Chapter 49: Twisted Things (4)

The dungeon where space and time are warped.

I’ve conquered it several times in the game.

‘This is the first time I’ve seen someone who looks exactly like Gyeolbaek.’

I only learned this time that there’s a dungeon beneath the kingdom, so it can’t be helped.

Why doesn’t the game reveal something like this?

‘More importantly, is this man the boss?’

Evan scanned the man who looked identical to Gyeolbaek.

From facial features to physique and aura, everything was the same.

Perhaps because of the black fluid, he just looked a little dirtier than Gyeolbaek?

‘…It seems right.’

The brief information from [Analysis] gave a rough estimate.

Incredibly powerful, and not human.

Just similar in appearance.

‘It’s connected to the dungeon again.’

Then, the monster behind the scenes that Gyeolbaek mentioned?

Where did it go?

“You.”

The man who looked exactly like Gyeolbaek stared at Gyeolbaek.

“You are my descendant.”

‘……My ancestor. Do you remember our previous meeting?’

“Previous?”

The ancestor frowned slightly.

“Have you met the past me? When I was trapped here, or after that?”

“After that.”

“Ah, then I wouldn’t know. I am, after all, part of this dungeon…… I have no memories. Unfortunately.”

The ancestor spoke calmly.

“Nameless descendant. You look just like me. Are you the direct heir?”

“I don’t know. My father was a slave.”

“Then it must be fate.”

The ancestor grinned, revealing his teeth.

“I don’t know how my bloodline fell so low, but in the end, you, my descendant, became king…… Was that the destined outcome? Well done, descendant.”

Gyeolbaek showed no reaction, as if he had heard these words before.

Come to think of it, Gyeolbaek was the one who cut down the fallen dynasty and took the throne himself.

True to the Knight Kingdom of Demisia, there was no legitimacy.

Yet the ancestor was a king?

Is this some birth secret?

‘……Ancestor king. I have a question.’

“Oh, you……”

The ancestor turned his head toward the shrine maiden.

“Are you born with the talent to see the stars?”

“…Yes. Though lacking.”

“This place must feel truly stifling. What is your purpose in coming here? It would be best to finish within today. The remaining time is roughly 12 hours…… After that, everything resets.”

12 hours until everything resets.

We had to finish everything within that time.

If we failed, we could get caught in the reset.

“……We are looking for missing persons. They probably fell somewhere in this dungeon. Do you know anything about it?”

“Missing persons.”

The ancestor scanned the village.

“When did they disappear?”

“By estimation, about 2 weeks ago.”

“Then they may already have become part of this dungeon. Or frozen to death. This dungeon embraces everyone.”

The shrine maiden bit her lip.

‘Is that really so? Is there a chance that the monster behind the scenes or something took them?’

“The monster behind the scenes?”

The ancestor tilted his head for a moment.

Ah, he opened his mouth slightly, then nodded as if understanding.

“You mean the monster living underground.”

“Yes. Do you know where…….”

“I killed that monster.”

“!!!”

The shrine maiden’s eyes widened in shock.

The others were the same.

“There is no longer any danger in this kingdom. But…… I couldn’t save my people.”

The ancestor closed his eyes tightly.

“So, if you seek the core of this dungeon, you mean me. If you want to end this infinite cycle, killing me is the answer.”

Killing the ancestor.

‘Can we even kill him?’

The aura from the ancestor was on par with Gyeolbaek at his peak.

He seemed a bit drained, tired, but if he struggled not to die?

Could we do it without any damage?

‘It doesn’t seem possible.’

“…The core.”

Gyeolbaek muttered in a low voice.

“Ancestor, you…… in this infinite cycle, kill the monster behind the scenes to protect the people?”

“……I failed in my duty as king.”

The ancestor still had his eyes tightly closed, but deep guilt was palpable.

“I couldn’t…… stop the awakening, and my people were swept into chaos. They all died horribly by the monster.”

Perhaps in a state worse than now.

The ancestor’s guilt-laden gaze turned to the people.

The people who forcibly survived were smiling and struggling.

As if living itself was a sin.

A king who feels guilt seeing such people…….

“You.”

Gyeolbaek muttered softly.

“You are an excellent king.”

A murmur laden with many meanings.

Is he jealous or something?

No way, Gyeolbaek isn’t some petty guy.

He’s a knight with firm convictions.

‘Anyway, if I can use him, I should.’

From the conversation, he seems a bit kind.

At this level, it’s worth speaking first.

It was a little scary, though!

‘I’m not a petty guy anymore!’

Manly trait: knowing when to step up.

Evan swallowed dryly and opened his mouth.

“Your Majesty.”

“You…….”

The ancestor tilted his head.

“Who are you? A face I’ve never seen.”

“I am Evan Alkart of the Alkart family.”

“Alkart…… Does it have anything to do with the God of War?”

“……No.”

“It must be my mistake. The names are similar.”

To the point.

“We came here to find the missing persons. Since more victims may appear at any time, we also plan to conquer this dungeon.”

His mouth was parched.

Part of it was the cold.

Worry that he might misinterpret Evan’s words.

“Will you…… help us? Perhaps we can liberate you and your people from this time.”

The ancestor fell silent for a moment at Evan’s words.

He seemed to think, then slowly turned his body.

“……12 hours until everything returns to the origin.”

The ancestor slowly took a step.

“If you cannot find a solution within that time, come find me. I will cooperate.”

The ancestor suddenly departed.

He said he’d help…… right?

‘Right.’

Should I go ask for help right now?

That might look too pathetic.

Evan turned his body.

The shrine maiden had her eyes closed, using the minimal amount of starlight to conserve power.

Felix was fiddling with his sword hilt.

He instinctively recognized that, like Gyeolbaek’s ancestor, he was a powerful knight.

Aegis was staring at the ancestor’s back with a complex expression.

“Meeting all sorts of kings.”

In the meantime, Lapis visited a few village houses and suddenly pulled out vegetables.

“Evan! These vegetables taste awful!”

“Don’t eat strange things.”

You’ll get an upset stomach.

Patting her back to make her spit it out quickly, Evan said to the group,

“First, let’s look around the village. The missing persons might be here. For now, I…….”

Evan looked at the largest mansion.

A house warm enough for faint heat to leak out.

“I’ll move these people.”

Let’s warm up a bit.

And prevent these people from freezing to death.

Absolutely not because I’m cold.

***

“We couldn’t find them.”

2 hours searching the village.

No one found the missing persons.

Even comparing for similar faces yielded nothing.

‘There’s just too little information.’

There are no photos in this world.

There is similar magic, but it’s too expensive, a luxury only nobles use.

Describing physical characteristics is the best.

There was no match with anyone living in this village.

The shrine maiden was gradually emerging from gloom.

It wasn’t resolved.

It had merely evolved from gloom to doubt.

‘……I didn’t expect there to be no missing persons at all. As if the missing persons never came here from the beginning.’

Yes.

Aegis nodded as if agreeing.

Both gazes turned to Gyeolbaek.

“Gyeolbaek.”

“Isn’t there one house left?”

Gyeolbaek turned his body.

“Let’s check there and talk.”

The last remaining house.

Nearly a ruin, half-buried underground, questionable if anyone lived there.

However, life force clearly felt inside.

Cleverly fortified to block snow or cold.

It had to be seen as inhabited.

“No. 5.”

Evan sent No. 5 in first.

No. 5, reduced to human size, slammed! open the door and entered.

Quite warm.

Enough to drive out the cold that had seeped into the bones in a short time.

The interior scenery was neat.

Impeccably tidy with no flaws.

The bed was dusty as if unused for long, but research equipment was all clean.

Been away for a long time?

“Ah.”

Then.

A voice came from where the research equipment was piled.

0222

Hati and Skoll in his arms bared their teeth.

Two heads met gazes.

There, a brain in a flask.

“Guests. How long has it been? In our time, not even 24 hours have passed, but in the world’s perception…… it must be hundreds of years.”

‘No, crazy!’

Evan swallowed a scream inwardly.

The brain is talking!

“This is…….”

Even Aegis trembled her eyebrows at the unimaginable scene.

“Welcome.”

The brain wiggled toward us.

“The only alchemist of the Demisia Republic, Hargen.”

A real-life brain in a jar is talking to us!

Evan subtly averted his eyes.

Even as a manly man, he couldn’t look at that.

There’s an instinctive repulsion.

“Wow…… the brain is talking.”

Lapis chewed on a cactus crunchingly, as if fascinated.

Aegis stared at the brain with a shocked expression.

As an alchemist, she knew how absurd this scene was.

“Why are you surprised?”

The brain seemed to enjoy the reaction, clinking lightly.

“If you master transmutation, this is basic.”

“How do you handle other biological reactions?”

“You can do it if transmutation reaches the extreme. Just supply the necessary nutrients or materials. Isn’t this better than creating a human body to transfer into?”

“But……”

“Of course, there is a clear price. My lifespan has been greatly reduced. Probably 2…….”

“2 years?”

“2 hours?”

“||”

A chilling silence instantly enveloped.

The brain, no, Hargen, seemed to enjoy even this silence.

He continued excitedly.

“That’s what equivalent exchange is. Defying natural order requires a huge price, right?”

The tip of the brain looked slightly blackened.

Is that the problem?

Can’t we just cut that off?

“You came at perfect timing. I thought I’d die this time without seeing guests.”

“You remember everything.”

The shrine maiden muttered.

“Yes. Beautiful lady. Unlike cases where lifespan ends and you die, or only the brain remains, oh, All memories are intact.”

The brain shook as if humming.

“Thanks to that, I feel all this boring time.”

‘……It’s impressive he hasn’t gone mad.’

“Mad? Hahahaha! Among those who reach the extreme, who is sane? Though some seem to have brain problems.”

The brain turned.

No eyes, but felt staring at Evan.

“Hey, kid.”

The brain is speaking human words……!

Evan forcibly pushed away the instinctive unpleasantness.

“How old are you this year?”

“I turned 16 this year.”

“16! Doesn’t look it. Prime time. Interested in alchemy?”

“A little.”

“Oh ho. Golem, huh. Talented indeed?”

The brain flashed lightly.

An arm of doll formed by transmutation pulled two books from the shelf and threw! them to Evan.

“Here. Take them.”

‘……What is this?’

“Transmutation deciphering book. A bit outdated, but I wrote it as diligently as possible. Fill in the lacking parts yourself.”

……Detailed?

Evan flipped through the book briefly.

Hm, as expected. His prediction was correct.

No need to read in detail.

Pretending to read, he closed the book and asked as calmly as possible.

“Why give this to me?”

“Why else. A rare junior visits as a guest, I should give at least this.”

Then, a strange energy wrapped around the area.

Silence enveloped instantly.

Silence magic!

Reproduced with alchemy?

The brain stared at Evan and said,

“Your body is bad, right?”

“!”

“Don’t be surprised! I was born too frail and was about to be discarded, ending up like this. Looks like you’re similar. Seeing you brought transmutation books.”

Transmutation books?

Ah.

Evan took out transmutation books from subspace.

He noticed this?

“Hehe. Good. Thorough preparation. Such a junior deserves a gift. I’ll even teach you how to improve your body!”

The brain’s voice rose.

Not like he’s going to pounce saying hand over your body!

“Here!”

Thud!

“Here! Open the book you brought! I’ll specially lecture beginner-friendly!”

Books piled high before Evan’s eyes.

..Not taking the body, but lecturing?

What?

Why so kind?

“What’s with that face?”

The brain seemed to misinterpret Evan’s dubious expression and burst into laughter.

“Did you think I’d take my junior’s body?”

Yes.

Can’t say that, right?