[Lucky Overpowered] — I Became a Background Character Meant to Die in the Game’s Opening, But Now I’m Overpowered and Fighting to Save My All-Time Favorite Alchemist Heroine - Episode 29

“Is that what Gee was looking for?”

“Yeah. I’ll need four more of these.”

“Is that also an alchemy material?”

“It is.”

I nodded to Isabelle as I answered.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t explained to them why I was gathering Revenant Incense in the first place.

“Let’s talk while we walk. It’ll take a bit of time… Do you guys know anything about the unidentified skeletal monster that shows up in the forest?”

“You mean that thing that even the ‘Heroes of Dawn’ got wiped out by? I doubt there’s a single adventurer in this town who hasn’t heard of it.”

“Yeah… I figured as much.”

Looks like the rumors have spread even further than I thought.

“As for the identity of that monster, I believe it’s a Soul Eater.”

“Soul Eater? What’s that?”

It existed in the game lore, but I suppose the knowledge has been lost over time. They all seem clueless.

“It’s a skeletal monster that devours human souls. If you’re attacked by it, it eats your soul. Once your soul is gone, your body slowly weakens until you die—never waking up.”

“Hold on, that sounds just like…”

“It matches what happened to the ‘Heroes of Dawn’… But the Adventurers’ Guild hasn’t been able to identify the creature. Why do you know what it is?”

Hmm… What do I say? Explaining everything is complicated. Maybe I’ll dodge the question for now.

“That’s still a secret. But more importantly, I’ll tell you why I’m collecting this Revenant Incense.”

“…”

Isabelle glared at me with a look that could kill—clearly annoyed that I avoided her question.

“I’m collecting it to fight the Soul Eater. There’s an alchemical item called a Soul Ward—it protects the soul. Revenant Incense is one of the materials needed to craft it.”

“Wait a second. You said you need five of them, right? That means—”

Being the smart one, Isabelle quickly caught on to what I was planning. Gilles and Gustave still looked confused, glancing at Isabelle’s suddenly serious expression.

“Exactly. I’ll make five Soul Wards—one for each of us. Let’s defeat the Soul Eater together.”

“I knew it…”

Isabelle pressed a hand to her forehead, as if a bad feeling had just been confirmed.

“I’m in! Taking down the monster that even the ‘Heroes of Dawn’ couldn’t beat? Sounds awesome!”

Surprisingly, Gilles was all fired up. Well, given his thirst for strong opponents, this was probably a dream come true.

“Gilles, can you think before you talk for once? We’re dealing with an unknown monster. And we don’t even know if what Gee’s saying is true.”

Yeah, I get where Isabelle is coming from. She’s right. I know them all from the game, but to them, I’m just some guy they met not long ago.

Still… I want them to believe me.

Hmm? Maybe that would work.

I started weaving a plausible story in my head.

“Listen. I’ve been debating whether to tell you this… but I’m only borrowing Gee’s body. My real identity is what you’d call an Ancient One.”

“Huh? What are you even talking about?”

Isabelle now looked at me with complete disbelief. Gilles and Gustave just stared, puzzled.

“I get it—it’s hard to believe. But Gee was attacked by the Soul Eater and lost his soul. That’s when I entered his vacant body. The truth is, we Ancient Ones once fought a terrifying creature known as the Soul-

Eating Demon King. Though our civilization fell, we succeeded in sealing it away. But the seal is weakening. It could break at any moment. The monster in the forest is one of the demon king’s agents, revived because of the failing seal.”

“I’ve never heard of any of that. Sure, the existence of the Ancient Ones and their lost civilization is fact. But a ‘Soul-Eating Demon King’? That just sounds made up.”

Isabelle’s eyes locked on mine, daring me to lie to her.

Only a select few scholars know about the Ancient Ones at all. As expected from the daughter of a noble house—even a fallen one.

Gilles and Gustave, on the other hand, just looked completely dumbfounded.

“Then let me prove it to you—that I’m truly an Ancient One.”

“And how do you plan to do that? Just so you know, I won’t be fooled by any cheap parlor tricks.”

“I figured. But there’s a place in town called the Golem Mansion, right? Ever heard of it?”

“Of course. That mysterious old house guarded by an unbeatable golem. Since the golem doesn’t attack unless someone tries to enter, it’s mostly left alone. What about it?”

“That place was built by someone tied to the Ancient Ones—a tomb, in fact. Inside lies the body of its master and many ancient relics. I’ll negotiate with the golem and retrieve one of those items.”