Chapter 404

BANG!

[Defeated the Traitor.]

[Acquired a Curse Fragment.]

[Current Cursed Fragments Collected: 200]

[200 Cursed Fragments have been gathered.]

[Conditions for using the Curse Key have been fulfilled.]

[Haran can now use the Curse Key.]

[You can no longer acquire Curse Fragments.]

‘Got it!’

After dispatching the final traitor, Myeong-hu smiled at the message that appeared. This time too, the number of fragments needed to use the Curse Key was 200.

Swish

Myeong-hu averted his gaze from the message and looked ahead. Not far away, the pillar of the curse, their destination this time, was visible.

-I am ready.

Haran said.

“Me too.”

Myeonghu replied. Hearing his answer, Haran began walking toward the pillar. Myeonghu followed behind her, thinking.

‘It must be Atakshya’s avatar, right?’

The being guarding the pillar of curses—Myeonghu had anticipated it to be Atakshya’s avatar. Soon, the pillar drew near, and Myeonghu gazed at its front. There, just like the first pillar, a certain being was seated.

‘Why is it so blurry?’

Myeonghu couldn’t help but frown. Strangely, the being’s form was blurred. Given the distance, it should have been clearly distinguishable, yet it wasn’t.

It was right then.

[Warning!]

[You are near the Cursed Pillar.]

[You are cursed.]

[All stats reduced by 10%.]

[Damage dealt to enemies is reduced by 20%.]

[Damage received from enemies increases by 20%.]

As I entered the Curse Pillar’s influence zone, the message appeared. Simultaneously, the blurred form of a presence began to sharpen into clear view.

‘Right.’

Upon entering the sphere of influence, the form of the entity became distinct. Upon confirming its appearance, Myeong-hu knew his thoughts were correct. The entity guarding the second pillar of curse was none other than Atakshya’s avatar.

[The being guarding the pillar awakens.]

[The avatar of Atakshya, God of Water and Vitality, observes you.]

As he approached a little closer, a message appeared and Atakshya’s avatar moved.

-Please guard it until the pillar is destroyed.

Then Haran spoke.

Swoosh

Just as with the first pillar, Haran closed his eyes, and light burst forth from his body, flying toward the pillar.

[Haran used the Curse Key.]

[6 minutes remain until the pillar of curses is destroyed.]

[Protect Haran from Atakshya’s avatars for 6 minutes.]

[If all personnel die, Haran will be attacked.]

Was it because it was the second one? Unlike the first pillar, which took 5 minutes to destroy, the second pillar required 6 minutes.

‘It doesn’t matter.’

Of course, the extra minute wasn’t a problem. Myeonghu averted his gaze from the message and looked at Atakshya’s avatar.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh

Sharp ice spears, like those seen in the previous battle against Atakshya, appeared around his clone.

‘Debuff…’

Recalling the debuff of the ice spears, Myeonghu frowned. He began sprinting to close the distance before the spears could fly.

-Shall I grant you death?

But not long after Myeonghu began running, Ataksa spoke. Simultaneously, the ice spears moved. Myeonghu looked at the ice spears and thought.

‘…Can I dodge them?’

They were fast. But perhaps because they were clones, the speed at which the ice spears flew wasn’t faster than what he had seen before. Not only that.

‘Even if I get hit, it probably won’t be as bad as last time.’

The number of ice spears flying now was significantly fewer than before. Even if he took them all, the debuff wouldn’t be as severe as last time.

Whoosh, whoosh

In the meantime, the ice spears arrived, and Myeonghu dodged them while closing the distance. Of course, he couldn’t dodge every single one.

Clang!

[Movement speed reduced by 5% for 1 minute.]

.

.

Clang!

[Movement speed reduced by 9% for 1 minute.]

Avoiding was half the battle; getting hit was the other half. Minghu’s movement speed gradually slowed. But the distance Minghu needed to cover wasn’t that long.

‘Got it.’

Having closed the distance to Atakshya’s clone as much as he desired, Myeonghu smiled and spoke.

“Teleport Strike.”

Arriving before the clone via the movement strike, Myeonghu immediately threw a punch.

Boom! Thud!

The fist struck once, and the clone hit by the fist flew backward, crashing into a pillar once more. Two thunderous booms echoed.

Thud thud thud

Hearing the roar, Myeong-hu charged toward the pillar. A single punch couldn’t destroy the clone, and the absence of a message confirmed it.

-Ugh…

Reaching the pillar, Myeong-hu began unleashing a flurry of punches at Atakshya’s clone, who was struggling to rise with a pained expression.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

[Atakshya’s clone has been destroyed.]

[You have achieved an unbelievable feat.]

[Fame increased by 10 million.]

A message appeared shortly after. Seeing it, Myeong-hu stopped punching and looked at Atakshya’s clone. It was turning to dust and vanishing.

Swish

Myeong-hu scanned the area around Ataksa’s fading clone. He was checking to see if any items had dropped.

‘Nothing, as expected.’

However, just like when he had captured Ekalik’s clone, not a single item dropped this time either. With a disappointed look, Myeonghu turned his head to look at Haran and the Cursed Pillar. Now, there was only one thing left for Myeonghu to do: wait until Haran destroyed the Cursed Pillar.

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

[The curse weakens.]

[The effect of the curse has been reduced by half.]

A few minutes later, a message appeared.

‘1 minute.’

Realizing he had one minute left, Myeong-hu began counting down the minute in his mind. As the minute passed, the black portion of the pillar vanished completely.

Whoosh

A bright light burst forth, and a message appeared.

[The Cursed Pillar is destroyed.]

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

[Reward acquired.]

[Level Up!]

.

.

[Level Up!]

[Obtained Bartaš’s Token Fragment B.]

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

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

[You are near the Sacred Pillar.]

.

.

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

The message appeared, and at the same time, Minghu opened the quest window to check the quest.

‘Similar.’

The description of the newly activated quest, ‘The Cursed Pillar of the North,’ was no different from the ‘Cursed Pillar of the West’ that had just been completed and disappeared. Minghu closed the quest window and opened the character window.

Class: Wanderer

Nationality: Helioqua [Empire]

Title: Count

Primary Class: Blood Knight

Sub-Class: Strong Smith

Fame: 85,454,910 Merit: 428,005,770

Title: Dragon Slayer (Ignores Peers)

Level: 580

Health: 22,380,550

Mana: 2,458,420

Blood Power: 9,649

Strength: 964,930 [96,493(+7,200)]

Agility: 72,715

Stamina: 61,657

Intelligence: 61,370

Wisdom: 61,041

Dexterity: 500

Contribution: Elgab – 2,000,000

Bonus Stats: 540

After completing the quest ‘The Cursed Pillar of the South’, Myeonghu’s fame, which had risen by 10 million to 75 million, had increased by another 10 million, reaching 85 million.

‘Ten levels at a time…’

It wasn’t just his fame that rose. His level, which had been 560, also increased by 20 through completing two quests, reaching 580.

‘I’ve accumulated quite a lot of bonus stats too.’

Checking his character info, Myeonghu saw 540 bonus stats piled up and used them all to boost his strength. Closing the character window, Myeonghu looked at Haran. Unlike before, Haran wasn’t staring at the pillar but at Myeonghu himself.

-Thank you.

Haran bowed her head in gratitude as their eyes met. Then, raising her head, she continued.

-If we can just clear the pillars in the north and east, we should be able to reach the center.

After Haran finished speaking, Myeonghu replied.

“Let’s go right away.”

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

This chapter is really short.

I’ll upload another chapter early tomorrow morning.

I hope you all have a delicious dinner.