Chapter 16: Do you think the evil spirit’s head will stay intact?

When I said to pick up the items, the old man’s face lit up with excitement.

“Really?”

Yes, really.

I’m not particularly greedy.

I already swindled 1 billion from a tiny guild.

“Honestly, I don’t need any of this. I have a purpose.”

If the Demon King is still alive, I’ll crack his skull.

If the tower is running on its own without anything inside, I’ll destroy it.

“A purpose? Are you here to obtain a holy relic or something?”

Yeah, getting a relic would be nice.

So there’s a concept of holy relics here too.

Holy relics are ancient artifacts made by humans from a civilization of shining glory.

They can also be stones that grant various powers.

Holy relics come with different abilities.

There’s even a saying that the ancient people were destroyed because of those relics.

It would definitely be nice to get one.

“Sure, obtaining a relic or a rare item is great, but my priority is clearing out the monsters and reaching the top floor.”

What’s most urgent is getting to the top first.

I have to ascend before the other hunters.

“Do you really think that’s possible?”

It’s not a question of whether it’s possible or not.

If the theory that the goddess and I have is correct, then I must destroy this tower no matter what.

“With my mace, it’s possible. This tower shouldn’t even exist on Earth. It’s better to eliminate it quickly and save Jeju Island, don’t you think?”

If the Demon King regains his power, even Korea won’t be safe.

That’s why it’s better if I clear the entire tower before anyone else.

Let the other hunters stay stuck here without making any progress.

“Hmph.”

“If another Wraith appears, you better hide. But as thanks for worrying about me like I was your own kid, I’ll help you hit the jackpot this time.”

That much I can do.

After all, I’m a saint, kind and generous.

Sure, his interference is annoying, but considering he’s following me even though he has a daughter and family, I suppose I could give him a small gift.

Just not to the other hunters.

“You said you’re a returner. What kind of world were you in to become so strong?”

“Well, I do pride myself on being strong. I even beat up the Demon King.”

Ah, the pleasure of beating him with my mace.

“The Demon King?”

“This tower could very well be something the Demon King created.”

Sure, the Demon King got beaten up by me, but he wasn’t weak.

If it hadn’t been a surprise attack, I might have lost.

Who would have thought the foolish Demon King would let his guard down because of the hero’s sweet talk?

“Hey, look over there! Something’s glowing!”

“Hm. In the dark, something glowing like that resembles a bald head.”

“Usually, bald heads don’t naturally emit light.”

“In some worlds, maybe there’s a bald guy who uses something like a solar flare, don’t you think?”

As we got closer to the glowing object, it appeared to be golden in color.

And when something is gold, it usually means one thing.

An elite monster or a mid-boss.

Looking closer, it was a massive skeleton draped in a glowing golden cloak.

Just think of it as a regular Wraith that’s gotten bigger and dyed in gold.

It must have noticed us, as it let out a loud scream.

[“Screeee! How dare you come here! Do you seek to invade the domain of this Blarka?! I’ll kill you all!”]

Ugh, loud.

If it can speak, that means it’s got some brains.

It even has a name, huh?

Even though it’s already fallen.

“That’s a Golden Wraith! Be careful! That thing can suck out your soul just by being near it! It has an instant death move!”

“Wow, it sure does shine.”

Indeed, that Golden Wraith is a creature with the ultimate instant death move.

According to the lore, those with deep grudges become Wraiths when they die, and among them, the most powerful ones become Golden Wraiths.

Just being near it can instantly drain your soul.

However, if you’re in a party, it’s a different story.

There’s a time delay when the soul is being sucked out, so your party members can pull you back.

If that’s not possible, a cleric-type companion could prevent the instant death with their abilities.

But we don’t have any of that right now.

All we have is my mace.

In other words, I’m the only one who can handle this.

I pushed the old man behind me.

The Golden Wraith flew straight at me.

“You’ll die if you keep this up!”

Don’t worry.

I won’t die.

Before my soul gets drained, I just need to grab it.

“Holy Crash!”

I swung my mace with all my might at the incoming Golden Wraith’s head.

Crash!

Even though it shouldn’t be affected by physical attacks, the golden skull made a cracking noise and flew high into the air before falling back to the ground.

Thud!

But I’m not the type to stand by and watch.

How dare it act up in front of a priestess serving the goddess of death?

I approached the fallen Wraith.

Its head was smashed, but it was still trying to drain my soul passively.

So I kept beating it with my mace until it was well and truly exorcised.

Crack! Crack! Crash!

After pounding on it for a while, the Golden Skeleton finally died.

What was left behind was its golden cloak and various loot items.

“Who the hell are you?”

It’s only polite to answer when someone asks.

“I’m a priestess of the goddess of death.”

“The goddess of death? A cult?”

Do I seriously need to beat this guy up?

Calling me a cultist?

“To someone like me, a Wraith with an instant death move is no big deal. Huh? What’s this? A treasure chest? So that’s how this system works. Lots of useless potions, though.”

“You’re going to throw all that away?”

“Yep, pretty much.”

It’s not worth much to me.

“Uh, can I have it then?”

“What is it?”

The old man brought out a blue vial filled with a radiant liquid.

Ah, I know what this is—an elixir.

“My daughter is battling cancer right now. I don’t even have enough for her surgery, and even if we go through with it, there’s no guarantee she’ll survive.”

“Oh, so the elixir can cure any illness?”

“Y-yeah, that’s right.”

Well, in that case, it’s definitely useful.

The old man seemed anxious, worried I wouldn’t give it to him.

But he didn’t need to be so nervous.

Even with all the money in the world, finding an elixir for sale is near impossible, and there’s no way to know if surgery would fully cure his daughter’s cancer.

The elixir is definitely the better option.

“Go ahead, take it.”

“Are you sure?”

Like I said, it’s useless to me.

If I kept it, I’d probably just end up selling it on the black market.

Might as well give it away.

“I already told you, it’s meaningless to me. But from now on, stop getting involved in things like this. You seem like the kind of guy who’s kind to the younger ones, but the way some hunters are, one of them is bound to dig their own grave because of your kindness.”

They’ll definitely end up doing that.

I’ve seen people like him before in the other world.

They’re always weaker than me but rush in to protect others, especially women, only to end up dead.

Personally, if you’re weak, it’s better to focus on surviving rather than playing the hero.

“But—”

I waved my hand, cutting him off.

“Look, you’ve already taken enough from following me around.

If you get too involved, it might come back to bite you.

So eat your fill today and call it quits.

Oh, and take these gold bars too.

They’re yours. Oh, this… is it the Wraith’s soul?

You should take that as well.”

[Key of Bulaka]

There’s some sort of key lying there.

Could this be the key to enter the 4th floor?

“It’s not over yet! They’re coming!”

“Huh? Oh.”

Something like a pile of cloaks was flying toward us from far off in the distance.

They were pouring in from all directions, so I quickly set up a respawn field just in case.

I slammed my mace into the ground, sending a light that erupted, sweeping through the incoming Wraiths.

All that was left behind were scraps of their cloth.

Not valuable to me, but this guy might find some use in it, so I’ll leave it for him.

A loud sound echoed.

“They’re coming again!”

The old man warned me of another wave of monsters.

Sure enough, more Wraiths were heading our way.

It’s the typical scenario where minions swarm after their boss dies.

“Why are there so many?”

“This usually takes a group of dozens to handle, but you’re doing it all alone!”

Of course, I am.

“Life’s just like that.”

Life is inherently lonely.

It’s about monopolizing everything for yourself.

In this tower, I’m going to take everything for myself.

Let the other hunters deal with the leftovers.

I crushed the next wave of Wraiths with my mace.

“Are you sure it’s okay? Other hunters will probably try to catch up soon.”

They won’t be coming up anytime soon.

“They’re probably assuming by now that either you or I are already dead, so they’ll stay down below until they think it’s safe. But I won’t let that happen.”

Why haven’t they followed me up?

The answer is simple if you think about it.

The hunters have probably figured out my general strength.

Even if they don’t know everything, they know I’m not ordinary.

But they never imagined I would clear the 3rd floor.

Or maybe they thought I’d head back down to ask for help.

It’s likely the latter, but regardless of what they expected, they probably figured they could just wait it out and let me handle the dirty work.

“Are you planning to wipe them all out?”

Of course.

I swung my mace with the ease of a baseball player, smashing through the Wraiths as they came.

This old man, surprisingly, isn’t scared at all, even though his soul could be drained.

If he’s asking whether I plan to wipe them all out, the answer is obvious.

“Honestly, if those hunters had any decency, I would’ve left some for them. Or at least if they’d shown some manners. But you know what?”

“What?”

“Those hunters? They’re so full of themselves, acting like they’re special just because they got their powers from this so-called cataclysm. It’s disgusting. If we weren’t on Earth, I would’ve already crushed their skulls.”

This is me showing restraint, after all.

I can’t give these entitled jerks any of the spoils.