Chapter 14
The tavern was filled with blood and scattered bodies.
There wasn’t a single person left alive.
Even Park Sung-hoon, the Awakener with the Wei Lue Bu Guardian Spirit, had fallen victim to Song Hyung-joo’s barbed spear attack and died.
“Fools.”
In the end, the deaths of so many were caused by none other than Park Sung-hoon and Song Hyung-joo.
It was all a result of their mutual violence, with Song Hyung-joo being the only one to die by my hand.
“Tch.”
I clicked my tongue at the sight of these fools who had thrown away their lives.
As I turned to leave the horrific scene behind, a sudden message appeared before me.
{Your eye reacts to the disembodied Guardian Spirits.}
{It recalls memories of the Mythic Era.}
“Huh?”
A system message.
At the same time, an intense burning sensation spread through my right eye.
“Argh…!”
The pain forced me to close my eyes.
But even with my eyes shut, I could still see.
My vision, independent of my will, showed me something—a memory that wasn’t mine.
Graaaargh!
Green skin.
An endless horde of orcs covered the horizon.
Their deafening roars filled the air as they surged toward us.
Beside me stood soldiers clad in exotic armour, lined up in formation.
Judging by their attire, they seemed to belong to an ancient Middle Eastern nation.
Waaaaaah!
The humans, too, let out battle cries as they charged to meet the advancing orcs.
Fwoosh! Boom!
Fireballs flew from our rear lines toward the orcs, while arrows rained down on us in return.
After an exchange of magic and arrows, the two armies clashed.
Clang! Slash! Crash!
Humans and orcs fell one after another.
In the midst of the chaotic battlefield, I wielded my sword and cut down orcs relentlessly.
Though I was just a mere soldier, whether by luck or natural talent, I survived the carnage and fought until the end.
Pant… Pant…
As the killing continued, the sun, once high in the sky, began to set.
The battlefield, like the crimson-stained sky above, was painted red with blood.
Corpses of humans and orcs lay tangled everywhere, the stench of blood thick in the air.
Amid the carnage, I stood victorious.
***
Whoosh!
“Argh!”
A massive mass of mana floating in the air suddenly poured into my eye.
It felt as if some immense being was forcibly invading my body.
“Huff… Huff…”
Returning to reality, I saw another system message appear.
{You have absorbed the soul of Cú Chulainn.}
{You have stolen the Authority <Barbed Spear: Gáe Bolg>.}
{Willpower has increased by 3.}
{Synchronization with Azidahaka has risen to 2.12%.}
“…What?”
The message was alarming.
My Willpower had increased by three in an instant.
My synchronization rate, which had been in the 1% range, had doubled.
But most surprising was the message stating I had stolen another Guardian Spirit’s Authority.
I opened my Status Window to confirm it.
——
<Authority List>
- Pain: Sphere of Inferno
- Claws of the Evil Dragon
- Barbed Spear: Gáe Bolg (!)
-A spear inherited from Scathach. It returns to its wielder’s hand and can extend 30 barbs to attack multiple enemies.
(Error! Primary weapon unsuitable for projection!)
——-
The Authority I had just obtained was clearly listed.
Just as the message had indicated, I had stolen the power Song Hyung-joo had used.
“Stealing another Guardian Spirit’s abilities…”
This broke the system’s fundamental rules.
The fact that the Authority didn’t suit me proved this.
The Barbed Spear: Gáe Bolg was a Weapon Projection Power designed for spears, but my main weapon was knuckles, making it unusable.
The error message beneath it made this evident.
This raised more questions in my mind.
“What is happening?”
Things kept getting stranger.
It felt as if some force was continually disrupting the system’s laws.
On top of that, I had experienced a strange vision.
Malice?
Could I really have been possessed by some kind of demon?
The series of inexplicable events left my thoughts in turmoil.
As I tried to process it all, familiar system messages reappeared.
{Error detected!}
{Unauthorized data found in the Guardian Spirit’s status. Debugging will commence immediately.}
{Debugging complete.}
It was the same type of message that had appeared when I acquired the trait Right Eye of Malice.
This time, however, no other entity intervened.
As a result, the “stolen Authority” disappeared from my list.
<Authority List>
…
3. Null
As if to explain this, a new message in its usual authoritative tone appeared.
{Insufficient demons to disrupt the system.}
{Malice says you must gather more demons.}
“Disrupt the system… with demons?”
Pondering the message, I recalled the one that had mentioned Baphomet’s Minion infiltrating the system.
It was after that encounter that I had acquired a new trait that permanently settled into my Status Window.
Piecing together those memories and the current message, I arrived at a conclusion.
To obtain powers that defied the system, I needed to hunt more demon-type monsters like Baphomet’s Minion.
{Malice nods in agreement.}
“What? Did you just respond to my thoughts?”
This entity was now directly communicating with me through the messages.
It meant it was an intelligent being capable of conversation.
Realizing that, I decided to ask it the most pressing question on my mind.
I wanted to clear up the fundamental doubts surrounding all these occurrences.
“Hey! Who the hell are you?”
But there was no answer.
“Are you just not going to answer that? Then, can you at least explain the meaning of the memories I saw earlier? Or… are you a part of the system?”
Still no response, even when I asked something else.
“…Say something!”
The silence persisted, either indicating an unwillingness to continue the conversation or an inability to send messages for some other reason.
However, it left an answer behind in the form of a trace on my Status Window.
——-
<The Right Eye of Malice>
- (Stage 2) Absorb disembodied Guardian Spirits and recover their past powers and memories.
——
If I wanted power.
If I wanted the truth.
Then I had to witness more Awakeners die.
This demon wanted me to spread malice across the world.
“Thank you for defeating those criminals. If you visit our city’s defense headquarters tomorrow morning, we’ll give you a reward.”
The incident at the tavern was resolved without issue.
The guards who arrived late had initially tried to arrest me as I stood amidst the corpses.
However, witnesses outside who had observed the fight testified in my favour, turning me into a hero instead.
“That person’s no joke.”
“Did you see it? How they only used their fists in the end?”
“Of course! Their hands were so fast you couldn’t even see them.”
“Do you think they have a legendary-tier Guardian Spirit?”
“At that level, they must.”
In an instant, I became one of the most prominent figures among the raid participants.
Honestly, it wasn’t a welcome development.
Being famous meant I’d now be an easy target for competitors looking to hinder me.
This was especially problematic in a raid where ranking was crucial.
I could already feel wary gazes stabbing into my back from every direction.
‘What a hassle.’
Of course, this wasn’t entirely a bad thing.
Fame also brought more people willing to treat me favourably.
“B-brother!”
Lee Jin-yoon.
This guy, who had been hiding until now, finally showed himself.
It seemed he had slipped away amidst the crowd when the commotion began outside the tavern.
“Are you alright? You’re not hurt anywhere…?”
“Hey, Lee Jin-yoon!”
Choi Yuna appeared alongside him.
“Yuna! …Ack!”
The moment she arrived, she kicked Lee Jin-yoon’s shin. Her face was filled with fury.
“Don’t pretend to be hurt. I know it doesn’t hurt because of your Defensive Barrier.”
“Uh… yeah.”
“You abandoned the people around you to run away by yourself during a fight?”
“S-sorry.”
“What’s the point of the Authority you just gained if you’re not going to use it? You could’ve… ugh.”
She trailed off mid-sentence, glancing around the surroundings before letting out a sigh.
She was probably about to mention the Legendary Guardian Spirit but decided against it.
There was no need to let everyone know Lee Jin-yoon had one.
“I’m sorry…”
Lee Jin-yoon shrank under her scolding.
‘Figures.’
Watching him, I felt stupid for even entertaining the thought that he might be useful in battle after clearing the first stage.
This hopeless coward was utterly unfit for fighting.
‘But…’
On the other hand, Choi Yuna was practically the polar opposite of Lee Jin-yoon.
I recalled her extraordinary combat skills from earlier.
‘I thought she only excelled at sniping, but she didn’t falter in close combat either.’
Using stealth and a submachine gun, she dominated her fight against Wei Lue Bu.
She skillfully utilized two Weapon Projections in the right moments, demonstrating remarkable combat sense.
While her Guardian Spirit itself seemed exceptional among its peers, her innate battle instincts were equally impressive.
‘Especially in situations where most people would get emotional after being insulted.’
Instead of being swayed by emotions, she manipulated her opponent into her own psychological traps.
‘She’s someone worth having.’
After seeing her fight, I found myself more interested in her than the legendary-tier Lee Jin-yoon.
Her stealth and sniping abilities were invaluable as a backup to my frontline combat style.
This would be especially useful in the next stage, which required covering a wide area.
I resolved to persuade her to join me for the next stage.
“Um…”
“Excuse me.”
At that moment, she and I spoke at the same time.
“…You first.”
I decided to let her speak first.
“Well…”
She hesitated for a moment before finally speaking up.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t help when those guys showed up. I didn’t fully grasp the situation.”
She was probably apologizing for not stepping in while I was fighting Song Hyung-joo.
To be fair, I didn’t have much to say to that.
“It’s fine. I mean… I didn’t step in to help when you were fighting either.”
Despite my response, her expression remained clouded.
She seemed unsure of herself, hesitating as if struggling with something.
Thinking about it, there wasn’t much reason for her to feel so guilty about not helping.
It’s not like we were particularly close, and she had been wary of me until just moments ago.
So why was she suddenly acting like this?
“Hey.”
The answer was simple.
“That’s why… for this raid… can we help you?”
She must have something to gain from me.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Click here -> https://discord.gg/S8c2kGVr2g
Comment