episode_0017

“Fuck.”

As soon as I woke up, I started swearing.

What the fuck, I can’t live without swearing, seriously.

Even in the hazy vision, a puddle of bright red blood is visible.

Since I had fallen asleep on top of it, it was only natural that I would be covered in blood.

The blood that had soaked into the clothes and hardened was unpleasant in itself. Washing it off would be a chore…

But what was even more fucked up was that all my plans were ruined. I grumbled to myself.

‘No, damn it, why did the explosion go off there…’

Even thinking back now, it’s still unbelievable.

There has to be a limit to difficulty.

If you’ve raised the enemy’s abilities significantly, you shouldn’t have touched the strategy at least. Isn’t that the bare minimum?

The Demon King and the system really gave me a big screw-up.

I lost a lot in this one room.

I lost all confidence in my future strategy, and I also lost what little trust I had left in my party members.

In short, it’s fucked.

“Sigh···.”

A situation that makes you sigh.

Stress made me frown.

But that was for a moment, and I decided to just accept reality.

‘Well then, what can I do?’

Complaining won’t change anything.

I just carry countless burdens and move forward, because this is the only path given to me.

‘Ugh, I need to wash up first.’

After calming my mind for a while, I got up from the pool of blood.

Then, a sound comes from the body.

Woodduck-

“Oh my···.”

My whole body screamed, perhaps because my body had been overworked for the first time in a long time.

My muscles ached and my joints ached every time I moved.

I felt like I had become old… Still, thanks to [Pain Tolerance], I was able to endure it for the time being.

This is why you need to level up your skills.

It’s helpful in everyday life too.

As I search for peace of mind, one thing comes to mind.

‘Come to think of it, I guess I have to listen to the kids’ whining too.’

Since the plan failed, it’s natural for them to be upset.

I just burst out laughing.

Will my body break first, or will my mind break first?

I’d bet on the latter.

Those nagging bitches, it’s not easy.

“···Are you awake?”

“Huh?”

As I was thinking that way, I heard a voice from next to me.

I turned my head and saw Yuris kneeling.

“Oh, your highness?”

I couldn’t help but be embarrassed.

Didn’t you go to rest? Why are you still here?

I asked her with a question.

“Is it okay if I don’t rest?”

“Don’t worry. I got enough rest while you were sleeping, warrior.”

Well then… I have nothing more to say.

I thought for a moment about why she had come.

I don’t think you left anything here, so are you here to question me?

That’s a reasonable guess. At that time, I would have put up a shield for the sake of rest, but now that I’ve had a good night’s sleep, there’s no reason to do that.

I’m going to ask how things came to this.

There is only one way in this case.

‘First come first served.’

Let’s hit the head very quickly.

I have heard from the old days that you cannot be harsh to someone who apologizes. Following the teachings of my wise ancestors, I did it.

“I’m really sorry. I never thought the explosion would happen there···. I should have planned it more carefully, it’s all my fault···.”

“Oh, no, no! It’s okay, I didn’t come here to argue about that.”

She accepts my apology with a wave of her hand.

There was also a slightly pitiful look on his face.

Did I apologize so meanly?

Well, that’s okay. I guess I could avoid getting nagged at by doing this.

After a brief moment of relief, she opened her mouth.

“The reason I came here… is just to check on you, warrior. No matter what, sleeping in a pool of blood… isn’t that a bit much, even if you’re tired?”

“Huh? Hahaha that’s···.”

I couldn’t help but be taken aback for a moment by the more affectionate words than I had expected.

But that didn’t last long, as she did something even more shocking.

“Oh my, look at all the blood on your body. Just wait. I’ll clean it up for you right now.”

After saying that, he holds out both his hands to me.

Soon, a warm light like the sun began to emanate from her beautiful palm. The blood on my skin and clothes burned away and evaporated.

So all that’s left is my cleaned body and clothes.

A fluffy sensation takes over my whole body.

It was one of the sacred methods that the saint could use, purification.

A versatile priest-only skill that can remove anything from small things like dust to large things like deadly poison, depending on how much holy power is infused into it.

The saint used it on me just now.

Of course, since it was only a drop of blood, the amount of force used wasn’t that much… but I was surprised that it was used at all.

‘what.’

What the heck?

She is the type of person who would never treat someone even if they asked her to, even if she died.

One by one, questions arise in my head.

Be that as it may, the saintess said, patting my shoulder.

Knock knock.

“Okay, that’s it. It’s clean. There’s no need to wash up now, so you too, go in and rest.”

“Uh···.”

“Coworkers… Don’t worry. I’ll try my best to persuade you. Just because the plan failed once. Don’t be too discouraged. Fighting.”

“Oh, yes··· Thank you.”

After saying this, the saint leisurely entered the tent.

“Oh···.”

I felt a shiver run down my spine.

No, what are you thinking these days that makes you so kind to me?

Well, if I knew what he meant, I wouldn’t know. Since I couldn’t even guess… I felt extremely uncomfortable receiving this favor.

I checked to see if she had done anything to my body.

It’s been cleaned up for now, but who knows, maybe they’ll cleverly play a trick on you.

I lightly circulated my magical power throughout the blood vessels in my body and swung my arms and legs a couple of times. Upon checking, it seemed like nothing unusual had happened to my body.

I didn’t do any nonsense.

I rested my chin on my hand and pondered.

‘It definitely won’t be a favor.’

Given the nature of my curse, there is absolutely no way I could be kind.

Then, what on earth is the intention behind this… I thought about it for a while, but no answer came to mind.

I had no choice but to focus my attention elsewhere.

‘There’s no need to wash anymore.’

There’s a lot to do.

As the plan went awry, I had to come up with a more elaborate strategy again, and I also had to convince my colleagues to move according to that strategy.

Also, now that we’re almost in front of King Chung’s castle, we should level up to catch that Balkan bastard.

Defeating the mid-boss, Minotaur, means that the full-scale conquest of the Four Heavenly Kings has begun.

It means that you are busy in many ways.

As I was thinking about that, something suddenly popped into my head.

‘Oh, by the way, you got the quest reward, right?’

A quest obtained before defeating the mid-boss.

He said that if you kill the Minotaur, you can choose one skill.

I’m not sure what kind of skill list they’ll show, but I’m looking forward to it.

For me, who doesn’t have many skills, even small things like this are a great help.

So I started getting rewarded.

Open the System window and click on the ‘Reward Received!’ window floating in the corner. Then, a list of selectable skills will appear in front of you.

And I couldn’t help but swear.

‘This is crazy···.’

Because the list of rewards was much better than I expected.

+

[Congratulations!]

You’ve overcome the odds and defeated the Minotaur. Now choose your reward!

1. Insect technique

2. Puppet

3. Eternity

4. Regeneration

5. Iron Ridge

※Caution, all of these products are replicas!

※Even though it’s a replica, it’ll be helpful for your trip, so don’t you think that’s okay?

+

An open mouth will not close.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a clone. No, it makes more sense if it’s a clone.

It makes no sense to have those skills as the original.

Skills I’ve seen hundreds of times while playing this game hundreds of times.

And yet, there are skills I have never acquired.

“This, this···.”

I muttered with a trembling voice.

“The Four Heavenly Kings have power···.”

The system is giving out crazy stuff.

*

In the game I’m playing [Demon King and Hero Party], each of the Four Heavenly Kings has their own abilities.

Abilities that make them not just strong people, but monsters that threaten humanity. Abilities that are both their own identity and tools of torture for their party members.

The game company simply called this a skill, but I called it a power. After all, a fraudulent skill of this magnitude was enough to be called a power.

So I worked quite hard to get these…

‘I never thought I’d get it here.’

I looked at the system window with fond eyes for the first time in a long time.

“You little shit, I believed in you.”

yes.

If the difficulty level is this high, there should be a corresponding reward.

I believed that [The Demon King and the Hero Party] wasn’t such a bad game.

Of course, you can’t deny that it’s a mess… but at least they’re the ones who don’t make you do the impossible.

After praising the system like that, I fell into thought again.

Okay, first of all.

I realized I was running out of good skill choices.

Now it’s time to choose which one to choose.

‘What on earth do I choose?’

Whichever you choose, it will make more than one serving.

However, you shouldn’t think of it only to that extent.

Skills that are this good tend to influence the direction of a character’s growth.

In a word, this is where we primarily determine the direction of growth.

What skills should I synergize with based on this skill? And what skills should I choose to help me defeat the Four Heavenly Kings?

I thought and thought again.

Take a slow, elimination approach.

‘Let’s pass on loyalty and puppets for now.’

It is undeniable that it is a good skill, but it is too difficult to use. Also, there will be a limit to fighting with a large number of enemies at some point.

‘Likewise, Eternity also passes···.’

Honestly, if we’re just looking at performance, this might be the best.

But it was equally difficult and ambiguous to use.

Using this will definitely require ‘that guy’s’ level of skill… so it will require a lot of practice.

Especially in the near future, when you think about capturing King Chungwang Vulcan, it was a skill that was almost useless.

‘In the end, what’s left is regeneration and iron lance.’

I was worried.

Let’s see… which one suits me best?

Something that has good synergy with me, is necessary for future strategies, and can be used usefully regardless of which job I choose…

‘what.’

Let’s think about it. The answer came out surprisingly quickly.

‘It was already decided what to choose anyway, right?’

Rather, it seems that the opposite sex was momentarily confused by the overly flashy choice.

Knowing that the simplest is the most efficient.

Rebirth.

A skill with a name that anyone can see and know its effectiveness.

A simple ability that greatly increases the user’s healing abilities.

But considering the upcoming battle with King Chung and its versatility, this is the only one I can think of.

So, without hesitation, I chose option number 4.

Then the system window rings.

+

[Congratulations!]

[I got the regenerated, replica version!]

+

Shooo-

The effects were immediate. The muscle pain that had been throbbing all over my body disappeared, and the aching joint pain disappeared.

The bio-signs that had formed as they were scraped against the floor also disappeared in the blink of an eye.

“Hoo···.”

I let out a small sigh as I felt a new strength entering my body.

Okay.

Now I can fight more comfortably.

I tried to head towards the tent with a satisfied expression.

No, wait, before that···.

“Just in case, let’s wash first.”

The saint purified me, but who knows?