The Spear of Impurity, Lynch, also had a long reach, it could be used for throwing, but only as a single shot.
Starwalker and Staff of Original Sin were pieces of equipment that were good for a mage to use.
Only one remained.
《You have selected ‘Terror of Shatiros’.》
【Terror of Shatiros (Mythic)】
A bow beloved by Shatiros, the embodiment of terror.
Imbues arrows nocked on the bowstring with the effect ‘Fear (Lv. 10)’.
Enemies afflicted with ‘Fear (Lv. 10)’ lose their sight, and one random stat is reduced by 10. Until the fear is lifted, the target cannot check which stat has been lowered.
Agility +5
Equip requirement: Bow Mastery Lv. 8, Strength 80
Short, but powerful.
It inflicts a fear effect on the target that is hit.
And not a simple, ordinary fear, it is a different-class fear that comes with blindness and stat reduction as options.
There are hardly any debuffs on this level.
It was comparable to when a curse user transcended their main skill.
Moreover, until the curse was lifted, you could not even confirm which stat had gone down.
Its very name was terror itself.
‘I need to raise my Bow Mastery.’
The problem was the equip requirement.
Bow Mastery.
Even with Weapon Master and Dexterity added together, it was only level 6, two levels short.
Of course, I was not worried.
As long as I had the hidden trait ‘Dexterity’, hitting about level 8 would be done in no time.
‘The reward left behind by the Constellation of the Radiant Hero.’
Now, this was truly the last.
The Constellation of the Radiant Hero, the price he staked on the condition that he would erase ‘Will’ and the ‘Dungeon’!
It was a moment as thrilling as when you clear a main quest and wait for the reward list.
“······ Are you there?”
Knock, knock.
At that moment, along with the sound of knocking, someone stood in front of the door.
Not one, but several.
“Come in.”
When I gave permission, the door opened and three people appeared.
Isaac, Isabella, and Serengeti.
“What business do all three of you have?”
“Well, that is······.”
Flushed faces.
Expressions of people who were strongly yearning and desiring something.
Then Serengeti spoke.
“Please accept us as your disciples.”
“······?”
Wait. What did I just hear.
Disciples, he says. Did I hear that wrong?
“Serengeti. Do you not have very little time left?”
It was, at best, five hours until the Curse of the Demon King began again.
Time so precious that it would be a shame to spend it only with Marquis Weiser and Hudson.
Yet he had come to me and suddenly asked me to take him as a disciple?
“When you, Successor, moved our bodies as we fought ‘Will’, I realized it. That we are still very lacking.”
“Please teach us.”
“······ We beg you.”
The desire to become stronger is a craving that everyone living in this Pangaenia possesses.
And if someone can handle your body better than you can yourself, of course you would be shocked.
But it was sudden, that was a fact.
I had never even considered taking disciples.
《‘Linked Quest (1): Train Disciples’ has arrived.》
《Give guidance and train disciples.》
《Depending on the result of your teaching, Honor and Bonds will increase.》
《Later, depending on the ‘disciples’’ achievements, the ‘master’s’ Honor may also rise.》
《Conversely, you may be affected by the ‘disciples’’ notoriety, so be careful when accepting disciples.》
《This leads into ‘Linked Quest (2): Faction Building’.》
‘An Honor quest.’
In short, this was an honor quest.
And not just any, but a rare, linked honor quest.
I happened to need to raise Honor as feed for Hell, so this worked out nicely.
After a brief moment of thought, I looked at the bow in my hand.
‘Terror of Shatiros.’
To use this, I had to raise my Bow Mastery.
And right then, sacrifices to raise Bow Mastery had walked up to me of their own will.
《You have accepted the quest.》
There was no reason to refuse.
A perfect chance to grind Honor and Bow Mastery together.
There was no way I would kick away such a sweet, honey-like opportunity.
‘Why is he smiling?’
‘I, I suddenly feel a chill!’
‘······!’
All three of them shuddered at the same time.
Without even knowing that they had just set foot at the entrance of hell.
***
《Dding!》
《A new notice has been updated.》
《240 hours until the appearance of the ‘Abyssal Labyrinth’ connecting Earth and Pangaenia.》
《To enter the ‘Abyssal Labyrinth’, you need a ‘Fragment of the Broken Golden Rule’, and it is consumed by the duration you remain inside.》
《For other details related to the ‘Abyssal Labyrinth’, please be sure to refer to the updated notice.》
Demon King
On the broad outer wall of the lord’s castle, four people had gathered, including Randolph.
“From now on, one at a time, you will avoid the arrows I shoot, ten times each.”
An order as simple as it gets.
Was this, perhaps, a test?
The three of them watched the bow in Randolph’s hand with nervous eyes.
“Serengeti. You first.”
Serengeti, who had been called, stepped forward.
Swoosh—
The trial began immediately.
It was just an ordinary training bow and practice arrows.
At first, dodging was not difficult.
With arrows shot at reasonable angles like that, you could dodge them with your eyes closed.
‘You are underestimating me too much.’
Serengeti smiled inwardly.
How much had he shuddered when he entrusted his body to Randolph back in the Chamber of Will.
She was a transcendent who had eaten stars, a knight who had whipped and trained herself, reducing even her sleep.
Yet even so, he could not help but be in awe of Randolph’s control.
The movements and links were nothing if not exquisite. Watching the way skills and repositioning were used at exactly the right timings, you would even start to doubt whether this body was truly your own.
‘I was a frog in a well.’
He had been strutting about, not even knowing he was a frog.
Wilhelm.
In the eyes of the Knight King, it must have been pathetic how much of a frog he looked.
So, even after they arrived in the city, that thought alone had filled his head.
Of course, the time with Hudson was important too, but······.
– Hudson. I cannot hold back.
– Wh, what? What can’t you hold back?
– If I stay like this, I······!
– Serengeti!
– I feel like I am going to explode!
– Th, then don’t hold back.
– Really? Is it okay?
– It’s sudden, but I am ready in my heart. Now we can finally become one······.
– Thank you. I will be back!
– ······Huh?
Unable to endure it, Serengeti had ended up knocking on the room’s door.
But it seemed the other two had the same thought as him.
When three are gathered, it is only natural for a sense of competition to arise.
Serengeti burned with resolve.
‘Your archery skill is indeed decent, but this much is nothing!’
Honestly, at first he had been puzzled.
Suddenly, he said he would be shooting a bow?
But then, what was this.
He had thought he was only good with a sword, yet he could handle a bow quite well too.
Still, compared to that precise swordsmanship, this was just at the level of ‘knowing the basics’.
‘Sixth time, seventh time!’
Serengeti dodged the arrows with excellent eyesight and lightning flash speed.
The order Randolph had given was that each of them would take turns and dodge ten shots.
He would dodge them all, and firmly carve his skills into Randolph’s mind.
‘Ten times!’
He clenched his fists.
He had dodged all ten.
“Next.”
The next turn began immediately.
Serengeti gave a wide grin and glanced at Isabella and Isaac.
As if to say, how about that.
As if to ask, could you do the same as me.
But Isabella and Isaac also avoided all ten arrows each, and shrugged their shoulders.
“Next.”
······ It was not over?
It seemed they were not only going around once, but continuing.
Serengeti once again took his place on the outer wall of the lord’s castle.
Swoosh–!
Thud!
An arrow lodged into the outer wall.
Cold sweat broke out.
It had been by a hair’s breadth. He had barely dodged it.
‘He got more accurate······?’
Suddenly, the skill level had risen.
No, maybe he had been hiding his skill until now.
Like that, for three long hours.
The three of them took turns, without rest, receiving Randolph’s arrows.
“Let us get serious now.”
After that, Randolph changed the training bow.
It was a black longbow, exuding a strangely unpleasant aura.
Still, it looked far more powerful than a training bow.
If you were hit by an arrow from that bow, it felt like you might just die on the spot.
“Each of you will take one hit and then we begin.”
Suddenly, he said they would start by taking a hit?
The three of them looked puzzled, but their doubts were soon cleared.
Tuk—
Right in front of them, he fired an arrow with a short draw, giving only a light impact.
It did not feel like it meant anything.
And then.
<Sssssssss!>
“······!”
In an instant, their vision went dark.
They could not see anything.
Their bodies, too, felt sluggish for some reason.
······Could it be?
“You will dodge arrows in that state.”
Only then did the three of them realize that something was very wrong.
***
<‘Bow Mastery’ has risen to level 7.>
<‘Bow Mastery’ has risen to level 8.>
<You have met the equip condition for ‘Terror of Shatiros’.>
<‘Bow Mastery’ has risen to level 9.>
After half a day of shooting arrows without end, Bow Mastery had risen all the way to level 9.
I had switched bows once in the middle because Bow Mastery had, right then, been promoted to level 8.
At this rate, hitting level 10 within a few days seemed possible.
“That is it for today.”
“Huff! Huff! Huff! Kah, huk!”
“Haah! Haah!”
Isaac and Isabella collapsed flat on the ground.
There was not a single place on their bodies without a wound.
They had pushed their bodies to the extreme, and then beyond.
In the meantime, Serengeti had been dragged back to the lord’s castle when the Curse of the Demon King began again. He had fought with all his might until the curse triggered, so you could say his passion, at least, was impressive.
《Your ‘disciples’’ overall stats have increased.》
《Honor has risen by 30.》
The fruits of their effort were quite sweet.
Honor 30 in just a single day.
It was a value that would normally require at least two decent honor quests.
As for me, I had not even done true training, it was just mastery grinding, so it was literally killing two birds with one stone.
I returned to the lord’s castle, took a light shower, and went back to my room.
‘I feel like something popped up in the middle.’
As I wiped off the water with a cloth, I thought about it for a moment.
I had been pouring all my focus into the bow, so I had no room in my mind to pay attention to anything else.
But I had a feeling that something had appeared in the middle.
Soon, the words ‘Notice’ floated small in front of my eyes.
‘Notice?’
Had this always been here?
Ever since I became a player, I had never looked at the notices.
No, even back when I was a gamer, I had not checked notices for nearly a year.
When I checked the notice, the related information rolled out in a stream.
《Notice – ‘Abyssal Labyrinth’ has been updated.》
– In 234 hours and 11 minutes, the ‘Abyssal Labyrinth’ that links Pangaenia and Earth will appear.
– To enter the ‘Abyssal Labyrinth’, you need a ‘Fragment of the Broken Golden Rule’. The fragments are consumed in proportion to the time you spend inside.
– If your ‘Fragments of the Broken Golden Rule’ are insufficient, you will be forcibly ejected.
– When you re-enter, you will return to the place where you first entered.
– In the ‘Abyssal Labyrinth’, you can obtain various rewards through trials and competition.
– In addition, there is a low chance for a ‘Labyrinth Merchant’ to appear. The Labyrinth Merchant sells a limited selection of special items, and if it appears, its location will be announced to all entrants.
– If you eliminate ‘Labyrinth Ruler – Sword of Stars Riley’ at the end of the ‘Abyssal Labyrinth’, the clear will be complete, and the ‘Abyssal Labyrinth’ will end.
For a moment, I doubted my eyes.
A new labyrinth had been updated.
The contents were one thing, but.
‘Sword of Stars Riley?’
The moment I confirmed the name of the entity called the ruler of the labyrinth, I could not help but knit my brows.
Sword of Stars Riley.
It was a name that appeared once in a while when explaining Pangaenia’s worldbuilding.
He was called the Primordial Sword, had built countless martial achievements, then was swallowed by the abyss.
In the current continent, he was one of the heroes known as an ancestor and foundation of the Arhon Empire, whom even the White King found troublesome.
Why was that name suddenly popping out as the ruler of the ‘Abyssal Labyrinth’?
‘As long as you have a Fragment of the Broken Golden Rule, you can enter. That means you do not even have to be a player.’
Nowhere did it say that only players could enter.
The entry requirement was simply to possess a ‘Fragment of the Broken Golden Rule’.
Which meant, in other words, that even the monsters of Kramdel could enter, in itself.
‘Could the Empire, by any chance······?’
I inwardly hoped that would not be the case.