The Apocalypse Has Been Downloaded – Chapter 66

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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Something was running towards me.

It was a large man with a ferocious appearance.

His hair flowed in the wind like a lion’s mane, his body radiated an overwhelming pressure that went beyond mere muscularity, and his size was far too large for a human.

It felt like a mountain was charging at me.

“Wh-what is that…?!”

My mind went blank. Could I possibly win against such a monstrous being?

Impossible. But if I didn’t fight back, if I didn’t struggle, I would simply be crushed to death.

‘The first strike wins…!’

Consumed by the thought that I had to attack this monster immediately, I raised my hands to use a skill.

He was charging with such momentum.

As if he was about to slay a dragon.

“R’lyeh!!!!”

Tentacles erupted from my hands. It was an automatic reflex, a survival instinct.

I didn’t register the man’s identity, why he was running towards me, or his kind, smiling face.

I used the skill before I could observe him or think further.

Slash!!!

And just as I expected, the tentacles were sliced apart.

They were reduced to a shower of meat chunks and scattered in the wind.

I had anticipated that the tentacles wouldn’t work against someone with such an aura. The problem was that I didn’t even see the man draw his sword or cut the tentacles.

As if something was protecting him. Like an invisible barrier.

The tentacles were all severed before they could even reach him.

I had seen enemies evade or deflect my tentacles before… But to have them all blocked and sliced apart…

“Pluto!”

I wouldn’t be able to avoid a collision if I stayed still. I deployed Twisted Carapace and immediately summoned Abyssal Maw.

Two abysses converged on either side of him, forming a massive maw. The man stopped running, grinned, and then grabbed and twisted the Abyssal Maw, forcibly dispelling the skill.

‘Crazy…! He tore it apart with his bare hands…? What the hell is this monster…?’

Only then did I truly realize that this was beyond my capabilities.

Like when I faced the Abyssal Weaver, I had a strong feeling that I couldn’t win against her.

The closer the man got, the more intense the pressure became. My legs trembled, and my body shook with the certainty of impending death.

Was this the feeling of facing death? When I faced the gods, I was simply overwhelmed… But now, my hair stood on end, and I clenched my jaw involuntarily. The desperate desire to live was an added bonus.

‘A minion of the good gods…? No, Indikron or Kashnax would have warned me if a monster like that was approaching… But they didn’t… Ah… What is it…?’

I tried to shout at the women behind me to run.

I didn’t know if they could escape, but I couldn’t bear to watch them die.

If we were all going to die anyway, I thought it was better for me to die first.

Selfish, I know.

“Wait! Hold on! I didn’t mean to scare you! Hahaha!!! I ran over because I was excited to see you, but I seem to have unintentionally threatened you. I often forget how my appearance might seem to others.”

As I squeezed my eyes shut while calling out the names of Indikron and Kashnax in my head, the man raised his hands, signaling that he had no intention of attacking. Then, he introduced himself.

“My name is Siegfried! I mean you no harm, so relax. By the way, are you Jang Jo-joon? I’ve been looking all over for you!”

Siegfried…? Who’s…

Ah! I remembered!

“Uh… Yes. Ah! You’re…!”

He was the dead Peddler’s son.

I was told that I would be able to meet him sometime last week when I handed over the dead Peddler’s belongings… But my involvement in various incidents in the Black Market must have postponed our meeting until today.

“Yes. We finally meet. It’s a pleasure.”

Siegfried extended a large hand.

His hand was so big that he could fully grab mine.

Compared to his massive hand, mine looked like a baby’s. If he squeezed, he could probably crush my hand.

‘Is he even human…? Maybe he’s a giant…’

He looked almost three meters tall, much taller than even the nearly two-meter-tall Merhere. With his massive build, he truly looked like a giant.

And why was he carrying six swords at his waist?

He even had a greatsword strapped to his back that was as large as a temple pillar.

And he had various other weapons attached all over his body.

‘Is that… a bomb? As expected of a Dragon Slayer… He’s heavily armed.’

If someone like him came after me, I would have to flee to the ends of the earth.

I felt sorry for the dragons.

“O-oppa!”

“Jo-joon!”

Ye-won and Hee-sun ran towards us from the back entrance, both looking worried.

They must have encountered Siegfried first.

“Wh-who is that…?”

“Ah, this gentleman is…”

I briefly introduced Siegfried to them. The latter scratched his head and said sheepishly.

“I’m essentially the same as the Peddlers to you, so don’t be too scared. I won’t attack first. But, well, I’m so big that I seem to unintentionally intimidate everyone. Sorry about that. Haha.”

Siegfried let out a hearty laugh and apologized. The atmosphere eased slightly, and everyone looked a little relieved.

Then, the other women from the auditorium came out. They too were stunned and bewildered by Siegfried’s appearance.

Ha-rin, in particular, trembled and even hiccuped at the sight of him. She must have sensed something I hadn’t.

“Hahaha. More importantly, would you tell me about what happened back then?”

Siegfried, who had been searching for me for days, seemed eager to hear the story, so I recounted the details of my encounter with the Killer Robber and how I killed him.

Eun-ji also added to the story, and Siegfried nodded with a satisfied smile.

He burst into laughter when I told him I had offered the Robber as a sacrifice to Kashnax.

It seemed that the fact that I was a servant of an evil god wasn’t particularly important to him.

“Hahahaha!! You’re a more fiery fellow than I thought. To offer him as a sacrifice right then and there. Excellent! That was an entertaining story. Hearing about that bastard’s death is always a pleasure.”

“A-always a pleasure?”

“Hmm? Oh dear. That was a meta-comment. Just ignore it.”

“Ah, yes… I understand.”

The fact that he said it was always a pleasure to hear about the guy’s death meant that he had already heard the story of the Killer Robber’s death multiple times. This led me to two hypotheses.

First, Siegfried was just an event NPC who gave out rewards, and the story about losing his father was just part of the setting. He didn’t actually care about revenge.

Second, Siegfried’s revenge had already been completed long ago, and he was simply reusing the setting, repeating similar events endlessly.

In any case, from his perspective, avenging his father’s death was probably just a condition for meeting a Player who had also defeated the Killer Robber like me.

‘Just like the Peddler last time… The NPCs unexpectedly make meta-comments quite often.’

They were aware of their status as NPCs.

They knew they were characters in this unknown ‘game.’

‘But Merhere wasn’t.’

However, Merhere didn’t consider herself a character in a game.

She had become a Player through the Account Creation Card, so she was now a legitimate Player in the game, not an NPC.

‘Merhere and Siegfried… What’s the difference between them? From my perspective, they’re both inhuman beings. Why is Siegfried an NPC, and Merhere isn’t? And if I give a Peddler an Account Creation Card, can he also become a Player?’

The Black Market merchants also knew that they were NPCs… Siegfried’s comment indicated that he was aware of his NPC status.

Merhere also wasn’t human, but did they have different permissions?

Perhaps Merhere didn’t meet the requirements to become an NPC.

Or maybe slaves sold by slave traders could become actual companions to Players, so they weren’t treated as NPCs.

“Anyway, I must thank you. I’ve prepared a few gifts for you here.”

Siegfried rummaged through the bag at his waist.

He took out several items, put them back, and finally selected two.

To think all those items fit inside that small bag…

It must be a subspace bag. I was more interested in that than the other rewards.

“Take this first.”

“Oh… This is… a gun, right?”

“Indeed, it’s a gun.”

The item he handed me was a crude-looking rifle.

It looked like it had been haphazardly pieced together, as its shape was barely held together by bloodstained bandages.

Honestly, its appearance was quite disappointing.

But the description… Pierce dragon scales? Dragon scales…

In typical fantasy settings, weren’t dragon scales incredibly tough?

As I was thinking this, Siegfried rubbed his nose and explained the item.

“Although it only has two shots, I guarantee its destructive power. Its penetration and lethality have been maximized at the expense of durability. Use it in emergencies. It will save your life twice.”

“Th-thank you…!”

It was a gun given by a Dragon Slayer, and I had been foolish enough to judge it by its appearance.

If someone as monstrously strong as Siegfried spoke so highly of it, its power must be unimaginable.

Moreover, to maximize its destructive power and lethality, it could only be fired twice… It was a weapon imbued with a man’s romance. Thinking about it that way, its fragile, precarious appearance seemed quite vintage and cool.

“Now, for the next one.”

As I examined Totzmir’s Trumpet Gun, Siegfried, the Dragon Slayer, handed me a wooden box.

I carefully handed the gun to Eun-ji and received the box.

“Open it.”

“Yes…”

Inside the box that was made of some unknown wood, perhaps Japanese cedar, were three capsules.

Each had a different color: red, blue, and white.

“Wow…”

This was insane. Completely insane rewards. Not just one, but all three…?

Had I done something so valuable to deserve such items?

‘And Nagaraja… In games, he was like the king of snakes…’

I remembered defeating a boss monster with a similar name in a game I used to play. I couldn’t recall clearly if it was a seven-headed snake king or god, but it was something like that.

‘Then these must be incredibly valuable items…’

I had to drink them. I had to drink them all. Monopolize them…

“Hahaha. Normally, you can only receive one reward according to the rules, but I’m feeling generous right now. Well, you offered the Killer Robber as a sacrifice, so I had to give you more! Hahahaha!! It’s still funny to think about! Sacrificed to an evil god! Poor bastard!”

He seemed to find the fact that I offered the Killer Robber as a sacrifice to Kashnax incredibly amusing.

The Nagaraja capsule gift set seemed to be a reward for telling him an entertaining story, a gesture of his pure goodwill.

Perhaps my favorability with him had increased unknowingly due to that.

“Oh, and take this too.”

As I excitedly anticipated drinking the Nagaraja capsule set, he drew one of the swords from his waist and handed it to me.

“I-I’ve already received enough!”

What was this? Why was he being so generous?

I was starting to get uneasy. Was he planning to drag me to some hellish place after giving me all these gifts?

Even though I loved opportunities and rewards like these, I wasn’t foolish enough to accept everything blindly.

Overindulgence always led to indigestion.

“Ah, don’t misunderstand. This is a token of apology.”

“Huh?”

“You almost died in the Black Market, didn’t you?”

“Uh… Yes… Those strange Underground Security Force things chased after me…”

“That was actually my fault.”

“Huh?”

“My visit to the Black Market to find you triggered it. I agitated them. I heard from Cheshire that you had quite a hard time. Am I wrong?”

“Um, is Cheshire still alive?”

“Hmm? She’s fine. Cheshire is strong. She won’t die so easily.”

He seemed to know Cheshire.

‘She’s alive. Thank goodness… But as expected… She kept calling me cute… So she was a woman.’

Cheshire’s kindness towards me in that crazy place called the Black Market had been quite impressive. So I had secretly hoped she was still alive, and thankfully, she was.

“But what do you mean by you agitated them?”

“Haha… There’s someone living in the Black Market’s underground who hates me intensely. They must have sent out the security force because I appeared. Again, I apologize.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m perfectly fine now, as you can see. Haha.”

I put on a business-like smile.

Although I almost died, I knew it wasn’t entirely Siegfried’s fault that the Underground Security Force had been mobilized.

‘Bothamili must have intervened as well…’

Moreover, Siegfried had just given me three excellent rewards, so it was best to settle things amicably.

There was no need to antagonize a Dragon Slayer.

“Haha! You’re a magnanimous fellow! Here, here. Take it!”

I smiled broadly and received the sword he offered me.

It was a Hwando with a dark green blade.

‘Why is Yang Ji-sang in this sword…?’

As I grasped the hilt while wondering this…

[Hey!! Can you hear me!!!]

[Please, someone, anyone, answer me!!]

[This cursed sword is shaking my consciousness!!!! Kyaaaaa!!!]

“Holy shit!!”

I almost dropped the sword in surprise as I suddenly heard the screams of an old man.

“Hahaha! There was a soul wandering around here, so I captured it and put it in there. It seems to be a fellow with a strong sense of self. It’s not being consumed by the sword.”

Surprisingly, the soul of Yang Ji-sang, whom I thought was already dead, was trapped in the Swamp’s Ghost Blade.

“Huh…”

Perhaps he had become a spectral form through some method as a Devil Summoner and was captured by Siegfried while wandering around.

I would have to ask Yang Ji-sang directly when I had time.

“Thank you. I’ve received more than I deserve.”

“Nonsense. It’s nothing. By the way, your magic is quite strong for someone in the early stages of the disaster. You probably won’t need my help anytime soon, but danger always approaches when you least expect it. If you ever need my help, tear this.”

“This is…”

“It’s my amulet. If you tear it and I’m free, I’ll come to your aid. By the way, if your opponent is too weak for my liking… I’ll be quite disappointed in you.”

“I understand… Thank you!”

“Alright, then survive well.”

Siegfried patted my shoulder and disappeared in a flash of light.

“Huh…”

I had received unexpected rewards.

Four of them, no less.

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T/N – Hey guys! I’ll be releasing 2 chapters today to account for the one that was supposed to be released last Thursday. Enjoy!

First up, I’m glad Cheshire is still alive. I liked her as a character and I hope she continues to show up later. Hopefully she doesn’t become a slave to the MC. Who wants to bet that she’s actually a beauty underneath the mask?

Also, the author is really throwing plenty of life-saving stuff to the MC, huh? I wonder if that’s foreshadowing or if it’s just a red herring…

If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.