Chapter 144: [Arc 4] Chapter 24: Tunnels of Fear

I looked at the System Window-like screens in front of me created by GM, the avatar of the [Gamemaster] skill. She's currently floating around me with a happy grin after I complimented her good work. Quite the easy fellow to please. I'm the one who programmed her, but even I'm surprised.

Another thing to be surprised about is how great her work is.

See, a demon's evolution tree is so damn big and complex that I got a migraine just looking at the huge thing. Thankfully, my talented GM-chan here did the wonderful job of filtering all the evolution that's outside my reach, those that wouldn't do me any good, and so on.

In the end, I was looking at five evolution options that are practically gold-minted! If there are more valuable metals in this fantasy world than gold, then they would be minted in that. And here are the star players themselves.

1. Demon lord Extra evolution.
2. Light-specialized Kur Kigal evolution.
3. Darkness-specialized Kur Kigal evolution.
4. Dragon-based Extra evolution.
5. Monstrous Kur Kigal-based Extra evolution.

Cool, right? The list even shows which option is the easiest for me to get, starting from the top. But the easiest ones are also the ones that have the worst compatibility with me. WHYYYY?!!

That just proves once again that you can't have your cake and eat it..., kinda weird proverb. Why can't you eat the cake if it's yours?

Anyway, my explanation is lacking? Well, I'll give an easy rundown, starting from the top:

The demon lord? An Extra Evolution any demons with the [Demon Lord] skill can take, after clearing some other conditions. I can already evolve into this, once I reach Lv.65, so that's why it's so high on the list.

This evolution's good points are its stats. All of them are ranked C+! But other than that, not so impressive. I mean, for a normal demon they might be, but it only has Curse as a racial attribute? And the skills are just so-and-so?

That's not impressing me! I got the [Dark Demon Vessel] trait which helps me obtain Darkness skills easier, but it's gonna do a Houdini if my race doesn't have Darkness as an attribute! Even then, the race is damn strong, as one can expect from something related to [Demon Lord], but I honestly don't want it. It's a good plan D if I don't get anything else though, but I doubt it.

Appearance-wise, it looks like a super-powered Lesser Fiend. Large bat wings, horns that take the shape of a crown, and a body that makes even a priest drool regardless of gender. No problems there, but if anything, it feels kinda...boring...

The next two evolutions are specialists in either Darkness or Light. They are standard evolutions for the Kur Kigal race, but they're damn useful for me. And honestly, the only reason why they're more difficult to get than the Demon Lord-thingy is that I gotta advance [Black-Light Technique Master] to its next level. This also means they are equally difficult for me to get, but Darkness is the best for me, so I'll take that if I have to choose.

Their strengths are that they are damn good with their respective attributes, but the Light-guy is better with SPD and STR while the Darkness-type is talented with DEX and RES. They got some good skills too, and they got Light and Darkness as their racial attributes, albeit they differ which one's the "main" attribute.

They look damn similar to my current appearance, but they got demonic wings and tails, plus some fancy exoskeleton-like things protecting their arms and legs. The color of these new appendages differs between the races. Light has a dark, golden color, while Darkness has a dark purple hue.

Guess we can talk about the heavyweights then! But honestly, they're both difficult to get.

The dragon-related evolution needs several Dragon-skills and status ailment-related skills, plus some other damn nasty conditions. I'll try to go for it anyway, as this isn't the Demonia Dragon which I could evolve into before… That was the Lesser-variant.

This guy is a true demonic dragon that spreads status ailments as if it was having an all-year bargain sale for the stuff! It's got Darkness as one of its racial attributes as well, it can transform from a humanoid form at will, and it's just damn nasty.

The worst thing I can imagine with this guy is the possibility that I'm gonna be weak to dragon-slaying weapons but that's not a big deal. Just gotta make sure not to get hit.

As for the last one...I prolly won't be getting that. Its requirements are damn high, such as needing several Monster Skills including Evil Eyes, Demon-skills, AND Dragon-skills! Then there's the stats required for it, lots of other stuff, but worst of all...

It requires a specific Key Item. One that's so rare that I had to look for it in the Kigal-Note since my privileges with [Gamemaster] weren't enough...I wish I never learned about it. Why is it that the Note's so useful for something that I can't obtain?

Or, it's not possible, but the only area where you can find the item is so horrifying that I wouldn't wanna go down there even if I got the full support of Filyn AND Blot! That's how dangerous that area is! 

...Guess I'll aim for the dragon route then. 

"Garami? You hear something?" - GM

GM's words shook me out of my inner soliloquy and I paid attention to the world around me again. I can't hear...no, there is something, yes. A shout..., no, a scream?

We went to where the sound came from and found Lily and Zaria, both trying to drag Karnel into a mineshaft. The Gargoyle is doing his best to prevent that, grasping onto a huge boulder for his dear life...is what it looks like, but seriously, what's going on?

"Boss! Great timing! Help us here!" - Lily

"Garami! Save me!" - Karnel

"...honestly, what is going on? In 10 words or less." - Garami

"Karnel's a coward, so we're letting him face his fears!" - Lily

"NOOOOO!!" - Karnel

...yeah, don't get it. 

"The tunnels here are called the 'tunnels of fear'. It's a pitch-black tunnel that you can't bring a light source into. It gets extinguished in a matter of seconds. The monsters inside are weak, but they have adapted to the darkness, so the locals use it as a trial of courage." - Zaria

Thank you. It's good to have someone responsible...responsible? Aw, whatever.

"And you had to go through that tunnel then?" - Garami

"Yes...it was horrible...stuff kept on crawling up my legs. There has to be a country of centipedes inside there..." - Karnel

Ugh, that sounds disgusting...

"Is that why you left the mountains and went all the way to that island?" - Garami

"Yes...I wanted to stay as far away from the tunnel as possible...I wanted to reach the Invidia continent, but the animals on the island..." - Karnel

Ah, feel you there, buddy. Those cuties are worth staying for...

"Wait, you were fine inside the bee-forest though? That place was pretty high on the scare-factor if you ask me." - Garami

"...I was freaking out on the inside all the while..." - Karnel

Seriously? Guess great guys perform well even when feeling the pressure.

"And you two? What's your deal?" - Garami

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"Nothing!" - Zaria & Lily

Officer! I found a pair of suspicious chimeras and therianthropes! 

But there are no men in uniform here, so I'll take care of the arrest, interrogation, and punishment myself. 

Half a minute later, I got the suspects to confess their crimes. Turns out that Karnel's well-liked here in the ol' town, so people want him to conquer his trauma and breeze through the tunnel. And they're paying the chimera with hunted meat from the monsters of the mountain. Zaria simply wanna challenge the tunnel herself, so she's giving Lily a hand with her job.

"Damn it all. You two, don't push people to do stuff that they don't like! Everyone's got something they're not comfortable with. I agree that helping Karnel overcome his weaknesses is a good thing, but forcing him will just make things worse!" - Garami

"...I'm sorry..." replied the wrapped-up bat and chimera. What am I? A babysitter? Give me a break.

"And you? How're things faring?" - Garami

"Excuse me?" - Karnel

"I said we wouldn't force you to overcome that tunnel. Never said anything about not doing it at all." - Garami

"You traitor!!" - Karnel

The gargoyle tried to run when he heard that, but I anticipated it and had already glued his feet to the floor. And you can fly...kinda. Do that instead of running. Not that I've seen him flying so much anyway...

"Listen, we got two more days here, so let's make the most outta it. Challenging an old arch-enemy sounds like a productive way to kill our time, right?" - Garami

"NOOO! Tunnels scary, tunnels are way too scary!!" - Karnel

...Okaaaay, what's inside there? I'm starting to fear for the locals that are living here...oh, but they're using the place as a cave of trials, so it shouldn't be that bad. As long as your name's not "Karnel". 

"Relax, you got me as back-up. It's gonna be just like the bee forest. And you, do you wanna let this problem stay as it is? In the future, small golem-children may enter the tunnels and experience the same terror as you did. Do you not wanna at least cull the problem so it becomes easier for your juniors in the future?" - Garami

That made Karnel react. He's "<Kind>" after all. If it is to help others he cares about, then he should comply. I mean, the guy's been getting rave reviews from the locals ever since we arrived here! We got the best rooms at the best in for free just cause we were with good old Karnel. 

I mean, he's a guy that's recognized as "<Kind>" by the World System itself! It's important, so I'm saying this twice.

"...fine...but you have to come along!" - Karnel

"Oki-doki~. But shouldn't you try to get [Night Vision] if the dark's so scary?" - Garami

"What vision?" - Karnel

"Huh? [Night Vision]. The skill that lets you see things in the dark." - Garami

Karnel simply stood there after I mentioned the old but reliable skill I've always had before falling on his hands and knees. You didn't know about it before now? ...Sorry, I guess.

After getting the two insensitive idiots out of their webs and doing some purchases, we're ready for some spelunking-

"Just asking before we venture into an unknown, shadow-filled territory with who knows what kinda monstrosities that live there; what's up with the floating cube?" - Zaria

...forgot the introduction. Ehm...how should I explain this without complicating things...

"Necromancy experiment." - Garami

"Whaaaat?!" - GM

Fine, fine, I'll do it properly. But this is gonna take a while.

---

Skill List:

Attack Skills: Magic Skills: Crafting Skills: Active Skills: Passive Skills: Resistance Skills: Perception Skills: Leadership Skills: Elements: Monster Skills:

Title List:

Hunting Titles: Status Titles:

Description:

Gargoyles are magic-using golems with an appearance that resembles demons. The first Gargoyle was created by the Airavlux church as soulless golem guards. They got more than what they bargained for. 

After the prime Gargoyles escaped their creators, the gods commanding the World System found this new creation "amusing", so they added the Gargoyle species as a magic-based evolution for regular Golems. 

Appearance:

Gargoyles are statue-looking creatures (made of solid rock) with demonic features, including sharp noses, pointy bat-ears, sharp claws, and stone wings that cannot make them fly, but they can handle it thanks to their [Floating] skill.

Abilities:

Gargoyles are tough eggs to crack, but they don't do well in a brawl. They are tough but they're no good at returning a punch.

Instead, Gargoyles use magic to fight off any opponents that would want to challenge them. They are one of the few exceptions out there who has access to the normally demon-limited [Demon's Magic Operation] skill, and some Gargoyles may even receive the Soil Commander class upon evolving, making them downright terrifying to face in areas with access to lots of earth, such as underground or in tunnels.

Garami's comment: Okay, I'm kinda worried for the country which has a church that wanna fight demons with demons.

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