Chapter 106 : Chapter 106

Chapter 106 - Crossroads of Choice (3)

“A young punk like you is spouting nonsense about rationality and means.”

Tersion said, pushing Reinard away as if throwing him.

His body swayed precariously, but the look in his eyes remained unchanged.

“Don’t force the choice you made on others as if it’s advice. It might be the right answer for you, but not for everyone else.”

“I was merely suggesting the best course of action in the current situation.”

“Better? That’s hilarious. You just arbitrarily judged the usefulness of the two who disappeared. Isn’t that right?”

“……”

“There are quite a few guys like you. The kind who throw people away the moment they don’t meet your standards or you disagree with them.”

Jeina, who cared for her comrades excessively, continued to show signs of wavering toward Ben, who had returned alive.

Gerard expressed opinions that opposed Reinard’s at every turn.

To Reinard, they were clearly a nuisance. They must have seemed like nothing more than obstacles to the expedition’s mission.

“That’s why you’re wary of threats you can’t confirm. Because your circle is filled only with people within the scope of your understanding.”

“I believe it’s better than recklessly charging at unknown beings.”

“I suppose so. But you’ll continue to encounter beings you know nothing about. And you won’t be able to solve it.”

With those words, she looked at Artier. Then she uttered her final words.

“So watch carefully. This is the way of someone who accomplishes what you can’t.”

She took something out of her inventory and held it out.

It was a small, blue pill.

“What’s this?”

“It’s an Elven mana potion. It should be more effective than the human ones.”

“Why are you giving this to me?”

“Because you won’t give up.”

There were two pills.

Tersion placed them in Artier’s hand.

“Try to rack your brain somehow. I’ll play along.”

“……”

Artier put the pills into his inventory.

And he closed his eyes.

[Tactical Command is activated.]

Flash! Flash! Flash!

Tactics emerged and vanished.

Numerous information windows hovered around him.

But this time, he knew nothing of the enemy’s scale or their tricks.

[Creation of tactics is impossible due to lack of information.]

It was only natural.

Artier was a person who knew a part of the future, not a prophet who knew all of it.

Even he couldn’t predict the future of something he was experiencing for the first time.

‘Can I do it?’

There was something Tersion didn’t know. That the only time Artier had jumped into a matter he knew nothing about was the Kelta Castle incident.

Even then, that was a matter concerning only himself, but now, many people were by his side.

‘But I can’t lose Gerard and Jeina like this.’

In the first place, there was nothing absolute in this world.

One could get infinitely close to 100%, but a final gap was bound to remain.

And what filled that gap was nothing but pure confidence.

“Let’s go.”

Artier opened his eyes and began to walk.

A brilliant light was descending from beyond the cave’s entrance.

***

Gurgle. Gurgle.

Throughout the ruins, Hellmorph membranes were being cultivated by the hands of the doppelgangers.

They were throwing in the corpses of beasts they had hunted or their victims to provide nutrients for the membranes.

After swallowing the chunks of meat, the membrane would suddenly swell up and then tear apart, spitting out a small Hellmorph minion.

‘Now this is a rare sight.’

Monsters raising Hellmorphs.

It was a scene even Artier, who had played the game for a long time, had rarely seen.

“Everyone, listen up.”

He felt there was a risk of the communication being wiretapped.

Artier whispered softly so that only his party could hear.

“We’ll buy time with Reinard’s Holy Magic, then quickly enter and escape before reinforcements arrive.”

“They will surely use Holy Magic as well.”

“They won’t be able to.”

Holy Magic had a fatal flaw: if one did not possess a holy relic, it was used at the cost of one’s lifespan.

The doppelgangers, who had no holy relics, would have to practically risk their lives to use offensive Holy Magic.

“I see. In the end, they are monsters too.”

However, there might be one that would just use it, figuring it would die whether it did or not.

But that was to not know the nature of monsters at all.

The most prominent characteristic of the beings defined by humans as monsters was their lack of a sense of community. Of course, there were monsters that lived in groups, but even they could never escape this rule.

The law of the jungle.

If one dies, they are weak; if one lives, they are strong.

There was no way such creatures would sacrifice themselves to save others.

“Collie, have you checked?”

“There are two narrow passages. If we collapse these, we should be able to hold out for at least 30 minutes.”

“Good. Let’s split up and block the passages.”

The group scattered.

Reinard was left at the front, while Tersion and Collie headed to the left passage, and Reinard’s two party members went to the right passage.

Once everyone was in position, Reinard lightly waved his staff to create a Holy Light.

“What’s that?”

The doppelgangers, sensitive to such presences, immediately tensed up and rushed toward the location.

However, upon seeing just one person standing there, they cackled and mocked him.

“Has he given up on everything?”

“It’s understandable.”

They didn’t immediately connect Reinard with Holy Magic.

It was because Reinard was hiding the Holy Light behind his back.

“Wait… that aura?”

“This bastard!”

Of course, even if he hid it visually, it was impossible to hide the Holy Light that was overflowing with Divine Power.

But that brief moment was enough time for Reinard to chant his spell.

“You’re unpleasant. Would you please disappear now.”

[Reinard uses a skill.]

[Holy Magic: Divine Phoenix Drive (Lv.1): Summons a phoenix of hot flames, formed by the flow of divine energy, for 60 seconds.]

Screeeech!

A flaming bird whose heat could be felt just by looking at it.

As it shrieked and descended from the sky, the land was engulfed in a sea of fire.

The doppelgangers at the very front were turned to ash by the phoenix’s wingbeat and vanished.

“Was I… wrong?”

Reinard muttered, lightly twirling the staff floating in mid-air.

The doppelgangers before him had long since left his field of interest.

“That’s impossible.”

“Kill that bastard!”

The remaining doppelgangers charged at Reinard.

Their hands were filled with weapons they were familiar with.

“Now.”

At Artier’s signal, everyone rose from their hiding spots.

Soon, various magics and skills poured onto the weak walls, and the passages collapsed with a thunderous roar.

“Block this area. Use Holy Magic if necessary.”

“We can’t hold out for long. So bring them back as quickly as possible.”

Artier and Collie entered the central passage.

Inside the empty temple, membranes squirmed and recognized Artier, but no additional doppelgangers were in sight.

“Collie, tell me immediately if you sense anything.”

Bang!

The door, kicked open, swung violently.

There, Artier found three people bound in chains.

Gerard and Jeina. And…?

‘Huh?’

Someone familiar was tied up in chains.

A person who only Artier among the party would likely know.

[Lv.15 Oron Cranman (Leader)]

“Collie, can you free those two?”

“Understood.”

After sending Collie, Artier stared at the man before him.

He placed a hand on the man’s shoulder and infused a little mana, and the man’s closed eyes opened.

“……You are?”

Upon seeing Artier, Cranman let out a sigh.

“So you’ve come after all. Fine, kill me. Whatever I say won’t get through to you, I suppose.”

“Excuse me? What are you talking about?”

“Aren’t you here to kill me? If you’re going to, I’d appreciate it if you made it quick.”

Artier pondered for a moment before shattering his chains with his sword.

The man rubbed his wrists, unable to hide his bewilderment.

“What is the meaning of this?”

“Count Cranman, I am not here to kill you.”

Count Oron Cranman.

A mastermind who survives until the latter half of the story, supporting the protagonist before betraying and getting killed by him.

However, because he was an NPC who gave many rewards before that, he was known among players as a pushover who was ‘sucked dry and then automatically discarded.’

“What?”

The count’s eyes widened at Artier’s words, and he was speechless for a while.

The voice that barely managed to escape was trembling lightly.

“……You weren’t sent by the Empire?”

“That’s right.”

“Who sent you doesn’t matter. If you escort me to the Empire, I promise a great reward.”

Cranman’s eyes couldn’t stay still for a moment.

“A significant portion of the Empire’s leadership has been taken over by doppelgangers. I will soon be next. If things continue like this, we will lose the Empire to the monsters without being able to do a thing.”

“What did you say?”

“I was inspecting the area near my fief when I was kidnapped by them and brought here. Soon, a doppelganger that has copied my appearance will arrive in the capital. We must stop it before then!”

Artier’s complexion also turned pale as he grasped the situation.

Count Cranman, while not a marquis, was a high noble with a large fief near the capital.

What could happen with a single point of the count’s finger?

Artier had already witnessed that in the Condestraden County.

Flash!

[A quest has been generated.]

[Without your knowledge, Count Cranman was on the verge of being replaced. If you had not discovered him by chance, that would have truly happened. Taking him to the capital might help you understand the Empire's questionable actions thus far.]

[- Reward: +550 Favorability with the Cranman Family]

Reading the quest that appeared before his eyes, Artier nodded.

“Understood. I will escort you to the capital.”

“Good. Then lead the way.”

“Before that, just a moment……. Collie!”

At his call, Collie trotted over.

Naturally, he had to check if the count was a doppelganger as well.

“How are the two of them?”

“They’re both fine, aside from being a little startled. However, both of them are out of mana, so fighting is out of the question.”

It was an expected result, as they likely hadn’t been able to rest.

“Revert to your original form and protect the three of them.”

“Understood.”

The five of them then ran down the long corridor and started heading back to the entrance.

Boom!

Their steps had to stop before long.

An unusual plume of smoke was rising into the sky in the distance.

Artier, we have an uninvited guest here!

At Tersion’s urgent communication, Artier drew his sword.

After sprinting at full speed, he soon arrived at the source of the smoke.

The party, covered in wounds, was surrounded by numerous skeletons, catching their breath.

‘Skeletons? Don’t tell me…’

His ominous feeling immediately became reality.

Two figures wearing purple robes walked out from between the clouds of dust, glanced at Artier who had emerged from the entrance, and spoke.

“There was another rat.”

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