CHAPTER. 130: HERO OF ARLAS

A sense of dread filled me. “Does that mean…?”

“It means that unless your being suffers from some form of corruption you won’t be able to leave this place.” He shook his head turning back to the map. “You have three options, have a corrupted system and… lose your strength⁠— become a corrupted existence, or find something else.”

“What do you mean find something else?” I asked, frowning.

All of the options seemed to be fucking awful. I didn’t want any of them, but still: I held hope that the third option was something that could be… good. If corruption could even have that connotation in the first place, and so I waited as seconds passed.

“Well, the corruption is unpredictable. So long as you possess a quality of yours that is thoroughly and fully corrupted then you should be able to leave this place.”

“So, if somehow I manage to let’s say⁠— get a fully corrupted leg and somehow keep it under control I’d be able to leave?” I asked.

“I suppose so, yes. But just your leg; the part has to encompass your whole being⁠. Your soul for instance. Your system. Your body⁠— all of them are a large part of who we are.”

I didn’t say anything, while I didn’t exactly believe in the existence of the soul or anything like that, but I saw his point. And that realization just made me sigh in exasperation as I turned to him.

“And what part of you is corrupted?”

“My body,” he said simply.

“And are you weaker or stronger now, also how are you still alive after so much time?”

“Those questions aren’t ones you should be asking. But as for your questions; physically stronger, simply alive due to my Tier.”

“Figured,” I lamented staring at the ceiling.

Truth be told, I felt apathetic, maybe from knowing I was kind of fucked or maybe because I was still very much injured and waiting for everything to heal; I didn’t really know the exact reason but it didn’t matter much.

“How come monsters don’t get into this place?”

“Corruption doesn’t attack corruption, all of the entrances are coated in it. Fortunately or rather sadly, the corrupted beings have pretty much no mind to realize that their target escaped for good.”

“Huh…”

The corruption was pretty… fucked up in general. Creating truly mindless monsters that seemed to attack anything that wasn’t corrupted⁠. That was… The idea of being corrupted seemed a lot more terrifying now.

Though, the man seemed unfazed as he relayed me that information.

I knew the Hero of Arlas or whatever was trying to fight the corruption and failing, so the better question was:

“So, are you never going to go back up to the surface?”

“No, besides I think I know how to cleanse this area of the corruption,” he said thoughtfully. “I just need to attack its heart.”

“Right. I assume I really can’t help with that, right?”

“Not at all, you’re too weak; even if you’d be considered one of the apex predators of the era of oblivion, here you’re… average at best.” He shook his head.

“Ha, thanks for the compliment.” A dry laugh left me.

Then there was some silence as I relaxed. However, it didn’t last long for the Hero of Arlas spoke once more.

“If you want to do something, then you should explore the area: I’ve personally made it safe and turned it into my living quarters. Just don’t open any locked doors without asking me. I’ll treat you as a guest⁠.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

And with those words, I stood up listening to what he had recommended. To be honest, I still had a myriad of questions but I decided to not ask them yet. As generous as the Hero of Arlas had been, I seriously doubted he had an infinite amount of patience ⁠— especially given how some of my questions had seriously pissed him off.

So, I made my way out of the room and moved onto the other hall.

I didn’t really know if this person was the true Hero of Arlas, or the opposite. But I was more than willing to bet that it was probably him, and the keeper of order⁠— well… I had no idea who they were, but clearly the Hero of Arlas knew something about it.

As for getting it out of him?

“Yeah right.” I sneered.

I walked with a slight limp, due to the fact that I wasn’t used to not feeling much when touching the ground with my feet. But well, I couldn’t exactly lament the loss of my limb. Though…

I felt the gash on my cheek that was slowly being filled.

“The corruption really is something else…”

Unsettling thoughts filled my mind before I shook my head. In the end, I decided to not think about things and ended up exploring around. The first room that I found open seemed more like a study, a room with a flickering light that oversaw a desk. Dozens upon dozens of notes were spread throughout, some neatly organized and some rather messy.

Though when I grabbed one of them, I couldn’t read it at all.

And so, after staring at them for a few moments I ended up wandering elsewhere. I understood very little about what kind of place was the Forgotten Places, or why was there running electricity but I figured I’d ask the Hero of Arlas at a later time.

For now… well I didn’t know what to do for now.

I ended up wandering around to take my mind off things. Room after room, I saw various things, from experimentation tables with dead specimens to samples of malformed flesh that didn’t seem to have corruption on it.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

And by the end of things, I found myself before a half open door, a green light residing behind it. I didn’t know what to expect but when I opened the door, I paused.

[̵F̴u̶m̷i̴ ̷P̶l̵a̶n̵t̵.̴ ̵T̸i̴e̷r̴:̸ ̴S̵S̶]̶.̸

[̵F̴u̶m̷i̴ ̷P̶l̵a̶n̵t̵.̴ ̵T̸i̴e̷r̴:̸ ̴S̵S̶]̶.̸

[̵F̴u̶m̷i̴ ̷P̶l̵a̶n̵t̵.̴ ̵T̸i̴e̷r̴:̸ ̴S̵S̶]̶.̸

…

There were dozens of… corrupted plants. They didn’t attack, in fact they just looked like plants. There was no weird flicker, there was no… anything. I walked up to one of them, staring at it for a moment in bewilderment before finally I decided to touch upon its leaves.

Its surface was smooth⁠—

“Impressive is it not?” the Hero of Arlas asked, leaning against the wall.

“Can you not appear out of thin air next time?” I said half annoyed before looking back at the plant. “What part of it is corrupted?”

“Well, the entire thing is actually corrupted.” He shrugged walking up to one of them and caressing a leaf. “I’ve been experimenting for some centuries now.”

“I thought you intended to purge the corruption off the world?”

“That was the original plan,” he said looking at the plant. “But once I realized how monumental the task became I began to look for other ways⁠— for life to thrive. The… civilization that caused the corruption had a vision of a greater power.”

“Right…” I let him continue.

“And the corruption was a side-effect of it. However, instead of purging it they believed that they could implement it. Enhance beings with it. And they weren’t wrong.”

“Except?” I asked.

“Except the failure rate is over ninety-nine-percent and it must be before the lifeform is born. These forty plants or so were the product of a century of experimentation. I went through thousands of failures to achieve this.” He shook his head. “So in the end, you or I assimilating with it⁠— the chances are zero. It’s a malevolent force.”

I pondered for a moment before deciding to ask. “Where does the corruption come from?”

“The System⁠— is what you’d like me to say, but that’s not the case, or not exactly.” I raised my brow as he continued. “The corruption is… something from another world. These ruins, the other ruins⁠— all of the ruins in the world are in an actual different world. We are in a different world Arc.”

I blinked. “When did I even tell you my name⁠—”

“Some of the ruins here are thousands of years old. The corruption stems from a broken System, a System that broke down and since then it has acted like a parasite to all of these places and Arlas is next in the list. The reason our system can interact with the corruption is due to that; they are interlinked but one is distinctly different.”

“So you’re saying that…” I thought for a moment. “They are like oddly compatible but one is glitched beyond belief so it⁠—” and I paused realizing he didn’t understand what I was saying.

“Yes, it is ‘glitched’,” he agreed. “Therefore it’s bugged out and makes beings stronger while also stripping them of something else. Though…” He tilted his head. “It’s been hundreds of years since I used such language. So Earth is still in the twenty-first century?”

“It is,” I agreed with some pause. “Anyway, how do you know my name?”

“I have a skill that lets me see various notes about you including your leveling history. I have to say, you’d probably be stronger than me if you had the same opportunities I had.” He tilted his head. “A shame.”

“Right… thanks.” I awkwardly shifted. “So, why can I only leave if I’m corrupted then?”

“That is… complicated. You’d be considered an invader by the corruption, while currently the System considers you an attacker⁠— attackers cannot really run away.”

I blinked, processing what he had just said.

“That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” I said flatly.

“It’s a lot more complicated than that but that’s the best summary I can give you. But yeah, if I were you I’d make myself comfortable here. You’ll spend a very long time here given your lifespan.”

I snorted. “I want to grow stronger, I’ll figure out the whole ⁠— whether I can get out or not situation later.”

“Grow stronger…” He frowned thinking. “That is difficult. Aside from creating new skills the only other way is to get corrupted, or discover already corrupted relics from these other worlds. Though those will try to corrupt you as you wield them.”

“Do you think it’s possible for me to learn SSS Tier skills without the aid of the system?” I asked.

“No, absolutely impossible.”

“Well that sure is nice to hear,” I said sarcastically.

“SSS Tier skills are given the aid of the System itself; you cannot force the System to give you aid. No one can,” he explained. “There is a limit to how strong you can grow in this place before you’ll hit an insurmountable wall.”

“I see.”

He met my gaze. “I’ve grown fond of you Arc, especially because I can see the life you’ve lived in Arlas. It’s not a malicious one⁠. Which is why I’d like you to live a full life here, even if you most likely won’t see Ceylon or anyone else ever again.”

I frowned, but he continued disregarding my evident anger.

“I think you should just learn to enjoy life here. Given the fact there are so many ruins and not everything is corrupted, it is possible to live a normal life, save the perils outside.” He sighed before looking at me with a lot more seriousness than before.

“I guess what I'm saying is, forget about it and make a new life on your own⁠—”

“Fuck you.” I scoffed. “What makes you think I’ll listen? If you think I’ll just sit here and be happy, you’re dead wrong.”

He frowned. “It’s a path that has no victory⁠—”

“Fuck. You,” I spat.

His frown worsened. “It’s⁠—.”

“No, didn’t you hear me? Are you delusional or something? I asked with utmost annoyance. “Let me repeat it: go fuck yourself⁠—”

And my danger senses kicked in as I took a step back, a sword flash slicing the skin of my neck as a trickle of blood poured out. In a single moment, the room became colorless as he stared at me, holding his greatsword.

His eyes narrowed as my body instinctually shivered.

“Drop it, you won’t get out of this place. Give up and I’ll let you live.”

For a moment I paused, but then I thought back about what I had told the dragons during our argument after my first argument about corruption. If your ideals and principles are on a lower hierarchy than your life then there;s nothing to respect.

It makes you all worthless.

It was an extreme line of thinking, but in this case…

I smiled, and made an ice spear.

“You’ll have to kill me then⁠—”

And he moved.

I reacted in an instant, raising the shaft of the spear to block the next sword hit and⁠— the spear shattered. In a single moment a gust of wind passed through the room as blood was drawn. The edge of the sword barely touched my skin, stopping just before cutting past it.

A bead of sweat dropped as surprise flashed through my face.

“Drop it,” he said simply.

A sigh left me.

“You already know the answer.” I shook my head.

And the sword was removed. “Fine then, you can stay for as long as you want here, but as soon as you depart there is no coming back. After that, I don’t want to see your face ever again.”

I frowned as he walked out of the room.

I touched the injuries on my neck and⁠— they were barely anything. Akin to paper cuts. He never intended to kill me in the first place but…

It had still been fucking terrifying.

I felt my body shiver with cold sweat before I laughed.

◇ ◇ ◇

In the end, I stayed for a few days just relaxing and mentally preparing for what was about to come.

There was no coming back.

And… that was fine. I had gathered as much information as I could from the Hero of Arlas in spite of his cold attitude. Until finally, I felt confident enough to depart.

I stood before one of the many exits and just as my hand touched upon one of the levers, he appeared behind me, speaking.

“If you’re trying to find relics, then your best chance will be going south towards the Ruins of the Gods, you should remember that place from my map.”

I frowned. “Isn’t that one of the most dangerous areas?”

“With danger comes payoff.” He shrugged. “That’s all the advice you’re getting from me.”

With those words he disappeared.

I stared before making a decision, and minutes later I departed from the southern entrance in a quest to either die or grow strong enough to survive the Forgotten Places. And I was sure of it:

I was going to survive no matter what.