Chapter 12 : Crown of Cofei

The Golden Golem of Brejal and the rebels fighting there had suddenly stopped their battle due to an unexpected situation.

“Th-this is a trap! What is this…? No way!”

“Why? Just tell me what this ‘no way’ means!”

But once again, no answer came.

ㅡ How did you come to possess that?!!!

“What’s your nonsense now?!”

ㅡ You bastard!!! No!

Kurururuㅡ

With a thunderous sound, the wall opposite the entrance where Jaeho had come in began to crumble like sand.

[The Cofei Kingdom is beginning to collapse.]

The long, dark throne room stretched inward.

At its end, a rotten corpse, reduced to bones, sat upon the throne.

“?”

Jaeho took a closer look and realized that it was not just a corpse but the undead ruler of this place.

“D-don’t stare at me like that!!!”

Whether he was showing a side he did not want others to see, he wrapped himself in a large cloak, covering his body.

Feeling as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have, Jaeho quickly averted his gaze.

“Are you mocking me?!”

Brejal snapped at that appearance.

“Ah, no. Didn’t I tell you not to look? So, what was it? An undead?!”

It was quite tragic that the ruler of this magnificent space adorned with gold and jewels was a pitiful corpse.

It was suspected to be one of the curses obtained through the pact with the demon.

“I don’t know how you came into possession of that, but it’s not too late. If you hand it over quietly, I’ll spare your life.”

“What have you been talking about all this time?”

“The Desert Hourglass!!”

Hearing this, Jaeho checked his inventory.

“What? Why is this here?!”

There it was—in his inventory, the Desert Hourglass!

Jaeho carefully took it out and examined it.

[<The Stopped Desert Hourglass >]

Strangely, the sand inside flowed upward from bottom to top.

“But why should I give it to you?”

“Guh! You’ll regret it…”

Kuungㅡ Kuungㅡ

Hearing heavy footsteps approaching from behind, Jaeho nimbly dodged.

Crash!!!

At that spot, the Golden Golem’s fist plunged into the ground.

Psssssㅡ

Yet, the once solid-looking fist of the Golem shattered into sand.

Moreover, the Golem’s form had already turned into a pathetic figure made of sand and mud.

The rebel soldiers resisting Brejal were also disappearing, turning into sand like the undead Jaeho had seen underground.

“Come to think of it…”

The very space itself was slowly collapsing.

“Is this what it means to have stopped time flow?”

Kuaaaㅡ

Fortunately, the Golem’s arm smashing the ground did not regenerate.

The cause was the water still seeping out from underground.

“Ugh!!! The hourglass…! Hand over the hourglass!!!”

Brejal, now desperate, suddenly rose to his feet and grabbed his rusty sword lying nearby.

Crashㅡ

Jaeho didn’t miss the moment the tip of Brejal’s armor broke off as he descended from the throne.

“You’re not normal!”

From the moment the hourglass was touched, everything in this place began returning to its original timeline, and Brejal was no exception.

“If he’s weakened, I might stand a chance…?”

Thinking so, Jaeho checked the information hovering above Brejal’s head.

[Lv.?? Brejal]

[HP: ?????/?????]

“………..”

Jaeho withdrew that judgment.

He had never seen a monster displayed as a question mark in level.

Even if he was bad at guessing levels, he knew enough not to mess with a creature like that.

Flash—!!!

Jaeho quickly dodged the heavy greatsword coming down on him.

Luckily, Brejal’s swordsmanship was slow and direct, making it easy to avoid.

Besides,

“Ah! I see his ribs!”

“?!!”

Jaeho followed up with a precise strike!

Clearly, Brejal’s movement had become clumsier, likely because he was frustrated by his undead state.

“You bastard! Feel the pain!”

But Brejal had another method.

[The Hand of the Dead suppresses your movement.]

It was a curse!

[You are immune to curses due to <Curse Resistance (Passsive)> ]

“W-what…”

Brejal was surprised to see his curse met with immunity.

Meanwhile, Jaeho created some distance.

He had long given up on beating his opponent into submission.

“There’s only one way to try…”

That was the hourglass in his hand.

If he could endure until all the sand flowed upward, something would surely change.

“You filthy rat!! Curse! Curse!!!”

Brejal, unable to catch Jaeho’s speed, continuously unleashed curses, but Jaeho’s innate spirit-alchemist vitality fundamentally rejected such corrupt power.

Of course, it wasn’t infinite protection.

The opponent was a named monster of a level impossible to verify at this stage.

Unlimited curse resistance against such a being would be a perfect imbalance.

[Too many curses have hit; random debuffs have occurred.]

[Attack hit rate has decreased.]

“I had no intention of hitting anyway.”

[Movement is sluggish.]

“Geez, this is… getting harder.”

Dodging Brejal’s increasingly clumsy attacks was becoming difficult.

“At this rate, it’s certain death.”

Crash—!!!

Fragments exploded outward deeply into the ground in all directions.

At that moment, through the rising dust, Jaeho spotted something.

“Gotcha!”

As if inviting use, it shimmered with a bright blue glow!

“<Rapid Growth>!”

The skill targeted the creeping vines scattered on the floor.

The <Rapid Growth> skill level had steadily risen, now at level 49.

Though a skill that accelerates plant growth was usually useless in a situation like this, the rapidly flowing time and collapsing space made it crucial.

The faster time passed, the faster the lifeforms that should have been growing would do so abnormally.

And with the growth buff applied, the vines quickly grew.

“?!!!”

Crack, crackㅡ!!

The rapidly grown vines engulfed Brejal’s rusty sword stuck in the ground.

[Discovered a new use for <Rapid Growth> .]

[Acquired skill <Rapid Mutation Growth.]

A skill name Jaeho didn’t particularly want to use.

But with Brejal in front of him trying to pull the vines off by force, there was no time to be picky.

“!!!”

[Increases the target plant’s growth speed by 500%.]

[The target is much larger and tougher than usual.]

[Lasts for 20 seconds.]

Tentacles—no, vines—sprang out and began binding Brejal.

“Do you think you can be fooled by such a cheap trick?!”

“Looks like you already have been.”

“Y-you bastard!!!”

“Ah, your pants fell down!”

“?!!!”

But time was on Jaeho’s side.

The longer the delay, the more the sand in the hourglass flowed upward…

Snapㅡ Clinkㅡ

Brejal gradually decayed and rusted.

And in the end, he dropped to his knees and slumped down.

“It was because of that disgusting power…!”

Only then did Brejal realize.

Jaeho’s lucky stumble upon his hidden underground treasure might have been fate.

But Brejal never imagined he would have such strong curse resistance.

How Jaeho got hold of the hourglass was clear in his mind.

“No! I cannot disappear like this…”

Now even his bones had begun to crumble, Brejal shouted desperately.

But his pitiful cries soon quieted…

[The Tyrant Brejal has been destroyed.]

[You have succeeded in the survival assault.]

[Experience points gained from non-combat have been reduced.]

[Level up.]

[Level up.]

[Level up…]

“So, if you don’t beat them up, you get less experience.”

A newly learned fact.

Still, it wasn’t a small amount.

Having reached level 45 from underground battles and now 60 after defeating Brejal.

[Great Demon Carlito smiles.]

“Hmm?”

A final ominous notification appeared.

But no immediate changes occurred.

***

After defeating Brejal, Jaeho began checking the various loot he had acquired.

Excluding items like and , two stood out as unique.

[< The Stopped Desert Hourglass >]

[Grade: Legendary]

[Usage Condition: Heir to the throne of Cofei]

[The last king of Cofei, Brejal, sealed a demonic pact; this is proof.]

[The power of Great Demon Carlito dwells within.]

[<Summon Mirage Soldiers>: Summons Cofei soldiers sealed within the hourglass.]

[<Summon Golden Golem>: Summons the cursed guardian spirits of Cofei.]

[< The Crown of Brejal >]

[Grade: Legendary]

[Usage Condition: King of Cofei]

[A magnificent crown once worn by Brejal.]

[Upon wearing the crown, you become the new ruler of Cofei.]

[* Warning: Cofei is known as a nation that made a pact with demons and was opposed by surrounding countries.]

[If you revive the cursed kingdom from history, many nations may become your enemies.]

These were items carrying considerable danger to be taken lightly.

Yet Jaeho saw potential beyond that of a commoner.

Swooshㅡ

Bowing his head, he looked at the groundwater pooling at his knees.

Judging by the amount of water seeping out, this place wasn’t originally a desert.

“I am a spirit alchemist.”

Tinlight, the previous spirit alchemist, had nurtured Luxi Forest in what was once a mere flame of a forest.

Why couldn’t he do the same?

[<The Spirit of Vitality> says, ‘Elysia…’]

“No, that can’t be what it means.”

No matter how much Jaeho searched the internet, a place called Elysia did not exist.

After much thought and freedom in Brejal’s conquest, he reached a conclusion.

“Elysia is a place I create myself.”

[ <Spirit of Vitality> says, ‘That’s not it…’]

But Jaeho’s eyes were already filled with desire.

A future where he cultivated his own garden in this desert.

And even free manpower supplied through the hourglass skill!

[ <The spirit of Vitality> says, ‘You shouldn’t do that as a dead man…’]

“You won’t know until you try.”

Jaeho placed the crown upon his head.

after all.

He judged that with his efforts, things could improve peacefully.

As a clueless novice, he recklessly messed with the quest design.

But that also meant there were no limits to the system of this new world.

[You have become the first player to obtain the royal title.]

[You have acquired the title <First King> .]

[Your reputation has greatly increased.]

[You have acquired the title <Tyrant’s Successor> .]

[Your latent demonic fame has greatly increased.]

There were endless effects that followed.

[You may declare a country named “Cofei” or one of your own.]

[If it becomes known that you have succeeded Cofei, your demonic fame will significantly increase.]

[Would you like to declare a country?]

“No.”

Jaeho cut the option off immediately.

Was he crazy to broadcast that around town?

All he needed was a pretext to create a garden on this desert.

“!”

This time, Jaeho tested the hourglass skill.

[Your current level is too low.]

[Maximum number of soldiers you can summon is two.]

[Summoning is impossible due to the water-covered surrounding ground.]

“Ah.”

An unexpected obstacle.

“Well, for now, just two. !”

[Cannot summon at current level.]

[Cannot summon with current mana.]

“Of course.”

He hadn’t expected to summon golems at all.

“Well, I just need to level up. But mana… I haven’t managed it at all. I’ll have to raise it.”

Jaeho’s current ability points had all been evenly distributed into strength, agility, and stamina.

What if he invested into mana now?

If it worked perfectly, he’d be holding his head in disbelief.

***

Mei dug furiously at the ground where Jaeho had disappeared, wielding her hoe.

Kurururuㅡ

“Gasp?!”

Suddenly, sand began to bubble and boil at the spot where the hoe struck.

“Alsi… huh?”

But the creature that revealed itself was not at all what she expected.

“G-Golem?!”

A sand golem appeared.

Not just one, but dozens of golems surrounding her like an ambush.

ㅡ You.

“?!!”

Mei jumped at the female voice coming from the golem.

ㅡ Hm. Strange.

The golem slowly moved around Mei, examining her.

“W-w-who are you?!”

Though Mei herself was a combat genius, proficient with her bow, she wasn’t skilled enough to use it at close range.

And without Jaeho to draw aggro, it was impossible.

Sssssㅡ

The golem’s form observing Mei slowly transformed into a human shape.

“Hmm…?”

Mei’s eyes widened in shock.

The figure before her was dressed in a garish, fluorescent outfit with fur and feathers adorning every joint—a perplexing fashion statement.

‘Shame’ was not a feeling Mei was familiar with, but she felt suspicious it was drying up inside her.

That woman was Samantha.