‘Damn……. I wondered why a sect leader wasn’t in a temple.’

Inside a large white room where hymns were playing in reverse, Rude stepped forward in surprise. A 4th-grade gate boss monster, the White Fate Sect Leader.

He was lying in bed with all sorts of life support devices attached to his corpse-like body.

‘He looks a bit…… similar to a human…..’

Things like the IV drip that seemed to contain fluid, or the oxygen mask he was wearing, gave a feeling of something one might have seen in a medical drama.

The real Nari had never been hospitalized, nor had anyone around her, so this was the first time seeing such a scene directly.

‘I’ve never seen a gate like this before…..’

The situations in gates are all different. Although they say “gate by gate” for short, even Rude had never seen a gate like this before.

A gate that resembles human life too closely. Even the boss monster takes the form of a human male.

‘……Wh-what, it feels like if I approach, it might jump out like a ghost in a horror movie.’

[The Ruler of Chaos tilts its head, wondering if our Nari was weak to jump scares.]

Ignoring those words, Rude took one step, then two steps closer. A man with white hair was lying there in a weakened state.

“What kind of gate is this, really……”

[The Ruler of Chaos shrugs, saying that the rule of being able to exit by killing the boss monster probably hasn’t changed.]

“……That’s true.”

Rude raised the black half-scissors towards the boss monster. If he stabbed those scissors into that monster’s abdomen, game over.

The boss monster looked so much like a person that Rude’s hand holding the scissors hesitated for a moment. After taking a deep breath, just as he was about to strike down with the scissors.

“Huk……!”

The sect leader’s eyes flew open and looked at Rude. Their eyes met. The sect leader who met Rude’s gaze directly had an impassive expression.

‘Is this really 4th grade……?’

Most beings who meet Rude’s eyes for long are gripped by terror. To avoid that requires a high level of inner strength.

But this monster was looking straight into those eyes, so Rude couldn’t help but be flustered.

The boss monster who had been staring at Rude slowly raised his body and removed the oxygen mask.

Then he muttered.

“……You’re not the person I was waiting for.”

“Wh-what are you……”

“And you don’t look like you’ll be of any help to that child either.”

Thud thud thud thud, along with his words, a slight vibration rose from the floor. The boss monster slowly got down from the bed with sluggish movements. A red message window popped up in front of Rude.

[Warning! The difficulty of the gate is rising rapidly!]

“Then I cannot simply hand over my neck to you.”

‘What’s going on?’

In an instant, the boss monster’s field changed to a different appearance. White rose vines filled the patient’s bedroom, then scattered with a rustle.

[The gate’s difficulty has been adjusted. 4th grade → 2nd grade] [You face the 2nd grade gate boss monster :: White Sect Leader of Atonement!]

‘2nd grade……?’

Rude’s eyes widened. Not only is it extremely rare for a gate’s difficulty to increase midway, but a 2nd-grade gate is almost like a national disaster.

Ten years ago, after the East Sea 1st grade gate, the gates that occurred in Korea averaged between 4th and 5th grade. The highest difficulty in the past 10 years was a 3rd grade gate.

At some point, the boss monster, now wearing white priestly robes, knelt down with his hands clasped as if in prayer.

“This gate is not for you. So please leave.”

As the sect leader spoke, organ music began to play. He stared at Rude with empty eyes. A vicious white magical energy erupted from him. Rude let out a “Ha” of laughter and said:

“Then open an escape route for civilians before you speak……!”

Kwagwagwagwak−! Rude’s black mental energy swirled around the black half-scissors. Rude glared at the boss monster while stabbing the scissors into the floor.

In the room filled only with malicious and vicious energy of black mental power and white magical energy, the boss monster slowly clasped his hands together.

“……Then I have no choice.”

His empty white eyes met Rude’s writhing black eyes. Very slowly, the sect leader spread his hands. A white halo appeared behind him, and soon…….

“I’ll have to force you out.”

Suddenly, behind him stood a familiar as large as a house. Saliva dripped from the seven mouths of the familiar with heads of seven different beasts.

Ten red horns were rooted on the foreheads of the beasts, as if parasitizing them.

Rude frowned at the grotesque appearance of the familiar. Seeming to guess Rude’s thoughts, an indirect message came down.

[That’s really dangerous, Nari. The Ruler of Chaos looks at you with a serious expression.]

“I know, I’ll have to get serious.”

Thinking that a person without mental fortitude would have gone mad just from seeing the monster, Rude raised the black scissors and exercised the power of the constellation.

[Avatar-exclusive trait :: Fragment of the Primordial Dream] [Using the power of Constellation ◼◼◼◼.] [Borrowing the skill of a spirit.] [Spirit ◼◼◼◼ exclusive skill :: Vampire of Living Flame] [Do you really have to use that skill? The Ruler of Chaos makes a displeased expression.]

“Don’t whine, you know it’s urgent.”

BANG−!!! As soon as the beast’s claws clashed with Rude’s half-scissors wreathed in bright red flames, it caused a massive explosion.

Puk! Using the propulsion from the explosion, Rude leaped to the ceiling and mounted the beast’s back, stabbing the black scissors into it.

“Hup!”

As he pressed down, red blood seeped between the scissors and flesh. Hwreureurk, his mental energy, reacting with the beast’s blood, began to burn its body from the inside, turning into blood-colored flames.

“This bastard keeps……! Stop struggling! I’m falling off!”

The blood-colored flames licked as if trying to devour the beast. The beast screamed in agony and thrashed about. Rude was also struggling to maintain balance on the beast’s back, tightly hugging the half-scissors.

[The familiar lets out an agonized scream!] [Afflicted with status ailment. :: Action Paralysis]

“Aaagh!!”

Rude, who had been fluttering like a paper doll relying on the scissors stuck in its back, finally fell from the beast’s back.

The beast, which had been screaming in pain, swung its claws towards Rude. Rude, who received a large wound on his arm as he fell, stepped back a few paces.

“Hey, hey! Stop! Stop!!”

He created an avatar with illusion magic, but the beast still ignored the avatar and chased only him. Damn, these field boss monsters seem to generally have resistance to illusion magic. Unless it’s exceptionally well-made, they don’t even fall for it…….

“We all do not trust our senses. It’s too easy to be deceived. Only faith is truth. Only He is truth.”

The white sect leader smiled, and Rude, cornered, faced the growling beast. Still, he didn’t think he wouldn’t be able to hold out this much with this avatar.

Kraaaaa−!! The beast’s claws soon pierced Rude’s abdomen.

“Ugh……!”

With a death cry, Rude summoned a few spears in mid-air, but they soon turned into black mental energy and scattered into the air. The white sect leader smiled at him.

“I’ve heard that the greatest enemy of illusionists is physical pain. Because it reduces concentration. You’re weak liars.”

Rude gave a sardonic smile at the sect leader’s words. As if sensing the final moment, he laughed hollowly and said.

“As expected…… Was a 2nd grade gate too much for this form……?”

“Of course. I’ve thoroughly warned that beast from early on that all illusionists are liars, so be careful.”

“Oh? You’ve done a good job with home education.”

A woman’s dry voice was heard from behind the sect leader. At the same time, the Rude in front of him turned into a mannequin-like form and collapsed to the floor.

The white sect leader opened his eyes wide and turned around. Until the voice was heard, there had been absolutely no presence……! A woman with black hair in a ponytail, upturned eyes, wearing a hoodie, was preparing to swing a black pair of scissors.

“Wait, since when were you……!”

“That’s right, that’s right. It’s better not to trust the illusionist race.”

He had been deceived. This was the real body. The presence of the black man was so overwhelming that the sect leader hadn’t noticed. She had deliberately maximized the presence of the avatar, while Nari was hiding behind it without a trace.

‘Since when? The explosion. She must have separated herself from her avatar during that explosion.’

The white sect leader gritted his teeth as he instantly grasped the situation. No, even if the presence of the black man hadn’t been maximized, the sect leader wouldn’t have known.

In his narrow view, he had never seen a human who could create such a vivid avatar.

“My servant! Come here quickly and protect my body!”

Feeling the crisis, the white sect leader contorted his face and prepared to counterattack. White rose vines shot out from his priestly robes. The beast was leaping to protect the white sect leader.

But her scissors were faster.

“They’re all liars, you know.”

The small woman sighed and lightly swung the black half-scissors. Thud, the monster’s head fell to the floor. That was the end. The white sect leader heard her voice for the last time.

“You should have not trusted your senses.”

* * *

[The Ruler of Chaos sighs, saying it took a bit of effort this time.]

Her hands were busy looting. The Rude avatar had suffered massive injuries, so it would take time to recover.

So she had to be Nari while looting. If someone came and discovered her during that time…… The thought alone was terrifying.

“I know. How could I have known the difficulty would suddenly change? If I hadn’t sent only the Rude avatar during that explosion, I really could have died. Fortunately, there were no witnesses, so I didn’t receive the anthropophobia debuff.”

Nari recalled the situation again, saying she was lucky. The Ruler of Chaos showed a joyful appearance through a black indirect message.

[The Ruler of Chaos applauds, saying our Nari is both cautious and a genius.]

“Come on, this much is natural! I’m number one, you know!”

Nari straightened her back, full of spirit. Just as she was about to check the item left by the boss monster for the last time before going home, Nari’s face suddenly crumpled.

[Item Information]

Name: Essence of White Rose (L)

Type: Consumable (one-time use), Special class

Effect: The flower language of white roses is ‘new beginning’. When destroyed, it returns all the karma you’ve accumulated so far to nothing.

Special note: It also returns the contract with the constellation to nothing.

“What is this, complete trash……!”

[Are you going to erase all the karma you’ve built up with me? ㅇㅅㅇ The Ruler of Chaos makes a cute expression.]

“Shut up! It’s an item exclusively for good alignment in the first place!”

For those of evil alignment, karma was a reward. So this would have no effect if she used it. It might work for those of good alignment…… but there was no way it would sell when it said it would break the contract with the constellation.

Nari gritted her teeth, saying she had worked hard for nothing, then sighed.

“Sigh…… Whatever, it might be useful if I keep it. Let’s hurry home and patch up the Rude avatar.”

Finally, Nari picked up the golden half-scissors scattered on the floor and put them in her inventory, then examined the collapsed Rude avatar.

“It’s quite severely torn. I’ll probably spend all day tomorrow just sewing this up. Except for this and the lousy reward, it was a fairly rewarding day.”

After turning over the gaping wound on the chest this way and that, Nari dispersed the Rude avatar into black mist and stretched out fully.

[The Ruler of Chaos asks you what you’re going to do about the Golden Retriever young master.]

“Ah, Kang Ihyeon? Well, it was just talk. Once I get out of here, I’ll never see him again. Why did he come alone in the first place when he must have a partner? Did he really come to see me?”

[The Ruler of Chaos laughs heartily, saying he seems to really like you.]

“I’m not particularly happy about it…… People’s attention is burdensome.”

The Ruler of Chaos sent another indirect message to Nari. One with somewhat dangerous content…….

[By the way Nari, it might be good to look to the side, the Ruler of Chaos points to the side.]

“Huh? The side? Why……?”

Nari carelessly looked to the side. And froze in place.

Cheng……! The sound of a golden holy sword falling to the floor was heard.

Kang Ihyeon was staring at Nari with stunned eyes. Silence filled the gate. Kang Ihyeon raised his hand like a robot and pointed at Nari.

“Y-y-y-y-you, y-you R-r-r-r-ru, Ru, Ru, Rude……!”

[The Ruler of Chaos puts on 3D glasses, saying it’s going to be really fun from now on.]

6 years, 2 months, 7 days, and 21 seconds since starting activities as an alternate character.

It was the exact time when the existence of the main character, Shin Binnari, was discovered.