Chapter 35: One-sided Fight
"Haa..."
Ryven panted heavily, his cheeks flushed crimson. His body trembled involuntarily as the lingering pleasure coursed through him.
"H-how the hell did you endure that with a straight face?" He asked in disbelief, staring directly at Samminah.
"Hmm... I suppose you could say I’ve grown numb to certain pleasures," She answered expressionlessly.
"I don’t think I understand what you mean." He looked away, unsure of how to respond.
A few minutes later, the overwhelming pleasure finally subsided, and the flush on his cheeks gradually disappeared.
After regaining his composure, he opened his mouth to speak again.
"Right, I forgot to mention that I can’t start explaining the artifact descriptions just yet."
"It would consume too much time, and from what I feel that, this place isn’t safe at all. Frankly, it’s making me uncomfortable."
"More importantly, how are we supposed to get out of this place?" Ryven asked Samminah, tilting his head slightly.
While he was unconscious, he was certain that Samminah had discovered a few things, that he wasn’t aware of.
Especially judging by how calm she was.
Samminah didn’t answer his question immediately. Instead, she manifested something from her inventory.
It was a black pill.
The pill looked rather ominous, causing Ryven to gulp unconsciously.
"Ugh... Don’t tell me I have to swallow that thing just to leave this place."
Noticing his complaints, Samminah merely sighed.
"Yes, you’ll need to swallow it."
Just as Ryven was about to complain even more, her voice echoed inside his mind.
Just pretend to swallow it. Once it reaches your esophagus, immediately store it in your inventory.
I’m warning you. If it dissolves inside your body, you’re dead.
Hearing the seriousness in her voice, Ryven immediately realized the severity of the situation.
Without further hesitation, he took the black pill while pretending to swallow it.
...
At the endless white space, the Twilight God watched the three figures—Ryven,
Samminah, and Fred—through a projection.
A grin slowly appeared on his face as he observed their every movement.
To think she even possesses the knowledge to interfere with the trials I’ve created...
Oh well. It’s not like I wanted him to die in the first place. In fact, it’s for the better that she helped him survive.
The Twilight God silently criticized himself inwardly.
However, the moment his gaze landed on Samminah, his expression gradually turned grim.
She definitely knows too much...
Once I regain enough of my authority, she’ll be the first target.
As time passed, observing the three of them became increasingly difficult.
Only then did he realize that both his will and authority were beginning to dissipate as the inheritance was approaching its end.
It’s not like I’ve only made a few preparations.
This vessel is merely one of many preparations. Even if it fails, my reawakening shall not be hindered.
He consoled himself.
After observing them for a few more minutes and seeing Ryven swallow the black pill, the Twilight God finally felt satisfied.
He immediately teleported the three of them outside.
Had he failed to do so before his will completely dissipated, the inheritance would have crumbled, taking all three of them along with it.
Fortunately, he had personally witnessed Ryven swallow the pill. Otherwise, he would’ve been forced to teleport them away without certainty.
After all, he didn’t want them to die just yet.
...
Deep within the underground palace of the inheritance.
The moment the black pill reached his esophagus, Ryven stored it inside his inventory.
Closing his eyes for a brief moment, everything around him turned to nothing but endless void of white.
The same thing happened to Samminah.
After an unknown amount of time, the two found themselves standing outside the cave once again.
"...It seems we’re finally back," Samminah subconsciously muttered.
Looking around, Samminah noticed that the huge cave was nowhere to be seen.
What remained were towering trees looming over them and the thick fog that obscured their vision.
Ryven was the next to notice the change in his surroundings.
He had only regained consciousness a few moments later than Samminah.
When Ryven looked around, he found himself back in the middle of the forest, with the groggy skeleton standing beside him.
Strangely, the skeleton seemed to have been the first to realize what had happened. It simply didn’t know how to express what it felt.
"We’re really back. But the cave is gone? Did the inheritance disappear on its own?"
Samminah gave a quiet nod in response.
The cave’s sudden disappearance caught them a little off guard.
Ryven could vaguely feel that there were still countless mysteries hidden within the inheritance. It was simply that he wasn’t aware of them.
"Samminah, you’ve been conscious while I was passed out, right?"
"What happened while I was unconscious?" He asked curiously.
In response, Samminah stared at him for a few seconds before shifting her gaze toward the other side of the forest.
"I’ll explain it later. Let’s head back to the village first."
"Okay..." Ryven nodded, feeling somewhat suspicious.
Surely, something unusual had happened inside the inheritance.
While traveling back from the south, Ryven decided to test his new skill.
"Soul of Excalibur."
The moment he activated it, he felt nearly half of his mana being consumed. And that was considering that his Mana had tremendously increased.
Behind him, a pure white sword manifested. Its blade resembled freshly fallen snow, while its hilt was adorned with blue and golden floral designs.
A majestic golden light surrounded the sword, illuminating everything within a one-meter radius and purifying the thick fog around them.
"Fascinating," Samminah glanced at him with intrigue. "To think you’d obtain such a powerful S-Rank skill."
"Yeah. That inheritance was truly something. If I fought that Cerberus again, I’m confident I could kill it without sustaining any injuries."
Ryven voiced out confidently.
"Really?" Samminah smiled faintly beneath her thick purple veil mask.
Without warning, she stopped enveloping him with her Concealment.
"Then let me see it."
The moment she said those words, Ryven sensed something rapidly approaching.
Ahead of him stood a four-meter-tall creature with a humanoid body and four grotesque arms.
It possessed four heads resembling decaying lions, their jaws torn open to the sides and exposing rows of jagged teeth.
Uhm... I didn’t expect to encounter another one.
...
Especially after bragging that I’d defeat one without getting injured.
Ryven yawned and casually stretched his body, as if the rapidly approaching Cerberus was nothing worth worrying about.
[Host Reflex Increased +6]
After allocating his Arcane Points into Reflex, Ryven immediately felt his senses sharpen significantly.
The charging Cerberus seemed nearly twenty-five percent slower in his eyes.
Without hesitation, he summoned the treasure weapon he had received from Arianna.
The Soul of Excalibur immediately merged with his sword.
The moment it attached itself, Ryven felt as though he had practiced swordsmanship for over a decade.
The Cerberus’ four arms shot toward him simultaneously.
Instead of dodging, Ryven calmly deflected the four arms simultaneously with the edge of his blade before severing one of its arms in a single motion.
"Would you look at that." Samminah smiled wryly.
The current Ryven could defeat his former self over ten times without much difficulty.
"With your current level, you can already fight a few Third-Stage abominations at the same tkme," She remarked, sounding rather satisfied with his growth.
Ryven listened to her amidst the battle.
Even he could feel how absurdly fast he had grown after entering the inheritance.
Though his mind had nearly broken during the trial, it was undoubtedly worth it.
Meanwhile, the abomination sensing the immense danger before it, the Cerberus instinctively attempted to flee.
It suddenly spat a strange green liquid from all four of its mouths.
Although it didn’t seem poisonous, Ryven immediately realized that it was far more dangerous than ordinary acid.
Thinking it had bought itself enough time, the Cerberus turned around and prepared to escape at full speed.
However, in the next moment, eight of its eyes saw the world turn upside down.
The last thing reflected in its vision was a young man with golden-brown eyes shining brilliantly amidst the thick fog.
[Host had slain a Third-Stage, Cerberus.]
Ryven panted lightly as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
If that liquid had touched me, things would’ve become troublesome.
Luckily, it didn’t use that ability during our last encounter.
Ryven sighed inwardly.
"Not bad. I didn’t expect that after only a few days, your fight against a Third-Stage
abomination would become this one-sided."
Samminah mumbled in amusement.
Before he could notice, she had already appeared beside him.
Her swift movement caught him completely off guard.
"T-thanks?"
Ignoring his surprise reaction, Samminah activated Perfect Mind.
The moment she used the skill, her thought process accelerated tremendously.
Every detail of the surrounding forest became crystal clear in her mind, allowing her to accurately determine the direction of Reinett Village.
After utilizing the skill, she turned toward Ryven.
"Are we heading back now?"
"Yeah. But can we gather some experience points along the way? I’m allowed to summon something again."
"If my summon turns out to be good, it’d help a lot if I could level them up quickly."
Samminah pondered for a moment.
Thinking about his system only made her even more curious at what rank it possibly was.
For someone like her—someone who had once reached godhood—to be summoned by his system was truly peculiar.
"Then let’s do it."