Before two years ago, before he was transmigrated into this world, Eren was just an unemployed man who had quit being a corporate slave.
But after being transported here and experiencing this world for years, he had unknowingly become someone capable of making cold-blooded decisions.
At first, when he came back through the dungeon gate, he had planned to conceal himself until the guild members found nothing, then escape later when an opportunity appeared.
But Julien's words immediately triggered his emotions.
When Julien mentioned his family, that was the last straw.
Before he even realized it, he had already stabbed him with the newly acquired dagger.
The audacity of someone who not only abused innocent people with his power but also dared to threaten his family disturbed him deeply.
His eyes remained fixed on his hands as he gritted his teeth.
"I really wanted to kill him… a human, just like me…"
There was no hesitation.
Nor did he feel bad about stabbing him, even now.
That was what disturbed him the most.
"Am I really the same person I remember from Earth…?"
There was no answer within him.
A weary smile appeared on his lips as he muttered,
"No... It doesn't matter... Usually, when people like Julien are left alive in fictional stories, they end up causing even more damage later on… Perhaps I shouldn't have hesitated killing him…"
Eren's mind was filled with complicated emotions.
On one hand, he was afraid of his own changes.
At first, he believed he could kill monsters because of his transformation, which imbued him with the hunting instincts of a predator.
But now, he wasn't so sure anymore.
On the other hand, his rational side told him that he had been transported into a fantasy world where countless dangerous people existed.
What he had done was perfectly normal for survival, and he should stop worrying about such petty details.
If anything, he should have killed that berserker earlier.
A deep sigh escaped his lips as he shifted his attention.
He washed his hands using water from a bottle before taking out a green, ominous dagger from his inventory.
The twin daggers had a deep black core that emitted an emerald glow with a pulsing sensation.
Eren could feel a slight tremble in his hand, giving him a creepy feeling, as if the dagger itself was alive.
Above the handle, which had snake-like engravings wrapped around it to provide a firm grip, was a single orb that looked like an eyeball.
When he looked at it, Eren felt as if it was staring back at him.
[Daggers of Twin Threadfangs]
Tier: 2
Type: Unique (Growth Type)
Soul-Bound to: -None-
Affinity: Shadow & Nightmare
Requirement: Needs approval from the awakened primordial remnant
Description:
The Daggers of Twin Threadfangs, a unique pair dropped from a Tier 2 dungeon, have evolved due to an 'unknown' factor. The dormant remnant of an ancient soul has awakened, granting the weapon the ability to grow into a higher-class artifact by devouring Nightmare and Shadow elemental matter.
The weapon has become a pure cursed artifact that can devour the part of bearer's soul if regular sacrifices are not met. Extreme caution is required before forming a soul bond.
* Increases agility by 45% under stealth-type skills
* Grants armor penetration and curse amplification effects
* Devours materials imbued with Nightmare and Shadow elements to increase its grade
* Inflicts seven layered curses: Paralysis, Silence, Corrosion, Wither, Dread Mark, Shadow Bind, and Nightmare Infection. Curse duration scales with the user's spiritual energy]
"Unique weapon…"
Unique weapons were in a completely different category from other weapons.
They were all one-of-a-kind in nature and could not be obtained again.
All dungeons had hidden conditions, and once those were fulfilled, they would drop unique weapons.
Such weapons were extremely rare to see, and all of them were sold at prices that Eren couldn't even imagine before his awakening of talent.
Each unique weapon had its own exclusive abilities, a fixed identity with its own origin, and could not be duplicated even by a Grandmaster-level blacksmith.
Such an item was in his hands right now.
Due to his circumstances, Eren had unknowingly fulfilled those conditions by raiding a nightmare-difficulty dungeon solo within thirty minutes.
"Growth type… evolved due to an 'unknown' factor… and seven layers of curses…"
"Wait…! So instead of increasing numbers like it did for other drops, my talent evolved this unique weapon and awakened whatever is inside it?!"
Eren took a sharp breath as he went through its information, beginning to understand the true value of the weapon he was holding.
The part about a primordial remnant being awakened scared him a little, but the rest of the information was extremely eye-catching.
"Paralysis, Silence, Corrosion, Wither, Dread Mark, Shadow Bind, and Nightmare Infection…"
Eren went through the details of the seven different curses he had inflicted upon Julien when he stabbed him.
"As I thought… there is a paralysis curse in this dagger… Mm?…"
As Eren muttered to himself, he felt a numbing sensation in his hands and found it uncomfortable to stretch his fingers.
He had felt the same sensation when he took Julien hostage and dragged him around, but he hadn't thought much of it at the time.
Now, after reading the details, everything became clear.
"Without forming a bond, using these daggers inflicts curses on me as well!"
Due to his high resistance against curses from his beast transformation, the effects were greatly reduced, so it wasn't as fatal as what the berserker experienced, especially since Eren himself wasn't directly stabbed by the blade.
Eren had heard of weapons with similar traits, used by famous combat profession holders in the news, like the Staff of Sanctus Ignis, which burned its wielder if a bond wasn't formed, sometimes injuring parts of their body before the bond was successfully established.
So he was just little surprised, while what bothered him more was something else.
"Soul-bound… What is that? Is it some kind of connection with my soul? I've never heard of a weapon becoming soul-bound…"
He paused for a moment, his expression turning serious.
"It seems dangerous… but it would be a huge loss not to use this item… selling it would also be a waste…"
Eren fell into silence before taking out one of the Nightmare Crystals and holding it in front of the eye-like orb in the dagger.
SKKRRR—!
The moment the Nightmare Crystal came close enough, the dagger reacted, trembling slightly.
The crystal in his other hand was suddenly pulled by an invisible force, space itself twisting faintly before it was completely sucked into the dagger.
"…!"
It was very similar to how his storage ring absorbed items.
Eren blinked in pure amazement at the sight.
The trembling stopped afterward, and the numbness in his hands disappeared instantly.
Curious, Eren took out another Nightmare Crystal and held it in front of the dagger.
It was immediately absorbed just like before.
"So… this is what it means by sacrifice, huh…"
With this new understanding, Eren instantly channeled his spiritual energy into the dagger, trying to form a bond, just like he had done with his storage ring.
"Thump-thump… thump-thump!"
The next moment, Eren heard his own heartbeat pounding wildly as his vision collapsed instantly, his consciousness forcibly dragged into a dreamlike void.
"What the—?!"
Standing before him was a massive, three-meter-tall black spider, its countless green eyes fixed on him.
As his gaze slowly lifted upward, he saw a figure.
The upper body of a beautiful woman emerged from the top of the spider's head.
Gulp
Her beauty was breathtaking.
Her body was completely naked, her gray skin smooth and unnatural, while her emerald eyes glowed with a hypnotic intensity, eerily similar to the orbs embedded in his daggers.
Instead of hair, countless tiny dark-green snakes coiled together, hissing softly like living shadows.
***
Author's note:
Sorry for dragging this scene out. These details are important for future explanations, especially regarding why the female lead is incredibly strong and how her powers work through soul-bound tools.
Trust me, guys, I've already skipped too many scenes I originally came up with since they had very little impact on the core story.