Chapter 26: Chicken Game

Setting aside the evolution, what’s with the 66 possible branches?

What in the world is happening?

“Heh, you managed to endure? Aren’t you just an ordinary skeleton?” Salem remarked.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re perfectly fine even with the Codex Apocalypse.”

Salem’s words led me to a certain speculation.

Could it be that the evolution became possible because of the Page of Sloth?

Honestly, I hadn’t even considered it.

Is Nickel alright?

Regardless, as the Page of Sloth emerged, I started to feel the familiar surge of mana that I had felt before.

“Go ahead. Let’s take a look.”

“Salem Edidia. You’re an uninvited individual. Don’t act so recklessly,” Jester, dressed entirely in black with a flipping black tricorn hat, prevented Salem from advancing.

With his face hidden by the hat, I already knew what was beneath it.

“Do you seriously think I would try to escape with the Page of Sloth? Jester, how do you see me?”

“This is the assembly. Once you’re here as a participant, I will give you a chance, so wait.”

At that moment, I unsummoned Nickel.

After showcasing him to this extent, everyone should have understood that the Page of Sloth was genuine.

Suddenly, as the Page of Sloth disappeared, the attendees of the assembly looked at me with bewildered expressions.

“What are you planning?”

“Adrias.”

Jester and Charon each interjected.

Ignoring them, I said what I wanted to say.

“I found the Page of Sloth. I want to deliver it to you after receiving a proper reward.”

“Adrias!”

Charon’s face contorted in anger.

Wow, I never knew Charon could get that mad.

Actually, my original plan was to hand it over and receive the reward without any fuss. But I changed my plans impulsively.

The reason for that was Salem’s attendance.

I didn’t know Salem would be here, and I didn’t anticipate that he would help me.

Thanks to that, I had a strong intuition that this impromptu plan might work.

Despite my thoughts, the attendees of the assembly directed ominous glares at me.

“Charon Diphlen. Is your disciple insane? Or did you intentionally accept such a moron as your disciple?”

“I apologize.”

Charon didn’t know what to do and lowered his head.

Then he called my name again, expressing his dissatisfaction.

No way.

In response to the intensifying atmosphere, I drew my sword.

“My request is simple. I simply want to receive an appropriate reward for the Page of Sloth.”

“Ahaha! Ahahahaha!”

Salem who was standing besides me suddenly burst into laughter.

Then, he abruptly changed his expression and exuded a monstrous aura.

“Now that I see it, you’re just a simple madman. Hey, Adrias, are these people gathered here trustworthy?”

“Not at all. But precisely because they’re not, I’m even more determined to assert my rights.”

A powerful storm of force pressed against me, but I didn’t take a step back.

And even though Salem spoke in a menacing manner, I trusted the promise he had made.

After finishing my words, I slowly raised my sword.

Jester, upon seeing me draw my sword, used magic.

Two hands made of black flames appeared by his side.

“If you’re so eager to die, I’ll grant your wish.”

“You cannot kill me.”

I challenged him.

Gripping the blade with my reversed grip, I stabbed it directly towards the side where my heart would be.

Thud!

“What are you planning?”

“Wow, look at that! Look at that! He’s really gone mad! Hilarious!”

The bewildered expressions from the surrounding people had an impact, but I forced myself to smile as if nothing was wrong.

“Now, the Page of Sloth is with my Skeleton in the pocket dimension. Here’s the problem. If I die, what will happen to my pocket dimension?”

Utilizing my combat skills, the blade, just one millimeter off, grazed my heart and pierced into my lung.

Blood flowed along with the blade.

In a situation where even the slightest movement could lead to death.

I was gambling with my life, trusting Salem.

The attendees, upon hearing my words, now looked at me with expressions of disbelief.

Even Salem had his mouth agape as he stared at me.

“There may be no normalcy among the Black Magicians, but I think you’re the first crazy one to be so calm.”

Jester canceled his magic.

“Disciple of Charon. Are you thinking about the consequences? Even if you were to obtain the reward you desire here, do you really think you can survive and go back?”

“I trust the person beside me.”

When Salem was suddenly mentioned, the designated person smirked as if in disbelief.

“You arrogant bastard. I don’t care about the Page of Sloth anymore. How dare you think of using me? So, was this just a spur-of-the-moment idea? Only a madman would think like this, right?”

“As I mentioned on the carriage, I’m doing everything within my power.”

“What did you say? Ahahaha!”

I gave the same answer as before when he asked why I was learning to wield a sword at such a late age.

Of course, one could ask why I went to such lengths.

But from my perspective, not doing what I was capable of was more unbearable.

I had always turned the impossible into possible, so this attempt was only natural.

At that moment, something discreet approached and attempted to restrain me.

It was the branches that sprouted from Morche’s Nest.

“Kuh…”

Without hesitation, I precisely stabbed my lung.

Although I only grazed it slightly, the effect was tremendous.

Morche, seeing blood flow from my mouth, stopped the branches.

“Potent, indeed,” muttered Jester.

Then he slowly walked towards me.

“Let me try something. I want to see if you really have the courage to die.”

As he said that, I could tell he was using a different magic.

‘Mental magic!’

I felt his magic trying to infiltrate my mind.

In just 0.1 seconds, I made my decision.

Thud.

“Uwuh…”

Blood poured out from my mouth.

The blood flowing down under my chin stained the ground.

“Truly insane,” Jester canceled his mental magic and quickly stepped back.

Did it work?

No, it’s not about whether it worked or not right now.

I felt like the blow was sharper than I had thought, driven by the desire to demonstrate it clearly.

“Hahaha! Sloth will disappear from this world like this!”

“Shut up, Salem! Luna! Hurry and heal him!”

“You stabbed his heart, how can we save him? Give it up, Jester. Ahahaha!”

“Hurry, save him!”

Damn it. I’m not dead yet.

Causing a commotion by turning someone into a presumed dead body.

“Do you want to make a deal?”

As I spoke, I smiled, knowing that the people sending me tired looks were growing weary.

It only appeared as if I had stabbed the heart, but I had actually grazed the lung. If someone dies from this, it would be disappointing.

Of course, if I were to pull out the impaled sword without taking any measures, it would be a precarious moment when I would die for sure.

“You crazy bastard. Isn’t it your heart?”

Salem, who had been smiling strangely, spoke.

“Anyway, it was a good thing you came. Discovering someone much more interesting than Sloth. Just this once, I’ll go along with your petty game.”

He immediately stood in front of me, finally starting the conversation I had been waiting for.

“I made a promise with Adrias Cromwell here. I said I would lend him a hand whenever he needed it. I didn’t expect him to use it so soon, but I’ll say it now. From now on, anyone who tries to harm Adrias Cromwell, I will find them and kill them. Furthermore, if Adrias Cromwell dies afterwards, I will consider the culprit to be someone from the gathering and erase the gathering from this world.”

Salem Edidia, known for never breaking his promises, despite being called the Devil, was a person of great fame.

Moreover, his final words prevented the gathering from targeting me.

Ironically, the gathering had to protect me.

Of course, as a collective, the gathering couldn’t be defeated if they put all their efforts into it.

But would Salem really fight openly?

From the gathering’s perspective, they couldn’t simply ignore the words of Salem, one of the strongest figures on the continent.

Checkmate.

“Do you want to make a deal?”

While blood was flowing from my body, I still gave a victorious smile.

That sight seemed eerie, and the gazes of those who looked at me were full of trepidation.

“Alright, we lost. Let’s make a deal.”

In the end, Jester conceded.

With a sigh of relief, I slowly took out the regeneration potion and healing potion I had placed in my embrace and drank them.

The area where I had been stabbed tingled, causing pain.

Seeing that, Salem raised an eyebrow.

“Are you really Cain’s son? You’re so different.”

Suddenly, he mentioned my father.

“Do you know my father?”

“Of course. Why, do you want to know or not?”

I wanted to ask about Cromwell and my father, but for now, I focused on slowly drawing the sword.

Thanks to the potions, the healing of the wound was rapid, but it didn’t instantly heal. I had to concentrate on drawing the sword, sweating coldly.

After a considerable amount of time, struggling to draw the sword, I finally took it out and sheathed it again, then looked at Jester.

“Thank you for waiting. Shall we talk now?”

“You really know how to leave someone speechless. Fine, what do you want?”

I didn’t know exactly what the gathering possessed.

Of course, I knew some of the items that were dropped when raiding the gathering during the game.

One of them was my target, but I couldn’t reveal it openly.

The moment I spoke, it would raise suspicions and doubts that I had information.

Then, something unexpected happened.

“Adrias, I’ll participate in the deal too.”

“Salem Yedidia, this is a transaction between the gatherings.”

“Don’t say such regretful words. If someone wants Sloth, I can interfere too. In the end, it’s the seller’s intention, isn’t it?”

“We have already made a concession. We agreed that you wouldn’t harm Adrias, so we listened to your words!”

“What nonsense. Adrias retreated because he thought he might die and Sloth would disappear. We need to establish the order clearly.”

“Salem!”

“Well, come at me if you have any complaints.”

Salem emitted threatening mana.

Seeing his stance, Jester looked around, but the rest of the gathering participants only watched with curiosity.

From this scene, the nature of the gathering could be seen to some extent. Being a gathering of dark wizards, individual gain was prioritized over the cohesion as a group.

In the end, Jester had no choice but to withdraw without receiving anyone’s help.

“Pitiful bunch. You are all members of the gathering. Do you understand the significance of not being able to obtain Sloth?”

“I don’t know?”

Luna said without any sense of awareness.

The rest of the members remained silent, not providing an answer.

Jester sighed.

“How do we proceed with the transaction? Will it be done with money?”

“I prefer a barter exchange.”

Of course, money was also fine.

As someone poor, money was quite tempting to me. However, the items I could obtain here were things that couldn’t be acquired with money alone.

“If I could obtain those items, it would help me solve my mana problems to some extent.”

The gathering had rare combination materials, so I had my eyes on them.

And I also had some expectations for the items Salem would offer.

Given his wandering nature, there was a high probability that he possessed items I hadn’t even seen before.

“A barter exchange… That sounds interesting.”

Salem smiled and spoke.

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