Chapter 104: No.353 Feathered Serpent Temple (2)

Chapter 104: No.353 Feathered Serpent Temple (2)

The [Feathered Serpent Altar] and the [Feathered Serpent Temple] were dungeons connected in their storyline, where the choices I had made in the former greatly impacted the latter.

One of these impacts was the priests recognition of me.

To quickly summarize what I had done in the previous dungeon:

I had stormed into the village and turned everything upside down,

Catch me if you can? You wont be able to, will you?

I tainted the priest and dodged around until Go Hyeon-woo secured the magic sword.

You might want to pay some attention to your defense; it seems a bit sloppy, dont you think?

-I will not make your end a quick one.

When it seemed that there was no reason to delay any further, I finished the fight with an Inferno Fist.

Dont think this is the end. Next time I will definitely!

Sure, lets meet again next time.

Boom, boom, boom!

Even though such a fiery event happened between us, the priests tone when he now faced me was incredibly gentle.

Ive been waiting to meet you again. Day and night, you were all I thought about.

Im not very happy to hear this from a man. There was no need for you to wait so desperately for me, you know.

The priest smiled kindly again.

Everything still seemed peaceful yet his eyes shimmered with a relentless killing intent.

It seems youve come to interfere again, but youre too late. The ritual has already begun, and even I cannot stop it now. How do you plan to stop it?

Just like he said, the ritual continued on its own without the priest doing anything.Updated from n0velb(i)n.c(o)/m

Invisible energy continually flowed out from the bodies of the lying individuals and was being absorbed by the priest.

His body which had seemed somewhat frail when we last met was now robustly bulked up, and his tattoo which was filled with magical power glowed golden.

Even the wrinkles on his face seemed to have diminished. Impressive ritual.

If I sacrifice you and your noisy friend outside, I could significantly hasten the summoning. I might as well reclaim the magic sword in the process.

You speak as if youve already captured everyone.

The smile on the priests lips deepened and he began to reveal more of his killing intent.

Thats right. None of you will leave this place alive.

Didnt you say the same last time? Yet here I am, safe and sound.

The priest momentarily shifted his gaze from me to look behind, where the barbarians who had followed me were closing in their circle.

Feel free to struggle if you think you can.

Yes, well. Lets get started.

The priest held a golden dagger in one hand and stretched out his empty hand to the side.

Then the staff that had been standing in a corner of the room flew smoothly into his grasp.

When he lifted the staff high and began chanting a spell, several golden balls of magical power started to rise and gradually expand in size.

Whirr

I mixed Wind Force with Twister, creating a spreading whirlwind.

The barbarians who were approaching me were swept away and toppled over.

Meanwhile, the golden balls that were now significantly larger hurtled towards me.

They floated silently and slid through the air at a rapid pace.

I grabbed one of the barbarians within reach and threw him into the air, where he was crushed upon colliding with an energy ball.

Crunch,

It was an attribute-less magic, and I knew it would crush me too if it hit me.

As I quickly moved away, the stone floor and walls behind me caved in.

The priest was creating more golden balls and the barbarians were chasing after me.

I clenched my fists tightly as I ran away.

And it started blazing with a fiery dark red flame.

[Inferno Fist]

Try using it if you dare.

Even though it was the skill that had knocked him out in one blow in the last dungeon, the priest did not seem particularly scared of it.

He must have something hes relying on.

His first source of confidence was that the room where the fight was unfolding was the central room located in the deepest part of the temple.

If I were to use Inferno Fist recklessly, I would risk bringing down the building itself. I could be trapped under the rubble before I could escape.

Therefore, I first absorbed the fiery energy through Overheat to greatly enhance my physical abilities.

Pop! Pop!

I narrowly dodged the incoming golden balls, kicked off the ground a few times, and quickly closed the distance.

The dagger he held in one hand emitted a light and then large energy balls shot out.

Until just moments ago, this was a spell that required considerable time and focus to cast, but now it had manifested without any prior indication.

However, before the energy balls even reached me and before the dagger even began to glow, I had already put a good distance between us.

When his critical strike turned to nothing, the priests face hardened.

How did you dodge that?

Just watch it and dodge it.

To be honest, it wasnt something you could just watch and dodge; it was more like psychological warfare.

I had known about the true nature of that dagger from the beginning and had pushed him to the point where I guessed he would use it.

The priests third source of confidence was the magic dagger.

It was also the hidden piece I intended to take from this dungeon.

The magic it carried was [Memorize].

It was a utility-type magic that allowed you to store a spell that would normally take time to cast and manifest it instantly.

Just like the priest himself demonstrated a moment ago, it was often used as a hidden ace.

To drop the magic dagger, the priest must be defeated in the central room after he used up all the living sacrifices.

The priest must not leave the central room under any circumstances, nor should the sacrifices be attacked prematurely.

Moreover, it was necessary to completely isolate the temple from the outside to ensure no more living sacrifices were added.

And right now, the barrier was fulfilling this role but once it was lifted,

It will be up to Go Hyeon-woo to hold them off.

Thats the reason why I left him outside the barrier.

At the same time, it was a chance for him to test his skills against the mid-bosses.

Pop!

I compressed space again and rushed towards the priest.

The priest, perhaps deciding to try a different tactic, made the energy balls orbit around him and pointed his staff directly at me.

A golden pillar of magical power shot out like a beam.

This is even easier.

It was the main magic he used in the last dungeon, so it was just as easy to dodge.

Leaning back and forth to avoid the energy balls, I swung Root and the sword wildly and accumulated damage on the priest.

Then I quickly retreated to regroup.

Before I surged forward again and launched a flurry of attacks then withdrawing to maintain distance.

How many times did I employ this hit-and-run strategy?

This, this cant be

Gradually, the number of surrounding barbarians and living sacrifices had dwindled to the point where I could count them all at a glance.

And contrary to the priests expectations, I had not made even a tiny mistake.

You seem to be getting nervous.

. Shut up.

The priest gritted his teeth.

He raised his dagger and muttered an incantation and all of a sudden the oppressive atmosphere that had been bearing down on us seemed to lighten.

At last, the protective barrier surrounding the temple had been deactivated.

This meant that the barbarians who were previously unable to enter would now flood into the temple like a tidal wave.

It also meant that the number of living sacrifices available for life force absorption had significantly increased.

The priest regained his composure and let out a low chuckle.

Heh Didnt I tell you it was all futile? Its too late to give up now. I will grant you a most painful death.

Well, Im not so sure about that. Lets just finish what we started.

As you wish.

The battle resumed.

Wounds were carved and healed here and there on the priests body and the number of sacrifices dwindled.

Perhaps since he was thinking that a huge supply of living sacrifices was close at hand, his defense seemed to slacken.

However

How can this be?!

Despite the number of remaining sacrifices dropping to single digits, the temple remained eerily silent.

No one seemed to be entering the central room, nor was there any sign of movement throughout the temple.

The priest urgently shouted outside the door.

Why Why arent they coming?!

Why arent they, huh?

Seems like Go Hyeon-woo is doing a good job.