Chapter 226 – The Cursed Throne
“If I can help them once and track down the Order of the Stars!! Wouldn’t it be worth enduring a little bit of pain!! It’s a law that sometimes you need to take a step back to advance one step of justice!!”
“Hmm…”
Ban still groans with an expression of disapproval. In response to his reaction, Seong-il holds out a half-carrot book to appease him.
“And…”
“…?”
“Compared to the first mission, the goal is clearer! It’s a bit like the mission we finished today…”
At Sungil’s words, Sena rushes at him with her unique cute voice and tries to convince him.
“Yes Van! Besides, the third mission is too far! It’s a territory that requires a five-day walk to come out… Let’s start with the closest one!”
“Oh, I like that, little man.”
“Hehe… Isn’t it?”
As the opinions of his colleagues naturally gravitate towards the second, Ban finally nods his head with an expression that can’t be helped.
“If everyone’s opinion is so… It can’t be helped.”
‘Phew… I managed to convince him.’
A successful day as you induce the situation as you intended. He is relieved and moves to meet Master Paladin with his party.
“Ah, has it already been decided? You can take a day or two off.”
“…As a knight who serves God, what can I do when my body is comfortable?”
“Haha, you’re right. Brother. So, what mission are you going to take?”
“This is the second.”
“Okay, I see. Take this.”
Having said that, Master Paladin took out a document made of parchment from the desk next to him and handed it to Ban.
“This…?”
“A letter of recommendation. Take it to the administrative district. Go there and find a female wizard named Verissa Collinus. Give her the letter of introduction and she will explain her duties on her own.”
“Yes, I understand.”
So Seong-il and his party started moving to Solanium’s administrative district with a letter of recommendation.
“Hey… Why are the wizards in the administrative district? Other big cities built magic guilds on the outskirts of the city and live in towers.”
“That’s because Solanium is a city where the influence of wizards is very strong. It is said that the magic guild they founded hundreds of years ago joined hands with several giant merchant families to seize power in the city. So, unlike other cities, this place is a wizard. They say their power is very strong.”
“Oh… How does Bruno know that?”
“…Are you a thief? Isn’t this much basic common sense?”
“Hmph! I’m not an old man like you, so I don’t know the stories of the places I’m not active!”
While the party is bickering like that, they enter the city hall in the administrative district before they know it.
‘…Quite big?’
Unlike the place in the game, the city hall of Solanium is quite large. The building of the city hall luxuriously built of marble. Seong-il was admiring the colorful patterns while admiring the interior of the building. A middle-aged man and two heavily armed guards approach the group.
“Please stop for a moment. From here, only authorized personnel can enter the interior.”
Still, they respectfully stop the party, whether it be because of the half wearing armor with the symbol of the god of justice and Bruno dressed as a combat priest.
“We’re here on business. This is a related document.”
“Ah… Can I check it for a second?”
“Sure.”
Ban, the leader, naturally hands the parchment to the manager. After carefully reading the parchment he handed over, the manager soon corrected his expression and apologized lightly to the party.
“Oh, you were a guest of Senator Verissa. Excuse me.”
“It’s okay. Of course. Can I see him now?”
“Of course. Come with me.”
So the middle-aged man leads the party and starts walking with the guards to the office in the corner of City Hall.
“Hehe… I thought I was a simple wizard, but you were a city councilor…? A nobleman?”
Perhaps curious about the identity of the client, Sena muttered a little about the client. Then, the manager smiles and starts explaining Verisa to Senna.
“Ah, he’s a commoner, but he’s a genius magician who has made great contributions to the city in less than five years. Thanks to that, he’s now a member of the city council.”
“…Is it so?”
“Yes. By the way, he was only a beginner wizard five years ago, but he is also famous for taking on the mission of the Solanium Magic Guild, exploring various parts of the Rune continent, and greatly improving his skills.”
“Hey… Is that possible?”
“That’s… Haha…”
“…?”
“Kuhmm… He was incredibly lucky.”
“To?”
“How lucky he was, he got a chance for every mission he took on, so he acquired all kinds of minor artifacts and his skills improved quickly.”
“And…”
“Ah! By the way, if you tell him about your luck… He will be very offended, so please be careful.”
“All right!”
‘Hmm? I didn’t know there was a background like that? I thought it was just an NPC giving quests… It’s amazing.’
In the midst of such useless talk about the client, the party arrives at his office.
“Verisa. A guest has come from the Temple of Justice.”
“Ah! So soon? Hurry up and take her inside.”
‘Oh… She’s pretty, isn’t she?’
Verisa’s attractive appearance with red hair. Dressed in her black and red silk type robe, she greets her party with a bright smile upon their appearance.
“Hello.”
“Hello! Paladin! It’s an honor to meet you!”
‘…You’re so young, but you’re already a city council member and a mid-level wizard?’
Seong-il has a strange curiosity about Verisa. She was even more intrigued because she had never really stood out in her in-game.
“Agent. Serve tea to the customer.”
“Yes. Master.”
Verisa, who seems to have been apprenticed, although at best she is only 24 or 25 years old. At her command, a male disciple named Argent, who appears to be in his mid-teens, takes a teapot and sets it down on the table where her party is sitting.
“Hey… It smells like flowers?”
“Yes, it is solium tea. It is a tea made from the leaves of the solium flower, which grows only in the vicinity of solanium.”
“I’ll have a good drink.”
That time when I was drinking the tea Argent gave me.
“…Uh?”
Bewildered by the cursed sword that spits out mysterious words out of nowhere, Seong-il grabs her sword and starts talking to him.
‘Why?’
“…It’s dangerous here.”
‘Suddenly…?’
Seong-il is perplexed by the words of the cursed sword that it is infinitely dangerous. So he carefully looked around, but he couldn’t find anything particularly dangerous, so he carefully started questioning the sword.
‘Tell me in detail. I don’t really know…’
『It’s cleverly hidden, but I can feel the energy I know well.』
‘…The feeling you know? What are you talking about… Huh?!’
Just when he was about to bruise the sword, a thought passed through Seong-il’s mind. Perhaps reading the heart of such a holy day, the cursed sword cautiously spoke to him.
『I think my former owner is hiding around here.』
‘Here? This is the administrative center of Solanium and the residence of powerful mages. Are you hiding here?!’
『Have you forgotten that my master is not an ordinary wizard? He is said to be one of the most magical monsters on the continent. If he puts his mind to it, he will be able to hide his aura completely unobtrusively.”
‘Um…Then how did you confirm that?’
『That’s it… I explained it before. I have a fragment of the soul of my master, the demilich! So when he’s near, I can’t help but naturally notice his presence.
‘…’
Seong-il gives goosebumps at the words of the sword that he understands after hearing it. After swallowing his dry saliva, he cautiously spies on Verisa using 『Emotion』.
‘Hmm. I don’t feel anything strange…’
Thanks to his recently sharply evolved 『Emotion』, Seong-il was able to grasp the level of threat of most enemies. In addition, 『Detective’s Intuition』, A sub-skill for detecting a crisis recently acquired, also did not detect a crisis, so Seong-il decided to calm his feelings.
‘…If it shows off needlessly, it will be more dangerous.’
Seongil pretended to be calm and began to listen carefully to what Verisa was saying.
“…For this reason, we need the help of the Paladins who can deal with the undead and a small number of demons that may be inside.”
“Um… If it’s that dangerous of a ruin, we must cooperate for the safety of the citizens. I understand.”
“Thank you!! All items related to exploration will be provided by our Mage Tower, so you should know that.”
“Thank you.”
“Yes! Then, in two days, let’s meet in front of the ruins.”
After finishing the conversation with Verisa, the group started moving to the administrative district’s supplies following his apprentice.
‘Verissa Collinus… I need to be careful.’
『Um… That’s right. I heard about it earlier, and it was said that he was a rookie mage who suddenly came to mind five years ago? It was about that time that the previous owner finally escaped after being defeated by the paladins.”
‘…What do you mean?’
『Perhaps my former master became a complete demi-lich, and she is the one who remade her body?』
‘It’s very likely. The problem is that her threat is not checked at all in my 『Emotion』, Why?’
『Reaction? Oh, and those unique espionage abilities? That’s it… Demilich is a being close to a demigod, isn’t it because there’s a big difference in rank from you?”
‘Well… By the way…’
『?』
‘…If you can detect him, can’t he also detect you?’
“Huh. That’s why I said it was dangerous.”
‘Fuck…’
Seong-il feels very goosebumps at the thought of being able to attract attention from a monster among evil monsters.
In the meantime, the group arrived at the supply warehouse and started to pack the necessary items little by little.
“Hmm… Oh! It’s a potion!”
“That would be useful.”
A group of people busily picking up supplies in a warehouse where supplies of pretty good quality are piled up.
Normally, Seong-il would have been happy to rummage through things, but when he realized that there was a terrifying being lurking here, he only thought of getting out of here quickly rather than rummaging through items.
“Well, I’m going to rest outside for a bit!!”
“Eh? You don’t need supplies for the savage man?”
“Apart from the potions… But I don’t know much about potions! I’ll ask Miss Sena for my share!”
“Ah! I see!”
Seong-il, who has been accepted by the party, talks to Argent, who is waiting at the entrance, and says that he wants to get out of here.
“Can I go out first?”
“Ah, don’t you need supplies…?”
“That’s right! Not really..”
“Whoa… Then please sit in the drawing room over there for a while. I’ll prepare light refreshments.”
“Eh? I don’t really need it… Can I just leave?”
At Sungil’s words, Argent dissuades him with a troubled expression.
“That’s… Because the place is a place, you have to go in and out with the party even if it’s because of the theft…”
“Yeah… If so. I see.”
“Whoa…! Thank you! Guard! Can you help them instead of me?”
At Argent’s words, the guard who seems to be in charge starts answering him with a nod of his head.
“Okay, Argent-kun.”
“Thank you!”
Having said that, Argent took his holy day and moved to a nearby drawing room, where he began to set some pretty decent refreshments down in front of him.
“Oh, the color is pretty.”
“Ah! It’s a confectionery with spices that are popular these days! Try it.”
Seong-il smiles at the cute-looking boy’s words and picks up the snack. Then, the flavor of sweets fills your mouth.
Seong-il started thinking about the snacks Argent had prepared for him.
‘But… Even before 『Emotion』 Leveled up, most beings had enough strength to deal with, regardless of their strength.
Seong-il, who thought so, began to use 『Emotion』 On Argent, a pupil of Verisa, as if practicing with a bitter heart.
‘…?!’
Then, Seong-il feels an extremely vicious and terrifying energy from Argent’s body piercing his senses.
‘Fuck… What the fuck is this?!’
Argent’s sense of ferocity beyond the sense that I felt from Professor Woo-Young Jo not too long ago. Seong-il instinctively shudders from the terrible energy and begins to panic.
“Gulp…”
Seong-il puts his head on the floor and does not lift his head to hide his strangeness as much as possible. Argent starts asking questions to him.
“Hmm… Wasn’t the strange ‘sensation’ I felt earlier an illusion?”
“…!!”
“It projects one’s own mind to the outside in the form of a wave… If ‘identification’ magic evolves to a high level, would it be like this magic…?”
“…”
Seong-il feels that something is wrong with Argent’s sudden change of tone. He carefully reaches into his pocket and picks up his phone, ready to return to reality at any time. After that, Seong-il gritted his teeth and looked at Argent with courage.
“Fuck…”
And before the eyes of such a holy day, the figure of Argent began to appear, emitting a vicious aura from his body and floating strange marbles around his body.
