What If (5)
Upon activation, restructures the physical body to pass as an ordinary human.
Effect: Nullifies demon energy detection and tracking until the skill is deactivated.
Total HP reduced by 50% (max 90%).
Total MP reduced by 70%.
HP recovery rate slowed by 50% (max 90%).
Physical defense reduced by 20% (max 50%).
Magic resistance reduced by 40% (max 80%).
Physical damage received increased by 30% (max 100%).
Magic damage received increased by 90% (max 200%).
Holy damage received increased by 500% (max 1000%).
HP decreases by 1 per second (max 999).
Applies status ailment: Mana Circulation Disorder.
※ All effects except the nullification of demon energy detection and tracking gradually increase in proportion to skill duration.
※ Upon deactivation, all effects except the nullification of demon energy detection and tracking gradually fade over a period proportional to the skill’s active time.
The mana within the body becomes tangled, rendering proper control impossible.
Mana recovery speed is slowed by 30%, and the skill Mana Control is nullified.
When using mana, there is a chance of mana backlash, dealing damage to the user.
This skill had popped up out of nowhere while Sangun was off making me a place to farm food. Exactly the same way Life Conversion had suddenly appeared when I was fighting the Sea Dragon out at sea.
“My apologies. I’m still unskilled.”
Even I had no idea why it was being handed to me only now.
Did I look so miserable that they decided to play both doctor and poisoner out of some twisted charity? But if they’d already seen through everything, why not just come out and give it openly? Provide convenience, yet refuse to meet face-to-face—was that the idea?
…Giving me this only makes it easier for me to hunt you down.
“I won’t make any more mistakes.”
They had opened an escape route for me, that much was true, yet their true intentions remained completely beyond my grasp. What standards did those people even move by?
Turning those thoughts over in my mind, I focused on my own body. Passing out mid-skill again simply wasn’t an option.
After painstaking fine-tuning, the demon energy began to transform into mana, and a rather vicious surge of pain raced through my entire frame. My body felt sluggish.
“How is it? Has the demon energy been concealed?”
Yet the effect, compared to the pain, was crystal clear. The right hand I had left exposed for visual confirmation began returning to its original color. No longer black.
“Did I succeed?”
Of course, the debuffs paid as the price for this Disguise cut to the bone. Reduced HP and MP pools were the least of it; the way received damage skyrocketed was the real problem.
The holy damage multiplier, especially, was high enough that one solid hit meant preparing to die. And the per-second DoT barely needed mentioning.
An ambush would kill me outright with no room for argument.
“……?”
On top of that, Mana Circulation Disorder proved no minor penalty either.
What had once felt like spraying water from a fire hose now felt worse than trying to force it through a crushed straw. At the very least, any thought of fighting while Disguise was active had to be discarded.
“…Does any demon energy still linger, or—”
Well, my review of the Disguise skill roughly amounted to that.
More importantly—Yukgui, why the silent treatment? Growing worried that something might be wrong, I stared hard at him.
[I’ll correct myself. You’re a truly selfish bastard.]
An unreadable condemnation came flying back almost immediately.
“Pardon?”
[Even I… I really…]
The scolding was so completely out of left field that it barely landed. The fact that Yukgui was covering his own head with a flipper only made it worse. I was simply bewildered.
“…Why are you like this?”
Still unable to hide my confusion, I tried speaking to him a few more times. Naturally, no answer came.
“Why……”
Seriously, why all of a sudden? Was this because I had fainted?
I offered every guess I could about Yukgui’s strange behavior and even managed a bit of self-reflection—despite having no real certainty whether I was right.
[I’m back… Did you two fight?]
“…No.”
Probably… we didn’t? Maybe……?
I awkwardly rubbed the back of my neck at the perfectly timed arrival of Sangun. I had no idea what was going on either. You’re the one who should do something about this. My eyes were screaming for help at him.
[Ancestor?]
[Don’t talk to me. I’m wallowing in self-loathing.]
[Yessir.]
Even Sangun’s attempt failed. Our gazes met again. The various medicinal herbs dangling from his mouth only added a touch of comedy to the awkward air.
[Why’s he actin’ like that?]
“…I don’t know either.”
If I knew, I’d have soothed him already. Sangun and I whispered while watching Yukgui’s mood carefully.
[Oh? Lookin’ closer, Sir Knight. Yer demon energy’s completely vanished.]
Then Sangun’s eyes went round as he noticed my change. With Yukgui refusing to speak, I’d thought it might have failed—but apparently not.
I fussed over my right hand with a peculiar feeling.
[Wait… it ain’t gone? Did ya succeed…?]
“I did.”
If Sangun was saying that, the odds of humans detecting me had to be zero.
I felt a private satisfaction at his words. The debuffs were plastered all over it, but I had finally secured a way to walk through the cities. The biggest obstacle was cleared.
[Then……]
“……?”
Yet as I basked in that, Sangun’s voice turned gloomy and he hung his head. Plop. The deodeok and ginseng he’d been holding in his mouth tumbled to the ground and scattered.
[Yer leavin’ now, ain’t ya.]
So that was it—he was already imagining my departure. We had only agreed I would stay until I found a way to hide the demon energy, so it wasn’t wrong, but watching him droop like that was somehow amusing.
[I worked so hard raisin’ those crops… I really did……]
I barely managed to hold back a dry laugh and kept my expression firm. I had lowered the roleplay a fair bit, but that trademark unfriendly blank face still had to be maintained.
“I’ll stay a while longer.”
[Huh? Really?]
“Yes.”
For the record, this wasn’t empty comfort for Sangun. I genuinely needed a few more days here.
“And deliver this to the Great Chieftain. I have a request.”
After all, merely hiding the demon energy wasn’t enough for my concept; I still needed a thorough understanding of the Disguise skill itself.
“You’re leaving?”
“Yes.”
Deathbringer was thoroughly rattled by words that had come with no chance to prepare. Of all people, Berserk—and of all times, now—was the last person he expected to hear this from.
“There is no longer any reason to remain here.”
But had he truly not seen it coming? Had he really been that unaware?
Ever since that incident, Deathbringer had watched the warrior sink deeper day by day. Now she, too, radiated the same heavy air as the Demon Knight of old, as if trapped in the deep sea.
“…Where will you go?”
“North.”
“North where?”
“I will return to my homeland.”
“Ah……”
The Inquisitor had received an oracle, and supposedly it had told them to head north. So come with us.
To find and catch the Demon Knight—not capture, just hold him long enough for even a short conversation—they needed strong people. Couldn’t she travel with them until then, at least?
Every such plea died the moment the word “homeland” was spoken. He knew that most people, unlike someone like himself, placed considerable weight on that word.
Deathbringer’s lips moved soundlessly; his ears drooped.
“Yeah… maybe that’s better.”
Depending on interpretation the meaning shifted, but to Deathbringer the latter half of the oracle clearly pointed to the Demon Knight. After all, a man who had lost his memories and was wandering wasn’t that different from a lost soul?
Kill him, save him, or send him home. Which of the three interpretations was correct, he still didn’t know.
“You’re not leaving?”
“Well… at first I thought about it……”
But at least one thing was certain. The temple would almost certainly choose the first option.
“I figured it’d be better to stay, for the young master’s sake.”
Yet did he have the power to stop that? If the Inquisitor chose the first option, did he have the strength to save the Demon Knight from her?
“Staying here also seems like the highest chance of running into the young master again.”
He didn’t. But among the party he was the fastest at delivering a message. That was why Deathbringer had decided to remain.
“…More importantly, when are you going?”
“Today.”
“Right now?”
“Yes.”
“…Got it.”
But was this really the right choice?
He forced an awkward smile at the warrior who was saying her goodbyes.
“Take care.”
And would they ever meet again?
The words he couldn’t ask tightened around his throat.
Roughly ten days had passed since Yukgui’s strange reaction. I had spent every single one of them studying the newly acquired Disguise skill.
Investigating the clause that said the effects (debuffs) scaled with active duration.
Examining how long the debuffs lingered after deactivation.
Calculating the maximum time I could endure the steadily increasing DoT damage.
Researching the drop in combat power caused by Mana Circulation Disorder and the backlash from mana reverse-flow, and so on.
All of it was advance preparation so I could move more freely outside.
Drip-drip.
“…Ah.”
But as a result I had first confirmed one absolute certainty.
Fighting while using mana with Disguise active was completely fucked.
“Nosebleeds are standard, huh……”
Of course, a mana backlash only dealt damage; it didn’t cancel the skill itself—though the pain might force me to drop it. So fighting wasn’t entirely impossible.
Still, if a battle dragged on, things would get ugly fast. Unless the situation was truly urgent, the correct approach from the start was to avoid combat.
That much was certain.
“Now I get why the original owner of this body insisted on soloing empty places……”
Unable to suppress a groan, I slumped against a nearby tree. No joke—my entire body ached. It felt like I had returned to my frail real-world self.
“I’m dying, seriously……”
On top of that, the nosebleed from the mana backlash still showed no sign of stopping. I pressed a handkerchief to my nose and hung my head.
Rustle. A breeze from far away stirred the forest’s orderly sounds and fluttered my clothes. A cool wind that chilled the body.
“…Still, this should be enough data collection, right?”
Perhaps because I was pinching my nose shut with the handkerchief, the words that slipped out came out all nasal.
It was an unavoidable human thing, yet it clashed so hard with my concept that it was funny.
If Deathbringer or the Inquisitor ever heard this, they’d doubt their own ears and shape their mouths into diamonds. Imagining that expression made my own mouth twitch again.
No one was watching, so I was free to laugh as much as I wanted. What overtook that reality was the image of two young men hanging their heads over the place I had left.
The corners of my mouth that had been rising immediately slammed into the dirt.
Grrrrowl.
“Mm……”
…Right. Until I left the Great Forest, the concept still wasn’t fully over. So get the expression under control. With that resolve I reached into my inventory.
Clatter.
Calling it a lunchbox felt grandiose, yet there was no better word for the midday meal I pulled out.
“Hoo.”
Luckily the nosebleed stopped around then as well. In other words, I no longer needed to stuff food into my mouth while holding a handkerchief to my nose.
I comfortably opened the lunchbox lid.
[Wooooaaaah!!]
The moment the thin porridge was lifted by the spoon, a thunderous cry rolled through the forest.
It was what Sangun did when he couldn’t call me directly yet still needed to announce his arrival. My startled heart settled back into place.
[Waaaaah.]
Trying to call me home was fine, but if he kept this up the priests would come investigate, wouldn’t they?
Leaving that sliver of unease behind, I closed the lunchbox lid again. I hadn’t gone far from the shelter, and Sangun was here—so I decided to head back and eat there.
[Waaak!]
More than anything, if I didn’t scold him quickly, Sangun would just keep doing it. Better to return.
I couldn’t help lifting the corners of my mouth at the uninvited guest who always showed up the moment I felt lonely.
“You’re loud.”
[Ah, Sir Knight.]
Still loud, though. I smacked Sangun’s body with the scabbard and all. Only then did he notice me and whip his head around. The approaching head stopped right above me, nostrils flaring and tongue flicking constantly.
[Geez. With the demon energy gone it’s way too hard to find ya, Sir Knight. Separately, just look at that blood smell. Ya did that thing again, didn’t ya. Honestly, take better care of yer body while yer at it……]
“None of your business. What’s the matter?”
Yukgui, who had been moping around since that day, hadn’t come today either… So why had Sangun come again? Just to hang out? Four days in a row was a bit much, wasn’t it?
[Ah, right right. The Great Chieftain said the thing ya asked for arrived today, so I came straight to deliver it.]
Apparently not. Part of Sangun’s body slithered, and he held out the tip of his tail. A single bundle dangled from it.
“…I didn’t think it would be ready so soon.”
I carefully accepted it. Factoring in the travel time between the Great Forest and the outside world plus the time spent hunting down the goods, I had expected at least three weeks. Yet it had arrived earlier. I felt both flustered and glad.
[But what is that? I can’t read letters, so……]
“…You don’t need to know.”
Still, saying it out loud myself felt a bit… It wasn’t anything particularly embarrassing or shameful, but my concept just wouldn’t allow me to speak of it.
[Eeeehhh.]
No amount of cute whining would work. If you’re Sangun, act like Sangun.
I shoved the bundle into my inventory while looking at Sangun, who was growing more of a brat by the day. I’d check the details after he left.
[Mean.]
“If you have no further business, leave.”
[If ya won’t tell me, ya think I can’t find out? I’m gonna ask the Great Chieftain.]
Do whatever you want. I roughly pushed the sulking Sangun away. I just didn’t want to say it with my own mouth; hearing it from the Great Chieftain wasn’t my concern.
Sangun, on the other hand, put on a thoroughly sulky face. For a creature without facial muscles, his ability to convey emotion was outstanding.
“Ah.”
[Huh? Yer gonna tell me?]
“I’m leaving within the week. Keep that in mind.”
[Hiiiiiiiing.]
No—I’d already investigated everything I needed, and I’d prepared a way to hide my identity outside. It was time to go for real.
In the end I had to use force to peel away Sangun, who had started whining for a different reason.
[Hueeeeng.]
Argh, just get off!