The S-Rank Character Is My Alt

Chapter 6: Shin Bitnari (5)

‘Damn it… I wondered why the boss was a cult leader instead of a temple.’

Inside a large white room where hymns played in reverse, Lude stepped forward in shock. The class four gate boss monster, the White Prophet of Fate, lay before him.

He was lying in bed with a corpse-like body, hooked up to life support machines.

‘He… almost looks human...’

He had an IV drip and an oxygen mask, the kind of things Lude had only ever seen in medical dramas.

In reality, Nari had never been hospitalized nor had anyone close to her, so this was her first time seeing such a sight.

‘I’ve never seen a gate like this…’

Every gate was different. People joked about it, calling it “gate by gate,” but even for Lude this was the first time encountering one so similar to real life.

It resembled human life too closely. Even the boss monster took the form of a human man.

…I-If I get too close, I feel like he’s going to pop up like a ghost from a horror movie.’

[Were you always this bad with jump scares, asks the Lord of Chaos with a tilt of the head.]

Lude ignored the comment and stepped closer. A man with white hair lay frail on the bed.

“What kind of gate is this supposed to be…”

[The rule still stands. If you kill the boss monster, you can leave, shrugs the Lord of Chaos.]

“…That’s true.”

Lude raised his black half-scissors toward the boss. If he stabbed them into its stomach, the fight would be over.

But the boss looked too much like a human, and his hand hesitated. He drew in a deep breath and prepared to strike.

“Ah…!”

But the Prophet’s eyes snapped open in an instant, staring straight at him. Their gazes locked, and the Prophet’s face remained calm.

‘Is this really class four…?’

Anyone who met Lude’s eyes for long was normally consumed by fear, unless they had immense inner strength.

Yet this monster met his gaze without flinching. Lude could not hide his surprise.

The Prophet slowly sat up and removed his oxygen mask.

He mumbled.

“…You are not the one I was waiting for.”

“W-What are you…?”

“And you do not look like someone who could help that child.”

Rumble — The floor began to tremble with his words. He climbed off the bed with deliberate movements. A red warning message appeared before Lude.

[Warning! The gate’s difficulty is rapidly increasing.]

“In that case, I cannot simply offer you my neck.”

‘What is this?’

The room instantly changed. White rose vines surged through the patient’s chamber, then faded into nothing.

[Gate difficulty adjusted. Tier four → Tier two.]

[Tier two gate boss monster :: The White Prophet of Atonement has appeared.]

‘Tier two…?’

Lude’s eyes widened. Gates rarely shifted difficulty midway. And tier two was practically a national disaster.

In the ten years since the first class East Sea gate, Korea had only ever seen class four and class five gates. The hardest in the last decade had been class three.

The Prophet now wore white clerical robes and knelt with hands clasped in prayer.

“This gate is not meant for you. Leave.”

At his words, organ music swelled. His empty eyes fixed on Lude, and a sinister white aura poured from him. Lude let out a sharp laugh.

“Then at least open an exit for the civilians first…!”

Crash! Lude’s black aura surged around his half-scissors. He stabbed them into the floor and glared.

Black aura against white malice, the room brimmed with poisonous energy. The Prophet slowly pressed his hands together.

“…Then I have no choice.”

His vacant white eyes met Lude’s writhing black ones. He spread his hands, with a halo of white glowing behind him.

“The only way is to cast you out by force.”

Behind him, a massive familiar appeared. It had the heads of seven beasts, each mouth dripping saliva.

From their foreheads grew ten parasitic red horns.

The grotesque sight made Lude grimace. As if sensing his thoughts, a message appeared.

[That thing is truly dangerous, says the Lord of Chaos with a serious face.]

“I know. Time to get serious.”

Any normal person without mental training would have gone mad at the sight. Lude raised his half-scissors and invoked his constellation’s authority.

[Exclusive trait :: Fragment of the First Dream]

[You call upon the power of ◼◼◼◼.]

[You borrow the skill of a spirit.]

[Spirit ◼◼◼◼ exclusive skill :: Vampire of the Living Flame]

[Do you really need to use that skill? Grumbles the Lord of Chaos.]

“Stop complaining. You know I’m in a hurry.”

Boom! The beast’s claw clashed with Lude’s flame-wreathed scissors, exploding violently.

Using the blast, Lude vaulted onto the beast’s back and drove his scissors in.

“Hrgh!”

Blood spurted between the blades and flesh. His aura reacted, igniting into crimson fire that began to burn the beast from within.

“You bastard…! Stop thrashing, I’ll fall!”

The flames licked at the beast, devouring it. The beast howled in pain, bucking wildly while Lude clung desperately to his scissors.

[The familiar screams in agony!]

[Status effect applied :: Paralysis]

“Aghh!”

Jolted like a ragdoll, Lude finally lost his grip and fell.

The beast, shrieking, swung its claws at him. He landed with a gash across his arm and stumbled back.

“Hey, hey! Cut it out!”

Lude created illusionary avatars, but the beast ignored them and charged straight for him. These field bosses all seemed resistant to illusions unless they were flawlessly made.

“We put no faith in our senses. They deceive too easily. Only faith is truth. Only He is the truth.”

The Prophet laughed as the beast cornered Lude. He had not expected to be pushed this far, especially with his avatar.

The beast roared, and its claws pierced his stomach.

“Urgh…!”

Lude tried to summon black spears, but they dissolved before forming. The Prophet smiled coldly.

“They say an illusionist’s greatest weakness is bodily pain. You lose concentration. You are nothing but feeble liars.”

At that, Lude smirked bitterly as if he sensed the end. He spoke with a hollow smile.

“So… I can’t handle a class two gate after all huh…?”

“Of course not. I warned the beast early on, teaching it that all Illusionists are liars and that they should be wary against such.”

“Really? You raised it well.”

A dry female voice spoke behind the cult leader. At the same moment, the Lude before the Prophet collapsed into a mannequin.

The Prophet’s eyes widened. He had sensed nothing until that voice…! A black-haired woman in a hoodie, ponytail swinging, stood with upturned eyes, holding black scissors ready.

“Wait, when did you get here…?!”

“You’re right. It’s best not to trust an illusionist.”

He had been fooled. This was the real one. The presence of the black avatar had been so overwhelming he had not noticed. Nari had amplified the avatar’s aura on purpose while hiding her own.

‘When did she…? It must have been during the explosion. She split from the avatar at that moment.’

The Prophet understood in an instant. Even without the avatar’s distraction, he still would not have noticed.

Never in his life had he seen an illusion so lifelike.

“My servants, come quickly! Protect me!”

Panicking, he summoned white rose vines from his robe. The beast leapt to shield him.

But her scissors were faster.

“Illusionists are all liars like you said.”

The small woman sighed and swung. Thud. A head fell to the ground. That was the end. The Prophet’s final memory was her voice.

“And yeah, you shouldn’t have trusted your senses.”

* * *

[That took a bit more effort, sighs the Lord of Chaos.]

Her hands were busy looting. The Lude avatar was heavily damaged and would need time to repair.

Until then, she had to remain as Nari. If anyone saw her like this… it would be a disaster. The thought alone made her terrified.  

“Seriously. I didn’t expect the difficulty to spike. If I had sent the avatar alone during that explosion, I would be dead. At least no one saw it, so I didn’t get the social anxiety debuff.”

She recalled the moment with relief. A black message popped up, showing that the Lord of Chaos was happy.

[Our Nari is cautious and a genius, claps the Lord of Chaos.]

“Hmph. That’s only natural! I’m number one!”

She straightened proudly. About to head home, she checked the boss’s drop. But her face soured.

[Item Information]

Name: Essence of the White Rose (L)

Type: Consumable, one-use, special

Effect: The white rose means “a new beginning.” When destroyed, it erases all karma you have accumulated.

Note: Also nullifies contracts with constellations.

“What the, this is trash…!”

[Are you really going to erase all our karma uwu? says the Lord of Chaos with a cutesy face.]

“Shut up! It’s a holy-aligned item anyway!”

For the wicked, karma was a reward. To her, it was useless. Maybe someone good-aligned could use it… but no one would buy it if it severed constellation contracts.

All that effort felt like it was wasted. She gritted her teeth and sighed.

“Sigh… Whatever. Maybe it’ll be useful someday. Let’s just go home and patch up the avatar.”

She picked up the golden half-scissors from the floor, stored them, and looked over the ruined Lude avatar.

“It’s torn up badly. I’ll have to spend all day tomorrow stitching it. Aside from that and the lousy reward, today was worthwhile.”

She examined the deep gash across its chest, then dispersed it into black mist with a stretch.

[What about the golden retriever boy, asks the Lord of Chaos.]

“Oh, Kang Ihyun? He was just talking big. Once we leave, I bet I’ll never see him again. He probably has a partner anyway, so why did he even come alone? Just to see me?”

[He really seems to like you, says the Lord of Chaos with a burst of laughter.]

“That doesn’t really make me happy… I hate people’s attention.”

Then, the Lord of Chaos sent another pop up message. This one was a bit unsettling…

[But Nari, you might want to look to your side, says the Lord of Chaos, pointing.]

“Huh? To my side? Why…?”

She glanced instinctively, and her body froze.

Clang…! A golden holy sword dropped to the floor.

Kang Ihyun stood there dumbfoundedly, staring at her. Silence filled the gate. Like a robot, he raised his hand and pointed at her.

“Y-Y-Yo-Yo-Y-Y, Y-You're L-LLL-Lude…!”

[Things are about to get really fun, says the Lord of Chaos, putting on 3D glasses.]

In six years, two months, seven days, and twenty-one seconds after she had begun playing as an alternate character,

Shin Bitnari’s true identity was exposed.