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＜ 13. One Kill (3) ＞
Andrea and the others stopped by the rift shop for the last time before exiting the rift. It was time to splurge on crack stones .
‘[ Unique] Staff of the Wasteland Guide: A staff used by a priest who led wanderers wandering in the arid land to an oasis (Magic Power + 20, Earth/Wave Sacred Card’s effect slightly enhanced )’
‘[ Unique] Wasteland Tracker’s Outfit: Clothes worn by hunters who hunted a prey they set even to the end of the wasteland (resistance + 10, attack speed increased by 30% )’
‘[ Unique] Charon’s Chain Breastplate: A warrior who faced hundreds of enemies alone in the Red Plains, Charon’s chain breastplate (resistance + 30, 5% chance to inflict fear on enemies when attacking )’
These were equipment to be given to Emilia, Trisha, and Marco, respectively. When I gave them one by one, they showed a variety of reactions .
“ I fell in love with the cane I used before, but… this cane is much better. Thank you so much, Andrea !”
“… Andrea, the effect of this is good, but… the fabric is too rough .”
“ Oh, are you giving it to me? It’s a nice piece of armor .”
The party made bright faces, excited about the equipment they had obtained after a long time. If you are happy like this, the person who buys it is bound to feel good too. Andrea looked at them happily, then picked out the rest of the items as well .
‘ Potions now have a priest, so you can choose up to nine. There’s a potion of hemorrhagic poison that I got when I caught a ghoul before… I just need to buy 5 medicines, 1 antidote, and 2 potions to use as a trick before entering the waiting room .’
Just as I had already bought the amulet of blinking, I could also purchase consumables of amulets that could not be obtained from other shops at the crack shop. Andrea chose 3 Blink Amulets, 3 Explosive Amulets, and an additional ‘Search Amulet’ .
‘ The effect of the talisman of search is to search for and draw 1 card of your choice from the deck. It will be of great help when there is a card that needs to be drawn in a hurry .’
Don’t forget to remove the card. Andrea again has 1 hit and 1 defense. Trisha has 2 defenses .
Before I knew it, Trisha had only 1 defense card left. It really wasn’t long before the deck was finished. Considering that the deck was initialized on the 20th floor, it was really fast. Trisha didn’t seem very impressed, but .
‘ I was thinking of buying a new weapon for myself, but… nothing is right. Weapons can be obtained outside anyway, so I think it would be better to just buy stat beads this time .’
A total of 310 Rift Stones left after buying all the items. It was the amount to buy 62 stat orbs. It wasn’t that much of a generous amount, so Andrea decided to raise only the main stats that affect attack power .
47 Strength Orbs, 15 Magic Orbs .
17 Strength Orbs and 15 Magic Orbs were distributed to Tricia and Emilia, respectively. Andrea’s share is 30 Strength Orbs .
Andrea didn’t buy any equipment, so everyone seemed convinced. On the contrary, Emilia even offered her share to Andrea, asking her to spend it. Andrea politely declined .
“ The higher you go, the more important the priest’s role becomes. The power of the priest is the support that supports our group. and . . .”
“ Yes… And ?”
“… There is no refund anyway, so use it quickly .”
In the current situation, only Emilia was the one whose magic ability was important. It was unknown what would happen if the ‘Shindo’ class had a 2nd job change. Emilia finally used the orb of magical power .
Andrea also used 30 marbles all at once. The warm energy was absorbed into the hand and then flowed through the artery to the whole body. It felt like soaking in an open-air bath where steam was rising .
After absorption, Andrea checked the status card .
[ Name: Andrea ]
[ Class: Shadow Follower ]
[ Level : 50]
[ Max Mana : 2]
[ Strength : 242]
[ Magic Power : 170]
[ Resistance : 168 – 5]
[ Luck : 50]
[ Quirky: None ]
‘··· Oh .’
Due to the use of beads with unstable stats, we couldn’t know the exact stats right now. I felt like I had to get out of the crack to get an accurate confirmation .
The job to see is over. Andrea and the others made their way out of the crack shop. It was time to say goodbye to cracks .
It was a place where a lot of things were much more complicated than expected. The massacred villagers, the encounter with Bagratu, the hunting of Arachnid, the reunion with Emilia… Above all, Trisha realized that Marco was her father .
Trisha treated Marco as if nothing had happened. From the beginning, the two weren’t close enough to talk a lot, so I couldn’t feel any difference from the outside .
However, to Andrea, who knew everything, it was quite evident. Trisha glances sideways at Marco’s face, and sometimes secretly stares at him. Whenever Marco turned his head, he averted his gaze as if he had always done that .
‘… But there will come a moment when we can talk about it openly someday .’
Andrea secretly wished for a touching father-daughter reunion .
From now on, the place to go was a huge portal to get out of the rift. All I had to do was cross the thorny grove, pass between nameless valleys, and head to the top of the red rock hill .
There were no other problems in the Thorn Tree Colony and the Nameless Valley. Monsters appeared in small numbers, but the monsters during the day were weak and there were not many of them. In fact, it was at a level that could have been annihilated with just one Marco holding a hammer without the other members .
The problem was the red rock hill. It’s a good word for ‘hill’, but the red rock hill was steeper and higher than most mountains. It was probably named after the standard of a giant, presumably from the gigantic bones scattered everywhere .
Andrea and the others had intermittent conversations, but when they reached the middle of the mountain, the conversation disappeared and only the rapid breathing resonated .
“ Hee hee hee .”
“ Hook, hook .”
“ Ha… Andrea, when are you arriving …?”
“… don’t worry. Because it arrives soon .”
It was a lie. Two hours if not enough time to reach the summit. Thanks to the increased stats, Andrea alone did not feel any burden on her stamina. Somehow I felt guilty .
“… Hammer, give me the hammer .”
These were the words Marco, who was bending over on his knees, uttered. Andrea was a little impressed by the brilliant idea .
When you think of common sense, it’s natural that climbing a mountain with a heavy hammer makes it harder. However, it was the opposite for Marco, who had Hammer Mastery .
After receiving the hammer, Marco walks away without hesitation .
“ Huh, I couldn’t believe it, but it’s definitely better .”
“… How did you come up with this idea, Mr. Marco ?”
“ Say that. After following you around, I must have grown thin hair too .”
Andrea smiled and accepted Marco’s joke. Still, I’m glad that at least one person became less difficult .
After climbing for another thirty minutes, Andrea was carrying Emilia on her back. The hike was too harsh for Emilia, who had extremely low strength abilities. Even in the midst of wheezing, Emilia was apologizing to Andrea .
“ hehehehe, Desonghaeyeo… Andrea-sama… Maybe… if only I had a bit more strength …”
Emilia’s tongue is so weak that she can’t even speak properly .
“… If it’s hard to say, you don’t have to, priest .”
Being able to listen carefully to what was told was Emilia’s great strength .
After reaching the summit, Andrea and the others had a rest. Kindly, there was a clear spring at the top of the hill. When they drank water and took a breath, they all began to look liveable .
Everyone in the party even sipped their necks, and Trisha even washed her hair. Trisha blushes and swears when Andrea stares at her while drying her hair .
“ What, look at what! Cub .”
“… no. Uh, um… that was a joke yesterday …”
“ Shut up! It’s not because of you !”
Unaware of the circumstances, Emilia tilted her head. Marco was making an expression he had seen before. The expression Tricia and Andrea made when they held hands in the maze trap room .
“… Marco. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it’s not like that .”
“ Hmm? Didn’t I say anything ?”
Andrea decided not to talk at all .
Looking back, I saw a portal. A whirlpool that swirled like a red typhoon, bigger than any portal I’d ever seen. Everyone was speechless for a moment at that magnificent figure .
The next floor was the 50th floor, where the boss monster immediately appeared. The last floor you see if you haven’t added an ordeal. In line with its symbolism, boss monsters that are much more special than general boss monsters have appeared here .
“ You haven’t forgotten what I explained yesterday, have you?”
The party looked at Andrea in unison and nodded. By the bonfire, until the sun came up, Andrea gave a heated lecture on the patterns of boss monsters that appeared for three hours .
Tricia and Marco seemed accustomed to it now, but Emilia couldn’t help but be frightened by the tricky patterns that unfolded endlessly .
“ The previous floor’s boss monsters were also formidable, but this boss monster is definitely more than that. Still, if you follow my instructions carefully, everyone will be safe. . . . Please refrain from risky gambling where you risk your life as much as possible .”
The three nodded with determined expressions. Andrea nodded along with them .
“ Then let’s go now .”
Andrea reverse summoned Marco and gave the rift stones to Trisha and Emilia. As I pushed the rift stone into the portal, the portal’s red light turned blue. Andrea’s party paid the price one after another and escaped through the rift .
The portal led to a dark passage. After confirming that Trisha and Emilia had crossed safely, Andrea proceeded down the aisle. It was a flat road with no special features .
‘ I can’t guess the boss monster that will appear like this …’
The passageway was short, and a huge door appeared that led to the room in no time. However, the relief pattern was quite different from the boss room doors I had seen so far .
Five thrones upon clouds. Five people sitting on it. All faces were covered in brilliant light and were not painted. Beneath it were all sorts of inconsistent monsters .
A heavily armed knight, a walking mountain range, a giant hand, floating eyes, a burning woman, a man with a lower body like a fish, a giant holding up a cloud …
Emilia scans the patterns with an awe-inspiring look .
“ It’s as Andrea-sama said… All of these figures . . .”
Emilia, not daring to say it out of her mouth, blurted out her words. Andrea just nodded quietly .
There was no need to hesitate any longer. Pushing through the huge door, Andrea and the others entered the room .
A smoky smell brushed the tip of the nose, and an unfamiliar landscape that was hard to believe was real .
A vast expanse of space. Weathered skeletons were visible all over the purple-tinted ground, and the withered trees somehow resembled the shapes of people screaming. The sky was a vivid red, as if blood would drip at any moment .
A strange shape was seen not far away .
A jet-black armor that swallows up even the smallest sliver of light. It was completely dark under the helmet, making it impossible to make out the face. In his hand was an ink-colored sword with strange characters engraved on it, and behind his back were wings that fluttered in an irregular shape .
The narration that I always heard didn’t come. Actually it wasn’t even necessary. Andrea and the others already knew what kind of existence the person in front of them was .
A knight who stood by his lord’s side until the end, a cursed monster, a boy king of a ruined kingdom, and a monster unlike any enemy he has ever faced .
A bright red light broke through the helmet that covered the entire face. An unusual energy that makes the viewer lose the will to face it. Andrea held her breath and made up her mind .
“… everyone, don’t be scared, let’s prepare well .”
Emilia repeated a short prayer, and Trisha gritted her teeth. After that, the moment when everyone made up their mind and reached out for their respective decks .
Finally, the shadow god’s angel began to act .
＜ 13. One Kill (3) ＞ End