Young Master's PoV: Woke Up As A Villain In A Game One Day

Chapter 260: Temple Of First Rebellion [III]

“Wow, this… was not what I was expecting,” Michael said, astounded.

“Really?” I feigned surprise. “You mean you weren’t expecting an ancient temple in the middle of a nightmarish jungle?”

He rolled his eyes at me.

We had followed Kang to the spot where he’d found something he thought we should check out.

What we came across was the ruins of a massive temple jutting out of the jungle.

And let me tell you, in a place where nature had gone wild, something man-made like this looked ridiculously out of place.

Vines clung to weathered stone, thick roots had split once-grand columns, and giant petals drooped from nearby flowers that smelled far too sweet.

I had a very bad feeling about this.

“So, should we go in?” Michael asked.

“Did your mother give you some shady medicine when you were little, Michael?” I scowled. “Because I refuse to believe you were born this stupid!”

“What?!” He shot back, offended.

“What do you mean, what?!” I snapped. “It’s an ancient temple in the middle of a nightmarish jungle! Why the fuck would you want to go in?”

“Okay, two reasons,” he said, raising a finger. “First, don’t you want to explore and see what’s up with it—”

“Nope,” I cut him off.

“—And second,” he went on, undeterred, “everyone’s exhausted. Keeping watch in our state would be dangerous. It’d be smarter to not camp out in the open if we can avoid it. So I say it’s a divine blessing we came across a temple!”

I groaned. But as much as I wanted to smack him for uttering the words ’divine blessing,’ I couldn’t argue with his logic.

We were all tired.

And it would be safer to avoid sleeping under the open sky tonight.

“But… what if there’s something dangerous inside?” I tried one last counter.

Michael began summoning a Card. “Then we scout it first.”

“I’ve already secured the perimeter,” Kang chimed in, addressing Michael without even glancing at me.

“Good,” Michael said as the Card finished materializing above his head. His eyes lit up instantly. “And I don’t see any living thing inside with my x-ray vision.”

“I can’t see anything either,” Alexia added.

Both Juliana and I turned to her, deadpan and not at all amused.

She probably felt the weight of our combined disappointment and let out a hearty laugh. “I mean I can’t detect anyone’s aura inside.”

Ray glanced between us, puzzled. Then, as if realization finally struck, he clapped once. “Ohhh, I get the joke! Her seeing didn’t make sense because she’s blind!”

I resisted the urge to facepalm.

This guy was never beating the himbo allegations.

“Anyway,” Ray continued, “I also think we should go in. Remember, there isn’t much information about the Noctveil Wilds because it’s largely unexplored. We could very well be the first to document something worthwhile here. Heh, I can already imagine the number of views I’ll get.”

“Ah, yes,” I grumbled. “Because clout is obviously more important than survival.”

“Exactly,” Ray nodded, somehow missing the sarcasm entirely.

Vince muttered, “I don’t care if we go inside, but I swear I’ll lose it if one of you says ’let’s split up and explore.’”

“Relax,” Michael said. “Draw your weapons, everyone. Alexia and I will take the lead. Since most of you have drained too much Essence already, don’t use your Origin Cards. If we need to fight, Samael and I will engage.”

It made sense.

Out of all of us, only Michael and I were [B-rankers], which meant we should’ve had far more Essence to spare than the rest… at least in theory.

In reality, most of my Essence reserve was already drained. I had just enough left for a few small transmutations, nothing more.

Even so, I was still in better shape physically than anyone else in the party — except Michael, of course.

So, yes. It made sense that he and I would be the ones to engage any threat.

Everyone did as they were told and brought out their armaments.

Everyone except me.

I remained standing there nonchalantly.

Michael turned toward me. “What are you doing? I said draw your weapon.”

“Don’t worry about me, buddy.” I gave him a sidelong smirk and tapped both my arms. “I’ve got two guns right here.”

Michael gave me the look of a man who was too tired to argue but also too stubborn to let idiocy slide. “Please. Please draw your weapon.”

Wow. He was actually begging.

I sighed, rolling my eyes. “Okay, well… I don’t have a weapon.”

Michael blinked. “The hell do you mean you don’t have a weapon? What happened to that shiny sword of yours?”

I shrugged helplessly. “It got left behind. I can feel it coming to me as fast as it can, but it’ll take a few weeks.”

Michael blinked again, slowly this time. Then he dragged a hand down his face and pulled a Card from a holder on his utility belt.

“You could’ve just said that,” he muttered, handing the Card to me.

I raised an eyebrow. “What’s this?”

“An Item Card,” Michael said flatly.

“Oh, thank you, Professor Obvious. But why give it to me?”

“Because,” Michael sighed, “you’re not walking into an unknown temple in the middle of a cursed jungle without something to defend yourself with.”

I hesitated for a long moment, then reluctantly took the Card, frowning at the glyph engraved into its surface.

“Equip it,” he said.

So I did.

The Card dissolved into myriad motes of light that flooded into my body, absorbed straight into my soul.

When I summoned it back, the motes of light gushed back out, converging above my head before solidifying into a rectangular Card.

At the same time, a weapon flashed into existence in my hand.

It was… an axe.

A heavy, double-bladed axe which looked less like it had been forged and more like it had been carved straight from ashen volcanic stone.

Glowing orange cracks ran through its blackened form like pulsing veins of magma. The edges flared, both sharp enough to cut through boulders and hot enough to melt steel.

The haft was long, ending in a pommel shaped like a sealed ember.

I couldn’t help but admire it in silence. The whole thing was just so beautiful — savage and barbaric, but beautiful all the same.

Then I quickly summoned my Appraisal Card — «Identity» — to check its rank and enchantments.

====

[Name]: Scorched Oath

[Rank]: Rare (B)

[Type]: Armament

[Description]

Where others broke down in despair beneath the cruel gaze of a godless sky, he crafted his weapons and carved through every obstacle fate placed before him.

Finally, he stood tall before the sun itself and made an oath: “I will burn you! I will burn you down!”

————

[Enchantments]:

1. [Vow of Cinders] – When you strike an enemy you’ve sworn to kill, flames ignite along the blades, dealing burning damage over time. The hotter your resolve, the stronger the blaze.

2. [Ashen Reprisal] – If you’re struck, the axe stores a fraction of that pain as searing heat, releasing it on your next swing in an explosive flare.

====

“Whoa, this is a strong weapon,” I said, eyes widening. “You sure you want to hand it over? Because I will not give it back.”

“It’s fine,” Michael simply waved a hand. “I only use swords anyway.”

“I see.” I twirled the axe in my grip, sizing its weight. “So where’d you get it?”

“It was a drop from one of the Solbraiths I killed,” he replied casually, already moving into formation.

And I was left standing there with my mouth agape.

This bastard…

This god-loved, heaven’s-favorite, protagonist bastard!

I wanted to strangle him!

Like I’d once mentioned before, natural Acquired Cards were rare.

You had to kill hundreds of beasts just to hope for one.

For the record, I still hadn’t received a single Card from any of my kills.

That’s how rare they were!

But rarer still among those natural Acquired Cards were Item Cards.

You’d almost never hear someone receiving a weapon from their kill.

So I had no doubt a Card like this would sell for millions of Credits.

And this bastard just got one handed to him by fate?

…Come to think of it, even in the game he always pulled more natural Cards than most. And not just him! It was the same for other heroes too!

Tsk. My frustration boiled over.

I guessed no matter what you do, you can’t match a main character’s luck after all.