Chapter 84 – Scout (2)

Monster filled the path to the boss room. I took care of them with my gun instead of Kim Suho so I could pretend that I helped.

Currently, six ghouls around low-intermediate rank, grade 9 stood in front of me.

I aimed at their swollen right eyes in front of their tiny brains and pulled the trigger. Six bullets shot out and pierced their vital points. A blue light flashed as the ghouls collapsed.

“Oh, as expected…”

Kim Suho exclaimed in awe. I simply operated on the principle of acting strong against the weak. Although I could slaughter an army of weaklings, I wouldn’t stand a chance against a single expert. No, I would run away from someone slightly above me.

“Let’s hurry. We don’t have time.”

We ran through the cave. Monsters appeared around every corner, but I easily took care of them. We arrived at a giant stone wall after about 10 minutes. It seemed like a dead end, but the wall had strange symbols written on it. This ancient language only existed in dungeons. Thanks to modern technology, a smartwatch could translate it. That’s what Kim Suho did in the original story. I took out my smartwatch to scan the symbols.

— This and that always accompany each other. — Observed closely, this and that feel simultaneous. — But from afar, this comes before that. — What is this?

Kim Suho glanced at the riddle on my smartwatch.

“Ah, it must be a riddle. I heard some dungeons had these.”

In the original story, Kim Suho texted Yoo Yeonha for help. She contacted an information guild and received the answer after five minutes. However, we didn’t have time. I half-heartedly created this riddle. The answer was simply lightning. This was lightning, and that was thunder. Although lightning and thunder appeared simultaneous, light traveled faster than sound.

“Lightning.”

I muttered, and the stone wall reacted. The symbols glowed blue before disappearing into particles. The wall rumbled and sunk underground.

“What? The answer is lightning?”

“Yeah.”

“How did you figure that out so fast? Wow, you really are a genius.”

Kim Suho looked at me like I was a sage.

“I’ll tell you how I found out later. For now, let’s clear the dungeon before anyone else arrives.”

I pushed Kim Suho into the boss room.

***

“…”

Boss stared at Kim Hajin in awe. His decisiveness, drive, and intelligence surprised her. They proceeded through the hidden stage in just 10 minutes. No one else could easily pull that off.

“Truly extraordinary…”

She blurted out subconsciously. She had heard the same words from her master, the Chameleon Troupe’s previous boss. She always wondered, What did Master see in me to say that?

She sighed. Today had made it certain. She wanted Kim Hajin, but he had to meet a few conditions before that could happen. She had to know whether he could kill a human being without hesitation.

— Argh, it’s a maze. Why is a hidden stage so complicated?

— Quiet.

Boss looked behind her. Two djinns from Packhorse Master wandered around. Kim Hajin wouldn’t know they were djinns, so she decided to make use of them.

***

The Swordsman of Destruction sat on a throne in the middle of the cave. He wore black armor and stared at us as though he had just awakened from his slumber.

However, his eyes suddenly burned blue as he smiled at Kim Suho. He seemed to recognize Kim Suho’s strength.

— What an interesting kid.

A chilling voice resounded. Kim Suho froze from nervousness. A monster capable of speaking the human language wasn’t ordinary. High-intermediate rank monsters and above usually had intelligence on par with humans. However, only some humanoid monsters could speak.

“…”

Kim Suho silently unsheathed his sword. I somewhat understood what he was thinking. After all, I had written it.

[He emitted extraordinary hostility and spirit. I felt he was at least high-intermediate rank and worried if I could defeat him. Soon, I felt fear. However, when the Swordsman of Destruction pulled out his sword, an unknown sense of confidence surged within me. My gift was Sword Saint. I was someone who would stand at the peak of swordsmanship. I would never lose against another swordsman.]

“There should be no reason for you to lose.”

I emphasized his last thought. Kim Suho stared at me in surprise.

“His real body is his sword.”

“Sword?”

Kim Suho stared at the crimson sword qi that swirled around the black blade.

“The voice just now came from that sword. The body is just a corpse.”

In the original story, Kim Suho figured this out while exchanging blows with the Swordsman of Destruction. However, I couldn’t wait since intruders could arrive at any moment. The Swordsman of Destruction slowly raised his sword.

— Come. It’s been a while since I last obtained a body.

Kim Suho stepped up as I took out my gun.

“You don’t need to attack his body. Just hit the sword. I’ll support you from behind.”

“I trust you.”

Kim Suho unsheathed the high rank sword that he purchased with loans. A Sword Saint’s magic power increased depending on the sword.

The Swordsman of Destruction rushed in and swung down as Kim Suho raised his sword to block.

KWANG!

The two swords clashed as the Swordsman of Destruction pulled back and repeatedly struck as if he wanted to break Kim Suho’s sword. However, not even a single scratch appeared. Normally, the Swordsman of Destruction’s strength should’ve destroyed it multiple times. However, a Sword Saint’s magic power wouldn’t lose to another sword.

I slowly raised my gun. I couldn’t use a shotgun since that might injure Kim Suho. A sniper rifle at close range would also lack accuracy. I simply went with the handgun.

Clang. Kwang. Koong. Kwaaaang!

I aimed at the swordsman’s shoulder and fired when he clashed with Kim Suho.

Shuuuuu—

The light bullet left a white trail and dug into his rotten body. He stopped moving for a fraction of a second as Kim Suho immediately counterattacked. Kim Suho unleashed his magic power like a tornado. His sword shone golden as he unleashed a powerful technique that shot up like lightning and delivered consecutive strikes that could sever rivers.

The Swordsman of Destruction held up his sword to block. However, a crack appeared on its blade each time their swords clashed. His movements also slowed from the light bullet.

Kim Suho followed my advice and only attacked the sword. The swordsman didn’t last long as its body began to crumble.

“Huaaap!”

Kim Suho dealt the final blow. The sword finally shattered and the swordsman’s body turned into dust. All that was left was a single branch.

“Eh?”

Kim Suho stared at the branch.

“W-What’s this?”

He looked around the room just in case he missed something. However, he couldn’t find any other weapon or armor. The Swordsman of Destruction’s sword had turned into dust, and its armor also disappeared. The only reward was a single branch.

“This is it?”

Kim Suho slumped to the ground in disappointment. I smirked and walked up to him.

“Hey, this branch is…”

I was about to tell him about Misteltein.

“Who are you?”

A deep voice rang out as I quickly turned around.

“Shoot.”

I bit my lips. The two djinns from before had arrived. One held a greatsword, and the other held a giant double-edged axe. Didn’t they say they were going to go back? How did they come back so quickly?

“Oy, we just asked who you guys are. How did you get in here?”

The axe-wielding baldy scowled, but the sword-wielding Caucasian man stopped him. He spoke more politely.

“Our Packhorse Master guild has an official notice for this dungeon. Who are you guys?”

I kicked the branch to the corner of the cave.

“Ah, is that so? We didn’t know. We came from another pathway in here.”

“Another pathway?”

“Yes.”

“…”

The Caucasian man’s expression stiffened.

“What did you do here?”

“We hunted a monster.”

“And the reward?”

“As you can see… nothing.”

I raised my hands and smiled. Then the baldy next to him whispered. He pointed at Kim Suho on the ground.

“Wait, isn’t that… Kim Suho? You know, the rank 1 cadet at Cube?”

“Hm.”

The Caucasian man messaged his comrades.

“Yes, this is James. Yes, something came up. There are two Cube cadets here. One of them is…”

A clear command rang out before he could finish his sentence.

— Kill them.

***

“Huaa…”

Rachel finished her 4 hour training session at the fitness center. Her day finally came to an end as she sighed and murmured, “I’m sleepy.”

Let’s go back, take a shower, and sleep. I should be able to sleep in tomorrow since it’s Saturday. Right, I should sleep until 3 P.M. That sounds good.

Suddenly, she overheard two cadets gossiping as she was about to enter the changing room.

— Did you know Kim Hajin likes Rachel?

Rachel’s shoulders shook.

— What, really? No way.

— Can’t you see how he’s been following her around lately? People are saying he’s going to confess soon.

— What? Confess? I don’t believe it. Someone like him?

Rachel let go of the doorknob and slowly backed away. She felt a bit dizzy. Confess? So suddenly? How did they know this? Then she bumped into someone.

“Ah!”

Rachel quickly turned around as Chae Nayun frowned at her.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing.”

“No, not nothing. You’re stepping on my foot.”

Only then did Rachel notice.

“Ah, sorry.”

“Tsk.”

Chae Nayun clicked her tongue and grabbed the doorknob.

“Ah!”

Rachel flinched. She didn’t want more people to overhear their gossip, but Chae Nayun walked in before Rachel could stop her.

“Hello? Rachel?” Yoo Yeonha approached her.

“Yes?”

“Aren’t you going in?”

Rachel scratched her cheek. “No, please go ahead.”

“Hmm.”

Yoo Yeonha gave Rachel a weird look before walking into the changing room. Rachel strained her ears once again as the door closed.

— Oh hey! Nayun, Yeonha, have you heard?

— What.

— I hear Kim Hajin is going to…

“T-Those girls!”

She couldn’t allow these rumors to spread. Rachel quickly barged in and interrupted them.

“W-What? What about Kim Hajin?”

Chae Nayun didn’t even glance at Rachel as she urged the two cadets to speak.

“I-It’s nothing!”

They quickly ran away as Rachel sighed in relief.

“Whew.”

Yoo Yeonha watched Rachel with interest and smiled as she recalled something.

“Oh right, Rachel.”

“Yes?”

“You’re in that person’s team, right?”

Rachel tilted her head.

“That person?”

“She’s talking about Kim Hajin. For some reason, she can’t call Kim Hajin by his name.”

“Yes I can.”

Yoo Yeonha dryly coughed. “Anyways, how is he?”

“Huh? What do you mean by…”

Yoo Yeonha appeared somewhat angry. “Aren’t you looking down on me too much? I know the English Royal Court guild made him an offer. Everyone knows.”

Rachel’s expression stiffened. “That… I don’t know anything about…”

“That can’t be. The English Royal Court guild is only given two chances per year to contact cadets. What fool would spend one on a rank 334 cadet?”

Yoo Yeonha cut Rachel off and continued to speak.

“Unless you witnessed what that rank 334 cadet is hiding.”

Yoo Yeonha coldly glared at Rachel. However, she soon put on a bright smile.

“I’m kidding, but I don’t think you should use the Royal Court guild so easily. It’s a special privilege between two countries, so it might create unnecessary conflict.”

Yoo Yeonha advised her, but it felt more like a warning.

“…”

Rachel sharply glared at Yoo Yeonha, who didn’t back down from her gaze.

“What, what are the both of you talking about?”

Chae Nayun didn’t understand even though she heard everything.