Chapter 134:
God of Dark.
It was the divine name that I’ve heard being mentioned in the 12th floors’ trial stage.
Of course, because I’ve only heard it in passing, I’ve never given too much thought about it.
I thought that it was just one of those useless additional words you can often see during gaming.
After all,
That trial had more emphasis on the duplicated self than the god of dark.
At the trial based on an ancient imperial palace, what I felt about the god of dark was that they felt ominous.
But through this trial, I managed to learn more about the god of dark.
‘It feels sinister.’
I frowned right after exiting the tent which is the starting point of the 15th floor.
“Ahhhh….! Damn it all! My masterpiece is destroyed because of those fucking cultists!”
“I bet we can get more corpses with this battle. Heh, I’m looking forward to it.”
“Hey, you mercs! Stop damaging the corpses so much! Shit, if you keep shredding the corpses into rags, we can’t use spirit magic on it!”
The crowd of people wearing a black robe emitting an eerie atmosphere filled the tent.
And some of them were muttering near the rotting corpses as if they’ve got a screw loose.
‘Instead of the cultists of the god of battle, this group feels more like a cultist….’
With everyone wearing a black clothing, it felt menacing to be near them.
But per the requirements of the trial, I seemed to be a mercenary in support of this group, so I could not express my discontent.
I could only follow the order of getting ready for the battle.
But the others that poured out of the tent cursed loudly expressing their disgust.
“Fuck, never in my years of mercenary would I ever get used to this. This fucking minacious bastards…..”
“Blergh….. Sure they can practice spirit magic, but do they really have to treat those corpses like their lover?”
“Who knows. I wonder why the empire hasn’t declared them as cultists yet…..”
They seemed like other mercenaries planning on getting involved with this battle, with a straightforward manner of speech.
By mercenaries, they must be receiving compensation from the priests of god of dark.
It was quite ridiculous seeing the mercenaries curse out the ones who are giving them money……
Clang Clang Clang─!
“It’s the cultistssss─! Everyone, ready for battle─!”
With the ringing of the bell somewhere, the trial begun.
Below the hill with many tents, a crimson wave of people appeared.
Seeing how the mana circuit could detect their presence, they must be of below the average caliber…..
“There must be at least a few thousand.’
With the individual soldier’s skills being low, the enemy made it up with numbers.
In contrast, the forces on this side might be at most a few hundred.
Even if all the corpses and the robed priests were counted, the number could not reach more than a thousand.
And as the mercenaries knew that as well, their expression turned grim.
“Sigh, fuck….. I guess this is where I’ll be burying my bones. Look at that number.”
“Stop saying nonsense and unsheathe your sword. You’ve been through a lot of swarmed battles already.”
“You’re right. And I bet those talented priests could raise a few more dead to win.”
But, this must’ve not been their first rodeo as they immediately got ready to be on the offensive.
As I was also getting ready to join the battle, a system message appeared.
「Starting the special assignment, ‘Path of the Commander’.」
「Demonstrate your talents to get respected as the commander among the mercenaries.」
「Completing the special assignment will increase your completion rewards.」
It’s been a while since I’ve received a special assignment…..
‘Demonstrate my talents, huh…..’
I was already planning on doing that even without the assignment.
A war against the forces of the god of battle was always welcome.
And…..
These types of large scale battles were my specialty.
»————- ★ ————-«
Reinel was a high ranking mercenary who had seen many things in life.
She was an experienced fighter with countless real life battle experiences and guarding small and large merchant groups.
And managed to reach the stage of Aura Users that only official knights can manage to reach.
Reinel wished to step up as a sturdy swordsman like the knights.
And that was the yearning of the sword that her heart desired.
But the paths available for her, who did not learn aura training techniques, were slim.
Whether to traverse across countless battlefields to learn or take what she’s given and live with the life of the high ranked mercenary.
And Reinel chose the former.
The reason why she chose to participate in the battle of conquering the priests of god of battle was so that she could continue in her growth.
Even if the ones serving the god of dark might not be two faced, commissions that could benefit the society and get battle experience was rare.
It was a lucky find for Reinel.
But her luck did not continue for long.
‘….n-no way. There’s no way we can win this.’
Reinel let out a raspy breath after defeating more than thirty cultist members.
No matter how great her swordsmanship might be, a human is a human.
Even if mana existed, limits could not be surpassed.
And that was the case for Reinel.
‘I can’t even feel my arms at this point…’
The cultists were not very strong, but their numbers could not be counted.
Unlike the allied forces that could barely get a thousand, the enemy forces overflowed like water.
‘This is how I die…. So meaninglessly…… I couldn’t even reach the highest rank.’
Reinel could feel it seeing the sword swinging towards her.
‘What an idiot. If I knew that it would end like this, I would’ve never participated in this holy war.’
That she no longer had any strength to avoid any attacks.
‘If I did, then I’m sure… that I could’ve become stronger…..’
Reinel blamed herself for getting involved with the holy war…..
But to say the least, the cultists sword never reached her neck.
Boom!
But rather, the body of the cultist that aimed for Reinel’s throat exploded in half.
Even before Reinel could process what had just occurred, an emotionless voice reached her ears.
“You seem tired. It’d be best to retreat for now.”
It’s near impossible to remain calm in the midst of a battle.
Especially in wars like these between different religions filled with insanity.
But the man’s voice had no trace of any emotion.
The moment she flinched at the machine-like voice programmed to do its task.
“I’ll buy you some time to retreat.”
With that, the man passed by Reinel to attack the wave of cultists.
‘What on earth….’
From the attire you’d only see in social gatherings of nobles…..
The longsword emitting an eerie purple light, and the blood colored crimson demon sword……
‘A lunatic?’
The man’s outfit was so peculiar to the point of thinking that.
But that only lasted a moment.
The two swords on the man’s hands began its dance.
‘And what is this now…..’
Reinel could not believe the scene before her.
“Aura flame….?!”
The auras flaming around the two swords are a high ranking technique of aura manipulation that she’s only heard rumors of.
The flames said to be created in order to destroy auras surrounded the crimson lightning.
Crash!
With a sound that seemed too loud for just a swing of a sword, the cultists were swept away.
Small voices hiding fear were heard around the battlefield, as if it was not only Reniel that was surprised at it.
“K-krrrgh! W-who?! You bastard! Everyone, be careful! This guy’s dange…!”
That sentence could not continue.
Slash!
As the flashy crimson lightning caressed through the cultists throat.
Fwoosh! Slash! Crack!
The blade of lightning continued onwards without hesitation.
Powerful at times, smooth at times, and meticulous at times…..
“…….”
Reinel watched the sight before her, forgetting the man’s suggestion to retreat.
That swordsmanship was in the realms of art at this point.
Not only was it fit for battles, the strategies of the swordsmanship were excellent as well.
Even if one were to explain the swordsmanship, and define each part, it was beyond the realms of normal comprehension let alone replicating it.
What’s more shocking was that the user of such swordsmanship was a young man.
‘We seem like we’re of similar age, but they can already fight like that….’
However, no amount of jealousy arose within her.
Only reverence towards an overwhelming genius bloomed in her heart.
At that moment.
Fwoosh-!
A spear made of flames appeared mid-air as if the cultists also discovered the man’s presence.
“D-danger..!”
Reinel attempted to warn the man, but that warning was useless.
An ominous energy fit to shatter the heavens surrounded the man’s two swords, and it shot out towards the flame polearm.
Woosh!
The spear of flames that the cultists worked so hard to create got cut in half and disappeared.
At that, Reinel was astonished, and the cultists were petrified.
“The magic got cut and vanished….? There’s no way! I-I’ve never heard of anything like this before!“
“How can a group magic be….! D-did a priest come to a place like this?”
“Fuck! E-even so, it’s only a single enemy! Victory will be upon us as long as we can defeat that guy!”
As the cultists were not unintelligent, a strong opponent appeared after a short while.
“D-don’t be scared! We have the battle priest M?vier! That puny mercenary won’t be a problem!
A devil type priest with deer-like crimson antlers on the head, M?vier stood at the forefront.
As soon as M?vier stood in the front, they laughed while letting out a violent stream of crimson energy.
“Hahaha! You’re quite skilled to make me come out here! But you will never win against…!
M?vier’s confident speech never met its end.
Slash-!
The moment the man’s sword slashed across the space.
The head of M?vier moved mid-air with an expression unaware of his death.
“W-what kind of technique…”
Reinel was rendered speechless.
If she saw it correctly, the man’s sword pulled the space closer to cut down the enemy.
But as if that was not a big deal, the man continued to attack the cultists.
And the battle that followed could only be described as transcendent.
Pulling the space, folding the space….
‘That’s really a mercenary? Like me…?’
That no longer could be considered within the realms of swordsmanship.
“Uwaaah! R-retreat…! You must not face that monster alone!”
“Call the bishop! We can not face this monster by ourselves!”
“T-the battle priest M?vier is dead! Everyone must retreat, retreat now…!”
Reinel pondered watching the man’s continuous battle.
If a grim reaper really existed in this world, that they would look like him.
»————- ★ ————-«
Standing out in the battle was not difficult.
Using the souls of hundreds of dead soldiers, I continuously replenished my mana and stamina.
And with that, I maximized my skills output to lead the battle to victory with a simple swing of my sword.
I wondered if I should use Truth-seeker of Blood skill, but that might not give the best impression to the allies so I chose against it.
‘It can’t be helped since Truth-seeker of Blood makes me look like a vampire.’
Even if a few skills couldn’t be used, the battle was sufficient to be my stage.
The Necromancy’s proficiency raised 0.00001% per soul so that was not fun though….
‘I did benefit in the probability battle to absorb skills.’
I managed to absorb a few minor skills and had the opportunity to combine skills in a while.
「Everyone in the battle has engraved your existence in their souls.」
「Congratulations, you’ve completed the special assignment ‘Path of the Commander’.」
「Recalibrating the rewards of the 15th trial floor.」
The assignment completion message popped up while I was looking at the retreating cultists.
Furthermore….
「You got the achievement ‘One against a Thousand’」
「+4 on every stat.」
I received a good achievement from defeating large amounts of enemies.
I couldn’t even raise my stats from using up all the souls absorbed through Necromancy….
To get my stats raised by +4 from the achievement rewards, I couldn’t help but be in a good mood.
But, there was another message that I couldn’t decide how I felt about it.
「You’ve reaped the souls after killing many lives.」
「You are starting to bloom the potential of grim reaper.」
Once my Necromancy reached the A rank, the potential of the grim reaper took root.
Of course, only the message popped up and nothing occurred afterwards, so I could not tell if anything changed. But this was also another method of growth.
‘I’ll figure it out later when I fully develop the potential of the grim reaper.’
And as I was enjoying the rewards of my efforts.
“Excuse me…”
I turned my head towards the sound of the voice.
To a beautiful lady with a cat-like appearance assumed to be a mercenary.
“Sorry… um….”
She muttered as if she had something to say, and eventually spoke something very unexpected.
“T-thank you so much for earlier”
Thank me…?
I wondered what I did to deserve the thanks and I managed to recall a moment later.
‘….Ah, come to think of it. I did rescue few people who were about to get killed.’
I never looked at them properly so I didn’t realize, but she must’ve been one of them.
“Ah, that….. It’s nothing worth mentioning. We’re comrades so of course I should.”
Of course, half of it was true, and half of it was not.
I did rescue anyone that I came across, but that’s not because they were a comrade.
I only said it to complete the requirements of the trial.
“C-comrade….”
But it must’ve moved her as she looked at me with a deeply moved expression.
I was about to let her go since I had no further business with her.
But…
「Starting the special assignment, ‘Object of Admiration’.」
「Raise the capacity of allied forces by being admired from the best mercenary.」
「The best mercenary will have an arrow pointing at them only visible to the challenger.」
「Completing the special assignment will let the top mercenary command in your place.」
「Completing the special assignment will increase your completion rewards.」
I immediately changed my thoughts once a new special assignment appeared.
「The best mercenary among the allied forces is ‘Reinel Asir’.」
After all…….
‘What kind of coincidence is…….’
A small arrow appeared at the top of the head of the mercenary I was talking with.
The small arrow was a sign of the best mercenary according to the second special assignment.
Thus, the lady I rescued was the most skilled mercenary among the allied forces.
I let out the biggest smile realizing that.
‘This trial might be the easiest one yet….’
Since I managed to find a replacement for the commander I was too lazy to be.
[To be continued.]
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