The Gate of Glory.
‘Indeed, it lives up to its reputation.’
Huge. That single word could describe the Gate of Glory.
The top of the gate was so high it couldn’t be seen with the naked eye. Well, part of that was due to the thick fog obscuring the view, but still.
‘To think I would personally witness the entrance to Kalos, only heard of in legends.’
He wanted to take a photo, but he quickly dismissed the thought.
It wouldn’t be too late after confirming it was safe inside.
‘If I were a novice rat, I’d have taken the shot without a second thought.’
Even now, he didn’t let his guard down, adhering to the rules.
He was indeed too competent.
Swish-!
Darwin entered Kalos.
It had been about 40 years since the 5th Legion Commander descended here.
The inside had been in ruins for a long time.
‘To think everything is ash gray here. Is this the power of a legion commander?’
The only thing that had color here was himself.
He wrapped himself in a cloak that matched the surrounding colors as much as possible and blended into the environment.
With mist covering the ground everywhere, moving around wasn’t too difficult.
As he continued deeper, he reviewed the information Caron had given him.
-‘There are rumors of moving corpses. Information provided by the one who gave us the chimera info. It could be dangerous, so don’t go too deep.’
Besides that, he had received other minor pieces of information, but Darwin couldn’t make sense of any of it.
‘Moving corpses? Investigating such nonsense? Being too meticulous can be a problem too.’
He respected Captain Caron, but wrong was wrong.
Preparing for any potential dangers, he had walked for about half a day when he reached his destination. Kalos District 3.
It was the most bustling section of the capital city of Kalos.
Whoosh-.
But now, all that remained were buildings turned into ruins, dust, and a few birds circling the sky.
“……”
Hidden among the ruins, Darwin unfolded a map.
After flicking away an ant crawling on the map, he fell into thought.
Normally, he should wait here. To prepare for any contingencies, he was advised not to venture too deep.
It was a mission that would end after scouting the area for 2-3 days and then returning.
However.
‘The Fountain of Radiance in District 2. I really want to see that.’
The battle with the legion commander that lasted a full year.
A battle so fierce that the vast palace vanished without a trace.
But the ‘Fountain of Radiance’ survived.
It was used by the priests at the time to make holy water.
For the human alliance, it was a space that absolutely had to be protected.
Thus, the Fountain of Radiance managed to remain unharmed until the end of the war.
According to what he had heard, its form was completely preserved.
“……”
After much deliberation, Darwin took action a day later.
He passed through District 3 and entered District 2.
‘Yeah, what power would corpses have?’
They would have long since turned to bones.
Creatures that would struggle even to walk, let alone run.
Darwin, who prides himself on his speed, wasn’t afraid on such slow enemies.
Even if something unexpected happened, he was confident he could escape.
Above all.
‘I searched for a day, but found no trace of anything.’
Caron gave a warning thinking of the rat’s safety, but in the end, rats live by loyalty.
Not loyalty to Caron. Loyalty to their family.
The well-being of the Empire directly affects their family’s well-being.
Knowing this better than anyone, they would risk their lives to complete their missions.
‘This information was provided by the one who gave us the chimera info.’
He still found it hard to believe, but it was information worth checking out, even if a bit dangerous.
He was willing to go as far as District 1.
‘Well, I’ll see the Fountain of Radiance on my way to District 2, anyway.’
Upon reaching the entrance to District 2, Darwin immediately set up a base and started searching.
From the outskirts, little by little.
But this place wasn’t much different from District 3.
There was no sign of any living creature.
Human, beast, bird, not even a single ant.
Not a single living creature could be found.
At the center of District 2, the Fountain of Radiance.
As Darwin approached it, he suddenly felt a sense of unease.
The problem was that he couldn’t tell what this unease was about.
Instinctively, he slowed down.
Only upon reaching the fountain did he realize the source of his unease.
‘……Wait, not a single ant?’
In this vast area, not a single insect, not even an ant, exists.
It made no sense. Then, it happened.
Clatter-.
A sound in a place devoid of not just human touch, but any small creature.
Darwin immediately hid and observed the source of the sound.
There was a bone.
A human hand bone.
Not strange.
Since entering Kalos, seeing bones or even piles of them was not uncommon.
The problem was, the hand bone was pointing upwards.
As if.
‘……It popped out of the ground.’
It was absurd.
Perhaps the wind moving the sand had uncovered the buried bone. That must be it.
As Darwin was about to look away.
Click.
The hand bone bent and touched the ground.
Creak-creak-.
With that, a white elbow emerged above the ground.
Crack!
The scapula emerged through the sand, and a skull was slightly visible.
Click— Creak-creak-.
“……!”
Darwin immediately took off.
Was it because he saw the moving skeleton? Yes.
But that wasn’t the fundamental reason for his flight.
Click— Creak-creak!
The sound of the skeleton digging itself out of the ground.
That sound began to echo from all directions.
Clack— Clack-clack!
The skeleton started running. Towards him, of course.
The speed was no different from that of a running person. Some even wielded weapons.
‘I must inform them immediately!’
Dead but not dead.
A being that refused death.
The undead had revealed themselves to the world for the first time.
“Argh! To be unrecognized!”
Luna vented her anger.
It was because she had suffered the humiliation of being ‘passed’ by Lucia.
“Next time, I’ll make sure she looks back at me!”
Luna began to burn with determination.
Next time, if she’s not acknowledged, she’s determined to become a Demon King.
‘Well, I need to be acknowledged too.’
The main quest. And it’s a quest with an additional reward of 50 points.
It seemed like she would have to train rigorously for a while.
“Huh? But what is she doing over there?”
As soon as the training ground door was opened, Rezé could be seen.
It had been a while since she had come out of her box.
Precisely, she was standing up inside the box.
Rezé raised her hands above her head and began to move her body left and right.
‘A camera?’
Yes. Rezé was holding a camera in her hands.
She even went on tiptoes, adjusting the angle.
What was peculiar was that the lens was facing towards Rezé.
‘What? Is she taking a selfie?’
For Rezé, who has an extremely shy personality, to take a selfie was indeed a curious event.
Holding the photo, Rezé smiled proudly.
Did the selfie turn out well?
“What are you doing?”
“Ah… I’m, I’m happy. It’s, it’s my first time taking a photo with a, a friend.”
Taking a photo with a friend?
I looked at the photo Rezé took. Just like she said, they took the photo together.
Rezé’s face, hidden by her bangs covering her eyes, took up 90% of the photo, and Luna’s figure in one corner took up 10%.
Yes. Luna appeared tiny, almost like a speck of dust, and her face was too blurred to be recognizable.
‘Normally… is this what you call taking a photo together?’
As we silently looked at the photo, Rezé flailed her arms.
“Did, did you feel bad because I took it silently?”
“…”
“I’m, I’m sorry… It, it won’t happen again. I was just so happy that…”
Seeing this, Luna began to tremble.
Taking a candid photo without permission. Does this mean she won’t let it slide?
Typical of Luna, the Demon King.
“Give that here.”
“Yes, yes?”
Luna snatched the camera and slung her arm over Rezé’s shoulder.
A so-called ‘Hey, let’s pretend to be close’ pose.
She’s going to extort… no, claim a photo fee from this poor child, no doubt.
Click-.
As Luna operated the button, a mana stone activated, and the photo was immediately printed.
Then she handed one of the two prints to Rezé.
“Next time, just say it. I’ll take as many as you want.”
“Th, thank you! I’ll, I’ll treasure it as a keepsake!”
“Hm, hm. Well… a keepsake, you say.”
The corners of Luna’s mouth twitched.
It seems she’s finally feeling the reality of having made a second friend.
“Keke, I’ll take one for you too.”
“It’s, it’s okay…”
Rezé quickly hid the camera.
Must be embarrassed. Must feel too pressured to take a photo with someone as handsome as me.
“You did well. The camera might explode otherwise.”
It must be my handsomeness (?) that the camera can’t handle. Right, Luna?
As the brief everyday conversation ended, the children looked at me.
They seem to be asking what we’re going to do next.
Today marks the day Rezé officially joins, and it’s the first day of joint training.
By the way, Rezé agreed to start training.
‘It seems she agreed because she could become Luna’s friend…’
Well, it will work out somehow.
After all, we’ll be doing training that leverages Rezé’s strengths.
“What training are we going to do? Physical training first, right? Rezé is a bit lacking in stamina…”
“I’m, I’m sorry. I’ll work hard!”
There are two inaccuracies in Luna’s statement right now.
First, Rezé isn’t just a little lacking in stamina; she’s significantly deficient.
Secondly…
“Keke, I won’t make Rezé do physical training.”
“What?”
“I have no intention of making her do something she’s not good at. It’s a waste of time.”
“But still… isn’t a minimum level of stamina necessary?”
“She walks fine. That’s enough.”
After a moment of thought, Luna nodded.
“Well. Rezé is an archer, so she just needs to hide and shoot arrows, maybe she doesn’t need that much stamina?”
“Keke, that’s right.”
“You’ve learned well, as I taught. Good job, Zero.”
“Ye, yes! Luna is amazing! To think of the perfect training for me!”
“…?”
Something felt off, but I decided to let it slide. That’s not what’s important right now.
I arranged the wooden dummies in a line in the training ground.
Five wooden dummies, each spaced about 3 meters apart.
“Alright, shall we start the training?”
“Ye, yes! I’ll do my best!”
Rezé pulled out a small bow and, with some effort, strung the bow.
It seemed to take about 10 seconds until the bowstring was fully drawn.
Typical of a strength stat of 3.
Twang!
Swoosh!
The arrow flew and embedded precisely in the dummy’s head.
“Hit the forehead exactly? Amazing!”
“He, hehe!”
Indeed, her accuracy was remarkable.
[Perfect Aim], [Concentration]. Both skills Rezé possesses are S-grade.
In terms of hitting something, she could exert power close to that of a divine archer.
Anyone hit by her would suffer fatal damage.
‘If only her attack power was higher.’
A bow. A good weapon. But not suitable for Rezé.
Despite her high accuracy, her attack speed and destructive power are lacking.
Rezé really needs to use a different weapon.
“Keke, that’s pathetic.”
“What do you mean? She hit it right on target.”
“Her attack speed is slow and her destructive power is lacking. Against a demon, that’s no different from sticking a toothpick in it.”
“But if she builds up her strength and uses mana…”
“It’s too inefficient. A bow won’t do.”
“…You’re talking as if you have another weapon in mind?”
Of course.
I rummaged through my pockets with both hands and pulled out a weapon from the [Subspace].
Luna and Rezé’s mouths dropped open.
It was a big and beautiful weapon, after all.
Rezé, for you.
“A magic gun suits you better than a bow.”
The essence and product of magical engineering.
The magic gun revealed itself.
–TL Notes–
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/MattReading
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt