NABC Chapter 40 Clean Now?
Chapter 40 Clean Now?
"Class... change?"
While repeating this word he'd never heard in his life, Turan immediately turned to the next page.
The next page was filled with messy writing, as if organizing thoughts for oneself.
[Night Hunter = Hunter + Pursuer + Shadow + Alchemist]
[Class change condition: Clear Evil Labyrinth]
[Need solo clear? Or possible with multiple people?]
[Will recreating dungeon and monster forms as similarly as possible be considered fulfilling conditions?]
[Design to open when detecting subjects meeting conditions]
[Add function to lure only suitable subjects]
[Reject entry if not suitable subject? X]
The meaning of the sentence written at the top must be that the bloodlines passed down to Night Hunter's descendants were four.
While the term 'class change' was still unclear... judging from context, perhaps it expressed becoming the Night Hunter as 'class change'.
The luring function must refer to that unknown impulse that drew Turan in.
This book's identity was clearly something like a notebook left by the labyrinth's creator.
Given the circumstances, they must be the same person who made the Gods' Tomb, which would mean these were writings left directly by the Limping Goddess or a Prea god-folk of similar standing...
Turan swallowed nervously as he turned the page.
The next page had several similar scribbles and a drawing of the monsters that had swarmed the labyrinth.
[Monster Rotten Anglerfish, materials are giant's blood and flesh, giant queen used as material for dungeon boss Giant Anglerfish.]
[Power source magical power? Handle lifespan issue with hibernation.]
[Way to recreate acidic blood and fire breathing techniques? X]
[Too low level compared to actual dungeon. Ways to raise limit?]
The word 'monster' seemed to refer to those creatures that had filled this labyrinth.
While it was quite shocking to learn that they were artificially created beings with the extinct giant race from ancient times as materials, it was also somewhat understandable.
Wouldn't it be stranger for such hideous creatures to exist naturally?
Rather, he felt awe at the divine power that could even mold living beings.
Though he turned several more pages after that, there weren't many comprehensible words among them.
From phrases like 'Apply to Earth Mother class change experiment' and 'Apply previous experiment failure', he could only guess that such 'experiments' hadn't occurred in this place alone.
While folding the paper and putting it in his pocket, Turan recalled what the door's eyeball had said.
'It said my entry was an error.'
After reading this book entirely, he could roughly guess the circumstances.@@@@
The labyrinth creator's goal was to create a Prea god, the Night Hunter.
For this, they needed a wizard who possessed all four bloodlines originating from that god.
Because they believed that when a wizard fulfilling those conditions defeated the labyrinth leader, the dungeon boss mentioned in this book, they could become a god.
But for some reason, this labyrinth mistakenly recognized Turan, who was perceived as having four bloodlines due to the holy relic, as that 'Night Hunter candidate' and opened.
As for Ferga's group, they probably got caught up in this while just visiting for sightseeing.
Anyway, since he had defeated the leader, he checked his body again just in case, but there was no feeling of divine power being bestowed or anything like that.
He only felt the magical power that had grown powerful from devouring the monsters and nobles outside.
To begin with, the possibility of Turan having two locked bloodlines was almost none, and it was even more impossible for them to be Shadow and Alchemist.
Both were bloodlines that had gone extinct so long ago they weren't even mentioned in the history books he'd read at Orem's library.
Comparing with legends passed down in the Enril Desert, they probably went extinct after conflicting with their brother house Zahar sometime in the distant past, during or after the old empire era.
In the midst of organizing his thoughts, Turan suddenly felt a strong sense of déjà vu.
Obil the Burner, whom he had killed near the lands ruled by House Kamain in the northwest...
The method of this labyrinth felt somehow similar to that madman who had claimed one could gain the Pyromancer bloodline by burning humans and covering oneself in their ashes.
Especially in how they claimed power could be gained through seemingly meaningless methods.
'Could it be that methods to artificially gain bloodlines were real too?'
Come to think of it, hadn't Obil said the same thing, that a god had told him the method?
But if so, couldn't the labyrinth's creator have made someone with such bloodlines directly instead of waiting for an unknown Night Hunter bloodline holder to enter?
After pondering this topic for a while, Turan eventually sighed and moved toward the whirlpool.
Not only would thinking here not yield answers, but above all, he thought there would be no greater mishap than the exit whirlpool disappearing while he wasted time.
==
After forced marching for a day and a half, alternating between flying and resting, he could see the desert region starting to end.
Not only did people's clothing styles change when observed from afar, but the weather also became somewhat more humid and cool.
A distance that would take ordinary people over a month or even nobles about a week to traverse was nothing before this bird's wings.
When white snow began falling from the sky, Turan landed the black eagle on the ground.
"Good work, I'll walk from here so let's rest a bit. You're tired, right?"
[Yes. Want rest.]
The black eagle wrote those letters with a somewhat tired look before climbing onto the rod attached beside the bag and closing its eyes.
After stroking its feathers, Turan looked at the white rocky mountains spread before him.
'So this is the Grey Zone.'
This region, located west of the Enril Desert and east of Maderi City where Turan had first met Asiz in the past, was filled with rough rocky mountains.
It was also where the armies of Arabion and Zahar had fought fierce battles in the past.
'The travel journal mentioned blind dwarves living hidden in the mountain range who catch and eat people.'
Of course, even if such creatures really existed, they wouldn't be much threat to Turan.
The current him was stronger than the heads of ordinary medium and small houses, like the head of House Baltas he had met before, and would be classified as an elite even in great houses.
A noble of this caliber would not easily die unless facing several other noble houses head-on.
Unless he encountered an absurd situation like Ferga's.
'First I should take it easy while figuring out where this place is.'
Turan's new destination was Orem City, House Baltas' base that he had visited before.
He planned to revisit the library there to consult with the librarian about various secrets learned in the labyrinth.
After walking for about an hour with the black eagle at his side, an old imperial road appeared.
Though everything around was already completely covered in white, the snowflakes falling from the sky melted away as soon as they touched the road.
At that moment, a strange procession approached from the opposite direction as Turan walked on the road.
"Mom, I'm tired."
"Be quiet and walk quickly. We'll leave you behind if you stop!"
"Waah..."
A mixed crowd of men and women, young and old, carrying all sorts of luggage.
Though they looked at Turan strangely as they passed, all showing signs of exhaustion, they continued southeast as if lacking even the energy to speak to him.
'What's this?'
Didn't they look like they were fleeing from something?
Walking in the direction they had come from, before long a fairly large city appeared.
Perhaps because it was in the middle of the mountain range, it had semicircular walls built while backed against a large cliff, and a police officer standing at the city gate tilted his head while looking at Turan.
"A traveler? But what's with that bird and those clothes..."
His puzzlement was not strange at all.
The white overcoat worn in the desert had been dirtied with monster blood and burned while washing, and now he only wore the shirt, pants, and cloak received as gifts from Asiz.
There were only two types of people who would travel dressed like that in midwinter.
A madman, or a wizard.
The police officer's face turned white as he realized this fact.
"W-welcome! Might I ask which esteemed person..."
It seemed he would need to buy and wear some thick padded clothes or fur if he wanted to pass as a commoner like before.
"I'm just a passing traveler. Might I request one day's hospitality from this place's master?"
It would be against custom to sneak past after being discovered, unlike if he hadn't been detected.
But for some reason, the police officer showed signs of hesitation at Turan's question.
"Why?"
"W-well, Kalamaf currently has no lord."
"What? How is that possible?"
A city without a master?
Despite its clearly not small size, didn't even tiny cities like Murei have at least one noble residing there in case of emergencies?
Could this be related to that refugee procession from earlier?
"I'm just a low-ranking officer so I don't know much, but they say he fell to the dark elves that invaded from the west..."
The police officer said with a bewildered expression that now this city was in a situation without any nobles or knights.