Apocalypse Summoning Tome (2)
The night I returned after finishing my Rune Dungeon clear, I could not fall asleep from excitement.
The perk I had only received after five years.
My awakening.
My reunion with Hertia.
An Apocalypse-grade class.
Had all of this not happened in only a few days?
After experiencing such changes, I naturally became curious about various things.
One of them was the Apocalypse Summoning Tome that had summoned Hertia.
When I thought about it, there was something strange about it.
Usually, when summoning a summon, one consumed a ‘Summon Ticket’ or a ‘Selection Ticket’. There was no need for something like a ‘summoning tome’.
Furthermore, even after summoning Hertia, this summoning tome had not disappeared.
On top of that, I could take the summoning tome out again whenever I wanted.
So I wondered what on earth this book was and examined it closely.
To summarize the functions I found out—
Through the Apocalypse Summoning Tome, I could summon Lucifer’s legacies. In other words, ‘villains’.
[Currently Inherited Legacies]
▶1/7
‘Points’ were required to summon villains.
[Points Remaining Until the Next Legacy Inheritance]
▶0/1,000 pt
Points could be obtained by consuming ‘Summon Tickets’, and the points obtained differed depending on the grade of the Summon Ticket.
Common: 1 pt
Advanced: 5 pt
...
Mythic: 1,000 pt
‘Now. Let’s do a little calculating.’
First, to fill these sacrifice points, I needed a total of 1,000 pt.
In other words, based on the cheapest Common Summon Tickets, I would need 1,000 of them.
If I bought them from the marketplace, they cost 20,000 won each.
That meant it would cost 20 million won.
I could call forth a summon of a grade higher than Mythic for only 20 million won?
This was practically free.
Of course, the next summon would probably demand far more points than this.
‘Well, I do not even have 20 million won right now.’
I had handed all the profit I earned from selling the Hero Summon Selection Ticket to my family.
If I said I needed to urgently use 20 million won, they would give it back right away, but I did not want to do something so undignified. There was no need for it either.
After all, the rewards I had obtained from diligently running Attribute Rune Dungeons yesterday were enough.
[List of Summon Tickets in Possession]
Common-grade Summon Ticket x305
Advanced-grade Summon Ticket x111
Rare-grade Summon Ticket x20
When I calculated the points according to grade, I could fill the requirement.
‘305 from Common, 555 from Advanced, and 200 from Rare. That makes a total of 1,060 points secured.’
Even after summoning a new villain, I could save 6 Rare Summon Tickets.
I was about to start humming on my own.
‘Then should I go to the mountain behind my house and summon one now?’
The mountain behind my house did not even have a proper path, and since it was extremely steep, few people went there.
On top of that, it was the dead of night.
It was perfect for secretly carrying something out.
If my family caught me, it was obvious they would worry and say, ‘What do you mean, going for a night walk in such dangerous times?’ So I quietly got up and left the house.
***
So autumn really was here now. It was fairly chilly outside.
But my body was burning hot with a strange heat.
It seemed I was unknowingly looking forward to what kind of person I would summon.
After reaching a secluded spot on the mountain behind the house, I placed the Apocalypse Summoning Tome on my hand.
THUD!
As expected, it was heavy.
It was hard to tell whether this thing was a book or a dumbbell.
Fully feeling the weight of its cover, I carefully opened the Apocalypse Summoning Tome.
《Would you like to offer sacrifices to the Apocalypse Summoning Tome?》
YES. YES. YES.
I immediately began offering the Summon Tickets I possessed as sacrifices.
《You have offered Common-grade Summon Ticket x305 as sacrifices and obtained 305 pt in sacrifice points.》
《You have offered Advanced-grade Summon Ticket x111 as sacrifices and obtained 555 pt in sacrifice points.》
《You have offered Rare-grade Summon Ticket x14 as sacrifices and obtained 140 pt in sacrifice points.》
After I offered the Summon Tickets as sacrifices—
《The Apocalypse Summoning Tome’s sacrifice points have been completely filled.》
Along with the system notification, the Apocalypse Summoning Tome began to emit dark purple light.
Amid the glittering light, a Summon Ticket similar to the one I had first received appeared.
《An Apocalypse Summon Ticket has been provided.》
【Apocalypse Summon Ticket】
Description: A ticket left behind by the Rebel of the Morning Star. Through this ticket, one of the legacies left behind by the Rebel of the Morning Star can be inherited at random.
‘At random?’
When I summoned Hertia, I could choose the one I wanted.
That was because it had been a Selection Ticket.
But this time was different.
It seemed the target would be selected randomly from among the remaining six villains.
‘Since I have Hertia, anyone is fine in terms of party composition, but...’
I immediately checked the list of legacies.
[Legacy List]
Siren Ruinbringer of the Hundred-Valley King (Dark)
Divine Maiden Marena Who Defies Heaven (Light)
Death Liberator Caligo (Dark)
Sky Sovereign Ariel (Light)
Black Prince Theo (Dark)
Immaculate Herald Lucevar (Light)
To be honest, I liked any one of them.
One was good for long battles, one was good for speed battles, and one was well balanced.
Each of them was excellent no matter where they were placed.
Even so, if there was just one I did not want to draw right away...
‘...I hope Caligo comes out later.’
It was not because his performance was lacking.
It was just that, to persuade him, I felt as though I would really have to risk my life...
‘...Haha, no way!’
The probability of that guy appearing was 1/6. Surely I would not draw ‘that one’ of all people in a situation like this.
I focused again, tore the ticket in my hand, and began the summoning.
RIIIP.
《You will inherit one of the legacies left behind by the Rebel of the Morning Star.》
Along with the message, the area around me grew cold.
It was cold enough that even my feverish body felt a chill.
However, the problem lay elsewhere.
Dark jade clouds began to slowly spread from the ground.
The dark green poison smoke spread across the ground and instantly wrapped around the surrounding area.
This presentation was far too familiar.
‘...Do not mess with me. Seriously?’
I knew it instinctively.
This jade poison smoke.
One part of the poison smoke spread across the ground rose high into the air.
In that instant, the towering smoke scattered all at once, and a man appeared.
He was a red-haired man with a height so tall it felt uncanny, sharp shoulders, and a gaunt frame.
‘Is this for real...?’
It was the appearance of the Death Liberator, Caligo.
“Ah, outside air for the first time in ages! Where might this place be? It feels as though there are all kinds of interesting things here.”
“......”
“Young man over there, allow me to ask one question. Where in the world is this? And why have you summoned me? Ah, since I have been summoned, naturally you intend to use me as a summon!”
“......”
“Unfortunately, I already have someone I serve. Still, I do not want to be extinguished, so you, young man, will have to become my test subject! As for that person... well, I shall take my time finding him!”
《Caligo has broken the summoning contract and revealed hostility!》
‘Damn it, here we go again!’
***
The Death Liberator, Caligo.
The boss of Episode 4.
He had been born an ‘anomaly’.
Perhaps it was the price of his genius mind. The thing called a human heart was faint within him.
However, he had been born into a wealthy and kind-hearted family, so there had been no chance for that nature of his to surface.
He did not understand things such as goodness or love, but he excelled at understanding ‘rules’.
What actions were tolerated, and what actions would cause an individual to be rejected by the group.
Through his extraordinary mind, Caligo understood the ‘rules’ of society, and in truth, he was quite good at pretending to be an ordinary child.
With such an outstanding mind, it was only natural that he walked the path of a scholar.
After becoming a scholar and obtaining a space of his own, Caligo increasingly shut himself inside his secluded room.
Every day was spent immersed in reading and research.
He had not the slightest interest in success or socializing.
That was because Caligo’s only interest was clarifying the rules of the world.
His parents worried about him because of this, but that very disposition ended up saving Caligo’s life.
—KYAAAA!
While he was shut inside his secluded room, the vampire clan that had signed a non-aggression pact with the kingdom suddenly launched a large-scale raid.
As always, Caligo had been absorbed in his research, and when he emerged from his secluded room after a week, what greeted him was...
—......
The dried, crumbling remains of his family.
At that moment, Caligo shed a single tear for the first and last time.
That had been the single handful of humanity remaining within him, and also the final chain restraining Caligo’s madness.
From that day onward, Caligo’s research topics became twofold.
One was how to save someone.
The other was how to kill someone.
At first, that ‘someone’ had been clearly divided into humans and vampires, but as he continued his research, that boundary grew increasingly blurred.
To eradicate vampires, who lived on ‘blood’ as sustenance, he turned his own blood into poison.
To create even stronger poison, he placed deeply sinful humans and innocent vampires alike on the experiment table.
And when the research that finally bore fruit eradicated vampires from the world and turned every human connected to them into a handful of bloody sludge as well,
The world began to call him the ‘Death Liberator’.
“Ah, I have always been bad at waiting! So, have you washed yourself? Cleanliness is important for experiments, after all!”
His tone was bright.
That was precisely why he was frightening.
Caligo was a being who moved solely according to his own ‘interest’.
Even if he seemed friendly right now, if his interest faded even a little, he would melt me in an instant.
‘Should I summon Hertia? ...No. If I cannot resolve even this situation, he might instead doubt my ability, and the situation could get even worse.’
Even in a tiger’s den, one survives if he keeps his wits.
Repeating those words to myself, I began thinking of a way to persuade him.
The basic idea was no different from Hertia.
If Hertia remembered Lucifer, Caligo should be no different.
And Caligo had also respected and followed Lucifer, at least.
‘In that case, I have to make him remember.’
Hiding the tension welling up inside my chest, I answered calmly.
“If you want to ask me questions, let us play a game.”
“...Pardon?”
“If you beat me, I shall answer your questions. However, if I win, you will become my subordinate.”
“Hoh...”
At that moment, Caligo’s expression hardened coldly.
“Do you even know who you are imitating right now?”
HISSSS—
The hem of his clothes turned back into poison smoke, and the terrible smell of chemicals tickled my nose.
The color of the poison smoke was reddish brown.
It had low lethality, but it was a nasty poison that gradually amplified pain.
I could glimpse Caligo’s intention to kill me very slowly and painfully.
“No, of course you do not. Naturally, you could not know. If you knew, you would not be able to remain so calm.”
I knew why he was angry.
Right now, I was reenacting the first meeting between ‘Lucifer’ and ‘Caligo’.
To him, Lucifer was the first incomprehensible being he had ever encountered in his life.
From their first meeting onward, Caligo had regarded Lucifer as an object of both research and reverence.
Since he thought that such a being had been insulted, he could not help but be angry.
“Whether this is imitation or not, we will know once we play the game.”
“...How dare you, when you do not even know your place.”
“What, are you afraid you will lose again?”
“......”
Caligo’s eyes slowly filled with venom.
Rather than when he was chattering noisily, this made him feel more intimidating.
After a brief silence, Caligo slipped a hand into the long sleeve of his research coat and took something out.
CLINK.
“Drink.”
Three bottles of potion were suddenly thrust before my eyes.
“Oh? Do you not intend to explain?”
“Shut up. Drink.”
Judging by his roughened tone, it seemed I had properly gotten under his skin.
Ah, of course, it was not as though I really needed an explanation.
I had played this game before, long ago.
‘Three potions offered to the player. In the days when this was a game, this was the phase where one chose which penalty to start the boss battle with.’
Red Potion—Necessity. Effect: Vitality decreases by 90%.
Blue Potion—Chance. Skill use prohibited.
Green Potion—Fate. 10 stacks of random debuffs.
No matter what one chose, it was hell.
However, this game had one hidden gimmick.
I took all three potions at once and—
“What are you doing right now—”
GULP!
I drank them all in one breath.
“Ggh!”
It was hot!
The thick liquid passed down my throat and burned my stomach like fierce flames.
The pain seeped all the way into my bones, but I clenched my teeth and endured it.
The clear condition of this wager.
It was to reenact the conversation with Lucifer that only that man knew!
Only by making that man believe I was Lucifer would this finally be ‘proven’.
In front of the flustered Caligo, I whispered very softly.
“The world is fickle. It acts as though there are obvious rules, yet at times, it mocks us with unexpected trials.”
Like my parents, who had suddenly been caught up in an accident.
Like Hertia’s children, who had been absurdly chosen as sacrifices for the World Tree.
Like Caligo’s family, which had been reduced to ashes by the betrayal of the vampires.
The world sometimes forcibly mixed ‘implausible’ elements into the lives of people who simply lived through each day and inflicted trials upon them.
Caligo’s game had been conceived from that kind of absurdity.
However, Caligo was a scholar to the bone.
No matter how absurd and irregular an incident appeared, he believed there had to be some kind of rule somewhere.
That belief of his was applied to this game as well.
“Chance. Necessity. Fate. If you merely accept the results you are given as they are, you will forever remain the plaything of the world.”
However, if all of those results could be mixed together to create something new...
“Poisoned Liquor—Bond. It has been a while since I tasted this flavor, Caligo. Have you been well all this time?”
The moment I finished speaking, my body staggered.
‘Ugh, damn it. This is really strong.’
My head grew dizzier and dizzier, and drowsiness rushed in.
Beyond my blurred vision, I felt Caligo hurriedly supporting my body.
“H-Honored Sage? Is it truly you, Honored Sage?”
Yes. Caligo called Lucifer Honored Sage.
I could tell just by looking at his eyes now.
Those sparkling eyes, like a puppy waiting for its master.
It seemed this gamble had succeeded too.
Necessity, Chance, and Fate.
Three types of poison through which Caligo expressed the will of the world.
If one chose and drank only one of them, one would suffer a terrible pain and receive a debuff so severe that combat became impossible.
If it was the body of a human rather than a summon, it boasted enough toxicity to kill one hundreds of times over.
However, if one swallowed all three types of poison at once...
‘Poisoned Liquor—Bond. All the toxins are neutralized, and only the alcohol remains.’
In other words, I had just drunk an extremely strong liquor.
“Yes, it is me. Do you still enjoy this kind of poisoned liquor?”
“You knew everything and still did that? What would you have done if your body had been harmed?”
“Are you not here? I never worried from the beginning.”
I muttered with a smile.
Just how high was the alcohol content?
The system notifications ringing dizzily in my ears made my head feel as if it would split apart.
《Hertia has detected an abnormality that occurred in the adventurer’s body!》
《Hertia descends of her own will!》
SHUUUU—
“Are you all right, Master!”
Wow. What was this?
Now these guys were getting summoned on their own without my will.
Hertia, who had descended of her own will, immediately attacked Caligo.
“You, Caligo! How dare you do such a thing to Master!”
CREAK!
Hertia gripped Caligo’s forearm with all her strength.
However, Caligo did not back down and snapped back.
“Hertia! Do not tell me... you have been monopolizing Honored Sage all by yourself?”
“Ha! Monopolizing? Watch your tongue, drunkard! How dare you speak of Master as if he were an object!”
“Do not change the subject! If the other members of the Seven Deadly Sins find out, they will not sit still!”
BANG!
“And what will they do if they do not sit still? Did you think I would yield to the threats of a lowly thing?”
“Haha— If someone heard you, they might think you were born terribly noble. If we are being precise, I was a human noble! You were a slave, a lowborn!”
“Aha, a human! I wonder if there is anyone left who would see you as human? You are a monster with poison flowing instead of blood!”
These bastards were starting again.
An emotional fight that existed somewhere between a hierarchy struggle and a contest of loyalty, or whatever else it was supposed to be.
It was familiar. No, in fact, this was on the better side.
Before, seven of them had fought like this.
‘This sobered me up instantly.’
“...You will be going around together from now on, so leave it at that.”
“Pardon?! With this drunkard, you mean?”
“My specialty is internal medicine, so treating anger-management disorder is a bit...”
I stopped walking for a moment and turned around.
“I do not intend to abandon any of you. In other words, if you cannot accept each other, you cannot stay with me either.”
Only then did the two of them glance at each other and show proper respect.
“...I apologize, Master.”
“I misspoke, Honored Sage.”
Thank goodness. It seemed they still believed I was Lucifer for now.
“Stay here and have a quiet conversation. I will go for a short walk.”
They immediately displayed obedience toward me.
“Yes, Master!”
“Yes, Honored Sage!”
It had been eventful in many ways, but in any case, I had succeeded in obtaining a new villain, ‘Caligo’.
Now, it seemed it would be good to start deciding on the next target to clear.
‘Caligo and Hertia, huh? With this combination... I think it should be fine to challenge the “Labyrinth” soon.’
One month remained until the new main episode arrived.
Now it was about time to start preparing my equipment.