Chapter 95
Translator: penny
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Angels and Demons
"Right this way."
The staff member's footsteps clicked as they led us through the dimly lit, reddish interior of the restaurant.
"Hey, Dickhead. Is this really okay?" It was Shin Seo-yeon's way of asking if we should actually follow this thing.
Everyone was on high alert after seeing the [Challenge Quest] notification pop up. The Saintess gripped my arm tightly.
"Min-jun... that's the one from before, right?"
I nodded. It was the same entity the Saintess and I had encountered when we were alone in the first rest area. The so-called shadow monster. It was a special entity that only appeared in [Challenge Quests], boasting insane specs—with strength and speed that could turn a person into mincemeat in an instant.
⚔ STATUS ⚔
⚡ Strength: 150
💨 Agility: 200
✨ Magic Power: 0
💪 Stamina: 200
'Even its stats are higher than before.'
When we hesitated to follow, the creature stopped dead in its tracks and slowly turned to stare directly at us.
"Customers...?" The question came with a creepy head tilt under the red lights—straight out of a horror flick.
"Hey, what do we do? Follow or bail?" Shin Seo-yeon asked with a reluctant frown, flames already flickering in her palm as if she was ready to torch the place if needed.
But once you're inside, completing the quest is the only way out.
'Challenge Quests take place in special subspaces. Sure, someone with transcendent powers could shatter them outright, but who knows what kind of backlash that might trigger.'
So my call was to watch and wait. Instead of answering, I simply stepped forward. The others followed suit, and we crossed the familiar restaurant interior once more, trailing the staff member.
Click. Click.
Identical frames and tiny sculptures popped up ahead and vanished behind us—like the exact same space was repeating itself endlessly. But the contents of the frames were unsettling. A person stood in the center, surrounded by indistinct, shadowy shapes peering down at them.
"Min-jun."
"Huh? Oh, yeah."
"Why isn't it attacking us? It's moving around way more than last time, even with us watching it."
Back then, the [Gloomy Specter] couldn't budge while being observed. That was why the Saintess and I had managed to slip into the corner, fending off killers while hunting for the real one.
I pointed above the monster staff's head. "Look closely—you'll spot the difference from last time."
The Saintess focused her gaze where I was pointing, and her eyes widened. "...Threads?"
Faint threads were connected to the [Gloomy Specter]'s body, stretching up into the unnatural darkness beyond the ceiling lanterns. Those threads writhed like living things, pulling it forward step by step—like a puppet on strings, or a fish on a hook. It shot killing intent our way now and then with a grind of its teeth, but it couldn't move freely; the threads held it back.
"Looks like we've arrived."
The dark corridor ended, and bright lights revealed a long table. But it wasn't our usual spot.
"Rotating sushi...?"
Under the persistent red glow sat a massive conveyor belt sushi setup, large enough to seat at least forty people. Square booths seated ten per side with rails running through the middle. Inside one of the center areas, a featureless [Gloomy Specter] in chef's whites stood bowed. It straightened up with a mechanical crick as we approached, bowing politely.
"Welcome."
The party grimaced at the puppet-like motions, turning to me. "What's the plan now?"
"Hm. I guess we sit... There are plenty of seats. What do you think, Min-jun?"
"Fuck, there must be some kind of rule to this," Shin Seo-yeon glared at the seats, her brows furrowed tightly.
Sorry, but the seats didn't actually matter. We just needed to sit, observe, and chat, so I herded the group over to one side. Sitting in the center with the Saintess beside me, the rails suddenly whirred to life with an unoiled grind—clack-clack.
'Here we go.'
I eyed the rails tensely. It was my first time actually running this quest myself. I knew the gist of it from the stories, but the details? They were fuzzy. The survivors usually held back the specifics, or maybe their tales were just too wild to swallow whole.
"Whoa, check this out!"
"Wow!"
The tense mood flipped entirely as the chef bustled around. Plates began riding the rails, each topped with a miniature model protected under a clear glass dome.
"Min-jun, look! A tiny sword—it's so cute!"
Swords, spears, shields, armor, and mystery trinkets—they looked like little toys gliding past, with the glass domes keeping the dust off.
"Is this like that auction? Do we pay per plate?"
"Yeah, I think Auntie's onto something."
Even Han So-hee nodded, stroking her chin thoughtfully. "...Recalling the auction vibe, these [Challenge Quests] do seem to stick to specific themes."
It was a solid theory. The challenges usually followed their themes—for the most part.
"Ugh, what should I pick? I need the real deal."
"Mmm, I want them all."
Watching the plates roll by, I was absolutely sure—this was the exact quest I thought it was. But this was where the branches diverged... where the testimonies split. Were the multiple routes real, or just embellished rumors? It was unclear.
I needed to verify one more thing, but first:
"Listen up, everyone. Don't touch a single thing until I say so." Whatever path we took, handling it calmly would guarantee we reached the good ending.
"Uh, is it too late...?"
"......"
I whipped my head to the right. Shin Seo-yeon had already snatched a plate off the belt, and Yi Sera was just about to do the same. Seo-yeon hurriedly tried to return it, but an invisible force plopped it down firmly on the table in front of her. Yi Sera hadn't actually grabbed hers yet, so she was fine.
"W-what do I do now...?"
"Why the hell did you grab it?!"
"I-it just... the staff looked really cool."
We tried standing up, but our asses were glued to the seats. We were stuck peeking at the plate she had chosen.
'...Nice pick.'
It really was a beautiful staff—radiant and entirely worthy of a high-tier trial. The gemstones were etched with intricate runes and masterwork patterns. Strikingly, it perfectly matched the one from Seo-yeon's collection in my first run—right before she died. Her taste was spot-on. Did she know somehow?
"C-can I open it?"
"It's too late to stop now. Open it. Saintess, get ready."
"Huh?"
While the Saintess tilted her head in confusion, Seo-yeon lifted the dome.
Pop! Red smoke billowed out, acrid and thick.
"Ugh! What the—where's my staff?!"
The staff was gone. It was a dud. She raged, immediately sensing she had missed out on the loot.
"Fuck! My staff!"
But there were bigger issues at hand. The smoke rapidly coalesced in midair, turning sinister before latching directly onto her.
"Ack! What is this?!"
The smoke vanished magically, but a red haze instantly ignited around her body, blazing brightly. Her face hardened in panic.
"W-whoa? W-what's happening...?" Panic was clear in her voice.
I checked her status and saw a new debuff listed under her stats:
⚠️ DEBUFF ⚠️
[■■■■'s Curse]
Burns 5% of max mana per second. Cardiac arrest will occur when mana completely depletes.
There was no time for hesitation.
"Ha-na!"
"Y-yeah?!"
The Saintess purged it instantly with a recovery spell.
"Sh-shit..." Her heart still pounding, Seo-yeon spat out curses, her eyes wide with shock.
"Stop fucking around. Do you realize you nearly died over one grab?"
It was no joke—without the Saintess here, she would have been dead in 20 seconds flat. I turned to the rest of the group, my voice firm.
"Did you all see that? Absolutely no touching."
"Y-yeah."
"Got it."
Her pale face had completely frozen the mood. Phew, at least we cleared that hurdle. I glared at the passing plates.
'This is one of the random challenges hidden in a Japanese omakase spot.'
The plates brimmed with rewards—and not just items. There were perks too, some of which were incredibly rare outside of normal routes. They were all treasures, making them incredibly hard to resist.
'A proper grab guarantees massive survival boosts.'
The issue: most of them were illusions. You'd open the dome only to reveal a dud or a deadly trap.
'Duds galore.' And each one was highly lethal.
...And it was mandatory: one plate per person.
There was no other exit. We needed one pick each to clear the challenge. Plates: twenty times the number of people. Real plates: exactly one in every twenty.
For our group of five: 100 plates total, 5 real ones. A 5% gamble on our lives.
The resulting deaths varied wildly: curses, diseases, dismemberment, impaling... The staff would then ask the surviving players: 'Will you sell the body to us? We'll pay the survivors.'
The traumatized survivors would hawk their comrades' corpses to the monster-staff, who would then drag the bodies by their legs, singing as they pulled them into the darkness.
After the deaths, the surviving players would be consumed by pure terror: sobbing, fainting, and despairing...
"W-would you sell the body to us?"
"Gah! What the fuck?!" Seo-yeon, who was just catching her breath, screamed at the faceless mug that had suddenly popped up right beside her.
The Gloomy Specter was just staring at her.
"What?! Fuck off, let's go!"
"......"
Do you know what happens when you break the flow?
Flicker-flicker.
"Wh-what?"
The lights strobed violently. The table shook. The rails below spun wildly, accelerating to a dizzying speed as if they were broken.
Whoosh—
The plates blurred past, their afterimages making us dizzy. Then, they suddenly halted.
Flicker.
The lights steadied, and the tint of the room shifted to a warm orange...
"Huh? What? The table's brand new!"
Previously, the setup had looked worn and aged; now, it had a pristine, grand-opening vibe. The surface was perfectly smooth, with no trace of the previous stickiness.
"What the...?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
You have entered the [].
Breaking the flow doubles the odds? Sounds fun, right! Heh heh heh!
I smiled faintly. 'We've finally made it down to the dimensional crevice.'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I had heard a story once.
Long ago, ancient beings ruled the selection process. Then, new gods seized control, split spacetime, and copied everything—creating the version we have today. The exiled ancients fled worlds away, but a few residents still commute and await their return in the crevices at the edge of the world...
Anyway. I surveyed the completely spotless sushi bar.
'The dimensional crevice: a shrine to the forgotten ancients.' Their influence still lingered here. In this place, you could bypass the normal limits and snag transcendent rewards.
'This is why everyone chased it.' Imagine it: limit-free prizes. Theoretically, you could pull endgame gear right in the early game. But it was incredibly costly—and we currently lacked the funds for that kind of risk.
"Welcome. How many in your party?"
"Huh? How many times are you gonna ask that?!" Seo-yeon snapped, clearly rattled by her near-death experience and the specter getting in her face.
I answered coolly. "Forty."
"???"
"Eh? M-Min-jun?"
"Oppa...?"
"Forty what?!"
They probably thought I was crazy. Ignoring their protests, I repeated myself to the chef.
"Forty."
"Understood."
The rails suddenly quadrupled in size. The plates on them halved in size. Eight hundred plates instantly filled the tracks—forty shares gliding smoothly by.
"What the hell just happened?!"
"The plates... there are so many..."
"...This is insane."
Seo-yeon whipped around to face me, her eyes screaming that she thought I had completely lost my mind.
I got it. Choosing from 100 had nearly killed her; now she was looking at 800? But our Crimson Flame Witch had earned this. Thanks to her impulsive grab, the crevice was unlocked.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that? Dickhead, are you high?"
I stood up.
"Huh? We can stand up here...?"
"For real."
The party rose from their seats and approached the belts. I walked up to the rail, stopped, and beckoned for the Saintess.
"Ha-na, grab this one."
"But...?"
"Do you trust me?"
Her eyes wide, she clenched her fists and nodded fiercely. "Yes!"
Haha, there was no need to be that gung-ho about it. Anyway, it was a tiny, palm-sized plate. She reached out and grabbed it; it slid smoothly right to her spot.
Gulp.
The Saintess swallowed hard, clearly tense. All eyes were completely fixated on her hand as it hovered over the dome. Failure meant instant death. 'Please be safe!'
"Ah?"
There was no pop.
"No smoke?"
"Is it a success...?"
"Yes!"
The group erupted in cheers. The Saintess blinked, absolutely stunned.
"I-is this real?"
The miniature model rapidly grew into a full-sized bracelet.
⚔ ITEM ⚔
👤 Name: Tyrael's Blessing
🏷️ Grade: Mythic
📝 Description: A bracelet infused with an ancient god's power. +70 Intellect. Generates a protective barrier. Mana drain is continuous.
"Whoa! It's a Mythic!"
"Jackpot! Those stats are nuts!"
Her [Robes of Lumina] only gave +40; this single trinket gave +70.
"Congrats."
"Thanks, So-hee."
"Unnie, congratulations!"
The Saintess beamed, clutching the bracelet tightly to her chest.
All the 'gear' available here fell exclusively into the Mythic tier. Nothing lower, and no transcendent gear either. The pros and cons were perfectly balanced.
"Equip it."
"Yes!"
Click—the bracelet bound itself securely to her wrist. It was exquisitely crafted. Seo-yeon eyed it jealously, then clung to my arm.
"How did you know?"
"Hm?"
"Don't play dumb with me! You knew that one was real!"
I scratched my head, eyed the hundreds of passing plates, and quietly activated [Full Appraisal].
🔍 FULL APPRAISAL ACTIVATED 🔍
[■■'s Curse]
[■■■■'s Curse]
[Water Dragon's Scale]
The truth was unveiled: both the traps and the treasures lay perfectly exposed among the 800 plates.