Chapter 97

Crack!

Thud!

{'Cursed Qian Shi (20)' has been destroyed.}

{'Sword Proficiency Level has reached 27.}

{'All seats of the Hall of the People are shocked in various ways.}

{'All new seats of the Hall of the People propose a higher-level Apostle Contract.}

{'Reject the reward for the Hidden Quest (3).}

{'Challenge a higher proficiency level!}

{'Destroy the Cursed Qian Shi (21).}

After destroying 20 Cursed Qian Shi, my Sword Proficiency Level had already reached 27.

Proficiency levels increase exponentially in certain ranges, so the higher they go, the slower the progress.

"27...!"

I cheered briefly.

Considering my initial goal was Level 23, reaching 27 was already an incredible achievement.

It had long surpassed the level that could be achieved on the Practitioner's Mountain.

However, there were still many Cursed Qian Shi left.

'Why do they keep proposing the Apostle Contract?'

At some point, the newly emerged seats started proposing the Apostle Contract.

The conditions were minimal—just a few 'Fragments of the Golden Rule' and one 'useful skill'—so I ignored them. They seemed to be gradually raising the conditions, hoping I would agree.

But it wasn't particularly tempting.

'100 hours of Fragments of the Golden Rule for one Mythical skill. In return, give 10% of the fragments earned?'

A regular player would be wide-eyed at this.

But not me.

The fragments I've earned so far already exceed a thousand hours.

Combining the expected future earnings, it would be a significant loss.

There's no need to accept a losing contract.

'The new seats are using a different approach from the existing ones. They must be proposing this to other players as well.'

They've adopted a kind of investment strategy.

If this contract becomes popular, factions based on seats might emerge.

Still, I'm not interested.

If the Seat of Adventure or the Seat of Luck from the existing seats were to propose it, I might pretend to consider it for a minute.

'To me, it's just a new reward upgrade shuttle.'

Regardless, this attention is beneficial to me.

From past experiences, I roughly understand the reward mechanisms of the seats.

If I hadn't noticed, it would be one thing, but once I started paying attention, I had to upgrade the rewards after breaking certain thresholds.

And all the seats of the Hall of the People were already paying attention to me.

In other words, no matter how much they didn't want to, they would be forced to do so based on my actions.

"Destroy them all, caw! Leave not a single one, caw!"

*

Thud.

Raktusha, who had reached the summit, threw the unconscious spearman to the ground.

Surrounding Raktusha, over a hundred practitioners stood tense.

"The spearman was quite good. Even with adjusted abilities, he managed to leave a bio-signal on my cheek."

Raktusha touched the small wound on his cheek.

The spearman's 'Rampage' was indeed impressive.

If his level had been a bit higher, it would have been more entertaining.

That's why he spared him.

After all, he had given him 'fun.'

"Swordmaster Raktusha! I cannot go any further!"

The oldest practitioner stepped forward, weapon at the ready.

Raktusha sneered.

"What if I still want to go further? Will you stop me?"

"Of course!"

"Then try."

"Unleash the 108 Thousand Ling Formation!"

108 Thousand Ling Formation.

The most advanced joint formation practiced by practitioners on the Practitioner's Mountain.

Originally, to become the master of the Practitioner's Mountain, one must withstand the 108 Thousand Ling Formation for over 30 seconds.

Standing at the center of the 108 Thousand Ling Formation, the pressure is so intense that it's impossible to even stand.

Even Transcenders cannot face all within the formation.

But Raktusha, standing at the center, merely shrugged.

"I hope you're more entertaining than that spearman."

*

All 108 practitioners were thrown to the ground.

"Monster...!"

The practitioners were shocked at Raktusha.

Not only did he withstand the 108 Thousand Ling Formation from the center, but he also defeated all the practitioners.

His transcendent sword qi was unstoppable.

Even the 108 Thousand Ling Formation, which even Transcenders fear.

Does this mean Raktusha is a Transcender who surpasses Transcenders?

"Boring."

Raktusha slowly walked forward and reached the summit.

A massive wall at the summit.

The wall was covered with numerous sword marks.

"Aria, the one who left a sword mark on this wall is the second trial's passer, right?"

"..."

Aria glared at Raktusha silently from the side.

The wall only reacts to proficiency levels.

Only those with high weapon proficiency levels can leave a sword mark.

Raktusha looked at it with interest.

"Is this the deepest mark? The Sword Immortal? It looks old."

The deep sword mark at the center of the wall.

It was left by the first master of this mountain, known as the 'Sword Immortal.'

A special existence said to be the strongest on this mountain.

Raktusha slowly caressed the sword mark.

"Aria, daughter of the King of the White, shall I tell you something interesting?"

"..."

"The King of the White has no intention of saving you. I waited for a long time, but no one came, not even the King's agents."

Raktusha deliberately arrived late on the mountain.

While preparation was part of it, he mainly wanted to capture the King's agents trying to save Aria.

But no one, not even a single ant, appeared.

He was disappointed.

It was a chance to personally sever the famous agents, but he couldn't.

"You must be scared. You must have seen your own death."

Raktusha chuckled.

The King of the White is adept at sensing danger.

To the point of reading the future.

How to capture such a King of the White?

Kidnapping Aria is just one of many methods.

The fact that the King didn't send agents, even when it was clear Aria was being kidnapped, suggests he prioritizes his own safety over his daughter's.

"From the moment the King of the White abandoned you, your life is meaningless."

Whether he kills her or not, it doesn't matter.

Raktusha pondered deeply and raised his greatsword.

"If my sword mark is shallower than the Sword Immortal's, I'll spare you."

Sssssssss!

Fierce sword qi erupted from the greatsword.

Raktusha swung the sword without hesitation.

Clang!

The wall shook violently, and Raktusha's sword mark appeared next to the Sword Immortal's.

Raktusha smiled.

"Mine is a bit deeper."

Raktusha's sword mark was slightly deeper than the Sword Immortal's.

No deeper marks existed.

It meant there was no one stronger than him on this mountain.

Aria's eyes widened slightly.

Deeper than the Sword Immortal's mark!

It proved that Swordmaster Raktusha's skills were genuine.

Not enhanced by luck or other factors, but purely through training, surpassing the Sword Immortal.

"Daughter of the King of the White, a genius called a prodigy. Please entertain me."

*

From the start, she was no match.

Raktusha was a sky beyond the sky.

His sword skills were genuine, and even when he fought her on equal footing, she was still outmatched.

In short, she was toyed with.

Raktusha played with Aria like a toy.

He chose a different path from the King of the White, not the path of a simple beast but the path of the sword, and he was indeed intoxicated by his overflowing talent.

"You do have talent, but it's insufficient. It doesn't meet my standards."

But even that was useless before Raktusha.

Raktusha raised his greatsword.

To fulfill his promise and kill her.

"Hmm?"

Just as he was about to sever Aria's life.

Raktusha tilted his head.

Rumble!

Rumble!

The mountain shook violently.

The shaking grew rapidly.

Rumble!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

An earthquake struck, and the mountain began to split.

And from the cracks, something massive started to emerge.

A massive, overwhelming presence.

Raktusha frowned.

"...What is that?"

*

{'Cursed Qian Shi (100)' has been destroyed.}

{'The seal of the temple is beginning to break.}

{'The Four Fiends are awakening!}

"..."

Four Fiends

...What is this?

The message that appeared after destroying 100 Cursed Qian Shi.

It said the temple's seal was breaking, and the Four Fiends were awakening.

'Were these Qian Shi all sealing stones?'

Not arranged for me, but to seal the Four Fiends.

But weren't the Four Fiends all exterminated long ago?

'This temple was not for sealing but for resurrection.'

The numerous statues of Baal in the temple.

They were not made to 'seal' but to 'honor' the 'evil ones.'

It means the temple was created by a group worshipping the Four Fiends to resurrect them.

Or perhaps by Baal himself.

Whatever it is, it's a completely unexpected situation.

{'The seal is not fully broken.}

{'The seal is not fully broken.}

{'The seal is not fully broken.}

The messages kept appearing.

I destroyed 100 Qian Shi, but about 20 cursed Qian Shi remained inside the temple.

'Will the Four Fiends fully resurrect if I destroy the remaining Qian Shi?'

Normally, I should stop here.

The resurrection of the Four Fiends.

If even half of the legends are true, it would be a disaster.

Moreover, I can't control the resurrected Four Fiends, so partially resurrecting them might be the only way to prevent a greater catastrophe.

'I'm short on proficiency levels.'

The problem is my proficiency level.

Destroying the remaining 20 Qian Shi might allow me to level up one more time.

Moreover, I'm not certain that destroying the Qian Shi will fully resurrect the Four Fiends.

'Destroying the remaining Qian Shi might be the better choice.'

The Qian Shi contain a vast amount of proficiency experience stored by Baal.

It's absurd to think they were used as mere bait.

They were too significant for that.

It's more likely that the resurrected Four Fiends were meant to use them.

'Besides me, there's no one who can fully utilize the proficiency experience stored in the Qian Shi.'

Even if the one who destroys the Qian Shi gains a lot of proficiency experience, there's a limit.

How many classes in this world have a max level of 30?

I changed my mind.

What if the excess experience is transferred to the resurrecting Four Fiends?

If it's both bait and material for resurrection?

'The surface of the remaining cursed Qian Shi is peeling off. The experience is flowing into the Four Fiends.'

The remaining 20 Qian Shi began to change, supporting my thoughts.

The surface peeled off, and the proficiency experience flowed toward the resurrected Four Fiends.

Rumble! Rumble!

The temple shook.

The temple was also collapsing.

Time was running out.

Now, it was time to make a decision.

Destroy or not destroy.

My mind started working quickly.

*

Gumiho Heukyo released over a hundred people on the Practitioner's Mountain.

Among them, she directly controlled seven.

Her nine tails of the Gumiho allowed her to control nine people directly.

But she couldn't climb the mountain.

'Damn Raktusha! Climbing alone?'

Swordmaster Raktusha started conquering the mountain alone.

The monster army following him only blocked others from climbing and leaving.

So she was in a helpless situation.

'If this continues, I won't be able to find the King of the White's daughter and Phantom!'

She planned to kidnap them when Raktusha and the monster army attacked the mountain, taking advantage of the distraction.

She even considered the one suspected to be Phantom.

But now, she couldn't even climb the mountain.

She had boasted to the Master, and failure would be embarrassing.

Heukyo gnawed on her nails.

Rumble!

Rumble!

Then, the mountain started shaking violently, splitting apart.

"What, what is this?"

"Why is the mountain...!"

People who entered the Practitioner's Mountain were confused and looked around.

It was too powerful to be a simple earthquake.

"That's...!"

"Choke! What, what is that?!"

They pointed at the summit in shock.

Heukyo also directed the humans she controlled to look at the summit.

"...What is that...?"

Even Heukyo couldn't help but exclaim in disbelief.

Naturally.

A massive, ancient, and terrifying monster.

A type of monster she had never seen before, despite encountering many.

Especially, a monster emitting such a sinister aura.

A giant creature with the face of a black goat, a beast's body, and three tails, emerging from the mountain!

{'The Four Fiends, Baal, are resurrecting somewhere.}

{'The Four Fiends, Baal, are beginning to erode the surrounding space.}

{'Stop the Four Fiends, Baal. If not, all surrounding cities will be invaded and devastated.}