Chapter 135
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 135
The blade that was aimed straight for my heart—
Clang!
It was deflected completely by a faint shimmering shield.
At the same time, text floated in the air.
[System] Shield x1 consumed. Remaining Shields: 2
“…W-What was that?”
The fanatic, who had been glaring at me with sunken, gloomy eyes, screamed.
“You wench, you’re no human from the Spring Continent!”
“Shut up! I almost died, you son of a bitch!”
But the bastard didn’t get to hear my answer.
Whether it was a sudden surge of courage or Tulia’s innate, bull-headed spite exploding in this once-in-a-lifetime moment, I didn’t know.
But with my eyes wide and crazed, I delivered a sharp kick right between the fanatic’s legs.
“Gah!”
Almost simultaneously, Max, who had climbed back up, shouted.
“You lunatic! You tried to cut the Lady?! I almost died because of you!”
“Aaaaaagh!”
Leaving behind those somewhat questionable last words, Max grabbed the fanatic and plummeted back down.
‘Wow.’
Bold. Very bold.
Half-impressed and half-wary of his suicidal tackle, I scanned the vast altar.
Climbing up had been an ordeal, but the top was a wide, unobstructed flat surface.
Fortunately, there were no other fanatics.
No mangled corpses, either.
However…
“…?”
In the center of the altar, a strange summoning circle was drawn, looking as if someone had scribbled runes in a frenzy.
And lying right in the middle of it was a man.
Since it was dark atop the altar, I couldn't see his face or physique clearly. I could only tell that he was emaciated, just like the other sacrifices.
The clock stopped at that moment.
(Time Remaining: 22 seconds)
[System] Sudden Quest ‘New Master’ completed!
[System] Sudden Quest successful! You have acquired 2 additional Shields!
“Phew…”
I slumped to the ground.
‘Well, at least he seems to have gone to the afterlife in one piece. I’ll collect him and give him a proper burial later…’
I came here just to get some fertilizer, and look at this mess.
Is this place… really inside the game?
I mean, the system windows are appearing, so it must be, but is it the game I know?
Why Did That Lady Give the Handsome Man Milk Bread?
Did she give him poison instead of milk bread?
Is the lady a monster?
Is the handsome man a freak?!
That damn Kim Ddong-byul! I knew he was elusive, but I swore to myself I’d catch him and snap him in half. Just as I was pushing myself back up—
The air in front of me flashed again.
And then, truly.
Truly unbelievable words appeared.
[System] Hidden Quest Manifested!
You, who can no longer be called trash!
But let’s not be disappointed!
To you, who are striving toward A-Rank in an exemplary manner, a new Hidden Quest is granted!
‘What?’
Aside from the Main Quest, this was the first time a quest had come with a description.
Hidden Quest: Master of Fate
Hidden Quest Objective: Save ‘Klaus Rocheva’!
‘What?’
Klaus Rocheva?
‘Wait, then that man over there is…?’
Panicked, I looked toward the corpse lying in the center of the altar.
‘Why is Klaus Rocheva here?’
He’s the Hidden Male Lead!
Even after playing The Milk Bread hundreds, thousands of times, he was a character I’d only encountered once!
Regardless of my confusion, the system window faithfully continued.
Success Reward: Acquire items ‘Rainbow Fertilizer’ and ‘White Tulip Seed.’
Failure Penalty: Become one of the mangled corpses (The entire Frezier family).
(Time Limit: 5 minutes)
“…What?”
I blinked.
For the first time, I didn’t feel rage toward the system window for trying to hurl me toward my death as usual.
I was overwhelmed by a different emotion.
Doubt.
‘What is this system?’
My plan to obtain Rainbow Fertilizer and White Tulip Seeds was exactly that—my plan.
I wasn't following a quest; it was a plan I had conceived and executed entirely on my own, independent of the game.
It wasn't even a matter of getting involved with the protagonist or important supporting characters like before.
It was purely a plan I, Tulia, had made to become filthy rich…
That was why it was so eerie.
How could this system window interfere even with my own independent plans?
How could it, like a god watching everything, offer those two specific items as rewards for a Hidden Quest?
My body was hot from all the running and climbing, but a chill ran down my spine.
I was swept away by a fear like that of a child lost in the vast, empty vacuum of space.
(Time Remaining: 4 minutes 45 seconds)
But there was no time to stand around trembling.
I lunged forward again like a puppet on strings, but—
“Woman of the extinct continent!”
“I will kill you! How dare you interfere with the sacred ritual!”
“Oh, Animus!”
“We shall offer You a true sacrifice!”
I gasped as I saw the fanatics crawling up like cockroaches.
“You lunatics!”
What on earth were these madmen doing, and how did they get up here?
One of them was even crawling up despite having an arm completely severed. Were they insane?
I hurried toward Klaus Rocheva.
Fortunately, the distance wasn't great, and since they were heavily injured, they weren't moving very fast.
But it was still a close call.
“Where are the knights…?!”
Surely they hadn't all died down there?
Even though I could hear the clashing of blades and shouting from below the altar, the fact that no one was coming up terrified me.
Were the fanatics more formidable than I thought?
If so, no one might be able to save me.
I have to live.
I’ve done so much just to survive!
Running to the center of the altar with gritted teeth, I slid to a halt and knelt before him.
“Klaus! Klaus Rocheva!”
I shook him urgently, but Klaus Rocheva didn't budge.
“Hey! Open your eyes! Open your eyes…!”
Suddenly, I stopped.
I realized it was useless to beg the system window to count the Hidden Quest as complete just because I had "reached" him.
Klaus Rocheva…
‘…He’s already dead.’
Not in a metaphorical sense, but in a literal, physical sense.
“…”
Truly, really.
“Klaus…?”
The Hidden Male Lead was dead.
“This can’t be…”
In that moment, the emotion I felt wasn't shock or sadness.
It was…
“Hey! How can you be dead?!”
Extreme rage.
“If you die, my Main Quest is a total failure! Are you insane?!”
It would be one thing if I’d never met him, but I already had!
Which meant he had become one of the male leads I had to build favorability with!
If he was already dead, what the hell was I supposed to do?!
Is it true that people display superhuman strength when their anger hits its peak?
In this desperate situation, I managed to recall a benefit I had forgotten.
“Benefit! Bring up the Benefit!”
Specifically, Master of Life.
The benefit I had acquired long ago rose up, emitting a brilliant light.
[System] ‘Master of Life’ Benefit: Can resurrect a dead male lead once (One-time use).
“I’m using it! I’m using the benefit! Activate Master of Life!”
It happened in an instant.
An immense light erupted right before my eyes. It was so bright that even I, with my eyes bloodshot from rage, had to squeeze my eyelids shut.
And then.
“Urgh!”
My hair was suddenly yanked back.
“Oh, Animus!”
“We offer this filthy wench who practices black magic, so please appease Your anger!”
“Appease Your anger!”
The fanatics had managed to crawl all the way over.
It seemed the shields I’d earned from the sudden quest only activated when my life was in immediate danger.
But the pain of my scalp being torn was still horrific and irritating.
“Let go! It hurts!”
“Shut your mouth! You filthy wench!”
“Who are you calling filth—?!”
Even then, Tulia’s personality didn't back down as I shrieked back.
But I couldn't finish my sentence.
Crunch.
“…?!”
Right before my eyes, the fanatic’s face was literally ‘pulverized.’
It wasn't as if someone had struck him with a hammer or a blunt weapon.
It was simply the grip of a large hand.
A brutally cruel strength that had completely crushed a human face with nothing but raw power.
That hand had grabbed the fanatic’s face and burst it.
Like someone crushing a watermelon or an apple with their bare hand.
“…”
Having the blood of someone who was alive just a second ago splatter across my face was a gruesome experience.
I reflexively closed my eyes.
“A-Animus…! Argh!”
“How did the dead awaken… You wench…?! Ack!”
“Kill that girl first! Aaaaagh!”
Just as I felt the fanatics’ voices turning into screams of terror—
“Gah!”
I was grabbed by the collar and ‘hauled’ upward.
“…Woman.”
The voice was slightly out of breath.
“Was it you who brought me back?”
It was Klaus Rocheva.
The Hidden Male Lead was glaring at me as if he were about to kill me.