“Ghk!”
Perhaps because the Black Mage was nothing but skin and bones, he fainted the instant my fist hit him. I had not expected one punch to take him out.
The mana around the statue dispersed.
Well, I did not know what this bastard had been preparing, but I had succeeded in stopping it.
“Hye! Are you all right?”
“Yes. I dealt with him. I stopped what he was trying to do, too.”
“No, I mean the fire. What was with those black flames…….”
“You know I have A-Grade Fire Resistance. It was just warm. Maybe the color was only different because he is a Black Mage.”
It had startled me that magic flew at me without any casting time. It was different from ordinary fire. It clung to my body and did not go out easily.
I would probably have taken serious damage without Fire Resistance.
‘I need to train the speed at which I open Subspace a little more.’
In any case, I thought whatever that bastard had been preparing was more serious than those flames.
If we had not opened the path behind the statue of the Goddess of Light quickly, he would probably have pulled an even bigger stunt.
I had been hit by a knockoff Hellfire, but I did not think my decision to rush him just now had been bad.
Inside a Gate, a moment’s judgment could determine life or death.
I drove my sword into the nape of the fallen bastard. There was no need to keep a Black Mage alive.
There was no telling what could happen. He could pretend to be asleep and cast magic.
“Hmm.”
Then I turned my gaze to where he had been praying. Before the statue that looked like a mixture of a gnoll and a human, a black spear lay on the ground.
What caught my eye was a black gem set between the shaft and the spearhead, radiating gloomy mana.
[Corrupted Spear of Egel (D-Grade)]
-It was originally a spear wielded by a devout Paladin, but it has been corrupted by the remnant of an Ancient Evil God.
-If an Apostle of the Ancient Evil God uses it, it can transform people into ‘gnolls.’ The user becomes corrupted the more the spear is used.
-Mental Stat –10
……An Ancient Evil God?
I went blank at a description I had never seen before. Among the countless items that had appeared so far, had there ever been one with the designation ‘Evil God’?
‘…Nothing in particular comes to mind.’
I had never even heard of a ‘god’ in the first place. It was an Ancient Evil God, but it still bore the title of a ‘god.’
If an item like that had existed, it would have caused an uproar.
Yet an item bearing the title of an Ancient Evil God had appeared before my eyes, even if it was only D-Grade.
Of course, I could not be happy about it.
‘That description is absurd.’
The part about an Ancient Evil God was bewildering enough, but the rest was ridiculous.
A weapon that took away ten Mental Stat and turned people into gnolls?
‘It is trash.’
It was a weapon with no great use for us. Where would we even use something that turned humans into gnolls?
Above all, it came with the precondition that one had to become an Apostle of the Ancient Evil God to use it.
I suppose it could turn people worse than dogs into dogs…….
But this turned them into monster hyenas more vicious than hunting dogs.
“What is this?”
Uncle, who approached a beat later and checked the spear’s specs, let out a hollow sigh.
“I had some expectations because it was ruined, but it is trash I would not use even if someone gave it to me…….”
Then the black gem attached to the spear caught my eye. The one radiating ominous mana.
‘It looks like it attached itself later, not that it had been there when the spear was made.’
An idea flashed through my mind. If that was the remnant of an Ancient Evil God, and the spear had been corrupted because of it…….
Would the spear not return to normal if I broke it?
“We do not know yet.”
“Hmm?”
I pointed to the black gem radiating an ominous aura.
“Let’s just break it.”
“The spear? How?”
“No, this black gem-like thing. I think this is the remnant of that Ancient Evil God. Would it not return to normal if we broke it?”
Uncle narrowed his eyes as he looked at the spear.
“Now that you mention it, the ominous feeling is not coming from the whole spear, but from this thing?”
It seemed he had only checked the spear’s specs quickly.
“We have nothing to lose. We cannot take something cursed out with us, so we will break this first. If it does not work, we will throw it away and go.”
“That sounds fine. But will it break with a lance or a sword? It looks sturdy.”
“Come on, why would we use a weapon to break this?”
HUM-
Instead of explaining further, I opened Subspace. It contained all manner of Gate supplies.
In the newly opened space that had appeared when Subspace reached level 2, there was even something like a heavy sledgehammer.
“We have this.”
Was this something Awakened had used in the previous world? It was incomparable to an ordinary sledgehammer.
It was tremendously large and sturdy, so Uncle naturally nodded.
“Wow, with that, even the spear might break. Are you sure?”
“If it breaks, it cannot be helped. We cannot take this with us.”
I placed the sledgehammer against the black gem and raised both arms over my head.
It was quite heavy. Just as I was about to bring it down with all my strength—
-Wait.
A deep, imposing voice rang out from somewhere.
-Wait.
The voice that appeared with a strange presence did not seem human. I could not even tell where the sound came from.
Was it the statue, or the black gem in the spear?
Had that Black Mage bastard already pulled something? We had come down extremely quickly, so it should not have been too late…….
HUM-
First, I needed to prepare for battle, so I opened Subspace and took Yongyong out. There was no poisonous mist like before here.
-You do not need to be tense. I have no intention of fighting. Nor do you need to destroy my remnant.
I was not a fool who would relax just because the other side said that. No, if anything, I became even more tense.
‘My remnant’? The spear’s description had clearly said it contained the remnant of an Ancient Evil God.
That meant the one we were speaking with now was an Ancient Evil God…….
Uncle’s expression was not good either, as he seemed to have grasped the situation.
‘No, I will not be facing an Ancient Evil God right now.’
I steadied myself. Even if it had transformed, this was only a level 21~25 Gate.
The recommended levels for Gates were fairly accurate. Fighting an Ancient Evil God, even if it was only a remnant, made no sense.
‘I do not need to worry about anything else. I only need to think about the objective of clearing the Gate.’
It was a Story-Type Gate. The Black Mage was dead. Now, I only had to resolve something through dialogue with the Ancient Evil God.
Even if a problem arose, at most, something like an inferior avatar would appear.
‘An Ancient Evil God resembling a gnoll.’
Considering that there had been no Awakened Gnolls earlier, I judged that something at that level would be about right.
After thinking it through, my mind and body both settled in several ways. Phew. With a calmer heart, I let out a deep breath.
“What do you want?”
-Judging by your appearance, you seem to be people from another continent, driven back by Mana Erosion and seeking a solution. Take my hand.
‘Mana Erosion?’
It was a term that felt familiar. When had I heard it? When Subspace reached level 2.
The previous Princess had told me to survive Mana Erosion.
From the circumstances, Mana Erosion seemed to refer to the Gate Crisis.
“What happens if I take your hand?”
-I can help you survive Mana Erosion.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
-Why are you laughing?
“It looks like you were already swallowed by that Erosion.”
An Ancient Evil God.
Even while working as an Unawakened Hunter, I had never heard any information about ‘gods.’ Was I the first? I did not know.
‘Maybe the information is controlled.’
Important information related to Gates was rarely made public. On that day ten years ago, the world had been thrown into chaos as if the apocalypse had arrived.
Markets had been looted and crimes had occurred…….
That was to prevent such social collapse.
In any case, whether this was an Ancient Evil God or not, it was certain that it had failed to survive Mana Erosion.
If it had been capable of stopping Mana Erosion, it would not have appeared inside a Gate.
-…….
The Ancient Evil God beyond the spear did not speak for a while.
-Yes, was that how it happened? You must be people from another world. No wonder I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
Huh?
I felt slightly puzzled because I had heard that people in Story-Type Gates could not recognize other worlds.
Was an Ancient Evil God different after all, because it was a god?
-Then everything has already happened. I am only a remnant devoured by him.
“Him? Is Mana Erosion something that truly exists?”
-Well, it depends on how you see it. It is closer to a natu─── occ─red calami───.
The Ancient Evil God’s voice suddenly cut out, as if only that moment had been muted.
-Damn. Perhaps I cannot speak of it within the space created by him.
An idea flashed through my mind.
“Are you trapped in this spear right now? I have a space of my own. You could speak there.”
-Really?
“Yeah.”
-But why should I?
Uh…… Right.
I did not have anything to say. Was it not strange to seek acknowledgment from an Ancient Evil God?
-It is meaningless. I will merely vanish, so struggle all you like.
Irritation surged through me. It could not help us, yet it told us to struggle.
“You got killed by that erosion, and now you are trying to act cool? You hardly deserve the name God. Get lost.”
-……?
A brief silence followed.
It seemed that even if it was an Ancient Evil God, its pride had been hurt.
I swiftly brought down the sledgehammer in my hands with all my strength.
I did not know what crazy shit it might pull after my provocation.
-Y, you impudent……!
As expected. Its voice, tinged with anger, rang out. In an instant, the strange presence and ominousness exploded and grew.
But that did not matter.
The sledgehammer had already struck the black gem.
THUD, CRACK—!
I felt the impact through the sledgehammer, and at the same time, the strange presence and ominousness disappeared.
As expected, it had been good to act quickly.
“W, what? Is that it?”
Uncle was staring at me with his mouth open. I grinned. Waiting for a transformation was something that only happened in movies and animation.
“Only amateurs wait for transformations, right? I just smashed it first.”
I pointed at the statue with the sledgehammer.
“You cannot even move after one hammer blow, and you are acting all arrogant? You are already dead.”
When I spoke with a grin, Uncle let out a hollow laugh. His expression had relaxed.
“What is all this? The Gate transformed into the past because of you, and now an Ancient Evil God too.”
“Right.”
I was just as bewildered.
“The erosion that thing mentioned earlier was the Gate Crisis, right?”
Because Uncle and I spoke frankly with each other, I had even told him about what had happened inside Subspace.
“I think so.”
“That means even an Ancient Evil God could not defeat it…… Are we really going to be all right?”
That worried me as well.
“We cannot just die. The previous Princess told me to reach the end of Subspace, too. We have to try.”
“Yes, that is right.”
That was when I sensed something move near the spear with Spatial Sense.
TAP, ROLL—.
When I looked to see what it was, something like a round white gem was rolling along.
Sensing something strange, I hurriedly picked it up.
[Divine Stone (A-Grade)]
-A stone containing a faint trace of divinity.
“Could that be it?”
Uncle narrowed his eyes.
“Yes, it looks like the black gem that was attached earlier.”
“It is not dangerous, is it?”
“The color changed, so I think it is all right?”
I showed Uncle the Divine Stone as well.
“Huh? A-Grade?”
Uncle was startled, then soon looked dejected.
“It is A-Grade, but where would we use this?”
“Right. Would a Paladin be able to use divinity if we gave it to one?”
It said the divinity was faint, so it seemed it would run out after one or two uses. Just like the Fire Crystal Jade before, I somehow seemed to be picking up ambiguous items.
It was just as we were feeling disappointed.
[The remnant of an Ancient Evil God has been destroyed. Though it was only a remnant, a human has extinguished a part of a god—a great feat.]
[Mana Stat +10.]
[Experience acquired.]
[Level increased.]
[Class Skill Acquisition Ticket granted to top contributor, ‘Han Hye’.]
“Oh?”
“Oh!”