There are two reasons why I came to the conclusion that Iâm doomed.
First, I have encountered a fellow that looked like the final boss on literally my first day of regressing back.
SecondâŠ
[âLake of destinyâ is preparing for the offering again.]
[While the offering is being prepared, do not let go of the kingâs mark.]
[Time left until the offering is presented 60 secondsâŠ59 secondsâŠ58 secondsâŠ]
âIâm going nuts.â
When the protection shield was destroyed a while ago, my body was pushed backwards and unintentionally I let go of the swords again.
It was a mistake that makes me angry to think back about it.
<Interesting. With what confidence did you all, who are not even immortals, step foot into my bedroom? If you have given up on your life, Iâm sure there must have been wiser ways to end it.>
I feel a formidable sense of intimidation!
The dragon lord, Fafnir.
My heart skips a beat every time he speaks.
âDamn itâŠâ
While I was twitching my mouth like a goldfish daze,
[Guardian deity âSung Hyun-sookâ quickly sends a sponsorship! ]
âSponsorship.âŠ?â
I donât know what momâs intentions are.
But trying whatever you can instead of staying still and dying is the better option I guessâŠ
Even if mom sponsors me an S-level item right now, my stats are too low to be able to beat that giant.
âWhat did you sponsorâ„?â
I managed to move my wavering pupils and look at the sponsorship list.
And,
ââŠâŠâŠâ
I was in awe.
At momâs reflex and sense of judgement to give me âthisâ in this situation.
At the same time, I was convinced.
Convinced that I will be able to make it out from here alive!
My momâs a freaking genius!
âJust hold on for a minute.â
I raised my voice after storing the item mom sponsored.
Like a fish trapped in a corner, the potato heads that became frozen in front of Fafnir, looked back at me.
âH-hold on for a minute you sayâŠ?â
âYou think Iâm here doing this for no reason?! I have my plans! Thatâs why Iâm telling yaâll to stop shuddering and stuttering and just earn a minute for me!â
The ones who will protect me, who canât move an inch in the lake of destiny are none other than the potato heads.
What a turn of events.
If you really think about it, all of this is happening because of them in the first place.
The potato head who was about to through a fireball at me just now, asked with a terrified face in a teary voice,
âI-if we hold on for a minute then can you really deal with this situationâŠ?â
âWhy would I lie in this situation? Just trust me!â
I patted my chest with a nice smile so that I would be seen as reliable.
Anyway, those guys donât have a choice.
If they wish to increase their chances of survival by even 1% then theyâll have to believe me whether they like it or not.
The potato head made a wise decision.
âPrepare for battle-! You heard him right? We need to hold it out for just one minute!â
Determined to fight, the other potato heads took out their weapons.
The hope that they will be able to survive after holding out for a minute ignited the flame of their bravery.
ButâŠ
Slash-!
The flame quickly died down like a lantern blown by the wind.
<1 minute�>
What did that dragon head do just now?
I couldnât even see it.
But in an instant, one of the potato headâs head disappeared.
Gush-!
The blood gushing out from the cut surface soaked the faces of the other potato heads whose complexions had gone pale.
The atmosphere, which was almost heated up, cooled down like cold water poured on it.
<Hold out for a minute in front of me huhâŠWhat a pitiful delusion.>
While licking his claws covered in blood, Fafnir smirked.
Out of all the smiles I had seen so far, this one was the scariest.
But what I was really paying attention to wasnât his smirking face.
It was his eyes.
<I donât know why the treasure of my mark is in your dirty handsâŠ>
His vertical pupils like that of a reptileâs glared intently at me.
I couldnât move at all as if I had been pierced by a skewer.
<I wonât let it happen according to your wish.>
Whoosh-
Unknown and incalculable energy swirled in a round manner and accumulated around Fafnir.
âPlease!â
Those cancerous potato heads ruined everything from one to ten.
But if I were to pick one thing they did a good job on?
âGeuohh-â
Itâs the fact that they brought along the skeletons who dropped me off till the dragon head statue!
The skeletons that came in rushed towards Fafnir in a frenzy.
With the hearts of loyal servants who protect the king!
âI canât believe that worked!â
Itâs true that Iâm the one holding the kingâs mark, but the true king of those guys is Fafnir.
Nevertheless, they acted to protect me.
Is it because theyâre just a bunch of bones that they donât have the senses to judge who the real king is?
Of course, Iâm grateful whatever it is!
Even the brainless skeletons are working so hard, but why are those potato heads keep starting like idiots?
âWhat are you doing?! Nowâs the time! Hurry up and join them!â
âH-huh? O-okay!â
Hoooo-!
The potato heads shouted after building up their courage again and ran to attack.
Though, they would be nothing but flies in the eyes of Fafnir.
But,
<You annoying little things! Get lost at once!>
Not when theyâre along with a swarm of bees known as the skeletons!
While Fafnir was flustered by the amazing combination of bees and flies, I quickly glanced to look at the remaining time.
[Time left until the offering is presented 3 secondsâŠ2 secondsâŠ1 secondâŠ]
âOh, what? Itâs over alreaâŠâ
[The offering has been prepared.]
Shaaa-!
An explosive glowing light burst out of the swampy lake.
âHuhâŠ?!â
<The lake of destiny isâŠ!>
Not only me, who was immersed in the lake but Fafnir as well, who was busy dealing with the flies, was shocked and raised his eyes.
The light that swallowed the entire lake decreased in size, and eventually contracted to the size of a basketball.
And,
Geuohh-!
Geuahh-!
The black hands that stretched above the water grabbed the small reduced light and slowly pushed it towards me.
As if it were presenting me with the offering.
âThis isâŠthe holy sword?â
I carefully took hold of the light held by the black hands.
How did it feel, you ask?
Ahh. Itâs so warm.
And most of all, I can feel a tremendous power that is difficult to measure its limits.
âFinallyâŠ!â
If this wasnât an urgent situation then I would be bawling my eyes out in happiness.
Every time the amount of light emitted decreased gradually, my heart throbbed like it was about to burst.
The legendary sword that overturned Lee Chan-hyukâs life!
It will finally remove its veil and appear before meâŠ!
ââŠA backpack?â
After being completely unveiled, what was revealed was a black backpack.
ââŠâŠ?â
I know you might be like what kind of crazy nonsense is that? But I donât know what kind of crazy situation is this either.
No matter how much I look at it, itâs a backpack that teenagers, who eat school lunch, carry to and from school.
Where is the legendary holy sword?
All I could see was an unknown backpack with no meaning and a crappy reality in front of me.
âIs there a nuclear weapon inside or something?â
I opened the zipper of the bag with a long heart expecting there to at least be some hay and turned it upside down to shake it off.
Shake shake shake
Looking at the heartless backpack from which not a speck of dust fell, my mental state crumbled like a pile of dust.
<You must be luckier than you lookâŠ! Looks like the lake of destiny likes you very much.>
Who is that dragon-headed bastard kidding right now?
<That is the strongest weapon and even I canât help but be astonished! Itâs too much to be held by someone like you!>
The strongest weapon my ass. Isnât this just a backpack, you freaking reptile.
<Are you prepared for it? Are you prepared to accept the great power the lake of destiny has bestowed upon you, a lowly human, is what I meant!>
For now, Iâm certain that Iâm not ready to accept this crappy reality.
Just then.
âHey! I think itâs been more than a minute?! Weâve reached our limit.â
âAh.â
I forgot about those potato heads for a while because I was quite traumatized.
Just by a glance, there were seven of them and now only three remain.
Unfortunately, the rest of them died and were currently rolling on the ground.
âThatâs right. For now, whatâs urgent is to get out of here alive.â
At least for the potato headsâ, who left the world early, sacrifices to not go in vain.
The potato head leader cried desperately while bleeding all over his body.
âYou, have a way to get out of here for sure right?! Hm?! Right?!â
âOf course! Remember just trust me!â
âOhh! Okay then quicklyâŠâ
I took out the item I received from mom as a sponsorship.
<Return stone>
A diamond-shaped purple crystal.
As the name suggests, it is literally a lifeline that sends the user out of dungeons and returns them to reality.
What else do I need to explain more?
âYou, youâŠâ
But those potato heads looked as if they needed further explanation.
Ah. By the way, the return stone is capable of helping only the âuserâ escape. In other words, itâs for one person.
After seeing the return stone in my hand, the potato headâs complexion turned pale.
âD-didnât you say you knew a way to escape?â
âI do. Itâs in my hand right now.â
âW-what about us?â
âI never said that you guys would be able to get out too though?â
They must have misunderstood something.
After realizing the cruelty of truth, the potato heads rebelled with rage in their eyes.
âWhat about us?! What about us you bastard?!â
âIf you defeat like it, then you can ask your Guardian deity to sponsor you too.â
Who made all this happen in the first place? How selfish.
However, I know they are my enemies but isnât it a virtue to bid them farewell with a smile?
Thatâs why I smiled brightly while using the return stone.
I even shot a salute at them, as a sign to wish them good luck, health and peace at the same time.
âThen good luck! Iâll get going first.â
âW-wait! Wait! Wait! You crazy- Kyaaaa?!â
The last scene I witnessed while returning back to reality was,
Slash-!
The bodies of the potato heads were being sliced, like an A4 paper thrown in a shredder, by Fafnirâs claws.
I think Iâm going to throw up, but itâs nice.
***
Shoong!
âBleghhh.â
I didnât know Iâd throw up for real.
After safely returning back to reality by using the return stone, I had to deal with the nauseating feeling first.
The sight of the potato heads being slaughtered made my stomach upset I guess?
No. Itâs because my insides became twisted due to changing dimensions all of a sudden.
Ugh, damn it. I feel like Iâve been on a rollercoaster ten times on an empty stomach.
âThis damned backpack!â
My stomach is upset as it is but the weight of the backpack on my shoulders, made my stomach feel even worse for no reason.
After all that hardwork, the reward Iâve earned is an empty backpack with not even a speck of dust in it?
Is this a sign telling me to quit being a player and go back to school?
âPlease tell me this is a dreamâŠhm?â
âHuh?â
I, who stood up while denying the reality, met eyes.
With bulky men who were relaxing on the floor and enjoying tea time.
âŠDamn it. Right. There were more guys left right?
This is still the first day of me regressing back right? Why is the day so long�
âYou bastard?! Why did you come out from there? What about our members?!â
Is he disappointed because he didnât get to see the scene of the first team he sent to return with my head as he expected?
<Bolt>âs head glared at me in anger.
However, as they say, a soft answer turns away wrath, I decided to smile and kindly answer his question even though I felt like shit.
âThey all went to America.â
âAmerica?â
âAh, maybe youâre too old to understand a joke? I meant they all died.â
ââŠâ„âŠâ
Perhaps he didnât like my kind answer, but the expressions of all the big guys became distorted.
âIâll think of it as a rather good thing. Because now, I can kill you with my own hands.â
Only then, after grasping what happened to the potato heads, did the big guys begin to start taking a step closer and taking out their weapons.
If things went like I expected, then I would be killing these bastards with the holy sword right now.
But the reality was a backpack.
âIâm going to lose my mind.â
Even if I recklessly swing it and beat them with it, it wonât even cause an itch because itâs made out of unnecessarily soft leather.
Just as I glared at the backpack with resentful eyes.
Flash!
âHuh?â
Suddenly, a dazzling glow burst out of the backpack with its zipper wide open.
[âPandoraâs boxâ will be opened!]
[A weapon that can be used most effectively against the âenemyâ recognized by the user will be summoned!]
Shaaa-!
A steady stream of light particles gathered in my hand.
It was as if countless fireflies had gathered.
At the sudden situation, the approaching guys also paused for a while and were on high alert.
âPandoraâs box!â
It was the official name of this backpack.
Though I donât know why itâs called a box when anyone can tell itâs a backpackâŠ
Anyway if what the system said is true thenâŠThis might not be too bad?
âTo be able to summon weapons in real-time considering the enemyâs compatibility means I can cope with a variety of variables!â
I know I said about a legendary holy sword or whatever but that was just a somewhat exaggerated expression from my side.
To be honest, It was too much to say that Lee Chan-hyukâs holy sword was absolutely invincible.
For example, what if thereâs a super liquid monster or a monster whose whole body is covered with a harder material than an alloy?
Even if it is a holy sword, it will be difficult to overcome such conflicts.
âBut itâs this bag, it might be possible?â
Sha sha sha sha-!
The group of lights circling round and round on my palm shifted from a spiral to a straight line.
Soon, I could feel something cool and hard, as if I was touching iron, through my hands.
Finally, calculation of the variables was done,
âOh, ohhhâŠâ
âGaspâŠ!â
An exclamation of awe left my mouth.
A gasp of astonishment left the mouths of the bulky guys.
It was obvious.
I donât know if itâs about a monster with an invisible core who always goes around wearing a shield.
But if itâs facing âhumansâ like them weâre talking about then thereâs only one weapon that is the most effective.
âHe has a gun!â
âWhere did a machine gun of that size suddenly pop out of nowhere?!â
A gun.
And that too, a machine gun with a long black barrel.
I donât know what the name is because I donât have much military knowledge.
But Iâm sure about one thing.
Click-
âYouâre all dead.â
Soon.
Loud noises of gunfire echoed through the mountain.