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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Even after defeating all the Gargoyles, the two remained vigilant.
“They’re not moving.”
Athena said, looking at the giant statues.
“It seems like they’re not monsters or golems.”
“Then what are they for? Are there traps installed?”
That didn’t seem to be the case.
‘They seem to have some purpose, though.’
“…Forget it. If they’re not reacting, there’s no need to touch them. Let’s explore the ruin.”
The first thing we found was a building presumed to be the residence of the ruin’s caretaker.
“Why is there a building like this outside…?”
Strangely, it was located outside the ruin, not inside.
“It seems like the book was taken from here.”
The interior wasn’t very spacious.
It was just big enough for one person to live in, and there was nothing inside except for a bookshelf, a desk, and a bed.
We took the books and quickly headed inside the ruin.
“This is strange. There are no traps at all…”
Athena responded to Kayla’s remark.
“But there are a lot of Gargoyles. The thirty or so we saw at the entrance weren’t all of them.”
She was right.
Those giant statues.
They were also present throughout the path.
We thoroughly searched the interior of the ruin, but there was nothing else.
Actually, there wasn’t much to search.
The ruin was a single path that spiraled downwards.
Those enigmatic statues were present at regular intervals along the way, and Gargoyles periodically blocked our path.
After defeating over 200 Gargoyles, we finally reached the bottom of the ruin, the central area.
“There are none this time?”
The periodic Gargoyle attacks had stopped.
“I thought there would be some here since it’s the center…”
Athena cautiously looked around, but there were no signs of an ambush.
However, I wasn’t paying attention to her words.
‘…Found it.’
There was an altar in the center of the ruin, and on top of it, a round, red orb.
It emitted a faint red glow even in the darkness, and it looked exactly like the Orb of Fire I was searching for.
I cautiously checked the surroundings, but there were no traps.
I approached the altar and took the Orb of Fire, carefully examining it.
‘It’s definitely it.’
“What is that?”
“A material for artifact creation.”
It was information that would be revealed in the future, but since it was a unique material, there was no problem with me revealing it.
‘I’ve already hinted that I know about the ruin anyway.’
There was no reason to hide it now, so I just revealed it.
“A material for artifact creation?”
It wasn’t something I needed immediately.
I wasn’t planning to use it for the artifact I would request after becoming an associate member of the magic tower.
‘Even if I’m an associate member, there would be many who would covet it if I showed it to them.’
I still lacked the power to protect it.
The reason I took it was similar to the feeling of not being able to pass by gold coins lying on the ground.
‘Finders keepers, so there was no reason not to take it.’
It was a material that could be useful later.
And I could use the additional income from the books to improve my relationship with the royal family…
‘And I have to come back here in a year anyway. It’s good to know the location in advance and have an excuse to revisit…’
I was lost in thought when…
A loud explosion echoed from afar, and stone fragments scattered across the floor.
“Don’t tell me…”
“It seems like the pursuers have found this place.”
What a noisy entrance.
And with such a loud explosion…
“It seems like they’re attacking the statues without hesitation.”
Boom! Boom!
It seemed like they were destroying everything in sight.
It was a brute-force method that I had only considered myself.
“…What should we do?”
“How is everyone’s stamina?”
“I’m fine.”
“My stamina and mana are both full. I conserved them, expecting a fight here.”
“I’m also fine.”
We had recovered in between, and it seemed like they had distributed their resources efficiently, anticipating a battle here.
‘They must have been aware of the risk of being attacked from behind.’
Thanks to that, there was no need to stall for time.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Athena frowned at the continuous explosions.
“It seems like they brought a mage too. But to waste mana like that… are they crazy?”
A mage’s mana wasn’t a resource to be used recklessly.
Thanks to my demonic energy, physique, and talent, my recovery rate was fast, but ordinary mages couldn’t recover their mana as quickly as I could.
Therefore, they had to manage it carefully, but they didn’t seem to care at all.
“Well, they’re probably not underestimating us. Either the statues seemed threatening… or they wanted to find us as quickly as possible.”
Unlike Athena, Kayla calmly analyzed their psychology.
Well, they couldn’t underestimate us with the Gargoyle corpses lying around.
We were a force that could easily eliminate dozens of Gargoyles.
It would be illogical to underestimate us.
However…
‘There are only Gargoyle corpses, and the giant statues are untouched, so they should have realized that they’re not a threat…’
I couldn’t understand why they were doing this.
‘Are they trying to intimidate us?’
If so, they had failed.
I wasn’t someone who would be easily intimidated by something like this.
I briefly considered taking control of the passage, but considering the Bone Golem, it was better to stay here and defend.
The explosions grew closer.
‘If the mage is low-level, they would be almost out of mana by now.’
Even if there were many of them searching the area, there wouldn’t be many mages.
It was beneficial for us that they had made such a commotion coming here.
After a short wait, we finally saw the faces of those who had followed us into the ruin.
“…You.”
“Ha, haha. We finally, finally found you!”
They were familiar faces.
“…Huh. I thought you weren’t following us…”
Kriang was right.
It was the Moses Merchant Guild and the Perseus Mercenary Group. And…
“Isn’t Jutus… hostile towards Doriem?”
“There’s no such thing in front of money.”
“Eryan would be crying if he knew.”
He was the one who had tried to prevent mercenaries from Doriem from entering their territory, claiming it was Jutus’s will.
But now, mercenaries from Jutus were working with Doriem to attack me.
“We’re all part of the same Mercenary Guild, even if we’re from different branches. We can join forces if necessary.”
“I’m also part of the Mercenary Guild.”
“Unfortunately, we don’t consider warlocks as mercenaries.”
A mercenary from Jutus smirked.
But their mockery didn’t end there.
“That goes both ways.”
“Is this our first time talking face-to-face?”
A man stepped forward and spoke.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Perseus, leader of the Perseus Mercenary Group.”
It wasn’t an unusual name, as mercenary groups were often named after their leaders.
“So, what do you want?”
“Simple. Everything you’ve obtained here, and your life.”
They didn’t seem to have any intention of hiding their intentions.
Kayla, Athena, and Baldur’s expressions hardened.
“If you accept your death peacefully, we’ll make it painless.”
“I don’t understand why you’re doing this.”
“We can’t tolerate a warlock receiving the guild’s guarantee and operating freely in Doriem.”
“And you joined forces with Jutus for that? Isn’t that a bit of a weak reason?”
“It’s enough.”
“Well, if this gets out, I think the Perseus Mercenary Group and the Moses Merchant Guild will be criticized more than I will. Or rather, you’ll be lucky if it ends with just criticism.”
One of the people in the back shuddered at my words.
They seemed to be from the Moses Merchant Guild.
Well, if it became known that they had openly prohibited entry to the territory, collaborated with a hostile branch, and tried to harm a mercenary guaranteed by the guild…
‘They would be put on a wanted list, and an assassination squad would be formed.’
“…Your information gathering skills are decent. I didn’t expect you to know my face.”
“You made such a fuss when you first arrived, how could I not know?”
“Aha. You investigated me to get revenge? Planning to retaliate later when things quiet down? As expected of a shady and selfish warlock, your actions are disgusting. Just because you were insulted a little…”
“Well, I don’t want to hear that from someone who stalked me all the way from Doriem.”
They probably hadn’t followed me directly.
I would have noticed if they had.
‘It seems like their alliance with Jutus wasn’t formed hastily.’
I didn’t know if it was the Perseus Mercenary Group or the Moses Merchant Guild, but it seemed like they had a pre-existing connection with Jutus.
They must have obtained information about my location from them.
‘At least it’s not a hastily formed alliance.’
“You somehow knew we would come here.”
“It was a 50/50 chance. I would have tried it too if I had the information. But for you to find this place right away… did you already know there was a ruin here?”
“I have no reason to answer that.”
“Hmm. It won’t end well for you if you’re uncooperative. Don’t you see the forces behind me?”
I saw them.
Fully armed mercenaries. They seemed to be at least mid-level, and there were several who had awakened their mana, giving off a different aura.
There were even two mages and two priests, and perhaps to protect the priests, there was even a paladin.
Naturally, our average abilities were superior.
However…
‘I don’t think we’ll lose.’
Perhaps because they were overly reliant on the priests, they maintained an arrogant attitude.
“We even destroyed those statues you were so afraid of.”
That was bullshit. I wasn’t afraid of them.
I never thought they would waste a mage’s mana for such a trivial reason.
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
“Ah, I see. You’ve all been recruited by the Goddess Religion.”
Or they had formed an alliance. At the very least, the Goddess Religion was likely the intermediary.
I subtly tested them, and Perseus couldn’t hide his surprise at my sudden remark.
He didn’t answer, but it was practically a confirmation.
‘I see. That makes sense if it’s the Goddess Religion.’
It seemed like they were trying to nip me in the bud before I grew stronger.
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