Chapter 31

Ding.

[Beginner Skill Pack]

[This skill pack allows you to obtain a skill card ranging from 1-star to 7-star when opened.]

*This item is not tradable.

"Hmm. From 1-star to 7-star."

Since the Intermediate Skill Pack ranged from 2-star to 8-star, this was a reasonable range.

Then, would the Advanced Skill Pack range from 3-star to 9-star?

-No. The Advanced Skill Pack ranges from 4-star to 8-star. 9-star isn't that easy.

"Damn. This game doesn't like it when players do well. Let's go!"

Swish! With a sound, Carpe forcefully tore open the card pack. Then, five cards shot up into the air from inside the card pack.

"Starting from the far left."

Since he was going to check them all with 'Repeat' anyway, he decided to open them in order.

The first card.

[Congratulations. You have obtained a 1-star skill card – 'Throwing Stones.']

"Damn. Repeat!"

Without even reading the skill description, he immediately used 'Repeat.' The second card.

[Congratulations. You have obtained a 1-star skill card – 'Taking a Nap.']

"…Repeat."

And the third card.

[Congratulations. You have obtained a 1-star skill card – 'Planting Seeds.']

"…This game is really crazy. Repeat!"

When he opened the fourth card, Cheonma couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

[Congratulations. You have obtained a 1-star skill card – 'Fishing.']

-Wow, four 1-star cards! If this were poker, it would be like getting four Aces. Man, I wish I had gotten this in a casino.

"…I want to grab the developers by the collar."

-Well, you still have one card left. There's no way it'll be another 1-star, right? That would be ridiculous. Hehe.

"Your words and thoughts are different, aren't they? You're so annoying."

After giving Cheonma a sharp glare, Carpe used 'Repeat.'

The grand finale, the last card!

-Oh?

[Congratulations. You have obtained a 5-star skill card – 'Calling Thunder.']

The last card finally dropped.

"Oh! Jackpot!"

Of course, to Carpe, who already had a 10-star skill and had drawn a 7-star skill card before, a 5-star wasn't a big deal. But after drawing four 1-stars in a row, this 5-star felt like a godsend.

"There's no need to hesitate. Let's pick it right away!"

[Skill Card (Calling Thunder) – 5-star]

[You can learn this skill by consuming 1 skill point.]

[Summons a powerful lightning bolt from the sky. Enemies hit have a high chance of entering the abnormal status 'Paralysis.']

[Prerequisite: Must have learned a mastery in lightning-based magic.]

[Skill Level 3: Damage increased by 30%.]

[Skill Level 5: Paralysis chance further increased.]

[Skill Level 10: Summons two lightning bolts.]

*Not tradable

-Not bad. You can learn it right away.

Lightning-based magic was popular among players due to its high damage and the common status effect 'Paralysis.'

No wonder the 'Lightning Mage' skill tree, which focused entirely on lightning-based skills, had become so trendy!

And one of the core skills of the Lightning Mage tree was this 'Calling Thunder.'

"Hmm."

The prerequisite was also reasonable.

Carpe's 'Elemental Mastery' was a higher-level skill that encompassed all elemental magic masteries.

Even though he could learn the skill right away,

"Bro, what do you think about this?"

-Huh?

Carpe decided to delay learning the skill for a moment and share his thoughts with Cheonma.

After hearing Carpe's explanation, Cheonma thought for a moment and then nodded.

"Is it possible?"

-Not a bad idea. That would definitely be more efficient.

"Right? Then let's do it now."

[You have used the skill card – 'Calling Thunder.']

After confirming the notification that the skill card had been applied, he started advancing through the dungeon again.

The composition of the monsters was the same, consisting of reinforced skeletons and archers.

"Fire Arrow!"

[You have defeated the Reinforced Skeleton Archer.]

[You have obtained a bone fragment imbued with a curse.]

After defeating a few skeleton parties and collecting some loot, the timer had decreased by 30 minutes.

There was 1 hour and 30 minutes left.

"Bro, this quest is about catching an intruder, right?"

An enemy who coveted the artifacts of the Demon King had intruded into the ruins, and the quest was to stop them.

Here, the enemy referred to the otherworldly being, 'Backling,' that Carpe had fought against with Arkham.

The Backling that was the companion of the player.

"Then, is the intruder a player? Did the Backling give any information about the Demon King?"

-Probably not. The Backling doesn't necessarily reside only in players.

"Huh?"

-There are NPCs who are chosen by the Backling too. Just like players.

For example, the king of the Kingdom of Gillian, a land of knights, was such a case.

It was a well-known rumor that the Backling of the Gillian king was a 9-star Backling related to knights.

Of course, the Gillian king would consider the Backling not as an NPC but as a guardian deity of the kingdom.

"So, is this priest an NPC with a Backling?"

-Probably. It would be too difficult to be a player. How could they know when the scenario event would occur and wait here?

"True… That makes sense. Anyway, it's fortunate."

If the intruder were a player, it could have led to a major leak of information about the Demon King among the players.

-We need to keep the information hidden for now. There are too many crazy people in Lase.

Just having a hidden class or hidden quest was enough to get you PKed without any reason in Lase.

There was no need for a logical reason.

Because I'm annoyed!

Why can you do it and I can't? It's unfair. I'm annoyed, so I'll kill you.

Surprisingly, many people PKed for such reasons.

If it were just a hidden class, it was bad enough, but if it were known that you were doing a myth-level quest…

-Your game life would be ruined. Even if you hide your appearance and outfit with customization, you can't hide your skills or weapons.

"…They'll gang up and start trouble. Should I keep hiding?"

-No, just at first. It won't take long.

Cheonma already had a blueprint in his mind for 'the ultimate physical god player project.'

It wouldn't take more than a month.

-After that, you can do as you please. If they gang up, you can just wipe them out.

"Wow… It sounds like a personal experience."

-It is. Anyway, just finish the quest without dying. Depending on the outcome, the period could be drastically reduced.

"There's no way… Ouch."

Swish.

Carpe instinctively ducked to avoid the incoming arrow.

The dungeon exploration resumed, and with a faster pace, Carpe pushed through the dungeon.

After another thirty minutes, he reached level 16. The timer showed about one hour left.

"Phew. We're here, right?"

-Yeah, this is definitely the place.

In front of them was a massive stone door.

One side of the stone door was slightly open, hinting that someone had entered.

"Now we're entering the main game. It's been a bit dull so far."

If anyone else had heard this, they would have choked, but fortunately or unfortunately, there was no one else here.

"Alright, then!"

With a shout, Carpe opened the stone door and entered.

Inside the stone door was a wide and clean chamber. Unlike outside, there was no aura of death.

However, there was something other than the undead.

"Oh, you came faster than I expected."

A priest.

The blonde priestess who had passed by the cemetery greeted Carpe with a smirk.

She was sitting on a large stone coffin, swinging her legs as if she were enjoying herself.

"I was about to die of boredom waiting for you. It's a relief you came quickly. I'm not very patient. If you hadn't come in 57 minutes, I would have just broken this and left. It's a good thing you came before that."

She tapped the lid of the coffin with her hand as she spoke.

"…57 minutes? Ah!"

-Hmm. So that's what the timer meant.

It seemed that if Carpe hadn't reached here within the time limit indicated by the timer, she would have broken the coffin and left.

And the quest would have failed.

In other words, the coffin she was sitting on was the artifact chest containing the Demon King's artifact.

"Actually, my orders were to just destroy it. But then I thought, what a waste. Whatever is inside must be valuable, so wouldn't it be better to take it rather than destroy it? What do you think?"

"Either way, you're a tomb raider."

"Then, I'll just take it with the owner's permission."

She said this and got off the coffin.

Then, she tapped the ground with her large staff, and a large blade sprang out from the tip of the staff.

-It wasn't a staff but a scythe with a hidden blade. Scythes are quite in demand as weapons.

'But, how did that large blade fit inside the staff? Is that even possible physically?'

-Where do you find the laws of physics in a game? Just get ready to fight.

Despite her white priest's robe, the way she held the large scythe on her shoulder was unmistakably that of the Grim Reaper.

"Do you have it? The key to open this coffin. Will you hand it over?"

"What if I don't?"

"As a servant of the gods, I have no choice but to guide you to the gods. Then I'll ask your soul for permission again."

"You're not a priest or the Grim Reaper, but a bandit. Why are you saying you'll kill me if I don't hand it over in such a roundabout way?"

Carpe said this and gripped his sword.

At that moment,

Ding.

[The Fanatic Maenade has entered combat mode.]

The words 'Fanatic Maenade' appeared above the priest's head.

"Wow, what a level gap."

-That color means at least a 35-level difference… Be careful. If you let your guard down, it's over.

The name that appeared above her head was an incredibly red color.

A terrifying red, like thick blood. It was incomparable to the reinforced skeletons.

"Phew."

Carpe took a deep breath and then

Smack!

He shot towards Maenade with full force.

"Haah!"

First strike, guaranteed win!

Carpe approached her in an instant and swung his sword with all his might.

A vertical slash, like a drawing, aimed at her forehead.

From the leap to the slash,

It was a lightning-fast attack.

However,

Clang!

"Pretty fast, huh?"

"Grk?!"

Maenade easily deflected Carpe's attack.

And she did it with just one hand on the scythe!

"Now it's my turn."

She said this and grabbed the scythe with both hands.

Then, she smiled at Carpe and swung the scythe at his neck.

"Ugh!"

She was fast.

Faster than expected. Carpe moved his sword with all his might to avoid the scythe.

Fortunately, he managed to block it just before it hit his neck…

-Lie down!

Whoosh!

The attack Carpe had just avoided was literally a 'hair's breadth' away.

If he hadn't been using the 'Artemis' capsule, which provided the best synchronization, he would have been finished by that attack.

The moment Cheonma shouted 'lie down,' Carpe instinctively ducked.

A reflexive movement.

Thanks to which he survived.

"Good reflexes. Most people would have been finished by that attack."

Clang.

The broken sword blade hit the ground.

Maenade's scythe had split Carpe's sword like tofu and was about to strike his neck.

[The 10-star weapon 'Green Skin Slayer' has suffered critical damage. It cannot be equipped until repaired.]

"Damn."

Shocked, Carpe quickly put some distance between them.

Maenade, for some reason, didn't chase after him and watched the scene with a smile.

-That's annoying. That scythe must have a cutting option and is at least a unique weapon. Or it could be a legendary one.

'Is this even possible? A weapon breaking?'

-Of course it is. Didn't you do the same?

'Huh?'

-You happily broke the skeleton's shield. It's the same thing.

'Huh.'

Who would have thought he'd get the same treatment he gave to the mobs?

Not only did the ambush fail, but his weapon broke with a single counterattack.

He was so flabbergasted that he couldn't even speak.

'Is this really meant to be caught?'

After just one exchange, Carpe understood.

The priest in front of him was an unbelievable monster.

-You might be right.

'Huh?'

-It's not meant to be caught.

Thanks to the title 'Three Primaries,' Carpe had +33 to all stats.

And yet, he could barely avoid her attacks. Even with the Artemis capsule, which enhanced physical abilities?

If someone other than Carpe had obtained the Demon King class, they would have been killed for sure by that counterattack.

In other words, the battle itself should be avoided.

-It's an invincible boss. Normally, you can't defeat it.

Sometimes, in games,

Bosses are designed to be almost invincible.

In such cases, you couldn't deal damage to the boss with normal methods and had to clear it using the environment or events.

-Do you see that? The indentation in the middle of the coffin.

And Cheonma, who was more than just an expert in Lase, was a seasoned veteran.

Even as Carpe was distracted by Maenade, he meticulously examined the boss room's terrain.

A kind of occupational hazard!

Thanks to this, Cheonma soon noticed the indentation in the middle of the coffin.

-Didn't you get a token from the cemetery keeper before entering here?

'Oh, yeah. It's in my inventory.'

-It looks like it fits perfectly, doesn't it?

'Now that you mention it…'

Hearing this, Carpe also understood the situation.

Right. The clear condition for this quest wasn't to defeat the boss but to 'recover the artifact.'

Not to fight the crazy priest but to somehow dodge her and approach the coffin.

That was the victory condition.

-Now that you understand the situation, let's lure her outside… What are you doing?

'Bro, I just had a brilliant idea.'

-No, don't think. I'll do the thinking. Please, don't think!

Carpe laughed and summoned Mokhyang from the shadows.

'Is an invincible boss really immune to all damage? Or is it just incredibly strong?'

-Why are you asking?

'Just curious?'

-…Both cases exist, but this priest is probably the latter. If she were completely immune, there would be no need to block attacks.

'I knew it. Mokhyang, please.'

"Kya!"

Mokhyang spun in place, activating a skill.

[Mokhyang's Skill – 'Spell of Eight' has been activated.]

[The legendary gauntlet 'Enigma' has been granted the Dark attribute.]

[You have used 'Striking.' Physical damage has increased.]

With this, all the buffs Carpe could use were activated.

Seeing this, Cheonma pulled his hair.

-There's an easy way right in front of you, and why… This crazy player!

'Bro, be honest. Haven't you met many invincible bosses?'

-So what if I have?

'Have you ever just brute-forced them?'

-…

Cheonma fell silent. But his silence was a good answer.

'You've done it before and are telling me not to?'

-No, I barely succeeded on my third attempt…

'I have one more question.'

-What?

'If I die, I'll follow your orders until the game ends. It would be the birth of the Cheonma avatar.'

-Really?

Caught off guard by the unexpected proposal, Cheonma's eyes widened.

-No, wait… This way, it might be more beneficial to die.

The Demon King quest would be lost, but the Demon King class itself wasn't part of Cheonma's growth routine. There were many other ways to grow.

If he could control this crazy kid in exchange for the quest…

-It's a good deal, right? Okay, if you win?

'Um. Thinking about it, I don't have anything to bet…'

-Money? About 10 billion would be fine?

'…That seems too detached from reality. I'll just keep one wish, okay?'

-Wish? Keep? Man, what kind of weird thing are you going to ask for…

'Why is the great Cheonma so talkative? Scared?'

-Kyaah! You brat! What, scared? Scared? No, it's a call!

'Okay, call. I'll definitely catch her.'

Now, to Carpe, Maenade looked like a treasure goblin that would grant his wish if caught.

"That look in your eyes… I don't like it."

Maenade frowned, sensing Carpe's sinister gaze, and walked towards him.

And at the same time, Carpe shot towards her just like before.

"The same move?"

Maenade snorted.

She had already gauged the heretic's level after their first exchange.

He had astonishing potential, but he was far weaker than her. A dirty heretic.

That was her judgment of Carpe.

But the same pattern, the same speed? Without a weapon this time?

"Hmph!"

There was no need to block. She just needed to time her counterattack and it would