“…Are you really going with that?”
“Yep.”
“……”
Louis, wearing an expression like a constipated puppy, asked me.
…It was his third time asking.
When I gave him the same cheerful smile and answer, Louis’s lips twitched hesitantly before he finally spoke as if he had made up his mind.
“…As I mentioned earlier, it is forbidden for a priest to interfere with a Hero's right to choose an artifact. However, if I may say just one thing……”
I had a good idea of what he was about to say, so I cut him off.
“Then don't interfere.”
“……”
“Just stay quiet.”
Haaa—
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Louis asked.
“…May I ask why you chose that item?”
“Can't you tell by looking?”
“…I have no idea, personally.”
“It’s pretty.”
“……”
“And… I have a good feeling about it. Like it’s a good fit for me.”
That was right.
The artifact I had chosen was a dark red, cross-shaped earring.
Not a weapon, not armor, but an ‘Accessory’.
+
<Artifact: Accessory>
■ Name: [Red Cross Ring]
■ Rank: ★☆☆☆☆
■ Description: [Unidentified Artifact. Traces of mana remain.]
■ Special Ability: [-]
+
“This is my last time interfering, but… choosing an unidentified artifact with no known effects has a very high probability of being the worst possible choice.”
“…You never know until you try. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be the one to uncover this artifact’s effects.”
“That is not an artifact whose effects can be manifested simply by carrying it around. It is something whose very reason for existence has now disappeared—.”
In a momentary burst of frustration, Louis let his words fly before realizing his mistake and sharply inhaling.
Hup—
“Hoh.”
He took a deep breath and then said to me.
“…Please pretend you didn't hear that. It was a slip of the tongue.”
Pfft—
“I’ll think about it.”
“…We will now exit.”
Thud, thud—
The walk back down the corridor was silent, unlike when we had entered.
Was he thinking about the reason for my choice?
Or was he regretting his slip of the tongue?
Or perhaps he was thinking about something else entirely.
He continued walking without uttering a single word until we had almost reached the door.
Then, suddenly.
I remembered what he had said as we were leaving the underground cell.
‘…After you are officially appointed as a Hero Candidate, I would like to speak with you separately, Mr. Seo U-jin.’
Sure enough.
“So.”
Just before we reached the Bronze Door, he turned around and began.
“Before we leave, I have a proposal for you, Mr. Seo U-jin.”
“…What is it?”
His lips twitched as he hesitated, then he looked up at me and asked.
.
.
.
“Have you ever considered working not as a Hero… but in the ‘Exorcist’ group that I lead?”
* * *
After the award ceremony, a Hero Candidate had two main paths they could choose.
One was to head to the unique sacred territory of the Constellation they had an exclusive contract with, undergoing various training and having an additional adaptation period to the Upper Plane.
The other was to undertake their first quest.
The ratio was about 9 to 1.
Most of those with exclusive contracts headed to their Constellation's sacred territory, while those without contracts or with special circumstances were the only ones who immediately undertook their first quest.
…And the offer Louis made to me.
It was a third option that corresponded to neither.
“The Exorcists take on tasks that ordinary Heroes cannot solve. As specialized personnel of The Order who hunt down the ‘Demonic Species’ that have infiltrated the allied forces, they primarily operate in the shadows.”
“……”
“…For example, the ‘Gateway Zone Succubus intervention’ you experienced is a similar case.”
Exorcist.
A group of specialized problem-solvers for The Order, led by an Inquisitor, who resolve incidents involving Demonic Species.
“…It’s short notice, but if you are interested, you must give me an answer before we leave this place. Due to the nature of their work, Exorcists are, in principle, excluded from Hero activities.”
“An Exorcist……”
“If you accept the proposal, Mr. Seo U-jin, your name will be immediately erased from all of The Order’s data… Of course, it’s not a complete erasure, but rather it’s classified as Level 1 Confidential, so there’s a slight difference… It will be placed under such strict secrecy that even most Constellations wouldn't find it unless they were specifically looking, and you would operate under a new identity.”
…In truth, it was a path I had considered.
The Demonic Species were the biggest obstacle to the allied forces of The Order achieving victory in the War against Demons.
Catch Louis's eye in the Gateway Zone, get scouted as an Exorcist.
Use the information I brought back through my regression to deal with the Demonic Species in advance.
It was a completely rational and efficient path, perhaps the safest and lowest-risk route for The Order's allied forces to win the War against Demons.
However.
“Rejected.”
“……”
…That was precisely why I couldn't choose it.
What I needed wasn't a ‘safe route’.
Regardless of the process, the result was what was important to me.
Whether the process was safe or dangerous didn't hold much meaning in the end.
The only chance given to the Upper Plane, which was as good as finished, was my ‘Regression’.
If I failed here, everything would come to nothing and be meaningless.
…Besides, the ‘things I had to do’ and the ‘victory of The Order’s allied forces’ existed in completely different realms.
The only things I had to do were the items on the bucket list written in my notebook.
That list included neither the ‘victory of The Order’s allied forces’ nor joining his Exorcist group.
Therefore, I had no choice but to refuse Louis's request to join the Exorcists.
“I have my own plans.”
“…Is that so.”
He gave a bitter smile at my firm refusal, nodded, and turned away.
And I threw another proposal at his back.
“…Instead.”
“……?”
“Help me out once later.”
“…Help you? What do you mean by that……”
“Later, someday, when I'm in a bind, help me out just once. Then I'll think about it too. Joining the Exorcists.”
He paused for a moment at my words, then replied.
“…I, too, will think about it.”
* * *
The Gateway Zone is a space created by The Order to shorten the adaptation period for newly arrived Plane Transcenders to the Upper Plane.
Simply put, it’s a kind of ‘tutorial zone’.
As such, the structure a Hero encounters when they officially arrive in the Upper Plane is not that different from what they experienced in the Gateway Zone.
A prime example was the ‘Lair’.
A Lair serves almost the same function as a ‘Dragon’s Lair’ in the general sense, a unique space for a Hero that is assigned to any Hero Candidate who passes through the Gateway Zone.
To put it simply, it was a space like the ‘Boundary of the Gateway’ in the Gateway Zone.
However, as a space prepared solely for the Hero, a few special rules were applied to the Lair.
The two biggest of these were the ‘method of entry’ and ‘access authority’.
Entry to a Lair was only possible through a special ‘Teleport’ magic circle of The Order, installed in each cathedral, and the coordinates of the Lair assigned to each Hero were known only to the Hero and their Acolyte Priest.
Of course, the coordinates were recorded in The Order's system data for emergency situations, but they were encrypted so they could only be checked in dire circumstances. Thus, even a ‘Bishop’, the highest rank in The Order, could not freely enter a Hero's Lair.
Even the satellite magic ‘Starlink’, which connects Constellations and Heroes, could not interfere with this space.
The ‘Lair’ was, true to its name, a space ‘unique’ to the Hero.
…After finishing my tour of the Seventh Door, I entered the Lair I was assigned for the first time.
Eliya, who was already waiting, greeted me warmly(?) with a string of curses.
“…Are you crazy, Hero?”
“Uh… well, I don't think so.”
“No. In my opinion, you’re definitely crazy.”
“……”
“…Otherwise, there’s no way you would pass up all those artifacts to pick up this good-for-nothing dog bone of an earring you’ve never even seen before.”
“…Heh heh. Pick up, you say.”
She was nagging me a bit harshly, but.
I didn't really have anything to say for myself at the moment.
From Eliya’s perspective, it was understandable that she couldn't comprehend why I would stubbornly take an unidentified artifact from among so many great ones.
Of course, it wasn't like I chose this without any thought.
[Do you want to check the information of <Artifact: Red Cross Ring>? Y/N]
[Target selected.]
[Warning! There is no viewable information.]
Since I couldn't blabber on about how I chose it knowing information that didn't even appear when using 'The Chosen One' trait.
For now, I had no choice but to silently endure the criticism for not making a rational choice.
— I mean, seriously! With what kind of confidence did you pick such a crappy artifact!
— You left behind treasures that others might not even get to hold once in their entire lifetime for an earring? An eaaarriing?
— Are you even listening to me?!
Just as I thought Eliya would go on all day if left alone, I cut her off by calling her name.
“Uh… Phone Case.”
“…It's ‘Phon Deina’. And who calls someone by their middle name!”
“First, calm down. Whatever happened, it's in the past, right?”
Haaa—
“That's the problem… It's not in the past, it's something we have to bear, that's why I'm like this.”
“Well, anyway. I had my reasons for doing this, so let's move on.”
“…Yeah, right.”
“I’d like you to explain the… quests.”
“Ah.”
Eliya’s dead-fish eyes, which had been sighing, regained their light at the word ‘quest’.
“Quests. Quests. Quests are important.”
“……”
Then, she skillfully snapped her fingers and activated the system.
Tchak—
And then.
[Sharing the system screen of Acolyte Priest, Eliya.]
+
[Quest List]
- [Subjugate Remnants of the Demonic Cult]
- [Participate in the Orc Subjugation War]
- [Collect Fragments of the Northern World Tree]
- [Explore Uncharted Lands]
- [Participate in the Southern Murim Defensive War]
- [Witch Hunt]
.
.
.
+
A simply organized quest list appeared before my eyes.
“Unlike the trials of the Gateway Zone, which were the same for everyone, from the Upper Plane Hero Candidate stage onward, you have a choice of quests.”
“……”
“From high-difficulty quests that you practically have to risk your life for, like the ‘Magical Beast Subjugation War’, to ‘odd jobs’ that take place in each Constellation’s sacred territory. Depending on your choice, your future path, risks, and rewards will vary wildly. For example……”
Eliya rambled on with various explanations about the quests, but her words no longer reached my ears.
The reason was simple.
I already knew everything she was saying, and my mind had been elsewhere ever since I found the earring.
“So, in the early stages, it's safest to choose a hunting mission of moderate difficulty, one that's not too hard and not too easy……”
“There it is.”
“……?”
“Let's do this one, Eliya.”
+
[QUEST: Guard the Train]
Difficulty: ☆☆☆☆☆
Client: <Guardian Cross Order>
Quest Details: Board the Guardian Train that traverses the east and west of Murim and protect the cargo.
Quest Reward: 100 Guardian Coins
+
At my finger pointing to the quest, Eliya made a face that clearly showed she wasn't pleased.
“Uh… in my opinion, I think another quest might be better……”
“Why?”
“It's hard to explain clearly, but… the quest reward is relatively low, and it’s an Order quest, and……”
The hesitant girl continued as if confessing.
“To be honest, it feels a bit below the station for the top-ranked candidate's first quest… In fact, this is more of a chore than what you experienced in the Gateway Zone……”
I could understand.
Looking only at the quest description, there was nothing special about it.
And as she said, it was indeed a chore among chores.
However.
Grin—
“…Let’s do this one.”
I had planned to take this quest anyway, but the moment I found the red cross earring in the Seventh Door, this became an ‘absolute must’.
‘…It’s been a while.’
[Bucket List #6]
『Recruit Party Member - J. J』
‘Jerry.’