96th Episode: Game of Death
For a moment, my mind went completely blank.
“…This isn’t really a situation for jokes, you know.”
And I knew it wasn’t a joke just by looking into Ruci’s eyes. If that serious face was an act, then she’d already won Best Actress at the Blue Dragon Film Awards.
At this point, I had no choice but to admit.
‘My plan… really isn’t working.’
Right as that nagging feeling of something wet dragging at my legs began to haunt me.
Dun dun. The usual chill voice accompanied by a message appeared before my eyes.
[Name: Box of the Dead]
[Notice: Item Update – The stored items from the Box of the Dead from my previous life have been updated.]
The last relic—or will—left behind by my past life.
I habitually reached into my pocket, pulling out the Box of the Dead, but hesitated to open it.
Perhaps because Lucy had already bluntly declared that it would fail, I felt as if hearing any kind of “you won’t survive” from my past self would break my spirit.
‘Damn it! Don’t chicken out, Park Jeong-yong!’
After much deliberation, I finally opened the Box of the Dead carefully. As expected, inside was a hastily scribbled note in my own handwriting.
I nervously unfolded the paper and read its contents.
[You will die.]
Whatever was pulling me from my toes upwards suddenly surged up to my neck. Without realizing it, I began unconsciously massaging my throat, the sensation making it hard to breathe.
Despite expecting it, my mind felt dazed.
‘…This is…’
My wandering gaze eventually landed on another crumpled note stuffed inside the Box of the Dead.
I focused on it, unfolding it immediately.
There wasn’t just one note; there were more. Three additional sentences were written on the other scraps.
[But we weren’t wrong in our thoughts.]
[Don’t doubt. Retrieve the residual memories regardless.]
[Both of us will die, but we’ll ultimately win in the end.]
Without realizing it, I clenched the note tightly in my hand.
There’s a possibility. I wasn’t wrong, it claims. No one else, but me proved it.
With a furrowed brow, I glanced sideways at Lucy who was staring at me intensely and smirked at her.
“It’s not a failure.”
“What?”
“I’m telling you it’s not a failure.”
As I gave a bitter smile, a deep rumbling sound, kookookoo, began.
The horizon gleamed white, spilling a dazzling light.
It was the direction of the Plains of Promise.
A pure white explosion. It was the harbinger signaling the beginning of the Astarte shard summoning ritual.
I clenched my fist once and roughly ruffled Lucy’s hair.
“Eeeaaak! What the hell are you doing?”
“If I end up possessed by a demon and go insane, make sure you stab me in the gut to wake me up.”
I half-joked, half-serious with Lucy. My voice trembled as I hadn’t expected.
Lucy, who was fixing her hair, soon grinned.
“Hmph. You said the same thing in your past life, did you know that?”
She nodded her head while saying this. Apparently, my past self had uttered something similar.
Regardless, Lucy soon nodded again and said.
“Alright, alright. I’ll make sure to wake you up, even if it takes cutting off your limbs.”
“…That’s the most trustworthy thing you’ve said so far. Shit.”
Whishinghh! Immediately, I drew my dual swords and ran like lightning towards the west gate of Kern.
Thoomk! With one leap, the scenery around me blurred rapidly.
“I’m off to work!”
“You’re going to freeze to death.”
As Lucy smiled faintly at my uninteresting joke, her expression began to fade rapidly into the distance.
*
“KYAAH! Please save me!”
“Guard! Call the guards!”
“It’s… monsters!”
As I got closer to the center of Kern, the cries of despair grew louder.
The sound of clashing weapons interspersed between the cries. Children sobbing, people screaming. There were overwhelmingly many voices calling out for salvation.
“… Hmph.”
Sure, I might not care about random strangers, but I’m no cold-blooded person who could listen to such horrifying sounds and remain unfazed.
Naturally, my heart began to race, fueling my impatience and anxiety.
‘…Residual memory. Even if my head cracks open, recovering the memory comes first!’
Everything has a process. To see further ahead… I need to ignore these sounds for now.
As soon as I entered the western gate of Kern, I activated Izanami’s Heart.
Woooom. The heavy sound resounded, and a lantern emitted an eerie light. As I spurred forth in the direction of the brightening glow,
“….”
“….”
Two ordinary-looking adventurers walked past my line of vision.
As they passed me and entered an alleyway, I tilted my head slightly in curiosity, before focusing forward again and continuing my run.
I then cast my skill immediately.
“Fatal Thorns!”
It was partly instinctive.
Had I to pinpoint the reason for the oddness… Yeah. These two were disturbingly expressionless, unaffected by the chaos all around.
Not running, nor part of the massacre. Their deadpan faces sent a chill down my spine.
That’s why I unleashed the skill.
“…!”
The launched thorns pierced their limbs and punctured their chests accurately, five thorns per individual. A hit that was satisfyingly precise.
Yet, one eerie fact stood out.
‘These bastards were trying to kill me.’
It was a sneak attack method I’d used before, but unlike Garmi, who was pierced through the back, these ones had their chests hit.
And still, they immediately wheeled around to ambush me from behind. That confirmed they were followers of the Resurrection Sect.
Just as I was about to heave a sigh of relief,
“….”
The pierced men spit something out while glaring at me.
My gaze unconsciously followed it. It was a small iron ball, no bigger than a fingernail, which rolled up to me and with a hiss, cracked open.
“…This is?!”
Pffoooff! It began releasing thick smoke in a terrifying burst.
A smoke bomb. How ridiculous. They really pull out all the stops. Unable to help myself, I chuckled and cursed.
“Totally insane!”
I recalled all the thorns that had disappeared with the skill cooldown and rushed to finish off the bastards.
In the smoky haze where I couldn’t see a foot in front of me, I suddenly felt uneasy and ducked.
“…!!”
Sssshiiing!
The whistling sound rang out. A uniquely shaped double blade swung and cut a few strands of my hair.
And plop. The Resurrection Sect member who swung the sword collapsed face-down, expressionless as ever. Like a marionette whose strings had been cut.
“…Phew.”
The five holes pierced through his body caused massive bleeding. His body twitched convulsively, clearly in the throes of death.
And yet, he didn’t utter a single word. His expression remained entirely unchanged.
‘To attack so fast with this kind of injury?’
Had I not ducked instinctively, even I might’ve been in danger.
I don’t consider myself to have exceptional senses. It must’ve been the special stat “Hero Sense” kicking in. Makes me proud of my past self who diligently carried out quests.
As I wiped my chest, I glanced at the fallen Resurrection Sect member warily.
“Clearly pierced the limbs…”
The smoke began to dissipate gradually.
The one who had delivered the final brutal strike lay fallen at my feet, while the other one… disappeared during the chaos.
I realized with a start. Could he have used the other guy to distract me and escape?
‘…No. There wasn’t any sign of such planning.’
Of course, there could’ve been prior discussions about emergency situations.
No matter which way you look at it, underestimating them would be a mistake. Be it telepathic communication like some kind of Protoss or a well-trained team capable of such coordination.
My caution towards the Resurrection Sect skyrocketed anew. As expected, these guys weren’t ones to be underestimated.
‘The Eye of Mimir.’
Before heading off, I decided to try and gather some information from the dead Resurrection Sect member by using the skill.
I immediately widened my eyes.
[Monster Information]
[Name: Cain Coccus]
[HP: 0/980 MP: 0/730]
[Strength: 124 Agility: 106 Intelligence: 33]
[Details: A warrior who betrayed the will of Ashin. Death’s hammer awaits these filthy traitors.]
The status window labeled him as a monster.
I stared at it for a while before letting out a wry chuckle.
“…So that’s what you meant?”
I fully understood the meaning behind my past life’s statement, “We ultimately win in the end.”
Then it only reaffirmed the importance of residual memories. There’s no time to linger here.
I hurriedly took my leave, running much faster than before.
‘About here…’
Following the lantern’s light, I found myself in the rear alleys of a shack village before I knew it.
The anxious gazes of the destitute stung sharply, undoubtedly perceiving me as one of the perpetrators in the ongoing massacre in the main streets.
“Hmm.”
I scanned the tramps trembling in helpless fear with a glance.
And I clicked my tongue.
‘Hic… He’s not here.’
Looks like he slipped away again. He’s quick on his feet when it comes to running.
Even if I couldn’t help them directly, wouldn’t spreading rumors among the destitute give them time to escape?
What’s the good of giving them information if they lack even a shred of decency? Damn old geezer of noodles.
‘Found it.’
While musing about how to verbally dismantle that old noodle-loving geezer and following the light, I found the residual memory in front of me soon enough.
As always, looking at the body from my past life made me flinch.
“Phew.”
I scratched my head while sighing. And carefully brought the lantern closer to the corpse.
“Can’t get used to this, can we…”
Of course you can’t get accustomed to it.
The sight of my own corpse, with its torso completely obliterated from the chest center to the right side, spilling its contents like a toppled ramen pot, left me unnerved.
[Item Activation – Izanami’s Heart]
[A residual memory from the previous life has been obtained.]
[8 Strength points, 23 Agility points, and 0 Intelligence points have been restored.]
[No lost skills from the previous life, so no skill restorations.]
[All memories from the previous life have been restored.]
“Kk… Eeeaaaahhh!!”
Every memory, every pain, every emotion, and the overwhelming fear of death—all were brutally shoved into my body in an instant.
If I could get used to that, then I’m no longer human.
“Sister!! I’m deaddd!!!”
Somehow, after regaining consciousness, the first thing I yelled out was that.
