Chapter 88 – Sacrificial Ritual (2)

Knights of the Round Table.

These were the knights in the legend of King Arthur, each with their own unique abilities.

Those abilities allowed them to reach the pinnacle of each field, such as magic, swordsmanship, illusion, or tanking.

‘Among the 2nd job change players, he has to be at the top.’

It wasn’t for no reason that the demonic humans who were not affiliated with governments or guilds had such a strong influence.

They had the ability and strength to do so. No one could mess with them recklessly.

‘One of those knights is this man…’

Jin-hyuk licked his lips. Just confirming this fact meant that he had gotten more value compared to the cost of the pill he had used.

Jin-hyuk was an all-rounder and didn’t need the Guardian’s Ability, but he wanted this Mental Barrier skill.

‘If I get this, it will become a key skill that can withstand against the gods and demon king in the future.’

However…

He would decide if it was worth getting once he checked the copy conditions.

[Copy Conditions]
1. Find out your opponent’s name.
2. From now on, converse and act with Hosenveld as if you are a chunnibyou.
If you meet these two conditions, you will be able to copy one of your opponent’s unique abilities or skills.
This time, an unusual condition had appeared.

Of course, considering the target, the extent to which the difficulty of the copy conditions could increase was understandable.

But…

Damn it!

‘What kind of madman is this person who manages the tower system?’

No. Seriously.

At this point, he had suspicions that the copy condition was made by copying the penalty game from a night of drinking six bottles of soju.

Jin-hyuk pressed his forehead.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Hosenveld, who was watching this scene, asked him.

“Ah. Sorry, the black flame dragon on the left is running wild, so I am trying to calm him.”

Jin-hyuk grabbed his left hand with his right and pretended as if his right hand was trembling.

His right hand was holding the left to prevent it from running wild.

A moment of silence passed between them.

It was as if all the time in the world had stopped. How many seconds had passed?

“Is this the one you spoke of? I cannot believe I was worried about him.”

The shocked Leader asked his companion.

It was the same with Hosenveld.

“… this isn’t funny. Are you talking like that when your life is at stake?”

Even Braham’s Ring was cursing at him like crazy.

Elise must have been laughing out loud inside. Right. This was ridiculous, so don’t bother reminding him.

The three people here were the only ones who could know this.

Please.

“I am afraid he is out of his mind, so I will repeat it. Soon you will be offered as a live sacrifice.”

“Hehe. Live… this reminds me of the time five years ago. It was the first day my madness was revealed to the world.”

Jin-hyuk covered half his face with one hand. It would have been perfect if he had a black cloak and red lenses on as well.

Damn it.

Doing this was making him get immersed.

“…”

Having stopped his irrational behavior, he felt a sense of incongruity with the opponent’s appearance.

No…

‘Was something prepared?’

The black flame dragon? The start of madness in the world? Was this man hiding some unique ability that he could use?

Considering Jin-hyuk’s performance so far, it seemed plausible.

‘He is a person that shouldn’t be underestimated.’

Because the opponent was a player who made fun of the most elite people. Hosenveld raised his entire body to feel anything.

But there was no feeling of magic being used.

No doubt.

All of this was nonsense.

‘Shit…’

Then why?

What was this sticky feeling as if something was going to happen?

‘Let’s not be careless.’

Hosenveld struggled to make up his mind but decided to bring up the main topic.

“I know you are strong, but as long as your skills are sealed, you cannot survive that ritual.”

“Hmm. Did you come here to say something like that?”

“No, I didn’t. I am just making the process easier.”

Hosenveld pulled out a glass bottle from the pocket, which had some liquid in it.

“What is that?”

“A kind of anesthetic. It can save you from terrible pain which the ritual inflicts.”

The ritual of living sacrifices was notorious for being horrendous. It was only in human nature to want to die comfortably.

“I don’t think the pain will break my will, but… if you give it to me…”

Jin-hyuk stretched out his hand, that’s right.

“It isn’t for free.”

Hosenveld moved the vial a little bit away.

“Information about Unknown. I will hand it over to you if you give us that.”

Ah, it was down to this, the expected question.

“You seem to be curious about Unknown.”

“Because we have to trample down any possible sprouts.”

“What. Well. I can tell you. I don’t need that anesthetic; instead, I have a question.”

“Question?”

At those unexpected words, Hosenveled narrowed his eyes. His face clearly said he wasn’t sure of this.

“We ask each other one question. Is that fair?”

Jin-hyuk asked.

“… sure. Go and ask one.”

“Your name and rank within the Demonic Human Association. Tell me that.”

“You are asking useless questions. Why do you want to know when you will die?”

“I have many questions about the association, and I am not someone who can hold my curiosity, ah! And, my magic eyes see through everything, so don’t bother lying.”

Jin-hyuk deliberately narrowed his eyes.

“… do not worry. I will not deceive you.”

Hosenveld nodded his head and then introduced himself.

“I am Hosenveld, one of the people of the Round Table. My knight’s name is Lancelot.”

Lancelot.

A Knight of the Round Table, that was this guy’s name.

‘Nice.’

The corner of Jin-hyuk’s lips went up. This achieved one of the two conditions.

“Did this solve your curiosity?”

“Toughly.”

“Then it is my turn now. Tell me about Unknown.”

This wasn’t difficult.

“I will tell you this only once, so listen carefully. Unknown is…”

He looked into his eyes and then said.

“Is a guy called Chun Yuseong.”

“Chun Yuseong… uh?”

“Right. It is the guy you are thinking about. You guys tried to get rid of him and failed, right?”

“…”

Hosenveld shut his mouth.

It had happened, and it all now made sense. The reason behind Unknonw’s strength.

This was also his reason for being so hostile to them. Above all, there was also the fact that Kang Jin-hyuk also knew about Unknown.

Since there was contact between the two of them, they should have realized this.

“Did you get what you wanted?”

The professor asked.

“Yes.”

Hosenveld nodded his head.

“Goodbye. Kang Jin-hyuk. I will never see you again.”

Finally, he turned away without regrets. And at that moment.

Tring!

[Condition met!]
[Choose one of the abilities your opponent has.]
A status window appeared indicating that the copy condition had been achieved.

‘I succeeded.’

Jin-hyuk had a satisfied smile on his face. Despite the shameful experience, the desired purpose was achieved.

“I will copy the Mental Barrier.”

[You successfully copied the unique ability ‘Mental Barrier (S)’!]
[The copied skill is saved in ‘Memory of the World’.]
[Mental Barrier
Acquisition Difficulty: S
Description: As a skill that strengthens the mental system, it not just protects the security of your status window but also protects the caster from various types of mental attacks.]
An S-ranked mental defense ability. Thinking about how he could use it was exhilarating.

At that moment.

“Let the sacrifices come out. The ceremony will be held soon.”

The jailer gave orders to the guards.

“N-No!”

“Please save us!”

“I do not want to die here! I don’t want to!”

The players screamed in horror, but nothing changed.

They cannot expect compassion from these fanatics.

‘It is time to go.’

Finally, the time has come to make the final move on the final stage.

Jin-hyuk looked around the cell.

‘Found it.’

Compared to the other bricks, this one was darker. He then tapped the brick seven times with a delay of one second.

Kung!

A small space appeared on one side of the wall. It led to a gap leading to the sewer.

Jin-hyuk carefully took out another pill he had and pushed it into the sewer. The red-colored pill rolled for a bit, and then…

Pop!

Made a pleasant sound.

Sacrificial Room.

The large space was as big as a colosseum and was filled with fanatics watching the ceremony.

“Kuaaal!”

“Aack!”

Breaker was also there to serve as their executioner. Each time the ax smashed a player, their bodies were cut in half.

“Die!”

“Glory to God!”

“Oh! More! More! We need more!”

The blood was turning the sand red. Nevertheless, the madness didn’t die down.

They wanted more blood.

Even for just a moment to help them forget their craziness.

Rumble!

All the other players had gone pale, and some even lost hope.

“Kuak!”

“Ugh!’

Some were puking their guts out while some peed their pants. They were there to inevitably die.

‘It is impossible to fight along with these players.’

Jin-hyuk clicked his tongue, looking at the players who had lost their will.

It felt like a burden to even try and do something with them.

But he couldn’t blame them either. Instead, the real scum here were the mad ones.

A cold killing intent lingered in Jin-hyuk’s eyes.

‘Really… I’ll handle it all without another thought.’

A hidden quest that asked him to kill the wicked in exchange for stats. He had wondered if he would be reluctant to take another person’s life.

It was utterly useless to worry.

The stage was set up, and all the main actors were on set.

‘Should I start it?’

Jin-hyuk pulled out a book he had hidden in his clothes.

The Macedrian Book.

He chose this for a reason among the many books in the library.

Wheik!

The cover moved as various runes spread out on its surface.

An old dragon had struggled all of its life to find the loopholes in the world’s laws.

A book that contained the life of a dragon.

[You have read the Black Dragon’ Macedrian’s Book.’]
At the same time.

[Sealed unique abilities are released]
[The sealed skills are released.]
[Duration: 0h:9m:59s]
The shackles that restrained his power were released.