Chapter 209 : Chapter 209
Chapter 209 - Tornava Continent (10)
The name of the one I designated was Rex.
What was certain was that this fellow was not actually an old man, unlike his appearance.
'Is the racial trait of the Fox tribe transformation?'
This was the thought that occurred to me as soon as I first saw Rex.
I did not know yet if it truly was.
However, even if it were true, I did not think all Fox tribe members would be capable of transformation.
Among the numerous Fox tribe members gathered at the village square, Rex was the only suspicious one.
'That is something to be revealed from now on.'
It had been ten minutes since I entered the dungeon with Rex.
I delegated the dungeon raid to Choi Ho-joong and Shin Ah-yeon.
Because I had other work to do here.
"Listen, outworlder. What are you doing with me just the two of us? Are you not going to clear the dungeon?"
"My subordinates are doing it."
"That is not it; did you not say your quest was to clear this dungeon with the help of a Fox tribe warrior! Then you should rightfully be with me..."
"Oh, that? It was a lie."
A moment of silence.
Rex's complexion was colored with embarrassment.
"......It was a lie?"
"I will give you a question. Why do you think I did that?"
I raised the corners of my mouth slightly while looking at Rex.
Naturally, he seemed unable to immediately grasp the current situation.
"I cannot understand. Just why!"
"Then I shall give you a hint. I wanted to have a deep conversation with you."
"By any chance, do you have a preference for the elderly?"
"I have no such terrible hobby. Although it is true that old men usually like me."
"Anyway, it was an excuse. There was another reason you had to bring me to this dungeon."
"Sharp. As if wisdom suddenly gushes forth when you disguise yourself as an old man."
At these words, Rex's mouth fell wide open.
He was so poor at managing his facial expressions.
"Did you know?"
"I told you. The reason I designated you was because I felt a freshness from you."
As soon as Rex was hit at his weak point, he immediately returned to his original form.
He seemed to have quickly grasped that the atmosphere was not one for denial.
As expected, he had a young appearance.
"Then why me of all people? There were many other young Fox tribe warriors."
"Let us just say I coveted that bracelet you have."
As I overtly revealed my predatory intent, his face grew stiff.
"You seem confident. You sent all your subordinates away and only the two of us are left here."
"I know you are among the top few in strength even in the entire Fox tribe."
"And yet you are doing such a foolish thing right now..."
SWISH!
Before Rex could finish his words, the top part of his hair vanished.
Along with the drawing of the sword, Bastian had grazed Rex's crown.
In an instant, his eyes and mouth grew large at the same time.
"Did that serve as an answer?"
"......"
Silence.
At least he seemed to be grasping the situation.
I had thought there was a good chance he would counterattack without knowing his place.
"......Could it be this bracelet? Did you target it while knowing what it is?"
"Rather than targeting it, let us say I am taking it back. Since it was not yours in the first place."
Then, I grabbed and twisted his wrist.
"Gasp!"
And the Bracelet of Dynamis was no longer worn on his left wrist.
Since I understood that the divine power would fade if left unworn, I transferred it to my own wrist for now.
WHIRR.
A short resonance.
After that, there was no special reaction.
I had heard that there was much controversy regarding the effect of this sacred relic even within the Monkey tribe.
The opinion that it was just a piece of metal with no divine power was even more dominant.
Of course, the effect of this object was not an important matter for me.
The fact that this Bracelet of Dynamis was still called a 'sacred relic.' Only that was meaningful to me.
"Then is it now time to kill me?"
Rex already had an expression of having half given up.
I had only made one sword strike, but no more will to resist was felt from him.
"That will depend on how you act from now on."
"Then does it mean I might live?"
"I intend to leave the Fox tribe village anyway. I have finished my business. It means that taking your life or not does not mean much to me. However, one thing."
I gave him a greasy smile and continued.
"I am not so merciful that I will leave those who offend me alive. So, you had better answer my questions well."
Rex listened to my threat in silence.
Eventually, I was able to obtain several pieces of information from him.
That the Fox tribe was in collusion with the Rabbit tribe, as I had expected.
And he also said that the transformation ability was indeed a racial trait of the Fox tribe.
Although it was something only the chosen ones could do under specific conditions.
And the fact that they were able to plunder the Bracelet of Dynamis from the Lion tribe was also because they had utilized this transformation ability well.
"But why were you wearing the bracelet? Should such an important object not rightfully belong to the Chieftain?"
"It is because of the rules of the race. All spoils belong to the one who contributed. Since I plundered it from the Lion tribe, it is natural that I have it! Although that damn Chieftain bastard was eyeing this constantly!"
It was not important news, but it was interesting.
A sacred relic had entered the Fox tribe, which had none for a long time, but it belonged not to the village or the Chieftain, but to an ordinary tribesman.
And that tribesman had fought desperately to protect his ownership.
"I shall let you live as promised. Since I also heard an interesting story."
In the end, I decided to let Rex live.
Now Heo Jeong-ah would depart for the Turtle tribe's village.
And I intended to return to the Monkey tribe's village to handle the remaining matters.
However, Rex made an unexpected proposal to me.
"I think it might be good for you to stay a little longer in our Fox tribe village."
For a moment, I wondered if he had eaten something wrong.
"Stay, and then what?"
"A Rabbit tribe member will soon come to our village for an inspection. Information that an outworlder who received a quest is in our village has been transmitted to them."
Well, from the perspective of the Rabbit tribe, that was something that should not happen.
Because all Earthlings were supposed to wander the Tornava Continent with the memories of their quests erased at the Rabbit tribe village.
"Is this a good opportunity for me to capture and beat up one Rabbit tribe member?"
"Because I felt that you would somehow want to do that."
Rex was a fellow with exceptional insight into situations.
"The reason for making such a proposal to me?"
"Because I hate the Chieftain. I only hope that what he is doing fails."
A plausible reason.
It was not a bad proposal.
It also seemed sufficiently sincere.
***
Eventually, I changed the plan and returned to the Fox tribe's village.
I intended to capture and beat up the Rabbit tribe fellow who would soon come for an inspection, as Rex suggested.
Since at most one person was coming, I thought the risk of memory erasure would be quite small.
Of course, I still did not know in what way it was done.
I made it look as if I had failed to clear the quest in the dungeon.
When I glossed it over by saying that the clearing conditions did not quite match, a look of joy even came over the Chieftain's face.
He firmly established the situation with me.
"You know, right? We have cooperated as much as we could. So, there will be no more for a while!"
I nodded my head.
"I also have a sense of shame, so I will not demand any more for the time being."
"That is a very good attitude! Opportunities are plenty if you work for us, so do not be too discouraged!"
He looked ready to hold a feast.
Since he would be planning to erase my memory the day the inspection came from the Rabbit tribe, he might be planning to use us as slaves forever.
***
The reunion with the Rabbit tribe came sooner than expected.
I hurriedly sent the entire Chamryongdan to a dungeon.
Because those Rabbit tribe fellows who came for the inspection might remember our faces.
The place of reunion was the small private house where I was currently staying.
Of course, this was what I had requested.
Because I had to secretly capture and beat up this bastard.
While welcoming him, I set up two safety devices.
One was the holy sword.
I took it out of my inventory and hung it on the wall so that I could communicate with it immediately.
Even if I were to have my memory erased, the holy sword would immediately explain the situation, so I would not just be helplessly victimized.
The other was the Human Skin Mask.
Because of this item, he would consider me a first-time acquaintance.
Of course, I too was in a state of having no memory at all, as it had been completely erased.
I only knew indirectly through the voice recorder.
"You may enter."
At my permission, the door opened and a single non-human with an unfamiliar appearance entered alone.
Two ears protruding from the top of his head.
He greeted me in an innocent voice.
"Glad to meet you, outworlder!"
That voice and tone I had heard on the recorder.
It was the fellow who had erased my memory.
"I heard you have something to investigate with me."
"Yes, it is nothing major, so do not worry too much, outworlder."
At least right now, he would not attempt memory erasure.
He had to conduct a factual investigation too.
The problem was that after that, he would surely erase my memory.
I must not miss that moment.
If I could just find out in what way the Rabbit tribe fellows attempted memory erasure, the burden of dealing with them would disappear after that.
"The starting point in Tornava was the Cat tribe village?"
"That is correct."
"Is that certain?"
"There is no reason to hide it, after all."
"That is true, but."
Of course, he continued to look at me with suspicious eyes.
After that, his questions were what I had expected.
Whether it was true that I received a quest.
Whether I had any memory of meeting a Rabbit tribe member who looked like him.
"I have no such memory."
I only recited the prepared answers.
Of course, the recorder was running even at this moment.
Since the investigation on me was coming to an end, it was time to prepare for memory erasure.
'Once or twice.'
I am willing to suffer it.
If I could clearly verify his method now, it would be a profitable deal for me.
"Listen, outworlder."
"I am listening. Speak."
"I am still troubled, you see."
"About what?"
"Anyway, there is something like that. Because I am not certain if you are lying or telling the truth right now."
"Of course, what I said was all the truth."
"Yes. I will believe you like that. It is just that I am a bit suspicious, but nothing is going to change anyway."
"What do you mean?"
"The fact that you will never clear the quest. It is the same for your subordinates who you said are at a dungeon right now."
This bastard.
It seemed he was about to erase my memory soon.
If I made up my mind, my sword would be faster, but for now, I intended to see how he did it.
'Holy sword. This time, you watch closely too.'
Understood! This time I will verify his method without missing it!
With this, all preparations were complete.
FLASH.
A darkness fell in my mind, and an unfamiliar sight unfolded before me.
A house I was seeing for the first time.
And a non-human species with an appearance I was seeing for the first time stood before me.
'I suppose it is the Rabbit tribe.'
This place where I am now must be the Tornava Continent.
It seemed the starting point was the Rabbit tribe village.
And the fellow greeted me in an innocent voice.
"Welcome, human!"
His tone was certainly innocent, but I felt something sinister.