022 – Boss: Forsaken #3

TL/ED: Lolz

"Nike, are you hurt?"

"Other than a twisted ankle, I'm fine. Victor, your head is bleeding...!"

Nike seemed fine, but she cried as if her beloved cat had died.

"Victor! Your face..."

"Why? Does it look that serious?”

“Here, a hand mirror!"

Nike handed me a broken hand mirror.

「Shattered Hand Mirror 1/4: Before it broke, it seems to have been a quite high-quality item. There's some mark on the back. Maybe if we gather the remaining pieces, we can figure it out...?」

"Nike, this mirror..."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Never mind."

I examined my face in the shiny glass, and blood was indeed trickling down from my forehead. However, it didn't hurt as much as it looked.

It was just a surface wound, and despite the severe attack, my bones and muscles were unharmed.

Thanks to the «Steel» Quirk, perhaps?

It reduced or completely ignored damage below a certain level.

I had a surprisingly sturdy body.

Of course, Nike, who had no way of knowing that, began to shed tears.

"Victor, it's because of me! I couldn't keep a single promise!"

"Don't be too hard on yourself. We're partners."

Nike couldn't lie and couldn't keep the promises we made.

Yet, she was an essential part of my business.

If Nike were to retire from Act 1, who would gather the new herbs for me?

"Partners..."

Nike seemed to really like the word "partner" I mentioned, repeating it multiple times. Then, as if she had made up her mind, she wiped her tears.

"I'll apply some medicine! I've collected a lot of herbs!"

"Sure."

Even a minor wound could lead to infection. So, Nike and I returned to the place where the hut was built.

Nike, seeing that pitiful appearance, said, “Ugh, everything has collapsed…”. She became even gloomier.

The only thing I could say to her was.

"If the house has fallen, we can rebuild it."

"Is that so?"

"But this time, let's build a real cabin."

"Ugh..."

She seemed like she wanted to protest, but then she closed her mouth. We soon gathered a few 「Low-Grade Medicinal Herbs」 that looked usable near the collapsed site.

"The herb processing table is all broken. I don't think I can grind herbs like this."

"We can't skip applying medicine. Victor, wait!"

"I can't do that. Nike, what are you trying to do?"

"Just wait!"

Nike stuffed the herbs into her mouth.

Then, she chewed them vigorously.

"Oops! I accidentally swallowed!"

"What were you trying to do?"

"Just wait!"

Nike chewed on another fresh herb and then spat it onto my forehead.

"..."

"This is the method my dad taught me! Actually, it's more effective!"

What kind of folk remedy was this?

* * *

"Did you hear? Those guys in black masks were causing trouble in the park..."

"They're from that Winter organization, right? 'Fimblevet'..."

"Weren't they all disbanded two years ago?"

"The student council's enforcement team seems to be chasing after a guy called 'Forsaken' now."

As we stepped out of the forest, people were gathered everywhere, providing hints about the current events. It was a standard rule in the game that NPCs would give hints about the ongoing events, and it was quite fun to experience them directly.

"There was a fight in the park too."

In D&A, battles within the school grounds were rare.

You could usually only fight during duel events or attack events.

Besides those, you couldn't draw your weapons in town.

However, in the latter part of Act 1, when the boss "The Forsaken - Enrique" made his appearance, villains would randomly appear all over the school, turning the school itself into chaos.

During those times, monsters and bandits could also appear in the town's streets and corridors, allowing you to experience battles.

The current situation was just like that.

"Act 1 is already coming to an end."

Even if I intervened, it felt like the middle part was skipped.

Of course, it was fine with me.

"If we can finish our showdown with Enrique, the underground market will open. It could be a big money-making opportunity."

I actually liked that.

Cancel the difficult Act 1 quickly and push through Act 2 with the underground market and Act 3 with the sailing content.

Who cares about the acts?

Paying off my debt came first.

So Luke, please help me out.

Act 1 Boss Enrique is only annoying because he summons a bunch of minions.

In Phase 2, he keeps running around to different locations, which is also just a nuisance, but not difficult.

When I heard the students talking earlier, it seemed like the student council's enforcement team was chasing after someone called 'Forsaken’, which implies Enrique is on the run.

Having completed the troublesome first phase of summoning minions, we reached the second phase where Enrique keeps running around, and there are four places where he might appear.

One is in front of the square's god statues.

One is at the central student park's fountain.

One is behind the old school building.

One is at the student council headquarters.

I didn't know where he would appear, so it was a bit of a hassle to search the entire area.

However, this allowed players to explore every nook and cranny of the school grounds, and it was as if the development team was suggesting, "Try using these shortcuts."

"I should be able to handle Enrique in Phase 2."

"Victor, why have you been mumbling to yourself so much since earlier? Did you get hit on the head? Maybe you should see a healer?"

"..."

I would need to cut down on talking to myself from now on.

"Nike, since it's almost time for afternoon classes, I'm going to leave. You should attend your classes without fail. That's the only way to aim for a scholarship."

"Attending classes in this situation?"

In that case, I headed to the classroom.

Even if I received a morning absence notice, I should attend the afternoon class.

And Nike could handle these Act 1 rookies if they attacked again.

When I visited class A-1, the classroom was empty.

"..."

What?

Had I missed hearing the announcement that "Today's afternoon classes are canceled" or something?

Was there a chat group that I wasn't part of?

However, what was even more strange was that Class A-2 and Class B-1 next to us were also empty. I had to catch a nearby student and ask what was going on.

"Hey, you. Stop."

"Ugh, Victor, is my appearance okay?"

"I'm not talking about your appearance. It's time for classes, but not a single student or teacher can be seen. What is going on?"

"What? Haven't you heard? All classes are canceled today! Some weird organization invaded Ludens, and the Student Council decided that."

What, something like that?

I thought something was wrong with me.

In any case, classes were canceled, and I suddenly had some free time.

It would have been a good idea to prepare some ingredients, but with Nike's hut disintegrated, there was nothing I could do.

Well, then, how about exploring a bit?

It might be good to find a place where I can store items and get a good night's sleep in the future, just like now.

Ding!

Coincidentally, I had an item in my inventory that I received from Enio not long ago.

Although I hadn't heard where to use it, I could just ask Enio.

So, I went to find Enio.

Finding Enio wasn't difficult.

Enio was a delegate and had her own office in the Student Center.

"What is it, Victor? Coming all the way here in the midst of this chaotic situation."

"It's not a big deal. I want to ask about this key. Do you have a bit of time right now?"

"Well... I was quite busy until just now, but it’s okay at the moment."

In a corner of Enio's office, there were a few delinquents tied up with ropes, shivering. It seemed they had also come to see Enio.

"You guys, how dare you try to harm Lady Enio. Do we look easy to you? Huh? Alexto, make sure these guys are tied up properly!"

“…Yeah, good.”

It was quite unusual to see these sisters, Alexto, and Tisiphone, who looked like a pair of identical twins, having a conversation. But Enio spoke.

"Victor, I understand that you were worried about me and came all the way here. As you can see, I have wonderful friends. Still, I am grateful."

...No, I wasn't really worried about you.

I know very well how challenging it is to deal with Megaira and Alexto, not to mention Tisiphone.

I was more concerned about those Act 1 delinquents attacking Enio.

"That aside, it's about this key. Where can I use this key?”

Enio chuckled.

"I get it. You're saying that you want to take refuge in a place safer than well-known locations, right? The warehouse should be quiet and secure, after all. Victor, you have quite a sense."

I had no idea what Enio was talking about, but explaining things seemed like too much trouble, so I just nodded.

“It is as you say.”

"Okay, let's go to that place. It's not far from here."

* * *

We left the rather chaotic Student Center building and walked past several club rooms for about five minutes.

"Here."

Enio stopped in a place that was quite familiar to me as well.

“The warehouse here at the old school building has been empty for a long time. You, Victor, who was on the executive committee, should know it well, right?”

Old School Building.

This place was quite related to the subquest, "The Seven Secrets of Ludens”.

"We were told that this place used to belong someone before, but it has been abandoned and neglected for the past two years."

A rundown warehouse located behind the old school building.

I was quite familiar with it.

Here was the place where the main character, Luke, could eventually put furniture, decorations, and item storage with the housing system.

“…”

I wondered if it was okay for me to use this place.

"Is there no other place?"

"Right now, there isn't. Originally, this place was also supposed to be sold to the Student Council. They're in the process of adjustment."

The Student Council buying this warehouse was part of the original story, and it would be passed on to the main character, Luke, after completing Act 4.

I get it?

That's fine.

Luke should handle it.

This is not the time for me to be taking it over.

"Shall we go in?"

Creak, creak.

When I unlocked the sturdy lock, the warehouse felt oddly familiar.

It was spacious, with plenty of room to put furniture and other items.

"This would be perfect for a club room."

If we placed a bed over there, I could sleep here too.

It was a bit dusty, with lots of spider webs, but a day of cleaning would take care of that.

"Are these the belongings of the previous owner?"

I picked up a nearby photo frame.

「Broken picture frame: The photo says, ‘For the eternal friendship of the ‘Autumn Leaves’ club.’ 」

Autumn Leaves.

Where had I heard that name before?

There were four pictures, each of a group of people happily laughing.

One was in front of the statues at the square.

One was at the central student park near the fountain.

One was taken behind the old school building.

And the last one was at the Student Council's main building.

“…”

These places, I remembered something.

"Enio, this place has been abandoned for about two years, right?"

"Yeah, it's gotten pretty old. A little cleaning and..."

"No, that's not what I'm asking. Do you happen to know anything about the student who used to own this warehouse?"

"Huh? Well, not much. I think they were expelled due to some reactionary activity. Oh, come to think of it, the current situation is quite similar."

It was not just similar.

It was the same.

Coincidence?

The places pictured here are identical to the locations where the 1st Act's boss, Enrique, would flee to during his second phase.

"These places were all significant memories for them."

It wasn't just any random four places, was it?

And that's when it happened.

"Darn it, those guys... Huff, huff..."

Someone rushed into the warehouse, panting heavily.

He was about 173 cm tall, dressed in a worn leather jacket resembling a rider's style.

His red hair had a rebellious touch, and his ears and face were adorned with multiple piercings.

However, what caught my attention the most was his musical instrument.

He was carrying a long trumpet.

I knew his name.

“Enrique.”

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