Chapter 51 051

At the entrance of the hidden dungeon. Seojin looked closely at the sea beyond the seal, ignoring the massive black skeleton. The skeleton, which had calmed down due to his persuasion, soon walked towards him in a huff.

"You are not even protected by the Goddess. As soon as you stepped in here…"

Seojin didn't even glance at the giant black skull that was threatening him while making a thrashing sound.

"There must be a way to reach that place."

"What an arrogant mortal! Your arrogance will be your demi…"

"Hey, enough already. Can't you see that I'm busy? Stop being selfish for once and wait a sec, dude."

The black skeleton snapped its jaw repeatedly. It wasn't out of anger, more like… surprisingly, a sense of guilt.

"Was I… that selfish…?"

"Hey."

"…Are you talking to me?"

"Yeah, come closer. How do I get out of here?"

The skeleton moved its stiff joints and approached Seojin. It could turn the defenseless adventurer into a puddle of gore just by smashing him, but it did not dare to."

"Look over there."

"…I am looking."

The empty eye sockets stared in the direction that Seojin pointed in. There was a sea behind the translucent glass wall, and a transparent glass tube through it.

"If I break the wall, can I enter that passage?"

"No, this place will be flooded instead."

"Then what should I do?"

"That's…"

The skeleton stopped talking as a sense of shame overwhelmed it. It couldn't do a thing against the priests, but why did it have to obey this lowly adventurer?

"Hey, why'd you stop?"

"…I was thinking."

However, the shame died out the moment the adventurer looked at it. The black skeleton couldn't help but think it was doing something very wrong to him.

"How can I get there? Don't you know?"

"…I know."

"Say it, then."

"Did you come here to erase me?" The skeleton asked back when Seojin urged him on.

It had lost count of how long it had been trapped here, waiting and enduring, believing it would soon overcome the power of the priests. It couldn't understand how this adventurer had waltzed into the seal and was acting all inquisitively, even though it had gathered enough darkness to break the ward.

"Why? You thought you could escape soon?"

"…"

"You thought that you could escape, deal with the guys who locked you up, and retrieve all your strength, right? You thought you could even make the Captain of the Holy Order, Luteinn, grovel at your feet."

"I see… it was his power…"

"You already knew that?"

"I have heard that he was a close friend of Frid, a craftsman who used fire to decorate his own death."

"…"

'Now where did THAT come from?'

Seojin paused for a moment but soon understood the meaning.

'…So, everything was *actually* connected!'

The three irregular contracts were designed to give hints about each other. That must have been the reason that Trail was referring to the Captain, and now this black skeleton was talking about Frid!

'Gosh, I did have a hunch, but…'

Seojin hid his surprise as he had to solve the situation he was facing before admiring the design.

"Anyway, that's what you were going to do, right? You tried to regain your strength and send them all to hell."

The skeleton closed its mouth, wondering whether the man was mocking it. However, Seojin's aura was saying otherwise.

"That won't work out, you know? Do you know why they're leaving you here alone? Do you think it's because they can't deal with you? Not at all. They were nurturing you until you became an acceptable sacrifice. Understand?"

The skeleton could not understand, but the adventurer kept talking.

"You're cattle. Cattle being raised as an offering to the goddess."

"That can't be."

"You used to be human, didn't you?

Seojin asked a sharp question, one that he had come up with while talking with Flappy. Luna was a pushover, and Seojin also knew when Luna rewarded humans the most.

"You were probably of Luna Faith, but became fallen for some reason I do not know."

Whenever a worshipper who served her was corrupted and got "purified" again, Luna blessed the ones who did so with the greatest gift she could give, with tears in her eyes.

"You couldn't have grown to this point if you were an ordinary worshipper. You must have been pretty high, eh? Well, no wonder they're keeping you here like this."

"That can't be."

"Just answer the question, were you a believer?"

"I…"

The adventurer was right. The black skeleton, who was raised like cattle, was actually a senior member of the Luna Faith.

"What happened that led you to being fallen?"

"…I don't remember."

"There must have been a reason. How do you feel when you think of Luna?"

"Don't say the name of the Goddess so lightly."

"So, you still have faith. However, judging by your hatred towards the other guys… perhaps you were betrayed?"

"I don't know."

"Return to the Goddess, I'll send you back."

Seojin spat out casually. The black skull turned its eye sockets to Seojin as he smiled upon seeing the blue flame burning inside it.

"Your eyes tell me that you still have the faith. I know that your Goddess adores blue."

Originally, the symbol of the demon-like monster was a burning red flame as at least one part of their body that resembled it.

"I'm already dead."

"What? You thought I'd resurrect you? Only adventurers can return from death."

"The Goddess is generous. When they purify you, your soul will perish, and the Goddess will cry for you. But if you break the cycle of malice yourself…"

Seojin shrugged.

"Your soul may rest in the arms of the Goddess."

"Break… myself…"

A murky voice rang out through the dark space.

"I can expel you at any moment by lifting my finger. Zero exaggeration. The only reason I'm not doing that is that I don't want your Goddess to be sad either."

"But…"

The skeleton replied a beat too late.

"I must avenge myself… against the ones that corrupted me…"

"Is such a thing more important than the refuge of your soul?"

"I…"

"I'll do that for you, so stop acting like an idiot. I came all the way here to give them a proper beating and that's why we have to break this ward."

Seojin said no more, just staring at the skeleton with his arms folded as if he was allowing the skeleton to decide for itself. The black skeleton, once a high-ranking priest of the Church of Luna, was staring into thin air.

"What are you going to do if I don't open it for you?"

"It'll be annoying, and I'll have no choice but to find another way. Why? Are you afraid that I'll tie you up?"

"…"

"I told you that I don't want to make Luna sad. Hurry up and decide, you're wasting my time."

It was true that the clock was ticking. The duration of his persuasive skill was coming to an end.

"I can't open it."

"But you said you know the way?"

"…That can only be passed by a holy entity."

The skull revealed the method. There were only two ways to enter the undersea passage. The first was to clad the body with full holy power, and the second was to break the ward with enough darkness to overwhelm the divine power.

"Darkness, huh… you told me that this place would be flooded if you break it."

"I can use the power of darkness to swallow the Goddess' power only."

"Ah, only removing the holy power. You don't have enough power to do that?"

"That's right."

"No, you can do it."

"I can't…."

The skull stopped talking, and Seojin grinned.

"You can do it."

White Lie, the overpowered buff skill, worked well on monsters, too.

* * *

Bishop Crown was struck with awe the first time the temple trembled, feeling the tremendous holy power that he thought Ludwig was wielding.

'No wonder he's a cardinal, it's astonishing.'

However, he felt that something was wrong upon feeling the second tremble.

"…?"

It wasn't a holy power sprouting; it was more like fragments of it scattered by the impact… which usually happened when breaking something holy with brute force.

"What…? No way!"

He guessed that he had misunderstood, that such a powerful force could confuse his senses. However, by the time the third tremor struck, Bishop Crown was already frantically running down the stairs.

"Why?!"

The seal was broken. It was clear that Ludwig, the self-claimed high cardinal of the church, had touched something that he shouldn't have. The bishop's face grew darker as doubts were assured, and his worries became despair.

And by fourth one, sitting down as the tremor several times stronger than the others shook the ground, he knew…

"Oh, the seal…"

… he was screwed.

* * *

"Is that an earthquake?"

"Earthquake my ass, it's a game, bro. Is it an event or something?"

Players in the Erzebet Plaza were surprised by the slight tremor they felt beneath their feet. It wasn't that strong, but it was clear that it was an anomaly, which was equaled a huge opportunity to get rewards by gamer logic.

"Did you find the epicenter?"

"I'm looking for it… Found it. Let's move."

Those who happened to be in a group followed the scouts of their party, and those who didn't were busy trying to join a group. Nobody was moving alone, however, as they saw a faint blue light along with the tremors gradually becoming stronger…

'No way it's not a big event!'

'New Raid Boss or… a new dungeon?'

…they began to hurry.

People wouldn't have responded this eagerly if it wasn't for "Anti-Mainstream," who had shown up recently. Seojin's small actions led players into a creative "get-rich-quick" fever.

"It'd be interesting if that Anti-Mainstream guy turned out to be behind this."

"Didn't you say he was taking a break?"

"People would've known it was him. His face has already spread around the community."

Players exchanged opinions as they headed to ground zero. Some thought that it might have been Seojin's work, and others refuted it. Some of the ordinary players had seen Seojin's face the moment he used the makeup pack, and of course, it was impossible that there would be no trolls among them.

Anti-Mainstream's face. After using the makeup pack.

There were pictures of a man with purple hair and narrow eyes, and another man with blue hair. Trolls had already posted images of him, so people thought that he couldn't act without anyone knowing it was him.

"So, if it wasn't him, it must be a real event."

"Don't let others take the opportunity! Run, everyone!"

However, most players were stopped in their tracks.

Insufficient Level

Erzebet Port: Level Requirement — 50

"Damn it! Why does it have to be over there?"

Blue light was soaring from the sea of Erzebet Port. Only a few of them could step forward without hesitation, and one of those people was Lian, the assassin from Ironblood who had just returned from a good sleep.

'Huh, I'm screwed. How did he level up that fast behind our backs?'

He could see the situation clearly, but at the same time, it was hard to understand what was going on. Ironblood had solely focused on the inside of Erzebet. A couple of them might have been on the portside just in case, but nobody thought he could have achieved Level 50 in such a short amount of time. However, it was on the portside that the event broke out, which means that Seojin's level had already exceeded fifty.

'How the hell did he do that? Did he come back here after clearing another town? That doesn't make any sense.'

Lian couldn't figure out what was going on. He only knew one thing, that the whole situation just put him in a tough spot.

-Let's move to the pier

-No need. Everyone, prepare Gillgrass. We're going into the sea.

-Gillgrass? It's too expensive.

-The guild will compensate you for it. Hurry!

The guild chat was already bursting with messages. Lian grumbled at the boss's orders, but opened the auction page to buy Gillgrass. It was an item that helped players breathe under water. It lasted thirty minutes, and Lian bought only one.

'One is enough. No matter how great he is, it will be impossible to run away from this many Ironbloods.'

They were elite of the elites.

-AOE movement buff. Now

-Done!

-What are you waiting for then? Get in!

Seojin had already screwed them once in Berne. Things wouldn't be easy for Lian if he failed to carry out Henrite's instructions yet again.

'No, I'll be done for even if I do succeed.'

Henrite had already threatened Lian, saying that he'd have to step down. There were already too many candidates from lessor guilds who wanted to join the Seventh Knights, and Lian knew that Henrite liked some of them.

'Since it's come down to this, I hope we don't catch him.'

He thought that he could be satisfied and finally quit if he saw Henrite's face twisting in anger.

And a little while later…

"Wow."

Underneath the air bubble that rose up every time he opened his mouth, Lian instinctively knew that things would go the way he wanted.

"What is that?"

He was looking at a huge glass tube that resembled an undersea tunnel. Inside the passageway that never existed before, an unrecognizable adventurer faced Ironblood. However, everyone could tell. It was Seojin.

"Whoa, what a humble guest for this great place!" Seojin laughed as he spoke, waving an orange-colored jewel around as if he was daring them to try and take it from him.