Chapter 126 – Star Fall (9)

‘What? What’s happening right now?’

For the first time in his life, Palcatus was experiencing a situation that he ’could not understand.

The Chavalier that he was controlling was surely flying high enough to see beyond the castle walls. But in an instant, his father’s body started to swell up, and in less than a blink of an eye, the crimson ball of muscle appeared right in front of his face…

Phwoommmm!

When he regained his senses, his consciousness was back in his own body.

‘It died? The higher entity that I selected specifically for outer activities—in one attack?’

Power. The overwhelming power he also dreamed of gaining one day. That shoulder tackle that was closer to primitive stood at the exact opposite point of his opinion on the power of knowledge.

‘I want it.’

Drool pooled in Palcatus’s mouth. Inside the symbiont that Mother created for him, he couldn’t feel hunger or thirst, but right now, he was currently feeling a burning thirst inside of him.

‘I want to know. I-I want to learn that too! How could Father, who had a body as weak as mine, gain such a perfect body?’

His insight on the battlefield. The sharp look in his eye. Father didn’t completely abandon his intellect. Father merely succeeded in finding a new way, a different answer. And one that he could have never expected at that! Like he had always done!

As his affection for his father, which had been fading, suddenly sprang back up to the heavens, reigniting Palcatus’s enthusiasm.

‘From the loss at Turan, I learned about battle using wisdom and strategy. In exchange for losing a precious puppet in Tobrune, I learned how to fight against magic! Failure is bitter, but if there was something to lose from that failure, then it is as valuable as success! If only I could figure out the mystery regarding Father’s body…!’

He was panting from the excitement. Palcatus hastily concentrated his consciousness. There was definitely going to be an impact on his own body if he didn’t use the transmitter bug, but he didn’t want to lose this opportunity. If I could also gain a body like that, if I could also run through the plains with my sister and brother…!

‘One with good eyes. Yes, there was one like that!’

When he closed his eyes, his consciousness flew from the center of the northern region to Pelas.

‘Battle! It’s a great opportunity! He will be moving his body in the most intricate way possible! I’ll make sure to save every muscular movement, up to the bones, all into my head!’

Strengthening his determination internally, Palcatus quickly entered one of the mutes before any more time pass—

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Powww!

“Gaghhhh!”

—ed but then was flung back out. What he was able to see for the brief moment his eyes were open was the loud sound of collisions and his father’s large fist covered in all sorts of mute blood.

“I-It’s okay! It has no effect on my body! It hurt a little, but I was able to experience just how strong Father’s punch is! I gained valuable information. I’ll keep on doing this, keep on…!”

He concentrated his mind once more. Guys that were fighting up close were too dangerous, so one attacked from further away. This distance should…

“Kagkkkkk!”

Inside the mute’s mouth, which’d been spitting out some sharp, bone-like spear, a pillar of what was supposedly a house shoved itself in.

“O-one more time!”

Crunchhhh!

“Gahhh! Damn it! Again!”

Crack!

“Hagh! Cough!”

Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!

“I-I’ll learn it no matter…”

Crunchh, schltttt!

“…”

He exploded, was broken in half, twisted, and ripped apart alive. Father was only going after high-ranked mutes that were able to handle his transmission and tearing them apart.

His entire body throbbed, but there was something that was left clearer in Palcatus’s mind than the pain.

‘The way you’re just rolling your eyes around without attacking, it’s you, isn’t it? Son. I appreciate that you’re trying to learn… But Daddy doesn’t have time today. So let’s just learn this one thing today, alright?’

‘N-no, don’t. Stop it! Gaghhhhhhh!’

Eyes. Those eyes that were able to look into him past the eyes of the mute he entered. It was terrifying. Every time he tried to enter another mute’s consciousness, he was reminded of those black irises that made it feel like his body in the northern mountains was being looked down upon.

“T-this isn’t going to work. For now, let’s just retreat the Chamber Maid and others I’ve planted there. Yeah! Priorities! I have to keep my priorities straight! Information is nice, but retrieving physical resources is important as well!”

If it had been his normal self, he would have prioritized the information regarding that power above anything else, but after experiencing six deaths in all sorts of gruesome ways, Palcatus found himself making excuses in that way.

‘Ten, eleven, twelve. Good. It doesn’t look like the Lord’s castle was attacked.’

Confirming that all of the mutes he positioned to guard the Chamber Maid were all still there, Palcatus entered one of their bodies.

Unlike the streets of Pelas he had been on earlier, the Chamber Maid’s room was silent.

But that silence did not come from peace, but from the corpses on the ground.

“Oww, my back. Professor that friend, didn’t he say that the maid thing had close to no combat ability? He said that, knowing those thick vines that it swung around?”

“Those vines were unbelievably tough considering they looked just like plants. But… looking at that, I see why he considered this maid weak.”

At the highest room of the spire, the room was covered in crimson blood from the vines that had been cut off, and on top of those tattered vines was a headless body.

The werewolf and dark mage that carried the head of the woman with vines instead of hair were looking out of the window to look at Professor’s battle.

“He must have been going a little easy on me when we fought.”

“A little? Are you not overrating yourself right there? You think that you will be able to fight against that monster with a little more effort?”

“Do humans really have to trip over every single phrase like that?”

From their leisurely attitude, Palcatus could tell that this side had also been finished long ago.

’…A diversion! It was all planned to begin with. Father had never abandoned his wisdom and was drunk on his strength! He merely succeeded in imbuing power into the body with his great intelligence! Since when did he realize? Was that savage battle a method to make me act irrationally? Did he predict I would be here? But how, exactly how…!’

Brrrrrg—

“Hm? Dark mage. I think one woke up.”

“Do not speak nonsense, Borka. I have pulled out all of their souls and put them in my jar, they could not have… huh? It really did.”

The werewolf and old man that had been standing at the window approached the mute Palcatus’s consciousness and entered. Only then did Palcatus realize that he was looking down on them.

‘Why am I floating in the air? Mage? But I didn’t feel any mana from them!’

“How odd. Another soul is inside of the body. Hey you. You use an interesting trick, I see.”

‘He’s looking through me. All of these people are monsters! Pelas is done for. Let’s get out of here. I shouldn’t waste energy by dying…?’

Thmpp!

Something was wrong. He tried again, but he wasn’t able to return to his own body.

“H-how… What did you do to me?”

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“It’s talking.”

“It is speaking! How interesting!”

Palcatus twisted and turned his body. There was no restriction to his movement, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t escape the restraints that held him up in the air.

“I was told that talking mutes have unique abilities, but this is beyond my expectations. The power to enter others’ minds…”

“Can you capture it? A talking mute would look nice on our record. We may be able to trade it with the church in exchange for information.”

The werewolf commented on Palcatus like he was some sort of valuable loot or decoration. Looking at him, the dark mage pushed his fist towards the werewolf’s side.

“That again! I said not to worry! Our leader, who currently looks like an ogre with a goblin’s head, will figure it out for us. And I have already captured it. Moving just the soul in front of a Soulbinder. That is basically begging me to capture it.”

Whshhhh!

Palcatus, who had been struggling like a fly stuck in a web, suddenly felt a freezing breath touch the back of his neck.

A little girl in a white dress was floating in the air. The girl, who was holding a dozen strings connected to other mutes like him, smiled cutely and opened her mouth towards the old man.

“Huh? Give it to you? It is a soul you saw for the first time, and it looks good?”

Nod nod.

“My goodness, Nell… Do you not think you have eaten too much for the day?”

“Eat… Don’t tell me you’re going to do that again?”

Looking at the werewolf unconsciously bristling his fur, Aldrich let out an exasperated laugh.

“Mmm… I apologize. It is not easy to make Nell give up on something she is intent on having. It is indeed better to capture the talking mute, but killing it will be worthwhile on its own, so do not worry too much. If we prove it through a truth spell, then they will most likely find your children for you.”

“Then I will be outside. I do not want to see that ever again.”

“You can wait downstairs. I will follow soon.”

So after the werewolf almost ran outside, the old man nodded toward the little girl. The girl gave him a smile as pure as sunshine.

The moment she placed her small hand on his shoulder, only one thought passed through Palcatus’s mind.

‘I’m going to die.’

The feeling of death he experienced directly through the six other mutes today then filled his thoughts. He’s dying. He’s going to die! Like his other brethren that died tragically—no, even more violently than that!

The closer the little girl came, the more his body slowly went rigid.

‘Move! Please move! Please!!!’

Schlaaaaar—

And just as the girl’s mouth stretched open to reveal her sharp fangs!

Pwhkk!

Crunch!

Just a little faster than the spirit girl’s teeth snapping down on the mute’s entire head, his right hand pierced through his own heart and burst it.

Thwoomp!

“Hagh! Hah! Hagh! Hagh!”

A familiar, stony environment. Familiar green fluid. It was his home back in the north. With shaking hands, Palcatus reached up and touched his head. It was still there. Just before his soul was devoured by that terrifying spirit, he managed to escape that body!

“Hah, hahah, I’m alive. I—mmph—liv…ed.”

Palcatus’s tears floated up the green liquid of his supportive mute like oil in water.

He no longer dared to go back into another mute in Pelas to check the situation or order them around.

[So let’s just learn this one thing today, alright?]

His father’s words echoed in his mind.

That day, Palcatus learned what fear was.

Ding—!

“Just ending soon?! This garbage system’s just doing whatever it wants to do now, huh? It isn’t even telling me how many minutes I have left anymore!”

[You passed 4 minutes, though. The duration increased because your physical body got stronger.]

“It’s a game! They’re supposed to tell me how it got better if the skill’s leveled up! Are they just telling me to figure it out on my own?!”

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– Speedwagon : The system’s accuracy depends on the person. For goldman sucks it told him only factual information throughout the entire playthrough, rabbit was similar to prof. Qianliu didn’t look at the system a single time.

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Kkkkkkrgggkkk!

Shredding up the last mute he assumed his son or something was in, Professor saw the blinking red light from the system and scurried out of Pelas at full speed. He did clean up about 70 percent of the Rank 3 and Rank 4 mutes while in bloodlust mode, but there were still quite a few mutes left. More than enough that he couldn’t handle them now that Blood Armor and Bloodlust were gone.

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– Nutriagena : Booooo. Beta behavior. A leader never shows their back, that’s a disgrace, a disgrace I say!

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“Disgrace, my ass! Honestly, I did my part if I did this much! I’m not running away just to save my own skin! Don’t you think so?”

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– Jokass : You did more than your part tbh.

– Guns_N_Blood : It’s been a while since I’ve felt this much action! That was the battle of a warrior, Gyosu Park!

– Highwaynachoman : MACHO! MUSCLE! MACHO! MUSCLE! POWER! POWER! AWESOME! AWESOME!

– takealook : what the f— did I just watch….

– Noru_is_druig : Ahh! That’s too much stimulation! D, Don’t show that to meeeee!

– Holli : Uh…. mmm… How…. intense…..

– Soygaybar : F—ing beast.

– Noru_is_druig : Maybe it’s because prof has a monster inside of him that a Type 3 mute took over his left arm?

– Speedwagon : That might be a possibility.

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That… was the reaction from Area 47 Chatroom(1), who were already somewhat accustomed to my crazy antics.

And…

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– D. Asset3315 : Notice – This is the Area Chatroom for ‘professor’ Gyosu Park. Please take in note that any severe criticism or spamming with lead to repercussions from the Dome Streamer Support Branch.

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– MadMark : That’s f—ing dope…. he’s jiz- rizzing me up to my limit!

– sheony : S, Strong man! So cool!

– Somebodyhellme : They said he isn’t married yet, right?

– LifeisDeath : Give up. He is not a man that you plebs can handle.

– Gauz : Ahh, madness. My old friend….. when did you leave me to another.

– Papuanewtype : I heard he wasn’t just any normal guy, but he’s actually bats— crazy….

– aiosye2222 : What is needed most in this apocalyptic world is not the Dome’s technology, nor the Raptor’s strength! It is the charisma to tear the enemy apart with bare hands! The craziest man out of the crazy! Gyosu Park! All hail the king!

– arms5275 : Hahahah. Everyone, don’t you think you all are overreacting a little bit? Who is that man? He has killed the massive Type 3 mutant Old Picture with just three people! Charged into battle with minimal equipment and singlehandedly defeated the ambitions of the Raptors! He is the Gyosu Park! In order to maintain that sharpness, he enjoys this game in Realistic Mode, a man just like a cold, sharp blade! That is who he is!

+ D.bioTeam : [Saved Stream]

+ D.bioTeam : [Saved Stream]

+ D.bioTeam : [Saved Stream]

+ D.bioTeam : [Saved Stream]

– CalloftheTax14 : All know the command that he speaks, that is to face one’s weakness in order to survive in this harsh and cruel world. Violence is at times the lesser evil, and in return, we must hastily continue the collection of firearms-

+ ‘CalloftheTax14’ has been kicked from the chatroom.

– Adagio : It’s that guy again.

– Andello : I am certain now after watching this stream. I wish to move near the BDSM headquarters, does anyone have the coordinates they announced?

– Whitesmith : I’ve sent you a message. We might be neighbors if we’re lucky ^^

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And this… was what the Area 47 Chatroom(2), where he separated all of his followers, looked like.

“I… think I might have officially set my character as a madman…”

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– takealook : Isn’t that what you wanted? After pulling off those shenanigans?

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“No, I didn’t really do that on…”

Tzzt—

[Heheheheh. Son, want to see a magic trick?]

[Shphwk! Ma-gic!]

[Don’t tell me, you’re… scared of Daddy?]

[And I’ll make you the main characterrrrrrr!]

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– takealook : If I needed to teach someone that doesn’t know our language what ‘crazy bastard’ meant, then I’m going to show them this video.

– Soygaybar : You’re a better teacher than Sullivan herself.

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“F**k.”

I couldn’t deny it. Even when I looked at it, the person in the video fit the dictionary definition of a Psycho Gang member of the Wastelands.