145. Choice (1)
Devil’s Land.
It was a place overflowing with demons and monsters like grains of sand in the desert, just as the word meant.
Not to mention the demonic energy that makes most creatures crazy just by breathing, monsters that can easily slaughter hundreds of people fight by biting each other.
Those who know about the Magician say:
No matter how strong you are, you will never be able to survive in the Demonic Realm.
Even the demons who were given titles by the demon king could be seen fighting each other frequently in the demon world, so bloody battles were a daily occurrence in the demon world.
Judging by the logic of power, no one could withstand the savagery of the Devil’s Landing.
Even warriors who have gone through all the battles in the mountains would call the Devil’s Land a hell that shouldn’t exist in this world.
It is not a place that a young man who has lost his memory can handle even if he holds a holy sword.
but.
“What the heck… what the hell… what is this…”
It exists from time to time.
“I lost my memory, but why do you think my movements got better…?”
An existence beyond common sense that cannot be explained.
‘Is that really the guy who lost his memory?’
For Allen, the black-haired young man who calmly sliced up monsters was like that.
Neil.
He is the strongest hero of mankind who has spent a long time together as a companion, but…
He dedicated his memory to the death struggle with the Great Devil a month ago, and used a blow that transcended the realm.
In return, it is said that all memories were lost and even the powers received by the dragon god were extinguished.
All he has left is a holy sword and his comrades he can’t even remember.
Even for the brave of salvation, fighting calmly in this situation is close to impossible.
The combat experience he had accumulated over the years of rolling on the battlefield was gone, and he was driven straight into the battlefield without a break.
Allen thought this way, including Daisy and Zerpa.
Neil would no longer have the strength as a hero.
– Neil has completely forgotten who we are. No combat experience left. He is now just a criminal.
The day Neil opened his eyes again, Daisy said so confidently.
Now Neil is broken to the point where he can’t work as a warrior of salvation.
So, the despicable choice they made among themselves was not wrong.
‘…At that time, I thought so.’
But not anymore.
Allen gulped and looked at the blood-stained battlefield.
Keying-!
The holy sword constantly emits light and overturns the land contaminated by demonic energy.
Even if you call it a small fortress, monsters explode without even screaming.
Looking at this alone, it would seem like they were just using one of the Holy Sword’s abilities, Star Light, to stage a one-sided slaughter…
but that wasn’t the case.
‘Rather, it’s a battle close to the opposite…’
Currently, the black-haired young man was casually slicing the monster and his eyes were shining.
As if testing the ability of the Holy Sword with interest.
Then, the monster who unexpectedly allowed access was cut down with an unknown technique.
Looking through the eyes of Allen, who has some knowledge of swordsmanship, he couldn’t tell what he had done.
I’m sure I saw everything the sword moved, but the result it brought was incomprehensible.
‘Why does the sword seem to pull space…?’
Allen watched the absurd massacre in a daze.
It was no different from other colleagues like Daisy and Zerpa.
From a technical point of view, the hero was no different from being stronger than before he lost his memory.
“…Does that really make sense? I gave everything to the Dragon God as a tribute, regardless of memory or power?”
Daisy muttered incredulously.
“…It seems that decades have passed on the battlefield. Neil’s been on the battlefield for only a few years. Even if you haven’t lost your memory, it’s a strange sight.”
Zerpa answered him with a drool.
Both, like Allen, were appalled at the ridiculous performance.
Of course, it was an unknown reason for the warrior’s skill to deal with the demon king soon, but the crazy rise was in some ways auspicious.
Because the hero is the only one who can defeat the demon lord.
‘So that’s the problem.’
The only problem is that none of my colleagues want the hero to win.
Despair gleamed in Allen’s eyes.
“…rot. Why Neil? Why are you so strong now?”
This situation, which seemed completely out of line with the original plan…
could not be a condition for a happy ending in the soon-to-be-seen ending.
It was the same not only for his colleagues, but also for mankind.
***
It wasn’t that difficult to see the ability of the holy sword.
When I asked where the enemy was while implicitly pressuring my colleagues, he told me the location right away.
Upon entering the Devil’s Palace, it wasn’t long before I could see monsters the size of a small fortress fighting and biting each other.
From then on, I participated in melee without measuring this and that.
He won the battle by using the abilities inherent in the Holy Sword as much as possible.
「The achievement ‘Monster Slaughter’ has been accomplished.」
「Durability increases by 4.」
「Currently, all stats have decreased due to the penalty of the special ordeal.」
「Permanent stat increase does not currently apply.
」 When it ends, the growth of stats will be applied normally.」
Even though the stats were lowered, I didn’t feel much difficulty in annihilating the monsters.
Skills and powers did not disappear, and other than that, he did not forget the various skills he had learned so far.
In fact, there was no problem in reproducing the martial arts learned from Namgunghyeok or Baekhakgeomseon from a sidelong glance.
So there was no problem with the battle.
‘It’s enough to call it the Devil’s Land.’
Of course, that doesn’t mean the difficulty of the battle is low… But
if it’s this level in the hard difficulty ordeal, it was no different from the bonus stage.
Black smoke flowed from the corpses of the monsters, who looked insincere like animals made of black clay.
As always, the mark of necromancy appeared without fail this time.
I absorbed it without hesitation.
「Absorbed the spirit of the monster ‘Ludern’.」
「Absorbed the spirit of the monster ‘Maia’…」
「Absorbed the spirit of the monster ‘Mireuk’…」
「Proficiency 0.19% It has risen.”
However, the absorbed spirits did not immediately convert into stats.
Seeing the level of proficiency going up anyway, I don’t think it will give a good change to the stats.
It was intended to be used as a protective shield for necromancy that can be used as it is.
Well, in this state, I don’t think there’s anything better than raising the ability.
“…Now, have you caught all the monsters nearby with this?”
As soon as he confirmed that there was no more to fight for, he slowly recalled the previous situation.
Star light prayer (祈願) punishment (懲罰).
Of the three abilities granted to the holy sword, two were confirmed.
Light and Punishment.
It was embarrassing to see that the origin was to offer offerings to the gods.
Because of that, I didn’t even use it and didn’t know what kind of ability it had.
‘But I was able to learn more about the other abilities.’
Seong-gwang’s ability, which he learned through the battle with monsters, was like bombing.
When the holy light is activated, a star-like glow is emitted from the holy sword, causing a great explosion.
…To be honest, it was the first wide-area technology with such a wide range and power.
It was probably more practical than unleashing a lightsaber through a counterattack shield.
However, the problem is that the holy light emitted through the holy sword is uncontrollable.
You can’t stop the starlight from being ejected right away, and you can’t even decide where it will shoot.
Once the star light is created, it is bound to be fired and cause an explosion.
‘I think it’s probably because the medium is the holy sword… That part is a bit ambiguous.’
Punishment had a performance that would not be pushed by the holy light.
Needless to say, the effect of increasing all stats was felt, and the meaning of the phrase that the power of the dragon could be used was also known.
When Punishment is activated, magic power is not consumed during that time.
Although he cannot use skills that exceed the total amount of horse power, he is capable of performing skills that remain at a lower level.
Even his body has been considerably strengthened to the extent that he can use the dragon’s power.
The quality of magical power has also risen to the point where it has to be said to be different from before.
It was as if the power of the dragon in the legend was like this.
‘But the problem is that this is an ability that can only be used against monsters or demons.’
It was certain that if he acquired the exclusive effect as a skill, there would be restrictions.
So, it was difficult to conclude which exclusive effect to acquire as a skill.
Holy Light is not the ability to fully control, and Punishment has restrictions attached to it.
Of course, I haven’t decided what to learn since I’ve only used it once in battle
…
You will have to come to a quick conclusion in preparation for the time of choice that will come soon.
‘Well, if I go through a few more battles, I’ll realize what skills I need to acquire.’
I brushed off the blood from the holy sword on the floor and walked towards my comrades.
Most of them were looking at me as if they couldn’t understand, probably because they were running amok by themselves.
‘I guess so. A person who has lost his memory won’t be able to run around beating monsters.’
It’s an understandable reaction.
However, the eyes of the current colleagues did not contain only feelings of incomprehensibility.
Rejection, tension, guilt, anxiety, etc….
I was able to read various negative signs from the shaky eyes.
That too is quite unpleasant.
But even in that atmosphere, I pretended to be okay and looked at them.
To be honest, it was a simple fake…
Those who fell for this simple fake didn’t seem to think it was a fake.
“…Neil. Are you sure you haven’t lost your memory?”
Allen asked, rolling his eyes and suppressing his trembling.
“…Did the memories come back with the blessing of the Holy Sword? Those fighting abilities were newly given by the Dragon God?”
And at the same time, Zerpa pretended to be calm and said while stroking his beard.
“…it’s all good. Neil. I can finally kill the Demon King. It must have been that the Dragon God provided help for mankind.”
Then Daisy, fiddling with the handle of her bow, spoke as if belatedly trying to change the mood.
It was only then that the other two colleagues realized their mistake, and smiled as much as possible and acted naturally.
but.
「It has detected that multiple enemies are approaching the user.」
「The ‘auto-detection’ effect exclusive to the Search Redeemer’s Eyepatch (B+) is activated.」
Seeing through the Search Redeemer’s Eyepatch, the colleagues showed more intense hostility than ever before.
“…”
I thought as I looked at those disgusting smiles dotted with lies.
‘…Now I’m getting an outline of what the quest is about.’
I couldn’t think more about which of the abilities imbued in the Holy Sword I should acquire.
“…that’s fun.”
Somehow, I felt like I knew the end of the ordeal on the 16th floor.
