Chapter 45

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 45

Chapter Title: Fallen High Priest Bardo

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Creak.

The door swung open, revealing the full view of the boss room.

A massive dome.

The enormous stone chamber, reminiscent of the Pantheon built in ancient Roman times, brimmed with grandeur.

Well-carved stones stacked neatly upward, converging in a rounded ceiling, interspersed with sculptures depicting various eras and figures from this monastery's history.

And somewhat eerily, bones of the dead were plastered across the walls and ceiling, forming a grotesque work of art.

"Wow... what a huge space."

"Yeah."

As I took a step forward, I pulled two accessories from my backpack and placed them in Han So-hee's hand.

"What's this?"

"I'm lending them to you for now, given the situation. I'll still respect your choice on whether to sell them or not, so just put them on."

"Thanks."

Fully prepared, we advanced across the smooth stone floor.

"Ugh. Th-there are so many bodies."

"Dickhead, this feels like we wandered into the wrong spot. Shouldn't we turn back now...?"

I hadn't noticed while gawking upward at the majesty, but lowering my gaze revealed the horrific truth hidden below.

The floor was littered with countless corpses—so many that it showed just how many confident challengers had entered here and died.

'At least a thousand. Bittersweet.'

Were the people who came here ordinary? Hardly. They must have been brimming with confidence in their abilities.

Some might even have been Mythic-grade, or perhaps Transcendent.

'Trials aren't survived on skill alone.'

You need luck, too.

No matter how perfectly you prepare and give your all, you need luck that looks contrived to outsiders.

Otherwise, you couldn't end up with just one survivor out of four billion.

Still, we prepare perfectly anyway—because that's the only rebellion humans can muster.

'There it is.'

Weaving through the thousand-plus corpses, we spotted one other being moving about intact, just like us.

Robed, but with pitch-black aura rising like heat haze from its shoulders—it was unmistakably inhuman at a glance.

He slowly turned his body. Beneath the hooded robe, a gaunt, skeletal face emerged.

Bloodshot eyes laced with dark veins. Skin withered to pitch black. Black smoke billowed with every breath.

「Foolish ones. You invite your own doom.」

The fallen priest, hands clasped in prayer, flung his arms wide.

「That wrath shall descend upon your heads, and you shall become part of this place. This will be your tomb! Then! Offer those souls to this altar stained with blood and despair!」

Whoosh!

The black aura, simmering like haze, erupted wildly.

"Everyone, move to the corners! Just like in the waiting room!"

I drew my sword toward the raid boss striding toward us and shouted.

"What? You gonna solo that?"

"Let's fight together, Min-jun! Eek?!"

Han So-hee, with prior experience fighting the boss here, swiftly grabbed the Saintess and bolted to the wall.

"H-huh? Hey! Wait for me!"

Shin Seo-yeon flailed for a moment before following the group.

Confirming they were in position in the corner, I charged straight at the boss.

As soon as I entered range, it condensed inky black energy in both hands and unleashed it.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

「Pathetic outsider! You too shall never escape this eternal prison! You'll climb and fall into the abyss, trapped in endless repetition! Cursing the god who forged this place!」

"Blah blah, shut it."

I dodged the magic projectiles left and right, then closed in and slashed past it in one breath.

「Kaaak!」

It spun back toward me and barraged more spells, but not a single one grazed my clothes.

In return, my blade struck once, twice, three times—over and over.

"Mi-Min-jun, you're incredible!"

The Saintess kept casting heals on me from afar while cheering loudly.

Truth be told, projectiles this slow were something anyone could dodge after ten years in the selection process, but to these fresh arrivals, it was astonishing swordplay.

'Weapon's solid, strength's high—damage is landing properly. Good.'

But the real fight was just beginning.

'About time for its next phase.'

Raid bosses unveil new attack patterns in stages as their HP drops.

Sure enough, it halted its assault and thrust both arms skyward.

「Wretched worm, daring to defy me! I'll drench this place in the blood of your soul!」

The ground quivered faintly, and specters poured in from all directions beyond the walls. I fell back a step from the boss, rested my sword on my shoulder, and scanned the surroundings.

'Let's see. Two, three hundred maybe.'

Easy. To take me down, it'd need at least a thousand. I ignored the boss and cleaved through the ghost-types lunging at me without mercy.

「Kaaa....」

「Kuh.」

About twenty latched onto the party, but with the Saintess there, they couldn't deal meaningful damage.

Roar!

Flames erupted and sword light flashed, thinning the specters in an instant.

Confirming they were holding their own, I finished off the specters clinging to me and rushed back to the boss, landing a combo.

「Kaaak! Y-you bastard?」

"Hey, quit yapping and move to the next phase already."

It had assumed its summons would handle things cleanly and wasn't prepared—taking my sudden onslaught helplessly.

Yet as befits a boss, severed limbs regenerated swiftly.

'Lich lineage, huh.'

Probably some energy core nearby. Targeting it'd be easier, but our small group had no way to scout clever tricks.

Just brute-force DPS to drain its pooled energy.

「Your struggles are futile! The dead here merely rise again!」

'Good. Here we go.'

I halted my attack and bolted back to the party.

"What? Why're you back? It's over?"

"No."

No sooner had I arrived than the ground shook like an earthquake.

Ruuuumble.

"Wh-what's this time?! Ow! My head!"

Thud! Thud! Boom boom boom!

Something rained down from above all at once.

"Huh? Bones?"

The Saintess, smacked on the head like Shin Seo-yeon, stared ahead with wide eyes. Then her eyes widened further.

"Ah...?"

The entire world brimmed with bones plummeting from the sky.

The downpour evoked a summer monsoon torrent.

Patter patter patter.

Like an explosion shattering building windows, the bones plastered on the walls scattered en masse, filling the sky before crashing and rolling across the floor.

And they swiftly took form, assembling into skeletons.

"......"

A momentary silence.

"Mi-Min-jun."

"Yo, this is way too many."

Easily ten thousand strong.

The vast space was packed solid with skeletons.

'That's why raids need a minimum of five hundred.'

Raids come in two flavors.

Boss insanely tough, or minions disgustingly numerous.

The swarm type's easier by comparison... but this was it.

"......"

Glancing at Han So-hee, she calmly raised her weapon—she'd been through this before.

Meaning her party bailed at this point.

「Turn back.... It's not too late....」

「O Light, why have you forsaken us?」

And those tens of thousands of eye sockets fixed on us in unison.

Clatter clatter!

They charged as one!

"Not on my watch!"

Han So-hee and I surged forward, blocking their advance.

But the sheer numbers?

「Need blood! More!」

「Give us your blood!」

Endless slashing. Kill one, another—or two—replaced it immediately.

「Yield your body to me! To you...! Khek.」

「You'll become like us! Kaaak!」

Brutal. They shoved forward heedlessly, and despite our cleaving, we started getting pushed back bit by bit.

"Wh-what do we do! Can't retreat anymore!"

"Damn it, even fireballs aren't ending them!"

The endless skeleton horde and their momentum drew terrified screams from the party.

"Dickhead, do something!"

Confirming we were still being pushed despite faster swings, I darted back to the Saintess, snatched the bomb from her, and hurled it hard into the center of the boss room.

"Ugh!"

Seeing it, Shin Seo-yeon shrieked.

"Brace yourselves! That bastard threw a bomb!"

"Duck your heads!"

The party braced for the blast. But the sound that came was serene.

Pop.

A water balloon burst, followed by a cool breeze. Shin Seo-yeon, tensed for a massive explosion, shot me a baffled glare.

"Hey! You said it was a bomb!"

"Bombs come in all kinds, don't they?"

"What nonsense!"

I nodded around us.

"Huh...?"

A bluish mist had spread through the boss room and settled. Every undead moved unnaturally slow, as if frozen solid, creeping toward us ever so gradually.

"This is...?"

"If I had to call it something, a frost bomb."

It only worked on undead, but the effect was phenomenal. Enemy speed slashed by nearly fifty percent.

"Fuckin' badass!"

"Right?"

This is why preparation matters.

Counter whatever they throw, and their attacks become useless.

"...You're truly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠remarkable."

Han So-hee one-shot a slowed skeleton, voice laced with admiration.

(For reference, it wasn't zero damage either—Han So-hee's thirty percent bonus damage to skeletons from an achievement meant she could now fell even the chipped ones in one hit.)

"As expected of Min-jun!"

Basking in her sparkling gaze, I swatted incoming foes like pesky branches.

Skeletons snapped and crumbled like breaking icicles.

"So how long does this last?"

"Twenty minutes. We end the fight in that time."

"Got it. Let's wipe 'em out!"

The party moved with newfound confidence.

Slowed down, no matter how many pressed, Han So-hee and I could hold the front alone.

We blocked and cleared skeletons rapidly while Shin Seo-yeon hurled fireballs at the raid boss's position, stacking explosion damage.

'Smooth sailing so far.'

I knew the mechanics up to this point. Perfect counters so far—but now came the trouble.

「This altar, offered blood and despair! Shall be your tomb!」

Whoosh!

'Here it comes. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Wonder what.'

The black aura surged to the ceiling before spreading everywhere, blanketing the entire chamber.

A sudden headache throbbed.

The party clutched their heads in unison; Shin Seo-yeon's flames snuffed out abruptly.

Magic forcibly canceled by interference.

But that wasn't all.

Movement grew awkward. Looking down, dark red blood oozed from the stone floor, binding my legs. It drained HP and restricted actions.

A flick shook it off easily, but...

Whoosh!

Debuffs hit again in under ten seconds.

Utterly absurd difficulty. Even hordes wouldn't guarantee a clear.

"Ev-everyone, hang in there!"

"Whew, finally breathing. Thanks, sis."

The Saintess was our ace.

Infinite mind-body recovery meant enemy debuffs never took hold.

'Leg binds aside, mind attacks stack to madness or friendly fire—real headaches.'

Mental breakdowns are the worst in the selection process.

Using them signals high difficulty—and thus fat rewards.

"Then I'll rely on you, Ha-na."

I dashed about busily, clearing the sluggishly approaching skeletons.

'One last phase to go.'

Boss debuts three new skills max.

Survive one more, and HP drops below twenty-five percent—victory in the bag.

"Ugh! That damn thing keeps cursing my head?! Just die!"

Boom boom boom boom!

"Die die die!"

Boom! Boom! Boom boom boom!

The Crimson Flame Witch's fury-infused fireballs shattered a dozen skeletons and set Bardo ablaze.

The relentless bombs every three seconds drew screams from Bardo.

「Kaaaak! You wretched things! Heed my call and aid your master!」

Tone shifted drastically.

Boss panicking—final phase confirmed.

But eyeing the magic circle runes and aura flow, I furrowed my brow.

'Necromancy? More summons?'

Sure enough, the black aura lanced to the ceiling before scattering across the chamber.

'Damn, already used the bombs.'

Crunch!

Suddenly, something tore ferociously through the skeleton ranks. The violent motion pulverized them into the air.

And that frenzy rocketed straight at us.

Kyaaat!

I smashed the leaping thing with full force, countering and sending it flying.

Crash!

It bowled over a dozen skeletons—a corpse.

"Eh? A zombie...?"

Zombie alright. Not the shambling type we knew, but an evolved jumper. Undead craving living flesh.

Necromancy zombies scale speed, strength, intelligence with infused dark energy—and mutate over time.

Bottom line: dragging it out helps nothing.

'Lucky it's not too tough. Just agile.'

Problem: looked like a thousand. All the player corpses we'd seen.

Should've cleared bodies before boss.

"So-hee, can you cover that flank?"

"Don't worry. Speed's manageable. I'll stay out of the way."

She drew her spear, bracing the butt firmly on the stone.

Kyaaat!

Impaled the charging zombie, then deftly decapitated as it skewered.

Grrrowl.

Some had awakened limbs, scampering like dogs.

Bounded through skeleton packs, then cannonballed mid-leap with devastating force.

"Ngh."

Han So-hee nearly toppled from those lunges at times, but the strong(?) Saintess shored her up from behind—no more give.

Kyaaat!

"Not today."

Thud. Gurk.

For safety, I herded the women into the corner, tanking front—halting the beastly chargers.

Snatched with left hand and slammed down, or shouldered counters when hands busy.

Slash!

Smarter ones dodged slightly, clamping onto my arm and biting...

"Eek! Min-jun! Blood...!"

"Nah, I'm good. Just heal."

Blood flowed, chunks torn exposing muscle—but one heal fixed it.

Others couldn't handle the pain, but after losing fingers and limbs countless times, this was routine for me.

'Pain as daily life—explains why no one's sane by late trials.'

Couldn't fathom why otherworld gods run this selection.

Anyway, party huddled safe, me frontline, Han So-hee patching gaps.

Shin Seo-yeon finishes boss.

Steadily stacking toward inevitable win.

'What?'

A never-before-seen alert popped up.

Vision blackened abruptly, senses vanished momentarily—then returned.

Regaining wits, I looked around: a roughly thirty-pyeong room.

No furniture—just a ceiling light and a single chair.

No windows, not even a door. There sat a woman radiating pure white light, legs crossed on the chair, staring at me.

"You're the one. The existence pressuring the upper dimension to accept a resident."

"And you?"

The woman, staring intently, curved her lips into a smile. Her mouth moved in sync with the alert.

"Selection Process Administrator."