Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Bell Karuan (2)
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“Regin.”
“Yes.”
“...We’re fighting together?”
Greg whispered softly.
Regin nodded slightly in response.
“If she agrees to join forces, then yes.”
Even Regin had no intention of pushing further if she refused the offer.
‘The risk is too high.’
Contrary to what he’d just said, neither Regin nor Greg were actually targets of the Ghost Swordsman.
He’d reached out once because he believed in her future potential.
But if she refused, there was no reason to take the risk.
“So the Ghost Swordsman is still after me... and that’s why you got dragged into this.”
The woman murmured, lost in thought.
“With all these gimmicks around, it’ll be hard for him to get in. We should be safe staying here for a while.”
“Very well. What will you do if he does come?”
“...Fight. If there’s no escaping.”
Regin stared at her steadily, and she nodded before continuing.
“Yeah. Let’s fight together. If you help me, I’ll repay the favor someday.”
That was enough.
“Let’s do it. I’m Regin.”
“Greg here.”
The woman sheathed her twin daggers and shook Regin’s hand.
“Ceria. Ceria Phiren.”
Now there was only one thing to focus on.
‘Take down the Ghost Swordsman.’
The twin-dagger assassin he’d seen once in the final phase.
Alongside this Ceria, who might be her very self.
* * *
“Do you know much about the Ghost Swordsman?”
“Well... do you?”
He probed cautiously.
He had no idea how Ceria had stolen the guy’s item and fled, but it didn’t feel like their hunting grounds had just overlapped by chance.
“I traveled with them for two days on the 6th Floor at Karuan’s invitation. They asked me to handle the gimmicks.”
“You were in the same party?”
“Yeah.”
Ceria’s gimmick-solving skills seemed top-tier even among assassins.
Coming here alone to this clearing was proof enough.
She was definitely party material.
“...So how’d you end up getting chased?”
“He was planning to kill me. The moment I realized it, I stole his item and bolted.”
“What?”
“I found out by chance. Tried convincing the others, but they wouldn’t listen—probably in league with the Ghost Swordsman.”
“Why would he want to kill you?”
Ceria hesitated a moment before answering.
“Because he only gets stronger by killing others.”
“What?”
“You said it yourself earlier. He tracks me by scent.”
“That’s right.”
“I didn’t get a good look, but if my guess is correct, he’s probably a black magic swordsman.”
Greg stared at Ceria in surprise.
“A black magic swordsman... But if he can track blood...”
“There’s a good chance he uses black magic.”
“...So that’s why you thought he could track Ceria.”
Her blood was on his sword.
Black magic included spells that used blood, including the ability to track its scent.
The moment Regin saw the bloodstains on the blade, that possibility had clicked.
‘No ordinary swordsman would leave his weapon uncleaned like that.’
On top of that, the info he’d seen in the game came to mind.
‘Though I didn’t suspect it was the Ghost Swordsman himself.’
It had been a hunch. He knew it was a black magic swordsman, but not that it was the Ghost Swordsman in person.
‘He had a high chance of turning villain.’
The one who shadowed Regin and the DAT explorers every round, threatening them.
In other words, the 17th Floor Butcher was none other than the Ghost Swordsman.
That was another reason Regin had decided to help Ceria.
Even if they passed on this, they’d have to face him eventually.
“You said the item you stole is important. Mind showing it?”
“...”
“I won’t move. Just let me see it. I want to know why he’s reacting so strongly.”
Rustle—
Ceria opened her bag and revealed the item inside.
A dark crimson ore came into view.
Darker than ruby or sapphire.
“I don’t know what it is, but it gave off mana similar to his. Figured it must be precious to him, so I took it. Payback for trying to kill me.”
The instant Regin saw the ore, his eyes lit up.
‘...A divine move.’
Her instincts had been spot on.
‘Bloodstain Crystal. It’s like a reservoir where the Ghost Swordsman stores his power.’
In other words, he’d lost most of his accumulated strength.
“We can’t let him have that back, no matter what. Like you said, it resonates with his mana.”
With that in their possession, they had a real shot at winning.
* * *
“You’re setting traps?”
“If he avoids the gimmicks, there are choke points he’ll have to pass. He’ll step into any we place there.”
“A spellcrafter through and through. So meticulous and strategic.”
The Ghost Swordsman would definitely come after them.
Regin hadn’t let his guard down even while waiting in the clearing.
He planned to use the time to set traps at key passages.
“Then I’ll leave it to you, Ceria.”
Of course, Regin had no trap-setting skills or know-how.
Digging pits and sticking sharpened stakes in them? That was about it.
‘But an assassin’s different.’
They excelled at laying and disarming traps.
Bypassing gimmicks freely was just an extension of that skill.
“Sure. Tell me the spots, and I’ll set them.”
“Thank you.”
“By the way... about the Ghost Swordsman—Karuan—do you have a sense of his strength?”
“Hmm, I haven’t seen his full power, but his mana felt threatening. He even left you with a serious wound.”
“...Yeah. He was too fast to track, even for a moment.”
Ceria glanced at her injury as she continued.
“The weird part? He got even faster after wounding me.”
“Probably from the black magic he uses.”
“Yeah, good to keep in mind.”
Just like in the game. Regin organized his thoughts and nodded.
The Ghost Swordsman was one of the infamous NPCs among players.
‘One of DAT’s Five Great Villains.’
NPCs moved slightly differently each round, but some always acted the same way at the same time.
And those ones never helped players.
There were five such NPCs flagged as threats, and the Ghost Swordsman was one.
‘The one who inevitably turns the 17th Floor into a bloodbath.’
He slaughtered not just players, but other NPCs too.
‘An event draws powerhouses to the 17th Floor. The Ghost Swordsman starts killing to store their blood in his Bloodstain Crystal.’
He always appeared there, no matter the game’s pace, earning him the title of 17th Floor Butcher.
No pushover.
Regin had even lost characters to him a few times.
‘No easy way past him. Easier to hunt him down while he’s still weak.’
Which made now the perfect opportunity.
A chance to take down a villain who’d grow into a calamity otherwise.
Of course, he wasn’t easy now either.
‘But with Ceria—who has the potential to become a top twin-dagger assassin—helping, and his Bloodstain Crystal stolen, he can’t perform at full strength.’
Clatter—
“We should set one there too.”
“Got it.”
Plus, they were prepping traps.
The perfect setup to take him down.
Rustle—
That’s when it happened.
“Wow, you hid deep.”
“...Huh?”
“Crazy bitch even set traps?”
Ceria’s eyes shook as she worked on another section. Regin swiftly drew a scroll and glared ahead.
“Who’s the guy next to you? Said you were alone. Oh, is he the one you tied up?”
“...”
“Too bad I couldn’t finish you off back then. Lucky me.”
It was the Ghost Swordsman, Karuan.
Behind him stood one swordsman and one mage who followed him.
Karuan let out a sharp laugh as he drew his sword.
“I’ll kill you one by one.”
* * *
Clang!
It happened in an instant.
Karuan lunged with blinding speed, swinging his blade. Ceria barely parried.
Whoosh!
One of Karuan’s underlings rushed in from behind, sword swinging.
“I’ll take this one!”
The target was none other than Regin.
‘Mana Shield.’
Regin’s hand moved just in time.
Tearing the scroll, mana surged and formed a shield around him.
Clang!
The battle erupted in a flash.
‘This is bad.’
Of all places, they’d approached from the unset trap area.
Regin gritted his teeth, glaring at the trio.
No helping it.
“Regin!”
Greg arrived at the commotion, evening the numbers.
“Greg! Handle this swordsman! I’ll go for the mage in the back!”
“...Damn it! It’s them! Got it!!”
Clang!!
Never had Greg felt so reliable.
He charged in and struck the underling right in front of him.
Now with some breathing room, Regin eyed the mage behind Karuan.
‘...Long cast. At least a Tier 2 spell at the tail end.’
The mage’s hands moved frantically.
A long prep time for a mage meant a powerful strike incoming.
Roar—
Spellcrafters had the edge here.
“Flame Ball!”
No casting required.
The spell shot from the torn scroll, engulfing the mage.
‘...Mana Shield on him too.’
...This was where spellcrafters fell short.
His shield felt thicker than Regin’s.
Even the same spell varied in power and quality based on the caster’s mana and proficiency.
Judging by the thickness, this was a high-level mage.
‘And he’s not even looking at me.’
Regin sensed the mage’s gaze and cast direction faintly.
The moment enough mana gathered and the incantation ended.
Flash!
‘Lightning!’
A Tier 2 attack spell hurtled—not at Regin, but at Ceria.
Lightning fast, like a bolt from the sky.
Whoosh!
Any worry of a hit vanished as Ceria twisted away reflexively.
Just like she’d dodged the goblin mage’s attack.
Monstrous reflexes, considering she was locked in with Karuan.
“Quick on your feet, rat bitch.”
“...Yeah, real cowardly.”
Regin knew instinctively.
The mage targeting Ceria over him meant...
He didn’t see Regin’s pressure as a threat.
‘Spellcrafters aren’t about quality...’
They won on quantity and speed. He didn’t know that.
Thanks for the opening.
Regin smirked and tore another scroll—the regenerative kind, usable twice.
“Flame Ball.”
Roar!!
Only then did the mage’s eyes turn to Regin.
‘Too late now.’
Regen scroll—torn once more.
“Six more to go.”
He grabbed three at once and tore them toward the mage.
Roar!!