Chapter 49
It isn't necessarily a good item just because it sparkles and looks expensive.
In the Selection Process, even items that appear worthless often possess tremendous value.
<Item>
Name: Sentinel's Flame
Grade: Mythic
Description: This object contains the power of an ancient god who has now been forgotten. It consumes mana to detect nearby threats and continuously deals damage to dark-attribute beings within 50 meters. Increases Health by 5.
'An ancient divine relic?'
Technology tends to advance over time, but divine power is different. The older it is, the stronger it becomes, and items imbued with the power of ancient gods tend to be especially unique.
This was no exception.
'It forms a field to exorcise evil. For some reason, it reminds me of the [Radiant Priest].'
For reference, the [Radiant Priest] is the most famous figure in the clergy after the Saintess.
The Radiant Priest was a powerful user of holy-attribute abilities, known to have no equal against undead and demons, and possessed abilities similar to those of this lantern.
The only difference was the additional ability to heal continuously.
"Ms. Hana."
"Yes?"
I picked it up and handed it to the Saintess.
"Take this. It should be useful from now on."
"Ah. Th-thank you."
"Try using it."
The Saintess accepted the lantern, hunched her shoulders, and looked slightly frightened. It seemed the skeleton incident from earlier was still making her heart race.
That lasted only a moment. Soon, as if she had checked the item's information, the Saintess let out a relieved sigh and infused the lantern with mana.
Fwoosh!
Flames bloomed inside the lantern, casting a soft blue glow around us. The light, which gave off a faintly wistful feeling at first glance, seemed to have a calming effect.
'Let's see.'
As a test, I released killing intent filled with hostility toward the Saintess. The lantern abruptly flared red.
'So that's how it works.'
"Unni, what's that? Huh? M-Mythic?! Where did you get it?!"
"I-it's something Mr. Minjun gave me…."
From then on, I began rummaging through the gold coins. Seeing me, the others began digging through them as well.
'Oh, this is interesting too.'
[Necronomicon III: A book containing the power of an ancient Outer God. The moment it is opened, Intelligence increases by 5, but you suffer horrific hallucinations and auditory hallucinations for ten days.]
It was also known as a cursed item.
It was called a forbidden book, or a red book.
The moment it is read, stress rises to an extreme level, and in some cases, the reader can go insane within ten days. It was a dangerous object.
'Yeah, but to me, it's just a tasty nutritional supplement.'
After reading it, I had the Saintess treat me.
[Your Intelligence stat has increased by 5.]
The book disappeared like a wavering heat haze the instant it was opened. Books that vanished this way would fly somewhere in the Selection Process and drop to the ground with a plop.
That was why people often picked one up while walking along the road, opened it without thinking because they wondered what it was, and ended up going insane.
'In a sense, it's one of the trap systems that exist within the Selection Process.'
Anyway, that was the end of it. I searched everywhere, circling all the way back to the final hill of gold coins, but there were no more Mythic-grade-or-higher items or anything particularly exceptional.
I spoke to Han Sohee apologetically.
"I wanted to give you a decent weapon if there was one, but it looks like there aren't any left."
"It's fine. You haven't gotten anything in particular either, have you?"
Shin Seoyeon had obtained a spellbook, while the Saintess had obtained a divine relic.
Although the spellbook was Epic-grade and the divine relic was closer to a support tool, both were still types of weapons that could be held in one's hands.
Ordinary weapons were difficult to acquire, so sellers could name their price.
'Well, even if we didn't get weapons, everyone managed to put together some armor, so I suppose that's enough.'
When we came down, everyone had still been wearing equipment brought from the modern world, but now we were all wearing gear with options on our gloves and shoes.
They had shed their newbie look and were gradually adapting to this world.
'Once we find tops and bottoms, we can call ourselves proper players.'
"Hey, if you've got everything, let's head back."
Apparently satisfied with her haul, Shin Seoyeon urged us to hurry back to the shelter.
'That said, she's just as greedy now as she was in my first run.'
The Crimson Flame Witch had a backpack over her shoulders, two duffel bags on top of it, a staff and spellbook in one hand, and a pouch of gems in the other, all while trembling under the weight.
It was impressive that she could even stand with that frail body of hers.
"Seoyeon, can you even walk?"
"Once we cross over, we'll be at the shelter, right? We can put everything down immediately, then take it to the shop in several trips to sell it."
"That's true enough. Then everyone, take as much as you can carry. Think of it as pocket money."
After seeing the others load themselves down with luggage, I lit a fire and tossed the remains onto it.
[<Bardo's Remains> burst into flames, and a strange power guides you.]
[You have fulfilled the trial's conditions.]
[Would you like to end the trial and move on to the next area?]
Ah! Everyone's expressions brightened at the thought of finally reaching a rest area. I waved my arms broadly, drawing everyone's attention.
"Then let's eat at the shelter. Does everyone have a watch?"
The Saintess had one because I had given her one, and Han Sohee raised her wrist, saying she had one too. Shin Seoyeon grumbled beside her.
"You didn't give me one."
To tell Shin Seoyeon to stop complaining, I put a spare watch in her mouth.
"Let's wash up and rest, then meet in front of the lodgings in six hours."
"Do we really need to meet that late? How long has it even been since we slept?"
"Mmph!"
Shin Seoyeon said something or other as well. Unfortunately, I couldn't hear her. Han Sohee checked the time and spoke.
"It's only noon, and in six hours it'll be evening."
"I know. Let's rest properly at our respective lodgings, then enjoy a dinner feast to celebrate clearing the trial safely."
"Hmm."
"Even if you feel fine now, once you soak in hot water and relax, you'll probably change your mind."
"…I suppose so."
Only then did everyone accept it.
"Get plenty of rest, and see you then. Oh, I'm telling you in advance: don't go wandering outside alone. It's dangerous. Especially you, Ms. Hana."
"Y-yes! I'll listen to you, Mr. Minjun!"
Starting with the second shelter, people were on edge.
Half of humanity had died in the first trial, and those who survived had witnessed every kind of ugliness imaginable, leaving their faith in humanity utterly diminished.
Since we were latecomers, the caliber of the people who had remained could be even worse.
In other words, crimes such as rape and murder could occur at any time, even in the shelter.
"We'll be moving as a party for a while, so keep that in mind."
Nod.
Although I didn't go into detail, the others must have recalled what had happened to them at the hands of other humans here, because they nodded heavily.
"Then see you in six hours. That's 17:08—five-oh-eight in the afternoon."
"Yes!"
One by one, the others disappeared into the shelter. After confirming that everyone was gone, I turned sharply and left the treasure vault.
Pitter-patter.
Ever quick to catch on, Lee Sera was already scurrying around and looting the players' corpses.
I joined her in her harvesting, which looked almost like gathering crops.
Crunch!
I broke open each corpse's chest and checked for stat fragments.
'This was why I'd delayed our meeting by six hours.'
In truth, since a fierce battle had taken place, stat fragments were scattered all over the floor, but the others had been too distracted by sorting out the boss rewards to take any interest in these unusual pebbles.
After spending roughly four hours completely looting the place, we sat in front of the vault and exchanged what we had picked up.
Tap. Tap.
Tap-tap-tap-tap.
I handed over Intelligence and received the other stats.
[Your Strength stat has increased by 1.]
[Your Agility stat has increased by 1.]
.
.
As we sat facing each other and peeled and ate stat fragments like boiled eggs, Lee Sera, sitting across from me, glanced at me and asked.
"But I have a question."
"?"
"There are so many. Why don't you share them with the others?"
Hmm. I hadn't expected Lee Sera to ask that, so I was taken aback, but I answered calmly.
"Even if we're comrades, it's strange to give things away for free."
At that, the 150-centimeter-tall, hime-cut little girl tilted her head with an expression of incomprehension.
"You gave me accessories and food for free, though."
"That was because… you're you, so I gave them to you."
"Huh?"
Unable to think of an excuse, I just blurted out whatever came to mind.
And honestly, it wasn't a lie. S-rank assassin Death, Lee Sera. There was nothing bad about keeping her indebted to me.
"Oppa, what does that mean?"
"Who knows."
Having finished eating all the stat fragments, I stood up.
"Tell me! What did you mean just now?"
Lee Sera clung to me and pestered me, but I had no particular obligation to answer her. When I didn't, she jumped to her own conclusions.
"Do you maybe like me too, Oppa? Is that it? Are you thinking of marrying me?"
When I ignored her without answering, she wrapped her legs around my waist, hung onto me, and planted little kisses on my lips.
She looked like a young, small child, but her behavior was audacious. From the outset, she pressed her lips against mine, thrust her tongue deep inside, and wrapped it around mine with repeated little kisses.
That wasn't all. When she began bobbing her hips and rubbing her groin against my penis, I reached out, grabbed her nipple tightly, and twisted it.
"Aah-!"
"If you want to get married, go drink more of your mother's milk first."
Even so, I was surprised. I was twisting the nipple of one of humanity's heroes, Death. If this had been my first run, my head would have flown off on the spot.
'That said, Intelligence is 49. At this point, I can say raising Lee Sera has entered a relatively stable phase.'
In other words, she was ready to join the party.
"You're part of our party from now on too, so don't be late. Five p.m."
"Okay!"
When I put the last spare watch I had bought on Lee Sera's wrist, she kissed me again and again. I pushed her head aside and opened my status window.
'My own stats are excellent as well.'
<Status Window>
Name: Kang Minjun
Level: 1
Strength: 54 (+4)
Agility: 46 (+5)
Health: 57 (+10)
Intelligence: 46 (+25)
This wasn't merely excellent. Compared to me at the moment I cleared the first trial in my first run, the difference was overwhelming.
My total stats were more than 120 points higher.
Judging purely by the numbers, my stats had already reached a level sufficient to undergo the twelfth trial.
'Shin Seoyeon shares my stats, so there's no need to mention her, while Han Sohee received an 80-point boost to her total stats upon awakening as the Sword Empress.'
In other words, I had become strong enough to survive even if I were thrown alone into the eighth trial.
This was why stats were so important in the Selection Process.
Every time you cleared a trial, you received ten points as a level-up bonus, so raising a stat by even one point through another method made future trials easier for a long time.
'That's why people desperately sought equipment with good options and struggled to obtain bonus stats.'
In any case, the first trial had yielded far more than I had planned.
'Thanks to this, my plans for the future should go smoothly as well.'
Of course, the Selection Process had only just begun.
"Let's cross over too."
I took Bardo's bone from Lee Sera, who had been carrying it around, and burned it.
Then, after taking one last look around the abandoned monastery where only a tranquil silence remained, I crossed over to the next shelter.