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Translator: penny
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Chapel
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[You have entered the mid-layer of the Lair of Evil Spirits.]
The notification appeared the moment I stepped down from the stairs.
At the same time, a low-lying fog flowing around my knees wrapped around both my legs.
[A chilling energy hinders your movements.]
[Movement speed is reduced by 10% due to the curse.]
The curse takes effect starting from the mid-layer. This must be the area-wide curse mentioned in the quest.
'Annoying. This won't be easy.'
I narrowed my eyes at my sluggish movements.
"I hate this curse. It feels gross."
Even Lee Sera, riding on my shoulders, showed clear signs of discomfort.
A debuff that reduces movement speed by 10% due to the curse—simple on the surface. But it wasn't something to take lightly.
'Humans start getting stressed from the smallest things.'
Thick darkness.
Stifling air that made it hard to breathe.
An unstable underground environment where the ground could give way at any moment, plus cursed spirits that hated the living and lunged to kill.
That alone would drain your mental strength to the extreme. Now imagine some invisible force binding your body, preventing you from moving as you wish.
It was a horrific stimulus that could drive the mentally weak insane on the spot.
'Thanks to my Snowfield Accessory, my magic resistance is high, so it's not as bad for me. But at this level, there are no human hunters in the mid-layer.'
The sensation was that sensitive and irritating.
In a way, it was a clear advantage despite the drawback.
There were few things more annoying than human hunters lurking in fog-like concealment.
Sabak. Sabak.
I moved my feet carefully. A chapel door at least 25 meters tall loomed before us.
Opening it by force alone would have been tough, but luckily, it was broken enough for a person to slip through.
The fog hindering movement was flowing out from beyond that door.
"Oppa, my head. It might bump if I pass."
"Just get down. We might have to fight from here on out anyway."
"Okay."
At the mere mention of possible fights, Lee Sera hopped off my shoulders without hesitation. Despite her youth, she seemed to know exactly when to play around and when to get serious.
'Means she's on high alert in this place.'
I cautiously crossed the meter-thick door.
The fog grew thicker.
It blanketed the floor like smoke from several stage dry ice machines, yet the air above was clear enough to take in the chapel's layout.
'Bigger than I thought.'
Less a chapel, more like stepping into an opera house.
Tiered seats stretched from the entrance to the central stage, surrounded on three sides by layered balconies stacked high.
Fog cascaded like waterfalls from those five-story balconies, pooling toward the chapel's center before overflowing out the main doors.
Tok tok.
"Oppa, to go deeper, we head that way."
"Behind the stage?"
"Yeah."
The stage area was completely shrouded in fog from the balconies, visibility near zero.
"Want me to guide you?"
"Nah, we're good."
There was no reason to head deeper right now. We'd already secured [Bardo's Remains], and that one set would get us all to the next rest area.
"Then why come here?"
"Lee Sera, you didn't wander much here, right?"
"Yeah. This area's creepy."
Lee Sera openly showed her unease.
Even with the Snowfield Accessory I'd given her, it was this bad. Without it in the past, there'd have been no reason for her to stick around the mid-layer after grabbing the remains.
Meanwhile, countless players had to roam here.
That was why I planned to scour this chapel from now on.
'Let's see, head up to the right side first.'
I headed for the balconies—more precisely, the pews on the right. Shortly after turning toward the ascending stairs, thud. Something bumped my foot.
'Bingo.'
I crouched to check it out.
A human corpse. A desiccated body, likely killed by a mob, lay abandoned in the fog.
I slammed my scabbard into the heart area.
Thud.
The bones crumbled to dust under the scabbard, and something rolled out from within.
"Ah."
Lee Sera's eyes widened as she realized what I was doing.
[Strength Fragment]
Players drop stat fragments at a low probability upon death.
[Your Strength stat has increased by 1.]
'Good start.'
As I finished farming and stood up, Lee Sera, watching, started stretching.
"Oppa, can I grab some too?"
"Do what you want. I'll clear the right pews, you take the left."
"Okay."
Just as she was about to head off, a sudden idea made me grab her quickly.
"Wait. Let's do it this way instead."
"?"
"You farm the stat fragments. I'll hunt the mobs."
"So you're giving it all to me?"
It was giving her the lion's share, if she'd chosen to follow me.
Her growth meant more humanity saved, and ultimately higher odds of my survival against the Destruction Dragon in the final trial.
"No."
But handing it over freely could spoil her. Not that I was eyeing the abundance of stat fragments here or anything.
"Gather the stat fragments and give me half. In return, I'll pay you something equivalent."
"What? I lose out for sure."
Lee Sera crossed her arms and snorted dismissively. Having rolled in the Lair of Evil Spirits for days, she knew the value of stats well.
Maybe because she'd already devoured around thirty and felt it firsthand.
But having seen all her cards, I knew exactly how to reel her in.
"Don't you want to party with us? Give me half, and you're in."
"!!"
Her stubborn hime-cut face crumbled in an instant, curiosity and joy lighting up her features.
But true to form, she quickly schooled her expression and shot back snarkily.
"Still my loss. I can follow you around now anyway."
"You don't get what joining our party means. Seen those two up top? Their clothes and staff—I set those up."
"...."
"Me handling mobs means I'll sell the drops, make money, and gear you up with weapons and armor."
She perked up her ears, clearly tempted, though she deflected once more.
"Hmph, stuff I got here beats the rest area's weapons anyway?"
She pulled out her twin daggers from her waist to show off. I chuckled and replied.
"Haven't you seen my weapon's special options? There are items with even better stats."
"...Liar."
"You don't know, but one of my unique abilities lets me buy special items like crazy from shops."
"!!"
Her eyes flashed wide, locking onto the sword in my hand.
I handed her my sword so she could check the options herself.
A wriggly smile crept across her lips.
She's almost hooked. I took the sword back and dangled one final hook before her eyes.
"And remember this?"
[Summoner's Letter Envelope - Replica]
The transcendent-grade item she'd once tried to steal fluttered before her, making her bounce on her toes in place.
"Seen gear like this anywhere else?"
She shook her head vigorously.
"Out of 4 billion people, only I can get stuff like this?"
After sweet-talking her ego, our greedy little one grabbed my hand tight.
"Let me in too! Your party, oppa!"
"Hmm."
"I'll give you half the stat fragments!"
I stroked my chin and stepped back.
"Do I really need to? While you farm, I could farm too and take half."
"Wh-what?"
One moment acting like she'd join, the next flipping the script—she looked baffled.
Even a kid who'd survived days in this hellhole was just a fledgling compared to my ten years.
Negotiation, bargaining, or trickery—she was no match.
"Forget I said anything."
I turned away, and she latched onto me like a cicada.
"Oppa, my bad. Please let me into your party."
"Sera, life's all about timing. Opportunities come and go. I've offered several times, and you've rejected every one."
"Ugh... I messed up. Can't you just let me in?"
She hopped pleadingly.
To think this kid would become an S-Rank hero, one of humanity's great 100 saviors.
People would puke in shock, but right now, she was just a twenty-year-old greenhorn.
"Then get to work."
"Th-then 60%! Let me in, and I'll give 60% of the stat fragments!"
"Yeah, I'll farm myself."
As I moved, she upped it.
"70%!"
"Can you get down now? You're heavy with the bag."
"80%!"
"Alright, let's check the first-floor right pews then."
I kept ignoring her, and after agonizing, she yelled.
"All of them! I'll give you all the stat fragments I've eaten, just let me in!"
Nearly apoplectic with frustration.
She looked unsure but terrified of missing this chance forever.
"You mean it? All of them?"
"Yes! So take me with you."
Well then.
"Lee Sera, this is a promise?"
"I promise. So am I in your party now?"
"I'll watch you first. You might promise and then secretly hoard them."
She flinched.
"Gotta observe a few days. Then I'll decide."
"Do you have to?"
"Yeah. You herded mobs to kill people, remember? From my side, I need to vet you closely. No matter how naughty you've been, do you keep promises with me?"
"A-alright."
She slumped her shoulders and prepared to farm, trudging off dejectedly. I watched her back, then added.
"But you can keep all the [Intelligence Fragments]."
Her ears perked!
"Oppa, for real?"
"Yeah. I don't need them. Just bring everything else."
"Okay!"
From lifeless to bouncing in seconds, she dashed up the opposite stairs.
'[Stealth] eats a ton of mana and stamina.'
So she needs lots of Intelligence and Stamina.
By funneling her unneeded Intelligence my way—no, giving her my unneeded ones—and letting her patch Stamina with level-up bonuses, she'll shine when Stealth matters.
'Honestly, even giving her all the fragments wouldn't hurt.'
But if she gorges and overtakes my total stats, controlling her gets tricky.
Better avoid that.
'Plus, I level up stats effortlessly without lifting a finger.'
Confirming she was gone, I turned to the right pew stairs.
Bodies tripped me midway, but I ignored them. She'd handle it.
'Time for me to hunt as planned.'
Shring. I drew my sword.
A straight corridor ahead. Passages to individual pew rooms lined the left, blocked by long blackout curtains.
And something slipping through those curtains unaffected.
「Ahh...」
A specter like a translucent figure draped in see-through cloth, human-faced.
'Specter, huh.'
Tougher than skeletons.
As I spotted it, it spotted me—we both froze in place.
Then it rushed toward me.
"Alright, let's see what good stuff you drop."
I charged too, gripping my sword tight.
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