The Stargazing Witch & The Dungeon Planet
Chapter 125: A Chance

Chapter 125: A Chance

Sigh.

My disappointment was high, but I was going to get over it since there were so many funner options for how this whole thing could’ve gone.

Fuck sake, but at least he left his body behind; I can do something with it.

I had to hold back my complaining, as there were some minor uses keeping him around for longer would have provided me, along with the fun of tormenting him later in a more impactful moment.

“What… are you planning…” He asked as my foot kept him pushed to the ground.

“A lot of things. I am planning to exterminate more vermin like your friend.” I didn’t get to properly tell the idiot I knew what he was all along. I kind of did by saying I knew he was going to betray me, but there were more ways I could’ve made a spectacle out of it.

Wow, I must've been bored.

Maybe it was the lack of Starlight because being alone in space for nearly a year was fine, but being here for a couple of weeks left me irritable. There was a possibility I would get over it in a few more weeks, but better yet, I could find a way out of this joint.

“But that isn’t important for right now. My goal right now is to leave this world; the question is whether to bring you along with it.”

“Why… why did you even come here..?” He asked, maybe because he believed he had no way out of this his bravery had increased. 

“Why? Well, I wanted to find this world’s dungeon core.” I answered truthfully.

“...” He stayed silent.

“You don’t believe me? Sigh. I was being honest, but I can do nothing if she doesn't believe me on that.” I shrugged, “Not like that matters. My goal is to find the dungeon core, and if I want to go back to the other side, I need to find the dungeon core.”

I pushed my weight on him more as I saw his hand move towards his waist. “Please don’t try anything; the mental position you were in a moment ago was much better for your safety.”

His arm froze, and I was glad he listened. I didn’t mind killing him, but I would really like one of them alive for my experiment, and I had always preferred the guard for the simple reason he wasn’t the Dominous Hood idiot.

“Now back to the topic from before. I would appreciate it if you stopped thinking about anything that a literal terrorist told you. I get you became bunk buddies for a few weeks, and let's ignore the fact that there was a chance he was going to kill you once this is done.” I quickly threw out the needed preamble first. “If you want a chance to live–” 

“A chance..?” He interrupted me again.

“Yes, a chance.” I loosened my foot. “Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying I will kill you. I just can’t guarantee your safety, as this world is one of danger, and I don’t know what we will face or what will happen to the world once everything is done.”

Once again I was being nearly saintly with how honest I was being. This world could collapse before we get out of it. I might be able to survive that, but he might not, and I didn’t have the ability to keep him alive through that scenario. Of course, we could have a completely different outcome, and we reach the portal without an issue.

“Yes, now if you listen to me, I have a proposal for you.” Thankfully he didn’t interrupt me again. “As long as you listen to me throughout the remaining time, I will try to ensure you can get out of this okay. More importantly, turn around.” I loosened my foot further, but it was still above him, so I could easily slam it down and break something if so needed. “See this crystal.” I turned the Adjustment Crystal around in front of his face. “I want you to use it. You may ask questions.”

“What… is it?” He stared at it confused; clearly it looked like a regular mana storage crystal, but the fact I was telling him to use it was clear enough to say it wasn’t normal.

“Perfect question, and keeping it simple. One point already. This crystal is my creation and based on the knowledge I got from the Nelatta people. The lizardfolk. If everything goes well, it should allow you to experience an adjustment to your Vocation, improving it.”

“If… everything goes well?” He asked, his eyes shaking.

“I mean, you aren’t going to die if it fails.” I shrugged. “But failure could result in some pain or other minor consequences, nothing you can’t recover from.” 

I had spent a long time thinking of the consequences of using this crystal. I needed to. If everything went well, I could use what I learned for something beneficial to myself. Though the risks I speculated that existed weren’t based on anything concrete, just my simple worries considering what I was working with was a ritual that was to modify a Vocation, and their whole stick was literally a person’s soul.

There were some other parts I was less sure about. Why and how, did these runes in this formation able to penetrate the soul? It was a question I had asked Cole-Ra-Cu but his answers were vague and simply spoke of how it was the blessing of the world. I didn’t immediately dismiss his claims, as I knew Existence was a thing that, while apparently everything, also did grant people Voication. This ritual could be some middle step, where work was required, but Existence or another entity like a dungeon attached their blessing to have it work. For the latter cause of a dungeon, I saw it happen to Tyell that way, and these Nelatta could still be considered creatures of the dungeon and so by default have that blessing. 

“How do I use it..?” 

“The same way you would absorb mana from a normal crystal like this.” 

I finally released my foot and gave him the crystal. I was really hoping he wouldn’t be like idiot-one and ruin something I was excited to do. 

He was focused on the crystal. I could see a mix of hunger and hesitation in his eyes. I was offering a way to become stronger, but what risk did it hold? He didn’t know, and neither did I, so it would be an interesting watch.

He began to absorb mana from the crystal, and nothing happened immediately, but after a few cycles, the runes on the crystal began to glow. 

The guard’s eyes didn’t even notice immediately, as he was too afraid to look away and break from his focus.

So the runes are flying out… That's good, but I still don’t know what part of the runes or formation does that.

Even though Cole-Ra-Cu had helped me learn the runes and formation, he did not know what every part of the runes and formation did. He understood some of it, but the adjustment and vocation ritual were nearly copied and pasted down the generations. They had tried to learn more to some success, but they were still far from the full scope.

“Argh!!!!”

Finally, something happened.

The guard screamed as runes penetrated through his skin. The stabbing part definitely looked more violent than what I saw in the ritual performed by the Nelatta, but the fact it was going through his body was a good step one. He then collapsed to the ground as the remaining runes pelted into him.

Espr, do you have any comments?

(“ I would like to say ‘no comment,’ but I am impressed you could it to at least work ”)

To at least work? So it still may not be performing its function correctly. 

(“ Even if it was perfect it would do no use for you ”)

Can’t you just stick with the praise or reasonable criticism? I would take the latter if it can help me improve.

(“ As stated, I am impressed you managed to get it to work. I’m not sure how you did it, but your skills in rune-making and formation are better than expected. I am not sure if this is natural talent, skills I didn't know you had, or your connection to… ”)

Connection to?

(“ Perhaps your connection to me—that could be a possibility ”)

I stayed unmoved as the man wiggled on the ground; the process was taking much longer than what the Nelatta ritual took.

After a while longer, an unneeded guest appeared. 

“Ceella!” Lu shouted. 

“Don’t worry, he is alive.” I pointed to the guard on the ground. 

“What about the other?!” She screamed as he saw the idiot's body near the wall. 

“Oh yeah, he's definitely dead.”

“Why?!” 

“He simply didn’t want to live anymore, but he also wanted to bring as much down with him along the way.” I shrugged as I watched the guard writhe around on the ground in pain. 

Lu wasn’t the only one who wanted to show up unannounced. 

Al-Roo jumped down from across the city. “What happened?”

“As you might’ve expected, they were ready to harm your people.” I stopped and pointed at the dead guy. “Well, he was.”

“So you saved my people. From your people.” He said it without any flair.

Wow, going for it now.

Lu turned to me confused.

“I wouldn’t call them my people.” I activated my helmet, and it retracted, and for the first time, this world saw my face.

A face that was nearly similar when looking at the stance of different species, though there were clear differences with the small horns emerging from the head and my noticeable chin-to-neck scar.

“Cella..?” Lu asked.

“Yes, Lu?”

“What are you..?” She asked, not knowing whether to be afraid or not.