The New Gate

Book 20: Chapter 1 (7)

“I don’t see any sign of it being activated.”

Was it because there was no target for the effect to be activated, or was the revival skill itself disabled? There was no sense of activation.

Martial arts, magic, and divination. They all had an indescribable feeling for the pre-activation stage. This time, however, there was none of that. Even if it were to be activated as it was, he knew that nothing would happen.

Perhaps the elixir of life was the same, and in this world, neither item-based revival nor skill-based revival was possible.

“Hey, what were you trying to do just now?”

“I tried to stop it before it was activated, but there was no response. I think the Revive skill can probably no longer be activated.”

Shin decided to have Sety try it later. She was the only one of the support characters who could use the skill Revive, having been trained as a perfect rearguard.

“That’s something that researchers can’t hear.”

There were many skills that were said to have been lost, and some researchers were working hard to restore them. Wilhelm looked at Shin, who was trying to use the skill easily, with a shocked look on his face.

“This used to be the norm. I wonder why it’s no longer usable.”

“I don’t know, man. I could use it if I could, but it would be a pain in the ass.”

Shin was simply posing a question, but Wilhelm seemed to think in the wrong way. Shin, too, can’t help but feel that way because he can think of so many ways to misuse it.

“Well, this is normal, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. Once you die, that’s it.”

Presumably, asking Hibineko and the others or Sety would only confirm that they were just as unusable as Milt said.

Shin, however, did not feel too discouraged by this.

For him, this world is already the same as reality. What Wilhelm said, “Once you die, that’s it.” was a matter of course.

Even in the Death Game before he came to this world, a person could only die once.

Eleven said that this world was influenced by Shin’s world, but not the game itself. No matter how much one died, they would come back to life – there was probably no such law here.

“What are Mr. Shin and Wil doing in a corner like that?”

As Rashia approached, Shin signaled to Wilhelm and ended the conversation.

“I was just asking about Wraith Plains, it’s not really something you talk about in front of children.”

After that, they spent some time with the children, who said they hadn’t had enough fun yet.

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After lunch, more than half of the children fell asleep, probably because they were tired from playing.

Today seemed to be a free rest day, since neither Rashia nor Thoria had stopped them, and the children seemed to have played to their limits. Comparatively, older children were spending the day on their own. 

“Thank you for spending time with the kids.”

“No, it’s not a big deal.”

Shin smiled at Rashia, who seemed to be very grateful, and got up from his seat.

“Are you going right away?”

“We’re planning to leave after getting the documents at the guild. Even if it gets dark on the way, it won’t be a problem for us.”

“I see. It’s probably pointless to worry about someone like you, but still, anything can happen in a dungeon, so be careful.”

“Ah, thanks for the reminder.”

𑁋

Shin and the others left the orphanage and headed for the Adventurers’ Guild.

On the way there, he checked with Sety about revival magic, but she said it was still not working. Schnee was also seriously considering why she had not thought of it. 

Before they could come to a conclusion, they arrived at the guild. At the reception desk, Celica welcomed them, saying that she had been told about them, and the group was led to the back of the guild.

When Shin saw the person waiting for him there, his face tightened.

“What are you doing here?”

“I just brought some documents. I guess I do things like this every once in a while.”

Averting his gaze from the smiling woman, Shin turned his attention to Barlux. In response, Barlux shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. Shin thought that the guild had sent a report to the royal castle, but it turned out not to be the case.

“Anyway, since it’s our reunion, wouldn’t it be okay to look a little more happy?”

“I’m very happy to meet you, Lady Rionne. It’s an honor to be able to meet you in person.”

“You sound like you’re trying to make fun of me when you say that.”

Shin was not serious for sure. He was just thinking that he had read this kind of line in a manga. They exchange words like this because he knew she won’t be offended by such a thing. 

“There’s only Barlux in this place besides us. No need to worry about the language.”

“I can hear that, sir?”

In response to Shin, Barlux sighed with his hand on his forehead.

“Well, given my position, I can’t just agree to that.”

Rionne said that he often came to the castle, so she must be familiar with Barlux. 

“Anyway, you knew I was here. I guess you had been keeping watch at the gate the whole time.”

“I would never do such a thing. I came here today on a hunch.”

“You’re working hard, Intuitive skill.”

Shin said so to himself, but he reminded himself that Rionne was no longer at the level of good intuition.

“Let’s put that aside for the moment, can you show me the documents?”

“I thought it would be easier if we studied them together. We want to hear from you too.”

It seemed that the two of them went out of their way to wait for Shin and the others to arrive.

Shin thanked Barlux and turned to Rionne.

“Please explain.”

“Oh, aren’t you a curt one? Well it can’t be helped.”

Rionne took out a scroll from her bag which might have been a kind of item box, as the scroll was obviously longer than the width of the bag.

On the scroll was a map of Wraith Plains and the surrounding area. Unlike the rough and sketchy maps that were generally available, the map detailed the terrain of the land and the distribution of roads. And the most important part, the inside of the area sealed with items, was also drawn.

“This frame indicates the part that is currently sealed off. Also, from the documents left at the royal castle, it is estimated that the entrance to the dungeon is within this range. Considering that knights and adventurers moving around in the Skullface’s case, it wouldn’t be surprising if it was already discovered if it was outside the restricted area. So, unless it’s buried, I’m pretty sure it’s somewhere in here.”

Rionne took out a translucent cloth and lay it over a portion of the area inside the restricted area. According to the scale, the area to be searched would be approximately 10 Kemel from north to south and 7 Kemel from east to west.

“It would have been faster if we knew the exact location, but we haven’t been able to do a detailed survey. I have also added information from the knights who have been to Wraith Plains in this case. If the entrance was in the surrounding forest, it would have caught someone’s eye,” Rionne continued.

Although adventurers had been mobilized to thwart Skullface, the main force comprised knights from various countries. They kept in touch with each other to see if any areas were different from the rest of the area or if there were any peculiar individuals. 

Rionne also said there was no doubt that there was a dungeon, so there should be no other entrances than Wraith Plains and its surroundings. 

“I appreciate this info. In that case, we’ll be heading there right away.”

“You’re leaving right now?”

“If we leave now, we will arrive at night. Given the current situation, that would be more convenient.”

Skullface also became active at night.

Shin wanted to investigate the dungeon at night first, because there are dungeons that have a certain time of day when they appear. 

“I wanted to talk a little more, but I can’t ask anything unreasonable in this situation. Just don’t be reckless.”

“We haven’t found the entrance yet, you know? Should I tell the investigation results to the people on site?”

Having come here, he thought that Rionne would say she would go with him, but there was no sign of that. Shin felt relieved and asked her about the means of transmitting information.

“There are bases set up in each area that also serve as liaison offices. If you report the results there, we will receive them the same day. I will inform the knights on site that a party led by an A-rank adventurer will assist in the investigation.”

Even if Shin was not a knight, an A-rank adventurer carried a different weight when it came to statements.

However, since many adventurers were mobilized this time, he would be called “Shin the Slashing Hammer” so he would not be mistaken for other adventurers with the same name.

Did Rionne know his nickname as well? …Shin sighed; it seemed that he could no longer escape this nickname.

“Okay then, I’ve made the preparations, so let’s leave immediately.”

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