Floor 37 — Operation Commenced
What the hell?
Honestly, I was caught badly off guard. Something had clearly gone wrong.
I had definitely been extending my qi sense as I moved, and yet I hadn't detected the other man's presence until it was nearly too late.
No—wait. I can feel him now.
I hurriedly forced down the panic rising in my chest. The man had simply been waiting in silence at the far end of the corridor, holding his breath. Like a seasoned sentry, he hadn't stirred so much as a hair's breadth.
But that didn't change the fact that he was strong. He'd picked up on my presence from quite a distance away.
This had to be the Master that Ha Heijeong had told me about.
So this place must be important. A king, maybe, or one of the royal grandchildren... While I was thinking, a middle-aged man stepped out from the end of the corridor. A scar cutting across his face lent him a fearsome expression.
Thankfully, his gaze wasn't aimed precisely at me. He seemed to have sensed my presence, but hadn't seen through the Shadow Lord skill itself.
"I don't know what trick you used, but hiding won't change anything. Come out and show yourself while I'm asking nicely."
The Master drew his sword in a flash and leveled its tip at the corridor.
Under this crushing tension, my mind raced. The aura the Master radiated was considerable, but I didn't think I'd lose if it came to a straight fight.
Hmm, I'd still rather run than fight...
That said, I wasn't confident I could win outright, either. This was a place the Master was guarding. If I traded blows with one Master, more would come swarming. Even if no other Masters showed, armed soldiers would come running.
Yeah. I run.
I hadn't found the meeting room yet, but escaping came first. And honestly, this much was already a win. Once I had the elf leader in hand, I'd have plenty of chances to find where the kings were hiding.
When I stayed silent, the Master's presence grew steadily sharper. I couldn't afford to stall any longer. I spun on my heel and slammed my foot into the ground.
"Halt!"
The Master roared. Halt, he says. Swallowing a dry laugh, I poured power into my thighs and bolted without so much as a glance back.
Then a chill prickled the nape of my neck.
Danger. It had been a while since I'd felt that sensation.
Boom—!
I threw myself into a forward roll, and the moment I used Flash Step, a gunshot rang out.
Shwaaaak—! The bullet's crack tore through the air right above my tumbling body.
Wait, what...? He's clearly holding a sword—why is he firing bullets?
I glanced back. The Master was pointing his sword at the middle of the corridor like a pistol.
Had that sword just fired the bullet? Apparently so.
Time slowed. A beat later, the wall where the bullet had struck erupted—KWAANG! It was some kind of explosive round.
This guy had no scruples at all. Was it really okay to act this recklessly inside your own castle?
Whether he knew I'd hit the ground or not, the blade's tip swung back toward me. Another shot, followed immediately by a third. I scrambled to my feet and dove backward just as a weak explosion blossomed where I'd been lying.
Damn it, and here I was trying to slip out quietly...
Too late now. Every soldier in the castle was probably sprinting my way.
I started running again. The instant I rounded the corridor's corner, I dispelled Flash Step. It devoured too much mana. I had a mana-storing gauntlet, but I wasn't about to kill the people doing their jobs properly. If I was thinking about getting out of the city entirely, I had to ration my reserves.
Ugh, what now?
At the next corner, I veered right. The Master's heavy footfalls pounded after me. To secure a clean escape route, I stretched my qi sense even wider. Footsteps echoed from everywhere—above and below, on floor after floor.
The main entrance is completely out of the question.
If the enemy had any brains, they'd seal the castle gates. There were probably more Masters stationed there, too. On a long straight passage, I kicked up my pace and blasted through the corridor without wasting a moment to hesitate at the stairs I encountered. In one burst, I climbed to the floor above.
I ran straight into descending soldiers, but unlike the Master, they didn't notice me at all.
"You idiots, he went up! Move!"
The Master shoved the soldiers roughly aside and chased after me. On the next flight of stairs, the hairs on my neck stood up again. I twisted my body in a hurry just as a blade of flame came shrieking from the Master's sword. Son of a— I dodged the fire-lance with Flash Step and tore down the corridor.
Think. There has to be a way out of this.
Left, then right, I weaved through the castle at a dead sprint—and sensed another presence rushing toward me from ahead. I wrenched myself sideways, but the newcomer didn't so much as stumble. He was tracking me perfectly.
Another Master.
What now? The net was closing in around me. And in that split second of desperation, a flash of inspiration struck.
When I'd been wandering earlier, there had been rooms with windows. I flung open the nearest door.
That's it!
By luck or design, this room had a window. I sprinted across it and hurled lightning at the glass.
Crash—! I leapt through a storm of glittering shards.
A heartbeat of weightlessness. The vista of the great city of Deleil unfurled before my eyes—and then gravity slammed down on me.
When did I get this high up?
The ground had to be well over a hundred meters below. I plummeted, down and down, the wind clawing at my face. I'd already leapt from an airship once before, so fear wasn't the problem.
Halfway down, and then again just before touching the earth, I stepped twice on empty air. After landing safely, I craned my neck to look up at the castle.
Through the window I'd shattered, the Master was glaring down at the city.
Whew. He lost me.
No matter how skilled a Master was, he couldn't find me from up there. All that remained now was to get back to the airship.
Bong— bong—
Belatedly, the alarm bell tolled from the castle. Soldiers loitering in the streets spun around and started running toward it.
I walked among the flowing crowd, and the signal device tucked in my belt pouch clicked to life. It was Ha Heijeong.
Doesn't seem like anything's happened to her... Considering the alarm just went off, she must be in Deleil too. She knew my plan, so she'd probably sent a signal just to check in—asking whether this mess had anything to do with me.
Well, there was no real need to meet up. She had her own work to do, and I couldn't linger in the city anyway. I sent back a single pulse confirming I was fine, then quickened my pace.
Before I'd even reached the airship, the climbers came crowding out to greet me.
"Kwon Suhyeok! You're back. Was it a success?"
"Hmm. Hard to say."
"What? Was there a problem—"
"I got inside the castle, but I was made."
At my matter-of-fact answer, the climbers' eyes went wide with shock.
"Th-the Shadow Veil? Didn't you use it?"
"I did. But it's not omnipotent. Anyone strong enough—a Master or above—can read your presence even when they can't see you."
"Ah..."
"Anyway, I nearly got surrounded, but I managed to slip away."
"Good thing we didn't tag along. We'd have been in real trouble."
At Cecilia's words, the other climbers wore expressions of relief tinged with chagrin. She was right. If the whole group had come along, most of them would have been captured—and likely none too gently, either.
"That's Kwon Suhyeok for you! Anticipating a scenario like this—remarkable!"
"Haha, it was nothing."
One climber laid the flattery on absurdly thick. He'd been brownnosing since the beginning, even though it never earned him anything extra. I gave an awkward smile and steered the conversation elsewhere.
"At least I made it inside, so that part's settled—we can revisit it later. If the kings are holding their council somewhere else, so be it. For now, let's go after the elf leader."
"But where would the elves be gathering? We need to pick a direction—"
"Ah, that part I do know. Loren Plain."
"I'm sorry?"
Cecilia echoed in surprise. Of course, the intel had come from Ha Heijeong, but I couldn't exactly say that. Anticipating the climbers' reaction, I'd prepared my excuse in advance.
"I overheard it while I was inside the castle. The elves are assembling on Loren Plain, on the western side of the continent."
"Ah... I see. That's a relief."
"Whoa, the elves' location too! Rank 1 really is on another level!"
The flattery came flying again—the same climber as before. At this point it wasn't flattering anymore; it was starting to feel uncomfortable. Part of me wondered if he was doing it on purpose to mock me. I'd have to pull him aside later and quietly tell him to tone it down.
"It's nothing. I always intended to locate the elves as well."
"Ooh..."
Sensing another round of fawning incoming, I cut in hastily.
"In any case, it's time to move. The intel's fresh, but the elves could shift again at any moment. Come on, everyone—back to the airship."
I gestured toward the vessel, and the climbers nodded and clambered aboard.
Now, it was time to hunt down the elves' leader.
Loren Plain lay to the west of human territory—the epicenter of the elves' terror campaign. Thankfully, Ha Heijeong and I had been summoned to the south, which had been spared, but the west was probably in ruins by now. The captain had said the journey to Loren Plain would take four days. It was quite far, but we had breathing room—time enough for the elves scattered across the continent to finish gathering.
Riding atop the airship, I turned the problem over in my mind.
The head of the Elf Alliance isn't the real worry.
According to Ha Heijeong, the leader wasn't physically formidable. He couldn't summon Spirit Kings either. He was simply the bearer of an ancient bloodline connected to the gods. But because he carried that lineage and legitimacy, the devout elves obeyed him without question.
I didn't need the others. Only the leader mattered.
The problem is the Spirit Kings.
Thankfully, the Wind Spirit King was nothing to fear—I'd already confirmed in the training room that it wouldn't harm me. But that was thanks to the Ring of the Dawn Wind. I couldn't be sure the other Spirit Kings would show me the same courtesy.
There were four Spirit Kings in all. They were the wall I'd have to break through to seize the elf leader.
A frontal assault was impossible—I'd already been run ragged by the Wind Spirit King alone. But of course, I'd already worked out a solution.
The Sky Whale's orb.
With the orb in hand, I could command the Sky Whales for twenty-four hours. And the elves could not harm a Sky Whale.
The original plan was to ride the whales in for a close approach, then hold the whales' lives hostage to force their cooperation. But now that the moment was actually approaching, the plan felt a little flimsy.
The whales' lives... versus the elf leader.
No matter how sacred the Sky Whales were to the elves, would they really hand over their leader so obediently? What if they decided the whales were a sacrifice worth making for the greater good—and told me to slaughter them instead?
It was entirely possible, and the worry gnawed at me.
This isn't enough.
If I didn't want to walk into a humiliation, I needed something more ingenious. Hmm. Think, think. But no brilliant idea materialized. Was brute force really my only option? Frustrated, I tilted my head back and stared at the sky.
That was when Dobby came over, holding out a piece of fruit.
"Suyeok! Eat this! It's tasty!"
"Huh? Oh, thanks."
It was a grape-like fruit, deep red in color. My brain had stalled out anyway, so I figured why not. Might as well eat and recharge.
Dobby handed me the fruit and popped one into his own mouth. The instant I saw it, a stroke of genius struck me like lightning.
With this method, success was guaranteed.
"Dobby!"
"What is it?"
"You really are a blessing, you know that?"
"Suyeok! Something wrong! Have you gone mad all of a sudden!"
Dobby recoiled with a bewildered look, but I stepped closer and ruffled his hair.