Nightfall - Hidden Route (4)
Han Yujin stared at the blade of the Holy Sword Omega clutched in his hand, where a blinding white light was seeping out in slow, steady pulses.
Truth be told, the sword held no special meaning for him.
To everyone else it was the stuff of fairy tales, a legendary artifact from some enchanted tome. To Yujin it was nothing more than a sharp sword with an annoying personality.
And a pain in the ass to boot, always nagging and complaining.
That was why he wasn’t feeling the slightest thrill about claiming the Holy Sword. After all, in a fantasy game set in a virtual world like Nightfall, a sword like this was just something you expected to find.
Well, maybe not for the viewers watching at home.
“Open the item description window,” Yujin instructed.
“Huh? What? I can’t hear you—your voice is too quiet!”
“Item description! Open it right now!”
Winter’s patience had finally run out and she yelled at the top of her lungs, making Yujin unconsciously pull a slightly annoyed face.
“You didn’t have to shout… I could have just spoken.”
“I’ve been trying to be patient with you since the beginning! When someone gets a weapon that good, the first thing viewers expect is to open the item description window. That’s basic etiquette!”
- For real, I’m teaming up with Winter on this one~
- Every single second she’s updating the legend and the comment box is just sitting there looking confused…
- ???: Hidden route? Epic weapon drop? Anyone could do something like this, right? Why are people losing their minds?
- …Ah… ah…
- What the heck is up with that…
- The comment box doesn’t understand normal human emotions…
Because the viewers were siding with Winter this time, Yujin had no choice but to raise the white flag.
“So you want me to open the item description window?”
“Yes. Stop dragging your feet and open it already.”
“How do I even open it? I’ve never done this before, so I don’t know what to do.”
“Ha…?”
Winter’s bewildered expression was priceless. The viewers watching lost it, laughing so hard they almost fell off their seats.
- Haha, when I think about it, this was the second VR game for the comment box. Haha haha
- Noob (killed the tutorial boss on the first day of streaming and is raiding the hidden route)
- The comment box doesn’t even know how to open the item description window. So cute lol
Winter let out a long, exasperated sigh and explained the inventory manipulation controls, the character status screen, and how to open the item description window.
“So… like this?”
Yujin gripped the sword tighter and whispered the command “item description.” Right on cue, a window popped up in front of him.
◈ Created by all hunters and artisans of Arkham using the doll Yuria as a medium to combat the Rulers.
◈ An artificial holy sword capable of inflicting fatal damage on anything not human.
◈ Amplifies the user’s physical abilities to rival those of a beast.
Winter read every line carefully, her mouth falling open in shock.
- Fatal damage to anything non-human? Does that mean it crits on every monster?
- And it boosts physical stats too lol lol. It turns you into a beast… lol lol
- In the hidden route they didn’t level up the doll, so they balanced it this way…
- Wait, don’t call her a doll! She’s got a name—Yuria!
- Hahaha, got it;;
Physical ability enhancement…
Yujin gripped the sword and casually swung it to test. Whoosh—
A clean, sharp whistle cut through the air like a knife through wind.
“Hmm…”
Yes, with the Holy Sword in hand, his physical stats had skyrocketed.
This should be enough to take on Ariandel head-on without losing badly.
Meaning, in future fights he wouldn’t have to worry about being outmatched purely on physical specs.
[How do you feel about me as your weapon? Are you satisfied, Master?]
“Well, at least it’s not bad. It seems usable enough.”
Yujin gave a small smile at the question from Yuria.
- Yuria’s tsundere mode is so intense lol lol “How do you feel about me as your weapon” lol lol
- Crazy guy lol lol
- Look at the cool comment box lol lol lol
- Was the comment box actually tsundere all along???
- Yuria’s now completely turned into a sword, right? She’s been talking in Holy Sword mode since forever;; I miss her face already
- -_- When you get one thing you lose another. Just like me—lots of savings in the bank but no girlfriend…
- Wise sage lol lol lol
- That’s the law of equivalent exchange lol lol lol
“Yuria, you’ll be in sword form forever from now on, won’t you?”
Yujin couldn’t help but ask, curious whether she could ever go back to her original doll appearance.
[It is impossible. All the components that made up my machine have long since been rebuilt into this sword form. Once I become this, returning to the past doll form is no longer possible.]
- Ah…
- T_T T_T T_T T_T
[However… while I maintain this sword form, guiding Master through the coming journey will be quite difficult. I have prepared a replacement.]
“A replacement?”
Right then, a tiny, fairy-like doll no bigger than a palm floated over and landed softly on Yujin’s shoulder.
The doll looked exactly like the Yuria from her doll days—same face, same everything.
“From now on, I will communicate with Master through this miniature form. Please treat me well, Master.”
Yuria—or rather, Mini Yuria—curtsied with a hand on her hip.
The comment box exploded instantly.
While the viewers were going crazy, Winter sat on Yujin’s shoulder next to Mini Yuria, her expression somehow displeased.
“Why are you making that face?”
“Well, she just sat on your shoulder the same way I always did. It feels like our roles are overlapping.”
“Our roles overlapping?”
“Even if I’m not as cute as she is, I’m the one who’s been handling the visuals and supporting a complete noob at virtual games. If a strong rival like her appears, my position in this broadcast might shrink.”
- ????
- Just be friends, Winter.
- Yeah, I’ve always liked figures more than people, so hurry up and take that face off the stream.
- -_-, that’s too harsh lol lol lol
Winter and the viewers were bickering like that, securing more broadcast time, when—
KRRRRUMBLE—
A deafening boom erupted from somewhere, as if thunder had just struck.
The sound made Mini Yuria on Yujin’s shoulder instantly stiffen. She leaned close to his ear and whispered urgently in her tiny voice.
“Master, I have something urgent to tell you.”
“Report it then. What is it?”
“The Paradise we’ve been staying in is about to collapse. It would be best to evacuate immediately.”
“What? All of a sudden? Why?”
Yujin turned his head, scanning the surroundings.
The landscape around them still looked as peaceful and cozy as something out of a fairy tale.
But if it was suddenly going to collapse… why?
“Paradise was originally an absolute sanctuary created by the Rulers’ authority. Because the space is fixed, nothing can change it. Yet suddenly we hear thunder and it’s about to collapse—exactly—”
Before Yuria could finish, another thunderous boom shook the air.
KRRRRRUMBLE—!
This one was far louder than the first, like a meteor had slammed into the ground.
CRACK—
Space cracks spread through the quaint cottage and the flower garden that had looked so fairy-tale perfect.
Through the cracks peered something with eyes far too large.
A chill ran down Yujin’s spine.
When those eyes locked onto his, he felt like he’d been hit by a truck.
What… what was that?
A creature that couldn’t be described in human words, impossibly vast, and on a level no ordinary being could reach—even higher than Ariandel.
It wasn’t from this world. It was from somewhere outside the world entirely.
That must mean—
“The Ruler who usually finds this space unpleasant has finally taken direct action.”
[■■■■■■■■-!]
Before the words were even finished, a black space crack tore open and an unspeakable number of tentacles burst through.
“That is the nightmare of Arkham and one of the sources of the darkness that will spread across the world.”
“…The Ruler is ‘The One Who Gazes at the Stars, Eve Ster.’”
A nightmare that defied description had descended right here.