Gederick could see, through his hazy vision, someone’s slender legs stand in front of him when he opened his eyes.
He could recognize the sandals the person was wearing.
“—Master, I told you many times to stop looking for fights.” Fiannei uttered a chant then a feeling of warmth embraced Gederick.
All his injuries were healed in a second.
He coughed a few times and spat out the blood that had been pooling in his throat.
Fiannei helped Gederick stand up. Gederick leaned against a wall and looked down on the ground silently.
“That girl that knight was with… I think that was an angel who serves a disciple of the Sky God. Something was strange about her. I couldn’t feel any sort of divine presence in her despite the fact that her divine power was very much dormant in her body. Do you think the knight captured her and forced her to abandon her faith? Or is she an accomplice?”
“…Why am I so weak… Why did the gods punish me just because I lost my place…” Gederick didn’t even hear what Fiannei was saying.
Why did the gods discard their brethren when they lose their usefulness? Calling himself a god at this point was considered blasphemous by all since he’s a mere demigod who is one foot in the door to godhood.
“Why are you saying that all of a sudden?”
“That man… A mere mortal... won against me…?”
Gederick gritted his teeth and hit the wall behind him.
The building merely rumbled. Were it the younger him then that one punch would’ve blown the building away.
“You’ve gotten in brawls many times before—and lost a few times. What makes this encounter any different?”
Ignoring the fact that he might’ve been the culprit who stole the World Ring Fragment, Gederick had never faced such a humiliating defeat.
Sure, he lost to many warriors before but that was only after many hardships during their fights.
Gederick once fought against a level 50 veteran adventurer. The two were equally matched in many aspects but due to his superior physical strength and endurance, Gederick emerged on top.
Of course, he was severely injured by the end of it and had to beg Fiannei, his own mount, to cast a Seventh-Rank [Greater Heal] on him.
That knight… he toyed with Gederick like a mortal would toy with an ant.
Such a disgrace of a loss would be faced with scrutiny from his former war allies.
A mortal could beat him easily and reduce their encounter to a mere “drunkard’s rampage”.
“Do you still believe that he was the one who stole the artifact?”
“…I am sure of it. My instincts will not fail me this time.”
Fiannei sighed as if saying “Good grief”.
“I will follow your intuition, Master. This time, at least. It’s morning, I suspect those two already left so we will have to follow them.”
Gederick was about to agree but lowered his head.
Even if he faces the knight again, their exchange will end up the same as before.
Perhaps knowing what Gederick was thinking, Fiannei spoke:
“I would like Master to answer a question for me: do you think your mother abandoned you completely when she gave you the task of protecting the Fragment?”
“Abandon”. That’s exactly what she did despite leaving such an important artifact in his hands.
Maybe she just wanted to get rid of him? By telling him to go live in a faraway land, she did exactly that.
“She did not give me troops, equipment or supplies. All I had were the fortunes I gathered and plundered from the frontlines during war. I had to build my castle with my own hands, turning it into a fortress capable of withstanding even an assault from an army of Outsiders. During that century period, she did not offer me aid once nor did she contact me. Yorm had to inform us of all the things that was going on in the divine realm. So yes—I do believe my mother abandoned me.”
“She did not abandon you completely, Master.” Fiannei’s right arm suddenly transformed into that of a beast with reddish fur and sharp claws. He approached Gederick with a pressure Gederick had never felt before from his mount.
“What are you doing…?”
“I am merely going to show you that Goddess Melis did not abandon you. Your wish is to retain your former glory, yes? Gederick, the God of War may be dead but the Golden Majestic will live on through Melis’ blessing.”
“!”
Fiannei’s arm moved so fast that Gederick couldn’t even react. His claws dug into Gederick’s chest, ripping his armor like it was nothing, and piercing his heart.
It was all in an instant.
Gederick, the Bronze Majestic was no more.
· 1 Life Phase has been destroyed.
**
Arnold noticed lately that Rafaela’s grown distant ever since that morning they left the inn and continued on their journey.
He had tried to initiate sex many times the night before but her back remained turned on him. She didn’t even respond when he tried touching her.
While she didn’t appear reproachful to the point of avoiding his company, he couldn’t help but compare the current her to the Rafaela he met on the 2nd floor weeks ago.
It’s been two days since they left that inn.
They were currently on the 95th floor. As usual, nothing interesting has happened so far since they only stuck with the path that was laid out for the angels. Arnold occasionally went off the main path to hunt for meat while Rafaela gathered fruits and vegetables in the forests.
He received a measly 1200 XP from killing all those monsters that tried to attack him.
He lost motivation to continue grinding levels using ordinary monsters XP. The only noteworthy monsters he’ll actually think of fighting are A-rank and S-rank monsters. Of course, he’s never encountered them since they always stick to safe paths.
‘If I befriend Maylim and her friends then we can go monster hunting during our spare time. Monster zones might have the ideal type of monsters I’m looking for.’
Of course, that's only if his adventuring duties don't get in the way. Doing quests and rising in rank is the priority for him.
Rafaela came to a stop and looked down the path to their right.
“What’s wrong?” Arnold held onto his sword’s hilt just in case something jumps out that he can’t sense.
“Do you feel that? The air feels warmer here.” Rafaela walked through the trees, Arnold decided to follow, “A hot spring must be nearby.”
“So what?”
“It’s not just any hot spring. I heard from my sisters that hot springs in this dungeon can promote faster healing and muscle relaxation. We’ve been walking for half a day without rest. Every step I take sends a stinging pain up my feet.”
“Won’t a foot rub be enough for you to push through?”
Rafaela looked back at Arnold with a slightly annoyed expression.
“We’re two floors away from our destination. Surely relaxing for a bit won’t be a bad thing?”
“You know, I would’ve agreed right away if you asked me in a cute voice.”
“Go die.” Rafaela walked faster. However, she suddenly stopped and ran back to him.
“You’ll be close by… right?” she asked with a small voice while fidgeting with her fingers.
“Yeah, I’ll set up camp nearby. Don‘t worry about monsters. I can’t sense anything dangerous in the area.”
“…Okay. Ah.” she was about to leave his side again but stopped.
“What now?”
Rafaela suddenly pulled down her mini-skirt and took off her heels. She folded her clothes neatly and handed it over to Arnold.
Arnold stood there dumbfounded while gazing at Rafaela who was now half naked with only a panty. The only thing she wasn’t wearing was a bra.
“What a naughty girl,” he chuckled, “Well, at least you have the decency to cover your breasts.”
“Shut up… I don’t want to dirty my clothes further by hanging them on some tree branch or on some rock so hold onto them, okay?”
After saying so, she scurried off into the woods while holding her hands over her chest. While her behind was a wonderful sight to lay his eyes on, he couldn’t help but feel a bit of sadness whenever he sees those scars on her back.
Arnold suddenly recalled that Archangel who she was with back at the inn.
He recalled that man’s name.
· Archangel Yvernus Josuapher
“Archangel” Josuapher was the divine advisor of the Sky God before his passing. As advisor he was also the assistant overseer of the dungeon and used to work closely with the three Gate Guardians (Yorm included). After the Sky God’s death and return to the Divine Realm, Josuapher grew distant from the demigods who guard the Rune Bridges. They didn’t intervene during the years that the Sky God had to fend off the Offspring with only the help of his disciples.
Of course, the three of them are forbidden from ever leaving their posts unless ordered otherwise so blame lies with the higher ups in the Divine Realm.
‘What did he want from Rafaela, I wonder.’
Due to both respecting their privacy and his disinterest at the time, he didn’t eavesdrop using warrior sense. However, his curiosity grows all the more by the hour.
Arnold quickly made camp near the edge of the forest, not too far from where Rafaela ran off to.
He took off the armor through repeating its name in his head before leaning against a tree while snacking on dried, plainly salted meat.
“—My, my. It would appear I’ve run into a familiar face in a strange land.”
He heard a familiar voice. Opening one eye, Arnold addressed the person—or rather the undead.
“You again. Your presence appeared out of nowhere when you called out to me. Are you using some kind of item?”
It was the undead merchant the two of them ran into a few weeks ago.
“A merchant must gain trust through showing his intentions to his customers whether verbally or visually, however, even he must have his own secrets to stay safe.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
Surely this undead couldn’t possibly be capable of using high-tier magic that can completely erase his presence at will?
He doesn’t even look like the average lich. Even his class is [Merchant] and his subclass, [Bard].
The skeleton merchant threw a blanket on the ground. A magical energy engulfed the blanket before several items appeared on it. The skeleton sat down near Arnold.
“…Is our second meeting a mere coincidence, Undead?” Arnold asked him.
“Kakaka, I go where I am most needed, dear customer. One could say that fate brings us together. I have what you need, dear customer.”
“You couldn’t possibly know what I want.” Arnold folded his arms.
“Hm, I could always take a guess. Mortals have some bizarre requests these days. They seek items that can alter their physical appearance and genes, increase their levels through consumption of elixirs, charms that makes them immortal, potions that can make their beloved fall for them… The list goes on. I have a talent for judging individuals by their character, but you dear customer, are like a closed book that can never be opened yet still holds many secrets. Despite this, I am certain you will find my goods most helpful for your journey. Take a look and see for yourself.”
“Hm, alright. Status.”
Arnold stood up and checked a few of the scrolls.
· Cast Any Spell (tier 1)– rank 1 to 3 only. Mana reduction decreased by 73% while using scroll’s paper as catalyst.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
· Glyph Ward – Fourth-Rank Defensive Arcane scroll
· Solitude – Third-Rank Containment scroll
· Manipulation of the Heart – Fourth-Rank mind control)
· Shape of Any – Fifth-rank Shapeshifting scroll.
“I haven’t heard nor seen the first one before. Does this mean I can cast any spell on or below the rank requirement, regardless of its nature?”
Arnold was eager to learn what kind of spells he could cast. Usually everything has a limit to what it can do. Surely the same applies here?
He's never used scrolls in the game since he could cast spells up to the Seventeenth-Rank and his MP stat was in the 50K. Even as a low-levelled sorcerer early on in the game, he only relied on his brains and spells to win in combat.
‘Surely, there’s a catch to the scroll? There are some really powerful Third-Rank spells that best even Sixth-Rank spells in usefulness and power output. The developers should’ve kept this in mind to add limitations to even the playing field.’
Even the playing field, as in not allowing you to cast certain spells.
The merchant answered his previous question:
“Indeed. Divinity, Druid magic, necromancy—any form of magic is possible. So long as its wielder knows the chant of the spells, they can freely cast it without limitations. Even chantless if they choose to.”
It seems he was wrong. The scroll doesn’t have a limit to what it can do (besides the obvious rank requirement).
If a P2W player with deep pockets had this on hand then they would be able to progress through the game smoothly, at least until mid-game.
The “Magic Manipulator” class might be somehow inspired by this kind of scroll. It’s crazy how far players have to go to mimic a fraction of that class’ true potential.
“Is there any way to obtain the same kind of scroll but one that grants its wielder the ability to cast beyond Third-Rank spells?”
“Yes, purchase the current stock then I will have an upgraded version of said stock available. Think of it as having one fish one day and two the next. But I must warn you, dear customer. With each upgraded stock comes a greater price. If you purchase the rank 3 scroll from me today, I will have the rank 4 and above scroll ready the next time we meet but the price will be 10% higher.”
Something like that isn’t good. Unlike gold, you shouldn’t spend your karma needlessly. Even with the discount that the merchant gives him on every purchase, it’s still stupid to play the rich young master with your karma.
In order to obtain anything beyond rank 10, Arnold would have to sacrifice a great deal of karma. The most powerful spells start at Ninth-Rank, which he wants to hoard for the midgame arcs.
Purchasing too much of them might lead to Oriel’s corruption spreading faster (Arnold’s own theory). He has this theory that the amount of negative karma you have determines the speed at which the factor’s corruption spreads.
“However,” The skeleton rubbed his chin, “I would let you have the tier 2 and tier 3 scrolls for free if you exchange that little artifact of yours with me. The one you use to scan items for their worth.”
“Why are you interested in it?”
“It will be useful for a merchant such as I who needs to rely on my intuition to determine an item’s value and pray I do not buy counterfeit products. If I fall victim to scams then my customers would be selling pieces of their humanity to support these scams, which leaves a bad taste in my mouth since I am not affected in any way and am the only one profiting. I do not appreciate deception even if it can benefit me most of the time.”
“How can a merchant who claims he can procure any item for his customers, not be able to find a rune tabloid?”
Rune tabloids are scattered throughout the Nine Realms. They’re hard to find mostly but are usually located in ancient tombs, or ruins of temples. Institutions like academies or guilds take (or—more like—steal) these artifacts from those places in the name of discovery.
“I am aware that it is easy to acquire one, however, that is only the case for living beings. As you probably know, the rune tabloids are located in divine-rich environments known as relic tombs where items of divine origin (artifacts) are kept from mortals. I cannot create a rune card even if I do locate one of those tabloids since creatures of the dark are heavily cursed by blessings imposed on entrances to the relic tombs. The hologram card itself is harmless, however.”
“Alright. It’s not working for me anyway and I don’t need it anymore.” Arnold was about to hand it over but stopped, “Surely, you have a better deal to offer than mere free scrolls for my next two purchases?”
“Goodness me, a barter.” The skeleton shrugged in defeat, “I should not have laid my intentions and wants so bare. What a fool I am.”
Arnold merely smiled.
“Speak your mind. If I do not have what you seek then I will surely have it on our third encounter.”
“I have a list of questions to ask you before that actually.”
“Oho, do go ahead. Let this me offer guidance to Lord Oriel’s vessel.”
“Do you know what a player is?”
“Folk of Nine Realms—or those who have encountered these playersbefore—refer to them as Otherworlders or Highborn. Those mortals with their godly powers came one day and accomplished more than the average person ever could. It’s not just limited to stopping events like alien invasions or ending world hunger. Their deeds sparked a growth of different cultures and religions worshipping them.”
‘I’ve never heard a player being worshipped as some god before.’
At least not in the empire.
‘The skeleton mentions them as if they aren’t here anymore.’
But they came here in the past but left for whatever reason. That must be the day the game experienced some sort of “reset”.
“Second question: Do you know where I can find ingredients for an Ascension Pill?”
The lights in the skeleton’s eye sockets flashed for a second.
“There’s something I haven’t heard about in hundreds of years. I had begun to suspect that mortals have forgotten the gifts that the Martial Gods bestowed upon their kind. All the ingredients can be found on the world that connects to the Gate that Goddess Yormilia guards. You only need a divine beast’s heart (from any type), a piece of a demi-troll’s skin—”
“I know what I should be looking for. That first ingredient is going to be a problem. Fuck, do I really need to fight a divine beast…?”
Not just that, he has to somehow sneak past Yorm who guards the Rune Bridge that leads into the divine realm.
Of course, there’s no reason for him to go out of his way to look for the ingredients now but the pill will serve as a valuable item alongside the Cardinal artifact. He wants to make one now, not wait until he’s back on his world.
“While I can find the other ingredients easily in my world, there aren’t a lot of divine beasts on that world besides Neguard and possibly a few others in hiding.”
“Neguard? That beast still lives?”
“You’ve heard of it before?”
The skeleton nodded.
“The last time I laid eyes upon Neguard was when she faced certain doom by the hands of the treacherous and fearsome Soul King who hunted the divine beasts for sport.”
A ding resounded in Arnold’s head.
· The Soul King was a powerful secret boss that appeared in Arc VII. Luke and the Hero Party fought the Soul King and his Blight Things when they invaded one of the worlds in the divine realm, which lead to them encountering Goddess Yormilia, a Gate Guardian.
‘Was? Is he dead in this timeline? Well, that sucks. He had a lot of good loot on him in the game.’
An armour set was one of many rewards for killing the Soul King. It’s hard to say whether his armour set would be considered better than Gergois.
‘Oh well, no use feeling regret over something like that. I wouldn’t know where to find him anyway.’
“Is that why Neguard was injured that time…?” Arnold recalled his first meeting with the silver fox, Pluffy and how Olivia described the two of them meeting.
“If you are eager to seek Goddess Yormilia’s permission to gather the ingredients on her world, might I suggest acquainting yourself with her friends? There are currently two that I know of that roam these dungeon worlds. Both are demigods but they share some type of bond with the Sallengette goddess. If she sees you with either of them then she’ll consider you a friend as well.”
“Wait… Demigods…? You know what, never mind…”
The skeleton cackled.
“It would definitely be unwise for a demon lord such as you to acquaint yourself with demigods. But you can always make a deal with them if befriending them is your final option.”
“I wonder what would convince a demigod not to murder me.”
“Kakaka, I cannot think of anything. As I said, it should be treated as a last resort.”
“Right. Anyway, I’ll take the ‘Cast Any Spell’ scroll.”
“Is Your Excellency proficient in spell casting? You don’t seem like the type who is a mage.”
“I’ve memorized the formations, chants, layered formulae, multiply techniques, and magic patterns of almost a thousand spells so yes I am quite proficient in magic.”
“Hoh,” the skeleton looked at him with even more interest, “A warrior who is on my level when it comes to magic knowledge.”
“What did you say…? You were a mage when you were human?”
The skeleton shrugged casually, “I could’ve been a wizard, who knows? I said it before, I can’t remember much from my days as a human but I have an idea who I could’ve been.”
‘This could be a clue as to who he was.’
“Hold on, you just said I’m on your level when it comes to magic knowledge but I didn’t even say how far my knowledge goes. Hell, there are more than tens of thousands of spells, with 70% of them being low-tier to mid-tier spells. How do you know if I’m not just someone who knows a bunch of weak third and fifth-rank spells?”
“That’s a good point, Your Excellency. True, I have no inkling as to how far your knowledge extends but you did say something interesting before.”
“And what’s that?”
“Layered formula. It’s something only Tenth-Rank elite magicians can master. I know duel-wielding spells exist but those can only be equipped on two hands whereas layer-formulated spells can stack up to a total of four times, making disastrous spells like [Fall of Meteor] even more deadly. Hypothetically, you can destroy a small kingdom in just one layered cast.”
“That’s right… Tell me, can you remember if you were an elite mage?”
Arnold’s mother is one of the few magicians who is close to casting Tenth-Rank spells, making her one of the most powerful magicians alive. Did this merchant have potential that even exceeded the most gifted elite mages?
“Kukuku. Maybe I was or maybe I was just a wizard interested in studying magic et couldn’t cast it himself.”
‘This confirms it, he was an elite mage.’
If he wasn’t, he would’ve just denied it. Does this mean he wants Arnold to know who he was?
‘I can see now that getting the truth out of him will be tricky.’
“Is the scroll all that you will be purchasing?”
“No, I need some ingredients for health potions. I have slime dew but nothing to mix it up with. I haven’t found any tree sap either.”
“Oh, I have just what you need.” More items appeared on his mat out of nowhere, “Please take a look.”
‘Hmm, these don’t have a high karma cost even though they’re high-quality goods that’s even scarce in the empire. I shouldn’t worry about my karma and just go ahead and buy a lot.’
He finished purchasing the ingredients. Immediately, he felt as if something was being sucked out of him. That must’ve been his “bad” karma increasing by the proportionate amount of the cost of items he bought. He decided not to check how high his negative karma stat was.
Arnold looked up after packing the items away. He noticed that the merchant was looking at a nearby tree that had crystals growing out of it.
“What’s wrong?”
“Hm? Oh, it’s nothing, my eye just caught the glowing crystals over there.” He pointed at the tree.
Just like his said, the sky-blue crystals were pulsing with a pink light. Arnold looked around the area and noticed that the other crystals were also glowing.
“Don’t tell me…”
That’s a sign of signals being transferred through the crystals. The green light on a transmitter mimics this action whenever it receives calls.
There’s no doubt about it…
Arthur and the other students are nearby.
“That little shit is going to get everyone killed.”
“Are you talking about the children who entered the dungeon before you?”
“Yee, have you seen them?”
“I saw them, yes. But only for a moment on the 99thworld. They are building some sort of base around an ancient temple on that world.”
‘It must be the first Temple of Melis. Which means, they found the Divine Titans.’
“They made it that far…”
And to think they’re already ahead of Arnold. They must be in more of a hurry than he is.
“Arthur, you idiot, you won’t win…”
He’s a disappointment of a hero, after all.
Arnold suddenly heard Rafaela’s scream followed by a crash.
He wasted no time bursting through the forest, knocking down several trees in the process, with incredible speed.
Arriving at a clearing near a river, he came to a stop.
The high walls weren’t that far from this area, casting a shadow over this forest.
Arnold noticed Rafaela on the ground. Some kind of humanoid infant was crawling up her body. From another perspective, one would mistake it for some kind of slime but Arnold wasn’t that ignorant.
Its body was dark purple and was surrounded in a ghastly energy. It also had big glowing eyes that was the same colour as the energy around its body.
‘It’s one of them.’ He grabbed the thing by its huge head and threw it against a nearby rock. There was no sound of impact, just a gooey, squishy sound.
The thing hissed at Arnold.
“W-What is that thing…?” Rafaela, still covering her private areas, stood behind Arnold, “It’s so small but it managed to tackle me to the ground.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes… My legs just gave out when it jumped on me.”
Arnold looked around the riverbed.
‘If this thing is here, does that mean one of the Offspring managed to break through the walls?’
He wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. Arthur and his classmates faced one of these things on the 1st floor, hinting at the possibility of more of them being spread out in the dungeon.
Ding…!
· Multiple “Lord” Class monsters have been detected in the area.
· Warning: Do not initiate contact. These monsters are very aggressive. Stay away from the [High Wall of Containment].
Arnold looked up at the tall walls that could compare to the average skyscraper on Earth.
He could see several tentacle-like silhouettes marching through a dust storm.
There was no doubt about it.
He’s finally found the Outsiders that had killed the Sky God.
Despite knowing he would encounter them sooner or later; Arnold still felt a chill run down his back.
“We need to go! NOW!” Arnold grabbed Rafaela’s hand and pulled her towards him. He picked her up in a princess carry before she could even react.
“E-Eh? What’s going on?”
“There’s no time to explain—"
Arnold suddenly felt a powerful gaze on him, which was coming from beyond the high walls. Even though it wasn’t looking at him specifically, he could feel he was being observed. Cold sweat ran down his back. Those things will kill any human in sight.
The walls weren’t tall enough to hide the gigantic body of the Offspring. Luckily there was another magical barrier in front of the walls.
Arnold’s whole body froze up feeling those powerful rumbles as the monster hit the barrier.
It tried to bite through the magical field with its gigantic jaw and thousands of rows of teeth.
More and more monsters began following the first one’s example—trying to break the magical field.
‘Have they been marching around the world trying to find a crack in the wall…?’
“Judging by appearances… It would appear this slime creature is related to that stampede of monsters. I’ve never seen them up close before.” The skeleton merchant appeared out of nowhere.
“Those things behind the walls… Are they…” Rafaela also noticed the rampaging monsters.
Arnold could feel her shivering.
“Yes, they are the kin of the monsters that killed your god in the mortal plane.” The skeleton turned towards Arnold and Rafaela.
He looked down at the slime-like infant that was trying to crawl up Arnold’s leg.
“It would appear this one managed to squeeze through the gaps in the Arcane Dome and the High Wall that surrounds this world. I suggest you kill it before those things learn of this.”
“W-What do you mean?”
“Those things can duplicate their bodies. Or more like they can create smaller versions of themselves,” Arnold answered, “They’re fiercely intelligent so they’ll be able to figure out that they can escape the barrier by multiplying themselves through mitosis.”
“What…? Is this why there were so many of them during the battle that time…”
“More of them will make things very troublesome,” said the skeleton, “These monsters will end up engulfing this whole planet with their numbers. Sooner or later, they will find the portals leading to the other worlds and will spread chaos.”
Every one of those mini-Offspring will turn into the same giants trying to break through the Arcane Dome.
Arnold had flashbacks of an ending of one of the mid-game arcs. The Offspring rampaged through the empire and tens of other nations in a single night, killing millions. Luke could do nothing to stop it because he visited the dungeon before he obtained the holy sword.
The following warning appears when the player tries entering the dungeon:
-Events that will drastically change the ending will occur if player proceeds. It is recommended to complete all other quests as some may be locked or more difficult to complete.
Visiting the divine realm was one of the quests that became almost impossible to complete after deciding to go into the dungeon instead of waiting. Before entering the dungeon, Luke only had to visit Angelica and tell her that he’s the “Hero”, which triggered an oracle from Melis, mentioning that a divine envoy will fetch him.
He could proceed through the dungeon without a care in the world with the “Holy Sword of Song and Light”. A quest would require you to destroy the sky mountain located in the Elven Country, killing most of the Offspring trapped outside every Arcane Dome.
After visiting the dungeon (without the holy sword), you’re forced to destroy it before heading through one of the three available Rune Bridges that are connected to the dungeon worlds.
That will lead you to obtain the holy sword the hard way.
The hard way is the path that Liam took which is why he knows what kind of threat the Offspring are. Although they appear in the later arcs again, their might is shown clearly earlier on.
Morally, the hard way is the bad ending because you don’t actually kill all of the offspring inside the dungeon. Many of them escape through the dungeon portals while you’re trying to find your way through the dungeon, head to the Rune Bridges and go into the divine realm to obtain the holy sword and ultimately destroy the dungeon.
If Arnold doesn’t destroy this dungeon soon…
‘Why did this dungeon have to appear in the second arc. Fuck.’
Arnold took out the incantation tool at his waist—the Borati Chime. The slime creature looked up at him, curious as to what he was about to do.
“Rafaela… Can you do it?” Arnold held out the chime to her.
While he had only been using it to heal himself with a simple spell (due to low mana), Rafaela will be able to fully utilize it (using her divine power).
“You want me to kill it…?”
“Divine power is the only thing that can kill this creature. The only thing I can cast with the Borati Chime is a healing spell. Besides that one spell, there are tens of others that this charm is capable of casting. I want you to repeat my following words. It’s a low-tier banishment spell that works on undead and espers but will also work on this creature. Can you do that?”
Again, Arnold considers “low-tier spells” to be between rank 1 and 4 or so. “Tier” being a universal-accepted term outside his world to categorize level of spells.
“Yes, I’m able to cast small spells. The incantation tool will make casting much easier.” Rafaela pointed the Borati Chime at the creature, “I’m ready.”
‘She considers this a small spell, huh… The humans in my world consider spells above 3rd rank to be the talent of demigods given how rare it is for mages to be capable of spells above that rank. I suppose perspective is what matters.’
“Let’s begin.”