< Chapter 27 - Kaplan Effect #2 >
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As the name suggests, rare monsters are rare monsters that appear rarely.
‘Among them, the named monsters.’
A special existence that is even rarer among the already precious rare monsters, and is classified with a separate name.
Moreover, named monsters were not simply rare.
Although there were some cases where this wasn’t the case, most named monsters were much stronger or had special abilities than regular monsters.
‘In a word, difficult and tricky to deal with.’
However, among the users of the Heroes Chronicle series, there were very few who disliked encounters with named monsters.
Even ordinary users welcomed the encounter with named monsters, without having to go as far as rotten monsters like Uder or Cordelia.
Why is that so?
Why do they long to meet difficult named monsters?
Let me say this in advance, it’s not because the users of Heroes Chronicles are perverts who enjoy pain and suffering.
“What, it wasn’t like that?”
“No way? No, wait. No way?”
“What the heck. Of course I’m the exception. I enjoy the thrill of playing high-difficulty games. You and the other rotten ones are perverts who enjoy suffering.”
Uther nodded at Cordelia’s shameless claim and pretended to write in the air as he spoke.
“Cordelia is a pervert who enjoys pain and suffering··· Note.”
“What the fuck?”
As Cordelia began to hit him in the back, Uder continued his thoughts as he looked at the White Grizzly he had just defeated.
‘High risk, high return.’
It’s hard to deal with, but the rewards are generous in return.
The experience points were much higher than those of regular mobs, and the quantity and quality of items dropped when caught were incomparable to those of regular mobs.
‘But this is reality, not a game.’
In the game, if you caught a White Grizzly, you would get various items, but this was reality.
There was no way a giant white grizzly could be carrying items that humans much smaller than himself would use.
‘But even so······.’
“Profit! Just build up your strength! Strength!”
“Hey! It hurts! It hurts! Where did you get the spell and hit me!”
“Here it is! Here it is!”
“Ah! Ah! It really hurts! It really hurts! It feels like my bone has been hit!”
“Nice! Extra damage!”
Uther, who had barely managed to calm down Cordelia, who clenched her fists and liked her, looked back at White Grizzly.
‘It’s not like you only need equipment to build it.’
Like the magic stone embedded only in the forehead of the named White Grizzly, the gall bladder that is naturally possessed by bears, and claws that are stronger than steel.
There were plenty of things to pack.
“Wow! Look at this! There’s an item too!”
“huh?”
Cordelia ran towards the large white grizzly, which was stretching out like a giant dagger, and pulled out a small dagger from among its thick fur.
“What, why is that there?”
“I don’t know, maybe it was used as a toothpick. Oh, it’s better than I thought. It’s a dagger with a freezing curse. If you get stabbed by it, you’ll get frostbite.”
It’s a fact that is often forgotten, but Cordelia was indeed a magician.
She immediately recognized the magic on the dagger and began to dig through the fur with a satisfied look on her face.
“Hey, there’s nothing more.”
“No, it’s already strange that one thing came out.”
Maybe this is also the Kaplan effect.
Anyway, I had already caught the White Grizzly, and I couldn’t stay in this place any longer, so I had to collect the magic stone and bear bile, etc. myself.
“Umm······.”
During the Bycon, the knights did it for him, but not this time.
When Cordelia frowned and looked troubled, Uther smiled and stepped forward.
“Don’t worry. Leave it to me and go back and take care of Kaplan.”
“Is that okay?”
“That’s okay.”
“Wow, that’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Don’t fall in love.”
“Yeah, I don’t like it.”
Cordelia nodded immediately and passed Yuder, who was blinking, and headed towards Kaplan. Yuder smiled bitterly and pulled out a dagger.
And then about a minute passed.
Cordelia shouted as she approached Kaplan, who had collapsed far behind her.
“Yuder! I think Kaplan has fainted!”
“also?”
“You’re a bit weak-willed. Isn’t it a bit different from the Kaplan we know?”
“Well… It’s still early days. Isn’t it because he’s been through so many things like this that he’s become the fearless, unlucky man we know?”
“Hmm, maybe.”
Convinced, Cordelia looked at Kaplan’s condition a bit more before turning to Uther.
As expected of someone who was good at this kind of thing, Yuder had already gathered all the things he needed.
“Yuder, should I wake Kaplan up again?”
“No, let’s just leave him unconscious. I think it’ll be more comfortable that way.”
“Well, there’s still a long way to go, and if you keep fainting, it won’t be good for Kaplan either.”
“Yeah, you don’t necessarily have to stay awake.”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s right.”
The two people who agreed attached the Wingwind Arrow to the wooden board they had prepared in advance yesterday and casted a fly magic to create the Flying Wooden Board Mk2.
“Okay, then let’s keep going.”
“I want to become a fisherman who catches monsters.”
Uther and Cordelia looked at each other and smiled happily, then launched the wooden board carrying Kaplan.
The distance between the two people and the wooden board is about 30 meters.
“Wow, it’s already coming.”
“Aggro is really fucking awesome.”
It’s only been about 30 minutes since we caught the white grizzly.
The two people stepped forward, screaming in joy.
This time, of course, it was a moon catcher.
&
Indiana Kaplan was both an archaeologist and an adventurer.
He is currently a professor at the Argonian Academy, a renowned university within the Argonian Empire. He was already an extraordinary person even during his graduate school days before becoming a professor.
The tomb of the ancient dwarf king Ironclad has been discovered.
Excavation of the stele from the Old Kingdom of Luplan.
The excavation of the crystal ball of Tatania, which proved the existence of the witches’ country of Tatania, which was thought to be a legend.
The imperial family, recognizing his achievements and abilities that allowed him to make a string of century-old discoveries that others would only be able to make once in their lifetime, awarded him a knighthood and a lifetime professorship at the Academy of Sciences, and Indiana Kaplan was able to enjoy the honor of being the youngest professor in the history of the Argonne Empire.
But where there is light, there is darkness.
If we look at his accomplishments alone, he should have been a star in the world of archaeology and a treasure of the Academy, but he was always ostracized and hated.
‘jealousy.’
If only that were the case, I would have felt at least some peace of mind.
I must have endured it, thinking it was the losers’ envy of those who had achieved dazzling success.
‘This time too, Kaplan returned safely alone?’
‘There’s no such thing as a god of disaster. Why do accidents happen whenever we go out to excavate?’
‘Could it be on purpose?’
‘On purpose? Are you saying that Kaplan caused the accident on purpose?’
‘Maybe so.’
‘Why?’
‘Because you want to have the ball all to yourself?’
It was a ridiculous accusation.
It was nothing more than a conspiracy theory without any evidence.
How can you possibly believe that he would murder or injure researchers who had gone on an investigation together in order to get the ball all to himself by making it seem like an accident?
‘Maybe so.’
‘How come accidents happen like this every time?’
‘In the midst of all that, you’re the only one who’s always fine.’
It was just as people said.
Despite numerous accidents, Kaplan always remained healthy.
There were a lot of injuries, but no one was seriously injured or died.
‘It’s okay, it’s all just rumors. How can something that just happened by chance be your fault? You’ve been hurt many times yourself.’
These were the words of Bartol, who volunteered for the assistant position that everyone avoided.
How much salvation did I receive from those words?
But even that kind of Batol did not last long.
‘···I’ll stop.’
During the first excavation with Bartol, an accident occurred, and although Bartol luckily survived, he was injured so badly that he had to stay in the hospital for five months.
Bartol did not say a word of resentment toward Kaplan.
But, like before, he didn’t say that it wasn’t Kaplan’s fault or that it wasn’t his fault.
It was from then on.
Kaplan started traveling alone.
Neither when going out to investigate nor when doing excavation work did he take others with him.
Anytime, anywhere.
Just alone.
“Huh!”
Kaplan opened his eyes wide and sat up straight, exhaling.
In the midst of my confusion, images suddenly filled my head.
A giant monster.
White grizzly.
A guy who roared ferociously as if he was going to eat him at any moment.
Was alive.
Not dead.
This time, it seemed like he somehow escaped from the monster.
“Haa··· ha··· thank goodness······.”
That was it.
Kaplan, who had been gasping for breath, raised his head.
It was because I was thinking about the company I hadn’t seen in a long time.
‘What about Mr. Yuder?! What about Miss Cordelia?!’
They were definitely strong people. They were the ones who saved him from the White Giant Bear. They were the ones who survived the fall from a thousand-foot cliff.
So I accepted the request to come along.
It was the first time in a long time that I went on an investigation with others.
‘Please… please!’
“King Kaplan?”
A voice was heard.
It was clear, pure, and beautiful, as if it had come from heaven.
Kaplan turned his head reflexively and swallowed his breath.
The girl looking at him with her back to the breaking sunlight was so beautiful that he said without realizing it.
“Angel?”
“It’s not an angel, it’s Cordelia. Do you remember me? Are you awake?”
Kaplan nodded, finally able to fully wake up.
“White, white grizzly bear?”
“Uder and I took it down. So don’t worry. It’s safe here.”
Cordelia said with a smile.
As if that were no big deal.
‘Well, I’ve caught a moonfish seven times.’
It was Uther and Cordelia who had already received information about the monsters appearing in Blade Beak Canyon from the Wild Fairy Queen.
There was no monster that the two of them could not catch.
“Ah …
“Hey, what is it? I actually benefited from Kaplan. Thank you so much for joining us.”
Cordelia was sincere.
It’s true that not only Uther, but Cordelia too had a conscience.
She was secretly concerned that she had used it as bait to attract named monsters.
But to Kaplan, who didn’t know the circumstances, it sounded like a completely different story.
‘Ahhh… Is this really an angel…?’
You saw the benefit of it.
Thank you for joining us.
How long has it been since I’ve heard this story?
No, it wasn’t that bad. Come to think of it, it was the first time I’d heard that since I became a professor.
‘How, how can a person be so kind-hearted?’
It’s so heartwarming that Kaplan is worried about himself even though he’s in danger because of him.
To Kaplan, who had already come to think of himself as a man who brought disaster upon himself like everyone else, Cordelia’s warm words were like salvation.
“Angel… Miss Cordelia is definitely an angel. Heuk.”
Kaplan began to shed tears of emotion, as all the sadness he had felt exploded all at once.
“Ka, Sir Kaplan?”
“Ku …
When Kaplan grabbed Cordelia’s hand and started sobbing, Cordelia panicked and broke out in a cold sweat.
‘What’s wrong with him?’
Did he notice that I used him as bait and counterattack?
While Cordelia’s delusional circuits were spinning bizarrely due to confusion, Uther was looking around.
‘Endymion’s entrance.’
Entering the building that looked like a gateway, Uder thought back to each and every monster he had encountered on his way here.
‘There was no one associated with the devil.’
The Wild Fairy Queen’s information was accurate.
Among the monsters living in the Blade Beak Canyon, there were none that were directly related to the devil.
‘Lacto.’
The lowest level demon, in contrast to the Guardian of the Tomb.
It was relatively recently that he appeared.
Even by human standards, not just by the standards of wild fairies with a distorted sense of time.
So where did that guy come from?
Who called that guy?
Could there be a connection between Lena’s death and the summoning of the demon?
‘The place where Lacto appeared was the underground of Endymion.’
Uther began to look around to see if there was a way down to the basement. And just then,
“Uder!”
“Cordelia?”
“Found it! Sir Kaplan has found the way underground!”
As I followed the voice outside, Cordelia was jumping around and Lord Kaplan was smiling brightly.
‘Kaplan indeed.’
A man who picks up relics even when he falls down on the street.
If Kaplan had found it, it was clearly no ordinary underground passage.
“This way. I found it by chance while tying my shoelaces.”
“As expected, it is Sir Kaplan.”
Yuder, smiling brightly, looked at the stairs leading down to the basement next to the altar.
It seemed like Cordelia had used magic to open what had been tightly sealed.
“It’s not on the map I got from the wild fairies.”
“It might be worth looking into.”
Uther immediately answered Cordelia’s whisper and looked back at Kaplan.
“Lord Kaplan, I’d like to come down right away. Is that okay?”
“Yes, it’s okay.”
“Then let’s leave right away.”
“yes!”
Uther was like Cordelia.
Far from complaining to Kaplan himself, he even encouraged him to continue working with him.
What kind and beautiful men and women these are.
“I will take the lead.”
“Yes, be careful.”
Uder, with Kaplan stepping forward, looked at Cordelia.
‘Why is it like that? It seems like it’s really high tension.’
‘I don’t know either.’
Cordelia shrugged her shoulders, and Uther tilted his head.
‘Is it because it’s the early days?’
Kaplan, who appears in Heroes Chronicles 2, was truly a man of steel.
He always had a smile on his face, but it wasn’t a genuine smile.
A smile that builds a wall, not communication.
A man with an iron wall who doesn’t let anyone else inside his boundaries.
But today’s Kaplan is quite different.
The way he treated himself and Cordelia was extremely kind.
‘I guess it’s because it’s the early days.’
Because Kaplan appeared after the middle part.
“Let’s go quickly too.”
“Oh, okay.”
Moderately convinced, Yuder followed Cordelia’s urging and started walking.
About ten minutes like that.
The stairs that seemed to go on forever finally came to an end.
After descending for almost several hundred meters, we arrived at a huge underground temple.
“and······.”
Cordelia, who had turned up the light of the magic ball that was a substitute for a torch, exclaimed in admiration.
The darkness was so thick that I couldn’t see everything around me, but what I could see was amazing.
The ceiling height is about thirty meters.
Large pillars were erected here and there, and these pillars were again adorned with magnificent carvings.
It was probably a fragment of the ancient elven gods believed in by the Magellan Kingdom.
“Magic Endymion······.”
Kaplan approached the pillar, exclaiming in admiration.
And that was the moment.
Uther and Cordelia looked back almost simultaneously.
Uder sensed presence.
Cordelia felt her hair stand on end.
A gaze looking this way from hidden in the darkness.
It wasn’t a person.
It wasn’t a monster on earth either.
Red eyes flashed.
I took silent steps in the darkness.
devil.
No, a beast from hell.
Uther held his breath.
The size and height of the eyes were used to infer the monster’s height and shape.
About 4 meters tall.
Judging by the size of its eyes, it appears to be humanoid.
Silent footsteps.
No, it wasn’t footsteps in the first place.
snake.
Snake-like lower body.
“Nazarus.”
A hellish creature with a human upper body and a snake lower body.
It was a higher species than Lacto. Moreover, it was not a situation where it could be caught by tricks like ‘Lacto on the bridge’.
“It’s okay, I can handle Nazjarus.”
Both Uther himself and Cordelia have become much stronger.
If the two of them were together, they could even fight head-on.
“As long as it’s not rare, it’s fine. No, as long as it’s not a named item, it’s fine.”
Just as a snake has only one head, the typical Nazarus had only one human torso.
But among them there were Najarus who had two upper bodies.
Cordelia nodded at Uther’s words, but only for a moment.
“As long as it’s not rare, it’s okay?”
“Oh, it’s not just rare······.”
That was it.
Thinking of something similar to Cordelia, Uder turned his head for a moment and looked towards the pillar, and Nazarus in the darkness did not wait any longer.
“Human! I’ll tear you to pieces!”
“Humans! Eat them!”
Two voices rang out simultaneously.
Rare.
It wasn’t an ordinary rare either.
A horn protruded from the center of its forehead, proving its name.
“Kaplan.”
Kaplan effect.
As if responding to Uther’s brainwashing, the named Nazarus Karakula raised his voice.
He charged towards Uther and Cordelia.
&
< Chapter 27 - Kaplan Effect #2 > End
