Left in a Horror Game, Adopted by the Boss Chapter 04
Dad bound my hands and dragged me into the Zero Altar.
In the center of the altar hung a Talent Extractor, surrounded by piles of bones left behind by test players.
Lily read the rules on the wall, and her eyes got brighter and brighter.
“Dad, this place can transfer Nora’s talent to me.”
Dad froze for a second and glanced at Mom.
A flicker of hesitation crossed Mom’s face, but then she leaned in and whispered to me,
“Nora, Lily has no way to protect herself.”
“Give her your talent. From now on, Mom and Dad will protect you.”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed.
From the very first dungeon, I was the one protecting them.
When a monster bit through Dad’s leg, I carried him up three floors of the tower.
When Mom’s HP hit zero, I gave up my only revival item and dragged her back from the brink.
Lily hid in the safe room the entire time. She didn’t have a scratch on her.
But when there were only three spots left, Mom and Dad still chose her.
They never once thought about protecting me.
I stepped back and shook my head.
“I won’t do it.”
Dad’s fury exploded. He kicked me hard in the knee.
“We raised you for ten years. Your life is ours.”
“We’re asking you to save your sister. You don’t get to say no.”
Ten years… I remembered the day Lily was brought home.
That day was my birthday.
Mom covered the cake with my name on it in fresh frosting and wrote “Welcome Home, Lily” instead.
After that, my birthday became Lily’s adoption anniversary.
Every year, Mom and Dad gave her gifts, and I just stood on the side clapping.
I once quietly asked Mom if I could still have a birthday.
Mom frowned and said,
“We’re all safe and healthy. That’s already more than enough. Why do you have to compare everything with your sister?”
So that was their idea of “raising” me.
Dad shoved me onto the extractor, and sharp probes stabbed into my arms and legs.
I thrashed and fought, but the chains only got tighter.
A silver glow was slowly pulled out of my chest.
That was my SS-rank talent—the one I’d used to protect them over and over again.
Lily stretched out her hand, practically vibrating with excitement. The second the silver light touched her, it shuddered violently and hurled her to the ground.
“Mom, it hurts!”
Mom’s face changed instantly. She rushed to Lily’s side.
When she turned back to me, her eyes were filled with nothing but resentment.
“Are you doing this on purpose? Are you trying to kill her?”
I was in too much pain to speak. Tears poured down my face.
Dad cranked the machine to maximum. My HP dropped to the lowest possible level.
My body started turning transparent. My fingertips dissolved into tiny black specks.
Mom stared at me for a moment, and something like guilt crossed her face.
Then Lily sobbed against her chest.
“Nora already calls someone else Dad. She doesn’t even want to come home.”
The last bit of Mom’s hesitation vanished.
I closed my eyes, too weak to fight. The core in my chest was about to go dark.
The altar activated, and blinding white light pressed down on me.
At the last possible second, the entire dungeon shook.
Every monster dropped to its knees. The sky above turned blood red.
A black figure tore through space and gathered my dying body into his arms.
Boss Lord Corvus’s eyes burned crimson. A murderous aura crashed over the entire altar.
“Pathetic humans. Who the hell gave you the nerve to touch my daughter?”
