Ethan was stabbed in the heart by Kaleido’s staff.
Just before Ethan’s breath gave out, the Death Knight thrust his sword into his heart once more.
“Kruuuurrrk.”
A little while later, Ethan, transformed into a ghoul, rose from his spot.
The Death Knight handed Ethan, now a new family member, a pickaxe.
To shorten the construction period, sourcing labor from the field was indeed the right answer.
The Death Knight left with a proud smile.
“……”
Kaleido watched the Death Knight’s departure without a word.
And then Necros approached.
“Clack. Clack.”
“You’ve arrived. Lord Necros.”
Necros, the de facto owner managing this dungeon, ‘Nest of Corruption’.
Kaleido looked at Necros with eyes full of respect.
A living legend who gained recognition from the Master for his incredible work ethic, leading to a super-fast promotion.
‘Ah, maybe not living.’
Regardless, Necros was an object of admiration for Kaleido.
He had no doubt that if he worked hard, he would also rise high someday.
“As you can see, all preparations are complete.”
Raymond, exploring within an illusion.
From now on, they would intervene in the world Raymond was exploring.
Necros nodded.
“Clack, clack, clack?”
“Of course. Everything is proceeding without a hitch. Even if the subject returns from the illusion, they will become confused about reality.”
Raymond gave a sickening smile.
With this, all preparations were complete.
Now, all they had to do was to slowly expand their influence.
This was a plan that would benefit Necros himself, who ruled the underworld.
Furthermore, it would benefit Celia, the de facto ruler of the Sail Kingdom.
And even further, it was a plan that could be said to benefit the Great One who encompassed them all.
“Clack.”
It was now the beginning.
* * *
Raymond, looking bewildered by the changed surroundings, blinked and muttered.
“Where on earth is this place?”
Looking around, a beautiful landscape, as if stepping into a fairy tale, unfolded.
Emerald green meadows swayed in the soft breeze, and a clear stream flowed cheerfully.
In the distance, the scenery of a cozy village could also be seen.
Raymond held his breath at the peaceful and wondrous sight.
“Is this a dream?”
Just a little while ago, he was drinking with Ethan.
After drinking heavily, they walked the night streets.
Then he remembered that Ethan had taken him inside a building, saying he would show him the Coliseum.
Yes, and then he was looking for the restroom.
Before fully enjoying the Coliseum Match, he first looked for the restroom.
‘I thought it was a restroom when I went in…’
The place they entered was not a restroom.
A place for some unknown reason.
And…
‘Ah, Kaleido…!’
A being who researches illusion magic appeared.
His name was Kaleido. He was a scholar.
Kaleido’s words flashed through his mind for a moment.
– Now, from now on, you will explore the illusion I have created.
Could it be that the place he was in now was an illusion?
“No way… is this possible?”
It was unbelievable, but the scene before his eyes felt incredibly vivid.
Warm sunlight, even the fragrant scent of flowers.
What’s more, he could feel the soft touch of soil in his hands.
“Ha.”
It wasn’t that he was seeing things because he was drunk.
For some reason, after coming here, the headache and nausea he felt when drunk had completely disappeared.
Raymond pinched his cheek with trembling hands at the unbelievable sight.
As expected, he felt pain.
It meant it wasn’t a dream.
‘Come to think of it, he did say he’d give gold coins for exploring illusions?’
If you think about it, he didn’t just accept the offer.
He only agreed because he was told he would receive gold coins for fully exploring the illusion.
So, what should he do now?
Raymond fell into thought about how to start the exploration.
Just then, a semi-transparent window suddenly appeared before his eyes.
[Welcome to the world of illusion.]
[Mr. Raymond will explore the world of illusion here.]
The text that appeared before his eyes confirmed it.
This was indeed an illusion.
The window continued to display text.
[Rewards will be given upon completing all missions assigned during exploration.]
[However, be careful not to be consumed by the illusion. The boundary between illusion and reality is more blurred than you might think.]
[The first mission is assigned.]
[Mission 1: Head to the village.]
“Is this what he meant by exploration?”
Fortunately, a mission was given.
It was better to have a landmark than no information at all.
“Let’s go for now.”
The village visible in the distance.
Since it was the only village around, perhaps he could find some clues there.
Raymond’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as he looked around.
And then he slowly took a step forward.
“……”
The small path crossing the meadow was like a picture from a fairy tale. Wildflowers of various colors bloomed on both sides, and butterflies fluttered erratically.
It was truly a beautiful sight.
As he kept walking, he soon entered a small forest.
In the distance, through the trees, he could see shimmering waves.
“…Is it a lake?”
As he continued walking, he was quite thirsty.
Raymond slowly passed through the trees.
“Oh…”
What reflected in his eyes was a beautiful lake sparkling in the sunlight.
Even though it was a world of illusion, the scenery was too beautiful.
He even thought he’d like to stay here.
“No, snap out of it.”
However, Raymond shook his head and snapped out of it.
Didn’t he get a warning earlier?
He was warned not to be consumed by the illusion.
This was probably what he was warned about.
Raymond focused intensely and started to walk towards the lake, but stopped.
“……”
There was a prior visitor.
‘A little child?’
A small girl on one side of the lake.
But the girl wasn’t alone.
Beside her was a monster in the shape of a horse made of water.
‘…A monster!’
Even though Raymond wasn’t an adventurer, he knew that monsters were dangerous.
But the monster before his eyes posed no threat to the girl.
On the contrary, they seemed to be playing together.
Is that possible?
He slowly approached the girl and opened his mouth.
“Hey, little one-”
At Raymond’s voice, the girl’s expression turned surprised.
“……!”
After a moment of silence, the girl started running into the forest.
“Hey-!”
At the same time, the horse-shaped monster that was next to the girl blocked Raymond’s path.
As if to protect the fleeing girl.
“Oof!”
Raymond flinched and stepped back.
The girl had already disappeared.
Only then did the monster disappear into the lake.
“…What on earth was that?”
Don’t monsters usually harm people?
But the thing just now seemed to be protecting the girl.
“Is this also possible because it’s an illusion?”
Yes, it wouldn’t make sense otherwise.
He reminded himself once again that this was an illusion.
“Huh?”
As Raymond walked past the lake, he saw something sparkling.
‘A necklace?’
A beautifully crafted pendant was engraved with an unknown flower pattern.
Raymond picked up the necklace.
He was on his way to the village now.
Perhaps the girl lived in the village too?
“I should return it if I meet her.”
Raymond carefully put the necklace in his pocket and quickened his pace.
“Time to get going again.”
The village should be just a little further.
No need for other distracting thoughts for now.
He should focus only on exploring the illusion by completing the mission. And he only cared about the gold coins he would get.
After walking for a while.
He finally arrived at the village.
The village was smaller than he expected.
Still, as he arrived at the village, the previous window reappeared.
[Mission 1 completed.]
[Mission 2: Find the village square.]
“It’s not as great as I thought?”
The new mission was not difficult either.
If it continued like this, the exploration would be over soon.
‘And all those gold coins will be mine.’
Raymond’s expression brightened at the thought of countless gold coins in his hands.
With a joyous heart, he passed through the village entrance and headed towards the square.
However, the village streets were as quiet as a dead mouse.
‘What’s this.’
Raymond felt something was strange and walked slowly.
Even though it was his first time in this village, finding the square was not difficult.
As the streets were empty, people were gathered in one place.
‘Is that the square?’
Raymond quickly quickened his pace.
As soon as he entered the square.
‘What? Why is the atmosphere like this?’
But there was something unsettling about the atmosphere. People with dark expressions whispered and kept glancing at the center of the square.
[Mission 2 completed.]
[Mission 3: Talk to the village chief.]
Raymond ignored the appearing window.
Then, he pushed through the crowd and looked at the center of the square.
And he couldn’t help but be shocked by the sight before him.
In the center of the square, a pile of firewood was stacked, and a woman was tied to it.
The woman’s clothes were stained with dirt and mud, and dry hair covered her face.
He didn’t know who the woman was, but he could immediately tell she was in a dangerous situation.
At that moment, an old man with a white beard walked to the front of the crowd.
The old man, with a solemn expression, shouted to the crowd.
“I am ashamed as the village chief that such a thing has happened in our village.”
The old man’s identity was the village chief.
“Everyone, this woman has bewitched innocent village men. She must be a witch in league with a succubus!”
What is this?
Raymond was bewildered by the chief’s words.
What was more ridiculous were the actions of the villagers.
“That’s right! She’s definitely a witch! She seduced me!”
Starting with one man’s words, others chimed in.
“This dirty woman deserves to die! How dare she touch my husband!”
“It must be that the succubus’s blood flows within this lustful witch’s body!”
Criticism, curses, and denunciations filled the square.
Those related to the woman seemed to be lessening their own guilt by punishing her, shouting even louder.
The woman, facing the threat to her life, gasped as if screaming.
She seemed to want to say something, but with a gag in her mouth, she could do nothing but let out groans.
At best, her eyes seemed to be looking for help as they darted around, but not a single villager stepped forward to defend her.
“……”
Raymond just stared blankly at the situation.
After all, this wasn’t reality.
It was just a story within an illusion.
So he didn’t intervene.
He just wanted to quickly complete the mission and take the gold coins.
For that, he had to talk to the village chief, but the atmosphere was not conducive.
He inwardly wished for this disgusting and irritating situation to pass quickly.
As Raymond was thinking to himself, the people continued to howl and curse the woman.
Then, as the chief’s mouth opened, everyone became quiet as if by agreement.
“Witches who collude with monsters are our enemies! I believe that saying we should save such an immoral witch is no different from planting the seeds of disaster! Therefore, in the name of God, and as the chief who protects the village, I shall make a judgment!”
“That’s right!”
“Our chief speaks a thousand times correctly!”
The atmosphere gradually heated up.
Soon, the chief’s order was given.
“Witch, I sentence you to death!”
With the chief’s cry, the woman, sentenced to death, struggled to lift her head and look at the crowd.
Her eyes were filled with fear, despair, and resentment.
At that moment, the torches were lit, and the pile of firewood began to burn.
The woman’s silent screams were soon buried by the blazing firewood and the roaring crowd.
Raymond, witnessing the execution scene, was beyond shock.
His heart pounded, and cold sweat broke out on his hands.
Even though it was an illusion, it was difficult to endure such cruelty.
He couldn’t speak.
Raymond himself was a fugitive, wanted for fraud, and frequented the underworld.
Although he had witnessed many atrocities in the cruel underworld, the madness here was on a different level.
He could only remain silent in the chillingly eerie atmosphere.
Just then, someone nudged Raymond’s side.
He turned his head to see an old woman staring intently at him.
The old woman glanced around, then leaned closer to Raymond and whispered softly.
“Isn’t that woman pitiful? This is commonplace in this village. Tsk.”
At the old woman’s words, Raymond looked around in surprise.
Fortunately, he was the only one who heard the old woman’s words amidst the surrounding noise.
“……”
However, Raymond pondered how to react to the old woman’s words and then closed his mouth.
The old woman who spoke first certainly belonged to this village.
If he spoke carelessly, he could easily draw trouble upon himself.
Even though Raymond showed no reaction, the old woman continued to speak.
“That woman did nothing wrong… it’s just a sad story of a powerless woman becoming the object of men’s desires…”
“What? What do you mean by that…”
Raymond’s eyes widened.
If what the old woman said was true, then this village could only be described as rotten to the core.
“Be careful too. Just because you’re an outsider doesn’t mean you’re safe. Heh heh.”
The old woman said what she had to say and disappeared into the crowd.
‘…It wasn’t easy.’
He had dismissed it too easily as just an illusion.
However, everything he felt here was too vivid.
A world no different from reality.
‘Maybe…’
He thought that this illusion itself might be a trap that gnaws at people’s emotions.
‘Snap out of it.’
If he got too absorbed, he would be consumed by the illusion.
‘This is definitely not reality.’
Raymond gritted his teeth and composed himself.
And as the execution neared its end, he met eyes with the chief who was approaching him.
“You’re a new face. How did you come here?”
The chief asked with curious eyes.
Unlike the previous atmosphere, he was polite.
Coincidentally, Raymond had been wondering how to contact the chief for the mission, and an opportunity had arisen.
He hesitated for a moment to lower the other party’s guard and then answered calmly.
“I am Raymond, an adventurer who explores the world.”
It wasn’t entirely a lie, as he was exploring within an illusion.
“Oh, an adventurer… How interesting.”
The chief nodded and continued.
“As an adventurer, you probably know this, but monsters are like our natural enemies.”
Raymond casually agreed with the chief’s words.
“Have you happened to go to the forest over there?”
The forest the chief pointed to with his hand was where Raymond had passed by.
It was the place where he had encountered the unknown girl, as well as the beautiful scenery.
“I have a favor to ask of you.”
The chief’s words gave Raymond a bad feeling. The old woman’s words from earlier kept nagging him.
And his unease became a reality.
“There is a little child in that forest. I want you to kill that child.”
[Mission 3 completed.]
[Mission 4: Accept the village chief’s request and kill the girl.]
