Dark Sentinel (4)
Perhaps, I could have dragged the fight out longer.
[Exclusive skill, "Bookmark," has been activated.]
[Bookmark #2 has been activated.]
[Due to the low level of the Bookmark skill, activation time is shortened.]
[Activation Time: 1 minute]
You know, like those battles where you offer your flesh to cut their bones, or spill blood in a once-in-a-lifetime life-or-death struggle.
[Due to low comprehension of the character, only partial skills are activated.]
["Weapon Polishing Lv.1" has been activated.]
But I didn't do that.
More accurately—I didn't have the luxury of doing so.
I gave it everything I had, pushing my body to its limits.
I sprinted with strained muscles and gritted my teeth as I endured the incoming tentacles.
Sskak!
Everything blurred past.
What remained was the afterimage of a sharp white light—and the undeniable sensation of having cut something.
[Understanding of character 'Lee Hyun-sung' has increased.]
[Bookmark #2 has been deactivated.]
I could feel my strength draining.
It had been a move that used up everything I had.
Moments later, a voice trembled in the air.
[S-Seriously, did everyone just see that? Am I seeing things or...?]
The dokkaebi, Biryu, looked like he had forgotten his role altogether.
In fairness, his shock wasn't unwarranted.
[A few Constellations doubt their own eyes.]
[Constellation 'Black Flame Dragon of the Abyss' narrows its eyes.]
The mighty 7th-class demon species now lay on the ground before me, its tentacles curled inwards.
[Constellation 'Prisoner of the Golden Gua' pulls out their hair in satisfaction.]
[You have received 500 coins.]
The severed tentacles were scattered across the floor.
The surrounding mole crickets had long since either died or fled from the battle's fallout.
Only the still-breathing Dark Sentinel was left, crawling along the ground, twitching its lips.
"...Ki...ki...kik."
Normally, I wouldn't be able to fight a 7th-class demon species, not even in a dream.
Which is exactly why I prepared.
I'm not as strong as Yoo Joong-hyuk.
I don't have a powerful supporting constellation like Lee Hyun-sung.
[A Constellation with obsessive tendencies praises your preparedness.]
[You have received 200 coins.]
The only advantage I had over others...
was information.
But sometimes, "information" can be the most powerful weapon in the world.
Kiiiiing.
And the result of that information was the White Light Blade now in my hand.
[Ether Blade... at this point in the scenario...? Is this for real...?]
Thankfully, I didn't have to explain anything.
The chatterbox dokkaebi was doing all the talking for me.
Ether Blade.
A core skill of incarnations with top-tier supporting constellations.
In the Murim world, they call it [Sword Qi].
"It's not actually a true Ether Blade. The real thing is way stronger."
[R-Right! Technically, it's 'Broken Conviction' absorbing mana and then channeling 'Baekcheonganggi'...]
Still, he was a dokkaebi—annoying, but not totally stupid.
[...Incredible. What kind of maniacs does Bihyung even have in his channel...]
Just then—fwip!—the Blade of Conviction vanished.
['Broken Conviction' has reached 0 durability. This item can no longer be used.]
A shame, but... it had done its job.
"Sub-scenario's done. Where's my reward?"
[Ugh, right, right! H-Hang on!]
As Biryu scrambled to input something midair, a message popped up.
[Sub-scenario clear conditions fulfilled!]
[You have obtained 500 coins.]
[A few Constellations admire the scenario you created.]
Not a huge reward, really.
But of course.
Because—I hadn't killed the Dark Sentinel.
[S-So, uh... are you not gonna kill that thing?]
Biryu looked at me with hopeful eyes.
Catching my breath, I glanced at the crumpled Dark Sentinel on the ground and kindly replied:
"I follow a no-kill policy."
[N-No kill...?]
"Yeah. I'm not the kind of guy who kills things easily."
[Constellation 'Demonic Judge of Fire' says, 'I knew it!' in admiration!]
[You have received 100 coins.]
Of course, that was a lie.
[Constellation 'Secretive Plotter' chuckles sinisterly at your deception.]
[You have received 100 coins.]
A flustered Biryu stammered:
[B-But if you kill it now, the reward will be massive! You'd be the first to kill a 7th-class demon species—y-you'd get at least 7000 coins! Do you even know how much that is?!]
"I said I'm not killing it. Now move—I've got a reward chest to open."
I brushed past the annoying dokkaebi.
After all, the real reason I came here wasn't that thing. It was...
Puuk!
[7th-class demon species 'Dark Sentinel' has died.]
...What?
I turned to see the grinning dokkaebi and the fading Dark Sentinel dissolving into light, pierced by a mole cricket spear.
And standing there...
"Ha! Hahahah! I-I can be strong too! You didn't see this coming, did you, Kim Dokja?!"
...was Han Myung-oh, smirking while holding the weapon.
I immediately understood what had happened.
Then came the onslaught of notifications:
[You have defeated a 7th-class demon species for the first time!]
[You have completed an impossible achievement.]
[You have received 8000 coins.]
[Contributors: Kim Dokja, Han Myung-oh]
He probably got only a fraction, since he just landed the final hit.
But I could see Han Myung-oh on the verge of tears from sheer joy.
"No-kill policy? Idiot! What kind of no-kill crap works in a world like this? That's why you'll never be a top dog! You hear me—"
But I wonder...
Does Han Myung-oh even know what he just did?
[By killing the 7th-class demon species 'Dark Sentinel,' Demon King 'Asmodeus' has detected the identity of the killer.]
[Demon King 'Asmodeus' will pursue the incarnation who dealt the final blow to his vassal until death.]
[Demon King 'Asmodeus' has placed a horrific curse on the final blow dealer!]
[Final Blow Dealer: Han Myung-oh]
"W-What? What is this message?!"
Han Myung-oh screamed, panicked.
[Constellation 'Secretive Plotter' applauds your deviousness.]
"Oh... I didn't mention? I left it alive on purpose."
[Constellation 'Secretive Plotter' recommends your scenario to the Star Stream.]
Han Myung-oh stood dazed, staring into space.
Asmodeus' curse always fulfills one of the killer's worst nightmares.
I don't know what that is for him—but I'm sure it'll be horrifying.
Looking back, I saw Yoo Sang-ah and Lee Gilyoung staring blankly at me.
I gave them a calm, gentle smile.
"Shall we go open our reward boxes now?"
After a short while, we thoroughly searched the treasure vault and took out the items we had found.
"I found this."
"And I got this…"
What Yoo Sang-ah and Lee Gil-young discovered were a small bracelet and a worn-out shield, respectively.
[Mana Recovery Bracelet]
[Worn Iron Shield]
Both were D-grade items, but still better than nothing. The [Mana Recovery Bracelet] was useful for anyone, and the [Worn Iron Shield] would suit Lee Hyun-sung well.
Just because it's called "iron" doesn't mean it should be underestimated. Iron from another world is much tougher than Earth's.
Yoo Sang-ah spoke in a slightly disappointed tone.
"It's sparser than I expected."
Sparse. Not an incorrect description. The current state of the "treasure vault" was barren enough to make its name feel ironic.
Yoo Joong-hyuk.
The guy who left for Yaksoo yesterday must've passed through here. He'd know how exhausting it is to fight demon species, so he probably waited for the right moment and stole the treasures.
In the end, we were just robbers rummaging through a house already looted by a thief.
"There's still the main item left, so it's fine."
I looked at the black box at the center of the vault as I spoke. Without further delay, we opened it.
Inside the box was a brazier.
It was so small it could fit in a pocket — barely even worthy of being called a "brazier."
[Mana Brazier]
So it remained. This item was, in fact, the real core of this sub-scenario.
[Only one Mana Brazier can be carried per person.]
Joong-hyuk must've taken one, meaning there were originally two.
"…What exactly is this?"
"Hm, I think I have an idea of its use."
Feigning ignorance, I activated the Mana Brazier and placed the leg of the dead mole cricket on it.
It looked comically out of place, like a giant meal on a tiny plate, but in less than five seconds, something amazing happened to the cricket leg.
"Wow! It smells delicious!"
A savory aroma spread, and the mole cricket's leg began to brown and crisp up.
"Meat!"
Lee Gil-young shouted excitedly. Yoo Sang-ah asked urgently,
"C-Can we really eat this?"
"I'll try it first."
Grabbing the hind leg, now glistening with just the right amount of fat, I took a big bite. Juices seeped out between the meat fibers… I closed my eyes, momentarily forgetting to chew. Reading about it in a book and actually tasting it are two very different things.
[A few Constellations are drooling.]
[A few Constellations sponsor 100 coins.]
[Constellation 'Black Flame Dragon of the Abyss' swallows its saliva.]
[Constellation 'Prisoner of the Golden Headband' bites their nails.]
...
A barrage of messages came flooding in.
As expected, nothing beats food when it comes to viewership.
Everyone unites in front of a good meal.
"Go ahead. I think it's safe."
As soon as I said that, the two of them dove toward the meat. After three days of irregular meals, they must have been starving. Even Han Myung-oh, who had been dazed until now, was sneakily glancing over.
"R-Reader… I-I kind of lost it earlier…"
"Eat. Don't worry about it."
"T-Thanks!"
"They say even ghosts look better after eating a good meal."
"W-What…!"
Han Myung-oh's face darkened. I said it as a joke, but honestly, Han Myung-oh was going to die. Even Yoo Joong-hyuk would have trouble escaping Asmodeus's pursuit.
Each of us grabbed a leg and began tearing it apart.
To think, after all we'd been through, we were still sitting around chewing meat because we were hungry. Humans really are hopeless.
Everyone focused on their meal in silence. Maybe it was the gentle light radiating from the Mana Brazier, but I was feeling oddly sentimental.
We kill something, and we survive by eating it. That is the life of a human being.
It's always been that way — so why does it feel so poignant now?
I happened to glance up and locked eyes with Yoo Sang-ah. She snapped back to herself and suddenly made a teary face.
"I'm pathetic."
"…Pardon?"
"Here I am, gobbling up something you worked so hard to obtain like some pig… I'm no help at all…"
"No, Yoo Sang-ah. That's—"
"But how do you know all this stuff, Reader? Even how to cook an animal you've never seen before…"
"Oh, that's…"
"I knew it! It's thanks to all those fantasy novels you read, right? Gosh, I was such a fool, memorizing Spanish vocab instead of preparing for this kind of world."
Hearing that from Yoo Sang-ah made me feel strange. I spoke up to comfort her.
"Maybe all that language study helped you understand the demon language, who knows?"
Although… it wasn't all that useful.
"Maybe… Thanks, Reader…"
I gave a small smile to the tearful Yoo Sang-ah and stood up. The group had returned to eating. I took the chance to slip behind them.
Truthfully, the [Mana Brazier] was important, but the item I really wanted was something else.
I turned my attention to the black box that had contained the [Mana Brazier].
This is it. No doubt.
Even Yoo Joong-hyuk likely hadn't realized it. The real treasure in this vault… was this black box.
In the original story, Joong-hyuk doesn't learn about this item until his sixth regression.
Who was it that found it first again? 'Bicheonhori'? Hmm… it's been so long, I can't remember clearly. But I think the line went something like this:
"Hey, you know, when you're exploring early zones, there's this weird box, right? I put stuff in it and then…"
That's when Yoo Sang-ah and I locked eyes.
"What are you going to do with that box?"
"Huh? Oh, this is…"
She stared closely at the box and then said, noticing something written on it.
There were strange characters on the box.
…Wait. Don't tell me she can read that too?
"'Random… Item Box'?"
Damn it.
That's the problem with language prodigies.
"Uh… well… um, this is…"
I stammered, flustered. But Yoo Sang-ah jumped in before I could continue.
"Try using it, Reader!"
"…Are you sure?"
She nodded. Lee Gil-young also nodded enthusiastically.
"You don't need to worry about us. All the items we found here belong to you, Reader. That's only fair."
Well, now that they knew, I might as well use it.
"Then I'll give it a try."
[A few Constellations nod at your decision.]
I pulled out the core of a grade-7 demon species from my pocket — harvested earlier from the corpse of the Shadow Watcher. Then I took out the [Broken Faith], which had completely lost its durability. According to the original novel, the box's usage was simple.
"Who would've guessed it was a limited-edition coin item?"
I placed the demon core and the Broken Faith into the box.
"What, you don't believe me? I'm serious! You put in low-tier items, close the box, and—!"
I didn't actually know what combining these two would result in. But one thing was certain: it would be something amazing.
"It guarantees a higher-tier item!"
Moments later, a dazzling light burst from the closed box.