NOVEL NEXT Chapter 134
The spear fighter Dailen, with his shiny chestnut hair, was facing his second crisis in life.
“Damn it… Damn it!”
BEEP BEEP BEEP!
In front of the colossal monster, there was no way to hold one’s ground.
Whether first-year students or second-year students, all those who charged in were mauled by Cerberus and transformed into a horrendous state…
“I don’t want to die like this…!”
WHOOSH!
The area turned into chaos with a spray of blood gushing from the wounds and the intoxicating scent of infection, as if the skin had been submerged in magical solution.
“He stopped! Run away!”
“Don’t look back!”
“When’s the guardian coming?!”
Ultimately, the only thing everyone could do was one thing: flee.
Dailen was no exception.
As he was swept away by the crowd, he caught sight of a light green-haired man who had managed to halt Cerberus.
“Could it be, are you really thinking of confronting it?”
That was none other than Caeran’s conqueror, Claris’ weakest student, Edwin Gwynn, along with his party.
“I’m not… out of my mind.”
He had experience defeating stronger opponents, but the enemy was a demon steeped in pure malice.
With no duel rules or safety nets in sight, challenging that hellhound radiating high-pressure magic power was, objectively speaking, madness.
SHINK!
At that moment, a ray of light reflected in Dailen’s glasses.
“What’s that…?”
In an instant, his memories began to resurface.
The terrible memories from the dank, humid sewer filled with the stench of blood and decaying corpses.
When he lamented his life as ghoul hands tore at his flesh, a mysterious beam of light rescued him.
It felt remarkably similar to this.
“Lev Denec…?”
The source of that light was behind Edwin.
Now that he thought about it, he too had shown powerful abilities in a match against Caeran.
“No, no way…”
They were all lunatics. A student possessed of common sense wouldn’t make life-and-death decisions recklessly.
SHIVER… SHIVER…
Even just looking at them made his whole body tremble and his strength fade away.
“But… it’s so grateful of them to sacrifice for us!”
Just as Dailen was about to pray for their souls and run again.
“Liris Senpai…?”
Liris Larochelle, who had been right beside him, was sobbing as she watched.
“Lev, I have a sword ready for you…”
“What? What are you saying…?”
SWISH!
GASP!
Muttering incomprehensible words, she eventually pulled out a sword with a dark green aura from her embrace.
“You weren’t a demon after all?”
“What the hell is wrong with these madmen…?”
Before he knew it, her sorrowful expression had morphed into a grin.
THUD!!!
With our combination attack, Cerberus collapsed, leaving only its body behind.
“Ha ha! It’s Lily’s skill! Did you see that!”
WHOOSH!
And soon, it began to vanish, emitting dark magic.
“Yummm!”
I focused only on the popping status window as Lily held onto me to prevent me from flying away.
DING!
[Achievement Unlocked!]
[Boss: Hell’s Three-headed Dog – Defeated the Scythe Tooth, Blade Tooth, and Iron Tooth!]
[Number of Bosses Eligible for Reward: 94]
[You can receive a Demon Hunting Reward!]
[Conditions Met: Tarchangel Skill Enhanced!]
[Unique Trait: Soul Collector Activated! Collected the souls of defeated enemies!]
[Status Increased!]
[Skill Points Acquired!]
[Luck Activated! Status Increased!]
[Luck Activated! Additional Skill Points Acquired!]
[Select Reward]
“Alright, select reward.”
I quickly called up the reward menu.
DING.
—————————————————
[Balance of Hell] [Lv. None] (Blessing)
: When the mana (resources consumed when using skills) is less than the current health, the recovery speed increases from 100% to a maximum of 1000%.
The opposite also applies.
(*Only one blessing skill can be applied per character)
Difficulty: Extremely Hard
—————————————————
[Hellhound’s Fang] [Lv. 1] (Passive)
: When attacking, bleeding, poisoning, and penetrating status effects are applied randomly.
Bleeding: Deals damage proportional to the target’s maximum health. (*Level 7 debuff)
Poisoning: Deals damage proportional to the target’s current health. (*Level 7 debuff)
Penetration: Ignores 30% of the target’s physical/magic defense.
(*Effect applies upon hitting, and values increase with skill leveling)
An intruder fiercely bitten by the hellhound.
Kroon, near the start of Pandemonium.
Difficulty: Extremely Hard
—————————————————
[S-Class Boss Defeat Reward]
: Acquire 1000 Skill Points.
Randomly chosen stats increase by 0.7.
—————————————————
As expected from a high-grade monster, it dropped an enormous reward.
“Definitely the Balance of Hell.”
Both skills were beneficial to me, but since I had already given the jeweled possessions to the water spirit, the black dragon’s jewel, and the immortal essence to Edwin and Yeriel, I was left with no blessings at all.
Thus, optimizing the passive slot, I selected the blessing-type skill, Balance of Hell.
“Over-expectation in options.”
Most importantly, the effect was… optimized for me.
As long as I could avoid damage and maintain my health, I could recover the costs needed to use skills—black magic, aggro gauge, wind energy, and mana—like crazy.
“This isn’t the end.”
The ability I obtained from defeating Nicolseta Haisman who became a demon was also crucial.
DING.
—————————————————
[Haisman Family Secret – Extraction/Creation] [Lv. 2] (Active) (Ultimate Skill)
: Extract one of your skills and create it into a paper scroll. The user can tear the scroll to acquire the extracted ability, treated as a buff.
(*Available for use once)
The Haisman family is known for sensitivity to magic and proficiency in extraction since ancient times.
Memo from Rezilus.
Exp: (0/300)
Difficulty: Average
—————————————————
[Natural Magic Sensitivity (Demon)] [Lv. 1] (Active) (General Skill)
: Concentrate to increase sensitivity stat by 0.5 for one minute.
Doubles the effect when submerged in black magic.
(*Can be used once a day)
Exp: (0/200)
Difficulty: Somewhat Hard
—————————————————
[B-Class Named Kill Reward]
: Acquire 200 SP.
Randomly chosen stats increase by 0.3.
—————————————————
Without a moment’s hesitation and with a solemn heart, I chose the reward.
“Selecting, Haisman Family Secret.”
There it was. The final move.
Once I cleaned up the status window, Edwin, who had been observing whether Cerberus was truly dead, approached me.
“Whew… Are you all okay?”
“Ehem! Lily is doing just fine!”
“Thanks to Edwin holding strong, we’re alright…”
“You’ve all worked hard.”
Seeing them feel a bit relieved, I subtly asked Aria.
“Aria, please check if anyone’s injured, and if not, could we get Edwin’s sacred power restored?”
“Yes.”
SHHHA—
While the tidying up was happening, I gazed across the bridge where Cerberus had been guarding.
In the darkened area resembling a strange space, the fog hung thick like a scene from a horror movie.
‘No time to waste.’
Caeran would already have reached Zone 4.
And Violet, as part of the committee, was stationed there already.
‘Is this how it feels?’
There’s a scene that often gets portrayed in movies or anime.
In a scenario where they must continue to advance forward with their companions,
“Leave this to me! You all move ahead!”
While the protagonist gives a push to their allies.
But of course, this only happens when their interests and ultimate goals align perfectly.
Regrettably, only I know the bleak future that might unfold.
‘Stay calm.’
That’s how it was in [Hwanseangaka] as well.
At the very end, when Edwin was discarded and I possessed him out of rage, it was because of that.
‘A crucial turning point…’
In the worst-case scenario, I might have to go alone.
Of course, I wouldn’t give up even if that was the case.
This was the final hurdle. I just needed to get through this one.
As I took a deep breath and prepared to speak, I opened my mouth.
“Everyone…”
“I know.”
Yeriel’s firm response followed.
“Lev plans to go over there, right?”
“…Huh! Lily is a bit scared…”
“We all know. Lev has always been like this. That’s just who they are. And everything Lev has done until now is for this moment, right?”
“….”
“But…! Lev promised me already, didn’t they? No matter what happens… we’ll do this together. So please take me where Lev is going!”
“Yeriel.”
As Edwin approached me, patting my shoulder beyond Yeriel’s tear-filled eyes.
“…Honestly, I doubted you too, in my own way.”
“…”
“But, after all, I’m just a fool and don’t understand.”
“…”
“I can vouch for you. Lev, you’re a good person. You’ll continue to be one.”
“…”
“We’re one party. I’m going too.”
Drama-like situations truly existed.
Unspoken understanding (心傳心).
Even without needing to say much, the hearts connected in silence.
Such climactic moods that seemed to emerge from a story…
I thought it would feel a bit awkward, but surprisingly, it didn’t at all.
THUMP.
GASP!
Then, the silver-haired girl, Aria, stepped forward without a word.
“Aria?”
Both Yeriel and Edwin, as well as Lily, looked at her with puzzled expressions.
Aria turned her head and mumbled briefly.
“Let’s go. I’m your lookout, after all.”
“…Okay.”
I couldn’t bring myself to say thank you.
But her role as a lookout had to be the last mission.
“I must apologize at the end.”
As the situation settled, Lily also declared with her hands on her hips.
“Then Lily will go too~ Decision made.”
“Uh…”
In an instant, Yeriel looked at me with worried eyes.
‘Lily…’
Currently, Lily was following the typical summoner route, but that didn’t mean she was stronger than the original content of [Hwanseangaka].
Being one of the author’s original characters, the awakening conditions were unknown.
Moreover, considering the young Lily’s stamina, the risk would be higher the heavier the magical pressure became.
“Lev~ Just follow me well!”
“Lily, that….”
“Hmm?”
As I pondered how to change Lily’s mind,
“Senpai? Hello?”
GASP!
An enchanting voice I hadn’t heard in a while echoed in my ears.
A tall, black-haired woman, Liris, approached me with a smile.
“Wait, can we talk for a minute?”
Had she somehow figured out my identity?
I felt a sense of déjà vu like when I first met Liris.
It was bewildering, but I had managed to respond well and unexpectedly took advantage of her before…
“What kind of gift will she give me this time?”