183: Three Forks
I was sitting in a corner of the church tent alongside Skaro.
I had a wooden bowl filled with wine that I’d purchased from a sundries shop awhile ago. We were exchanging the details of what had happened so far.
And the contents were quite astonishing. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, so I asked again.
“Both of you passed the test, but Aldcon refused to leave?”
Skaro nodded without hesitation in response to my question.
He seemed troubled and downed the wine in one shot before muttering,
“There was a little girl. She looked her age, or maybe she thought so too… A girl named Yuria who was especially close to the old fart with bad hygiene. Not long after we passed the test, the girl contracted black blood disease.”
I usually detest Korean-style melodramas.
The reason is that when they’re well-made, they feel too personal, making me want to curse, and when they’re poorly made, it feels like a betrayal, making me even more annoyed.
So, I hadn’t even listened to the back story, yet my mood was already plummeting.
“So that’s why we’re here. Desperately looking for any kind of treatment led us… to the rumors of a recluse named Altear in the sick village downstream of the Valley of the Dead.”
“Hmm.”
I let out a sigh while recalling the red-haired woman I had seen earlier that day.
Skaro continued speaking.
“But, after receiving her help and finally returning to Gaithers with the Dreaming Hibiscus, Yuria had already fully mutated. Even the old fart got black blood disease during the process.”
“So, did the little girl…?”
“The old fart killed her himself. I imagine her remains were dumped somewhere in the Valley by now.”
“… I see.”
It could be that I carried her remains here on my way. Overwhelmed by a sense of despair, I chuckled instead.
Looking at Aldcon, who was now halfway between a human and a monster, struggling between life and death, I muttered in disbelief,
“That old man who was so good at delivering flashy punchlines… seriously, he turns out to be a warm-hearted guy who couldn’t handle kids after all. That’s a twist. Damn it.”
“Kekeke. That’s what I’m saying.”
Skaro gave a bitter laugh and nodded. I glanced at Skaro for a moment.
He has no reason to stay here. He isn’t even infected with black blood disease yet.
In fact, Aldcon himself urged him repeatedly to cut his losses and leave.
“… If Skaro gets infected too, his mood will get even worse, so that’s how it goes. That’s his personality.”
“Couldn’t just leave him. Do you think I don’t know how pitiful it is for an old man to be groaning in agony when he’s older than me? That damn old fart.”
Skaro sighed and looked at the bubbling, bright blue flower in the pot in the corner of the tent.
Seeing his empty glass, I refilled it with wine, which he immediately swallowed. The wine was quite strong, so his smooth frogskin began to flush.
‘So it’s true, they’re really close.’
Scary how strong feelings of liking someone can develop. Ugh, what a disease.
Looking at Skaro’s face, I quietly thought about that. He glanced briefly at me and then said in a slightly bitter tone,
“Friend, you’ve changed a lot in just one year.”
“Damn, I look better, right? I think so too.”
“Kekeke. You’re still good at making jokes, but…”
Skaro’s hearty laughter subsided, and his expression turned serious as his eyes fixed on me.
“You look much sadder. I might even say you look like a completely different person.”
I didn’t reply.
I didn’t deny or confirm it, and simply gave a short laugh. My throat itched, so I took a big gulp of wine.
Damn, why is this wine so bitter? Was today particularly memorable?
“…Anyway, something like that.”
“…”
Skaro didn’t press for more details either. We clinked our glasses and continued drinking silently for a while.
The back of Skaro’s head bathed in the blue glow rising from the pot came into my view. Suddenly, his stats appeared on my panel.
[Name: Skaro Cracks]
[Nickname: The 163351983rd official Knight. One of the 3 Mercenaries of the Kamars Legends. Mr. Frog.]
[Level: 307]
[HP: 2350/2350 MP: 2100/2100 Physical Condition: Tired]
[strength: 552 Agility: 21 Intelligence: 404 Hero Sense: 14]
He’s strong.
Among the acquaintances I made in the Trial’s Veil, he’s the strongest except for Grenade.
‘Looking at this, out of the Trial’s Veil members, there were three guys who excelled in stats…’
When I checked, Aldcon was just an average-level person, around the early 50s. Meanwhile, Skaro has stats far above mine in everything except Agility.
‘Also, apparently this world has another stat-crazy guy.’
Over here, strength and intelligence, as well as HP and MP, are all pretty balanced.
Skaro mentioned that he and Aldcon had stayed here all this time. So most of this stat power must have been inherited from his original world.
I was curious how someone fights to achieve such stats. Could he be the reincarnation of the god of both fried and seasoned chicken?
“… Anyway, I understand. I have some business to attend to, so I’ll take my leave. Hard work, Skaro.”
I got up from my seat.
After checking the greatsword on my back and the twin blades on my waist briefly, I moved toward the tent’s entrance.
“Hold on, where are you going?”
“I’m going to kill Zadkiel.”
Skaro asked with a look of confusion. I replied immediately.
As expected, Skaro widened his yellow eyes and counter-asked,
“What did you say?”
“Would you wait here for a moment? I’ll smash his skull in a jiffy. Let’s pull out that Demon King’s intestines and boil rice cake soup with them. Prepare a lot of soup.”
“No, listen, friend… are you serious?”
Skaro stopped stirring the pot.
I twisted my lips to imitate an old-timey expression as much as possible.
“If it were a joke, you wouldn’t know. Have you ever seen me say something empty?”
“… No. You haven’t.”
“Yes. I’ll be back.”
Anyway, Park Jeong-yong doesn’t say two things out of one mouth.
Even if killing witches doesn’t feel very real, now that I know Zadkiel is involved, I must kill him. Jack requested it, and my friend’s life is at stake.
“A.”
Just as I was about to leave the tent, I suddenly turned back to Skaro with a gasp.
Skaro still needs to take care of the patients here anyway. If even one person is completely consumed and turns into a ghoul, the mass extinction will happen instantly. He’s both a guardian and an executioner.
Thinking about that, I figured there was one thing I could ask him.
“Um… In the very south of the village, at the end, there might be my comrades in a tent. Could you secretly keep an eye on them for me, Skaro? Don’t tell Altear.”
“Ah… okay. Got it.”
“Take good care of them. They’re important people.”
“Understood. As a favor of a friend, I’ll ensure not a single hair of them gets hurt.”
Skaro nodded reliably. I also gave a smirk and nodded.
‘Alright. Let’s really go now.’
I’ve secured the safety of Ruci and Yuria, which I was worried about. Feeling somewhat lighter, I moved my steps over beyond the village’s entrance into the misty quietness.
“… Ah! Ah!”
Suddenly, there were hurried footsteps and frail cries from behind me. I turned my eyes slightly. Yuria was already chasing after me and now standing near the entrance.
In case there was any problem, I cast “Entrance Cut.”
“I’m going alone. No solo Hard Mode allowed.”
No no no. Yuria shook her head straight away.
She isn’t planning to follow. That’s better than you, Luce. Ever tried to kill the immortal Demon King?
I kept asking,
“What’s going on with Luce, that you left alone like this?”
“….”
Yuria put her two hands together and rested them against her cheek, then closed her eyes tightly.
Pretending to sleep. That’s reassuring. I do take pride in living a somewhat carefree life, but I always give way to Luce when I see her.
Now, I pointed at Yuria herself.
“Then why did you come out? You have something to say?”
“A.”
Yuria perked up at my question and quickly jotted something on the prepared paper.
[Be careful.]
I lost for words for a moment and chuckled awkwardly.
Did you run all the way here just to say that? That’s anticlimactic.
‘Still… it’s not a bad feeling.’
I approached Yuria and patted her head.
Her jet-black hair slipped smoothly through my fingers, and I compared it to Lucy’s, finding it quite interesting.
“You also hide well while I bring back the Demon King’s head.”
“…”
Nodding gently, Yuria gave a faint smile. Her face carried a trace of trust.
Leaving her behind, I headed deeper into the Valley.
*
“Hmm.”
While continuing to ascend to the upper stream of the valley, I sighed as I looked at the map of the Valley of the Dead I received from Knightrea.
Where I am now is near the end of the lower stream. Once I get to the middle stream…
‘There are a total of three paths leading to the upper stream.’
The lower stream where I’m at now connects through a broad forest with only one road. However, from the middle stream onward, the river splits into three separate roads.
To the right: leads to the old town district of District 10.
Straight ahead: leads to the abandoned industrial complex in District 10.
To the left: leads to the central plaza of the amusement park “Skid Land.”
All three roads eventually lead to where Zadkiel is in the upper stream, but I couldn’t determine which is the shortest just by looking at the map.
And finally, the moment I entered the point where the three tributaries of the middle stream converged into the lower stream,
[The point of eternal return has been updated.]
[Time – Continental Year 1108, July 13, 23:15]
[Place – Unterland. District 10, Valley of the Dead near the lower stream]
It was a pretty long time since the mark of life-threatening danger had appeared.
“… Wow. It’s unsettling when it doesn’t.”
While reading the panel with confusion, I half-convince myself.
There must be problematic runaway knights on one of the three roads. Otherwise, there’s no reason for the point of return to update right now.
‘I need to choose carefully.’
I scratched my chin and thought for a while.
There’s no information on the runaway knights, and neither do I have detailed information on the Valley of the Dead. So no amount of pondering will result in anything concrete.
“Then, this must be the national rule.”
I lifted my finger and summoned Master Chuck-a-Luck, the Coca-Cola doctor.
Coca-Cola is delicious. If it’s delicious, you eat more, and if you eat more, you might get a stomachache, so after going to the hospital for treatment and getting shots, Master Chuck-a-Luck pointed towards the road to the old town on the right.
“Just prepare.”
As I took the turning alley on the right, I was also preparing notes to be placed into the Box of the Dead.
It was practically a habitual phrase by now.
[First attempt. The right side leads to the old town district.]
I hope this choice is the right one. With that thought, I placed the note inside the Box of the Dead.
Uuuum. The familiar low vibration rang out. I walked towards the Valley of the Dead’s old town district.
A crow flew away somewhere, croaking ominously.
