novelraw Chapter 89 : Chapter 89
Chapter 89 : Chapter 89
Chapter 89
"This... what should I call it? It's a shame to give it to others, but it's useless for us to have..."
"A white elephant?"
"Ah, that's right. That's it."
Reysia lifted the flowerpot and smiled brightly.
In the rough flowerpot in her hand, a single, simple white flower was blooming.
From its appearance, it looked like a nameless wildflower blooming on the roadside, but upon closer inspection, you could see that it contained a faint amount of mana.
"Well, you told me to get it, so I got it... Reysia, what is this flower?"
Joshua was extremely exhausted from the fierce battle and long journey.
Nevertheless, unable to hide his curiosity, he stopped on his way and sat down in the seat opposite Reysia, asking a question.
As if she had been waiting for that question, Reysia's lips curled up like a mischievous child.
"Heli's Flower."
"I wasn't asking for its name. I mean... why did you send me to a distant and dangerous place to get that flower?"
"Because I need it?"
"..."
There was no way Reysia could not have understood the point of the question, so she was clearly pretending not to understand to tease Joshua.
Joshua, who seemed to have a headache, touched his forehead and sighed, then turned his gaze to me.
He was asking for help because talking to Reysia was tiring.
"Joshua's attribute was darkness, right?"
"That's right."
"What are the characteristics of the darkness attribute?"
Joshua tilted his head as if he did not understand why I was asking this question.
However, even though he was puzzled, he answered without hesitation, as if he were programmed to answer any question asked.
"Weakening the opponent's abilities through various curses. At higher levels, it's possible to not only weaken the opponent's abilities but also steal them and make them your own."
"You know it well."
"I'm not only familiar with the darkness attribute but also all other attributes. It's helpful in battle to know about them even if they're not mine."
After giving a perfect answer, Joshua became triumphant.
But at the next question, Joshua became a mute who had eaten honey.
"Then how much do you know about the neutral attribute?"
"..."
"Puhahaha!"
Next to the flustered Joshua, Reysia burst into laughter.
Reysia, who had been grinning with her legs crossed and her chin resting on her hand, straightened her posture and turned to me.
"Master, I know. No, it would be strange if I didn't. Master's attribute is neutral, so how could a subordinate not know? I think anyone who doesn't know is not qualified to be a soldier of Odin."
"It's possible not to know. The neutral attribute is very rare."
"No! I don't think so!"
Reysia was firm.
Joshua next to her glared at Reysia with dissatisfied eyes but did not particularly refute her words.
Rather, he showed a repentant attitude toward me and opened his mouth in a low voice.
"Reysia, please explain."
"Since Joshua seems to be reflecting, may I explain on behalf of the master?"
She asked for my permission.
When I nodded in acceptance, she looked at Joshua and began her explanation in earnest.
"First, the neutral attribute is practically nonexistent... It's better to know it that way."
Saying that, Reysia drew the red-bladed sword from her waist and held it out toward Joshua.
A beautiful, sparkling light was wrapped around her sword.
"Like this. Ordinary attributes can be used without any restrictions if you just raise their level. The usage is also not very difficult, so you can master it quickly with a little practice. But the neutral attribute is different. It doesn't corrode the opponent like your darkness, nor does it give a speed bonus or a swift, high-temperature strike like my light. That's why most commanders evaluate the neutral attribute as worthless. But that's what foolish people say!"
Reysia, who suddenly raised her voice, puffed out her chest triumphantly and stood up.
Joshua, who seemed to find Reysia's behavior distasteful, frowned and turned his gaze away.
However, it was very Joshua-like of him to continue listening, as if his interest was piqued by Reysia's next words.
"I, Reysia, couldn't just stand by while Master's attribute, of all people's, was being evaluated as useless, right? After a long period of research, I created this!"
Reysia took out a vial containing a blue liquid.
When she opened the lid, a clear fragrance spread throughout the room.
Reysia, who closed her eyes and enjoyed the scent, poured the liquid into the flowerpot where the flower was planted.
Then the flower began to absorb the liquid through its roots, and the faint mana felt from the flower increased rapidly.
"This completes it."
"...What is this?"
"See for yourself and judge! ...is what I'd like to say, but unfortunately, while I was engrossed in my research, Master became able to use the neutral attribute in another way."
"Ah, so that's why you called it a white elephant?"
"That's right. Master is the only one in Odin with the neutral attribute... But it's too precious to give to the other unit members."
Reysia looked at the flowerpot in her hand with genuine regret.
I, who knew how much time and effort she had poured into completing this flower, could not hide my own regret.
As she said, I had become able to use the neutral attribute through a special method, but it was true that it was a little lacking.
If I had done it Reysia's way, I would have become stronger than I am now.
Reysia, who had been staring at the flowerpot for a long time, handed it to me.
"I'll leave the disposal to Master."
"Just put it in the warehouse somewhere. Even if it's not me, someone will have a use for it someday."
"That's a bit difficult, Master. That flower is also called the Flower of the Demon World. It grows well without water or sunlight, and it blooms for years, even decades, without withering, but it's a thing that sucks the life force of its surroundings. If you put it in Odin's warehouse, the soldiers will fall ill and die without knowing why."
"That won't do..."
It would not make sense for the soldiers I had raised so dearly to die because of a single flower.
In other words, I had to choose between destroying this flower or hiding it somewhere without anyone knowing.
Considering the possibility of it falling into the hands of a competitor, destroying it was the right choice, but considering Reysia's efforts and the value of the flower.
It was too much of a waste to just destroy it.
"Commander, how about Haram?"
As if feeling sorry for me after I had been struggling for a long time, he offered his opinion.
"Haram?"
"It was the stage for the war between the Alliance and the Purity 10 years ago, and in its aftermath, people died or left, and now only ruins remain. There's nothing special nearby, so there are no attempts to rebuild the city, and there are no visitors. The only problem is that it's in the Purity's territory..."
"That's even better."
"Is that so?"
"It's usually the players who go crazy for things like this."
If it was in the Purity's territory, I would feel more at ease.
Even if the information were leaked to the players, those who did not have the ability to secretly infiltrate the Purity's territory would not even be able to attempt it.
I handed the flowerpot to Joshua.
"I'll plant it in a suitable place and give you the exact coordinates."
"Good."
"But Commander, it's a personal curiosity, but I'd like to know how the neutral attribute manifests."
I could not bring myself to refuse the request of Joshua, who followed me as much as Reysia.
It was not that troublesome of a task either.
I held out my left hand.
* * *
"...Ugh. Why is it so cold?"
I opened my eyes and stretched.
I rubbed my sleepy eyes and checked the clock.
The current time was 10 minutes before 6 p.m.
Night was slowly approaching.
During my time playing D&K, I had ordered Joshua, who was a hero of Odin, to hide the flower well, and Joshua had carried out my order perfectly.
No, should I say it was too perfect?
Joshua did not simply hide the flower in a place where people would not go; he installed various gimmicks and tricky traps to make it difficult to access.
To put it simply, he turned this city into a dungeon.
"I praised him for doing a good job at the time, but now that I'm trying to find the thing, it's really annoying."
Was it just annoying?
It was also tricky.
At the time, with my combat power, it was a level that could be cleared with my eyes closed, but now I had to prepare for considerable hardship.
First, the first gimmick is time.
Only at 6 o'clock does the dungeon that Joshua has hidden so well reveal itself to the world.
The entrance to the dungeon is in the center of the city.
In the plaza in the center of the city, there is a statue.
Due to the aftermath of the war, the head has been completely blown off, and the explanation plate carved on the pedestal has been worn away, so it is now impossible to know who the owner of the statue is.
Time passed and it became 6 o'clock.
GRINDDDDD!
With the sound of stone meshing, the statue moved slightly.
Upon closer inspection, a small gap had formed at the bottom of the statue, just big enough for one person to pass through.
"So this is how it was."
I headed for the dungeon entrance.
But I had to stop after only a few steps.
Something was strange.
If the flower was stored properly, a refreshing energy should be flowing out from inside the statue.
But what refreshing?
Only a musty, rotting smell flowed out, pricking my nose and causing discomfort.
‘Could someone have already taken it? No, there’s no way Joshua would have handled it so carelessly… Could Odin have taken it?’
It was not an impossible story, but this was also strange.
The reason the flower was hidden here was because there was no one in Odin who could use it.
They had not recruited a new hero since I left, so there was no way they would suddenly retrieve a flower related to the neutral attribute.
It was even more unlikely that they would have sold it for financial gain.
Then it is reasonable to assume that an unexpected problem occurred.
"But I have to check."
Just in case, I entered the dungeon.
A long, straight path.
And the corpses piled up on it.
"As expected..."
The traps did not activate even as I walked down the corridor.
And in the places where traps should have been, there were corpses scattered about.
The condition of the corpses was such that the flesh had rotted and decomposed.
Since they were not completely skeletal, it seemed that a group had recently discovered the dungeon and attempted to conquer it.
Seeing as the corpses were not properly recovered, it did not seem to be a very competent group.
For now, considering the possibility that they had failed in their conquest, I headed to the end of the dungeon.
A wide room.
A neat altar was placed there.
Originally, there should have been a single flower blooming proudly on the altar, but the flower was nowhere to be seen.
"Sigh. Damn it..."
It was the easiest and cleanest way for me to obtain the neutral attribute.
The thought of having to find another way made my head ache.
For now, I could not stay in this den that reeked of rotting corpses forever, so I was about to go outside.
WOOOOOOOOO...
The familiar, damp wind sound came.
The problem was that this was inside a dungeon where not a single breeze entered.
"...Wasn't it the wind?"
I drew the sword from my waist.
And I looked at the only entrance.
Thud. Thud.
Someone was walking toward me.
The footsteps... were not one or two.