Chapter 73 - Becoming a Monster
"You’re going to defeat that thing?"
Could that even be possible?
Caleb stared at Jhin with a disbelieving look.
Just moments ago, Jhin himself had said he couldn’t defeat a D-rank boss monster—
and now he claimed he would defeat a C-rank?
Was he saying he’d grown strong enough in that short time to overcome such a leap?
Realistically, it sounded absurd.
But...
The way Caleb looked at Jhin soon filled with a faint, burning hope.
Because the man standing before him—
was none other than Kyle.
A player who had conquered even the near-impossible Exodia 1,
who constantly broke through dungeons with unthinkable strategies.
A true Heaven-tier player.
A monster among the top 0.001%.
That was Jhin ’s past.
If it’s him... maybe there really is a way.
Jhin stood at the front of the party, pulling out the Thorn Gauntlet of Scarecrow.
He sliced his own palm with the sharp thorns, blood dripping down in thick drops.
Drip. Drip.
He spoke as blood pooled at his feet:
"First, fall back."
"...Huh?"
The blood from his hand soaked into the Goblin Crown,
and from there, black smoke began to rise, swirling around Jhin ’s entire body.
He lowered the crown onto his head, his gaze locked fiercely forward.
"If you want to take down a monster...
you have no choice but to become a monster yourself."
The darkness billowed around him like a raging storm.
The Peculiar .
The so-called King of the Goblins—
its true form was nothing more than a mass of twisted souls and goblins fused together.
Tens, hundreds of goblins and spirits forcibly piled into a single entity.
Their number of souls directly determined their power.
That was the true nature of a Peculiar.
Jhin knew.
’The more souls it absorbs, the stronger it becomes.’
Lykan had already devoured dozens of goblins and specters inside the boss room.
It was obvious that he had grown monstrously powerful.
For someone like Jhin , who struggled even against a D-rank boss like Nuada,
fighting this evolved creature should have been completely out of reach.
However—
He had something to rely on.
’The true Peculiar... only awakens through the Goblin Crown.’
The Goblin Crown wasn’t just an item to control goblins.
Its true nature—
was as a special tool to bind and manipulate souls.
In other words—
The Crown was the ceremonial equipment used to promote goblins into a Peculiar.
And the Lykan now rampaging across the Ghost Train—
hadn’t properly acquired the Crown.
No matter how much he absorbed, he couldn’t fully control those souls.
He had merely piled them together into a grotesque mass.
’That means there’s a way.’
Jhin tightened his grip, watching the black smoke swirl around his body.
He felt it.
A wild, frightening power rising inside him—
the potential to defy all logic.
[Equipment ’Goblin Crown’ special skill ’Peculiar’ activated.]
As Jhin fed his blood into the Goblin Crown, hundreds of wandering souls in the vicinity rushed toward him.
Using Ryuan, he could see it even more clearly—
A storm of spirits swarming him like moths to a flame.
Among them... the souls of those children, too.
The young ones of Eastport, turned into kobolds—
their spirits were surely among them.
Good souls.
Evil souls.
Victims.
Perpetrators.
A thousand tangled fates now wrapped themselves around Jhin .
Becoming the Peculiar meant becoming one with all of them.
Jhin muttered to himself:
’To kill a monster...
I must become a monster too.’
There was no time to hesitate.
This was a fight far beyond morality.
Thinking about what was right or wrong would only get him and everyone else killed.
Now was not the time for luxury.
Ignoring the wails of the spirits clawing at him, Jhin opened the Crown’s power even further.
"Kghhh...!"
The dozens of souls screamed in agony,
forcing visions of their final moments into his mind.
The memories of their pain, fear, and death crashed over him like a tsunami.
But he gritted his teeth and endured.
’I can endure it.’
Shaking but determined, Jhin pulled an item from his inventory:
The Sword of Master of Chaos’s Resentment.
A weapon far beyond his usual level requirements.
Normally, he wouldn’t even be able to lift it.
But now—
as the Peculiar— the cursed sword fit perfectly into his hand.
The grip felt natural.
The blade thrummed with eager energy.
[The Sword of Master of Chaos’s Resentment resonates sharply!]
Jhin tightened his grip, locking his golden eyes on Lykan.
From behind, Caleb called out hesitantly:
"Jhin ?"
"Stay back, Detective.
If you get close, you might get eaten too."
"...Are you sure you’re okay?"
Jhin forced a nod.
The spirits around him howled even louder,
but with the Goblin Crown’s power, he kept them completely under control.
Soon—
A dark armor formed over his body, made of bound souls.
A goblin mask took shape over his face.
Thus— Jhin completed his awakening into a true Peculiar.
[Equipment ’Goblin Crown’ special skill ’Peculiar’ activated!]
[You can now manipulate souls. The more souls you command, the greater your strength.]
But there were dangers the system didn’t mention.
The number of souls you could control—
depended entirely on your own strength.
’There is no limit...
but the more I take in, the closer I get to death.’
That was why the Goblin Crown was considered a cursed item.
A power that could devour its user.
"Fuuu..."
Jhin exhaled quietly, golden eyes narrowing.
He couldn’t afford a drawn-out battle.
Not with this body.
He had only one choice:
’End it instantly.’
Jhin raised the Sword of Master of Chaos.
As he inhaled deeply, he could feel the spirits being sucked into his lungs.
And then—
BOOM!
Like folding space itself, he leapt—
Appearing behind Lykan, who was tearing apart the ceiling of District D-5.
The monster’s hulking right hand was descending toward some terrified survivor.
Scree—tch!
In one swift strike, Jhin severed Lykan’s entire right hand at the wrist.
From the wound, an eerie howl erupted, and the forcibly bound spirits scattered into the air like mist.
However—
’My body is trembling...’
Just one swing.
That was all it took for him to feel his muscles tearing apart from the strain.
If he kept this up, his body would soon burst from the inside.