Regret invaded me.
He shouldn't have attempted... a raid against a Soil Lord.
If he had paid Sawtooth his fair share of the essence we took, then he wouldn't have even thought about fighting a Floor Lord in the first place.
No, before that...
I wish I had never played this game.
If I had stayed away from him, then they would never have brought me here.
And nothing like this would have ever happened.
I clenched my fists so tightly that blood began to drip down my knuckles and I forced myself to stand up. This was not the time to regret it, there was work to do.
No, there would be time to lament later.
When my stats went up, a new option opened up before me.
Hit.
I looked past the countless corpses that covered the cave.
Step step.
There, beyond them, he slowly approached. «This is great. I was starting to worry about not being able to find you».
As soon as he appeared, I roared and ran towards him. Since my usual build focused on muscle strength and various types of endurance, I never imagined I could move so fast. The moment between getting up from the ground and reaching him was practically instantaneous.
Hit!
I no longer needed a gun because my own body had become a gun. Only my skin was as hard as any mace or iron sword.
Hit!
He responded to my attack with his aura-covered sword. However, now that he followed his movements, he seemed ridiculously slow.
Step.
I easily dodged his attack and approached again, delivering another round of blows. It looked like he had just used a cheat code. Although I didn't have any active skills, my basic stats made me feel several times stronger than I used to be in gigantization mode.
I don't even think he can hurt me with his aura right now...
Still, there was no reason to risk being hit by a sword that could be easily dodged. Instead, I continued to decimate him completely, being careful to move in and out of his reach to avoid his sword.
Hit, hit, hit!
I didn't even have to hit him that hard. Maybe about ten times in total? That was all it took for him to fall to the ground, unable to face me.
Hit hit!
He was in worse condition now than when we cornered him, but he was not recovering. Which meant my hypothesis was correct.
That healing ability must be single-use...
And he may be the kind of boss monster that can only be killed once he's alone and you come face to face with him.
Tal leads...
Then maybe it wasn't too late.
¡Aplastar!
I put all my determination into one last punch, completely crushing his skull like a watermelon.
[You have defeated the Lord of Terror, Dreadfear. EXP +100]
[Bonus for death of the Lord of the Soil. EXP +15]
As the experience points accumulated, his body turned into specks of light and began to float.
...Is that it? Have I gotten my hopes up in vain?
Just as that horrible thought began to boil in my mind, the cave began to collapse around me.
[You have passed the test more perfectly than anyone. The Nameless Pilgrim admits defeat.]
[Fragments of distorted memory have begun to recompose.]
Although I was bewildered, I decided to watch the show for now. To be honest, there was really nothing else I could do. I couldn't run away when the entire cave collapsed around me.
¡Rumble!
Furthermore, even outside the cave, he could see the bright sky and the green bushes in the distance falling. Everything had begun to dissipate into thin air, like when a monster dies.
Shaaaaaa.
The world itself began to collapse, dissolving into colorful particles of light. And once everything disappeared, I was left alone in complete darkness. It wasn't just that I couldn't see anything in front of me. It was as if «in front of me» it didn't exist.
¡Fwoosh!
Then suddenly there was a crackling of fire and my surroundings lit up. I was in a dark cave. Dozens of torches hung on walls that a few moments ago were crumbling. In the center of the cave was a stone altar with a book on top.
What do you want me to do now?
I didn't know it, but I approached anyway. In doing so, the book opened in its first Chapter. It was written in an ancient language, but for some reason I was able to read the text without problems.
If I were asked to draw a representation of terror, I would not hesitate to sketch his face on that sheet of white paper. Captain White, Dreadfear. The one who taught me what true terror was...
As I focused on the words in front of me, the letters began to blur as flashes of color and sound flooded my senses. I had never experienced anything like it.
I met him moments before I was about to achieve a great feat.
Memories of a stranger began to flood my mind.
***
I'm not afraid of dying. In my last moments, I know that I will die as a person greater than any other.
Although I had lived my life with this conviction, such delirium and reality were completely and absolutely different.
«I swear by my name, Dreadfear, that any of you who kill the other dirty pilgrims will have proven your innocence and will thus be absolved of all your sins».
After our mission failed, he offered us a twisted proposition. Nobody believed him at first, of course. The five of us closed our eyes in unison, rejecting his offer. The cave was completely silent as we waited for our death, honorable to the end.
¡Ba-dump, ba-dump!
However, in that silence, our hearts beat with the desperate longing to live. Were we really going to die like this? No matter what I had said in the past, I didn't want to die. Still, betraying my own comrades would be...
"Cream."
How weird. It was just two words, but why didn't they sound like a lie?
I gently opened my closed eyes. Next to me was a woman who had been entrusted with the same search as me. His eyes moved frantically, as scared as I was sure mine were.
As soon as our eyes met, I knew it in my gut.
Fuck it!
He was about to succumb to temptation. I had no proof, but I knew it was true. After all, how long had we known each other?
Ba-dump, ba-dump.
The blood rose to my head. My breathing stopped and I started to look blurry.
It is.
The woman gave me an uncomfortable smile. For some reason, the sight gave me a sinister chill. As those budding doubts blossomed, fear began to gnaw at my roots.
«Yes... If I have to kill someone, let it be him...».
Suddenly, I heard the woman's inner thoughts. The words were too vivid to dismiss as mere auditory hallucination. Come to think of it, we've never gotten along. We had even argued the last time we were drinking. As if that were not enough, look where we were now: in the place where the spirit of the Mother Goddess dwelt.
A divine revelation... Yes, it must have been a revelation from the Mother Goddess herself. She must have exposed that woman's malicious intent toward me to save her vulnerable son.
Before I knew it, I had accepted as a fact that she planned to betray and kill me to survive. Was that why?
Huff, huff, huff…
I let out a sigh and when I came to my senses, I was already picking up the dagger. I turned to the woman, who had her eyes wide open in surprise.
«T-You... You thought about it, right...? You planned to kill me...»
«N-No, no lo here. ¡No lo here!»
«Don't lie! I-I already know the truth! I definitely heard it...»
I stabbed him with the dagger. My companions cursed and yelled at me, but I ignored them. I couldn't do anything. If he didn't do it now, she would have done it first.
«Pfft-hahaha!» Captain White, Dreadfear, laughed with genuine joy at the spectacle. When he spoke next, his voice was light. «Well done. Now who are you going to stab next?».
Full of adrenaline, my body trembled as I stuttered: «P-But I thought... You just said I had to stab one... And you'd let me live...».
«Of course I'm not going to kill you anymore. But... are you sure you will be safe? If you lower the dagger, I plan to free all your friends here too. What do you think will happen then?»
My vision was tunneling. I knew they were cheating on me, but the point of no return had already passed.
Ba-dump, ba-dump.
My heart was pounding in my chest, more violent than ever. My classmates kept yelling at me, begging me not to fall for their tricks. Screaming at me that I had to come to my senses and die with honor. Of course, I didn't hear any of that. At first, he had deceived me with his words. Now, he didn't even need to trick me into believing him.
Hit.
In the end, I couldn't let go of the dagger now that it was in my hands.
Stabbed!
When I came to my senses, all my companions were dead except me. Still dazed, I asked him if he was going to let me live now and, in response, he told me to leave. He told me he would let me go alive.
I ran without looking back. I felt like he was looking at me with the eyes of someone playing with a fun toy. When I finally reached the cave entrance after hours of running non-stop, the reality of what I had done finally hit me. «N-No... I... No...»
A new fear began to well up inside me. And there was only one way to escape from him.
Stab me!
I stabbed myself with the same dagger I used to kill my comrades.
When I began to lose consciousness, I saw Captain White's blurry form appear in the distance, with an appreciative look. «I knew it as soon as I saw it. It's going to be a good ingredient». He called a magician, who approached my dying body and sprinkled me with a mysterious potion.
¡Sizzle!
Unbearable pain consumed me as if my fallen soul was being completely torn apart. Then, in the midst of that endless agony, a sudden heat caressed my broken spirit. However, the warm energy did nothing but calm the pain, unable to rebuild my now shattered soul.
«Ugh... That's it».
I had abandoned my pathetic human body and transformed into a new being: a creature imbued with infinite power and abilities far exceeding those of a mere mortal, and yet an empty shell capable only of the lowest desires and purest hatred.
«...What a peculiar case. Looks like he still has some common sense left...»
«You're right».
At the magician's response, he approached trying to hide his fear. «Tell me, what's your name?».
I answered.
«Kread ».
«...What? But that's my...»
Trago.
I wasn't afraid anymore.
***
[You have taken the Memory Fragments of a Nameless Pilgrim. Now you can read and write freely in the ancient language].
***
Fragmented memories filled my mind like a fleeting dream. However, the emotions and sensations I felt lingered, too vivid.
¡Fwoosh!
When the book reached its last page, it was engulfed in flames. Soon, it was nothing but ashes.
One step.
I took a step back only to feel a presence behind me. I turned around and saw a man staring at me about ten steps away.
«Kread ».
Although I guess I should call him the Nameless Pilgrim.
It wasn't about Dreadfear, it was about the man who, when he had the power to do so, swallowed Dreadfear whole and stole his name.
...What the hell is going on?
I was a little... no, I was extremely confused. The raid was already over. I had definitely felt the experience points filling me up. So why the hell was this guy in front of me now?
«I want to ask you something», he said as if he had read my thoughts. «You... Why weren't you afraid?»
I had a feeling he was going to ask me that. Now that he knew how he was born, he also had an idea of the kind of questions that would assail him. After all, we had experienced the same doubts, terror, and hallucinations as he and his comrades. The Prophet of Misfortune allowed us to see premonitory futures, and one of us could feel the emotions of others. It was the perfect setting to foment betrayal. And that was not all. On top of all that, Captain White also used an ability to make us believe everything he said, and just when it seemed like we were going to get the better of him in a fight, he suddenly brought out ridiculously overpowered abilities.
«Because none of us were as weak as you».
However, in the end, none of us had betrayed each other.
He nodded silently despite my rude response. «I see...»
Since I had never had a conversation with a boss monster in a game or in real life, this was quite rare for me. However, now was not the time to think about that. There was something much more important to discuss.
«Enough is enough. Tell me...» This one possibility had been invading all my thoughts since all my companions died. «They're all alive, right?»
«Before I answer, I want to ask you something: why do you think that?»
«Because this test was designed so that someone would definitely be left alone in the end, and it was impossible to change that».
The design of this level had seemed strange to me from the beginning. I had played Dungeon and Stone for almost a decade, but I had never encountered a boss match where survival was virtually impossible. Not only that, this guy's whole topic was an important clue. Terror and hate. In retrospect, it was clear that all of this was designed to test our loyalty.
«...How surprising», he exclaimed. «Thinking that someone like you understands the laws of this world».
What laws? They were nothing more than raw data collected through experience.
«What's your answer anyway?» I asked.
«...Tú eliges».
The moment those unexpected words left his mouth, my entire body shook. Still, I was at least right in assuming that my team had not been unfairly eliminated. «...What do you mean by that?»
«It's what it sounds like». He extended a pale hand and two stone doors appeared in front of us.
[The Nameless Pilgrim has made you an offer.]
He presented me with two options. «Go through that door and you will recover everything you have lost here. Like waking up from a long nightmare».
«What if I choose the other door?»
«Everything you have experienced here will come true. But in exchange, you will gain something much greater than what you have lost».
Dude, don't you get tired of playing this game? I understand it's all his trick, but why does he keep it until the end?
«So», I asked him, staring at him, «how about I open your skull?».
It was natural for a player with extensive experience overcoming hidden events to start wondering about hidden possibilities, right?
He looked at me for a moment before answering. «You will receive an even greater reward because that is another law of this world».
Yes that's right.
It didn't take me long to make a decision.