Ch.168Faelm Gorge+

# 168. Paelm Gorge+

“Vice Commander. Are you well?”

“I am well. Except for the fact that I feel like I’m dying from the aftermath, despite surviving the battle without injury.”

“Hearing you say that, I can tell you’re truly fine.”

“Wait.”

“I’ll show them in.”

The Vice Commander’s tent, which I reached following the knight’s guidance, was narrower and messier than I’d expected. However, my impression of the tent improved considerably because of the figure seated at the large desk in the center.

‘Damn, was he this impressive even in the game?’

His massive frame made the chair beneath him seem pitiful. Even his slightest movement exuded an aura that would intimidate those around him. The bloodstains on his body and the scratches on his armor confirmed his claim of handling aftermath work without rest after battle. In contrast, his posture and handwriting reminded me of a calligrapher, and his overwhelming document processing speed emanated a presence impossible to ignore.

“For the safety and peace of the continent.”

“For the safety and peace of the continent.”

The knight stopped at a certain distance, stood at attention, and saluted by striking his right fist against his chest once and his forehead once. The Vice Commander responded casually with his left hand, his eyes still fixed on his documents. The knight continued undeterred.

“Vice Commander. I’ve come with a matter to discuss.”

“Sir Delt. Didn’t I say ‘wait’? Perhaps your ears are injured? Or your eyes? Please spare me a moment.”

“I understand you’re very busy and exhausted, but could you please look up and see what’s in front of you for just three seconds?”

“Three seconds, you say. A harsh demand.”

“If it’s a worthless three seconds, I’ll assist you for three days.”

At the knight’s words, the Vice Commander finally revealed his face.

‘Wow.’

The Vice Commander with his face fully visible looked like… a Western version of that actor who liked truth rooms in that movie.

With tired but piercing eyes, he quickly scanned our group, nodded toward the knight, and suddenly burst into laughter loud enough to shake the tent.

“Sir Delt. I knew I could count on you.”

“I haven’t even explained my business yet.”

“I would have given you three minutes, not just three seconds.”

“That’s fortunate. May I take my leave now?”

“Of course. I’ll remember this favor.”

“Ah. According to them, they claim to have experience defeating demons.”

Before I could decide whether to cover my ears or how to react to this unexpected statement, the knight who had guided us disappeared.

A sudden silence fell.

The Vice Commander set down his pen completely and rested his chin on his interlocked hands before continuing.

“Strong. Very strong. Since I don’t recognize your faces, you’re probably not originally from this fortress. Unless you’re gods descended to the mortal realm, you must be adventurers.”

‘Well, the guild members are goddesses.’

“Adventurers who defeated a demon, you say. Is that true?”

“Yes, a demon named Iseratio, the Hellfire Demon, appeared in Magicant, and we dealt with it. Magicant was burned and destroyed extensively. It will take a long time to recover its former glory, if it ever can.”

“Magicant. Magicant, you say.”

The Vice Commander let out a short groan.

“Asking adventurers about their origins is rather pointless. So I’ll ask directly. Why are you here?”

A simple yet difficult question.

I couldn’t just say we didn’t choose to come here, but that the sixth floor happened to be this place. The Vice Commander was at the top of the fortress hierarchy. I needed to choose my words carefully. And even if that weren’t the case, I felt I should speak well. Otherwise, I felt like my waist might snap in half.

“We were following the path like the wind, which led us to Magicant. By chance, a demon appeared there, and we couldn’t just pass by, so we defeated it.”

“You’re saying you simply followed the path and arrived at one of the Seven Forbidden Zones?”

“From your perspective, Vice Commander, my words might sound amusing or absurd, but wherever we go, some incident always seems to occur. No, it’s not that we have any malicious intent causing these incidents—quite the opposite. Our destinations seem to be determined as if guided by something, and whether intentionally or not, we end up resolving these situations.”

“…Ha!”

After a moment of silence at my words, the Vice Commander picked up his pen again and spoke.

“I see. Normally, we’d need to verify what kind of adventurers have rolled in here, but given the timing, we can’t afford to be picky. You’re not demons disguised as humans, are you?”

“Of course not.”

“Just checking.”

With that expression, it wasn’t funny at all, but it seemed to be his attempt at a joke. When I forced an awkward smile, the Vice Commander smirked and rose from his seat. No exaggeration—it felt like he filled the entire space. Had he not been an ally, I would have drawn my weapon immediately.

This imposing figure strode over, firmly gripped my shoulder, and said:

“Well! Adventurers who’ve defeated demons—how reassuring. In that spirit, could you do some reconnaissance for us? There seems to be something wrong with the sealed area.”

“…You mean right now?”

“Right now. Why? Too difficult for you?”

With a build matching Rahan whom we met below (Rahan was an Ayor), and the subtle pressure on my shoulder.

Though his words differed, his expression and atmosphere seemed to say, ‘You defeated demons, and you’re hesitating over something this trivial?’

I sensed it immediately.

This was an extremely condensed version of the ‘NPC verification runaround,’ perfectly aligned with our current situation.

As the quest update message finally appeared, I could only nod, recognizing I was screwed.

“Since this is our first time here, if you could provide a guide who knows the fortress surroundings well…”

“Haha! That’s only natural, isn’t it? I’m not that unreasonable.”

…Says the person who immediately sends us on reconnaissance?

“Rail!”

“Yes, Vice Commander! You called!”

“Fetch Sir Delton for me.”

“Right away!”

**

“Fucking hell, feeding me shit like this.”

“Um, he is the Vice Commander, isn’t he?”

“People curse kings and emperors behind their backs, so what’s a mere Vice Commander?”

The knight who had guided us earlier, Sir Delton, was now leading us across the fortress with an expression like he’d eaten actual excrement. As he showed us around the fortress interior, he spewed curses so colorful that even Sister Yehyun, who normally disapproved of swearing, was listening in a daze.

After continuing to curse while striding forward for a while, Sir Delton rubbed his eyes, heaved a deep sigh, and asked me:

“Hey, adventurer.”

“You can call me Ban.”

“Right, Ban. Being generous, adventuring is fine, but your timing couldn’t be worse.”

“We never imagined we’d encounter and defeat a demon when we went to the city of magic towers.”

“That’s not what I mean. That Vice Commander is truly nasty. Even for a test… shit. Listen, Ban. How much do you know about Paelm Fortress?”

“I know it’s a fortress built in Paelm Gorge, one of the Seven Forbidden Zones, and that allied forces gathered from across the continent are stationed here to prevent something dangerous.”

“Right. Something dangerous.”

“For the safety and peace of the continent!”

“For the safety and peace of the continent. Delt plus seven people and one creature. Reconnaissance mission. Direct order from the Vice Commander. Here.”

“…Understood! Wishing you a safe return!”

“Right. Ah, where was I?”

“Something dangerous.”

The massive fortress gate opened and quickly closed behind us. Though the scenery on the opposite side hadn’t immediately changed, there was a sense of eeriness.

“The problem is that this ‘something dangerous’ is extremely dangerous. Dangerous enough that over a hundred elite knights, mages, and priests from the fortress die or are severely injured every year.”

“…”

“It’s so bad that surviving one year earns you the title of veteran, three years makes you a living legend, and five years practically makes you a god around here. The elites of this place, monsters in the good sense of the word, who deal with creatures running rampant… they suffered heavy losses in this recent incident.”

Sir Delton’s tone was so much heavier than before that I found it difficult to ask immediately. But then Yuri, who must have been itching to speak, finally opened her mouth.

“This recent incident?”

“This?”

In response, Sir Delton wiggled his pinky finger at Yuri. Instead of answering, Yuri grabbed my arm and pressed her lips against mine. Sir Delton whistled softly.

“Whew, quite a passionate lady, befitting an adventurer.”

“You’re quite passionate yourself, Sir Knight! So what happened in this recent incident? I think we should know if we’re going on reconnaissance.”

‘Nice one, Yuri.’

As Yuri asked with a chuckle, Sir Delton, seemingly not displeased, smiled and answered.

“To summarize, cracks have appeared in the seal, causing stronger monsters than usual to suddenly emerge, resulting in heavy casualties among our forces.”

“The seal is cracking?”

“That’s what the mages and priests speculate. To confirm, we need a proper investigation, but that’s impossible right now. So while there’s little chance you’ll discover everything at once, they’re using your party. Since we can’t investigate on our own in this situation, they’re taking advantage of the adventurer party that supposedly defeated a demon.”

“So—”

“So I’m screwed because of you guys. When I might die suddenly at any moment, who cares if I curse my superior? Am I wrong?”

Sir Delton, who had been snickering, suddenly frowned severely and drew his sword.

“This isn’t within their usual activity range… but we’ve already got phantoms appearing?”

About 30 minutes after arriving at Paelm Fortress.

We encountered a monster.