Chapter 158: Chapter 158

A powerful light radiated from the marquis. The light, visible only to me, seeped into me.

The marquis was an opponent I could never hope to defeat. He was a man who had killed a Kraken from inside its stomach, barehandedly crushed a fortress, and was one of the Empire's Four Great Swordmasters. Yet, I was effortlessly absorbing his essence for the second time.

Feels like I'm just freeloading…

But thinking of what he had done to me, it felt like I still hadn't taken enough. Horrible memories surfaced: being bound hand and foot and dragged by horse for hours. I shuddered and focused on the absorption. Perhaps, this moment was even more important than the first one in the ocean.

I acquired the second level of Essence Absorption from Gith-Za-Rai. It was an Epic skill upgrade, allowing my absorption cap for stats up to seventy-five. Now, I could even absorb Rare-grade skills.

[You have absorbed Sword Energy Lv. 2!]

[You have absorbed Sword Energy Lv. 3!]

[Your Health increased…]

The light coiled around my body in succession. With each upgrade in skill and stat, a pleasant thrill coursed through me.

My Sword Energy skill jumped two levels in an instant.

[You have absorbed Swordsmanship Lv. 11!]

[You have broken through a barrier in Swordsmanship!]

[Perk acquired: Swordmaster!]

[—Critical hit chance increased by an additional 5%

—Chance to block ranged attacks increased by 30%

—Attack speed increased by 15%]

Reaching Swordsmanship level ten granted me an unexpected perk.

[You have absorbed Swordsmanship Lv. 12!]

[You have absorbed Swordsmanship Lv. 13!]

When Rayleigh had seen my swordsmanship, he had raved about how it mirrored His Excellency's fundamentals.

Guess it's going to be even more obvious now.

I had absorbed the marquis's essence twice. At this point, even Leandro himself would probably be shocked. He'd likely demand to know where I learned it.

No, he'd probably hound me until I gave an answer he was satisfied with…

[You have absorbed Detection Lv. 6!]

[Perk acquired: Mind's Eye (C+)!]

[—Upon reaching Detection Lv. 6, a perk was granted. You can now perceive terrain features and traps within a certain range, in addition to living beings.]

If I could detect traps as well as living creatures, I'd be able to walk through minor dungeons without worrying about pitfalls or ambushes. It was incredibly useful.

Just as I had received the Swordmaster perk at level ten, Detection had now breached a new level as well.

What an amazing outcome…

I was still marveling at my gains.

Rayleigh, the marquis's loyal follower, stumbled into the freezing storage room. I turned my head and glanced at him.

"Your Excellency…! Your Excellency…!"

Rayleigh's eyes wavered. His expression seemed to plead for escape from the reality of the marquis hanging on a meat hook. Grief and rage spilled from Rayleigh like shards of broken glass.

A moment later, Rayleigh placed his hand on my shoulder. A shallow breath escaped his lips, turning white in the cold air.

He spoke tearfully, "You… your armor is already covered in frost."

I had no idea what he was trying to say. The mood didn't register with me.

"You're more shaken than I am…"

He seemed to have misunderstood, thinking I was frozen in shock.

Rayleigh swayed slightly and said, "I'm really sorry for doubting you."

His eyes showed sympathy and empathy. A message popped up indicating that his Affection had increased by one.

What an awkward misunderstanding. Still, there was no reason to shatter the solemn mood Rayleigh was immersed in. Respecting his sorrow, I silently resumed my work.

[You have absorbed Detection Lv. 7!]

[You have absorbed 1 point of Wisdom…]

The green glow slowly faded from the marquis's body. Still, the gains were massive.

Rayleigh gently tapped my back, still in a daze, and said, "I know it hurts, but we need to get revenge. Pull yourself together."

Okay, this is kind of embarrassing.

"I'll take care of the remains."

I nodded. Rayleigh immediately sprang into action. He gently laid the body down on the floor and carefully closed the frozen eyes. The marquis's body no longer radiated any green essence.

Standing beside me, Rayleigh nodded slowly as if he understood everything, his eyes moist with emotion. Being near someone who was misreading the situation so thoroughly was exhausting.

"...Why don't you scout the area a bit?"

"Yeah. I understand. Just looking at the body is painful enough."

"I'll look for His Excellency's armaments here. You take some time for yourself outside."

I stepped out of the storage room. I had finished what I came for, but maybe I could draw more information from him. I also owed him, in a way.

Maybe I'll stick with him for a while…

I made my way out toward the edge of the livestock pens. I was scanning the southeast, checking where we could descend.

Clang! Crunch! Crack!

With the sound of metal being crushed, a scream filled with pain and horror tore through the night.

That's where Rayleigh is!

It was at that moment—

[Crisis Evasion (B) has activated!]

[Do not move. Play dead.]

[Time until next activation: 167:59:59…]

The faint, semi-transparent message vanished back into the darkness. The subtle glow of the pendant faded.

Startled, I immediately dropped to the ground.

[Activating Play Dead Lv. 1]

[Racial trait applied.]

[Effectiveness of Play Dead increased by 5 times]

[Activating Stealth Lv. 5]

[Play Dead's effectiveness increased by another 5 times]

The sound of reptilian skin brushing through the underbrush came from near the source of the scream. However, that wasn't the only sound. A strange noise echoed in the night. It sounded like whistling at first, but it was closer to a serpent flicking its tongue. The sound grew colder, more revolting.

It came closer. A sick, wet noise, like breathing through multiple holes in a face, not just the mouth.

It was a sound that demanded undivided attention—as if death itself was approaching one step at a time, swinging a scythe.

Rayleigh wasn't someone that could be easily taken down. But there had only been one scream.

This was a mistake. Whatever had killed Rayleigh in one blow would have no trouble seeing through my stealth. There was almost no chance my Play Dead would work.

The distance closed. The sound approached from both in front and behind. Escape was now impossible.

Should I use Sprint now? Would magic work? I'd just gained some new abilities as well.

But… I decided to trust the pendant. I feared repeating the same fatal mistake more than I feared dying now. So I stayed still—flat on the ground.

Not even a minute later, a message popped up.

[You have entered the domain of The Snake that Swallows the Night]

[You have overwhelmingly failed the resistance check.]

[Movement speed reduced by 95%]

[Omnipotence decreased by 80%]

[All skills have been sealed.]

I had definitely made the wrong choice.

I braced for the worst, for every kind of gruesome attack. I was ready to die. I even resented the pendant for a second.

But that grotesque sound passed by me. It just circled around instead of attacking. Its noise, once horrifying, now carried a strange hint of irritation.

There was no way it hadn't seen me. It had come straight for me from the start. Was it possible Play Dead actually worked?

I couldn't make sense of it. It came this close, and still…

Why isn't it killing me? Why isn't it attacking?

I still couldn't detect anything with my senses.

[You have exited the domain of The Snake that Swallows the Night]

[Movement speed debuff lifted!]

[Attack speed debuff lifted…]

[Omnipotence debuff lifted…]

The sound faded into the distance. Even my Detection couldn't pick up anything. Briefly, I thought I was dreaming, but Rayleigh's presence had vanished as well.

I couldn't move right away. What if that thing was still nearby, waiting to crush me? So, I chose to stay down. If I trusted the pendant, I had to see it through.

I kept my face to the dirt. Each unanswered question ticked like seconds. Fear and cold took the place of minutes and hours.

Nearly ten hours passed, and dawn had barely begun to etch a line across the earth. That was when I heard the footsteps.

Pushing Detection to its limit at the cost of my Health, I finally picked up the presence of approaching figures from down the mountain. As they drew closer, I could hear their conversation.

"Whew! Thanks to the priest, we got to rest the whole day."

"Yeah. Sometimes you need a day like that. Better than just sitting around."

They were saying things I couldn't understand.

They were cheerfully climbing the mountain trail. The direction they were coming from was from the northwest.

From here, northwest… that's the Imperial Palace.

Remaining hidden, I cautiously lifted my head.