The Traitor Who Sings Only for His Own Gain (Part 3)
They drained half their life force from the goblins, orcs, and kobolds. Using the invincible logic that it was better to die right away, I absorbed the life force through completely legitimate means. Thanks to that, I was able to defeat the golem. When the golem’s core shattered, the dungeon was cleared.
I woke up faster than I thought. The overwhelming power of Pluto’s Dark Magic, which used life force as a resource, was the reason.
I don’t know the difference between life force and soul, but on every level—power and efficiency—the life-force route was clearly superior.
A brief surge of happiness hit me. For a moment, I was happy. “Kerk!” We did it! Kerk!” “Kung!” “Shshit, you guys were hiding such power all along.”
These idiots had no idea what Dark Magic really was. Their civilization was just too low. Still, I couldn’t avoid the eyes of the players outside the dungeon. Especially Elena Trigard’s. I figured it was almost impossible to hide from an elf’s gaze. That’s why I used Dark Magic in the first place. Simple reason: “I was going to regress anyway.”
What’s the point of old grudges against home or parents if you’re only living for today? Elena also has pride. Killing a fresh new player right after the test? Impossible. Even inside the Tower of Struggle, there are factions. Politics exist. The moment I make a move against one side, I give them justification to fight back. So I turned and walked back the way we came. The distance wasn’t long with how fast we moved.
“Kerk! You were that close?!” The goblin shaman looked genuinely shocked. When you move slowly, sure, but not like this.
Just as we stepped out of the 8th corridor, the next party walked in. The test continued.
“Kim Jinwoo!” Yu Dahui, who had already cleared the floor, rushed over. “Wow, you’re in one piece?” “You got the potion, right? The effect was insane.” “Hmm… didn’t the golem hit you hard? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?” “I’m fine.”
Yu Dahui looked like she wanted to say something but couldn’t. The stares from everyone else made the air awkward. “Hey, everyone keeps looking at me. Is it overthinking?” “No. We were really only watching your party. Total noob team, but still, everyone’s been paying attention.” “Well, it’s more fun to roll the weak ones than to knife the strong ones.” “Attention… isn’t that bad.”
As I said, I’m a bit too close to the attention magnet. One player approached me. From the way he walked, the arrogance was obvious. A dwarf nymph—how embarrassing. “Hey. You. Come with me.” The nymph pointed at me and nodded. Elena Trigard is way too obsessed with Dark Magic. She’s the type who draws a line with Yu Dahui and helps each other out, but she doesn’t know more than that. Just the fact that I’m someone connected to Pluto and his home and parents. “Where are you going?” “I don’t know.” “You just came out. Aren’t you going to rest?” “Can’t be helped. Being weak is my fault.” Yu Dahui covered for my complaint. Being weak is the crime. The weak get dragged around by everyone else. “You never told me to come with you.” “Ah.” The nymph shot a glare at Yu Dahui. Yu Dahui stood there dumbly, staring at me. I scratched my head awkwardly, then followed the nymph. “Watch your tongue in front of Lady Elena Trigard. If you say anything stupid, I’ll kill you.” “Yes.” She was calling me Pluto’s slave thanks to Dark Magic. But in the novel, this situation never existed. Meaning I was in completely uncharted territory. Elena was never hostile from the start, so I was actually pretty nervous. The nymph led me out of the courtyard and into a building. It was the one Elena lived in. A two-story place she used alone. People live in rooms the size of ten pyung and I’m supposed to be jealous? “You can go in.” The nymph turned her back at the entrance. She dropped me off like a shuttle? Crazy bastard. I stepped inside the building, which gave off a heavy pressure I couldn’t explain. There was no one inside, so an eerie silence settled over everything. “…What the hell was he thinking…?” Why would the nymph just leave me there? If he had called Elena, he should have brought me right to her. I used my memories of the novel to find the room where Elena might be. Knock knock. “Come in.” Her voice was soft. Not as sharp as I expected. I opened the door. Elena was sitting there. Ding! The moment I saw her, a strange message popped up. [‘Pluto’s Slave’ has been detected within range.] “……” What the hell is ‘Pluto’s Slave’? I had never heard of it. “Sit.” Elena greeted me not in her armor but in light clothes. Those flowing negligee-style undergarments…? Underwear, right? It was such an innocent look from an elf knight captain who hated Dark Magic that it felt wrong. I sat on the soft sofa opposite her. The plushness made me feel strangely good. Elena poured me a cup of tea and spoke. Her face looked oddly excited. “Huu, neither of us has time right now, so I’ll get straight to the point.” “Yes.” I didn’t know why, but the mood felt good. She wasn’t treating me like the Dark Magic user she would have in the novel. I thought she’d try to kill me on sight. “I felt Pluto’s energy in the magic you used during the test today.” “Yes.” “You’re definitely connected to Pluto, aren’t you?” “If I have to say, yes.” “Huu, I finally found you. Let me ask again. What’s your relationship with Pluto?” Elena Trigard is the elf knight captain who hates Dark Magic. The way she spoke didn’t match that position at all. No pressure like she’d show in the lecture hall or exam. Instead, it felt respectful. Too respectful. More polite than when she talked to Yu Dahui. Was ‘Pluto’s Slave’ the problem? The novel never had anyone like Pluto. There were Dark Magic users, but nothing important seemed to come of it. Yet here I was, rolling around with a hidden piece I accidentally got. I thought hard about my connection with Pluto. Pluto, a Lich who reached the ultimate stage of Dark Magic, forced Dark Magic on me. There were no memories of any bond or friendship in that process. Elena’s strangely sweet eyes, ‘Pluto’s Slave,’ and that faint glow on her lower abdomen. “…My master.” “Where is Pluto?” “He’s dead.” “Ah…” I sat in the tomb under the strange gravestone but didn’t say it out loud. There was no way to find him anyway. Elena clutched her teacup with an expression of genuine sadness. Then her face turned red and she lowered her head. The reaction was so weird I didn’t know what to think. “Hoo… huut… Pluto… that damn bastard…” Elena trembled all over and muttered. Judging by the curses, she was furious. If I messed up, sparks would fly. Still, I couldn’t touch a newbie. One wrong move and we’d all die together. Elena looked up. Her eyes held desperate longing. “Huu… If you’re Pluto’s disciple, you know Dark Magic, right?” “Pretty much.” “The Submission Oath too?” “The Submission Oath?” I searched the Dark Magic list for ‘Submission Oath.’ “Ah. Yes. It should be usable.” But the price was insane. Maybe five people would have to die. Even that would probably be trash-level because of skill rank. “Can you lift the restrictions the Submission Oath placed on me?” “Lifting them…” After careful thought, I realized ‘Pluto’s Slave’ was the status created by the Submission Oath, and the oath could set multiple restrictions. Self-destruct prevention, no-kill order, mana seal, whatever. The required life force depended on the strength of each restriction. The funny part was that the target of the Submission Oath had to genuinely consent. ‘This woman… she already agreed and now she’s watching me perform the role-play…’ She was showing up to watch me, the disciple in costume, trying to escape now. “I think it should be possible…” “Then please lift them. I’ll give you as much reward as you want.” Elena fiddled with her inventory in mid-air. A gold coin engraved with “10” fell. One coin was one dong, one thousand coins were one eun, one million were one gold, so a gold coin with “10” was ten million coins. “Down payment.” A light gold coin in the inventory immediately turned into ten million coins. Ten million. I remembered the way Bak Cheol-eon had trembled at even one million. “I’ll try it once.” I had made a Submission Oath to Pluto. Could I really break it? [Do you wish to lift Player Elena Trigard’s ‘Submission Oath’?]
“O, it’s possible.” I didn’t understand how, but it didn’t matter. Roughly fitting pieces together explained it. ‘Through the forced contract with Pluto, his Dark Magic was inherited, and the owner of the Submission Oath passed to me…’ When I put it like that, it was surprisingly simple. ‘So what?’ If Elena’s Submission Oath became mine, then her master became me instead of Pluto. What a sweet deal? “Hey? The Submission Oath isn’t lifted yet, right?” Elena glanced at her glowing lower abdomen. Probably that was the proof of the Submission Oath. Pluto’s tastes were seriously weird. I thought it over for a moment, then issued a simple command. I didn’t know the details of the Submission Oath between Pluto and Elena. How strong the restrictions were, that was what I wanted to know. “Hey, lift your undergarment a little.” “Wait, a second…!” Elena panicked but still lifted her clothes. Her clean pussy glowed from the strange tattoo on her lower abdomen. “You… you bastard! You want to die!? Cancel the order right now!” “The body obeys, but the mouth is too dirty… Pluto’s tastes are seriously twisted?” Master, thank you very much. I’ll come by when I regress again.