Chapter 32: The Slug and the Sinner’s Karma

The weasel collapsed, and simultaneously, the Slug and I turned our gaze toward Han Gyu-tae. Next to Gyu-tae’s Net-kama character, a Scarlet-blossom Lion was already busy pummeling him. The Lion, having a grand time beating Gyu-tae, glanced over at us and delivered a finishing critical blow to his face.

At that moment, the entire space rippled and distorted.

“Shit. You’re wearing my skin, how can you play that badly?”

The Slug standing next to me let out a string of curses in a smooth, familiar voice.

Ah. Not a Slug anymore.

It was Sephiroth.

You could feel the irritation just from his tone. His AI had moved a bit stupidly, but was it really worth trash-talking himself that much? It was hilarious that the first thing he did upon reverting from a Slug was complain about his own AI’s skill level. I nudged him with my elbow and smirked.

“What’s with the Slug?”

“I know. And you were an Orc.”

“I was an Orc?”

That was shocking news. I was an Orc. I shouldn’t have been laughing at others.

Looking around, the situation had mostly settled. Everyone—including the already-dead Seong-jin—had returned to their original forms. AngelA had been the Scarlet-blossom Lion beating up the fake Gyu-tae, and the real Gyu-tae had been the confused Mermaid trying to hit me. Sephiroth was the Slug, and I was… an Orc. An Orc.

Of all things, why an Orc?

I muttered sulkily, “I didn’t even get to see my own AI.”

“I killed it as soon as we started.”

“Hey!”

“To your eyes, it would’ve just looked like a Slug killing an Orc anyway.”

“Even so, how could you kill me first?”

Got a grudge or something? As I pouted and grumbled, Sephiroth replied:

“An NPC wearing your face was getting hit. You think I’m just going to stand there and watch that annoying sight?”

Oh, that sounds like it should be fluttering my heart, but why do I feel like I shouldn’t be moved by this…?

The small talk ended quickly. The Slug standing in the center of the pavilion—the boss—leapt down. Whether it had taken damage during the chaotic brawl or not, the Hanbok of the heavy-metal-zither-playing Slug was shredded. The boss Slug brandished the torn ribbons of its outfit and smashed its instrument against… what appeared to be its knee.

Man, the heavy metal industry is missing out on a real talent…

Simultaneously, the water surged. This time, the shockwave was far more powerful. AngelA, who had been using a resurrection skill on Seong-jin, looked over in surprise.

[Our dream!] [Do not wake us from it!]

With a piercing shriek, all the paper doors slammed open. A swirling vortex burst through the windows, making a menacing wind-like sound. The few remaining monsters were caught in the rapids, slamming into the banquet hall walls. The ornate beaded curtains tangled messily around the dragon lamps, and the fragrant snacks were trampled and swept out the doors by the current.

And then, the entire pavilion moved.

“C-crap, what is this…!”

Seong-jin was the one to let out an exasperated sigh. Seeing the usually polite Seong-jin almost swear showed how shocked he was. Of course, I, AngelA, and Gyu-tae felt the same. Only Sephiroth—whose thoughts were unreadable behind his iron visor—stood tall, staring straight ahead.

Every time the heavy metal Slug took a step, the high pavilion thundered and moved with it. It was difficult enough just to stay standing against the rushing waves. Furthermore, as the pavilion approached, the playable space itself shrank. It felt like the space was moving according to the pavilion’s will.

Sephiroth looked back and opened his mouth.

“Hold your ground. Follow me, Bluey.”

“F*ck, stop calling me Bluey!”

Ah, he’s really tasted blood with that nickname and won’t stop…!

Whether I was fuming or not, Sephiroth had already charged toward the encroaching building. I hurriedly followed him. The other three stayed behind, focusing solely on dodging as they had before. AngelA looked used to this kind of chaos, while the other two looked like they had lost the will to fight.

The swirling spray made it hard to even take a step forward. Amidst the chaos, a splintered piece of wood caught in the vortex shot toward my neck. I twisted my head to dodge and took in the scene.

The entire pavilion was attacking us with a will of its own. Teacups and chopsticks flew from behind the open windows at lethal speeds, the long beaded curtains lashed out like whips, and the once-still dragon lamps writhed like giant serpents. Every time a roof tile fell, the floor cracked with a heavy thud.

Sephiroth struck the massive structure with his axe, but unfortunately, this time his blade wouldn’t bite into the wood. The pillars—which looked like mere lacquered wood—were as hard as steel, repelling his attacks.

“They really made this game like shit, didn’t they?”

Sephiroth finally let out a curse. He changed targets and lunged at the heavy metal Slug standing in front of the pavilion. But the wind-lanterns hanging from the eaves flew at him faster than he could reach the boss.

“Annoying…!”

Sephiroth hurriedly pushed off his left leg to get out of the lantern’s range. He tried a few more times, but each time, a hail of lanterns cleverly blocked his path. He retreated to my side.

“You try attacking.”

“I don’t think it’ll work for me either.”

“Just try it.”

Shit, he always makes me do the annoying stuff first… Swallowing my internal grumbling, I approached the Slug. As expected, as soon as I got close, the lanterns flew out to block my path. No matter how carefully I looked, reaching the Slug while dodging them seemed impossible.

I kept my distance for a moment, watching the Slug’s movements. A dragon lamp lunged at me, but its movement wasn’t as subtle as the lanterns, so I dodged it by a hair’s breadth.

The heavy metal Slug was shredding the broken zither. What looked like giant hands were pressing the strings—if you could even call them that—randomly. Every time its fingering changed, the pavilion’s attack pattern shifted.

“We definitely need to take that thing out.”

I approached Sephiroth, and he nodded.

“I can’t find an opening to get close.”

“The patterns change based on its hand movements, but it’s too chaotic to be sure.”

“Every time the pattern changes, ‘Bagua’ symbols appear on the four corners. There are exactly four, so I think we each need to take one.”

“Hey, what’s that?”

While dodging minor attacks, a red light began to glow inside the pavilion. Sensing danger, both Sephiroth and I sprinted toward the building. I didn’t make it this far just to fail! I pushed my speed, but the water pressure grew stronger the closer I got to the structure.

Sephiroth, arriving slightly faster than me, raised his axe and slammed it into the pavilion. Simultaneously, the red light vibrated and exploded. BOOM! I reflexively covered my ears at the deafening sound. Through the red beams of light, I saw Sephiroth being blown back.

Eh?

“Hey.”

I looked down and smirked.

“You dead?”

“F*ck… Bluey…”

Sephiroth’s corpse muttered a final curse.

“This boss pattern is trash.”

Once Sephiroth—the team’s primary DPS and tank—died, our party was wiped out in seconds. Well, calling it a “wipe” is a bit much; as soon as Sephiroth died, we decided to retry and simply stood under falling roof tiles. After completing our respective suicides, we found ourselves back in the old, empty banquet hall.

AngelA was hopping around, giggling at Sephiroth.

“Isn’t it been a while since you died?”

“Shut up.”

“You’ve been scolding us and making us stand in the back because we’re ‘bad,’ yet here is our Sephiroth, slipping up in a dungeon?”

“I said shut up.”

“Why were you bullying Angel-nim then? He seems better at the game than you.”

“You want to die, Bluey?”

As I joined AngelA in teasing him, Sephiroth raised his axe and glared at me ominously. I couldn’t see his eyes through the helmet, but I felt a chilling gaze. Is he going to split my head open as soon as the party disbands? A sudden wave of dread washed over me. Sephiroth was exactly the kind of guy who would do that.

“Why are you picking on Bluey-nim? How many people do you think would actually party with you?”

AngelA took my side. I was grateful, but the nickname “Bluey” was still grating. Regardless, Sephiroth didn’t take his eyes off me, spinning his axe in his hand.

Am I really on his hit list now?

“Um, earlier you said four Bagua symbols appeared. Don’t we each need to stand on one and interact with it?”

Thankfully, Seong-jin changed the subject. It seemed he hadn’t reached max level for nothing. From behind him, Gyu-tae spoke up in a dejected voice.