I'm Contaminated With No Hope Of Recovery

Chapter 114 - Involved In Murders

[When you reach the martial elder, he stops dissecting the corpse and instructs you to keep walking.

You begin traveling again...

The martial elder comments that he is surprised that you were able to make this journey before, as there are many beasts present. You reply that you were lucky, and the elder does not press you...]

They had barely put the battlefield behind them, when Master Brightflame spoke up again.

"We have to hope that that wasn't the long lost grandchild of anyone important," he muttered.

Lem's simulated self did not want to comment, but he was confused. "Wouldn't we already be dead if it was?"

"Do you think we can dictate terms with those ancient beasts?" The martial elder gave a scathing glance. "If they want to kill us they must do so immediately, or lose the right to attack?"

"How would they learn of our involvement after the fact?"

"The ancient patriarchs have their ways. They are not like us. Even if years pass, they would still have the capability to identify the perpetrator."

Master Brightflame saw that Lem's simulated self was still confused, so he clarified. "Everything in the world has an aura that stains the karma of what it interacts with - or something to that effect. In any case, our actions leave imprints in the world, we are just at too low of a level to perceive it.

"The ancient patriarchs do not take an active role in the lives of their descendants. Suppose the great, great grandfather of that tyrant sloth was currently in seclusion. Decades could pass before he wakes up.

"But when he does, and he senses the karmic ties around him and realizes that he has one less idiot in his family..."

Snap!

Master Brightflame snapped his finger.

"The two of us..." He glanced at Lem's simulated self. "Or likely just me...would die in a second. And this is all because of an action that I might no longer remember. They say that all of our actions are stained with karma, but nothing quite helps me understand this like the thought of a thousand-meter beast pinching me to death because his descendent went off and killed itself by my hand."

Lem's simulated self felt his chest tighten.

Lem knew what he was thinking about.

He had already killed a tyrant sloth only days prior. Even though he had known that there were ancient beasts who could kill him for such offenses it had not scared him because he had never been pursued even when he took all of the prior simulations into account.

In reality, there could be a latent danger that had not caught up to him yet.

Now, he was involved in another murder...

Lem knew he had to pay attention to the actions he took with his real body. He was thankful that he had not killed any beasts outside of simulations yet, but he also knew that certain situations could leave him with little choice.

"How likely is it that this tyrant sloth had such a connection," his simulated self asked.

Master Brightflame shrugged. "Who can say? It is not a large chance, but the difficulty is the uncertainty. Every time you kill a beast, you add to the threat that will hang over your head for the rest of your life."

Lem's simulated self felt slightly more secure.

[The martial elder makes a comment expressing his hope that the tyrant sloth did not have a powerful ancestor. You ask about the capabilities of such ancestors and learn that it is impossible to evade their pursuit or hide your involvement. At the same time, you learn that it can take years for the ancestor to act.

Thinking about your role in the deaths of multiple tyrant sloths, you feel unnerved...]