Prologue
[The blood that flowed from 100 sacrifices seeps into the earth.]
[The Hidden Labyrinth ‘Covenant’ has been opened!]
Wooooong!
A gigantic gate made of blood appeared.
It was a terrifying sight, reminiscent of the entrance to hell.
“We’ve finally made it this far.”
“It really has been quite eventful. But now that I’ve lost all my subordinates, what am I supposed to do?”
“Heh heh. Don’t worry about it. Consumables like them can always be replenished, can’t they?”
An elite group of hired mercenaries, renowned even within the Empire, had gathered before the gate.
A knight known as the Body Cutter.
A tank named the Frozen Barrier.
A dark mage bearing the title Archive of Death.
Along with them, numerous skilled individuals who had proven themselves by surviving countless brushes with death had gathered.
Their stats were more than sufficient.
No, they had to be sufficient.
That is, if they had grown normally.
“If only I hadn’t clicked that strange status window back then….”
The main tank, Gunther, muttered as he recalled the past.
[This is Imperial Bank. The entire amount deposited into Mr. Gunther’s account has been withdrawn. If you did not make this transaction yourself, please visit https:holymoly.com to verify.]
It was a type of message he had never seen before.
Gunther had no idea what the ‘https’ or whatever meant, but he unconsciously reached out and touched the message.
That was when the nightmare began.
The defense he had painstakingly built up through his innate talent as a tank and years of hard work vanished completely with a single click.
As though someone had simply taken it away.
“I lost the child the cult leader gave me, too.”
A short-haired tamer let out a long sigh.
[101 Ways to Tame Ancient Species. No matter how fierce and ferocious a summoned beast is, we’ll turn it into an adorable companion! #ThereAreNoBadAncientSpeciesInTheWorld! Written by ‘Kang Hyung-wook’.]
The legendary tamer presumed to have come from a world called Earth.
‘Kang Hyung-wook.’
Everything was fine when he happened to acquire the book left behind by that man.
But everything went wrong after he hatched the eggs exactly as the book instructed.
The Ancient Species, twisted beyond all recognition, abandoned him and ran away.
They said there were no bad Ancient Species in the world.
There were.
One that didn’t even recognize its own master.
“Some bastard pulled out every single magic book I had stored in the Archive of Death! I should have known something was wrong when he started saying that my face was filled with misfortune and that I needed to pray to my ancestral spirits.”
The dark mage added his own complaint.
[Library Book Rental Card]
[Return Date: Year 9999. Month 99. Day 99.]
[Borrower: Howling Transparent Dragon]
A crumpled piece of paper lay in front of him.
“Everyone, shut up. I hope none of you lose your core traits like I did! Damn it.”
Another victim had appeared.
The feeling of loss was like having one’s flesh carved away.
It had been an ability.
A stat.
A summoned beast.
“I can’t remember my mother.”
It had even been a memory.
Was this divine punishment from the God of Light?
Or some prank played by a High Paladin or Cardinal?
One theory after another was proposed, but no one knew the answer.
Besides, what meaning did any of that have anymore?
This request must have a reward significant enough to change the existing balance of power.
Even if they could not bring out their full strength as they normally would, they could never give up.
Clop.
The mercenary group entered the labyrinth.
Contrary to how tense they had been, the journey proceeded relatively smoothly.
So smoothly that deceiving 100 subordinates and offering them as sacrifices seemed like the more difficult task.
Several hours passed, and when they finally reached the deepest part….
…an anomaly occurred.
Fwoosh!
A gigantic monster appeared amid blazing black flames.
It was the skull of a ram, its entire body covered in black flames.
It was particularly striking that it was bound by red chains and wielded a sickle darker than pitch-black.
[The labyrinth boss monster ‘Shargas’ looks at the raid party.]
“Kihihihi. Very. Very… delicious-looking prey.”
The skull’s mouth split open vertically.
“I-I can’t… see the end of its magical power.”
“Were all those warnings in the various texts because of this bastard?”
It was a death and despair unlike anything they had ever encountered before.
The battle that lasted for three hours ended with the defeat of the mercenary group.
They unleashed flashy and powerful abilities and performed attacks with clockwork precision, but they could not pierce the black flames.
“Pathetic creatures.”
Shargas sneered.
Clang!
His blood-dripping sickle swung from side to side.
All that remained was to cut off the lifelines of the humans barely clinging to life.
Since everyone was unconscious, it would be over with only a little more effort.
But then—
“Wow. These guys are supposedly pretty skilled, so I guess I really did squeeze too much out of them. I didn’t expect them to get wiped out without even being able to withstand this much.”
Someone appeared just as the finishing blow was about to be delivered.
A man with black hair and pale skin.
The sly smile on his face irritated Shargas.
“If you were lucky enough to survive, you should have at least pretended to be dead and preserved your life. Crawling out on your own like an idiot….”
He looked like someone who was desperate to die.
Kukukuku!
Black flames gathered in the shape of billowing clouds.
The air froze.
Fine hairs stood on end.
Fear began to consume reason.
And at the moment the magical power, expanded to its limit, broke through its critical point—
[Shargas activates the skill ‘Light-Heat Shockwave’!]
A powerful gust began swallowing everything in sight.
“Is that the ability that targeted the tank line?”
The man watched the approaching death.
“Anyone within 10 meters gets stunned. And it applies a slowing effect up to 22.5 meters.”
Its cooldown was one minute and thirty seconds.
On top of that, it had an additional effect that ignored physical defense.
It could certainly be called the ultimate counter to melee damage dealers and tanks.
But—
There was always a way to break through everything in this world.
[The trait ‘Steel Faith’ activates!]
The trait that main tank Gunther had lost—
[The skill ‘Path of the Wind’ activates!]
And the skill stolen from the supporter Ian Patrick unfolded simultaneously.
It was impossible to block Shargas’s shockwave with either the trait or skill alone.
However, when Path of the Wind was divided into seven branches and used on top of Steel Faith, it produced synergy greater than one plus one.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
The shockwave passed by the spot where the man was standing.
“What…?”
Shargas tilted his head.
He had naturally expected the man’s flesh to be blown apart by the shockwave.
Yet it had been blocked by an invisible barrier.
[Path of the Wind] and [Steel Faith].
The people from moments ago had used the same combination, yet they had not lasted even a second.
Why was the result different this time?
He did not know the exact reason, but….
“You’re pretty good. I might actually be able to have a little fun.”
It had been unbearably boring.
But now, Shargas was finally beginning to take an interest.
Shargas immediately pulled another holy relic from his subspace.
It was a black coffin engraved with ancient spells.
Clunk!
The moment the door opened, an enormous number of monsters poured out.
“Kieee!”
“Kwooo!”
Every one of them was a superior species.
They were powerful enough to become named monsters in virtually any dungeon.
“This guy’s pattern hasn’t changed at all, then or now.”
The man chuckled and called for something.
“Mang-gi.”
At that call—
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
A gigantic creature emerged from within the dark red flames.
A black wolf.
No.
It was far too enormous to be called a wolf.
The Ancient Species, standing more than several dozen meters tall, tore apart every enemy in sight.
“Kyaoooo!”
Its roar echoed throughout the labyrinth.
It was utterly overwhelming.
Every time its red eyes flashed, the monsters froze.
Like herbivores standing before a predator, they could not offer even the slightest meaningful resistance.
It was the moment when the black coffin itself became completely useless.
“……!?”
Only then did Shargas’s demeanor change 180 degrees.
He felt an ominous presence on an entirely different level from the humans he had fought until now.
[Shargas summons his unique weapon, ‘Spear of the Abyss’!]
Parts!
Indigo sparks burst forth as a burning spear appeared above Shargas’s head.
It was a weapon formed by fusing the killing intent of numerous high-ranking demons.
Against it, armor was practically meaningless.
“Hmm. That would hurt a bit if I took it barehanded.”
The man licked his lips as he stared at the blazing demonic spear.
Then he pulled a small paring knife from inside his clothes.
He had bought it as part of a buy-one-get-one-free deal at the market.
“Khahaha! I thought you were at least somewhat different from the other lowly creatures. And you call that pathetic thing a weapon?”
“Just wait. It’s going to get fun from here on.”
I already have plenty of things I stole from this guy and that guy.
I think I’ll try using some of them.
[Durability increases to 500,000.]
[‘Neighborhood Market Paring Knife’ evolves into ‘Unbreakable Legendary Sword’.]
“Hoho. Did you use an enhancement ability? You’ve barely managed to escape the level of a toothpick.”
[Attack Power increases to 999,999.]
[‘Unbreakable Legendary Sword’ evolves into ‘Excalibur’.]
“At least now… you’ve reached the level where you can inflict some damage upon me. I’ll commend you for that, human.”
[Physical Penetration increases to 100%.]
[Critical Hit Chance increases to 99%.]
[+100,000 Flame Damage is added.]
[Divine Power… .]
[Life Steal Rate… .]
[…increases!]
[Evolves into ‘Blood-Drinking Holy Sword’.]
Its name changed.
Its appearance changed.
The tiny paring knife had somehow transformed into an ego sword with a single eyeball.
“Mamma!”
It could even babble.
“U-Um… wait a moment.”
“What?”
“Ahem. Well… I think that’s enough now. Perhaps it’s a little excessive.”
“No. We still have a long way to go. Absolutely. At this level, it’s nothing more than the level of ‘a mere human.’ Even I think it’s a pathetic failure. Whew.”
The man waved his hand and used a new power on the sword.
[Injecting ‘Primordial Power’ stolen from the Cthulhu Mythos!]
Something covered in dark purple flames.
This ominous weapon had gone beyond the realm of something that could even be called a sword.
The man slowly assumed a stance.
“T-This cannot be. How can a mortal use power that crosses into the realm of the gods?”
Shargas staggered backward.
His will to fight had vanished long ago.
“Just think of it as meeting the wrong opponent. When it comes to this world, I know it better than anyone.”
It had already been three and a half years since he had been summoned into the game world.
There was still a long way to go before he could see the end.
Therefore—
“Get lost.”
The man thrust forward the arm he had pulled back.
[Jeong Ju-sang activates the Ultimate Technique ‘Abyss Blade’!]
Kukuku… Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
A dark purple sword slash carved through space.
“Kuaaagh!”
With a desperate final scream—
BOOM!!!
Shargas’s skull split in half.
