Chapter 257 - What If (5)

「Disguise│When activated, changes the body's composition to pass as an ordinary human.

Effects: Negates demonic energy detection and tracking until the skill is deactivated.

Total HP reduced by 50% (maximum 90%).

Total MP reduced by 70%.

HP regeneration slowed by 50% (maximum 90%).

Physical defense reduced by 20% (maximum 50%).

Magic resistance reduced by 40% (maximum 80%).

Physical damage received increased by 30% (maximum 100%).

Magic damage received increased by 90% (maximum 200%).

Divine damage received increased by 500% (maximum 1000%).

Lose 1 HP per second (maximum 999).

Inflicts the status condition ‘Impaired Magical Energy Circulation.’

※All effects except the negation of demonic energy detection and tracking gradually increase in proportion to the duration of skill use.

※Upon deactivation, all effects except the negation of demonic energy detection and tracking gradually wear off over a period of time.

The time required for effects to wear off is proportional to the duration of skill use.」

「Impaired Magical Energy Circulation│The magical energy inside the body becomes tangled and can no longer be properly controlled.

Magical energy recovery is slowed by 30%, and the skill: Magical Energy Control is nullified.

Using magical energy has a set chance of causing magical energy backlash, dealing damage to the user.」

The skill had popped up out of nowhere while the Mountain Lord was off making a place for me to farm food. Just like when Life Conversion suddenly appeared while I was fighting the Sea Dragon out at sea.

“I'm sorry. I'm still inexperienced.”

I had no idea why they were only giving me this now. Did I look so miserable that they were tossing me a handout, offering the cure after causing the illness? But I'd already caught on to everything. Couldn't they just show themselves and give it to me openly? Were they willing to offer conveniences but not meet me?

... Giving me this would only make it easier for me to track them down.

“I won't make another mistake.”

The help had certainly given me a way forward, but I couldn't begin to fathom that bastard's intentions. What criteria were they even acting on?

Mulling that over, I focused on my body. I couldn't very well pass out using the skill again.

After some delicate adjustments, demonic energy changed into magical energy, and rather intense agony raced through my entire body. I felt sluggish.

“How is it? Is the demonic energy concealed?”

Still, the effect was as clear as the pain. My right hand, which I'd left exposed to check with my own eyes, began returning to its original color. It was no longer black.

“Did I succeed?”

Of course, the debuffs I got in exchange for this disguise were bone-deep misery. Never mind the reduced HP and MP pools; the increase in damage taken was something else.

The divine damage multiplier was so bad that I'd have to be prepared to die the instant I got fucking hit. And the damage over time every second went without saying.

An ambush would kill me outright.

“...?”

Now that I looked, Impaired Magical Energy Circulation was a pretty serious penalty, too. Using magical energy had once felt like spraying water from a fire hose. Now it was worse than trying to squirt it out through a straw with a crushed opening. At the very least, I'd have to abandon any idea of fighting with Disguise active.

“... Can you still sense demonic energy, or—”

Well, that about summed up my impressions of the Disguise skill.

More importantly, why wasn't Yukkwi answering? I stared at him, worried something might be wrong.

[“I take it back. You really are a selfish bastard.”]

An accusation whose true meaning I couldn't discern came flying at me.

“Pardon?”

[“And I'm... I'm really...”]

The rebuke was so out of the blue that it didn't hurt at all. Especially since Yukkwi had abruptly covered his head with his flippers. I was just bewildered.

“... What's wrong?”

Utterly baffled, I tried speaking to him a few more times. Naturally, no answer came.

“Why...?”

Seriously, what had gotten into him? Was this because I'd passed out?

I came up with all kinds of guesses about his mysterious behavior and did some soul-searching of my own, without even knowing whether I'd hit on the right answer.

[“I'm ba... Did you two have a fight?”]

“... No.”

We probably... hadn't? Probably...?

I awkwardly rubbed the back of my neck as the Mountain Lord arrived at just the right moment. I had no idea what was going on either. Couldn't he do something? My eyes were frantically pleading for his help.

[“Ancestor?”]

[“Don't talk to me. I'm busy loathing myself.”]

[“Yes, sir.”]

But the Mountain Lord's attempt didn't work either. Our eyes met again. The assortment of medicinal herbs held in his mouth lent a little humor to the awkward atmosphere.

[“What's wrong with him?”]

“... I don't know either.”

If I knew, I'd have soothed him long ago. The Mountain Lord and I whispered, keeping a wary eye on Yukkwi.

[“Huh? Come to think of it, Sir Knight. Your demonic energy's all gone.”]

Noticing the change in me, the Mountain Lord's eyes went round. Yukkwi's silence had made me think I'd failed, but apparently that wasn't the case.

Feeling strange, I fiddled with my right hand.

[“No... Maybe it's not gone? Did you succeed...?”]

“Yes.”

If even the Mountain Lord was saying that, I could pretty much rule out humans detecting it, right?

I was inwardly pleased with his response. It came plastered with penalties, but I'd finally found a way to walk around cities. Biggest obstacle cleared.

[“Then...”]

“...?”

But while I was celebrating, the Mountain Lord lowered his head, his voice dejected.

THUD.

The deodeok and ginseng in his mouth fell and scattered across the ground.

[“Are you leaving now?”]

So that was it. He was already imagining my departure. Since I'd agreed to stay only until I found a solution to the demonic energy, he wasn't entirely wrong, but seeing him so droopy was a little funny.

[“I worked so hard growing those crops... So very hard...”]

I barely suppressed a disbelieving laugh and kept my expression firm. I'd let much of the role-playing slide, but I had to maintain that signature rude, blank face.

“I'm staying a little longer.”

[“Oh! Really?”]

“Yes.”

For the record, I wasn't just saying that to comfort him. I really did need to stay here a few more days.

“And give this to the Great Chief. Tell him I have a favor to ask.”

After all, hiding my demonic energy wasn't enough to deal with my persona, and I needed to investigate the Disguise skill in detail, too.

* * *

“You're leaving?”

“Yes.”

Deathbringer was deeply taken aback by the announcement, delivered without warning. He hadn't expected Berserker, of all people, to say this now, of all times.

“There's no reason for me to stay here any longer.”

But was that really true? Had he truly not seen this coming?

Deathbringer looked at the warrior, whose spirits had steadily sunk since that incident. Now, like the Demon Knight once had, she radiated nothing but a heavy air, as though trapped in the depths of the sea.

“... Where will you go?”

“North.”

“Where in the north?”

“I'm going back to my homeland.”

“Oh...”

The Inquisitor had received a divine oracle, and it apparently told her to head north. So come with us.

They needed someone strong to find the Demon Knight and stop him—not to capture him, but to hold him there long enough for even a brief conversation. Couldn't she stay with them at least until then?

All those words stalled before the word “homeland.” He knew that, unlike people like himself, most people attached considerable significance to where they came from.

Deathbringer's ears drooped as his lips shifted soundlessly.

“All right. Maybe that's for the best.”

They said its meaning varied with interpretation, but in Deathbringer's view, the second half of the oracle was indeed referring to the Demon Knight. After all, wasn't someone wandering without his memories a lost one, too?

Kill, save, or send back. He didn't know which of those three interpretations was correct, though.

“Aren't you leaving?”

“Well. At first, I considered it...”

Still, there was at least one thing he knew. The Temple was very likely to choose the first option.

“But I figured I ought to stay, for the Boss's sake.”

But did he have the ability to prevent that? If the Inquisitor chose the first option, could he save the Demon Knight from her?

“Staying here seems like my best chance of running into the Boss, too.”

He couldn't. But he was confident he could get word out faster than anyone else in the group. That was why Deathbringer had decided to stay.

“... Anyway, when are you leaving?”

“Today.”

“Right away?”

“Yes.”

“... All right.”

But was this really the right choice?

He awkwardly pulled his lips into a smile as the warrior bade him farewell.

“Safe travels.”

Would they ever see each other again?

The question he couldn't ask tightened around his throat.

* * *

Roughly ten days had passed since Yukkwi's strange reaction. I'd devoted every one of them to figuring out my new Disguise skill.

Investigating the statement that its effects—debuffs—increased in proportion to the duration of use.

Examining how long the debuffs lingered after deactivation.

Determining how long I could sustain it, accounting for the damage over time that grew stronger with time.

Studying the reduced combat ability caused by the status condition: Impaired Magical Energy Circulation, the severity of magical energy backlash, and so on.

It was all preparation for making life outside easier.

Blood trickled down.

“... Ah.”

The results, however, had given me one overriding certainty.

If I fought using magical energy with Disguise active, I was fucked.

“So a nosebleed is the bare minimum...”

Of course, magical energy backlash merely dealt damage rather than canceling the skill—though the pain might make me stop using it—so fighting wasn't entirely impossible.

But a prolonged fight would put me in serious trouble. Unless it was absolutely urgent, avoiding combat from the outset was the right approach.

That much was certain.

“Now I see why this body's owner insisted on soloing in deserted places...”

Unable to suppress a groan, I slumped onto a nearby tree. No joke, I ached all over. It felt like being back in my feeble real-world body.

“This is killing me. Seriously...”

Meanwhile, the nosebleed caused by the backlash still showed no sign of stopping. I pressed a handkerchief against my nose and lowered my head.

With the gentle, steady rustling unique to a forest, a breeze from far away stirred my clothes. It chilled my body.

“... Still, I should have enough data by now.”

Was it because I had a handkerchief pressed to my nose? My absentminded mutter sounded nasal.

It was only human, but it was so at odds with my persona that it was a little funny.

If Deathbringer or the Inquisitor had heard that, they'd have doubted their ears, their mouths forming little diamonds. Imagining it made my composed expression slip again.

No one was watching, so I could laugh all I liked. But before that fact could sink in, an image of the two young people lowering their heads in the place I'd left behind overtook it.

The corners of my mouth plummeted.

GROWL.

“Hmm...”

... Right. Until I left the Great Forest, my role-playing wasn't truly over. I needed to fix my expression. With that resolve, I reached into my inventory.

CLATTER.

I pulled out my lunch. Calling it a packed lunch felt grandiose, but there wasn't another word for it.

“Whew.”

Luckily, my nosebleed stopped around then, too. In other words, I wouldn't have to stuff food into my mouth while holding a handkerchief to my nose.

I opened the lunchbox lid at ease.

[“Waaaaah!!”]

But just as I scooped up some thin porridge, a voice boomed through the forest.

It was what the Mountain Lord did when he couldn't call me directly but needed to let me know he'd arrived. My startled heart settled back into place.

[“Waaaah.”]

Calling me home was all well and good, but wouldn't the priestesses come to investigate if he kept this up?

With a trace of unease, I closed my lunchbox. I wasn't far from my shelter, and since the Mountain Lord was here, I figured I could go back and eat there.

[“Wah!”]

Above all, if I didn't hurry up and scold him, he'd keep doing that. Better to go back.

The uninvited guest who showed up whenever I was on the verge of loneliness made the corners of my mouth rise without my noticing.

“You're loud.”

[“Oh, Sir Knight.”]

Still, he really was loud. I smacked his body with my sheathed sword. Only then noticing my presence, the Mountain Lord whipped his head around. His head approached and stopped right above me, nostrils sniffing and tongue flicking out over and over.

[“Goodness. It's so hard to find you now that your demonic energy's gone. And just smell that blood. Were you doing that again? Really, you ought to take better care of yourself...”]

“None of your business. What do you want?”

Yukkwi, who'd apparently been languishing ever since that day, hadn't come today either... So why was the Mountain Lord here again? Another social visit? Wasn't four days in a row a bit much?

[“Oh, right. The Great Chief said what you asked for arrived today, so I came straight over to deliver it.”]

Apparently not. Part of his body slid around, and he presented the tip of his tail to me. A bundle dangled from it.

“... I didn't expect him to find it so soon.”

I accepted it carefully. Factoring in the travel between the Great Forest and the outside world, plus the legwork needed to find the items, I'd expected it to take at least three weeks. Yet here it was, earlier than that. I was both startled and pleased.

[“But what is it? I can't read...”]

“... You don't need to know.”

Still, saying it myself was a little... It wasn't exactly something embarrassing or shameful, but it wasn't something my character would say, either.

[“Pleeease.”]

Acting cute wasn't going to work. He was the Mountain Lord. He ought to act like it.

Ignoring the increasingly petulant Mountain Lord, I stuffed the bundle into my inventory. I'd examine it properly after he left.

[“That's mean.”]

“If you've nothing else to say, leave.”

[“Think I can't find out if you don't tell me? I'll ask the Great Chief.”]

Whatever. I casually pushed the sulking Mountain Lord away. I merely didn't want to say it myself. Whether he heard it from the Great Chief was none of my business.

The Mountain Lord, on the other hand, looked tremendously offended. For someone without facial muscles, he was outstanding at conveying his emotions.

“Ah.”

[“Oh! Will you tell me?”]

“I'm leaving before the week's out. Just so you know.”

[“Noooo.”]

Come on, I'd investigated everything I needed to and had all the means to hide my identity outside. It really was time to go.

In the end, I had to use force to pry off the Mountain Lord, who'd started whining for an entirely different reason.

[“Waaaah.”]

Ugh, get off me!

Is It a Problem If the Protagonist Is a Role-Playing Fanatic? (Serial)

Written by │ Hae Inseol

Publisher │ Kim Juhyeong

Published by │ J Plus Media Co., Ltd.

Marketing │ Han Jaehyeok

Address │ Suite 1101, 11, Digital-ro 33-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, Ace Techno Tower 8, 11th Floor)

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Website │ http://blog.naver.com/jayplemedia1

ⓒHae Inseol 2022

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