WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

Wizard of the Abyss

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 104 - Choice (1)

There were a few things I learned while staying here.

In the end, even Scarlet Abyss was a place where people lived.

I didn’t really find out much about the Upper Tiers though.

"Did you say Undercurrent?”

"?"

It was my seventh mission.

Sunken Mire only had 500 World-Sealing Elixirs in total, so when we went to find one of the other warehouse guys who supposedly carried several thousand, he suddenly spoke to us.

Until now, the other warehouses had simply taken the proof of mission completion (the first proof had been Lemin’s head), handed over the World-Sealing Elixirs without saying a word, and left. This was the first time something like this happened.

When I glanced back, Sunken Mire swallowed nervously and retreated.

The meeting place was an open plain. Even when I spread my Tide Sense, I couldn’t sense any people lying in wait for an ambush.

Confident, I accepted the conversation.

"I tried to come up with a name following the way you people name yourselves. Is there any problem with it?”

"No. It’s not like I’m in a position to say anything.”

The man, who looked like a wrinkled old man in his seventies, stared straight at me, then suddenly said something strange.

"How many do you take per day?”

"...?"

"World-Sealing Elixirs. Seeing how you keep repeating missions that risk your life, it looks like you need quite a lot.”

What was he on about?

"I don’t take any.”

"Hmm, it seems like you don’t want to tell me.”

The old man slowly nodded, then continued.

"Vile Blood has acknowledged you. Apply for missions with rewards under 3000 Elixirs.”

Only after the old man left did I ask Sunken Mire, who had been quietly trembling behind me, what this was about.

"What was that guy talking about?”

"V-Vile Blood is a member of the strongest assassination squad of the Lower Tiers.”

"What does he want with me?”

"Vile Blood recruited you, Sir Undercurrent, into his faction! This is amazing. It hasn’t even been two weeks yet…”

Sunken Mire made a fuss as if it were her own achievement.

"With Vile Blood, even missions in the 10,000 range are easy. Limiting it to under 3,000 this time means that you’ll soon be doing those kinds of missions, and this is an entry test to see what kind of person you are…”

"A faction within Scarlet Abyss? I can’t say I’m interested.”

While the members were completely neglected, it could also be seen as having complete freedom.

It seemed that they had formed factions among themselves in the Lower Tier and made a whole show of it.

But honestly, I didn’t really care. The ones I needed to impress were the Upper Tiers.

If I entered some elite group like that, my individual achievements would be buried as part of the group’s. That definitely was the wrong answer.

What I was curious about was something else.

"Then what was that earlier question about how many Elixirs I take per day?”

"Ah, that’s because of the World-Sealing Elixir resistance.”

"...I see."

So that was it. Dercia had said something similar before.

Since it was in the form of a drug, resistance built up every time it was consumed. After all, if one could use it to endure the burdens infinitely, simply distributing World-Sealing Elixirs alone would solve most problems related to the Fallen.

"I heard veteran members have to take dozens every day just to barely suppress their burdens. Of course, some are strong enough to earn even greater rewards, but…most of them are eventually swallowed by their resistance and crushed by their burdens.”

"I see."

No matter how many times I mulled it over, it was clear this system had been running for a very long time.

Scarlet Abyss must have been operating this long before ever stepping onto the front stage.

To create a Fallen like me, to impose burdens upon the world and create even more Fallen.

Dercia had called it a foolish method to reach the Heaven Realm. A desperate struggle by people who believed it could bring them salvation.

'But…'

Something was missing from that logic. Even though everything seemed connected, there was one part that didn’t quite fit.

As I was pondering over that matter, Sunken Mire cautiously spoke up.

"S-so… Are you really going to refuse?”

"Huh? Refuse what?”

"Vile Blood’s offer. If you accept it, you really wouldn’t have to worry about getting World-Sealing Elixirs anymore…”

"I don’t really need them… No, wait.”

I handed all the World-Sealing Elixirs I had just received from the warehouse guy to Sunken Mire.

"Hold onto these. You can take them if you need to.”

"Yes… What? Huh???”

"But let’s make one promise. Even if your life is in danger…”

"I’ll do it! I’lldoitI’lldoitI’lldoit!”

"...No, listen until the end. Even if it’s a life-threatening mission, you have to always put down your name, no questions asked. And if the missions require four people, make your friends put their names down as well. Lastly, even if I occasionally give you strange orders, you must follow them immediately.”

"Understood!!”

Sunken Mire barely even listened.

Well, without the World-Sealing Elixir, it was practically the same as death for her. For someone who almost died just from losing a single pill, this was an offer she couldn’t refuse.

Leaving that foolishly grinning girl behind, I realized that before the next mission, the promised time was approaching.

"Scarlet Abyss doesn’t have a real headquarters or anything like that, right?”

"No. If we had something like that, we’d get caught. And more importantly, most members can’t stay together anyway.”

"Why’s that?”

"World-Sealing Elixirs are extremely scarce. No matter how much a member has, they have to keep doing missions nonstop just to survive.”

"...What does that have to do with what you said before?”

"Well, actually, there’s actually an easier way to get the pills than missions.”

Sunken Mire shrugged.

She didn’t continue, but I could guess. It meant that killing weaker members was a far easier way to obtain World-Sealing Elixirs.

I’d heard about it before, but it really seemed there was no sense of camaraderie among the members.

"I’m especially at risk since I’m a warehouse, even if only a small one. I wouldn’t hand them the stuff I store even if I died… But they wouldn’t care about that. They’d just kill me and then try to find a way to pull the items out of my swamp.”

"There’s not even a trace of solidarity as members of the same organization. Then again, if there were, you wouldn’t have tried to haze me the moment you saw me.”

"I'll guide you to a nearby place to stay!”

As soon as the conversation turned unfavorable, Sunken Mire immediately changed the subject.

When I opened the book to report that I finished my last mission, a new one appeared as if it was meant to be seen by me like this.

[Abduction of a Dark Magic Tower apprentice]

[Special notes: None.]

[Quantity: 3000.]

[Equal.]

[9/10]

"...Hah."

Several other names appeared below, only to be erased almost instantly.

As if they were waiting for someone specific.

From the request itself to the quantity of pills, it was so blatant it wasn't even funny.

I quietly closed the book and followed behind Sunken Mire.

They could wait forever.

***

Night, a small hut somewhere on the plains.

While Sunken Mire was asleep, I slipped outside the rear mountain that we were using as a hideout.

I then scratched off the transparent sheet stuck to the back of my hand and let it scatter into the howling wind.

"..."

I waited about 30 minutes in this place.

Several hawks flew in from the sky, and one of them began circling above my head.

[Caaw—]

A crow.

A crow nearly as large as my own body slowly descended and landed on the ground with a thump.

[Caaaw.]

Without flinching at the monstrous crow’s black eyes, I immediately opened the book and showed it the mission section.

"This is the list of missions Scarlet Abyss is currently handing out.”

[...]

The crow blinked, pretending to skim through the book, then let out a croaking sound as it looked up at the sky and shook its beak.

[Ah, ah— can you hear me?]

"...Yes."

[That’s a relief. It’s been a while since I last used animal manipulation, so controlling it isn’t easy.]

"What star magic is that?”

It was my first time seeing a manipulation-type spell like this. It was truly fascinating.

[It’s a 6-star spell. More importantly… Hmm. These aren’t particularly serious missions.]

"I agree."

I nodded in agreement with Dercia, who had taken the form of a crow.

Of course, they were all terrifying acts. Abducting apprentices, eliminating rival organizations, destroying magic tower barriers, and so on.

Even carrying out just one would be a horrific act of terror that would draw the Empire’s attention.

However—

"These are probably matters that don’t really matter.”

[It seems that even within Scarlet Abyss, the truly important missions are carried out independently by the executives.]

"About that…”

I explained to her the internal ecosystem of Scarlet Abyss that I had heard about from Sunken Mire.

The structure divided into Upper and Lower Tier. And what kind of food chain had been formed.

Dercia, who had been listening silently, bobbed her head (or beak) in admiration.

[World-Sealing Elixir, is that what they call those pills? They certainly seem effective as a means of controlling those called Fallen.]

"However, there’s something strange."

[What is it?]

"So… Their goal is to create Fallen and recruit them, right? But once they do recruit them, it doesn’t look like they take much interest in them afterward.”

They more or less left the Lower Tiers to be preyed upon and die.

It was like a deranged fisherman obsessed with catching fish, only to toss the caught fish onto the roadside to let them rot.

"Of course, Fallen with high value, including those with Great Realms, are brought into the Upper Tier and put to use… but even if they succeed in spreading the Three Calamities’ burdens across the entire world and create countless Fallen, the majority of them would be treated like this.”

[That seems likely.]

"If I think about it simply, they might just run a human lottery or something. Confirm they’re a Fallen, and if their Realm isn’t strong, discard them. But even then, I don't understand their purpose. I get that they want to gather strong Fallen, but for what reason? I understand they aim to reach the Heaven Realm, but what do they intend to do once they reach it? How do they plan to overcome their burdens? Hmm…”

[Hmmm.]

Dercia clicked her beak, cooling down my overheated thoughts.

[First, calm yourself. At present, we lack even the bare minimum of information needed for such considerations. Thinking further will only lead to confusion. For a proper analysis, you’ll need to reach the Upper Tier you mentioned. You must go there and obtain real information. There still seems to be much you need to learn even among the Lower Tiers.]

"For example?"

[How one falls—I would like to know more about that as well. And information about the Three Calamities.]

"True. Sunken Mire didn’t seem to know much, but another one might. I’ll look into it.”

[Of course, the most important question right now is whether reaching the Upper Tier is possible... What do you think?]

"It’s definitely possible."

I answered with confidence.

"The level of these missions is relatively low. The ones in the thousands would be difficult, but Sunken Mire, the warehouse I have secured, has almost no combat ability. By clearing 2-person missions, it seems entirely possible to draw their attention."

[I had similar thoughts.]

With the restrictions on my power somewhat lifted, I could now fully unfold my Realm. At this level, most missions were manageable.

It was only a matter of time until I received a summons from the Upper Tier.

[Well then, Jern. Let us meet again at this time next week. I will relay everything we discussed today to the princess.]

"Understood. And if possible… Elisia and Linmel—”

[...I may have to secretly visit them later.]

"Yes."

Dercia didn’t say such things lightly.

I steeled my resolve and watched Dercia fly away.

"About two months…maybe."

I looked through the book, checking all of the most difficult missions that could be handled by two people.

One week.

That was how long it took to receive a recruitment offer from the so-called strongest assassination squad of the Lower Tiers.

Then for the Upper Tiers, especially for someone like me, who had already caught Decay’s eye, how long would it take before they made their move?

"...No, one month."

That should be enough.

I closed the book and returned to the hut where Sunken Mire was sleeping, contemplating about how the Upper Tiers might approach me and how I should respond.

* * *

Time passed.

A little, or perhaps a lot, actually.

"Sir Undercurrent! Vile Blood, Fragrant Thread, and Hidden Needle have begged us to work together with them just once! They promised 20000 World-Sealing Elixirs just for helping out a little with this request! It’s a huge amount, truly huge!”

"..."

"And members who want to become part of Sir Undercurrent’s faction came carrying a whole bunch of World-Sealing Elixirs! What should we do? They each brought 500!”

"..."

"Ah, and recently, for some reason, enraged crows have been throwing embers onto the roof above the manor. It might be the work of other Fallen. Should we look into it?”

"S-Sunken Mire.”

I grabbed onto my dizzying thoughts and called out to her from the courtyard of what used to be a hut and was now a manor.

"Yes?"

Unlike when we first met, her complexion looked several times more vibrant. She was writing something in a book and smiled brightly as she replied.

"Ah, yes. You said you don’t accept factions, right? I turned them all down, but was there anyone you found appealing?”

"...How long has it been since we met?”

"Huh? Umm… about ten months… No, almost a year, right?”

"..."

I was flustered.

Truly, genuinely. I forced myself to swallow that feeling and rubbed my dry face.

...Why?

Just why?

"Has…no one from the Upper Tiers contacted us yet?”

"Huh? Indeed. It’s not like we’ve done anything the Upper Tiers would complain about. We’ve just been diligently doing requests.”

"......"

I-I didn’t receive even a single scouting offer.

There hadn’t even been any contact.

"What is this…?”

"Ah, have you been struggling because there haven’t been many missions lately? Actually, several new 2-person missions were added! What should we do first? Stealing weapons from the princess’ Knight Order? Seizing control of a County’s underworld?”

Instead, I just…

had been committing these acts of terror.

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