Chapter: 260
The skeleton, hit by the mace, staggered while trying to stand up again, only to snicker and collapse back to the floor.
To be precise, it would be correct to say it was forced down. The bones around its knees had shattered.
“The power of the Evil God is dispersing. Is morning arriving?”
What was moving me was the energy injected by the Dark Evil God. Once Tariki’s time ended and morning came, the skeleton’s body would inevitably crumble.
As the skeleton observed its slowly disintegrating form, it snickered and lifted its head.
The skeleton. The remnants of Garad’s memories. Someone who considers themselves a noble knight. They looked at me with their empty eyes.
There were no pupils. No eyes. No eyebrows, no wrinkles, no expressions. Yet, I felt a softness from the skeleton’s face.
It was bizarre. Reflecting on the earlier situation, the emotion I should have sensed from the skeleton was anger and irritation.
Of course! The myriad insults I hurled at it were not surprising in any context.
Yet, the skeleton did not react that way.
“Impressive. Even though you aren’t yet an adult, to have this kind of skill… Your name will surely be remembered in history.”
Instead, it simply praised me with sincerity.
That softness made me blush.
While some fought with every means possible to avenge grievances not even their own, others, despite enduring countless insults, did not once resort to assassination.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, I realized something.
At this moment, I’ve won, but I’ve also lost.
I won in the match but lost as a human.
Or did I even really win in a true contest?
No matter how I thought about it, I seemed like a cheeky brat who was being coddled by an adult.
To be honest, if the skeleton hadn’t gone easy on me, I would have been dead long ago.
…
Let’s not think about it. The more I think, the more miserable I feel.
[What are you doing, young lady!]
Unable to find words to reply, I was pouting when Grandpa raised his voice.
[Finish it! Wrap it up! You’ve talked too much despite being knocked down as usual...]
‘If you keep this up, I’ll throw you to the Sloppy Fox as a toy.’
The moment the Mesugaki skill’s ecstasy began to fade, self-loathing started to rise, and I wondered why he kept nagging me.
Originally, I thought of shouting, “You can’t do anything anyway!”
Recalling that made me genuinely want to commit suicide.
So just stop it. If you want to get licked by the Sloppy Fox, I won’t stop you.
Saying that made Grandpa quickly close his mouth.
“Why are you silent? Ah! Is it because of what was said during the duel? Don’t worry about it. It’s natural to do whatever it takes to win a fight.”
Skeleton, stop it! Don’t keep acting so mature!
You showing your ugly side will hide my ugliness a little!
“Besides, this fight resulted from my lack. If anyone should apologize, it should be me.”
Please, just stop!
No, please stop.
Don’t make me trash any further than I already am.
Can’t you just sacrifice your honor to save one life?!
“Take this sword. Though it can’t compare to what I used in the past, it is still worthy of the name.”
Isn’t that a no?!
“Whoever you give it to, sell, or however you use it, it will be useful.”
Ugh. I can’t believe I spat out words like “You’re full of flaws and a perverted skeleton lady. So cool!” against someone like this.
My self-loathing and guilt were a jumbled mess in my head.
What’s even more despairing is that everything I said moments ago was meant to provoke, unrelated to the Mesugaki skill.
There’s no place to make excuses! What do I do?!
I feel uglier and uglier as I go lower and lower, how can I fix this?!
I was screaming internally, but with me already being trash, the thought of executing my original plan and becoming true trash came to mind, yet I desperately tried to erase that devil’s whisper.
If I did that, I felt I would truly have no way back.
“That’s enough, but let me ask one thing.”
While I was thinking of showing at least minimal etiquette by answering anything, the skeleton casually asked.
“Are you being taught by Ruel?”
…Ah. You caught on. That I’m getting help from Grandpa.
Since halfway through, I had been hurling words he couldn’t know without him, he couldn’t not know.
Nodding without denying it, the skeleton let out a chuckle.
Following that laugh, I saw its pelvis disintegrating.
“Indeed. I thought you were faithful because you showed no interest in women, but I see that this kind of young lady is your taste.”
<…What the hell is this freak saying?!>
“How pathetic. Ruel, focusing on teasing your friend while hiding behind your student. That’s why you couldn’t acquire a shield.”
[How many times do I have to say it! The angel didn’t give me a shield that time because I had one blessed with goodwill! It has nothing to do with nobility!]
Knowing that Grandpa was right from my knowledge of various game episodes, I didn’t bother to correct him.
[No, no, this isn’t the time. Young lady! Quickly shut that mouth of nonsense!]
I could see the skeleton’s ribs crumbling. Time must be running out.
Up until now, I had caused the skeleton nothing but ruin. Shouldn’t I offer some reward in return?
[Young lady?! Can’t you hear me?!]
After insulting Grandpa for a while, the skeleton, as if recalling something, was about to clap but stopped upon realizing its arms were gone, letting out a snort.
“…Ruel. You probably wouldn’t know, but let me share something amusing. Do you think Karun’s madness only produced this place?”
[What?]
I was probably shocked by what the skeleton said. As Grandpa went silent, tranquility swept over, and amidst that, I heard the skeleton continue speaking.
“Time is short, so I’ll stop teasing. Child blessed by the gods. You’ll have to overcome many trials. I’ve said many bad things, but that grumpy Holy Knight is a reliable guy. Though he may be picky, if you trust him, he will surely help you greatly.”
Please don’t worry, I already know he’s the most reliable person.
If I didn’t trust the only one who understands my pain, who would I trust?
“Please don’t give up and keep moving forward. It’s shameless for someone who has burdened others so much to say this.”
‘Don’t worry.’
“What are you worrying about? Do you think I’ll lose to the trash rotting on the ground? That’s why the skeleton has no eyes, no brain, and no common sense.”
“Ah, I’ve heard that I had a good judgment during my lifetime.”
After laughing for a long time, the skeleton confirmed its shoulder was collapsing and slowly looked up at me.
“Hang in there.”
With those final words, the skeleton’s head fell to the ground.
I rushed over to try to pick it up, but by that time, the head had already turned to dust and scattered.
Sigh. Damn it. This is why I hate dealing with good people. The ending leaves a sour taste. It’s refreshing only when the opponent is trash.
Before I leave, I should at least throw in a few insults.
Did I maybe fall for this bait?! To feel this regret while simultaneously boosting his reputation?!
…Sigh. That can’t be right.
[Young lady.]
‘Yes.’
[Was what this guy said true?! Is there really a dungeon that Karun made still existing?!]
The moment I heard Grandpa’s urgent voice, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
No, Grandpa. In this situation, shouldn’t you, rather than me, feel the aftertaste?!
Why are you only worrying about your own situation without sparing a glance at the skeleton?! Are you really a Holy Knight?!
‘It’s true. It’s a place I plan to visit someday.’
I have no intention of actually going.
It’s a place that’s hard to enter, and it’s not a spot worth the trouble to get anything.
But there’s no need to tell Grandpa that truthfully.
<...Young lady? What do you mean? Are you going to visit? Young lady? Young lady?!>
Hahaha. Fear the fact that you don’t know when your black history will come calling, Grandpa!
Ignoring Grandpa’s urgent voice, I raised my head and saw Karl.
With bruises all over his face and body, he had Luca over his shoulder and bowed his head in silence.
That guy is impressively strong. Even though Luca was in a state of madness, he still belonged to the ranks of the strong.
To subdue such a guy without a scratch…
Could it be the Sloppy Fox helped him a bit?
“Are you heading back right away?”
‘No, just a moment.’
“Sloppy. Can’t the knight wait even a bit and is urging his master? Really no better than a dog.”
“I’m so sorry! Young lady!”
After tossing Luca’s body like a sack and leaving Karl’s head buried in the ground, I opened the quest window.
I wanted to properly check the rewards I just received.
…Huh? Why is there another quest I don’t know about?
“Pass the knight’s trial.”
Ah, right. They said they’d give a reward for passing this trial at the start. Right.
I had forgotten temporarily because the Evil God interrupted it.
Hmm, should I check the known reward first? After all, the fun stuff is usually saved for last.
[You have received the reward ‘Divine Realm’!]
Divine Realm. A skill that covers a certain radius around you in divinity, turning that space favorable for allies and unfavorable for enemies.
Ambiguous.
This would be a good skill in the late game, but you actually need to reach the late game for it to shine.
It consumes an enormous amount of divinity to use, and if the divinity level is low, it often goes away without activating. Maintaining it costs a lot of divinity too, making it really hard to utilize.
Honestly, unless you’re going for a concept or trying to high-level it, it was a skill rarely used.
Having just cleanly defeated the Dark Evil God, the reward being this kind of skill was about to boil over, but I forced it down.
The Shoddy God’s reward has proven its worth someday.
I can always curse it later.
Who knows? If it’s the grace of the Shoddy God, it might be different?
For now, I’ll check this after recovering my condition, so let’s look at the other rewards.
I wonder what it could be.
I wasn’t too hopeful since my mood got soured by that useless skill, but I still have to check the rewards.
[You have successfully gained recognition from the Guardian of Trials.]
[An achievement that even the creator of the trial didn’t anticipate.]
Huh? Was this explained like this? I thought it was a different description?
Did I get something mixed up?
[…]
[The past hero Garad excelled in seizing the opportunity to exploit the opponent’s weaknesses. A part of that ability will be bestowed upon your mace.]
[Weakness Detection]
[You will now be able to detect weaknesses better.]
Was there a skill like this in Soul Academy?
If there was such a significantly useful skill, I should have remembered it.
With my arms crossed, pondering deeply, I eventually reached one conclusion.
This skill doesn’t exist in the game.
…
What the hell.
So I just got a skill that didn’t exist in the game?!
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