Chapter 14

Chapter 14 : The Great City of Verastin

“I can see the city walls over there!! It is Verastin!”

“Good!! Everyone, keep going until the very end!”

After day broke and we walked diligently, our destination came into view in the distance before long.

Perhaps because they had been harassed so thoroughly by Monsters and bandits over the past few days, the mercenaries cheered and quickened their steps.

I, too, lazily moved my feet behind the wagon loaded with the captured bandits and severed heads, then opened my mouth.

“Malton, I have something to say....”

“...I know, Doran. You want me to keep it a secret that you can handle the Authority of an Evil God. That unprecedented ability to freely move between Undead and human states....”

“No, I was going to ask you to share some jerky if you have any left.”

“...You have become rather shameless. Your speech has become shorter too.”

Malton grumbled, but he still handed me a pouch containing jerky.

The commotion from yesterday had been roughly smoothed over as the deed of a passing Skeleton.

The ability to transform into an Undead or Monster was rare even in Velheim, so people might quickly discover the connection to [Antagon].

Since Antagon, who governed madness and deception, was classified as an Evil God no matter how one looked at it, it was wiser to keep it hidden, even in Velheim, where freedom of religion was guaranteed.

“By the way, Doran, did you take that?”

“Hmm? What are you talking about?”

“The belongings inside the mercenary captain’s backpack. There was definitely an item in there that lured the Monsters, was there not?”

“Ah, this?”

I took an iron container out of Rihman’s backpack, which I had been carrying on my back.

Inside the container was an eerie lump of flesh.

[Naga’s Heart]

｢An item made by extracting the heart of a Naga that inhabits rivers and preserving it.｣

｢Nagas lure Monsters with their unique mana and scent, then devour them! Even after its pulse has stopped, this heart still emits a distinct mana and smell!｣

｢This item is banned from civilian distribution! Be careful not to let the guards catch you with it!｣

This was the reason Rihman had been able to summon Monsters and induce attacks.

When Malton saw the object in my hand, he frowned.

“...Did I not tell you earlier to throw that away?”

“Why would I throw away something this useful? If used well, it can be incredibly handy.”

“It is too dangerous. Was it not because of that thing that so many Monsters came rushing at us?”

“I sealed it properly again, so it is fine. With this, I can level up extremely quickly, you know?”

“...You intend to deliberately drive Monsters berserk and hunt them? Truly a wise idea.”

“Right?”

“That was sarcasm.”

Malton muttered curtly, but I stubbornly stored the Naga’s Heart inside my backpack.

Since I would die if I failed to reach level 30 within two months, I was in no position to be picky about this or that.

If the need arose, I could use this item to lure in Monsters and obtain a large amount of experience.

After a simple inspection, we passed through the city gate, and the mercenaries headed for the tavern.

Once I waved farewell to the mercenaries, who called out in a friendly manner and told me to call them if I needed an escort again, I saw the merchants busily sorting their luggage.

“Everyone looks busy.”

“Haha. For us merchants, this is where things truly begin! You have worked very hard as well, Sir Doran. If you had not woken the mercenaries and informed them that something was wrong, we would not be standing here now.”

“I merely did what I naturally had to do. ...What will you do with the captured bandits and the equipment?”

“Ah, we plan to hand the bandits over to the Adventurer Guild, report the incident, and collect their ransom! As for the captured equipment, we will put it up for auction and make sure to receive its proper value. Once the procedures are finished, a share of the money will go to you as well, Sir Doran.”

“That is welcome news.”

Especially the fact that they would handle the complicated procedures for me was good news.

Considering how underdeveloped administrative work was in this world, I could not even guess how many days it would take to explain everything to the Guild and settle the matter.

“Please visit our Ophelia Trading Company! I, Amur, will make certain to repay you!!”

After parting ways with the people of the trading company as well, only Malton and I remained on the main road.

Malton let out a sigh and spoke.

“There is a mountain of things I want to ask you, but... today is not the right time. Do you still intend to become an Adventurer?”

“Of course.”

“Then register as an Adventurer at the Achaia Guild, which issued this escort request. If you say you came with Malton’s introduction, things will be much easier.”

“All right. Get back safely.”

“...Ah, I nearly forgot to give you this.”

Just as we were about to part, Malton took a spare hooded robe from his backpack and handed it to me.

“It would be best for you to wear this hood while walking around inside the city. The people here have a prejudice against black hair, you see.”

“Prejudice...?”

“There may be people who pick unnecessary fights with you. It may feel a little stifling, but it will be better than having nothing.”

Malton waved his hand and left.

I stood there blankly for a moment, watching him go.

There was no such detail in the game, though...?

‘Well, there is no harm in being careful....’

I put on the robe he had given me and walked along the main road.

A fantasy-style street reminiscent of the Middle Ages, or perhaps the Renaissance.

It felt strange to be in a place I had only ever seen through the degraded graphics of a capsule device until now.

I had once used this place as a base for quite some time....

I diligently moved my eyes beneath the hood as I looked around the city.

And not long after I began walking through the streets, I felt something similar to when I had arrived at the harbor village.

‘This place is full of life too....’

The Verastin in my memory had been an utterly desolate place.

The faces of the citizens had always been filled with gloomy worries, and monsters would invade through the collapsed city walls, causing alarms to ring at all hours.

But now, no matter how hard I looked around this peaceful city, I could not find the shadow of that time.

Bright flowers bloomed in the roadside flowerbeds, and the city walls that had once collapsed hideously, letting in cold winds, were clean and without a single crack.

The shops were thriving, every alley was packed with people, and children were running around the fountain in the park.

‘The guardhouse building is still standing too?’

I had clearly seen it smashed under the feet of a Cyclops before....

Just then, a commotion broke out.

“A large Monster has been sighted outside the western gate! Everyone, hurry!!”

“Hey, sirs! Take it easy!”

As I watched the knights running in formation and a merchant cheering while tossing them oranges, I found myself wondering if this really was the Velheim I had played.

‘...It is definitely different.’

It was starting to feel more and more real. This Velheim was still a world worth living in, at least for now.

However, within the next two or three years, Velheim would experience several great disasters comparable to Ragnarok, and humanity would plummet to around twenty or thirty percent of its current number.

And now that I had come to live in this world, I had no choice but to be swept up in every one of those crises.

Archdemons would invade the surface, several gods would betray the world and start wars, ancient beasts would awaken in the sea, and all kinds of Monsters would launch ferocious attacks.

If I wasted time indulging in the peace visible on the surface, I would simply be swept away by the coming upheaval and die.

So, no matter what, I had to become stronger before the next crisis arrived.

‘Perhaps... the fact that a Lich’s fleet appeared off the coast is also an omen that a major incident is about to occur soon.’

At least it was fortunate that I had secured Malton, one of the reliable helpers, as a companion early on.

Whether or not they knew of the catastrophe that would soon arrive, I leisurely watched pretty Beastkin walking through the streets, then leaned against a stall for a moment and thought.

It was good that I had arrived in the city and grasped the situation, but what exactly did I need to do to deal with the coming crises?

‘I can search for information about Reincarnators later... and the timing is awkward to register as an Adventurer right now....’

“...It would be best to hunt Monsters near the city walls while raising my level.”

Since I had come to the past, there might have been changes to the Monster groups that appeared nearby.

One of the surest ways to feel Velheim’s abnormalities firsthand was also to hunt Monsters.

Moreover, there were still Spoils I had not properly checked yet, and if I spread them out on a street like this, petty thieves and pickpockets would clean me out in an instant.

Once I finished thinking, I quickly headed out of the city.

After passing the stallkeepers actively calling for customers and the vast farmland spread around the city walls, I entered the forest, and a cool wind blew toward me.

A refreshing breeze flowed between the green plants and bushes.

“This should be far enough.”

By the time the fortress walls were hidden behind the trees, I set down my backpack, sat on a rock, and checked my condition.

“First, my level is 15... It went up quite a lot in that short time....”

Before fighting the bandits, my level had been in the early part of 13, but it had risen sharply.

I distributed the stat points I gained between Strength and Agility.

I would need to invest in Luck and Intelligence someday too, but I would think about that when the time comes.

“Let us see... Among the useful things from Rihman’s backpack that I secretly took, there is firesteel, portable tableware, a dismantling dagger, and so on... I threw away the rest because it only took up space for no reason. I did change into spare clothes, but it is a little disappointing that I could not salvage much of the bandits’ equipment....”

If I had revealed that I was that Skeleton back then, my contribution would have been acknowledged, and I would have earned a fair profit, but it would have been foolish to risk exposing my identity for the sake of a few pieces of cheap equipment.

Still, I had secretly emptied a few silver coins from the bandits’ pockets, so I should be able to live on just this for the time being.

Water could be drawn from wells, and if I went to the Temple early in the morning, I could receive free bread. If I tightened my belt, I could reduce wasted money to the absolute limit.

And the most important matter I had yet to confirm remained.

‘The Disguise skill....’

Back in my gaming days, when I transformed using Antagon’s Rune, the character would occasionally fall into abnormal conditions or become seized by strange compulsions.

The Log Window did not properly state the cause either, so at the time, I had wondered what kind of nonsense this was, but now I could say for certain.

‘Damn it... They should have written the skill name properly....’

I had nearly been fooled by the name [Disguise], but this skill was closer to altering my very existence than to changing my appearance.

My mind, body, way of thinking, and even minor habits—everything.

If I thought back to myself when I transformed into the Skeleton Warrior, I had been incomparably more aggressive than I was now.

Otherwise, there was no way I would have harmed people while laughing like a madman.

Moreover, not only had I absorbed the Evil God’s [Antagon’s Rune], but also another Evil God’s [Orb of Andira]....

...Is the proportion of Evil Gods not a little high?

“I will have to be careful so my ego is not devoured by transforming recklessly... And if it becomes known that I possess Antagon’s Rune, it will be a serious problem, so it would be best to hide the transformation ability as much as possible. ...But what is that smell?”

I raised my head toward the direction from which the stench was coming.