Ch.4Unlocked Skills

# Damn Side Quest

The additional conditions for “Blood-Stained Gold” are three:

【First, limit the accompanying <Black Wolf> members to 1 person.】

This condition was fulfilled by bringing only <Ruby Red> instead of other members.

Of course, Ruby, who suddenly revealed herself as a member, feels more distant than the others,

‘Only the most exceptional among A-rank mercenaries join the alliance, and only a tiny fraction of those become branch leaders.’

In other words, Ruby, as a branch leader of the Mercenary Alliance, is at least A-rank or higher.

Since Lactea is C-rank, and Luna and Playboy are D-rank, this might actually be for the best.

Next is the second condition.

【Second, rescue the <Holy Maiden> trapped in the underground chamber before she becomes <Corrupted>.】

As soon as the quest appeared, I rushed to Baron Gapelt’s domain with Ruby.

“I saved her, Captain!”

“…Safe.”

Barely managed to rescue her in time.

I approached the trembling woman, extended my hand to help her up, and asked,

“Are you alright?”

“Ah… yes. Th-thank you.”

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“…I’m fine, thanks to you.”

By the skin of my teeth, I succeeded in fulfilling the second condition.

One peculiarity is that the word <Nun> has changed to <Holy Maiden>.

Holy Maiden, huh.

If I had possessed this body knowing the original story, I could have used this information somehow, but in the current situation, it’s just another uncertain factor.

“Let’s get you out of here.”

“Huh? Aren’t you mercenaries? I believe it’s customary to offer some compensation.”

“It’s fine, just leave. Follow the path we came from.”

I naturally brushed her off after fulfilling the side quest condition and pushed her toward the exit.

“W-wait! Just a moment!! At least take this!!”

“Yes. Thank you. Now please go.”

“It’s collateral. It’s very precious to me… I’ll definitely come back for it soon…!!”

“Whatever. Goodbye. Please leave. For heaven’s sake.”

*shuffle shuffle*

Only after I accepted some unknown black object did the Holy Maiden finally start walking away.

“…Black Tooth. I’ll burn him alive.”

.

.

.

【Congratulations!】

【Thanks to your choices, Bad Ending – <4. Black Wolf (A-)> has been prevented!】

【Number of prevented Bad Endings: [4 / 15]】

【The next Bad Ending – <5. Signs of a Tyrant (A)> will be set up on the main scenario.】

.

.

.

Is it just my imagination that I get goosebumps from the name so similar to <Black Wolf>?

Anyway. With this, the second condition is fulfilled.

The third and final condition is:

【Third, complete all conditions before dawn breaks tomorrow.】

Quite some time has passed while receiving information from Ruby and familiarizing myself with the mansion’s structure.

‘It’s almost midnight, so until dawn—conservatively, 6 hours.’

Within that time, I need to assassinate <Baron Gapelt> to complete the <Side Quest>.

‘Of course I feel guilty.’

Assassination.

Killing a person.

Even if I don’t kill directly, I’ll order a killing and be present for the moment.

But,

-The orphanage. Killed everyone and burned it down.

-The Baron wants you. Said to send you over with all those things hanging from you.

After hearing those disgusting words from the soldier’s mouth, I felt strangely refreshed.

As if the body of <Nahan> that I’ve possessed desires it.

So what can I do?

“Ruby.”

“Yes, Captain?”

“I’d like to have breakfast at our hideout.”

If you don’t want to die, you have to kill.

Of course, I feel bad thinking this way while keeping my own hands clean, but,

“As always, whatever you wish, Captain.”

At least the members of the <Black Wolf> mercenary group don’t seem to mind such things,

“Lead the way, Ruby.”

“Yes, Captain!!”

We might as well help each other.

“Kyaah! Captain! Can I kill all of them?!”

“…Spare the servants for now.”

“Whaat?! They’re all just like Gapelt! I’ve already checked their backgrounds! Taking bribes, human trafficking, selling orphans’ organs, killing people for money—”

“Nevermind. Do as you please.”

I tried to maintain a shred of conscience, but they threw theirs away first.

“Captain’s the best! Captain’s really the best!! Hwa, I’d love to savor killing them one by one, but since Captain said to finish quickly…!!”

No sooner had she finished speaking than Ruby, who had been stomping her feet impatiently, snapped her fingers.

Snap!

Creak…!

Simultaneously, crimson spears seeped into the bodies of people who had become human skewers, and with a crunch, they transformed into thorny puppets with spikes replacing their bones.

The first creature to become a puppet lunged forward following Ruby’s gesture.

“M-monster!!”

“What are you doing, you bastards!! Stop it!!”

Numerous soldiers and mercenaries formed ranks to try to block the monster, pouring attacks on it, but,

Crack, crunch!

The monster twisted its joints at bizarre angles in mid-air, avoiding all attacks, and then,

“W-wait—”

Squish!

It pierced the hearts of two mercenaries while simultaneously tearing out the throat of a nearby soldier, killing them instantly.

“Y-you mercenaries, what are you doing!! Block it properly!!”

“Fuck, don’t you know all our guys are B-rank or higher?! That monster is strange—!!”

Crunch,

Crack!

The time it took for the monster to annihilate one mercenary group and one squad of soldiers: 1 minute.

“Puhaha! Did you see that, Captain?! We might finish this before midnight at this rate?!”

“Oh. Um, yeah. That’s right. Great. Awesome.”

Ruby’s power was beyond imagination.

‘Is this really just A-rank?’

Then how strong are the Emperor and the Hero who are supposedly S-rank…?

‘Yes! I should definitely stay put!’

Forget the main story or whatever, after finishing this side quest, I’ll just stay put until all the bad endings are prevented.

“Captain’s the best!! I feel like I could rip out my own heart for you, Captain!!”

“Wow, thanks. Great. Ruby’s the best.”

“Ehehe. Just wait a little bit, Captaaain?”

…Geez, this crazy woman.

I should avoid getting involved with her as much as possible.

“How is it, Captain?! Aren’t my babies cute?!”

“Oh, um. They’re cute.”

“Right?! They work sooo well too!! Nnng, really!! They’re so cute I could bite them!! That’s it. I’m going to bite them right now!!”

“Urgh…wow. Go for it!”

As I suppressed the urge to vomit at the sight of scattered blood, flesh, organs, and other body parts,

“Mwah! Smooch! You heard that too, right? Now that Captain says you’re cute, call all your friends so we can play together!”

Ruby, completely immersed in madness, shuddered and clapped her hands together.

…RUMBLE!!

The mansion shook simultaneously.

“Ruby?”

“Yes, Captain!!”

“Just asking to be sure…”

…This building isn’t going to collapse, is it?

Too afraid of seeming scared, I hesitated to ask, but Ruby grinned and answered,

“That’s right, Captain. I’ve been making frieeeends all along and gathering them here.”

“…Huh?”

Only then did I realize.

The human skewers Ruby had created from the basement to this third floor numbered about 100.

In other words,

“Everyone, it’s free hug time!!”

There were now 108 unstoppable monsters moving according to Ruby’s commands.

“Fuck, run!! Run!!”

“Gah!! I’ve been bitten, help!!”

“…Monstrous bastards.”

Through the chaotic third floor, to the fourth floor, and finally to the fifth floor where Gapelt stayed.

As Ruby had said, we were able to arrive before midnight.

“Well then…”

Just as I was about to open Gapelt’s door, my tension somewhat subsided,

Ding!

With a cheerful alarm sound, the system window I had momentarily forgotten appeared before my eyes.

【Progress: …100%】

【New information about <Nahan> and <Possessed Skills> will be unlocked!】

The cold metal encasing my heart melted as if heated in a furnace, spreading throughout my body and filling me with a sense of fullness from the tips of my toes.

An unfamiliar yet familiar,

Cold yet warm,

Caught in such contradictory sensations, I stood still for a moment and called up my status window.

‘Since we’re in combat, I’ll check the information later. First, let’s see what skills might help.’

No sooner had I finished the thought than a window appeared, but the color was different. Instead of a blue system window, it was a black system window with white text.

【Skill List – <Black Wolf>】

-Passive: Black Wolf(Ex)

-Skill 1: Black Curtain黑幕(Ex) (Partially unlocked) (4/6)

-Skill 2: (Access Restricted). (Ex)

-Ultimate: (Access Restricted). (Ex)

Surprisingly, all Ex-grade skills.

‘Is this the so-called possession bonus I’ve only heard about?’

Although only a small portion seemed to be unlocked, seeing the grade, all my complaints vanished.

As I stood there organizing the unlocked abilities in my mind,

Ruby, who had somehow gathered an army of one hundred, grinned and whispered in my ear.

“Captaaain? It’s almost midnight… Shouldn’t we open the door soon?”

Having just fully grasped the function of the unlocked <Black Curtain>, I also wore a faint smile and nodded to Ruby.

“Why are you even asking? Hurry up and open it.”

“Kyaa! Should I kill him right away?”

“No. I have some questions first.”

“Aha!”

Ruby clapped her hands together and tilted her head as she circled around me, asking,

“Should I go in first and prepare him? You could get any answer you want right away.”

“Geez, what do you mean ‘prepare’? Asking nicely will be enough.”

“Hmmmm…?”

“Anyway, just open the door, will you?”

Let me try this overpowered skill already.

At midnight, my butt wiggling unconsciously at the system’s unexpected gift,

After an hour-long climb from the third basement floor to this fifth floor,

“Yeees! At your command!”

Clank!

Finally, Baron Gapelt’s door opened.

And immediately following,

“Hello. You’re Baron Gapelt, right?”

The gentlest voice in the world.

.

.

.

【<Black Curtain黑幕(Ex)> is activated.】

◆ Effect:

If the opponent has felt fear toward <You> even for a moment, from that moment on, the opponent will perceive <You> as death itself. The status ailment <Fear> toward <You> will linger until the moment of their death.

.

.

.

“Gah, gahhk, c-can’t, breathe, s-stay away!! Haaack…!! Can’t breathe…!!”

“…I thought you said you’d ask nicely, Captain.”

“…I think I was plenty nice.”

Anyway.

If the opponent is terrified, now is the perfect time to extract information.

I quietly asked Baron Gapelt, who was cowering in the corner and trembling violently,

“Tell me everything about the Emperor.”

And the next moment.

“So it was, huff… So it was you!! Th-the Emperor’s mad dog, Black Wolf!!”

…Black Wolf?

.

.

.

【<Black Wolf Mercenary Group>】

-Aliases: Incompetent Mercenary Group (Temporary), Garbage Collection (Temporary), Mercenary Kindergarten (Temporary)

-Rank: D (Temporary)

-Members

◆Leader: <Nahan – Black Wolf黑狼(New!)>

.

.

.

What the hell is that, you weeb?