Season 1 Side Story Chapter 8. Secret of a Secret (2)
Gulp. Gulp.
Ran downed the entire potion and looked considerably better.
"Let's quickly leave.”
He prepared to lead Almond out, but hesitated.
"... Lete?"
It seemed he finally took a proper look at Almond's appearance.
"Ah..."
Almond didn’t how to respond, but Ran seemed to perfectly understand.
"You're wearing Lete's shell, but you seem entirely different. Who are you?"
"Almond."
"Almond... Thank you. I don't know why you entered Lete's body, but you'll return it someday, right?"
It seemed normal here for someone to enter and leave another's body, just as it had been with Lorang. It was a somewhat perplexing setup.
"Yes," Almond promptly replied, knowing things would naturally revert after the game ended.
"Thank you. Lete might be lacking, but he's a kind child."
— Lacking, but a good friend LOL.
— Poor Lete...
— When Ran says it like this, it really sounds like he's a lacking friend LOL.
— He says it so casually LOL.
Thud.
Ran picked up a fallen torch from the floor. He led the way and Almond followed. Their steps echoed as they maneuvered through a space littered with fallen guards.
Almond looked at Ran's back and asked, "What will you do once we're out?"
"... What do you mean?"
"You've caused quite a commotion. Won't the organization chase you if you break out?"
"I'll have to explain the situation."
"... What?"
Almond, taken aback, stopped in his tracks.
— He's such a troll.
— Ran, why are you like this? ???
— So after all the effort in rescuing, he's planning to get captured again?
— Did he have bad karma in his past life? Why is he heading for trouble?
Explaining the situation was such a naive response.
"Ran, to whom will you explain the situation? If you do that—"
"To you."
"Huh?"
"There's something I need to explain to you. I couldn't tell you everything before."
Almond had assumed he meant explaining to the organization, but Ran meant explaining to him.
— Phew~ (relief).
— I was getting angry for nothing LOL.
— Got worked up for no reason hehehe
Ding.
[A secret is just a step away.]
'A secret...!'
Another message like this appeared. It seemed that Ran’s explanation was related to the clear condition secret (★).
— Oh, oh, oh.
— Something is happening!
— Good luck!
— 1 star condition.
The secret Ran was about to share was the one-star condition. Almond’s efforts would soon be rewarded.
"Alright. Let's get out quickly."
Ran took the lead again, and Almond silently followed him.
***
From this point on, they could encounter human guards.
"Let me take the lead here."
With an arrow nocked on his bow, Almond stepped in front of Ran.
After a short walk, they reached the corridor that Almond passed through earlier lined with doors on both sides.
Almond walked carefully, paying close attention to every sound. Suddenly, Ran opened one of the doors.
Creak.
"!?"
What was he doing? Why did he open the door? Almond silently mouthed, trying to keep the noise down.
However...
'Empty?'
The room was vacant.
"I opened it because I sensed no presence," Ran explained and stepped inside.
"Don't we need to leave quickly?"
"Since no one has reported us, they won't know I'm out yet. I find this facility suspicious. I'll have to take a look around."
There were no mobile phones here and no way to communicate from a distance. If one of the guards had escaped, time would be of the essence. However, the one who imprisoned Ran didn’t know he had escaped yet.
Following Ran inside, Almond looked at the various apparatuses around. There were triangular flasks and various distillation equipment.
'Is this some kind of laboratory?'
Clatter!
Ran made a noise while pulling a box from a shelf.
'Potions?'
The box looked like it contained potions, but was completely empty.
"It seems they were making potions here," Ran murmured and searched the other shelves.
However, he neatly placed everything back after not finding much.
"Shall we move to the next room?"
"Yes."
***
The next room had a completely different structure. If the previous room resembled a laboratory, this one was clearly a production line. To Almond, who had the eyes of a modern human, that was how it looked.
"I have no idea what all this is. It's strange."
Ran seemed clueless.
"It's a factory. Designed for mass production of potions."
While Almond didn't know how they powered the machinery without electricity, he was certain it was a factory designed for rapid potion production. How could he be so sure?
"I used to work in a factory. Everyone," he explained as if addressing a live audience.
When he couldn't use his bow, he tried various jobs. It wasn't for a long period. Considering the nature of the factory job and his need to care for his grandmother, he took it up briefly to earn some quick money. He remembered the structure he saw every day. This place was indeed a factory.
"A factory... So you're familiar with such places. Understood."
"But..."
As Ran was about to leave the room, Almond had been curious about something and finally asked.
"Why did everyone run away?"
"Run away?"
"Yes, look. They didn't take any of their belongings. Not even their coats."
The potions were empty, and the bottles in the lab showed no recent signs of use.
Almond swiped his finger over something that looked like a conveyor belt.
The dust had settled a bit. It wouldn't have been like this if they kept going and only missed today. They had stopped using it recently.
"Why did this happen?"
Why did it? Almond didn't know. If Ran didn't know, how could he?
"Maybe they moved the potion factory? But why hide a potion factory in a prison in the first place...?"
That was when it happened.
Rumble...!
An earthquake occurred.
"!"
Boom! Crash!
Stones started to fall from the cave ceiling.
"This is crazy."
Almond grabbed Ran's hand.
"Run!"
"Uh... Uh, yes!"
They started running forward at full speed. Almond, who had played as Ran, knew better than anyone.
'So slow!'
How slow Ran moved.
“Huff... Puff...”
Rocks covered the spot they just stood on, yet they had only run so far?
— LOL so slow
— They shouldn’t have checked the next room? LOL
— Is this how they die?
— They took too much time killing the guards earlier, right? LOL
They would get caught up in the collapsing cave at this rate.
Apparently, Almond had wasted more time compared to other players. However, they couldn't just die there.
He shouted with his back toward Ran, "Get on!"
"Huh?"
"Get on! Unless you want to die!"
Thunk.
Ran threw himself onto Almond's back. Almond carried him and dashed.
"Uh... Ahhh!"
Even though the added weight significantly strained his thighs and waist, it was only a light debuff for a player like Almond. It wasn't painful at all. He could run at maximum speed with a clear mind.
'I can do it. I can do it.'
Almond couldn't miss a step. He couldn’t afford to stumble and fall. He couldn’t even have a slightly shorter stride or kick his foot at a less efficient angle.
He had to step perfectly on the flat surfaces of the rocks and push off with the greatest physical efficiency. That was the only way he could run fast enough with Ran on his back.
— Wow so fast
— Why so fast???
— Does his movement speed have an MMR coefficient or something? LOL
If one didn't look closely, it would seem like Almond was moving very quickly.
— Wow, his physical strength;
— Amazing! It's like an off-road vehicle! LOL
— He runs with maximum efficiency; wow
— He didn't make a single mistake
— Not sure about walnuts, but Almond's physical strength is insane
Those who knew what to look for could see that Almond's physical prowess was overcoming the situation.
Even so, they were getting caught up in the collapsing cave as he ran with a person on his back.
— Run!
— Just a bit more!!!
— Ahhh, please
— Please don't die
— LOL
To make matters worse, they ran into guards who had been in the break room.
“Hey, what are you!?”
“Wasn't that a prisoner?!”
When the cave seemed unusual, the soldiers hurriedly came out. Foolishly, they tried to draw their swords in such a situation.
“Ran, draw your bow.”
“Yes!”
Ran drew the bow hanging in front of him. Almond immediately took out two arrows and pulled back the string.
Bang! Bang!
An arrow struck right in the center of the guard’s neck, where their helmet couldn’t protect them.
Thud!
A guard who tried to draw his sword suddenly fell as expected. Another guard next to him fell with an arrow in his forehead.
Other guards, about six or so, came out. Almond shot them all down while running.
— Whoa...
— He shot like that while carrying Ran???
— This is a bug!
— There's someone who does this even in story mode? Hahaha... Wow...
The viewers stuck out their tongues in amazement.
Ran also exclaimed in admiration, “... How can this be?”
Although he had seen it before, this level of archery still felt astonishing to see.
“Um, by any chance... are you the God of Archery?”
“... What are you talking about?”
— Hahaha, God of Archery? What? Hahaha...
— Why such a forced name? Hahaha...
Almond didn’t take the time to answer and sped forward again.
‘The exit!’
Almond threw himself and slid when he saw the brightly lit exit.
Screech...!
[Into the Creepy Forest]
A sign indicated they had arrived in another area. They finally exited the underground prison.
Roar!
Immediately afterward, the entrance to the underground prison collapsed and the entire structure crumbled.
“We... we survived...!”
They somehow managed to survive.
“I... I want to get down now.”
Perhaps feeling embarrassed about being carried, Ran muttered with his head bowed.
“Oh. Okay.”
Thump.
Almond set Ran down like he was dropping baggage. Not intentionally, but out of exhaustion.
— Hahaha...
— Is this package loading and unloading? Hahaha...
— Lol...
Surprised or maybe experiencing a brief lag, Ran stood still without saying a word.
“... Ah.”
A moment later, Ran remembered their earlier promise and spoke.
“I'll explain the circumstances now.”
“Ah, it was about Seri, right?”
Finally, he could hear the story.
“Yes. It's because of Seri, but it's a bit different from what you might expect.”
“Okay. Tell me.”
Feeling that it was mostly over, Almond sat on a rock with a somewhat lighter heart. However, the ensuing story was anything but light.
“I approached Seri with a plan.”
“... Strategically?”
— Hahaha, so Ran was a player?
— What is this about?
— Is Ran a bar host!?
— He didn't fall head over heels for Seri?
— Was it just part of the plan?
Strangely, the pure believer Ran had approached Seri with a plan.
“Why?”
“The cult told me to find evidence that Sally was a witch. And then to kill her.”
— What?
— Wow...
— Wow, an identity I never imagined!
— How can this be?
At that moment, a notification sounded.
Ding!
[Secret (★) Clear... Failed!]
[There are more hidden conditions related to the secret.]