Chapter 2141: Chapter 2141
The most expensive item in the old woman’s catalog, the handkerchief, had a more complex function. A single handkerchief was useless, but if one could collect a complete seven-piece outfit—including a top, trousers, shoes, handkerchief, gloves, sleeves, and leggings—they could ignore the dice-rolling restriction and walk freely through the town. This was because the outfit was the attire of a town resident; wearing it meant you were no longer an outsider, at least for a while.
The combined value of the seven items was, of course, less than the 300 blood-red dice required for the Escape Potion IV, which would allow Jenkins to leave directly. A full set of clothes had to be collected through sheer luck, and even then, one still had to walk out of the town on their own two feet. The potion, on the other hand, could be consumed the moment it was purchased. So, while their effects were similar, it was understandable that the complete outfit was worth less.
Of course, Jenkins had no desire to gamble on his luck. He couldn't use any of the items he could actually afford, so he bought nothing. Instead, he asked another question.
“Do you have a map of the town?”
The bell ringer had already told him that the town's space and time were distorted. Even if Jenkins chose to go in roughly the same direction at every intersection, he might still end up wandering in circles for a long, long time. A map was therefore of the utmost importance.
Hearing his question, the old woman fell silent for a rare moment, instead of first cursing him as a "despicable outlander" before speaking.
“I don't have a map, but there are people in town who do.”
“Who has one? If your information is detailed enough, I won’t ask for any payment for this injection.”
“Some of the people in town with special professions have maps. The maps held by different townspeople vary in value and in how much information they contain, but even the cheapest one costs over fifty dice.”
“Besides buying one from those fellows, you can also get a map through a few special events, but I don't know the specifics. Some unoccupied special locations, including the mayor's house, also have maps, but they are extremely dangerous.” For origınal chapters go to N0velFire.ɴet
Having said her piece, she stared at Jenkins with her bulging eyes and fell silent. Jenkins nodded, then plunged the syringe, now warm from his palm, into his arm. He pushed the plunger, sending the still-cool liquid into his veins.
He closed his eyes and let out a soft groan as another vision was forced upon him.
The scene was again from a near-modern era. Two newspaper boys ran through the streets together, clutching their papers. One of them found a buyer, and as he stood beside his companion, his gaze was somehow wrong. The blood-red light in his heart grew brighter and brighter.
“If the Human Pus hadn't already appeared, and if this town wasn't so clearly hiding the Scarlet Ephemera, I might have thought this was where the Human Pus truly resided,” he thought to himself.
He returned the syringe to the old woman and set off once more.
Deep down, Jenkins didn't really expect to reach the edge of town just by walking. He knew that the correct way to leave this place was probably to collect enough dice to either buy the Escape Potion IV or assemble the special set of clothes.
With that in mind, he decided that whatever he encountered next, his main goal would be to acquire more dice. The dice he’d thrown had landed on 15, which meant he had to make a choice at the next intersection. As he walked forward, thinking, he lifted his head to survey the three paths at the crossroads, only to see a hooded figure in a blood-red robe standing there.
Jenkins froze for a second, but before he could react, the figure bolted down the street to the right. By the time Jenkins hurried to the intersection, the person had vanished completely without a trace.
“How did they move so fast? Do they not need to roll dice? They’re not an outsider like me... could this be one of the town’s special events?”
The figure had disappeared so quickly that he hadn’t even had time to use his eyes to determine if it was a trap set by the Difference Engine or a genuine event native to the town. After hesitating at the crossroads for a moment, he decided to follow the vanished figure and took the street to the right.
The wind in the town gradually died down, but the temperature still hovered around freezing. The cloying scent of blood in the air grew thicker, as did the stench of decay. With the appearance of an intruder, the Mysterious Realm was undergoing a further transformation.
This was a warning to Jenkins that he had to leave as soon as possible. The bell ringer had said that this Mysterious Realm held something even more terrifying than an incomplete Beast of Calamity, so he didn't have much time to waste.
By now, Jenkins was missing his cat more and more. Ever since he had decided to adopt Chocolate, he had never been separated from him for so long. Although he had briefly held his cat while he was outside the puppet theater, it had only been for a fleeting moment.
He missed the sight of Chocolate perched on his shoulder, missed the way he would throw a tantrum when he was hungry or greedy, missed the feeling of that nimble tail poking him in the head.
He even missed the sound of Chocolate's soft meow. Thinking of it, a wave of loneliness washed over him. He was truly alone, with no one to rely on in this town but himself. The feeling should have surfaced much earlier, but the elf he had met in the ancient castle had kept him company through two Mysterious Realms, so the loneliness was only now setting in.
“I've been in this Mysterious Realm for too long. Even I can't help but be affected.”
He attributed his current feelings to the realm's influence, then glanced at his shoulder. Chocolate wasn't there, of course, but Jenkins could almost see him perched there.
“For Chocolate, I have to get out of here. I have to defeat all my enemies. Not to mention, the ladies at home promised that if I make it back successfully, they’d be willing to...”
He took a deep breath. A healthy color returned to his cheeks and his spirits soared, sweeping away the gloom that had settled in his heart.
“I have to get out of here. I have to defeat the Difference Engine.”
He whispered to himself, his gaze hardening with renewed determination. A new goal and the beautiful prospect of the future were enough to fuel him, to keep him moving forward without another moment's hesitation.
After turning right at the crossroads, he stopped. To his left stood a black stone building that resembled a church. It was, of course, utterly dilapidated. The three steps leading up to it and the decorative etchings on its walls were all covered in the glowing moss and filth that were unique to this Mysterious Realm.