The Scent of a Strong Quest

As if Seo Hamin alone weren't enough, Jaeyeol and Baek Sihyeon joined forces and started coming at me too.

Of course, unlike Seo Hamin, Jaeyeol and Baek Sihyeon weren't attacking with any real intent to kill me.

Still, this worked out fine.

It meant I could measure myself against Seo Hamin—one of the strongest figures in this entire episode—and get a read on Jaeyeol and Baek Sihyeon's levels, and on my own strength, all at once.

CLANG!!!

I swung my mace upward and knocked aside both Jaeyeol's and Baek Sihyeon's descending blades at the same time.

Then I spoke to the two of them.

"If you're going to do this, do it properly."

"Hyung..?"

"You'll get hurt like that."

"Hey, don't say things like—"

Get hurt?

Whoosh—

I drove straight into Baek Sihyeon's guard. He scrambled back, putting distance between us as he swung his sword.

But the tip of my mace was already there, jabbing into the wrist of the hand he was about to swing with and stopping the attack cold.

Thud!

My right foot kicked off the ground. My left foot stepped forward in a long stride, closing the gap. And my left fist, loaded with the full rotational force of my body, drove into Baek Sihyeon's side.

THUD!!!

Without even managing a scream, Baek Sihyeon's face crumpled. He clutched his side and went down hard—not just from the hit to the ribs, but because it was a liver blow that sent the shock straight through to the organ.

"Who's getting hurt?"

"Urgh...!!"

Looks like he's finally ready to take this seriously.

Whoosh!!!!

If dead ahead was twelve o'clock, then from the five o'clock position—a complete blind spot—Jaeyeol's jungle knife shot straight at my neck.

CLANG!!!

I spun and knocked the attack aside with my mace, and the instant I did, Jaeyeol dropped into a low stance and moved fast.

That was Acceleration skill, no question.

But what a disappointment.

Wasting a skill not to attack me, but to drag the fallen Baek Sihyeon away and put some distance between us.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Ugh..!!!"

"If you used a skill, you should've attacked me with it."

"It wouldn't have hit you anyway. So saving Sihyeon was the right call. Alone it's tough, but with two of us we might stand a chance."

"Oh~ I'll give you credit for that kind of judgment."

"......"

The moment the words left my mouth, I sidestepped fast.

Whoosh!!!

A dagger aimed at my side sliced through nothing but empty air. With my Level 2 Acceleration skill active, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I dodged Seo Hamin's attack far more leisurely than before.

Should I hold back a little? Or will they come after me on their own?

Hmm? What's this? Already over?

"Is that it, then?"

"Three is better than two."

"Haha... Do whatever you want."

Acceleration shared the same duration and cooldown as Stat Amplification—ten minutes active, twenty minutes on cooldown. Even while I waited like this, the duration kept ticking down, but I didn't feel particularly anxious.

Because in less than a minute, Baek Sihyeon pushed himself up while still clutching his side.

"Acceleration, Stat Amplification, Body Enhancement."

"Don't announce every skill name out loud. You planning to show your whole hand to the enemy?"

"......"

"What are you waiting for? Not coming? Should I come to you?"

The moment I took a single step forward, Seo Hamin, Baek Sihyeon, and Jaeyeol all moved at once. Jaeyeol from the front, Baek Sihyeon from the right, Seo Hamin from the left.

You could call it impressive coordination, but really they were just moving based on where each of them happened to be standing.

Whoosh!!!

I blocked Jaeyeol's vertically descending jungle knife with my mace held at an angle.

SCRAPE!!

The jungle knife slid down along the mace it had struck. I used that momentum to swing the mace to the right, and the falling blade came down right in front of Seo Hamin, who was cutting in on my right side.

Meanwhile, Baek Sihyeon—who'd gone for my left—slashed his sword diagonally at me without mercy. I ducked my head and let the attack glance off my back, then immediately spun toward him and swept my mace low.

SCRAPE!!!

Baek Sihyeon leaped into the air to avoid the mace scraping across the hard ground, and the moment he hung defenseless midair, I exploded upward like a spring from my nearly crouched position and launched myself at him.

CLANG!!!

Oh?

Jaeyeol swung his jungle knife at my side to keep me from hitting Baek Sihyeon. The instant I guarded my left flank with the mace in my right hand, I activated Stat Amplification to boost my Agility.

This was getting seriously dangerous.

Whoosh!!!

I bent and ducked to avoid a dagger swinging at the back of my neck from behind—and Baek Sihyeon's sword, surging up from the ground, filled my vision, aimed straight at my eyes.

I'm about to completely embarrass myself here, aren't I?

Whoooosh!!!!!!!

I twisted my body and managed to dodge, but my balance was completely shot.

Thud—

As I twisted sideways, my left hand planted on the ground to catch my completely broken balance, and Jaeyeol didn't miss the opening—his jungle knife came crashing down to split my torso.

But I was faster.

Whoosh— THUD!!!!

I flipped my body completely over, planted my right fist—still gripping the mace—on the ground, and kicked Jaeyeol square in the chest with my left foot.

I planted my foot where the flying Jaeyeol had been standing and straightened up—and a chill ran through my lower abdomen.

Grab!!

My left hand shot down and caught Seo Hamin's wrist as she drove a dagger in, but she had two daggers, not one.

Whoosh!!!

The reverse-grip dagger in her left hand came flying at my side—but I just ignored it.

Thud!

Instead, I stepped on Seo Hamin's shoulder—she'd dropped into a low stance right in front of me—and leaped up, bringing my mace down on the charging Baek Sihyeon.

CLAAANG!!!!!

The moment my descending mace was blocked by Baek Sihyeon's raised sword, something felt off. The way the blade sank downward didn't seem like it was simply being overpowered.

Then was it that skill?

Click!!

The sword he'd been holding horizontally was pressed down and tilted at an angle. His body turned with the blade's movement, and his left fist—loaded with that rotational force—came flying at my face.

Skill Counter.

So he got that.

Well, nothing I can do about it then.

THUD!!!!

A heavy fist slammed into my right cheek and snapped my head to the side.

Only halfway.

Which meant I'd tanked it—thanks to my 10 Durability stat and the Sturdy Body skill.

"That all you got?"

"Ah...."

With his fist still pressed against my cheek, I shot him a sidelong glare. Baek Sihyeon looked flustered—and then his whole torso folded as my knee drove into his solar plexus.

"Gahk...!!!!!"

"Take that!"

I could've stopped there, but getting punched in the face had pissed me off, so I brought my open left hand down hard on the back of his head.

SMACK!!!

Baek Sihyeon sprawled out on the ground like a frog, and I turned around with a somewhat bored expression—already predicting the attack from Seo Hamin, who'd vanished from sight.

"Some kind of Ambush skill, huh?"

"......"

"But it doesn't work the second time."

I snagged Seo Hamin's wrist as she drove a dagger at my throat. Reflexively, the reverse-grip dagger in her left hand swung at my neck again. So I yanked the wrist I was holding and used Seo Hamin's own dagger to knock her other dagger aside.

CLANG!!

Completely at the mercy of my strength, Seo Hamin's body spun around until her back pressed against my chest. Then the tip of my upright mace jabbed up under her chin, forcing her head up so she had to look at me.

"Want to keep going?"

"......"

I stared down at Seo Hamin, her head forced upward to meet my eyes, waiting for an answer. Her tightly sealed lips finally parted.

"I lost.."

And so the light three-on-one spar ended in my victory—but I didn't feel particularly good about it. I'd used every skill I had except Critical Strike just to win. Granted, Vision Enhancement and Sturdy Body were passive skills that activated on their own.

But why does Seo Hayun look so shocked?

"Unnie... lost....?"

Unbelievable. That was the obvious outcome.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Something's off.

I'd clearly failed the white quest and been hit with the penalty of ???'s Darkening. But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠neither Seo Hayun nor Seo Hamin looked like they'd darkened at all.

Sure, Seo Hamin had killed three people in an instant, but knowing the character Seo Hamin as I do, that was nothing. The reason I think of Seo Hamin as a crazy bitch is because she's a murderer who kills dozens of people without the slightest hesitation.

"Maybe I got here too early and she hasn't gone insane yet?"

Baek Sihyeon's party arrives in Apgujeong quite some time after the contaminated water starts flowing. And even after reaching Apgujeong, some time passes before they encounter Seo Hamin. Naturally, her little sister Seo Hayun and the companions with her never appear in the original work.

A murderer who wanders alone, killing people. A monster strong enough to take down everyone in Baek Sihyeon's party, even if she takes heavy injuries in the fight. A character who, if she hadn't simply stared at Yu Eunseol fighting to protect her fallen companions and then walked away, could have ended the webtoon early.

That's Seo Hamin.

Which is why the scent of a quest is hanging so thick in the air.

"Are you sure you're really okay? Nothing happened?"

"Nothing happened at all. If he was that kind of person, why would he have brought me to you, Unnie?"

"......"

Right now she wasn't a murderer—just a doting sister who adored her little sibling to death. The fact that this Seo Hamin becomes a murderer, and that Seo Hayun and everyone else here never appeared in the webtoon, means something big is going to happen.

Seo Hamin wouldn't just suddenly go crazy and kill her sister and everyone else for no reason. Some kind of incident that turns Seo Hamin into a murderer.

I might be able to get an unexpected reward out of this.

But the problem is that phones are dead. If something dangerous happens, there's no way to contact anyone—so do I have no choice but to stick close? I need to get over there and do quests too, though.

"Hey, how long are you two going to lie there? Get up."

"I'm dying over here!!"

"Don't kick me!!"

I nudged the sprawled-out Jaeyeol and Baek Sihyeon with my foot, and they reacted with pure irritation.

"That's what you get for picking a fight."

"How can you even say that..!!"

"Why is someone like this even..!!"

"Someone like this? What's wrong with me?"

"You don't know why I'm asking?! Irresponsibly going after anyone and every—!!!"

"I told you no. The person involved says no too."

"Is that really true?!"

"It's a hundred percent a lie..!!"

"......"

Even Seo Hamin was starting to give me the benefit of the doubt, but Jaeyeol and Baek Sihyeon still didn't trust me.

That was when it happened.

The noisy roars of zombies began to ring out, and moments later, starting with one man, more than eight men came climbing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠over the wall.

"Hyeonsu-ssi!!"

"Hamin-ssi, who are these people?"

"That's..."

The man Seo Hamin rose to greet—she'd been glued to Seo Hayun's side until now.

I had a feeling it was that bastard.

The human who turned Seo Hamin into a murderer.