It is my Destiny to be the Savior of the Protagonist

Ariadne herself knew it in her head. Compared to the main character in the original work, the current main character had lived a life that was almost like a flower strewn road. Of course, that was only when compared to the original standard of living. The fact that a 12-year-old has to grow up in a fierce battle with no one to take care of him, like parents or family, is not described as a flowery road by general standards. It was this difference that was her dilemma. 

Would this relatively ‘normal’ protagonist get through the crisis of the original story without her help? Hardships weren’t absolutely necessary for his growth, but no matter how much she looked at it, she raised the main character too comfortably. On the other hand, she also felt every time that she was being too cruel to the young protagonist. He didn’t even have people around him that he could attach affection to, and she knowingly put him into dangerous situations on purpose.

‘I’m even preparing to betray you.’

She was waiting for Axel to stab her, as Adrian, in the back when he finally got away from the contamination worm. She had to make him feel betrayed, like Robert Black did in the original story. At the same time, she had to make Axel flee from the association to the northernmost tip of the continent. Only then could he follow the original development. But that wasn’t the only way to change the ending. She had actually prepared another way. She hadn’t thought of it at first, but with the help of Pi, like finding a way to live that was distinctly different from the Ariadne of the original story, she found an alternative. A complete departure from the original.

‘Please… don’t let the main character be too different from the original work because of my influence.’

There was a line that she had decided in her heart. If the Axel Valentine, whom she raised, was so different from the original protagonist that it crossed her line…

‘I’ll have to choose the second method.’

She fidgeted with her mask nervously. Then, she saw someone approaching the bottom of the tower.

‘Who is it?’

It was a strange face. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be one of the pieces involved in this mission.

‘Did someone else survive?’

She was bewildered inside. When she bought her master’s license, she had a resolution. She herself was neither a warrior nor a hero, so she couldn’t save everyone. It was also necessary to maintain the development of the original work. So she decided not to save the pieces by force. Instead, it was decided to save all the pieces that fell into her hands, those that had nothing to do with the development of the original work, and send them away. Not for their sake, but for her own mental health. She felt that if she didn’t do that, she would be disgusted with herself. 

True to that decision, she couldn’t save the other pieces on this mission. She let the story flow naturally. In the original work, they died one by one in the attacks of a bizarrely large number of monsters. Among them, there were those who were burned to death by the main character’s flames. Axel Valentine wielded his flames with the attitude of, ‘avoid it if you don’t want to die’.

‘Pi, are you sure there were no survivors according to the original story?’

[Original summary. Five people, excluding the main character, survived past the last dawn. Of those, 1 person died directly from a monster attack, 2 people died in the aftermath of that battle, and the other 2 people became deranged from contamination and had to be disposed of by the main character.]

‘It’s strange.’

Ariadne couldn’t guess what had changed. 

In actuality, unlike the original story, Axel killed less monsters because he seemed to want to refrain from scaring his comrades, and ironically, because of that, only three survived past the last dawn. And, thanks to her generously sending elixirs, Axel used one to save his last comrade from falling into contamination delirium.

‘Well, it would be nice if at least one more lives.’

However, before the main character emerged, the survivor must be evacuated and sent out of the contaminated area. Having made that decision, she looked down and saw that the man was behaving strangely. The man who approached with a limp, hid himself among the gaps of a bush that looked like a bunch of tangled octopuses. Then he raised his sword and watched the entrance. It was a preparation to assassinate anyone exiting the labyrinth.

“That human, he’s dripping with greed.”

Veronica, who had approached her unknowingly, frowned at her and said,

“Greed?”

“That’s right… I can see it from here.”

“Can you really see it from this height?”

“Yes.”

Veronica nodded, and she asked casually.

“Shall I kill him?”

“No. But maybe once I ask what his purpose is… huh?”

[It’s strange, the protagonist has appeared.] 

Ariadne almost screamed.

‘Why is he already out?!’

The main character, who should take at least another 4 hours to come out, was already out of the tower.

* ♦ ♦ ♦ *

Axel Valentine looked up. Straightening his mithril sword, he increased the speed of his steps.

‘It took longer than expected.’

The contamination worm was dealt with right away, but it took longer to pull out the mithril sword and drill a hole in the wall. 

It was daunting at first. How was he going to deal with a top-notch monster that couldn’t be burned in a narrow space without a sword? However, the things he had learned and the experience he had accumulated were not in vain, so he quickly came up with a way to kill that monster. Contamination worms might not burn, but if you immobilized them and put a fire around them, in the process of heating up, they would burn to death. Just as if you put fire directly into water, it will go out, but if you put water into a bowl and then heat the bowl, the water will boil. Coincidentally, there was also a ‘bowl’ that was just right for holding a huge worm. The hollow shell of a monster’s corpse.

‘I can lure it in and lock it up. It’s easy to entice, but how can I lock it up?’

If Adrian’s letter had been a hint as usual, what hint could he have given?

‘If it’s the master…’

Perhaps he was to make use of what he had learned so far and what he had now. As if expected and prepared in advance, there would be items or supplies related to the situation recently received.

‘Does he really have the ability to foresee?’

Axel, who was originally trying to kill the monster the same way as in the original work, thought of Adrian and then thought of another method. An easier and faster way.

‘Contamination worms are made up of polluted water. And contaminated water is cured by the elixir.’

Then, instead of fighting cumbersomely, wouldn’t it be simpler to spray the worm with elixir until it dies? He looked down at the inventory on his wrist. There was an unbelievable amount of elixir in it because Adrian sent a lot more than usual.

‘I can’t believe he sent such a large amount on purpose.’

Goosebumps ran down his spine. Axel let out a laugh.

‘Then the letter didn’t mean for me to die…’

Adrian must have been trying to test whether Axel could complete the mission without any hints from him. In fact, Ariadne gave him enough elixirs to last a long time because she was going to betray him on this mission, interacting with him for the last time. Of course, Axel, who didn’t know that, could only infer that the master expected the situation and had prepared for it this time as well. It was a strange feeling.

He was angry, his pride was hurt, but he was strangely proud at the same time. The corner of his mouth raised at an angle as he pulled out an elixir bottle. He had a hunch that if he passed this ‘test’, he might finally be able to meet that bastard of a master. 

After that, it was so easy it was enough to make Axel yawn. Segment by segment, the worm was sprayed with the elixir. The worm screamed and struggled as its skin, when touched by the elixir, literally melted away. By the time the elixir was used up, the worm had shrunk to the size of a fist. Axel stepped on the small monster and crushed it. After that, he took hold of his sword and heated it until the wall became soft and he could pull the sword out. Then he just had to drill a hole and escape. He was able to get out without a single wound. 

At that time, he finally began to feel good. That is, until he was attacked out of nowhere. The moment he set foot outside the entrance, a sword of metal and a blade of invisible wind stabbed towards him at the same time, trying to kill him. It was a sequential attack in which if you avoided one, you would be hit by the other.

Slash!

Axel dodged the sword with his excellent reflexes, and struck the wind with his drawn sword. Then, with his keen senses, he realized something. 

‘Just before reaching me, the direction of the wind was changed by an external force.’

Someone intervened, trying to help him. With that fact in mind, Axel grabbed the man who attacked him and pinned him to the ground.

“Ouch!”

The man whose face was buried into the stone floor let out a suppressed moan. Axel asked softly, while holding down the back of his head with one hand,

“Knight, what is this?”

“Shit!”

The knight swore and began to create a breeze, trying to attack with the elemental green light rising from his body. But if Axel allowed Knight to release his elemental water spirit, it would become annoying. He wordlessly lit the flames in his hand.

“Ah!”

Knight screamed as the back of his head literally began to cook. The spirit beast that was about to jump out and attack, returned to protect Knight’s body. Green light covered his whole body, trying to push the fire away. Axel tightened his hand and opened his mouth,

“I asked you, what are you doing?”