Chapter 300: Chapter 300: Evil Spirit (4)

The memory of the first day suddenly came to mind.

[An ‘evil spirit’ has possessed the soul of Orm, son of Kadua.]

The chieftain had beheaded the nameless player next to me with his terrifying axe, and that was when my days of survival began.

Of course, I didn’t know back then.

That the whole world was my enemy, and I had to be wary of everyone I met.

[I thought they were NPCs. I wouldn’t have done it if I knew.]

Just like Zencia, who considered everyone as NPCs.

I couldn’t understand their hatred.

But…

Clench.

…I could now accept it.

[It was you…]

The pity in the chieftain’s eyes as he looked at ‘Orm, son of Kadua’ was sadness.

[Isn’t it disgusting? To pretend to be human when you’re an evil spirit.]

The anger the citizens expressed when they executed the evil spirit was fear.

It was only natural.

For an evil spirit to suddenly possess the body of a loved one and turn them into a completely different being…

Could there be anything more horrifying?

It’s natural for them to hate us.

Even I would feel suffocated if Misha, Raven, the bear-like man, Erwen, or Ainar was possessed by an evil spirit.

“Bjorn, it’s time.”

“…It’s already that time? Okay.”

I slowly got up from my seat in the corner.

I still felt like a rock was weighing down on my heart.

But…

‘What’s the point of being sentimental now? Nothing will change.’

Emotions are just emotions.

Right, so…

Crack.

Let’s just finish what I have to do and get out of here.

______________________

Rumble.

The stone door, which hadn’t budged, finally opened, and we continued exploring the rift.

White Armored Guardian, Green Armored Scout, Silver Thread Prophet, and so on.

A new type of monster appeared in each room, and my experience points kept increasing.

And essences also dropped occasionally.

But could it be that I hadn’t memorized all the hundred or so essences obtainable in the Hundred Colors Temple?

“Do you know what ability this essence has?”

Kalton and his two companions asked for our advice whenever an essence dropped, and Amelia surprisingly answered kindly.

“It’s the Blue-White Palace Judge’s essence. It has a high Strength stat for an archery or projectile-related essence.”

“Hmm, I see. Aimburn, what are you going to do?”

“Strength… I wanted to increase my bow’s draw weight, so this is good. I also like the ability. I think I can use it well. I’ll take it.”

Aimburn took one this time.

And Kalton and Jarku had each taken one earlier.

They had already absorbed three 6th-grade essences just by following us, but I wasn’t jealous.

I didn’t need them in the first place…

“Haha! Thank you! This is so easy thanks to you guys!”

“…You’re welcome.”

…and they wouldn’t be enough to repay me anyway.

After all, it wouldn’t change the fact that he would die in the labyrinth someday.

“By the way, it seems like this is the last one.”

We reached the boss room after clearing the rift for a while.

The jewel in the statue’s hand wasn’t glowing, so we must have been the fastest.

“But how do we open the door?”

“Move aside.”

Amelia smashed the statue.

It wasn’t a sudden outburst, but one of the fastest ways to progress.

The door would open with an angry voice.

‘Who did she come here with to know this?’

I was suddenly curious about Amelia’s past as the stone door started to open.

[This is the resting place of noble sacrifices.]

[Intruders will pay for their sins with blood.]

What the hell, you’re just a 5th-grade monster.

It was an intro I had seen countless times in the game, so I just listened while munching on jerky.

“Ca, can we go in?”

“He, he just spoke! Is, is he not a monster?”

Kalton and his two companions looked nervous.

Well, it was understandable.

The Guardian of the Hundred Colors Temple was a ‘High-Grade Variant’ with a random essence on top of its 5th-grade level.

‘High-Grade Variants’ rarely appeared below the 3rd floor, so they probably hadn’t experienced a monster talking.

“Bjorn, how long are you going to stand there?”

“Ah, I was just thinking.”

To be precise, I was suddenly reminded of the ‘Crimson Fortress’.

The Vampire I met back then was also a 5th-grade ‘High-Grade Variant’.

And I met him when I didn’t even have a single essence.

Ah, but this boss was much stronger than that Vampire.

We were cursed, and this boss had various buffs stacked on it.

‘I wonder what essence it has.’

The stone door closed behind us with a thud as we entered.

“A forest…?”

Unlike the previous rooms, which were made of marble, this room had grass and trees with fruits growing on them.

But it wasn’t the outside world.

It was a large dome-shaped room with an artificial garden.

There were five doors on the circular outer wall, including the one we came through.

If we failed, one of those doors would open, and another team would get to challenge the boss.

Well, that wouldn’t happen.

“You guys stay back.”

“But we’re supposed to be the guardians… are you two okay…?”

“I’ll call you if I need you.”

“…Alright.”

Okay, then that’s settled.

I left the passengers on the bus and headed towards a hut in the center of the forest with Amelia.

Did our presence trigger something?

Kaboom!

A knight in gray armor, riding a horse, fell from the sky and blocked our path.

It was the Knight of Doom.

Although it was riding a horse, it wasn’t a large type. It had a normal human physique, about 180 centimeters tall.

It was much smaller than the giant soldier we encountered earlier.

But it wasn’t an enemy to be underestimated.

In most games, the smaller enemies are more dangerous in the later stages.

Whoosh.

The knight swung his weapon, something between a spear and a greatsword, in the air.

“Greedy dogs of the Empire. I shall punish you today.”

Geez, he’s still spouting nonsense.

“Emily, do you know what he’s talking about?”

“I don’t know either.”

Right, so that’s how it is.

Thud.

I took a step forward, activating [Gigantification] to match his size.

And at that moment…

Neigh!

…the 7th-grade beast-type monster the Knight of Doom was riding, the Spirit Horse, charged towards us.

Well, the Spirit Horse was just a trash mob that I could kill with one [Swing]…

‘But its stats are boosted here.’

The Spirit Horse shared the Knight of Doom’s stats in the boss room.

In other words, it wasn’t a monster I could kill in one or two hits.

Ah, and I couldn’t even use [Swing] right now.

We had been cursed on our way here, and [Swing] was sealed.

But it was a minor problem.

Why would I even bother dealing damage when we have a much more efficient damage dealer?

Kaboom!

I blocked the knight’s spear with my shield.

It was a heavy blow.

Now I understand why cavalry was so powerful in the Middle Ages.

There weren’t any superhumans who could use [Gigantification] back then.

“You can endure.”

I shouted, standing my ground.

“Emily…!”

Ah, she’s already gone.

Slash!

A blue Aura flashed, and the horse’s head was severed before I could even finish my sentence.

And that was it.

‘Aura really is OP.’

The Spirit Horse collapsed and disappeared into particles of light.

Thud!

It was time for Phase 2.

_________________________

The Knight of Doom had three phases.

Phase 1, where he rode the Spirit Horse summoned with the [Servant] skill.

And Phase 2, the ground battle after the Spirit Horse was unsummoned.

For reference, the Knight of Doom started using random 5th-grade or lower essence skills from Phase 2 onwards…

‘…Why isn’t he using any skills?’

I waited, but he didn’t use any essence skills.

So we just continued the boss fight normally, and then Amelia stabbed him in the neck, triggering Phase 3.

“Immortality is will, and a promise.”

The Knight of Doom was resurrected, boasting.

It was the effect of the passive skill [Chivalry].

A high-risk skill that destroyed all your equipment and recovered HP proportionally to the time you had been wearing them when you received a fatal blow.

‘I thought it was a strange skill at first.’

The Knight of Doom became weaker from Phase 3 onwards since he didn’t have any equipment.

But it was the same for ordinary players.

If you had similar specs, you would be injured and out of MP by Phase 2.

Well, for us…

“I can’t lose.”

What the…

The Knight of Doom suddenly grew in size.

I was a bit dumbfounded.

‘Don’t tell me, it’s [Gigantification].’

Damn, I didn’t expect him to have the Orc Hero essence as a ‘High-Grade Variant’ characteristic.

‘No wonder he wasn’t using any other skills.’

Now I understood why he didn’t use any skills in the previous phases. [Gigantification] couldn’t be used while wearing equipment.

But the stat increase was incredible.

“I can’t afford to lose…!”

The monster, now in [Gigantification] state, started charging at me like a madman.

Of course, it wouldn’t work.

What are you going to do even if you get bigger?

You’re still weaker than me in terms of stats and size.

Grab.

I grabbed his fist and then hugged him tightly, like a wrestler.

And…

Thud.

…Amelia finished him off with her dagger.

Swaaaaaaaaaa!

The Knight of Doom disintegrated into particles of light without even a last word.

It was a moment that always made me nervous.

I stared ahead without blinking.

‘Please, drop something.’

Contrary to my expectations, there was no essence floating in the air.

Thud.

There was no rift stone either.

But I saw a piece of equipment on the ground.

“A Numbered Item…”

I froze as I saw the hammer.

No, what the hell.

‘…Crazy, this dropped here?’

I was momentarily stunned, and then I quickly ran over and picked it up.

I didn’t know about the grip.

But I was certain after seeing its manly color and rough design.

No. 87 Kraul’s Demon Crusher.

A Double Numbered Item that was so expensive that you could only see it at the Sky Auction House in the Imperial City…

…and the weapon I had planned to use as my graduation weapon after absorbing the Ogre essence.

But it dropped from a 3rd-floor rift?

It was beyond a jackpot.

‘Damn it.’

If only this wasn’t twenty years ago.

______________________

Although I felt a bit disappointed as an efficiency freak, it was still a lucky break.

But my mind was racing as soon as I grabbed the hammer.

‘Damn it, how do I take this back? Should I bury it somewhere and hope it’s still there twenty years later?’

But what if someone took it?

Then I would be screwed.

Should I just sell it?

Yeah, I could just sell it and use the money to buy an expensive essence at the auction house before leaving.

That’s why I had been saving up equipment…

“Congratulations. It’s a shame that an essence didn’t drop, but that’s just our greed.”

Kalton and his companions approached me and congratulated me as I was lost in thought.

“I actually feel relieved! I’m glad you got something!”

Uh, it’s a bit much to call this ‘something’.

It’s better not to tell them.

It seemed like even Amelia didn’t realize it was a Double Numbered Item.

I decided to think about it later.

The portal had just opened.

Whoosh!

Kalton asked, looking at the portal that had appeared in front of the hut,

“Then what are you going to do?”

“We’ll leave later. We’re going to look around for a bit.”

To be precise, there were a few things I had to take with me.

But did they already know?

“You’re looking for Gavrilius’ Arrangement?”

“Yes.”

“Then what about those white fruits on the trees? They look strange.”

Ah, those…

It was a hidden piece, but it was more of a joke item.

How should I tell them not to eat it?

Amelia answered for me.

“They’re called ‘Hundred Fruits’. If you eat one, the stats of one of your essences will change randomly.”

Her explanation was brief, but accurate.

The ‘Hundred Fruit’ changed the properties of an essence.

The skill remained the same, but the base stats would change to random values within the essence’s grade.

It wasn’t something you would eat if you were sane.

There were thousands of detailed stats in this game.

There was a high chance that good stats like Strength and Agility would be replaced with useless or low-value stats like Greed and Obsession.

“So what are you going to do?”

“We’re leaving now. Our companions are probably waiting for us outside.”

“I see.”

After saying goodbye to Kalton, the fairy archer approached me.

“Thank you. We wouldn’t have been able to get here without you. It would have been much harder.”

“You were just lucky.”

“Lucky… well, it’s true that it’s rare to meet explorers like you in a rift. Please understand why we were wary at first. We’ve been through a lot recently.”

“What do you mean a lot?”

“It’s a bit hard to explain. It’s not like anyone made a mistake, but things just kept going wrong.”

Hmm, really?

I had a hunch.

I hesitated for a moment and then spoke.

“You said you had a Hans on your team, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Get rid of him. Then your luck will improve.”

The fairy archer looked at me with a blank expression and then laughed awkwardly.

“Haha, you’re joking.”

Hmm, I was being 100% serious.