Chapter 31
Ding.
[Beginner Skill Pack]
[A skill pack that allows you to obtain skill cards ranging from 1-star to 7-star upon opening.]
This item is not tradeable.
“Hmm. Ranging from 1-star to 7-star.”
Considering that the Intermediate Skill Pack ranged from 2-star to 8-star, it was a reasonable range.
Then, does the Advanced Skill Pack range from 3-star to 9-star?
-Nope. The Advanced Skill Pack ranges from 4-star to 8-star. Getting a 9-star would be too easy.
“Gosh, this game doesn’t appreciate its players’ success. Let’s go!”
With a snap, Carpe forcefully tore open the card pack. Instantly, five cards popped out into the air.
“Starting from the left.”
Since she was going to check them all through “Repeat” anyway, she decided to open them in order.
The first card…
[Congratulations. 1-star Skill Card - ‘Rock Throw’ obtained.]
“Darn it. Repeat!”
Without even reading the skill description, she immediately repeated. And the second card…
[Congratulations. 1-star Skill Card - ‘Nap Time’ obtained.]
“…Repeat.”
And the third card…
[Congratulations. 1-star Skill Card - ‘Seed Planting’ obtained.]
“…This game is really insane. Repeat!”
So when she opened the fourth card, Celestial couldn’t help but marvel.
[Congratulations. 1-star Skill Card - ‘Fishing’ obtained.]
-Wow, four 1-star cards! Isn’t this like getting a four of a kind in poker? If only I had caught this at a casino.
“…I want to strangle the developers.”
-Well, there’s still one card left. It wouldn’t be another 1-star, would it? That’d be ridiculous. Hehe.
“Your words and your thoughts don’t match, you know? So annoying.”
Carpe gave Celestial a pointed look before using Repeat.
The eagerly awaited final card!
-Oh?
[Congratulations. 5-star Skill Card - ‘Calling Thunder’ obtained.]
The last card exploded with excitement.
“Wow! Jackpot!”
Of course, for Carpe, who already possessed a 10-star skill and had even drawn 7-star skill cards, a 5-star wasn’t particularly noteworthy. But after drawing four 1-star cards in a row, seeing a 5-star was like witnessing a miracle.
“No need to think twice. I’ll pick it right away!”
[Skill Card (Calling Thunder) - 5-star]
[Spend 1 skill point to acquire this skill.]
[Summon a powerful lightning from the sky. Enemies hit are highly likely to be ‘paralyzed’.]
[Acquisition Restriction: Must be mastering lightning-type magic.]
[Skill Lv. 3: Damage increased by 30%.]
[Skill Lv. 5: Additional increase in paralysis probability.]
[Skill Lv. 10: Summon two bolts of lightning.]
*Not tradeable
“Not bad at all. I’ll learn it right away.”
Lightning-type spells were popular among users for their outstanding damage and the frequent infliction of ‘paralysis’.
So much so that there was a trend of users specializing solely in lightning spells, known as ‘Thunder Mages’!
And one of the core skills in the Thunder Mage skill tree was none other than Calling Thunder.
“Hmm.”
The acquisition restriction was also acceptable.
Carpe’s ‘Elemental Mastery’ was a superior skill that encompassed mastery of all elemental magic, after all.
Although she could learn the skill right away, she asked, “Brother, what do you think of this?”
• Huh?
Carpe briefly postponed learning the skill and shared her thoughts with Celestial.
After hearing Carpe’s explanation, Celestial pondered for a moment before nodding in agreement.
“Sounds reasonable. It would definitely be more efficient that way.”
“Right? Then let’s do it right away.”
[Used Skill Card - ‘Calling Thunder.’]
After confirming the application of the skill card, they resumed advancing through the dungeon.
The composition of the monsters remained the same, consisting of reinforced skeletons and archers.
“Fire Arrow!”
[Defeated the Reinforced Skeleton Archer.]
[Obtained a shard of cursed bone.]
After defeating several skeleton parties and collecting loot, they noticed the timer had decreased by 30 minutes.
There was now 1 hour and 30 minutes remaining.
“Brother, the current quest storyline is about intercepting the invaders, right?”
Enemies infiltrated the ruins in search of the relics of the Demon King, and the story revolved around thwarting these invaders.
In this context, the term “invaders” referred to the entities from the Otherworld, specifically the “Backstage Spirits” that Arkram had fought.
“So the invaders are players now? Did the Backstage Spirit provide any information about the Demon King?”
“Probably not. Backstage Spirits don’t necessarily gravitate towards players.”
“Really?”
“Some NPCs are chosen by Backstage Spirits too. Just like players.”
For instance, it was common knowledge that the King of Gillian, a knight’s country, had a Backstage Spirit related to knights, a 9-star Backstage Spirit, to be precise, as anyone familiar with Lase would know.
Of course, the King of Gillian regarded this Backstage Spirit not as an NPC but as the guardian deity of the country.
“So, is that priest an NPC chosen by a Backstage Spirit?”
“Likely. It wouldn’t make sense if it were a player. Would they wait around anticipating when a scenario event would occur?”
“Well, that makes sense… Anyway, it’s fortunate.”
If the invaders had been players, it could have caused a stir among the user base, spreading information about the Demon King.
“For now, we need to keep as much information hidden as possible. Considering how many eccentrics there are in Lase.”
Hidden jobs and quests were enough to provoke unwarranted attention and PKing in Lase.
No logical reasoning was needed for it.
“Why can you do it and I can’t? Oh, it’s so annoying. Let’s kill them. Oh, annoying. Let’s kill them.”
Surprisingly, many individuals were not hesitant to engage in PKing for such reasons.
Even in cases of simple hidden jobs, if it were known that a player was undertaking a quest related to mythical-grade content…
“A smooth gaming life is hopeless. Even if you can conceal your appearance or attire with customization, you can’t hide your skills or weapons.”
“…They’ll come swarming in to start trouble. Should we continue hiding everything then?”
“No, just for the early stages. It won’t take long.”
Celestial already had a blueprint for the “Ultimate Troll Development Project for Stubborn Gamers” in his mind.
It probably wouldn’t take more than a month.
“Then, you can speak freely after that. If they swarm in, we’ll just massacre them like shooting a movie scene with a horde.”
“Wow… Sounds like a firsthand experience.”
“It is. Anyway, don’t die on the quest. Depending on the outcome, that period could be drastically reduced.”
“I’ll do my best… Ouch!”
Zip.
Carpe swiftly dodged the arrow that came flying towards her.
With the dungeon raid progressing once again, Carpe picked up the pace and pushed deeper into the dungeon.
After another thirty minutes, she reached level 16. There was about an hour left on the timer.
“Phew. We made it all the way, right?”
“Yeah, this looks like the place.”
Before their eyes stood a massive stone door, slightly ajar, indicating someone had entered inside.
“Now, we’re entering the real game. It’s been a bit dull until now.”
If anyone else had heard this, it could have been a remark worth reprimanding, but fortunately or unfortunately, there was no one else around.
“Alright then!”
With determination, Carpe opened the stone door and stepped inside.
The interior of the stone door was spacious and clean, devoid of the sense of impending death felt outside.
However, there was something other than undead inside.
“Oh, you’re here sooner than I thought.”
A priest.
The blonde priestess, who had passed by near the cemetery, greeted Carpe with a cheerful expression, swinging her legs as she sat atop a large stone coffin.
“I was getting bored waiting for you. I almost died of boredom. I was going to smash this thing and leave if you hadn’t shown up in about 57 minutes. Luckily, you came earlier.”
She said, tapping the lid of the coffin with her hand.
“…57 minutes? Ah!”
“Hmm, was that what the timer meant?”
If Carpe hadn’t reached this place within the time limit displayed on the timer, she would have smashed the coffin and left. And the quest would have failed.
So, the coffin she was sitting on right now must be the artifact chest where the relics of the Demon King were stored.
“In fact, I was ordered to just break it. But then I thought it would be a waste. Even if I don’t know what’s inside, it must be valuable. So, isn’t it better to take it than to break it? Don’t you agree?”
“Either way, you’re still a grave robber.”
“Then I’ll just guide you to the owner as one who serves the gods. And then I’ll ask your soul for permission once again.”
“If you don’t?”
“As someone who serves the gods, I can’t help but guide them. Then I’ll ask for your permission again after that.”
“You’re neither a priest nor a god’s servant, but a robber. Why beat around the bush and threaten to kill if you don’t give it to me?”
Carpe said, gripping her sword.
That moment,
Ding.
[The Myrmidons of Fanaticism enters combat mode.]
With the notification, the words ‘Myrmidons of Fanaticism’ appeared above the priest’s head.
“Wow, what a level difference.”
“If it’s that color, there’s a difference of at least 35 levels… Be careful. If you let your guard down, that’ll be the end.”
The name that appeared above her head was unbelievably crimson.
A chilling shade of red that couldn’t be compared to the reinforced skeletons. It was like thick blood.
“Phew.”
Carpe took a short breath.
Thud!
Carpe launched herself towards Myrnadeus with all her might.
“Haaap!”
First strike guaranteed!
Approaching Myrnadeus in an instant, Carpe swung her sword with full force.
A vertical slash, as if drawn in a picture, descended towards her forehead.
From leap to slash.
It was truly an attack executed in the blink of an eye.
However,
Clang!
“Quite fast, aren’t you?”
“Guh?!”
Myrnadeus effortlessly deflected Carpe’s attack, using only one hand to wield her scythe!
“Now it’s my turn.”
After saying so, she grasped the scythe with both hands.
Then, with a smirk directed at Carpe, she swung the scythe towards her neck.
“Ugh!”
Fast.
Faster than expected, Carpe moved her sword to defend herself against the scythe’s onslaught with desperate strength.
Whether it was due to her resolve or sheer luck, she managed to deflect the scythe with her sword just before it reached her neck…
-Get down!
Whoosh!
Carpe’s evasion of the attack was truly a “paper-thin margin.”
Perhaps, if she hadn’t been using the capsule ‘Artemis,’ which maximized synchronization rates, the previous attack could have been the end of her.
When Cheonma shouted “Get down,” Carpe instinctively lowered her head.
A move akin to reflex.
Thanks to that, she survived.
“You have good instincts, huh? Usually, that last attack would’ve been fatal.”
Clang.
The broken blade hit the ground, unable to overcome gravity.
Myrnadeus’ scythe had cleaved Carpe’s sword like tofu and continued to aim for her neck.
[The Hero-grade triple-edged sword ‘Green Skin Slayer’ has suffered critical damage. It cannot be equipped until repaired.]
“Crazy.”
Startled, Carpe quickly distanced herself.
Myrnadeus, for some reason, didn’t pursue Carpe, but instead, watched her with a smile.
“It’s mind-boggling. That scythe must have at least a severing option attached. Otherwise, it’s legendary.”
“Does this make sense? A weapon breaking?”
“Naturally. You did it too, didn’t you?”
“I did?”
“You smashed the skeleton shield. It’s the same thing.”
“Huh.”
Never did she expect to receive the same treatment she inflicted on the mobs.
Not only did she fail in her surprise attack, but her weapon also shattered in one counterattack.
It was so absurd that she couldn’t even articulate her thoughts properly.
“Was this really made to be captured?”
Although it was only one exchange, Carpe could tell.
The priestess in front of her was truly an unreasonable monster.
“You seem to be right.”
“I am?”
“It wasn’t made to be captured.”
Thanks to the title ‘Triple Firsts,’ Carpe was in a state where all her stats received a +33 boost.
And yet, Carpe barely managed to evade the attack. A physical monster resorting to using an Artemis capsule?
If it had been another player with the Demon King class instead of Carpe, they would’ve died ten out of ten times from the counterattack just now.
In other words, it meant that she should avoid combat altogether.
“It’s an invincible boss. Generally, you can’t defeat it.”
Sometimes, there were games like that.
Where the boss monster itself was designed to be almost invincible.
In such cases, it was impossible to deal damage to the boss through conventional means, and the boss had to be cleared through surrounding objects or events.
“Do you see that? The hollow in the center of that coffin.”
And Cheonma, not content with the failure of his surprise attack, carefully surveyed all the terrain features of the boss room.
A kind of professional disease!
Thanks to that, Cheonma was able to discover the hollow in the center of the coffin before long.
“Before coming in here, you got a token from the gravedigger, right?”
“Oh, yes. It’s in my inventory.”
“At a glance, doesn’t it look like it fits perfectly into that hollow?”
“Come to think of it?”
Upon hearing that, Carpe also grasped the situation.
Yes. The clear condition of this quest wasn’t defeating the boss, but ‘retrieving the artifact.’
Rather than fighting that insane priestess, the goal was to somehow distract her and approach the coffin.
That was the victory condition.
“Now that we’ve figured out the situation, let’s lure her out… What are you doing?”
“Hyung, I just had a brilliant idea.”
“No, don’t think. I’ll do the thinking. Please. Just don’t think!”
Despite Cheonma’s plea, Carpe conjured up a phantom from the shadows.
“Kyu!”
As Mukhyang spun in mid-air, her skill was activated.
[Mukhyang’s Skill - ‘Spell of Eight’ is activated.]
[Legendary gloves ‘Enigma’ receive dark attribute.]
[‘Striking’ has been used. Physical damage increases.]
With this, all the buffs available to Carpe were in play.
Witnessing this spectacle, Cheonma tore at his hair.
“The easy way is right in front of us, why… this crazy gamer!”
“Hyung, let’s be honest. You’ve encountered plenty of invincible bosses, right?”
“So what if I have?”
“Among them, have you ever just brute-forced your way through?”
Cheonma fell silent. But his silence spoke volumes.
“Even though you’ve done it yourself, you advise against it when it’s me.”
“No, I barely made it on my third attempt…”
“Just one more question.”
“What?”
“Do you think it’s more rewarding to just brute-force these bosses?”
Carpe’s suspicion was spot on.
History in countless games proved it.
There were always players who cleared bosses designed not to be defeated, using unforeseen and unconventional methods. And it was common knowledge that such clears were often accompanied by hidden rewards or easter eggs!
“Darn it.”
Cheonma closed his eyes.
He realized further persuasion was futile.
“Look at it positively. We have to surpass our former selves anyway. Couldn’t this be a possibility? It’s paradoxical.”
“I don’t know, man. What did I do in my past life to…”
“Okay, how about a bet?”
“A bet?”
“If I lose, I’ll follow your orders until the end of the game. I’ll become your Cheonma avatar.”
“Really?”
Cheonma’s eyes widened at the unexpected proposal.
“Wait, hold on… If this happens, wouldn’t it be more beneficial for me to die?”
While the Demon King quest might be lost, the fact that the Demon King class itself wasn’t part of Cheonma’s growth routine meant there were many other ways to progress.
If he could wield control over this crazy wild horse in exchange for the quest…
“Sounds like a deal? And if you win?”
“Hmm, now that I think about it, I don’t really have anything to wager, do I?”
“How about granting one wish?”
“A wish? Keep? Seriously, what strange request are you planning…”
“Why is the mighty Cheonma hesitating? Scared?”
“Gaah! You… Fine, keep! It’s a call, not a fear!”
“Okay, call it. I’ll definitely catch her.”
Now, in Carpe’s eyes, Myrnadeus looked nothing more than a treasure goblin who granted wishes upon capture.
“I don’t like that look in your eyes.”
Whether Myrnadeus sensed Carpe’s suspicious gaze or not, she frowned slightly and approached Carpe.
At the same time, Carpe launched herself towards her once again.
“Same trick?”
Myrnadeus chuckled.
She had already gauged the disciple’s level with just one exchange.
Impressive potential, but much weaker than herself. A filthy heretic.
That was Myrnadeus’ assessment of Carpe.
But to attack with the same pattern, at the same speed as before? And this time without a weapon?
“Hmph!”
There was no need to block. Just timing the counterattack correctly would end it…
“Huh?”
But something was off.
“Why is the heretic’s fist right in front of my eyes?”
Myrnadeus’ judgment was wrong.
It was nothing like before. The speed was incomparable to their previous exchange.
Could she have been hiding her strength? No, that desperate move couldn’t possibly be an act.
Then why?
In an incomprehensible situation, Myrnadeus was thrown into confusion. But the truth was very simple.
Ding.
[Using bonus stats. Agility increases by 30.]
Just detonating the bonus she had kept hidden!
Bam!
Carpe’s fist landed squarely on Myrnadeus’ face, and for a moment, Cheonma screamed.
“You’re taking that hit! You idiot! Don’t let your guard down!”
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