled the excruciating pain he had barely managed to escape thanks to the help of the Sinful God.
I don’t remember much since the pain was so bad I couldn't think straight, but I know they made it a lot easier for me by providing a safe place to recover. I also still need to thank Amy for bringing me all this way down from the mountain range... I wouldn't have died, but it'd have been pretty bad.
“Indeed, my daughter seemed to have been worried in her own right. However, it is the duty of a ruler to assist their allies in times of need. I shan't ask questions; I only ask that we continue with a strong relationship as we have done.”
Oh... She’s not going to ask any questions? Really? That’s generous.
“Are you sure? My little trip’s caused quite the stir, hasn’t it? I’d feel bad if that causes you any trouble.”
“A stir. Indeed, you could say that... Well then, if I require something of you, I will come with a request. Incidentally, I heard you intend to depart again this soon. Laquada, was it? This time's venture seems quite a bit farther than to merely our neighbour’s.”
“Yes. I’m not sure exactly where it is I need to go, but that’s why Nazar’s helping me out.”
Not only does he have the knowledge of the Southern Continent, but he doubles as a bodyguard. I doubt there’ll be anyone who could pose a threat to me so long as he’s there, even if it’s one of those angels.
“In fact, he appeared to rather look forward to the upcoming journey. I’m sure that one has not visited his homeland for some while; he must be feeling nostalgic at the thought.”
“Did he? I haven’t heard much of what it’s like there, but I think it’ll be enjoyable to see new things. I’m also bringing a few others with me this time, so I’m hoping everyone will have a good time.”
“The human boy and the shadow mage, correct? I know not what your relationship is, but be safe. As for the girl, we have not conversed directly, but Jiera tells me she worked hard to ensure your smooth recovery.”
“I plan to thank her as soon as I can.”
“Mm, good. Either way, as you will have Nazar with you, I’m sure no major issues will arise. There aren’t many with his level of strength, and the knowledge he possesses in regards to the Southern Continent goes unmatched, at least in the realm of Asphal. If ever you have concerns during your journey, do not hesitate to turn his way.”
That’s entirely right. But, the way she speaks about him...
“You must trust him a lot. How did you end up meeting?”
When Jae thought about it, it was strange.
It was only natural for a queen to trust in her confidantes, and undoubtedly was Nazar talented, but he was not a subject. Migrating all the way from the Southern Continent, he had somehow made a connection with Leila, the Demon Queen.
How had he managed that?
Was it simply because he was strong? Because he was knowledgeable? Was it because he owned a successful inn in one of the cities?
Jae had an inkling the real reason was separate from all of these.
“How we met is quite simple.”
He listened intently, but the words that came out of Leila’s mouth as she explained the story caused Jae to tilt his head.
“I called him here.”
“...You called him?”
“I suppose a more accurate way of putting it would be that I called those ‘like him’.”
Immediately, Jae couldn't prevent a subtle frown from forming on his face.
“Like him”...? What's that supposed to mean?
As he sat confused, Leila required no more than a single look at his face to see the need to elaborate. Intensifying her gaze ever so slightly, the Demon Queen’s voice turned down a few pitches and sharpened.
“Jae. Have you ever heard of a ‘Ruler’?”
At that moment, the words flowed into his ears, and he froze.
Ruler...
Fragments of past memories flashed in his mind.
He knew exactly what Leila was referring to, and being in the position he was, he could feel it even more clearly.
Because he possessed two of those titles himself.
“I see...”
There was no need for further explanation, as Jae could understand with just that single word what had happened, or rather, what Leila had wanted to do.
In summary, she wanted to gather as many people with a Ruler title as she could. 'Lords'. She must have put out some kind of message, and as a result, she met Nazar... Then, that means Nazar is a Ruler too?
Something like a public announcement from the Demon Queen would have been read by countless people, undeniably, and not necessarily restricted to those within the borders of her own nation. Then, it probably wouldn’t have been very difficult to include a secret message hidden within that announcement that only Rulers would be able to understand and gain their attention.
Even if it was a message decipherable by a non-Ruler, weeding out people who didn’t possess such a title was easy―all you needed to do was have the person in question share the ‘Titles’ section of their Status, or at least just show the Ruler title they claimed to possess, and that would be proof enough.
That explains a lot; maybe even answers what I wanted to know without me having to ask... Still, I want to know the truth for sure, and it doesn’t clear everything up.
Aphy lived in the Pride Dungeon, and if what she told Jae was true, she was not allowed to leave as the Dungeon Boss. In the past, that explanation made enough sense to satisfy Jae's curiosity, and if that were truly the case, there would be no way for her to have crossed paths with Leila or even to have simply heard the message Leila put out.
And yet, before Jae left the Dungeon, she mentioned an acquaintance on the outside.
There were only a limited number of explanations for how it could all fit together. For example, that the Dungeon Boss was in reality not restricted from leaving the Dungeon, or perhaps she was restricted, but there was some other kind of condition that allowed her to leave.
A second possibility was that Aphy was never a Dungeon Boss to begin with, but that didn’t make much sense. As the strongest being within the Pride Dungeon, she had to have been the boss.
...Or, was she really the strongest there?
Jae couldn’t have ever imagined that her words of being the Ruler of both Pride and Dragons as a lie, but at the same time, it wasn’t like he could prove they were fact.
If she wasn’t the boss, she wouldn’t have been able to manipulate those Dungeon Exits as she pleased, right...? No, I can’t lie to myself and say that with 100% certainty. It could very well be possible with magic, especially if it’s her. I just don’t know. But, if it was a lie, what would be the point...?
By this point, Jae had long forgotten the initial reason why Aphy had kept him by her side and escorted him safely to the Dungeon's Inner Zone, or why she bothered to teach him anything. All he remembered was that he randomly fell into the Dungeon and, after being spared from the fate of endless digestion inside a huge monster, met Aphy, who thus became his tutor.
That's why, when that important piece of context was missing, he began to wonder things he might never have otherwise suspected.
If she was the boss, wouldn't she have been able to open up a Dungeon Exit wherever and whenever she wanted? I'm sure she must have explained why it wasn't possible, or else it just doesn't make any sense...
Another point that could back this possibility up is that, as Reius said, there was a way to clear the Pride Dungeon without killing Aphy. If that was true, then it gave the theory much more credibility, or at least it gave it that much more potential to be true.
After all, if Aphy wasn’t the boss of the Dungeon, there would be no need for her to die for it to be cleared... In that case, maybe it’s for the best that it’s true. Argh, I just don’t know...
There was also a non-impossible chance that there was actually a person who had stumbled into the Pride Dungeon in the past, and that through that person was how Aphy had established a line of contact to the outside world.
No, there’s no way...
Of course, Jae thought that one a step too far, as he considered the Pride Dungeon to be a place no mortal would be able to stand or survive for long.
Maybe if it were only limited to the Inner Zone someone could survive on their own, but I can’t imagine anyone below the level of Nazar being able to survive in the Middle or Outer Layers. Even excluding the incalculable threat of dragons, the environment itself is one of the biggest factors...
In the end, there was no way for Jae to know what the truth was. Either way, finally, after a while of small talk and casual conversation, the opportunity Jae waited for had finally emerged.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
This way, even if he had no idea what the truth was, he might be able to find a single clue.
“By the way, I had something to ask you about that.”
A chance to ask something he had intended to ask a long time ago, but that completely slipped his mind.
“Do you know Aphyllanthes?”
Faced with that seemingly simple question, the Demon Queen’s eyes widened.
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Standing in the hallway outside Leila’s office, Jae pressed his back against the wall and crossed his arms in silence.
“......”
Reflecting on the conversation that had just ended, he glanced over to the window at the end of the hallway. At some point, it seems, the sun had set over the horizon, leaving only faint twilight to brighten the city’s skies.
Beyond that sky, in that outside world, there remained five Dungeons he needed to clear.
Before he could rest.
Before he could take a break from it all.
Five Dungeons.
How long would it take before it would all be over at last?
Before he didn’t need to worry about it any longer.
Before it would all come to an end.
...Wait.
At that moment, he suddenly realised something.
When did he ever arrive at the conclusion that clearing all of the Dungeons would be the end of it?
Jae had no doubt that clearing the Dungeons would make him strong, as that was a fact proven to be true twice at this point... However, it had certainly never been confirmed that things would be ‘over’ once he cleared them all.
It should have been obvious that the dangers he was avoiding now would still be around by the time he cleared the last Dungeon.
Clearing the Dungeons will make me strong, sure...
It should have been obvious that there will still be plenty of problems to deal with even after the last Dungeon is cleared.
But won’t there still be a lot of shit to deal with afterwards?
And yet, he had never once thought about it.
In that case, clearing the Dungeons is only the beginning...
About what would come after.
Ugh... Really...
Keeping in mind that he probably wouldn’t be clearing all of the Dungeons for a long time, Jae didn’t think it was a huge deal to not think about it right now, but even if that was true, it couldn’t be denied that thinking about what would happen in the future and planning for it in advance would be the smart thing to do.
Whatever, now’s not the time anyway. I’ll think about it later.
Of course, just because it was the smart thing to do, didn't mean he was in the mood to do it.
After all, she...
Briefly recalling the previous conversation with Leila, Jae pushed the thought to the side and focused on the matter at hand.
“...You heard what I wanted to say, right?”
Following a brief hesitation, Jae let out a voice to seemingly no one. Then, a figure emerged from the darkened wall on his opposite side.
“I don't need to be thanked for doing what I'm here to do. The reason you let me tag along is because I can be useful, I know that. Are you really alright?”
Jae turned to look at her when she asked. Even though Amy had overseen the entire conversation he had with Leila, including the part where he said he was feeling fine now, she had still asked if he was alright.
“Did you think I was lying?”
“No. I just don’t believe you would recover so immediately after being in that kind of condition for a long time.”
“Well, this world is quite unbelievable, isn't it?”
“......”
Amy wore an expression that made it unable to tell what she was thinking, but seeing as she said nothing in response, Jae knew she agreed with him. After all, his point couldn’t be denied. By the look in her eyes, he could tell she had a lot of questions. Since she had listened in on a conversation with a lot of private topics, that much was only to be expected.
Well... If she asks, I don’t see a problem with answering some things. She’ll find out everything eventually anyway if she continues tagging along, so... Though, since there’s probably a lot, we can just do it gradually.
“You’re curious about a lot of things, right?”
“...I can’t deny that.”
Because there were undoubtedly dozens of questions Amy would want to know the answer to, Jae thought it’d be fine to let her in on just a couple of things. At least for now.
“Do you want to ask something?”
“Is that okay?”
“It’s late, so I’ll answer one question for now. I want to go as soon as possible, so we’re leaving tomorrow, but there'll be plenty of time to talk on the way.”
What Jae didn’t expect, however, was that the very first question would be quite as troublesome.
“Then... Who is this Aphyllanthes? The way you described them made them sound rather impressive.”
“......”
“Was it a bad question? I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s not that. It’s fine. She’s the dragon.”
“...The dragon...?”
“The dragon.”
“...? Oh... The dragon...”
“That’s right.”
“......”
“......”
“...I see. I’ll get going now. Goodnight.”
“Yeah. See you tomorrow.”
And thus, the questionable day came to an end.
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The following day.
Once all the necessary supplies had been prepared and stored in Sloth’s Inventory, as well as a ‘special gift’ from Leila herself that was supposed to be of great help in the vast land of the Southern Continent, everyone departing gathered in the castle’s primary courtyard.
“Okay, I should have everything sorted. Food, money, camping supplies, sanitary supplies, clothes, potions... Is anything missing? I have some water just in case, but we don’t necessarily need to bring any since I can just use magic. Oh, we all have our ID cards Jiera prepared, right?”
After ensuring they had everything they needed, everyone wondered when they would be setting off and why they had been called to the courtyard this entire time.
And that’s exactly when Jae revealed the answer to that ‘why’ to them.
「Greed」 has activated
Option 1 - 「Perfect Imitation [Enhanced]」 has activated
Imitation target confirmed
Imitating target: 「Cloud Wyvern」
“Wha-!?”
“Oh~! I didn’t know you could pull tricks like this?”
Bailey and Nazar’s impressed reactions were understandable as Jae abruptly transformed into a majestic, white wyvern with fluffy fur all over its body, but so was Amy’s knowing look, who wore no expression of shock or surprise.
[It only lasts for an hour and takes a considerable amount of mana to use, so we should get a move on. Where are we going, exactly?]
Using the same telepathic method he used with Rena all that time ago, Jae talked with Nazar as everyone boarded the fantastical flight.
“I see. Then just go as far south as you can. I don’t know how fast you can fly like this, but we won’t reach the coast in just an hour. Two or three trips will do just fine.”
[Alright. Then, everyone hold on tight. I’ll use magic to ensure you’re protected from the wind, but do whatever you can to not let go just in case.]
With everything that needed to be said, said, Jae finished with a few flaps of his wings. It took a minute to get used to this new body, but treating the wings as arms wasn’t too difficult to accomplish. Then, taking off like a rocket, he soared into the air, utilising wind magic to accelerate the flight.
"Waaaah...!!"
As original residents of this world, neither Bailey nor Nazar had ever flown in the sky before, and so this kind of wild experience was brand new to them. Of course, even Amy and Jae had not experienced anything quite like it either, but having both flown on a plane before, it wasn’t nearly as crazy as it would have been for the other two.
Alas, before the hour time limit was up, Jae had no choice but to land, lest they wanted to experience a sky-high freefall as well, and so that new experience of flying came to a swift end... Until he immediately transformed and took right off once again. This was only possible because Perfect Imitation had no cooldown, but it couldn’t be used indefinitely. In fact, Perfect Imitation’s mana cost was the limiting factor at 30% maximum MP, plus up to 100 MP every second depending on the severity of the Status gap between Jae and whatever he was transforming into.
Thankfully, a Cloud Wyvern was not that strong all things considered, meaning Jae could effectively transform into one for up to three full hours before needing to recover his mana.
And fly three times they did.
In the first hour, they took in the picturesque landscape of Asphal, the Demon Country.
In the second hour, the dazzling, endless ocean began to appear on the horizon.
And in the third, it came into close view. However, it wasn’t a particularly smart idea to fly into a random city or town as a wyvern, so they landed a ways away from the coastal settlement and ended the transformation before making the rest of the journey on foot.
During this time, Jae decided to experiment with Perfect Imitation, downing mana potions to restore whatever was lost from the skill as he tested various things.
Transforming into various creatures he had previously encountered, but only those he knew wouldn’t inflict a strain upon him, he discovered a number of interesting factors.
First of all, whenever he was transformed, Jae was unable to open his Status or use any of the skills he normally possesses, including Unique Skills.
At the same time, even though Jae couldn’t use any of his own skills actively, his Passive Skills appeared to remain active, as did his Resistance, Perception, Production and Communication Skills. Of course, he mimicked the skills of what he transformed into, meaning he gained all the skills of those categories that the target possesses, whilst simultaneously retaining his own.
Further, copying the target's stats perfectly meant his own stats would in fact lower to below the standard if he transformed into something weaker than his usual self. However, he still possessed the same amount of HP and mana as usual.
Combining all of this with the fact that transforming into humans was very possible, and because he could use the skills of whatever he transformed into excluding certain Active and Unique Skills, this made for a very interesting development.
Effectively becoming a Doppelgänger second only to Envy himself, Jae had the ability to imitate whoever he met merely by meeting them. Of course, he could only act as a weaker version of them, and only for one hour, but it was still worth something.
Finally, as Nazar pointed out, being in a transformed state seemed to erase Jae’s innate stench of sin. Now, more than anything else, this was something he had to keep in mind, for if he ever came across someone like another one of the Seraphim, he could use Perfect Imitation to disguise himself for an entire hour.
In any case, after following the road alongside the main river that flowed through Asphal to the open ocean all the way from the Grand Sierra, called the Blood of the Mountain God, the group soon arrived at Fansch, one of Asphal’s two main coastal cities. Put simply, Fansch was a lively city with a monstrous fish market, both in terms of size and content. Being one of the few cities of the Four Northern Continents as a collective that actually had a stable connection and solid relationship with the Southern Continent, it was bound to have a lot of people going back and forth between the two, leading to an incredible influx of foreign culture and trade.
“It’s a wonderful place, is it not? This is where I happened to after first crossing over to this land. Impressive to see how far it’s come since then.”
Listening to Nazar’s explanation, Jae nodded his head as he watched the bustling streets of contented citizens wandering about. The seaside metropolis was exceedingly different when compared to Asphal’s capital, Onyxia, or Seronia’s capital, Revel.
“They usually have ferries departing every couple hours or so. It looks like the last one just departed, so feel free to explore to your heart’s content for a few hours and enjoy yourselves. I’ll be having a look around for anything interesting, but I’ll be by the boats by then. See you~”
Watching Nazar calmly walk off to do his own thing, Jae already had an idea of what he wanted to do while waiting, and so―whilst Amy had already vanished at some point―he made his way to the marketplace, Bailey cluelessly following along by his side.
Now then...
And with the rows of stalls selling all kinds of fish coming into view, a feeling of great curiosity began to surge within him.
Let’s see what this Essence Absorption thing is all about.
It was time to test the new Sin System he had acquired.