Chapter 57 – Flame

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Translated by Seoulbound

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“Can you really… stop the Second Apocalypse? By yourself?”

Shrike asked back as if he couldn’t believe it.

I replied with a languid smile on my lips.

“Are you doubting me again?”

“Ah, no, it’s not that! I just didn’t know it was possible… Was it possible to stop the Second Apocalypse with the all-zone conqueror privilege?”

Of course, my all-zone conqueror privilege was the inheritance of titles, and I had no idea how to stop the Second Apocalypse.

However, since the items containing God’s revelations, the ‘meteor items’, wouldn’t all fall into my hands right now anyway, it was also true that there was no way to prove my words were false.

In any case, no one except me currently knows what the all-zone conqueror privilege I received is.

Even if they were a player who had unlocked the system, the only thing they could confirm through my status window was the title ‘Friend of Luna Moon’.

If so, even if the all-zone conqueror privilege I received was ‘the privilege to stop the Second Apocalypse if nine meteor items are collected’, only I would know whether that was true or false.

‘God’ of the Love Zone, who tricked other players using their ignorance by calling the system ‘God’s revelation’, probably never thought he would be done in by the same method.

Since as long as that guy had no way to confirm my privilege, he wouldn’t be able to discard the possibility that my words might be true.

In any case, since we all must survive the Second Apocalypse, my words that the Second Apocalypse could be stopped would sound sweet to ordinary players.

Although it would be displeasing to players who possessed meteor items.

I relaxed my overbearing posture slightly and spoke softly.

“It’s your freedom whether to believe it or not, but in any case, it’s not that I don’t want to cooperate. I have a mission given to me, and I’m simply moving for that.”

“Ah… A mission…!”

The fellow seemed deeply impressed by the word ‘mission’.

The guy, who had been wearing an expression tinged with hope at the thought of easily resolving the Second Apocalypse, soon asked me with a worried expression.

“Um, by the way… what are the items containing God’s revelations?”

“You should know if you’re a player too. Meteor items are needed.”

“Meteor items? Then it must be that earring the demigod has. Since he said he communicates with God through it…”

Shrike quieted down, his face lost in thought about how he should convey this story to that fellow who called himself the demigod.

Staring at Shrike, I asked offhandedly.

“By the way, why did you pretend to be injured?”

“Eh?”

Perhaps my question was rather sudden, as he raised his head with a puzzled expression.

“I heard you were pretending to be injured before you were caught.”

“Ah… that…”

“It’s fine, so speak honestly.”

“I tried to capture an NPC and find out about Dopamine Addict. Although I failed…”

“You tried to handle two of them with that body?”

“Ah, of course, I planned to kill one and cripple the other’s legs.”

We would have seen blood if I hadn’t done the early education.

“But they were incredibly quick-witted NPCs?! As if they had expected this kind of situation…”

Having muttered up to that point, Shrike looked at me with an expression of realizing something.

“Thinking about it again now… did you know in advance that I was coming?!”

I replied without a change in my expression.

“Yes.”

“No wonder they were smart for Cola Zone NPCs…!”

“It’s a relief. If you had harmed them, I couldn’t have simply sent you back.”

When I said that, tension hovered over his pale face as if he just recalled that he had stepped into another player’s territory.

“Um… I think I should head back now to deliver this story to the demigod…”

“Why? You must have suffered coming such a long way. Why not stay a bit longer?”

“No. I must deliver this huge fact quickly so we can stop the Second Apocalypse before it’s too late.”

He must have thought I might not let him return easily.

I could interrogate him to get information about the Love Zone in reverse, but…

Keeping him would only increase the risk of exposing that I am a player anyway.

Since it would be troublesome if he babbled about God’s revelation in front of my zone’s NPCs, I should send him back quickly while pretending to be generous.

I opened my inventory and took out the old combat rations I had as spares.

When I pulled out the combat rations from thin air, Shrike gasped in slight admiration.

Looking at how he was impressed but not greatly surprised, it seemed that fellow God had already shown himself using the inventory to prove his specialness.

I tossed the combat rations in front of Shrike.

They were old-style combat rations that tasted like military boots, not the new star candy combat rations, but since we couldn’t feel taste anyway, it wouldn’t matter.

“Take them. It should be enough to recover on your way back.”

“T-thank you…!”

Leaving Shrike to pack up the combat rations in a hurry for a moment, I asked in a subtle voice.

“In return, there is one thing I’d like to ask…”

* * *

“Is it really okay to let him go like that?”

Looking at the back of Shrike walking away in a daze, Meursault asked me.

“It weighs on my mind that he was too calm when he was captured, to say he had simply lost his way…”

“Why are you being like this? He is just a child.”

“…I find children the scariest these days.”

Why is he saying that while looking at me?

“Anyway, I talked to him well. He didn’t harm me even though I untied the rope and shared a conversation. Isn’t that enough? We came to hunt monsters, not to deal with suspicious children.”

“That may be so, but…”

My generous disposition Meursault seemed rather uneasy at, but Lucas and Bones, who had captured the child, seemed greatly relieved.

“I’m glad he was just a child.”

“Why is that stupid brat lingering around in a place like this!”

These guys would faint if they knew they had almost died at the hands of that stupid brat.

“Since there doesn’t seem to be anything special on this side other than that brat earlier, let’s head back.”

“Seeing there is no signal, it seems the other teams also haven’t found their targets yet.”

Each team agreed to fire a white signal flare if they found a large-class monster to subjugate.

Yet, even by the time I came out after finishing the meeting with the Love Zone player, not a single spark was seen in the sky.

In cases like this, either the population decreased because last winter was too warm, or the monsters, having learned that subjugations occur when the weather gets warm, hid deep inside.

Since the winters after my possession were not that easy at least, it was highly probable that the monsters were hiding.

If so, they would eventually come out to find food, so we just needed to kill time and wait.

Even so…

“It is strange that not even one is visible.”

“Is it?”

“Not just large-class ones, but we haven’t encountered mid-to-small ones even once so far.”

All we had seen since going out to search was one player pretending to be a child.

It was certainly not a normal situation.

But the newly appointed officers, including Meursault, were wearing blank expressions.

“…Forget it. What words can I share with guys who came out to a subjugation battle for the first time.”

“Though you came out for the first time too…”

“What did you say?”

“We will clean up the surroundings!”

Lucas blocked the mouth of the complaining Bones and hurried to pack up the temporary tent.

Meursault, who watched that sight for a moment, turned his gaze back to me and asked.

“Is it that strange of a situation? Although I have rarely gone out to subjugation battles myself, I have received many reports. Usually, when going out for subjugation, mid-to-small monsters run away in fear, so they are not seen. The team members who went to search in other directions also reported that they found footprints of monsters fleeing urgently as if terrified.”

“Yes. I heard that too. But we are only ten people.”

Normally, it is correct that mid-to-small monsters are not seen.

When hundreds of armed humans set out determined to hunt, it is stranger if the sensitive monsters do not flee.

But now we are only about ten.

It is an excessively cute size to scare mid-to-small monsters with headcount.

“Even so, it weighs on my mind that so many monsters fled in a hurry as if terrified.”

“Hmm… aren’t monsters sensitive in their senses?”

“Yes. Why that?”

“They must have noticed from afar. Ah, a harsh thing has come out of the zone…”

I lost my words for a moment and just stared at Meursault.

“Did you perhaps say that as a joke just now?”

“…Hey, you there! You shouldn’t move it like that.”

Meursault evaded my question by acting rather awkwardly. Watching him babble nonsense while pretending to help the soldiers for a moment, I hardened my expression slightly.

Because apart from Meursault’s joke being dry, I was feeling an unknown chill.

‘It is too quiet…’

This side is originally not an area where many monsters roam.

So this might be in vain anxiety.

In any case, since my goal was to check the barrier that should be around here, having directly witnessed the Love Zone player cross over meant the goal was achieved.

Even to the naked eye, the blue wall like the one seen in the game was not visible at all.

The Unicorn Zone player had also crossed over, but I was worried that maybe only he was capable of crossing zones, so I suppose this is a relief.

‘But if things turn out like this…’

The possibility increases that HomeProtector, who hasn’t contacted me until now, might have had something done to him by ‘God’ of the Love Zone.

Of course, it could be that he has no contact simply because he is focusing on strategy, or he could be quiet because he thinks I am suspicious.

But my intuition was on the side that something must have happened to HomeProtector.

If it was a fellow who sent a player all the way to my zone, he would have surely visited the closest Tobacco Zone directly.

Well, even if so, I have no intention of going to rescue HomeProtector, but since I am interested in the meteor item he possessed.

‘I should see how that shaman reacts to the all-zone conqueror privilege.’

The most likely reaction would be not believing my words.

But somehow, I look forward to the Love Zone player showing bolder play than expected.

At that moment.

“Huh?”

One of the guys moving the luggage made a blank sound while looking at the distant sky.

The team members with sensitive senses, including myself, immediately turned their heads and looked at that sky.

And soon, they entered our full view.

The white flares, embroidering the sky.

“It’s beautiful…”

Some of the newly appointed officers who had absolutely no real combat experience had admiring faces, overwhelmed by the scenery unfolding before them, but the expressions of Meursault and myself froze coldly.

“That is surely…”

The white flare fired upon finding a large-class monster.

The direction from which that flare rose was the center side where Team 1, where the commander was, had gone out to search.