I Became the Servant of the Blind Wicked Woman

To read over 200 fully translated episodes, patreon.com/Denji02

I can now think of the days when I used aliases while on the run as memories.

…Or at least, that's what I thought until yesterday.

'Ah, life really…'

Finding myself in a similar situation again, I realized the vivid frustration from those days is rushing back, and it's not something I can just dismiss as a memory.

I swallowed a curse as I looked at the lightning giant that crawled up from the depths of the ruins.

A humanoid form composed of brilliantly flashing lightning. In its left hand, it held the charred upper body of a troubleshooter. The scattering ashes permeated the body of the lightning storm, emitting sparks.

Behind the troubleshooters facing off against the lightning giant, clusters of Argyron's Silver Thread hosts were creeping up.

A headache overcame me as I watched the scene from a distance. How did it come to this?

***

Orthes didn't intend for this chaos from the beginning. Initially, he just wanted to enter the deeper levels to verify the Talisman of Thunder.

However, he soon noticed something strange. The daily excavation teams were supposed to be one for the surface and one for the deep levels.

Yet, at the departure time, there were three groups.

A quick glance revealed that besides a few Torres Tower mages leading the surface and deep level teams, the third group was different.

The third group consisted of Torres Tower mages mixed with an unknown group. Their attire was uniform. Could they be from another tower?

Orthes asked the surrounding troubleshooters about the third group.

He felt that people were slightly more friendly when he covered his entire face with a visor rather than showing his bare face, but Orthes thought it was just his imagination.

"Oh. It seems to be a company with an exclusive contract with Torres Tower. Actually, besides the surface and deep levels, there's also a middle level. That's where the core control systems of the ruins are likely concentrated."

"The excuse that only trustworthy people can go there is convenient."

"Collusion is annoying, but what can you do? Just assume it's a company run by a relative of some high-ranking person in Torres Tower."

The middle-level excavation team, specially managed by high-ranking officials, including the site manager. Orthes noted this information in case he couldn't find the Talisman of Thunder in the deep levels.

***

In the deep levels, Orthes, under the alias Utis, performed remarkably.

The passage split into five paths. Those who chose a false path would be engulfed by an ancient curse.

Without hesitation, Orthes walked towards the second passage on the right.

"Hey! You don't know which path is safe, you can't just walk in there…"

"Luck is on my side."

At the end of the passage, there was a stone door with rotating rings that had to be arranged in a specific order.

The troubleshooters struggled to decode the Mage Era language on the walls or find clues in the photos of already excavated artifacts.

"Damn. It's a Mage Era puzzle. We need to get the sequence of three symbols right—"

"Luck is on my side."

With a resonating sound that filled the large space, the stone door slowly opened sideways. Orthes felt the expectant gazes of the troubleshooters on him, but he didn't care.

'We won't see each other after this job anyway!'

Behind his visor, Orthes narrowed his eyes, using the information he had to delve deeper into the ruins.

Given the current pace of excavation, 'descend' seemed more appropriate than 'progress'.

More troubleshooters began to follow Orthes. To them, he was a unique troubleshooter specializing in ancient ruins.

Orthes gave no instructions to those following him. He expected some people to gather.

However, he continued to quickly bypass the traps using his eyes because he could always say, 'I've run out of luck' and return, without anyone questioning him.

The moment Orthes sensed the presence of the Talisman of Thunder, he planned to stop all excavation and return. He intended to come back alone later to steal the Talisman when no one was around.

In essence, the current exploration was merely groundwork for the heist.

Orthes kept blinking, hoping to detect the Talisman of Thunder.

'Something's off.'

A perfectly crafted artifact like the Talisman of Thunder should have been detected immediately. But even after delving deep into the ruins, there was no sign of the Talisman.

Orthes looked at the metal door ahead.

Beyond it was a straight passage with only one room at the end.

The moment Orthes sensed something beyond the door, he closed his eyes again. Whatever it was, it wasn't the Talisman of Thunder.

An unusually dense concentration of lightning energy was gathered. If the Talisman of Thunder were there, the lightning energy wouldn't be concentrated in one spot as if sealed but would be constantly emanating.

'Damn. Is it in the middle levels?'

Orthes turned around. Dozens of troubleshooters crowded the narrow passage, all staring at him.

It wasn't just troubleshooters. At some point, dozens of fully armed Torres Tower mages had arrived, watching Orthes' every move.

Ignoring their gazes, Orthes stepped forward.

"Wait, aren't you going further?"

Orthes answered without hesitation.

"My luck has run out. There's only misfortune beyond that door."

***

The Torres Tower mages were stunned by the news. The sluggish deep-level excavation had suddenly made rapid progress.

A novice Torres Tower mage, who had been leading the deep-level exploration, came up gasping for breath.

"A crazy guy with a visor… He's disarming all the traps, claiming he's lucky, and moving forward!"

At first, they thought it was just the madness of an insane person. Once or twice, a 1/5 chance could be a fluke.

But when the number of bypassed traps exceeded what could be counted on one hand, the leader rushed to the surface. At this rate, they might reach the end of the deep levels today!

The Torres Tower mages exchanged glances. While it was customary to grant some ownership of discovered artifacts to troubleshooters, they couldn't allow the Lightning Grand Spirit sealed in the deep levels to fall into their hands.

The Lightning Grand Spirit was the reason Torres Tower was excavating these ruins. The spirit on Cretera Island was unlike any other.

Unlike ordinary spirits born from natural energy, this spirit was once the master of a tower on this island.

The art of transforming humans into spirits. An ancient magic that Torres Tower coveted.

It was well known that spirits, being ethereal, moved more freely in the Ether Space than humans. However, attempting to hack into the Ether Space controlled by the Ten Commandments often resulted in spirits being disassembled, their mana absorbed.

Powerful spirits were already contracted or monitored by the Ten Towers. Torres Tower aimed to create a foothold for hacking the Ten Commandments through the art of spirit transformation.

The sudden appearance of an intruder threatened to snatch away the ancient magic that embodied their faction's aspirations.

Rushing to the deep levels, the Torres Tower mages witnessed exactly what the leader had described. The visored intruder disarmed ancient traps and puzzles with ease.

Occasionally muttering, "Luck is on my side," everyone could tell it wasn't just luck.

These traps couldn't be overcome by luck alone. The visored man must have come with some certainty and clues.

Thus, when the visored man turned away from the sealed master's laboratory, the Torres Tower mages expected him to negotiate, demanding money or secrets.

But there were no demands.

Leaving only the eerie prediction, "There's only misfortune beyond that door," he headed back to the surface.

The troubleshooters, who had been focused on the visored man, now turned their gaze to the Torres Tower mages, urging them to make a decision.

The Torres Tower mages exchanged looks.

"Who is he? A spy from another faction?"

"His contract says Utis. Definitely a pseudonym. We have no idea."

"Did anyone see him tamper with the door?"

"No. He just looked at it and then stepped back. No traces of curses or enchantments were detected."

The mages exchanged glances again. Customarily, artifacts discovered by a particular explorer should be transferred to that explorer, but…

Utis had abandoned the excavation.

Driven by greed, the mages shouted.

"If we break the seal on that door today, we'll double your pay! The person who plays a crucial role in opening it will receive five times the reward!"

The Torres Tower decided to trust their greed over warnings, driven by their desire to steal the Ten Commandments' knowledge.

***

I expected troubleshooters to flock, but I didn't anticipate even the Torres Tower mages from the surface to come down.

'Well, if they hear the deep levels might be fully excavated in half a day, they'd want to check it out out of curiosity.'

It was a boon for me. With so many personnel drawn away, infiltrating the middle levels should be easier.

I felt someone following. I planned to remove my visor and reinforced suit anyway. Mana-powered suits are too bulky for stealth.

I entered a passage I had noted earlier. The complicated structure would delay anyone trying to find me. Enough time to remove my suit and avoid the troubleshooters' attention.

The reinforced suit I had obtained locally was simple to use, entering and exiting through an opening in the back. If familiar with the operation, it took only a few seconds to don or remove.

Even after removing the suit, I had some time before the pursuers arrived.

I decided to leave the suit there as a decoy. It was a pity to abandon it, but it wasn't irreplaceable.

Even if I waited a few more days, I wouldn't find a time when Torres Tower's

surveillance was this light. Now was the time to move.

***

Those who followed Utis found him standing still as if turned to stone.

'Why did he stop?'

In extreme tension, the troubleshooters surveyed their surroundings.

Nothing.

There was nothing.

Only the sound of breathing filled the passage. One troubleshooter mustered the courage to approach Utis.

"Hey! What's this misfortune you're talking about—"

As soon as the troubleshooter touched Utis' shoulder, his form tipped over.

Crash!

The visor separated from Utis' body as it hit the ground.

Inside the visor and the reinforced suit, there was nothing.

Only an eerie emptiness.

To read over 200 fully translated episodes, patreon.com/Denji02