Chapter 57: Dragnet (1)
[Warning!]
[You have failed to complete the clear objective!]
[Refusing to comply further may result in a significant difficulty increase!]
I slipped right into the arms of the Demonic Alliance warriors alongside Seo Yerim.
“Make way!”
Having taken first place in this trial, I was now the heir who would walk the red carpet.
The warriors obeyed the command with utmost docility. She and I dashed through the path that parted like the Red Sea.
I tossed a potion to Seo Yerim.
She gulped it down immediately. I did the same.
[You consume a Windstride Potion!]
[Movement speed increased by 30% for one hour!]
Not content with sharing wind attributes from Hayangi, I had already swapped all my gear for items with speed boosts.
They were low-level equipment, so the effects weren't huge, but they were better than nothing.
‘Did it work?’
At the very least, the three old masters were now tangled up. The moment the Demonic Alliance Leader received the orb, his eyes had flipped—meaning even superficially, he couldn't tell real from fake.
Of course, the truth about the orb being a fake would come out eventually.
Not knowing exactly when, we had to run like our feet were on fire.
We escaped the battlefield together. Even as we fled far away, the warriors didn't bat an eye.
To be precise, they had no time to pay attention to us. Forces from the Murim Alliance and Demonic Cult were launching fierce assaults from both sides.
Then.
[The Demonic Alliance Leader Baek Hak-seong detects something amiss!]
A message appeared.
‘How did he figure it out?’
The appearance was quite similar, I was sure.
And he'd never seen the real one before, so distinguishing by sight alone would be impossible.
‘Can you tell it's fake only by holding it directly?’
Maybe.
“Run! Faster!”
Seo Yerim must have seen the message too, as she pressed on with a hardened expression.
‘If that's the case…’
What would the Demonic Alliance Leader do?
Scream that it was fake and hand it over to the enemy to check?
Of course, the Heavenly Demon and Alliance Leader would suspect his motives.
No one had ever offered a fake before, and I was the Young Alliance Leader's son, no less.
They'd be hard-pressed to believe the son would offer a counterfeit.
They might even think it was a trap to draw them in.
I could only hope those two would step up.
After putting some distance between us and the battlefield, I pulled a pair of shoes from my inventory.
“Change into these.”
We swapped shoes together. The new ones were the same type as the skull-patterned pair—even the same size. Soon after, I summoned nearly two thousand skeletons.
I retrieved items prepared in my subspace ring.
Plain, common-grade leather bags.
Each bag, numbered, was stuffed with over fifty kilos of stones and junk.
“Grab your assigned bags and move as we practiced!”
Clatter!
The skeletons nodded.
I'd drilled the movements into them dozens of times for this moment.
The skeletons' learning ability had skyrocketed thanks to the Death Lord's and Cedric's title effects.
Replicating the practice was no great feat.
The skeletons spun in circles around us. Their feet trampled our original footprints into oblivion.
Skeletons, being just bones, had negligible pure body weight.
But add heavy armor and junk-filled bags, and it changed.
Matching human weight was a snap.
I'd calibrated the bags to match Seo Yerim's and my exact weights.
Even a supreme master wouldn't distinguish by weight or footprint shape.
“Disperse! Execute!”
Clatter!
The two thousand skeletons split into groups of fifty, forty strong.
They scattered in all directions.
The rear skeletons stomped over the footprints of those ahead.
Naturally, the tracks turned into a chaotic mess. I glanced at the final group.
“You lot follow behind us once we move. Stomp over our footprints.”
Clatter!
Leaving the saluting skeletons, Seo Yerim and I bolted.
Identical traces led in forty directions.
‘That'll give the pursuers hell.’
The two of us plunged into the forest.
* * *
Baek Hak-seong exploded in rage.
No matter how loudly he shouted it was fake, the two old monsters wouldn't hear of it.
‘Damn it all!’
Of course, the simplest solution was to hurl the orb far away.
But he couldn't.
A sliver of “what if.”
What if the handed-down tales were false?
Or altered over generations?
It wasn't impossible. Then he'd miss a true treasure. He couldn't dismiss that faint chance.
The key to ascension was that precious.
Then.
An elder he'd sent to track Baek So-cheon's position came rushing back in panic.
“Alliance Leader! The Fifth Young Master has left the battlefield!”
Crunch!
He gnashed his teeth.
Hiding behind the main force was understandable, but fleeing entirely…?
That snuffed out the last possibility this wasn't fake.
Why run if he'd offered the real thing?
With glory and riches awaiting.
“Damn it!”
The Demonic Alliance Leader flung the orb wrapped in cloth. The two masters lunged for it, eyes wild.
Luckily, it landed nearer the Heavenly Demon, who snatched it up.
The moment he gripped it, Heavenly Demon Gu Yang-cheon's face stiffened.
“It's fake!”
“… What?”
The Murim Alliance Leader froze.
He'd sensed something off when the orb was tossed.
But the Heavenly Demon too?
The odds of it being genuine plummeted.
Sharply.
“Take a look!”
Gu Yang-cheon yanked the orb from its cloth and hurled it at the Alliance Leader, snarling. The Leader caught it, his face twisting in fury.
He slammed it into the ground.
Crack!
It shattered feebly.
A worthless shell with a convincing facade.
Their gazes locked onto Baek Hak-seong.
How badly had he raised his son to be stabbed in the back like this?
Mocking eyes raked over him.
Silence didn't last.
—Cease! All of you, stop fighting!
At Gu Yang-cheon's shout, the battlefield fell eerily quiet.
Warriors stared at the three elders in stunned confusion, weapons in hand.
Ignoring them, the three elders glared at one another.
Pursuing Baek So-cheon was priority. The question was cooperation.
United, the three factions could catch him swiftly.
But ownership of the ascension key would spark conflict.
Acting separately?
Less efficient, but a shot at the jackpot.
Then.
A bizarre sight appeared before them.
[Warning!]
['Baek So-cheon' and 'Choi Aeng-aeng' are attempting to escape!]
[If they advance beyond a certain distance, they will exit this stage!]
Their faces hardened.
The message was all too familiar.
It was one of the mystical phrases relayed to each faction's leaders.
Upon obtaining the ascension key, such otherworldly text would appear.
“We'll settle ownership later. We must join forces for now.”
“… Agreed. We can't let those bastards escape.”
“… Fine.”
Soon, the three factions mobilized.
Baek So-cheon and Choi Aeng-aeng.
They had to capture those two.
* * *
[The Heavenly Demon Gu Yang-cheon detects something amiss!]
[The Murim Alliance Leader Yang Jeong-hak detects something amiss!]
[The gate's difficulty has changed to A+, 'Dragnet'!]
[Move toward the objective!]
A map popped up.
A green dot marked far away.
‘That's the goal?’
By distance, it'd take about five days of nonstop sprinting.
I looked at Seo Yerim.
She'd gotten the clear message but stayed instead of leaving.
Now the difficulty had shifted.
No exit until the new clear objective was met.
I didn't know why she'd stayed, but it clearly boosted our survival odds.
“Thanks can wait till we're out.”
“Forget it. I stayed for the clear rewards anyway.”
I nodded.
Dragnet.
Looked brutal.
I swallowed the elixir I'd saved.
[You consume a Sword Shadow Pill!]
[All stats increased by 10!]
“Let's go. Before they catch up.”
We'd gained distance, but not enough to matter. Eyes forward, run.
* * *
Kim Minwoo and Seo Yerim.
Awakeners known not just in Korea but abroad.
And this incident was insanely provocative.
A fellow chaebol heir shoving another into a gate out of malice, only for the Sword Sage to dive in after.
The media would be all over it otherwise.
Three weeks since they entered the gate.
Despite the time passed, interest was exploding.
Even overseas broadcasts were covering it.
—Where are those guys who said they'd all die in two days? lol Already holding out three weeks?
—Yeah, still gonna end up pantsless in the midzone lol
—But three weeks is plenty to reach the midzone, right? Stage can't be that big. Why aren't they out…?
—Who knows. Maybe huddled in a corner burning through supplies.
—First clear on a gate, no one knows what'll pop. No fixed format?
—Broadcasts are saying it right now lol All random? Could be story progression or mob grinding. That's why recommended raiders are high lol
—Yeah. Think hidden gate. Stage setup, clear goals, gimmicks—all random.
—How long till they tap out?
—Dunno. Kim Minwoo might be dead already. Sword Sage seems to be hanging on?
—Why dive in for that and suffer? Honestly don't get it.
—Maybe they're crushing lol
—Nah. Sword Sage hated Kim Minwoo's guts. Anyone in the know gets it.
—Then why save him lol
—Grandpa's the reason. He was hyping Sword Sage's S-rank record all for Kim Minwoo lol
—Yeah, that's my take. She adores her grandpa. Kinda hardcore. Probably why she went.
—TBH shouldn't say it, but if they can't hold, just die quick? Dragging it out risks gate burst.
—B-rank clears in two months tho? Not even a month yet wtf; psychos
—Can't lose Sword Sage 😭 Can't lose Sword Sage 😭 Can't lose Sword Sage 😭
—No panic. Not full clear, just midzone. Sword Sage pull it off? Send guild raid after, smash it.
Public opinion mostly aligned.
Kim Minwoo was likely dead.
Sword Sage holding on.
Three weeks in, she'd adapted.
Ex-A-rank, escape feasible maybe.
Experts on broadcasts echoed it.
—Huh? Wait. What's that? No way…
Reporters at the gate stirred live.
Massive mana surged over the dormant gate.
Unlike post-clear glow.
A reporter grabbed the mic with trembling hands.
—U-Update from observation: Gate difficulty has changed. Remeasured as A-rank…
—?
—??
—???
—????
—Wut? Measurement error?
—Nah. Happens sometimes. Must've fucked up inside?
—So A+ now?
—Looks like.
—What happens then?
—Could be player choice or stepping in shit… Probably the latter?
—Yeah, reeks of shit. No way those two triggered it. Screwed;
—Guys, escape chance really gone?
—A+ recommends 30 raiders lol Twice the punch of B+ lol Possible? Brains fried? lmao
—(Info) A+ gates spawn S-ranks regularly.
—Guild raids die before midzone in that; no hope;;
—Fucked.