NOVEL NEXT Chapter 76: The Shadow's Intent
Tension rose among Ace's team. A legendary item sounded great, but no one wanted to be the one to choose an Obsidian Heart if things went wrong.
The item could spell disaster, and if many died, especially Ace or his teammates, none of them knew if they could live with it. Maybe Ace could. The others, likely not.
No one spoke; the risk sat heavy on all of them.
Alex raised his hand and coughed.
All eyes turned to him.
The pause stretched.
"Gimme my shield?"
"Oh, come on!" Chaewon rapped his bald head with her sheathed katana.
Head down, he looked chastened. A tap from the Godmother could put anyone in line.
Ace hid a laugh. Chaewon only did it to people she considered close.
She keeps her circle tight.
Nice to see her act like the Godmother. At least now I've got one less reason to cringe at the Don Capo title.*
He knew she'd make him pay for calling her that, let alone imagining Alex as "family." Still, this wasn't the moment.
"Yeah. Give him his shield," Ace said. "He won't contribute much here."
Alex grinned. "Don Capo knows what I can do."
"That's what you're proud of?" Tyler asked rhetorically.
Alex didn't even know what 'rhetorical' meant.
When the shield appeared on the boss's corpse, Alex sprinted like it was Christmas and grabbed it. The shield was made of steel, painted to look like wood.
A spearhead sat at its center. Wood‑grain paint crossed the steel face in clean lines, framing the oval around the spearhead. The oval opening around the spearhead reminded him of an animal.
"Turtle?" Head tilted, he looked more closely at the shield.
Its description popped up in his vision.
[Primordial Shield(Shield)(Durability: 400/400)(Requirement: Shield Proficiency(V), Guard Proficiency(V))]
[Skills: Primordial Aegis(Active)—For 8s, you take 25% less damage. When a hit strikes the shield during this time, the attacker suffers backlash equal to 30% of the damage prevented.; Hidden Pike(Active)—Extend the shield's center spearhead and thrust up to 3m, dealing 140% weapon damage in a line. Pierces up to 2 enemies.]
"You…" Alex's voice went thick as he read the description. "You're a damn beauty. Aegis Turtle."
The others heard him, and their expressions went comical. Chaewon raised an eyebrow, looking at Alex like he'd lost his bear-like edge. Only Tyler and Ace understood.
Guys turn into kids around what they love: cars, women, and games. He's eighteen. Of course cool gear lights him up.
"Aegis Turtle sounds cool," Mercer said.
"Of course you think that way. You're still a kid, Mercer. And I'm sure he just lifted the word 'Aegis' from the description and added 'Turtle' to it," Chaewon said, and the others laughed.
Alex turned toward the commotion and snorted.
"So petty, Godmother. One joke," he said.
Chaewon remembered the inside joke only Ace's closest teammates knew. Chaewon snapped and bolted after him. Alex ran.
"That leaves the four of us to decide," Ace said, drawing their attention.
Silence fell again. Nobody moved.
"None of us wants to give up an item that could point to the Obsidian Shrine of The Unseen," Ace said. "It might awaken one of us as their Nemesis. That could turn anyone here into a powerhouse fast."
"Talk through the risks now," Tyler said.
"You already did, in your heads. Everyone's weighed the risks. That's why the mood's heavy," Ace said, then chuckled.
No one added anything. Seeing everyone wanted to check the Obsidian Heart, Tyler started to step in and take it on. Ace stopped him and offered another idea.
"Let's roll."
"Roll?"
"We write 'Yes' or 'No' in secret," Ace said. "Crumple. Toss. Pick. Least-picked drops. Repeat to one answer. That decides it. Simple. No pressure on any one person."
That solved most issues, and no one objected. When Chaewon and Alex returned, Ace explained the idea. Everyone used their blood to write their answers on scraps, crumpled them into balls, and tossed them. Paper rustled across the ground.
Together, they picked in a single motion. Soon, one remained on the ground.
Ace picked it up and unfolded it.
[Yes.]
He showed it to everyone.
"Give us the Obsidian Heart, Seraphina," Ace said.
A pitch-black rock appeared on the boss's corpse. It stood out so starkly it seemed to absorb the forest's shadows.
As they approached, the Obsidian Heart stirred and shivered. Tendrils of darkness spread and pulled everyone into its space.
[You have entered a Chessboard Zone—The Shadow's Intent.]
[You have entered as a team of Six.]
[In a Chessboard Zone, your classes follow their roles and receive adequate bonuses.]
[Your Class—A Pawn—has received an active skill: Promotion.]
Those messages shone for a moment before the darkness swallowed them completely.
Darkness took the world and left only breath. Vision gave him nothing. Touch had no anchor.
Air felt still. Heat from his skin stayed close. Each inhale scraped louder than it should.
Ace moved and couldn't tell if he'd moved at all. His heartbeat marked the space his eyes could not. He waited. There was nothing else to do.
We're in total darkness. Shadow, most likely. Didn't expect the Chessboard Zone this early, but it's good practice for everyone to learn their classes. Since I just got an active skill, Flawless Exploiter should kick in soon and fix this...
Until it didn't. He stayed focused.
Chae's the Queen, so Tyler should be with her as the King. I'm not worried about him. He's a non-combat class; she'll keep him safe. The others will have to work their way out alone. Seraphina shouldn't be under Gesta anymore in this outer space.
He heard a voice, neither male nor female. It sounded... strange.
<Your shadow knows everything about you.>
Does it?
<What is your fear, truly? Let's find out.>
Darkness, darker than black, billowed around Ace and stood out in the void. It gathered in front of him and shaped into what he feared most.
<You shall now... face... your... fear.>