NOVEL NEXT Chapter 177
As you play various games, you naturally come across parts that reveal the developer’s ‘intent’ or ‘purpose.’
These parts typically become apparent through the ‘stage structure’ that directly influences gameplay.
For instance, if the developer of ‘Super Mario’ created the game purely for ‘fun,’ the developer of ‘Cat Mario’ might be said to have created it solely out of ‘malice.’
Even among the same profession, the results can be drastically different.
Thus, it’s clear that ‘Teddy’ must have designed the underground structure with all sorts of malice to block intruders heading to his hideout.
However.
Every place has shortcuts.
Just as the boss of Super Mario wouldn’t cross Bowser’s castle to get to a convenience store, players rarely retrace their steps after getting rewards from dungeons.
The existence of a backdoor for convenience is essential.
Of course, one could simply call all this ‘game allowance,’ but the reality is that we unexpectedly locked eyes with a shocked Teddy after opening a hidden wall.
“…So, how did you actually find your way in here? I deleted all the machine signals and set up multiple layers of security traps… Damn, the more I think about it, the more impossible it seems.”
Teddy’s mechanical eye spins frantically.
He seems to be deep in thought.
I slowly opened my mouth for Teddy.
“…Ah, I see.”
“?”
“Do you not know?”
That was….
…….
“I don’t know either.”
“…No, this bastard is exactly the same as before─.”
I had simply followed the genius AI, Eve, who even blasphemes.
38. Wizard in the Underground (3)
Fortunately, the ceiling turret installed in Teddy’s hideout did not activate.
He might have thought it would be meaningless to activate it, or perhaps he didn’t want to greet his long-lost hometown friend with turrets.
Teddy mentioned there were no designated guest chairs.
Because of that, we found ourselves perched on an unidentified electronic device.
(I’m fine sitting on a box, but it was a bit tough for Eve, who weighs quite a bit with Bioware.)
I looked at Eve sitting next to me.
“Did you contact Catherine?”
“Yes. I sent the data along with specific locations, maps, and methods.”
“She’ll be here soon.”
What did Eve say earlier?
14 m/s?
I have no idea how far she moved already at that speed, but it shouldn’t take long to come back.
After hearing Eve’s response, I surveyed the surroundings.
This place, presumed to be where Teddy and his fellow wizard stay, was full of traces of life.
There might be other hideouts, but it seemed they were primarily living here.
Various unidentified machines were covered with thick cloth.
Besides that, there were leftover hamburger wrappers, a turret partially disassembled, a roaring air purifier, and a disorganized, messy mattress.
And sitting on that mattress, looking at us suspiciously, was a little one.
Hmm.
I couldn’t ignore that gaze forever.
“I told you. I’d only be here until my companions arrived.”
“……”
“It’s fine to threaten me to trigger a landmine back then. No one got hurt anyway.”
“……”
“…If we really came to catch you, we would have captured you the moment our eyes met. As you’d know from that guy, my companions have that level of skill.”
“……”
The little one simply ignored my words.
It felt like watching a wild child…
When I went to rescue Merlin, the situation was urgent, so I didn’t get to see properly, but Teddy’s wizard companion looks surprisingly young.
He’s small and has a face as tiny as a fist.
I think I would have been that height about ten years ago.
It’s impossible timing-wise, but how does Catherine know such a young one?
I’ll have to ask Catherine about it later.
I didn’t have a hobby of asking questions to someone who ignores me.
I let out a deep sigh with my chin resting on my hand.
“Ugh, let’s not talk.”
“Who are you guys?”
“……”
No way, did he just ask me right after I said not to talk…
What a mean little one.
I gestured toward Teddy, who was pouring hot water with an electric kettle.
“You’ve heard the gist from that guy, right?”
Unlike the wary little one, Teddy didn’t seem to be on high alert with us.
Perhaps he knows that with just a gesture from Eve, he could be rendered incapacitated.
Unlike last time, the area wasn’t filled with landmines. He must realize threatening with their lives is impossible.
Having overheard his story, Teddy limped over to us.
“About ten years ago? I mentioned I knew them, but to be honest, I’m not sure if that person is the same.”
That’s more like what I wanted to say.
He was a little punk who constantly picked on me, but seeing him peacefully handing me a glass of water was quite nostalgic.
“Drink it or not, do as you please. It’s my first time hosting guests, so I don’t have many things to offer.”
Teddy gulps down the water he got for himself.
“And back then, considering the situation, I was also sharp… For sure, we’re both from the same landfill.”
Teddy casually shrugs his shoulders while sharing the water with Eve and me.
Looking back, Teddy didn’t actually seem that aggressive about sniffing around the virus he sent to Merlin; he merely forced me to disable it because he hadn’t forgotten that he tried to take my credit chip ten years ago.
“…Hmm.”
Still, drinking something unknown seems iffy…
As I merely held the cup, Eve took the cup from my hand.
And like a cat, she stuck out her tongue and licked the liquids from her cup and mine to check.
“There are no toxic substances in the cup or liquid.”
“…What if there were?”
“I’d be fine.”
Not sure why it had to be licked to confirm, but at least it implied nothing was wrong with the contents.
While it felt a bit off that it was warm water, she must have lived a long time in the underground where hygiene is important.
I thought that and drank the water in the cup.
…….
I then asked Teddy, who was clearly drinking the same liquid… not water.
“…What is this?”
“Soda drink from the Blue Curacao series. It’s lost carbonation and has been diluted quite a bit. But it’s better than plain water.”
“……”
I don’t think so.
I quietly set down the half-finished cup.
The experience of drinking a bland, flat cider hot was unbelievably strange.
I never wanted to go through that again.
Looking back, Teddy never said it was water in the first place. I mistook the transparent liquid for water.
As much as there are people who like bizarre food, I didn’t expect Teddy’s taste to be this whacked out.
He’s just lost his taste….
I clicked my tongue and swallowed.
Meanwhile, I asked the little one still sitting on the mattress, eyeing us suspiciously.
“I think you said your name was ‘Dal’?”
It’s quite an emotional name.
It’s not a name that’s entirely unused, but it’s certainly not commonly used for people.
“……”
I already knew there wouldn’t be a response.
I secretly checked the mana residing within the little one, Dal.
Indeed, I could feel mana.
However, it wasn’t much.
Specifically, it was about two-tenths of Merlin’s. That indicated he wasn’t that great of a wizard.
To have survived long underground without any cyberware installed at all is remarkable.
If Teddy had been helping him along, it’s not impossible, but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t dangerous.
I asked Teddy about that.
Then.
“…What do you think the underground is?”
“Huh?”
“You lived in that landfill too, right? This place is filled with people living.”
Saying that Teddy mocked me in a rather unpleasant tone.
“If you avoid dangerous areas, you’ll be fine. And since we’re close to the surface, there aren’t many super dangerous places. Just steer clear of the areas occupied by organizations; it’s safe.”
“I see.”
Just because it’s underground doesn’t mean it’s crawling with eight-legged lizards or malfunctioning cleaning robots attempting to ‘clean’ people.
Well, it’s directly beneath the city anyway.
Is the reason they don’t go to the surface because of their identity? Or is there another reason? I intended to ask Teddy that thought when….
“……Ugh.”
A shallow groan escaped from the little one.
It seemed I wasn’t the only one who heard it, as Teddy’s and Eve’s gazes also shifted toward the little one.
The little one’s complexion turned an ashen pale.
“…Ugh.”
The little one clasped his tiny hands over his chest.
“Dal!”
Teddy rushed over to the little one with a shocked expression. But he didn’t help the collapsing child, instead just shouting without touching him.
Teddy blocked our way as we approached.
“Don’t come!”
“Come on, even if I can’t treat him, at least I should see his condition. Or help him up or something.”
At my words, Teddy bit his lip.
“…Dal has ‘Chrome Allergy.’ If any other person’s cyberware touches him, his condition will worsen.”
“Chrome Allergy?”
It was a trait that appeared in the game.
A characteristic preventing any type of cyberware from being installed in the body, and this was the first time I’ve met someone who actually possessed it.
I slowly lowered Teddy’s hand blocking my way.
“I only installed cyberware in the joints. It should be fine.”
With no visible cyberware on my skin.
Teddy took a step back at my words.
Interpreting it as permission, I knelt down and supported the little one who was gasping for breath.
Does he have some chronic illness?
His complexion looks terrible.
“…Hang on.”
I placed my hand over the little one’s chest.
At that, Teddy shouted at me.
“Hey! What are you doing?!”
It wasn’t that I suddenly had some perverse nature spring forth to touch him.
Though Teddy might see it that way, I could perceive the flow of mana being absorbed into the little girl’s chest.
“There’s magic near the chest.”
“What?”
“I think this is causing it to happen…”
Cautiously, I released mana through my palm.
Gradually, the little one’s complexion improved, and even Teddy, who was acting tough, stopped.
What kind of magic is this?
It seemed that it was caused by trying to absorb all the mana within the little one.
I focused more closely on the magic afflicting the little one, thinking I could delve further.
To anyone else, it probably looked like I was staring intensely at the little one’s chest like a pervert.
And then.
“…What is this?”
I was startled by Catherine’s voice coming out of nowhere.
Before I realized it, the wall, which had been closed, had opened up.
Catherine’s expression changed in real-time as she alternated glances between me and the little one nestled in my arms.
“……”
“……”
This was genuinely unfair.