While Others Cultivate, I Use My Multiverse System

Chapter 139: The choice is yours

"The reason why we joined the fight with your people…" Uttering those words through his lips tightened by the pain, Sarate's expert threw me a questioning look. Given how he was supposed to attempt buying his life with the information I was seeking, it was quite obvious that he was already testing the waters with what topic might be of interest for me.

"Go on." 

Even though my position was as far from being ready to fight as one could be, I couldn't believe there was any need for me to worry. Despite using all kinds of means that I had at my disposal, I didn't use anywhere close to their maximum potential. With that in mind, even if the man below my feet was capable of ignoring all the pain from the pummeling he suffered so far, his might would still be dwarfed by my strength.

"We…" Cleary hesitating to speak up, the man looked around before finally uttering "We were ordered to follow you and make sure no harm would come your way. As for why we stayed at that camp… My people just failed to notice you leaving." 

For a moment, the face of the man darkened when the memory of his subordinates apparently failing their mission haunted his mind. But rather than focusing on this anecdotal part of his story, I looked closer into the fluctuations in his aura.

For others, discerning whether the man was lying or speaking honestly might pose a challenge. With the improvements to his psychique, even the special pharmaceutics aimed at putting one in a narcotic trance when they would be incapable of lying would be useless, as his body would likely expel the drug toxins before they could work.

But for me, just a single look at his emotions was enough to confirm that he was speaking from the bottom of his heart.

'What a sucker…' Not even trying to lie his way out of the predicament, he instantly revealed the truth. Even though it was exactly what I wanted, I couldn't help but feel disgusted by such a lack of wits. 

"That's interesting. And who's that person interested in keeping me alive?" 

Looking at the man with my eyes filled with irony, I asked the question. While I had a guess in my mind already, it would be an example of naive thinking if I were to assume that everything that I knew would round up into a perfect explanation for the situation.

"I'm not really sure who gave the order first… But I know who they are! I mean, not specifically…" 

As soon as the topic moved on to the discussion of the important details, fat drops of sweat started to appear on the man's forehead while his eyes broke the direct line of contact with mine, daring not to stare through the windows of my soul.

"I will make things easier for you, then. It was Sarate, wasn't it?" 

In my head, a plan was already sprouting. As long as my guess was correct, I could 'accidentally' slip a few words of commentary, be it by pretending to be annoyed or by during some kind of furious exclamation…

"Sarate? That big family? Boy, you sure are aiming high. But no, indirectly but still, I was hired by the branch of the government from the capital."

For the first time in a while, my guess managed to pull me into meadows. With my eyebrows rising, I almost forgot to check the aura of the man. Thankfully, just a quick glance was enough to see that there was no feeling of success or achievement in his soul, just relief as if a huge burden was released from his shoulders.

After all, he just gave away what should be his greatest secret and the highest price he could offer for his health. All the doubts and the thoughts of possible consequences of doing so were immediately washed away by the fact that his job was already done. Whether or not I would accept this price, was not within his means to decide at this point.

"Good." 

Even though my entire scheme aimed at Sarate was voided with a single denial, an idea suddenly struck me like a hammer. Who cared that this man wasn't sent by Martha like I initially expected? Who cared about the fact that he had no ties to the Sarate at all?

Thinking about it, no matter whether he was sent by Martha or not, in both cases she would fervently deny ever sending him on a mission that had any chances of being against the agenda of her family! With that in mind, it didn't matter who this man was sent by, as long as he had no traceable ties with my faction at all!

"I thought of a way for you to get away from this place in one piece. Are you interested in hearing it?"

Before the man could even answer, I pulled my phone up before quick-dialling Jeff. As I noticed, with the investments and actions finally starting to bear fruits and requiring far closer attention of my cult, my calls to the most important person out of the Boruta's cult backers turned far more frequent than I would ever estimate them to be. 

"Hey, Jeff, a quick question…" Before I could even finish my hurried greeting, older Baskar's voice interrupted me in an instant.

"Do you have any fucking idea what is happening as we speak?"

Only now did I hear the distant echoes of explosion and general devastation going on. Could that mean that not only the dungeon that I was interested in…

"Just a guess. Dungeons finally cracked open? This time, for real?" 

Instead of discussing my delicate plans with Jeff right now, I cut to the chase. Without my presence, he was most likely to be the main commander of everyone gathered in the cult's lands.

"It couldn't be any more real. The monsters are still kept at a distance from the city… But they are far more powerful than even our soldiers. Unless other factions keep third-grade experts or greater… This might not be fight humanity could win. And I dare not to imagine what's going on everywhere el… right, what's your situation?"

From how this usually stoic man went on a long rant, I could tell that the situation wasn't good. Looking down on the expert below my feet, I quickly replied.

"We managed to contain the rupture, you know, the appearances of monsters. We have some injured, but outside of some mercenaries sent after us, no one should be sustainably hurt."

Informing Jeff about my current situation wouldn't alleviate his problems in the town, but would at least free his mind from worrying about me. And just the fact that I managed to conquer the dungeon with a force of just several grade two and grade one experts assisting me, I couldn't really wrap my head around how the dungeon outbreak managed to turn into a problem that even got that sly old man scared.

Or could it be…? 

The southern dungeon where I was currently at, was regularly wiped by the several scouting parties that my faction sent. With the addition of the other groups like the one that Penne originally belonged to, it wasn't that far from having the monsters inside it destroyed almost on a daily basis. 

But the same couldn't be said about the other dungeons near the town. Knowing the nature of the behemoths like the two major neighbouring cities appeared to me, rather than constantly managing the dungeons within their perimeter, they were likely to just sent a scouting party once or twice before taking the area under their wings and blocking others from entering it. 

Managing a single business was already a huge matter, but managing a dungeon? If the local government was formed by the officials of the highest rank locally - just like it took place in my hometown - then it would be no wonder if the last time anyone visited their dungeons would be when the first scouting party came to report that it appeared to be a cave in an otherwise flat area!

"On our side, man, you really should see this…" The fact that Jeff's sentences were incoherent was the last piece I needed to understand how dire their situation was. 

"See what?"

Already standing up from the stone I was sitting at only to beckon at the expert below it to follow me, I asked.

"That girl of yours, ah, her excellency Ayda… If you wanted to appear like a hero of the old days back when we fought against the governor, then she… She is not the fake. She is an actual damned hero!"

Ending his surprising message with a giggle, Jeff's managed to baffle me with his behaviour. Never in my life did I expect to hear him excited like that. It was as if the long-dead seed of childhood fantasies reincarnated, taking over his soul!

"It's good to hear… But make sure to support her properly. If something were to happen to her…" 

Just the thought of Ayda getting hurt for the sake of my hometown managed to rile my emotions up. Almost losing myu focus, I stood in place, allowing the threat in my voice to be transmitted to the other side of the call.

"I get it. I'm not that stupid to let her get hurt. But still… It will be good if you could come back as soon as possible. Oh, they need me. I will call you once I will have a moment."

Ending the call as abruptly as he acted when he picked it up, Jeff managed to turn my entire mindset over again. From the expert's confession of coming from the government, through the current situation, it seemed that my streek of guessing the things around me correctly was definitely over.

And then, another idea came. 

Since I was to be defended, then the government had some kind of interest in keeping me alive. And with the given mismanagement of the dungeons, who had a chance of growing stronger the less they were cleared… 

"No… For now, I don't even want to think about it." 

Suddenly shaking my head, I forced those thoughts out of my mind. If I were to connect those dots right now, I would only be in for an even greater shock later on. That's why it was better to just act on what I knew and adjust my actions as more information would come my way.

"Nevermind. You, do you want to live or do you want to die?"

Hiding my phone in my pocket, I looked at the expert with yet another version of the strategy for my nearest action developing in my head as I spoke. 

"The choice is yours."