[Translator: Dolsae]
[Proofreader: Karane]
There were demons that wore the masks of the empire.
There were also people who fell victim to their crimes.
What I have in front of me was the last effort of these victims to keep the demon in the overworld to be rightfully judged.
After letting out an ominous aura, the bones littered around the room started to collect at the altar in the middle to form a body.
The formation of tattered bones and rotten flesh was horrible to even look at.
After forming a full skeleton, the ominous red aura got sucked into the back of the skeleton's head.
The process made me stagger and nearly throw up. After looking back at the front,
A fully armored crimson skeleton was looking right back at me.
His eyes were just a plain abyss, but the goosebumps on my skin showed he was staring at me.
After staring for a bit, his lower jaw rattled down, and let out a stinging shout.
"Morutal, Ivory, Skull! How dare this bastard tarnish my body and soul with these cursed words!"
Just from his movement, I could tell that he was different from the skeletons I've fought earlier.
"Instead of starving them to death, I should have just crushed them myself!"
Only after the crimson skeleton finished throwing his fit, I could check the text that appeared on top of his head.
He had the appearance of a skeleton but did not possess the common name of "skeleton".
Recognizing the fact that even the boss of the Bass Mountain's Troll had a name as broad as Black Mountain,
The skeleton that possesses a "Unique Name" will be vastly stronger than any other monsters I've faced before.
In addition, this was the first "Assault Quest" I've ever seen. With even a letter grade of B, this quest was an unprecedented challenge.
"Are you the one that freed me!"
His razor-sharp voice pierced my ears.
"T-That's right…!"
After barely numbing my rattling jaw, I answered. A cold chill engulfed my body.
"Are you a scoundrel that got sent by Morutal? Or are you an envoy sent here by my majesty?"
His voice filled the room. It was my first time to be questioned by a monster.
Judging by the written slates all over this dungeon, this Gilutin fellow was the commander of a cavalier from the empire that violated their orders and swept havoc onto the villages they came across.
One of those victims was a shaman by the name of Morutal, and he placed this curse on them in exchange for his life. Therefore, there was only one reason I've called him here.
I opened my chapped lips slowly.
And held up my sword.
"Gilutin, I'm here to vanquish you!"
At the same time, in the hollow socket of Gilutin's skull, a red glow lit up.
"You good-for-nothing rogue! If you had a better sense of judgment, you would have been able to retain your life!"
After a barrage of curses, he bolted towards me.
A different level of strength than the skeletons from before. Before I could even react, Gilutin's skinny bone fist reached my nose.
Bam!
"Keuk…!"
Even with my enhanced speed stats, I could not catch a glimpse of his fist. But thanks to my quick reaction, I could barely block his fist with my long sword.
Or so I thought,
"Beurk..."
My head spun around. The drifting dust made my throat prickly. Before knowing what happened, I was attacked from behind.
With indescribable pain, both of my hands went numb.
"Keu-heuk…!"
From my obstructed throat, came a tiny moan to partially describe my pain. Only after clutching my spinning head, I could reassess the situation.
I did succeed in blocking his fist with my sword,
I could not withstand his strength and flew all the way to the wall behind me. Even so, I did not let go of my long sword.
"Pant…Pant…!"
I panicked for a while, but that was only for a minute. The burning pain seemingly dissipated as if an ice pack was applied. Both of my numbing arms quickly regained their senses.
It was the freakishly strong regeneration option from my armor and Polorun's Star.
"What kind of sorcery did you use!"
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Gilutin clattered his jaw as he charged at me again. But, before his feet even hit the ground, I was already in motion swinging my long sword.
Slam!
Gilutin, who was rushing at me just now, was now stuck in the wall like myself from before.
These consecutive scenes sent shivers down my spine.
In this short moment of time, I was able to swing my blade against his speed. The ability to keep my composure against this monster was nearly inhuman.
This was the strength of all my stats.
The slight increase in my intelligence helped me learn from my mistakes.
The added stat bonus helped me beat a monster that would normally be impossible to do at my level.
I've heard about this before,
This is being "Overgeared" in
While I was fascinated by my strength, I noticed a slight movement in the wall that Gilutin was stuck in.
"Be it the cursed body, but for me to allow such a hit from this scoundrel…"
A different tone of voice from before, and inside of it was thick murder intent.
"I shall skin you and be freed from this curse."
After finishing his horrifying speech, he held up his arms. Then, a red magic circle appeared under his feet.
"Though I've lost the skin and muscle of my right arm, the "Engravings" did not vanish! Answer my call… My sword…"
Answering his prayers, the red magic circle under his feet burst a stream of red light. From the center of the stream, came a sinister shape.
"Manifest, 'Sharma'!"
Soon, the shape started to morph, and Gilutin grabbed it. At that moment, I was swept with despair.
***
Reaper Scans
[Translator – Dolsae]
[Proofreader – Venastus]
Join our Discord for updates on releases! https://discord.gg/reaperscans
***
His level has increased.
I've never heard of a monster that can increase its own level before.
Is this the power of a monster with a unique name!?
"Die!"
A swift motion even faster than before. I could vividly witness the will of his sword.
If not for my Black Mountain Armor, I would have instantly died.
"Euaak!"
To the shock that seemingly pierced my body, I screamed.
Sheik! Kaching!
His last thrust hit my body, and I flew back into the wall.
"How regrettable! To think I couldn't split your body!"
Gilutin sighed as he swung his sword around.
"However! You wouldn't be able to preserve your body against my sword techniques!"
I could hear him approach my fallen body. He made a clunking noise every time his bones hit against his hard armor.
But!
This Gilutin guy, or skeleton, underestimated me a bit too much.
My HP just surpassed three hundred, but my health regeneration boasts over a hundred per second.
Which means,
If I'm given at least three seconds, even if I was unconscious, I would be as healthy as I was at the beginning of the fight.
Therefore,
As that Gilutin bastard takes leisure in walking towards me, every second is an opportunity for me!
Watch!
The power of a necklace I've received from my insane luck!
I stood up with confidence. I stretched my neck and looked directly back at Gilutin.
"How did you stay conscious after withstanding my attack!"
"Come at me…!"
Do you think this was what that superhero with adamantium claws felt when he fought? The feeling of being able to regenerate instantly after being dealt a devastating attack.
I, who is insignificant in real life.
Here, I'm the same as a superhero. The thought filled me with determination.
The momentaneous pain was still threatening, but I could heal it in an instant!
I could take on his blows any number of times! I ran towards Gilutin like a crazy person. Then got stuck back in the wall, then traded more blows with the sword and stuck again.
Like that, I continued to fight him.
Clank! Ching! Kang! Kaching!
Gilutin started to attack me more furiously. It was because he probably realized giving me time was not beneficial for him.
But it was too late.
For me, who lacked combat skills, all I could do was strike at a single point on his body no matter how many blows I took.
And after I struck for countless times,
The result of my fruitful endeavor appeared.
Sweeesh!
"Keuaak!"
His scream signaled the start of my revenge.
Gillutin has lost his right arm. It was the result of striking his shoulder countless times with my sword.
The reason why this reckless plan could work was,
None other than,
All my items!
The armor to defend against Gilutin who was now level thirty-four. And, the weapon strong enough to knock off his right arm behind the protection of his armor. This was the reason why I was confident in my plan.
"Have Bellica blessed you! Or do possess the bloodline of Benandoru that opened the Dead man's vessel! What are you…!"
His jaw opened wide.
"I'm the Golden Beast of the Empire, Gilutin! The honorable Gilutin!"
"You're just a criminal that tarnished the reputation of the empire!"
I responded after barely catching my breath.
To my response, Gilutin stared at me blankly.
"That's not true! I'm the honorable commander of…!
"You're just a traitor to your empire!"
Be it the world inside a video game, but I screamed my heart out to him as if responding to his genuine emotions.
"How would you know the determinations of a soldier!"
To his last cry of a plea, I shut my mouth. I could not respond to his question. A monster in a game just asked me if I knew their determinations.
It was an unfamiliar experience to me, who's only been hunting slimes my whole life.
"Do you know the duties of a soldier! I'm a soldier! A proud and honorable soldier protecting the empire!"
To his speech, I frowned.
"If so, why would you raid and kill the villagers?"
"We were famished! As the war went on, my army was on the verge of extinction from not getting any supplies from the empire!"
"Then?"
"Therefore, we've replenished our supply from the town we've protected."
"From the town that you've slaughtered?"
"They failed to show appreciation to our army! The empire! We were the honorable knights that protected them!"
His jaws opened wider.
"It's true we were deprived of many things! Yes! So, we tried to solve some of those desires. And asked these bastards for cooperation. But apparently, they had the audacity to say no! To us, who's been protecting them all our lives?!"
"Is that why you've slaughtered them all?"
"Didn't leave a single one left. Although Morutal, that bastard, did leave us with a curse."
As he chatted on, I was getting nauseous from my resentment towards him. Soon, that feeling turned into powerful hatred.
"Did you ask if I knew the determinations of a soldier?"
Then I looked at the skeletons littered on the ground. Some of them were missing the end of their fingers from scratching the cell wall.
"I might not know more than you, but I know the basics."
"What would you know about the soldier's honor!"
"I've been there for two years."
"What?"
As if cussing him out, I yelled at him.
"The soldier's creed!"
So I screamed towards Gilutin, who stood dispirited.
"We are the soldiers of our nation, loyal to the country and its people!"
Then, I struck my long sword firmly onto his head.
Although my claim left me a bit embarrassed of its flaws.
At least it was enough to refute Gilutin's flawed opinion.
Like that, his skull split into two, and I was covered by a swerve of light.
< You have leveled up. >
< You have leveled up. >
< You have leveled up. >
< You have leveled up. >
< You have leveled up. >
< You have leveled up. >
A whopping six levels of experience, and…
Gilutin's skull evaporated into smoke and started to siphon into a single spot. After a while, a core came about from that spot. But, this core took a different appearance compared to other ones from before.
The core immersed in crimson aura struck occasional flashes of lightning from within.
The core of a monster with a unique name was different from other monsters just from their exterior!
Into the gloomy dungeon floor came a bright light. And under that light,
After gulping down my excitement,
I slowly reached for the core.
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