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Chapter 07
The sparrow’s chilling final warning echoed through the air, and at that very moment, a door burst open.
Bang!
“Damn it! You’re telling me this doesn’t work either?!”
For a split second, Ruin thought he had opened the door. But to his surprise, the door that flew open was the one to the adjacent stall.
“Damn you, Haven! You let loose a bird like that in the meantime?!”
It seemed someone else had been hiding in the next stall as well.
The sparrow spoke to the man.
[I have identified the curse power.]
“Yeah, yeah! Here—take it and examine it all you want! I accidentally brought a research item with me, that’s all!”
[No. Head.]
“What?”
[You. Demon head.]
The moment the sparrow finished speaking in what sounded almost like a laugh, a horrific noise rang out.
Crunch—crack—
Something was being chewed apart and crushed. There were even sounds of multiple creatures flapping violently into the air.
Crch, crk—
Ruin shut his eyes tightly, as if trying to block out an image he did not want to imagine.
At last, the slurping and chomping sounds ended, and from outside the door came the noise of a predator at rest—followed by the sound of birds flying away.
Ruin let out a sigh of relief.
Is it over now?
If those things left, then he could leave too—
[Strange. I still sense demonic energy.]
Thud.
It was a dreadful sound.
[Demon smell still here.]
This time, Ruin braced himself, thinking it was finally his turn.
Sure enough, the sparrow pecked lightly at the stall where Ruin was hiding.
[Is someone in there?]
Tch.
Ruin quickly pulled something out of his clothes—a “black, soap-shaped object.” It was one of the items he had obtained earlier from the gatekeeper.
【Demon-Scent Naphthalene (Lowest Grade)】
A curse-power–based item. Emits the smell of demons.
It was an item commonly used as bait in traps designed to lure demons.
Ruin hastily tore off the wrapping and shoved it into the adjacent stall. A moment later—
Bang! The door flew open.
[So it was this.]
[This thing.]
[Cleaning tool?]
Good. They bought it—
[A confusing object. Let’s destroy it.]
Wait, destroying it is bad! I’ll be exposed!
Just as sweat beaded on the hand gripping his knife—
[No. This is school property. If it breaks, we have to compensate.]
[Then it’ll be deducted from our salary.]
[…Let’s just go.]
[Let’s go.]
Phew.
Once the presence of the birds completely vanished, Ruin finally slid the knife back into place.
When he opened the door and stepped out, he saw a man whose head had been grotesquely gnawed apart. His gentleman’s suit was soaked in blood—a waistcoat, cravat, vest. Judging by his clothes, he looked like an external guest.
And when Ruin glanced at the belongings spilled from the briefcase…
“So this guy was an interviewee too.”
The man had the same interview notice Ruin carried. He must have been another candidate scheduled for the chancellor’s interview.
Doesn’t seem to be from the same unit as me.
Still, he was definitely affiliated with the Pride organization. After all, he had communication equipment suitable for Pride use. It looked like a necklace, but it was actually a device used by spies. With this, one could connect to comrades or superiors.
Looks like he was ordered to infiltrate Haven.
Well… in the end, he got caught by those damn birds and died.
Honestly, Ruin himself had been in danger too. Thankfully, the other sparrows hadn’t noticed him, but one of them had sensed his presence.
At this rate, I won’t even make it to the interview—I’ll get my head torn off by a sparrow.
The usual solution would be to sneak in while the birds were asleep.
But they say walls have ears by day and mice by night. Avoid the birds at night, and you’d just get your guts eaten by a different monster instead.
That was why Ruin took out his items.
【Gatekeeper’s Spear】
【Gatekeeper’s Clothes】
【Gatekeeper’s Necklace】
【Gatekeeper’s Underwear】
【Universal Pass (Forcibly Issued)】
【Demon-Scent Naphthalene】
【Gatekeeper’s Eyeball】
These were the seven items he had obtained after defeating the gatekeeper ten times over.
When he demanded the remaining three, the statue pleaded that it had nothing left and begged him not to take its eyeball.
Ruin had briefly wondered if a statue could even feel pain, but in the end, he put the rest down as debt.
Well, a hero isn’t the homeowner, so he wouldn’t know the house’s command words.
Meaning he wouldn’t know how to deactivate the gatekeeper either—no worries there.
Anyway, thanks to the gatekeeper, I’ve achieved my second objective.
Ruin’s first objective was “Pass through the main gate.”
The second was “Obtain at least three magical items.”
These were mandatory tasks he had planned before the chancellor’s interview.
The second one was supposed to be difficult, though.
Originally, he had planned to raid the professors’ archive despite the risk, but by sheer luck he’d gotten all the magical items from the gatekeeper. The timing was perfect, too.
Which means I can do this now.
That was—
“Altar.”
At his words, a black altar appeared before Ruin’s eyes—visible only to him.
At the same time, he placed all the items except the underwear, the pass, and the eyeball onto the altar.
Clatter!
Something astonishing happened. Letters of flame rose above the altar.
–1,550 pt
His previously empty point balance jumped to 1,550 pt.
That should be enough.
Ruin clasped his hands together, almost like a clap.
“O primordial god.”
In that instant, an incredible phenomenon occurred. A voice echoed from rippling shadows.
「Oh! My seed! You’ve come back home, I see!」
Black flames flared up on the altar.
Hah. So I end up calling this thing after all.
「You called me, so it’s obvious—you had no other choice, right? That rootless curse of ‘misfortune’ is absolute trash, isn’t it?」
This was his superior—no, his god. More precisely, his racial god.
Ruin’s third plan had been to summon this racial god.
How Ruin first came to communicate with this god dated back to long ago—to the day he first escaped the shadow habitat. He had heard a voice then.
「To defy fate… how curious.」
He figured he’d been chosen. Gods always needed apostles.
And the moment he became the Shadow King, this shadow god openly followed him around. That part was fine—but it constantly backseat-drove, got sulky at the drop of a hat, and had an absurdly picky aesthetic sense.
It would even throw away offerings he’d nearly died obtaining, complaining they weren’t visually pleasing. As a subordinate, he’d gone through hell… really.
Still, its abilities are good, so I can tolerate it.
It had been useful when stabbing the Union in the back, after all.
The real problem was that once it learned Ruin carried the curse of “misfortune,” it flew into a rage.
「Why did you let another guy’s spit get on you?! I’m your racial god! Huh?!」
As if he cared.
Anyway, unlike other demons, Ruin uniquely possessed two curse attributes: Shadow and Misfortune.
It felt like serving a jealous, overbearing boss—but what mattered wasn’t its personality, it was its power.
“I ask the god for the wisdom to overcome hardship.”
When you offered tribute to a god, you received blessings in return.
And as proof—
「Hmm. Then with the offerings you gave, this is about right.」
Totem-like voodoo dolls appeared before him.
【Totem of Recovery (Low)】 – 500 pt
【Totem of Enhancement (Low)】 – 500 pt
【Totem of Veil (Low)】 – 500 pt
【Skill Creation (Low)】 – 1,000 pt
【Skill Enhancement (Low)】 – 1,000 pt
In short, it was item shopping.
And the fact that even after offering high-grade tributes he could only buy low-grade items meant this was an outrageously expensive shop. Still, it was worth the price.
Anyway, this is what I needed.
【Totem of Veil (Low)】 – 500 pt
Simply put, it was a stealth artifact. In the current situation—where he had to meet the chancellor while avoiding the inspection squad—this was the best possible item.
Though its effects wouldn’t be overwhelming due to its low grade, it would suffice for now.
I’ll buy this first, then maybe pick up ‘Skill Creation’ next.
It was a natural choice. To escape his previous dimension, Ruin had offered his own powers as tribute. In other words, he had escaped in exchange for everything except his essential skills—so many of his skills were gone.
And now he was in a crisis. Originally, he hadn’t planned on fighting in a place crawling with heroes, but now there were even those unexpected sparrow bastards.
It was better to be prepared.
Even if they’re only low-grade skills.
The best outcome would be to avoid combat altogether—but things are never that convenient.
And then—
【Corrupted – Totem of Veil (Special Grade)】 – 1,500 pt
Huh?
Unlike before, there was an artifact he’d never seen.
It was strange. A “special grade” item should be extraordinarily powerful—and normally cost tens of thousands of points. Yet this one was only 1,500 pt. The modifier “Corrupted” was suspicious too.
What is this?
So he asked.
“There’s an artifact I’ve never seen before. What exactly is a ‘corrupted’ item?”
「Huh? There’s something like that?」
Ruin’s expression hardened. The name and price were suspicious—but if it truly was special grade…
I have to take this.
Normally, a special-grade stealth artifact could at least erase demonic energy. If he was lucky, it might even hide him from heroes. That alone would make it useful during the interview—or even later, when collecting severance pay.
The problem was the shady name.
What should I do? I was planning to buy the low-grade veil totem…
But this was special grade.
After a moment of deliberation, Ruin finally made his choice.
