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Chapter 109: Trial of Intelligence (2)
Chapter 109: Trial of Intelligence (2)
Chapter 109: Trial of Intelligence (2)
This incident took place a month ago. Lee Gun had just extorted weapon ingredients from Drachma and made Hugo’s bow.
Satisfied with the weapon, Lee Gun had been about to put down his tool! But then…
Flash!
He heard a voice alongside a flash of light.
[An item containing the Snake’s energy has been created.]
[You can grant it a <Stamp>!]
[The Stamp can create a special bound attribute item of the Serpent Bearer.]
[A holy item with the bound attribute can receive more divine power. It can display a stronger power.]
[Will you give it a Stamp?]
Lee Gun had contemplated those words for a moment.
It was a newly-developed skill he got after Creation Workshop had been unlocked. In simple words, this skill made it so that no one other than the owner could use the item. Lee Gun could create a personal weapon for the owner.
Until now, he had made all kinds of weapons, but he could never make an item with a bound attribute. Therefore, Lee Gun had been very interested in the Stamp skill. When he had tried to use it, however…
[Caution! You haven’t undergone your first awakening.]
[If you use the Stamp when your body isn’t whole, your body will be under a lot of stress.]
[The penalty period will be extended by a small amount.]
Yes, Lee Gun had wanted to test out his Stamp skill, but the thought of getting rid of the penalty was the only thing on his mind a month ago.
‘It’ll be dangerous if a Zodiac gets involved.’ Lee Gun had realized this after fighting the Leo Saint at Drachma. He could contend against the Zodiac Saints, but the Zodiacs were very dangerous.
The Leo Saint was a psychotic freak, and whenever he encountered Lee Gun, he always tried to call forth his Zodiac. However, the Leo Saint needed some time to summon his Zodiac. However, this was a different story for the Libra Saint. That woman was very close to her Zodiac.
‘It’ll be best for me to quickly get rid of the penalty.’ That was why Lee Gun hadn’t made a holy item with the bound attribute despite the advantage of the holy item becoming much stronger.
***
Back to the present!
Lee Gun had made the Secretary stamp his seal on the Soul Contract. This completely changed things.
‘My opponent is a Secretary.’
Secretaries were dangerous. Even the Zodiacs had shuddered as they shut the secretaries away. That wasn’t all.
‘He tried to attack my friend and his wife.’ Lee Gun’s eyes turned sharp. Then…
[A <Stamp> has been assigned.]
[The divine power will change this item into a bound holy item.]
Lee Gun had assigned his skill to the fountain pen in front of the Secretary.
[Since your body has undergone an upgrade, using divine power won’t cause much damage.]
[You will not receive a penalty.]
Lee Gun smirked.
Flash!
[You have successfully assigned the Stamp.]
[You have created your first bound holy item.]
[The <Wooden Fountain Pen That Cannot Write Lies> has transformed into a holy item with the bound attribute.]
[The bound holy item may choose an owner according to its taste.]
[The <Wooden Fountain Pen That Cannot Write Lies> loves blood.]
[The fountain pen would like an owner who can always supply it with delicious blood.]
As the fountain pen’s parent(?), Lee Gun grinned at those words. Then, he grabbed the Secretary’s arm. ‘Yes. You can have your fill here.’
The fountain pen roared with joy when it drank the blood flowing from the Secretary’s hand.
[Bound Contract will proceed.]
The fountain pen made a contract with its owner.
[The <Wooden Fountain Pen That Cannot Write Lies> loves its new owner.]
[The fountain pen wishes to stay with its owner until death does them apart. It wishes the owner to take care of it. If not…]
Lee Gun grinned. The fountain pen was one of his mutant creations that had the worst personality. This was why he didn’t use it much despite it being useful. Well, that didn’t matter now.
“What the hell is this?”
The Secretary got frightened when he saw the fountain pen that refused to separate from his hand. “This bastard is sucking my blood!”
Lee Gun grinned as he observed the Secretary. It was time to get down to business.
[You have found the subject of the Trial of Intelligence.]
[The Trial of Intelligence has started.]
[Add a human familiar (disciple) (0/1)]
– The Serpent Bearer feels the need to bring in a human familiar.
[Tell the Secretary to start recording.]
[When the bible has been written, the last trial will be complete.]
Thankfully, he had been able to find the Secretary quickly. He had been fortunate. To complete his objectives, Lee Gun needed a power on par with the Zodiacs. That wasn’t all.
‘Red Eye hadn’t been my only enemy.’ Lee Gun had heard something when he was trapped within the Devil’s Tower.
[My word! You killed Red Eye! You’re amazing! A mere human could kill a pet animal they treasure!]
[Are you really a human?]
Lee Gun furrowed his brows as he thought about the sentry he had killed within the tower.
‘Then there were the bastards that came looking for that bone. It bothers me.’
Rare monsters had appeared at Drachma to steal the bone he had once wielded. Only his attacks had worked against them.
Lee Gun had no idea if it was just a coincidence or not.
[Time limit for clearing the trial: 71hrs 54m11s]
[Penalty: 50% Reduction in Physical Ability (Remaining Time: 71hrs 54m 11s)]
Was it a coincidence that the penalty time and the time limit for clearing the trial ended at the same time?
In the end, it didn’t matter. Even clues about a Secretary had been scarce; Lee Gun had given up on the last trial. He would have had to give up on the remaining rewards, and the time left in his penalty would’ve been extended. However, he no longer had to worry about that.
Lee Gun looked at the Secretary. “Whatever! What’s your name?”
“Do you think I’ll tell y—”
Lee Gun raised his ax.
“Park… Park Jaeha! Why?”
Lee Gun’s eyebrows rose.
[Yoojin Christian (Name Deleted)]
– Awakened Name(Baptized Name): [Deleted]
The Secretary was lying, but that wasn’t important.
“Alright, Sebastian! You’re my Secretary from now on.”
The Secretary looked dumbfounded. ‘Has this bastard lost his mind?’
Yoojin was the only survivor possessing the abilities of a Secretary. The Zodiacs and their Constructs had chased down his family and killed them. Yoojin had vowed to kill the Zodiacs, but in the end, they had caught him.
The Secretary had spent ten years in prison, and he wasn’t sure of the current state of affairs. However, he was sure of one thing. ‘This bastard needs the power of a Secretary.’
Well, he could understand it. All Zodiacs wanted to use the Secretaries’ power to become more absolute beings. ‘They are greedy.’
Nonetheless, the Secretary was aware that anyone who knew a lot about a Secretary’s power had to be a high-rank disciple. It was highly probable that the person in front of him would be close to their Zodiac.
Therefore, the Secretary smirked as he came up with an idea. ‘This is my opportunity to steal an original text.’
Yes, although the price would be steep, a Secretary could choose to elevate or destroy a temple. Of course, for that, he needed the temple’s original texts.
‘I wanted to destroy the twelve Zodiacs. I’m glad they came looking for me.’ He would get rid of anyone related to those bastards.
Letting out a bright smile, the Secretary said, “Alright! Since I’m an escaped prisoner, I do not have any money or work to do. This is great! I needed a job. I’ll enter your temple.”
“!”
The words surprised Hugo. ‘Unbelievable! There is no way a Secretary would follow orders so meekly like that.’ A Secretary hated the Zodiacs and their disciples.
The Secretary narrowed his eyes and continued, “I need the original text to use the Secretary’s abilities. Please show it to me.”
“Original text?”
“Yes.”
“Alright!”
The Secretary smiled as if Lee Gun had taken the bait. ‘I don’t know which temple you’re affiliated with. However, I’ll destroy you as soon as I see the original text.’
The cost was steep, but he just had to change the core record of the original text.
As he had shown a while ago, the Secretary had acquired the Archer’s original text. However, it didn’t contain the core records. That was why he hadn’t been able to destroy the Archer temple.
Suddenly, Lee Gun opened the door to the hallway and stepped out.
‘!’
The door led to the terrace garden. And when Lee Gun stepped into the terrace garden, something surprising happened.
Koo-goo-goo-goong!
“!”
A snake-shaped magic circle appeared underneath his feet, and something surged up from below.
[Open Holy Ground]
This scene surprised the Archer disciples.
“That’s…”
[The Serpent Bearer’s holy ground, <Private Palace>, has opened!]
– Serpent Bearer’s Holy Ground/Personal Palace (Lv. 2)]
[Size 16m2(5 pyeong)]
[<Base Location>: Undecided]
[Holy Ground’s Special Attribute: Super Regeneration]
[Would you like to make the proposed location(10th floor of Montreal’s white hospital) the location of your private palace?]
The Secretary was also taken aback. ‘What the hell is this power?’
He had just felt the power of a Zodiac he had never seen before. Even though this holy ground was small, he could feel immense pressure from it.
‘It’s powerful.’ The Secretary shook.
Lee Gun crossed his arms as he laughed. “I’ve heard the original texts have to be engraved on the holy ground. I have no idea where they are. Can you find them?”
This brought the dazed Secretary out of his reverie. “As a Secretary, I can locate the original texts.”
The Secretary immediately used his ability.
[Eyes that Read History]
His eyes changed color as his vision transformed. Then, he saw shining words amongst the structures that had appeared in front of him.
‘I found them.’
These were all the achievements Lee Gun had accumulated. The holy ground also had something weird called <Gospel of Lee Gun>, but the Secretary didn’t pay any attention to that.
‘That’s it.’
The very first passage!
[Achievement No. 0]
– Returned!
The Secretary was sure of it. This was the word of origin that described the birth of a temple. It was the beginning of everything and the most important passage in a Zodiac’s bible.
‘I just have to change that.’
If one wanted to kill someone, one just had to make sure that person was never born. The Secretary activated his skill.
[Record Keeper’s Note]
A small note appeared in his hand. It was a tool a Secretary needed to create scriptures. At the same time, it allowed a Secretary to edit and distort achievements.
This was the reason the Zodiacs had killed the Secretaries.
‘I’ll erase your temple out of existence.’
Finally, the Secretary took out a writing from his pocket to edit the passage.
“Koo-oohk…!”
As he placed his writing utensil on the writing, he fell over, clutching at his stomach. “Ahh! Why is my stomach suddenly…”
Lee Gun clicked his tongue. Tapping the Soul Contract, he said, “Article two, paragraph three of the contract.”
“…?!”
[One will use only items given by Lee Gun; otherwise, one will suffer a stomach ache over which even death is preferable!]
Fuck! The Secretary inwardly ground his teeth. Yes, he had forgotten about that contract.
In the end, gritting his teeth, he picked up the fountain pen that drank his blood. ‘Yes. If I do this, I can get rid of this absurd contract.’
He used his ability of a Secretary and transcribed the Secretary’s note on the bible.
This led to Lee Gun emanating a light.
‘!’
[The Secretary has started compiling.]
Of course, the Secretary didn’t transcribe it word for word.
[Achievement No. 0]
– Returned!
?
[Achievement No. 0]
– Defected!
At the same time, the Secretary’s note also emitted light.
Flash!
Then, the ground shook. It stopped shaking only when the Secretary finished his work.
The Secretary laughed as he folded his note. “Ha ha ha! This is the end of you! Go to a different temple!”
At that moment…
Kwahng!
A green light surged up below Lee Gun’s feet. It was an incredible amount of energy.
[The Secretary has succeeded in his compilation.]
[The Trial of Intelligence has come to an end.]
[You have completed the last trial.]
[You have acquired the rewards, the Serpent Bearer’s Unique Construct and the Unique Divine Holy Item!]
[You will now receive the EXP accumulated during the trials.]
[Your level has increased. (Lv. 11)]
[Since all the trials have been completed, the seal on <Death Instinct> has been released.]
[The seal on Divine Status has been released once again.]
[Your EXP will increase from this point on.]
Lee Gun laughed.
The Secretary realized something was wrong. He screamed, “What the hell? Wait a moment! What the hell is this? Why…!”
Taken aback, the Secretary quickly looked at his note as if this couldn’t be happening. When he opened his note, his expression hardened even more.
“?!”
This made Lee Gun laugh. “What? Is it different from the words you wrote?”
“?!”
[The <Wooden Fountain Pen That Cannot Write Lies> has been activated]
[After being engraved with the Stamp, the Wooden Fountain Pen is displaying a stronger power.]
[All lies have been erased, leaving only the truth.]
Yes, the note still had the original content of the bible. The Secretary had failed to distort the content. That wasn’t all.
[You have gained an achievement.]
“…!”
A rock surged up inside the holy ground Lee Gun had unleashed.
Pah-jee-jeek! Koo-goo-goohng!
New words were engraved on the stone. The Secretary’s face turned pale. It was to be expected.
[Achievement No. 5]
– The young Secretary who denied the Zodiacs defected to become the Serpent Bearer’s servant.
“?!”
The Secretary was sure of it. This achievement was related to him. ‘Could it be? Did this happen because I carelessly spoke about entering his temple?’
Only remarkable events were recorded as achievements. However, this was indeed a special occasion. It was very rare for a Secretary to follow a Zodiac. That was why this matter had been engraved as an achievement.
‘Shit! I thought I could just change it no matter what happens!’
The flustered Secretary tried to revise this achievement.
[The <Wooden Fountain Pen That Cannot Write Lies> has been activated]
[After being engraved with the Stamp, the Wooden Fountain Pen is displaying a stronger power.]
[All lies have been erased, leaving only the truth.]
“Ahk!”
When he realized what was going on, Hugo was shocked. ‘Why can’t the Secretary distort the passage?’
Lee Gun let out a shrewd laugh. ‘It seems the fountain pen is more effective than I thought.’
The flustered Secretary backed away. “No! This isn’t it! Something is wrong!”
Goat, who had been watching everything with his mouth open, said at this moment, “Did that delicate-looking boy become Lee Gun-nim’s disciple?”
Hugo tilted his head in puzzlement. Boy? It didn’t matter.
‘He really brought a Secretary into the fold. The Zodiacs must be going crazy.’
Lee Gun grabbed the Secretary, who tried to run away. A chaotic smile made its way to his lips. “Where are you going? You’re my second official disciple. I’ll treat you well.”
He had cheated!