NOVEL WEB [Arc 5] Chapter 3-1: An Impossibly Delayed Start
3 days before the release of the Invidia Overlord.
Ciara's PoV:
"Ahh, life can be so unfair..." - Ciara
Another day has passed, yet the same boring ceiling greets my view when I open my eyes.
"Ahhhh, what a boring life...hmm?" - Ciara
What, you want to hear my story? Let me tell you this tale of tears, tragedies, and torment.
"Things started when we first arrived at this hellhole. Better known as the port town of Bervaudan. Our group consisted of me, our lazy vampire better known as Alfred Loxley, or even better known as Alf, as well as the cute yet deadly little Revi~.
"As you might know, Bervaudan is located at the west-most location of the Invidia Continent, past the wast and mucky Invidia Marshland. It is a calm, peaceful town that I still can't believe Alf wanted nothing to do with. He has had the ugliest face showing ever since we stepped foot here! Then again, we never did meet anyone who recognized him. Maybe I haven't been introduced to the town's darker sides yet.
"In any case, our goal here was not to enjoy the fisherman life. The Invidia Marshland was housing not just one, not just two, but a total of FOUR Treasure Towers spread across this region!
"The top brass of Babel, the organization led by our boss' boss, Filyn Belial, has a beef with the current Demon King of the Solomar Kingdom, the same king whose subordinates, the Twelve Lords, are the inspiration for the twelve Treasure Towers. While the World Quest may make a mess of the whole continent and more, the biggest fight will happen in the Solomar Kingdom. This whole ordeal could be said to just be the Demon King's letter of challenge to Filyn, whose father was the former Demon King before he was assassinated while poor Filyn was just a little girl. Hmm, I wonder how many millennia ago that happened...
"In short, while Solomar might have the biggest need of combat power, the World Quest thingy itself cannot be ignored. Therefore, Garami, MY boss lady, decided to send me, Alf who I mentioned before, and the adorable little Revi Darul to help Babel's 'exploration team' with securing the four Treasures that could be found hidden within these towers.
"However, we were not the leaders of this exploration team. That honor went to Robert Bermuda, a walrus Beastkin with a big body and a bigger heart. Not to forget about his laugh. My ears still hurt when I remember our first meeting...
"Robert is not only one of the 'elite four' of Babel, which our honorable Guild Master is also part of, he is also the president, or as he calls it, the 'grand captain' of the Bermuda Sea-Slayer Fleet Company. A gigantic shipping merchant firm that transports goods across all of the continent. Everywhere except the Invidia Gorge or Avalar has some relationship with this firm!
"Alas, just being good sailors doesn't mean you're an ace under the water, and that was a big-time problem in their current situation. One of the Treasure Towers, the Darkness attribute one that is based on an honest-to-goodness devil that serves the Demon King. I didn't catch his name, but he's known by his moniker, the 'Irritation Lord'.
"Anyway, the 'Irritation Tower' was placed in the middle of the sea, on a small, small, MINI island. It's better to call it an oversized reef! The Tower ended up being so large it flattened that island! And that caused the tower to tip, forcing its entrance into the water.
"Mr. Bermuda could dive into the water and enter the submerged tower, but the Irritation Lord had struck first. He had created a massive barrier that prevented people from entering the tower! Luckily for us, the tower had inherited its 'parent's' moniker, making the inside a literal labyrinth that one had to conquer before one could get to the Treasure!
"While we did not know this at the time, Bermuda was starting to feel the pressure. Failing to obtain even one of the Treasures could make Babel lose the World Quest. However, all hope was not lost. The Irritation Lord's barrier was powerful, but not only due to the devil's knowledge of the arcane arts. To create a powerful enough barrier, the Irritation Lord had to limit what the magical wall could prevent from entering the tower.
"Unfortunately for Bermuda and his firm, the Irritation Lord chose 'marine animals'. And that is not limited to just fishies. He even managed to include marine mammals, such as walruses, and birds, like penguins. And to make things worse, over 90% of the Bermuda Sea-Slayer Fleet Company consists of those types of Beastkin, Birdkin, Therianthropes, and everything in between! Talk about bad luck, Bermuda.
"As you could guess, with those odds, the Fleet Company had ended up having no usable combatants who could dive into the treacherous seas and enter the tower to hunt down the Irritation Lord. They don't even have scuba diving gear invented in this world, so you NEED a dedicated diver if you want to go underwater mano-o-mano with the sea monsters on this planet.
"The Irritation Lord must have looked smug. His one move managed to put a stop to the sea merchants' plans. However, there was just one miscalculation in his formula for victory. A certain young, talented, and goddamn sexy fairy had visited the town and she was ready to kick some devil butt!
"In case you didn't follow, I'm talking about me. While my race is connected to water in general, I am far from being a member of the marine animals, so the barrier did nothing to me. I even have the [Diver] class to help me circle the fact that the tower is in the great blue.
"Old man Bermuda did not like sending me alone, but he had no other personnel that could help, nor did he have the luxury to send them anyway. Even if his company is large, a responsible merchant Guild Master can't drop everything and send all of his employees to the battlefield. That didn't stop him from drafting several sailors with combat experience in the fleet, plus hiring some adventurers from the Velantas region, but none of those could get past the barrier while not drowning.
"In the end, it was all up to me. After I entered the tower, the day after the big opening of the tower, I was greeted by the pleasant surprise of the Irritation Lord having left a trail of destruction as he had forced his way through the tower's tricks and traps. And the tower seemed to have forgotten to pay for their insurance AND janitors. I could just walk through without a sweat.
"My luck did not seem to wane, as when I finally caught up with him, I found the Irritation Lord in a state of exhaustion. Putting up that barrier the day before must have weakened him noticeably, as when I found him, he was struggling in a fight against a giant, devil-looking dragon. Potentially some sort of guardian beast for the Tower's Treasure.
"Neither demonic villain had noticed me, so I let them duke it out as real men underneath the sunset. Ignore that we were inside a tower of darkness underneath the sea, please. In the end, the Irritation Lord came up on top, but he was struggling to even stand straight.
"Now, who would be dastardly enough to finish off such a man among men who had won against a brawl with his draconic counterpart? Me. I am a member of the Guild of Garami Blackwood. I have to play dirty sometimes, or I might risk getting expelled from the Nightmare Voyagers.
"As a talented magician, I had already prepared my Paranormal Scrolls filled with several types of water magic. I had even obtained the [Water Mage] class beforehand. While a Book of Worlds class seems tame compared to my much rarer [Paranormal Painter], I had enough time during the preparation month to spam water spells after spells enough to allow the class to evolve into the [Water Wizard] class in record time! You are free to praise me whenever you like.
"Even a frightening devil like the Irritation Lord could not withstand such a flood, so I sent him packing out of the tower's windows! Do note that even if the tower's entrance was submerged, the top of it was still above sea level. Not that it helped as the magical barrier of the tower itself prevented us from entering through there. I wonder if all the towers have such a trick or not.
"Anyway, all that the Irritation Lord could do was yell out my name in surprise before getting his chances for victory flushed out into the sea! Note to self, let's brag about this to Noire later when we meet again.
"It is disturbing that my level did not increase despite having drowned one of the strongest demonic entities on the continent. The spells I chose were the type that focused more on the Knockback effect rather than damage, so even if the devil survived, I am not so surprised. Even if a little upset not getting a big kill under my belt.
"All that was left was for me to take my prize, a statue, or maybe an idol depending on how you look at it, in the shape of a chibi knight with his face covered in a helmet. The striking resemblance to the Irritation Lord was...disturbing.
"Alas, right after I had taken my price, do note that I was on the lookout for the classic pressure-triggered traps that appear in the movies, the top floor of the Tower...exploded. I'm not kidding. The whole place went all ka-boomy before I realized it.
"It's still a mystery even to me about how I survived. I think the Irritation Idol that I had just acquired had a finger in it. In any case, I was sent flying, protected by a sphere-like barrier, and crashlanded onto the shore a little away from the city limits. Looking back, I should be happy I was sent in the direction of land. Even I could not survive the deeper sea areas. The things living out there? Nautic nightmares, I tell you.
*Creeeaaak*...
"And that is where things started to go south. I said I 'crash' landed, you remember? Now, take a guess what I crashed into. .........Time's up! The answer is...a giant yacht that was anchored close to a mansion. Why did someone put their house there, outside the city?!
"The owner sent what looked like the police after me. I tried to explain myself but to no avail. Those bogus policemen had no intention of giving me my right to a lawyer, a call, or even to stay silent!
"...Actually, the last part might have been not so true. Because..." - Ciara
"They threw you in here?" - ???
"YES!! And here I was suspecting a trial, maybe even forced labor without one, but nothing. Nothing. NOTHING!! Three days have passed now, and the only interaction I've had with the outside world is when they come and bring me some molded bread and water! All this time, I've been alone here in this dark, gloomy, and wet grotto of a prison cell!!" - Ciara
"Couldn't you have blasted the door open?" - ???
"And get the police after me!? We are already understaffed enough here in the Marshlands! We do not have the time or luxury to also make an enemy of the local authorities!!" - Ciara
"Locals they may be, but they're not the police. They're the mafia." - ???
"The mafia!? What are you-?!" - Ciara
That response came out of the blue. Mafia? As in crooks? I couldn't believe my ears, but then I finally realized. The response came from behind me, where the blasted door should have stayed closed and silent.
Standing in the door opening, his face filled with pity, was Alf.
"Should I tell everyone else that your weakness is being alone, or do you want to keep it between us?" - Alf
".........The latter." - Ciara
I barely managed to keep my tears from leaking. How long had he been there? In the name of Baron Oshun, how damn long did he overhear me talking a storm to myself, only with a lifeless idol as company?! I need some emotional care after this. Three days... Just three days was enough to make me act all wacko... I need to give little Revi a big hug. The poor girl, didn't she live several centuries like this?
"...By the way, where is Revi?" - Ciara
"What 'by the way' is that?" - Alf
"S-s-s-shut up! I-I'm just a little out of touch with my social abilities! Give me a day or two, and I'll be back to my sensual self again!" - Ciara
"Uh, yeah, whatever. As for your question..." - Alf
Pausing there, Alf looked at the ground with a dark expression. Don't tell me...Revi has got a boyfriend while I wasn't looking!? Damn, what a missed opportunity to spy on some young love!! Even if someone is going to go bananas after the war. No wonder Alf is going all gloomy vampire on me-.
"Let me put it like this: at this moment, the only fighting forces left in the Invidia Marshland, including both the Nightmare Voyagers, Babel, and the forces from Damavand, are you and me." - Alf
.........Why!? I'm gone just for a few days and this happens?! Just WHYYYY!?
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