FVN Chapter 22: Marie Dunareff (3)
Chapter 22: Marie Dunareff (3)
༺ Marie Dunareff (3) ༻
According to the original plot, after meeting John Doe, the ❰Murderer of the City of Fog❱ – an important character who appeared at the latter stages of the 1st Arc, Marie would attack her roommate and go berserk.
In the previous iteration, we had been waiting underneath Marie and Isabelle’s dormitory immediately after the event so we were able to respond in time, but Park Sihu had intentionally let go of her.
The members of the previous iteration were Park Sihu, Yuel the Druid, Dorron the Mercenary, the Golem User Kranel and me. It was a 5-man party.
Thanks to having hidden pieces and the game knowledge, Park Sihu and I were fully prepared and could defeat Marie even without the help of Alicia, who was a strong early-game character.
But what about now?
All the freshmen members were pretty much unable to fight.
And the saddest part was that I was the one who caused everything. But honestly, who could have guessed that an event that was supposed to start 3 weeks later would be happening this early?
There wasn’t much time. I had to gather people as soon as possible.
Alicia wasn’t an option. Her bones were crushed because of my eight trigram palm strike, so she would have trouble even running.
The Golem User Kranel was also practically non-existent because the most important golem core had been broken.
The only ones that could somewhat move were Yuel the Druid and the mercenary, Dorron Warsky.
I did think about Hua Ran for a second, but leaving aside whether it was even possible to persuade her or not, I wasn’t confident in predicting how things would turn out if she was to join the party.
If Hua Ran’s restrictions were to be broken during the fight against the awakened Marie, then that would immediately lead to ‘Game Over’.
Power too big to control would only be a hindrance.
“Hello.”
Dorron, who was training by himself at the very corner of the training rooms, threw me a glance before minding his own business again.
– Shhiiik...! Booboom!
With one glance, he manipulated the swords as they fiercely shredded the target apart. I turned to the flying swords and noticed that the three magic swords that I had destroyed were nowhere to be seen.
“What is it? Korin Lork.”
“Hmm... I don’t remember telling you my name though.”
“It is normal to remember the names of every capable person of the Academy.”
The fight at the hunting grounds appeared to have left quite an impression. It seemed that Dorron had looked up my name in his own time.
“I want to hire you as a mercenary.”
“50% down payment. I can take an item as a mortgage if you don’t have money.”
That was what I was waiting for. I immediately took out the Soul Dust that I got by letting Sebancia Duke ascend in peace at the library.
“This...”
“It’s for the mortgage. Unique Grade Soul Dust. Not a single speck of the soul lost due to a fight. A 100% pure and perfect item.”
“May I ask what you are after, Boss?”
Dorron changed his attitude in an instant, which was a plus considering how easy it was to talk to him.
“We will be looking for one person. Me, you and the other party members will have to subjugate that person without killing her.”
“And how difficult would it be?”
“Unique Grade.”
“Crazy.”
He clicked his tongue as if that was absurd, but he didn’t turn the offer down straight away.
“The rule for mercenaries is to not bother with hopeless battles.”
“If you’re scared, you can use only the flying swords at a safe distance.”
“You see, I only have two swords left. You should know that better than anyone else.”
Yes. I did, because I was the one who broke them. The only remaining magic swords were a normal magic sword that had no special abilities and the heavy iron sword which could only strike down from above.
“All you have to do is occasionally draw the eyes of the enemy and act as a sub-dps. I’m not expecting anything more than that from a mercenary.”
It was easy to form a party with Dorron Warsky. All we had to do was give him money.
However, he was a mercenary. Trying to use him more than the ‘money’s worth’ would always lead to a backlash. A firm line had to be drawn to make use of him.
“Good. The price would be 20 gold coins. If you can’t pay the money...”
“I’ll sell the mortgage if I have to so don’t worry.”
“What a nice employer to have.”
Dorron didn’t ask anything else. He didn’t ask who the Unique Grade was, nor raise any doubt on where I obtained that information.
He was someone who considered following the given commands without bothering about anything else. The code of mercenaries.
After deciding to meet at the entrance of the hunting grounds in 2 hours time, I looked for the next target.
****
Most of the locations of the NPCs in the game were fixed. It was to make sure players didn’t have to go around everywhere when looking for specific NPCs, but there was a particular reason behind them in this real world.
An example was the Druid of the Avelorn Forest, Yuel. She spent most of her time at the library.
‘Papers are disgusting! Nature is the best!’ Even though that was what the druids screamed out all the time, there was a reason why Yuel was always at the library filled with papers.
“You mean you want me to cooperate?”
“Please.”
“...Why should I?”
The girl with a light green shade of hair asked an obvious question with a discontent look on her face.
As someone who could read the aura of nature, she must have realized how pathetic my aura and my mana was. She must have found it laughable for someone as weak as me to suddenly ask for cooperation on defeating a Unique Grade demi-human.
“Ogham Alphabet.”
“!!!”
“That’s your traditional alphabet, right? The letters that were lost when Avelorn was burned down by demonic beasts.”
“You... How did you...?!”
“I heard of the great fire at the Avelorn Forest a year ago, and why else would a druid from that forest suddenly come to Merkarva Academy?”
Jaeger seemed to have noticed it as well and glanced at everyone while inquiring with his gaze whether his prediction was correct or not.
“......The spirits are frightened.”
“It is not any different for the demonic beasts.”
“Have you seen anything like this, Dorron?”
“A few times. There is only one reason why predators would be terrified.”
– The appearance of an even bigger predator.
The demonic beasts at the top of the food chain in the forest were so horrified by the appearance of the powerful being that they were wailing in fear.
It was natural for them to be scared and terrified. That wasn’t something as simple as powerlessness and fear towards a stronger being.
The demonic aura exuding out of Unique Grade demons – those unfathomable monsters – had something like the fear-inducing aura of the dragon race.
– Clomp clomp!
– Clomp clomp!
Those shrieks of the beasts subsided more as we approached the center of the forest. From fear to powerlessness, and from powerlessness to obedience. Such was the way of the ecosystem.
At one point, the only source of sound became the rustling leaves beneath our feet, and that was when our eyes spotted something different.
– Krrghk! Kurrgk!
In an open plot of land with dozens of demonic beasts stood a girl that appeared extremely out of place.
Her water-coloured hair that used to be both neat and tidy was tainted with blood and her everlasting smile was replaced by stiff clots of blood.
– Kuruk, kurrugk...!
An owlbear had its neck bitten by the girl who was less than a quarter of its size, but was staying still without even dreaming of fighting back.
The fangs that were digging in through the thick leather around the neck formed a pathway for a one-sided blood transfusion. Despite being aware that it will be sucked dry till death, the owlbear and the demonic beasts surrounding them were unable to dare fight back.
Those beasts had their brutality repressed by the demonic aura of a Unique Grade, and retaliation wasn’t even an option for them.
A scene that was completely outside of his expectation made Lark take a few steps back in horror.
“Hiik...”
“Kurrh...!”
His unconscious gasp made the vampire turn its head in a flick. The golden eyes that used to be as bright as the sun were now vertically slit like the pupils of a reptile.
Vampire.
The King of demons.
One of the most powerful demi-humans.
“Get ready. Yuel and Lark – go to the rear. Dorron and Jaeger – take a step back and focus on support. I’ll take the lead.”
“...”
I felt mana fluctuating behind me. It was probably the spirits and Lark’s ghost knight being summoned.
It was none of my business considering my inability to perceive spirits due to the Restriction – the 2nd line of my Precept. However, what was important was—
『3rd Precept』
Marie Dunareff: Relation – C
Backup: 50% Increase in Stats
Aura: { Low (1,480 + 740) }
Mana: { Very Low (920 + 460) }
Strength: 26 + 13
Agility: 26 + 13
Vitality: 26 + 13
Aura: 26 + 13
Mana: 26 + 13
「Regeneration of the Tenacious Warrior」
When your HP falls below a certain level during a fight, your HP Regeneration speed will increase tremendously.
+ 50% Regeneration
❰I will save the world❱
– Either kill or save Marie Dunareff and take the first step in saving the world.
「There is a conflict with the 1st Precept, ❰I will not disregard the misfortune of the good.❱」 「Save Marie Dunareff. Wish you all the best, Hero Korin Lork.」
Marie’s fate and the effect she will have on this world.
The backup I received was after a calculation of the ‘effect this would have on the world later on’, instead of considering this as a one-time event of the 1st Arc.
Besides, considering my 50% additional damage to physical existences, my current physique at this moment was pretty much at the level of a Grade 2 Knight.
“Kuwoooo—!!”
“Kweeekkkkk—!!”
The demonic beasts sprinted forward while roaring out loud. Starting from owlbears to mat boars and horned rabbits, those monsters began flooding us with their brutal natures which had been suppressed by Marie’s demonic aura.
“Right. A beast is a beast. Easy for them to know who the weaker one is, I guess.”
A Unique Grade demon behind them and Grade 2 randoms in front. There was no need to even think at that point on who they should attack.
The 1st phase of the boss fight with Vampire Marie Dunareff was the battle against demonic beasts and spirits that were under her control. We had to come out victorious in this little skirmish and pass through the 2nd phase.
『Main Quest: Marie Dunareff』
※ Difficulty: S
Our current party was about half of what we were in the previous iteration. But even so—
“Everyone. Get ready.”
We will win.
We will overcome every adversity and hardship to achieve victory.