Chapter 167: Class change from Dark Knight to Holy King
ㅤ◇ Norizakura Minato’s Perspective
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ㅤIt was fortunate amidst misfortune that I was able to notice that information quickly.
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ㅤI warped to the underground of the Loft Dungeon to hear about the Gnomes’ recent situation.
ㅤIt’s the same brute force method I used before: using the power of the Dungeon Core, a fragment of the Demon King’s power, to create a door leading to the other space.
ㅤIt would be convenient if I could use it anywhere, but after various verifications, it seems it’s only possible deep inside the dungeon.
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ㅤ”Huh?”
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ㅤWhen I entered the Gnome Village hidden on the 16th floor, there were many adventurers inside.
ㅤFor a moment, I braced myself, thinking they might have come to conquer the village, but the situation seemed different.
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ㅤ”Well, well, if it isn’t Minato-dono!”
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ㅤThe Gnome Chieftain, Popolack-san, noticed me and called out.
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ㅤ”What’s going on? Adventurers haven’t come to attack… have they?”
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ㅤ”No, these individuals fled into the dungeon from the surface. We have taken them under our protection, so to speak.”
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ㅤ”Fled? Why?”
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ㅤ”That is…”
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ㅤJust then, I was suddenly called out to.
ㅤBy two people at the same time.
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ㅤ”Onee-chan!?”
ㅤ”Minato!?”
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ㅤTurning around, I saw two people I hadn’t seen in a long time.
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ㅤOne was Sharion.
ㅤYou might not know who that is, but she’s the girl with Stone Fever that I helped in the town of Loft.
ㅤShe has short, trimmed black hair and skin close to brown.
ㅤShe’s wearing thief-like equipment, but she still seems a little unfamiliar with it.
ㅤOverall, I feel like she’s become a little more sophisticated than before.
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ㅤThe other was Arne-san.
ㅤShe’s the Elf girl who serves as the sole representative of the Magician’s Guild Outpost in the Loft Dungeon.
ㅤShe looks about 12 or 13 years old, but since she’s an Elf, she’s apparently older than me.
ㅤShe has light pink-tinged blonde hair in twintails.
ㅤHer eyes are a clear indigo blue, and her face is more cute than beautiful.
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ㅤ”W-Why are you here?”
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ㅤSharion asked.
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ㅤ”Hey, that’s my line.”
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ㅤ”More importantly, Minato! It’s terrible! The surface is covered in ash and…”
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ㅤ”Huh? Ash?”
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ㅤAs we were about to fall into confusion, Popolack-san said,
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ㅤ”For now, why don’t we calm down? Let’s have some tea at my house.”
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ㅤ”R-Right.”
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ㅤWe decided to visit the Gnome’s house for the time being.
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ㅤ”Cretias attacked the Zamzaria capital!? And then he ascended the throne!? And immediately after that, a gray fog swept in, petrifying the town of Loft and the outpost in front of the dungeon!?”
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ㅤAfter hearing the story, I couldn’t help but scream.
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ㅤIn Popolack-san’s house, there’s me, Sharion, Arne-san, and Shizu-san, the representative of the Thief Guild Outpost. Warban-san from the Warrior’s Guild is apparently on lookout duty.
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ㅤ”Yes. Domo-san entrusted me with the aftermath and stayed in town…”
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ㅤ”S-So that’s what happened…”
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ㅤI still have the Cockatrice beak in my luggage.
ㅤI’m also keeping a Stone Immunity Ring for myself.
ㅤI’ve picked up this ring in other dungeons too, so I could give it to Arne-san, or I could go to the town of Loft and help Domo-san （if I’m in time, that is…） and give him the ring.
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ㅤ”Not all the adventurers from the outpost survived either. About half of them turned to stone on the surface. And then, some of those who fled into the dungeon were killed by monsters.”
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ㅤ”So the upper levels of the dungeon are already…?”
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ㅤ”Yes. The ash has entered up to about the third floor. Although, even without the ash, Cockatrices appear on the third floor.”
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ㅤThey said they risked their lives to escape through that.
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ㅤ”They were in a pretty terrible state when we found them.”
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ㅤ”I’m glad you found them.”
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ㅤ”We felt like the earth was restless. We were just about to go check on the surface.”
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ㅤ”Will the ash reach this far?”
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ㅤ”It seems that dungeons have an affinity for the ash. The dungeon appears to be actively absorbing the ash.”
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ㅤ”If Cretias has obtained some kind of power derived from G*d, it might be compatible with the dungeons created by the Grandmasters.”
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ㅤ”Minato, what do you mean by that?”
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ㅤArne-san asked.
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ㅤ”It’s a long and unbelievable story, but is that okay?”
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ㅤ”I’m not going to doubt Minato’s stories anymore.”
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ㅤArne-san said, puffing out her chest.
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ㅤ”If that’s the case…”
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ㅤSo, I explained everything I’ve learned so far about the Grandmasters = G*d’s true identity and their deeds.
ㅤAnd the circumstances of how I became the Demon King.
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ㅤ”S-So that’s what happened…”
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ㅤ”I can’t believe the Grandmasters we believed in were such beings.”
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ㅤArne-san and Shizu-san were surprised, and Sharion was speechless.
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ㅤ”So, does that mean G*d gave that Special Envoy Knight some kind of power to crush Minato’s plans?”
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ㅤArne-san asked.
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ㅤ”Yes, that’s right.”
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ㅤIn other words, the current situation is ultimately my fault.
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ㅤThen, Sharion said,
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ㅤ”Otou-san said, ‘Minato will blame herself, but if she has time for that, she should do what needs to be done.'”
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ㅤ”Ugh… He saw right through me.”
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ㅤSo, what needs to be done?
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ㅤ”Defeating Cretias is a must, but I wonder if that will cure the petrification.”
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ㅤI realized it myself after saying that much.
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ㅤ”No, wait, why did Cretias do such a thing in the first place? If he became king, petrifying Loft would only be a disadvantage. Loft didn’t say they wouldn’t recognize Cretias as king, did they?”
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ㅤ”No. They were just about to, since the information had just arrived. Otou-san probably grasped it first and was going to consult with the town council about it. Of course, there was a high possibility that they wouldn’t recognize Cretias as a result.”
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ㅤ”Well, yeah, he stormed the castle, slaughtered the knights, killed all the royalty, and then ascended the throne.”
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ㅤNo one would want to recognize someone like that as king.
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ㅤShizu-san said,
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ㅤ”Could it be… as an example?”
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ㅤ”You mean he petrified Loft to threaten other towns into obeying him?”
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ㅤCertainly, Loft is a town with deep ties to Cretias.
ㅤThe lord is his father who disowned him, and he had conflicts with adventurers in the dungeon.
ㅤHe lost a bet with me and had all his assets confiscated, and he escaped during the chaos of the attempted poisoning of Latifa-san.
ㅤCretias might have wanted to erase the town that knew of his past shame first.
ㅤHe’s a man with a lot of pride, after all.
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ㅤSharion said,
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ㅤ”Onee-chan. It seems like you’re planning to fight as a matter of course… but can you win? Against someone who can turn an entire town to stone?”
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ㅤ”Well… I can nullify the petrification with the ring, but who knows what other attack methods he has.”
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ㅤCretias stormed the royal castle of Zamzaria, a major military power, defeated the Holy Knights known for their strength, and usurped the throne.
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ㅤCould Almi and I do the same thing?
ㅤI think we could probably manage it somehow, but I’ve heard from Sherry-san that Zamzaria’s Holy Knights are not to be underestimated.
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ㅤ（If only Difficulty Change worked, we could do it.）
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ㅤConsidering that, the current Cretias is likely stronger than me + Almi, even without considering the petrifying ash.
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ㅤ”This is bad…”
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ㅤShould I go to Loft and help Domo-san first?
ㅤConsidering the elapsed time, there’s a high possibility it would be a wasted effort.
ㅤBesides, Cretias might have targeted the town of Loft, where many people I’m connected to live, to lure me out.
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ㅤEven if I could save Domo-san, I can’t say he would be much help in fighting Cretias.
ㅤOnly excellent adventurers can become Guild Masters, but he’s quite old.
ㅤBesides, adventurers who fight with the Grandmaster’s Blessing might not be able to demonstrate their full power against Gods when it matters.
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ㅤ”Even… Bearnov would be in danger.”
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ㅤBearnov fought against the Dark Knight Cretias in the Mist Forest, but I think it would be impossible for him to fight the current Cretias.
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ㅤWhen I fell silent, the atmosphere became heavy.
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ㅤThe first one to speak was Arne-san.
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ㅤ”It seems we have no choice but to rely on my village.”
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ㅤ”Arne-san’s village… is that the Elf village?”
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ㅤ”Yes.”
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ㅤ”But aren’t the Elves on the Grandmasters’ side?”
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ㅤ”I don’t think so. It’s true that the Grandmasters favored the Elves, but the Elves didn’t necessarily feel indebted to them.
ㅤIn fact, there was even a rule in my village: 『Thou shalt not become an adventurer.』”
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ㅤ”Eh, is that so?”
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ㅤ”It is. I’m the type who ran away after saying, ‘Why not?’ but after hearing Minato’s story, I understand. The Elves remember what the Grandmasters did. Well, ordinary Elves don’t know, but the elders probably secretly pass down the legends. They’re secretive, you see.”
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ㅤ”Where is your village? I don’t know if I should ask, but…”
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ㅤIn response to my question, Arne-san pointed her index finger up.
ㅤNo, she seemed to point upwards.
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ㅤ”Up… the surface?”
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ㅤ”Higher.”
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ㅤ”No way, the sky?”
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ㅤ”Even higher than that.”
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ㅤ”Eh? Could it be… space?”
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ㅤArne-san nodded.