City in ruins [1]

Chapter 15

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Episode 5 - City in ruins [1]

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I returned to the room where Yuri was lying on the floor.

I stared at her, and then my mouth opened.

"We have to move, we need to find Seth."

There was no response; I didn't expect one from her anyway.

Yuri should be in the ruins right now.

Perhaps she doesn't care what happens to someone, even if it's someone she fully trusts.

Even so, I left the room and left Yuri behind.

Then I turned to Clarisse.

"Let's look for Seth; he must be in danger if we don't find him."

Clarisse tilted her head.

"Why?"

"Because he killed the man named Balmung, so he must be badly injured right now."

Considering it was the exact moment when he likely finished his fight against Balmung.

Seth must be in serious trouble.

Then I looked directly at the room.

"She won't come out."

I don't have much time, and the path to Seth had some traps.

I looked at Clarisse and sighed.

"Don't be surprised."

She was confused, but I ignored her and entered the room. I stood in front of Yuri and then extended both hands.

"What are you doing… Hey, you bastard!"

I hoisted her over my shoulder, then grabbed the spear that was on the floor and left the room.

"Let's go."

While Yuri struggled, trying to break free, I tried to focus my vision on the floor and the walls.

The path to Seth has traps, which originally caused Yuri to get injured several times in a row.

"..."

Then I noticed a surface different from the rest on both walls to the sides.

'Arrow traps.'

I looked at Clarisse and said,

"Clarisse, can you create an arrow and shoot at those two points?"

I pointed with my finger exactly at the spots where both walls had a different surface.

Clarisse nodded.

She placed both hands in the air as if using an invisible bow, but in no time, her magical power materialized, and suddenly a bow and two arrows appeared.

'Flap! Flap!'

She shot both arrows at the same time, and they hit the exact spots of the traps.

The traps were destroyed, and as I approached, I could see a broken crossbow embedded in the wall, along with an automatic mechanism to reload the arrows.

'The traps are too well-made.'

「Skill: Intellectual Genius has been activated」

I analyzed the trap for a few seconds.

Then something 'clicked' in my head.

'I've got it.'

I quickly learned how to set up and create this arrow trap.

I resumed walking, and by then, Yuri had stopped moving and simply stayed still on my shoulder.

After a few minutes, more traps appeared on the path.

Most were floor traps, and with Clarisse's help, following my instructions, the traps were easily destroyed.

I also analyzed each trap, storing them in my memory.

A few minutes later, I suddenly stopped.

"Two paths: one is a trap, and the other is the route that leads to Seth."

I tried to recall any scenario from the novel.

Which path does Yuri take at this point?

'It doesn't exist.'

I remembered that I never wrote this, or if I did, I couldn't recall it, or I simply didn't write it.

'I should bet on luck.'

Left or right.

I thought it over carefully enough to avoid making a rookie mistake.

I looked at Clarisse and said,

"Which path do you suggest?"

Clarisse has pretty high luck, so since I was betting on luck, it occurred to me to ask her for the right path.

Shortly after, Clarisse pointed to the right.

"That one."

Nodding, I walked to the right. The path suddenly began to rise gradually, as if we were heading toward the surface.

'There doesn't seem to be anything strange, no traps either.'

Using the Intellectual Genius skill, I analyzed and observed everything around me; the traps were often extremely deceptive.

So, after a while, I sighed in relief.

'It's the right path…'

Or so I thought.

'Rumble!'

The ground beneath our feet shook slightly, as if something was coming toward us.

I looked ahead.

"That's…"

My eyes widened, but I controlled myself. A huge boulder was rolling toward us.

"Let's go back."

I ran back to the start, and when I arrived, I quickly grabbed Clarisse by the arm, entering the other path.

The round rock crashed against the wall, causing a tremor throughout the place.

"I'm sorry, it was my fault for suggesting the path," Clarisse apologized, embarrassed.

"It's nothing, anyone can make mistakes. Besides, I asked you because I didn't know which path to take either."

I patted Clarisse's head, and we continued on our way.

...

I looked at a large hall.

It was a complete mess, with debris everywhere and some dust scattered all around.

Suddenly, I saw a head on the ground.

A smile spread across my face.

"I found it."

I walked to the center of the hall and looked at Balmung's headless body.

Then I shifted my gaze about two meters away from Balmung's body.

There, Seth's body lay on the ground as blood poured out.

"I've carried you long enough."

Dropping Yuri to the ground, I took the ring off my finger and placed it on Seth's.

"Ugh... Bastard..."

Yuri complained as she poured magical power into the ring, and a light emanated from it.

I turned Seth's body over and saw that his wounds healed immediately.

They were not very deep cuts, as his resistance should be quite high after all.

"Hey, wake up."

After seeing his body fully healed, I shook him, and soon his eyes snapped open.

He looked around and then glanced toward Balmung's body.

"You cut off his head, well done."

A small compliment didn't hurt.

I felt proud of my protagonist for fulfilling his role in this chapter's scenario of the novel.

"Ugh, my head hurts."

"It's probably because you used up all your magical power."

Using all one's magical power results in fatigue and a severe headache.

However, with the ring's help, Seth should recover in a few minutes.

So I said, "By the way, you have to give me back the ring after you recover."

An exhausted protagonist with a headache is useless for clearing the Detour.

"What ring?"

Seth looked at his finger and then saw the ring I had put on him.

"It helps reduce fatigue and physical exhaustion."

Seth nodded, and after a few minutes, he returned the ring to me.

Once ready and after wiping the blood from his face, he looked toward Yuri.

"She…"

I stopped him and lowered my voice.

"She tried to kill me."

Seth nodded.

It seemed like he had expected it from the start, so I nodded too.

"Anyway, we have to clear this Detour. It might take us several days since it's so large."

It was a labyrinth filled with werewolves, traps, secret rooms, and halls full of various treasures.

"For the chosen ones, gold can be turned into coins; ten gold pieces make one coin."

A smile spread across my face as I thought about the gold I could find in this place.

***

Eight days later, we returned to the village.

As the people were tirelessly working on construction and clearing much of the forest, everything was under control.

After explaining what happened at the Detour and Balmung's death, no one complained, nor did they give it much importance.

"With Balmung dead, I have control of the village."

I smiled.

In addition to that, five altars were found, whose locations I already knew.

Except for the sixth altar, which was the one Seth failed to find in time in the original story, and as a result, I didn't mention its location either.

"Therefore, I don't know its location either."

Besides the discovery of the altars, the location of another Detour was also uncovered, which was actually the last Detour.

It was quickly cleared by the same group that found it.

"All that's left is to find the last altar."

But that doesn't worry me.

I've already decided.

"I'll let Mystra be resurrected."

Originally, Seth barely managed to kill Mystra, and from her, he obtained a D-rank sword.

"Blood Sword."

A blood-red sword that was of great help, especially since it was D-rank, which was very useful to him.

"But the Blood Sword isn't the reason I'll let Mystra come back."

Later in the future, Seth discovers Mystra's story.

She was the queen of the vampires. When Mystra drank the blood of a high-ranking demon, she evolved into a demonic vampire.

As a result, the vampires who were once loyal and trustworthy to her, including the six main vampire houses, betrayed her and banished her to the abyss.

With the help of the six altars, Mystra would return to the world and try to take revenge. However, the constellations chose Mystra as the target of the second scenario.

That's how Seth killed her, but before her death, Mystra bit Seth's neck, which triggered a curse that slowly killed him.

"If I kill Mystra and I'm not careful, the same thing that happened to Seth could happen to me."

But that wasn't the plan.

"Mystra is the queen of the vampires. Originally, her power was SSS-rank, even stronger than humans of the same rank."

I wasn't sure, but…

"Securing a contract with Mystra in exchange for helping her with her revenge."

Beyond that, there was more behind this contract.

"One of the scenarios will focus on the six noble vampire houses. Since the goal is to kill the heads of the six houses, it wouldn't just help with Mystra's revenge."

Not only that, but Mystra would also regain her SSS-rank power and become one of the most powerful allies on my side.

Fulfilling her revenge would strengthen her bond with me, and with the contract we'd have, she wouldn't betray me no matter what happens.

"She'd be a hidden trump card."

A smile spread across my face as I sighed shortly after.

Then I looked at Seth and said,

"Seth, I have a plan, but it's up to you whether you'll come with me."

Sword of Faith.

I need that sword as soon as possible and to make it mine.

I have information about its location, and it's just a matter of finding it.

On top of that, Seth is already at level 50, and his stats can't improve unless he uses coins.

And the best way to get coins was to go to the ruined city, since the monsters there dropped coins as a reward.

Seth knew it; Jerry had mentioned it too.

"What do you mean?"

While sitting at a table, I looked at him and got straight to the point.

"Let's go to the ruined city."

Seth raised an eyebrow.

"Jerry said to avoid that place."

"I know, but he also said we can get coins there, right? And right now, both of us are at level 50, which is the maximum for F-rank. Going to get coins to boost our stats is the best option."

As if realizing it, Seth nodded.

"I understand. I'll go with you, don't worry."

After reaching level 50, the maximum for F-rank, and maxing out my stats, the "Special Mission" and the "Ascension Mission" had appeared.

The Ascension Mission was a mission to reach the next rank.

Certain requirements must be met to advance to the next rank, and that's why the Ascension Mission exists.

"We'll go, just the two of us."

After Seth's question, I sighed.

"Clarisse will come with me, but I'm not sure about Yuri. Ask her yourself."

"Alright, I'll try to convince her."

Nodding, Seth stood up, and I watched him leave.

"Good. Let's review both missions one more time."

Soon, two golden screens appeared before my eyes.

They were the two missions I had to complete: one for rank ascension and the other…

"The first certificate that Seth originally obtained."