The Gods’ Gacha Game: Return of the God-King

Chapter 58: Fake Illusion Trap

“Um, Maxim. What should we do now? Should we go light up the fifth altar?” Michelle suddenly chimed in from the side.

Boris nodded at this. “Personally, I’m not one to shy away from challenging battles. But hey, he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day, right? No point to force it if we’re not ready.”

What Boris said made a lot of sense. There was no reason to risk our lives on a battle we weren’t prepared to win. If we survived, we could always grow stronger in other ways and challenge higher-level scenarios. But regardless of what they thought, my decision had already been made.

“I understand. So hear me out—here’s the plan.” I turned to both of them. “You know I have a special class, right? What you may not know is that I can temporarily enhance your combat power sharply.”

If I used Grant Plausibility on them, I should be able to temporarily boost their combat capability to the level of Gimmel-rank divine warriors for a limited time.

Michelle blinked. “That’s… quite the ability.”

I nodded. “If we prepare thoroughly and set up an elaborate trap around the main altar, we should be able to pull it off and strike hard before it fully awakens.”

Boris crossed his arms and grinned. “So basically, hit it before it hits back. That’ll only work if we’ve got enough firepower—but knowing you, I trust you’ve already figured that out.”

Michelle gave a small nod. “I’ll trust you, too, Maxim.”

“Good,” I said, turning toward the forest path. “Then, let’s find the last stag and light up the fifth altar.”

***

It took a whole hour, but we finally broke through a patch of dense underbrush and found ourselves overlooking a hill surrounded by the forest, all shrouded in mist. What greeted us was completely unexpected.

A herd of stags—at least a dozen of them—roamed silently through the hill, each one with glowing antlers. Their movements were unnaturally synchronized, almost as if choreographed. Furthermore, though faint, I could sense divine energy radiating from the entire herd.

Michelle’s eyes widened. “There are so many…”

Boris frowned. “Are we supposed to take down all of them? I have a hunch that this is some kind of a trap.”

I remained silent and frowned. Something was off.

Their antlers glowed, yes, but the corrupted energy within their bodies was inconsistent and unstable. These creatures didn’t feel entirely… real.

“They’re not all real. Only one of them is the true corrupted stag. The rest… illusions or decoys; I’m not sure. But they’re clearly meant to mislead us.”

Michelle held her bow as she stared cautiously. “Can we tell which one is real?”

“Not in the usual way.” I shook my head.

The System wasn’t displaying any information about these creatures like it normally would, which meant they didn’t register as standard monsters. That alone made identifying the real one almost impossible.

Almost.

Fortunately, my Inspect Eye skill should be able to help me in this case. It was a lucky coincidence that I possessed this skill—one that let me see not only people’s information but also subtle inconsistencies that others couldn’t.

Still, I had no doubt that killing the wrong one would bring disaster. At best, we’d lose our chance to activate the fifth altar. At worst, we’d trigger some kind of punishment that could kill us. As such, we had to be extremely careful.

I activated Inspect Eye and scanned each stag in turn. One by one, I examined them closely and found that most were hollow—fragments of divine energy shaped into constructs. But then, I found the real one. Near the edge of the herd stood one slightly larger than the others, with its antlers dimmer than the rest. At first glance, it seemed insignificant, but my skill confirmed it.

[Corrupted Antler Stag – Lv.60]

“It’s that one,” I whispered. “Near the tree line, third from the left.”

Boris and Michelle glanced at me and nodded, already knowing what to do. Michelle adjusted her position, drawing an arrow silently. Boris crouched beside me, poised to charge. We first walked closer toward it, careful not to draw suspicion.

Then, Michelle fired the arrow. It struck the stag’s rear leg in an instant, snapping bone and bringing it down with a muffled grunt. None of the illusions reacted, proving they weren’t linked.

Boris dashed forward to block its escape, while I sprinted in from the side. The stag raised its head and attempted to flee, but it was already too late.

“Heavy Slash!” My blade sliced clean across its neck, severing it in one swift motion.

You have hunted [Corrupted Antler Stag Lv.60].

You have gained 70 EXP.

I picked up the head with the blood still dripping before I stored it in my inventory.

“All right,” I said, turning back to the others. “Let’s go light the final altar.”

Actually, on the way to find the final stag, we had already spotted the last altar from a distance. It was located deep inside a small ravine in the forest. The terrain surrounding it was uneven, with only a single narrow path leading down, so we hadn’t risked checking it out in advance beyond a quick peek.

Now, with the final stag’s head in my inventory, we made our way toward it.

As we descended into the ravine, the air grew noticeably colder, and the thick canopy above blocked out most of the light. When we reached a vantage point just a few dozen meters from the altar, we stopped and peered down. Coiled around the stone altar were two massive serpents. One had gleaming white scales that glinted faintly under what little light filtered through the leaves, while the other was cloaked in matte black scales, blending almost perfectly into the shadows.

Two giant serpents—each at least six meters long—with bodies as thick as tree trunks. Their yellow eyes glowed faintly in the darkness, and their forked tongues flicked in and out, tasting the air.

[White Venomfang Serpent – Lv.64]

A rare breed of Venomfang Serpent attuned to cold-blooded precision. Its venom is laced with a neurotoxin that causes paralysis and creeping frostbite. Proficient in Lux Magic.

Threat Level: Very High

[Black Venomfang Serpent – Lv.65]

A rare breed of Venomfang Serpent that becomes a shadow-dwelling predator. Its venom corrodes flesh and possesses anti-magic properties. Exceptionally stealthy and capable of blending with its surroundings for ambush attacks. Proficient in Umbra Magic.

Threat Level: Very High

Two Gimmel-rank monsters! And they were definitely not your run-of-the-mill enemies, especially with their threat levels marked as very high…

Earlier in the scenario, I had been ambushed by a similar serpent monster, and although it had been taken down swiftly by our combined effort, that one had been alone, and only a Bet-rank monster. These two were different, each possessing abilities that far surpassed the earlier serpent. The white one likely excelled at frontal entrapment and slowing enemies down, while the black one was a lurking assassin. Truly, a deadly combo.

“This is troublesome…” I muttered.

A direct assault would be risky, and any injury at this point could prove fatal. We still had the boss fight ahead of us, and while the scenario gave us a three-day time limit, recovery time would vary depending on how badly we got hurt. Therefore, we couldn’t afford unnecessary damage, and we should act with a concrete battle plan.

“These serpents are dangerous… What should we do?” Michelle inquired in a low voice.

“Of course we’re taking them down,” Boris replied. “But we need some kind of plan.”

“Mm, agreed,” I said, nodding. “They’re coiled in a resting state, so we should maximize our opening strike and move quickly before they can retaliate.”

“Maxim, lad. I’ll handle the white one. You take the black,” Boris said confidently. He knew I had the right tools to deal with it.

Indeed.

Both Inspect Eye and Night Vision would counter the black serpent’s stealth and camouflage. If anyone could keep track of it in the shadows, that would be me.

“All right. Then, Michelle, take the first shot and provide cover fire. Support us from range.”

“Mhm.” She nodded—perhaps a bit too aggressively. Clearly, she was ready for this.

Thus, we put our plan into motion.

Once Michelle had taken a secure location on a small ridge overlooking the altar, she nocked and drew the string of her bow as far as possible, her arms straining with effort. But instead of nocking just one though, she pulled out three arrows—each tipped with a different colored enchantment.

Without a word, she released them all in a single shot. The arrows whistled through the air, cutting cleanly toward their targets before the serpents had any chance to react.

The first arrow struck the white serpent square on the head, erupting into a burst of frost. Ice crystals spread rapidly across its scales, momentarily freezing it in place. The second arrow pierced the black serpent near the neck, exploding into a flash of crackling electricity. The shock coursed through its body, disrupting its camouflage and exposing it clearly against the dark terrain. The third exploded midair just above them, dislodging chunks of rock from the ravine wall, which crashed down onto both serpents with a series of heavy thuds.

A devastating triple shot. I was fairly certain it was one of Michelle’s active skills—most likely Multi Shot.

Unfortunately, the barrage wasn’t enough to deal serious damage other than making them hiss in rage and recoil slightly in pain. The black serpent quickly shook off the residual electricity and melted into the shadows, vanishing from sight.

“Let’s go!” I shouted, dashing down the slope without hesitation.

Boris was already charging from the other side, a metallic sheen overtaking his skin as Iron Body came into effect. He leapt at the white serpent and slammed both fists into its frosted scales, creating a shockwave that cracked the ground beneath.

Meanwhile, I veered toward the darker edge of the ravine with my spear in hand, having switched weapons before the battle began. My Inspect Eye focused on the shadows, tracking the faint movements through the darkness.

Over there!

The black serpent suddenly pounced from the side with its fangs bared in the open, aiming straight at my throat. I was certain that a single bite from its venomous mouth would kill me.