Chapter.4 Eyelids (15)
***
Tobrun was a city located a day’s drive north of the capital, Kingsland, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that it was practically attached to the capital.
It was like an outpost that was hastily built 70 years ago, during the World 2 era, to somehow stop the undead from flooding into the capital.
“I heard that Her World 3 Tobrun has changed…”
The professor could not keep his mouth shut at the feast of money unfolding before his eyes.
The castle wall is a little lower than other cities, but it looks dangerous at first glance, with several layers of activated magic circles. The technology to count the magic circle so meticulously and inlay the material that becomes the raw material of magic on top is impossible unless you are a dwarf. Every single magic circle was decorated on the entire castle wall, and I couldn’t imagine how much it would have cost to add craftsmanship to other parts such as the catapults and spires.
‘What happened in the past 70 years that caused Tobrunn, which was no different from a large trench, to change so much?’
I only heard about it vaguely in the community. If you go to Tobrun, be careful about the prices. It changed drastically after the Magic Tower was built. The buildings were raised as if they were growing corn, etc. Since Tobrunn, which looked like a bare mountain on the map, was filled with houses, I imagined something like a rapidly developing refugee camp. When I played, it was a very sad city trying to turn shantytowns into farmland. When you are appointed as a lord here, you are treated as if you have been demoted.
Well, the plan goes awry from the beginning. Should I cancel going over the castle wall? As I was watching to see if there was any corner I could fit in, I noticed that the bird that was flying was turned into a whole chicken and fell in real time due to the electricity and flames shooting out from the castle wall. The soldiers were accustomed to receiving it with joy. It was obvious that the moment it stuck to the castle wall, it would look similar to that instant whole chicken.
“Then you are saying that you have no choice but to enter through the castle gate…”
The professor looked back at himself.
Bloody, almost rag-like noble ceremonial clothes,
scattered beards and hair, a
menacing body over 2 meters tall,
red-glossy skin,
red eyes
– Jokass: Guards who don’t catch something like that walking around in front of them should be executed for neglect of duty.
– takealook: So. It’s not that it’s suspicious, it’s a different species. Even if you look at it kindly, it’s called a troll mix. If it were me, I would catch someone as soon as I see them and put them in a torture chamber.
It seems that the thief who had been sent to the city in advance had spread the word well that there were already more than ten guards in front of the castle gate. What if a large figure like this approaches the castle gate amidst rumors of an attack by talking mutes?
‘Even if it’s me, I’ll kill first and then report.’
Now that things are like this, it seems like it would be difficult to find a way to get in through the front door.
“There’s nothing you can’t do if you break through… If that happens, you’ll have to keep getting kicked out of the city, right?”
Then there is no reason to come to the city. That method is also rejected.
It was difficult from the beginning. The walls are impregnable, so you can’t break through them by force, but if you go through the main gate, you’ll be tortured…
“Wait a minute. Torture chamber?”
The professor looked at his forearm, which had begun to twitch intermittently.
‘If you think about it, doesn’t it mean nothing?’
As of now, I haven’t exercised or gotten hurt since last night, so playback has been paused for quite some time. My body started to itch, and I was wondering if I should harm myself if I couldn’t exercise….
“I can just get caught for this, right? “It’s not like I lack the strength to escape.”
– Jokass: ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ
– Soy Sauce Gay Bar: An unimaginable solution ㄷㄷㄷㄷ
– Noroo Drug: But if it’s torture, it must be quite difficult, right? Even though it has pain-reducing properties, it doesn’t eliminate the pain of breaking bones and digging into flesh, right? Or, Professor, have you finally come to accept stimulation as pleasure?
“That’s not it… What can I say? Should I say that I have become accustomed to pain without fear?”
It still hurts. It hurts so much that I die, but why is it like that? If you get stabbed in the stomach, you will feel pain and at the same time think ‘I’m going to die’ and your whole body will lose strength. Deep wounds are always accompanied by fear of loss. If this happens, I will die. How will I live now if I have no fingers? Imagine that.
However, perhaps because he suffered so many limb amputation injuries, he no longer has that feeling. If your arm is cut off, there is some sensory pain, but that goes away in a moment as it regenerates. So it’s not something like masochism. never.
“Anyway, I can’t even get through the pain with regular torture, so let’s go in.”
After making a decision, the professor came out from the bushes where he was hiding and began to confidently walk towards the castle gate.
***
Jerbeok-
Sasasak!
Jerbeok-
“Hey!”
There was a long waiting line in front of the castle gate due to the intensive ID check.
“That one! Light in your eyes!”
“It’s a monster!”
“It’s mute!”
Mmm, friendly people. How do they know that Koreans are short-tempered and make everyone get out of their way?
Every time the professor took a step, like the miracle of Moses, he was able to break through the dividing crowd and reach the temporary guard post in front of the castle gate.
“What is the profit! “What’s so loud…!”
“ha ha ha. I’m sorry about this. I think this happened because of me…”
The professor smiled and greeted the security guard with as simple yet intelligent a face as possible.
“nice to see you. “I am a mercenary who escaped from Turan. Can I enter the city?”
***
Squeak- Boom!
“Go in!”
“Oh my gosh!”
“You monster! You think we are fools! You set foot in Tobrunn without fear! “Stay in there until the wizard comes!”
“Ugh! Leader! “Jackson still hasn’t come to his senses!”
“I guess that damned monster must have done something. wait! “Even if I have to cut that monster into hundreds of pieces, I will break the curse!”
‘…I really just smiled…’
I tried to act as human as possible in case people would notice me. Actually, in this world, there are dwarves, elves, beastmen like Ketsi and werewolves, but there could also be people like me, right?
So I took off my hood and smiled brightly, and the guard fainted when he saw my smile. Sensing that he was about to die, the guard summoned his last strength and succeeded in ringing the death bell. And then what. The guards, who were very nervous, came rushing out at the sound of the bell and beat me up because I did not resist, then tied me up and threw me into the guard prison.
“Ugh, you stepped on it very well. It takes 2 minutes to play….”
A monster is truly a monster. It doesn’t matter if every bone in your body is broken.
– Soy Sauce Gay Bar: No matter how you think about it, isn’t it just enjoying being hit?
– Noru Drug: Wasn’t the reason he took the broken blackjack to actually hit himself with the tendons on the handle?
– takealook: It’s common for people living alone in the wasteland to go crazy, but isn’t the professor twisted in that direction?
“Oh, please stop!”
Cancankang!
“monster! Just keep your mouth shut! “The wizard will be here soon!”
“Hey Gary! Don’t approach the monster! “I don’t know what kind of hex they might use again!”
Time passed in vain as misunderstandings piled up.
***
Rumble! Kwaik-
kang-kang!
“Hey monster! “Get up!”
“Wow! Um uh….ummm. what. Is it time to wake up already?”
“Damn, let’s sell it. Are you sleeping in prison? But that leisure is over now! As long as the wizard confirms that you are a monster, hehehe… From then on, I will cut out your eyelids and make you unable to even close your eyes!”
The professor was yawning and listening to what the soldier was saying, nodding roughly.
‘Still, it looks like the city’s people are in a state of complete panic. ‘They just lock it up without taking any action just because it hasn’t been confirmed.’
“Wizard! “This way!”
“Hmm… Is this really the talking mute? A normal mute would have been enough to remove this restraint, but they were just captured so quietly…”
Judging from the soldier’s actions, it seemed like the person who just came in was a wizard. But why does that voice sound so familiar?
After a while, the wizard appeared and the identity of the familiar voice was revealed.
“This is…”
“Ah, it’s been a while. “How many times have you seen it in the lab?”
A wizard wearing blue robes with slightly snake-like eyes. One of the wizards in Count Mandalius’ basement who actively participated in experiments.
‘He was doing research on mutes, so I thought he would move right away when he heard that a talking mute had been caught!’
Sure enough, it had only been about two hours since he was captured, but the magic tower, famous for its slowness, sent someone.
“How are you, Isaac? It’s a bit disappointing, isn’t it? “But we’ve been ‘showing everything we need to see and don’t want to see’ for almost a month now.”
“…It would be better not to say unnecessary things. “If you want to live.”
“Oh my, you’re so scared! “If anyone hears it, they’ll think I’m anxious to save you!”
A sharp conversation. Since they don’t have any good feelings for each other, there’s no way for hot words to come out of their mouths.
“Hey… wizard? “Do you know anything about the identity of this monster?”
“It’s a monster… There must have been some misunderstanding. This person is not a monster. Just a little bit of the magic tower’s experiment… In the process of cooperation, the appearance only changed a little. “We can relax the soldiers’ vigilance.”
The soldier was very embarrassed to hear that I was not a monster. It has to be that way. In the city of wizards, the wizard’s collaborators were treated like monsters and imprisoned.
“I’ll release it right now!”
“….no. for a moment.”
The snake-eyed wizard smiled faintly as he looked at me tied up.
“This man was a man who committed a serious crime against the Magic Tower and was forced into labor. “It would be good if you bundle them up like this and send them to the Reed Flow School’s Magic Tower.”
The professor wriggled in exasperation and shouted in anger towards the wizard!
“You bastards! Even after pampering me like that, you’re still saying it’s not enough! shit! “If it weren’t for this rope…!”
“The criminal has a lot of ill will toward the Magic Tower and will often lie, so don’t listen to him and transport him to the Magic Tower as quickly as possible.”
“yes! All right!”
Snake Eyes, who gave the order to the soldier, bent his knees and made eye contact with the professor who was struggling while tied to the rope.
“To come out of that hell alive. “I will admit that my strings are tough.”
“Tsk!”
A spit from the professor’s mouth hit the wizard’s face. The wizard’s face was cold as he wiped away the sticky saliva with his sleeve.
“You don’t even know the topic… Let’s watch it from the tower. “I will dissect you to find out how you survived Turan with that unstable body and how you maintain consciousness until now.”
“Iik! I’ll curse you! “I will curse you wizards until I die!!!”
The wizard left the evil professor behind, spoke a few words with the soldier, and then slowly walked out of the prison.
Even after the wizard left, the soldier who was acting as a guard looked at the professor who was acting evilly for a long time, sighed as if he understood something, and walked up to the professor, putting a piece of bread from the cupboard on a plate.
“I guess I understand roughly. So it was taken by your wizard? “The evil appearance is probably all because of the wizards.” The soldier
who
brought the plate in front of the tied up professor continued his conversation with a bitter expression.
“This Tobrunn may seem like a well-built city at first glance, but it is completely sick on the inside. Everything in this city is practically under the control of that magic tower. The lord is just a shell. Tobruun’s defense relies entirely on magic circles, and most economic activities are conducted through the waterways created by the magic tower. Even merchants can’t defy a wizard. “They control the superiors like that, so lower-level bastards like us have no choice but to follow if we don’t want to be expelled from the city.”
Before I knew it, the soldier was sitting in front of the prison, telling out everything he had said. Guard Gary felt it was his duty. This hideous man must have originally been an ordinary person. Most of the traces of people who started working as guards and then disappeared from the city for no reason were towards the Magic Tower. However, every time a report is posted, the order from above is to burn the report and ignore it. The higher-ups were intentionally aiding and abetting the dirty parts of the Magic Tower.
This city is rotten. And he was a guard in that rotten city and a father of two.
“I’m sorry. “I… don’t have the strength…”
Tap tap.
As he sat down and cried, someone gently patted his shoulder as if comforting him. okay. Still, someone understands how I feel.
“Sniff! Thank you. “Someday, I will expose this city’s corruption to the world… huh?”
wait for a sec. The only people around here are me and that hideous man. Then who…?
The guard, startled, turned his head and saw the professor there, holding a piece of bread in one hand and muttering, putting his hand on his shoulder.
“Thank you. “Isn’t that what living in the world is like?”
Sigh!
“Wow!”
“Shh. “Just sleep for a moment, guard full of conscience.”
The professor, who knocked the guard unconscious by strangling him through the bars, roughly swept away the broken rope at his feet and then pulled the iron bars hard with both hands.
It’s a profit! Ugh! Geek!
“Great! “Through this, you gain freedom of body and perfect identity!”
The professor stuffed the remaining bread into his mouth and gathered his belongings in a corner of the prison.
“Now my status is completely ‘criminal who escaped from prison.’ A criminal who can never be a mute, even though the wizard of the Magic Tower notarized that he was a ‘person’ who had cooperated with the Magic Tower for a long time!”
Yes. This was exactly what I had been aiming for since I was captured here.
‘If a talking mute is caught, a wizard or someone who researches mutes is bound to come. This is the city where the Reedflow School’s magic tower is located, so that wizard can only be a follower of the count who was studying me.’
And now that the guy has proven that ‘this person is not a monster,’ at least one proof of identity has been confirmed.
– Highway Nacho Man: Hey, when did you even think about it?
“No, now that I think about it, it seems like it would be difficult for me to live normally in this body, no matter how I get into the city. So I thought. ‘Is there anyone in the city who can prove my identity?’ As I was thinking about it, it suddenly occurred to me. Magic Tower bastards. If I show my face, they will drag me along. Since they didn’t know that I had become this strong anyway, I thought they would just bring me an old bathtub or something and drag me away. Then, if I escape in the middle of it – I will acquire a stable status as a ‘fugitive criminal.’
The guards will try to catch him as quickly as possible since they missed the ‘collaborator’ of the Magic Tower, who is so powerful in the city. In this way, my wanted notice was posted all over the city, and people became accustomed to the face of the ‘fugitive (human) professor’ rather than the ‘monster professor’. Um… if you do this-”
After packing up all the luggage, the guard carved the words [I am leaving to find life – Professor] on the desk with the dagger he had.
“My name will be on that wanted note. Then won’t people who know my name clear my name? “It’s easy to find me.”
When I giggled and roughly explained the current situation, the people in the chat room reacted as if they were dumbfounded.
– Soy Sauce Gay Bar: Everyone applauds.
– takealook: I can’t help but admit this.
– Jokass: I admit it too. That’s how much profit you get from opening a castle gate. yes. If you just go in, you’ll be treated as a monster wherever you go with that face, but if you’re rumored to be a fugitive, you’ll at least be able to operate in the shadows of the city.
“That’s what I was aiming for. “I was planning on playing in the shade in this city anyway.”
Squeak-
“Uh- Gary? It’s not time for your shift yet. Why did you come out- Ugh!”
“Oh, I’m not Gary, I’m a fugitive. I’m a fugitive~ Please remember that I’m a fugitive professor~”
The professor whispered kindly into the ears of the soldiers he encountered one by one as they came out of the prison, and then quietly hid into the street as the sun was setting.
***
