Ch.71Reunion (4)

The air in the Pantheon remained warm and pleasant. The scenery was comfortingly familiar, and the gazes people cast my way weren’t bad either.

They weren’t looking at me like I was a monster. If anything, it was quite the opposite.

So I should have felt good. I should have, but… I couldn’t hide my complicated feelings.

I met my sister.

At first, I had so many things I wanted to say when I finally met her.

That I missed her, that I knew her leaving wasn’t my fault.

That I didn’t resent or hate her, or asking if she had missed me too—things like that.

But when the moment actually came, I couldn’t bring myself to say any of it.

What if she had actually wanted to leave me?

What if she had felt relieved?

That’s why I had no choice but to hide the fact that I was her brother.

If there was even the slightest possibility that she felt that way, I had no other option.

Wanting my only blood relative to be happy was natural from a family standpoint.

Especially for my sister who had given me so much throughout my life.

This must be for the best.

I left my sister’s cabin and walked away, soon spotting a girl approaching me with light steps.

Well, technically a woman who looked like a girl. Anyway.

She rushed up to me and bumped into my chest.

It didn’t hurt. With Melody’s strength being only 8, it couldn’t possibly hurt.

“Are you done talking with your sister?”

When I nodded, Melody took my hand with a smiling face.

When did she grab it?

As I was thinking that she really was a bard, she spoke.

“Well? Was she just like I said?”

Like she said? As I stood there blankly, she clicked her tongue and tapped my arm.

“Your sister, I mean. She’s kind and gentle, right? It wasn’t a problem at all, was it?”

“Ah… certainly. She was easy to talk to.”

In reality, the conversation had been extremely uncomfortable, but if I hadn’t been her brother, it would have been easy.

That must be what Melody meant. She put her hands behind her back and stepped back a couple of paces. Following my direction, she walked alongside me, humming a tune.

Whatever she was thinking about, she seemed to be in a good mood. I wasn’t feeling particularly good myself.

“So, what did you talk about?”

“Just… you know… about the Emperor, and what to do next…”

“Did you talk about me?”

Melody was suddenly looking up at me with wide eyes.

Talk about Melody?

Come to think of it, I don’t think we did. Perhaps because my sister was testing me, and I was too preoccupied with trying to understand her.

I realized then that I hadn’t even properly made small talk with my sister.

“Now that I think about it, we didn’t. The content was quite shocking.”

At that, Melody pushed out her lower lip slightly. She walked a few steps ahead with a disappointed expression.

Now she was leading me instead of the other way around. Past the innermost part of the Pantheon, past the stone tablet carved with a face identical to mine—my father’s—and into the interior.

And there was an elevator.

Something that could only be described as an elevator. But it was different from the elevators on Earth where I used to live—more primitive.

There were no safety devices, just a thick stone pillar that moved up and down by some force.

The platform relied solely on the force of the stone pillar to carry people up to the nest above.

Even now, the stone pillar was shooting up at high speed—perhaps someone was riding it—and then coming back down a moment later.

Was this here all along? If so, it seems like Brock didn’t need to carry me.

Still, I don’t regret riding Brock since the sky I saw was beautiful, but I realized there might be more hidden in this Pantheon and nest than I thought.

“That’s too bad. But we still have plenty of time… what are you going to do now?”

Melody asked in the midst of all this.

I pondered as I boarded the elevator with her.

The elevator somehow recognized something and immediately ascended toward the nest. In the faint sensation of floating, I considered various options.

“I could rest, or I could organize what I’ve newly gained.”

“Newly gained?”

“I realized some things while fighting the Red Beast Hertol.”

Not sure how to explain leveling up, I gave a vague answer, which seemed to intrigue Melody.

“Well, it was a formidable opponent. When we first arrived, I wondered how you were even holding up against it.”

“And of course you get stronger when you fight strong opponents.” Melody chattered happily as she stepped off the elevator when it arrived.

The space that revealed itself was unfamiliar.

Perhaps it was the floor below the room with the teleporter. The wide-open space seemed to extend outside, bordered by clouds and sky.

I savored the sky for a moment before speaking.

“Or I could go back to the city to finish the unfinished business.”

In truth, I was leaning toward this option.

What I realized while talking with my sister was that whoever was behind all this, they were likely connected to the DLC.

And the best way to uncover who was involved with the DLC was to progress through it.

Finding the blue mineral would both help with that process and be directly part of it.

If this were a game, wouldn’t the area first opened by finding the blue mineral be the direction of the DLC story?

“Should I come with you?”

After considering, I shook my head.

“There seems to be a lot to do here too. Take a room upstairs… and help Lady Lucilla.”

Lady. The word suddenly came to mind, but it didn’t feel bad.

Yes, Lady. If I called her that, it wouldn’t be difficult for me, and my sister wouldn’t be able to say anything about it either.

With that thought in mind, I used the term, but Melody froze with her smile still in place.

“…Lady?”

“What?”

Something felt eerie. When I reflexively asked, Melody smiled as if nothing had happened.

“It’s nothing. Take care! I’ll be waiting for you.”

Melody waved her hand with a light laugh. I headed toward the teleporter with an unsettled feeling.

Something felt wrong.

But I couldn’t tell what it was. I finally gave up and headed for the underground city.

*

As Melody said, the Red Beast Hertol was a formidable opponent.

It was only because Melody, an all-around supporter, and in top form at that, stepped in to help.

Without her, it was obvious who would have lost.

And just as fighting a strong opponent helps one grow, I too continued to grow.

Two level-ups, no less.

It was a difficult fight, so I deserved it, but looking at what I gained, I couldn’t simply think that way.

First, what I gained upon reaching level 7 filled my vision.

[Mourning]

[Temporarily become immune to status effects and add your Constitution modifier to attack rolls, damage rolls, and defense rolls.]

[Remaining duration: 60 seconds]

[Mourning 4/4]

First, the number of Mourning uses increased by one.

If I use it at will, I can use it four times a day.

Considering the backlash of Mourning, I wouldn’t use all four consecutively, but it’s good to have more.

Of course, considering what else I gained, I might not need to use this.

[Continuous Commemoration]

[Automatically activates Mourning once every 6 seconds when attacked. This effect can stack, and each stack increases the duration of Mourning by the number of stacks.]

One of the reasons why Mourner is a recommended job for beginners, something the old Mourner also obtained.

Continuous Commemoration.

This was a core skill that improved the Mourner’s low sustainability and compensated for weaknesses.

With this alone, I was no longer constrained by the number of Mourning uses.

And my level even increased once more.

[Name: Luwellin]

[Race: Homunculus]

[Class: Warrior – Mourner 8]

[Reputation: Blood Dark Knight]

[Strength: 22(+6)][Dexterity: 20(+5)][Constitution: 22(+6)]

[Magic: □][Inspiration: □][Charisma: □]

[Play Time: 9,363 hours]

Thus, my level reached 8.

[Martial Arts]

[“Yes, it’s just knowing how to clench your fist and hit properly. But someday, this will save your life.”

-Imperial Army Sergeant Training Center]

[Treats unarmed attacks as weapon attacks with a minimum of 1 point and a maximum of 4 points.

Additionally, adds proficiency bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls for unarmed attacks.]

At level 8, I could choose feats like Deflect that I had already obtained, so I chose Martial Arts for synergy with Mortal.

The effect was somewhat disappointing since I wasn’t a professional fighter, but this was necessary for the martial arts feats I would choose later.

All that remained was to adapt to what I had newly gained and find my other two companions.

That’s why I opened my eyes in the unfamiliar warehouse of the underground city.

The problem was that the scene I saw immediately upon opening my eyes was different.

“…He’s out!”

A thug exclaiming in shock as he saw me.

It wasn’t just a guess. He emitted a faintly sweet yet unpleasant smell.

The smell of blue grapes commonly used in drugs. Accordingly, his consciousness seemed hazy.

In addition, the club at his waist, his muscular build, and the scars beneath—

It would be strange if he weren’t a thug. But he wasn’t alone.

Countless thugs surrounded me.

I couldn’t understand the scene.

It seems they were preparing an ambush by following me, but couldn’t they tell just by looking that I wasn’t an easy target?

I had teleported to this space with something I’d never seen before, and my entire body was covered in black armor.

There was a sword at my waist, and an axe on the opposite side.

Even the largest thug here was smaller than me.

They should have realized the situation was wrong and fled, but they just stood there watching.

I was considering whether to teach them a lesson as I clenched my fist.

Just as I was about to demonstrate my newly acquired martial arts, something close to practical boxing movements—

“W-wait, please wait!”

The thug who had pointed at me in shock as if I were some monster stopped me.

When I turned my gaze toward him from inside my helmet, the thug shrank his shoulders in fear.

He took a deep breath and, despite his fear, spoke as clearly as possible.

“The ‘Alchemist’… has sent a letter.”

The word “alchemist” from the mouth of a drug addict.

And the elegant parchment letter being extended.

I stared at him for a moment before lowering my fist and unfolding the letter.

It was still in characters I couldn’t read. But as my eyes scanned it, the content was overlaid in Korean.

Even so, I could tell. The handwriting in the letter was neat and elaborate, befitting its sophisticated content.

It was excessive and had too many modifiers, making it confusing.

After reading through the letter for a while, I could finally discern what was wanted.

The Alchemist.

One of the three clan members Hertol had last met, and possibly a minion of some unknown entity.

Such a person wanted to meet with me.