I Became a Veteran Who Has to Stir Up Trouble to Survive - Chapter 85

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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[085] The Reincarnator’s Hideout
As twilight descended upon the land, the carriage bearing the ring departed through the city gate and began its journey along the dirt road.
To avoid detection while tailing them, we had to maintain a careful distance, but the trees scattered throughout the path obscured our view, making pursuit far from simple.
Yet Doran’s party possessed a trump card.
“Wait—the carriage just turned right.”
“…Are you certain?”
“Yes, the sound of the wheels changed.”
Karen spoke while pulling her pointed hat low over her face.
‘I noticed it even when eavesdropping on conversations at the tavern before, but no matter how I look at it, that’s not human hearing….’
Radi murmured softly to herself.
“They departed just before sunset, and it feels like they’re deliberately choosing paths that are difficult to follow.”
“Do you think they noticed we’re tailing them?”
“I doubt it. If they had, there would’ve been some reaction.”
The constant pace of their movement suggested they hadn’t detected our presence.
‘That means our quarry might be quite cautious by nature.’
In the midst of our pursuit, the carriage ahead came to a halt before a canyon.
We waited behind the rocks until the carriage turned back toward Ludus Magna, then proceeded forward to discover….
“A mansion…?”
Beneath the cliff, a colossal mansion lay concealed.
A hideout surrounded by towering cliffs and boulders—a place we would have passed by without a second glance had we not followed the carriage.
Malton furrowed his brow and spoke thoughtfully.
“Not within the city walls, but a mansion in such a desolate place? It’s the perfect hideout for bandits.”
“Exactly… it’s precisely the sort of place the Undead would favor.”
“…Is this the sort of residence you prefer, Doran?”
“Well, if I’m being honest, I found the mansion I saw in that Distorted Space last time more….”
Wait, what am I even saying?
“…Let’s focus on the operation. We can’t afford to be discovered, so move with caution.”
Doran’s party advanced with bated breath.
Soon we reached a heavy iron gate, but Doran did not rush inside.
‘It’s common sense that the main entrance in a place like this is a trap.’
From a distance, I could make out gears and holes cunningly hidden between the bars.
The moment the gate opens, arrows are designed to fire.
“There must be an alternate passage somewhere nearby. Let’s search carefully.”
“There are footprints leading this way, Doran.”
Following the tracks imprinted nearby, the path abruptly ended before a massive boulder.
Which meant a secret passage was hidden somewhere in this vicinity.
Upon discovering a lever concealed within the boulder’s crevice and pulling it, a grinding sound echoed—Kugugung—as a stone door swung open, revealing a cunningly camouflaged cave.
Doran’s party ignited their lanterns and ventured deeper into the corridor, which bore unmistakable signs of human craftsmanship.
Radi’s nose twitched as she spoke in hushed tones.
“The scent of humans permeates this entire passage. It seems to be quite an old space… but is this really the hideout of the Undead?”
“Well…”
This alone wasn’t enough to be certain.
The debris piled before that corridor showed no real difference from ordinary traces of habitation….
‘Wait… debris?’
“Everyone, stop!”
Doran, who had been leading the way, called out softly, and everyone froze in place.
Doran carefully manipulated the lantern’s reflector to illuminate the pile of garbage.
Tattered clothing, broken tools, shattered toys—mundane refuse of everyday life.
Yet among it all, Doran discovered a single object that didn’t belong.
A soiled, weathered doll.
A wind-up automaton shaped like a monkey, holding cymbals in both hands.
The design wasn’t particularly rare, but the problem was that the doll emanated an uncanny aura.
‘That’s definitely… one of the hidden pieces obtainable only as a specific quest reward…?’
As I gazed intently at the doll, a notification appeared in the log window.
Ding—!
[Automaton Doll of Claire the Phantom Seamstress]
｢A wind-up monkey automaton inhabited by the soul of a blind girl!｣
｢When a living creature enters its detection radius, it strikes its cymbals to sound an alarm!｣
Radi whispered in bewilderment.
“Isn’t it just an ordinary doll?”
“No, it’s a detection-type magical artifact. When someone approaches, it strikes the cymbals in its hands to alert of intruders.”
“This is a dead end with no way around… should we snipe it with a crossbow?”
“No, forcing our way through is too risky.”
If the opponent also had a status window, a notification might reach them the moment the doll was destroyed.
“This artifact responds sensitively to sound, but it can’t detect visual elements. And there’s one more critical weakness….”
Doran began walking while whistling, and everyone suddenly looked at him in shock.
He had just told them to be quiet, and now he was openly making a commotion.
Yet the doll merely stared blankly and didn’t sound any alarm.
After safely passing through the danger zone, Doran spoke calmly.
“That doll is inhabited by the soul of a five-year-old child. The spirit is prone to loneliness and enjoys play, so it won’t harm you if you sing any song to it.”
“Hmm… it’s eerie yet somehow a bit pitiful.”
“More importantly, the presence of a detection artifact here means we should be prepared for more traps like this ahead. Stay alert.”
The method I just used was something I discovered through trial and error in the past.
It’s highly likely that those who set this trap don’t even know such a vulnerability exists.
No one has delved as deeply into Belheim as I did when I was a ranker.
And….
‘To obtain that doll as a quest reward, you’d need to be at least level 60….’
The opponent is quite strong and likely knows Belheim well enough to possess rare artifacts.
The probability that they’re a Reincarnator has definitely increased.
As Doran’s party ventured deeper into the corridor, they encountered a different kind of obstacle this time.
Three pathways stretched equally in all directions.
Radi hummed thoughtfully as she mused aloud.
“Hmm… it’s impossible to discern the correct path by scent alone. Do you see any magical traces, Karen?”
“Nothing… they’re all identical.”
“There are no footprints here either.”
The three of them turned their gazes toward Doran.
But Doran was absorbed in studying the graffiti scrawled across one wall.
At first glance, it appeared to be nothing more than a meaningless sequence of characters, yet…
─Come through the second corridor.─
There, written in a familiar
language from Earth
was the message.
‘This confirms it—this is definitely a Reincarnators’ hideout.’
So I was finally going to meet another Reincarnator face-to-face.
Doran flipped a coin as if to determine the answer, then led the group down the central corridor.
At the end of the passage, a narrow staircase appeared, and as they climbed, the interior of a breathtakingly silent mansion revealed itself.
The corridor was deathly quiet and shrouded in darkness, and the absence of any human presence created a chilling atmosphere.
‘The scale is far larger than what I saw from outside.’
No such structure existed in my memories—this was almost certainly a fortress constructed by the Reincarnators to evade the gaze of this world’s inhabitants.
“…Follow carefully. If you discover anything, signal immediately.”
Doran dimmed the lantern’s light as much as possible, then proceeded slowly along the corridor.
Numerous rooms lined both sides of the hallway.
Doran moved silently and stopped before the first door. Peering through the gap, I could make out shelves densely packed in the darkness and cargo stacked upon them.
‘Just a simple warehouse?’
When I cracked open the second door, a pungent chemical stench wafted out sharply.
Radi furrowed her brow.
“…That’s the smell of poison compounds. It doesn’t seem like it was made just once or twice.”
Glass flasks and various materials lay scattered haphazardly across the table.
‘Intermediate-tier alchemy materials… I used to craft these frequently back in the day.’
It was knowledge widely circulated in gaming communities, and served as a decent means of earning money.
Though I had long since moved past it, newcomers to Belheim typically went through this phase at least once to secure funds.
“Wait, Doran, come here.”
Following Karen’s call, I entered a room where traces of multiple people discussing strategy remained intact.
A map of Belheim was pinned to the wall, and dozens of locations were densely marked upon it.
Doran paused for a moment, scanning the map.
Before the seemingly random markings, Doran immediately recognized their nature.
‘These are the locations of Belheim’s major hidden pieces…!’
Dungeon entrances throughout the region, Hidden Quest trigger zones, and even critical areas connected to the Great Calamity—all were marked with precision.
‘…They have a remarkably deep understanding of Belheim. There are even some details that ordinary players wouldn’t know.’
Judging by the ledgers scattered beside the table, it appeared they had traded this information with someone in exchange for money.
Malton lifted the lantern, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
“There’s a memo beside the map… but it’s written in an unfamiliar language I can’t decipher. Doran, do you happen to know what it says?”
The moment I glimpsed the contents of the memo, a chill ran down my spine.
It wasn’t merely because the text was from Earth.
The First Great Calamity—the catastrophic flood of the Medaolinum Dungeon—never occurred. Why?
The second great catastrophe’s origin point, Liberta is also perfectly fine.
Could it be that someone is actually preventing the disaster? This is the first time I’ve experienced an anomaly of this magnitude…
According to rumors, it was said to be the work of a winged undead.
The reincarnator definitely used a hidden piece to transform! Do you have any information about artifacts that allow transformation into undead?
As far as I know, there isn’t one. There’s no way it could be ‘that guy’…
Stop talking nonsense. How much time is left until the next catastrophe?
‘Other Reincarnators are gradually becoming aware of my existence…!’
As long as I couldn’t determine whether they were enemies or allies, the spread of information about me was undesirable.
Just as I was grasping the gravity of the situation, Karen gently tugged at my sleeve.
“Listen—I think I hear voices.”
“Wait a moment, Doran. And there’s some kind of acrid smell….”
At the dead end of the corridor lay one final door.
Through the gap beneath it, a faint glow and low, muttering voices drifted out.
“…all in.”
“Ugh, again? Show your hand.”
Peering quietly inside, I spotted two dark-haired men absorbed in a poker game, cigars dangling from their lips.
Before I burst into the room, I turned to Karen, who gripped her staff tightly.
“Miss Karen, don’t forget—we need to extract information, so we can’t kill them outright.”
“I understand.”
The moment I was about to kick down the door—
“H-hey, who’s there!!”
A heavily armored Giant Warrior emerged from deeper in the corridor.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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