The Truth of That Day
Clang. Clang. Kaang.
People often invest roughly a third of their day in sleep, viewing it as a way to wrap up the day’s tasks and stockpile energy for tomorrow. Skipping proper rest dramatically raised the odds of waking up crushed by exhaustion, unable to focus. It was no coincidence that the urge to sleep ranked among the three fundamental desires necessary for survival.
Slice.
You have defeated the Plague Lizard King!
Distributing rewards.
“Phew… Haa… I barely won.”
I wiped the sweat from my forehead and looked down at the collapsed lizard with green scales and black mist clinging to its body. A smile crept across my lips as I stared at the Plague Lizard King.
Most people were already lost in dreamland by now. Instead, I was here staking my life on combat.
‘I wonder what the reward will be this time.’
Unless it was something truly special, I never missed a single day in the Soul’s Training Ground, swinging my sword without fail. Even so, my current body possessed top-tier stats for this stage of the game, and since I was only fighting enemies I had already strategized against, I had fortunately avoided dying even once since becoming the Sword Saint.
Trickle.
While my body rested in sleep, my mind continued moving without pause inside the Soul’s Training Ground. The accumulated fatigue was no joke. Maybe that was why I briefly wondered whether the nosebleed triggered by the Plague Lizard King’s ability was actually from the exhaustion of staying awake and active for so long.
Swish.
‘I thought I could last longer, but it hit me faster than expected.’
I had assumed I could endure for at least a month. But my mind wasn’t that strong. The sense of dissonance between my perfectly fine body and my exhausted spirit grew clearer every time I woke up in the morning. Especially after meeting with Alkhest and fighting a horde of kobolds right before entering the Soul’s Training Ground this time…
‘I need to get my hands on something that restores fatigue or strengthens the mind.’
At this rate, I might have to skip the Soul’s Training Ground for a few days each month and actually sleep. ‘I won’t be able to enter the Soul’s Training Ground forever anyway, so I can sleep then.’ For now, I had to make full use of it while I still could.
I thought about confiding in Cheonma, but something told me she would simply order me to sleep, so I kept quiet.
Boom.
“Your progress is quite fast!”
“Can I spin the roulette right away?”
“Of course!”
The rabbit-eared girl’s adorable gestures as she delivered the reward gave me a brief moment of healing. I refocused to claim my prize for defeating the enemy.
Gulp.
“Then… spin!”
◈ Reward obtained from Simulation Mode.
◈ Contains the power of the Plague Lizard King.
◈ You acquire the skill: Plague Scales.
“A skill!”
It was the first time a skill had appeared. The name was Plague Scales. From what I remembered, it was a decent skill for tanks. There was no real downside to me using it, and there didn’t seem to be any restrictions on skills here, so I absorbed the item without hesitation and checked its description.
Plague Scales
Category: Skill
A contaminated scale that doesn’t seem like it would have a positive effect on the body.
- When you take damage, there is a 5% chance to inflict 1 Plague Stack on the attacker.
Plague Stack: Stacks up to a maximum of 3. At maximum stacks, the target receives fixed damage equal to 10% of their maximum health for 10 seconds. (After dealing damage, 5 hours must pass before you can inflict Plague Stacks on the same target again.)
It matched the effect I remembered. Plague Scales was normally suited for vanguard tanks who relied on dealing damage over time. The 5% chance to apply a stack was a bit low, but landing it just three times dealt a hefty 10% of the enemy’s maximum health as fixed damage. A pretty sweet skill.
The downsides were that it didn’t work on raid bosses and, being a status ailment, it could be completely removed by purification skills.
‘Still, thanks to my trait, stacking it should be easy.’
My trait guaranteed that every time I was attacked, the opponent received a Plague Stack with 100% certainty. So if I took three hits, the enemy would lose 10% of their health outright. Even without being a tank, it was definitely a useful skill.
“Oh? It seems you’ve obtained quite a useful ability.”
Cheonma nodded, saying she could instinctively sense that the aura around me had changed. She felt that attacking me recklessly now would be unwise.
Thud.
“Master?”
“Well then, since you’ve gained new power, shall we take some time to review it?”
I would have liked to, but unfortunately my body wasn’t in normal condition. I would recover if I died and revived, but since a short rest would let me move normally anyway, I had no desire to experience the terror of death. I asked Cheonma if we could rest for just a little while.
“Hmm… Then while you rest, I shall examine the power you have obtained.”
Because I had absorbed it before she could check the information, Cheonma didn’t fully understand the ability I had gained. Even if she had seen it, she could only read item information, not skill details…
“Plague Scales, is it? I don’t see anything appearing on your skin.”
After listening to my explanation of Plague Scales, Cheonma examined my physical state and began cautiously poking my arm with her finger. She was probably testing how much damage was needed to trigger the scales. I watched quietly as the strength of her pokes gradually increased.
Prod. Prod. Prod. Poke.
What started as a slight tickle had become a noticeable sting. The moment I thought, ‘Ow, that actually hurts,’
Plague Scales activated.
1 Plague Stack applied.
“Hmm? Something strange seems to have latched onto my body. Is this the plague?”
“Master. Right now, above your head…”
“I see nothing. Do you see something with your eyes?”
I nodded quietly at her question.
“Um… About a third of it is vivid, but the rest is faint. A green symbol resembling an animal’s fang has appeared.”
That mark was probably the Plague Stack. Since it was only visible to me, the skill’s owner, it had to be real. After my explanation, she attempted one more poke at the same strength as the last one that had triggered it.
1 Plague Stack applied.
‘Just as I thought.’
The Plague Stack was now about two-thirds vivid. One more stack and the true effect of Plague Scales would activate. Sensing that a second stack had been applied, Cheonma narrowed her eyes slightly and extended her finger once more.
1 Plague Stack applied.
The opponent’s Plague Stacks have reached maximum.
Crackle.
“Huh?”
Cheonma’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden change. She looked down at the back of her hand. An unfitting green crack had formed on her pure white skin. The black smoke rising from it looked ominous at a glance.
“It stings. If this lasts ten seconds, it will be quite annoying.”
She spoke lightly and shook her hand. The Plague Scales that had been emitting black smoke from the back of her hand had cleanly vanished.
“It won’t work on the truly strong, but it is still a decent ability.”
I wondered what level of opponent Cheonma considered “truly strong.” Hoya would obviously be included. Would academy professors meet the standard? At the very least, I had found a solution for one-versus-many battles with this skill.
“Then this should be enough rest.”
“Yeah… I think I’ve rested enough.”
Whoosh. Smack.
“Ouch!”
“Tsk, I told you never to let your guard down.”
The moment I stood up, a palm strike flew at me and smacked me squarely on the crown of my head. She had warned me beforehand that she would launch sudden attacks to train my senses, but I still had a long way to go before I could adapt.
“Earlier, your movements looked especially stiff. It was as if your head understood but your body couldn’t keep up.”
“The surrounding environment was a bit…”
I wanted to say that I was more than used to this kind of situation from the game, to the point it was boring, but the stench rolling off the creature, the altered environment caused by its abilities, and its unique traits had imposed unusually heavy restrictions on my movements this time. Seriously, why did just getting close fill the air with the smell of summer food waste?
“Hehe. Unfortunately, that is something you must get used to.”
“Yes…”
I supposed I had no choice. ‘I wonder if there’s an item or skill that numbs smell or changes it to something pleasant…’ If there was, I would get it immediately.
“Later, it might be good to conduct special training to prepare for this.”
“That sounds genuinely awful…”
Even if I said that, I would still have to do it if she ordered me to. How could Cheonma stay so composed in a place like this? My respect for her increased by another spoonful in that moment. But hidden within that respect was one truth I did not yet know.
In reality, while the Plague Lizard King had died and the background altered by its ability was slowly returning to normal, Cheonma had been secretly pinching her nose and grimacing behind me. When the creature spat and spread its stench, she had even dry-heaved in a blind spot where I couldn’t see. I would only learn this truth far in the future.