Chapter 45

It didn’t take long for people to gather.

Limberton’s coin pouch was hefty enough to be hard to ignore. However, as soon as Hersel’s name came up, the reaction was cold.

“Is your leader Hersel? That scoundrel from the Tenest family?”

“Uh…”

“Ugh, who would bother saving him? No fool would go after that bastard, but here we have one.”

Every time they mocked, Aslay glared at them, his fierce gaze silencing them, while Limberton continued explaining the situation.

“It’s like a dragon made of bones. It destroyed the stone bridge, leaving Hersel isolated. If we don’t help him soon, he’ll be in danger.”

Hearing that the stone bridge was destroyed, the examinees seemed to understand the gravity of the situation but still hesitated. A monster with that kind of power could only be a Watcher.

Money was one thing, but their lives came first.

Just as they were about to leave, someone approached.

“Limberton, is what you said true?”

Recognizing the face, Limberton’s expression brightened with relief.

“Erucel? Thank goodness you’re here. Your brother’s in danger. Can you come with us?”

Even if they were half-brothers, there should be some familial loyalty.

However, contrary to Limberton’s expectations, Erucel looked incredulous and asked,

“Me? Why?”

“What?”

“Even if you begged and offered all your coins, who would help such trash?”

“But he seems to have changed. A lot, actually…”

Erucel shook his head in disbelief and scolded Limberton.

“Get a grip! He probably just said some nice words to use you. People like him don’t change. Tsk.”

Limberton couldn’t argue and slumped his shoulders.

He knew very well that he was just a filler in their team because they lacked members.

“Isn’t this better? We can just take his share and cross the gate ourselves.”

As Erucel smirked wickedly, others began to agree.

“That’s true.”

“If it were me, I’d leave him. Honestly, who wants to go to the academy with him?”

“Yeah, don’t make a stupid choice. Fill your pockets. If you feel bad, donate some coins.”

It was a tempting offer.

Given all the troubles Hersel had caused, there was no reason to stay loyal just because he seemed slightly different now.

“Fine. Erucel, why are you so obstructive to your brother?”

Yet, despite the logical conclusion, Limberton’s words came out differently, spurred by a sudden realization.

Hersel had offered a handshake to a barbarian and stayed behind as bait at a critical moment.

“In my opinion, he’s really changed. In the past, he would’ve thrown one of us as bait and fled.”

This wasn’t for Hersel’s sake.

Limberton just didn’t want to owe anything to someone like Hersel.

“Is that true? How do you know? This foreigner saw it too.”

“What? Foreigners? Like savages?”

Limberton, confirming his decision was right, looked around at the examinees busy deceiving each other and fixed his gaze on a familiar woman.

“Hersel helped people in distress, even if they weren’t on his team. Unlike you all, he did.”

The woman nodded in agreement.

“That’s true. Thanks to him, I got this far.”

With a witness stepping forward, Erucel turned away in frustration.

“I don’t care. If you stay here, you’ll be eliminated. It’s up to you.”

With that, he left.

Despite the troublemaker leaving, the examinees still showed no interest, thinking they were wasting time. Only a man with a large sword on his back remained. �

Limberton felt unsure about what to do next, scratching his head, when a hoarse voice called out to him.

“Are you Limberton? Why are you supporting that infamous scoundrel?”

The gaunt man with sunken eyes was the only one who had stayed.

His dull, dark eyes gave Limberton an uneasy feeling, causing him to step back instinctively.

“What?”

“It’s intriguing. With that many coins, you could score highly. Why don’t you and your friend just take them and leave?”

“I’ve already said, we’re using them to hire someone to help.”

The man’s cracked lips twitched into a faint smile.

“Do you know that coins are only useful at the academy? You can buy anything with them. What do you want so badly?”

“Do you think I don’t know that? If you’re not going to take the job, then leave.”

The man, seemingly enjoying the situation, didn’t move.

“Are you sure? Humans are selfish by nature. Even you, deep down, feel morally superior and congratulate yourself for your nobility.”

Irritated, Limberton snapped at him and turned to Aslay.

“Let’s go, Aslay. This crazy guy is driving everyone away.”

However, the man’s persistent voice stopped him.

“Why don’t we test your claim? I’ll take the job, but you’ll have to give me all your coins. Every last one.”

Clearly without any companions, Limberton was skeptical about his offer.

He considered leaving, but the man continued.

“See? You’re just like everyone else, driven by greed. You’re no different from those hypocrites.”

“What the hell is this guy?”

Aslay grabbed Limberton’s shoulder and shook his head seriously.

“Huh? You want to trust this guy?”

Aslay nodded.

Although Limberton didn’t like it, he had no better options.

Reluctantly, he approached the man with the coin pouch.

“Here, take it. You seem insane, but better than nothing.”

The man looked surprised and tilted his head.

“What?”

“Are you scared now that you’ve accepted?”

The man asked, confused.

“…Does Hersel have more coins?”

“No? I’m the pack mule, so he’s broke.”

“Then why?”

The man seemed genuinely puzzled, making Limberton sigh.

“Haa… I’ve said it before. We’re using the coins to hire someone to save him. Now, let’s go.”

The man seemed lost in thought, stroking his chin and narrowing his eyes.

“Hmm, fine. I don’t need your help. I’ll go alone. Just find the exit here.”

“What? The exit?”

“Exit 44.”

Leaving those words, the man turned away.

Limberton watched him go, murmuring to himself.

“Who the hell is that guy…”

The coin pouch was gone from his hand.

***

Both escape routes were cut off.

Even if I failed the third test, I’d have to survive here for a whole day before being let out. But staying in the corridor with the Watcher for so long was unthinkable.

– Hersel! He’s coming!

“Ugh, damn it!”

I ducked or jumped high every time the lizard tried to swipe at me with its tail. If I dodged too well, it would disappear and reappear unexpectedly, startling me.

Each time a crisis approached, I survived using my ‘one-second invincibility,’ buying time bit by bit.

But it was reaching its limit.

– Do something! You’re out of stamina!

“Pant! Pant!”

Do something? With what?

This wasn’t home with all the tools I needed. All I had was the stone floor and some ant holes where the key was hidden.

Surviving this long was a miracle.

“You, do something! Huff! Huff!”

– Even with improved stamina, you’re still useless!

‘What? You bastard!’

While bickering with Donatan, I ducked into an ant hole.

It wasn’t a dead end, so I could escape if the Watcher followed.

Catching my breath, I wracked my brain for a strategy.

To survive, I had to kill it.

The weak point was the black heart hidden in its ribcage.

Regular attacks wouldn’t work.

The original playable character, Riamon, should have faced this with an aura-imbued attack or meticulously chipped away with magic.

Creeeak!

The Watcher forced its head into the ant hole, kicking up dust.

Its jaws snapped menacingly as I sketched a basic water spell, the least mana-consuming element.

“Die!”

The stream of water aimed at its black heart.

…A water gun would have been more effective.

– Your spell is weaker than a piss stream.

‘Shut up… It must have done some damage.’

Maybe minus one?

Crunch!

The lizard thrashed, causing cracks in the ant hole. I quickly slipped out into the corridor.

It was pinned under the rubble.

Now was my chance.

I drew the water gun spell again, aiming at the black heart.

Splat.

Once more!

Splat.

Despite the serious fight, Donatan kept making annoying remarks.

– How much longer are you going to play around?

‘Just 5,371 more hits. Don’t distract me.’

– You’re serious? My God…

I was about to cast another spell when someone called my name, distracting me.

“Are you Hersel Ben Tenest?”

A gaunt man with a mummy-like face.

He was undoubtedly the strongest playable character among the Frost Heart examinees.

[Riamon Sel Rebeqtura]

• Blessing

◆ Blessing of the Fallen Reclusive Swordsman

-I won’t be deceived by lies anymore.

-The tenth attack is always a critical hit.

• Trait

◇ Swallow’s Balance

◇ Contortionist

From beyond the broken bridge, he spun a dagger with a rope and threw it toward the corridor’s stone bridge.

Thunk!

After securing the rope, he balanced on it and ran toward me like a circus performer.

I couldn’t watch his approach as the Watcher body-slammed my back.

Crunch!

[Physical attack detected.]

[Attribute activated.]

[One-second invincibility cooldown: 59 seconds.]

I didn’t know why he was here.

It didn’t matter.

He seemed to be here to help, and survival was paramount.

Yet, something about this situation irked me.

“Seeing him in person makes me want to puke…”

I gritted my teeth, filled with anger.

The Watcher should have been his problem, not mine.

***

Riamon scratched his cheek, confused.

The Tenest family was famous for swordsmanship.

Yet here he was, wielding a staff and shooting water streams.

‘Is there some meaning behind this?’

Though curious, he focused on the task at hand.

He dragged his greatsword toward the Watcher.

Hersel scowled and asked,

“Why are you here?”

“Limberton sent me.”

“For free…?”

“No, for coins.”

“Figures…”

Hersel growled as Riamon passed by.

“Why are you so hostile? Did I do something wrong?”

“Forget it. Just earn your pay. I’ll watch from here.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Hersel sat down while Riamon faced the now-alert Watcher.

As Limberton described, it felt different from ordinary monsters.

Still, it didn’t seem to hurt Hersel despite ramming him full force.

‘It must be weaker than it looks if he’s walking away unscathed.’

Thinking the task would be easier than expected, Riamon approached the Watcher without much defense.

He focused all his aura into the greatsword, aiming to pierce the black heart.

Clang—!

The greatsword shattered from a single tail swipe.

Shock spread across Riamon’s face.

“What?”