Chapter 11. Revelation and Trial (2)
‘This is insane…!’
Clang—!
The moment her sword clashed with his, Adelia instinctively realized it.
She couldn’t win. Not a chance.
That monster was several times stronger than she was.
All she could do was desperately block its attacks. But even that was growing harder with every exchange.
‘Stay calm… There has to be a way…!’
Adelia grit her teeth.
There’s no way the Swordmaster would throw her into such danger without a reason.
She had to hold out. Endure, and find a breakthrough.
And with the insight she gained through this battle, she would ascend to the next level.
“Guhk!”
But no matter how strong her resolve…
Her body couldn’t keep up with her will.
An attack she failed to block grazed her shoulder. A burning pain flared, but Adelia forced herself to ignore it and tried to block the next strike.
…No, to be precise, she tried to block it.
‘Ah.’
Shrrreeeeeek—!
The greatsword was already inches from her face.
Too late to defend. Too late to dodge.
Sensing her imminent death, Adelia tightly shut her eyes.
KWA-BOOOOM!
A thunderous roar echoed through the cave.
The deafening noise was followed by a powerful gust that whipped her hair wildly.
The area fell into an eerie silence.
The monster’s roar was abruptly cut off. So was the sound of its greatsword.
“…?”
Sensing something was off, Adelia perked up her ears and focused all her attention on her hearing.
Drip, drop…
The sound of water dripping from the stalactites.
Haa, haa…
Her own ragged breathing from the exertion.
And then…
Thud.
BOOOOM—!
…the sound of something massive collapsing to the ground.
“…?”
Adelia slowly opened the eyes she had tightly shut.
As her vision returned, the surroundings gradually came into view.
“I misjudged.”
Five steps ahead, where the monster should have been—
A man stood quietly, sword in hand.
His eyes, utterly calm, swept the ground.
Still frozen in place, Adelia slowly followed his gaze.
‘Ah…’
The giant monster’s corpse lay sprawled across the ground.
Its upper and lower halves had been cleanly severed.
“Seems it was a bit too much for you to handle.”
Shiiing—
While Adelia stood dumbfounded, mouth agape in shock,
The man casually wiped the blood from his blade and spoke in an utterly tranquil voice.
“So, did you learn anything from this?”
Ding!
[You have defeated the boss of Hidden Dungeon II in the Dark City: Dungard.]
Peter Pan was dead.
His severed corpse lay at my feet.
One of the trickiest bosses in Lost Elder, killed in a single strike without even reacting.
‘This skill is broken beyond belief…’
Soul of the Swordmaster.
This 12-star mythic skill was practically an instant-death cheat.
Just activating it for 0.01 seconds was enough to one-shot an 82-level boss. It made my head spin.
‘And there’s no backlash. My body’s totally fine.’
Which was strange, considering Loel’s system.
As I’ve mentioned before, players need the proper “foundation” to perform any action.
What I just did should’ve been impossible with my current strength, stamina, and agility stats.
My muscles and bones should’ve shattered from the recoil.
Yet my body was unharmed…
‘…Could it be that activating the skill temporarily boosts my physical stats too?’
That would make sense.
The description says the skill puts you in a “state of perfection.”
So during that time, even physical stats might be enhanced.
That would explain how I could pull off such a powerful move without any physical cost.
‘Anyway…’
Swish—
Lost in thought, I turned to look at Adelia.
She was still staring into space, dazed.
My strike must’ve really shocked her.
‘…Still hasn’t recovered, huh?’
Whatever. She’d snap out of it eventually.
I turned my eyes back to Peter Pan’s corpse.
I didn’t have time to worry about her. I needed to finish what I came here for.
‘There it is.’
Squelch—
Reaching into the monster’s body, I pulled something out.
Slime, blood, and tangled veins clung to it.
After slicing away the muck with my feather blade, I stared at the ominous crystal in my hand.
Just then, Adelia finally snapped out of her trance and asked,
“Wh-What is that…?”
“It’s a ‘Trial’ prepared by the Great Elders.”
Sacred Piece.
A remnant left behind by the now powerless ancient gods, scattered across the continent.
To obtain this power, I had to pass their trials and prove myself worthy.
“It’s also the most important part of the revelation I received.”
Crunch—!
Without hesitation, I crushed the crystal in my hand.
A dark red aura enveloped my body. My vision dimmed as ghostly screams of children filled the air.
“…”
Soon, a chilling silence fell.
Ding!
[You have entered the trial arranged by the ‘Master of the Second and the Instant.’]
The storytelling in Lost Elder was never direct.
Players had to infer things from scattered clues—an NPC’s past, the origins of a faction, and so on.
It was the very definition of a hardcore game.
‘The Dungard factory, especially, holds a horrifying tale.’
Dark City, Dungard.
A lawless zone filled with illegal experiments.
One day, a mad mage partnered with the continent’s biggest pharmaceutical company.
Their absurd goal: to create an elixir of immortality.
They built a factory in Dungard and began their experiments.
‘Hundreds of spirits, thousands of children were senselessly sacrificed.’
The Tinkerbells, who witnessed the horror, were outraged.
Peter Pan, who once brought dreams and fantasies to children, lost his mind.
For revenge, they made a deal with “those beings”…
And became monsters who slaughtered the adults responsible for the experiments.
『KYAHAHAHAK──!』
The corrupted Tinkerbells attacked the factory.
They screamed as they tore the place apart, turning machines into useless scrap.
The employees were butchered by Peter Pan’s greatsword.
Left abandoned, the factory became a lair for Peter Pan and the Tinkerbells.
[So cruel.]
“…”
I was the one who killed them.
I destroyed the monsters who had avenged the unjust deaths of so many.
[They only returned the pain we gave them… Why did you kill them…?]
By now, it was clear what this ‘Trial’ was about.
[We hate you.]
[Hate.]
[Hate.]
[Hate.]
A space filled only with darkness.
Voices brimming with resentment echoed from all sides.
One by one, crimson ghosts began to appear.
Soon, their numbers turned the entire space blood red.
[…So, you must pay with your life.]
Ding!
[The trial begins.]
Yeah.
The real trial of Hidden Dungeon II had begun.
…I had to face the vengeful spirits of the sacrificed children in this “mental realm.”
‘Creepy, honestly.’
KYAAAAAH—!
Ghosts shrieked and charged toward me.
There were thousands of them—it felt like a crimson mountain was collapsing onto me.
‘In-game, you have to dodge all their attacks.’
Physical attacks don’t work.
And since this is the mental world, magic and divine power are ineffective too.
The player can only dodge.
Basically, you had to survive a high-difficulty bullet hell until the trial ended.
‘But of course…’
━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Passive Effect]
Your ‘Willpower’ stat is permanently set to MAX.
━━━━━━━━━━━━
‘…Their attacks don’t work on me.’
KYAAAAH—!
One of the spirits passed through my body.
It was a lethal attack that took 25% of total HP per hit, regardless of your stats.
Three or four hits would leave a normal player near death.
‘Didn’t feel a thing.’
But none of that applied to me.
Damage in the mental realm is considered “mental damage.”
Which means, thanks to Soul of the Swordmaster’s passive…
Ding!
[Your MAX Willpower nullifies the attacks of the vengeful spirits.]
…In this “mental realm,” I was invincible.
‘That’s exactly why I came to Hidden Dungeon II.’
Adelia could handle the mobs.
I’d use my active skill to kill the boss, Peter Pan.
Then cheese the follow-up trial with my passive skill.
Considering the rewards, this was practically the perfect dungeon for me.
KRROOOOM!
The vengeful spirits surged like a storm.
Blood-red whirlwinds swirled around me.
My ears rang. My clothes and hair flailed wildly in the wind.
The gusts stung my eyes and blurred my vision.
…Honestly, this was getting annoying. Surely, I’d proven myself by now?
I slowly opened my mouth.
“That’s enough. These pitiful illusions don’t work on me.”
Thunk—!
Suddenly, silence.
The raging crimson spirits vanished in an instant.
As if it had all been a lie, stillness returned—just like when I first arrived.
[I acknowledge you.]
A voice echoed from every direction.
[You are worthy to receive the ‘Remnant.’]
FWOOOSH—!
As the words ended, the darkness receded and the real world reappeared.
“…”
I looked up.
In the underground clearing of the abandoned factory, Peter Pan’s body slowly disintegrated into ash, rising into the sky.
Through the partially collapsed ceiling, the starlight was eerily beautiful.
And then—
Ding!
[You have cleared the trial arranged by the ‘Master of the Second and the Instant.’]
A familiar notification filled my vision.
[Reward: You have obtained the Authority Skill 【Ritardando】.]
Seeing this, I smiled brightly.
‘Got it.’
The reward I’d so desperately wanted was finally in my hands.
‘Impossible…’
Tremble—
Adelia couldn’t believe her eyes.
As a noble of the sacred Goldheart family, she had been taught about the Elders from a young age.
So she knew full well how outrageous his accomplishment was.
‘He passed an ancient god’s trial… like it was nothing…?’
