The Succubus Letdown
The dream demon that had materialized into reality took the form of black smoke.
It lacked any concrete shape—just a swirling black mist adorned with sharp eyes and a massive maw, screeching kaaaack!
And at the sight of it, Carpe erupted in even greater fury.
"How dare you call yourself a dream demon and not be a succubus!"
In a fantasy world, 'dream demon' naturally meant succubus!
Just as orcs go snort-snort and goblins go gob-gob, it was basic fantasy common sense. Yet astonishingly, Last Savior had broken from that tradition with a bold, innovative twist.
Carpe couldn't forgive it.
"Innovation isn't always a good thing!"
Cliches endured for so long because they were inherently charming.
Overzealous creators, high on their creative highs, twisted them recklessly—and disasters like this were born.
Dream demons like succubi and incubi were depicted as beautifully as elves, the pinnacle of fantasy beauty.
Who the hell wanted to see a ghost-Pokémon-looking dream demon instead?
For Carpe, who valued tradition above all, this was intolerable.
"You philistine vandal! For the sake of fantasy's ancient traditions, I sentence you to judgment!"
-Teacher. Sounds like the real vandal's your brain... What the hell's wrong with no succubus...
"This is a grave matter. I'm not letting you off easy."
Gulling him with the gacha alone warranted the death penalty—but adding succubus deception on top?
Maybe kill it, revive it, then kill it again?
[Insolent fool! How dare you! A lowly human like you!]
The mid-level dream demon Keaas spat fury without grasping the situation.
As Keaas gaped its maw, a black orb launched straight at Carpe.
Whoosh!
Carpe instinctively leaned back, dodging the spell. The black orb hit the floor, erupting in a small explosion.
-That's the 6-star skill Dark Cannon. Hits with damage and a chance for the 'Blind' status effect.
"Hmm. Would one shot kill me?"
-Nah. It's got good fire rate but not high single-hit damage. More for status and poking.
"Got it. So I could tank a couple."
-Tank it? On purpose? You could dodge that speed easy.
"Yeah, but I wanna test something."
Bam!
Carpe kicked off the ground, accelerating further.
Keaas, enraged, fired another Dark Cannon.
Carpe didn't dodge the incoming spell.
Instead, he crossed his arms over his face and took it head-on.
Dark Cannon
Boom!
The spell exploded, shoving Carpe back slightly.
Checking his HP, about 7% had vanished. Pathetic for a boss monster.
"Hmm. Doesn't hurt much. Am I just tanky, or is it weak? Hard to tell."
-Both, probably. Dream demons aren't combat powerhouses. But what're you testing...?
Right then.
As Cheonma voiced his doubt, a notification popped up like it had been waiting.
Dark Cannon has struck you. Entering 'Blind' status for 10 seconds.
Blind status greatly reduces accuracy and evasion.
'Blind' status effect released!
"Oh, it works?"
Carpe had been puzzled by falling for the dream demon's illusion despite Unlock.
Why didn't the debuff-remover work on its mind tricks?
He'd wondered if demon magic resisted it, but this notification disproved that.
"Weird. It cleared charm effects before, so it's not immune to mental magic."
This wasn't something to brush off.
Unlock was fickle, but it had always cleared status effects 100%—until now.
He needed to pinpoint the cause and find countermeasures.
-Hm. I have a few guesses.
"Yeah?"
-Kill that thing first. Put out the urgent fire.
"Roger."
Experiment over, Carpe charged the dream demon without hesitation.
[How dare you! Die!]
The demon fired another spell.
Judging Dark Cannon insufficient, it switched skills.
7-star skill—Hell Judgment.
A high-damage dark magic spell renowned for its output.
Hell Judgment
Boom!
A black laser beamed from the demon's maw.
Much faster than Dark Cannon.
Hard for a charging Carpe to evade perfectly, but...
"Not today! Anti-Magic Shell!"
No need.
Carpe spread his hands, activating the option on his Magic Weapon – Vasilas.
The muffler around his neck unraveled, flowing to his hands.
Just before Hell Judgment hit, it deployed a massive magic barrier.
[What?!]
The demon's Hell Judgment was fully absorbed by Vasilas's Anti-Magic Shell.
Once every 600 seconds, perfectly blocking any 8-star or lower magic—a ultimate anti-mage weapon!
But Vasilas's power didn't end there.
"Take it back!"
It could reflect absorbed magic right back at the foe.
Hell Judgment rocketed toward the demon.
[Gah! You filthy pest!]
Keaas recoiled in shock as its own spell returned, twisting away.
Sizzle!
The unexpected counter caught it off-guard; Hell Judgment grazed its body, dealing damage.
[Grrraaah!]
Not lethal—Hell Judgment was dark magic, and so was the demon.
[Insolent worm!]
"You've been yapping 'you worm' nonstop. That's all you got?"
[Guh?! When did you—?!]
Enough to create an opening. Carpe closed in right to its face.
-Smoke form means physical skills won't land well. Magic's easier.
"Thanks for the tip."
Carpe thanked his walkthrough, spread his hand wide,
and unleashed.
"Permafrost!"
Crackle-crack!
His strongest spell activated.
[Kaaaaah!]
Still reeling from Hell Judgment, point-blank Permafrost was unavoidable.
The demon froze solid in an instant.
[My... body!]
"Phew. Gotcha. Ready for judgment?"
"Die! Dieee!"
<I'll shatter you!>
Frozen? Battle over.
Carpe and his retainers unleashed merciless attacks on the immobilized demon.
Mirage and Gillian pounded it like blood enemies, earning awe from Tina nearby.
"Splendid, Mirage. Finally motivated?"
"Y-Yeah? Can't always be lazy, right?"
"Impressive growth. Sir Gillian, you're fired up too."
<Heh-heh-heh! This is just how I roll!>
Tina and Gillian's blades carved the demon's form.
Carpe, Mukhyang, Mirage's spells rained nonstop.
Moments later...
[Such... injustice...]
Event Boss 'Mid-level Dream Demon – Keaas' defeated.
The demon faded anticlimactically, belying its dramatic entrance.
Carpe muttered in disbelief at the vanishing foe.
"What gave this weakling the guts to charge? Couldn't just run?"
-That's why they're nicknamed rage-quit mobs. Mediocre fighters, but shatter their dream and they go berserk.
"...Lame concept. Should've stuck to cliches."
A succubus rage-quit ghost would've been perfect.
Cheonma mentioned higher dream demons were succubi, softening Carpe's ire slightly.
"...Tradition lives. A godgame like RaSe wouldn't ignore lore."
-...
"Phew. Loot time anyway!"
Much to check.
Where Keaas vanished: a sword and black orb.
Carpe inspected the sword first.
"Huh? This... looks familiar. Oh."
Carpe recalled: from the dream's 21 treasure chests, the first one.
"Whoa, so the dream wasn't total BS."
-What? You opened boxes in the dream too?
"Yup. Blissful."
-...Time for gacha addiction counseling, for real.
"Nah, overreacting. That's normal. Tons worse out there."
-If you believe that, you need counseling.
Carpe stowed Sylphid.
Loot always felt good.
Not a sword user, but Unique+ demand was endless.
Next, the second item, happily.
◈ A mana orb used as a catalyst to summon a demon. Thorough expert analysis might reveal traces of its user.
"Quest item?"
-Called it. Story connecting.
Right then.
Lunderia's Deep Darkness (2)
📍 Grade: Epic
🎁 Description: You sought the dwarves' chief at their request but found no trace. A relic in your bag was all—yet demonic traces lingered where none should in the human realm. This isn't mere disappearance. Uncover the truth by following the demon's trail.