NOVEL NEXT Chapter 27
Suddenly, as I was contemplating what to do with my fundamental comrades, this extreme incident unfolded.
As soon as I returned to the branch, I fell asleep, feeling unusually light as if something good was about to happen.
After all, the issue that had worried me most about Agartha had been absurdly resolved, and now that I had a solid direction on what to do next, there was no reason to have a headache.
On this day, since there were no specific instructions issued, I was lazily resting in my room when I heard a knock on the door.
Was it finally time?
“Yes, who is it?”
“It’s Muyun, Tanton.”
I quickly sprang up from my seat and hurried to the door. When I opened it, there stood Muyun, already clad in her armor.
Perhaps it was because I flung the door open, but Muyun looked surprised, flicking her hair back.
“Yes, what’s up?”
“Ah, um! You need to head to the armory now…”
Now, this is where things got important.
What weapon I would draw decided how I needed to train moving forward.
If I drew a sword, I’d walk the path of a swordsman.
If an axe came out, it would be the path of a warrior.
If a gun appeared, then I’d become an archer.
And around me were mentors for each of these paths.
The sword would probably come from the White Mask.
The axe from Muyun.
And perhaps the Hunter would teach me about the gun?
At least, I was assured that the beginning wouldn’t be slow at all.
So, I was open to anything that might be drawn.
Following Muyun, I headed towards the Hearth.
This time, instead of going down to the basement, I stepped onto a small pillar embedded like a staircase in the wall and went up.
“If you go up the stairs in the center, it’s dangerous. There’s a high chance it won’t end without burns.”
Muyun’s explanation reminded me of the heat I felt last time, and it made sense.
Climbing up there while taking that on bare-bodied would indeed be madness.
I didn’t go all the way up those stairs; at the one-third mark, there was a door made of iron.
Muyun inserted the key and unlocked it.
From what I saw from outside, there seemed to be no one inside.
Well, since weapons were picked randomly, there wouldn’t be anything anyone could interfere with even if they tried.
“The weapons that come from the armory are randomly provided, deemed suitable for the target by the Hearth itself. Um… this is power applied directly by the Hearth, and if you grab an unsuitable weapon, the target could go insane.”
Hearing Muyun’s explanation enlightened me on a part I didn’t know before.
Going insane, huh?
So that’s why there was that warning about not just grabbing any weapon inside.
“Other than that, there’s not much else, so just go inside and wait, and one weapon will come out. Try using it once, and if there are no issues, you can head right back out.”
As Muyun said that, she swung the iron door wide open and stepped two steps up the stairs to make space for me to enter.
“If a problem arises… um, no. I can’t solve it…”
“Ah, got it.”
Isn’t the usual thing to say in a situation like this that they’ll handle everything for you?
Sheesh, now I’m suddenly feeling a bit scared.
“By the way, where’s the Hunter?”
“Oh… that person is allowed to act freely, so they decided not to give him any weapons from the armory. The ones from the unregulated armory are quite dangerous…”
So, that’s what happened.
There’s actually a tree where the lone wolf, the Pure Hunter Route, captures Outsiders directly and merges them into equipment.
I had never experienced it myself, so I didn’t know how it worked, but it was said to be more challenging than learning the Blessing Prayer with the Hearth’s help on the Paladin Route.
So it seems that in the end, I was going in alone.
After taking a few deep breaths, I stepped into the armory.
It didn’t look like much.
There were just cobblestones densely embedded in the walls, and the room was lined with wooden chests.
However, the peculiar thing was that all those chests were connected, and they all pointed toward a single table.
And considering there was a hole in that table, it looked like a weapon suited for the user was going to pop out from here.
Seeing footprints not far from that table suggested that I just needed to stand there.
What kind of weapon will come out?
I hadn’t even slept properly since yesterday thinking about this.
Still, maybe something cool will pop out?
It might just look odd to me because of the mode, but at least it would appear cool to others, right?
As I stood there lost in thought, the heat that had been emanating from the Hearth seemed to gather and flow towards that table.
Despite being so hot, the table showed no signs of burning; instead, it appeared to be quivering slightly as if trying to pull something in.
I swallowed dryly.
Alright, I’ll accept whatever weapon comes my way.
Hurry up and show yourself!
Just as I thought that, something suddenly popped out from the hole in the table.
It landed right in front of me, and the moment I laid eyes on that weapon, I couldn’t help but freeze in place.
Wha-what is this?
Am I seeing this correctly?
No matter how much I rubbed my eyes, the scene before me didn’t change.
As a result, I found myself sinking into despair.
No way.
What on earth is this weapon?
In front of my eyes was a long straw with paper attached, the tip curled into a round shape.
If you blew into the straw, the paper would unfurl and produce a loud noise.
It looked like a party horn.
A toy that seemed suitable only for a birthday party had decided to pop up as a weapon.
No way a party horn could be a weapon to take down an Outsider!
As I grasped the horn with trembling hands, I could feel the heat that had gathered in the armory rush out all at once.
Was that its way of saying, “You got it, now get lost”?
This is ridiculous.
How could this be happening…?
“With this! How am I supposed to catch an Outsider!!!”
In my frustration, I brought the horn to my mouth and blew hard, and that proved to be my undoing.
Pbbbbbt~
In that moment, I felt as if a vast space had suddenly opened up in my mind.
Before I even grasped what was happening, something surged in, and what occurred next was even more bewildering.
“Woooon? What’s going on? Did someone call me?”
A very familiar voice resonated from somewhere.
A voice so striking that I could never forget it.
This voice…
“M-Muyun?”
“Ah! This voice! Human! That troublesome human!”
Wait a second.
Why is the Watcher’s voice appearing just because I blew this horn?
I shook my head vigorously, wondering if it was just an auditory hallucination, trying to clear my mind.
“No! That’s my voice!”
Her confirmation meant I was indeed conversing with her.
Hold on.
Thinking back, I had heard that among the weapons made from Outsiders, there was a joke weapon.
The one that flooded the community with threads to bait people.
People referred to it as the Suicide Horn.
Though classified as an S-grade weapon, simply blowing it could lead to immediate contact with an Outsider, resulting in an instant death— a so-called dud weapon.
I vaguely remember that it was described as creating a mental space for conversing with an Outsider.
At one time, rumors circulated that this unique feature might hide some secret ability, but it got buried when the Hunter character would literally just die, leaving no way to confirm.
With such a potent weapon being the only one of its kind, there could be no other option.
Therefore, that means….
Could it be that this party horn is… that suicide horn?
“You called me, human! I’m coming right now!”
“No, no, no! Don’t come!”
Thank goodness I wasn’t experiencing mental contamination due to my super cowardly mode!
Just as a sentence that could blur my mind echoed in my head, it was already too late.
Suddenly, a shattering sound, much like breaking glass, erupted, and a significant tremor shook the area.
“Ahhhh!”
Hearing Muyun’s scream, I quickly stuffed the party horn into my pocket and dashed out of the armory.
“T-Tanton?”
“Let’s get out! It’s dangerous!”
As I pulled Muyun out of the Hearth, a massive crack suddenly opened right in front of us, and something seemed to be trying to emerge from its center, gradually breaking apart.
This is insane.
It really is trying to come out!
“Distortion phenomenon detected at the Hearth’s center! Emergency, emergency!”
“Damn it, what the hell is happening?”
“Report to Her Highness that we need to increase the Hearth’s operating rate!”
The knights moved in perfect unison, while the inhabitants of the territory fled in a panic, screaming.
The center of the crack began to break apart further, and amidst it, the Watcher was pushing her head out.
Seemingly delighted, the Watcher spotted me and, with a cheerful smile, continued to wriggle her way forward.
“W-Watcher…!”
Upon encountering the Watcher, Muyun nearly fainted.
Since just looking at her could cause serious mental damage, even with protection gear on, it was bound to have an effect.
I wondered if it was right to step in, but with the situation escalating, there was no time to hesitate.
“H-Hey! No! What are you doing…!”
One knight tried to stop me, but I shoved his hand away and charged ahead.
Who else was going to stop it but me?
As I got closer, the Watcher smiled brightly.
“Human! You really wanted to see me, didn’t you? I wanted to see you too!”
“Sure, I wanted to see you! But not now! Go back!”
I rushed towards the crack and tried to push the Watcher’s head back inside, but I clearly couldn’t overpower her brute strength.
“Woooon! No way! I’m going to play with the human! Besides, you called me!”
“Okay, you have a point, but still, back off!”
With all my might, I tried to shove her head further in, but it seemed to only worsen the crack.
As a result, the Watcher’s upper body began to emerge!
“Almost there!”
The Watcher’s expression grew livelier with joy at the thought of playing with me, but I felt quite different.
The more she came out, the more the surroundings began to distort, to the point where I started questioning if this space was really Rondan.
Wait, is this even a ‘space’ to begin with?
Fortunately, this place was right in front of Rondan’s heart.
The heat from the Hearth started to suppress the crack.
“Ugh, I can’t get in! Human! Help me!”
Thank goodness!
I had to assist the Hearth in stopping this disaster!
“Come on, get in!”
With the thought that failure would spell doom, I gripped the Watcher’s shoulders and pushed.
It seemed my earnest effort was making a difference as the Watcher’s body gradually began to slide back in.
Yet for some reason, she made no sound and only breathed heavily.
“No! If you go any further!”
The knights wore anxious expressions, seemingly hesitant to approach because of the Watcher’s might.
Please, just get in already!
Amidst my desperate efforts to prevent catastrophe, a voice rang out.
“Honestly, this damn mutt just does whatever it wants.”
Whose voice is that?
“I didn’t think you’d connect all of a sudden, but here we are, witnessing this sight.”
The Gardener!
Or was it more accurate to say, the one associated with the rose?
“What does it matter? Do as you please.”
With a deep exhale, the Gardener said that.
“It seems that mutt is causing trouble, want me to help?”
Those words felt like a lifeline being thrown down.
“I’ll take anything, please…!”
With a final sigh from the Gardener, it felt like our positions suddenly flipped.
We experienced the sensation of our bodies flipping and fell somewhere.
“T-Tanton!!!”
I could faintly hear Muyun’s voice, but there was no time to worry about that.
“Whoaah!”
Seemingly forever falling, we finally landed in a space filled with snacks and food.
An oddly alien atmosphere indicated that this was undoubtedly an Outsider’s domain.
“Woooah!”
Amidst all this, the Watcher glanced around for a moment before spotting me and, excited, rushed over to lick my cheeks.
…This is truly a mess.