Chapter 131. The Alchemist’s Unspoken Desire (2)
historical
[An unknown condition has been fulfilled]
[The main quest “The Truth of Eternal Life” is starting now.]
[Pureus Niftion, the alchemist who resides in the Desert Flower Town, is concealing something from you. Pureus Niftion is trying to secure your position for reasons that are unknown. Block his offensive and fight him off.]
Romantica was flustered by the alerts that poured in. The quest that she supposedly wasn’t going for was progressing by itself automatically.
Romantica asked Desir with a surprised voice, “Wh-What is this?”
“We’re not the only ones who have an impact on the world. Sometimes, the quest may progress automatically when triggered by a character from the Shadow World.”
Desir had a bitter smile on his face.
Activating a second main quest meant that there would be at least one more condition to clearing this Shadow World. There was no way to cancel a main quest that had already begun. The only choice was to proceed with this second main quest.
“Pureus has involuntarily forced us into this quest now, so we’ll have to clear it before we regroup with Pram and Adjest.”
“I see.”
Desir looked down at the ground. The moonlit monster had an extremely horrific form.
It had the body of a lion, the wriggling tail of a snake as well as the wings of a Wyvern. Not only that, but its sharp fangs were covered in steel and its legs ended in sharp blades instead of feet.
It was a hybrid of the body parts of various different creatures. Mechanical equipment had even been added onto it.
Romantica had heard of creatures like this before.
It was a Chimera.
A living weapon made by combining different life forms; an existence deeply frowned upon by all countries, no matter the time period.
“If it had snuck up on us, that surely would have been the end of us. We would likely be dead had we not installed defensive spells.”
The Chimera looked for a chance to attack while they were asleep, but fortunately, Desir had been able to detect the Chimera’s approach through a [Detector] spell.
He immediately seized the chance to attack the Chimera first, then ran towards Romantica’s room to deal with all the Chimeras that were targeting her too.
They didn’t know the reason for the Chimeras’ actions, but it was clear that the Chimeras’ target was their lives.
“Let’s worry about that later. Better get out of here first.”
Desir’s defensive spells, which had been installed in strategic locations, were detecting the Chimeras and sending strong signals. They didn’t have the luxury to idly chat in front of the corpses of the Chimeras.
Besides, they had to fight off Pureus in order to end this quest.
Romantica and Desir started to move along the corridor with the help of the moonlight. Though the residence was not big, it was complicated like a maze, so it was not an easy task finding the correct path out.
“Romantica, prepare for battle.”
Another Chimera appeared not too long after they started escaping. Something crawled out of a room on the third floor.
Bright red, fresh blood dripped from the corner of its mouth. Between the crevice of the half-broken door, there were what seemed to be someone’s hand and leg.
Desir voiced his mental note.
“.. They don’t seem to care about the life of a servant.”
This monster had a different form than previous Chimeras that they had encountered thus far. It looked very similar to a praying mantis.
Because Chimeras were created by combining the strengths of different creatures, they may seem invincible, but in reality, most Chimeras struggled to maintain their balance from the uneven distribution of the weight of their various parts.
Since the combined body parts could easily collapse, it was not an easy task to create Chimeras.
However, the bodies of the Chimeras created by Pureus were very well balanced. They moved around naturally as if they were born that way.
*Clank*
*Clank*
The blade on the Chimera’s legs created a threatening sound as the main body moved. At the same moment, Desir’s spell was invoked in front of it.
[Electric Bolt]
A Second-Circle spell that casts an electric bolt.
A light flashed. The air was immediately filled with the smell of burning flesh, but the Chimera continued to lumber forward with blades on its legs. It was as if it wasn’t affected at all.
Desir and Romantica lowered their heads. *Vroom*
There was an ominous sound above their heads.
“I wonder if one of its components is from a monster that has resistance to electricity.”
The Chimera climbed the wall at a great speed. Its movement demanded their complete attention.
“Keeeeyek!”
Each swing of its blades was performed while it moved with great swiftness. It was proving difficult to react to its speed and force.
“How- How come it’s so fast!?”
Romantica was completely taken aback at how quickly it closed the distance. During that short moment of distraction, she revealed an opening, allowing it to hit her with a full-powered strike. Fortunately she was wearing a Clothes Line, otherwise that powerful strike would have claimed her arm.
“We can’t shoot it down like this!” “Duck!”
*Vroom*
A handful of black hair fell to the floor.
Desir frowned.
“Such an annoying type.”
A body structure that relied on unparalleled speed. Having the frame that allowed incredibly swift movement and mechanical supporting equipment that allowed great power at a moment’s notice, it was not an easy Chimera to deal with.
“With this kind of enemy, using the [Scope] spell would definitely work.. ”
However, such a method would be impossible. There was a high chance that innocent people were still inside the residence.
Using a fire spell that could cause an inferno to break out, or unleashing any other powerful spells, could cause massive collateral damage if the residence collapses.
Although the servants within the mansion were virtual characters, Desir couldn’t bring himself to do it.
“Well, then.”
Desir started arranging various spells in front of himself. “I’ll use a different method.”
[Water Wall]
A Second-Circle water spell.
A wall of water gushed out, separating themselves from the Chimera that was still flitting around the hall.
*Thud*
The Chimera, moving at an ultra-high speed, crashed head-first into the wall of water.
But it took no damage. Even though it was a wall of water, it was only water after all. It wouldn’t be too difficult for a Chimera to break through that wall with its ability.
The Chimera, realizing that as well, leaped again into the wall made of water. Water splashed and splattered in all directions as its gigantic figure crashed into the wall of water once again. “Romantica!”
As Desir called on Romantica, he cast another spell. [Winter Cold]
*Crrrraaack*
The wall of water instantly froze and the Chimera that was trying to pass through it found itself trapped.
A brief window of opportunity had presented itself to the pair.
This was all they needed. Romantica aimed her rifle at the Chimera without hesitation. *Baang*
Even though the Chimera was strong and robust, it couldn’t endure her shot at point-blank range. The Chimera’s head exploded with a loud pow.
With the brief but intense battle behind them, they could take a moment to regain their breaths. “Desir, why don’t we go outside of the residence instead?”
Romantica suggested as she pointed at the window.
“It’s much more complicated to fight while controlling our power.”
Without a doubt, the residence was a disadvantageous battlefield for them. From the maze-like layout, to the limitation on power that they could use while inside, there were just too many things that they had to keep in mind.
“Our worst-case scenario is if all the Chimeras attack us at the same time. If that happens, I think we’d much prefer to remain inside. How would you deal with them outside of the mansion?”
“Well, of course we could just use a powerful spell to handle them all at once. However many Chimeras there may be, if you use that spell you used on the Mother Worm, it would be a piece of cake.”
“Then what would you do after that?” “After that?”
“We’re in a situation where we don’t know how many more enemies there are. But you’re saying we should spend all our mana and expose our trump card? How do you know what will happen next?”
“Oh.. ”
She hadn’t thought that far ahead.
“Romantica, when you haven’t figured out the exact strength of the enemy, it’s better to think of the worst-case scenario, save your power, and hide.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
After this, a similar situation repeated.
Desir and Romantica cleverly avoided areas with many Chimeras by using defensive spells. Even though Chimeras were powerful, facing each Chimera one by one, no matter how strong it was, these creatures had no chance of overwhelming their teamwork.
“It’s possible that he’s still mistaking us as examiners.”
Desir made a speculation after dealing with the third Chimera.
“If he’s still thinking that we’re examiners, don’t you think he would try to hide the fact that he’s creating Chimeras?”
She had a point.
But Desir shook his head and denied her speculation.
“No. Even if he thinks we’re examiners, that couldn’t be the reason he’s acting this way. He knows that we are desperate to leave this place, and he’s also the one who made us stay here.” It was as Desir said. Pureus knew the goal of Desir and Romantica was to try and leave the city as soon as possible. If he felt that they were dangerous, he would’ve gotten the approval of the teleportation gate and sent them off already.
However, Pureus had Desir and Romantica stay at his residence instead of sending them away. These points added more credibility to the assumption that Pureus was targeting Desir and Romantica since the beginning.
“.. We’ll find out the reason when we meet him in person.”
Desir was about to say something, but stopped mid-thought. However, Romantica didn’t put much thought into it.
The quest continued.
They were already well-acquainted with the direction to the laboratory, so it wasn’t difficult for them to move onwards.
When they reached the laboratory at last, there were two Chimeras laying in wait there. This seemed very likely to be the correct path.
Having guards here meant that there must be something in need of protection. It was clear that Pureus was in the laboratory that these Chimeras were guarding.