Ch.34Departure (1)

“How am I supposed to get out of here…”

I fell into deep contemplation as I sensed the crowd gathering outside the waiting room door.

I had tried to move as quickly as possible to slip away before people started gathering, but by the time I reached the waiting room, people had already been crowding outside the door for quite some time.

Since I came out right after finishing my match, it meant those who had been waiting outside either stopped watching the match partway through or hadn’t watched it at all.

Judging by the noise level, it seemed like a chaotic scene had formed—a mix of people who couldn’t find seats and those approaching me for commercial purposes.

‘If I show myself, it’ll be 100% chaos…’

But if I didn’t leave soon, it would only get more crowded as additional people rushed in after the match ended.

The more I pondered what to do, the more desperately I wished for some perception-blocking item.

As I remained stuck in this dilemma for a while, suddenly the floor beside where I was standing rumbled and opened up.

Just as I thought those people had finally dug a tunnel, the lord appeared.

“I figured you’d be standing here like this.”

“I had no idea you had a hobby of digging through the ground.”

I said this while looking at the floor where the lord had emerged from. Inside, magic lights were installed, illuminating the space, and I could see well-constructed walls.

“This is a secret passage I installed when building this place, anticipating situations like this. Your influence is quite extraordinary, you know.”

“Then shall we talk while moving? If we delay any longer, they seem ready to break down the door.”

The only reason no one had broken in yet was probably because the guards were working diligently.

But as more people gathered, they would eventually reach their limit, so it seemed best to vacate the area and give them a break.

“OPEN THE DOOOOOOOR!!!!!”

See? People outside were already shouting like that.

The lord heard it too, and we quickly descended into the underground passage.

“You did well.”

“It was nothing. I just served as a sort of mascot to draw people in. The challengers were the ones who carried the matches.”

If they had all given up and surrendered—or if not surrendered, at least lost their fighting spirit—such impressive scenes wouldn’t have been possible.

The scenes were created by warriors who charged forward with determination to die and achieved explosive growth.

My position was, well, similar to that of a demon lord from ancient heroic tales.

“You could have finished them all off at once. It’s only right that I thank you for your hard work.”

“Even with such praise, you’re not going to reduce the number of items I can take, are you?”

“I never had such thoughts, so don’t slander me.”

Though the lord said this, I could hear him smacking his lips slightly, suggesting he might have had such thoughts.

“I was just joking. By the way, since we’re on the subject, would it be alright if I collect them now? I’m about to get busy again.”

“I need some mental preparation… No, never mind. If a young person needs it, we’ll head there right away.”

It seemed the lord needed emotional preparation to part with his treasures, but I had no choice.

It was time to finalize my preparations to leave.

‘Once the necromancer’s location is confirmed, I need to move.’

I had already asked Lilly to trace the coordinates. Given her skills, she might have already finished by now.

Since I needed to be ready to leave as early as tomorrow, I could only feel sorry for the lord.

* * *

“You can only take exactly three items, exactly three…”

The lord spoke with a trembling voice, worried I might take a few extra items.

“I know, don’t worry.”

I briefly reassured the lord and looked around the treasure vault.

The vault wasn’t particularly large, and there weren’t many precious metals either.

Though called a treasure vault, it was more a storage place for the lord’s youthful collections rather than accumulated wealth.

‘Of course it seems small when compared to temple relic repositories or imperial and royal treasuries.’

Several useful items caught my eye in the vault. Among them, artifacts stood out the most.

First was a pendant with perception-hindering magic—exactly what I had been wishing for earlier. Then there were shoes with short-distance blink magic embedded in them.

‘The shoes seem to be rechargeable. Looks like three uses total… recharges once every 30 minutes. And they adjust to fit the wearer’s size, which is good.’

Call it luck or perhaps the result of the lord’s youthful adventures—I could quickly pick items I could use. With each item I took, the lord’s expression grew sadder, but I tried my best to ignore it.

“One item left…”

Having quickly found the first two items, I was struggling to find something else I liked. Then an object caught my eye.

‘That’s…’

A great bow with a presence that stood out even among the other items here.

Not only was the material exceptional, but each enchantment applied to it was also of the highest quality.

‘Even if I don’t use it, I could sell it and make a profit.’

With that thought, I approached the bow, and there was a reaction from behind me.

A flinch.

A reaction completely different from when I examined other items. With each step I took toward it, I could feel the lord trembling and breaking into a cold sweat.

“I’ll choose something else.”

How precious must it be for someone his age to react like that? After pretending to approach it about 24 times to enjoy his reactions, I moved away from the bow.

“Phew…”

Only then did the lord breathe a sigh of relief.

Still, I hadn’t decided on my final item. It would be nice if there were some elixir, but if he had obtained such a thing, he would have consumed it long ago.

‘Oh, what’s that…’

As I circled the treasure vault for about the fourth time, one item caught my attention.

It was so small and not properly displayed that I only noticed it belatedly.

“A bead… is it?”

I looked at the lord with an expression asking what this item was for.

More precisely, I was asking where it came from. It wasn’t something one would just pick up while passing by.

“That… certainly… Ah, I remember. I received it from a fox beastkin in the past, who said it was their treasure.”

“I’ll take this.”

“I don’t know what effect it has, but if that’s fine with you, I have no objection. Just know there are no refunds.”

“I have no intention of returning it, so don’t worry.”

I looked at the lord with curiosity. I had thought he might have been famous in the past, but I didn’t expect he had even been a savior to the fox tribe.

Fox Bead.

It was a bead created once every hundred years in the fox tribe, managed exclusively by their leader. It was also given as a gift to those who saved the fox tribe.

The effect of the bead was simple and clear: if the owner faced a life-threatening situation, the bead would save them once at the cost of its destruction.

‘Though it might not work in certain situations, it’s the best item as an extra life.’

Even if you had an elixir, you couldn’t use it if you died instantly from an ambush or fatal wound. But the fox bead activated automatically, making it unparalleled in this regard.

“Have you chosen everything?”

“Yes, thanks to you, I’ve collected plenty of good items.”

“Then get out quickly, I’m closing the door.”

Worried I might change my mind about the bead, the lord shooed me out of the vault and locked the door.

‘If he knew what this was, he might beg me to exchange it.’

But what’s good is good, and from the lord’s perspective, this seemed better, so I didn’t say anything more.

“Then I’ll be going.”

“Take care of my treasures. I don’t know what you’re setting out to do, but while you’re at it, promote the arena too.”

* * *

“Lilly, have you finished calculating the coordinates?”

“Of course, I finished that long ago.”

I had already purchased all the necessary items for departure and stored them in my robe.

Since Lilly had also confirmed the coordinates in the return stone, our departure preparations were complete.

“Since we’re heading that way anyway, we can just leave.”

“Shall we go then?”

I stretched and looked up at the sky. If everything until now had been a tutorial, from now on was the main game.

The main story, so to speak, awaited me.

‘The difficulty will increase too.’

Still, I had made all possible preparations, so what remained was to overcome challenges with my own skills.

“Did you tell the guild you’re leaving?”

“I told Elena, so don’t worry.”

“What about Kaiden?”

“Elena will tell him.”