𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟓𝟑
“We’re finally going to find the sacred relic.”
“It’s a good thing we’re not too late.”
“What are you talking about? I think we’re plenty late.”
Three days after defeating Deshon, the Nightmare of the Desert, the Emperor Guild members were finally able to complete the Trial of Light.
Who knows, maybe during that time, the gold offered to the temple alone exceeded 10,000 gold?
And in the meantime, other players who had completed the second quest also started to gather one by one, but none of them cleared the Trial of Light on the first try.
Moreover, as if they didn’t have money, they tried once or twice and then sat blankly in front of the Trial of Light area like homeless people on the street, so there was no room to step foot in the temple right now.
Just go out and make some money.
‘Well, 100 gold isn’t exactly pocket change.’
Fortunately, Sina and Rine also passed the Trial of Light and were able to participate in the party to retrieve the sacred relic.
Well, the fact that these two passed the trial was also possible thanks to the gold I supported them with. It wasn’t too difficult to support them since I had the 1,500 gold I earned from defeating Deshon.
“But are you sure it’s okay for me and Sina-eonni to participate?”
“We’re all going together now.”
“But I feel like our skills are too lacking compared to others.”
It was a statement that seemed to lack confidence, but it wasn’t entirely wrong.
Rine, who said those words, was still low level, and Sina wasn’t a combat class, so no one here would think they would be of any help.
Yet, the reason why the Emperor Guild members aren’t saying anything is simply because they are people I’m acquainted with.
“Well, don’t worry about it. And it’s a good opportunity.”
One way or another, the current quest wasn’t something Rine could handle at her level.
No, to be precise, she could do it, but clearing it would be difficult.
If they were unrelated to me, the Emperor Guild members wouldn’t bother taking them, and even if they did, they wouldn’t protect them, so it would be difficult in many ways.
‘Nine Emperor Guild members, plus me and Yua and the others…… that makes……’
A total of 13 people?
It was an absurdly small number to defeat an Apostle, but I wasn’t worried.
If we just stall for time, I’ll sneak in and retrieve the sacred relic.
Moreover, even if we die, Eris is here, so we can be resurrected at any time.
‘Come to think of it, this is quite a luxurious party.’
Including me, there are 10 executives from the Emperor Guild.
Usually, players who reach executive positions have proven their skills.
With 10 such members, this was an unprecedented party for Yua and the others, but it seemed like Rine was the only one who cared about it.
‘By the way, what should I do with the equipment I got from Deshon?’
The staff and S-rank skill book I obtained from Deshon.
Thinking about the Rare set mage equipment and the Ancient Weapon Enhancement Stone, I pondered how to use them, but nothing came to mind other than listing them on the Real-Time Auction House.
For reference, the mage equipment consisted of a total of five set pieces: a hood, robe, gloves, shoes, and belt, and the Ancient Weapon Enhancement Stone was a Unique grade enhancement stone.
Of course, as befitting its Unique grade, it had splendid options.
[Ancient Weapon Enhancement Stone] (Unique)
Description: An ancient stone made with mysterious power. It possesses the property of exceeding the limits of weapons. The ancient power contained within the stone will unconditionally enhance equipment up to a certain level, and it also has a significant chance of enhancing weapons that exceed that level. However, if it fails, the weapon may no longer be usable.
*100% enhancement success rate up to +10.
*Slightly increased enhancement success rate from +11 onwards.
*Upon failure, -50% durability reduction effect.
━Single-use consumable item.
Simply put, it means it will unconditionally succeed up to +10.
Unfortunately, from +11 onwards, only the success rate increases, but even if it fails, it’s an enhancement stone that only reduces durability by half, so it’s undoubtedly an item that anyone would covet.
‘Especially for those who have enhanced their weapons to +9, this would be an item that would make their eyes pop out.’
However, it was a useless item to me.
Still, I felt a bit uneasy about selling it on the Real-Time Auction House, so I decided to simply sell it to Aizen.
He’s a rich guy, so he’ll buy it at a good price.
Besides, if he uses this enhancement stone, he’ll become a bit stronger, which might be beneficial later on.
“Ah, we’ve finally arrived.”
Then, when I heard someone say that we had arrived, I lifted my head and saw the place where we had fought Deshon a few days ago.
Originally, we could have easily arrived by riding a Griffin, but it was impossible to carry 13 people, so we had no choice but to walk.
“Rudin-nim, where is the location you found?”
“Over there.”
After defeating Deshon, what I did was find the location of the sacred relic.
Naturally, I found it very easily using Intuition, so I took the lead and walked towards that location, and the remaining members started to follow me.
“By the way, what will the next quest be?”
Suddenly, I heard Sina’s voice following behind me.
“Well, I don’t know. Since we’ve recovered the sacred relic, maybe it’ll involve doing something with it?”
“It’s not like I’ve only done quests once or twice…… There’s a high chance that they’ll make us run around here and there while saying things that don’t make sense.”
“That sounds plausible.”
Thinking about it, the way we lost the sacred relic in the first place was quite abrupt.
Since there’s already a precedent, I thought there’s no guarantee it won’t happen again, so I nodded in agreement with Sina’s words, and we arrived at the location where the sacred relic was.
“Huh? Here?”
“Yes, please wait a moment.”
When I stopped walking in a place where even the entrance wasn’t visible, everyone looked puzzled, but I took out the Gem-Eating Snake from my item window while telling them to wait.
[Gem consumed.]
[A-rank Skill, Exploration Wave (LV7) activates.]
Whoosh!
Soon after, I used the Gem-Eating Snake to find the entrance, and stairs leading underground appeared along with the light generated by the exploration.
Now, all we have to do is go inside and retrieve the sacred relic.
‘By the way, which Apostle is here?’
The First Apostle was the Harpe Empire.
The Third Apostle was in the Karzen Kingdom, and the Fifth Apostle was in the Anis Kingdom, so it had to be one of the remaining three.
‘Well, what does it matter anyway.’
Coincidentally, only the even-numbered Apostles remained, but I didn’t think it mattered much, and as I went down the stairs, I could faintly hear the voice of guild member Hwaryeon.
“There will be four Apostles, right?”
“Probably.”
“Sigh, those Ronda Kingdom b*stards. They should have at least taken out 2 or 3 of them.”
Perhaps because they thought four Apostles would be waiting for us if we went down like this, the guild members were blaming the Ronda Kingdom players for no reason.
Actually, even I thought they only messed things up.
If they had cooperated and progressed through the main scenario, they could have defeated at least two or more Apostles.
However, this is just an assumption. In reality, four Apostles whom we have never seen before are waiting for us.
━So, the intruders have arrived, as I heard the signal.
‘Ah, damn it.’
At the end of the stairs leading underground, there were no monsters or anything, just a wide hall and four Apostles.
And a pure white statue located in the center.
That statue must be the sacred relic, but the reason I was annoyed was that this space was smaller than I expected.
It wouldn’t be a problem when facing at least one boss monster, but this space was absurdly narrow for facing four boss monsters.
‘Well, it’s not like we have to defeat them anyway.’
It seemed like I could ignore the narrow space.
“I’ve never seen a boss monster look like a small fry in my life.”
“Why is it the first time? Even the highest-ranking demons during the Demon King raid were boss-level.”
“Ah, that’s right.”
The guild members seemed to be joking casually, but I could sense that they were nervous inside.
━Execute them.
Along with those words, the Second Apostle, the raid boss of this place, ordered an attack without hesitation, and in response, our members started to move.
“Blink.”
Fwoosh━
In addition, I also moved using Phantom Shift, but my purpose was different.
If I just take out the sacred relic without dealing with the Apostles, the quest will be completed.
So, I moved near the sacred relic and immediately reached out to take it, but my hand was blocked by a transparent barrier and couldn’t go any further.
Thud━
━Did you think I wouldn’t make any preparations?
Moreover, as if even colliding with the protective barrier around the sacred relic was considered an attack, my stealth was dispelled, and the Second Apostle, seeing me appear near the sacred relic, uttered those words in a low voice and threw a throwing dagger that I don’t know when he took out.
‘Come to think of it……’
Is this guy’s weapon a throwing dagger?
It was the most meager weapon among the Apostles I’ve met so far.
However, apart from its meager appearance, the throwing dagger was shot at a tremendous speed that even I couldn’t follow with my eyes, and as soon as I realized it had hit my shoulder, I almost instinctively checked the damage.
[You have taken damage! -14,830.]
‘Penetration damage?’
And that wasn’t the end.
[You have been afflicted with the Black Dragon’s Curse.]
[All defense reduced by 5%.]
“…… ……”
So, if you get hit by a throwing dagger, you get cursed with a defense reduction?
I thought it was meaningless since the penetration rate of the throwing dagger seemed high anyway, but if my defense decreased, there would be many inconveniences.
Still, I should block the penetration damage first.
“Jayer’s Guardian Shield.”
[S-rank Skill, Jayer’s Guardian Shield activates.]
The effect of Jayer’s Guardian Shield at level 25.
After defeating Deshon, I invested the skill points I could raise into Guardian Shield, and now this skill, exhibiting the effect of level 25, increased penetration defense by 125p.
I’m sure the throwing dagger won’t deal penetration damage anymore.
However, I only prepared for penetration damage, and nothing has been solved regarding the important matter of retrieving the sacred relic.
“Blink.”
Anyway, I dodged the Second Apostle’s dagger attack again with Phantom Shift and swung my shield with all my might to destroy the protective barrier blocking the sacred relic.
“Thunder Strike!”
Clang!!━
[Skill Damage! 38,735.]
‘Damage is being dealt.’
The fact that damage is being dealt means that the protective barrier has durability, and furthermore, it means that it can be broken.
I thought I could definitely break it if I just kept hitting it like this, but the Second Apostle wouldn’t just stand by and watch.
[Beluin’s Second Apostle uses Blade Rush.]
As soon as I hit the protective barrier, the Second Apostle threw his dagger upwards, and then the dagger split into 7 or 8 pieces and swooped down on me as if it had a tracker attached.
That’s definitely around 15,000 damage, right?
Of course, before I could even think about it, I retreated and dodged the swooping daggers, but the speed of the falling daggers was faster than me, so I inevitably allowed three attacks to hit.
[You have taken damage! 6,367.]
[You have taken damage……]
‘Damn it.’
Isn’t this too fast?
In addition, the message that popped up after the damage was even more absurd.
[You have been afflicted with the Black Dragon’s Curse a total of 4 times.]
[All defense reduced by 20%.]
It seems like this strange curse is applied every time I get hit by the dagger thrown by the Second Apostle.
In other words, it means it gets harder as the battle drags on, but even though I didn’t intend to drag it out, the situation wasn’t flowing that way.
‘The good thing is that there’s no problem on the guild members’ side……’
Perhaps because the Apostle hasn’t started using his power and attacking in earnest yet, everyone seems to be holding on well.
Especially, seeing Yua, whom I was most worried about, handling the situation smoothly with Sina’s summoned beast, Rine’s support, and Eris’ various buffs, I thought that if I just take care of this side, it would be fine, so I decided to divert the Second Apostle’s attention first.
“Blink.”
Fwoosh━
First, increase the number of phantoms.
Thinking that the phantoms that appear when I continuously use Phantom Shift near the Second Apostle will all attack him, I used Phantom Shift consecutively, and soon after, I saw 6 phantoms rushing towards him, and the Second Apostle also made a different move than before.
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