Chapter 119
"Purge?"
Baltren the Forest Keeper.
Usually called by the nickname and abbreviation Baltren, he reflected on his past life at the moment after hearing that word.
Over 40 years.
He could say with certainty that he had never heard those words.
"You, purge me?"
How audacious.
The title of Forest Keeper, earned upon promotion to Expert.
Since joining Enigma with that title, had he ever seen such a junior?
Even though he tended to stay at the extreme frontier of exploration in the Third Floor, the other Explorers he occasionally met were quick to bow their heads to him.
The fame from pioneering the territory of the Tree Dragon at the outermost part of the current Third Floor.
The intimidation from belonging to Enigma, one of the Five Major Guilds.
These things made other Explorers wary of Baltgren.
Yet here was a newcomer from a guild that just joined under Enigma's shadow, and under Hernan who was at the bottom of Enigma at that, mentioning purging?
It was an affront to his pride.
It was something that should rightfully anger him.
But surprisingly, Baltgren didn't feel particularly bad.
Yes.
This was right.
Shouldn't an Explorer be someone who believed in themselves, feared the unknown, yet still mustered the courage to move forward?
"Yes."
He gazed upon his junior.
Despite not being able to fully suppress the trembling from tension and fear, he saw the posture of facing him without avoiding his eyes.
Alice must have liked him.
That was why she probably drew a picture herself to show everyone, saying to at least recognize a family member.
Usually, Alice wasn't the type to show such kindness.
Rather, she was the type to say one should figure such things out on their own, and if they made a mistake and got thoroughly tricked, she'd mock them, asking who let such a person into a subsidiary guild.
"Your spirit is good. But it's also important to properly assess your opponent. It's still too early."
Baltren showed leniency to Roman, who had declared he would purge him.
And Roman also knew that this was leniency.
He's strong.
The depth of his mana was extraordinary.
Master Explorer.
The gap with people like Viola or the Professor was so large that it wasn't really properly felt.
It just felt overwhelmingly strong.
But a Master's strength was in the realm of reality.
Even Roman could feel it.
That he hadn't yet reached that level.
Can I win?
Though he declared he would purge him, he wasn't certain.
Among all the enemies Roman had faced so far, this was undoubtedly the strongest.
The Professor?
That wasn't an opponent he faced.
It was a case of nearly being one-sidedly killed, surviving thanks to Viola.
Blink. Exhaustion. Smite. Dream of Illusion.
Roman rechecked all the cards he currently held.
Each a magical ability of wonder.
Currently, Roman was at the level of double casting, using two spells simultaneously including Exhaustion which was almost passively applied.
In other words, he could shoot a magic bullet while moving with Blink, or shoot a magic bullet for restraint while preparing Smite in one part of his consciousness.
Dream of Illusion, still low in proficiency, was quite difficult to deploy simultaneously, but not impossible for small-scale deployment.
There's a chance of winning.
A mana field unfolded in Axis.
Clear fighting intent.
Despite Roman's resolve, Baltren proposed again, "This incident will be buried anyway. It's a secret story no one wants to mention. It would be better to go back and save your companions."
"That remains to be seen."
"Just eliminate all mouths except family members."
Kill everyone to silence them.
If all the Abyss Worshippers and Naturalis alchemists present here were eliminated, today's events would be forgotten.
"If that was your intention, why didn't you eliminate them yourself and leave?"
It was a blind spot.
That could have been possible.
If Baltren truly opposed the Abyss Worshippers and wanted to silence them by killing, the option of cooperating with Blobel for a joint attack clearly existed.
In fact, Baltren had considered that option, and Gephardt not taking the forefront was to check Baltren.
But in the end, Baltren didn't do that.
He changed his mind at the point when he recognized Roman's group's presence.
He decided to keep the Abyss Worshippers alive and use them to stop Roman's group.
"To monopolize the artifact that should be here. Am I wrong?"
Roman's words hit the mark.
"No. You're not wrong," Baltren readily admitted.
"Because I needed it. I have a reason why I must obtain that."
"Even if it means sacrificing people to Abyss Worshippers?"
"No."
It was an immediate answer.
"Then...!"
"If it truly created innocent, pure victims, I might not have done it."
Making assertions about things he hadn't experienced didn't suit Baltren's temperament.
Just the possibility, the likelihood that he wouldn't have acted that way was high.
"But is Blobel really innocent? Our companionship was formed under a contract. No one was forced. Blobel made the choice. Blobel was even given a trump card for certain victory. The danger wasn't only for Blobel. Everyone who attempted that contract bore the risk."
Blobel, Gephardt, and Baltren.
They presented mutual conditions and accepted the contract of their own will.
"There, Blobel became greedy. You were puzzled about Gephardt, right? You've probably seen another branch head before. So you were puzzled that Gephardt was weaker than you thought. Am I wrong?"
Though he seemed uninterested, had he been observing even such things?
The more one learned about Explorers, the more surprising aspects there were.
The observational and deductive abilities of an Explorer at the Master level were beyond Roman's imagination.
As there was nothing to gain by denying it, Roman nodded.
"That's right."
"Your thinking is correct. Even though Gephardt has grown since joining the Abyss School, his combat power itself is on the lower side for a branch head."
One could call it the limit of the Arcanum branch.
Since the branch started as Golden Intellect's storekeepers, they were very proficient in theory about the materials alchemy dealt with and the alchemical formulas to handle them but severely lacked practical experience.
Except for the Naturalis branch that basically resided in the Abyss, the other six branches also occasionally went on explorations to the Abyss, but the Arcanum branch barely went once a year.
"But Blobel's master is the opposite. That person, Gauron, is one of the strongest among branch heads. What if Blobel had called him in? Even if we had managed to escape, we would have been fatally wounded. Recognizing that danger, we recruited Blobel."
Blobel's trump card for certain victory.
However, Blobel didn't use it.
This time, her greed to personally recover her ancestors' legacy and prove her worth by eliminating the Abyss Worshippers.
Her desire to be acknowledged by her master who loved her but thought her abilities were still lacking and needed protection.
These blinded Blobel.
From the start, Blobel planned to backstab as soon as the shallow cooperation ended.
Everyone did.
Even while walking, they were wrapped in defensive magic or reflective alchemical formulas in case of a surprise attack from behind.
In the end, what happened to Blobel was solely due to her own inadequacy in missing the timing for betrayal.
"Blobel is not innocent."
Roman couldn't refute Baltren's words.
In fact, Roman didn't particularly intend to defend Blobel.
Therefore, it would have been fine to cut off this conversation midway.
This wasn't a courtroom to determine right and wrong.
However, Roman silently listened to Baltren's continuing words.
"The first thing Explorers need to know isn't what they will gain from the Abyss. They need to know who they are first. Those who chase only the mysteries of the Abyss without knowing what kind of being they are, have their secrets stolen by the Abyss and are swallowed."
Explorers without strong convictions lost their lives or had their souls eroded that way.
The former became corpses, the latter became worshippers.
Either way, wasn't it the same in that they offer everything of themselves to the Abyss?
The Abyss enjoyed the living sacrifices that came from the surface and gave fragments of the mysteries it held.
"Blobel didn't know herself. That's why she was enchanted by the mysteries the Abyss held and lost herself. That's all there is to it. There's no good or evil here. She chose the wrong answer because of ignorance. She paid the price for the wrong answer."
At that point, Baltren's atmosphere changed completely.
Though his arms were still loosely lowered, the mana spreading with aggression foretold the storm about to begin.
"I think I've stalled enough time. Since they're not coming, it seems things are intense on that side too. We should wrap things up here as well."
"Were we detected?"
"Your companions' level is impressive. I don't think they'll lose either."
So, fight with all your might without worry.
Even if you lose, don’t have regrets.
"I'll tell you in advance."
As a senior, it wouldn't be fair to be the only one with information when fighting a junior.
So Baltren said, "I am a Druid."