Chapter 59 Attracting Others' Attention

"Because of 500 power stones i have release one more extra chapter with regular chapters" Back to the story

The group followed Sampo towards Svarog's stronghold.

Before they even reached the stronghold, a massive building came into view.

"Wow... it's huge..." March 7th exclaimed.

In the distance, a gigantic steel pillar stood tall on the ground, reaching up to the sky.

"That's the Furnace Core. When the Underworld wasn't sealed off, people used that pillar to travel up and down," Seele explained.

"So, after negotiating with Svarog, we can use that to return to the Overworld. It's like killing two birds with one stone," March 7th said optimistically.

"You might have forgotten that we're still wanted by the Silvermane Guards," Dan Heng reminded March 7th, then turned to Bronya. "And we've kidnapped the next Supreme Guardian, which makes our crimes even worse."

March 7th widened her eyes. "What! They're going to blame that on us!?"

Bronya sighed helplessly. "I went missing while pursuing you all. Mother probably does think that way..."

Gu Tang waved dismissively. "Who cares? Since we were already being hunted, a few more crimes don't matter."

Bronya glared at him. "The culprit speaks so lightly, huh."

"There's nothing bad about it. You've gained a lot from this trip to the Underworld, haven't you?" Gu Tang shrugged.

"Ugh, can't deny that..." Bronya turned her face away.

Stelle suggested an interesting idea. "If the Supreme Guardian herself had come to capture us and ended up falling to the Underworld with Gu Tang, maybe she would have been persuaded by now, making things a lot easier."

Bronya shook her head repeatedly. "No, no, no... that's impossible. And please don't use the word 'persuaded'; even 'convinced' sounds better."

"What!? Convinced?" Seele turned her head, looking at Bronya in surprise.

"You must have misunderstood something. My relationship with Gu Tang is purely innocent, all clean interactions," Bronya quickly explained.

"What!? Interactions..." March 7th turned her head, looking at Bronya in surprise.

Bronya took a deep breath, barely holding back her outburst.

She muttered to herself, "Forget it, the mission is the priority now. I'll explain if there's a chance in the future..."

"What!? Future..." Stelle turned her head, looking at Bronya in surprise.

Bronya unhesitatingly thrust her bayonet, but it was blocked by a baseball bat.

Sampo, at the front, silently listened to the commotion behind.

"It seems... these people are even less reliable than I am," he thought.

...

...

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The group reached the vicinity of the Furnace Core.

Contrary to their expectations, there were many wanderers and robots, forming a settlement around the Furnace Core, making it quite lively.

March 7th looked around. "This is Svarog's stronghold? I thought it would be a cold, lifeless place. It's actually quite lively?"

"Many wanderers temporarily reside here, their homes occupied by Fragmentum monsters," Seele explained.

Bronya asked, "Isn't it dangerous to camp right under Svarog's nose?"

Seele shook her head. "No, Svarog is domineering but never attacks humans without reason. For those who have lost their homes, this place is actually safe."

"Oh dear, everyone. This place is a mixed bag of good and bad people. You must follow my steps closely and not get tricked by those guys," Sampo said in an exaggerated tone.

March 7th rolled her eyes. "It would be a blessing if you don't trick us."

Seele chuckled. "Don't worry, Sampo is pretty honest now, right?"

She patted Gu Tang's shoulder.

Gu Tang nodded and looked at Sampo. "As long as you complete the task honestly, I'll give you the antidote... Otherwise, if your charm keeps increasing indefinitely towards the same sex, even I don't know what will happen."

Sampo shivered and quickly said, "R-rest assured! I, Sampo, will definitely complete the task beautifully!"

With great enthusiasm, Sampo led the way, guiding the group through the settlement.

Along the way, they overheard many wanderers talking.

"Did you hear? Those fools seem to have started a fight in the mining area. It was only settled when Svarog himself intervened."

"Heh... I always said only Svarog can protect us down here. Following him is the right choice."

Hearing the wanderers' conversations, Gu Tang pondered. "These wanderers seem to be living quite well here, and they respect Svarog."

Bronya looked around, finding it hard to believe. "It feels like the people here are all controlled by machines... This is unimaginable in the Overworld, where robots are just tools."

"Don't think of Svarog as an ordinary robot..." Seele frowned. "He's... very special. Otherwise, Firekeepers wouldn't have always struggled to deal with him."

Soon, they arrived at a large metal door.

"I've checked; behind this door is Svarog's territory," Sampo pointed to the door.

"Let me show you my universal key." Stelle took out her baseball bat and rolled up her sleeves.

March 7th quickly stopped her. "Stelle, wait! We're here to negotiate. If we smash their door open, it'll start a fight."

Stelle regretfully put away her baseball bat.

"Sampo, you can pick locks, right? Open the door," Gu Tang said to Sampo.

Sampo quickly lowered his voice. "Keep it down, buddy... Look around, there are wanderers and robots everywhere. Picking the lock in front of so many eyes, you think they won't notice? If anyone notifies Svarog, it'll be trouble."

"Then... I'll distract everyone while you pick the lock," Gu Tang suggested.

Sampo was stunned. "It can work, but there are so many people around. How are you going to attract everyone's attention? And picking the lock takes time."

"Hmph, I can do anything." Gu Tang said, stepping into a nearby open space.

The group watched Gu Tang, curious about how he would attract everyone's attention.

March 7th: "I bet he'll use one of his magical inventions, maybe a big explosion."

Stelle: "It could be a cool giant robot."

Dan Heng: "He might even bring something to life. As long as it grabs attention for a while, it'll work."

To everyone's surprise, Gu Tang didn't take out any machinery this time.

Instead, he took out a bottle of oil.

It was Clara's Oil, which he obtained last night.

Gu Tang drank the oil in one gulp.

Temporarily gaining the "Mechanical Proficiency" skill was meaningless to him.

What he needed was the +2 charm effect.

Gu Tang's charm was already at the human limit of 20 points.

Under the oil's effect, his charm temporarily exceeded the human limit. What would happen then...

The answer was a curse.

Charm beyond the norm acted like a curse, instantly captivating everyone's mind.