The Berserker’s Second Playthrough in the Game - Chapter 45



Only Krnovel

Episode 45 Witch of the wilderness (1)

The next day, there was an unexpected commotion in Messen.

The cavalry carrying Remtana’s flag crossed the bridge and took over Messen. The man leading the soldiers was a middle-aged man dressed in a neat coat. When the village chief of Messen saw who he was, he bowed in thought.

“Oh, no, aren’t you the Chief of Staff? What on earth brought you here… ?”

“I heard that illegal armed forces are active in Messen, so I came to inspect. I know that you are also in collusion with them, so tell me exactly where their base is, village chief.”

“Huh? That, that’s… … .”

The village chief hesitated, but helplessly guided his aide to the vigilante office. The soldiers of the Chassa Army prepared for combat in case of any emergency. The door was blocked, so they smashed the window and stormed inside the office.

However, what greeted them were not vigilantes prepared to fight to the death.

“Hmm?”

‘Ugh, ugh!’

‘Eup, eup, eup!’

Men trapped tightly with one of their arms or legs, or both, broken. And a strange corpse with holes all over its body.

The aide untied the men and interrogated them. They obediently declared that they were a vigilante group and that the corpse was the leader. However, they did not know who made them like this and how they killed the leader. I was suddenly hit in the back of the head at night and lost consciousness, but when I opened my eyes, everyone was like this.

No one told Sun-sun that it happened while they were trying to kidnap someone, but… … The aide clicked his tongue as if he already knew something.

“What should I do, Assistant? “Will we also investigate who made the vigilante leader and these guys like this?”

“… … No, we are only following the orders of the Commissioner. Chain these guys back up and find the remnants of the illegal armed forces. We will leave this place as soon as we find them all, so hurry.”

The aides and the sergeants tied the village chief, the self-proclaimed vigilantes, and all the people involved in chains together and paraded them through the middle of the village. The travelers who had been harmed by them did not hesitate to curse and throw stones at them. The criminals limped on broken legs and struggled to avoid the stones.

But the reaction of the villagers was different. The criminals were strangers to the travelers, but to them they were someone’s neighbors, brothers, sons, and fathers.

In the midst of the march, a middle-aged woman jumped out and fell face down in front of the aide.

“Oh my aide, get better! It’s not because my son has a bad mind! The taxes have become so high that they are trying to make some money and save the village! Please forgive me just this once, just this once!”

“… … After the Twin Canyons were opened and the tax revenue in the southern part of the jurisdiction was normalized, didn’t they actually lower the taxes? Then why haven’t you persuaded your son to stop his armed activities until now?”

“That’s, that, that’s… … .”

She couldn’t honestly answer that the ill-gotten gains her son had brought her were too sweet. The woman continued to mutter nonsense that didn’t even make sense. The expression on the aide’s face as he looked down on her grew increasingly hard.

“The commissioner has ordered me to take full account of the situation here and deal with it. Your son will be able to return after receiving the appropriate punishment, so don’t worry too much.”

“Is that true?”

“Yes, then get out of the way and get out of the way. If you continue to obstruct, your son’s sin will become even more severe.”

The woman quickly stepped back. She then waved her hand pitifully at her son. Her son lifted the corner of her mouth with difficulty, as if to tell her not to worry. Coincidentally, he was one of those who caused a disturbance at the inn and stole a horse and stabbed to death.

There were two people watching the scene from behind the crowd of people who had gathered. A large savage and a middle-aged man wearing a hat pulled down low. The aide made eye contact with them, but pretended not to notice them and quickly looked away.

Kadim looked down at Enrico and asked softly.

“Is it true that those guys can be punished and come back here?”

“Of course. Although I can’t return below the neck.”

“… … .”

A cold answer. Enrico’s face had the sternness of a leader leading a region.

There was no appropriate punishment for organizing an illegal armed force, occupying public facilities without permission, stealing and destroying public property under the jurisdiction, and plotting to kidnap a counselor other than beheading.

*

The vigilantes were dealt with quietly without revealing the true identity of the counselor. He received word secretly from his aide and even the means of transportation were secured again. Originally, the counselor and his party should have left Messen immediately and continued their journey.

But that couldn’t be done.

“Huh… … I’m sorry… … . After all, at times like this, my body… … .”

“… … .”

Enrico, who worked without sleeping and couldn’t even rest properly in the village, eventually fell ill. It was impossible to run for two days with a sick person lying in bed with fever and body aches. In the end, the councilor’s party was forced to stay in Messen for several more days.

At first, Kadim thought about just returning the money and going on his journey. But he quickly changed his mind. Since there was a precedent where someone targeted the councilor, he felt uncomfortable leaving him alone. He still owed the councilor a debt.

‘I can’t let him die before I can read the records of the Magic Tower.’

Kadim set out to find a way to kill time.

Messen was a town that didn’t have much to offer. No matter where I went, the food was poor and the drinks were not that good. Savages had no hobbies such as gambling or gambling. In addition, because the entire village was in turmoil due to the vigilante incident, not many stores were open.

In the end, there was only one thing worth doing consistently.

“Ouch, aaaah!”

Beating up Duncan and teaching him how to fight.

“Always gauge your distance. The distance between your weapon and your arm, the distance between you and your weapon, the distance between you and your arm, the distance between you and your arm, the distance between you and your arm. And when you are within range of your enemy, choose one of two things as quickly as possible. Either stab him or get away.”

“Oh, huh, oh my!”

“It would be good to make at least one weapon that the enemy does not know about. If the enemy swings his sword honestly, throw the rock you have hidden in his face. Just because the enemy is fair and square doesn’t mean you have to fight like that. “The dirtiest victory is far better than the cleanest defeat.”

“Ahh, ah!”

Duncan, who had been beaten so hard for days, had difficulty finding a part of his body that was intact. Still, no part of his body was broken or injured to the point of immobility. This was thanks to Khadim’s exquisite control of the location and force of the blows.

Whether it was because he liked the instructor or because he simply hated being hit, Duncan’s skills were improving faster than he had expected. Now, his reflexes were so good that he could dodge two or three attacks out of a hundred. However, the counterattacks that followed still didn’t even graze Khadim’s truck.

Kadim’s assessment of Duncan’s qualities changed.

‘Less pathetic.’

Although he had little talent, he had a certain amount of tenacity. If things continued like this, it would be worth considering developing the ‘potential’ he had caught last time.

“Hehe, hehe, aah, ahh, ugh… … .”

“Good work. “That’s all for today.”

But just as he was about to head back to town, Duncan saw someone over his shoulder.

Kadim focused his gaze. He saw dark brown hair that had a reddish tint from the sunset, eyes that were raised proudly and had yellow-glowing pupils, and leather pants that clung to a loose tunic. He didn’t know the person, but he was familiar with him.

The woman who slowly approached me and was right in front of me spoke.

“Hello, I am Ilenia. I am a graduate of the University of Galentana, but I am also an archaeologist. Like you, I am an Atalain and a great warrior.”

“… … .”

“In historical encounters, necessity and coincidence are always intertwined like weft and warp. I think our meeting was like that too. An archaeologist looking for the brave warriors and ruins of Atala! What an encounter with endless possibilities… … .”

Kadim and Duncan stared at the woman, speechless.

The woman spoke so confidently that it made me think she had asked for an introduction first. She said Kadim felt a sense of déjà vu. He had met someone who talked like this before.

‘… … The leper I met in the forest where the Hydra was.’

He was a man of unsound mind.

I could tell without even having to do any inductive reasoning that this woman was not in her right mind. And that dealing with such a person would most likely lead to trouble.

Kadim hurried to leave.

The woman was suddenly embarrassed. She approached me with her own attitude, but it seemed like she didn’t expect that kind of reaction. She put the atmosphere aside and hurriedly followed behind.

“Now, wait a minute! Where are you going! You have to listen to what people are saying! “I just came to say thank you!”

“… … .”

“Those damn vigilantes! The mercenary killed you! I knew long ago that they were planning a dirty plan! Gossip is not good and it causes trouble to people, so I deliberately tried to scold them in a quiet place! But thanks to the mercenary, I saved the trouble… … .”

“… … .”

“hey! Wait a minute, wait a minute! 5 minutes, no, 3 minutes is fine too! No, what kind of person walks so fast… … .”

No matter how much he shouted, Kadim had no intention of listening. His pace was like that of an average person running, so the distance between them kept growing further and further.

Finally, the woman shouted as a last resort:

“If you come back right now, I’ll give you 1000 Luden! If you listen to me, you will get 100 Luden per minute! “If you answer the questions, you get 500 Luden each!”

Considering that a night’s stay at a decent inn cost around 100 luden, the offer was certainly outrageous. The woman confidently stopped and placed a hand on her hip, as if she expected Kadeem to turn around and come running at her at any moment.

But there was something she overlooked.

There is over 500,000 Luden in the hands of the barbarians.

“Uh, huh?”

Kadim’s money sense is now fully adapted to modern times. A few hundred or a few thousand of money just looks ridiculous. I continued walking without even listening to what the woman said.

Instead, the reaction the woman wanted came from the other side.

“… … Hey there, lady. I can listen to you if you give me half that amount… … . lol… … .”

“… … .”

Duncan is smiling brightly and scratching his head with a bruised face. The woman looked at the peddler with a goatee from a distance, as if she was dumbfounded.

*

Unordered beer and stewed chicken with eggplant came out on the table. Kadim glanced at the innkeeper. The innkeeper shrugged her shoulders and gestured to the corner of the hall.

“You don’t have to pay. The lady over there is buying it.”

When he glanced around, he saw the same woman, Ilenia, waving her hand. Kadim immediately furrowed his brow. Damn, I thought she was always hanging around.

Kadim pushed aside the plate and glass and stood up. He saw Ilenia following him and approaching him in a hurry. He ignored what was being said and was about to leave for his room.

Surprisingly, the words she spoke tripped Kadim up.

“hey! Do you know anything about the ‘shamans of the wilderness’?”

“… … .”

“Yes, you are called Atala, so you must know. The priests of Atala, who glimpsed fate in the sandstorm, blessed warriors tattooed with blood, and performed miracles with their powerful sorcery! In an instant, they suddenly disappeared from the world like dust… … .”

Kadim hesitated for a moment and then sat down on the road. Ilenia joined him, letting out a deep sigh of relief.

“… … “The shamans of the wilderness have disappeared?”

“Yes, you know? It’s not hard to see Atala’s warriors like you, but it’s impossible to see the priestesses.”

“What are you talking about? “I don’t know about this area, but it could be beyond the mountains.”

“Oh, that can’t be true. I went there myself.”

“… … what?”

“You said you’ve been to the wilderness. You’ve been wandering around for the past few years, but you haven’t seen a single priestess. Well, if you’re saying they’re hiding so well that they can’t be seen by outsiders, then I have nothing to say… … .”

The wrinkles between Kadim’s eyebrows deepened further.

Aside from being a barren place where it is difficult to find even a drop of water, the wilderness is a very dangerous land adjacent to the Demonic Land. The Atalans were not born warriors for nothing. I wondered if it made sense to have wandered around that place safely for several years in the body of a woman.

Ilenia smiled strangely and changed the subject.

“Well, anyway, the topic I am researching as an archeology student is about the ‘wild shaman’. Among them, the last wilderness shamans who disappeared hundreds of years ago, and the unknown ruins they left behind across the continent!”

“… … .”

“I came here on purpose because I found one of the entrances to the ruins nearby. I haven’t figured out how to enter the ruins yet, but if I can, I might be able to find out why the shamans disappeared. What do you think? Are you a little more interested now?”

Ilenia smiled brightly and her yellow eyes sparkled. On the other hand, her Kadim only left her seat and she still seemed uninterested.

But if someone who had been with Khadim for a long time had been here, he would have known for sure that he was thinking of a blind priestess from whom he had parted ways, across distant but close years, without even a proper farewell.

The silence grew long. Illenia glanced at the savage’s empty eyes and slowly leaned forward.

“I already know that the mercenary is a warrior with outstanding skills. That vigilante and mercenary killed them all by himself. “Others may not know, but I have already noticed.”

“… … So, what do you want from me?”

“Escort to the entrance of the ruins. And if you can enter the ruins, even escort inside the ruins. “You never know what might pop up, so you have to be fully prepared.”

“… … .”

“Oh, of course, I’ll pay you a decent amount of compensation, so don’t worry! “This is just a down payment.”

Illenia placed the clanking purse on her chin. She was a careless woman from the moment she first met him, wondering what she would do if she became a target for thieves, or what she would do if he took the money and ran away.

Kadim took the money bag. In any case, the counselor could not get up from the hospital bed yet. It wasn’t that he was short of money, but it didn’t seem like a bad pastime to occupy his time for a day or so.

And it seemed necessary to find out how this woman survived in the wilderness and how she found out she killed the vigilantes.

Kadim glared at Ilenia. The jewel-like eyes were shining bright red as if there was nothing to worry about.