Chapter. 14. One Empire, Three Legends (2)
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“Gulp sniff! Sniff! “Kwayik!”
A morning in the forest full of dew. Amid the silence, a family of wild boars were rummaging through the moist soil. The morning forest was a time when they could satisfy their hunger and thirst at the same time, so the cubs were excitedly searching for food while circling their mother.
The mother, who was busy digging up the tubers while watching the scene, suddenly raised her head when she heard a strange sound.
“Sniff? Beep whiff whiff. Kwaik? “Kwiik?”
I lifted my nose and looked around sharply, but there was nothing to see. But their animal instincts and motherly intuition were telling them something. There’s nothing clearly visible, but something is coming.
Pyuuuu-
“Kkuek! Good luck! Quite a sum!”
“Ping? “Queuik?” “Queuek? “Cluck!”
As the strange sound got closer and closer, the mother waved her tusks and looked in all directions, and the cubs, frightened by the sight, scattered and hid among the bushes.
Except for one thing.
A young wild boar found an earthworm among the moist soil and was excitedly searching the soil, not even noticing the shadow cast over its head.
It is a large flying animal. A beast with a large, square body and strange wings that rushes toward its young at high speed. The sharp claws will snatch the cub’s neck.
“Quite eh! Quiteeeeeek!”
In an instant, the mother’s maternal instinct overpowered the animal’s survival instinct. The moment when the mother’s large nose rushed towards the cub, screaming, and pushed the cub’s side, and the cub, pushed out of nowhere, faced the mother’s sad, incomprehensible eyes.
Coooooo!
A balloon filled with letters landed on the tragedy of the little beast family.
While the brightly striped cubs don’t understand what’s going on or where their mother has gone.
A large man stood up through the water-soaked letters.
“Puh-ha!”
The professor looked around, reassured that at least they had not fallen in the middle of the city or a private house.
First of all, it’s in a fairly deep forest. A pristine forest with no traces of people or even trails in sight. Judging by the fact that most of the tree species are conifers, it appears to have grown from the southern part of the empire to almost the northern part. Unfortunately, it seemed like we had to go a little further to the elven forest.
As it fell on the water created by Ottman, the entire area was wet as if there had been a flood, and the professor found a familiar tuft of fur in the middle of it and pulled it out with one arm.
“Wow, I’m so upset. Hey Borka! “Are you alive?”
“Ooh, no, no… Dahlia, honey… I can see the forest of my hometown… The children, the children are still alive… Tushan, Marka….”
“hmm. You’re healthy. Don’t follow my wife, just stay here for a moment. Notum… Oh, it’s here. Are you okay?”
“Gooooh…. Trolls don’t fly. The flying troll defied the laws of nature… Guweeeek-”
“This side looks pretty good too. What about Ottman and Aldrich? I guess he’s alive because I saw him deploy his shield twice and triple at the end. Hey, Hydrasil. “Come down!”
After confirming that most of the group was safe, the professor removed the Idrasil that was clinging to his waist and neck like a cicada.
“sorry. “I suspect you are the most elastic and impact-resistant material nearby.”
“Sometimes I think, you think that’s kind of gross.”
“It is said that it is common for people to feel discomfort due to differences in species. “It’s okay because I understand.”
“Hey. It would be better to put up with it than to persuade the elf. Hey, legend! Lucilla! wake up. “We survived!”
There was no need to look for Lucilla. She was the weakest one in the group, so I held her when she fell.
“Call, Cough! Uh… eh? Wow…?”
“I lived. Come to your senses and tell me where I am. Because you are the only one who knows the geography of the empire. Oh, Idrasil, please retrieve the balloons containing the spirits before the wind spirits run away.”
“yes.”
Anyway, everyone in the group was safe. Even though the balloon crashed midway, I rode it for a week, so I can say that I got the hang of it. Above all, there was no need to worry about getting lost because the spirits, which were like a compass pointing to the elven forest, were still staying in the leather balloon.
[Why is it that no matter what you do, an accident always happens? Shouldn’t we seriously consider punishment or something like that?]
‘It’s a divine punishment… maybe you can see it that way. No matter how theoretically possible, it was shot down by letters from all over the empire. Even if you say this is a fantasy world, this is something that goes beyond common sense, right? Personally, I think it has to be intervention of the system.’
Tiring-!
[The world cannot keep up with your destiny from the outside! Temporarily granted Bad Luck Lv.15! / After Bad Luck Lv. 15 ends, Luck Lv. 7 is granted for 24 hours!]
Well, if the status window was alive, wouldn’t this message have appeared? Bad Luck Lv. 15 is the level at which you will fail no matter what you do. No one among the rankers has seen this message, and only one person is known to the community.
Roman Gacha Manson, a person who was invented by Roman Gacha Man. [masterpiece! – That message appeared in the video of the player who pulled out the [Electromagnetic Acceleration Magic Bullet Launcher: Rail-Gun].
‘The rail gun exploded on that guy’s hand, killing him instantly, right?’
[The effect is certain.]
‘Well, that’s right. The crash of our organization was probably part of that system.’
To be honest, it is true that it is a bit of a f*cked up system. Enemies become infinitely stronger and can shape the world however they want, but players must advance at their level. If this isn’t favoritism, what is? Even if it’s unreasonable, it’s at a high level.
but.
I’m not strong enough to cut down named mutes or primitive ancient hero units at the level of a Cheonryu Emperor, and the Western Front isn’t even pushing down mutes, but the system suddenly called out doctor stop? This could only mean one thing.
GG’s omnipotent system saw an event in the world that I couldn’t see and decided that the balance between humans and mutes was tilted too far in favor of humans.
When I thought about it that way, there was only one thing that was most likely in the current situation.
‘That Bazuyur guy jumped out just before he passed out and eventually died.’
I’m almost 90% sure. It would make sense if one of the Queen’s direct descendants, the Named Mutes, of which only 12 appear until the end of the world, is dead at this point. In particular, in the case of Bazyur, the name is unrivaled in quantitative magic warfare, enough to single-handedly block the concentrated bombardment of magicians from all over the world. It was clear what it meant to kill him in 3 World, where magic battles can easily be resolved even if you just shake off the corpse and stock of the wizard he possessed.
‘It means that even if they lead the war into a boring war of attrition, there is nothing for the humans to lose.’
Right now, the Empire is still watching, and the desert nations, elves, and other powers have not participated in the war.
When the real final phase approaches and all the magicians locked in the magic tower come out, even if only half of them are rotated, cheap mass-produced mutes of level 6 and below can be neutralized with carpet bombing. This means that as long as the magicians are protected, their volume offensive will be neutralized. It means you can do it.
‘That was the most dangerous part of the queen’s rise to the throne of the evil god. She can mass-produce Mutes indefinitely with her divine power, and since she is the queen, she must have piled up a mountain with their corpses and plucked out so many low-level Mutes that they could climb over the castle walls. War is about burning national power and maintaining its heat, right? If they had stayed there like a turtle and only pushed the mass-produced type closer to the meat wave, Roderick, who had lost all his farmland, would have dried up, died, collapsed one after another, and been defeated. However, now that magic power has become overwhelmingly superior, it has become possible to block such a massive offensive by using only the wizards’ mana.’
Is it because it’s dual core? It seemed like it became several times easier to infer facts from the phenomenon in front of me. The efficiency of thinking alone and discussing with two people was incomparable. In particular, thanks to being able to share basic knowledge, if you just think about it without having to explain it too much, you can just glance at it and figure it out.
Hyde, who was briefly searching his memories at my explanation, frowned slightly (I couldn’t see his face, but it seemed like it was) and continued.
[From what I’ve heard, it’s true… but it’s been a while since I came over, so I haven’t been able to search through all my memories. How advanced is this world now?]
‘There are too many uncertain factors, so I don’t know the exact world purification rate. It is possible to guess the time. You called Bajyur the fourth and the youngest? So, this is the point where four of the twelve named people appear one after another. You could say that the countdown to destruction is about 1/3 done.’
I think it may have progressed a little more while it was about 30% in progress. Originally, the production speed in the second half was twice as fast as the first half. Even if we take a generous guess, we can say that the world timer is about halfway through.
[okay? So it’s not at the point where the system breaks? Why would there be such an uproar just because one of the twelve died? I don’t think Mute was that bad. The queen is alive and well. Above all, there’s that guy Falcatus, right? If you can think about it, he can think about it too. Of course he will come up with a way to respond. We cannot ignore the areas he has delved into politically, economically, and religiously. I don’t think it can be said that the power balance has collapsed that much.]
‘I thought about that too. First of all, it is clear that Bazyur has taken over one axis.’
[Then what about the other axis?]
In response to Hyde’s question, the professor took out a small leather pouch. A subspace pouch stolen from the magic tower of Tobrun in the past. Although it was damaged here and there during the battle and its functionality was greatly reduced, it was enough to fit several small items.
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What the professor took out from there was Edeorna’s severed arm, with dark red solid lines digging into it like a spider’s web.
‘this.’
[What is that… Oh, she cut off her arm? It’s a gift from wizards, right? Why is that?]
‘Well, this is my guess…’
Just as the professor was about to convey his thoughts to Hyde.
“Ugh! Borca! Notum! Hold me! my luggage! My trade goods! “All our luggage is flying!!”
The party members who came to their senses scooped out the wet letters to remove the cargo from the crashed balloon, and although it was destroyed in half, several air pockets were still alive, so Lucilla, who was in the balloon’s basket, began to stumble around, dragging her.
‘First, let me organize things first and then explain. Because this is a fact that everyone in the party should know.’
[Then you clean up the area. I’ll take care of that.]
‘huh? you?’
Before the professor could even think about what that meant, two black arms with sharp hooks shot out from behind him and grabbed hold of the rope that was attached to the back of the device.
“What…?!”
[Hehehe. Teacher Ibosho, do you know how much I have cared for your body during the months out there? Every drop of blood and every cell of your shell was under my control. This means that we have now mastered the understanding of the human body. Additionally, since you have completely conquered the infectious agent in this body, there are no restrictions on using the power of Mute, and lastly… the psychological distance has disappeared. Honestly, you don’t feel uncomfortable or anything just because I’m moving your body now, right?]
“Yes, that’s right.”
[therefore. There are two control towers in a regenerative body that grows at random, but are completely separate and can perfectly understand and accept each other. Probably everything will work except completely separating it?]
With those words, the black skin around my shoulders stretched, and my real face, which I had seen in the conscious space before, a face with a long, fang-filled mouth and slitted eyes resembling a wolf, appeared and winked at me. In reality, which is neither imagination nor conscious space, Hyde appeared with the face of reality.
.
.
.
.
.
“omg.”
As if responding to my brief impressions, each member of the group responded in their own way.
Borka and Notum, who were shouting for help and looking towards me, let go of the balloon’s rope in shock.
Lucilla, who was hanging on the edge of the device holding a box that looked expensive at first glance, lost sight of the box and silver coins poured down like a waterfall.
The two wizards, who had been laughing under the influence of sedatives, laughed and lost consciousness again.
thud!
The elf who was up on the tree slipped and fell along with his beloved notebook.
The elf was so shocked that he couldn’t even use the magic trick, and was even stuttering with his eyes as big as a flower lantern.
“Well, that’s… um, ah, shocking… an ability that far exceeds my expectations…. this is it. Well, could you please give me a little help for the record? “I will try to learn, but… that, um, ‘that’ is only my opinion, having only lived for 70 years….”
“Would you like to take a breather first, Idrasil? I’ll explain everything. All-”
『Hyde. I’m Hyde. Nice to meet you. Elf.”
Due to the harsh voice that followed, Idrasil’s legs eventually gave out.
****
Cracking, crackling-
Sizzling sizzling-
The professor moved hard. He tied the balloon that was flying aimlessly carrying Lucilla, who was in a daze, to a tree, slapped the cheeks of the wizards who each took out another bottle of sedative to divert their eyes from reality, and lit a bonfire to kill the mesmerized trolls, werewolves, and elves. We made sure that everyone in the group, including us, had their clothes dried and kept warm.
Until the professor’s skillful roasting of a whole wild boar was hung over the bonfire, the group did as the professor told them to do, moving in a daze and staring at the terrifying head that was constantly rattling on the professor’s shoulder.
『Where did the wild pig come from?』
“It just fell on the ground? It looked fresh, like it had just died. I thought everyone would be hungry since we just finished eating breakfast and made such a fuss. Speaking of food, would you mind staying inside while eating? “Do you think everyone will pretend to be except me?”
“why? Everyone already. I saw it. look. Everyone is quiet. You lost. I guess I adapted.』
“That’s not adaptation; it’s that your consciousness has gone into a groggy state. “You have to take the shock sequentially to adapt, but if you hit it too hard, it’s going to be nothing more than a car accident.”
“Hehehe. are you okay. Everyone is strong. people. Because.』
The professor sighed as he looked at Idrasil next to him, gritting his teeth and clutching the charcoal. Even though he was familiar with Hyde, his low, rough voice, scraping his vocal cords like a hard metal singer, was enough to stimulate people’s fear.
『What can I do? doesn’t exist. I’m so used to that body. That’s human language. Suitable for pronunciation. Not the oral structure. 』
[Hmm. You will understand when you get out. Because that body is not something I can change at will like this body right now. While this side feels soft and flexible, the real side feels hard and smooth. In my personal opinion, I think both are useful. Isn’t this okay too? She must have had a thin voice with a face like this. That’s not the uncanny valley.]
‘okay. ‘I understand everything, so let’s just talk to me before we criticize Lucilla.’
[There are two ways to silence someone. Persuasion, or sticking something in your mouth. Hmm, it’s heated protein. It smells really good.]
Seeing Hyde opening his mouth wide and showing his fangs as if he couldn’t stand it, the professor ended up giving him a half-cooked hind leg of a wild boar. The sound of bones and meat chewing greedily and the feeling of my stomach becoming heavy… Umm. It’s a strange feeling that even a country accustomed to all kinds of eccentricities can’t bear.
Feeling the awkward stares of the familiar group, the professor explained how long Hyde had been together and how he was able to act like this. Of course, the real-life story was adapted to some extent because the NPCs could not recognize it.
Munch! Wow! Crump!
“So… it ended up like this. In a way, it is thanks to this guy that he can remain human even in the body of a mute, and that he has such monstrous strength and the ability to regenerate. That’s what he looks like, he’s a good guy. He’s funny too. “He also has a good personality.”
[Your self-praise is serious.]
Idrasil was recording everything with his eyes wide open. Could it be that Godmother knew this far and asked him to learn? Although Idrasil had never once doubted her mother’s insight, she was certain that her godmother had not known this far.
“You said it was Hyde.”
When Idrasil asked while looking at Hyde’s head rather than at me, Hyde wiped his oily muzzle with his left hand, ripped off another hind leg, put it in his mouth, and pointed in my direction.
“Uh…you can ask me. “Because no matter who you ask, you’ll get the same answer.”
Pabababak!
Although he only spoke one sentence, the elf, burning with a sense of mission to ‘learn from the human Professor Park’, was quickly filling out a palm-sized piece of paper and moving on to the next page.
“All right. First of all, from what I understand, there are two souls in one body. Aldrich? “You said you saw Mr. Hyde once before.”
“huh? Ah, yes. In fact, I have felt for a long time that there is something inside that professor, so I received help from the feeling of gambling in the Margrave’s territory. At the time, it felt faint like smoke, but now it feels as clear as stone. It’s definitely there. Hyde. “So, the name is Hyde?”
Aldrich’s shock seemed to have subsided, and he came towards me with an even more curious look on his face.
“The soul is not divided. The soul is a basic unit that cannot be divided in any natural way. Usually, black magic uses magic to split the soul, but if it is torn apart to the point where it can be clearly distinguished in this way, internal scars such as personality defects or mental disorders will inevitably remain. But the two of you… let alone the wounds, it’s hard to believe that you two are one. It’s definitely separated, and it’s definitely intertwined. amazing. “As a soul mage, it is an honor to encounter such a soul.”
“Wizard. Coming out. Let me ask Kim one question. soul.this. Unless it is divided. I am based on a professor. Were you born?』
“Umm… well. I guess so, right? In fact, since they are so intertwined, it may not be true to say that they were born… but looking at the shared memories and the similarities between the two souls, it would be correct to say that some mystery was at work in that professor’s soul to create you, Mr. Hyde. . At least that’s my opinion.”
[Hey, Father You. Did you hear? He is now an expert official.]
‘Nimi.’
[That’s you.]
The professor grumbled at Hyde’s sly voice, and before Hyde could eat the rest of the wild boar, he cut off the cooked part and roughly threaded it onto a tree branch. All the dishes were broken from the impact.
“First of all, my story is like this. Anyone else have questions? “Now that I’ve revealed everything, even down to my underwear, without hiding anything, if you have any questions, please ask me anything.”
At those words, Lucilla raised her hand as if she had been waiting.
“Me. That… that friend who popped out there? “Is it possible that our journey will be disrupted because of him?”
“Well… Hyde. what do you think about it? Are there any?”
『I don’t think so. ah. Food expenses will increase a bit. The shell. Compared to the amount needed. Eat too little. Mute’s blood is the most effective, though. The part that can be filled with rice. I have to fill it up.』
“Did you hear? “I see.”
“It’s food expenses… Do you eat like that every day?”
Wow!
『Every meal.』
Hyde, who stole the whole roasted wild boar skewer that I was holding in my hand with his slightly protruding arm, answered by putting all but one of them into his mouth.
Looking at Hyde holding out the remaining one with his oily hand, Lucilla let out a small sigh and accepted it.
“So it’s not a small problem, but it’s not a big problem either. Because they are strong enough to carry their own food. There are no problems with the journey, there are no problems with the relationships between party members, and the personality is very good. Then there is no problem. Yes?”
“Uh, um. I see Well, if you think about it, isn’t Aldrich in a similar state?”
“You mean Nell? “It’s completely different from that kid, but um… you could say that we’re similar in concept.”
“I’m more surprised by our group who saw that and said there was no problem.”
“Professor, I guess I’ve gotten used to it after hanging out with that guy.”
“That would be correct. Destroying the Wind Mage’s home in Wuthering Heights, being reborn from her severed arm, and being reborn in the soul of a saint… Ugh, compared to that, it’s like raising another soul in her body.”
“I understand. “I understand with sad certainty.”
[Is this the ‘adaptation by sequentially delivering shocks’ that you mentioned? You’re not in a position to say anything to me?]
‘Uh… um…’
Seeing the group clearly accepting it so well… I felt a little sorry. A completely different personality pulls out the arms and head from the body of a colleague I had been with for several months, and I thought, ‘That guy could do that.’ What kind of life have I thrown them into?
“Ugh. The warrior is like that. “Let’s eat, everyone.”
“Hmm. Is that so? ah. Otman, I took care of your meal. “I saw the aquatic plants that burst from the balloon earlier flowing out.”
“Oh, thank you. “Anyway, if everything I had dried had burned, it would have been difficult to take it all with me… This is a shame.”
“Please take out a piece of charcoal at my feet. Yeah, that one. “I ran out of everything I was using.”
In no time, the group returned to their usual selves.
Even though I fell from the clouds and saw new heads sprouting from the bodies of familiar members-
Anyway, the forest filled with cool, refreshing air was peaceful, and perhaps because the shock had passed, it was a morning where the sound of leaves rustling in the wind and the sound of a bonfire felt particularly quiet.
“What about the letter? Hey, Professor. “Is it necessary?”
“My heart overflowed with joy and I received it. “I’ll stay here until I build a cart to transport the cargo, so you can just use it as firewood.”
“That’s right. Notum, throw everything in.”
“Gwok. I get it. Woooo…. this is not it. The horny woman of red legend. This looks expensive. “You like it.”
At least, that was until Notum found a brilliant letter among the letters, saying it was a gift.
“Notum! How many times have I told you not to call me that…?”
Small, luxurious stationery. Unlike other letters, it wasn’t wet, was wrapped with silk string, and even had a subtle scent, so it certainly looked expensive.
Lucilla couldn’t help but like it.
“Ugh…. Ugh….”
Slurp.
It was the sound of Lucilla, who had been strong even in front of the two-headed, four-armed warrior, fainting.
The letter Notum held out bore the emperor’s clear seal.
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fantasy,
