Capítulo 26: Chicken Game
Setting aside the evolution and the 66 possible branches, what's going on?
"Well, you're quite resilient, huh? Aren't you just an ordinary skeleton?"
"Excuse me?"
"You're still holding Codex Apocalypse just fine."
Salem's words gave me a clue.
Could it be that evolution became possible because of the Page of Sloth?
Honestly, I hadn't even considered it.
Is Nickel alright?
Anyway, as the Page of Sloth came out, I felt the familiar surge of mana that I had sensed before.
"Let me see. Let's take a look."
"Salem Yedidia. You're an uninvited guest. Don't meddle recklessly."
I am the protagonist! That's what it seemed like Jester, dressed in black attire that covered his entire face, was implying.
Of course, I knew what was inside.
"Do you think I'm running away because of the Page of Sloth? Jester, how do you see me?"
"This is the assembly. Once you're participating, I'll give you a chance, so wait."
At that moment, I re-summoned Nickel.
I had shown enough to make everyone believe that the Page of Sloth was real.
Suddenly, when the Page of Sloth disappeared, the attendees of the assembly looked at me with bewildered expressions.
"What are you planning?"
"Andreas."
Jester and Karon each said a word.
But I ignored them and spoke what I wanted to say.
"I have found the Page of Sloth. I would like to hand it over after receiving a fair reward."
"Andreas!"
Karon's face twisted in anger.
Wow, I didn't know Karon could get that mad.
In truth, my initial plan was to hand it over casually and just take a reward.
But I changed my plan impulsively because of Salem's attendance.
I didn't know Salem would be participating, and I didn't expect him to offer me help.
Thanks to that, I had a strong gut feeling that this impulsive plan might work.
Regardless of my thoughts, the attendees of the assembly stared at me with a foreboding aura.
"Karon Diflen, is your disciple insane? Or did you intentionally accept such a lunatic as your disciple?"
"I apologize."
Karon didn't know what to do and bowed his head.
Then he shouted my name and scolded me again.
No way.
I drew my sword and faced the growing momentum.
"My request is simple. I just want a fitting reward for the Page of Sloth."
"Hehe! Hahaha!"
Suddenly, Salem, who was standing next to me, burst into laughter.
Then he abruptly stopped and revealed a monstrous aura.
"Ah, he's just a simple lunatic after all. Hey, Andreas. Are these people gathered here easy to deal with?"
"Not at all. But that's why I'm trying my best to find my rights."
A powerful storm of force swept toward me, but I didn't take a step back.
And although Salem's words were intimidating, I trusted him because of the promise he made.
After finishing my speech, I slowly raised my sword.
The moment Salem was speechless, Jester interfered with magic.
Two hands made of black flames appeared beside him.
"If you want to die so badly, I'll grant your wish."
"You can't kill me."
I displayed my fighting spirit.
Holding the sword in reverse grip, I stabbed it into the side where my heart should be.
Stab!
"What are you trying to do?"
"Wow! Look at that, look at that! He must be crazy! It's hilarious!"
The people around me looked dumbfounded, but I pretended to smile as if nothing was wrong.
"Currently, the Page of Sloth is in my skeletal companion inside my pocket dimension. Here's the problem. If I die, what will happen to my pocket dimension?"
As I finished speaking, I made a precise stab, just 1mm away from my heart.
The tip of the blade reached near my lungs.
A situation where even a slight movement could be fatal.
I was gambling my life, trusting Salem.
Seeing my action, the attendees of the assembly stared at me with expressions of disbelief.
Even Salem was gaping at me.
"There might not be any normal person among the black mages, but this is the first time I've seen such a calmly insane person."
Jester canceled his magic.
"Andreas, are you thinking about the consequences? Even if you get the reward you want here, do you really think you can leave here alive?"
"I trust the person standing by my side."
Suddenly mentioning Salem, the one pointed out responded with a smirk.
"What an arrogant kid. I don't care about the Page of Sloth anymore. To dare to think of using me like this. Then, was this whole thing just a spur-of-the-moment plan? Only a madman could have such thoughts, right?"
"As I mentioned in the carriage, I'm just doing everything I can."
"What did you say? Hahaha!"
I gave him the same answer I had given when he asked why I bothered to learn the sword at such a late age.
Of course, I could have asked why I was going to such extremes.
But from my perspective, it was more absurd not to do something I could do.
I had always turned the impossible into possible, so this level of attempt was a natural course of action for me.
At that moment, something discreetly approached me, trying to bind my body.
It was the branches that grew from Morshé's nest.
"Kch."
Without delay, I precisely stabbed my lung.
Although it was just a slight stab, the effect was immense.
Seeing blood flow from my mouth, Morshé stopped the branches.
"It's poisonous."
Jester muttered.
Then he slowly walked toward me.
"Let me try something. I want to confirm whether you truly have the courage to die."
I could sense that he used a different type of magic while saying that.
'Mental magic!'
I sensed his magic penetrating my mind.
In just 0.1 seconds, I made a decision.
Stab!
"Woo."
Blood poured from my mouth.
The blood flowing down from under my chin stained the floor.
"You truly are insane."
Jester canceled his mental magic and hastily stepped back.
Did it work?
"Hahaha! The Page of Sloth will disappear from this world like this!"
"Shut up, Salem. Luna! Hurry and save the author!"
"I stabbed his heart, how can you save him? Give up, Jester. Hahaha!"
"Hurry, save him!"
Damn it. I'm not dead yet.
What a mess to turn someone into a dead person.
"Shall we make a deal?"
As I spoke, I smiled, knowing that the people sending me annoyed looks were getting tired of it.
It may look like I stabbed my heart, but it was actually my lungs. It's disappointing if I die from something like this.
Of course, if I simply pulled out the sword without taking any precautions, it would be a dangerous moment when I could die for sure.
"You crazy bastard. Is it not your heart?"
Salem, who had been smiling oddly, said.
"Anyway, you did well to come. To find someone much more interesting than the Page of Sloth. For this one time, I'll indulge your petty little game."
He stepped forward and finally began the words I had been waiting for, blocking my path.
"I made a promise with Andreas Cromwell who is here. I said I would help him once in a while. I didn't expect it to be so soon, but let me tell you this. From now on, if anyone tries to harm Andreas Cromwell, I will find them and kill them. Moreover, if Andreas Cromwell dies later, I will definitely consider the perpetrator as someone from this assembly and erase the assembly from this world."
Salem Yedidia. Although he was known by the alias of a demon, he was famous for never breaking his promises.
Moreover, with his last words, he preemptively blocked any attempts by the assembly to target me.
Ironically, the assembly had to protect me.
Of course, since the assembly was a group, even Salem couldn't win if they went all out.
But would Salem really fight openly?
From the assembly's perspective, they couldn't ignore the words of Salem, who was one of the strongest on the continent.
Checkmate.
"Shall we make a deal?"
While blood was flowing, I smiled as the winner.
My appearance seemed quite eerie, and the gazes of those looking at me were a bit unsettled.
"We lost. Let's make a deal."
Finally, Jester showed his white flag.
I let out a sigh of relief and slowly took out the healing potion and recovery potion that I had kept in my pocket.
The stabbed area throbbed and caused pain.
Salem raised his head when he saw that.
"Are you really Cain's son? You're so different."
He asked about my father's name, which came out of nowhere.
"Do you know my father?"
"Of course. Know and don't know."
I wanted to ask about Cromwell and my father, but for now, I focused on the task of slowly drawing my sword.
Thanks to the potions, the wounds healed quickly, but it didn't mean they would heal instantly. I had to concentrate on drawing my sword while sweating cold sweat.
After struggling for quite a while, I finally drew the sword and looked at Jester, putting it back into its sheath.
"Thank you for waiting. Shall we talk now?"
"You really know how to leave someone speechless. Fine, what do you want?"
Actually, I didn't know exactly what the assembly possessed.
Of course, I knew some of the items that dropped when I raided the assembly in the game.
Among them, one was my target, but I couldn't mention it first.
The moment I spoke, it would be exposed that I had the information, arousing suspicion.
Then, something unexpected happened.
"Andreas, I also want to participate in the deal."
"Salem Yedidia, this is a deal between the assembly members."
"Don't say such disappointing things. If someone wants the Page of Sloth, they can interfere as well. After all, isn't it the seller's heart that matters?"
"We've already made concessions once. I listened to your request not to harm Andreas, so I even went that far!"
"What are you talking about? I only stepped back because I didn't want Andreas to die and the Page of Sloth to disappear. We need to be clear about cause and effect."
"Salem!"
"Well, well. If you have any complaints, come at me."
Salem emitted a threatening mana.
Although Jester looked around at his menacing appearance, the other attendees simply watched with curious expressions.
In this situation, I could see to some extent the nature of the assembly. Being a gathering of black mages, they valued individual benefits more than the unity of the group.
In the end, Jester had no choice but to retreat without receiving help from anyone.
"Pathetic. You are also members of the assembly. Do you not understand the meaning of not being able to obtain the Page of Sloth?"
"I don't know?"
Luna said without realizing the situation.
The rest of the members remained silent without answering.
Jester let out a sigh.
"How should we make the deal? Through money?"
"I want to exchange goods."
Of course, money would be fine too.
As a poor person, money does attract me quite a bit, but the items I could obtain here were things that couldn't be bought with money.
"If it's a barter... that sounds interesting."
Salem said with a smile.
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