Reincarnated Jester: Taming Players-Chapter 63: Old Vow

"I think we can work around it. Being in deep shit and eating well doesn’t sound too hard," Nero said, smiling.

Jung peered at her, shook his head in disapproval, and asked about the boss. "Can this thing talk?"

[Not everyone is like Nero,] Vex said, proud of her friend. [She is special.]

"Okay. Okay, I get you guys love kissing each other’s asses, but please don’t do it in front of me," Jung teased, locking eyes with the chief.

This was the end of their conversation.

The battle needed to begin, and the loudest drumrolls announced its opening.

Hearing the rhythmic sound, Jung’s body moved. Instantly activating the Keeping Mask, he arrived before the goblins.

[Hero Archetype is selected.]

The system’s mechanical voice reverberated in his mind, notifying him about his appointed archetype.

’Hero, huh?’ Jung thought as he felt how his motion changed.

It felt like his thought process was altered, causing unfamiliar feelings.

Instead of slaughtering enemies, his focus became aiding Nero, acting like a true guardian and protecting her, even if she never needed it.

It wasn’t like he lost control over his body.

His entire desire transformed to match how a hero would fight.

For this ten-second duration, Jung truly fit in and acted out of his character, using a sword instead of the axe.

However, the goodness shouldn’t be disregarded either.

The advantages he got for this short amount of time were worth every persona energy he had to pay.

Everything became clearer to him. He could see the twitch of the muscles before they even moved.

Reading goblins like a book wasn’t limited to their numbers. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

Jung could easily change perspective from where he watched the battlefield, meaning he had various viewpoints, increasing his awareness.

Time slowed, obeying Jung’s demands, yet his speed wasn’t affected.

Dashing toward the boss, Jung helped Nero on the way and left huge piles of corpses behind.

He arrived close enough to the beast just as his hero archetype mask deactivated.

This arc helped him surpass hundreds of goblins.

Yet, he wasn’t done. Jung still had to face the main boss, and there were more abominations to slay.

After the unseen mask made of pure persona energy was gone, Jung’s normal thoughts were back.

"What the actual fuck happened?" he screamed in his mind, demanding answers.

[This is the nature of the Arc,] Vex said, her voice carrying a calming effect.

"Bullshit mixed with horseshit," Jung declared, still irritated from the experience.

Punching the goblin and breaking its nose and neck, he asked, "This isn’t how I view the hero archetype. This wasn’t me. It was you, right?"

His guess followed by silence, proving that he was right. The thing didn’t occur with the rebel archetype. Not that it differed from his usual self.

But now he felt an extremely foreign passion as if he lost himself for ten full seconds.

And it wasn’t something he enjoyed. "You are acting out of your character and rules. For someone who said they wouldn’t get involved, leading me here and now swaying my mind wasn’t the best idea."

Jung was ready for stillness. He didn’t expect a response from Vex and was perplexed when she spoke.

[I thought you didn’t care,] the system spat confidently.

[Life is just a joke for you, filled with nothing but absurdity, so why care about that, as long as you can achieve your goals?]

Hearing her emotional words, Jung was taken aback for a second.

However, he knew the answer.

There was no way he would ever forget it.

It was a long time ago when lover Jung made a promise to experience life from diverse archetypes.

The lingering feeling stayed with him for 13 different lifetimes, and even if he lost meaning in life, he never betrayed the vow he cherished.

And to lose himself and do something he didn’t enjoy or control was directly going back to his words.

Yet he had no time nor desire to explain his reasons.

He had to concentrate on leaving this place, and distracting thoughts were ignored, including the question Vex posed.

Linking the chief with ordinary mobs, Jung tried to damage it with White Beard.

His smart use of the Arc wasn’t rewarded.

Apparently, the boss was immune, so it barely sustained any damage.

Not distressed because of the outcome, Jung had to utilize other means.

Nero was silent this whole time. She didn’t comment on his actions or his conversation with Vex.

Buried in her thoughts, she took the remaining goblins upon herself, and with Shadow Star’s help, she became a sadistic hunter.

Left with the leader monster to slay, Jung’s heart was beating frantically.

He didn’t dwell any further, and it seemed like the goblin chief wanted to fight as well.

One puny human stood before an imposing, ugly beast.

Then the monster stomped on the ground, straightened his three-meter-tall body, and released a thundering roar.

"You are too loud," Jung boomed and neared the monster.

The basic sword was changed with his axe, instantly turning Jung more fearsome.

His steps were swift and extensive, and with his weapon, he was the first to attack.

Despite its weight, the goblin was agile as well, sidestepping Jung’s charge.

Then the monster waved its staff, aiming at Jung.

Little did the stupid beast know that Jung never struck only once in one motion.

As soon as his axe was dodged, and balancing the force he didn’t completely extinguish, Jung’s weapon was closer to the mark.

An axe wasn’t the sharpest tool, but it was the strongest in Jung’s hand.

Hacking the opponent in quick succession, Jung only jumped back when the staff almost smashed him to the ground.

His attack didn’t cause substantial damage, but if he was careful and continued his attempts, the blood loss would catch up to the creature.

After Jung slipped from the beast, he commenced again and slashed into the same place.

"It was a close call," he said but got hit in the same second; even a Heroic Barrier couldn’t slow it down.

Jung flew a couple of meters and landed gracefully.

His lips were torn, and blood dripped to the ground.

"That hurt," he said, observing the beast that smirked at him.

Right when Jung was about to teach it a lesson, the system’s notification rang in his head, announcing something troubling.