CHAPTER 80: THE MAGE’S FIERCE PROTECTION

Lucien was on his knee, clutching his stomach. That blow—no kidding—had hurt like hell.

’I had no idea she could throw a punch like that!’

Gaya was a Mage. Not that he thought she wouldn’t be able to throw a punch; however, he just thought Mages shouldn’t boast such terrifying punch power.

Gaya, by the way, stood above him with her arms akimbo.

"Really! Really! What would have happened if you’d died! You think you can just waltz into a place and waltz out because you have the eyes of a god and the bones of a god?!"

Lucien couldn’t even answer or defend himself. She just ranted continuously.

"You are miles—I tell you, Lord Cien—miles away from becoming strong. You might look like you can handle anything now, but in the grand scheme of things, there are many people out there—not even gods, by the way—and they will crush you!!"

Lucien opened his mouth but only closed it back and gulped.

She pointed at him with ferocious fire burning in her gaze.

"Lord Cien. Don’t you ever—I repeat, you should never—do that again! Not because I care about you or anything like that. But I exist because of you. It would be utterly humiliating that I, the first and greatest mage, couldn’t even protect her own Master."

Lucien nodded.

"I see..."

’At least she’s calling me Lord again... her worries must have knocked some sense into her head.’

Gayanna’s eyes glowed wickedly.

"You see... you see..."

Lucien exhaled.

"Sorry, ma. I’m deeply sorry for endangering my own life and terrifying you."

She waved her hand and scoffed.

"Pfft. Terrified? Who? Me? Boy, you don’t even know me."

Lucien smiled inwardly. Even though she was trying hard to suppress it, he could see the affection dancing in her eyes.

He was curious about when she’d started growing fond of him. But then when he thought about it, this was the same person who’d suddenly disbanded an ancient pact to protect him.

He’d thought she did it because she wanted to use him too. But through their travels, he’d glimpsed her strength, and honestly, it left him awestruck.

She effortlessly demolished incredibly strong monsters, plus she was level 400.

She was powerful. Lucien believed she could complete the quest herself. There was something else there... something cryptic.

He wasn’t ready to face that part yet, but he planned to uncover it. The nagging question now was:

Why was Gaya so protective of him?

’Could she be in love with me?’

Lucien winced.

’Bro... she’s an NPC. What the hell? Are you so emotionally starved that you think a written program would fall in love with you?’

But in reality, Gaya felt more human to him than even many humans—granted, he hadn’t met many humans.

He exhaled.

Meanwhile, the young, resplendent lady opened the door, unleashing sunlight on her porcelain skin, making it glow radiantly for a moment before she stepped out of the room.

Lucien also got up and followed her.

"By the way... what happened to the goblins? I have only vague memories of how it all ended."

Gaya responded unenthusiastically.

"You slaughtered all the goblins, including the goblin king, then you fainted in my arms."

Lucien paused and frowned slightly.

’I don’t remember that part...’

He hurried and caught up to her again.

"And what happened to the monsters—the ones that were imprisoned? You should have encountered them before reaching the boss room. Were they able to escape?"

Gaya halted and turned to him with a small frown.

"They were alive when you passed?"

Lucien tilted his head back, puzzled by her question.

"Of course they were..."

He was silent for a beat, then his eyes widened.

"Wait. Don’t tell me..."

Gaya looked down, dejected.

"They were all dead when we got there."

Lucien’s eyes trembled, his shoulders sagged. He stood still and stared at Gaya in disbelief.

"What did you just say?"

"They were..."

"No. I don’t need you to repeat it."

Gaya stirred, confused.

"Oh. You didn’t..."

She looked away.

Lucien was shaken by the news. He was furious, and suddenly it felt like everything he’d fought for was meaningless.

He stared up with defiant anger on his face.

"I want to see..."

Gaya shook her head.

"Too late. We already buried every single one of them. The monsters and the humans alike. Unless you want to dig them out of their graves."

Lucien trembled and lowered his head. A moment later...

"Show me their graves at least."

Gaya refused.

"No. I won’t. I think you should just move on from this. Nothing was your fault. Nobody’s fault, really."

Lucien exhaled.

"I could have saved them immediately. Maybe they wouldn’t have died..."

His voice shook slightly.

"I thought that if I defeated the boss, I’d be able to guide them to safety myself and not leave their freedom to chance. I was worried they’d be killed trying to escape, and I wouldn’t be there to protect them."

Gaya nodded.

"You’re absolutely correct and sensible to have that fear. If you’d let them go, they still would have been killed, and you would blame yourself even more heavily for it. Your decision wasn’t wrong. This was meant to happen either way. If you want to blame anyone, blame the three sisters of fate."

Lucien frowned.

"Three sisters of fate?"

Gaya nodded and resumed walking, folding her hands.

"Yes! I’ve had a few encounters with them. They’re manipulative cowards. I despise them. Those bastards seem to think they can get whatever they want just because they want it. They claim to guide the pattern and flow of life itself while they know nothing about life.

"They’re the ones who should be blamed."

Lucien shifted slightly, unsure.

"I guess..."

’Somehow, this feels like something way beyond me...’

"...but how about we start with me blaming the person who killed them first."

Gaya turned briefly.

"Oh, that one. He’s a Netherone."

The word made Lucien frown. He didn’t think he’d ever heard it before.

"Yes. Netherones."

Gaya repeated.

"They’re incredibly strong, monster-like or human-looking creatures. Funny thing is, a Netherone could even be an elf, a dwarf, or an angel—they can be anything. But they’re slightly different because they have the blood of the Nether."

Lucien gulped.

The lore drop was already feeling quite serious. He could sense another quest coming.

But this one was different.

Because this one he wanted to do. In fact, if the quest didn’t come, he was going to have to do this on his own.

"They sound incredibly powerful and difficult to identify?"

Gaya smiled and raised a finger.

"That’s where you’re wrong. They’re very easy to find because they have a very distinct and foul smell that separates them from other people. And they have different eyes. Something like the color of flames, with a vicious black slit in between."

Lucien clenched his fist.

"I see... so we can hunt down the scum that did this."

Gaya looked at him with a frown that made him control his eagerness. Then she said:

"These things that are said to have remedies—they can get magical fragrances to mask their strong scent, and there are contact lenses that completely change their eyes."

Lucien nodded.

"You’re right about that... still..."

She sighed.

"I know. We’ll still have to hunt for it either way. However, it would be extremely dangerous—far more dangerous than anything you’ve ever done before, even more than killing the thing that sealed us.

"I don’t know much about Netherones, but the one thing I can say with complete certainty is that they never act alone. When you find one, something major is happening, and more of them are involved in the matter. And as I just mentioned, they’re incredibly strong. Moreover, there’s something suspicious here—what are Netherones suddenly doing so close to a major city like the Federation... messing with Goblins? The whole thing stinks."

Lucien smiled as Gaya finished stating the obvious. Instead of seriously pondering the whole situation, he was grinning.

[You have received a hidden side quest]

[QUEST INFORMATION]

There may be greater links to the strange and erratic patterns of evolution of the Goblins at the Outcoast. In order to confirm your suspicions, find the Netherone.

Quest Reward: +2 levels, +1 Elder Monster Core

Quest Failure: –1,000 reputation, the main scenario pathway linked to you may close.

Lucien frowned as he looked at the last line. He found it confusing at first.

However, he deciphered something from it.

He raised his head to speak to Gaya, but he staggered, almost falling.

Gaya frowned, flustered. She caught him, her eyes widening.

"What’s wrong?"

Lucien could well ask himself the same question. Because right now, he was trying to stand up, balance himself, but something felt wrong.

He felt like his soul was being forcefully ripped from his body while his body tried to resist the force.

His eyes trembled for a moment as something came to mind.

’It... can’t be... she can’t...’