24 Hearts

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Calypso’s Nightmare

After purchasing a map from the guild, Judah and Jeanne headed straight to the village two days away. They thought they couldn’t get out because the gate was closed, but he opened the door when they called a soldier to talk. They passed through, and they couldn’t forget how the gatekeepers stared at them like the two of them were mad.

In this weather, it was not insane to move by carriage and to walk on foot. The people of Calypso tend to respect the autonomous will of others like wizards, so they stopped gazing soon enough and said nothing after that. The two of them ventured into the rainy world ahead, squinting in the vain attempt to see what was beyond.

It would have been foolish for them to wait out the rain. Thanks to the dungeon, the rain that had been raging for ten days was unlikely to cease anytime soon. Judah peeked from his raincoat and looked at the sky. He would be so pleased if the dark clouds rolled and poured rain into other areas, but the storm stayed and relentlessly rained down at them.

“I really hate rainy days,” Jeanne grumbled, following behind him.

“Me too.” Judah sighed, frowning at the trail they walked on as the rain rendered it into mud.

Splash!

Judah tried to avoid puddles, but even that, he couldn’t escape. Mud and grass clung to the soles of his shoes. He didn’t worry about it, though. Judah’s code allowed him to stay free from foreign matter, smells, and water after a certain time, while Jeanne did not. Still, she gave him an umbrella to keep his head from getting soaked by the rain.

“When do you think we will get there?”

“Actually, I think it’s more of a problem of how we’re going to sleep, and not when we’ll arrive. We can set up a tent or something, but the rain’s going to be a tough one to deal with.”

“Um…”

To sleep under the pouring rain, on the wet ground more so, was doable but undesirable. The -Bag- contained dry things. With the help of it, they could make a good enough campfire, but Jeanne frowned at the very thought of their possible set up.

“Please hope for an abandoned building on the way, so we could at least have a place to avoid the rain.”

The thought of it was indeed nice. And like magic, a faraway silhouette emerged from a distance. Despite the pouring rain, they could see that it was an old house. Was it real? Or did their desperate hearts deceive them? It was like finding an oasis in a never-ending desert. Judah turned his head and called Jeanne.

“Jeanne, can you see that house or is it just me?”

“No, I can see it too!” Her voice brightened a little, but soon her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “But, isn’t it suspicious that there is a house in a place like this?”

“Well, it’s not so strange. Just like when we camped in the eastern woods, it could have been made for the villagers to rest in when going to and from the castle.”

However, as Judah watched the house, he felt a chill run through his body. It wasn’t the rain nor the cold; it was the peculiar chill one would feel when discussing scary stories in the dark.

‘Ah, wait. Come to think of it… It was ghosts that escaped the dungeons and ravaged the villages, right?’

If so, the chill he felt made sense. His senses ever since he came to this world never failed. There was a ghost in that house.

‘There’s something in there.’

However, the temptation of a comfortable sleep was too great not to stop by that house. If they went for it, they would have to fight the ghost. Judah went straight for the old house, confident with his experience with it from the game, but as soon as they reached its vicinity, Judah’s heart began to rage.

‘Wow, fuck.’

A figure smiled down at them from the roof. Not one, but many. He was as nervous as he was when he first encountered a black wolf. The fright of seeing them with his own eyes was incomparable from watching them in the movies or cartoon, and it took a while before the pounding of his heart eased. This was the first time he was ever so grateful for being the -player- with a -save- option. After holding eye contact with him, the ghost rattled and disappeared into the building. Judah stopped in his tracks.

“Uh, why did you stop?”

“Jeanne.”

“Yes, Judah?”

“Have you ever seen a ghost?”

“I have not.” Jeanne shook her head, looking down at him.

“Aren’t you scared of them?”

“Yes, I’m not afraid. But why the hell are you asking that?” Her eyes showed no signs of fear.

Judah pointed her finger at her house, “Look at the roof. Can you see anything through the rain?”

A few of them went inside the house a while ago, but a few remained on the roof. The moment her eyes saw the ghosts, she frowned.

“Yes, I see them, and they’re laughing. That’s not good.”

“It’s a ghost. They are those who carry a grudge against the living. What do you want to do? Do you want to do anything about them?”

“Yes. It’s crazy to sleep outside in this weather. It’s just as crazy to walk up to this haunted house, but I want to sleep comfortably away from the rain.”

Judah nodded at her response. She was crazy enough to come up to a haunted house but not crazy enough to sleep on the muddy ground.

“Ghosts are not physical beings. How do you plan on dealing with them?”

“It would be nice if we had a priest, but it doesn’t matter if we don’t have one. If I put a spell on a weapon, I can beat it up enough.”

In addition, his magic resistance was quite high compared to the others at the same level as Judah and Jeanne. He didn’t have to worry much about the ghost’s attacks. This reckless self-confidence will sometimes come as poison, but he could save and go back in time in case he died.

‘And I have fragments too.’

He remembered the time he faced Ea, the Flying Fighter. He died in her hands once, but because of his save points, he could revive himself. Having to make eye contact with an opponent he thought he would never encounter was a terrible thing, but he didn’t need to worry much about it, thanks to the dagger he managed to buy in Aslan.

They made not much progress regarding the fragments, but there was still about half a year before his companion would return to the Byron Empire. While she was around, Judah decided to get two more fragments to make the best of their journey. It was difficult to keep hiding it. Judah launched and scrolled through her information window.

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「Status Window」

[Name: Jeanne Art Loire]

[Title: None]

[True name: Blue Moon Wolf]

[Level: 20]

[Occupation: Blue Lancer (B)]

[Race: Human]

[Strength: 30(D) / Potential A]

[Health: 37(D) / Potential S]

[Agility: 27(D) / Potential B]

[Magic Power: 37(D) / Potential B]

[Magic Resistance: 52(C) / Potential S]

[Charisma: 8(F) / Potential A]

[Knowledge: 18(F) / Potential B] ◀ Special

[Luck: 56(C) / Potential C] ◀ Special

[Favorability: 33 (interesting)]

[Reliability: 62(Friends)]

「Talent 3/5」

[Blue Moon]-Rank: A

[Wolf’s Protection]-Rank: A

[Apprentice Lancer]-Rank: D

「Skill 4/5」

[Horror Spirit]-Rank: A

[Knight]-Rank: B

[Imperial Shield Craft-Blue Lancer]-Rank: B

[Imperial Spearmanship-Blue Lancer]-Rank: B

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‘She’s more reliable than I thought.’

But this was Jeanne, and he didn’t have to worry about her reliability. With a strong conviction, Jeanne Art Loire did not betray Kain even though he had several chances to get fragments in the game. Many things followed her in-game settings as they were, so even if he told her about the fragments, she wouldn’t say anything.

As he walked towards the house, Judah kept his pace slow to match Jeanne’s.

“Do you have anything to say?”

“Jeanne. Remember this?”

He pulled out the dagger he had put in the -bag- and showed it. Jeanne nodded. On the outside, it was a sharp and colorful dagger. It looked more like a decoration than a weapon, and in many ways, it was insufficient for use in practice.

“I still don’t understand it, Judah. What kind of weapon is it that you bought it at such a price?”

“You’ll see it’s worth now.”

“… I’m sorry if this sounds negative, but is that a piece of something? Or is it effective against a ghost?”

Judah gasped playfully, “How did you know?”

“Huh?”

Judah laughed at her reaction, “That’s right! This is both a fragment and a threatening weapon against ghosts. You might die if you touched it.”

“You’re joking too much.”

“I’m not kidding.”

He glanced at her before using -Shadow Justice Form 4 – Lower Black Arms Manifestation- in his left hand. He conjured a blunt weapon to destroy the dagger.

“Wait, what are you trying to do? Judah!”

Judah, just about to strike the dagger, stopped, “As you can see, I want to break the dagger.”

“Out of nowhere? Why? Are you possessed by a ghost right now?”

Judah burst into laughter. No way. As long as he was the -player-, he had absolute immunity to mental attacks. However, Jeanne knew nothing of such a thing and could only think that a ghost possessed Judah. Moreover, as the rain continued to pour down, the stronger her beliefs grew.

“Don’t worry, none of them has even come close yet.”

With a cautious gaze, Jeanne stepped back from Judah. It must have been a shocking sight for her to see, witnessing him buy a weapon for 15 gold coins only to break it later. Judah lifted the blunt weapon over his head and struck the dagger with force.

Pang!

In a single blow, the durability of 5 disappeared, shattering the dagger-like glass. It was just a delicate coating made to look like metal. Judah destroyed the dagger, and a strange magical wave rippled out, unlike the time he obtained -Carpe Diem-.

[The tenth fragment-Altemia is acquired.]

[Saves the resurrection time based on the current location and current time.]

[The save points used have been restored.]

[Collected two fragments. People in the world don’t know that you have fragments yet, but those with fragments may instinctively notice you. Strength, stamina, agility, magic power, and magic resistance all increase by 1.]

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[Name: Tenth Fragment-Altemia]

[Rating: Legendary _ Sword]

[Equipment: Dagger]

[ATK: 125]

[Effect]

Strength +2, Agility +3, Charisma +2

HP Recovery Speed +300%

[Explanation]

It is the tenth piece of Pernern’s heart fragments. A sharp dagger with a red blade. Of all the seven monarchs, who couldn’t speak mage language, he experienced several diseases because of his weak body, and he made this dagger, recalling his memories of that time.

He absorbed the vitality of others and used that power to have immunity to disease and the power of immortality, but achieved about 70% of the results. With the help of the third monarch Ibn Haiyan, he put in the power of “splitting,” which later became the basic base for the twenty-second fragment “Red Petals.”

The sixth monarch coveted this fragment, attracted by the idea of using his life force to battle in combat. The power granted is “blood”, but it also contains very little power of “disruption.”

‘Oh, I like this. Won’t you give it to me?’

‘Where would the dead use a weapon that absorbs life and uses it? No. I won’t. Go away.’

‘That’s too much.’ -During the conversation between the 4th and 6th monarchs.

-Liberation (Active): Consumes 5% of the wielder’s health and releases blood from Altemia’s blade. The released blood ripples and damages the whole area and can It has strong power.

-One, but ten, Altemia (Active): Consumes 1% of the health and summons the same dagger in the hand of whoever wielded Altemia. The shape, size, weight, and attack are all the same. When all ten bags are used, the fake Altemia disappears, and the real Altemia is summoned into the hand.

-Dominance (Active): Gaining control over blood without a master. You can attack by using the blood that has flowed from someone else’s wound.

-Immortality (Active): Not in the sense that you will be resurrected from death. However, your body’s resilience will rise like a monster. This is proportional to the level of the ‘store’.

-Lifeforce absorption (Passive): This allows you to absorb the life force of the stabbed or defeated target to recover your physical strength or body.

└Bleeding (Passive): Reduces regeneration from the other’s wounds and increases bleeding.

-Increased dagger proficiency (Passive): Increases the throwing accuracy, critical strike probability, and dagger-related skills damage.

└Dagger attack power increase (Passive): Attack power increases according to the level of storage.

-Passive: After the start of the battle, the storage level increases depending on how much or how good the blood was absorbed.

-Disease and infection immunity (Passive): Absolute immunity against diseases and infections that may occur in the process of absorbing life force. However, absolute immunity is reduced to 60% for the 6th Lord Bel-Therja.

-The tenth of Pernern’s twenty-four hearts (Passive): The tenth of the twenty-four hearts has the power of “blood”.

-Passive: If you collect all 24 fragments made from Pernern’s heart, you can inherit the power of the Demon King Pernern.

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* * *

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「Status Window」

[Name: Judah Arche]

[Title: Little Hero of Serenia Castle (2)]

[Level: 23]

[Job: Black Claw _ Shadow Magic Swordsman (Hidden_A)]

[Number of resurrections: 2]

[Strength: 42(C) / Potential A]

[Health: 42(C) / Potential S]

[Agility: 44(C) / Potential SS]

[Magic Power: 44(C) / Potential B]

[Magic Resistance: 53(C) / Potential S]

[Charisma: 5(F) / Potential A]

[Knowledge: 17(F) / Potential B] ◀ Special

[Luck: 84(A) / Potential S] ◀ Special

[Remaining points: 8]

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============================================== ======== <ol>How old is Jeanne? Is she about 20 years old? You got that right. She is 20 years old. </ol>