Chapter 120: Rising to Fame

Chapter 120: Rising to Fame

Darkwill lay there, momentarily forgetting to get up. His mind seemed completely blank.

Ever since his body had matured, he had basically never experienced anything like tripping himself. After taking potions, every aspect of his body had improved to a certain degree, making that even more true. Yet today, he had somehow fallen for no reason at all. It was simply incomprehensible.

Did I step on something just now? Darkwill abruptly came back to himself, pressed a palm to the ground, flipped over, and stood as though the person who had just fallen had not been him.

He looked left and right, but saw nothing strange on the ground. Filled with doubt, he painfully moved a few steps forward and picked up the milky-white die.

Just then, a patrolling officer seemed to notice the abnormality. Holding a short club and pressing a hand to his revolver, he trotted over.

Seeing this, the fat Apothecary Darkwill suddenly grew worried, suspecting that he had stepped into a trap:

“They captured the old man but never came looking for me because they were secretly monitoring me and waiting for me to discover the clue?

“Now that I have this strange die, they urgently came out?

“An official Beyonder is here to capture me?”

Darkwill’s instinctive reaction was to turn and run. But the earlier fall had been rather heavy, and his knees hurt badly. For a moment, he could only move in small steps.

Seeing the patrolling officer draw closer and closer, while he wanted to run but could not, Darkwill’s mind abruptly surfaced with an underground prison, an environment lit forever only by candlelight, and Beyonders locked in nearby cells who panted violently in the dimness like monsters…

“What happened?” the patrolling officer asked cautiously from some distance away, hand still pressing his handgun.

An irresistible terror suddenly surged within Darkwill. His wrist trembled, and the milky-white die he had just picked up fell to the ground again, rolling several times.

This time, the red six pips faced upward.

Under the officer’s scrutiny, Darkwill answered in a trembling voice, “I stepped on a damned banana peel and fell.”

The moment he said it, his heart gave a thump, because there was no banana peel on the ground at all.

Damn it. I was too nervous. It would have been better to just say I tripped over myself… Darkwill thought in annoyance.

He decided to summon the owl waiting on the opposite rooftop and prepare for a desperate last struggle.

The patrolling officer glanced down, gave a light laugh, and said, “Do not forget to watch your feet when you walk. I thought someone had robbed you just now.”

He released his hand from the revolver, held his short club, and walked back.

“…” Darkwill stared blankly at the officer’s receding back, completely unable to understand how the man had simply believed his excuse full of obvious mistakes.

He withdrew his gaze and looked toward the milky-white die lying quietly on the ground. His brows gradually furrowed.

I am not a pure Loenese. These officers do not need to please me… Could it be that it was taking effect? Whether my strange fall or the bizarre way I convinced the officer, both were its effects? Is this the item my teacher safeguarded, that important Sealed Artifact? Darkwill swiftly made the connection. Carefully and cautiously, he moved forward, picked up the die again, and put it back exactly as it had been into that extremely small ring box. Inside the box, the die had no room to turn at all.

After giving his owl a look, Darkwill picked up the News Report he had bought earlier, hailed a rental carriage, and limped aboard. His destination was the Red Theater.

During the steady carriage ride, because night had already fallen and the gas streetlamps on either side were far apart, very little light could enter. He did not rush to study the ring box and the die inside it. He patiently waited until he returned home.

Entering the herbal shop and going up to the living area on the second floor, he lit the gas wall lamp, drove the stupid bird out of the room, and sat at his desk, repeatedly checking the ring box and the milky-white die.

Finally, he pulled a folded piece of paper no larger than half a finger joint from the hidden compartment at the bottom of the ring box.

Darkwill inhaled soundlessly and quickly unfolded the paper, discovering three passages written in ancient Feysac:

“If I have not appeared three days after the agreed time, then I must have been betrayed and unfortunately captured. Therefore, do not rashly seek help from other members of the School, because I cannot confirm who did it. That would bring you great danger.

“There is only one thing you need to do: take that die to Oravi Island and hand it to Bellringer Carnot in the port city. My teacher, Councilor Ricciardo, is hiding there. He will handle what follows.

“Do not worry that I will leak this secret. Once I finish writing this letter, all memories related to it will be completely erased. I will not even remember you as my apprentice until I am rescued. Remember: try not to use that die. It possesses a certain living quality. The more you use it, the easier it will be for it to awaken and turn itself when you are not paying attention, even if there is no space. Once it fixes on ‘1,’ believe me—you will suffer worse than immediate death, because almost everything you do will fail, including your favorite bed exercise.”

So this die really is dangerous… Darkwill instinctively sighed. Then he realized he had done something foolish out of good intentions.

In order to rescue his teacher, Roy King, he had overcome his timidity, remained in Bayam, and sent requests for help to the Life School of Thought members he knew.

According to the contents of this letter, that meant he had very likely been noticed by the very person who had betrayed Roy King!

“Why did he not say this earlier? No, why did I not think earlier of buying this die?” Darkwill raised both hands and tugged at the hair on either side of his head.

He no longer dared stay here. He decided to move that very night, buy a black-market ship ticket that same night, and leave for Oravi Island the next morning. Oravi was an island on the Rorsted Archipelago–Toskat route.

“My charms, my handgun, my bullets…” Darkwill busily counted the items that could give him a sense of security, worrying over his lack of sufficient combat strength.

Very soon, he had an idea. He paced back and forth, muttering, “I need to hire a bodyguard. A bodyguard…”

Who should he hire? How much money should he spend? As Darkwill thought, his gaze swept over the News Report he had brought back.

Suddenly, he thought of an excellent bodyguard candidate:

Gehrman Sparrow!

A powerful adventurer who could hunt down a great pirate with a 5,400-pound bounty!

If he is willing to accept this mission, then as long as it is not a Councilor making a move, I should be able to reach Oravi Island safely… How can I find him? Right! Put up notices in the bars where adventurers often appear! Darkwill gave an almost invisible nod, stuffed a few items back into the luggage he had previously packed, brought the plump owl, and once again left the herbal shop with heartache.

…

Outside the waters of the Rorsted Archipelago, in a small Loen port, the Black Death was docked without the slightest concern, surrounded by three ships.

Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy, who had just taken a hot bath, wore a loose men’s shirt and was performing the final treatment on a wound that had mostly healed.

For a Demoness, things like acne marks and scars did not exist.

At that moment, the blond maid knocked and entered the captain’s cabin after receiving permission.

She glanced at Tracy. Her face flushed red, and she looked away.

“Captain, Bayam sent a telegram to the harbor here.

“Misor, uh, the third mate was killed.”

Tracy’s movements stopped. Her expression darkened as she hesitantly asked, “Do they know who did it?”

She had sent the Silver-Tongued Misor to Bayam to investigate the assault for two reasons. First, it punished him for his dereliction of duty. Second, it spread the news of her heavy injuries, luring those with malicious intentions into attacking again. She had not expected Misor to achieve any breakthrough within a short time.

After the demigod whom the Unaging Demoness had called the Death Consul came to “visit,” she had deliberately concealed the matter and had not quickly notified Misor, allowing the punishment to continue. If he discovered something, that would naturally be good. If he did not, it would not be too disappointing.

As for whether Misor would encounter danger, she did not care. That was itself part of the punishment.

What she had not expected was for Misor to be killed so soon!

The blond maid handed over the telegram.

“An adventurer named Gehrman Sparrow. It can be confirmed that he used a Beyonder ability similar to Dragon Might.”

“Gehrman Sparrow… Dragon Might… Heh heh. Qilangos also knew Dragon Might. He must have used Creeping Hunger to shepherd a Psychiatrist or Hypnotist.” Tracy accepted the telegram and gave two cold laughs, murmuring to herself.

She could initially confirm that Gehrman Sparrow was the enemy who had disguised himself as Elaine and attacked her. He was using precisely the ability of the Faceless that Qilangos had shepherded.

“Creeping Hunger is with him. Behind him stands an ancient demigod whom Mother called the Death Consul… Does that mean Qilangos was killed by that Death Consul?” Tracy silently muttered, waving the blond maid away.

After the door to the captain’s cabin closed again, she gave a light laugh.

“If I leak this information, the organization that directed Qilangos to assassinate Duke Negan will surely be very interested.”

For a brief moment, she truly had the impulse to do so, but reason stopped her.

Because that would mean directly offending that Death Consul!

And since the other party had clearly only been recognized once, suspicion for the leaked information could immediately lock onto her.

When that time comes, unless I hide by Mother’s side, the shadow of death could fall over me at any moment… I do not need to fear other saints so much. If they want to attack me, they first have to find me, and there would be certain signs. They would need no small amount of time to come over, and I would have enough chances to avoid danger. But that Death Consul can travel through the spirit world. As long as he can determine my location, he can appear beside me very quickly… Tracy bit her lip, thinking gloomily.

She gave up on the plan from earlier and decided only to watch Gehrman Sparrow’s movements. If a good opportunity appeared, she absolutely would not let it pass.

At that moment, Klein was still living in Tiana Inn, waiting for the bounty to be paid.