Owner of Twilight Intuition – Chapter 125

“This is…… the skill the demon used at the end?”

The description was unsettling. It seemed like a good skill, but it felt like there would be penalties. Moreover, seeing that the stat increase was Corruption, I decided to postpone learning it for now.

“Next is the mark.”

[Mark of the Intermediate Demon] (Magic)

Description: A mark that can only be obtained by killing a demon. In other words, it’s also proof of having killed a demon. If you collect these marks and bring them to the Church of Light, they will offer a reward.

“It’s a junk item.”

Judging that this single mark wouldn’t be meaningful, I put both items in the item window and waited for the others to defeat their demons. Since no messages had popped up yet, it seemed like they were still fighting.

“Well, they should be able to handle it easily since the demon’s health is only around 20,000 to 30,000……”

[Party member ‘Heron’ has died.]

[Transitioning to soul state.]

“Huh?”

Heron died? Heron’s role was a tank, protecting the front line. But for him to die……

[Party member ‘Yuke’ has died.]

[Party member ‘Kiers’ has died.]

“These crazy b*stards!”

I defeated it alone, but four of them went in and died?!

Seeing the names of the executives dying one after another, I quickly recalled the members teamed up with Heron. Four went in, so the remaining one must be Da-in, right? But Da-in was a player who had acquired an S-rank skill. If she played her cards right, she could even solo……

[Party member ‘Da-in’ has died.]

[Transitioning to soul state.]

“……”

It’s over. And as if to prove my thoughts correct, a message window appeared.

[Quest failed.]

[Currently completed B-rank quests: 0.]

[Would you like to return to your previous location?]

‘What happens to my 80 gold then?’

Since the quest failed, it would naturally be gone, but I asked myself, unable to accept the fact. However, I soon acknowledged the failure and returned to my previous location. Arriving back at the Quest Guild, I saw Aizen and two other executives.

“You failed.”

“Sigh, what the hell were those guys doing? Four of them went in and died.”

“We can go and ask them. We can just wait for them to return to the Guild Castle.”

“We have to wait for an hour? You’re saying we should go there and wait?”

The death penalty was a 1-hour connection ban. Knowing this, I asked in bewilderment, and Aizen calmly nodded.

“Yes.”

“……”

Right, I’m feeling this way, so you must be feeling even worse, having lost 100 gold.

Nodding, I decided to wait at the Guild Castle. I used a Return Scroll and sat on the stairs connecting the 1st and 2nd floors of the Guild Castle, engaging in conversation with Aizen.

“Did you defeat the demon, Rudin-nim?”

“Huh? Ah, I did. It dropped a skillbook and a mark. What about you?”

“I defeated it as well. I only got a mark.”

‘Hmm.’

At this point, I was confused whether Aizen was amazing or Da-in was useless. Come to think of it, Da-in was of no help in the Emperor’s quest either, right? Considering that, it seemed like Da-in had never been helpful against monsters.

‘What’s the problem? Are her equipment stats bad?’

Anyway, as we spent time talking, Heron and the others who had died started logging back in. Perhaps due to their deaths, it was noticeable that they were each missing a piece of equipment.

Heron, the first to log in, spotted Aizen and me, and apologized with a regretful expression.

“I apologize. We failed the quest because of us.”

“More than that, I’m curious how you died.”

Nodding, I listened to Heron’s explanation. It seemed the demon they faced was a bulky one. Initially, they faced it without much difficulty, but at some point, it started using a strange skill, and they began to get pushed back.

He mentioned a skill that created a protective shield around its body. Attacking that shield would reflect half the damage back to the attacker.

‘So it reflects damage.’

The rest of the explanation wasn’t particularly special. They took damage even when blocking, and they also received damage when attacking, so they couldn’t launch an aggressive offense. Then, the shield suddenly exploded, causing Heron, who was at the front, to collapse, and the remaining members fell like dominoes. That was the end of the explanation.

“If only Eris-nim was here, we could have defeated it.”

“Or maybe our demon was particularly difficult?”

“……”

‘What kind of nonsense is that?’

Damage reflection was certainly a troublesome ability. Perhaps it was even more challenging than the demon I faced. However, I fought the demon alone, and they faced it with four people, didn’t they?

No matter how much they tried to justify it, I couldn’t accept it.

“What ability did the demon you faced use, Rudin-nim?”

“An ability that caused explosions and pushed me back when I attacked.”

“The demon I faced used a clone skill that split it into three. I admit that yours was definitely more difficult. But considering that, you had four people, didn’t you?”

“That’s…… yes, I apologize.”

“It’s alright. Along with the quest failure penalty, you are prohibited from participating in dungeon boss raids for the time being. You may return now.”

“……Yes.”

The boss raid ban was understandable, but what was the quest failure penalty?

I could roughly guess what the boss raid ban entailed, but I had no idea what the quest failure penalty was. However, seeing everyone walk away with heavy expressions, I figured it must be quite serious.

‘Or is the boss raid ban that significant?’

If they couldn’t defeat bosses, they would be treated the same as regular guild members. I thought that far and then shook my head as if it didn’t matter. In the first place, I didn’t enter dungeons, so I didn’t want to worry about such things.

Anyway, thinking about the quest that ended without any reward made me sigh.

“Sigh……”

By the way, since the B-rank quest failed, how should I earn money? Suddenly, Aizen, who saw me like this, spoke with a puzzled expression.

“Is something the matter?”

“Ah, I need some gold. I might have to sell some unused equipment.”

Fortunately, I had a ‘+10 Soul-Infused Steel Shield’ in the bank from before. If I sold that, I should be able to earn enough gold for enhancements, right? Since I was already using a rare shield, it might be better to sell the steel shield and exchange it for enhancement stones.

“Gold…… How much do you need?”

“Quite a bit. I think I’ll need around 300 gold.”

Well, even if it wasn’t a +10 shield, there was the option of purchasing it with cash, so I answered casually. In reality, if it weren’t for the Kraken subjugation, I would have leisurely earned money and enhanced my equipment without such worries, and I wouldn’t even have considered using cash, so I couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret.

“That’s quite a large sum. Then I’ll give it to you.”

“Huh? Really? You’ll just give it to me?”

I asked back in delight at Aizen’s words, but then I realized what he meant by ‘just give’ and looked at him with suspicion. However, Aizen nodded and replied in a casual tone, as if it were nothing special.

“Yes. If you help us with the guild quest we’ve planned for next week.”

“……”

Aizen, who proposed the condition, seemed more demonic than the demon I had just fought.

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