NOVEL WEB Chapter 11
In any situation, variables are bound to arise.
No matter how perfect the plan, if you can’t execute it, things can go horribly wrong.
If you overlook something, you’re likely to get hurt badly.
Clank—Boom!
“So you see, Eleina?”
“Such things are bound to happen in life…!!”
“Yes…! I understand..! So can you please look ahead while running, my lord…!!”
A burning carriage. Evil spirits wielding sickles charge towards Eleina and Keyal.
Keyal bit his lip, expressing sheer disbelief.
An unexpected situation he hadn’t accounted for had crashed onto him.
*
On the bumpy path to the Dragon Lair lies a suspicious region marked with skull motifs.
A Spirit Spot, a gathering place for soulless spirits.
A sudden area where souls congregate to possess humans.
Neither conscious nor unconscious, they obey commands mindlessly.
Their one goal?
To steal bodies.
To seek souls.
They’re instinctively drawn to this cycle.
And…
Swish!
“Master…! Be careful…!”
Among them, without a doubt,
Swish!
A massive blade arcing through the air grazes above Keyal’s head.
A tremendous slash cleaves through the air, rustling the trees.
The forest flips upside down, and the birds flee, flapping their wings as if to say, “Save me!”
“Such stupidity…!”
In one stroke, the dense forest became a desolate wasteland.
The brain behind this treachery was certainly that bastard.
‘Spirit Spot Master: Grim Reaper Warrior’
Commanding spirits, it snatches humans to absorb their essence.
Keyal had completely overlooked this.
After a long break from gaming, he forgot that special areas like the Lair always have spawn monsters.
This should have been the first thing to come to mind when entering that peculiar alleyway.
Spirits are spiritual beings. They can interact with visible entities, but not with those hidden from sight.
Is Eleina weaker than the Grim Reaper Warrior?
No.
But their compatibility is poor.
Elemental magic boosts the user’s power, but if the target is a spirit, it’s useless.
Regular magic can handle spiritual beings, but half-beast magic is too weak for that.
What if he uses his characteristics…?
Had he forgotten the rampage condition?
The boss requires a minimum of eight hits. If he loses his sanity doing so, or worse, ends up dead in the worst-case scenario—hell, it’s a total mess.
“Damn it, nothing’s working…!”
Keyal groaned, trying to think of a strategy amidst the chaos.
He needed to get it together.
As the saying goes, even if you enter a tiger’s den, you can survive as long as you keep your wits.
Only he could break this situation.
There was no Gold Mine Dragon with the power to use binding spells.
The vampire using blood magic wasn’t around anymore either.
He had to rely solely on himself and Eleina.
“I really should’ve had ghost repellent spray or an artifact to avoid spirit eyes on hand.”
Keyal grumbled briefly, glancing at his somewhat hefty coin pouch.
He stared at the pouch stuffed with silver coins with pitying eyes.
“But… there’s no money…”
Artifacts cost a fortune.
“Uh… I-I’m sorry, master…”
In an essence, they literally cost gold. It’s not just about being expensive; you can only purchase them with gold ingots.
“Ugh… Someone like me… someone like me…”
Eleina shriveled up, looking woefully pathetic.
Yet deep down, she likely knew too.
As the Elf Queen, she had neither the means nor the strength to acquire an artifact.
Elves live hidden away in the forest, making it nearly impossible for them to acquire goods or materials outside of what can be gathered in the woods.
This applies even to the Elf Queen.
There was no one to obey her, having seized her father’s crown and claimed the throne.
Even if there were, it wouldn’t be reasonable to ask elves who have lived their entire lives in the dense woods to fetch an artifact.
What’s more, there was no guarantee she could find exactly what her master desired.
Keyal was vaguely aware of this too.
Amidst the disorder, his mind was in chaos.
But there was no time to hesitate.
Keyal stopped in place.
Bending at the waist, he twisted his upper body and quickly bent his knees.
Dodging the sickle of the creature that desperately tried to ensnare him.
In an instant, he propelled himself skyward at an incredible speed.
Keyal soared high into the gloomy clouds.
“Master…!!”
Keyal, now higher than her cheeks, swiftly breaks through the clouds and secures his position above.
*
The desperate voice of Eleina, calling for him, echoed through the skies.
A hazy speck extends toward him.
With an unmistakable blue hue, it was certainly Eleina.
She gazed in shock as Keyal slowly descended, enveloped in mist before the Grim Reaper Warrior.
Keyal clasped his palms together.
Carefully, he began to weave the magic contained within into a bead.
Turning his arms in alignment with the horizontal plane, he allowed the magic inside the bead to intertwine and solidify, infusing it with denser and stronger magic, condensing it once more.
Once was not enough. As the magic left an afterimage and thickened, he shaped it again with his hands.
The rounded bead spun in the air.
It rapidly gained speed, transforming into a sharp spear-like form.
Somewhat bent, yet it clearly aimed to pierce through something.
This was a spear imbued with magic for pursuit.
While it might not be enough to take him down in one blow, it could still inflict some harmful damage.
As long as he could escape, that would suffice; as soon as he got out of the Spirit Spot, the dead could not follow them.
He recalled the words of wise elders.
“Just do it.”
And so he would. If he couldn’t kill it in one blow, making it roll around would be enough.
“I must leave at least a scratch. The rest… should be entirely up to Eleina.”
Once that thought crossed his mind, Keyal’s hands ceased to move.
He lacked the strength to condense magic or the mental fortitude to overcome the obstacles.
With his eyes half-closed in intent to make that bead roll, he let everything else go.
His body leaned, and soon, Keyal flipped over.
As he gazed up at the sky, the magic-concentrated spear shot forth, slicing through the firmament.
Surpassing the speed of sound, it was faster than a bullet.
The magic, moving at a speed no eye could follow, pierced through the Grim Reaper Warrior’s skull.
“Master…ugh…!”
An incredible shockwave erupted.
Magic stained in dark energy obliterated the area, burning its neck and creating a gaping hole, displaying a magical spectacle.
It sent Eleina flying into a wide area, while Keyal and the Grim Reaper Warrior were engulfed in dust.
Of course, due to the nature of a spirit using magic, it would quickly gather its power and heal.
But this was enough.
‘…This is enough.’
His consciousness began to blur.
His eyelids drooped, and darkness pulled Keyal in.
His exhausted body plunged towards the ground once more.
He no longer had the strength to steady himself.
His mind had succumbed long ago.
Keyal lost consciousness.
“……”
*
[!]
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Sudden Quest
You have defeated the commander of the spirits, ‘Grim Reaper Warrior.’
{Sudden Quest Success: Rewards will be given.}
[Skill rank has increased.]
[Attributes have risen.]
[Special skills have increased.]
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Fragmented Story
A fallen lord, once a terror across this land, met his end at the hands of the righteous Half-beast Tribe.
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Status Window
Name: Keyal Kralin
Race: Half-beast Tribe
Age: 24 years
Nickname: Commander
Adventurer Rank: Rank 1
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Skills
Rebirth: Rank C+ > A-
Prideful Misery: Rank F- > C-
Command: Rank S- [Maintain]
System Adjustment: Rank A+ [Maintain]
Demonic Army: A+ [Maintain]
Demon Characteristics: B- > A-
Magic: C+ > B-
Rank has improved.
Magic Eye F- NEW!!
Chains of Restriction F- NEW!!
New Skills have been added.
======
Attributes
Strength: 20 > 21
Stamina: 17 > 19
Agility: 19 > 20
Regeneration: 20 +2 [Maintain]
Magic Power: 9 > 10
Dark Power: 20 +10 [Maintain]
Attributes have dramatically increased.
[!]
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Party Status
[The ‘Elf Queen’ has embraced your unconscious form and bursts into tears.]