Surviving With An Sss Rank Inventory - Chapter 17

Surviving With An Sss-Rank Inventory Chapter 17

episode 17

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A person that Dio, who did not want to recall the memories of the dungeon, could not think of.

But to say she was a survivor…

Dio hesitated for a moment and then made up his mind.

Anyway, once I heard the voice, I couldn’t ignore it.

Dio went straight through the treasure warehouse and found the stairs that lead to the underground passage.

Rather than being underground, it is deeper than the bottom of a cave.

There were hollow human shells and horrible things that appeared to be human hearts piled up here and there.

‘It’s still the same here.’

If Dio had not had prior experience on the order board, he might have hesitated to go any further.

‘No, is it worse than then?’

Dio frowned as he watched the intensity of the horror increase as he moved forward.

Torture devices with a terrible odor and traces of use.

It’s definitely different from what I felt in the game.

An indescribably unpleasant sensation took over Dio’s body.

‘Even though I killed all the bandits, I still feel dirty.’

Although Dio also slaughtered people mercilessly, the lives of innocent people and thieves cannot be compared.

‘I wonder if I would judge the value of my subject’s life.’

Dio, who was laughing at his own thoughts, continued walking.

And before long.

I was able to get to the front of the room where I presumed that the owner of the plaintive voice was located.

“Phew-”

Arriving in front of the room, Dio took a deep breath and opened the door with all his strength.

Squeak –

A secret space hidden in the deepest part of the world.

An underground prison, also known as the ‘Jade of Consciousness’.

In the middle of this place, there was a circular magic circle drawn in blood.

And in the center of it all, there was a silver-haired girl bound in chains, kneeling.

Dio simply bent the iron bar blocking the girl and entered.

I think it was around the time I was nineteen or twenty.

She turned her golden eyes to look at Dio and opened her mouth in a dying voice.

“Kill me… please.”

‘Is it sepia as expected…’

Her words were not asking for her life, but for her to kill her.

Dio, who had already guessed it, grabbed the great sword that was tied to him with mixed eyes.

* * *

Sepia.

An unfortunate flashback type extra character who was sold by a group of thieves to a warlock and sacrificed as a ritual sacrifice.

Her older brother ‘Sigmund’ is angry at his sister’s death.

Afterwards, his awakening after leaving his post as Deputy Commander of River North is one of the events directly related to the main scenario.

After awakening, Sigmund becomes the leader of the Inquisitors, known as the strongest swords of the Luna Church, within a few years.

He did not hesitate to kill any warlock he could find and torture him directly.

The anger and madness that comes out when judging a heretic.

It was so intense that there was no one on the continent who did not know about it.

Because of that, people called him ‘Inquisitor of Execution’ or ‘Knight of Judgment’.

In relation to this, Dio recalled a time when he thought that Sigmund’s story might change if Sepia was saved.

-Do you think this will work?

-If you save it, you might find a hidden piece.

Of course, this thought was also the same for other deceased people.

So people took action for this poor sepia.

After trial and error, I was able to successfully reach the thieves’ den in the time period before Sepia died through speedrunning.

However, no matter how hard they tried, it was impossible to save Sepia, who was already under the warlock’s spell.

The ‘Stigma of Death’ hanging in sepia grinds away the vitality of the subject and slowly drives them to death.

Neither healing magic with powerful holy power nor legendary elixir could prevent Sepia’s death.

-Hey, this won’t work;;

-I think the settings say that you will die unconditionally?

In the end, players, including Dio, were frustrated.

And it was concluded that Sephia’s death and Sigmund’s awakening were fixed values that could not be changed.

Moreover, Sephia seemed to know it herself.

That this continued pain is eternal pain.

That there is only one way to end eternity.

This is why Dio hesitated even after learning that Sepia was locked in the dungeon.

Because it was natural that he would encounter Sephia, who would ask him to kill her.

Dio could not hide his bitter feelings when he once again experienced the pity he felt for Sephia.

A girl who is in complete disrepair and earnestly begging to be killed.

Facing it in real life, not in a game…

‘Whoa…’

It couldn’t be anything other than hard work.

“Please kill me….”

“Please.”

Sephia hopes to stop this eternal pain through the haven of death.

Dio looks silently into her earnest eyes.

Clap –

Dio naturally rolled up his sword and held it.

If it were a game, I would have swung my sword at Sepia without hesitation.

But Dio hesitated.

Why?

In fact, if he made a little sacrifice of his own…

Unlike when he played the game in the past, now he clearly knew how to save her.

—————

Skill: Pledge of Liberation Lv.1

Effect:

Creates an oath of liberation with one designated target.

If the target responds to the oath, the caster’s stamina is consumed and all status abnormalities on the target are neutralized.

However, the amount of stamina consumed varies depending on the status of the designated target.

After that, the target becomes dependent on the caster.

10% of the caster’s stats are lost each time a contract is made.

Current Contractor: [0/1]

—————

A curse of weakness that not even the highest recovery magic or the best elixir could cure.

But the oath of liberation has the power to offset it.

The reason Dio was confident was simple.

[All status abnormalities on the target are neutralized.]

Because there were no exceptions in this sentence.

‘The order board system is absolute.’

So, Dio’s hesitation right now…

could really be said to be a concern about whether it would be okay to use this skill on Sepia.

‘It’s a shame that my stats are lowered, but actually that’s not the problem.’

10% of total stats is definitely a huge figure.

However, the only thing that can be achieved is the ‘perfect side of me’ defined by the system.

This is an area that cannot be converted into value.

This is especially true for Dio, who is left alone in this world that has now become reality.

So, the point where Dio hesitated was…

whether it was right to use this one-time opportunity to create ‘my perfect side’ to Sephia.

‘Sephia certainly has a background that will be of great help, but…’

If the recipient of the contract is a person with recognized strength, it will be very helpful from Dio’s perspective.

However, the target that Dio would use the skill on right now was Sepia, who looked fragile and whose potential was unknown even just by looking at it.

If you just think about the NPCs that come to Dio’s mind, there will be a lot of better options than Sepia.

But why choose sepia here?

Isn’t that an action that goes against my struggle for survival?

….

Something is strange.

What am I thinking now?

At that moment, Dio shuddered with indescribable disgust.

Who feels this disgust?

The answer is at hand.

From himself and

from none other than the human being ‘Kim Jun-woo’.

A person is dying painfully before my eyes, and I know a way to save that person… But

Dio’s thinking has stopped.

He seemed to have realized something and lowered his posture to be at eye level with Sepia, who was panting.

And his words uttered:

“I am not a monster.”

“…?”

Was it because he was delirious from the pain?

Sepia couldn’t understand Dio’s answer to her request.

But even a sane sepia would not understand what he said.

Because the words I just uttered were the answer given to Dio himself.

Maybe there will come a day when you regret your choice today.

However, what he is about to do now is a challenge and an action to protect his beliefs.

The belief that even if the game becomes a reality, we will not abandon our humanity even if it is only for the sake of survival.

Since I had decided not to become a monster, further profit and loss calculations were meaningless.

“Choose.”

Dio extended his hand towards Sepia.

Salvation through the pledge of liberation is not something that can be resolved through Dio’s pledge alone.

His promise is the first step that gives Sepia a chance, and the choice is entirely hers.

Dio, who made eye contact with Sepia, opened his mouth clearly.

“I can save you.”

“It’s impossible.”

“It means that the curse of death can be lifted.”

The two black, dead sepia eyes began to shake for the first time.

This man clearly just saw him for the first time.

But I know about the ‘curse’.

‘Can you really be freed from this curse?’

However, Sephia was not willing to take the man’s hand.

This was because young Sepia realized faster than anyone else that there is no good intention in this world without a price.

“….”

But is that why?

“If you are willing to pay the price of becoming my slave rather than death to escape the pain…”

The man’s next words moved Sephia’s heart.

[The Oath of Liberation Lv1 was used.]

[The target was designated as ]

[The designated target correctly recognized the ‘contract’.]

[If the designated target accepted the contract, the Oath of Liberation Lv1 [It continues.]

In this case, the man’s proposal was not a one-sided ‘good faith’ but a ‘contract’.

“Take this hand.”

Intense red energy stretched out from Dio’s hand.

Sephia’s mouth slowly opened as she felt Dio’s mana fluctuating within her.

“I…”

It may be a decision made hastily in a desperate situation.

Who wouldn’t hang on to a rotten rope at the edge of a cliff?

But

still, even

if that man’s hands were rotten ropes.

It was a ray of light for Sepia, and it was enough to accept it as a savior’s hand.

Sepia made her decision and grabbed Dio’s hand.

He then nodded as if to indicate that he agreed to the contract.

“good.”

Dio could clearly feel the sepia trembling in the hands they held together.

Dio, who tried to ignore Sepia, who was afraid that his decision was really the right one, caught his breath.

[The designated target has accepted the ‘contract’.]

[Stamina is consumed depending on the status condition applied to the target.]

[If the stamina required for consumption is insufficient, the contract may fail.]

[Proceed to Oath of Liberation Lv1 . will you do it? (Y/N)]

Dio nodded to the system’s question.

At that moment, the faint light from Dio’s hand began to surround him and Sepia.

Tiring-!

[Hidden quest entry conditions have been met.]

[Hidden quest ‘Rescue Sepia’ has been discovered.]

‘Hidden quest?’

Suddenly it’s a hidden quest? I just used an oath against Sepia…!

Dio could not hide his surprise at the discovery of an unexpected hidden quest.

But he was surprised for a moment.

Flash!

Dio could not help but frown at the intense beam of light that suddenly erupted from the hand that was holding Sepia.

“Ugh!?”

Then, Dio’s vision began to erode into pitch-black darkness.

Survive as an SSS-level warehouse character