SWNOVELXO Chapter 76
Chapter 76 Plan B
“Click!”
A man was cutting away at the legs of a spider emerging from the blazing flames. The spider cocoons had noticeably increased in the slums of Wave Reach.
“Why has something that looks so disgusting increased so much?”
His bigger complaint was why someone like him, a Stigmata, had to handle this instead of a mercenary. After all, wasn’t monster extermination supposed to be the realm of Luminaries?
“They should give me something like a side job that I can earn some extra money from, as usual.”
Recently, his ‘side income’ had been significantly reduced. For a Stigmata, the customary side income was precious funds used secretly when enjoying the pleasures of life.
Instead, he was wandering around, searching for and destroying spider cocoons that might appear, so naturally, he was not pleased.
“There’s nothing to gain from this beggar town… Maybe I should just grab someone at random and have fun.”
Due to the absence of the Luminaries military officer who had a firm grip on Wave Reach, owing to an injury, the place was in utter chaos and would not pay attention to such trivial matters.
“If a person works hard, there should be rewards. Yes, indeed.”
Jacob, a Stigmata with a criminal record of 14 robberies, 3 murders, and 5 undiscovered crimes, nodded his head in agreement with his justifiable logic.
But separate from that logic, this slum… had too few people. They must have all gone into hiding upon the arrival of the Stigmata.
“Oh? You there! It’s a search, a search! By the authority of a Stigmata, I will inspect your belongings!”
Finally, he spotted a suitable prey. Judging by the shabby rags they were wearing and their slender build, they were a person no one would help regardless of what happened.
They might not have anything of great value, but with some luck, they could have at least enough for a drink.
“Why are you doing this? What have I done…?”
Listening to their hoarse voice, jacob drew his sword.
“Didn’t you hear? It’s a search! There might be an Outer God priest committing suspicious acts around here. You’ve heard of the spider hunt, haven’t you? I must confirm you’re neither the mastermind nor an accomplice! Hand over all your belongings!”
“I have nothing…”
When the man raised his arms, jacob grinned wickedly.
“I’ll make sure to inspect thoroughly. Let’s see.”
Jacob stood in front of the man. And then he froze in place.
“Ah, ahhh!!!”
Jacob was horrified and fell backward. None of the man’s facial features were intact. They twisted and writhed like a boiling stew, occasionally turning into a faceless visage. The man tilted his head at Jacob’s reaction and touched his own face.
“Ah, it’s come undone again.”
“Monster!”
The last thing Jacob saw was the man’s rag enveloping him.
* * *
I let out a sigh after inadvertently hunting down a Stigmata. It had been about a week since Mary had discovered a shocking fact.
Even though quite some time had passed, the frustrating reality of things not going as planned was palpable.
— This is the evidence.
The blessing I received was not for recovery but for transformation. To prove this, Mary had brought my clothes.
Clothes that had become tattered during training, but upon closer inspection, while they were soaked in blood, the fabric itself seemed intact.
— Confirmed. This is not cotton.
Upon touching the fabric, the rough part had turned soft and smooth, almost like skin.
— An unconscious attempt at transformation. Even the clothes were restored to their original state.
According to Mary, I had been healing by transforming parts of my body, using elements from other areas to cover wounds.
Unlike typical recovery, where one would quickly lose mana or stamina, before experiencing depletion, I often used other means like the 〈Forbidden Transformation〉 for recovery.
— This is why transformation is not possible.
Initially, I wondered if having a blessing of transformation might actually make shapeshifting easier. However, as Mary continued her explanation, I somewhat understood.
— The fear of losing oneself. Unconscious resistance.
“Oh dear…”
I feared that I might transform into a completely different being. The aversion to this change was causing the ‘Blessing of Transformation’ to subconsciously revert me to my original state.
There were two clear solutions: overcome the fear, or…
—Unintelligible. It’s more beneficial to stop being human.
Giving up on existing as a human. Of course, I intended to continue living as a human, so I refused.
‘Even though I can’t exactly call myself human in this state… No matter what anyone says, I’m human.’
I tried to dismiss the confusing thoughts and focused on mutating my face again.
Realizing that the Blessing of Transformation existed, I could indeed change my appearance. However, failures were frequent, and the changes didn’t last long.
“Ah…”
Looking at the back of my hand, I let out a frustrated sigh. The die showed a 3… a failure. The issue here was that this wasn’t a transformation check.
“Another nosebleed.”
Just attempting transformation drained my mind. The blessing was very useful in allowing me to change my appearance, but it was not the recovery I truly needed.
Previously, I could change my form smoothly, but now I suffered mental damage as well… I truly cursed that ugly toad.
“This isn’t going to work as is.”
After hearing those words, it had been two weeks since I began transformation training. I had left the castle to try improving my senses at Wave Reach, but it was futile.
Although expecting to solve this problem within two weeks was asking too much, I couldn’t afford to waste any more time. Reaching that island as soon as possible was crucial.
“Lord Ethnos.”
From afar, Eldritch approached. Seeing some cobwebs clinging onto my human-like form indicated that I had gone to eliminate a spider cocoon.
“How’s the transformation progress?”
“There was no significant change coming out here.”
“So, what do you plan to do now?”
“… I have to go with a different plan. I’ll first head back to the castle to fetch some supplies. Since we’ll set sail soon, I need to bring them in advance.”
Eldritch looked surprised at my words.
“You’re not perfect with your transformation yet. How do you plan to secure a ship? Don’t tell me… you’re going to remove all your fur—
“No, it’s another method. You need to head to the black market.”
“The black market? It has been a while since I last went.”
I nodded.
“You have some tasks to take care of there.”
* * *
The relic black market in Wave Reach was once again filled with mysterious items today.
However, Paul Pearson felt no interest in examining them. The first reason was the absence of Eldritch, an expert whose absence meant an increase in counterfeit goods, leaving Pearson with five consecutive disappointments.
“That Outer God priest… is really not here, right?”
The other reason was fear. Ethnos, an Outer God priest. During an ignorant attempt to experiment with the ‘Scripture of the Weaver of Destruction’s Thread’, a monster had appeared.
The image of someone being swallowed by a mass of tentacles and giant spiders invading his nightmares remained fresh in his mind.
“I am really not involved this time…”
Recently, Ethnos had stopped lurking and directly appeared in the streets.
At that time, he defeated a famous mercenary and warned that the spread of the “Scripture of the Weaver of Destruction’s Thread” posed a threat to the city. As a result, groups of Stigmata were dispatched and tasked soldiers to retrieve the scripture and handle what had turned into spider cocoons, commencing the ‘spider hunt.’
“I don’t even know where it spread from.”
Having been personally warned by Ethnos, he naturally decided not to acquire or distribute the scripture afterward.
However, chaos ensued in Wave Reach due to the scripture, and he feared that Ethnos would come looking for me regarding this issue.
“If you’re going to show up, do it quickly. It’s really a misunderstanding…”
Anxiety lingered that Ethnos might suddenly emerge from under his bed and kill him without resistance.
Paul Pearson frequented the black market, driven by fear, hoping to explain himself if he encountered Ethnos.
“Hey, Paul.”
“Wh-what! The red-haired priest?! Oh, no. Did that person appear again?”
Paul turned around in shock but realized it was only an acquaintance. Nevertheless, he couldn’t feel at ease.
“No… but there’s a rumor about it.”
What now? Could it be that someone was sent to capture him? Paul, who had grown gaunt due to nightmares, swallowed hard.
“He’s looking for a ship and crew.”
“… Huh? A ship and crew?”
At first, Paul was puzzled, but he quickly caught on to the implication.
“Is he going to search for the relics of an Outer God or some treasure?”
“Seems that way. Heard they’re offering a hefty reward. However…”
“However?”
“Yet, no one is stepping forward to offer their ship. That priest has quite the infamous reputation.”
Paul Pearson agreed. Rumor had it that among the missing people reported weekly, about forty percent might have been killed by Ethnos.
“It’s best not to get involved.”
“There are unexpectedly bold ones, those trying to snatch the crumbs, so to speak. But most volunteers are sailors. If you own a ship, would you really take such risks?”
“Exactly…”
Paul Pearson realized something mid-conversation. This was an opportunity!
By offering his ship to Ethnos, he could prove he wasn’t involved in anything suspicious and present himself as a useful ally, avoiding purges.
“That! I’ll provide the ship! Uh, contact! Who’s the contact, and how do I…?”
In his excitement, Paul Pearson didn’t hear the murmuring around him.
“You can tell me.”
Someone placed a light hand on Paul Pearson’s shoulder.
“Just let me know.”
Paul Pearson’s eyes widened at the familiar face.
“Sir… Sir Eldritch?!”
***
“Thanks to Paul Pearson’s support, we gathered the ship and the crew. He also offered to supply preserved food and goods. In return, he pleaded for us to acknowledge that he’s innocent and entirely on Ethnos’ side.”
“Who… who’s Paul Pearson, by the way?”
It sounded familiar but didn’t quite jog the memory.
‘Well, it’s not really important.’
With my hood pulled over my head, I headed to the dock. A suitably sized ship was moored, and the crew had begun bustling around.
“No reports, correct?”
“Yes. Since he’s a black market member selling relics of an Outer God, reporting would mean a death sentence for himself too.”
I nodded, boarding the ship. Even with my disguise, the crew seemed to have noticed me.
“Is that him…?”
“They say he enjoys cannibalism to the bone.”
“He’s vouched for by Eldritch, so it should be fine.”
“Should we turn back now…?”
As expected of an Outer God priest, my reputation was terrible. Although they, too, were trying to strike it rich with an Outer God’s relics, I wished they wouldn’t view people that way.
‘It would have been troublesome if information leaked and I’d been reported, but Eldritch managed it well.’
Under different circumstances, boarding under another identity would have required maintaining a disguise, currently an impossible situation.
However, by recruiting a crew as Ethnos from the start, there was no need to worry.
“Despite appearances, I’m well-versed in the characteristics of black market members. If you lend an ear, they happily spill their secrets.”
Eldritch strategically leaked information only to those in dire straits and potential benefactors.
He chose those with discretion, credibility, seafaring experience, and a high probability of accepting the offer, resulting in success.
“Then, shall we set sail?”
I touched the ship’s mast, gazing at the sea. The captain’s and navigator’s booming voices resounded as the vessel embarked toward an island akin to hell.