VIP Chapter 511: Outsider VS Anchor (2)
Up to this point, Will truly believed he had lived twelve “lives.” Just like him, who had recorded the plot of the original work… Carver was incredibly sharp about the subtle “changes” in the story. However, he had been intentionally controlling the information gap between Will and himself, never intending to tell Will about this from the beginning.
“Through observation, I’ve discovered… you know an extraordinary amount about the ‘fate’ of this world’s previous cycle. It’s strange… The only answer is that you learned its story from a place that doesn’t belong to this world.”
But… If Carver had discovered this long ago, why didn’t he kill him at the very beginning? Was it related to the name “Anchor”?
“Wait, then… that thing about Will being smashed to death by a Slime in the desert—that wasn’t you who ordered it, was it? My first death?”
“Every time, he was trying to cross the desert for himself, taking the Slime with him. As a result, he was killed because the Slime and his entry coordinates were ten meters apart on the z-axis.”
“…” I mustn’t laugh! Not at such an important moment on the battlefield, and when it was truly how the original ‘Young Master Will’ died… I mustn’t laugh.
“Pfft.” But Will couldn’t hold it in. So, the original “Young Master Will’s” death really had no conspiracy theory behind it; he was always killed by a Slime!?
“He died amusingly, didn’t he?” Carver, holding his great axe, “endured” for a moment. “Heh. Well, if he died for such a reason every time, it is indeed amusing.” He let out a mocking chuckle, though it sounded somewhat helpless.
“You want to kill me because, as an outsider, I took the place of the ‘love crystallization’ between you and Mits?”
“We’ve come this far, and in your eyes, am I still such a shallow person?”
“No,” Will answered his question directly. “So, in these countless ‘anchorings,’ what exactly have you learned?”
“Heh.” Carver chuckled lightly. “Do you think I’ll tell you everything after you’ve guessed this far?”
Although he didn’t know why, Will realized that the fight with him had temporarily paused. To… release his emotions after his “secret” was exposed. But… this segment of “the BOSS explaining his motives before the fight” seemed to have reached its end. Carver twirled the heavy axe in his hand, scraping a mark on the ground. But he hadn’t made a move yet.
“Do you know? There’s no such thing as a ‘wise’ duel in this world. It’s always between intelligent people; the so-called competition is just about who knows more information.”
After a brief “peaceful” chat, Carver, who had been weakened three times by Will, seemed to want to use something. He reached into the pocket of his white suit, stained with countless dust and damp from the rain, and pulled out a small bottle.
“You’ve already said so much.”
“The information you can deduce in the next three minutes, I have no need to hide. However, some things… if you, who have descended from a higher dimension, already know them, then I am undoubtedly doomed.”
“You can consider the possibility of cooperating with me. If you had told me right from the beginning, I certainly wouldn’t have refused.”
Will clenched the staff in his hand and aimed it at Carver, who was preparing to do something. He would never let go of any moment of his opponent’s lapse in concentration!
“Based on my conjecture about the ‘deepest part of the Dungeon,’ you, who came from outside, would definitely not choose this world—”
“What do you mean by that? Are you perhaps the guardian of this world…”
But… Before Will could finish speaking, his attention was drawn to Carver’s actions. The moment Carver opened the bottle, something like a ghost emerged from its opening.
“In conclusion, goodbye, outsider.” Like a speech, Carver made an elegant closing, letting the “ghost” coil around his hand. The ghost grew larger and larger… until it, like the Carver Will saw, was also carrying an axe, becoming a massive “back-spirit” behind him. Will knew what this was. Shuna had mentioned it in the last letter she sent. Carver’s “trump card,” borrowed from the Death Hall, was an “Undead Warrior” from the Death Hall. Will was certain… he had forced Carver to reveal his trump card. Perhaps Carver obtaining this trump card wasn’t even meant to deal with him, but with Treya. —Ahaha, looking at it this way, perhaps I am quite strong. However, Carver didn’t fight using it as a “back-spirit.” Instead, he poured the contents of the bottle, which seemed to have absorbed a whole bottle of ghosts, onto the blade of his axe.
“Although Ms. Daisianwei has been suggesting I try it, I’ve never found a suitable occasion to use it.” Carver’s hand, which was holding the axe, began to turn transparent from his fingertips. Until… Carver himself became somewhat translucent, like a “ghost.”
“I see, it’s like wearing an Undead Warrior directly!”
“Probably. After all, I’m not young anymore. My physical functions can’t compare to you youngsters, so I naturally have to find some ways…”
“Is that humility? Are there really people your age, over forty, who can still swing such a large axe?”
“Then… perhaps I should let you witness the true me at my full power.” Will suddenly realized. Carver wouldn’t tell him the whole “truth”; he had already decided Will was the “enemy.”
Break—! In an instant too fast for Will’s eyes to follow, the ghost-like axe, trailing floating ghost-fire, cleaved through his field of vision. Then, this instant was stopped mid-air by Iaar’s instant-cast magic. It was only a moment, but it allowed Will to glimpse the terrifying power of the Carver who claimed to be at his “fullest potential.” His current attacks were no longer something he could track the trajectory of as before. Will could neither see his movements nor hear them; it was like a phantom axe, suddenly appearing beside him. Moreover… Carver’s footsteps became more “light,” and his assimilation with the ghost seemed to allow him to move without trepidation on such a desert.
“Hiss—!” A bright light erupted from the ring on Will’s hand.
“Oh?” Carver took two steps back. “The highest-grade magic to expel Undead creatures? Holy magic, heh. This kind of attack is like Reviers slapping her own hand; interesting.” His semi-transparent arm regained substance for a moment, but after the light from Will’s hand faded, it returned to its ghostly form. Will understood; indeed… Carver knew far too much. He even knew that the Goddess Reviers was currently Daisianwei, the Empress of the Death Hall. If one considered his “cycle” process, he must have gone very, very far in his previous “cycles.”
“Hoo… a countermeasure… tailored for you… it doesn’t seem to be quite what I imagined. You… you can’t be completely expelled…” Will wasn’t foolish. Since Shuna had told him Carver would bring an Undead Warrior, he naturally had preparations. It was just that this preparation… involved filling all the instant-cast magic slots in his ring with holy magic, in anticipation of Carver using the “Undead Warrior” at any moment. This was also why he had to use chanting for all his spells throughout, leaving him unable to land a blow while Carver was preparing.
“Of course. Dungeon clearing relies on the underlying logic and the settings within a specific ‘worldview’.” Carver tightened his grip on the axe. “I’m not truly dead, so why would I be whisked away by magic that expels Undead creatures?” Carver, having completely exposed his identity, was clearly different from before. It was as if he had torn off a mask he had worn for a very long time, finally standing before Will in his most original form. He was no longer playing the role of a “stern father.” Nor was he playing the role of a “sufficiently shrewd merchant.” He wasn’t even an “enemy harboring hatred for Will.” His blond hair, drenched by rain and then roughly dried by the desert sun, reflected the harsh desert sunlight. Simultaneously, streaks of dried rainwater were visible on his gold-rimmed glasses, perhaps with a hint of blood spatter from when he had severed Will’s arm earlier. The usually elegant Carver had not bothered to wipe these away. Including his semi-transparent arm, this was the first time he displayed such unreserved “dishevelment” in front of Will. And after this dishevelment… came a madness bordering on “numbness.” Having shed all pretense, removed all masks, and washed away all facade, what stood before Will was a sufficiently “numb” Carver. He didn’t know what he had experienced in these twelve lives, but this was how he stood now. Will saw no desire of his own in any of Carver’s axe swings. He only saw… a blankness, as if forced to do this even if he detested it. The ghost-like axe flashed before Will incessantly. The holy magic he had stored as his main “Priest” class skill glowed one after another. In this way, he created distance and bought time from Carver. Magic related to the Goddess Reviers always had long casting times and complex arrays; if he hadn’t stored them in advance, he wouldn’t have been able to cope. —Shuna, thank you for… wanting to pass information to me even now. “Hoo…” But… The BOSS he had considered an enemy for so long, now in a state of having shed all disguise, wanted to kill him, and he felt a little excited.
“How much have you stored? Give me a number? I need an estimate.” Carver was starting to show impatience, swinging his axe with a hint of self-abandonment.
“Well… let’s just say I’ve stored enough… to… delay things until I can pull you into the last memory?”
“The last memory…” Carver raised his head and saw Will’s purple eyes. The dazzling desert sunlight, in his left purple eye, contracted bit by bit, as if plunging into night.
“That’s right. Since the previous memories don’t match the present, it means you still have at least one memory related to ‘now,’ right? I want to know what kind of deal you and Daisianwei made.”
“…You found an opportunity again, didn’t you?”
“Isn’t that so? Speaking of which, I once heard that at the end of all memories, a BOSS would be summoned based on your memories…” Constructing the “level” born from Carver’s memories once more… Carver was engulfed by the purple in Will’s eyes.
