I Became the Commander in a Trash Game Who Copies Skills

Chapter 148. Duo (3)

Officially, I have not left my post.

In the viscounty, under Olif's supervision, duties are still being carried out in my name.

My unofficial position is not much different either.

As known only to less than fifty key personnel, I am dedicating myself to training in a forest near the city.

In short, it means I am ready to return at any time in case of an emergency.

Therefore, my journey needed to be kept strictly secret from start to finish.

That's why I went deeper into the forest even after parting with Karen.

However, there is one obstacle here.

Grrr!

Oink! Oooeee... Keck!

The deep western forest of Wolfskrig is the territory of the beastmen.

"Fresh meat."

Of course, in this world, there are also monsters who, instead of tripping over an obstacle under their feet, kick it and shatter it.

[[Warrior’s Binding] is deployed.]

[You have bound the defeated enemy.]

[Minotaur Elite Brawler (1), Horned One Warrior (2), Pigmy Supply Soldier (1)]

In just a few minutes, a group of several dozen beastmen, including a Minotaur, was literally butchered.

All I did was cast the [Wide-Area Silence] spell so that the noise wouldn't spread far.

Clean and fast.

I was worried about the smell of blood spreading during the fight since it was beastman territory, but there was no need for that.

"?"

But Randal was acting strangely.

He suddenly gathered branches and started a bonfire.

"It's not time to set up camp yet, is it?"

"What are you talking about, Viscount. We have to smoke the meat."

"?"

"There's a lot of meat here. Are you saying we should just leave it? Freshly made jerky is essential for a long journey."

“……”

I've heard advice that close friends or lovers should definitely go on a long trip together.

They say a trip is a place where you get to know various aspects of your companion, like their sleeping habits.

But this is a bit unexpected.

"Do you count beastman meat as meat?"

"It can't talk. And it's a beast. Then isn't it meat?"

"It walks on two legs."

"Chickens and ducks also walk on two legs."

"They use their hands too, you know?"

"Monkeys also use their hands. I heard there's a dish in the East where they eat monkey brains."

"...Then just take the meat. When we stop for a meal later, let's smoke it there."

"Alright. That sounds better."

Randal's axe moved dazzlingly.

Using his hunting skills from the north, he slit the belly, cut off the head, and then carved out only the main parts and tied them with a rope.

What he butchered was a beastman with a wild boar's head. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ NoveI[F]ire.net

A race called Pigmy.

They are delicate and meticulous for beastmen and also have good strength, so they are often in charge of the supplies of a large group.

The appearance of these rarely seen creatures must be evidence that we are getting closer to the black forest.

This is a matter to be dealt with after this journey is over.

"Viscount, let's go."

"Is the butchering done?"

"I've mainly taken the neck, belly, and front leg meat. They're delicious parts when smoked."

“……”

We passed through the forest for two days.

We walked west continuously, then turned north and exited the forest.

Since we were narrowly skirting the border of the black forest, friction with the beastmen occurred frequently, and there were a few more battles, but they all ended anticlimactically.

What was personally agonizing was the camping.

Even if it had a beast's head, watching a creature that walked on two legs like a human being cooked in hot smoke.

The smell it gave off was so savory it made my mouth water, and I felt like a part of my humanity was disappearing.

I hear that in the north, they hunt beastmen as wild animals, so to some, it might just sound like the complaint of a full stomach.

"Viscount, aren't you eating? It's delicious."

"...Eat a lot."

"It's a shame there's no alcohol. It would have been good."

After exiting the forest to the north, we entered the imperial highway.

We didn't follow the highway directly.

The imperial highway has a lot of traffic and frequent checkpoints.

Usually, it would be an advantage, but right now I have to hide my identity.

We have to ride along the wilderness where there are no roads.

[[Cartography] is deployed.]

[[Skilled Horsemanship] is deployed.]

I made full use of the cartography, horsemanship, and horse management skills I had learned a long time ago.

I acquired these skills on the way to Gunterburk on a mission from the church.

A messenger knight under Archduke Gabir had accompanied me for a few days and became the 'teacher' who taught me these skills.

I wonder where that knight is and what he's doing now.

‘A journey certainly enriches the emotions. To the point of making this man with no blood or tears think such thoughts.’

‘Eyeball, our master is surprisingly a man of rich sensibility. He may seem like someone who wouldn't bleed even if pricked with a needle on the outside, but he's soft on the inside.’

‘...Tick-Tock?’

‘He’s asking what in the world you're talking about.’

“……”

I went straight to the Imperial Capital with a lot of noise.

There was no particular friction after leaving the forest.

I was able to arrive near a village close to the Imperial Capital in exactly a fortnight.

A journey that would take over a month on foot was dramatically shortened by changing horses.

Kkumteuli's ability was a great help here.

I changed horses by entering cities with a different face, selling the horse I had been using, and buying a new one.

In addition, I learned a new fact in the process.

Kkumteuli's ability has been upgraded.

***

"So, you can change your body, not just your face?"

‘That's right. Didn't Marquis Ricardo tell you before? The power of a sacred relic is unlocked sequentially according to the qualifications of its guardian.’

"He did. I think he said there were three stages."

The first stage is recognizing other sacred relics and summoning their guardians.

The second stage is drawing out the power of the Outer God.

The third stage is distorting reality with the power of the Outer God.

Marquis Ricardo had reached the third stage.

He had fortified the entire lord's castle with the power of the sacred relic, causing all who set foot inside to fall into terrible hallucinations.

He also pulled off tricks like slowing down time inside the lord's castle or sealing skills in a room.

At that time, the Marquis proposed a chess match to me, saying.

If he lost, he would tell me how to reach the third stage as a reward.

The promise was not kept.

Because the Marquis died.

‘It is the third stage that fellow spoke of. Strictly speaking, that classification is wrong, but… well, he was not a guardian who could communicate with us directly.’

"Then what is the proper classification?"

‘It is true that abilities are unlocked one by one according to qualifications. However, the number of abilities varies depending on the sacred relic. Accordingly, the qualification requirements are also different.’

"How do I meet the qualification requirements?"

‘Well, personal strength is important, but… how long one has used the sacred relic is also important. In that sense, master, you have learned a new ability very quickly.’

The sacred relic of the 'Nameless Tentacle'.

Kkumteuli's new ability was simple and clear.

Before, it could only change the face, but now it can change the entire body.

The scope included not only height and weight but also the structure of the body.

In short, it means I can also transform into other races like Orcs or beastmen.

‘It's impossible if the weight class or body structure is too different. Like suddenly wanting to become a flying Pegasus, or wanting to transform into a giant ten meters tall. That kind of thing is impossible.’

Anyway, I gained a new ability, but that doesn't mean I can enter the Imperial Capital with it.

Unlike other cities, the security in the Imperial Capital is ironclad.

It's not a level that can be easily breached just by changing my face.

To enter the Imperial Capital, one must have a visitor's pass issued in another city beforehand.

If it's your first time, you are bound to go through various verifications of your identity in the process.

You could call it a concept similar to a passport.

I might be able to manage it somehow with Eyeball's spatial transfer, but Randal is the problem.

Of course, I have a plan.

Near a village a day's journey from the Imperial Capital.

I met with the prepared personnel at the promised location.

They are agents of old man Brol's intelligence agency.

"What, are you the guests Mr. Brol mentioned? You're here early."

"I know, right. I heard it would take about three or four weeks."

The agents who successfully infiltrated the Imperial Capital.

They have spare visitor's passes processed under pseudonyms.

I plan to receive a new identity from them and enter the Imperial Capital.

Of course, I did not reveal my face to them either.

I was disguised as a middle-aged man of moderate build whom I had passed on the way.

But perhaps they have good intuition, as befits intelligence agents.

"Wait, that big guy… Isn't that the 3rd Battalion Commander?"

"You're right. Let's see, I heard the 3rd Battalion Commander is training near the black forest with the Viscount."

"Oh, then could that person be…"

They seem to have quickly approached the truth.

I met their suspicious gazes blankly without saying anything.

If one of the characteristics of intelligence agents is a sharp intuition, another is that they are quick-witted.

"Ahaha, it seems we were mistaken."

"That's right. How could that be. No way. What were we thinking! Hahaha!"

"Hahaha! These people, what an imagination! Haha!"

With a harmonious laugh, a suitable identity was created in an instant.

A merchant 'Fernando' from a southwestern coastal city.

And a wandering mercenary 'Dolk' from the northern frost plains.

"Dolk? He's a big one. What's with the tattoo on his face?"

"Idiot, he said he's from the north. Everyone's big there."

After passing through the checkpoint without any particular problems, we entered the Imperial Capital.

Not much had changed since I came a few years ago.

Merchants sell their goods, children run around, soldiers stand guard, and craftsmen work on furniture and metal.

A scene of a bustling city, each for their own reason.

No one would imagine that just below their feet are hundreds of thousands of monsters, biding their time to prey on them.

To intervene in that fight, I must first go to the person in power who knows the overall situation.

'Archduke Gabir Maraz.'

As the Emperor's right-hand man, he will be able to provide a way.

Unfortunately, he is in the inner citadel.

An inner citadel that people with visitor's passes cannot enter without a special reason or high status.

Even old man Brol's intelligence agency does not have influence that reaches the inner citadel.

"Viscount, where are we going now?"

Therefore, I must go through one more step.

I headed to the church.

After telling Randal to wait nearby, I found a deserted alleyway.

I take off my disguise and return to my original face, then open the subspace and place my hand on the sacred relic.

'Eyeball.'

'Yes, master.'

It's a place I've been to once.

It's not difficult to go again.

As I inject a little mana, the unique sensation of spatial transfer penetrates my mind.

First, the coordinates are engraved in my head.

Then, the objects at the coordinates are drawn.

The sensation of a black and white space, the lines on it, the objects connected by surfaces, and after the colors are added, the living creatures are painted over.

Like watching a time-lapse of a watercolor painting process of several hours in a few tens of seconds, the series of processes of drawing a physical space is completed in a fleeting moment, shorter than the blink of an eye.

The next moment, I was standing in a spacious room.

In a room decorated with antique and religious ornaments, with shelves full of old books.

"Uh, that, Viscount? Viscount Ash Wolfskrig?"

An old man with a gentle impression.

One of the only twelve archbishops in the Imperial Church was in front of me.

Holding a bottle that looked expensive at a glance.

"Uh, well… It's been a while? Hahaha!"

The archbishop sneakily lowered the bottle under the desk.

That looked suspiciously like a whiskey bottle.

It couldn't be.