Apotheosis of a Demon - A Monster Evolution Story

Chapter 56

"Cardi, stop sulking already."

"...shut up."

They'd met with a strange girl and accepted a strange proposal.

A cute-looking NPC girl in her mid-teens had talked to them, and Cardi's comrades had quickly found themselves in a good mood. They were simply, honestly pleased they got an event quest. Yet looking at the girl, Cardi couldn't help but be reminded of the monster of mist that had slaughtered him twice. The white rabbit demon. The Dark Lady.

He was intimidated by the NPC girl.

Of course, this was just a game. He didn't feel the pain that came with death, only the force of the blow. And even then, even when his consciousness was immediately cut off from the Avatar and returned to the Temple to be resurrected, the mind of the real Cardi had still been dealt a severe blow.

He remembered the dull shine of the blade coming for his head.

He remembered those frosty red eyes, looking at him as if he was nothing more than a pebble by the roadside. He should have been using a fictional body in a fictional world, yet the bloodlust that he felt had seemed ready to take his real life. For some time, he couldn't even look at the VR device without being assaulted by an inexplicable nausea.

All the same, Cardi still continued to play World of Yggdrasia. Not out of enjoyment, no. He just wanted to have the last laugh on the people who had reported him on the forums just because he was having a bit of fun in the game, and the people who had made a fool out of him in both real life and in-game. He wanted to prove himself superior to those who had created this game, as well as those who were enjoying it.

"Over here."

"Yes yes! We're coming, Mary!"

"Once it's over, we're all gonna be heroes too!"

Following the directions of the girl, who had named herself Mary, Cardi's party headed toward their destination on an express carriage.

Mary's story was as follows:

Provoked by Cardi's party, the Troll King, said to be a Dark General, and his subordinates were now encroaching upon human territory. But while the trolls were showing up on the highways, they still weren't getting close to the human towns, due to the barrier that protected the express railways connecting human countries together.

The magitech railway was one of the means through which trade between rural regions and far-off countries could happen. It was no exaggeration to call the train a cornerstone of the world's economy. The barrier protecting it was maintained by the vast amount of mana coming from the Saplings. It could handle even a low-ranked dragon.

The barrier was what restricted the scope of activity of monsters, including the trolls. It wasn't the kind of barriers that enclosed whole cities — it only protected certain lines at risk of monster attack, and it was supported by magitech artillery and soldiers. The Troll King was aware of all this.

However, the railway-protective barrier wasn't erected from the town. Every few kilometers, at every critical location, there was a station housing a magitool that was the core of the barrier. This knowledge didn't take much of an investigation — it was the stations' locations that were the more tightly-held secret. Only the garrison and the engineering magicians in charge of maintenance knew where they were.

Mary's idea was to find out the location of one station, lower the barrier strength, then lure some weak trolls through the affected barrier segment. Then they would report the "troll attack" to the guards, receive their reward money, and help out the guards before any other adventurers could get there. Their reputation would get a boost.