Damn Necromancer

Chapter 66

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

Chapter 66: The Trial Grounds (3)

Stats capped at 100.

‘This means I can’t even benefit from my title effects.’

[‘Law of Victory’ is activated!]

[All stats increase by 30%!]

[All damage increases by 30%!]

Even with the boost, all his stats remained locked at 100, confirming that Idric had at least a 300-level advantage.

This indicated he was in the level 400s at minimum.

‘Three minutes.’

It seemed manageable.

He had faced greater challenges before, like the Mutakta at level 1.

That was a true monster, yet he survived.

Now, his stats were significantly higher than back then.

‘I can do this,’

Idric advanced, his steps steady and menacing.

His sword was enveloped in a dark aura, contrasting sharply with his basic sword, which felt heavy due to the curses.

[Remaining time: 03:00]

[Curse of Fatigue has been applied!]

[Curse of Endurance has been applied!]

The unpleasant itchiness returned, but now he also felt dizzy, as if he had a severe cold.

The sword in his hand felt heavier, and his limbs were sluggish.

Idric’s blade cut through the air, aimed directly at his face.

He twisted his neck to dodge, then quickly ducked as he swung at his head.

He struck the ground with a powerful downward slash, causing debris to fly.

‘This isn’t just about avoiding his attacks, I need to deflect them without taking direct hits.’

If he let him hit him directly, his basic sword would shatter in no time.

Idric’s sword was about to strike his face when he barely managed to deflect it with a twist of his blade.

The impact sent a jarring shock through his arm, causing a cut on his hand that began to bleed.

The sword screeched, threatening to break.

‘I can only take about ten hits like this.’

Despite deflecting, the curses made it difficult to move quickly, and the fatigue slowed his reactions.

‘I need to go on the offensive.’

He swung his sword at Idric’s legs, hoping to destabilize him.

He chose to counterattack, his sword aiming for his head.

Given his advantage in stats, he expected to win this exchange.

‘I anticipated that.’

He thought, bending backward to avoid his blade.

His sword brushed past his hair before striking the ground with a thunderous impact.

As he was still recovering from the swing, he drove his blade downward, aiming to exploit any opening.

He spun his body like a top, using his heel as the pivot point, and his sword sliced through Idric’s waist.

Blood spurted from his side, and he staggered back, clutching his injury.

Through the eyeholes of his mask, he saw his eyes narrow in confusion and anger.

‘At least that’s a relief.’

Despite his level and stats, Idric’s skill was surprisingly lacking.

He seemed more like a well-trained city knight, but not much more.

If he had the skill level of a top-tier knight captain, he would have had to sacrifice at least a limb or two to survive.

But his inexperience with the amplified stats gave him an edge.

‘Even better, he seems unfamiliar with the increased stats.’

His mind couldn’t keep up with his boosted physical capabilities, making him sluggish and predictable.

That made it easier to deal with him.

He had prepared for the worst, considering the possibility of losing all his limbs and relying on his indomitable spirit to survive, but this encounter was turning out to be manageable.

‘Just two arms.’

His sword was already beginning to crack, and there was no avoiding the inevitable break.

He’d have to parry or deflect at some point, and that would likely lead to the sword shattering.

After that, sacrificing his arms would be a logical step.

He glanced at the countdown timer.

2 minutes and 45 seconds remaining.

Idric’s scowl deepened as he lunged at him again.

He had to be careful and strategic to survive.

[01:45]

The first visible cracks appeared on his sword.

[01:00]

It seemed like he could only take three more hits before the sword shattered.

[00:30]

He sacrificed his left arm to avoid a fatal blow to his neck. A significant trade-off, considering the consequences if he hadn’t.

[00:15]

The sword shattered into pieces.

[00:02]

He sacrificed his other arm to dodge an attack. The curses had slowed his reactions, making it nearly impossible to completely avoid damage.

[00:01]

Idric’s sword swung for his neck, but as he dodged, it aimed for his heart. He twisted his torso just enough to avoid a critical strike, barely escaping death.

As the sword pierced his side—

[‘Initiate – Lethal’ difficulty trial has concluded.]

[Your body has been fully restored!]

[Processing results.]

Time stopped, and he felt the pain and injuries vanish as if they had never happened.

[Difficulty: Lethal]

[Achievement: High]

[Title obtained: ‘The Monster of the Initiates’]

[You’ve passed the Initiate-level trial!]

[Level insufficient! Cannot attempt the Apprentice-level trial! (Minimum required level: 300)]

[You have obtained a pass to the Celestial City.]

[New entries added to the ‘Legendary Beginnings – Part One’.]

[‘Lethal’ difficulty. You’ve received a special reward.]

[You have obtained an ‘Achievement Vending Machine’.]

“Achievement Vending Machine?”

He muttered, looking at the small object that appeared in his restored hands.

It was like a tiny toy vending machine.

Curious, he examined its details.

[Achievement Vending Machine]

[Rank: Special]

[A cute vending machine.]

[Effect: Double your achievement points upon earning.]

“…Huh?”

He rubbed his eyes and then looked again.

Was this thing really saying it could double achievement points?

Achievement points were invaluable, allowing for limit-breaking, skill book purchases, gear upranks, and a multitude of other uses.

They were worth hundreds of times more than money.

A vending machine that could double achievement points?

And it wasn’t a one-time-use item?

‘This is insane.’

He quickly tucked the cute vending machine into his inventory.

With this, every point he earned would double.

It was like printing his own currency.

Next, he pulled out the Celestial City travel pass to check its details.

[Celestial City Travel Pass]

[Rank: Special]

[A pass given to those who pass the Initiate trial. Allows travel to the Celestial City to take additional trials. Can be activated once every six months.]

[Effect 1. Allows travel to the Celestial City upon use.]

[Effect 2. Each travel allows for one month of activity time.]

‘Celestial City.’

It could be the city where angels like Jiphael lived.

* * *

Seo Yerim was undergoing her own re-examination.

With a snap of PoPo’s fingers, a bow appeared in her hands.

―Now we’ll begin the re-examination. The subject is simple: ‘Balloon Target Practice.’

“Where are the balloons?”

As soon as she asked, balloons began appearing throughout the white space, as if bubbles were rising from boiling water.

There had to be thousands of them, floating in every direction.

―Can you see the balloons ahead?

“Yes.”

She squinted at the colorful balloons.

There were many red ones, followed by orange, then green, yellow, and blue.

“Rainbow?”

The arrangement of colors resembled a rainbow.

―Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Among them, there are only five violet balloons. Indigo has 200, blue has 1,000, and so on. Red is the most common.

“So?”

―You have five arrows. You need to pop the balloons. Preferably, the rarer ones.

[Re-examination: ‘Rainbow Balloons’ begins!]

[Your average stats are fixed at 10!]

[Skills cannot be used!]

[You cannot move more than 10 meters!]

As if to emphasize the restrictions, a strong wind gusted through, sending the balloons swirling and colliding with one another.

[Here are the rules.]

[You start with 100 points.]

[You must use all five arrows to pop balloons.]

[Only violet balloons give points; all others result in point deductions.]

[The lower the balloon’s rank, the greater the point deduction.]

[If an arrow misses and hits nothing, there is a significant point deduction!]

Seo Yerim nodded as she read the message, understanding the challenge ahead.

“So, I just need to pop the five violet balloons for a perfect score, right?”

―Yes. However, it’s not as easy as it sounds. In my thousand years of observation, no archer has ever achieved a perfect score.

It was clear why.

Finding the violet balloons among thousands of others was already difficult.

Even if they found them, the wind could cause them to overlap or shift position, making precision shots almost impossible.

‘And I have to account for the wind.’

She realised how tricky this re-examination would be.

“So, what was the highest score ever achieved?”

―99 points. A very close shot, but they accidentally popped an indigo balloon along with a violet one, losing one point.

“And the achievement rank for that?”

―SS rank, I believe.

“Is there a higher rank than S?”

―There are SS, SSS, and even higher, though I’ve never seen those. But Jiphael mentioned they existed, so I’m sure they do.

“Even higher?”

Indeed, the world was larger than she’d imagined.

Seo Yerim realized just how much of a small fish in a big pond she might be.

The strength Kim Minwoo had displayed in the previous gate was beyond anything she’d imagined.

She knew there were levels beyond S, but the idea that there might be ranks higher than SSS seemed almost inconceivable.

It made her wonder if all of Earth’s awakeners were just frogs in a well, blind to the vast world outside.

‘This isn’t just a typical isekai scenario. It’s something entirely different.’

How had Kim Minwoo managed to connect to this place? He was like an onion—each layer revealed more surprises.

“PoPo.”

―Yes?

“If I hit all five balloons, could I achieve an SSS rank or higher?”

―To reach that level, you’d need to achieve feats that could change the world itself. Even here in the Trial Grounds, there’s no setting for such a stage.

PoPo took pride in his position, yet even he admitted it was impossible.

It seemed like there really was a limit to what could be achieved in the Trial Grounds.

Seo Yerim felt a pang of disappointment but knew she’d still need to focus on the task at hand.

“There’s no time limit, right?”

―Correct.

Seo Yerim carefully observed the balloons.

The structure was deliberately designed to make the challenge as difficult as possible.

Red balloons were large, while violet balloons were much smaller—about the size of a mandarin orange.

Moreover, indigo balloons were often attached to the violet ones, requiring precise aim to hit only the violet balloon without hitting others.

After identifying the five violet balloons, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

‘Okay.’

With her stats capped at 10 and no skills available, she had to rely solely on her natural talent.

‘Can I do this?’

She wondered, recalling the conversation with Minwoo in the hospital room.

―In my view, you’re destined for greatness with a bow, he had said.

“Let’s do this.”

She whispered, releasing the first arrow.

The arrow zipped through the balloons, threading the needle between them, and hit a violet balloon, bursting it.

She barely paused before firing three more arrows in quick succession.

Each arrow burst a violet balloon without hitting any other color.

‘One more.’

The final balloon had the most indigo balloons attached to it, making it the trickiest shot.

This was the one where most failed.

Seo Yerim took a deep breath and released the final arrow.

It cut through the air, swerved to avoid other balloons, and hit its mark.

The violet balloon popped, leaving the other balloons intact.

PoPo clapped like a delighted seal.

―Wow! Perfect score! Congratulations!

[Your examination has concluded.]

[Your score is 100.]

[You receive an SSS-rank archer skill book!]

‘SSS-rank…’

Seo Yerim clenched her fist in triumph.

Minwoo had been right.

She was destined to become a great archer.

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]