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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 5: Let's Go Die (5)
[The sovereign with ■■■ powers, ■■■■■, awakens from a deep slumber.]
The entire field shook as if an earthquake had struck. The ground cracked around the corpse of the Homunculus, and from the crevices, dark water shot up endlessly into the sky.
In an instant, the dark liquid spread throughout the area, then rained down upon everything.
“Aagh! What is this?!”
“What the hell just happened?”
“It’s a darkness-wide area spell! Damn it, why is this happening here?”
“Run towards the gate barrier!”
A few dome-shaped barriers formed deeper in the forest, each varying in size but all identifiable as the Gate Barrier cast by priests of the Light God, Louis.
This six-star raid was proving to be something extraordinary. Having five priests of the holy attribute under Louis was rare, as even spotting a single one was difficult.
The underlying cause might have been because of Kim Do-Jin, but even so, this was no ordinary sight. Among them, the most striking figure was the seven-star awakened saint, Cain Javel.
Cain, a healer and the head coordinator of the support team, had quickly deployed the Gate Barrier to protect Kim Do-Jin as soon as the chaos erupted.
“Su-Hyuk! What are you doing? Run!”
“Ugh, aahhh!”
“Run for your life!”
The black ooze rising like a flood from the split ground was no less than a catastrophe. Anything it touched—monster, person, or forest—melted away without distinction.
Black smoke covered the area, and in its wake, only desolate land remained.
“Argh, Captain…! Leave me behind!”
“Damn it!”
Our team's mage, who had been fighting beside me just moments before, melted away. Another was trampled by a fleeing monster, body bursting apart like a squashed tomato.
I had made up my mind not to grow attached, so I looked away, squeezing my eyes shut as I kept running.
‘Thought I’d gotten used to it.’
My heart still raced a little. Of course, I remembered Park Dong-Hyun’s name since he was the team leader, but not the others.
To avoid forming bonds, I tried to limit personal conversations as much as possible, even in the short time we had.
The ground wobbled like jelly, then sharp spikes shot up from it.
Thud.
Park Dong-Hyun hurriedly cast a shield as a massive spike rose from below. But it was useless.
The spike was an instant-death attack from the creature. Any awakened below four stars struck by it had their souls absorbed, regardless of the severity of the wound.
Park Dong-Hyun’s fallen body was soon covered in black ooze, and then he vanished without a trace.
Boom!
The range of the spikes grew larger and started closing in on me. I stopped running, stabbed my sword into the ground beside me, and used it as leverage to vault over the spike.
The only way to counter the death-inducing Black Rose was to avoid getting impaled by the spike tips.
How many times had we died to figure that out? Pulling out my sword, I drove it back into the slope, gripping onto it to keep steady.
In the completed area of the death zone, there was one place untouched by the instant-death attack.
‘Is he even human?’
It was the area around Kim Do-Jin.
He sliced through the countless giant spikes that surged around him before they even had a chance to touch him. Other attacks I could somewhat follow by now, but this was beyond my perception.
He just looked like an average middle-aged man you’d see around the neighborhood.
Kim Do-Jin took something out of the small leather pouch at his waist. Although it appeared to be a simple leather pouch, it was actually a spatial bag.
Since Kim Do-Jin was the one using it, it had to be at least a six-star item. A three-star spatial bag cost around 100,000 gold—imagine what that would be worth. Probably enough to fit a whole house in there.
Clang.
Kim Do-Jin threw a glass bottle at the approaching creature.
For reference, here’s what it was:
[Kim Do-Jin has used the “Holy Water of Truth (Level 9).”]
A single-use item, Level 9.
The Holy Water of Truth has the power to force an unknown monster to reveal its name. It’s a consumable he uses occasionally, but the issue here was that Kim Do-Jin used a Level 9 item. Before being trapped in this infinite loop, I didn’t even know Level 9 Holy Water of Truth existed.
I’m not Kim Do-Jin, but even he probably didn’t expect he’d have to use something like that.
‘The guy has uncanny judgment.’
It must be ridiculously expensive, yet he threw the best one without hesitation. It wasn’t a question of wasting money.
Someone like Kim Do-Jin doesn’t hesitate over expenses when using items, which means the situation was that dire.
As the Holy Water of Truth seeped in, monster information soon appeared in the status window.
[The Sovereign of a Thousand Forms, Nyarlathotep, awakens from a deep slumber.]
Half of the Abyssal Forest split open, revealing an endless pit below. From within the shifting darkness, thousands of tentacles surged forth.
I was the only one from Park Dong-Hyun’s team who had survived long enough to make it inside Cain’s Gate Barrier, but I knew this was as far as I’d get.
With black pillars approaching steadily, I closed my eyes lightly.
‘I’m dying.’
How many times had I died by now? I couldn’t remember. To be honest, I didn’t need to survive here.
In two days, I would die and return anyway, so what difference did it make where I died?
There was a reason I chose to die here, beyond just leaving the insurance money for Min-Ah.
This was my first death.
Back then, I’d joined the raid eagerly, unaware it would end in failure, only to face utter despair.
The second reason was that if I were going to die anyway, I at least wanted to choose the place for my grave and make my last moment my own.
Something that might help someone else.
They don’t know or care about me, but you know what? I once tried really hard too.
‘Could I break this? Couldn’t I give it a shot?’
Wouldn’t something happen if I persuaded Kim Do-Jin? Wouldn’t he, of all people, manage something? I tried every strategy I could think of, but nothing worked.
Two days was too short, and I was too weak to change anything. I couldn’t even carry over my levels.
More than anything, there was one decisive factor. Apologies to Kim Do-Jin, but…
‘This is an unwinnable game.’
An impossible fight.
I realized this after I’d spent countless efforts trying to save Kim Do-Jin. It was the one time I figured out how to counter the death-inducing Black Rose.
I dodged the attack, but in the process, I somehow broke a part of the hidden pocket dimension where the spikes were stored.
The small cave I entered was arranged almost like a shrine, and soon enough, I realized what kind of place it was.
‘Someone opened a hidden gate and summoned Nyarlathotep.’
The reason was obvious.
Being number one makes you a hero to some but an enemy to others. I’d heard Kim Do-Jin had quite a few enemies.
When you think about it, there were countless oddities. A celestial hidden-gate boss monster emerging from a mere six-star gate? That’s unheard of.
Especially when Kim Do-Jin happened to join a hastily assembled team? The world isn’t full of such coincidences.
After I was killed by a stranger in that cave, I did everything I could to re-enter, but failed. Near the end, I discovered one more fact.
Kim Do-Jin is Cursed
I didn’t know exactly what curse he was under, but I accepted my fate when I learned that much.
At some point, it all started feeling futile.
Would helping Kim Do-Jin make me special to him? What would change if I became special to someone I admired? Absolutely nothing.
It would just be self-consolation, a form of comfort.
Still, not giving up here might mean I was holding on to some lingering attachment.
In this endless cycle of regression, only exceptional people could change anything.
Everyone thinks they’re the protagonist. You might be the main character of your own life, but not everyone can be the main character in the world.
At least, I am not the protagonist. If I hadn’t been trapped in this miserable loop, I’d just be an ordinary person, slowly gaining experience and probably reaching a three-star Awakener level in my mid-twenties.
I’d have built a decent team, Min-Ah would’ve graduated safely, and we’d live an ordinary life.
Lee Su-Hyuk? Who’s that supposed to be?
Hmm, I’m not sure.
That’s really all I wanted.
‘Ah, thinking about it makes me want to cry.’
As Cain’s Gate Barrier collapsed, black sludge seeped through. It must’ve splashed into my eyes, because I couldn’t see. Soon, I felt no pain.
The one good thing about Nyarlathotep’s skill is that it surprisingly doesn’t hurt. Maybe it’s just because I’m too weak to feel pain.
Any regrets before dying? None.
I’m going back anyway.
No, wait—I do have a regret.
‘Oh, right.’
I should’ve found out more about that watch.
It slipped my mind.
Craaaack.
The darkness closed in.
[The conditions for the “Clock That Distorts Causality (Grade: None)” have been met.]
[The Guardian of the Scales descends.]
[The causality of “Lee Su-Hyuk” is being adjusted.]
…What? Excuse me? What? Huh? What?
“What the—wait, why am I not dead?”
Lee Su-Hyuk was standing on a blank white surface. The sky was white, and the endless ground stretched out in an unbroken white expanse.
‘The watch!’
Hurriedly, he pulled the watch from his waist. The watch that should have been old and worn looked brand new, as if it had just been purchased.
“What kind of situation is this?”
There’s something called the butterfly effect. They say the flap of a butterfly’s wings can cause a typhoon on the other side of the world, but I thought it was nonsense after experiencing countless regressions.
No matter what I did, those butterfly wings never caused a storm… or so I thought.
I fiddled with the watch. A blinding light poured out, intense enough to hurt my eyes. When I opened them slowly, a status window appeared.
A series of unbelievable messages popped up.
[Adjusting the causality error within Lee Su-Hyuk.]
[The SP shop has been opened.]
[SP has been awarded based on causality.]
The numbers before me climbed relentlessly. One hundred thousand, one million, ten million, thirty million.
“Insane, how high is this going to go?”
I have no idea what SP is, but I know enough to understand that higher numbers are good. It went well past thirty million, then fifty million, showing no signs of stopping.
It felt like thirty minutes had passed—where’s the skip button? I need this to move faster! People like us can’t stand this kind of wait!
‘I don’t even know what SP is, but the numbers just keep climbing.’
This feels ominous, especially since the endless regression is being erased. Why now? Why at this exact moment?
Lee Su-Hyuk touched the pocket watch he was holding once more, and a status window appeared in front of him. Although he didn’t have an appraisal skill, one line caught his attention.
[Clock That Distorts Causality (Grade: None)]
—An old, worn-out clock. It was crafted 300 years ago by a British artisan named Lucky Writer, and it was known to bring good fortune to its owner. However, anyone who acquires the watch must pass it on to someone else within 24 hours, or…
Enough nonsense!
Original Owner: Kim Do-Jin
What are you doing here?
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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