Chapter 233 - Episode Thirty - The Collector (1)
After the reconciliation with Altamir, when I was just about to leave …… I heard loud footsteps coming from the path leading to the seventh level.
They were not very fast, but they were somewhat intimidating.
I’m not sure if there is still a guard in this tower or not.
To be honest, I’m getting pretty tired too. If there are any troublesome traps, please disarm them for me.
“Altamir-san, is there still something on this floor ……?”
When I looked back at Altamir, she was also looking at the road ahead with her mouth hanging open.
Apparently, it was none of Altamir’s business.
“N-No way…… No one has been up here for nearly a hundred years, and then I get another visitor on the same day.”
Thinking that If Altamir didn’t set this up …… It can’t possibly be Devin, the High Elf Priest?
I was caught off guard. I thought he wouldn’t be able to get to move for a while because he rolled down the beanstalk, but I didn’t think I’d be able to get back up this fast.
He’s definitely the best High Elf in the world for his durability, regardless of his magic skills.
I don’t know what other high elves are like, but I don’t want to think that there are any high elves who are more persistent than Devin.
I was planning to drag the unconscious Devin back to Palgas Village and turn him in to Lark, but I didn’t think he would not only get up so easily, but still have the guts to come after me.
I wondered if he really thought he could still win. Or is it simply that you’ve lost your nerve?
“If it doesn’t work after all that …… I’ll just have to tie him up completely,……”
As I held up my wand, the figure of the person approaching became apparent.
He was a large man with a blue cloak covering his body and a bandage on his face, looking very strange.
His arms, stretching out from the sleeves of his cloak, were also covered with bandages, and his long fingers were covered with rings.
Some fingers had two rings on them. If you look at the rings individually, they are glittering and elegant, but if they are gathered together like this, they seem vulgar.
Aside from the lack of refinement, it was clear at a glance that this was no ordinary ring.
The sense of intimidation is not normal. It’s not just because he’s a large man.
“Hoh~! Hoh~! So that’s Altamir over there! As expected of a legendary alchemist and witch. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a great aura. 60 points, perhaps? You pass.”
The large man looks at Altamir, who is on the other side of me and Mea, and snaps his fingers.
It seems as if he didn’t even see me and Mea, but as if he suddenly remembered, he turned to look at us.
“…… However, why are there two bugs mixed in here. How could such mediocre people climb this tower, huh. I had high hopes for the sorcerer who half-destroyed the tower, but …… he turned out to be just a small fry who happened to have a powerful magic tool in his hands. The woman has almost no aura at all, does she?”
I, Is he talking about me?
I don’t know If it’s about wisdom between Altamir and Me, but if it’s the sorcery, I just won overwhelmingly just now.
I’m not sure what you’re comparing us on.
Mea froze and took a backward stance toward the large man.
I whispered to Mea.
“…… Looks like we’ve run into another adventurer.”
And they don’t seem to be very friendly either.
I signaled to Altamir with my eyes.
I’m the one who half-destroyed the Witch’s Tower, Altamir fortress, and destroyed her trump card Colossus.
If it looks like we should turn them away, we should at least help them do that.
“…… I’m bored of you guys. We just got busy with a big visitor …… I’ll let you off the hook, so get the hell out of here. You’re in my way.”
Altamir said in a cold voice, a change from the one she had used earlier.
To my surprise, Altamir hurried me toward the exit with her eyes.
When I was puzzled as to what was going on, Altamir continued to speak.
“…… Don’t make me say it anymore. I don’t care what happens to you. You may have some confidence in your skills, but a “collector” is not someone you can measure on that level.”
“Co-, Collectors ……?”
I’ve heard of it.
He is a legendary adventurer who once raided every ruin and cave in the Dinrat kingdom.
He single-handedly slaughtered a giant dragon. He wanted the royal treasure of a small country so badly that he helped a revolution and rewrote history in just one night.
If you do a little research, you’ll find plenty of episodes like that.
He is a man whose every move has been praised as legendary.
In the book, he was described as not only the strongest man in the world, but even the strongest human in history.
This large man in front of me was the legendary adventurer and collector?
I could feel my skin heating up with tension and excitement.
“Ha! Unlike the rumors, the witch is quite lukewarm! But unfortunately, I will not allow that sorcerer there to return.”
The collector says roughly in a hushed voice and raises his arms high.
In his hand, a huge sword, as tall as the collector, appeared as if it had been there all along.
There was no spirit language, no magic circle, nothing at all.
-No, there was definitely some strange spirit movement.
It wasn’t as if there were no tricks.
If you pay attention and sense the spirit’s movements, you can get a rough idea of what kind of magical phenomenon was occurring.
The movement of the spirits was as if they had been in another dimension, and then grabbed it with their hands and brought it to this dimension.
It was similar to spatial magic, but it was much smoother than any existing spatial magic.
Considering that there were no formulas, we should assume that some kind of magical tools was used to transfer the sword.
The collector smiles and points the huge sword with a large curved blade at me with ease.
The blade thrusts at me, and I gulp down my spit, speechless.
“Kid, I’m not interested in you, but …… I’m curious about the magic tools you’re carrying. You may offer me the Wand of Destruction of the Kudor Church. I am in a good mood right now. I might even let you off the hook if you offer it to me, you know? It depends on my whims and your attitude, though! Fuhahahahaha!”
“Huh, the Wand of Destruction ……?”
Mea spills out anxiously.
The Collector glares at Mea after hearing that.
Mea who can’t seem to calm down looks in my direction
“Wh-Wha-, What do we do, Abel? This person is probably misunderstanding something.”
I don’t know anything about the staff of destruction either.
The wand of destruction is a magical tool that appears in the mythology of the Kudor religion, but its existence is only hinted at in the murals of the ruins, and nothing more than a scholarly interpretation should be known about it.
In the murals, it is carried by the priest who summoned the god Kudor, and countless magic bullets are released to destroy hordes of demons.
But I’m not sure where it is, or even if it really exists.
I don’t understand how they came to the conclusion that I had it, but that didn’t matter to me.
I was more interested in something else.
“Do you really think you can fool me by using it in such a big way? You idiot! Come on, just take it out quickly! Which one is it!? Show it to me! Or do you want to take the opportunity to shoot at me? That’s fine also. As long as ants like you have the guts! Now, I’ll give you ten seconds! If you can master the Wand of Destruction, I might even enjoy it a little ……”
“Just now! That …… The magic tool that you just brought the sword is that thing, isn’t it? It’s made from the skin of the organs of the ravenous dragon Phifneeg……”
I shouted interrupting the collector, bent down to avoid the blade of the sword, and approached the collector with wringing hands.