The Villain has Perished

Chapter 57 My Status Screen

?

'I have the Gamer System….' 

Taking a deep breath, I re-read the message. But it didn't change. The pain coursing through my limbs was proof enough that I wasn't dreaming.

'Muhahaha! This is the best! I was about to beat the hell out of that useless goddess after meeting her but I guess I won't!'

I had the system that made Jae-sung overpowered. Even if it contained only a fraction of the abilities of the original it would make up for the mishaps that occurred in the forest. 

Maybe, the Goddess of luck was finally smiling on me! 

'Status' I muttered excitedly under my breath.

————

Name: Jae-sung ???

Level: 50

Rank: 3-star Grandmaster [ Quasi Saint ]

Hearts: 03

? Stats [Expand] 

? Achievements [Expand]

? Equipments [Expand]

? Skills [Expand]

? Quests [Expand]

————

'...Why is it showing Jae-sung's status?'

I closed the status screen and re-opened it, but the result was the same. Confused, I decided to check other tabs.

'Open Stat Sheet'

?[ Access Denied ]

?[ Cause: The rank difference between Main Host and Co-Host is too large ]

I knew that Jae-sung was stronger than me but hearing that from someone else stung. Hmph! As if that matters! I still won against Jae-sung.

Then, I checked the Achievements tab, Equipment tab, Skill tab, and Quests tab. The result wasn't any different though. I couldn't access them.

?[ Access Denied ]

?[ Cause: The rank difference between Main Host and Co-Host is too large ]

'Don't tell me all I can do with the system is see the status screen and that too of only Jae-sung.'

Sigh, my disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined.

'Tsk, who wants a system anyway. It's too old school'

Raising my eyes, I saw Jae-sung busy struggling to stand on his legs. He was greatly exhausted. Not that I was any better.

'Should I kill him once more? Maybe, I'll feel a bit better after that.'

Sadly, neither was my body in any condition to move let alone fight, nor was Jae-sung alone anymore.

Splash—! Splash—! Splash—!

A holy knight sneaked Jae-sung amidst the rain, and supported him. Judging from the shape and size of the armor, the knight was Klein. The armor was battered and broken at many places. 

Klein was limping and also bleeding heavily. He must've been hit by the aftermath of my attack while hiding in the vicinity. 

'I thought Klein was the one who had hands in creating the cage of flames and he would be there.'

A thin line of sweat gathered at my forehead, but the rain hid it perfectly.

Standing a few dozen meters apart, Klein was glaring at me through his broken helm.

"Oh, you survived?" I spoke coldly and arrogantly. But inwardly my thoughts were the opposite. 'Don't try to pick a fight, please. I can't even move right now and might even lose my consciousness from exhaustion any second now.'

'Just let me go and enter the Port. I'm tired.'

Klein was a 4-star Grandmaster. There was no way I could fight him, given that he was even stronger than the Holy Knight Commander.

Suddenly, Jae-sung grabbed Klein's hand weakly.

"D-don't fight him…"

At the same time, a line appeared above Klein's head.

[ 4-star Grandmaster ]

The line disappeared when Jae-sung tore his gaze away from Klein and turned to me. It was taking Jae-sung his all to mutter a single word. He looked as if he was going to die.

"We s…should leave. You already saw… what he is capable of."

'What is this?' I thought while staring at the two lines before me.

[ Intermediate ]

[ Danger Level: ??? (White) ]

The rank was the same as mine. Moreover, the numerical value of Danger level was hidden, while the color evaluation was white.

'This is my evaluation but why can I see this? Isn't this Jae-sung's ab-Ah! Could it be that I can see the system from Jae-sung's perspective.'

It would explain why the status screen showed Jae-sung's information instead of mine. 

While I was brainstorming, Klein spoke. It was a thin and high-pitched voice.

"No, I say we fight him now." 

"Do you? Then, I won't hold back next time."

Despite my confident reply, I could feel my inner turmoil. 

'Klein can judge someone's combat strength with his skill "Eyes of Ares". He knows that I'm weaker than him.'

Klein, despite being an opportunistic person, was extremely loyal to the First Imperial Prince. He infiltrated the Holy Order as a spy while hiding his real strength. 

In normal situations, he would never engage me after the feat I showed earlier, but if it could help the prince, he would even sign a deal with a devil. That obviously included fighting me, after using the skill Eyes of Ares on me.

Klein pointed his sword at my waist. "You used something from inside that black pouch to increase your strength momentarily, didn't you? Without that, I can easily defeat you."

At his words, Jae-sung's eyes widened. He realized that the timing of using those egg sacs matched so it must be the reason behind the power boost. 

'Great. The situation just went from bad to worse.'

Previously, the skill Jae-sung used to block my attack was definitely Saint Darkness Armor. Even if it was a synchronized skill, it didn't explain why Jae-sung had Darkness Cocoon – a Saint ranked skill – necessary for the synchronized skill now.

But it was precisely because of this skill that I didn't hold back against Jae-sung and used all of the stored egg sacs. 

Saint Darkness Armor's ability is to inflict an equal amount of damage sustained to the attacker. It cannot be defended against, it cannot be evaded against, and it cannot be diverted. The only time when the skill doesn't trigger is when the sustained injury is life-threatening.

Taking my silence as my acknowledgment, Klein spoke with a hint of sarcasm and superiority. "You aren't using the black pouch again. No, maybe you can't? It might be a restriction based on time, or something else. Or, you used all of it in the last attack."

My thoughts raced to find a way out of this predicament.

'It is physically impossible for me to fight at this moment. Should I wait for Lumine? But it will be hard to stall for time until then.'

'Should I use my summons? No, they are all weaker than Klein. If he uses "Eyes of Ares" on them, he'll realize that it is my desperate last measure and attack immediately.'

'That leaves me with only one way, bluffing.'

Taking a mentally deep breath, I used the skill <Bluff>.

"Can all you do is talk? At least your companion challenged me without hesitation."

Klein flinched. 

That's right, <Bluff> was already level 5 and I had more magic power than him. It was a highly effective skill for deceiving others, but that wasn't all.

My <Reader> attribute always helped me notice and learn how someone's facial muscles rise when they are lying, how their eyes move when they are telling the truth, how their breathing changes when they are nervous and much more. 

All of it was helping me at this moment. 

I wasn't relaying my confidence through my words alone, but through my body movements too. 

The pitch and tone of my voice didn't fluctuate as I spoke, my body posture was relaxed yet taut like a bow ready to fire an already knocked arrow, and above all, I didn't try to avoid or accept the challenge but simply replied with taunt, signifying that he can attack me if he wanted. 

"Sir… Klein… you shouldn't.." Gasping, Jae-sung repeated his plea.

Despite his hopes of hiding his true thoughts, Klein's eyes that darted between Jae-sung and me betrayed his wavering heart.

I didn't say anything anymore. 

The moment Klein exposed my weakness, he ended up exposing his own weakness too. To start with, if he was confident he would've attacked instantly without saying anything.

But he didn't. It was to gauge my reaction. He was probing to see if I had any more tricks up my sleeve.

Everything was going in my favor, yet I wasn't happy in the least.

'Leave… already, I can't stand straight any more….'

My body and mind were reaching their limit.

However, I also knew the moment I showed weakness would be the moment my fate of defeat was sealed.

I absolutely couldn't waver at the last step.