Episode 104 No.353 Feather Snake Temple (2)
[Feather Serpent Altar] and [Feather Serpent Temple] are dungeons that are connected in the story, and the choices I make in the former will have a big or small impact on the latter.
The priest remembering me was one of them.
At this point, let me quickly summarize what I did in the previous dungeon.
Invade the village and turn everything upside down,
– Try to catch me? You can’t catch me, right?
While Go Hyun-woo was running around trying to get the magic sword, he tried to trick the priest.
– Hey, pay more attention to defense. I think it might be a little too sloppy.
– … … I won’t kill you nicely.
When I thought I had stalled for a while, I finished it off with Inferno Fist.
– Don’t think this is the end. Next time, you must—!
– Okay, see you next time.
– Kwakwakwang!
Even though such a passionate incident had occurred, the tone of the priest who was speaking to me now was extremely gentle.
“I’ve been waiting to see you again. I’ve been thinking about you, whether I’m awake or asleep.”
“I’m not very happy to hear that from a man. There was no need to wait so desperately.”
The priest smiled kindly again.
Everything still seemed peaceful, but his eyes were sparkling with a serious murderous intent.
“It seems like you’ve come to interfere again, but you’re a step too late. How can you stop a ritual that has already begun when even I can’t do anything about it?”
As the saying goes, the ritual was carried out on its own without the priest doing anything.
Intangible energy continues to flow out from the bodies of those lying down and is absorbed by the priest.
The last time we met, his body looked rather small, but he has bulked up and his tattoos are filled with magical power and shine like gold.
It seems like the wrinkles on your face have decreased a bit. You’re very conscious.
“If you and your friend who is causing a commotion outside are sacrificed as well, we can bring the descent forward considerably. And while we’re at it, we can also get the sorcerer’s sword back.”
“You speak as if you have already caught everything.”
The smile on the priest’s lips grew deeper and began to reveal a bit of murderous intent.
“That’s right. You will never return from here alive.”
“It was the same last time, but didn’t your body recover well?”
As the priest took his eyes off me for a moment and looked behind him, the barbarians who had been pursuing me tightened their siege.
“If you have confidence, give it a try.”
“Yes, well. Let’s get started.”
The priest held a golden dagger in one hand, his empty hand outstretched to the side.
Then, the cane that had been standing in a corner of the room flew into his hand.
As I raised my staff and chanted a series of spells, several spheres of golden magic began to rise and grow in size.
-Whew—
I mixed twister into windforce to make the tornado spread out.
The barbarians who approached were pushed back and fell over.
In the meantime, golden spheres that had grown considerably in size began to fly in.
It flies quickly, floating and gliding without making any noise.
I grab one of the barbarians within arm’s reach and throw him, only to have it collide with the sphere in midair and get crushed.
– Kkwaduk,
That’s a non-attribute magic so if I get hit I’ll be crushed too.
As I quickly move my feet, the stone floor and walls behind me begin to cave in.
The priest creates golden orbs again, and the barbarians pursue him.
He ran hard and clenched his fists.
A blazing, crimson flame.
[Inferno Fist]
“If you want to use it, try it.”
Even though he knew that it was the skill that had sent him to the ground in the last dungeon, the priest didn’t seem to feel particularly alarmed.
‘That’s because there is a corner that believes in everything.’
The first reason is that the battle takes place in the central room located deepest in the temple.
If you recklessly use Inferno Fist, the building itself will collapse, and there is a risk of being crushed by the debris before you can escape.
So, I first absorbed it with Overheat and greatly increased my physical abilities.
– Pot! Pot!
I narrowly avoided the flying golden spheres and kicked the ground a few times to close the distance in an instant.
The priest tried to respond by moving the sphere in front of him,
– Crunch!
It was faster for me to just pass by.
Leaving a knife mark on the priest’s neck.
‘It’s a bit shallow.’
In one hand I held a root, and in the other I held a knife.
I picked up a few by beating up savages on the way here, and they’re about E-ranked.
It was somewhat lacking when fighting D-class bosses, but it was still usable.
“… … .”
Even though his throat was cut off, the priest’s face still looked relaxed.
Moreover, not a single drop of blood flows from the cut area.
The body of the barbarian, which had been crushed and barely able to breathe, began to shake violently, and in an instant, it dried up like a mummy.
On the other hand, the priest’s severed head was instantly restored to its original state.
The priest’s second confidence.
While the consciousness continues, it continuously absorbs the life force of the surroundings to restore stamina.
The sacrifices, the savages, and if you stay nearby too long, even me.
If you add in the buffs gained through rituals, you get a defense that can withstand two or three hits from a direct Inferno Fist.
If you go outside the temple and fight, there will be a lot of health potions (barbarians), so the difficulty will increase.
“Do you understand now? It is foolish to continue a fight where you have no chance of winning. If you give up now, I will give you a painless death.”
“Give up. Now is the perfect time.”
“If you must endure hardships.”
The battle resumed again.
The barbarians, the flying spheres, all trying their best to somehow stab me with their spears.
Still, I evaded all attacks with superior speed and control and approached the priest.
– Ugh!
He struck the priest in the face with the root he held in one hand, and slashed him with the sword in his other hand.
– Crunch!
The priest, oblivious to the long, diagonal scar that appeared on his chest, manipulated the sphere to hit me.
He slashes with his sword again, dodging enemies at close range, striking them with his roots, and swinging his sword wildly to attack them.
– Crunch, crunch!
Until at some point the sword snapped and broke.
I clicked my tongue and roughly threw away the sword, leaving only the handle remaining.
‘That’s why I said cheap ones won’t work.’
As expected, you have to use the weapon for at least ten thousand years.
In addition, since it didn’t have any inspector class skills or traits, it couldn’t deal that much damage.
The only way to make up for the shortcomings is to twist your body hard.
I stood a little further away and checked the priest’s condition.
“Ugh… … .”
There are a lot of scars all over his body.
The relaxed look from just a moment ago was gone, and now he was looking at me with a hideously distorted face.
However, he soon absorbed the life force of several mountain offerings and several barbarians lying on the ground, healing his wounds and returning his expression to a relaxed state.
“Don’t you know yet? No matter how many times you try, it’s all in vain.”
“I don’t think that’s necessarily the case. You’re running out of food.”
“Your situation doesn’t look so good either. You’re doing a good job of avoiding it, but how long will that last?”
It’s a fight over whether the living sacrifice that the priests are to absorb will fall first, or whether I will allow myself to attack even once before that.
And the priest seems to think that if we drag this on for a long time, I will make a mistake at least once.
‘If you make a mistake here, you’ll have to bite your tongue.’
You make mistakes in a D-rank dungeon that you wouldn’t make in an A-rank or S-rank dungeon?
It is the return of the title of the veteran.
Of course, there was no need to bring up this fact, so I straightened my posture and kicked the ground without saying a word.
The priest shot the sphere he had prepared at me as I quickly approached, but of course it did not hit me.
Just as I was about to swing the E-rank sword I had picked up and the root again,
The priest smiled with conversion.
“You got caught.”
– Flash!
The dagger began to glow and large spheres shot out.
The magic that had required a considerable amount of concentration and casting just a moment ago was manifested without any warning.
But I had already distanced myself before the sphere could fly in, even before the dagger began to glow.
The priest’s face hardened as the blow of conversion turned into a bubble.
“… … How did you avoid it?”
“Just watch carefully and avoid it.”
In fact, it wasn’t about avoiding what was reported, but rather it was closer to psychological warfare.
I knew the identity of that dagger a long time ago, and I thought that if I kept pushing, I would use it around this point.
The priest’s third confidence, the sorcerer’s dagger.
This is also the hidden piece I want to get from this dungeon.
The magic granted is [Memorize].
This is a utility series magic that allows you to store magic that takes a considerable amount of time to cast and then use it immediately.
It is often used as a ‘hidden trick’, as the gentleman just demonstrated.
The drop condition for the Shaman Dagger is to defeat the priest ‘in the central room’ after ‘consuming all the mountain offerings’.
The priest must not leave the central room in any way, nor must he attack the sacrifices in an attempt to slaughter them quickly.
In addition, it is necessary to completely isolate the temple from the outside world to prevent any further mountain offerings from being added.
The barrier is doing its job now, but after it is lifted,
‘Go Hyun-woo is the one blocking it.’
So I left it outside the barrier.
I also tested my skills against mid-bosses.
– Pot!
Once again, the space was compressed and rushed in front of the priest.
The priest must have thought he should try a different method, so he made the spheres orbit around him and pointed his staff straight at me.
A golden pillar of magic energy shot out like a ray of light,
‘This is easier.’
Since it was the main magic used in the previous dungeon, it is easy to avoid.
He avoided the orbs by leaning his body here and there, and swung his roots and sword wildly, accumulating damage to the priest.
Again, quickly fall back and regroup.
Again, he sticks close and attacks indiscriminately, creating distance between them.
How many times did I repeat that hit and run?
“This, this… … .”
Before I knew it, the number of surrounding savages and sacrifices had dwindled to a point where they could be seen at a glance.
And contrary to the priest’s expectations, I did not make even the smallest mistake.
“You look a little anxious.”
“… …Shut up.”
The priest had to grind it.
As soon as he raised his dagger and muttered a spell, the oppression that had been weighing on the area seemed to ease.
Finally, the protective shield surrounding the temple was lifted.
In other words, it means that the barbarians who were unable to enter due to the protective barrier will rush into the temple like a tidal wave.
It also means that there is a lot of mountain sacrifices that can absorb life force.
The priest regained his composure and let out a low laugh.
“Hehehe… … Didn’t I say that it was a waste of effort? It’s too late to give up now. I’ll give you a very painful death.”
“Well, I don’t know. Let’s just finish what we were doing.”
“… … As you wish.”
The battle resumed again.
The priest’s body was incised with wounds here and there, and he recovered, and the number of sacrifices was reduced.
Perhaps because they thought they would soon be replenished in huge numbers, the defense felt rather lax.
however…….
“T, what is this… … ?!”
Even though the remaining offerings had dwindled to single digits, the temple remained quiet.
There was no sign of anyone wandering around the temple, much less entering the central room.
The priest shouted urgently outside the door.
“Why… … Why aren’t you coming!”
“That’s true.”
I think Go Hyun-woo is doing well.
