Episode 423

Teaming(1)

The Elder Lich’s active skill, [Soul Extraction].

The effect of this skill is simple.

If someone had acquired the skill through an essence, or it was cast by an Elder Lich in a normal field, you just get stunned.

[The character falls into a [Stun] state]

By the way, it’s not an area-of-effect skill but designated to specific targets, and it can be countered through mental strength, mana resistance, or various other skills.

But

[You have been exposed to the chill of hatred]

[All status effects cast by the Glacier Mage, Kariadea are enhanced with additional effects]

Thanks to this damn fog, the situation does not end with mere stun; instead, it leads to a bizarre situation, just like this

[The Glacier Mage Kariadea guides the extracted soul into the Casket of Judgment]

Flash—!

When I opened my eyes, I saw a crystal cave.

And there was a man bathed in a soft purple light.

“Hey there.”

He asked while holding a hammer smeared with goblin blood.

“Are you perhaps looking for a night companion?”

Race: Human.

Estimated age: Early thirties.

Height: Just over 180 cm, a man with a kind and gentle impression.

‘…His feet were big for his height.’

And that face.

I’d thought it was a blurry memory, but seeing it now brought it all back clearly.

The man smiled and introduced himself.

“Oh, I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Hans.”

Better known as Hans A.

The origin of all Hans. 

, and a grateful existence who taught me the mindset to live in this world.

He gave me a hammer, compass, canteen, shoes, and other items I saw for the first time, helping me evolve from a barbarian to a civilized person.

“But why did you kill me?”

He suddenly asked with a ghastly expression.

Blood flowed from his bloodshot eyes.

But so what?

“Well, you must have done something worth dying for.”

“You could have forgiven me.”

“Forgive you…”

“I had a wife and daughter.”

Yeah, that…

“I know.”

How could I not know?

I saw the family portrait in the bag I took from you.

A little girl about three years old, and a wife who looked a few years younger than you.

But…

“When you saw that, did you… regret killing me?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, I answered.

“No.”

It was the absolute truth, without an ounce of falsehood.

Why would I regret it?

“If I could go back, I’d kill you all over again.”

“…”

“Anyway, it’s not like I was your first victim. The people you plundered—didn’t they have families too?”

Even if that weren’t the case.

This world is full of orphans with stories.

“Don’t worry. Living without parents doesn’t stop you from surviving. Your wife and daughter will be fine, too.”

I should know—I’m the proof of that.

Crack!

Rather than dragging out the conversation, I swung  my demon breaker and crushed his skull.

But then…

“…You’ve changed. You weren’t like this back then.”

Hans A, now just a disembodied jaw, calmly continued speaking.

“…Huh?”

What’s this? Creepy.

Is this part of the [Soul Extraction] pattern?

I thought this stage was just where the characters you’ve killed come out and attack you?

This wasn’t in the game.

“What do you mean, I’ve changed?”

Curious, I asked, and he chuckled.

“Back when you killed me, you trembled so much.”

“And?”

“Now, you feel nothing.”

“Oh, I see.”

“From now on, you’ll keep doing the same. 

Killing parents who were precious to someone, killing daughters and sons, even if a family falls apart. You’ll accept it all, just because they were your enemies.”

Go ahead and curse me all you want.

I wondered if I shouldn’t have engaged in conversation, but at least I realized one thing for sure.

“You know it too, don’t you?”

This bastard is reading my mind.

“You’re becoming a monster.”

And he knows exactly where to strike.

“Of course, until now, you could deceive yourself because they were enemies. That you’re not a monster yet.”

Crack—!

I struck his jaw with a hammer, but his voice didn’t stop.

[But.]

“Ha, stubborn, aren’t you?”

[If they weren’t enemies.]

[If you had to kill innocent people to survive.]

[No, if it was a comrade you wanted to protect more than anyone.]

[Then what would you do?]

I didn’t answer.

Because I knew it was meaningless.

After all, the source of this voice was my own inner self.

[You’ve already become a monster.]

To survive.

The doubts and anxieties I’ve hidden deep in my heart and thoroughly ignored.

[No different from the monsters you’ve killed.]

“……”

[You already belong to this world.]

With those words, Hans A disappeared into light.

***

My uncle was undoubtedly a worthless human being.

A gambling addict with no decent job.

When he won money, he’d give me a fair amount of pocket money, but when he lost, he’d take out his anger on me with violence.

But as the saying goes, you can learn something from even the most worthless stone on the mountainside.

That was the case with my uncle.

It wasn’t something to say to an eight-year-old who had lost his father less than a year ago, but…

If you have to roll the dice anyway.

Don’t play on a board made by others; throw the dice on a board you made yourself.

That advice, etched deep in my mind, helped me survive in this world.

And so…

Step, step.

I walked through the crystal cave.

This wasn’t a real place.

It was a simulated space, created when I was stunned by [Soul Extraction].

‘I didn’t expect the crystal cave to be the background.’

By the way, in the game, the background was always different.

The rocky desert on the second floor, the Sky Tower on the fourth floor, the great sea on the sixth floor; sometimes you’d wake up not in a labyrinth but in a palace or such.

Then, what is the condition for selecting the background?

‘Maybe it’s the most memorable place.’

That seemed plausible.

The place where I nearly died to a trap.

Where I met Erwin.

Where I killed someone for the first time.

And the hardship I suffered when the Abyss Lord Berzak was summoned is something I can never forget.

Tap.

Hearing a presence behind me, I quickly turned to see a familiar trio.

A mustached man holding a shield.

A tall, blonde spearman.

And…

“Kee hee hee hee hee hee!!!”

A woman in a priestess’s robes laughing with half her head crushed.

(Old) Elisha Half-Head Mode.

“Wow, it’s been a while, guys.”

Unlike Hans A, they didn’t even try to engage in conversation, just immediately pounced on me.

And…

Crack, crack, crack—!

I turned them all into light within ten seconds.

I mean, what’s my level now, and how many essences have I consumed? They were tough when I was low-level, but now they’re no different from goblins.

In that they all die in one hit, equally.

“Phew… So how many are left now?”

I tried to count the number of enemies I killed after waking up in the crystal cave, but I wasn’t sure.

After all, who keeps track of how many pieces of bread they’ve eaten?

 Because I’ve been killing people as routinely as eating meals while acting as an explorer, I can no longer recall the exact number.

“…I think I used to remember at some point, though.”

Hans A’s words weighed heavier on me now.

In fact, until I met him here again, I didn’t even remember his face.

To be precise, I had completely forgotten.

“Elisha. She’s so memorable that I remember her clearly…”

What was the spearman’s name?

Taser Gun? Dyson? It was something like that…

As I recalled the names of the trio I had just defeated, I flinched.

Because the name of the mustached man came to mind.

“Hans Argo.”

By the way, the Hans code I assigned him was C.

“Damn it.”

Only now did I realize—Does this mean I’ll have to meet every Hans I’ve killed so far?

A chill ran down my spine.

Is this Hans Hell or what?

‘How many Hans have I killed so far?’

Fortunately, thinking back one by one, there weren’t that many I actually killed.

Or should I say, not many that I landed the final blow on?

For example: Hans E, who I used as a meat shield in the sewer trap while chasing Elisha.

Hans J, the mage who betrayed us on Farune Island? Erwin killed him.

And the rest I just met briefly and parted ways.

Except for one.

“My, my name is Ha, Hans Krysen…”

Hans G., the evil spirit summoner I killed in the Doppelganger Forest.

Wow, he shows up right away.

Guess I’m getting the hardest part over with first.

“Wh-why did you… ki-kill me? We-we were f-fellow pl-players…”

Hans G, who appeared in front of me with his soul-bonded fairy archer, was speaking in a strange way.

Maybe he’s stuttering here because that’s the most memorable scene.

Yeah, I was pretty shocked at the time.

“I didn’t even betray you! Just because he exposed that I was an evil spirit—!”

So what?

Crack, crack—!

Before the conversation could continue, I dashed forward and crushed his head.

A barbarian’s way of making life much easier.

As I continued to wander the cave, the reconstructed and reenacted images of the people I killed appeared and attacked me.

“Now you know! Why I had to become a plunderer! In that damned place, there was no choice!”

Jencia Neaprin, a player I killed in the Glacier Cave.

At that time, I didn’t know.

No, to be exact, I hadn’t thought about it.

That there would be players who started in Noark.

“I said it was an accident, and just because of that! Die! Dieeeeee!!”

The trio of religious fanatics who, deceived by Elisha’s tongue, attacked Team Halfling and were killed by me when we met at the hut.

By killing these guys, I truly realized.

The more I shed my modern sensibilities, the more I could live like a human in this place.

Crack, crack, crack—!

In addition, numerous plunderers I met in the labyrinth appeared,  scattering their hatred as they lunged at me.

Those from the early days mostly died in one hit, but the ones from later…

Boom!

The lighthouse keeper of Orcules.

Whoosh!

The knight I met in Noark’s past.

“I was trying to help you all, in the end!”

“In the end, I was trying to help you!”

Pike Neldaine, who was executed during this expedition on charges of treason.

One by one, they weren’t scary, but as their numbers increased, the burden on my body grew.

As if reflecting the weight of my sins.

“I’ve… killed this many…?”

At least hundreds.

That’s the number of lives I directly took.

But…

“Well, it’s just as well.”

If I’m like this, how much worse would the Noark guys or the Rose Knights be?

I continue forward, fueled by others’ misfortunes.

Step, step.

Endlessly in the dark cave where no destination exists.

****

[Last enemy defeated]

[Character’s [Stun] state is lifted]

[The Glacier Mage, on behalf of the resentful spirits who couldn’t achieve their purpose, delivers punishment]

[A random penalty is applied until the labyrinth is closed]

When I opened my eyes, I was being dragged along.

Someone was holding both my legs, and my back was scraping against the cold, sharp ground.

“Ugh…! Why’s this guy so heavy even without any gear?”

Sven Parab’s voice.

So, he’s the one pulling me.

‘Since we’re not in the Glacier’s Eye, I guess we half-succeeded…’

I looked around while being dragged.

Strange things I hadn’t seen before were happening.

“Ughhhhh…!!”

“Haa… Haa… Haa…”

Priests and mages were struggling to move, carrying unconscious physical-type explorers on their backs.

I checked the watch hanging from my waist.

‘About 15 minutes…’

The time I’d been unconscious since Phase 2 began.

“Parab, you can let go now.”

“Huh? You’re awake?”

“Yes.”

I couldn’t be a burden any longer, so I quickly pulled myself together and stood up. Then I instructed Sven Parab to carry someone else.

“Priest Ormon! Thank you for your hard work. From now on, I’ll carry the person behind you. Please help someone else over there. It might be easier if you carry together.”

“Phew… I’m sorry. Paladin Parab, you must be tired too.”

“Haha, this is nothing.”

As I stood up and my view cleared, I quickly scanned around to grasp the situation.

‘Two priests, three mages, two support types, one melee DPS, two paladins, one archer.’

Including me, twelve people had awakened from the stun state.

Even if each person took one, there were still extras, and the situation was so dire that some warriors were carrying two or three people.

For a very simple reason.

Because I considered the [Soul Extraction] pattern to be a gamble.

“Erwin and Amelia haven’t woken up yet…”

I slung two unconscious allies over my shoulders. Then I walked over to Jun, who was still being carried by Puta Rickerburn.

“Jun.”

“…Ah, you’re awake.”

As I approached, Jun lifted his head from Puta Rickerburn’s back.

He spoke as if embarrassed.

“Unfortunately, I can’t use one of my legs.”

A random penalty applies when you wake up from the stun state. This penalty is entirely random, and if you’re lucky, you might just lose your sense of taste, but in severe cases, like now, the character becomes crippled.

Probably, those who are conscious all have similar issues.

“Jandel, are you okay?”

“For now… I don’t see any immediate changes.”

“I’m glad you’re okay, really.”

“When did you wake up? I’d like to hear a report on the situation.”

“I was the fifth to awaken.”

“That’s faster than expected?”

At my thoughtless remark, Jun gave a bitter smile.

“As an interrogator, there weren’t many Karui priests I personally killed. Most were ordinary people without power. Thanks to that, it was easy to deal with in that place.”

“I see…”

He didn’t seem to be seeking words of comfort, so I quickly moved on to the main point.

“I’d like to hear what happened while I was unconscious.”

“The first to wake up were Priest Ormon and Priest Periton Eriavosti. Incredible… They didn’t even have a drop of blood on their hands.”

That’s questionable.

Being priests, their profession doesn’t often give them opportunities to land the final blow.

‘Even when we fought in the Glacier’s Eye, it was always someone else who dealt the finishing blow.’

“However, the two of them couldn’t move all of us, so they waited until more people woke up to make movement possible, and then we started moving.”

“How long did that take?”

“Eleven minutes.”

“Were any enemies awakened at that time?”

“Until we left, no one from Noark or the Rose Knights had woken up, but who knows now.”

I see…

That’s not bad.

“Jandel, as you suspected. I tried attacking the unconscious ones, but it had no effect.”

Well, during the duration of Phase 2, those who are unconscious have invincibility status.

Even Kariadea won’t attack during this phase.

The boss battle resumes 30 minutes after [Soul Extraction] is cast.

Anyone who hasn’t returned by then dies.

The same goes if they die inside that space.

‘Erwin is one thing, but Amelia… will she be okay?’

I was deeply worried, but all I could do was trust.

Setting aside problems I couldn’t solve right now, I checked on the other team members one by one.

Three people had suffered significant penalties:

• Jun was now a cripple 
• James Carla, the archer blinded in both eyes.
• Old Didi, whose right hand had turned to stone, hard and useless.

I didn’t know what penalties the unconscious members would have when they woke up, but for now, that’s how it was.

Then…

‘What about me?’

What penalty had been applied to me?

As I walked and checked various things,  I soon realized what it was.

Grit…

Of all the many penalties, it had to be this one.

[The character’s active skills are restricted from use]

Was this the curse of all those Hans I met in the cave?

 

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