episode_0025

The port city of Kean.

A city where merchants abound, offering a variety of goods,

and where ships provide easy access to other port cities.

It’s the kind of place worth registering at least once in a warp gate.

…Or so I thought as I reviewed my plans.

‘There are three things to do here.’

1. Register at the warp gate. 2. Obtain the Holy Grail of Sacrifice. 3. Take a ship to the port city near the village where my favorite character resides.

That’s pretty much it.

Huh?

What’s the Holy Grail of Sacrifice?

In short, it’s an item like this:

A special artifact that can invoke a miracle—

either by sacrificing oneself

or by sacrificing someone precious to you.

Its performance is quite impressive.

‘The problem is the conditions for use.’

‘If you could sacrifice captured criminals or slaves, it’d be a game-breakingly overpowered item…’

But you can’t force a sacrifice.

It only activates if the offering willingly becomes the sacrifice.

Torture or coercion won’t work.

Only someone whose affection for the user has grown enough to willingly lay down their life can serve as the offering.

‘In-game, there are only four people who qualify as sacrifices.’

‘And they’re all high-ranking companions—travel allies with maxed-out affection levels.’

That’s why it was treated as a garbage item.

Performance?

Sure, it’s decent.

But sacrificing a companion whose affection is maxed out?

Not worth it.

Because in Prophecy RPG, losing even one party member inflicts severe stress on the entire group, randomly adding mental illnesses.

If a max-affection companion dies, a mental illness is guaranteed to manifest,

and the whole party collapses.

It’s not just about losing one ally.

The protagonist and the remaining three companions also become half-wrecked.

Who would use an item like that?

Madness.

‘Well, unless it’s a do-or-die situation where not using it means total annihilation…’

But if you’re in the right state of mind to use the Holy Grail of Sacrifice,

you’d be better off using an escape item to save the entire party.

So.

No one actually uses this seriously.

‘Some players enjoyed sacrificing their companions just to see the despair play out…’

‘I’ve tried it myself out of curiosity for the reactions…’

But anyway, it wasn’t a practical choice.

Just a toy for bored veterans who’d done everything else.

However.

I can use it seriously.

‘Because I know a method—one I never even posted on the攻略 (strategy) boards.’

That’s why I wanted it.

‘Huh?’

Suddenly, I felt a gaze on me.

The moment I arrived in the port city of Kean, it felt like someone was watching.

‘No… No way…’

The chances of Ria and Elice tracking me here were close to 0%.

No.

Might as well call it 0%.

There was no way they could figure out I was here,

let alone find a way to come.

‘Probably just my imagination.’

My lingering fear of Ria’s tracking abilities must have made me paranoid.

Anyway.

No point overthinking. Time to secure the Holy Grail of Sacrifice.

At the same time.

Ria and Elice spotted Cain arriving by carriage.

‘Master!…’

She was so excited her concealment magic nearly slipped.

“Ria.”

“Recast it. Now.”

If Elice hadn’t warned her sharply, they might’ve been caught.

‘He… didn’t notice, right?…’

It was only three seconds.

Someone sensitive to presence might’ve sensed them,

but Master wasn’t at that level yet.

‘Physically, he’s only about D-rank adventurer caliber.’

With magical tools and future knowledge,

his combat ability far surpassed D-rank.

But purely in terms of presence detection?

Still D-rank.

So.

He probably didn’t notice.

“Let’s keep tailing him.”

“Mhm.”

Strengthening their concealment, they silently followed.

‘The warp gate?’

Master touched the gate.

‘Ah…’

‘He’s registering his mana.’

Master only registered his mana and left.

They didn’t bother registering—they just kept trailing him.

Elice had already registered here before,

and Ria had her mother’s divine blessing covering all gates.

‘Mom.’

‘Thanks for registering every warp gate for me.’

In Prophecy RPG, the Goddess never personally handled warp gate registration.

But now, since Ria had asked—

[Mom!]

[Register the warp gate at Kean’s port for me!]

—she’d literally said those words,

and the Goddess of Light, Selena, used her divine blessing to register every gate instantly.

Warp gates were created by spatial mages,

but their maintenance relied on divine blessings.

So for a Goddess, a simple ‘registration’ was trivial.

Thanks to this, they could freely travel even to cities they’d never visited,

keeping pursuit swift and seamless.

But.

Cain had no idea.

Because this was something that never happened in the game.

Cain sought out the Adventurer’s Guild.

‘He should still be here…’

The current bearer of the Holy Grail of Sacrifice.

In Prophecy RPG, he was a character who died six months after the game’s start.

Right now, he should still be alive.

…Or so Cain thought as he scanned the area—

‘Found him!’

A-rank adventurer—Dark.

Born a B-rank,

but through levels, gear, and magical tools, he’d risen to A-rank strength.

‘In terms of combat power at this point, he’s even stronger than the Ice Princess, Elice.’

Elice was hailed as borderline S-rank eventually.

But.

That was mid-to-late game.

Right now, she was only around Level 5,

with nothing but basic equipment.

Meanwhile,

Dark was in peak condition—

around Level 60,

with high-tier gear.

For now, Dark was slightly stronger.

‘Though when Level 5 vs. Level 60 is considered “slightly”…’

‘Is this game’s balance even functioning?…’

But thinking of Ria’s cheat-like existence,

Elice’s situation was understandable.

The girl could slay the Demon King at Level 1, after all.

‘At this point, even if the Demon King screamed “This game’s fucking broken!”, I’d agree.’

Wouldn’t you?

Ria may have obtained the ultimate cheat,

but her ‘cowardly crybaby’ penalty was so severe she was practically F-rank.

…Lost in thought, Cain took a seat at Dark’s table.

“……?”

Dark looked at him with hollow eyes, silently questioning, ‘The hell do you want?’

Interesting.

‘He’s pretty good-looking, too.’

Long, unkempt hair, scruffy beard—messy,

but still strikingly handsome.

Late twenties, still in his prime.

Solid build.

Main class: Swordsman.

Secondary proficiency in magic—a hybrid spellblade.

Yet his aura radiated despair, as if he’d drop dead any second.

I knew why.

‘He sacrificed two beloved women to grow stronger.’

No—

He wasn’t some lunatic who threw away love for power.

He was backed into a corner.

‘If he hadn’t used the Holy Grail of Sacrifice, they would’ve all died.’

‘His lovers chose to die—for his sake.’

Twice, he avoided death.

Twice, he triggered the Holy Grail.

‘Even this much is perfect for a despair narrative.’

Losing loved ones who died for you—

Guilt was inevitable.

His mind was beyond salvage.

But.

Dark’s misfortune didn’t end there.

‘Using the Holy Grail even once imposes a condition: a yearly sacrifice.’

No sacrifice?

The Grail takes its wielder instead.

Thus.

Dark’s life had a one-year expiration date.

His lovers’ sacrifices were rendered meaningless.

Realizing this shattered him,

drowning him in alcohol and misery.

And.

Six months later, he dies.

In Prophecy RPG, looting Dark’s corpse yielded the Holy Grail.

Of course—

You could try stealing it before his death.

‘But it’s a soulbound item—ownership can’t be forcibly taken until the owner dies.’

Murder was the only way,

yet the game wouldn’t allow it.

‘You control the protagonist, but…’

‘The protagonist refuses morally heinous acts.’

You could execute criminals,

but murdering an innocent like Dark and looting his item? Unthinkable.

The game blocked that option.

So, the only way to get the Holy Grail in Prophecy RPG

was to loot Dark’s corpse half a year later.

‘But in real life, there’s another way.’

Not that I planned to kill him.

‘If possible, I prefer happy endings.’

Withholding those thoughts, Cain spoke.

“A-rank adventurer—Dark.”

Dark stared blankly.

“Let’s take on a request together.”

Silence.

“It’s a bandit extermination quest.”

“Come with me, and something incredible will happen.”

Still no response.

“Let me prophesize this:”

“Three hours from now, you’ll call me ‘Brother Cain’.”

Dark’s hollow eyes sharpened slightly.

“And that’s not all.”

“You’ll sob and scream your gratitude at me.”

A beat.

Dark’s expression twisted—‘What kind of bullshit is this?’

“Well?”

“Aren’t you curious?”

“What could possibly make you call me ‘Brother’ and cry tears of gratitude?”

Dark finally spoke.

“…What’s your game?”

“Save the fun for later.”

Thud.

A heavy coin pouch hit the table.

“If I’m wrong, you keep this.”

Dark eyed the pouch.

“Well?”

“Interested yet?”

Dark scanned the quest details.

“C-rank request.”

“Simple enough.”

“All I do is follow you, and your prophecy comes true?”

“No.”

“Just help me clear the bandits.”

“You’re using me.”

“Not really.”

“If I wanted disposable muscle, this pouch would be overkill.”

This was nearly all his savings.

Even after deducting quest rewards and bandit loot, he’d be at a loss.

“…So the bandits are just an excuse.”

“Pretty much.”

“What do you really want?”

“Your thanks?”

Dark’s skepticism deepened.

“Just invest three hours.”

“If I’m right, something wonderful awaits.”

“If I’m wrong, you get paid for a stroll.”

“…Fair enough.”

Dark saw no downside.

As Cain said—

If the prophecy held, fine.

If not, profit.

The thought of being lured into an ambitchief flickered—

but he didn’t care.

Assassinating an A-rank wasn’t easy anyway.

And his life… wasn’t worth clinging to.

‘I’m on borrowed time…’

At worst, he could sacrifice himself to the Grail

and smash this conman’s face in before dying.