Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Kabata's Ritual
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The main event hadn’t even started, and here I was, forced to fight the orc chieftain?
I couldn’t hide my bewilderment.
There was no sudden quest notification, nor any system message about a sub-event in progress.
Screeech.
The sound of a tent flap opening came from inside.
I lit my lighter and slowly stepped in. The disposable lighter’s flame couldn’t illuminate the entire tent.
It only lit the path ahead.
Still, I wasn’t all that scared. It was only the fifth round—how strong could the enemies be?
Of course, excluding absurdly powerful bosses like Orcus.
I followed the dark path deeper inside.
At the end of the path was a wooden door slightly ajar. Light leaked out from within.
I peered carefully through the gap.
Like slabs of meat hanging in a slaughterhouse, bears, dwarves, and elves dangled from hooks.
It made my stomach churn.
Even if I could overlook the stench, leaving the corpses like that?
I now knew the source of the smell I’d mistaken for zombie rot.
‘……That’s.’
At the far end of the room, a black gate came into view. The black gate that only chosen “Openers” among players could handle.
-Keeeh!
In the center of the room, an old orc waved his staff, letting out a bizarre cry.
‘That must be Kabata.’
Something was off.
Was it because time had passed?
He looked nothing like the Kabata I’d seen in Don Vito’s past.
-Kuek! Kraak! Krhaak!
‘……Well, guess the lore changed him like that.’
It looked like dancing, or maybe chanting a spell.
[The orc in the room has begun conversing with someone in the third dimension.]
He caressed the red patterns drawn on the ground one by one, whispering.
“Yes, I’ve finished everything you commanded.”
Who was he talking to?
It seemed like someone in a third dimension I couldn’t hear.
He kept muttering.
“It’s still…. a bit short. Yes? Oh, yes. I’ve secured a bear spine, elf skull, and dwarf hands and feet of the sizes you specified. However…. my mana isn’t stable enough for the magic circle….”
As soon as he finished speaking, a powerful aura filled the room. Black energy slowly seeped from the red letters on the floor, gathering in front of Kabata.
I knew that presence.
‘Lucifer.’
The one with a human body and demonic wings.
At his gesture, Kabata groveled. I couldn’t hear what Lucifer was saying to him.
But it clearly wasn’t good.
Kabata kept bowing his head, pleading.
“S-sorry. Uh…. Ah! Y-yes, m-master…. Sacrifice my life, you say?”
Lucifer’s form nodded. Kabata swallowed hard, then prostrated himself flat.
“P-please…. anything but that….”
Lucifer’s form placed a foot on his head. After two or three words, Kabata’s expression changed.
“R-really? Then…. Understood. I’ll summon you here, even if it costs my life.”
Summon Lucifer here?
In the mere fifth round, calling forth the final boss into the present world?
“……”
Ridiculous.
The game would end right there. No one could stand against him.
Not even the Absolute group I’d built over ten years.
As soon as Kabata agreed, the black mist vanished.
Then he slashed his palm, smearing blood on the staff’s tip.
Like dipping a quill in ink.
Screeech—creak—
He began drawing new patterns over the ones on the ground.
‘……Should I stop him?’
I wondered if this orc necromancer could really summon a demon.
From a player’s perspective, it didn’t make sense.
Should I kill him before the ritual starts? No—killing Kabata would mess up the story again.
I had to choose.
Whether my actions would alter the overall story,
Or stop this unknown sub-story unfolding before my eyes.
[‘Kim Cheonjae’ will determine this round’s story with your choice.]
[Challenger, please select the story’s direction.]
-A: Interrupt Kabata’s summoning ritual and thwart the demon’s plan.
-B: Ignore the demon and leave this place.
So if I didn’t stop Kabata, the demon would come here?
“……Stop.”
Bam!
I kicked the door hard and burst into the room.
The orc chieftain yelped in surprise and fell backward.
“W-what?!”
“What else? Kim Cheonjae.”
“Who asked your name? H-how did a…. human get here?”
I rushed forward and snatched his staff.
Thwack.
“Ran here.”
“Y-you mad bastard.”
“You Kabata?”
“……You. The human necromancer who attacked us.”
“Probably.”
“Hah— this is why humans are no good. Do you even know where this is…… Rise. Skeleton soldiers.”
With a rumbling growl, the skeleton soldiers in the tent stood up.
Judging by their gear, all mid-level or higher. Not bad stats.
“Made from bear bones? The color’s different.”
“……None of your business. Go, boys!”
At the orc chieftain’s command, the skeleton soldiers charged me.
Even with bones overflowing in the tent, only about thirty—his level was obvious.
To show the gap between us, I faced them without summoning.
Time to show off the new skill from the skill book.
“Iron Maiden.”
▶Iron Maiden (Curse)
(Mana cost: 10 per enemy)
-Transparent thorns attach to the bodies of cursed enemies.
[‘Iron Maiden (Curse)’ cast.]
Thousands of transparent thorns flew through the air. Then, like dandelion seeds on the wind, they lightly drifted toward the enemies.
Thududududu—!
Iron Maiden—a curse that returns all damage inflicted on the caster right back to the attacker.
They’d take as much as they dished out.
Bring it on.
The skeleton soldiers tried shaking off the thorns stuck to them.
“No way….”
Kabata spat as he yelled.
“You idiot! Learning useless Iron Maiden!”
I smirked coolly.
“Useless? Then come at me.”
Explaining every detail wasn’t my style.
I walked slowly toward Kabata. This alone would show why I was the strongest necromancer.
The skeleton soldiers leaped at me.
Swords, spears, axes, bows.
They attacked with various weapons.
A horizontal sword slash struck my helmet, a spear from behind pierced at my armor.
An axe chopped at my side like felling a tree, an arrow flew at my solar plexus.
Clang! Clangclang! Clang! Clang!
All attacks bounced off my armor. My defense was at least triple their attack power. Like eggs against a rock.
Clang! Clang!
The skeletons kept hitting me. I stood like a scarecrow, taking their blows.
“Kabata, this is your first and last warning. Destroy this place and leave the forest. Do that, and I’ll spare your life.”
“……A soon-to-die fool talks big. Do you know where you are?”
“Orc fortress, right?”
“Yeah, orc fortress. Think you can survive my home base?”
“……Yeah.”
I snapped my fingers.
Snap!
[‘Iron Maiden (Intermediate)’ activates.]
The thorns on the skeletons that hit me exploded.
Boom!
The stacked damage from their attacks erupted in a blast.
Too much for high-attack, low-defense skeleton warriors.
All the skeletons that attacked me crumbled in one go.
Crunch. Crackle.
I trampled them as I approached Kabata.
“I can’t wipe out the whole orc fortress, but killing just you and leaving? Easy.”
“……”
“Haven’t heard your answer yet. Leave? Or die?”
Kabata touched the unfinished magic circle on the ground with his bloodied hand.
What could he do with an incomplete spell? I thought, but he reacted unexpectedly.
“Lord Lucifer, I offer my life.”
Suddenly, he raised his hand high and plunged his sharp nails into his own chest.
Thud!
He ripped out his heart and tossed it toward the magic circle’s center.
Thump.
Kabata collapsed, spewing blood. He shot me a vile grin.
How was he still moving without a heart?
Then he closed his eyes.
“……”
A tremendous aura enveloped the room, strong enough to make my whole body tremble. Gravity felt heavier, crushing me.
The ground shook like an earthquake.
Terror paralyzed me.
I knew it.
Hard to call it familiar, but I’d felt this power in the first round.
The red patterns on the ground floated up, spinning as parts flew toward the orc’s heart.
I swung Dragon Fang to stop them, but they passed through like slicing water.
“No!”
The heart that absorbed the patterns began beating on the ground.
[Demon King ‘Lucifer’ has begun resurrecting.]
[Stop him and bring peace to this world.]
[Challengers: 1/10]
Fuck.
That was all I could think. Had my actions sped up his resurrection?
No.
With the challenger limit set, he was resurrecting anyway.
Maybe a weakened Lucifer? I wondered, but—
Boom!
Dwarf, elf, and bear bones from around the room assembled into a humanoid form.
The remaining red patterns flew and stuck to the bones.
Horns on the forehead confirmed it: Lucifer’s revival.
Then the orc chieftain’s heart flew up and embedded in the bones’ left chest.
Whoooosh—
Suddenly, the gate at the room’s end roared like an engine.
[Gate connected to the ‘Infernal Hell’ has opened.]
I muttered to myself.
“Fucking layered hell.”
The completed bones and heart flew into it.
What the hell was I supposed to do?
I raised all the skeletons in the room.
“Skeleton Summon.”
Plenty of dwarf and elf bones made for usable soldiers.
Mostly skeleton warriors and mages.
About twenty high-level skeleton soldiers guarded the room.
“……”
-Krrrr….
A husky voice echoed from the gate. Anyone could tell it was Lucifer.
My palms sweated. My fingers slipped on Dragon Fang’s hilt.
A hand emerged from the black gate. Lucifer’s body, with its matte black skin.
“Long…. time no see…. little one….”
He knew I was here?
“……Yeah, long time. You still remember me?”
“How could I forget…. the only one who scarred my body….”
“……Thanks for remembering.”
His body slowly emerged from the gate.
What now?
If he fully resurrects, I can’t stop him.
I had to act fast.
I charged the black gate, swinging Dragon Fang.
Boom!
It didn’t budge.
A barrier blocked my attack.
“Damn it.”
“Resist the fear…. That’s my pleasure….”
Lucifer’s foot emerged from the gate. Too late, and I’d never stop him.
The world really would end.
Seeing his face emerge from the gate, I was certain.
If I didn’t stop him now, no one could face the resurrected Lucifer.
Having grasped the situation, I searched for a way to counter him.
There had to be an answer here.
The skeleton soldiers began searching the room.
I joined in, flipping corpses.
Any keys?
A hidden weapon against Lucifer?
The devs, those easter-egg-obsessed perverts, must’ve hidden something.
“……No way.”
Was that it?