Chapter 184 – Fetch – 2

“Ah, we have to walk from here!”

It took us a whole day on the carriage before we finally reached the ruins Fetch mentioned. Fetch, looking overly excited, jumped out of the carriage while I staggered behind her.

‘…There are way too many horses.’

Was she trying to drain my energy on purpose or was it just her nature? Fetch chattered non-stop the whole way here without taking a single break.

When I asked why she talked so much, she said it was like a job hazard from wandering alone so she had to do something to avoid being bored. Even considering that, she was really annoyingly chatty.

After the carriage left, with just the two of us remaining, Fetch pointed forward and started leading the way.

‘I wonder if Lize is keeping up well.’

I felt a bit sorry for making her follow me for an entire day without a break, but she claimed it was nothing more than child’s play for her, so she would probably be fine.

Nix would likely catch up via teleportation far behind.

“This is it!”

Fetch stopped after almost two hours of walking through the mountains. I checked the spot she was pointing at.

The trees were dense enough that with the surrounding piles of rocks and weeds concealing it so perfectly, it was hard to notice that this was the entrance to the ruins, even knowing it beforehand.

Especially for me, having traversed this location in the game countless times, it felt like they had gone to great lengths to hide a place that could potentially be filled with treasure.

“Ah! Wait a moment! Let me disarm the traps first!”

After moving all the rocks, a thin arm blocked my way as she headed towards the entrance of the ruins first. Fetch, about to crouch down, turned around and started justifying herself with a sheepish expression.

“What if someone else takes it while I’m not here? That’s why.”

The trap set at the entrance was something Fetch had installed to prevent any would-be intruders.

In the game, there was no way she would proactively disarm them, so usually, the player had to navigate through the traps themselves, leading to some players getting caught and returning angrily to kill Fetch after getting trapped.

After humming a little tune while diligently disarming her traps for a while, Fetch finally finished the job and waved me in with a bright smile.

“Done! Let’s go in!”

As I moved forward, I managed to drop a small scroll while taking advantage of Fetch turning her back. It was a scroll enchanted with a magic circle that would send my current coordinates to Nix if I were separated from my body for a certain amount of time.

Now Nix would surely be able to find her way here. Lize was likely still watching from somewhere as well.

We entered the ruins. It felt similar to the game but welcomed me with a space that was much wider. True to its title of ruins rather than a dungeon, it felt distinctly constructed by human hands.

I glanced around, then muttered while giving Fetch a side-eye.

“Doesn’t this seem too empty for a two-million-gold ruin?”

“Ah, I already cleaned this place out long ago! I found it, so why would I leave it be? This is just a tiny part of it; there’s a lot more space inside!”

That was a lie. When the player gets trapped, it had originally been this desolate from the very start, and she was just blurting it out herself.

Well, if there really were treasures, she probably would have cleared them out long before.

We moved deeper inside. Fetch, probably unable to contain her excitement at the thought of conning someone, was even humming a little tune. She must have thought she had snagged a big catch.

After some time, Fetch pointed to the entrance of an inner room.

“We’re almost there! Do you see that door? That’s it!”

Beyond the entrance, large treasure chests lined up, suitable enough for two people of my height to stand side by side.

Each chest was lavishly decorated in gold leaf and adorned with exquisite jewels.

“That’s the place I couldn’t explore! Do you see those chests? They look like they could be filled with something amazing!”

“Really? They look pretty ordinary to me, and there must be a reason you left them untouched?”

“There is, but um… it’s hard to explain with words, so it’s better if you see for yourself. Let’s check it out!”

Was she trying to slyly lure me into the room while dodging the explanation?

Fetch led the way, stepping into the entrance. I followed her in. She pointed at a chest placed a bit away from where she was holding her ground at the entrance.

“I’ll tell you the reason now. Come closer and take a look.”

Seeing Fetch leading me inside while she herself was facing the entrance, I couldn’t help but smile inwardly. It was clear she was quite experienced at this sneaky maneuver.

I played along. As I approached the chest, Fetch started rambling on about some unnecessary information. Pretending to focus on the info, I kept my eye on Fetch.

While she droned on, she gradually shifted her feet towards the door. It was so slight that unless I was paying full attention, I wouldn’t notice at all.

In the moment I concentrated on the chest, she was planning to slip away and lock the door on me. I quietly waited for Fetch to show her true colors.

“…So, this is a trap. Do you see this mark? Compare it to the chest next to it.”

The opportunity came quickly. Upon hearing Fetch’s words, which clearly aimed to divert my attention, I slowly turned my head in the direction she was pointing.

Just as expected, as soon as I looked away, I heard the sound of her sprinting away in the distance.

I glanced at the entrance. Just after the pink twin tails disappeared outside, clang! a steel bar came down, blocking the door.

“Hahaha!”

Fetch laughed triumphantly in front of the steel bars. I approached the bars, struggling to hold back my laughter.

“What the heck is happening?”

“What do you think? You fell for my trick! You’re finished now!”

Now that Fetch had revealed her true self, she didn’t even bother using honorifics anymore. There was no need for manners towards a freshly snagged prey.

“This trap is made just for idiots like you. I wonder if you’re going to like it. Chasing after money without looking at what’s around—sounds just like you, doesn’t it? Don’t you think?”

‘She talks just like in the game.’

I couldn’t help but scoff at the mention of ‘not wanting’. Fetch’s expression turned even more sinister at the sight of my laughter.

“Ha, you’re laughing? Do you even know what position you’re in right now?”

“My position? What’s it to you?”

Fetch seemed visibly annoyed by my nonchalance despite having fallen into her trap. She thinned her lips for a moment and snickered.

“Do you think you can get out of here? No one has ever come out of that room! You will meet the same fate!”

“Hearing that makes it even less worrisome. If no one has before, it just means I’ll be the first. Have you never watched a novel?”

And here, I was planning to set that precedent.

It seemed like Fetch thought my words were nothing more than bravado, as she clutched her stomach and laughed heartily. After laughing for a long time, she wiped her tears with her finger.

“Didn’t anyone ever say that before? But there was someone who said that. And they ended up starving to death here. Later, they begged me to let them out, but I never did. You’ll end up the same way.”

“We’ll see. Probably not.”

“Think as you like! You’re destined to die anyway, so why not let your mind wander? Ah, but don’t worry too much! If I come back later and you’re dead, I’ll take off all your clothes and sell them!”

As she waved goodbye to me, I was left alone in the room surrounded by the fancy treasure chests.

There were exactly 13 chests placed here. Six along the walls on both sides of the entrance, and one large, ornate chest on the wall directly opposite to the entrance.

Each treasure chest was so extravagantly decorated that it seemed as though they were filled to the brim with treasure—assuming they weren’t mimics.

‘I don’t like this guy! What kind of reaction is that?’

As Fetch left the ruins, she was inwardly cursing the man she had trapped. With how he reacted, he should have been crying and begging, yet he was laughing at her?

As a result, she had missed out on delivering her prepared lines. It was an annoying turn of events. She had planned to make a game out of choosing between the treasure chests, knowing that one of them was a mimic.

The previous woman who had gotten trapped had realized she was tricked and had cried while begging to be let out. That had been thrilling.

Well, she had ended up getting eaten by a mimic and died, though.

‘I wonder how many more I’ll have to let in?’

It was true that even Fetch hadn’t fully explored these ruins.

Among the chests, there were some mimics, and she had no idea which of the chests held the actual treasures. She didn’t want to inadvertently open a wrong chest and end up being eaten.

So she brought people here, locking them up to find the real chest.

If the guy currently trapped succeeded, she could wait for him to starve to death, then take the treasure and belongings. If he failed, she could simply repeat what she’d done before and bring someone else in.

This guy was the sixth.

Usually, she would lure them in with talk, but she had never expected someone to buy the map right off the bat. Spending a million gold on a mere scrap of paper, clearly, he wasn’t in his right mind.

‘Well, he has enough brains to know the difference between life and death, right? He can’t be that stupid.’

Blood had been splattered in front of the chest where people had been devoured, and she intentionally left some stains to prevent another unfortunate incident with the same chest.

‘Well, since I’ve made quite a bit of money, maybe I’ll let one mistake slide.’

Reflecting on the million gold filling her pouch, Fetch smiled in satisfaction. Having that much meant she could enjoy a few months of lavish living. It seemed like it was time to indulge a bit.

As she hummed a little tune while preparing to exit the ruins, suddenly—

“We definitely came in as two people, so why is only one coming out? That’s quite strange.”

Startled, she froze in her tracks at the voice coming from the ruins’ entrance. Someone was blocking the way. With a familiar silhouette and a woman’s voice she had heard before.

“You are….”

She recognized that woman.

Blue hair and blue eyes. Dressed neatly in a white sleeveless top and dolphin shorts that left no room left uncovered, her voluptuous figure was unmistakable.

She was the woman who had been next to the black-haired man she had trapped.

Fetch looked around. The shorter one was nowhere to be seen. She must have either left or was hiding somewhere, one or the other.

“How did you get here?”

Trying to gauge the situation, she started with a respectful tone. It was crucial to assess how much the woman knew.

If she just came along looking for her man without a clue, she could easily trick her into going away. If not… she might have to kill her.

“How could I not come looking for you? I came to catch you.”

“…Huh?”

The blue-haired woman smiled slyly.

“You’re saying you knew everything, you con artist. You’ve trapped my man inside there.”

“…….”

There was no need to pretend anymore if she went so far as to say that. Fetch’s expression darkened.

She must have been warned before coming here or something. Was that the reason she had been so cocky even after getting trapped? Did she know the woman would come to rescue her?

‘Oh, then it’s simple.’

Fetch smiled ominously.

If she was trusting that woman, she could kill her, cut off her head, and throw it away. Then that man would realize his faith was shattered, filling his face with despair like everyone else.

In addition, if she was going to escape, she had to deal with that woman anyway, making it a win-win situation.

Placing her pouch on the ground, Fetch neatly folded her coat. Then she pulled out a weapon from her bag. It was the sword she usually used when she anticipated having to fight.

She couldn’t even remember who the original owner was. It was someone she had killed long ago.

“What? You’re trying to fight me? Don’t be a bother and just surrender, okay?”

The woman scoffed. Seeing the other drawing her weapon, it meant one of two things: Either she was a rookie who didn’t really understand her own strength, or someone who was incredibly strong from continuous battles.

But judging by that perfect body, Fetch doubted she was the latter.

How could she move adequately with such an absurdly large chest? To be nimble, you need to have a streamlined body.

“Witnesses must be eliminated. I wasn’t planning on letting you walk out of here either.”

“Oh, so you know? Then this should go quickly.”

The woman flicked her fingers, signaling her to come in. Fetch could tell she looked down on her as a merchant. It was clear as she wasn’t even drawing a weapon.

‘Just perfect.’

This was the welcome situation for Fetch. She knew all too well what it took to kill someone. And that woman would likely be the same.

With maximum speed, she kicked off the ground and charged in. The speed was so fast that the woman didn’t seem to react until the moment Fetch was going to stab her.

‘Goodbye, idiot!’

She aimed for the woman’s throat with her sword.

The blade pierced through the woman’s throat perfectly.

“…Huh?”

“I’m just checking, but do you really think this is the end?”

If the woman didn’t catch the blade bare-handed, that would have been the case.

But it was completely unexpected. Fetch froze in place. The woman clicked her tongue.

“Is this really what you thought could kill me? Pathetic.”

Fetch tried to pull the sword out. Since the woman was gripping it with her bare hands, if she pulled it out, the one to get injured would be the woman.

“Ugh… Ugh…!”

But the sword refused to budge.

She tried pulling, pushing, twisting, and even shifting sideways, but no matter what, the blade in the woman’s grip showed no signs of moving at all.

This meant there was an enormous gap between Fetch and the woman in terms of power. It was impossible to even make it budge, let alone draw it out.

‘Damn!’

She had thought she was dealing with just another pretty face using a noble’s privilege as a security guard, but was she instead up against a powerhouse? The thought flickered momentarily over her mind.

Watching her struggle desperately to pull out the sword, the woman spoke in a slightly mocking tone.

“Since you seem to still be confused, let me give you a piece of advice.”

“I don’t need—”

“The only thing that can stab me is a single object in this world.”

The woman moved her arm lightly. At that moment, Fetch’s body floated up into the air and flew backward for quite a distance. Before hitting the ground, Fetch quickly flipped upside down and bent her legs to land.

She immediately raised her head. Was she attacking right away?

“…!”

No, the woman stood still in place, gripping the sword Fetch had been using in both hands.

With her left hand on the blade and her right hand on the hilt, the woman exerted force.

Creeeak!

‘That crazy woman…!’

Fetch’s face turned pale in shock. The sword started to bend like it was made of taffy, and as the blade tip and hilt met, the center of the sword was folded in half—shrinking to exactly half its original length.

‘She just… bent a steel sword with her strength?’

The woman casually tossed the shortened sword away. Clang, and an eerie metallic sound echoed through the ruins. Fetch took a few steps back unknowingly, flabbergasted.

As the blue-haired woman threw away the steel sword as if it was a trivial toy, she still didn’t grasp any weapon.

“You say you’re going to kill me. What are you waiting for?”