Returner of the Colosseum

＜ Episode 74. Altar of Masters (4) ＞

1st round period.

＜The one who sprinkles blood on the altar. You can qualify to get what you want

“If blood is sprinkled on the altar… You can qualify to get what you want…?”

Seeing the words written in front of the altar, I raised my eyes.

If only I could get my hands on what I really want…

‘I can split the heart and sprinkle it instead of blood.’

I went straight to the altar and drew my sword.

Then, he drew it on my wrist without hesitation.

Whoops!

The radial artery is severed and blood pours out like a fountain.

In an instant, the altar was stained with blood.

“…”

But no matter how long you wait.

The altar showed no reaction.

‘······I was stupid.’

Seeing that, I sighed in despair.

but. If you can achieve what you want with just this.

There was no way other players would try to rise to the Transcendence League like that.

Being deceived by the desperation, I couldn’t think rationally without knowing it.

‘sh*t.’

I clicked my tongue and took out a bandage from my inventory.

It was then.

Mee eh eh ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew!

I unknowingly stumbled at the momentary deafening voice.

Screams filled with malice seemed to grip my heart.

It gives me goosebumps just listening to it.

At the same time, I felt the whole world pressing down on me.

‘What, what!’

I was out of breath and choked.

and appeared.

-You are an interesting person. I can’t believe you would spill blood like that. yes what do you want

My whole body trembled.

It was cold just by making eye contact.

“Ooh, our families. All, bring it back to life.”

―Oh, that’s good. If I bring your family back to life. What would you offer?

“I will give you my heart, my all. As long as you listen to what you want.”

My heart was pounding.

please.

if only you would do that

Even if I die right now, there will be no time left.

‘please······!’

The being that was looking down at me shook its head.

My heart thumped, and I sat down.

―You are sorely lacking, human. This is the Altar of Masters. If you want something, you have to pay for it.

At those words, I couldn’t help but shake my head.

at last.

That’s not right.

f*ck.

‘wait for a sec.’

I raised my head.

“If there is something you want… A place where you have to pay for it?”

-Yes.

“Then, apart from my life, I will give you the most precious thing I have. Instead, give them corresponding abilities that will help them rise to the Transcendence League. does that work?”

Then, the being that had been staring at me for a long time, grinned, revealing its teeth.

―That’s what I’m looking forward to. Yes, what is the most precious thing you have?

Without hesitation, I pointed my finger at my eyes.

“I give you my two eyes. Because this is the most precious thing I have right now.”

If I dedicate my two eyes, even if I become the champion of the Transcendence League and make my wish come true, I won’t be able to see my family’s face.

But I didn’t care at all.

Because wanting to see the faces of my family again was just my greed.

more important than that.

‘Like my greed. It doesn’t matter at all.’

Because it was an atonement for the family.

―I will offer my eyes… good night. I will give you powers worthy of your eyes.

As soon as the existence’s words were finished, my eyes went dark as if a light had gone out.

What you see is an infinitely deep darkness.

and.

Tring! Tring! Tring! Tring! Tring!

[An unknown force attempts to intervene in the system.]

[An unknown force attempts to intervene in the system.]

[An unknown force attempts to intervene in the system.]

[An unknown force intervened in the system…]

[System [email protected]#$#!%$!]

Tring!

[The transaction has been completed.]

[You have acquired the ＜Super Sense＞ ability.]

It was only the status window that said I had gained a super sense.

* * *

A crown on top of his head, and huge horns that couldn’t be covered by the crown.

A solid body that could not be hidden even with the robe he was wearing.

Purple eyes looking at me.

Then, the memory of devoting my eyes to him in the first playthrough came to my mind.

‘It was really reckless.’

―They said they wanted to see me…

The king looks at me with interest.

I also smiled leisurely.

“I wanted to ask you something.”

It’s something I’ve been curious about ever since I returned.

Why don’t the gods know that I have returned?

and.

“What was the reason you brought me back?”

The king stared at me at my question.

From noble mtl dot com

Just looking at the purple eyes shining in the soft darkness made me shudder.

The king, who had been looking at me for a while, grinned.

-Because it was the price for your soul.

At that, I shook my head.

“The Altar of Masters principle is equivalent exchange. My soul doesn’t seem valuable enough to be the first of all things to be able to turn back time.”

Even at my words, the king was only smiling.

There was no shaking in his eyes, and the only expression he gave off was a sense of composure.

“I heard an interesting story recently. That the beings called gods are not omnipotent. It’s just that they’re from a higher dimension than us.”

As he spoke, he looked at the king, but he could not read anything.

I couldn’t seem to get any information out of it unless I spit it out of his mouth.

“And they say that there is only one being called the transcendent. Perhaps that transcendentalist is you?”

-Khehehe.

As soon as I finished my words, the king burst into laughter.

He laughed for a while, touching his forehead with one hand, wondering what was funny.

―This is the altar of masters. It’s a place where if you want to get something, you have to give something corresponding to it. that you know best

I have to come up with something corresponding to that…

okay.

It was such a place.

“What do I have to offer you to hear?”

―You’re wearing a funny mask. Yes, I’m willing to give you enough of that mask.

The king said with a strange smile.

‘It’s a proposal not worth listening to.’

At the king’s words, I shook my head.

The Vladimir Mask is the most valuable item I own.

To put that answer out there to hear it, my loss was too great.

It was a deal that couldn’t be done in the first place.

Seeing my expression like that, the king showed his teeth and grinned.

―Looks like you don’t have the heart to pay the price. The time for five drops of blood is over. So, let’s look forward to the day we meet again.

“well. I don’t know if I’ll see you again. Because I’m going up to the Transcendence League.

―Yes, try to be so desperate. destiny.

The king’s figure faded little by little.

– You won’t be able to change that easily.

Then, it disappeared completely.

at the same time.

Drops of blood that fell on the altar and sprang to pieces began to move again.

“…”

“What are you doing?”

When I turned my head and looked back, while the other team members had already drunk the recovery potion and fell asleep, only Ko Chang-shin was staring at me with a curious look.

I shook my head as if it was nothing.

“When you see an altar like this, blood is offered as a sacrifice. A few drops of blood were dedicated to help us finish this game safely.”

“That’s right. You must be tired, so come over here and get some rest.”

At Ko Chang-shin’s words, I went to his side, leaned against the wall, took a potion of recovery from my inventory, and drank it.

And then I closed my eyes.

It didn’t yield much, but I was able to find out at least one fact.

―This is the altar of masters. It’s a place where if you want to get something, you have to give something corresponding to it. that you know best

commensurate price.

It meant that the act of giving my soul was at least enough to receive the price of returning.

But I was sure.

with my soul.

That it was far short of receiving the transcendental price of regression.

‘What is it?’

There seems to be something hidden.

I couldn’t figure out what it was.

I thought if I talked to the king, I might find out something.

‘There must be some loophole in the contract.’

Even if it becomes a Transcendental League, it seemed that we should keep in mind the possibility of losing our souls.

It was the king’s one-sided argument that the soul could not be taken away.

If not, there must be something else going on.

‘I’ll have to find a way too.’

It was when everyone was in a light sleep.

“Now we will start slowly.”

When I opened my eyes to Ko Chang-shin’s voice, I saw the team members stretching.

From noble mtl dot com

Judging by the state of affairs, it seemed that Go Chang-sin hadn’t slept like me.

‘He has a thorough personality.’

[Remaining HP: 98%]

Looking at the clock at the bottom right of the status window, an hour had already passed.

“Ren-sama hasn’t slept either.”

Even Ko Chang-sin knew that I hadn’t slept.

He was a very nice guy.

“yes. Anyway, can I lead from now on?”

At my words, Go Chang-shin raised his eyes.

Other members of the team also showed signs of displeasure.

“I guess you didn’t like my reading.”

I shook my head at Ko Chang-shin’s words.

“It was flawless.”

“But why…”

what should i say

I can’t say I’ve been here before.

“Isn’t this place a maze? Since the maze is a structure that is heavily influenced by psychology, I wondered if I could find a new path if I changed the person reading it.”

At my answer, Go Chang-shin shook his head.

The other team members relaxed their expressions when they realized that it was not because I disliked Ko Chang-shin, but because I wanted to change their way of thinking.

“Well, that’s a good idea. I felt like I was going round and round on the same road. Then, from now on, Ren-nim will lead.”

After Ko Chang-shin gave permission, the other team members also agreed.

That’s how the second match, which consisted of my reading, began.

“Then I will go in the first place, followed by Eden-nim, Roman-nim, Gochang-sin-nim, and Beyond-nim.”

After I finished speaking, I immediately pressed the button on the wall and exited the Altar of Masters.

Then he blocked the skeletons and moved quickly.

There was no hesitation in my steps leading the team.

In the 1st playthrough, it was a map that rolled enough to hit the lower leagues.

‘Cause I knew where to go

“I’ll go right from here.”

There was a reason this place was really bad.

Most mazes lead to dead ends if you go the wrong way.

“to the left.”

But there was no such thing as a dead end here in the first place.

If you go the wrong way, you’ll keep going around the same place over and over again.

With that intention, all cavities and corridors were initially designed in the same shape.

“I’ll go to the fourth hallway on the left.”

‘There is only one location where the boss mob could be.’

In this map full of cavities about 30 meters in diameter and corridors of the same width.

There was a space over 200 meters in only one place.

The boss mob is probably there.

“Look, do you know where you are going?”

“no.”

“It’s frustrating. No matter where I go, I only see the same type of space, so I don’t know if this is going well or not.”

Other team members also nodded at Bjorn’s words.

Little by little, everyone was getting sensitive because their stamina was decreasing.

It must have felt like going round and round in the same place, so I was grateful that they had endured until now.

Then, Go Chang-shin gave me strength.

“I think it’s going well. Didn’t the ratio of death knights increase now that only skeletons or durahans appeared? So don’t worry too much. Now, this is not just a problem for our team.”

At Ko Chang-shin’s words, the other team members nodded.

It calmed the rising anxiety at once.

‘Leadership is amazing.’

I lightly bowed my head to Go Chang-shin as a sign of gratitude.

I’ll get to the boss room after a while anyway, but it’s clear that I’ve been able to read better thanks to his help.

└ It’s ;;; Leadership skills are…

└ Whoa hahahahaha I was on the outskirts for a long time fighting another team, so you narrowed the distance at once like this?

└ What is that? Are you using a map hack? How do you find your way?

└ When Archer was leading, he was lost like the other teams, but as soon as Ren got behind the wheel, his speed changed hahahahaha

└Ah, maybe the reason why he is famous is because of his reading skills?

└ Isn’t that enough to check if it’s abusing? Even I, who is looking at the entire map, can’t find the way to the boss room?

└Speak words that make sense, really hahahahaha I think you’re mistaken that this is a real game hahahaha So what did you do with the map hack hahahaha Please live in reality ㅡㅡ

└ I agree with the above comment, at the moment I thought I entered the game bulletin board instead of the Colosseum.

└ Yes~ Even so, reading skills are the only thing to look at.

As we got closer to the boss room, not only Death Knights but also Death Mages began to appear.

“Go Chang-shin and Roman-nim, please take care of the Death Mage first.”

“All right.”

Although the Death Mage was not an undead that used threatening magic, it still had to be dealt with first.

No matter how weak the magic is, if it hits, the damage will be great.

Go Chang-sin, who had only played the role of a guide until then.

From then on, his activity began.

‘It deserved the privilege of being a sniper master.’

Go Chang-sin’s arrow flew precisely aiming only for Death Maid.

ping! ping! ping! ping! ping! ping! ping!

In addition, it was a terrifying rapid fire that fired four or five shots in one second.

The undead are skeletons anyway, so they are monsters that cannot be defeated with one or two arrows.

Then, Go Chang-sin plastered the entire body of the Death Mage with arrows.

Every time he shot an arrow, the Death Mages collapsed without a pulse.

‘He’s also good at using the inventory.’

The number of arrows in one arrow is about 3, 40.

Goh Chang-sin took out a new quiver from his inventory and shot the arrow just as the arrow fell.

The series of movements felt as natural as flowing water.

The more I looked at it, the more versatile it was.

It was time to safely overcome the difficulty of the Death Mage thanks to Go Chang-sin and head to the boss room.

‘Other teams have already arrived.’

When I approached the boss room and listened closely, I heard the sounds of many people fighting.

Even if we couldn’t do it, it seemed like it would be 8 teams, no, 10 teams.

‘I found the way better than I thought?’

Looking at the boss room well even in this maze-like map, there was no need to talk about the level.

Everyone will have above average skills.

Kwakwagwagwagwang!

With the sound of exploding magic, the ground shook like an earthquake.

There was no way a wizard could use wide-area magic while so many teams were fighting, so it seemed like the boss monster was using it.

‘It was a mission to kill the Archmage in the first round.’

But back then it was a lower league mission, now it’s a higher league mission.

Of course, it was clear that there would be a different boss mob.

‘I can roughly predict what kind of boss mobs there will be.’

A being who uses magic while summoning the undead.

It appeared as a raid boss monster hunt in the lower league star system competition.

A high-ranking undead who has escaped the frame of the unavoidable truth of death.

‘rich.’

probably a guy

＜ Episode 74. Altar of Masters (4) ＞ End