I Became a Mythical-Tier Tamer Due To A System Error Chapter 68

Chapter 68 Thud! The massive ghoul knelt down. Soon after, its upper body collapsed to the floor, and as it hit the ground, it crumbled into black ash and scattered. At the same time, the surrounding ghouls also turned into black ash and crumbled away. No further threat was detected. “This is the end.” Ren brushed the ashes off his sword and sheathed it. “N-not a big deal after all……” Queens also sat down as if collapsing on the spot. Curio and Verdi sheathed their swords as well. “Everyone, you worked hard.” The Princess closed her magic book as she looked at the vanishing ghouls. A huge ghoul, roughly 2.5 meters tall. It was far larger than the others and even faster. Moreover, judging by how the rest of the ghouls collapsed the moment this one was defeated, it was clear that this was the leader. “It was far superior to the other ghouls, but not too much of a problem.” McGrim had joined the fight, providing significant support. In the beginning, the sheer number of ghouls flooding in was nearly overwhelming. But now, unlike back then, their numbers had noticeably dwindled. Ren glanced around and quietly spoke to the Princess. “Remi, you noticed as well?” “……” The Princess silently nodded. Ren spoke with a faint smile. “……That thing had wounds on its joints. Maybe because of that, its movements seemed hindered.” The massive ghoul’s movements had been a beat slower. Thanks to that, none of the combat party suffered any attacks. If it hadn’t been for those wounds…… things could have turned quite dangerous. “The black knight McGrim mentioned.” When Ren spoke, the Princess’s eyes widened slightly. “He’s the one who helped us.” Ren had realized that those wounds were inflicted intentionally. Not just Ren. Curio, Verdi, and the Princess must have noticed it too. “I’ve never met him, but…… I can feel kindness in the details.” When the Princess spoke, Ren nodded. “Indeed. It’s reassuring to know we have such an ally. If I ever meet him outside the barrier, I’d like to express my gratitude.” With all the ghouls gone, the combat party opened the door and returned inside the cafeteria. ……Meanwhile, in the break room on the third floor. Bijou was pressing her hand into the air. Her fingers carefully plucked at strands of red mana. It almost looked like she was playing a harp. “……!” Her shoulders twitched as if she sensed something, causing her black hair to sway. She drew something on parchment, then hurriedly rushed down to the kitchen holding it. All the survivors were gathered in the kitchen, taking a rest. Bijou called out to them with a bright face. “I found it!” She spread the parchment she had drawn onto the table. Though a bit messy, it was recognizable as a map. “The center of the barrier is right here.” The spot Bijou pointed to…… was the classroom of the Theology Department. “The Briarflower Monastery?” “Fortunately, it isn’t far.” When Ren answered, Verdi was the first to move. “More ghouls may swarm again at any moment, so we cannot afford to waste time. Let us head there immediately.” Then he turned to Curio. “Bring Sir Villed.” Riz Villed Dedencman Ludwig Health: 12 Mana: 8 Strength: 11 Willpower: 11 Agility: 14 I sat on a bench, looking at the hologram. ‘So this is the best hunting ground…….’ My overall stats had risen by about 2, and the beasts’ levels had gone up by 2–3. ‘Normally, I would only manage to hunt around twenty at most.’ Every swing of my sword strained my muscles. And yet, I still didn’t have properly hardened muscles. ‘Even so, Shurk’s ability is absurd.’ My muscles suffered no major strain. Thanks to that, I could recover from fatigue just by resting a bit after hunting. ‘Anyway, since the episode is nearly over…… I should start heading back to the cafeteria.’ I stood up and looked around. The sky was still covered in crimson…… But there wasn’t a single ghoul left nearby—they had all vanished cleanly. The result of swinging my sword thousands of times. Was this how a street cleaner felt after tidying up the roads and admiring the neat view? The suffocating pressure was completely cleared. ‘……But it was a little strange.’ The number of ghouls was dozens of times more than what appeared in the game. ‘I even doubted whether this was really standard difficulty.’ In , there were four difficulty levels. The easiest was Easy. Then Standard, the normal difficulty. Hard, for advanced players. And the final stage…… ‘Lunatic, for old veterans like me.’ It was created out of spite by the developers after criticism that the game lacked content. ‘It abandoned the idea of fun completely, reaching a level of sheer absurdity.’ On community forums, people mocked the developers, saying they had gone insane. There were a few players like me who repeatedly challenged that insane difficulty, though. ……But even I had never seen its ending. After all, it wasn’t content meant to be cleared in the first place. ‘……But if this world really is Lunatic difficulty.’ Knowing how vicious it was, nothing could be more horrifying. ‘Well, nothing I can do but hope it isn’t Lunatic.’ I sprinted toward the cafeteria. There wasn’t a single ghoul around, and thanks to my speed, I could return in no time. ‘That was quick.’ There wasn’t a ghoul in sight around the cafeteria, nor any trace of the giant boss ghoul. I had deliberately inflicted wounds on its joints so that Ren could finish it off easily. ‘I helped a little, and McGrim must have as well.’ It seemed they had handled the boss fight just fine. If this really had been Lunatic difficulty, the cafeteria would have been completely destroyed. ‘So it really is Standard difficulty.’ That was a relief. I leapt high and landed softly on the rooftop. I slipped inside the building through the roof and stealthily arrived at the third-floor break room. “Shurk.” Shurk was seated on a chair, bound in captivity. Even when he heard my voice, he simply remained sitting still. “Good work.” I placed my hand on Shurk’s head, and with a bark, Shurk’s figure vanished. I sat down on the now-empty chair in his place. ‘As expected, the handcuffs had already been undone.’ No matter how much I looked around, I couldn’t find the handcuffs. McGrim must have let them know that I was innocent. ‘Even after being released from confinement, Shurk only sat there as I commanded.’ It must have been hard for him to keep acting. I thought I should prepare a special meal for him once we got back to the livestock shed. ‘……But what’s this curry.’ A bowl of curry was placed on the table. ‘Did they leave this for me to eat?’ Shurk had resisted this temptation well. I picked up the spoon and ate a scoop of the curry. ‘Even cold, it’s still edible.’ While I was eating like that. Tap, tap. I heard footsteps, and Curio entered the break room. When he saw me eating curry, he blinked before speaking. “Sir Villed, we will be moving to another location soon. Please let us know once you finish eating.” “There’s no need to wait. Let’s move now.” I emptied the bowl completely and stood up. When I stepped outside the break room, I saw the Princess and Verdi. “Do you feel at ease now?” “……Yes, Your Highness. After sorting my thoughts, I feel relieved.” I bowed slightly to the Princess, playing it off with a shameless calmness. ‘Anyway, judging by the atmosphere around me…… it seems my charges have been cleared completely.’ Verdi took the lead, and the Princess gestured for me to follow. I went down to the first floor with her. When we opened the cafeteria door and stepped outside, Ren and the other survivors were already gathered. Lapin looked at me, waved a small hand in greeting, then came up to ask. “Where were you?” “……” When I kept my mouth shut, the bespectacled reporter Haze smiled and answered instead. “The young master had some business in the third-floor break room.” “The third floor?” Lapin tilted her head and looked at me. “Villed wasn’t on the third floor though.” “……Ahaha, Lapin junior, you’re so silly.” Lapin wore a puzzled expression, while Haze tried to smooth it over with a smile. I watched the two of them walk off, lost in thought. ‘……Did Lapin realize I had set up a substitute?’ I couldn’t bring myself to ask how she knew. “Then, let’s head to the Briarflower Monastery.” We followed behind Verdi in a group. Since there were no ghouls, there was no need to hurry. We walked at a normal pace toward the Briarflower Monastery. “There……” I looked down at the voice. A short female student wearing a beret came into view. “……I’m really sorry.” Her eyes glistened as she spoke. ‘Is she apologizing for reporting me to Verdi, thinking I was an accomplice?’ She seemed too afraid of the consequences to look me in the eye. ‘She didn’t really need to apologize though.’ I shrugged my shoulders and spoke. “It’s fine. I don’t hold any grudge, and if I were you, I would have reported me too.” “……!” At my answer, her eyes widened for a moment, and she looked at me briefly. ‘……Did she notice my voice sounded like the one behind the mask?’ Of course, as soon as our eyes met, she quickly looked away. ……After walking for about thirty minutes. We arrived before a pure white building standing in the field. This was the Briarflower Monastery. Creak…… Verdi took the lead and opened the door. Inside, the interior was as clean and white as the exterior. There were two passageways leading away from the lobby, and a staircase leading to the second floor. “Ah, I feel it.” Bijou plucked at the red strings in the air and spoke. “……The second floor. It’s right upstairs.” Verdi stroked his chin before turning to us. “We’ll split the investigation team. You lot search the first floor.” Ren, Queens, Lapin, Haze, and McGrim took the first floor. The rest of us were assigned to go up to the second floor. “Then, we’ll go investigate the first floor.” Ren’s team walked toward the lobby, while I and the others climbed the stairs to the second floor. ……When we reached the second floor, a wide chapel came into view. Dozens of arranged pews and a large auditorium. At its center, a holy stained glass shone with a crimson light. ……All in proper order. ‘This is a good spot for observation.’ I sat on the last pew and looked toward the auditorium. “……There.” Bijou pointed toward the auditorium. An object covered with a white cloth. Unless the cloth was lifted, it was impossible to tell what it was. “That object is the center of the barrier. I’ll interpret it right away.” Bijou stepped up to the stage and lifted the covering cloth. “……” She blinked at what she saw. Beneath the cloth was a coffin made of wood. It was strange for a coffin to be here. But to escape this place, the barrier had to be deciphered. Bijou closed her eyes in concentration. She plucked at the red strings in the air. Chiiing! “Ah!” As if shocked by electricity, she hastily pulled her hands away. Bijou’s expression darkened. “This is…… What’s going on…… Ah, everyone! This is a trap! Danger……!” As Bijou stumbled back shouting, Curio stepped in front of the Princess. Tension spiked to the extreme. Thud! A sound came from inside the coffin. Thud! Rattle…… Rattle…… The coffin lid slowly opened, and an arm stretched out. “Ugh……!” A blonde girl in her mid-to-late teens, dressed in white clothes, rose from the coffin. As if just waking from a long sleep, she stretched her arms wide. “Hm?” The blonde girl looked around briefly. “Ah!” As if finding what she sought, her face brightened as she shouted. “Remi!” The moment the nickname was called, the Princess’s breathing quickened irregularly. “……Sister?”