A rough sea with crashing waves.
Arrua Raven was currently flying above it.
She was shouting at the top of her lungs, something she hadn’t done in a while.
“Mr. Urikfrit! Hang in there! We’re almost there!”
Below her, Avman was being tossed around on a single plank.
Her heart skipped a beat every time a large wave crashed over him, but there was nothing more she could do.
‘I have to take care of Mr. Avman…’
The other companions had all disappeared when the boat capsized, and she had only found Avman after searching the area.
So she had been following him to keep track of his location…
“Huh?”…but he had disappeared beneath the surface, as if he had lost his grip on the plank.
Raven hurriedly descended.
But she still couldn’t see him.
“Mr. Urikfrit! Mr. Urikfrit!!”
She shouted for a while, flying around, but there was no answer.
She shivered as if she had a chill.
“…No, he’ll be fine.”
Raven then changed her mind and headed towards the shore.
And…
“Found him!”
…she finally found him after searching the area around the shore.
Avman was lying unconscious on the sand, washed ashore by the waves.
“Whew.”
He was breathing properly, and his body temperature didn’t seem to have dropped much.
She first dried his wet clothes and body with fire magic and then waited for him to wake up.
That’s when…
“It’s not the one I was looking for…”
“…….”
“…but this isn’t bad either.”
…a man appeared from the forest.
____________________
My head spun.
Why did this guy have Raven’s ring? No matter how hard I tried to think positively, I couldn’t imagine a good scenario.
But…
“Hey, why do you have Raven’s subspace ring?”
…I asked, holding onto the last shred of hope.
“Explain.”
I used superhuman patience, hoping there was some misunderstanding I didn’t know about.
But the answer I received was different from what I expected.
“I’ll ask the questions first.”
So he wasn’t going to give me the initiative?
Then he chose the wrong time.
“Really?”
“I’ll ask again, what did you do to Lady Rainwale—”
“Then die.”
I pushed off the ground and moved forward.
I judged that I could ask questions after establishing the hierarchy.
“……!”
He stepped back as my body, which had leaped high, expanded rapidly with [Gigantification].
But what a shame.
「Character’s total weight is over 500 kg.」
「The special terrain effect [Recoil] is additionally applied to the damage radius.」
He couldn’t dodge this if he retreated that much.
Kwaaang!
The ground shook and rippled from the landing point.
“Ugh…!”
He was thrown into the air like a spring, as expected of an archer with a slender build.
I immediately dashed towards him, not missing the opportunity.
And I quickly extended my hand, as expected of a barbarian.
That’s when…
「Nebarche Greenhope has cast [Emergency Escape].」
…he disappeared right in front of me like a mirage.
There was no reason to panic.
I quickly scanned my surroundings as if moving a 3D game camera, and I saw him 20 meters away.
Right, as expected, it was a blink-type skill.
He couldn’t go far.
Tadat.
I adjusted my posture in midair.
He was already shooting an arrow, as expected of a high-ranking archer.
Whoosh!
It seemed like he even used a skill, judging by the white light surrounding the arrowhead…
…but it wasn’t a problem.
「Character has cast [Transcendence].」
Bion’s ability, which I obtained as a reward from the royal family.
「The next skill used is enhanced.」
After all, I didn’t get this essence just to use it with [Gigantification].
「Character has cast [Leap].」
「The inherent ability of the skill is unlocked by the power of the Transcendent.」
Transcendence Leap, for short.
The effect was simple.
「Can be used in midair…」
First, it could be used even while airborne, greatly increasing its utility.
And…
「Travel time is greatly reduced.」
…it became faster.
Much faster.
Flash!
The moment I pushed off the ground with my foot…
…I was already in front of him.
With all the effects of [Leap].
Kwaaang!
His body was thrown into the air again, unable to withstand the recoil.
I quickly reached out and grabbed his neck.
“Keugh!”
He groaned in pain.
I didn’t feel any sympathy.
Distance control was an archer’s lifeline.
He had to die for failing to do that properly.
“Die.”
I put strength into my hand that was holding his neck.
I wasn’t too worried about him escaping.
First, most blink-type skills had a long cooldown…
…and even if he escaped with another skill, I could just catch him again.
“Ugh…!”
His struggle intensified.
His neck would probably snap if I applied any more force.
That’s when I came to my senses.
“Hey.”
It wasn’t a good idea to just snap his neck.
I had to at least hear him out.
And if it wasn’t the story I was hoping for, snapping his neck wouldn’t be enough.
Thud.
I loosened my grip, and his body collapsed to the ground. I stepped on his stomach to prevent him from doing anything stupid and bent down.
And I grabbed his wrist…
Crack!
…and broke it instead of his neck.
The wrist of the hand with Raven’s ring.
“……!”
He couldn’t even scream from the pain, his eyes rolling back.
It wasn’t something I should be concerned about.
He had endured enough.
“Where did you get this ring?”
I asked him the same question again.
Although we had both just asked what we wanted to ask earlier…
…it was different this time.
“Wh, what the hell are you talking about?!”
He answered.
Although it wasn’t a proper answer.
“Just answer my question.”
“Ugh…!”
“Where did you get this ring?”
I looked at his frail body as I asked. Although I had already broken his wrist, there were still many parts I could break.
And did he realize that?
“Th, the Kerman Magic Workshop in the 7th district!”
He shouted hurriedly.
“I bought it there!”
It was a completely unexpected answer.
“…What?”
I froze, having been prepared to move on to the next stage of interrogation if he gave me an ambiguous answer like he found it by chance or that he took it but didn’t kill her.
“You bought it…? You didn’t steal it from Raven?”
“I don’t even know who Raven is!”
His voice was filled with genuine indignation.
Although it didn’t seem like he was lying…
…I couldn’t be sure.
Maybe he was a really cunning bastard who came up with this lie.
“Ack, aak!”
I took off the ring after grabbing his dangling hand.
And I opened my subspace pocket and searched inside.
It was full of equipment, consumables, and what seemed to be personal belongings.
I sighed deeply after checking a few things.
‘What, it’s really not Raven’s.’
It wasn’t Raven’s ring.
The proof was that there were no magic reagents, which should have been there. There was no way he would have thrown away all the expensive magic reagents after stealing the ring.
‘Ah, come to think of it, Raven also said she bought it from a magic workshop…’
Right, I trusted her.
Damn right, what kind of woman is she?
There’s no way she would be easily tricked.
“So, so you’re no longer misunderstanding?”
“Right, it seems like you really bought this ring.”
I readily admitted that I was mistaken, as expected of a barbarian whose greatest strength was his honesty. And I took my foot off him, his wrist still broken and wriggling.
“Bu, but why are you putting it in your pocket…?”
Well, that’s one thing, and this is another, right?
This ring was mine now.
After all, people from Noark were treasure goblins.
“Do you have a problem with that?”
“…….”
He expressed his lack of objection with silence.
In other words, the transfer process was complete.
I took all his equipment and weapons and put them in my subspace pocket, and the preparations for a non-violent conversation were complete.
“Who are you?”
I started asking him about his personal information, starting with his name, and what had happened on this island.
He answered everything readily, as if he didn’t want to die yet.
His name was Nebarche Greenhope.
“Your face looks familiar…”
“That’s because we’ve met before.”
“What? You and me? When?”
“When there was a fire in Karnon, the Imperial City.”
I remembered as soon as he said that.
When I encountered the Ruin Scholar, there was a guy who was following him like a lackey.
‘I can’t believe it was him.’
Anyway, it didn’t matter.
It seemed like he didn’t know what the Ruin Scholar and Lee Baekho talked about after they left.
“So, tell me. Everything that happened today.”
I then heard the rest of the story from him, the parts I didn’t hear from the priestess.
First, they were after the blond guy.
“He was originally from Noark. But he betrayed the Lord, stole a treasure, and ran away.”
“Wa, wait a minute. Mr. Drowus was from Noark…?”
“Even his name is fake. It was very difficult to find him because he changed his face and disappeared.”
The priestess stared blankly into space, as if she couldn’t believe it.
Well, I would be the same.
If I suddenly heard that Misha was an evil spirit.
“So what happened to him?”
“He’s dead.”
“Are you sure?”
“It was over there. You can even see the traces of Lady Rainwales disposing of the body.”
Indeed, there were traces of something melted on the ground where he pointed.
Geez, how brutal.
“So what were you doing until now? Where are your companions?”
“One of us stayed behind to chase those who escaped. And I got separated from the guy I was with.”
Hmm, right. So he came back after failing to catch them, and this is the situation now.
‘Wait a minute, then who triggered the event?’
I subtly asked him who destroyed the island’s offering, but I couldn’t get the answer I wanted.
“The sea suddenly changed…? I don’t know either. The ground suddenly started shaking while I was chasing them, and then the surroundings darkened.”
Huh, he doesn’t know either?
This is unsettling.
That’s when, as I was standing there silently, organizing my thoughts…
…he cautiously asked me a question.
“So, what happened to Lady Rainwales? There was no one here when I arrived.”
It was the same question he asked when we first met.
Hmm, did he answer all my questions honestly because he was curious about this?
Although I couldn’t be sure…
Tadat.
…two figures appeared from beyond the bushes just as I was about to answer.
“Erwen! Look! It’s Bjorn!!”
“Ah, mister! You’re here!”
It was Ainar and Erwen.
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