Chapter 21

3 Perhaps I could have drawn this out. [Exclusive skill “Bookmark” has been activated.] [The second bookmark is activated.] [Duration is shortened because your “Bookmark” skill level is low.] [Duration: 1 minute] A brutal showdown worthy of the phrase “yield my flesh to claim their bones.” A battle to end all battles. [The character’s skill will only be partially effective due to your low understanding of this character.] [“Weapon Proficiency” Lv.1 has been activated.] However, I didn’t do that. To be precise, I couldn’t. It took all my wits to survive from moment to moment, and all my energy to strike back. I pushed my muscles to the limit and clenched my teeth as I lunged at the mass of tentacles. Shhk! My surroundings zoomed by in a blur, and blood splattered onto my cheeks. An afterimage of a white flash, and a sensation of cutting through flesh. [Your understanding of character Hyeonseong Lee has increased.] [The second bookmark is deactivated.] I felt thoroughly drained. That attack had taken everything I had. Soon, a shaky voice came from above. …E-everyone, did you see that? I can’t believe it…! Biryu seemed to have forgotten its job in sheer surprise. Of course it was surprised. [A small number of constellations doubt their own eyes.] [Constellation Abyssal Flame Dragon’s eyes widen with shock.] After all, the powerful level-7 demonic species was lying on its back like a dead cockroach. [Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband pulls out his hair in satisfaction.] [You have received 500 coins as a donation.] Severed tentacles lay scattered all around me. The ground rats that hadn’t been killed as collateral damage had long since fled. The warden of the dark was still alive, writhing on the ground. Its lips were twitching. “…Keeh. Keeh. Keeh.” I wasn’t anywhere near strong enough to fight a level-7 demonic species. So I had prepared. I wasn’t strong like Junghyeok Yu, nor did I have a good sponsoring constellation like Hyeonseong Lee. [A constellation with OCD praises your preparedness.] [You have received 200 coins as a donation.] The only advantage I had was information. But information can be the greatest power in this world. Zzzzt. And the result of that information was the gleaming blade of light in my hands. A-an aether blade? This early in the s-scenario…? Everyone, are you seeing this? Thankfully, the goblin spared me from having to explain by blabbing all about it. An aether blade. A main skill used by incarnations who are sponsored by top-tier constellations. Martial artists from Murim often referred to it as “blade energy.” “Actually, this isn’t a true aether blade. The real thing is much more powerful.” Th-that’s right! Technically speaking, Broken Faith absorbs magical power to project a blade, and you infused it with White Star Weapon Aura. I guess Biryu was a goblin for a reason. It wasn’t totally stupid. This is crazy… What’s with all these freaks in Bihyeong’s channel? As if on cue, Blade of Faith expired with a fizzling noise. [The durability of Broken Faith has run out. This item cannot be used anymore.] A shame, but it had done its job. “I cleared the sub scenario, so hand over my reward.” Ugh, fine. H-hang on. Biryu hurriedly input some sort of command into thin air, and a message appeared. [You have fulfilled the conditions of the sub scenario.] [You have obtained 500 coins.] [A small number of constellations are impressed by your scenario.] The reward was smaller than I’d expected. Understandable, since I hadn’t killed the warden of the dark yet. B-but aren’t you gonna finish it off? Biryu looked at me with excitement. I took a deep breath and glance at the warden of the dark on the ground. Then I spoke in the kindest voice I could muster. “I’m against killing things.” A-against killing…? “I don’t take lives lightly.” [Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire exclaims that she knew it all along.] [You have received 100 coins as a donation.] Of course, that was a lie. [Constellation Secretive Plotter gazes at you with a sinister grin.] [You have received 100 coins as a donation.] Biryu didn’t know what to do. B-but you’d get a huge reward for killing it. As the first person to slay a level-7 demonic species, you’d be awarded at least seven thousand coins! Th-that’s a lot of money, you know! “I said, I won’t do it. Anyway, I have to open this treasure chest, so move—” I brushed the goblin aside. It was true. The monster hadn’t been my reason for coming here. So… Stab! [The level-7 demonic species warden of the dark has been killed.] …What? A look of malicious delight on the goblin’s face, the warden of the dark dying on the ground, a sword made of ground rat bone sticking out of its body, and… “Bwa-ha-ha-ha! I-I can become strong now, too! Dokja, you little shit! Didn’t expect this, did you?” Myeongoh was holding the sword as he cackled maniacally. It hit me what had just happened. Messages soon exploded in my ears. [You are the first person ever to slay a level-7 demonic species!] [You have achieved an impossible feat.] [You have obtained 8,000 coins.] [Contributors: Dokja Kim, Myeongoh Han] Myeongoh must’ve gotten these messages, too. He’d probably received fewer coins, since his contribution was smaller than mine. Yet he was jubilant. “You don’t take lives easily? What a dumbass! This world is kill-or-be-killed! That’s why people like you will never be on top! You underst—” But would Myeongoh realize what he’d just done? [The Demon King God of Wrath and Lust has learned of the warden of the dark’s demise, as well as the identity of the one who dealt the final blow.] [The Demon King God of Wrath and Lust will hunt down the one who killed his minion to the ends of the earth.] [The Demon King God of Wrath and Lust will inflict a horrifying curse upon the incarnation who dealt the final blow to his minion.] [Final blow dealt by: Myeongoh Han] “Wh-what is this message?!” Myeongoh was now screaming frantically. [Constellation Secretive Plotter is impressed by your evil scheme.] “Oh…Did I forget to mention? There’s a reason why I didn’t kill it.” [Constellation Secretive Plotter has recommended your scenario on Star Stream.] Myeongoh stared into space in despair. The Demon King “God of Wrath and Lust” was notorious for his curse that caused the victim’s worst nightmare to come true. I didn’t know what that would be, but something horrific would happen to Myeongoh. I turned around to see Sangah and Gilyeong staring at me with their mouths agape. I smiled at them as if nothing had happened. “Let’s open up the treasure chest, shall we?” A little while later, we showed each other what we had found after searching the treasure vault. “I found something.” “Me too…” [Mana Recovery Bracelet] [Rusty Iron Shield] Both were only D-grade items, but they were better than nothing. The Mana Recovery Bracelet would be useful to everyone, and the Rusty Iron Shield would be good for Hyeonseong. Despite its rather weak-sounding name, this wasn’t a bad shield at all. After all, iron from another world was much stronger than iron from ours. “A bit disappointing, to be honest,” confessed Sangah. Disappointing. She was right. Despite being a treasure vault, the area was quite empty. Junghyeok Yu had probably stopped by here on his way to Yaksu Station, quickly grabbing the treasure to avoid a troublesome confrontation with the demonic species. That made us robbers stealing from a house that had already been cleaned out. “It’s okay, we still got the most important prize,” I told Sangah while looking at the black chest in the middle of the vault. We opened it right away. Inside was a brazier, if one could call it that. It was small enough to fit in my pocket. [Mana Brazier] Good thing it’s still here. Actually, this was a key item in this sub scenario. [This Mana Brazier is limited to one per incarnation.] Junghyeok had probably taken one, so there would’ve been two braziers in total. “…What is that?” “Hmm, I think I can guess what it does.” I feigned ignorance as I lit up the brazier and put a dead ground rat’s leg on top of it. The huge chunk of meat looked comical sitting on top of the tiny brazier, but within five seconds, there was an amazing transformation. “Whoa, that smell…” First came a delicious aroma, then the color of the leg turned brown. “Meat!” Gilyeong seemed excited. Sangah was quick to ask, “D-do you think it’s safe to eat?” “I’ll try it first.” I grabbed the whole leg glistening with fat and took a bite. The juice that filled my mouth…I closed my eyes, forgetting to even chew. Reading about it in a book and actually tasting it were totally different. [A small number of constellations are drooling.] [A small number of constellations nod knowingly.] [They have donated 100 coins.] [Constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon smacks his lips.] [Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband gnaws on his nails.] … There was a continuous flow of messages. Mukbang really is the best streaming content. I mean, who doesn’t love a sumptuous meal? “Go ahead. I think it’s okay to eat.” As soon as I’d spoken, Sangah and Gilyeong went for the meat right away. They must’ve been starving, since they hadn’t had much food in the last three days. Even Myeongoh, who had been lost in despair, had inched closer, eyes on the delicious-looking meat. “U-um, Dokja, I…I’m not sure what came over me earlier…” “Don’t worry about it and eat.” “Thank you!” “I mean, this could be your last meal, right?” “Wh-what…?!” Myeongoh turned pale. I’d said it in a jocular tone, but Myeongoh really was going to die. Not even Junghyeok Yu could escape a demon king’s curse. Especially if that demon king was God of Wrath and Lust. Each of us grabbed the leg of a ground rat. Here we were, munching on meat, mere minutes after a close brush with death. I guess humans can’t help themselves. We all ate in silence. The flame of the Mana Brazier was calming and made me feel a little sentimental. We kill something and eat it to live. That is the life of humans. That is how it’s always been. But why did this feel different? I looked up, and my eyes met Sangah’s. She flinched in surprise, then spoke, her face contorted with distress. “I’m so pathetic.” “…Sorry?” “All I can do is gobble up the food you risked your life for…I couldn’t help you at all…” “No, Sangah. That’s not—” “But how do you know all this stuff, Dokja? Like, how to cook monster meat…” “Um, that’s…” “Oh, is it because you read so many fantasy novels? All while I was studying Spanish…Much good that’s doing me in this world.” I wasn’t sure if she was being sarcastic. After all, most people wouldn’t genuinely think that way. But when it came to the angelic Sangah… “You were able to understand demon tongue thanks to your experience studying foreign languages. Your hard work is paying off, too.” “…Do you think so? Thank you for the kind words.” It sounded like she was being sincere. Sometimes, I’m scared of what’s going through this hard-working woman’s head. Sangah stared at the meat in her hand for a bit. “I’m going to eat a lot so I can get stronger,” she declared. I gave her an encouraging nod and got up from my seat. Everyone was quite absorbed in their meals, and I took this opportunity to make my way to the back corner. As important as the Mana Brazier was, it was not my main goal in coming here. I took a closer look at the black chest that had contained the brazier. This is it. I’m sure. Junghyeok had already taken the other Mana Brazier but couldn’t have known the real treasure in this vault was actually the black box. In the original story, Junghyeok didn’t find out about this item until his sixth loop. Who was it that first discovered it? Was it “Flying Fox”? Hmm, I can’t remember it clearly. My memory of that scene was hazy, but I recalled a passage like this. “You know those weird boxes in the early scenario zones? Well, I tried putting something inside…” Just then, Sangah had been staring at me. She spoke through a mouthful of meat. “Wha’s tha box do?” “Ah, so this is…” She looked at the box and tilted her head. There was some strange writing on the box. …Wait, there’s no way she can read this, can she? “Random…item box?” Damn it. Foreign language speakers are scary… “Uh…ah…hmm. So this is…” I panicked a little. Thankfully, Sangah spared me the awkward explanation. “C’mon, try it out, Dokja!” “…Can I?” Gilyeong was nodding enthusiastically as well. Sangah gave me the final push I needed. “Please don’t mind us. All the items here should be yours. You earned it.” Well, they’d caught me anyway, so I might as well just open it. “Thank you.” [A small number of constellations nod in approval of your decision.] I took out the nucleus of a level-7 demonic species from my pocket. It was the one I’d gotten from the warden’s corpse. Then I pulled out the expired Broken Faith. According to TWSA, it was easy to use this box. “…and who would’ve thought? It turns out those boxes are limited-edition premium items.” I put the demonic species’s nucleus and Broken Faith in the box. “Haah, you don’t believe me? I saw it with my own eyes. If you place a low-grade item in the box and close the lid…” Actually, I didn’t know what would happen when I put these two items in the box. But one thing was for sure—something amazing would come of it. “…you’re guaranteed to get a high-grade item!” Soon, the closed box began to gleam with a dazzling light.