Chapter 59 : Chapter 59

Chapter 59: Stratagem and Strategy (3)

“Cough!”

Artier opened his eyes.

However, despite blinking his eyelids repeatedly, his vision did not return easily.

‘Where am I?’

Barely managing to take a breath, I focused my senses beyond my eyes.

The sound of water droplets falling, and the strong smell of water.

And even the scent of wet earth.

‘An underground tunnel?’

If so, the reason I couldn't see made sense.

It wasn't that I had gone blind, but that the space itself was pitch-black.

“Kugh.”

As I tried to raise my arm to open my inventory, a terrible pain crushed my entire body.

It felt as if every bone in my body had been turned to dust.

‘Ah, I was caught in the explosion…….’

Only then could I recall the situation before I lost consciousness.

[Your right leg is paralyzed.]

[Your health is continuously decreasing due to bleeding.]

[Your health is continuously decreasing when you move due to fractures.]

I was literally just barely breathing. Neither my arms nor my legs could move with ease.

Moreover, seeing as my nose and ears were wet, it seemed I had suffered a severe internal injury.

‘A potion…… I can't reach it.’

After wrestling with my right arm for a long time, I tapped my left wrist and instead placed my hand on my chest.

“Regeneration.”

Beep!

[The Soul Share target is in a coma.]

[Skills cannot be shared.]

Nothing came out of my hand.

I tried again, but the result was the same.

“Why?”

Even if an information window popped up, I couldn't see it due to my dark vision, so I had to figure it out through action.

My heart grew anxious, and my frustration mounted.

In the end, braving the pain, I forced my inventory open.

“Keuk!”

With the pain of my arm being crushed, I was barely able to take out a potion.

After pulling out the cork with my teeth and downing the contents, the pain finally subsided, and I was able to look around.

‘Was this where the underground water was?’

Only after taking out a torch to light up the surroundings could I survey the area.

The wide tunnel, which was presumed to be where water had flowed, felt soft as if water had collected there.

“Ugh……”

As I tried to take a step, I stumbled with a limp in one leg.

Well, I was on the verge of death just now, so there was no way a single potion could heal me.

“I need to ask for help.”

But who was it that said it?

No matter how advanced civilization becomes, there are many cases where you can't use it in a real emergency.

[The signal is not reaching.]

“……”

Even a short-range radio would be less affected by terrain than this.

Even though it was a space where sunlight was gradually seeping in, the communication showed no signs of connecting.

Collie?

Then I tried spiritual communication next.

And I knew.

Why the regeneration magic hadn't activated.

[The communication target is in a coma.]

“A coma?”

Collie was at the north wall.

I couldn't say in good conscience that it was safe there, but it was still too early for it to have already collapsed.

“Something must have happened.”

My heart began to race. I couldn't stay here.

I forcibly dragged my stiff left leg and advanced towards the widest-looking passage nearby.

“Please don't be too late……”

I muttered with a desperate heart.

Thump!

“Ah.”

But that heart was shattered miserably before I had even taken five steps.

What I saw above the place where sunlight was flowing in was a deep well hole that seemed to go on endlessly.

“I fell in here?”

If this abandoned well hadn't been here.

And if there hadn't been some water left in it.

If either of these conditions had been absent, I would have broken my neck and died instantly.

That was fortunate.

It was truly fortunate, but the fatal problem was that I was not in a state to climb this straight passage right now.

‘Of all things, my leg!’

The only parts I could move somewhat normally thanks to the potion were my right arm and leg.

Climbing this tunnel, which was no different from a rock face, was close to impossible.

“Is anyone there?!”

I shouted at the top of my lungs.

……There was no response.

Because there were no civilians wandering around inside the castle right now.

“Anyone, please!”

Even though I knew, I couldn't stop.

“Please!”

A skill? Equipment? An item? The answer to how to overcome this ordeal had already been given.

With nothing I had, I could not escape this place on my own.

“……Help me.”

The hand that had been futilely pounding the wall slowly lost its strength.

Had there been a day since I came to this world when I had felt so intensely helpless?

‘In the end, I couldn't accomplish anything.’

At some point, I realized that everything was futile.

As I sat down on the floor and slowly caught my breath, the village chief's last face came to mind.

A relieved yet sad expression, an expression that had let go of everything.

“I wanted to make a choice I wouldn't regret.”

I wasn't obsessed with the conviction of saving people whose faces I didn't even know.

I just wanted to change the deformed game structure where one side had to die for the other to live.

But what I had forgotten was that I was the protagonist of this world.

And the protagonist was also a part of this game.

“I don't know. Which side is right?”

“There is nothing that is right.”

“……!”

Thump!

Something fell from the sky above.

When the flapping robe settled, there was a familiar fox mask.

“Tersion……?”

“I told you to call me Bow.”

She answered dryly and took out an additional potion from her bosom.

“How did this happen?”

“It's a bit of a long story.”

Even though it should have had an analgesic component, a slight pain continued to irritate me.

With a trembling mouth, I explained the situation so far.

From the mark I discovered during my break to Boker's scheme, and how I failed to stop it and ended up falling here.

“In the end, I couldn't stop it and even got trapped here. Haha……”

“……”

Tersion stared intently at Artier, who was forcing a smile.

Then she tapped her forehead and said,

“You went through a lot.”

“……Excuse me?”

I opened my eyes wide.

I had naturally expected a huge reprimand.

“You couldn't have called anyone else in that situation anyway. To grasp the situation, one person had to remain in the main force.”

She took off her mask for a moment.

A cold and haughty gaze was staring at me.

“From what I hear, you did your best. Is it your fault that they didn't listen to you? If it were you, you could have killed them all and ended it long ago.”

That's right.

With my skills, I could have dealt with a castle's tax collector without a sound.

The penalty fee they had presented while urging the terror, with his influence to be able to talk to Taskerben, he could have easily made it as if it had never happened.

But they couldn't trust me.

Even though I had shown them an unbelievable display of divine power and clearly informed them of the facts.

The desperation to protect their families and the hatred towards Taskerben had made them turn away from the other path that was clearly visible.

“……I can't say I'm completely blameless.”

I averted my gaze.

“There was a better way I could have taken. I could have prevented the explosion.”

If only I had a little more mana.

If only I hadn't overused my skills on the convenience of Soul Share in the previous battle.

‘If only I had a little more mana.’

Being able to confirm something numerically can sometimes be a poison.

Because you can objectively and clearly face your mistakes.

[Not enough mana to use the skill.]

[Perfect Counter has failed!]

Next to me, the warning window that had popped up two hours ago was still hovering around him, not having disappeared.

“So?”

Tersion stood there.

“What's the use of this?”

“……You're right.”

She wasn't wrong.

This self-blame of mine was of no help at this point.

The only thing that wasn't prepared was my emotions.

“Get up.”

She extended her hand.

“From the communication I received on my way here, it seems the west wall is in danger.”

“The west wall?”

“We save the people we can save. Isn't that your value system?”

“……It is.”

‘In the end, because of me…….’

As my expression hardened, Tersion sighed and added.

“Haa, there's no one here who can decide whether what you did was right or not.”

“……”

“So let's get evaluated or comforted up there. What's the point of sniveling pitifully down here?”

Her hands were not delicate and beautiful.

The fingers that had relentlessly drawn the bowstring were full of calluses and scars.

“Don't try to take all the responsibility on yourself. No one forced you to play the hero.”

“……Haha.”

“Why are you laughing?”

Saying things like pitiful and playing the hero while comforting someone.

If there was a god, it was clear that she had not been given the talent for comforting others.

And yet, the reason I was laughing was probably because I knew that this was the best she could do.

“It's nothing.”

I took her hand.

My chest was still throbbing, but her words, ‘We save the people we can save,’ were forcibly making me move like a puppet on a string.

“Can you move?”

“It's impossible for me to climb up alone.”

“It's only first aid. I'll get you up, so stay still.”

[Tersion uses a skill.]

Wind Gale (Lv.1): Momentarily emits a strong gust of wind to blow away the target in front. Can also be used to gain propulsion by using it under one's feet.

Whoosh!

Tersion used the new skill she had learned at level 10 to send me flying up above the well.

As soon as the dizzying feeling of floating disappeared, I rolled my body and was able to go out to the ground, which was filled with warm sunlight again.

‘So this is an abandoned building.’

All I could see around were dried-up weeds and piles of sand.

The hard ground seemed far from soft.

Thinking about it twice, it could only be explained as a stroke of luck that I had fallen into this well when I fell.

“You're not going to listen even if I tell you to go to the infirmary, are you?”

Tersion, who came out soon after, put on her mask again with a grimace as I nodded.

“You're so damn stubborn.”

“What can I do?”

Tersion had said I didn't need to take responsibility for everything.

But that didn't mean I intended to run away from responsibility.

If it was something I couldn't stop, I intended to at least lend a hand in cleaning up the mess.

“Your head is still working, right? That it's impossible to fight in that state.”

“I know.”

“Right, just rest. We'll take care of this one. Utilizing your companions is also a true mercenary's attitude.”

Tersion said so and raised a hand to her ear.

Hey, I found our party leader.

Is that so? That's a relief.

Almost immediately, Gerard's voice echoed in my ear.

I'm sorry.

It's okay. Collie just woke up too. He still seems out of it, but he'll be fine soon. Jeina, how's the situation in the west?

Jeina's trooper type was assault trooper.

As such, she had already headed to the west first in response to the request for support.

…….

Jeina?

Even when Gerard called again, Jeina's voice could not be heard.

Tersion and I looked at each other at the same time.

“I'm saying this just in case, but it's not that the reception target has disappeared. The communication is being sent, but she's not answering.”

“You mean she's in the middle of a battle?”

“It seems so.”

“Let's go now.”

“Right. And if you draw your sword, I'll blow your head off, so you know.”

“Ugh……”

At Tersion's sharp gaze, I obediently lowered the hand that was about to grab my sword.

I'll go check it out, so you two come to the west as well. I think we need to treat our party leader before he runs off again.

Understood.

As soon as Tersion sent the communication, the two of them started running towards the west wall.

Tip: Tap/click the left or right side of the screen to go to previous/next chapter.