IBMATG 35

chapter 35

Her name was Adele.

A woman with dark skin, tall stature, and a sturdy build.

When I spoke to her, she looked at me with extreme caution.

“What… what is it?”

“I saw you earlier. You threw stones really well.”

“….”

Her expression froze abruptly.

She took a step back, as if ready to run.

She probably thought she had been spotted by the lord’s minions.

“Don’t worry. I’m not one of the baron’s lackeys.”

“…Then who are you?”

I showed her the talisman, just like I had shown the guard earlier.

“Will this make it clear?”

“You… you’re a hero?”

Fortunately, unlike the clueless guard from earlier, she recognized me immediately.

“That’s right. And I’m here to help you.”

For a moment, Adele’s face seemed to brighten slightly at my words.

But she still didn’t lower her guard.

“Why? What benefit would helping someone like me bring you…?”

This kind of reaction was understandable. After all, this dungeon was treated like a village.

In reality, it had shops where you could spend gold like in the raid dungeons, or inns.

Of course, these were basic functions inherent to a “castle” that an Awakener could possess.

From her perspective, an Awakener helping her—someone who was just another “visitor” using the village’s facilities—seemed strange.

“So, you’re a hero.”

“…Huh?”

“If you were in cahoots with bad guys, would you be called a hero? There’s a reason they call you that.”

Even as I said it, I had to suppress a smile.

Most quests involve helping someone in trouble or a weak person.

How many Awakener actually help out of genuine desire?

Most are just after the rewards at the end.

Naturally, I was no different.

{The first Awakener to become the lord of <Alford Castle> can acquire an Aether Weapon.}

Helping her was simply part of the process to become the lord of this castle.

“R-Really… really?”

Of course, Adele, being just an NPC, couldn’t understand all that, so she took my words at face value.

From their perspective, Awakeners always help those who ask for it with almost no conditions. So it made sense.

“Right. So you’ll help me too.”

‘I’m going to become the lord of this castle.’

I left the latter part unsaid.

There was no need to explain further. She would do it anyway.

“Then… talking here isn’t ideal. Shall we move somewhere else?”

“As you wish.”

Looking around, I saw that the lord’s soldiers had all left, but there were still people nearby.

It seemed she judged it unwise to converse where many could overhear.

Because what she was about to tell me was extremely sensitive.

Adele lived alone with her younger brother in a shack in the slums.

Her parents had recently been killed resisting the lord’s tyranny, and relatives had cut ties with her.

Otherwise, they might have shared her parents’ fate.

In the end, she lost everything and had no choice but to drift into the back alleys.

She had endured all this as a woman in a harsh, backward world.

‘Definitely not an ordinary NPC.’

This was why she was the key figure in this quest.

From our first meeting, her visible muscles on arms and legs revealed her innate warrior qualities.

Strong mental fortitude. Leadership that could guide people. Innate physical ability.

Through this quest, she would develop her talents to become a valuable ally for an Awakener.

Not just during the quest, but even after obtaining the castle.

“…We’ll enter here. Then we can meet Baron Marcus directly.”

Adele handed me a sheet of paper and explained her elaborate plan.

It was a cross-sectional map of the castle’s inner structure.

Her plan so far was to infiltrate the inner castle and assassinate Baron Marcus.

It was well thought out, but there was one fatal flaw.

“And after killing the baron, then what?”

“…Huh? Well…”

“If you kill the baron, another noble will take power. Nothing changes.”

“Of course… but wouldn’t life be better even a little if Marcus were gone?”

Adele was right. The tyranny was due to Marcus’s personal perverse desires.

The next ruler might be far better than him.

But that alone wasn’t enough.

You can’t just stop at “life getting slightly better.”

“You’ll still live under the rule of other nobles. Are you okay with that?”

“But… ruling is naturally the nobles’ job, right? Then who…?”

“We will.”

Because I had to take over the castle.

“Wha—!?”

Adele’s eyes widened.

She seemed to think it was impossible.

But she had the ability.

The system allowed it.

“We’ll turn everything upside down. Stage a coup and seize the castle.”

“Is… is that possible?”

“Of course. But there are things we need to do first.”

“Things to do… like gathering people?”

“Exactly.”

‘As expected, it’s going smoothly.’

No need to explain in detail. No need to force understanding. The conversation flowed unnaturally smoothly.

This was also the system interfering to ensure the quest progressed.

“From now on, we’re a team.”

{Clan <Alford> has been formed.}
{<Adele> has joined the clan.}

And immediately, we formed the first requirement for becoming lord: a clan.

We didn’t overthink the name; we simply used the castle and region’s name: Alford.

Alford Clan. A common naming convention.

With the foundation set, Adele and I began preparing for the coup.

The way to take over the castle was to seize the scattered occupation points simultaneously.

At first glance, I might think I could take each point alone, but the problem was the NPCs.

In a siege, NPCs are mobilized on a large scale, and the defenders respawn infinitely.

This rule applied not only to wars between Awakeners but also to initial captures of NPC-held castles.

So it was impossible to capture alone. I needed allies to attack multiple points simultaneously.

If I could have mobilized multiple Awakeners from the start, maybe not, but now I was alone, so reinforcements were essential.

That was why I formed a clan with Adele and pursued the quest.

“Hmm? Who’s there…”

Phew.

Late at night, a patrolling soldier collapsed, blood spraying from his neck.

I wiped the blood from my sword.

“Your turn now.”

“M-Me?”

I handed the sword to Adele.

She hesitated for a moment.

“What are you hesitating for? They’re our enemies. How could you assassinate the baron if you can’t even kill one enemy soldier?”

“…Alright.”

At my words, she immediately grabbed the sword and moved.

Her stance was unsteady, but determination burned in her eyes.

Thrust!

“Gah! Wh-what are you…!”

Adele struck another guard, but not at a vital point, so he didn’t fall immediately.

“Uh!”

Thwack!

Before he could cause more commotion, I quickly intervened with a talon strike.

“Ah… sorry. I should’ve struck here instead…”

‘As expected.’

Instead of panicking or feeling guilty, Adele reflected and corrected her attack.

Ruthlessness against the enemy.

A true warrior’s mindset.

Without this, no matter how strong or athletic, it’s useless.

Even Awakeners face this, as Jin-yoon’s case showed.

“Do better next time.”

I patted her shoulder and continued toward the armory.

To wage a large-scale battle, soldiers and weapons were essential.

If we could loot the castle’s armory, it would meet our needs and weaken the enemy simultaneously.

That was the objective of the occupation quest.

“Who goes there!”

Another guard was stationed in front of the armory.

As he raised his spear at us, Adele rushed forward and swung her sword.

Her stance still unsteady, but the strike was impressive.

Clang!

She pushed the spear aside and slashed at the opponent’s fingers holding it.

“Ah!”

The guard screamed in pain and dropped the weapon.

‘It’s over.’

Once the weapon was gone, his fate was sealed.

Adele tackled the guard, muffled his mouth, and drove her sword into the exposed neck between the helmet and shoulder pad.

He collapsed to the floor.

“Phew…”

She carefully laid the body down quietly.

I couldn’t help but admire her.

Compared to my first time as an Awakener, this was remarkable.

With just one experience, she acted like a veteran assassin.

‘No wonder the patch notes mentioned her.’

Technically, I didn’t need her for this castle recapture quest.

Other residents dissatisfied with the baron would have joined.

The system would have made anyone participate.

And the difficulty wasn’t high; we just needed enough people to hold the points.

But I decided to take her, as she would be useful even after the castle was taken.

In other words, Adele was a hidden reward only obtainable through the patch notes.

“Well done. A little training and you’ll grow quickly.”

“Ah, thank you!”

“I’ll introduce a good sword instructor later.”

‘…Summoned via diamond.’

Anyway, I found the key on the guard’s body and forced the armory door open.

Inside were piles of armor, spears, and swords.

I put everything into my inventory.

<Inventory>

• Alford Guard Steel Spear (NPC Only)

• Alford Guard Steel Sword (NPC Only)
  …

“Did all of that really fit in the hero’s pocket?”

Instead of answering, I drew a spear and showed her.

Seeing it appear in my hands, Adele looked amazed, as if witnessing magic.

“Wow!”

“Let’s go now.”

“Yesss!”

With all the equipment gathered, we headed to leave the armory.

Then:

{!Error-inducing factor detected!}
{!Dungeon contamination!}
{Various corrupted system codes…}

“What…?”

“Huh? What did you say?”

My vision was filled with bizarre error messages.

I cleared them all.

And before me was a grotesquely contorted guard corpse.

“What… is this…?”

Crunch. Crack.

Wolf? Spider? Snake? Bat?

It was a monstrous hybrid that defied definition.

Even looking at it was nauseating.

“…Get away from there, now!”

I shouted at Adele, who was standing directly in front of it.