Pioneering the Apocalyptic World - Chapter 50

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Chapter 20: The delusion that transcends time

“… Hah!?”

I tried to lift myself up, but I couldn’t because there was something like a weight on top of me.In addition to that, even when I open my eyes, all that I see is pitch black and can’t understand the situation at all.
No good, don’t tell me that I was crushed by something!?
I didn’t even notice that there ‘was no pressure damage’, and hurriedly tried to get rid of the object on top of my body??

“Fuee!?”

“… What?”

Apparently it was Fricka that was on top of me. Come to think of it, I had been hugged right before…
……Let’s not think about where I touched her.

Thanks to that, I calmed down, so I regained my composure and took out a lantern.

“… An underground cavity?”

“It looks like it.”

Its height varies in place by place, from less than one meter to more than five meters, but as a common point the ceiling is covered with tree roots.
……And thay are all black, so I guess it’s the roots of the Evil Treant. He’s really stupidly huge, isn’t he…
The place where we are now is a fairly large space, with the diameter about 30 meters. There are no pillars supporting It, and gravel, soil, pebbles and etc were falling from above, so it will not be strange to it collapse at anytime.
Just the other day, while being in the underground, I made a blunder, and caused the ceiling fall down and I was about to be buried alive. I need to prepare myself to take out the stone blocks at any time. *

“We were supposed to be on the aboveground just now, but… Why are we in a place like here…?”

“Hmm… The only thing that I can think about…”

Is that thing, right? A dungeon’s transfer trap.
If you get caught in it, you’ll be thrown somewhere in the dungeon at random.
That one, that when you thought “Hell yeah! I made to the end!” but you get caught in it, that make me so pissed off when it happen. … Hahaha. Well, let’s just think It’s fortunately that It’s valid destinations are not on top of a sea of magma or the bottom of the water.
But if that is the case, that Evil Treant was, as I expected a dungeon, or a being like a Guardian … Either way, we have to break the core that is acting as his magic stone or purify it with a holy attribute item.

……That thing is something that should never be left alone.
It’s not like I don’t have the feelings that I should be worried about what will happen to this land, or that as a miko, I can’t let the name of the creator god be tarnished, but.

??Exactly because I’m a miko, that thing it’s not something that I should forgive.

Let’s just say that is fine to satisfy your own self-interest. I’ve been bothering Uru many times because of my selfish desire to make things. Well, I’m really sorry for that, Uru.
However, it is a villain’s act to make excessive demands or to try make others your own thing by force.
That’s not a good thing for a miko of the Creative God to do. Why are you scattering malice, not the power of creation …!

……Let’s leave the anger for after, now I have to do something about the current situation. Let’s take a deep breath, take a deep breath.
After repeating it a few times, I now finally noticed that Uru was not with us. Hmm, after all my mental state was not normal.

“Uru? Are you here?”

I look around restlessly and tried to call Uru… But there was no response.
Were we separated at the time of teleportation, was she was not caught in it or we were sent to separated places? For now let’s aim to regroup first.
But before that, let’s check the return stone … Hmm, it is in a available to use state. In the unlikely event, I feel bad for Uru, but let’s escape with this. I have to develop a return stone that can be used by anyone other than me as soon as possible. It’s not like I have a chat function, so it’s too tough when we get separated.

“Come to think of it, Fricka are you injured somewhere? Are you okay?”

“Ah, yes. I don’t feel any pain…”

Just in case, I approach the lantern to her and take a look in her state.
She looks a little dirt because of the dust, but there’s no blood coming out…………Wait.

“… Fricka, that thing on your neck…”

“-!?”

Fricka hurriedly hid it with her hand, but it was too late.
The wind muffler had loosened when we were blown away by the gust of wind, and it was about to come off, so I could see what was hidden under it, attached to her thin neck was-

The [Slave collar].

If you don’t listen to the orders of the owner of the unlock key, the collar will be tightened, and if you try to remove it with something other than the key, it will explode. It is an extremely brutal item.

In the game, after the middle stage, in an area where the power of monsters was quite strong, the leader of The Creator God forces, the resistance was caught and put a collar. With the intention of breaking the morale of the resistance by deliberately letting their leader alive, using him as a hostage.
The players have to sneak into the old castles occupied by monsters, read books and learn how to make the keys (learn the recipe) and release the leader. At that time, it was possible to fail up to five times, but if you fail more than that, it will explode.
“What kind of power would it have if it actually exploded? There was a player with that bad sense of curiosity, but… It seems that not only the leader but also the player died instantly. And It came with a bonus that is the resistance’s friendship level dropping sharply.

Why such a dangerous item appear in a place like this… By any chance, is it a memento from that miko?
If player want to make a collar, they can make it. There were players who did strange things, such as putting them into monsters and making them explode.
A little while ago, that black humanoid mist that was probably the miko said “That woman is mine.”.
……Don’t tell me that he put it on all his wives……

“Fricka, why are you using that?”

While holding back my tremblings due to the anger that I felt at that miko as much as possible, I ask her.
However, Fricka just looked down and didn’t answer anything. ……Yeah, let’s change the question.

“… Did you was ordered to not to say anything to the miko(me)?”

When I rephrased like that, she nodded slightly. As I thought so.
……But if she had been ordered to “don’t inform her anything” It might have been choked up her……Wasn’t I a bit too hastily? In the future… I don’t think It will happen again, but let’s be more careful.
I let out a heavy sigh after scratching my head.

“I-I’m sorry…”

“Ah, sorry, I didn’t mean to blame you. Anyway, I’ll make a unlock key, so let me see it thoroughly.”

“…………What?”

Fricka froze up at my statement.
Well, normally, even if at least there was a “obtaining the key” option, you can’t immediately imagine that “making the key” is a option.
But I ‘know how to make an unlock key’. Although it requires a little deciphering.
It is necessary to decipher the ancient characters randomly written somewhere on the collar??they were different from the characters that the residents usually use, so unless you are a very knowledgeable resident, you will not be able to understand it??and create a corresponding key.

“Here, hold this in my place and light it up”

I handed the lantern I was holding to Fricka and lifted her chin up to see her collar. Hmm, It’s not over here, so It’s behind.
When I changed my position and split her hair, there were certainly three ancient characters in the back.

“Uhm… The Water God’s upright position, The Light God’s reverse position and The Fire God’s reverse position?”

The ancient characters used in the collar are the characters representing the gods of fire, water, wind, earth, light and darkness, in their upright and reversed positions (upside-down characters).There are other ancient characters, but there was no others cases were they appeared. ……If they had, I probably wouldn’t have remembered them all.
But why they are using characters representing the gods? Was it originally meant to be used by sinners who would make even the gods angry?
Putting aside the questions without answers, I draw a correspondence table between letters and numbers on the ground with a branch. Even if It’s okay to fail up to 5 times, if I make a mistake here, it will only make her feel more fear, so I made sure to check it properly.

“Okay. Creation (making) [slave collar unlock key 2-11-7]”

When I used the skill with a magic stone in my hands, its shape changed quickly and transformed into a small key.
Fricka was watching my work with a stunned expression, but when the time finally came, her body trembled.

“Are you afraid of what happens if I fail?”

“That… is…”

I would be afraid too if I heard that if I took it off forcibly, It would explode.
But in fact, I also have an insurance here.

“There is the accessory that I passed to you yesterday right? At worst case, It will be okay if you have it equipped.”

Yes, the item I gave her the other day is a [Save Flower Ring] made from the sacred flower.
It looks like a ring made of flowers, and if it is equipped, it will prevent a lethal damage only once. However, it has a restriction that can only be used for three days because the material is a flower and it will wither in time.
If so, why don’t you just brute force it from the beginning? You might think that, but it leaves your LP at only 1 state, so it will probably hurt a lot. And I don’t like pain.
But at my words, Fricka’s face turned pale.

“…I’m sorry. I was worried about my sister who I was leaving behind, so I gave it to her…”

“Wao…”

Ah… Well, the little sister was made wear a collar too? Even if he didn’t put one in her, at only the thought of her being harmed … It’s not like I can’t understand her feeling of wanting to give the ring to her.
In that case… I have no choice but to hand this over to her.

“Then take this, a spare one.”

“… You had one?”

It’s not a spare, but It’s actually “my one”. Of course I will not tell her that.
I didn’t have a stock of it due to deadline issues… I also didn’t have enough materials.
I put it on Fricka’s finger, but her hand was still trembling.

“The rest is in whether or not you believe in what I can make.”

“…Then let’s believe.”

Fricka spoke it without hesitation, and straightened her back and closed her eyes. However, I can still see her trembling a little.
…… Although I am certainly confident that made no mistakes, It still made a little embarrassed when she honestly showed her trust. ……I really have to become a miko worthy of that trust.

“Then let’s gonna start.”

I deliberately said it in a light tone and reached out my hand to unlock the collar.

*Translator note: A reference to the side chapters of volume 1 : Dungeon trial: part 1 and part 2