Chapter 402

* * * *

-To mere humans! KRAAAK!

[Ekalik’s clone has been destroyed.]

[You have achieved an unbelievable feat.]

[Fame increased by 10 million.]

After several attacks, Minghu saw the message he’d been waiting for.

‘Whoa.’

Myeong-hu couldn’t help but be stunned upon reading the message.

‘Ten million?’

The reason Myeong-hu was shocked was precisely because of the fame gained from destroying the clone. By destroying Ekalik’s clone this time, Myeong-hu had gained a staggering 10 million in fame.

‘It’s not even a god, just an avatar…’

He hadn’t destroyed a god. What he destroyed this time was a god’s avatar. Even so, Myeong-hu couldn’t believe his reputation had risen by 10 million.

‘If an avatar is worth 10 million…’

If an avatar is worth 10 million, how much fame would capturing the god itself bring? He didn’t know when that day would come, but he found himself looking forward to it.

‘Wait, but why…’

Myeonghu, marveling at the fame, suddenly sensed something odd and tilted his head.

‘The level…’

The odd thing Myeong-hu noticed was the experience points. Unlike the enormous fame increase, his level hadn’t risen even a single point.

‘Could it be a monster that only gives fame?’

Not all monsters gave experience points. Just as regular monsters only gave experience points and not fame, there were monsters that only gave fame and not experience points.

‘And no drop items either.’

Myeonghu shifted his gaze from the message to where Ekalik’s clone had been. Perhaps because it was a clone, Ekalik’s clone hadn’t dropped a single item. With a disappointed look, Myeonghu turned his head back to look at Haran and the Cursed Pillar.

Swoosh

Haran still had her eyes closed, radiating light. That light flew toward the Curse Pillar, purifying it. Myeonghu watched as the Curse Pillar gradually turned white through purification.

[The Cursed Pillar will be destroyed in 1 minute.]

[The curse weakens.]

[The curse’s effect has been reduced by half.]

A message appeared shortly after. Minghu saw the message and realized there was one minute left until the pillar of the curse was destroyed.

‘One minute.’

Myeong-hu silently counted down the remaining time until destruction as he opened the quest window.

The massive castle sunk at the center of Lake Belkan was none other than the castle of the Second Lord, Bartash. Barthash’s Castle is currently under a curse. Haran firmly believes you will lift this curse. To break the curse, you must destroy the cursed pillars embedded throughout the castle to weaken its power. Follow Haran and destroy the first cursed pillar in the southern part of the castle to weaken the curse!

Quest Difficulty: SSS

Quest Reward: ???

Quest Cancellation Not Possible

This quest will complete the moment the cursed pillar is destroyed after 1 minute.

‘I wonder what they’ll give me.’

It was an SSS-level quest, no less. He was curious what the reward might be. Myeonghu closed the quest window and turned his gaze to the Cursed Pillar. The unpurified black portion began rapidly shrinking as time passed.

Whoosh!

Before long, the black portion vanished completely. A bright light erupted from the pillar, and a message appeared.

[The Cursed Pillar has been destroyed.]

It was a message confirming the pillar’s destruction. But the message didn’t end there. Another message followed immediately.

[Special Quest ‘The Cursed Pillar of the South’ completed.]

[Reward acquired.]

[Level Up!]

.

.

[Level Up!]

[Acquired Bartaš’s Token Fragment A.]

[Completed the prerequisite quest ‘The Cursed Pillar of the South’.]

[Special Quest ‘The Cursed Pillar of the West’ has been activated.]

[You are near the Sacred Pillar.]

[All status effects have been removed.]

[Life and Mana have been fully restored.]

[Movement speed and attack speed increased by 10% for 10 minutes.]

[Damage taken from enemies reduced by 20% for 10 minutes.]

A flood of messages appeared: quest completion, reward acquisition, leveling up, and more.

“…”

But Minghu was staring at only one message among the countless notifications.

‘Barthash’s Token?’

Among the countless messages, the one that captured Myeong-hu’s attention was the token acquisition message. The message clearly stated he had acquired ‘Bartsach’s Token Fragment A’.

‘If it’s Bartash…’

Myeonghu knew exactly who Bartash was. He was the Second Lord God, the very master of this castle. There was no way he could not know. Myeonghu opened his inventory to check the information on ‘Bartash’s Signet Fragment A’.

Fragment A of the Second Lord Bartas’s Seal. All fragments must be gathered to activate its full effect.

“…”

After checking the information, Myeonghu silently checked the details of the other two nearby items.

Repurem’s Signet. Possessing this signet grants the following effects:

1. Movement Speed +20%

2. All Status Effect Resistance +20%

3. Can see NPCs and monsters in stealth mode.

4. The token cannot be discarded or traded.

This is the Token of Death and Darkness. Possessing this token grants the following effects:

1. You cannot be attacked by undead monsters of a lower level than yourself.

2. You become hostile towards all players. However, this hostility is not displayed.

3. Recovers 5% of total HP every 10 seconds during combat.

4. Attacks have a 5% chance to instantly kill the target monster. (Boss monsters have a 1% chance to be instantly killed)

5. The token cannot be discarded and will not drop upon death.

The Mark of Death and Darkness, forged by combining the mark received from Repurem with the marks of Agranecto and Elgab. Myeonghu gazed at the two marks and thought.

‘If I gather all the fragments…’

Currently, Bartaš’s token was fragmented into multiple pieces. What if all the fragments were gathered? Just as Agranecto and Elgab’s tokens had merged, the fragments would likely combine to form the true token. No, it was certain—only when all remaining fragments were gathered would it fully activate its power.

“…The token of the Second Great God.”

The Seal of the Two Great Gods—I wondered what kind of effect it would have.

‘Looks like it’s something you get when you clear a quest…’

Piece A was the completion reward for the special quest ‘The Cursed Pillar of the South’. To obtain the next piece, it seemed he would need to complete the newly activated ‘The Cursed Pillar of the West’. Finishing his thoughts, Myeong-hu closed his inventory and opened the quest window to check the quest.

Having destroyed the first cursed pillar, follow Haran to destroy the second cursed pillar located west of the castle.

Quest Difficulty: SSS

Quest Reward: ???

Quest Cannot Be Cancelled

The quest description was indeed simple.

‘Is it because it’s the second one?’

It seemed to be because it was the second quest. Myeong-hu closed the quest window and turned his head to look at Haran.

-…

Harran silently gazed at the pillar of curses—no, now purified and renamed the pillar of divinity. The look in Harran’s eyes as they stared at the pillar of divinity was filled with positive emotions like joy and awe.

It was right then.

Swish

Whether sensing the gaze or simply having finished her moment of awe, Haran turned her head and looked at Myeonghu.

-The curse on the castle has weakened further.

One pillar of the curse had been destroyed. It was only natural that the curse on the castle would weaken.

-Thank you so much.

Haran bowed her head to Myeonghu, expressing her gratitude with utmost respect. Then, after a moment, she raised her head and continued.

-Originally, I could only come this far, but now that the barrier and curse have weakened, I believe I can reach the pillar of curse to the west.

With that, Haran finished speaking. Having spoken, Haran stared intently at Myeonghu.

“…”

-…

A silence settled between Myeonghu and Haran. But it lasted only a moment. Seeing Haran’s earnest gaze, Myeonghu chuckled softly, breaking the silence.

“Let’s go.”

Haran heard Myeonghu’s words, gave a faint smile, bowed his head slightly once more to express his gratitude, and then turned around and began to walk away. Myeonghu followed behind Haran as he walked, thinking to himself.

‘Who will be at the next pillar?’

The traitors they might encounter along the way didn’t trouble him at all. Myeong-hu’s mind was occupied solely with thoughts of the being guarding the pillar.

‘Could it be an incarnation of the divine?’

The first pillar was guarded by an incarnation of the god. The being guarding the second pillar was likely strong, certainly no weaker than the one guarding the first pillar.

* * * *

The Garden of the Gods of the Juchon Realm.

“Haaam…”

In a corner of the garden, a handsome man lay sprawled.

“How boring.”

The handsome man muttered as he yawned. His face was filled with boredom and tedium.

“Those were the days.”

The handsome man smiled faintly, recalling past memories. Unlike the boring present, each day back then had been exciting and joyful.

“Not that things are bad now…”

Of course, he didn’t mean the peaceful present was bad. But he longed for the past so much that if he could go back, he would.

“…Hm?”

It was right then. The handsome man, who had been smiling as he reminisced about the past, furrowed his brow.

Swish

The handsome man, his brow furrowed, quickly rose from his seat. His expression as he stood revealed a mix of confusion, bewilderment, disbelief, and fluster.

“What the hell?”

The reason the handsome man suddenly reacted this way.

“It couldn’t have vanished…”

Because something that couldn’t happen, something that shouldn’t have happened, had occurred.

“….”

The handsome man pondered deeply, trying to figure out what had happened.

“Wait a minute…”

The handsome man, who had been thinking with a serious expression, suddenly tilted his head at a thought that came to him. And the deep worry that had filled the handsome man’s expression vanished.

“Could it be… that prophecy has begun?”

The prophecy—the handsome man thought the long-forgotten prophecy had begun. No, he was certain. Because something that couldn’t happen otherwise had happened.

“This is getting interesting.”

A broad smile spread across the handsome man’s face as excitement surged through his entire body. What had just happened was something he absolutely should not have reacted to like this. Yet, the handsome man was delighted by the current situation. He was incredibly excited, anticipating that the tediously boring days would become joyful again, just like back then.

“I should head over there first.”

The handsome man muttered with a smile, waving his hand.

Swish

Then, a massive door appeared before the handsome man.

Squeak

The handsome man opened the door, stepped inside, and muttered.

“I wonder what reaction that bitch Elgab will have? Heh heh.”

============================ Afterword ============================

Have a pleasant Wednesday.