CHAPTER 54: CHAPTER 54—SEALED ARTIFACT’S POWER

Chapter 54—Sealed Artifact’s power

The wolf’s wound sealed in seconds, erasing even the faintest trace of the dagger.

The adventurers froze, shocked by their teammate’s death and the wolf’s regeneration, but they were still experienced fighters.

That was all the time the wolf could buy; if they were newbies, he would have had minutes.

"Ahhhh!" The staff‑wielding man roared, eyes burning red with fury and grief.

Tears formed, but he—Whoosh!—dashed toward the wolf and "*#%#g,"—activated his skill. His staff glowed crimson.

Thud!—The wolf casually countered with his silver-glowing claw.

Boom!—Bang!

Claws and staff collided in a furious storm, afterimages filling the air.

"Huh, pissed off by just one death..." the wolf mocked. They couldn’t understand him, but Slime#47 did.

"Enough..." The wolf stopped playing and poured even more aura in. Crack! The staff snapped apart.

"*&^&8..." the captain yelled, stumbling back.

The wolf didn’t chase. He just lay on the ground, as if expecting a new show, and said with a grin, "I want a good performance."

’As expected of humans... only when death presses close does a person show their real face,’ Slime#47 mused with pity, glancing at the adventurers who abandoned their captain and—Thud!Thud!—ran like mad.

They wanted to escape, realizing that they couldn’t fight that monster.

"Hhahaha," the wolf grinned with joy, eyeing the ferocious captain and the fleeing humans.

"This is what I like about humans... They act mighty and righteous only until reality hits them," the wolf said, then rested his head on the ground.

"&yhbb," the man roared, glancing down at his pouch. Taking a deep breath, he reached inside.

-------

"I told you it wasn’t a good idea to fight the White Wolf Gang, but you all never listen," the fat mage woman yelled while running.

"But we didn’t expect their head to have evolved and get that much stronger..." the thin man sighed, keeping pace.

"Guild... They must give us compensation," the bulky man growled. He’d already thrown away his shield.

"What do you think?..Haaahh.....Would our captain use that?...Haahh?" the fat woman snapped, out of breath.

"Of course he would. He’d started to like her..." the bulky man said, as if it were obvious.

"We must run faster. If our captain....no....if that fool loses control, we’re done for," the thin man yelled, pushing more aura into his body and speeding up.

The others didn’t hold back either, pouring everything into their escape as they Whoosh!—rushed away.

-----

’Good... they’re going the other way...’ Slime#47 mused, relieved they wouldn’t run into his gang. For a moment, he’d feared they would meet.

"I should also run," he muttered, quietly backing away—but at that moment, the captain pulled a staff from his pouch.

’That’s a space‑storage item...’ Young Slime’s eyes brightened in excitement.

As an avid anime and manga fan, he’d definitely identified those—and he’d always wanted one.

But his joy didn’t last as a familiar chill ran through his core. ’Crap... that’s a sealed artifact,’ he thought nervously.

"Appraisal," he tried on the staff.

[ Ding! ... ]

"Tch... nothing... as expected," he clicked his tongue with a scowl. He’d already guessed it would fail; it wasn’t the first time.

He’d failed to identify the cloak before. Elder Slime had already explained how Appraisal worked, but he still wanted to test it himself, imagining maybe, just maybe, it would work for him.

"$%^%C," the man muttered, gripping the weird staff and tapping it on the ground—Thud!Thud!

’Is that... tree vines?’ Slime thought, noticing that twisted plant vines were braided together to form the staff, with four small human heads sculpted into it—front, back, top, and bottom.

"It’s a human‑face staff..." he muttered, wondering what kind of power it granted.

The man’s crimson aura flared, then darkened into pitch black. His pupils vanished—only darkness remained in his eyes.

"Idiot... Idiot... humans are dragging trouble into the world again," the wolf roared, bloodshot eyes glaring at the staff.

’Again? That staff hit some kind of nerve for him...’ Red Slime glanced at the wolf, missing Elder Slime’s explanations more than ever. ’What did he mean by again?’

"Ahh!" the man yelled, and Whoosh!—dashed toward the wolf.

"Iron Claw, Haste, Iron Body," the wolf snarled, stacking all his boosts at once yet again.

Just as the man closed in to smash the wolf’s head, the wolf grinned, "Lightning Ray."

A bolt of purple lightning burst from a glowing magic rune and shot toward the man.

Boom!

Human‑face staff and the lightning clashed.

"Ahhh!" the man roared, the black energy around him growing even stronger.

’His strength is climbing...’ Slime#47 realized. The man was holding out against the wolf’s spell.

[ Ding! Opening Status! ]

[ Status

Name: ???

Race: Semi Corrupted Human ★★ {Uncommon}

Class: Staff Brawler {Uncommon}

Titles: Sealed Artifact’s Puppet, Rising Party, E‑rank Adventurer, Dancing Lightning Party,

E‑rank Party Captain...

Level: 64 {81}

Tier: 2 ]

’Whoa... 81. His level jumped,’ Slime thought, and muttered, "He’s become a puppet... looks like this isn’t his first time using it."

"Ahhh!" Both wolf and man ramped up their power, each trying to crush the other.

"%^^B!" The man suddenly grinned and tapped the staff with his fingers.

The human faces on the staff all opened their eyes and mouths.

’What disgusting eyes...’ Red Slime grimaced. He saw yellow eyes with blue veins and grey mouths that looked bottomless, with no visible throat.

"Hmm..."

The mouths on the staff inhaled—the Lightning Ray bent unnaturally and was pulled into their throats, devouring whole.

"Hoo..." The wolf cut off his mana, Whoosh!—backing away with narrowed eyes.

The staff’s cheeks bulged grotesquely before the faces mimed swallowing. Grr—Burp!They grinned, eyes narrowing in delight, then slowly closed.

"What incredible power..." Slime#47 finally grasped how terrifying sealed artifacts were—or so he thought, until the man—Thud!Thud!—tapped the ground again as a green energy wave spread from the staff.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

The ground split open beneath the wolf—Crack!—and a thick vine-woven hand lunged upward.

"Growl!" The wolf jerked in shock as the vine-hand clamped around his front right leg.

"Hahaha..." The man planted the staff into the ground, and without him even moving it, green energy kept pouring into the earth.

End of the Chapter.