Chapter 650 – The Potential Crisis (12)
Butler Rubrio.
He had a nightmare.
‘Is this… really the power a golem can wield?’
The 15-layer comprehensive barrier shattered in one blow, and the entire cave structure collapsed.
That strength was no different from that of the Supreme Fire Spirit that had shaken the Lord’s Castle in the Fire Spirit Realm.
‘How many butlers sacrificed themselves to defeat a single Supreme Spirit?’
Even a Senior Fire Spirit commanded numerous “leashes,” feeding on terror and screams that were too horrifying to witness, and amassed immense power.
The behavior of purifying the sinister energy built purely from evil with the mana of talented pure contractors, who innocently passed through without knowing the cruel nature of the spirits, was utterly disgusting.
Burning Grounds of Low-Level Spirits.
Wraith Grounds of Intermediate Spirits.
Farming Grounds of Senior Spirits.
Beyond them, there was one condition for a Senior Spirit to become a Supreme Spirit.
To corrupt the ‘pure contractor’ they had contracted, contaminating the contractor’s purity with all the dirt of the spirits and evolving the spirit entity with the anger of a fallen contractor who had no way out.
Harmonizing, yet the contractor only harvested the spirit’s wickedness, while the spirit stole the contractor’s pure talent and strength.
Thus, in the territory of the Supreme Spirit that was born, all the souls of the contractors who were despairing in the human world attracted them in hatred and resentment.
It was common for them to grind down all living beings existing in a human-world territory, gaining strength in the process.
The scale was no different from the huge high-level wraiths born from the gathering of numerous spirits, where the beginning and end of power could not be fathomed.
‘There’s no way the Evil Dragon and Gift Academy, which unleashes such spirits across the world just for the sake of being
With this, the Wahyhiemhai Foundation and Butler Organization fighting against the Evil Dragon and Academy couldn’t possibly be wrong.
Recalling his certainty that his actions were justice, Butler Rubrio shook off his fear.
“Actually, this is good. If I find out what that strength is comparable to, the only candidate may gain even greater insights.”
The butler approached Sing while dodging the onslaught of the golems.
[Memory Manipulation].
The function he had tried on Director Pasible Yep could also be used to create a memory sync.
Distortion of memories through Sync Magic.
This was the true nature of the memory manipulation he used.
The principle was similar to Oknodie’s Sync Magic.
Experiencing memories that one originally had no awareness of.
Those deeply affected by Sync Magic, like Dobi, the leader of the Church of the End, would transform so much that one might think they had become a different person.
If Oknodie’s Sync Magic turned someone into a fanatic innocently, the butler’s Sync Magic could synchronize them with the ideology of collecting, isolating, and eliminating all threats to humanity.
“I will show you. How small and trivial the world you knew was. The you until now will die, but I will allow you to serve humanity truly as a butler and enjoy the glory of serving for humanity. We are the last bastion of humanity. You too shall become a member of the Foundation!”
*
From Sing’s perspective, this was utterly insane talk.
It was equally mad to the Guard Golems.
The intention of Butler Rubrio attempting ‘memory sync strong enough to shake the personality’ was recognized as an unacceptable threat by the Guard Golems.
If he had been just a bit weaker.
If he had no greed to make Sing a butler.
If he had merely conveyed the memories verbally and provided the chance to witness them directly with his own eyes.
The Guard Golems would not have attacked Butler Rubrio.
Actions stemming from goodwill do not always yield good results; likewise, the butler Rubrio’s justice was not perceived as righteous.
[Protective Ritual Condition Loading]
[All forms of interference that shake the target’s mind and body and significantly affect the self will be halted.]
Senior Examiner Hyeolbiggaek’s tests elevated Sing’s realm, but they did not change his self.
The realizations he could gain had already been acquired in Professor Raregrills’ battle simulations, and he had only recognized existence in the next realm; even if Hyeolbiggaek’s strength was shocking, it was understandable when thinking of the professors.
He himself claimed to be a competent person on the level of professors, so losing to a strong professor was no shame at all.
However, the butler’s approach to meddle with memories was immediately recognized as a
Memories driving one to focus on struggles against all inhumane entities in numerous planes for the sake of humanity and the mindset of dedicating one’s life to revenge for his younger sister could easily lead to corruption.
Defeating the vile entities from other dimensions that threatened his second younger sister, Oknodie.
If those thoughts slipped into Sing’s mind, his life could be significantly twisted.
It would truly be permissible to become a butler of the Foundation.
But fortunately, Sing had something more troubling than the butler’s meaningful words.
‘That man in a butler robe also exhibits a kind of horror similar to the hopelessness I felt from Hyeolbiggaek; just how strong are these golems?’
As Rubrio took off his right glove and spread his palm, enormous hands rose behind him, frantically waving their palms and pushing the golems away.
The realization of domain deepened; Sing realized that the key function of that attack was
But just how precious a mana stone had been embedded in these things, for the golems extended their power longer than a human could.
‘This is the darkness of Oknodie’s power that I am unaware of. Truly impressive.’
In battle simulations against the revolutionary, Sing always had to deal with the ‘bonus’ as well.
The powerful revolutionary allies following the revolutionary.
Simulating without Oknodie or the Destroyer, both of whom would have originally had to be dealt with in combat, made approaching the revolutionary strenuous.
Even if he managed to approach, the moment he opened the Gate of the Netherworld, the hellscape unfolded.
A high-level wraith unfolding a power no different from the golems right before his eyes would appear.
‘Seeing this suddenly makes me reassess Oknodie. Conversely, he managed to create three of these wraith-like monsters as battle golems.’
Oknodie had three times the combat power of a revolutionary.
He possessed the strength of three revolutionaries.
Butler Rubrio of the Foundation.
The one whom Oknodie had intended to use to dispatch golems to eliminate.
He wasn’t just sitting there and letting the golems handle him.
[Lamp of Darkness]
A malevolent darkness emanates, making vision disappear within a certain radius.
Not just any darkness; even using Mana Insight would not reveal the inside, and an unusual density of mana forces information overload upon those who gaze into the darkness, leading to mental fatigue.
Fighting an enemy hidden in such darkness, which is impossible to perceive or see through, could drastically alter the battle’s outcome.
[Piercing Mode ON]
[Commencing Great Mana Ejection]
Suddenly, a massive mirror resembling the light stand of Titosso appeared, and if it weren’t for the golems that were wildly radiating light, it would have been quite the scene.
“GRAAAAAARGH!!”
The butler, exposed to a light attribute attack effective against darkness, was forcibly pulled back from beyond the darkness, swiftly retrieving more devices from his side.
[Bag of Devouring]
[Orb of Death]
[Eternal Handcuffs]
The moment he opened the bag, all the light threatening him was sucked inside.
It was as though there was no being between the mirror and the bag, and as the light disappeared emptily, a palm-sized crystal orb appeared in the butler’s hand.
And a handcuff tightly encircled the orb and the butler’s hand.
Just before the darkness surged back, Sing used his analytical ability acquired at the Gift Academy to vaguely guess the effects of the orb and handcuff.
‘While possessing the orb, all damage taken is stored in the orb, slowly cleansing the damage; however, if the orb is dropped before cleansing is complete, one suffers multiplied damage as a penalty.’
‘That handcuff
Having already hinted at the path through swordsmanship, Sing had been taking courses primarily focused on improving his lacking insight.
He quickly grasped the true intentions contained within the devices.
Each one easily surpassed +5 artifacts, and even the efficiency of +10 artifacts was laughable compared to the national-level treasures, bearing effects no different than +15 legendary grade.
The mere act of forcibly absorbing the powerful attacks of battle golems and prolonging life revealed the strength of the treasures that Butler Rubrio possessed.
“That’s impossible!”
However, the gap in strength was simply too vast.
Even treasures couldn’t fully disperse all the shock.
Cracks began to swiftly appear on the orb.
The
Ten seconds.
If Sing’s sense of time wasn’t off, it took only that long for the orb to shatter.
Immediately after the orb broke, the handcuff was released as well.
The butler, losing the
As the user fell unconscious, the bag, which had been swallowing light, opened wide as if to smile devilishly, tearing him apart.
CREEEAAK CRACK!
In that horrific final moment, Sing was left speechless.
A being as strong as Hyeolbiggaek had fallen without a fight, even while handling three extraordinary treasures, yet all of them bore dreadful prices no less terrifying than the golems.
Suddenly, Sing recalled the words of Butler Rubrio.
“I will show you. How small and trivial the world you knew was. The you until now will die, but I will allow you to serve humanity truly as a butler and enjoy the glory of serving for humanity. We are the last bastion of humanity. You too shall become a member of the Foundation!”
Collect, isolate, eliminate threats.
In Sing’s eyes, the butler’s treasures were collectibles imbued with powerful threats capable of destroying someone.
Thus, they could be referred to as isolated.
Depending on usage, the equipment could be destroyed, which could also be termed as elimination.
‘It’s certainly not a false statement—collect, isolate, eliminate. However… the Foundation’s treasures coexist with fatal flaws.’
Due to the improper treatment methods, carelessness of the user, or incompetence, one could be consumed by the treasures instead and meet a dreadful end.
At least, that was the case for Butler Rubrio.
What enemy was worthy of wielding such devices, and what connection did that enemy have with Oknodie?
‘What exactly is the Foundation dealing with? What have you been fighting against? What path were you trying to lead Oknodie and me down?’
Though there were many doubts, Sing’s reflections were swept away before the rough hands of the golems, who trampled, tore, and destroyed the open bag.
Whatever the Foundation’s plan was, it was obliterated by Oknodie’s golems.
“…Golems. Can you save the hostage that will be in the collapsed cave?”
The golems quietly stood around him, as if their task was done.
Sing looked at the pile of debris so thick that digging it away with a single sword was daunting and let out a deep sigh.
Whatever happened, he was dispatched here under the pretext of rescuing a hostage, and it was also a hostage that Oknodie had intended to save.
‘If that person, they should know everything. The secrets of the Foundation, the secrets of Oknodie. Why they have been at odds, and what I, utterly powerless, should do.’
Sing, hoping for answers to many questions, began to hurl away the fallen debris of the collapsing cave to rescue Pasible Yep.
