< 26 : The Corrupted Sword (4) >
I realized that a new elite monster had appeared after some time had passed since the battle began.
After finishing the ramen I had cooked, I casually looked at my smartphone and saw someone fighting with Eutenia.
There was a male character who was fighting with Eutenia with a sword that glowed with light.
He blocked the shadows with his skilled swordsmanship and struck Eutenia’s barrier with a blow.
Of course, he was blocked by Eutenia’s barrier and failed to inflict any damage, so he retreated.
“Is it an elite monster?”
I recalled the elite monster that had attacked Eutenia last time.
The one that appeared before also swung his sword to bring down Eutenia.
It felt no different from the situation now when I compared them.
Seeing these scenes, I wondered if targeting the characters I raised was a common trait of the elite monsters.
“He definitely looks stronger than the last one.”
His sword movements were different.
He swung his sword swiftly and blocked Eutenia’s shadows several times.
Bright light flowed from the sword he held.
It seemed like a trait that boosted the user’s attack or defense power.
He looked clearly stronger than the elite monster I had defeated before.
Of course, Eutenia would win easily if they fought to the end.
-“Liberate!”
Was it aiming for the gap of the opponent who was fighting with Eutenia?
Roan used the [Devil Sword: Ednos] that he had gifted before and blew away the opponent.
Kwaaaaang!
With a heavy impact sound, the elite monster flew far back.
He used <Lightning Arrow>, which caused up to 30 damage and induced electric shock.
I felt proud of the performance of [Devil Sword: Ednos] that Roan showed me.
It was worth the price of 80,000 won.
“Wow. This is why I keep doing gacha.”
The opponent who was hit by <Lightning Arrow> took 8 damage and crashed into a tree.
He hit the tree and staggered for a moment, then soon got up again with his sword in his hand.
He showed signs of movement even after being hit by <Lightning Arrow>, which had powerful damage and an additional status effect.
It was different from the previous opponent who was knocked out by simply being hit by <Lightning> magic.
He seemed to be more durable and resilient than the usual enemies in terms of defense and endurance.
It was definitely an opponent who made me feel that the game’s difficulty had increased.
“But it still seems easy so far.”
If one <Lightning Arrow> was not enough, I could just use <Lightning Arrow> until he died.
Squeak.
I pressed the skill button and activated the target area for <Lightning Arrow>.
I learned this fact while playing the game for a long time, but if I kept touching while setting the target area, I could fire continuously.
When I activated the continuous fire function, the skill was fired without pressing the skill button again.
Of course, there was a drawback that it took a little more time than using the skill normally.
-“Oh Goddess!”
As I aimed at the character in front of me with the activated target area, he raised his sword and looked for the goddess.
Suddenly looking for the goddess?
His glowing sword and combat style suggested that he was a character with a paladin setting.
Crackle. Crackle.
The sound of electricity flowing indicated that <Lightning Arrow> was ready.
I started to fire <Lightning Arrow> at the opponent.
-“Guide me!”
The character who uttered a passionate line swung his sword at the incoming magic.
Kwang!
The <Lightning Arrow> bounced off his light-filled sword and fell in another direction.
He used his sword to deflect the magic in another direction.
I couldn’t help but admire his skill as I watched him twist the direction of my magic.
His ability was more impressive than I expected.
“Wow, he can deflect magic.”
Of course, even if he was an elite monster, he couldn’t block all magic.
Bang! Kwang! Kwaaaaang!
The character couldn’t handle the consecutive <Lightning Arrows> and got hit by them.
The elite monster who was hit by <Lightning Arrow> took 9 damage and wobbled.
His defense seemed to have decreased due to the continuous attacks.
The character who entered electric shock state groaned and raised his sword again.
-“Ugh…”
The more I saw him, the more impressed I was by his performance.
He had a strong defense that greatly reduced magic damage.
He also had swordsmanship that could block magic.
My eyes naturally moved to the skill icon in the corner of the screen.
The corner of the screen where the skill icons were gathered.
There was the <Apostle Selection> skill that was activated by meeting the activation conditions.
“Can I make an elite monster into an apostle?”
In the case of the previous opponent, I just knocked him down with <Lightning> magic.
But there was still a chance to choose for the elite monster in front of me.
There are countless games that allow taming monsters.
Then, what would happen if I designated an elite monster as an apostle?
I felt a greed rising in my heart as I looked at the <Apostle Selection> skill.
The opponent was an elite monster who could deflect magic.
If it was possible to make him my apostle and enhance him, he had a high possibility of showing a superior performance than other characters.
“Ha… What should I do?”
There was no clear difference between an elite monster and a normal character.
Maybe it was possible to influence an elite monster as well as a character.
If successful, it could be an opportunity to get a powerful character.
But I also wondered if the game developers had made the game so sloppy.
Is it possible? Or is it impossible?
As I was having a time of doubt, I clicked on the skill icon and activated the target area.
“Do you think I’ll lose anything?”
It’s a break-even deal.
I used the skill with that thought.
Squeak.
I placed the target area activated by the <Apostle Selection> skill on top of the enemy character.
The outline of the character in the target area turned blue.
I touched the target area again to designate the character as the target of the skill.
-Do you want to select [Evan Allemier] as an apostle?
-You need 400 karma to select an apostle.
-Yes / No
As soon as I used the skill, a selection message for the <Apostle Selection> skill appeared.
The name of the character I was fighting was Evan Allemier.
And the amount of karma required to make Evan a new apostle was 400.
After acquiring <Lightning Arrow>, I barely managed to reach the limit by hunting diligently.
Seeing the selection message pop up, it seemed possible to make Evan an apostle.
If I use 400 karma, I can create an elite monster as my apostle.
If I don’t care about the amount of karma I have to pay, there was no reason for me to hesitate from my point of view.
“…This really works.”
I pressed the accept button without hesitation.
Squeak.
As the selection message on the screen disappeared, Evan’s body was wrapped in a bright white light.
Maybe it was because his body was wrapped in light.
Evan looked up at the sky right away.
Evan’s face, looking at the sky, looked very exhausted.
As Evan looked at the sky, messages appeared one after another at the bottom of the screen.
-You have selected [Evan Allemier] as an apostle.
-You have consumed 400 karma to create a new artifact for your apostle.
-[Artifact: Astrape] has been bound to [Evan Allemier].
[Evan Allemier] has rejected the path of an apostle.
<Apostle Selection> has been postponed.
As soon as I activated <Apostle Selection>, a new item was created in my inventory.
Until then, it was similar to when I made Eutenia an apostle.
But after that, something happened that I didn’t even expect.
Evan rejected becoming an apostle, and a message popped up saying that <Apostle Selection> was temporarily postponed.
The character himself refused to become my apostle.
I felt like I had been hit in the back of my head by an unexpected situation.
“Where did my karma go after eating 400 and running away?”
The opponent is an elite monster with outstanding abilities among many characters.
To that extent, I had some expectations for the impossible situation of <Apostle Selection>.
But the problem was with the karma that was consumed.
Maybe it was because a message popped up saying that I had created an item by consuming karma.
The usable karma had already been reduced to the bottom, and the next consumption amount of <Apostle Selection> skill went up to 800.
Moreover, there was already [Artifact: Astrape] bound to Evan in my inventory.
-“…So that’s how it was.”
I looked at Evan on the screen with a bewildered expression.
Evan, who had postponed <Apostle Selection>, muttered to himself and soon ran somewhere.
There was Evan’s horse standing still in the direction where Evan ran.
An icon of a person running away appeared several times over Evan’s head as he ran away.
Seeing Evan run away so quickly, a possibility flashed through my mind.
One possibility that I had forgotten while thinking only about using <Apostle Selection>.
-(Escape)
“Does he die and my karma flies away?”
I stopped moving my finger that was moving to aim at Evan.
The karma is consumed only in the process of creating an artifact.
And [Artifact: Astrape] is bound to Evan who was proceeding with <Apostle Selection>.
Then what will happen to [Artifact: Astrape] if Evan dies?
It was likely that it would be stuck in my inventory and unusable.
I thought of a possible possibility and had no choice but to think hard about a perfect solution.
“It seems like it will fly away as it is. It seems like there is a possibility that it can be done again when you look at the postponement status.”
The postponement of <Apostle Selection> was only because Evan refused to become an apostle.
If Evan accepts becoming an apostle again, <Apostle Selection> could proceed normally.
It was just a possibility, but still.
But the postponement of <Apostle Selection> itself was not the first time.
There was enough room to hope for the possibility of completing <Apostle Selection>.
I had to persuade Evan somehow.
I moved my finger to activate the conversation with Eutenia.
“Eutenia. You have to go and get the newcomer.”
There is no way for me to persuade the character in the game in a normal way.
The only way I can use is to send someone who can communicate with the character directly to Evan.
And the only one who could do that for me was Eutenia.
Squeak.
I activated the chat window and sent a message to Eutenia asking her to bring Evan somehow.
Of course, the message I sent was translated into a plausible language by the speech bubble translator and sent.
-“Welcome a new apostle. The one who lost his light will find a new path.”
