Creating A Succubus Army In A Fantasy World!
Chapter 53: Mysterious Artifact.

Chapter 53: Mysterious Artifact.

Creed remained on his knees, his body trembling slightly as the last remnants of his sobs faded into silence.

The weight of his emotions, the grief, and the regret sat heavily in his chest like a boulder pressing down on his soul.

This was the one thing he had never allowed himself to face in his past life.

He had spent years pretending it never happened, pushing it deep into the corners of his mind where he thought it could never reach him.

Yet, no matter how hard he tried, it had always been there.

In every quiet moment, in every fleeting second of loneliness, in every moment of hesitation, it was there—her absence, his failure, his greatest regret.

He had thought that by drowning himself in distractions—thrills, pleasure, even mindless indulgence—he could erase it from his mind.

But the truth was, some things couldn’t be forgotten. Some wounds never healed, no matter how much time passed.

And the most painful part? He had let it shape him into a man who ran away from responsibility, from attachment, from love.

Even when he had reached his late thirties in his past life, he had never settled down, never married, never even considered it. Why?

Because deep down, he had believed he wasn’t worthy of having something precious. Because he had already lost the one thing he was supposed to protect!

But now, as he sat here, broken but finally confronting the truth, he made a decision. He would live his life in a way that would make his sister proud.

He would not run away from himself anymore. He would become someone strong, someone dependable, someone who didn’t hide behind selfishness and excuses.

And for the first time in what felt like an eternity, he felt a strange sense of peace. It didn’t erase the pain. It didn’t undo the past. But it was a start.

Then, as if a switch had flipped in his brain, Creed suddenly snapped out of his deep thoughts and smacked his forehead with both hands.

’Wait, wait, wait—why am I sitting here bawling my eyes out like some dramatic protagonist?! My life is literally still on the line, and I’m out here having an emotional crisis! I don’t have time for this!’

His thoughts spun wildly as he scrambled to his feet, wiping his face aggressively as if he could physically erase the last few minutes.

Ivy and the others were going to attack the monkey again soon, and he still hadn’t figured out if he had passed the Trial of Self or not!

What if there was still more to it? What if he had to do something else? He wasn’t about to let all of this be for nothing!

Just as he was about to start shouting at the empty space around him for answers, a sudden flash of white light nearly blinded him.

Instinctively, he stepped back, raising his arms in a defensive stance.

But instead of an attack, twelve glowing emerald-green fruits materialized in front of him, floating gently in midair.

His eyes widened as he felt an inexplicable pressure radiating from them, an ancient, powerful energy that sent chills down his spine.

He had never seen fruits like these before, but something deep inside him just knew what they were.

"Intent fruits..." Creed whispered, his breath hitching in excitement.

These were dimensional treasures that allowed direct comprehension of Intent!

The higher the stage of the Intent, the more powerful and expensive the fruit was. If these were Stage 4 or Stage 5 Intent fruits, he had just struck gold—no, diamonds!

A killing! An absolute killing!

He couldn’t even begin to imagine how much they would be worth because he had never even checked their prices!

Without wasting another second, Creed swiftly pulled out the small leather pouch Ivy had given him.

It had a tiny spatial storage inside, which was perfect for carrying things like this.

He carefully placed each glowing fruit inside, his hands moving with the utmost care, as if he were handling the most precious gems in existence.

His heart was still racing as he made sure they were secure. With this alone, his entire raid on this secret realm was already worth it.

His present debts? Gone. His future? At least a bit secured. His strength? About to skyrocket. It was almost too good to be true!

But then, just as he was about to make his exit and head back before the two-hour mark hit, another sudden burst of light filled the space in front of him.

This time, however, there were no fruits. Instead, a dark brown ring—simple and unassuming—floated in midair.

It wasn’t particularly flashy, nor did it radiate any overwhelming aura like the fruits did.

But there was something about it... something that made Creed’s gut twist in anticipation.

He stood frozen, his eyes locked on the floating dark brown ring as realization struck him like a thunderbolt.

’More rewards? Wait! An artifact?!’

His heart pounded wildly as he processed what was happening. Intent fruits were already rare, but artifacts?

Those were on a whole different level! If Intent fruits were considered normal treasures, then artifacts were like supreme treasures!

They weren’t just rare—they were expensive!

Artifacts weren’t just regular weapons or accessories. They were special objects infused with powerful abilities that could be activated by channeling dimensional energy through them.

Some could enhance speed, others could unleash devastating attacks, and some were even said to have abilities so absurd that they could manipulate time and space itself.

Their effects were usually so strong that even a weak person could turn the tide of battle with the right artifact!

But for Creed, the best part was the fact that they were insanely expensive!

Creed’s mind immediately went into overdrive. ’If those Intent fruits alone could alleviate most of my debts, then this ring... this damn ring...’ He could already see the credits rolling into his account.

Just his share alone was sure to be insane!

’300K credits? No. Maybe even 500K! Hell, if I find the right buyer, I could be looking at even more profits!’

His body trembled with excitement, his lips curling into a manic grin as he clenched his fists.

’I am finally rich! Filthy, stinking, gloriously rich! This is the best moment of my entire life! Should I buy a shuttle? No, no, that’s stupid—wait, is it though?’

His thoughts spiraled into absolute insanity. He could already picture himself lounging in luxury, sipping expensive drinks while looking down at all the poor suckers who had to struggle for money.

’I am no longer a broke loser drowning in debt! This is the turning point! The moment Creed rises to greatness!’

But just as he was about to burst into laughter, the ring moved.

It shot toward him with terrifying speed, a blur of dark brown that streaked straight to his right hand before he could even react.

"Huh? WAIT—NO—" His panicked yell was cut short as the ring forcefully slipped onto his middle finger, locking itself in place.

For a brief moment, nothing happened. Then, a strange warmth spread through his finger, traveling up his hand, then his arm, and straight into his chest.

A deep, ancient glow pulsed from the ring, dim but undeniably powerful, and at that moment, Creed felt something. A presence. A connection. Something was happening!

His eyes widened in absolute horror. ’No. No, no, no, this is NOT good!’

He tried to rip the ring off, but his fingers refused to even get a grip on it, as if it was fused to his skin.

Then, an invisible force suddenly surged through his body, completing the bond between him and the artifact before he could stop it.

A wave of foreign energy rushed into him, making his head spin.

Creed swallowed, staring at the ring that now sat snugly on his finger. He tried again to pull it off. It didn’t even budge. His face twitched. ’You’ve got to be kidding me!’

No!

Panic started to set in as he realized what had just happened. The artifact had bound itself to him!

It had chosen him as it’s master!

Artifacts weren’t like regular weapons that you could just trade or sell after binding. Once an artifact was bound, it recognized only one owner.

If someone tried to unbind it, it would either reject the unbinding outright or—if the artifact was particularly malicious—kill them on the spot!

Unbinding an artifact wasn’t as simple as taking off a ring. It required either extremely complex and dangerous procedures or, in the worst cases, direct damage to the soul.

And if the artifact was particularly cruel, the act of forcefully unbinding it could outright kill the user!

That was the reason why nobody casually bound an artifact unless they were absolutely sure about what it did.

Creed’s expression darkened. ’Oh great, just fantastic. What if this thing has some evil requirements? What if it drains my blood every day? What if it slowly corrupts my mind and turns me into a lunatic? What if it randomly explodes on my finger just for fun?’

His thoughts spiraled into absolute chaos. ’And worst of all, this is going to look SO bad in front of Ivy and the others! How do I even explain this?!’

His stomach churned as he imagined the scene. The group had agreed to split everything fairly, and now here he was, standing with a bound artifact that couldn’t be shared.

Even if he swore it happened on its own, it would look like he greedily bound the ring to himself to take it all.

’Oh, this is going to be a nightmare...’

Creed groaned, rubbing his temples. He wanted to scream, but what would that solve?

He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and made a decision.

’I’ll deal with this later. Right now, I need to get out of here.’

He had already spent too much time in this secret realm, and Ivy and the others were about to attack the monkey again anytime soon.

If he didn’t leave now, he could end up trapped in here or worse—caught by the guardian monkey while it was in a full-blown rage.

That was not a scenario he wanted to experience!

Shaking off his thoughts, Creed turned toward the crack—the same crack he had entered through.

As he took his first step forward, he hesitated for just a second, glancing around the now silent realm.

’This place... changed me.’

He had entered here thinking only about riches, about paying off debts, about securing his future.

But somehow, in the span of two hours, he had confronted the deepest regret of his past life, gained an understanding of himself he never thought possible, and now walked away with power beyond anything he had ever imagined.

’I came in here with nothing but greed. I’m leaving with... something else.’

He exhaled, a small smile tugging at his lips. Then, without another word, he stepped forward and vanished into the crack.

The moment his presence disappeared, the secret realm fell into an eerie silence. The space where he once stood remained undisturbed for only a few seconds.

Then, out of nowhere, a dark eye appeared in the sky.

It was eerie, vast, and incomprehensible. It held no emotion, no malice, no warmth—just endless, boundless awareness.

The eye remained there for exactly three seconds. Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished.

And silence returned to the realm once more.

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