Chapter 150: Instigation

Chapter 150: Instigation

I stood, drunk out of my mind, receiving the worst news possible from Index.

“Arlan, Bon just got a notification saying he dealt damage to a Level 20 Minute Mage.”

My stomach dropped. Even in my state, I understood how bad that was. Yes, he technically wouldn’t know what a Minute Mage was, but a literally never-before-seen Class would obviously raise suspicion. They reported every little thing they saw, I couldn’t expect them to let that be. And if the Empire heard of it, then it was only a matter of time before the Demons heard of it. And then the Demons would the Empire that they wanted me dead, and we’d be in a situation like the Koinkar Kingdom all over again.

In that instant, I mentally swore off alcohol for the rest of my life. I’d just wanted to relax and forget about my situation for a moment. Obviously a mistake.

But now I needed to do damage control. My mind raced, sluggish as it was, through the possible solutions.

Not that Index wasn’t telling me exactly what it thought I should do.

“Start with Bon, obviously. Sneak contact with him, hit him with Sanguine Bond plus Noxious Grasp. He doesn’t have much Health left, shouldn’t take more than a couple seconds. Then hit Jannin with Chill and as many Rays of Frost as you can. Then—hey. Are you listening? Get started. I know you’re drunk, but I can guide you through the fight if you get disoriented. All you have to do is follow my commands and this problem is solved.”

“Wh, what in the flames just happened?” Bon muttered, still clearly half-asleep.

He at least didn’t seem to be aware of the notification he’d just received. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as it seemed.

“They’ll stay,” Index said. “System notifications stick around as readable in your head for about thirty seconds after appearing. As-is, it seems like Bon either hasn’t read them yet, or already read them the moment you hit him, but just forgot what they said. But either way, he’s going to be able to read them for thirty seconds after this.”

Fuck. I tried my hardest to think my way through this. Maybe I could—

“Kill him before he tells the others. He hasn’t read them yet, so he won’t be able to accuse you of anything in his dying words.”

What about...

“You can play it off as an accident, or you could probably convince Ainash to kill the other two. She’d be capable of it. This is your best shot at survival.”

Index, I thought, please let me think.

Precious moments were ticking by where Bon didn’t know the truth about me. I could just kill him. But...Sure, he’d said some shitty stuff, that still wasn’t anything that deserved a death sentence. If there was a way to get through this without murdering an innocent man, I’d much rather take that path. And I was worried about what kind of influence that would be on Ainash, too; despite what I sometimes liked to think, she wasn’t just a cute kid. She could, and would, kill people—especially if I set the example that doing so was okay. Even if I explained things to her afterward...not a very good way to keep her from doing even worse things to even more people who deserved it even less.

You said...him damaging me? That was what gave a notification?

“Yeah. Typically speaking, the System likes to give information on what you’re doing. Stuff that matters. But it also doesn’t give stuff out if it could give an unfair advantage. When you take damage, receive a Status Effect, that sort of thing, the System won’t give out any information on your assailant, since it could be a sneak attack. Could be someone trying to hide in a crowd, or even just giving away stuff like species information could tell you whether your attacker might be flying in the air or digging underground. That sort of thing. So, when it comes to dealing damage, the System reasons that you must already know where and who you’re damaging, so—”

Just. Is there anything else that’ll give him info on me?

“No, no, nothing you can do. Just avoid getting hurt by him, and he won’t get any more notifications on you. So I guess you could kill him without getting close so he can’t damage you or something, to be safe.”

Don’t...don’t want to kill him. I’m just gonna...

“If you really don’t want to kill him, I suggest just waiting until you can go back with Time Loop. It’s a waste of precious resources, though.”

Might have to do that. But I’m gonna try something for now.nôvel binz was the first platform to present this chapter.

I stumbled toward Bon, who was rubbing his face and being helped up by Jannin and Poppins.

I mean, even if it did come down to using Time Loop, that was still something I absolutely needed to avoid doing unnecessarily; if I had to use Time Loop to come back to today, then once midnight passed again, I’d instantly be down any uses I’d expended to come back to this point from the start of the day, which would obviously be less than ideal. I was lucky it was as easy to resolve as it was here, with Bon being so drunk.

So...I thought to Index, any damage anyone deals to me, they get to see my Class.

“Yeah. So you absolutely need to be careful with that.”

It was one thing to keep on Dark Plate whenever I could—annoying, but fine. But not taking and damage? I hadn’t really thought about that until now. Seemed like trying to integrate myself in here with a secret identity would be a lot more complex than just getting past a Truth Stone or two.

“...What’s happening?” Erani groaned, sitting up from the floor.

Poppins looked over to her, then shook his head, taking a series of deep breaths in an apparent attempt to calm himself down. “You’re getting kicked out, is what’s happening.”

“S-sorry,” I said once again. Though it felt like my apology fell on deaf ears—not that I really expected him to forgive me when there was no logical reason for me to attack him, stop, and then inexplicably attack again. Maybe they’d get it if it was just the once, but a second time...Yeah, that probably crossed a line. Or several.

Poppins finally got off of me, but his hand was on the hilt of his sword. “J...just get out. Please.”

I silently nodded and waveringly climbed up to my feet. At this point, Bon’s eyes were half-open, and he seemed to be conscious.

“...What happened?” He asked Jannin, who was still casting his healing Spell non-stop.

I turned and began limping away. “Hey, Ainash, let’s head out. Don’t think they want us here anymore.”

“Father, you sure we don’t kill them?

“Yeah, yeah, they’re not bad guys. Just...mean guys. And you don’t kill mean guys. You only kill bad guys.”

“Okay!”

“Hey...” Erani seemed to be waking up to consciousness as well, still completely drunk. “What was that noise?”

I put an arm around her and helped guide her out the door, though I wasn’t exactly in any shape to be guiding anyone anywhere.

“Nothing,” I said, not wanting to worry her right now with the identity scare or with telling her about what Bon had said about her. “Just...an argument escalated. Let’s find somewhere to sleep, and we can talk tomorrow. What’s one more night outside, right?”

“Mm, yeah, sure. It’s nice out, anyway. And you’re warm,” she smiled drunkenly and leaned her head against me as we walked.

Someone shut the door behind us as Erani and I stumbled back out into the dark night. Ainash walked behind cheerfully.

Hey, Index...watch them while we sleep, okay? Just to see...make sure Bon doesn’t remember anything.

“Yeah, sure. Just make sure you don’t wander off too far away before you go to sleep.”

Mhm. Thanks. I could barely walk still, so there were no worries about going too far before I passed out.

The plan wasn’t totally ruined, though. We’d camp out here, and then tomorrow, once Time Loop was back, I could use it for those free Spell Crystals. The Upgrades were in sight. Gravity Well, Ethereal Armor, Sanguine Bond, all three were waiting on me for Upgrades.

But first, I thought, ...sleep.

And then I passed out in a bush.