Chapter 73: Seer
Roman hadn’t tried to ask them why, because it was already a plain decision that they had made and they were already sticking to it. The way no one objected against it and no one brought even a little point of complaint made Roman quite amazed, but it still amounted to him understanding what this group meant.
It was proving to reveal that it wasn’t just about having to converse and talk around... It was a union that demands unity at any moment for any member.
Roman, who was still an F-ranker, was no different. He was one of them, and he had happened to discover that he was worth every single thing that the rest were worth as well.
He had quickly stepped out of the bar, as he tried finding Rena the next minute.
He had walked down to the gate before he found her. Rena was already packing the bodies when he found her.
She was moving them from the spots they had been and was arranging them on one side, outside the gate. It reeked so much that she had to mask the lower half of her face as she did it, and even when she spotted Roman coming, she didn’t flinch.
Roman stood for a moment in silence before trying to speak.
"They didn’t deserve this."
"But regardless... It’s what we’ve all signed up for. Getting into the Badlands is one of the biggest decisions that brings about life and death, yet many don’t see it that way. They only see the Badlands as a place where one can grasp wealth, fame, and power. Meanwhile, achieving that is at the possible cost of our lives."
That statement he made had Rena looking up at him for a moment before she looked away and continued.
Roman just knew that she wouldn’t say a word to him, but he bent and started carrying the bodies as well.
He would make sure he matched up with her and then he would return with her to carry another as well. It had gone on like that for quite a time before he decided to cut in again.
"North and the rest of the group members are on their way here. They cancelled the mission because of what happened," Roman said.
And at least, that was when he happened to draw her attention fully again.
"What? You told them?" Rena asked.
"Why not?" Roman glared.
Rena paused for a moment like she was thinking, and then she shrugged.
"Not like we are going to need their help burying the dead," Rena blinked before shrugging again.
"I think there would be more to that. We are going to find out what actually happened here, and why," Roman said. "And as well as who caused it."
Rena didn’t give any response to that, but she seemed to have grasped the context. She was so enraged that she wanted to destroy every monster out there in the valley.
And somehow she felt like she was the only one feeling guilty, blaming herself for leaving the valley.
"I think it’s my fault that they are all dead. They might have needed me, but I was nowhere near to help them. This is all on me," Rena said after dropping an armless body.
"Don’t say that, Rena. We both know that’s not true," Roman cut in.
"We both don’t know anything in common. I think I’m at fault, and you obviously think I’m not. Arnold is definitely going to think the same way, so let’s just..."
"Hey, Rena."
Roman quickly approached her, interrupting at once.
"You have to trust me when I tell you that you don’t have to be guilty."
"I feel guilty anyway... If I had just gone with them and told it to my dad’s face that I don’t want to be the Empress, perhaps everything would have gone peacefully. I wouldn’t have gotten you and Arnold into trouble. I wouldn’t have made these people die," Rena responded.
Roman shook his head, already fed up with how she was reacting to all this, when it was really clear that it was nowhere near her fault.
"We both know your father would have held you if you had followed them to the Heartlands. So you have to believe me. Everything happened just the way it should have. So stop blaming yourself for it, okay?"
Rena decided not to leave a response as she walked away, heading back into the outpost, and this time she didn’t return to carrying the corpses.
Roman shook his head in frustration and finished the job that she had started before heading straight back to his room in the residential area not quite far from the gates.
Roman didn’t know for sure what to do, and he was barely laying his head to rest when he suddenly heard a familiar voice ringing in his head.
[Host, don’t you think you have quite so many resources to figure out what had just happened here?]
Roman sat up at once, his eyes filled with a mix of confusion and curiosity.
"What’s that?"
[You have the Legendary Blessing. The Legendary Blessing gave you the ability to use almost every Profession possible, and yet you still can’t learn what had happened here? Well, I do think you don’t feel like getting an idea at all.]
[You are waiting for the members of the Dominion Legion to get here and do the job for you, when you can easily figure it out yourself and prove that you are really worth being a part of them?]
Roman’s brows furrowed, as he was beginning to understand fully.
"Do you mean... One of my Professions can make me understand what had happened, and what led to the outbreak?"
[Absolutely. And that’s on you to figure out. The All-Profession Awakener should really be an Entrant of all Professions.]
After that, the system didn’t say anything else, and Roman hadn’t bothered asking anything, as he had quickly started searching for Professions that matched with seeing... things.
"Some kind of prophecy shit," he muttered to himself as he continued.
And soon, when his eyes landed on the Seer Profession, he didn’t know when he instantly switched to it.
[You have acquired an F-rank Skill: Echoes of the Past — You have the ability to see what had happened in a particular area after placing your hand on vital remains of the event. 100% efficiency!]
Roman didn’t bother checking the other skills, as he quickly activated it and rushed towards the gates. He placed his hand exactly where a couple of people had died.
And immediately, his view changed to an entirely different place.
What he saw? He couldn’t gather it yet.
He rushed to one death spot, and then another, and then finally, he reached the Head’s quarters, placing his hand on the front compound.
Within thirty minutes, Roman had gathered all that had happened, as he finally settled down on one end of the street, completely full of information, but at the same time...
He was indescribably enraged.
"General Warden."
"The mission."
"The four Entrants."
"The return and death of the Entrants."
"The killing of only the Bosses."
"The funeral."
"The outbreak."
"The fall."
"Citadel City..." Roman heaved a deep, striking sigh.
"They are behind all this."
