A Fight to be Human (discontinued)

The Throneless King

"I think you'll find what I'm about to give you much more effective..." The Regrator said as she handed me a long item wrapped in dark cloth. The cloth was embroidered with otherworldly symbols and writing, and as I held the wrapped item, countless voices whispered faintly into my ear.

"While I don't know exactly what it is, I just know that your patron paid me quite a bit to hand this to you."

I unwrapped the item and cast the cloth aside, revealing two ornate sickles with unique designs. One sickle was gnarled and twisted, giving it a crude and terrifying appearance and its curved blade was made with obsidian, while the other was golden and looked as if a tree had grown into the shape of a sickle, rather than an actual weapon.

[Item: [Wither and Bloom] have been added to your inventory.

[Wither and Bloom]: 

Rarity: E

Type: Dual sickles

Attack: +36

The priests of an ancient civilization worshipping the deity [INSIGHT TOO LOW] wore these sickles as a symbolic reminder that, though they reap the harvest today, one day, they will become one with the soil and provide sustenance for those who come after them. As a reward for their faithfulness, their god amplified this ideal, blessing their ritualistic arms with the power of the harvest. To awaken the dormant power within these weapons, kill 10 enemies.]

Just looking at its rarity and stats, the weapons didn't seem all too powerful, but one specific line of text in the weapon's description caught my eye.

"Though they reap the harvest today, one day, they will become one with the soil and provide sustenance for those who come after them..."

With this new gift from my patron and all the other information I had about them, I was starting to get a better idea of the true nature of my patron...

I closed the system window and hung the sickles at my waist. Though the first encounter with a monster I had wasn't too bad, that was just an entry-level mob. I couldn't guarantee that every encounter after that would be just as easy, but at least I felt more at ease with the sickles.

"Those were left for you by your patron, but," the Regrator clapped her hands twice, and the entire room lit up, revealing countless glasses cases and shelves displaying all sorts of equipment and items, "if there's anything else you'd like to purchase, we can start negotiating now."

"System, open inventory," I called out, causing a system window to appear before me. Alongside the newly acquired sickles, the only things I had in my inventory were some materials from the tutorial monster and 15 coins. While it would've been nice, I doubted that I could afford anything from the store with what little I had. "Thank you, miss Regrator, I won't be purchasing anything else."

"Very well," the Regrator clapped her hands, and my vision began to blur. "I wish you good fortune in your endeavors, Baek Hangyeoul."

I blinked, and when I opened my eyes, I found myself in the ruined cityscape of Seoul once more. I took shelter inside a ruined building and carefully scanned the area for any monsters. After ensuring that I was alone, I went over everything I had learned from my encounter with the Regrator.

First, perhaps the most important thing I learned was that, though the Regrator was an influential figure amongst the gods that organized the trials, she didn't have access to any information on my patron. I didn't know exactly how powerful my patron was, but that seemed to be a pretty good indicator.

Then, there was the description of Wither and Bloom. The sickles were ceremonial weapons of an ancient civilization that worshipped the Harvest and the cycle of life and death. Pairing this with the fact that all of my skills were focused on death and growth, I concluded that my patron was a being that derived sustenance from death, like some sort of carrion eater.