Ch. 97: A Mythic Crate

Philippe entered the room and immediately closed and locked the door. He leaned against it, his breath slightly labored. The fear of his secret being exposed drove him to hide from as much attention as possible.

He felt uneasy for leaving Emilie so abruptly after escorting her. Fortunately, the girl seemed fine. Besides, even if there was danger, it was she who saved me, wasn't it? Philippe mocked himself. The proof was, when the Rifthound suddenly attacked, I could only stand there gaping. It was truly embarrassing for a man to have a woman protect me. He ended his sentence with a long sigh.

After that, he walked to the bed and sat down. His eyes fixed on a blue screen floating in the air. He closed his eyes and extended his right hand. Suddenly, a sensation of touch crept over his fingers, as if he were holding wood. Philippe opened his eyes. There, a small chest with a question mark in its center rested in his palm.

"So this is the reward?" he asked, tilting his head. He touched the chest with his index finger, scratching at it, but it wouldn't open. "How do I open it?" He scratched his head.

Philippe then tried touching the question mark with his finger. Instantly, the small chest sprang open, emitting a dazzling light that filled the entire room, forcing him to shut his eyes.

When the light completely faded, Philippe realized the chest had vanished. In its place, a notification appeared before him, accompanied by a soft chiming sound.

[ MYTHIC CRATE ]

[ UNLOCKING THIS CRATE WILL GIVE YOU RANDOM REWARDS: ITEM, SKILL, EFFECT, SKILL POINT, EXP, QUEST ]

Philippe stood there, mouth agape, his mind struggling to process it. How could this be?! On my very first try, I got a Mythic rarity? An unstoppable smile of joy spread across his face.

Overflowing with excitement, he opened it without hesitation. Once again, light flooded the entire room.

Can't this light just disappear? It's so irritating! Philippe felt annoyed, yet at the same time, he was still wrapped in the thrill of the reward he'd received. He rarely played games, especially MMORPGs, but while working at the company, it wasn't hard to overhear people discussing them during breaks. So, he had some basic understanding of items, abilities, quests, and the like—including rarity.

When the light subsided, the usual notification sound rang out, followed by text appearing on the screen. As Philippe read it, he couldn't hold back his astonishment.

[ CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE GAINED A SKILL: ECLIPSE SOUL ]

[ CHECK THE SKILL IN THE SKILL MENU. ]

He got a skill!

He wanted to check the skill menu right away to read its description. But suddenly, a knock sounded at the door. His excitement evaporated in an instant. He turned and walked toward the door. He tried to open it, only to remember he'd locked it. He turned the key and then pulled the door open.

At that moment, Philippe's face turned pale, his eyes widened as if beholding something unimaginable, and his mouth fell open. Before him hovered a massive creature, its body seemingly as hard as stone, floating in the air. It gazed at Philippe in silence—neither speaking nor roaring.

A Rifthound!

The Rifthound knocked on the door!

Why is there a Rifthound here? Why do Rifthounds always show up out of nowhere wherever I am? What's the reason… the reason… what sets me apart from others? Could it be…? Philippe's thoughts raced. His body instinctively spun around, and he bolted, searching for a place to take cover. But in the entire room, there wasn't a single object capable of shielding him from aRifthound's attack.

Thus, his objective became clear: Get out!

The Rifthound immediately barreled through the narrow wooden door, shattering it with brute force. Philippe, unfazed by the destruction, paid it no mind. His thoughts were laser-focused on survival. He spotted the window and moved to smash it, intent on escaping through it. The glass broke, shards piercing his body, but he pressed on undeterred.

He tumbled out and sprang to his feet, running toward a place that seemed crowded. He'd ask them for help!

"Help! Help!" Philippe shouted, drawing closer to the crowd where light shone.

Of course, since it was already night, they couldn't see him, but his cries for help cut clearly through their chatter.

"Hey, did you hear that?" said a burly man, a beer in his hand.

His friend, who hadn't been drinking, replied, "A cry for help, right?"

"Yeah, I heard it coming from that direction." The burly man pointed his index finger toward the thick darkness.

Just then, Philippe felt a fierce gust of wind blowing at him from ahead. For some reason, a sense of dread crept in. But with the darkness surrounding him, he had no choice but to ignore it. He couldn't see a thing!

Suddenly, the light from the crowd vanished from his sight. Philippe began to sense that his bad feeling was about to come true. And sure enough, in the pitch black, he felt himself being wholly pulled into some unknown place. "Help me…" His voice, along with his presence, vanished without a trace.

Four burly men, armed with a single candle as their only light, stood at the front. They paused where Philippe's voice had last been heard. The man holding the candle turned to his friend. "I'm certain I heard it here."

"Maybe you're drunk. Let's head back."

The burly man with the candle turned and began walking away. After a few steps, he glanced back once more.

"I didn't mishear, did I?"

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A/N: If you want to read the 7 advanced chapters with a faster update frequency than the webnovel, you can read it on my patreon whose link is below:

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