I Became an Illegal Cheat User

86 – Greed (1) (Revised)

The sky is clear. Not a cloud in sight.

Yet beneath the blue sky, under the barrier of the 9th Extermination Squad’s forward base.

Bang! Boom, bang! Explosions from various skills and magic erupted.

Clang! Clang! Clang! The sharp sound of metal clashing echoed.

“Ahaha! Die! Die─!”

The cold, black ashes of the corrupted, filled with pleasure, ecstasy, and murderous intent.

“You filthy corrupted scum! I’ll kill you all!”

The hot, red blood of the squad members, burning with rage, hatred, and a thirst for revenge.

Splash, splash!

It drenched the iron barrier and the parched ground beneath.

“There’s no end to this.”

Swish! Arthur muttered, his delicate

Golden magic soared, scattering brilliant light.

At the same time, the magic coalesced, solidifying into the form of sword energy.

Whooom!

Excalibur resonated, enveloped in the sword energy, adding a touch of the divine.

As a result, the fallen ones who had approached Arthur and Noah recoiled as if scalded by a searing flame.

“Kyah, kyahhh!”

“Ugh! It’s, it’s hot!”

The divinity of Excalibur burned the magic.

“What, what is this? It’s not even divine power!”

Among the fallen, one cried out in disbelief, his voice laced with pain.

At that cry, Arthur glanced at Excalibur in his hand.

Then, a voice from a woman who once lived by a lake echoed in his ears.

‘How did you come to this lake? No, more importantly, we should treat your wounds first.’

‘…You’re still full of wounds today. Did you fight again?’

‘You said you had no name, right? Then I shall give you one.’

‘Arthur… Arthur Pendragon. A name that will share your fate from now on.’

The woman who had bestowed upon him a name, eyes, and the holy sword, despite his nameless, always wounded existence.

The image of the woman with beautiful blue hair, eyes, and a smile flickered amidst the suffering fallen.

‘Vivian, why did you grant me the holy sword and the right to be king?’

There were many who could wield the holy sword, even without him.

For instance, those at the Round Table he was now a part of.

In a place that revered the legend of the King of Knights, there were candidates of noble lineage, talent, and character.

In contrast, he had nothing.

No parents, no lineage, no talent, and even the name that everyone else possessed.

A vagrant who had nothing, wandering through the filth.

That was who he was.

Yet Vivian had treated his wounds, saying such things had nothing to do with him.

She gave him a name. She gave him eyes. She gave him the holy sword.

And finally, she granted him the right to be king before she vanished.

‘Vivian, I may not be worthy of the title of king.’

She wanted to repay her debt of gratitude.

So, she crushed all the knight candidates at the round table.

She was recognized by the guardian knights of the round table and was selected as the next successor.

And…, she acquired the title of “Heir to the King of Knights”.

But still, she couldn’t unleash the true power of the holy sword.

“I’ll try to overcome it anyway.”

Vivian, do you know?

“I was negative until I entered the Arena Academy.”

Someone who can’t unleash the holy sword’s power doesn’t deserve to be king.

So, I thought that if I couldn’t unleash the holy sword’s power by the time I graduated from the academy, I would throw it away in the lake where you were.

“But then, one person caught my eye.”

Lee Yoo-jin.

The man who surpassed me, who was considered a strong candidate, and became the top student at the Arena Academy.

A man who possessed stronger power than anyone else, yet had a gentle and kind heart.

A man who didn’t flee even in a life-or-death situation, but faced evil head-on until the end.

“That man awakened my weak spirit.”

So, Vivian, watch me.

A coward who received a name will rise to the throne.

“I declare as the Heir to the King of Knights.”

[The skill “Heir to the King of Knights (S)” is declared.]

“From now on, this place is my paradise, and the holy land of knights.”

Arthur grasped Excalibur with both hands.

And turned the sword’s tip, which was pointing towards the sky, towards the ground.

“All evil in this place will be expelled from paradise.”

[The skill “Heir to the King of Knights (S)” is activated.]

[The skill “Master of the Holy Sword (S)” is activated.]

[The skill “Heir to the Fairy King (S)” is activated.]

[The skill “Fairy’s Blessing (S)” is activated.]

[The skill….]

[…….]

[….]

A tremendous magical power burst forth from Arthur’s body.

As a result, the earth began to shake violently, as if an earthquake had occurred.

Uooo!

Excalibur resonated with a loud hum.

A golden wave spread out, illuminating everything.

Uooo, uooo! Uooo─!

The resonance grew faster and faster.

In sync with it, the wave spread out even wider.

“This is… crazy! Ahhh!”

The bodies of the corrupted ones, touched by the wave, erupted in golden flames.

“Fire, put out the fire! Put it out, ahhh─!”

A holy flame, similar to the white blaze of the sacred fire, but even more powerful, engulfed the corrupted ones.

“…Is my power increasing?”

“The magical power I had exhausted is recovering…”

“What’s this feeling? Is it exhilaration?”

On the other hand, the members of the Purification Squad, as if blessed, felt their bodies overflowing with golden magical power.

Arthur gazed at the squad members and recalled Reason, who was fighting alone at the 1st Purification Squad’s outpost.

“Reason, just hold on a little longer.”

Soon, I… no, we will come to your aid.

As Arthur thought this, he raised Excalibur high into the air.

And when the wave touched the bodies of all living beings on the ground.

He plunged Excalibur deep into the earth.

And at the same time, he activated his ultimate skill.

“Avalon.”

The corrupted ones’ ashes and the Purification Squad members’ blood watered the earth.

On that earth, a gigantic golden apple tree sprouted.

&

&

&

『…What is this?』

Greed looked at me as if it couldn’t comprehend.

Then, in a voice filled with despair, it spoke.

Before long, it fell to the ground with a thud.

Thud, roll.

The head of Greed, having lost its entire body, weakly rolled across the floor.

And at that moment, my gaze met Greed’s.

Its pupils, devoid of life, had dilated as if to inform me that it was dead.

I let out a sigh of relief… but instead of resting, I discarded the damaged equipment due to the lifting of the speed limit and equipped new gear.

Wearing ten Aegises, Atlas Armor, and Thunderbolt, I hurriedly sent grenade boxes to where Greed’s head lay.

Then Terra asked, seemingly puzzled.

– Master, isn’t Greed dead?

‘No, it’s not dead.’

After all, Greed, that creature…

『…Oh.』

…has a death-evading item.

『Hmm, even Kali let her guard down once. You, however, do not even relax.』

The pupils of Greed, which had been dilated like a dead person’s, began to shrink again.

At the same time, black flames erupted from Greed’s head.

『Do you know? The sensation of the body recovering is something you can’t get used to, even if you want to.』

In an instant, its body was restored.

Seeing that scene, a particular item came to mind.

‘…The Phoenix Feather.’

One of the death-evading items as rare as plucking stars from the sky, the ‘Phoenix Feather (S)’

It’s an item that resurrects you a few seconds after receiving a fatal wound… no, an attack that is almost instant death.

‘Since it used the Phoenix Feather, now there are five left.’

Of course, true to its name, Greed doesn’t only possess death-evading items but also various rare items.

That’s why players in the gaming community refer to Greed as the ‘Treasure Corruptor.’

The reason for this title is that if you kill it, you can obtain all the items it possesses.

However, killing it is exceedingly difficult.

Six death-evading items.

A plethora of rare items, not to mention an astonishing number of possessions.

And with sheer physical prowess, I rank as the sixth strongest among twelve named individuals.

Thus, the creature is known not only as the ‘Treasure Corruptor’ but also by another title.

‘Newbie Butcher.’

It’s no wonder.

Incredibly strong physical abilities.

A cockroach-like resilience that allows it to resurrect six times.

And on top of that, the advantage of items.

This trifecta is enough to make even seasoned players tremble.

For newbies, it truly is a death zone.

And now… that newbie death zone has come for me.

‘I can’t believe this.’

I managed to take it down once with a surprise attack, but it still has five lives left.

Not just five lives.

A staggering five lives remain.

‘…What do I do? It won’t let its guard down now.’

I find myself in a very unfavorable situation.

It’s understandable, as typical corruptors become increasingly arrogant the more power they gain, their emotions easily flaring.

But Greed, this creature, acts with such caution that it hardly feels like a corruptor at all.

Even with death-evading items, if it has a trump card like this…

Boom—!

『…This attack is different from before. Still, it’s only right to inflict some damage.』

Unlike other corruptors who rely on brute force, it employs ‘evasion.’

And the reason I’m in such a dire predicament right now is…

『That gun looks nice.』

…It’s because it intends to steal my items.

If there’s a silver lining in this misfortune, it’s that I possess the effect and limitation of infinite items.

Click.

『An A-rank firearm… I’ve acquired something precious.』

Greed looked around in wonder as it took my Thunderbolt with the skill ‘Steal.’

But that was only for a moment.

『…Hmm? Items can disappear?』

The creature looked down at its hands with surprise.

Then, tilting its head in curiosity, it gazed at me.

『Oh…, so you possess a skill that prevents me from taking items. How intriguing.』

A greedy light radiated from Greed’s eyes as it stared at me.

『Lee Yoo-jin, I find myself wanting that ability of yours.』

At that moment, a chime echoed in my mind, the sound of a system alert.

A minimized system window appeared in the corner of my vision.

– Master, an event quest has been triggered.

‘…What’s the content?’

– Survive.

‘For how long?’

– 5 minutes. Just hold out for 5 minutes, and reinforcements will arrive.

…5 minutes?

『Lee Yoo-jin….』

Various weapons began to materialize around Greed.

Swords, spears, axes, hammers, guns, cannons, and more.

An uncountable number of weapons were aimed at me.

‘5 minutes is way too tight.’

I lifted nearby stones with telekinesis.

『Please, die for me! And give me that ability!』

And as Greed charged at me, kicking off the ground.

Ding-dong.

Speed limit解除 [ON / OFF]

I activated the cheat.

Then, I hurled the stones I had lifted with telekinesis toward Greed.