The jellyfish’s stats were definitely slightly lower than mine, but unexpectedly, it wasn’t being pushed back. Was its weapon ridiculously good? It must’ve been something easily above SS-rank, obviously.

— Hup!

At that moment, the Changeling threw the bomb I had handed it earlier toward the King of Harmless. Unable to retreat due to the power struggle, the jellyfish scowled deeply. With a poof sound, the King of Harmless was shoved backward.

“Fire resistance really is great. Bombs barely affect them. Especially the heat-emitting types.”

I pulled out another bomb and threw it while using teleportation. The bomb I threw this time wasn’t very powerful. But it exploded with bursts of heat and light, making it impossible for the King of Harmless to predict my approach.

I instantly closed in beside the jellyfish and swung my sword. Its pure white clothes tore, and something like bluish bodily fluid splattered. But for a surprise attack, the wound was shallow. Whether thanks to living a long time or not, it deftly deflected a hard-to-dodge strike with just a light injury.

Of course, I had no reason to praise that. Quite the opposite.

“A 30-year-old F-rank getting pushed around like this. What a waste of all those years!”

What a shame for a Transcendent label. How old is it anyway? The King of Harmless gritted its teeth and slipped sideways. A thick fog blocked my view. But only for a moment—my lightly swung flames swept it away.

“So that’s why you were late.”

Seong Hyunjae smiled at me. What, what the hell. How did he, when?

“Why are you here! You’re just getting in the way─”

Slice. While I was distracted by Seong Hyunjae, a scaly sword came in to slash my arm. I quickly turned my body at the warning of Battle Intuition, but my clothes still got a bit cut. Seong Hyunjae had already disappeared. A fake. This boneless jellyfish bastard.

“Mister!”

A familiar voice rang out again. Even knowing it was fake, I reflexively flinched and turned my gaze. I really should just burn all this damn fog down.

I spread my flames wider and called down lightning. Crack, boom! With a loud noise, the fog scattered like it was being pushed away. Since fog is made of fine water droplets, I wondered if I could electrolyze it—but that was still beyond my current ability. The jellyfish’s magic was mixed in too, making it even trickier to handle.

Still, fog is fog.

Fssshhhh─

Yerim’s skill, Cold Sigh, was used with a generous dose of mana. Yerim’s fog mixed with the King of Harmless’s and instantly froze as it lowered the temperature. Crackle crackle, the fog solidified into fine shards of ice that rained down to the floor.

It cost a considerable amount of mana, but there was no need to pull out a potion. I could feel my depleted mana rapidly filling again. Likely thanks to Grace’s Mana Spring.

“Isn’t it pretty? Feels like I’m at a party or something.”

I smiled as I looked at the King of Harmless, who had gathered the remaining fog like a shield around itself. The scattered ice crystals sparkled delicately in every direction. They crunched underfoot with each step.

The jellyfish that had once glowed with soft, colorful light now looked completely dull. It drooped in a pale blue hue.

“Why so quiet? You know a lot. There’s still time, so talk. Try to live just a bit longer.”

You never know, maybe it’d say, ‘Actually, your soul just seemed so pure I came to share some wisdom~’ and spill some useful info. I used to get approached pretty often on the street before my face became known. When things got really bad, even those types stopped coming.

“Don’t have any decent attack skills, huh. Just showing illusions.”

“You can’t use them, you idiot.”

The King of Harmless muttered grumpily.

“Wielding power far too strong for your body is basically suicide. Think about putting a lake’s worth of water into a portable leather pouch. Pop, it bursts. I could weaken the skills, but for them to be effective, I’d need at least a well’s worth of capacity.”

After that kind explanation, it curled its lips into a smirk.

“You too. How long do you think that body of yours will hold out?”

“What?”

“How many S-rank and above skills do you have? You’ve probably got L-ranks too. Tell me. You’re going to kill me anyway. At least satisfy my curiosity.”

I stared at the jellyfish, then opened my mouth. It wasn’t going to escape anyway, so I might as well learn everything I could. Whatever it might be.

“Two L-rank titles. Five L-rank skills tied to those titles.”

The King of Harmless’s face brightened instantly. Its cloudy eyes turned pitch black, shimmering with light.

“I want it! I want to analyze it! From the tips of your hair to the tips of your toes—inside and out, every single bit!”

“…Pretty curious for someone about to die.”

“To live long, there are usually three types. The ones with no thoughts, like rocks or trees. The ones with a lifelong goal to devote themselves to, like unfilial children. And lastly…”

The remaining fog stirred. A staff adorned with dozens of dark red metallic cords dangled in front of the jellyfish. It looked dangerous. When facing an opponent whose skill or weapon was unknown, the best move at a time like this was to dodge first and ask questions later.

I almost immediately used teleportation, but—

“?!”

“Curiosity! Fascination! A desire to dig into everything in the world!”

A dark red cord stretched across space and pierced through my leg. I tried to burn it with Grace’s blood flame, but it didn’t budge. Since I was using Grace at SSS-rank, this must be an L-rank weapon at least.

— Dad!

The Changeling cried out in surprise and grabbed the cord with its front paw. But all it could do was flap its wings—it wasn’t much help. Neither my skills nor the jellyfish’s attacks affected it at all. It seemed even it couldn’t use any direct physical force. Was it something to do with being a phantasmal species?

There were still dozens more cords left. I gritted my teeth and forcibly used my teleportation skill. Flesh tore away, and a second cord slammed into the spot where my blood had scattered.

Healing my wound, I used teleportation again while unleashing current and Cold Sigh at the same time. Whether it was the effect of that staff or not, Battle Intuition wasn’t working well. I had a sense that an attack was coming, but I couldn’t pinpoint the direction.

Whoosh! A cord cut through the air, lunging to ensnare me again. Even if I used Grace at Myth-rank, I couldn’t stop my body from being bound. Raising the protection level any higher would be risky for my mana. Even if it was Grace’s Mana Spring, it was still young—probably not infinite.

Relying on the sensations from the current and Cold Sigh I’d spread around me, I barely dodged the cord. Magic detection was faster than my eyes. The one bit of luck was that it didn’t seem capable of teleporting the cords inside my body.

‘It must be because of my magic resistance.’

That goes for teleportation and other skills too. For example, even if Yerim tried to freeze the moisture inside an enemy’s body, it wouldn’t work at all if the enemy was around B-rank. Moving one’s own magic in a space saturated with another’s magic was difficult unless there was a large gap in rank. For anything below C-rank, it was better to just turn them into one big ice block without the fine control.

“Just once, let me dissect you. Please? It’s my dying wish.”

The jellyfish spoke as it controlled the cords from the staff. It wasn’t unscathed, either. Its body was melting away, probably from using power beyond its lowered stats. One of its arms had already dripped to the floor like sludge and disappeared.

If I just held out, it’d die on its own.

“As if I’d grant a freak like you a dying wish just because you’re pretty! Ngh, but hey, if you really want it—how about you die first? Granting the wish of the dead is the proper thing to do!”

A cord flew in fiercely, grazing my ankle by a hair’s breadth. I transformed Grace into a staff and wrapped it around the cord. The crimson-metal cord coiled around the semi-transparent staff, as if made of crystal. Even the jellyfish’s weapon couldn’t break Grace.

“You only use teleportation to attack, huh?”

The retrieval was done normally—so the teleportation must only apply during attacks. I tried to pull the cord to steal the staff itself, but several cords swarmed me at once.

“Ruthless.”

I quickly changed Grace into chains and yanked it free from the cord, then reshaped it into a wide shield. Pretending to block with the shield, I teleported to its outside edge.

Crash! Crack!

Cords that had teleported to where I had just been came crashing down violently. You think I’d seriously try to block something like that with a shield when I know you use teleportation?

Maybe because it had tried to handle too many cords at once, the King of Harmless staggered violently. Its right arm, shoulder, and even part of its waist were gone. Its lower body, hidden in the fog, didn’t seem to be intact either.

Thud. I smacked away the slackened cords with Grace, back in staff form. It had made an impressive final struggle, but the end was in sight.

“It’s been a long time since I risked my life. You really don’t know how to appreciate someone’s sincerity.”

“Risking your life only works in fiction. In real life, nine out of ten die. And I’m being generous with the one.”

The metal cords, once writhing, all lay limp on the ground. The staff dimmed and then vanished. I felt a pang of regret, but looking at the dying King of Harmless, it probably wasn’t worth using. With its original stats, it would’ve been a formidable weapon. Who could survive dozens of cords teleporting around in every direction?

I walked slowly. The King of Harmless was still standing, but its presence was clearly fading.

“I’d like to dissect you like I did Diarma. Don’t want to accept a mental-type skill?”

I gave it a try, but it didn’t work. The King of Harmless let out a faint laugh.

“Your name. Tell me your name.”

“You already know. Han Yujin.”

“Ru Ga Pheya. The king of a very old race.”

Ru Ga Pheya continued, as if singing.

“When the mist spread, the people all hid in their homes. Close the windows, shut the doors, seal the cracks with mud. One lazybones overslept and missed the timing. When the mist cleared and the parents came home, the child shouted, ‘Thieves!’ and jabbed them with a spear.”

Old story, old tale. Its one remaining hand—its tentacles—gestured to me.

“Come closer. Let me touch you, just a little. I’ll tell you a story in return.”

Was it really safe? Was it not hiding some last trick? I glanced at the Changeling now perched on my shoulder, then stepped toward the King of Harmless—Ru Ga Pheya. It extended a thin tentacle and tapped my shoulder.

“I didn’t think I’d die like this, but it’s not as bad as I imagined. Still, I regret it. Han Yujin. Even now, I want to possess you.”

A tentacle stretched out and brushed the back of my neck. I frowned instinctively.

“Hey, that’s unpleasant.”

“Just bear with it for a bit. °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Thanks to the mana imprint, I think I can take a look without doing anything weird. You’re curious about your condition too, right?”

“You’re really not pulling anything?”

“Want to write up a contract? I’ve got less than ten minutes left.”

Ru Ga Pheya pulled me halfway into an embrace and moved the tentacle down my back. The slithering motion crawling down was utterly skin-crawling.

“Still, support skills put less strain on the body. Means you can use high-level skills despite low stats. But that doesn’t mean there’s no effect.”

It was a voice far too calm for someone who was dying.

“You’ve got a mental-type skill too. Fear Resistance. L-rank?”

“Yeah.”

“An L-rank mental resistance skill on someone with F-rank stats—most likely a skill the Unfilial Children deliberately included. You got it as a reward, right? Rewards can be adjusted within a certain range. Having Fear Resistance makes you easier to manage. When there’s no fear, caution naturally fades too.”

Then, as if wondering what else there might be, Ru Ga Pheya whispered.

“Your Nurturer skill is L-rank too, right? That dragon is something you raised. That confirms it. From Diarma’s skill… wow. Impressive.”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

“I really need to be careful. If Crescent Moon finds out about you, they’ll love it. They’ll want to use you as a foundation for raising more Transcendents. Of course, so would I. Such a shame. Too much of a shame.”

Come to think of it, the King of Harmless had said they knew Crescent Moon.

“What kind of person is Crescent Moon anyway? You said you used to work together.”

“Ah, yeah. I used to be more or less neutral. Crescent Moon, well… for now, they’re trying to save the world. More accurately, they want to eliminate the Source. I thought the Source made things more interesting, so we split. Wouldn’t it be a waste for it to disappear before we even figured out what it is?”

This guy really didn’t suit the name Filial Duty Addict. He was just siding with the Source because he thought it was fun.

“While trying to prevent the Source from consuming the entire world by continuously raising Transcendents, they’re also searching for someone who could potentially destroy the Source. Apparently, they had high hopes for the Little Moon.”

“For the Little Moon?”

“Yeah. At first, they tried to make them a Transcendent right away, but the Little Moon refused. Must’ve cared a lot, since they didn’t abandon them and moved them to another world. But they refused again. Still, not giving up, they even hid them so no other Transcendents would interfere.”

After that, Ru Ga Pheya let out a small sigh and collapsed. I caught and supported them reflexively. Their lower body had completely vanished, and the mist that had supported them dissipated as well.

“You were supposed to outlast me, but you won’t last much longer either. Human lifespan in your world is around a hundred years, right? You won’t even make it halfway. Maybe even less. Your skills will inevitably eat away at you. You’ll need at least S-rank stats to be okay.”

“That’s a really high target.”

“Your body’s never felt off? It has, right? Like your vision blurring, your arms or legs going numb, losing hearing or touch, or being unable to speak.”

“Yeah, my vision—just briefly.”

“See? I told you. You’ve already had issues. You’re on the thin side for a human from your world, aren’t you?”

“Not that much…”

“And your speed.”

A tentacle poked my chest.

“You’ve been paralyzed by Fear Resistance. If not for that, I could’ve taken you.”

Too bad, too bad. Ru Ga Pheya lamented again and again. The body of the King of Harmless was now almost completely transparent. It felt like it could vanish from my hands any moment.

“The system… are the Unfilial Children really trying to save my world?”

“The system—Chatterbox would know best. Say hi if you meet him. The Unfilial Children, hmm… try sweet-talking the new recruit. That one probably hasn’t been fully swayed yet.”

“Chatterbox? The one who helped you—”

“It was nice meeting you. I’d love to see what happens to you, but… at least I got to witness something truly fascinating at the end. So it’s not so bad.”

Then goodbye. With that short farewell, Ru Ga Pheya’s remaining body turned to water and spilled down. Clear droplets trickled between my fingers. At the center of the small puddle on the floor, I saw a magic stone. Perhaps due to dying with their stats reduced, it was on the smaller side and seemed to be SS-grade. A faint multicolored sheen rippled across its surface.

I stared blankly at it, unable to pick it up right away, and stepped back. Though Changeling’s skill was still active, I felt the strength drain from my whole body.

I didn’t resist. I just collapsed to the ground.

— Dad, here.

The small silver forepaw held out a tiny orb. It was the memory of Yuhyun, which I had entrusted to the Changeling because it wouldn’t go into the inventory. As soon as I took it, the emotions I’d been holding back surged up.

I bit down hard on my lower lip. It’s okay. I can go back now. It’s okay.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep