Chapter 7: A GOOD SPEAR

We followed Kyle's instructions and… we saw the armory, as expected.

" Sweet, it's full of weapons and armor. There are even some potions. We can use this. Miriam let's take everything that we can use before other people see us. "

"... Okay."

Miriam looked worried. I could feel that she was thinking about our situation.

"  What is it Miriam, what are you thinking right now?"

She paused for a second, then she took a breathe, and asked me.

" Why did you take his offer? Can't you see what he did to us? He threatened us. He didn't even see us as humans.  He treated us as livestock. I'm sure that he'll only use us. We are not dogs!"

She said huffing, angry at our situation.

"You are right. However, I know that he had some knowledge about this event, you know it too. "

" The more reason we need to get out. We cannot trust that guy. We can take this chance to escape"

" Miriam. If you want to do that I will not stop you"

"!!! Why!? Why do you want to follow him? For what reason?"

She was surprised, well I understand where she was coming from. Kyle is a really shady guy but my intuition is telling me to follow the shady guy. Because something shady is happening. 

" He'll use us then I'll use him"

My feelings are telling me that Kyle had an idea about this place.  I'll stay here and listen to his commands. I want to know his intentions, if he is a bad guy or not.

"That's..."

"What do you think? You're in?"

" Ah, I hate this! I'll stay! You know that you're the only one I know here and we're from the same country. I can't leave you behind again... Tch I'm in!"

She kicked her tongue but still agreed.

" Thanks, now can we continue our Artifact searching?"

"Okay!"

The only thing we can do right now is to increase our strength. We can do that by using artifacts. 

I look at the armors and saw that they have additional options. Sadly, I didn't find an Item like the Defense vest that gave me a barrier. The Defense vest broke when I fought the hobgoblin. Well, I could only use it three times and it did save my life... So I'm actually disappointed that I couldn't find a proper replacement.

The only best armor here is this…

[Knight leather armor: increase  defense by 11%]

Well, it's better than nothing.

" Did you find anything Miriam? Did you get a weapon?"

"Yes, I saw this bow. It has unlimited arrows. The downside is it needs mana...? But I'm fine with this."

" Unlimited? You're lucky. You have the best weapon for your Clairvoyance. It's a good combination. "

" Fufu, thanks."

I went to the weapon section and something caught my attention. 

I saw a spear with an ocean color. It had clothes on its tail... It had an aura that was pulling me towards it.

I held the spear and felt the heaviness. When I read the options, only one word came out of me.

" Jackpot!"

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...

..

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" The Crystal Heart of Merlin, an artifact that can increase the mana capacity of the user. "

Kyle, the man who has the knowledge about the future was walking deep underground. He was currently in the underground passage of the Castle. This was the place where the Crystal Heart of Merlin was located.

The Crystal Heart of Merlin was the greatest Artifact that you could find inside the Punishment Event.

" In fact, this is the only reason why I have stayed. The Crystal is too much to disregard. This is an Item that can make my Skill stronger."

In the past, Kyle got the Crystal by killing an Awakener. When he heard about the Crystal's effect he killed the Awakener just to get it. He interrogated and learned that the Awakener got this Crystal in the underground of the Castle.

" So this is it. The statue of Merlin the Great. If you look at it you can say that it's just a normal sculpture, it's detailed but that's it. A work of art. However, I don't have the hobby of appreciating art"

*bang bang* 

He shot the statue and broke it. The statue crumbled and a slightly shining object could be seen inside the stone.

" If you broke the statue, you'll find that it has Crystal inside the chest part. Kuku. Now that's what you called art."

He took the Crystal and read its description.

[ Crystal heart of Merlin: Increase the mana of the user by 75%]

" Nostalgic... Thank you for the meal"

Kyle ate the Crystal. He only learned it by accident. When he fought a Guild Leader who wanted to steal the Crystal, he ate it so that no one would dare to steal it. That's when he learned that if he ate the Crystal he would gain another Skill, a passive one.

[ Skill learned.

Heart of Merlin: Increase the overall mana capacity of the user whenever it defeats a monster.]

*gulp*

"Ack, damn. It's burning"

His heart was beating faster and his temperature was rapidly increasing. The heat was roasting his inside and it was f*cking hurt.

He sat on the ground and meditated. He controlled the energy all over his body to decrease the rising temperature. For an experienced person like him, it would only take an hour to subside the energy. After finishing his meditation, he stood up and walked away. He felt refreshed when he completely absorbed the crystal.

He found Mikael and Miriam waiting for him at the place where they separated. Mikael saw him first and greeted him.

" Yow, you're late. Where did you go man?" 

Mikael asked.

"..."

Kyle didn't answer him. He just looked at Mikael and smirked.

"Let's find a place to rest because when it reached 12 midnight we won't get any sleep. "

" What? Why is that? "

Again, he did not answer his question. He just shrugged and walked away.

"I really hate that guy. You just asked him simple questions, but he walked away instead."

Miriam murmured at the back.

" By the way, it seems like you found a great weapon. "

Kyle paused his step and glanced at their weapons. 

" Hehe, you're damn right."

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..

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" Wake up, we need to get ready. "

Kyle woke us up. He looked around and took out his gun.

" When 12 midnight comes, an army of monsters will charge to this Castle. We need to protect ourselves "

It is 11: 52 pm. Only eight minutes before midnight come. I took my spear and held it tightly. Sigh, another monster killing.

"  Then we need to tell the others that a large number of monsters will appear."

Miriam gave her suggestion.

" They won't believe us easily and I don't want to. First, they are tired. Second 76, 000 people will panic. Third, it's too late."

[Announcement:12 Midnight has come. Monsters are attacking the castle.]

" Miriam, use your Skill and tell me what monsters are we gonna fight. "

" Okay."

Miriam closed her eyes and activated her Clairvoyance.

"... There are goblins, hobgoblins, wolves, and orcs. They are surrounding the Castle."

"Good. Do you remember what I promise you earlier? I can make you strong. This will be part of it. Monster gives us experience points when we kill them. Now, I want you to kill monsters as many as you can."

" ... Is that it!? I thought you had a plan. "

I asked him.

" Of course I have a plan. "

Thank God, I thought you don't have.

"Kyle, I think this is dangerous. The monsters are around a hundred thousand. They are too many."

Kyle chuckled and started to speak.

" It's okay. As long as we are inside this room we will not die."

He said mysterious words and my fuse was reached.

" Don't f*cking joke with me! Tell us what's in this room!?"

I will not die if I'm in this room? What the heck is that? I need an explanation. This time, I won't take silence as an answer.

I faced him. I want to know what was inside his head. He looked at me and laughed. He started to talk. 

"This room heals our fatigue and injuries every half an hour. It decreases the monster's strength by 50%. You will see it when monsters attack us."

"Wow, is that legit? This room got an effect?"

Miriam felt skeptical just like me.

" Do you think I choose this room without reason? Kukuku, Then you're wrong."

...Kyle, you may look like a shady guy, but it's great to have you here. If what you said is real, then, I did the right decision in following you.