Prologue 9
Prologue 9
Three soldiers up ahead. Five slaves to the right. They’re going to clash.
I navigated through the chaos by using 【World Ruler】. We moved behind the rubbles of collapsed buildings and avoided the soldiers and slaves who were fighting. We could only hope that no one would care about an old man and a child.
There was only one entrance to the mine. It was narrow, lined up with wooden barricades, and, naturally, had many soldiers guarding it.
Over 50 slaves and a mixed force of 100 soldiers and adventurers clashed.
「Wow…」
The sound of swords colliding and flashy magic attacks filled the spot near the entrance.
Although there were many strong slaves, the defense force, which was superior in terms of numbers and locational advantage, had the upper hand.
I was momentarily stunned seeing people attacking each other violently, the screams, and the thick smell of blood. However, I quickly came to my senses.
Is it possible to slip through the confusion? –No, even a mouse couldn’t slip through their defense line. Should I attack the weakest point in their line? –No, with my physical ability, I can’t take down even the weakest adult in this place. Should I jump across from somewhere higher? –No, I can’t do that while carrying the old man.
Calculations were happening quickly in my head. That was also possible because of the existence of 【World Ruler】. Information flowed in as naturally as breathing, and my mind processed them.
「…Boy. I mean, Reiji-kun. This seems to be the end.」
「It’s not over yet. I haven’t shown you the sun.」
Unfortunately, the exit to the cave was facing west. Beyond the defense line is a forest with thick trees obscuring the view, but I can see orange light bouncing off the top of the trees – the sun’s rays.
Only a little more. A little more and we can escape from this place.
Is there no other way? Answer me 【World Ruler】!
The skill was silent, however.
I have learned from my very short usage period of the skill that this skill isn’t responsive. It just fully tells me about the surrounding information from what I see, hear, and smell. It doesn’t tell me about what I can’t see, can’t hear, and can’t smell.
What to do with that information is my job. I have to come up with ideas, but it also tells me the success rate of those ideas.
「It’s better to give up… you might be able to do it if you went alone. If you get caught, I’ll talk to them so that you won’t be tortured.」
「…Old man Hinga. Living an illusion and being robbed of the ability to think… isn’t that in itself a torture?」
「!!」the old man was taken aback, still leaning on me for support.
My arms supporting him have started to tremble. I was gradually reaching the limits of my strength.
「You really… have changed… Like an entirely different person.」
Rather than having changed, I just have another personality.
「Fine, guess I’ll go along with you till the end. I don’t know if you can do it, but I can give you an idea.」
「An idea?」
「Look at the upper part of the entrance. There is a spot covered with a cloth, right?」
The entrance was made of stacked rectangular stones which looked like bricks, but the top part was bare rock surface. And there certainly was an unnaturally large cloth attached to it.
「That part collapsed and formed a hole many years ago. They made temporary repairs, but that was all.」
「…Which means, if we hit it, it might collapse?」
「Exactly.」
「………」
If there is a spot behind the cloth where I can make a hole – isn’t it worth a shot?
There was no answer from 【World Ruler】. Is it because I can’t see the spot hidden behind the cloth?
「Please wait here, old man Hinga.」
「…All right.」
When I lowered the old man under the shadow of a building, the old man grimaced in pain. The old man’s complexion was beyond pale. How bad is the wound? How long does the old man have left?
【World Ruler】 knew the answer. The old man had no more than 30 minutes left. Not only was the wound deep, the old man had also lost too much blood. And his body temperature was dropping rapidly.
I ran through the blind spots of the people fighting and pulled out a sword from the waist of a dead soldier. Heavy. Are adults always swinging around something this heavy…?!
My target was only one.
The person who was hiding a little further back from the fighting, and also someone I knew — the auntie from the cafeteria.
「Tsk, what a bunch of crap. Getting stopped so close to the exit… Move your asses and crush the soldiers already. These slaves are worthles– ?!」
「Don’t move.」
I slipped behind her and held the sword horizontally right next to her neck.
Despite having acquired magic, it seems that she still hasn’t found a way to escape.
By the way, I didn’t see Lark anywhere, so she must have left earlier.
「If you move, I’ll swing the sword. If it only cuts your face, you’ll still be okay, but if it cuts your neck, you die.」
「Y-Y-Y-You… are that creepy black-haired kid…」
「I have only one request.」
I pointed to the cloth above the entrance.
「I want you to hit that spot with your magic.」
「I have only a little bit of mana left. I can’t simply listen to your whims…」
「I see. That’s unfortunate..」
I moved the sword closer, touching the auntie’s neck.
「I-I understand! I should just shoot, right?!」
The auntie held both hands toward the cloth at the top of the entrance. The surrounding air swirled around and a basketball-sized mass of flames was shot. The flames illuminated the backs of the slaves, the pointy helmets of the soldiers, the puzzled faces of the adventurers, and hit the cloth. The impact caused the flames to scatter, and the cloth burned into pieces. At the same time, the wall crumbled and collapsed. A clear view of the sky in the west was opened up.
A few soldiers got crushed under the sudden collapse of rocks, and the adventurers fled. The slaves rushed towards the remaining soldiers, and the defense line finally collapsed.
「Holy! I am the one who did that! Isn’t that amazing?!」
The auntie was screaming, but I was already back to the old man.
「…You did well.」
「Yes.」
The wound had opened up too much. Although we were so close, the old man’s face was deathly pale.
「Let’s go. It’s just around the corner.」
I lent my shoulder as support and started walking while trying not to think about the shadow of death looming over the old man. I felt almost no warmth from his body. The old man’s body was trembling and each breath was getting shorter.
Am I doing something wrong? If I didn’t take the old man, would he be healed after the riot was suppressed? Or should I have looked for someone who can use healing magic?
I got information from 【World Ruler】 that his time limit was almost up.
…So much for a 10-star Overlimit Skill Orb. It couldn’t even save an old man’s life…
…But I know. I’m the one at fault. I couldn’t master this skill. I feel there could’ve been a better solution because I wasn’t using the information obtained through 【World Ruler】 effectively.
「…My molar teeth is a fake.」
「Ha? What are you saying?」
The defense line was already broken, so soldiers and adventurers were chasing slaves who had fled. I saw several soldiers entering the cave with the corpses of their companion and the ones on the verge of death. There was no one near the entrance — except the corpses of the fallen slaves.
「I have a rare ore called Phosphorus stone hidden in my teeth. Once I die, take it with you… You can make some good money by selling it.」
「…Is it something like your parting gift?」
「Nothing that great…」
We avoid the fallen barricade and proceed while not stepping on the corpse.
A clean and fresh breeze blew on my face.
「Ah…」
I raised my head and saw a tree growing in front of me. When I looked up, there was the blue sky. I finally… escaped from the mine.
「Soldiers come and go on this road. Let’s move over there.」 the old man said, pointing to a small path to the north running parallel to a steep cliff. I walked north together with the old man.
「If you ever meet my grandchild, can you tell her that I died without holding a grudge until the end?」
「Your grandchild?」
「Her name is Lulusha. Unlike me, she is a very intelligent and lovely girl.」
The old man’s voice became softer. His legs can’t even walk anymore and just seemed like being dragged.
We slowly climbed uphill at an incredibly slow pace. There was a boulder a little further ahead and a small open space on the other side. And I could see the glare of the morning sun reflected from the boulder.
We slowly but surely approached that spot.
After the contract magic was released, too many things rushed into my head, and to be honest, my brain was very confused. But right now I stopped thinking. I was walking with the utmost care with old man Hinga so that we wouldn’t fall down by mistake.
「Ohhh…」
First the old man’s toes touched the sunlight, then his gray hair, followed by his face and upper body, until his entire body was basking in the morning sun.
This was also the first time I’ve seen the morning sun since I came to this mine. Since we climbed uphill, we were above the trees. The burning red sun was rising over the ocean-like forest. The sun dyed the clouds red, blessed the forest with its light, and wrapped us in its warm embrace.
「…I exist only to be punished. For I have committed a sin that I can’t atone for even with my death. But I was blessed to bask in the sun’s embrace in my final hour. O God who governs heaven and earth, I pray that you grant blessings unto this poor child…」
When I raised my head as I heard his prayer, old man Hinga was smiling at me, tears rolling down his cheeks. His wrinkled hand gently stroked my head.
「I wish you all the best in life, Reiji.」
「……Thank you.」
This person is going to die. Right at this moment.
And yet he wished for my happiness.
My nose became runny and tears started oozing out from the back of my eyes, but I held down my emotions.
Strength slipped out of old man Hinga’s body. I fell on my back, unable to catch him. The old man laid lifeless beside me.
I thrust one hand into the old man’s mouth and searched for his molar teeth. I grasped it and pulled it out. It had a distinctly different texture, and a slight blue light leaked out from the discolored yellow teeth. This might be the Phosphorus stone that the old man mentioned.
I threw the false teeth into the leather bag on my waist. Then, I lay the body of the old man on his back and put his hands on his stomach. I gently wiped off the dirt on his clothes and brushed aside the gray hair covering his eyes.
「…Maybe you didn’t feel the same as I did, but for me you were definitely the teacher who taught me about life in this world. I promise to live a life that you would be proud of.」
I closed my eyes and offered a moment of silence.
I heard the chirping of birds flying high in the sky. My body basking in the sun felt pleasantly warm.
「–There are blood trails. There seems to be slaves who fled to the top.」
I heard someone calling out. There was a sign that multiple people were approaching.
I opened my eyes, not looking back the way I came from, I slid down a rocky slope. The forest I was heading to seemed like it would swallow me whole, but I will never return to that mine.