[Translator – Prøks]
[Proofreader – Prøks]
Chapter 6
Sanctuary boasts an extreme level of difficulty.
Among the factors that contribute to the difficulty of Sanctuary, the most notorious is the leveling system.
Levels that intuitively allow players to feel stronger as they progress.
-Max level 30.
The maximum level in Sanctuary is 30.
And less than 1% of the players, out of the hundreds of millions, have reached the max level even once in their lifetime.
It was known that reaching max level in the following two lifetimes was achieved by fewer than ten thousand.
Among them, those who reached max level in all three lives were said to be non-existent.
This was due to the Sanctuary system, where the amount of experience required increases exponentially with each successive lifetime.
The last life, where the level must be the lowest.
Yet the reason it could be the most powerful is because.
“Stellar Beacon.”
Right away, this Stellar Beacon system.
With each of the three level-ups, the Stellar Beacon that comes allows the inheritance of abilities from past lives.
‘Of course, it’s random.’
But Sein was different.
“The cheat I have lets me choose.”
The life given, the number of times to access the Stellar Beacon.
‘The special privileges I’ll have.’
The ability to choose everything.
Once again, encountering the Stellar Beacon was a process of confirming that.
Hum!
The stone from the previous life that was currently active was the third life, the crown prince of the empire.
As a noble with dragon’s blood flowing through his veins, Sein had gained the power of the dragon, albeit faintly.
“What….”
Sein stood before the Stones of Past Lives.
“It might be limited what I can choose now.”
The life of the Crown Prince of the Empire was already activated.
If he didn’t raise it to a certain extent, it would be impossible to activate another past life.
For the time being, he needed to focus on the third life, that of the Crown Prince of the Empire.
Swoosh.
In Sein’s hand was the third stone.
Hum! Hum! Huum!
The stone resonated loudly, as if recognizing its rightful owner.
Normally, it should be given randomly rather than by choice.
“I choose the perks of my past life.”
For Sein, choice was a cheat.
Visions flashed through his mind.
But at this moment, what to inherit was clear.
“Inheritance…”
A powerful light burst from the third stone.
“Dragon Heart.”
If he acquired the blood of the dragon, he needed a vessel to contain it.
Sein continued to hunt even after waking up from the Stellar Beacon.
But limitations always existed.
“Boss….”
The first to tire out was Darren.
Darren was the one Sein had paid the most attention to in Chichiron.
Although he couldn’t use the aura, he was unrivaled in martial arts and swordsmanship in the alley.
Darren’s role was limited to dealing with the goblins that Sein missed or couldn’t defeat, but he quickly reached his limit.
“To groan so much at that level.”
But Darren wasn’t the only one who had reached his limit.
A strange sensation, as if bugs were crawling up his arm.
On his exposed arm, there were long black scars as if they were burnt into the skin.
“You mentioned it was your first time stepping outside the territory.”
Arin, who had only observed the hunt, leaned against a tree and spoke.
“The darkness.”
“Darkness?”
“The continent is engulfed in darkness, and without the protection of the barrier, it will be engulfed in darkness.”
It was a known fact, but experiencing it was a first.
“This is darkness.”
The first time experiencing it firsthand.
“If it continues like this, contamination will accelerate.”
Arin said.
“At first, it’s like having a light symptom of illness, but it gets worse over time.”
“In the end, they turn into monsters.”
It was a story told to mercenaries.
Arin nodded, as if agreeing with Sein’s words.
“The more you confront the darkness, the faster the contamination accelerates. Hunting a considerable number of monsters and still not being heavily contaminated is quite surprising.”
It wasn’t just curiosity, but suspicion.
“What about you?”
Sein redirected the conversation.
“Despite everything, you don’t seem contaminated.”
Arin was wearing a black dress that didn’t seem suitable for such a dangerous place. Her arms were exposed, and her legs peeked through the split skirt.
Despite her revealing attire, there were no black scars like his on her body.
“I have a resistance against the darkness.”
That was a story he hadn’t heard in the rural outskirts.
“Resistance?”
“Those blessed are not consumed by the darkness. At least, to some extent.”
The words were complex, but the gist was simple.
“We need to escape from the contamination, right?”
“Yeah.”
The sun was setting, casting the already dark forest into even deeper shadows.
“There are several ways to escape contamination, but the most effective one is hiding within the boundary of a sanctuary.”
Sein waited.
“If not that…”
Arin had another method in mind.
With a sudden movement, Arin drove her staff into the ground.
A surge of mana flowed out.
“There’s also the option of using a temporary barrier. We’ll deal with the cost later.”
“You call yourself a guardian, yet you’re quite demanding.”
“As I said, even this level of assistance requires some investment. Sein Demorus.”
Sein nodded without further complaint.
“Darren, we’ll camp here tonight.”
“Understood, Boss.”
As if prepared for such a situation, Darren retrieved camping gear from the supplies.
He and Sein efficiently set up camp.
“…Didn’t you say it was your first time outside the boundary?”
Arin’s voice echoed incredulously.
“I never planned to stay stuck in the countryside forever. I told you, didn’t I?”
The topic had already shifted adequately.
What mattered now was driving another point home.
“A genius, you say?”
“…”
“A genius rotting away in such a backwater is a colossal waste for the continent.”
“Disgusting, isn’t it?”
But Arin’s hand moved as if in agreement.
“Enough of that.”
Tents and a campfire.
A quite plausible campsite was set up.
“Sorry, but there’s none for you. It wasn’t in the plans.”
There’s only one tent.
Darren seemed to have anticipated this, as he had already laid out his sleeping bag on the ground.
Arin didn’t have a tent.
“It’s okay.”
Arin waved her hand again as if it didn’t matter.
Thunk!
The ground rose sharply.
Revealed from within was a tent made of pure white bones.
“…Bigger and cozier than Sein’s.”
“Any chance of switching…”
“None.”
So be it!
***
Thunk! Squeak!
Sein’s dagger had long lost its edge.
If he used Aura, even a dull dagger could reproduce the cutting power of a master sword, but Sein chose not to.
Not only was he not accustomed to handling Aura yet, but he also deemed it a waste.
Thunk! Squeak!
That was the source of the eerie noise.
Having wrestled away a goblin’s wooden spear a couple of times before, Sein was now tearing through goblins.
“No need to keep up anymore.”
Arin spoke to Darren, who struggled to rise despite being covered in blood.
“…Groan.”
Darren sat down, seemingly frustrated.
His body had already reached its limit.
“Thanks to the makeshift barrier, the pace of contamination has slowed down, literally.”
Darren’s arms and legs were covered in black scars from the wounds inflicted by goblins.
“You’ll die if you overdo it.”
“But, Boss…”
“You’re going to follow that?”
Thunk!
Ahead of them.
“Squeak!”
“…Squeak!”
The noises came together like the screams and laughter of terrified goblins.
Hunting.
“That’s close to madness.”
Sein continued hunting relentlessly, taking only minimal breaks.
“I’m just curious, but have you ever held a grudge against monsters?”
“…”.
“You ever had a bad run-in with goblins?”
“No, not that I know of.”
Then where did that madness come from?
Thud!
That kind of madness, where did it originate?
It was impossible without a clear purpose and venom, and even with those, it was still improbable.
Crunch!
That’s true madness.
‘He’s definitely broken.’
Arin thought as she looked at Sein.
‘And accelerating.’
Arin’s job was to watch over Sein.
“Now we have to figure out what to do.”
Darren hadn’t awakened his magic, and Sein was literally going wild.
But Arin felt it.
Boom!
In the heart of the forest.
There was a strange movement of unfamiliar magic.
It had been quietly rising and approaching this place for quite some time.
“Sein Demorus. The help I can offer you has come to an end.”
So now.
Boom!
When you have to break free on your own.
With thick dust.
Rumble…!! Crash!
Giant trees were collapsing with a thunderous roar.
“…Boss!”
“Darren. If you go there this time, you’ll really die.”
Boom!
From far away, along with another explosion, a small shadow was seen darting towards them.
Thud!
After felling several trees, Sein finally came to a stop.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The heavy footsteps echoed.
Thunk! Thud!
Trees that even seasoned lumberjacks would spend hours chopping down were collapsing like dominoes.
“Kieee!”
His roar reverberated through the forest.
Special breeds, exposed to darkness for extended periods, embraced its influence.
“Dark Goblins, perhaps.”
Enhanced monsters engulfed by darkness.
They surpassed the strength of their original breed several times over.
Swish!
Moreover, they possessed unique abilities of their own.
A Dark Goblin emerged.
“No, it’s a Dark HobGoblin.”
The Dark HobGoblin, wielding its massive flaming greatsword, was advancing towards Sein.
“Ugh.”
At that moment, even the fallen Sein rose to his feet.
His body was in disarray from the brutal battle he had endured.
But Arin could see it.
Sneer.
A smirk played on his lips.
“Finally showed up. The boss monster.”
Sein had undoubtedly been waiting for this moment.
[Translator – Prøks]
[Proofreader – Prøks]
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