"..."
I stared blankly at the fallen old man, lost for a moment.
Did it really happen?
The unfocused eyes, without the slightest movement, those definitely belonged to a dead person.
The effect of the skill had been activated successfully. At least that's what I wanted to believe.
If not, what else could be the reason for this monster to suddenly collapse?
I was now convinced that I possessed this body while retaining the instant kill skill that came out of the fusion.
Then what other skills do I have besides that instant kill?
My thoughts naturally flowed in that direction.
Even in RaSa, I was one of the high level players which could be counted in one hand.
If I maintained the other skills that my character had as they were... I would have danced happily right about now. But it wasn't the case.
Among the skills that I possessed, there were many passive skills that amplified the character's basic stats. So, if the skills were maintained, it wouldn't make sense for this body to be so weak now.
Even if I tried to use some of the active skills, none of them seemed to be usable.
There are no other skills, so why only instant kill? Ah...
I quickly realized the reason.
Why? Because all other skills and stats were used as fusion materials.
If the game character's abilities were transferred based on the point at which I completed fusion, then everything made sense.
This extremely weak physical ability, and that no skills other than instant kill existed... I sighed.
Could it really be like that? Really?
For a moment, I felt a chill behind my back.
Then, if there was no fusion, could it have been possible for my game character's abilities to have been maintained?
No, the current situation itself might not have occurred if that fusion never happened.
I possessed someone in the game right after I fused all of my game character's abilities and items. The correlation between the two was a bit of a reach. But it's the most plausible answer.
Either way, I shouldn't have done that damn fusion at all.
Regrets wouldn't help.
I calmed down the rage that was about to boil inside me and tried to regain my composure in an instant.
...Ah, was it like that?
Then I suddenly realized the reason I could maintain this nonsense composure without the slightest agitation.
[Soul of the King]
It imbued the supreme status of a king in the soul and was unshakable under any circumstance. Fully immune to all mental debuffs.
Every word and action imbued with dignity and coercion of a ruler. Significantly increased the chance of gaining an upper hand in conversations with NPCs.
A 9-star skill that I accidentally left out during fusion - the [Soul of the Emperor].
I wondered if its effects were affecting my psyche.
Thanks to this, it must be possible to continue maintaining composure even in this crazy situation, even in this chaos where I almost died, and the surroundings had become a sea of blood with pieces of corpses all around.
It would be truly be impossible if it was me before.
I moved my gaze again to the old man who had become a cold corpse.
By the way, did he say 'the warrior Garten'?
One of the five stars of Santea, a person who could rank among the continental-class powerhouses in the worldview of RaSa, it referred to the label 'warrior'.
I know the name 'warrior' very well. But the name 'Garten' was unfamiliar.
The warrior that appeared while I was playing RaSa was not Garten but someone different.
I'm sure I didn't remember it wrong... could it be a different timeline?
Also, I was not sure why someone of such a status was aboard Archemon's convoy.
No, I should put aside those things for now.
What should I do from now on then?
It's good that my life was saved right away, but there's still a crising at hand.
My hands and feet were still bound in restraints. And although the sound of the explosion had stopped, the ship's unsteady shaking seemed to get worse.
I was not sure what the heck was going on with this convoy. But if I continued to be tied up like this, there's a high possibility that my survival would be threatened again.
"...?"
At that moment, my gaze turned to one side.
It wasn't conscious; it was more like a reflex.
It's because something strange caught my eye in the corner of my field of vision - just beyond the bars.
[Lv. 89]
A level indicator floating on an empty space.
After thinking of the possibility of what was happening, I concluded quickly, with little difficulty.
Stealth-type skill...
There's no way a level indicator would float there when there's no one standing in that area.
It meant that someone invisible was there.
I was not sure how long this person had been hiding, but that wasn't the important part.
The level was not as high as the previous one, but it's still a monster with almost the same level.
I had to make the right decision about how I would act in front of that unknown opponent.
But before that, my mouth had already opened reflexively and spoke against my better judgment.
And in a very arrogant and careless tone, too.
"Stop acting like a rat and come out."
...Did I suddenly go crazy and was secretly wishing to die?
I didn't know why those words suddenly popped up. Something like mere instinct overtook reason for a moment. I immediately realized where it was coming from.
Was there anything than the [Soul of the King] that could have a sudden impact on my current personality?
Fuck.
Whatever it was, it completely screwed me over.
Even if there's an instant kill skill, it couldn't be activated unless I was in contact with the target.
If that unknown opponent, angry at my provocation, launched an attack, my life would end just like that.
But fortunately, no such disaster occurred.
Squek.
After a while, darkness filled the air, and a man in a robe appeared.