Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: The Dragon Slayer's Reward
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Something was running towards them.
It was a man with an incredibly large and fierce impression.
His hair, fluttering in the wind, was like a lion's mane. His physique, which went beyond just being burly and felt overwhelmingly oppressive, and a size so large it seemed inhuman.
It felt like a mountain was charging right at them.
"W-what is this...?!"
For a moment, my mind went blank. Could I possibly win a fight against that monstrous being?
It was impossible. But the thought occurred to me that if I didn't resist, if I didn't struggle, I'd just be crushed to death.
'Strike first, win first...!'
Obsessed with the idea that I had to attack that monster right away, I raised both hands to use a skill.
That was because it was charging at me with such terrifying force.
As if it were trying to slay a dragon.
"R-Ryuue!!!"
Tentacles shot out from both my hands. This was an automatic reflex born from my survival instinct that didn't want to die.
I didn't even register the man's identity, the reason he was running at me, or even the details of his smiling, friendly face.
I'd already used a skill before I could observe or think about it any further.
Swaaaah!
And as if it were the most natural thing in the world, the tentacles were shredded to pieces.
Just a handful of meat chunks scattered through the air.
I'd already figured that a being with that much spirit wouldn't be properly affected by the tentacles. What was important was that I hadn't seen the man draw his sword, nor had I seen him cut my tentacles.
It was as if something was protecting him. As if an invisible sword barrier had been deployed around him.
The tentacles were all cut down before they could even touch the man.
I'd seen a few guys who would deflect or dodge the tentacles... but to have them all just get blocked and sliced up was a new one.
"Pluto!!"
If I stayed still, we'd collide. I deployed a single Warped Scale and immediately summoned an Abyss Maw.
Soon, a large mouth formed from a mass of abyssal energy at his sides. The man, however, stopped his charge, grinned, and then grabbed the Abyss Maw, twisted it, and forcibly cancelled the skill.
'What the hell...! He's ripping it apart with his bare hands..? What exactly is that monster...?'
Only then did I realize it clearly. That thing was not something I could handle.
It was just like when I faced the Abyssal Patriarch. A powerful feeling that I couldn't fight it.
The closer that man got, the more intense the pressure became. My legs trembled, and my body shook with the thought that I was going to die just like this.
Was this the sensation of facing death? When I faced a god, I was simply overwhelmed, but now... my hair stood on end all over my body, and I found myself clenching my teeth. The thought of not wanting to die was just the cherry on top.
'A servant of the First Gods...? No, if a monster of that level was approaching, Indicron or Kashnax would have warned me in advance... but they didn't... Argh... what on earth is that...?'
I was about to tell the women behind me to run.
I didn't know if they could even escape. But I felt that if I saw them die, I wouldn't be able to keep my sanity.
If everyone was going to die anyway, I thought it would be better for me to die first. Selfishly.
"Hold on! Wait! I wasn't trying to scare you! Hahaha!!! I was so happy to see you that I ran over and ended up threatening you by mistake. I keep forgetting. How I appear to others."
As I had my eyes squeezed shut, calling out the names of Indicron and Kashnax, the man raised both hands to show he had no intention of attacking. Then he introduced himself.
"My name is Siegfried! I have no intention of harming you, so relax. More importantly, are you the Jang Jo-jun I've been looking for? I've been searching for you for a long time!"
Siegfried...? Who's that...?
Ah! I remember!
"Uh... yes. Ah! It's you!"
He was the son of the deceased Peddler.
When I gave him the Peddler's belongings, he said we could meet in the middle of last week... but because I got involved in various incidents after entering the black market, our meeting was apparently postponed to today.
"That's right. We've finally met. It's a pleasure."
Siegfried offered his massive hand.
I held his fingers and shook his hand because his hand was so big.
Compared to his huge hand, mine looked like a baby's. If he were to squeeze down with all his might right now, a Jang Jo-jun juice bowl would be complete.
'Is he even human..? He might be a giant...'
He looked to be almost 3 meters tall, much larger than Mer, who was nearly 2 meters. Because of his even larger build, he looked like nothing but a giant.
And why was he wearing six swords at his waist?
There was even a greatsword as thick as a temple pillar strapped to his back.
Other than that, he was armed with all sorts of weapons all over his body.
'Is that... a bomb? As expected of a Dragon Slayer... his armaments are no joke.'
If a guy like this came hunting for me, I'd have to run to the ends of the earth.
I was starting to feel sorry for the dragons.
"O-oppa!"
"Jun!"
That's when Hee-seon noona and Ye-won came running from the back entrance. Both looked extremely worried. They must have met Siegfried first.
"Th-that person over there is..?"
"Ah, this is.."
I gave them a rough introduction of Siegfried. Hearing this, Siegfried scratched his head and spoke awkwardly.
"To your situation, I'm the same as the Peddlers, so don't be so scared. I would never attack first. But this... because I'm so big, I ended up giving everyone a sense of intimidation without meaning to. I'm sorry. Haha."
Siegfried gave a hearty laugh and offered a sincere apology. Only then did the atmosphere lighten a little, and everyone looked a bit relieved.
After that, all the other women in the auditorium came out. When they saw Siegfried, their jaws dropped and they were flustered.
In particular, Ha-rin trembled all over the moment she saw Siegfried, and even had hiccup. She must have felt something I couldn't.
"Hohoho. More importantly, you. Will you tell me what happened back then?"
Siegfried, who had been searching for me for days, seemed to be waiting for me to tell him about the incident, so I told him in detail, from how I met the Murderer to how I killed him, just as I remembered.
Eun-ji, who was next to me, even added to the story, and Siegfried smiled with satisfaction and nodded.
Especially when I said I had offered the Murderer as a sacrifice to Kashnax, he held his stomach and laughed.
It seemed that the fact that I was a character like an apostle of a wicked god wasn't very important to him.
"Hahahaha!! You're a pretty fiery guy, I see. You offered him as a sacrifice right then and there. I love it! It's been a while since I've heard such an interesting story. Truly, the story of that guy dying is never a bad story to hear."
"Uh... never a bad story to hear?"
"Hm? Ah, my bad. That was a meta-comment. Just let it slide."
"Ah, yes... I understand."
The phrase 'a story that's always enjoyable' meant he had already heard the story of the Murderer's death several times. Through this remark, I formulated two hypotheses.
First, Siegfried only lost his father in the settings, but in reality, he has nothing to do with revenge or anything, and is just an NPC who comes to give rewards for an event.
Second, Siegfried's revenge had already ended long ago, and now he's just borrowing that past setting to repeat similar things infinitely.
Either way, from his perspective, revenge against the Murderer might just be a single condition for meeting a player like me who caught the Murderer.
'Just like the Peddler last time... surprisingly, the NPCs often make meta-comments.'
They are aware that they are NPCs.
They themselves knew well that they were characters in this unknown 'game'.
'But Mer was different.'
However, Mer did not consider herself a character in the game board.
She had even become a player via the Account Creation Card, so she was now a player who had properly entered the game board, not an NPC.
'Mer and Siegfried... what's the difference between the two? From my perspective, they are both non-human beings. Why is Siegfried an NPC and Mer isn't? And if I gave the Peddler an Account Creation Card, could I turn the Peddler into a player too?'
The merchants in the black market also knew they were NPCs... and Siegfried's remark also showed that he was aware he was an NPC.
Mer is the same race, but does she have different authority from them?
Perhaps Mer didn't meet the qualifications to become an NPC.
Or maybe the slaves sold by the slave merchant are beings that can become a player's actual companions, so they aren't treated as NPCs.
"Anyway, I must thank you. I've prepared a few gifts for you."
Siegfried started to rummage through a bag at his waist and pull something out.
He took out various items and put them back, and eventually selected two items.
That all of these items fit into that small bag. That has to be a pocket of holding. That was more appealing than any other reward.
"First, take this."
"Uh... this is.. a gun, right?"
"That's right. A gun."
The item handed over was a rifle with a very crude shape.
It looked like it was hastily cobbled together, with blood-stained bandages barely holding its form together.
To be honest, its appearance was quite disappointing.
Totsmir's Trumpet Gun: Can only fire two shots. Can shatter Dragon Scales.
But the description... it can shatter Dragon Scales? Dragon Scales, like from a dragon...
In typical fantasy, aren't dragon scales supposed to be unbreakable?
As I was thinking that, Siegfried wiped his nose and explained the item.
"It's only a two-shot, but I guarantee its destructive power. It's an item that sacrifices durability to the extreme to maximize penetration and lethal power. Use it in a crisis. It's an item that will save you twice."
"Th-thank you...!"
It's a gun from a Dragon Slayer, and I was disappointed just by looking at its appearance. My bad.
If Siegfried, a being with monstrous strength, says it's that good, I can easily imagine how amazing its performance must be.
It can only fire two shots to maximize destructive power and lethality to the extreme... it's a weapon that contains a man's romance. Thinking of it that way, its precarious, broken-looking appearance also seemed quite vintage and cool.
"Now, next is this."
As I was examining Totsmir's Trumpet Gun, the Dragon Slayer Siegfried handed me a wooden box.
I carefully handed the gun to Eun-ji and received the box.
"Open it."
"Yes..."
Inside the wooden box, made of some unknown wood like pine, were three capsules.
They were red, blue, and white potions, respectively.
Naga Raja's Serum: When consumed, increases Stamina and provides resistance to disease. Naga Raja's Tears: When consumed, purifies Mana and develops the five senses and Ki-sense. Naga Raja's Marrow: When consumed, hardens and strengthens the bones and muscles, and accelerates recovery.
"Wow..."
This is insane. Completely insane rewards. He's giving all three of these...?
Did I do something valuable enough to receive items of this caliber...?
'And Naga Raja... I think it was a boss monster like the King of Serpents in the game...'
I remembered hunting a boss with a similar name in a game I played for a while. I'm not sure if it was a king or a god of seven-headed snakes, but it was something like that.
'Then these must be incredibly amazing items...'
I have to take them. I have to take all of them. I have to monopolize them...
"Hahaha. Originally, by the rules, I can only give one reward. I was a bit generous. After all, you offered the Murderer as a human sacrifice, so I had to give you a little extra! Hahahaha!! Thinking about it now, it's still hilarious! Offered as a sacrifice to a wicked god! Poor bastard!"
It seemed he found it incredibly amusing that I offered the Murderer to Kashnax.
The reward for hearing an interesting story. The Naga Raja set seemed to be his pure goodwill.
I must have raised my favorability with him without realizing it.
"Ah, right, take this too."
As I was excited and my heart was pounding at the thought of immediately consuming the Naga Raja juice gift set, he drew one of the swords from his waist and handed it to me.
"I-I've already received enough!"
What is this? Why is he giving me so much?
I'm starting to get a little anxious. Is he planning to drag me off to some hellish place after giving me everything he has to give?
I'm not so foolish as to greedily grab everything just because I like lucky breaks and this kind of reward.
Overindulgence always leads to sickness.
"Ah, don't misunderstand. This is an apology."
"Excuse me?"
"You almost died in the black market, didn't you?"
"Uh... yes... some strange things from the underground security chased me..."
"Actually, that was my fault."
"What?"
“My visit to the black market to find you became the root cause. I ended up provoking them. I heard from Cheshire that you went through quite an ordeal. Wasn’t that true?”
"Is Cheshire alive?"
"Hm? She's fine. Cheshire is strong. She's not the type to die easily."
He must know Cheshire.
'She's alive. Thank goodness.. But come to think of it.. no wonder she kept calling me cute.. she was a woman.'
The kindness Cheshire showed me in the crazy place that was the black market was very impressive. So I was hoping she was alive, and thankfully, she was.
"But what do you mean by 'stimulated them'?"
"Hoho.. There must be someone in the underground of the black market who absolutely hates me. My appearance must have made them dispatch the security squad. I'm sorry again."
"No, it's fine. I'm alive and well now, thanks to you. Haha."
I gave a business-like smile.
I had almost died, but I knew it wasn't just Siegfried's fault that the underground security squad moved.
'Botamili must have been involved too...'
Moreover, Siegfried had just given me three very good rewards, so it was right to agree amicably.
There was no need to pick a fight with a Dragon Slayer for no reason.
"Hoho! What a straightforward guy! Here, here! Take it!"
I accepted the sword he offered with a smile all over my face.
It was a saber with a deep green blade.
Swamp's Ghost Saber: Absorbs one player's soul and can borrow a portion of their ability. The soul of player 'Yang Ji-sang' is already embedded.
'Why is Yang Ji-sang in that sword...?'
As this question crossed my mind, the moment I grabbed the sword's hilt.
💬 SPOKEN LINE 💬 "Hey!! Can you hear me!!!"
"Please, anyone, just answer me!!"
"This crazy sword is shaking my consciousness!!!! Kiyaaa!!!"
"Oh, shit!!"
A sudden scream from an old man startled me, and I almost threw the sword.
"Hohoho! I caught a soul that was wandering around here and put it in. It's a strong-willed friend, so it's not being eaten by the sword."
Amazingly, the Swamp's Ghost Saber had the soul of Yang Ji-sang, whom I thought was dead, trapped inside.
"Hoo..."
He was called an Evil Spirit Sorcerer, so he must have been wandering around in a soul state by some method and got caught by Siegfried.
I'll have to ask Yang Ji-sang directly later when I have time.
"Thank you. I've received gifts that are too much for me."
"Not at all. This is nothing. More importantly, it's still the early stages of the Calamity, but you have quite strong mana. You won't need my help right away. Still, threats can approach unnoticed. If you ever need my help, tear this."
"This is..."
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Dragon Slayer's Talisman: When torn, Siegfried has a chance to be summoned. Can be called for about 1 minute.
"It's my talisman. If you tear it, I'll come help immediately if I'm free. By the way, if the opponent is too weak to my liking... you'll be quite disappointed."
"I understand.. Thank you!"
"Alright, then do your best to survive."
Siegfried patted my shoulder hard and disappeared with a flash of light.
"Hoo..."
I'd received an unexpected reward.
And it was a whole three of them.