134. Ikkidangcheon (3)
God of Darkness.
It was a divine name that I had heard casually once on the trial stage on the 12th floor.
Of course, since I was a newcomer I had come to know by chance, I hadn’t thought about it in particular at the time.
I thought it was a useless setting phrase that I often see while playing games.
It was worth it.
Because the ordeal was more focused on the cloned self than on the dark god.
In the ordeal set in the ancient imperial palace, if there was anything he felt about the dark god, even briefly, it was that it was ominous.
However, through this ordeal, I was able to know more clearly about the God of Darkness.
‘Upset.’
I narrowed my eyes as I got out of the barracks, the starting point of the 15th floor ordeal.
“Ahhh…! damn it! Dog cultists ruined my masterpiece!”
“We can get more corpses in this march. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Hey mercenaries! Destroy the corpse in moderation so that it can be fully used! If you make rotten knives in rags like this, you won’t be able to use spirit magic!”
People wearing black robes and exuding a gloomy atmosphere filled the barracks.
There were even a number of people who seemed to be in a strange state of mind muttering as they clung to the rotting corpse.
‘As for cultists, this one looks more like cultists than the god of battle…’
The surroundings were also very bad because there were only those who were unified in black clothes.
However, due to the setting of the ordeal, I was like a mercenary supporting this camp, so I couldn’t complain.
I just thought so and prepared for the battle by following the words to prepare for the march.
However, those who came pouring out of the other barracks could not hide their disgust and spat curses.
“Even if the rotten mercenaries pile up junk food, I can’t adapt to this kind of sight. Hey you gloomy bastards…”
“Ug… No, you use necromantic magic, do you really have to treat a corpse like a lover like that?”
“Do you know anything about these bastards? Why didn’t the empire designate those guys as cultists…”
It seemed like they were mercenaries like me who participated in this crusade, but they were quite straightforward.
If they were mercenaries, they must have been paid by the priests who serve the god of darkness.
It was dumbfounded that the mercenaries were swearing at the target of the money, but…
Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding—!
“It’s a cultist—! Everyone ready for battle—!”
The full-fledged ordeal began with the sound of a bell that started ringing somewhere.
From the bottom of the hill where several barracks were gathered, a crowd that looked like a red wave appeared like a rushing wave.
Judging by the presence of the magic circuit, it seems that the enemies are of a high level…
‘I’ll easily overcome at least a few thousand.’
As the individual skills were not high, the number of enemies was quite large, like a stock attack.
On the other hand, the number of mercenaries on this side, which can be called the friendly camp, seemed to be only a few hundred.
I’ve counted the number of people who are presumed to be priests wearing black robes and the corpses they raised, but it’s difficult to fill even 1,000 people.
The mercenaries must have known that, and their faces were quite dark.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa’vedid this, it looks like there’s a bone in here; Too bad they come a lot.”
“Don’t talk ominously and draw your sword. You’ve been through a lot of stock attacks a few times.”
“that’s right. Anyway, the good priests will figure it out and raise the corpse again and win.”
However, it was not the first time that this situation had happened, so they immediately entered a combat posture.
Then, as I was preparing to enter the battlefield, a system message appeared.
「The special task ‘The Conductor’s Path’ begins.」
「Reveal outstanding among the mercenaries and be recognized as a conductor.」
「When the goal of the special task is achieved, additional settlement will be added to the breakthrough reward.」 Not
seen in a long time. It was a special task message, but
… ‘Stand out
.
If it was a war that had to be waged against a church that served the god of battle, it was rather welcome.
And…
large-scale brawls like this were my specialty.
***
Reynel was a senior mercenary who had gone through all sorts of prenatal battles.
She was a skilled person who accumulated real-life experience like a tower by going to and from various battlefields as well as escorting large and small guilds.
She entered the realm of an aura user that only those recognized as official knights could reach.
Raynel hoped to become a strong swordsman like a knight.
It was the longing for the sword that the essence of the soul desires.
However, the options given to her were narrow as she had not learned magic training skills such as Aura training.
Either get enlightenment through battles that cross the line of fire in and out of the battlefield, or live as a high-level mercenary with satisfaction.
Raynel’s choice was the former.
It was to satisfy the desire to grow that he participated in the subjugation of the cultists who served the god of battle, who had come to his eyes just in time.
Even if those who serve the dark gods were not personalities, it was not common to have a request that could move for a greater cause while gaining experience in combat.
For Raynel, who was seeking to rise to the highest level, it was a holy crusade like luck.
But the luck didn’t last that long.
‘…It’s nothing. I can’t win.’
Excited breath flowed from Reynel’s mouth, who had already subdued over thirty cultists.
No matter how good a swordsman is, in the end, a human being is a human being.
Even if there is a transcendent energy called magic, it cannot break its limits.
It was the same with Raynel.
‘I don’t even have strength in my arms anymore…’
The cultists weren’t that strong, but the number was so great that it was impossible to say.
Unlike the friendly camp, which struggled to fill the 1,000, those who served the god of battle overflowed like a wave.
‘I’m dying… so futile… I can’t even reach the highest level.’
Raynel felt the blades of the cultists rushing at him.
‘Like a fool. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have participated in a holy war.’
Now he knows that he has no more ability to dodge attacks.
‘If he had done that, he would have had the possibility to become stronger…’
Reynel rebuked himself for recklessly participating in the holy war right before his death…
But, speaking of the results, the cultist’s blade did not reach Reynel’s neck.
Pew!
Rather, on the contrary, the cultist’s body, which aimed at Reynel’s neck, split in half as if exploding.
Before Raynel could question the sight, an emotionless voice flowed into her ears.
“You seem exhausted, but you might as well retreat for a while.”
Staying calm in the midst of war is next to impossible.
It is all the more so if it is a war between religions engulfed in this kind of madness.
However, there was nothing to be said about the man’s voice that flowed into Raynel’s ears.
The moment Raynel startled at the mechanical voice as if he was doing what he had to do.
“We will buy you time to retreat.”
After that, the man passed Raynel and rushed at the wave of cultists.
‘What is that…’
Starting with a noble tailcoat that seems to be used only in social circles… to a
purple longsword that shimmers ominously and a magic sword that is as red as blood…
‘Crazy?’
The man’s attire was unusual enough to make me think that way for a moment.
But even that was short-lived.
Then, the twin swords in the man’s hand start dancing.
‘What is this again…’
Raynel witnessed the unbelievable sight with his own two eyes.
“Aura Flame…!?”
The energy that shimmers like flames formed on the twin swords was a high-level Aura skill that had only been heard by rumor.
The flames, which were said to be made to break the aura, swung around with blood-red thunderbolts.
Wow!
There was a powerful roar that made one wonder if he really just swung his sword, and the cultists were swept away.
Reynel wasn’t the only one surprised by that, but a fearful voice came from the enemy camp.
“Kuuuuuuuugh! What is it! This guy! Everyone be careful! This bastard is dangerous…!”
But those words did not last long.
Awesome!
It was because the mysterious red thunderbolt ran through the cultist’s neck like a snake.
Chew! Awesome! Kwajik!
Lei Gong’s blade continued to cut through the bodies of the cultists without hesitation, advancing endlessly.
Sometimes intensely, sometimes gracefully, sometimes delicately…
“…”
Reynel watched the scene, forgetting the man’s words to retreat.
That was a swordsmanship that had now reached the state of art.
Not only was it optimized for actual combat, but the technique itself was excellent.
It was a realm of genius that could not be understood, let alone reproduced,
even if he told me all the rules of swordsmanship and interpreted them one by one.
‘You’re the same age as me, but you can fight that far…’
However, neither jealousy nor envy bloomed inside Reynel.
Only the awe of the overwhelming genius was sprouting and growing.
It was then.
Fire-!
Suddenly, the cultists must have recognized the man’s presence, and a large window of flame was created in the sky.
“It’s dangerous…!”
Raynel immediately came to his senses and tried to warn the man, but it didn’t mean much.
The moment when the man’s twin swords were covered with an ominous energy that seemed to shatter the sky, and it was fired in the form of a slash with a spear of flame.
Chow!
The spear of flame that the cultists had painstakingly created was cut right away and hid its shape.
Reynel was astonished at this, and the cultists were terrified.
“You said you cut down the magic and destroyed it…? Nonsense! I’ve never heard of anything like this anywhere!”
“How can group magic be done so easily…! Did the apostle come to a place like this?”
“Fuck! That’s right, it’s only one enemy! If we catch that guy, the victory of the holy war is not too far away!”
Of course, the cultists were also quite foolish, and a strong enemy appeared soon after.
“Don’t be afraid of that! There is a combat priest, Movir! That mercenary is not even a handful of combat priests!”
Mobir, a demonic priest with deer-like red horns on his head, took the lead.
As soon as Movir took the lead, he radiated a ferocious red energy and laughed vigorously.
“Ha ha ha! Quite right! How did you bring me, a combat priest, to this point! But you can never beat me…!”
However, Movir’s confident words did not end there.
I’m sorry-!
The moment the man’s sword swung so fast that it cut through the air.
Movir’s head, which had been talking confidently, floated in the air with a face that did not recognize death.
“How could such a technique…”
Reynel was shocked.
If I’m not mistaken, the man’s sword just pulled space and cut the enemy.
But the man rushed back to the cultists as if it was nothing.
The ensuing battle produced a spectacle that could only be described as transcendental.
Pulling space and distorting space…
‘That’s really a mercenary like me…?’
That no longer stayed in the realm of swordsmanship.
“Quaaaaagh! Back then…! Don’t ever deal with that crazy monster!”
“We must call the Lord Bishop! We can never afford a monster like this!”
“That battle priest Movir is dead! All forces retreat, retreat…!”
Raynel thought as he looked at the man who was still active.
If there is a god of death in the world, it would be like that.
***
Active on the front was not that difficult.
Endlessly replenish your physical strength and magic power through the commanders you’ve absorbed over hundreds of times.
Based on that, maximizing skill output and swinging the sword was enough to lead the battle line to victory.
In the meantime, I thought about whether I should use a skill like Seeker of Blood, but I didn’t use it because it could give a bad impression to my allies.
‘Anyway, since the seeker of fresh blood looks like a vampire, I can’t help it.’
Of course, even if I couldn’t use some skills, the melee was enough to serve as a stage for my activity. Well,
the skill level of
Necromancy increased by 0.00001% per person, so it wasn’t fun…
By absorbing various small skills, it seemed like it would be possible to have time to synthesize skills after a long time.
「Everyone on the battlefield has realized your existence deep in their bones.」
「 Congratulations, you have completed the special task ‘Director’s Path’
.」
As I stood on the hill looking at it, the message of completing the task came to my mind.
Even…
「Achievement ‘Ikki Dang Cheon’ has been achieved.」
「All stats increase by 4.」 Maybe
it’s because I defeated quite a lot of enemies, but I also got some good achievements.
Even though I consumed all the spirits absorbed by Necromancy, I couldn’t raise my stats even as much as a rat
.
But besides that, there was a message that I didn’t know what to say, so my feelings became a bit subtle.
“Many lives were killed and souls were harvested.”
“Quality as a god of death slowly begins to bloom.”
The qualities of a god of death created when necromancy reached A-class began to sprout.
Of course, it was supposed to be that only the message came out like this, and nothing had changed, but if this was growth, it could be said to be growth again.
‘Later, when the quality of a god of death fully blooms, I’ll be able to figure out what this is.’
It was around the time when I was feeling the joy of seeing the reward given to me.
“Hey…”
I turned my head at the sudden voice of a woman coming from behind.
Soon, I was able to see a beauty in the shape of a cat, who was presumed to be a mercenary.
“Hey… that…”
She licked her lips as if she had something to say to me, then said something unexpected.
“George Inspector. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Gratitude….
I wondered if I had acted to be grateful for the moment, but it wasn’t long before I remembered it.
‘…Oh come to think of it, I saved a person who was about to die on the battlefield.’
I didn’t know because I didn’t look closely, but this woman seemed to be a mercenary who was rescued at the time.
“Oh, that… it’s okay. Since we’re the same comrades in arms, wouldn’t we be able to save you?”
Of course, half true, half lies.
It’s true that anyone can save someone, but it wasn’t because he was a comrade in arms.
Due to the special nature of this ordeal, he only said this to gain favor with the mercenaries.
“That comrade…”
However, when she heard that, she seemed quite moved, as if it didn’t sound like empty words.
However, since I had nothing more to do with her, I thought to read it appropriately and send it back.
By the way…
“The special task ‘Object of Admiration’ begins.”
“Inspire admiration for the most excellent mercenary to increase the strength of allies.
” .” “When the goal of the special task is achieved
, an excellent mercenary takes over the command even if you are not directly in command.
”
I completely revised that idea.
“The best mercenary in our camp is ‘Rainel Asir’.”
That must also be the case…
‘What kind of coincidence…’
It was because a small mark appeared on the head of the female mercenary I was talking to before I knew it.
The small sign with an arrow points to the best mercenary in the second special task.
In other words, it means that the female mercenary I saved turned out to be the best mercenary in our camp.
Realizing that fact, I smiled broadly and my eyes lit up.
‘Surprisingly, this ordeal seems to be eaten raw…?’
It was because he had someone to command the battlefield, which he hadn’t even thought about because it was annoying.
