Evil Avalon

Chapter 55-Contract spellbook

{SPONSORED CHAPTER-2}

(Sponsor-Krazey)

(TL:By Rafael)

"There's a good hunting ground~"

　

　We finally arrived at our destination, the third floor of the dungeon, and were discussing where we should hunt. Nitta-san suggested the 5th floor. I wondered if this "good hunting ground" meant the bridge drop on Orc Lord.

　

　Before that, there's the problem that if we take the time to go to the 5th floor now and return, we'll only have a little time to hunt - assuming we don't use the gate.

　

　I wondered if she was going to talk to me. If I do, I'd better ask her a few questions about her knowledge of the game and what she thinks about its dangers.

"(Do you have a minute?)"

　

　I called Nitta-san over.

"(Well, ......, where are you going with this, Nitta-san?)"

"(Satsuki is trustworthy - we're going to talk about a lot of things. ...... Also, I told you to call me ~Li ~Sa~, didn't I?"

　

　She pecked me on the cheek and demanded a correction. Earlier, we had decided to call each other by our first names to deepen our friendship as comrades and best friends who make up a circle together.  Aside from my childhood friend Kaworu, It's a little embarrassing to call a girl in my class by her first name ...... No, that's okay.

　

　If the source of the dungeon knowledge and information is traced, it can be identified by players who are not yet familiar with the dungeon. If they are not identified, and that player turns malicious, we could be in a dangerous situation.

　

　It would be nice if this was an unwarranted fear, but it would be better if the spread of game information was limited to the class.  There is a good chance that we can understand each other if we talk. Even if we were to become enemies, if Lisa and I were to team up, there would be ways to do it.

　

　However, if the situation is leaked to the outside world, it will be serious. In this world where there are so many organizations and countries that don't care about people's lives for the sake of new information about dungeons, anything can happen even if they are suspected of having information.

　

　Although I haven't been able to test it out yet, some of the skills learned in the higher and top jobs are very dangerous magic that can manipulate, alter, or destroy the mind. Or there may already be magic items that contain mental manipulation skills. There are ways to prevent them, but if they are used now, there is nothing we can do.

　

　If we think about the worst.

　

　The worst that could happen is if the player's knowledge of the game is extracted by some means, such as mind manipulation magic, threats, torture, etc., and that information is spread around the world. There is a possibility that the ethics of the world will be lost, and the world will become a lawless place, or more specifically, that the world order will be completely changed, and the lid of the cauldron of hell will be opened.

　

　This world, which is based on the worldview of the game Dun-Ex, is a tightrope walker.

(Still, sharing game knowledge with Satsuki and running up quickly seems like an absolute necessity for the future, even if it means getting over the rough spots in the main story.)

　

　Nitta-san: ...... The shuriken in the main story that Lisa is referring to are the gloomy events where the area around the dungeon is scorched to the ground and many lives are lost. There are a number of horrible elements that are prepared to enhance the story.

　

　If it's an individual scenario for each character you capture, you just don't capture that character, and if it's a quest, you don't accept it. But the main story  will occurs in every scenario, no matter who the player is.

　

　If this world follows the one in Dun-Ex, it means that no matter which route the protagonist chooses, tragedy can happen.

　

　Of course, I'm going to work to prevent such a thing from happening, but with the time limit of the tragedy scenario, it's not easy to prevent the spread of information while raising your level and gaining the strength to deal with it. This is where the idea of forming a party with trusted friends comes in.

　

　In my case, I was thinking of getting through the dungeon with the Narumi family, whom I have absolute faith in, while also strengthening the target I was protecting, but that's not going to happen for Lisa, who is not with her family.It seems that her plan was to involve Omiya-san ...... Satsuki in the dungeon attack.

　

　In fact, the best way to attack dungeons and the external affairs of this world is to unite with other players who have knowledge of the game, but there is no point in saying that. If someone identifies themselves as a player, I'll be wary and won't identify myself, and the other players will be cautious as well.

"(Souta doesn't trust us?)"

"(It's not that I don't believe in , it's just that you should be very careful about what you share.)"

"(Well, let's not talk about stories and events.For today, we'll talk about gates, monster information, and bridge drops.)"

　

　It's best to keep the information you give to a minimum. Even though I'm pouring out an almost unlimited amount of knowledge to my family, I trust them enough to put my life in their hands, and they trust me enough to risk theirs. On the other hand, even though we've become best friends, sharing oversized information with someone we've only known for less than two months is a risk for both us and her.

"(It would be better to make her aware of the risk before sharing the information.)"

"(Of course. I think we need something to bind them other than verbal promises. That's where this comes in."

　

　She took out a piece of paper with a lot of small letters on it from the backpack I was carrying on my back. This is a ...... contract magic book.

(TL:Souta and his relationship with contact spell)

　

　It's a magic book that often appears in the main story of the game. It contains a spell that binds the actions and statements of the target of the spell.

　

　In Dan-Eku, there are jobs called "Summoner" and "Elementalist," which allow you to make contracts with powerful and unique summons and spirits. At worst, summons and spirits are selfish, difficult to control, and extremely dangerous, so I have no intention of taking on one of those jobs.

　

　And contract magic is a kind of curse in which the summoner or spirit inscribes on the contractor's body what it wants the summoner or spirit to do or protect. If the contract is wrong, the contractor will be burned to death by jet black flames.

　

　This contract magic book is a degraded copy of that contract magic pattern in written form. If the contract is broken, the book will be burned black.

　

　It does not have the same binding power as contract magic, as the person who made a mistake in the contract is not burned. The contract spellbook is only used to determine whether or not a contract has been broken. Some countries have experimented with writing contract magic directly on the human body, but due to criticism from a humanitarian standpoint, the technology has not come to light.

　

　A vague contract is not effective, and the conditions need to be narrowly and precisely defined for the contractor to be aware of them. For example, it is difficult for the contractor to draw a clear line between "Do not tell anyone about the dungeon information I give you" and "Do not tell anyone about the battle instructions I give you, the terrain, or even normal conversations about strategy.

　

　If it was something like, "You must not tell anyone about the knowledge of the gate that Lisa and I brought to you on this day, in this place," then it would be easy for the contractor to recognize that he had broken the contract. I'm sure Lisa would probably use a few contract spells in a similar fashion, specifying every detail.

　

　In the main story of the game world, contract spells were also popularly used in situations where the content of the contract was important. It's interesting to see how many of these dungeon-derived magic items are prevalent in this world.

　

　The "marriage contract spellbook" that Kaworu and I had exchanged was a piece of paper that Butao had made when he was little, based on what he had heard about contract spells, and it had no effect whatsoever. It's just a piece of paper with no effect, and nothing will happen if you break it.

(TL: ....)

　

　After the conversation, we rejoined and moved to a less popular place to talk about the contract.

"What were you guys talking about? Lisa and Souta are very close, but could it be ...... maybe....maybe~?"

　

　She seems to have some kind of strange misunderstanding, but if I approach Lisa with such an ulterior motive, I'll be cut in half. Please stop it.

"I was discussing with him about my secret hunting ground. I'll tell you about it if you swear not to tell anyone about it."

"There is such a place? I'd like to know."

　

　Satsuki is skeptical that such a place really exists, but she can't let go of her hopes and curiosity and immediately says that she wants to know. But first," Lisa says, "I'm going to have to ask you to sign a contract to make sure that the information you're about to tell me is not passed on."

"This is a real ...... contract spellbook, is it ...... such great information?"

　

Satsuki rolls her eyes and swallows her gulp. The contract spellbook was quite expensive, as it should be. Lisa had said it took her a long time to prepare this, but she hadn't told us how she did it.

'That's not all," she said.

"If you break any of the promises you've made with this, you'll pay for it with your ~...... life."

"What?"

"She was only half joking."

　

　I looked firmly at Satsuki and told her, "But it's half true," which created tension again. It seems that she understands that we have some confidential information about the dungeon and that she must not let that information out no matter what.

"If we give out the information we're about to give out, they could try to kill not only us, but everyone around us.

"...... How do you know all this stuff?"

　

　It's a natural question to ask. The answer is because I'm a former player. I tell her that I can't answer that question because I don't mean to say that.

　

　The important question is, do you want to become stronger by knowing dangerous information like using a contract spellbook? If they refuse, then so be it. Lisa and I can level up using our knowledge of the game, and I'll take the time to help Satsuki level up separately.

　

　Satsuki showed some hesitation, but quickly made up her mind.

"If I can really get stronger, I'll sign up for ......."

　

　Satsuki's family is from a branch of a noble family. She was planning to go to a local high school to support her family, but her family forced her to enter this adventurer school. The reason why she was so depressed about the treatment she received in Class E was because she knew what was going on at the school he had longed to attend, and she felt that she might be betraying the expectations of the family she cared about.

　

　At the same time, she realized that many of her classmates were in the same situation as her. Her desire to save them and change the school became stronger every day, just as she wanted to be saved.

　

　Even in the main story, she was working hard for Class E, even though her spirit was worn out. We, the players who know her, can understand that her feelings are true.

"Then let's make a contract."

"Yes!"

　

　We decided not to use the contract spellbook for information related to the bridge drop, but only for information related to the gate. If you've got a lot of adventurers rushing to the bridge, you're going to have to fight for space. Only a few would be able to benefit from it. Even if it was abused, it would have little effect. Besides, it wouldn't matter if the bridge drop became useless once our level was raised and we were no longer needed.

　

　On the other hand, the information related to the gate will be treated as a top-level secret, and the contract spellbook will be used, because the impact of being exposed is too great.

"Then let the magic flow through."

　

　Lisa and Satsuki faced each other and put their hands on the contract spellbook on the ground.

　

　It was the first time for Lisa to use it, but she had no problem activating it since there were plenty of instructions on the Internet on how to use it. The two of them passed their magic power through the pattern that was copied on the paper, with a statement that it was forbidden to leak any information related to the gate, including how it worked and the existence of the gate room.

　

　Although the contract was made without knowing what the gate was, the black pattern emitted a pale green light, indicating that the contract magic on the paper worked properly.

　

　Since it seems to have been exercised safely, I'll tell them again about the existence and specifications of the gate. Lisa had not expected to be able to jump to the basement floor of the school, and she let out a small cry of surprise.

"It would be awesome if something that convenient really existed at ......, wouldn't it!　It would save me a lot of time going back and forth to the hunting grounds.

"I'll believe it when I see it in action. Then let's head to the fifth floor."

　

　If the gate on the fifth floor can be used, the hunting ground will be changed to the bridge drop. I'm sure my mom and sister are working on it right now. It's only in the morning, so they'll be done by the time we get there, but if they're still at it, they can join us.

"But the Orc Lord is a famous monster that you've been warned about. ......"

"Souta will protect us, right~?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine."

　

　Currently, I'm capable of defeating monsters on the fifth floor with one punch, and I'm no stranger to the Orc Lord. But Satsuki, who had been looking at me as an object to protect, looked at me with surprise and suspicion.

　

　I'm not going to tell you the level right now because you'll find out later if we trust each other and keep dungeon diving.

　

　Perhaps each of us had something to think about, but we decided to aim for the fifth floor with few words.

TL Note- Our MC Souta finally grew Up and came to first name basis..one smal Souta step is a big leap for humanity (reader)...romance on the way...thx to Krazey for this sponsored chapter. 

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