◈15. The True Identity of the Oldest Seers
I wasn’t mistaken after all.
The content of the Sixth Oracle was exactly as I had confirmed earlier.
‘Does ‘capture’ mean I have to fight and seize them? If you’re going to give me a task, at least write it out clearly…’
For example, if the oracle had said something like,
“The seers have set a trap and are waiting for you, go catch them!”
…I would’ve understood the situation much faster.
If they’d also given me a map marking the seers’ location, I wouldn’t have had to waste time interrogating the Count.
Though, of course, even if I didn’t need to interrogate him, he would have been punished for his crimes regardless.
Anyway, the oracle window was incredibly unhelpful.
The typo on ‘seers’ also bothered me.
Wait, is that a typo…?
I glared at the words on the oracle window before opening my inventory and taking out the ‘White Moon Shop Voucher’.
It was a reward I received for completing the Fifth Main Oracle.
The voucher would be consumed once I made a purchase, so I hadn’t used it yet, though I had opened it briefly on the way here to take a look.
It was selling a lot of interesting items, though I didn’t know what most of them were.
‘Open White Moon Shop.’
As I spoke the command to myself while holding the voucher, a translucent shop window appeared before me.
[White Moon Shop] ―「Rope of Infinity (A)」 ―「Vengeful Poisonous Herb (A)」 ―「Trap for Night Visitors (A)」 ―「Seal Carved from a 10,000-Year-Old Tree (L)」 ―「Bundle of 1,000 Blood-Sucking Beetles (L)」 ... [See More]
When I clicked the ‘See More’ button, the list of hidden items began to appear.
These were bizarre items I had never seen before while playing <CRW> 1(Call of The Ruined World).
What’s more, most of them were at least A-grade or above, and some were rare enough that you couldn’t even buy them with money.
‘Let’s see… First, I should probably buy this, the ‘Trap for Night Visitors’. And I think I need at least one mental defense item as well…’
I applied my usual meticulous approach, even when buying something as simple as a T-shirt, to select the items I needed.
Fortunately, the performance of the items was clearly explained next to their pictures, so I wouldn’t accidentally purchase something strange.
[You have used the ‘White Moon Shop Voucher’ 1 time!]
―Remaining usage count (2/3)
As soon as the purchase was completed, the shop window closed, and the number of shop vouchers used was reduced by one.
The items I bought included an S-grade mental defense item to counter the charm skill, trap items, and potions.
After carefully stowing away the items, I turned to Rubin and spoke.
“I’ll be back soon. If a stranger offers you candy, don’t follow them.”
“…If you’re too late, I’ll follow anyone.”
“I’ll be out in 30 minutes.”
Rubin’s drooping ears perked up again when he heard that.
I left him behind, forcing myself to move toward the villa, where I knew traps would be waiting.
As expected, no one tried to stop me as I approached the villa.
There were a couple of guards, but they were staring blankly ahead, as if entranced by something.
I walked past them and entered the building.
“…!”
The air inside shifted in a strange, unsettling way.
It felt like I had stepped into the camouflage of an enormous, invisible creature.
It was a sensation I had felt countless times while playing the game, so I immediately recognized what was happening.
And, just as expected—
[You have entered the Hidden Dungeon of rank ??, “Nightmares Created by the Seers.”]
It seemed the entire building had been transformed into a dungeon.
The dungeon’s interior was filled with heavy magical energy, and as soon as I entered, I felt the air ripple in that familiar way.
‘Wasn’t dungeon-ification 2(dungeon transformation) something only monsters with strong magical power could do? How could a mere descendant of the dream demon race, the seers, do something like this… and what is this ‘Nightmare Dungeon’?’
I had never heard of a dungeon called ‘Nightmare’ before.
The difficulty was unclear, and since I didn’t know what might pop up, I proceeded carefully through the villa’s first-floor hall.
It was then that I heard it.
―”It’s because of you.”
The whispering voice crept into my ear, causing me to halt mid-step.
There was clearly no one around, yet the whispering…
“Who’s there?”
I gripped my mace tightly as I spoke.
Then, I infused the mace with divine energy.
The chilling voices continued to echo through the air.
―”If it weren’t for you, this wouldn’t have happened…”
―”It’s not too late. Please, just die on your own.”
―”Die! Die! Die!”
The relentless whispers of a horrific curse demanding death.
For someone mentally fragile, this would likely be a very effective attack.
But…
“Try being more creative with your words. I’ve heard the ‘go die’ line so many times, it’s boring.”
Yes, it was literally boring.
I’d graduated, only to embrace a pile of debt instead of a graduation bouquet.
I’d fought with a characterless jerk at work—
I’d almost been stiffed on my part-time wages—
I’d even been randomly picked a fight by a drunken customer while changing the grill at a barbecue joint.
And yet, I’m still here.
No matter how many people cursed me to die, I lived on because I had nothing to be ashamed of.
If I was going to die from hearing those words, I would’ve been in my grave a hundred times over by now.
―”…”
Eventually, the whispers stopped.
Taking advantage of the silence, I swung my mace, now imbued with divine energy, with all my strength.
Crash!!
The statue in the center of the hall shattered under the blow of my mace.
With a deafening sound, marble fragments scattered in every direction.
I finished by slamming the mace into the floor with a loud crack, then called out to whoever might be watching from shadow.
“If you’ve got something to say, come out and say it. Stop lurking behind me like a coward.”
It seemed my sharp words had made an impact, as the suspicious voice stopped completely.
In its place, an ominous silence settled, and the slow, deliberate sound of footsteps echoed.
I looked up towards the second floor, where the sound was coming from.
From around the corner on the second floor, the one who created this dungeon—the final boss—was stepping into view.
As they revealed themselves, I asked bluntly,
“You… are you the seer?”
“Yes, I’m the oldest seer. By the way, why are you so late? How long has it been since I visited you in a dream asking you to come save me?”
The seer chided me.
I was suddenly possessed, and I had completely forgotten about the seer.
Even if I tried to explain it, they probably wouldn’t understand anyway.
I didn’t feel like explaining anyway.
So, instead of answering, I simply observed the seer in silence.
With pink hair and lavender eyes, he was undeniably a beauty… certainly resembled the oldest seer from Nikellus’s dream.
He had bat wings attached to his waist; unlike anything I had seen in the dream.
The seer fluttered her wings playfully and smiled.
“I originally planned to summon a few monsters and release them here after I created this dungeon. Using mental attacks like the one you just experienced with the auditory hallucinations is kind of boring… but since it seems like you wanted to talk to me directly, I thought I’d make a special appearance. You know, not many people have seen my face in real life, right?”
He shrugged his shoulders, acting as if he had granted me some great favor.
When I didn’t respond, his smile grew even wider.
“You seem surprised. You haven’t said anything. Is it because of my wings? You probably thought I was human, didn’t you?”
“…I suspected you weren’t human as soon as I entered here.”
Only powerful demonic monsters can alter space like this, and the seer had turned this place into a dungeon.
When I thought about the fact that she was called ‘the oldest’ seer, the answer became clear.
He wasn’t a descendant of dream demons.
He was the very dream demon themselves, the one who passed on the oracle abilities to their descendants.
Demons have lifespans far different from humans, so it made sense that he could still be alive in this youthful form.
However, there was something I hadn’t predicted, even though I’d guessed all this.
“What surprised me isn’t that—”
“Mm?”
“Why has your gender changed?”
The seer I saw in the dream also had pink hair and lavender eyes, and the face was identical.
But the gender was different.
“I could have sworn you were a female in my dream…?”
I muttered, and just as I spoke, someone else stepped out from the opposite corner of where the seer had been standing.
“Looking for me?”
The succubus that had just walked out asked in a voice that rang clear and ethereal.
The moment I saw her, I exclaimed “Ah!” in a moment of realization.
‘Right, dream demons always come in pairs.’
Dream demons are divided into two categories: the female form, known as Succubi, and the male form, known as Incubi.
And according to their lore, succubi and incubi usually operated in pairs, sticking together harmoniously.
‘So that’s why the seer was referred to as ‘seers’ in the plural form in the oracle window. The Dream Demon that appeared in Nikellus’s dream was the female one, so that must have been the succubus that just appeared.’
‘I thought it was a typo…’
I mused, and just as I was thinking, the incubus grinned and spoke up.
“You were surprised by the gender, huh? This is my sister, Elodie. I’m Dionique. Now that I think about it, Hyung must be more familiar with Elodie. You met her in your dream, after all.”
“Who the hell is your Hyung? Why don’t you tell me why you lured me here and tried to force me into suicide with auditory hallucinations?”
I had no intention of exchanging brotherly banter with the one who had brought me here and was chanting for my death.
In my firm words, the two monsters—no, now that they had caused harm to humans, should I call them ‘monsters’? —revealed their intentions one after another.
“Because you’re too dangerous.”
“We decided it would be better to kill you before you become even more dangerous.”
I agreed that Nikellus was a dangerous human, but to go this far?
I was about to ask what kind of nonsense they were pulling, but I stopped.
A suspicious magical energy was radiating from them.
‘What’s going on?’
It wasn’t just magic.
Their forms were also gradually changing.
The distinct outlines of their two bodies, which had been clearly visible, began to blur and merge into one.
As they fused, the merged mass grew larger and eventually transformed into a massive beast resembling a Minotaur, a giant, monstrous bull.
A giant body covered entirely in muscle.
Claws sharp enough to tear through anything with the slightest touch.
And two pairs of bat-like wings sprouted from its back… it was, quite literally, a monster.
‘Transformation skill? Did they transform like this earlier…? No, I’ll think about it later.’
Without hesitation, I charged in.
They probably thought I wouldn’t attack while they were transforming, but that wasn’t my problem.
I struck the monster’s skull, which was still in the process of transforming, with my mace filled with divine energy.
【KRAAAAH!!】
【KRAAAAH!!】
The horrifying roar of the beast, mid-transformation, was mixed with the screams of the two demons.
The creature immediately whipped its thick tail like a whip, attempting to strike me, preventing me from landing a second blow.
Even so, the effect was sufficient.
It stopped growing any larger and halted its transformation at that size.
【Attacking while unprepared!】
【Attacking while unprepared!】
“Well, who told you to transform and then come out? You should’ve come out after transforming.”
I scoffed in response, and the monster ground its teeth in frustration.
【Coward! If you’re a priest, act like a priest!】
【Coward! If you’re a priest, act like a priest!】
“Exactly! I’m acting like a priest by hunting monsters. What more do you want from me?”
It was foolish of them to transform unprepared, in a defenseless state no less.
I gave them a quick lesson on the harsh realities of the world before swiftly dodging.
The monster charged at me so quickly it almost looked like teleportation, scratching the spot where I had just been.
Crash!
The marble floor shattered like sand beneath its claws.
I had let my guard down because its voice and tone still sounded like those of children, but its destructive power was astonishing…
‘A single scrape and I’d be dead.’
I activated both my Holy Inviolability Pact and Blasphemy skill at the same time.
The divine energy surrounded me, and I could feel strength surging throughout my body.
The monster bared its fangs and grinned at the golden light flowing from me.
【Wow, Hyung, that’s such an amazing skill.】
【Wow, Oppa, that’s such an amazing skill.】
“Want to see something even more amazing?”
I pulled out one of the items I had bought from the White Moon Shop earlier: the ‘101 Magic Stone Fragment Set’.
These were just small pebbles with barely any magic contained within them.
Ruby had asked me why I bought such useless things, but right now, these fragments could be more helpful than any other item I had.
I tossed the magic stone fragments carelessly onto the ground.
Then, to give the monster spectators a little showmanship, I slowly raised my arm—
Crack!
With a swing of my raised mace, I shattered all the fragments in a single blow.
