Chapter 5
“Fear! Fear! Fearrrrrr!”
The Prophet of Terror, an elite monster that appears only in the early stages of Floors 1 and 2. In The Long Terror, players called this obnoxiously loud and annoying monster the “Fear Parrot.” Despite being an elite, its physical abilities were not that high, but it specialized in a variety of debuffs and Mentality attacks, making it a frustrating foe.
Moreover, although it was humanoid, its appearance was half warped into a grotesque monster due to being consumed by terror. Just looking at it was nauseating.
Even in the game’s illustrations, this thing looked disgusting enough to make you want to puke. But seeing it in reality, I felt like I was about to throw up for real.
[Prophet of Terror]
Maximum HP: 65
Attack Power: 6~7
Defense: 2
Speed: 4
‘Other than its massively inflated HP, the rest isn’t too different. The real question is how much stronger its skills have become.’
[The Prophet of Terror uses the skill <Prophecy of Terror 1>]
[The aura of fear begins to rise.]
“Fear! Fear! Fearrrrrrr!”
‘Damn it!’
Out of all the patterns it could have shown, it just had to pick the most dangerous one!
[Wanted Target Found!]
[Wanted Target Found]
[Yujin marks the Prophet of Terror as a wanted target.]
[Yujin deals 1 damage to the Prophet of Terror.]
[Remaining HP 64/65]
[For the next 3 turns, all physical damage to the target is increased by 25%.]
The moment that thing started casting Prophecy of Terror 1, I immediately abandoned any thought of a stable fight. If Prophecy of Terror reaches level 3, it would deal a significant amount of damage and inflict massive Mentality damage.
If we get hit by that…
No. I didn’t even want to imagine it.
“Kaya!”
“Repent in death!”
Just like when she crushed the Lay Follower, Kaya charged fearlessly and swung her mace. But this time, the result was very different.
[As God Wills]
[Kaya deals 8 damage to the Prophet of Terror.]
[Remaining HP 56/64]
Kaya bit her lip, bowing her head slightly as if apologizing for her lack of contribution, but it was far from her fault. In fact, it was lucky she didn’t miss.
‘Even with the mark, only this much?’
Darkness filled my vision.
The fact that an elite monster had appeared in just the second room was ridiculous, but now I was also painfully reminded that we were only level 1.
[Speed Check]
Yujin: 7
Kaya: 4
Prophet of Terror: 4
In the second turn, the “overwhelming” effect that had invalidated the speed check was gone, and I managed to secure the first turn.
I only had one real damage-dealing skill.
Skull Crusher.
[Skull Crusher]
[Yujin deals 15 damage to the Prophet of Terror.]
[Remaining HP 41/64]
It was a decent amount of damage, probably close to the max I could deal. However, considering that Skull Crusher deals additional damage to humanoid enemies and with the mark’s amplified damage, the situation still wasn’t that satisfying.
[Kaya and the Prophet of Terror have the same speed.]
[Speed Roll]
[Kaya: 5]
[Prophet of Terror: 4]
[Kaya will act before the Prophet of Terror.]
Kaya seemed to have good luck, just like when she landed that critical hit in the first room. Since she was now going to act before that disgusting monster, the chances of clearing this fight without taking any damage increased.
Once again, Kaya charged and swung her mace fiercely. But…
[As God Wills]
[Kaya’s attack misses.]
[Remaining HP 41/64]
‘…Tch.’
It wasn’t surprising. The Battle Vestal class didn’t have a very high base accuracy. In fact, the fact that she had hit twice already was something to praise.
But that was merely rationalization. The Prophet of Terror’s health had not decreased by even one point, and the pressure from its looming prophecy began to stress me out immensely.
“…I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s not over yet. Keep your focus.”
“…”
[The Heroes feel despair as their confident attack misses.]
[Yujin’s Mentality: -2]
[Kaya’s Mentality: -5]
‘Kaya’s mentality is weaker than I thought. Or is it just a difficulty adjustment?’
It was strange that I had only lost 2 mentality points, but the dungeon didn’t give me time to dwell on it.
[The Prophet of Terror uses the skill <Prophecy of Terror 2>.]
[The rising aura of fear begins to engulf the space.]
“Fear! Fear! The fear is cominggg!”
The sound was a mix of coughing up blood, nails scraping a chalkboard, and someone screaming in excruciating pain. It was horrifying.
When Prophecy of Terror reached level 2, the darkness that had been gathering in one corner started to spread around the room. My body tensed up involuntarily.
[Fear begins to consume the light.]
[Brightness: 58]
Brightness didn’t have to be at zero to attack an enemy. The problem was Kaya’s negative trait.
She had Nyctophobia (increased Mentality loss rate by 25% when brightness falls below 50).
If the brightness dropped below 50, and we got hit by that monster’s ultimate attack?
‘Her mentality will shatter. No doubt about it.’
Maybe we’d get lucky and dodge, or maybe her Mentality wouldn’t reach -100. But….
It was only the second room in Zone 1.
If we took the full force of Prophecy of Terror 3, the fate of our hero party would be sealed.
Wiping the sweat from my palms, I glared at the monster—specifically, the mark I had placed on it.
Then I jumped forward, faster and harder than before.
[Skull Crusher]
[A radiant strike!]
[Yujin deals 31 damage to the Prophet of Terror.]
[Remaining HP: 10/64]
“Gaaaaaaah! How dare youuuuuuu!”
“Yes!”
“Leader!”
[The heroes are filled with courage as they deal a devastating blow to the monster.]
[Yujin’s Mentality: +3]
[Kaya’s Mentality: +4]
A critical hit on a marked humanoid!
I had fulfilled the conditions for the most powerful damage a Bounty Hunter could deal, and the results were astounding.
I had knocked off half of an elite monster’s health in one blow. And we were only level 1.
Now, if Kaya could land a max-damage hit, or better yet, a critical, we could take down this monster.
It might even be possible to clear this elite fight without taking a single hit, even on Hard mode!
Overcome by the thrill of the fight, my brain started running wild with possibilities. I placed a hand on Kaya’s shoulder.
“I believe in you.”
Nod!
Just moments ago, Kaya had looked utterly dejected, but now, she nodded with determination.
She dashed toward the screeching, broken-faced monster and swung her mace with all her strength.
“Graaahhhh! Noooo! Neverrrrr!”
[As God Wills]
[Kaya deals 9 damage to the Prophet of Terror.]
[Remaining HP: 1/64]
“…Huh?”
One?
Did that thing have 1 HP left?
Even with the mark, a critical hit, and Kaya landing two hits despite her low accuracy…
It was still 1 damage short of killing it?
[The Prophet of Terror uses the skill <Prophecy of Terror 3>.]
[The fear that has engulfed the room begins to seep into the heroes.]
[The skill <Fragment of True Terror> is cast.]
“Behold! The true terror! See it! Feel it! Tremble! Finally, worship it!”
With blood pouring down its face, the Prophet of Terror began speaking in a crazed but coherent voice, spewing words of madness.
In the end, it had managed to cast its ultimate skill: Fragment of True Terror.
Everything went dark.
**
In a pitch-black space, a man stood alone. He was tall, well-built, and had a handsome appearance.
The man looked around curiously and began walking forward.
The man walked for about an hour, then stopped and looked around once more, but nothing had changed. There was nothing but a dark space.
He couldn’t tell which direction was forward, nor could he discern north, south, east, or west. But he had a feeling that he should keep walking forward, so he did.
Walking, and walking again.
He had no sense of how long he’d been walking, but he continued. He didn’t know why, but standing still seemed worse.
As his once-strong body gradually grew emaciated, his pace slowed, and his once-straight back began to hunch, a meaningful change finally appeared in the dark space.
He saw something.
His slowing steps quickened again, and his mind, which had been solely focused on walking, now recognized a purpose.
The closer he got to what he could see, the more emaciated he became, and paradoxically, the surrounding darkness grew darker, but the man did not give up.
He kept walking. And after what seemed like an eternity, he finally got close enough to identify what he had seen.
“……”
It was a horribly smashed corpse. The clothes the corpse wore were identical to the ones the man was wearing.
Both outfits were old and tattered, and the man’s clothes seemed like they had endured even more time’s wear and tear.
When he touched the corpse’s clothes, the corpse crumbled into dust. And soon after, something else appeared.
A small hope was crushed, but he couldn’t stop now. Fear filled him, but the man continued walking.
And then, what came into view was a set of heavy armor, shattered into four pieces, and an unidentifiable metal rod.
Seeing the armor, the man was overcome with an inexplicable sense of fear.
This time, he didn’t touch it and instead started running forward.
As he moved, the once pitch-black space began to shift depending on where he was.
[In the dark, unknown world, where no one knows you,]
[Where no one celebrates your achievements,]
[With no one to watch over you,]
[All the pain and fear you can feel…]
Unintelligible words began to appear.
[‘Accept it. Instincts are natural.’]
[‘Fear itself isn’t what’s scary. It’s the concept and perception of fear that terrifies.’]
[‘So don’t resist.’]
[‘Accept, despair, worship, and revere.’]
[‘The fear that comes from the longest place will set you free.’]
Mysterious voices whispered to the man. He tried to close his eyes and block his ears, but even though he didn’t want to see the words, they kept appearing, and even though he didn’t want to hear the voices, they continued.
The man collapsed not long after.
The words disappeared, and so did the voices.
He got up again and started walking, but as soon as he did, the words and voices returned as if nothing had changed.
As he gritted his teeth and kept walking forward, the words and voices became more blatant.
[Submit.]
[‘You’re nothing more than a worthless human.’]
[Despair.]
[‘Despair is inevitable.’]
[Obey.]
[‘Challenging the impossible is foolish.’]
[Worship.]
[‘Accept it, and you’ll transcend the boundary between life and death.’]
[Revere.]
[‘Mortals ultimately fear death. If you become one with fear, you can free yourself from it.’]
Blood streamed from the man’s eyes and ears. His legs trembled, and his back had long since hunched.
But the man didn’t give up.
He wanted to submit, to give in and collapse. But instead, the words and voices only strengthened his resolve.
The man opened his mouth.
“If fear is the natural emotion mortals feel toward the inevitable, then overcoming and challenging the inevitable is also the will of mortals.”
Crack—
[We’ll see how long that will lasts.]
The world shattered.
**
[Fragment of True Terror]
[An endless fear and darkness engulfs the hearts of the heroes, crushing and breaking them, leaving them in despair.]
[A massive blow to the heroes’ Mentality.]
[Yujin’s Mentality: -50]
[Kaya’s Mentality: -72]
[The Prophet of Terror deals 3 damage to Yujin.]
[Remaining HP: 12/15]
[The Prophet of Terror deals 3 damage to Kaya.]
[Remaining HP: 10/14]
[The Prophet of Terror cannot act in the next turn.]
The man.
Yujin.
Hendrik.
With empty eyes, he stared blankly into space, then trudged forward and swung his hand axe.
Whack—
—
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