Episode 559 First Clear (4)

I hear a sound.

It’s also a very busy, noisy sound.

“……Tranquil Rittman Powell has been confirmed!”

“Confirm Milden Bettymore Warrior in Trio!”

“Part 1 Garon Nilgrain warrior confirmed!”

A terrifying voice erupted from all directions.

And…

“Mister! Come to your senses! yes?”

“Why is the priest not coming to his senses?”

“That… I think if you wait, you’ll wake up soon…”

“I seriously hurt my head, is that the cause?”

“….”

A colleague’s concern is heard right in front of your nose.

Between them, Misha’s muttering can be heard.

“…if it goes wrong…use that too…”

What does this mean?

My ears are deaf because I just woke up.

Something is out of focus.

“Then… the baron seems to be all well, so I’m off to treat the others—”

“What are you talking about! I haven’t woken up yet, where are you going!”

“Stop Tersia.”

“Stop it, you don’t even worry about Mr.”

“You can’t do it. I feel like I’m awake now.”

“…yes?”

Caught

I just wanted to calm down a little more and open my eyes.

Well, it was time to figure out the situation.

No matter how much time you close your eyes and drag on, nothing will change the result.

“Captain!”

“Oh oh! Bjorn!! You were worried!!”

“Haa…”

As soon as I opened my eyes, the colleagues next to me let out a sigh of relief with turbulent expressions.

However, before saying that it was okay, I had something to ask.

“Are any of us… hurt?”

It’s not like me, but in the end, the essence of the question is whether there are dead people.

Amelia understood and answered this question perfectly.

“Glow Isius is dead.”

Glow Isius.

One of the three wizards belonging to the Armin Exploration Team.

A young wizard in his thirties who playfully complained whenever he saw me, asking for time and budget.

yes, he is dead

“…and?”

“There are no fatalities. There were several injuries, but all but one were minor.”

“I see…”

I closed my eyes for a moment and exhaled a long breath.

In the meantime, my colleagues didn’t say anything, and thanks to that, a short silence ensued.

Many fragments of thoughts swirled around, but I focused on one.

‘A thing to do.’

…Let’s do what we have to do.

“I remember getting my whole head eaten by him, but what happened after that? Tell me everything since I lost my mind.”

For some reason, Amelia started explaining with a somewhat unwilling look.

“…As soon as you were bitten, Tersia shot an arrow.”

For reference, [Concentrated Fire] was not fully charged at the time.

But…

“Kashan, who was hit by an arrow, missed you, and I and Karlstein ran to save you.”

The arrow created a momentary gap and I was able to survive dramatically.

However, all disasters started there.

“…After that, we all fought against him together, and quite a few died. That’s all. Oh, and unfortunately, the essence didn’t come out—”

“More details.”

They fought against it together, and quite a few died.

It is not a story that will end in one line.

I must know.

“Haa…”

Amelia let out a sigh, perhaps sensing my stubbornness, and gave me the answer I asked for.

“As you left Yandel, there was a huge void on the front lines. Someone had to shut it down. Dozens of knights ran out.”

“What about Jerome St. Red? Was he just watching from afar?”

“Surprisingly, it wasn’t like that. They said it was to prepare for an unfortunate accident, but as soon as you collapsed, you were the first to run. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have been able to save you.”

“…Is that so? sorry for interrupting Go on.”

“The commander intervened, but the war situation was not good. And eventually, an order was given. All the troops deployed in the rear also participate in the battle and attack him.”

Troops deployed to protect the long-distance glass bodies of magicians, priests and supernatural magicians.

Even those troops were mobilized for the general offensive.

It was a decision that made sense to me as well.

Isn’t it a situation where the attack is almost at the end? You must have thought that killing them as quickly as possible would reduce the damage.

“But there was a fatal flaw with that directive.”

The problem was that there was no one in the exploration force who could manage his aggro.

“Kashan prioritized and attacked menacing figures. Most of the attacks were directed at the commander, but it was very unstable.”

As if to drive away flying flies, the knights’ necks were broken every time they hit a blow or two, and when the wizards fired a powerful blow, their eyes turned and jumped towards it.

“Glow Isius was also beaten by him at that time.”

So the three wizards became two.

‘Somehow, he didn’t tell me the cause of death before…’

Did he think that if I hadn’t fainted, I wouldn’t have died?

…well that’s the correct answer though.

“After you passed out, I dealt with him for about 3 minutes, and finally, the commander’s sword pierced his forehead deeply and it all came to an end. Immediately, the stone gate over there closed and then opened again and started pouring in light, and now about 10 minutes have passed since then.”

“….”

“How did your curiosity get resolved?”

“for now.”

When the conversation continued, a knight with a familiar face approached us.

“Baron! You’re awake! The Commander is calling!”

“…I’ll be back for a while.”

“I will take good care of the injured, so don’t worry and go.”

Afterwards, where the knight followed, Jerome, who had one of his arms blown off and had a hole in his stomach, was sitting and being healed by the priest.

This kid was no joke too.

“I’m glad you’re safe, Baron.”

“You look worse than I am.”

At my words, Jerome only let out an awkward laugh, but did not respond.

“Then the Baron must have come too… Start reporting on Evost!”

The deputy commander announced the results of this battle at the gathering of the leaders, including me.

“Today, the 1st expeditionary force accomplished a feat that will go down in the history of the royal family by defeating Kashan, the wolf of prophecy. Unfortunately, no essence was found to be presented to the royal family…”

The report that followed made me realize the danger of a first-class monster once again.

“In this battle, a total of 28 people were killed, including 27 lightly injured and 4 seriously injured who are recovering.”

28 dead.

Among them, 21 people died during the 3 minutes I fainted.

***

Out of 28 dead, only one was from our 4th group.

There is no disagreement that it was truly miraculous, but in fact, there was a decisive cause for this result.

“I heard that you were the one who deployed the 4th group to the rear at the end of Count St. Red.”

When I passed out and Kashan got out of control, the commander sent the 4th of us to the relatively safe rear.

“Why did you give that order?”

I am not dissatisfied with the instructions, but rather feel grateful. However, I couldn’t help but wonder about the reason separately

. That’s why I ordered all members of Team 4 to protect the baron.”

“…what?”

“Baron, our exploration team didn’t come down here just to hunt monsters. And I have never failed a mission except once.”

It was an incomprehensible mental world.

Is the mission that important?

“No matter how many people die, if we finish exploring this place and bring the baron alive, the mission will be a success.”

I don’t know if I know this guy well.

When we talked before, I wondered if we could become close if we weren’t in each other’s position.

“i get it. The answer has been.”

“Good luck. Then, can we continue the meeting now?”

Soon after, he nodded and took a step back, and the deputy commander, who had noticed, resumed the meeting.

“Now that the damage report is over, let’s move on to the next issue.”

The next agenda was too simple.

Kashan was successfully caught and the essence was not released, so there is no need to talk about ownership.

Therefore…

“As soon as Kashan was defeated, the stone gate opened. Also, the wizards have confirmed that the halo has a similar property to a portal… So, simply put, if you enter that halo, it is highly likely that it will lead to a new space.”

What lies beyond the wide open stone gate?

Also, when is the best time to start exploring?

At the meeting that started with such a topic, various opinions came and went, and I thought about other things by myself and roughly spilled the contents of the meeting.

Well, you already know what’s out there.

‘…I never thought the door would open like that.’

It is a place that I have already entered through the ham diet.

Well, maybe there is a possibility that a completely different place will appear, but I judged that the possibility is low.

‘It must have been a way to get a reward from there after catching a first-class monster and completing the library raid.’

Several types of summon books are a nice reward, and a fountain pen that allows constant drop drops would have been the main reward.

Well, maybe the main thing is that golden book.

‘Anyway… Did I somehow intercept it in the middle?’

If he hadn’t met Hamshik first and received the reward early, the fountain pen would have been taken by the royal family.

‘There is a hidden piece in the library that allows you to skip the raid and enter the main reward room.’

From the player’s point of view, Hamsik’s existence seemed to be just that.

Of course, it seems that there are still more hidden secrets.

‘Then I guess that’s why you said you didn’t deserve it? It’s because I didn’t officially clear it and enter the reward room.’

I guess, but I’m not sure.

Therefore, I think I will have to meet Hamsik again and see his reaction…

“Then, I will finish today’s meeting. Until 7 o’clock, there will be no other duties except for the patrol, so the captains of each group should go back and take care of the members. Oh, and there will be a staff reorganization later, so please be aware of it.”

After the meeting, free time was given.

‘Until 7:00 PM…’

I think they are really nasty bastards.

After a battle of this size, he could have given me a whole day off, but to say he would rest for a few hours and resume his mission.

He sighed, but went back and told his colleagues about the news.

“…If it’s 5 hours, even you’ll be ambiguous.”

“huh? Are you vague? Can’t we just sleep?”

“Today, Mrs. Pnellin is right. I just need to get some sleep.”

“But I don’t know if I will ever fall asleep. I still can’t believe it… My heart is pounding even now.”

Most of them thought that they were lucky out of misfortune, but they were relieved that they had a little time to rest.

“Sleep or rest, that’s up to you guys. Let’s work out what needs to be done first.”

“If it’s something to do…”

“Isn’t a colleague dead?”

“Ah… that’s right…”

After that, I led all four groups and approached one place.

The place where the body of Glow Isius, the only member of our group, was buried.

Charlotte Amblot, the only woman in the trio of wizards, sat idly in front of the corpse.

“Are you okay?”

“…no. None of that is okay.”

“Is this your first time?”

A question with many implications.

At this, Charlotte clenched her fists and trembled, but did not respond.

And how much time has passed?

Her brother, Brian Amblot, removed the body from his brother and began an abbreviated funeral.

As always, the process was over very quickly.

“The ashes and his belongings will be returned to the city and delivered to his family.”

The funeral ended with taking out belongings and placing the ashes in a well placed manner and applying distortion magic.

As I was about to leave, Charlotte approached.

“Baron… someday. One day… Will it get better as time goes by? Like what people often say?”

That’s what everyone thinks when they experience it for the first time.

How should I respond to this?

After organizing my thoughts, I opened my mouth.

“The meaning of okay is different for each person.”

“Yes… I guess. I’m talking nonsense—”

“But it is. What if happy memories come to mind first rather than sadness when you think of them? And if you’re saying that it’s okay.”

I said to Charlotte with conviction.

“Someday it will definitely be okay. Even if you don’t want that.”

“…”

“Now rest.”

After saying that, I turned around and someone approached me. Misha was the only member of Team Banpoon among the current teammates.

“That… was it about Dwalkie…?”

“…to some degree.”

Once he gave an answer that belonged to the affirmative, Misha thought for a while and then muttered softly.

“At that time… it was really good…”

A voice with a hint of longing somewhere.

Of course, there was nothing different about me.

“Yeah… it was good.”

Now that I have become a baron, the number of people who follow me has increased countlessly, and I am called a hero who even left his name on the Stone of Honor.

But even so, I sometimes think of it.

I worry about survival every day.

The sky on the 3rd floor that we all looked up at during those days when we were afraid of looters and fighting against 5th grade monsters.

[It’s a look that only explorers who arrived early can see. Isn’t it spectacular?]

I’m fine.

***

When I took out a blanket and took a break.

An uninvited guest came.

“The chief wizard of the Yandel Exploration Force has come.”

“The chief mage…?”

“I want to talk to you. What are you going to do?”

“…I can’t even sleep, but it’s good. Bring me.”

As I was getting up and putting up the blanket, Amelia returned with the old wizard.

“The Gahind Basilus.”

“I’m sorry during the break, Baron. Can we talk for a moment?”

Soon after, he glanced at Amelia, who was next to him, and Amelia moved away without noticing.

“I’m going to use the voice control magic. Is it okay?”

“It’s okay, write it.”

“…Ah, thank you. It is done now.”

“So what happened?”

As always, I omitted the introduction and checked the business first, but the old wizard said something very unexpected.

“I’m here to apologize to the baron.”

“Hmm, an apology…?”

“exactly. I was wrong and the baron was right. But I almost made a big mistake by not admitting it.”

Aside from apologies, I was curious about the change of heart.

“Why did you suddenly feel that way?”

“Since I saw that scene, of course I have to. Rank 1 monsters… they’re so monstrous. I was belittling them. The baron, a former explorer, saw more accurately than anyone else.”

“I see.”

“To be honest… until the baron passed out, I was unaware of their fears. No, I was arrogant that if I had summoned Leviathan as I said, not even a few of them would have died. But…”

The old wizard continued with a voice that seemed to have put everything down.

“The whole situation was not because of me. Neither my knowledge nor my magical skills had any effect. Even the elite of over a hundred royal families. I felt it to the bone during the three minutes the Baron was away.”

“That… It seems like you’re putting too much gold on my face.”

“As a scholar, I am merely stating the facts. If it wasn’t for the baron, it wouldn’t have ended with this level of damage.”

“…”

It’s rather difficult to answer something because he said this in front of his face.

So I just stayed still.

If you do this, it’s because you always go somewhere in the middle

. Anyway, there is something I want to say.”

“Do it now.”

“Our exploration force needs the knowledge of the Baron’s strength and his judgment. From now on, I will open my ears to this old man, so please feel free to tell me any opinions.”

To put it simply, it means that we will not be in check, so let’s get along well.

It was good news when I heard it.

“Good. I’m counting on you. Gahyeon.”

“…gahyeon?”

“Friends are called by their first names.”

“Oh I guess. Then… Bjor—”

“I could have been a baron. Aren’t you noble?”

“…Ahaha, I guess that’s the case too. Thank you for taking the time to rest. Go away.”

Afterwards, as I was eating with my colleagues, the announced break was over and all the members of the exploration group gathered in front of the stone gate and entered through the portal sequentially.

“The character has entered the first archive.”

There was a feeling of doubt, but in the end, the place where I broke through the library and entered was the Hamsik House I had been to before.

“It’s a spooky place.” S~eaʀᴄh the NôᴠelFirё.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“It’s as if a typhoon has swept through it.”

It is not the clean mini-library I saw on my first visit, but a space that is no different from ruins.

However, the owner Hamsik and the golden book are nowhere to be seen.

‘Well, since he was outside at the time, he must still be hiding outside.’

well it was better

If the golden book was found here, the ownership would have passed directly to the royal family.

“It is a very strange space. Isn’t that right, Baron?”

“That’s right. What the hell happened to make it such a mess… Tsk tsk.”

“Tell me if you find anything.”

“I will.”

Since then, the exploration team, which has been looking around the secret room, has confirmed that there is nothing that could pose a threat, and has begun a full-scale search.

“I wonder if there is any meaning to the search when nothing is fine…”

“What do you mean by that? This is not where we first set foot!”

“There’s no way there’s anything there, so search carefully!”

Oh, by the way, the ‘meticulous’ that soldiers from the royal family used to say was a little different from that of explorers.

They didn’t break anything.

He just took everything by using his overwhelming inventory.

“This book is just blank…”

“Everything you find here is an asset to the royal family. Don’t leave out even a speck of dust and take care of everything!”

It didn’t take long for the ruins to turn into vacant lots.

“Search complete! There are no hidden objects!”

…Sorry Hamsik.