Chapter 33

[What are you getting at? Foolish rat, just what would you know!?]

...You... are not the Ruler of Pride anymore. You do know that, right?

[U-......]

Perhaps Pride wanted to deny it, but he didn't refute since he knew it was true.

Hah. Anyway.

"So, how long is this going to take?", Jae asked.

"Ah... Maybe, for me, a total of a few months? Until the research and experimentation will be concluded. Then, depending on the results of it all, I either stay here for the plan's next step, or I pack up, leave, and never return to this god-forsaken place ever again... I'm done for right now though, so you can leave whenever you like. Of course, I wouldn't complain if you stayed."

No... It's for the best.

"Well, sorry, but I do think it's about time for me to leave."

"Hm..."

"I need to go and take Rena home, right?"

"Ah... Yes. Yes, of course... I definitely don't want to hinder you for that, then. Feel free to go as soon as possible. No, on the contrary, please do that."

Jae could see from Jiyeru's tone, just how much he cared for his little sister.

He had already stored everything in the Inventory, so there was no need to prepare or pack anything before leaving. Then, since he was all ready to leave, Jae thought he might as well just go.

It's better to not waste time with unnecessary things. I don't think there's anything else I need to do here, is there...? Right, it might be a good idea to check first.

"Oh, Jiyeru. One question before I leave."

"Yes...?"

"Is there anyone who might hold a grudge against your family? Including anyone who may be active inside the castle."

Jiyeru instantly picked up on the not-so-hidden meaning behind the question and slowly shook his head.

"No... As far as I know, there is no one who would dare to betray my mother, the Demon King, or us, her descendents. I dread to think that someone plotted Rena's disappearance, and from my point of view, it's actually quite hard to believe that someone who knows our family would even think of committing such an act, but..."

He paused for a moment with a gloomy, hardened expression before continuing.

"...Even so... Since we've already discussed that possibility and concluded that there's a high chance of it really being the case, we cannot disregard anything. In truth, I wanted to ask you the same thing, but..."

Huh. So the situation is unknown on both sides... I wonder if there's more to this I thought?

"Right... I don't know anything."

That's that. It'll just have to wait until I get to the castle I guess.

The two returned to the cave, and Jiyeru took off his protective gear.

He thought that, with the help of the Transportation Magic Jiyeru and the other Demons used to get inside the Cursed Zone, Jae could use it to get out.

"Erm, about that..."

Unfortunately, Jae was wrong.

"We've only confirmed that it works with Demons so far... Ahem. Since we don't know how magic in general affects Spirits, especially in the case of something abnormal like Transportation-type Magic, it'd be too risky for you to use it right now. Plus, with the type of barrier we're dealing with here... It's, unlikely, that getting out would be that simple."

It wasn't a lie, as they really were unsure as to whether the magic would be able to take them outside the barrier, and to risk it would be unwise. Upon hearing Jiyeru's regrettable words, Jae thought it was a pain.

"Aaaah... No, it's... It's alright. I was originally gonna go the normal way out anyway, so it doesn't really make a difference."

I could try my hand at Transportation Magic, but I was heavily warned against it by Aphy, due to the innately dangerous and risky nature of it, wasn't I... I don't understand how it really works anyway, so I'd have to spend time experimenting a lot of different things to get it to work, and the whole process'd take too long for right now, so if I really want to then I can just wait for a better time.

"Oh, okay. That's alright then."

"I'll send a report to Jiera about your coming to the castle. And about Rena's safety."

Jae nodded lightly, "I'm sure she and your mother both will be glad to hear about the latter."

Though, when it comes to my existence... I guess we'll have to see.

"Certainly. Is there anything you need before you go? You seem very empty-handed..."

Looking blankly at Jiyeru for a moment, Jae smirked as if to brag.

"...No, I think you'll find I'm prepared enough."

Jiyeru gawked as Jae opened up a dimensional rift in the air and pulled a ring out of it, enjoying his reaction.

"Wha--!?"

Tossing the ring to Jiyeru rather carelessly, Jae spoke to him.

"A gift. It's only a prototype I made, but its performance should be decent enough."

"...??"

After staring at the ring with a puzzled look on his face, Jiyeru exclaimed.

"Oh! It's enchanted?!"

"Yeah. All it does is give a slight boost to your health regeneration and keep you a bit warm, so wearing it in a chilly environment like this is good."

"Health regeneration... Something like that―just how--"

"Let's not ask useless questions. Just accept the ring, okay?"

"...O-okay......"

Jae smiled awkwardly.

It really wasn't that hard you know, so I don't quite get this reaction... All I did was imbue some lifeforce (Aura) into the thing during the enchanting process.

"I'll tell you what. If you survive this damn place and make it back to the palace in one piece, then I'll give you something even better. Alright?"

"Oh-hahah, really!?"

Jiyeru yelled like an excited kid, and since he looked like a young teen, it fit him reasonably well.

"Sure. So, do your job well."

"Of course! Yes, sir!", he exclaimed with a big grin.

Jae was about to leave, but was hastily stopped by Jiyeru who fumbled through a chest.

"A-aah, wait! Then, I have a gift too!"

He finally plucked something out of it, and held it out to Jae, who was a bit surprised.

Oh?

Afterwards, Jiyeru said goodbye to Jae, who soon left.

...

......

A while later, Jiyeru―who was in the middle of working on a report―suddenly realised something.

"...Wait a minute."

*clack*

He dropped his pen in sudden humiliation.

"I forgot to ask for his name......"

"Haaaaahhh...."

Jae sighed a long sigh, irritated, as he walked through the doom and gloom, 'cursed' forest.

Just before he left, the gift that Jiyeru had given him was, in fact, a 4-star directional compass, along with a map of the Plaentic Great Forest.

He told Jae that Asphal, the Demon Country, was in the south-eastern part of the continent, just outside the boundaries of the forest, and that the Cursed Zone was in the northern part of it. *(See Post-chapter notes at the end for clarification)

So, as Jae made his way south, he didn't do much else but think.

It's always a boring forest... So dead...

Once again, he was alone. Although there was a unique point about the Cursed Zone―the presence of abnormal monsters―the monsters themselves weren't different than from any other forest, so, in Jae's eyes, it was all the same.

For all the time I've been here, the amount of that time I've spent around trees, is just...

Incidentally, he didn't spend that long inside forests, but now it's gotten to the point where he's sick of seeing only trees and dull greenery.

Like, come on? I've been here for how long now? About 6 or something years? Jesus...

And, of those approximate 6 years, Jae has spent what, less than a month inside forests? Whatever it was, it really wasn't as long as he thought, but, to be fair, it was pretty much all he had seen outside a Sin dungeon, so there's nothing to be done about his perception of the world until he finally 'leaves' the place.

This entire world is a fucking forest, is it. Not even something interesting like a jungle, or pleasant like a field. No. No, it's a~lll fucking trees.

On the bright side, it shouldn't be that long now until Jae came across something fresh, as he had a compass and a map of the entire forest.

{Grrrrr!}

Jae stopped walking at the sudden noise. Looking towards a group of brushes, he spotted a growling wolf. Jae was about to quickly kill it and be on his way, but he stopped after noticing something odd.

...It's not infected?

As he briefly scanned over the creature's Soul State, Jae found that it indeed was, merely an ordinary wolf. There were no glowing veins and no black horns―its Conditions were all normal too.

Huh... It really is just a normal wolf.

Jae thought about what Jiyeru told him about how the entire Cursed Zone is shrouded in the miasma; how it has been for a long time, and how there should be no regular creatures here.

That's... certainly, more than just a little bit odd, isn't it?

Jiyeru's information should have been 100% accurate. Jae trusted in the information, so he was genuinely confused when he saw just a normal wolf in front of him.

It... shouldn't have been a lie... Was the info just wrong?

Jae watched the wolf slowly retreat while growling. It wasn't retreating from him, but it was in fact being cornered by a pack of infected wolves.

...Something happened, huh.

Jae had no major incentive or reason to care about it since all he wanted to do was go and pick up Rena.

However, he was curious. He was curious, because it was a matter of concern for Jiyeru, and because he is Rena's brother, Jae would rather nothing unfavourable to happen to him.

Hence, Jae decided to investigate the matter on Jiyeru's behalf.

He shot the infected wolves with earth bullets, walked over to their dead bodies and stored them in the Inventory whilst admiring how useful it was.

Turning around, he looked at the regular wolf; still in a defensive position, but then, perhaps because it could sense that he meant no harm, the wolf even turned its back to Jae briefly.

Huh...

He thought it was interesting, and never knew that wild wolves would do something like that. Taking a closer look, he saw something else. Jae was surprised―the mother wolf was protecting its cub.

What?? It even brought its baby here? The hell?

Noticing that the mother had injured its foreleg, Jae healed it, and looked expectantly towards the wolf.

Show me to the barrier.

The mother wolf seemed internally conflicted, before eventually walking away from Jae, hastily followed by her cub.

Aha, Jae smiled in satisfaction, Good girl.

He glanced at the compass.

South we go.

Jae followed as they headed south through the forest, and once he finally caught a glimpse of the barrier surrounding it, the two wolves quickly scurried away from him somewhere. Jae ignored it though, and only observed the barrier.

A gigantic, golden hemisphere that encased the entire Cursed Zone.

At first, he thought of it as impressive due to its sheer size and protective power. However...

...Something's wrong.

Jae could immediately tell. It was because the barrier was half made from magic and half of something else, and although he didn't know exactly what it was, he could still sense that there was an issue with the thing.

It's magic-related.

He could tell that much, since, if there was a problem with whatever the other half of the barrier is made of, Jae thought that he probably wouldn't know there was an issue in the first place.

Basically, because he knew there was an issue, it meant the issue was to do with magic.

Hm... This is really interesting actually...

Walking right up to the edge of the barrier, Jae studied it closely, impressed.

What is this other energy...?

It wasn't magic, and Jae was puzzled.

Did Aphy ever say anything about it? I don't remember...

The translucent gold barrier hummed quietly, and when Jae placed a hand on it―

*zZt!*

Jae frowned as his hand was zapped and almost fried the moment it touched the barrier.

"...What the hell? That fucking hurt."

That... wasn't Lightning Magic though...

That particular defense mechanism was almost identical to how a barrier formed with Lightning Magic would operate, however, it was also completely different. For starters, a Lightning Magic barrier would be impossible to form in the shape of a perfect dome or hemisphere like this, and the colour is off, too―lightning isn't naturally gold, after all.

So what is it then...?

Jae tried to recall everything that Aphy had taught him about barriers.

〔There are many types of barriers, but most are classified as one of two main categories.〕

〔These are―Fortification Barriers and Suppression Barriers.〕

〔You can think of them as Defensive and Offensive barrier types, respectively.〕

〔The first, Fortification Barriers, are barriers with the purpose of defending against outside attacks. They are primarily used for this purpose and this purpose alone, and as such, the inside of the barrier is usually exceptionally fragile, making it a great weak point to target.〕

〔The second, Suppression Barriers, are used to, as the name implies, 'suppress' something. Usually, they come in the form of a trap or a sort of encasing shape―the purpose of these barriers is to keep whatever is inside it, in, without giving it the opportunity to escape. They are, pretty much, the exact opposite of Fortification Barriers, meaning the weak point is also the reverse.〕

〔Other barrier types aren't used nearly as much, so you probably don't have to worry about useless things like weaknesses.〕

Hah.

It didn't give a bigger clue as to what the strange energy that zapped him was, but the barrier itself was definitely the latter―a Suppression Barrier―and so, it would be vulnerable to attacks from the outside.

Having already attempted it, Jae discovered that using magic on the outside of the barrier from within, simply didn't work, and nor could he blink outside of it with Sloth.

This barrier is definitely powerful, but since it's so intricate, smashing it with force probably wouldn't be very difficult. The only problem with that, though, is that all the miasma and infected monsters would escape, so I'll refrain from doing that unless there's no other choice.

Thinking for a bit, Jae suddenly noticed something.

Wait. Where did that wolf go?

It wouldn't have left him just to get attacked by monsters again, right? ...Perhaps there was a gap in the barrier somewhere.

There was no other way those wolves would be able to get in, he thought, and so Jae decided to search around for a bit before eventually coming across exactly what he was hoping for.

So there is one... A gap in the barrier.

It was a fairly large hole, at about fifteen metres in diameter. It looked to begin from just below the ground, extending up and inclining slightly.

So. Is this perhaps... the spot where Jiyeru's squad infiltrated from?

Although it seemed to be the case at first glance, Jae thought twice.

But they used Transportation Magic, right? It wasn't a monster since the hole is too big, and there shouldn't be any monsters around here that are strong enough.

After pondering for a minute, Jae exclaimed.

"Ah."

I've got it―since Suppression Barriers are weak to outside forces, the magic could easily penetrate it and enter. And they definitely didn't just teleport straight in by bypassing the barrier, either, because this barrier seems to have a high resistance to magic.

It probably had no choice but to force its way in somehow; by creating a hole in the barrier, right? So it's not exactly teleportation, is it?

Ending these thoughts, Jae walked through the hole and out, through the barrier. During the whole process, he endured a constant stinging pain as golden sparks bounced off of him, filling the space around him.

It's still trying to resist me. And there is no miasma on the outside?

Fortunately, although the barrier is somewhat broken, it seemed that the primary function of keeping the miasma secured still worked. In other words, because the whole barrier wasn't broken, it still managed to perform its role even though there was a hole in it.

Although, it's likely that some of those infected monsters could still get out because of it.

Wow~ It's more refined than I thought. The guy who made this, is he strong then?

Jae smiled to himself while thinking about it for a moment, but reminded himself of his goal.

I need... to get to the village.

And thus, he travelled.

Pushing his mana detection to the limit, Jae searched for any nearby signs of human life.

...Huh?

He had no expectations, but actually Jae found something far quicker than he thought.

It turns out there are several groups of humans near the barrier's exterior; Jae assumed them to be guard outposts of some sort. For a second, he wondered if Jiyeru and those from Asphal knew about it, but soon reminded himself that it was an unnecessary thought.

I just have to get there quickly. That's the current priority.

Without hesitation, Jae made his way towards the closest group.

Heavily-armoured guards stood atop a stone grey wall that seemed to stretch outside of visible range―it probably went around the entire barrier. Below them was a sturdy iron gate.

Currently, the gate was closed, and it didn't seem like the guards would open it any time soon. At least, not until the identity of the unexpected stranger―Jae―is revealed and confirmed.

From the sole fact they could communicate with words, Jae understood that he was still somewhere within Seronia.

"Halt!"

"An adventurer? Rank, name? No Party? Where's your show of verification, hm?"

It was comparable to an interrogation, and it made Jae rather uncomfortable quite quickly.

At first, it was similar to what happened with the guard brothers, Reddek and Robin, back at Bahgwud, but if there was one thing Jae noticed that was different, it was that these guards were much more thorough and harsh with their questioning.

Well, thinking objectively about the situation, it was fairly obvious as to why.

"―You lost your adventurer card?"

"―The location of Baghwud Village?"

"―You're travelling alone?"

The guards questioned all of Jae's words, and he got close to no breathing room.

It was a pain in the ass, but Jae didn't want to massacre innocent people, and to be fair, he was pretty suspicious, so he just tried to end the questioning as soon as possible whilst gaining some information.

His story was that he was an experienced magician called 'Jack' who had just recently lost his adventurer card in a bandit attack―it was "stolen".

Of course, he had already stored the great-sword beforehand, so claiming to be a swordsman wouldn't work now, though Jae belatedly realised that that probably would've been a more believable claim even without a sword.

It was a pretty poor lie, admittedly, and the guards seemed quite doubtful too, but it wasn't completely nonsensical.

What was unrealistic, however, was the fact that Jae was travelling alone as a magician. You see, since magicians are usually quite frail or physically weak, they almost never travel alone. If one did, they'd have to be an extremely famous adventurer that was confident enough in their skills to survive in the wilderness alone, but because none of the soldiers had heard of Jae before, they didn't believe him.

"Ah, about that..."

Man. Fuck these guys. Why're they being so damn annoying?

Of course, he couldn't tell the truth of the situation.

These guards were here to prevent unwanted entry into the very Cursed Zone he just came from, after all. All Jae could do right now was pile up lies until he extracted the information he wanted.

At any point after that, he could either kill all the guards or make his escape with「Sloth」.

Except, in the case of the latter, the guards would realise immediately where he was headed, and probably end up sending forces after him. If they investigated the barrier too, that would be even worse.

"―I actually lost my sword in that bandit attack too. I'm a magic swordsman, see."

Jae knew not to go too deep into details, or otherwise his lies would soon be caught out, so he only said in short sentences what sounded plausible, while still trying to keep up the façade of a man who had been robbed.

Back on Earth, my family did actually get robbed once, so it should be more believable than not, right?

There was also a Mimic skill that helped with this, coincidentally enough, called「Faking」, that Jae had acquired previously. Though it was low-level, it should still have an effect, so he used it.

"Right... Well, Baghwud, is it? By my recollection, that place was founded at the dead centre of the Great Forest as a sort of landmark for those that are lost. It's a backwater village though, far outta the way, and by its lonesome. A truly isolated place, if I recall; purely due to the location. Anyway, why, for what may you want to go there?"

This was news to Jae. At the centre of the Great Forest?

Since he was already informed of the Cursed Zone being in the North, and the demon country, Asphal, being down South-East from his location, Jae had already acquired all the information he needed, no? Not to mention the map of the forest he carries.

He just needs to head South-South-East with mana detection, and he'd come across the village. Or, using the map, he'd simply head towards the centre?

"Oh, nothing serious. I'm acquainted with the village head after taking this monster hunting request a while ago, you see, and I hadn't seen him in a while. Thought I'd drop by, say hello, ya know?"

Here, Jae was referring to the baby drake that was spotted outside Bahgwud, since he faintly remembered that a request was sent out to subjugate it.

"Well, now that I've been robbed of my main weapon, it seems like I'll need a change of plans, right? Haha."

"Right, right... There is one more question you'll need to answer before heading through the checkpoint, is that okay?"

Haa. Finally, get it over with. Alright then.

"Yes?"

"Alright. We're just making sure you're okay, since, there've been a lot of troublemakers around these parts, you get me?"

"Of course."

"Yes. So, lastly..."

It was just then that Jae noticed strange movements within the outpost.

There's a commotion? When did that start? I didn't realise before?

Some of the soldiers inside seemed to be frantically preparing for something. Many more men had come out to get a look at him, and the ones out from the start were both glaring and scowling.

Jae was puzzled.

Hm? What? What is it? What happened? Did I say something bad? It's not possible that they figured out who I am, is it? What's going on?

Jae was questioning their actions, but not worried about it in the slightest.

He had seen the average numbers on their Soul States, and it wasn't even worth mentioning. Jae was well aware that all it would take to wipe them all out is but a snap of his fingers.

Nevertheless, he waited.

Because he wasn't certain of the situation yet.

The guard continued his final question after a pause.

"...How--why, did you come to this checkpoint from the direction of the Cursed Zone?"

Huh? No, what?

"...What are you talking abou--"

The guard shouted aggressively.

"You dare spout lies to my face!?"

"..."

Jae raised his eyebrows.

Huhh?? Oh, shit, they saw me coming from there...? You're fucking kidding me?

He made a mistake.

As dozens of soldiers surrounded him within an instant, and unsheathing their weapons, Jae frowned.

...Now this isn't gonna work out... Well, I suppose this is an opportunity to get some good sword training in, isn't it?

Focusing only on the silver lining of the situation, he took out the great-sword from his Inventory and held it in his right hand, causing a frenzy to break out between the soldiers.

They shouted out in great fervour and hostility towards him.

"You dirty bastard! Where were you hiding that monstrous thing!?"

"You dare defy us of noble duty!? I bet you are one of those Demon supporter scum, huh!!?"

Jae lightly grimaced at their harsh words.

Yikes, the shit coming out their mouths... It faintly reminds me of someone. Haha, well, at the rate things're going, this is really gonna get nowhere.

Jae yelled out towards the soldiers.

"Hey! You guys're the ones who started this farce first, right? So I can annihilate you without remorse? It's self-defense, isn't it?"

"What!? This fucking--!!"

"--Shut it."

A quiet, yet somehow powerful voice resounded, and was heard by everyone in the vicinity.

A strange man appeared at the top of the outpost's gate, looking down on everyone below.

"""Captain...!!""", the soldiers all shouted simultaneously in delight as a man protected by a full set of dark grey armour―like a suit of charcoal―appeared.

He wore no helmet, meaning his slightly irritated face was visible for all to see―it was definitely handsome, but it seemed like he hadn't shaved in a short while, as his chin carried some hair.

His long and unkempt, dark brown hair gave off a strange vibe, and his half-closed, languid eyes of the same colour could even be described as sleepy.

――And yet, the pressure emanated from the presence of this man who looked homeless, alone was enough to cause goosebumps to arise on all the soldiers that witnessed his arrival.

...I didn't sense something like that...

On the other hand, Jae felt something completely different from this man the soldiers called 'captain'. No, it was more than merely a 'feeling'―He could physically 'see' something coming from him.

"Ohoh....?"

A light blue aura surrounded the captain. It wasn't due to something like「Aura Sense」, and neither was it magic.

Instinctively, though, Jae had an idea of what it might be.

...Sloth?

Not quite, but close.

What Jae was seeing was the sin of this unknown man. Specifically, the sin of Sloth.

Searching his brain for knowledge, Jae dug up what he acquired from [Lv.MAX]-ing Sloth, and eventually, he found it.

Ah...「Ruler of Sloth」means I can see the sloth of others?

It was nothing significant, really, but Jae was more shocked than he thought when he realised this feature existed.

Then, because this was the first time he experienced it, Jae surmised that it only worked on those that have reached a certain level of sin. Since all humans have some of each sin within them, it only activates for those with a high 'sin level'―that sort of thing, perhaps?

Whatever, I can think about that later. More importantly, this guy...

He hadn't checked it yet, but Jae didn't need to use「Envy」to know.

This guy is really strong, yeah?

He quickly became excited at the thought of an actual fight, and so couldn't wait to confirm it.

「Envy」.

" !! "

Upon laying his eyes on the captain―who was just staring back with the same, tired eyes―Jae was astonished.

Really...?, a faint grin began to surface on Jae's face.

The values were more than he had imagined.

Soul State - Human

Name : Reon Midas Soul Level : 227 / 375

Title : The Soulless Reaper of Midas

Age : 31 Years Health : 106

Magic Energy : 37,450 Power : 13,128

Magical Ability : 1,029

Defence : 11,441

Magical Defence : 2,163

Resistances : 5,396

Speed : 13,101 Condition : [Tired], [Bored], [Slightly Irritated], [Intrigued]

Jae trembled somewhat in exhilaration.

He hadn't experienced something like this in years―not since his "exam", where he fought the first wyvern, and experienced true magic for the first time.

Although Jae would only be using the sword unless it was otherwise necessary, he was excited and hopeful for the strength of the man in front of him.

Especially when compared with his own:

Soul State - Undead (Unknown)

Name : Jae Kang Soul Level : 150 / 150 [MAX]

Title : Apostle of Sin

Age : 22 Years Health : 19,156

Magic Energy : 255,837 Power : 7,284

Magical Ability : 2,113

Defence : 5,003

Magical Defence : 2,239

Resistances : 6,745

Speed : 7,836 Condition : [Ruler of Sloth (Negative Effects Nullified)], [Highly Thrilled], [Exhilirated], [Anticipation]

It may seem like a hopeless endeavour for Jae at first glance, however, his body was strengthened many times over by magic, which, in addition to the activation of numerous enhancement skills, has a considerable impact on his physical strength that isn't shown by the system.

There was no way he would lose easily, even if the odds look hopeless at a glance.

After all, status values aren't the only thing that dictates the victor of a battle.

Glancing again, at the charcoal armour the captain donned, Jae figured it wasn't ordinary. Same goes for his still-sheathed sword.

The captain, who stood solemnly atop the outpost gate, was eclipsing the brightly shining moon―The glistening moonlight behind him only highlighted his figure, making him look truly fantastical to all of the watching soldiers.

He was definitely an admired man, somehow, and this scene made him look like a true hero, despite his contrasting facial expression.

After a moment of expressionlessly examining the silently grinning Jae in front of him, the captain finally opened his mouth.

".......You fucking monster."