Nam Dayun (7)
Nam Dayun (7)
"......."
I looked around. I gazed at the 'things' that, until just a moment ago, had been black golems resembling Dol Hareubang. My surroundings were littered with black stone fragments.
"Shuk. Shushuk."
"Shi. Shibal."
Before the Dol Hareubang could even say anything in their own language, a silver-shining sword rushed in. In the time it takes to call a split second, the stone statue was shattered into dozens of pieces.
Had we been walking for about 30 minutes?
Nam Da-yoon and I were able to reach the deep layer.
Passing the end of the passage, a massive cavern appeared. Half of the cavern was submerged in a black-colored lake; it was a lake that gave off a strange feeling, with shadows rippling within it.
Goooo-.
And above that lake, something in the shape of a giant snake made of shadows was staring at us, emitting a red-light glare.
"It's much stronger than the Thunder Monarch we saw last time...?"
"Indeed."
"Then maybe the reward will be better, too. This is going to be a bit tough in this state......."
Nam Da-yoon muttered that and retrieved her swords. As the Demonic Sword settled into her hand, its clones began to disappear one by one.
"When I first taught our Siwoo, didn't I say it was hard to teach because my swordsmanship is tailored to my own traits?"
Nam Da-yoon said that and reached out her hand. Dozens of swords began to pour out from the subspace according to her will.
There were things called Demonic Swords, and things called Masterpieces or Divine Swords. There were Spirit Swords containing the ego of a spirit, and Holy Swords emitting a sacred light.
"The sword style I use is, originally, a technique created by combining sorcery and swordsmanship."
Nam Da-yoon reached out and grabbed one of the swords.
The sword had a peculiar appearance. Golden intaglio characters were written on the blade, and while it looked well-maintained, the blade edge was chipped here and there. Nam Da-yoon looked at the sword as if it were precious and quietly muttered.
"Cheondun Sword Technique (Heavenly Escape Sword Technique)."
A silver radiance erupted from the dozens of swords. For a moment, a brilliance so intense it was hard to open one's eyes covered everything.
The dozens of swords split. From one, to two. From two, to three. The split swords attached to each other one by one, and soon, a single Giant Sword (Giant Sword) larger than the shadow-form snake was completed.
Around the Giant Sword, dozens of swords were floating like satellites, as if guarding it.
Demon Suppression (Suppressing Demons)
The Giant Sword struck down.
Cheondun Sword Technique.
It is a sword technique used by Lu Dongbin, one of the Eight Immortals (Eight Immortals) of Chinese Taoist legend.
Though it is called a sword technique, the Cheondun Sword Technique is a sword technique, yet it is not a sword technique.
This is because the Cheondun Sword Technique is a type of Law (Law) mixed with sorcery. To master it, one must have excellent sorcerous and swordsmanship abilities, but Nam Da-yoon mastered the Cheondun Sword Technique through her unique trait, Sword Control.
That is the reason why Nam Da-yoon often visits China whenever she goes abroad. Because China is full of Demon-humans, demonic beasts, and monsters.
I recalled the effects of the Cheondun Sword Technique.
It deals additional damage to beings belonging to the Demonic category, and also deals additional damage when hunting Dragons (Dragon).
「Kwarararara!」
The snake howled as it watched the Giant Sword strike down.
I thought for a moment about whether a snake could howl, but since that thing is a type of monster, it wouldn't be impossible.
The snake made of shadows tried to twist its body this way and that, but it couldn't move. In the Cheondun Sword Technique, Demon Suppression has the power to suppress the Demonic. It is a technique that combines a type of binding ability with a finishing move. Monsters or demonic beasts belonging to the Demonic cannot avoid that technique.
In the first place, there are almost no monsters that would just take a hit from a Giant Sword like that being struck down.
The Giant Sword pierced the body of the snake made of shadows. As if that were a signal, dozens of swords began to strike down like falling meteors. Flames erupted in various parts of the snake's body, some parts froze, and in other parts, lightning began to crackle and scatter in all directions.
Thud.
And soon, the snake made of shadows lost its strength and collapsed to the floor. The snake began to disappear as if evaporating into thin air. The lake rippling with shadows was the same.
Because it is a type of Spirit Body (Spirit Body).
"Not a bad opponent."
"Da-yoon-nuna is truly amazing. I don't think I could last even a minute against that snake."
"Ahem. It's thanks to our Siwoo's cheering."
I didn't do anything.
We headed to the spot where the thing that used to be a snake had been. I picked up one black-colored Magic Crystal.
I looked at the place where the lakeshore made of shadows had been.
There was a sort of altar-like thing there, and ten boxes were visible on top of it.
Nam Da-yoon and I walked over to the altar.
Nam Da-yoon opened a box small enough to fit in a pocket. Inside, a black-colored inner core wrapped in silk was visible. Just by looking at it, I could feel a strange magical power imbued within it.
Appraise.
[Spirit Turtle's Inner Core]
An inner core where the Spirit Turtle's power is condensed.
-Upon consumption: minor increase in stats, moderate increase in mana, major increase in stamina, potential unlocked.
-Upon consumption: increases resistance to Dark and Water attributes, increases dominance.
-Upon consumption: grants Byeon Gang-soe (A) trait.
"It increases stamina, provides resistance to Dark and Water attributes, and raises dominance... and, uh, it grants a trait, too."
"Siwoo, can you also Appraise?"
"Yes, to some extent......."
"What's the trait?"
Nam Da-yoon asked. I felt awkward at the reaction and said.
"......Byeon Gang-soe."
"Huh?"
Nam Da-yoon paused for a moment.
"Byeon, Gang-soe? If it's Byeon Gang-soe, that means, uh, your sexual stamina increases, right?"
"Yes. It means your sexual stamina increases."
At my words, Nam Da-yoon's eyes sparkled. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly, and she had a somewhat lecherous expression.
"Th, then, do you want to have this, Siwoo?"
"I didn't do anything, though?"
"Since Siwoo discovered this dungeon, you have a share in it."
Refusing any further here would be a nuisance. In fact, this was one of the reasons I raided this dungeon.
"Then I will gratefully accept it."
I expressed my gratitude to Nam Da-yoon and put it in my pocket.
Nam Da-yoon continued to open the boxes. When she opened a long box, a pair of swords appeared.
As if forming a Taegeuk, a white sword and a black sword came into view. The peculiar thing was that they were hardened like stone.
[Ganjiang and Moye]
A pair of husband-and-wife swords sealed for some reason.
"This is......."
Nam Da-yoon paused at the sight of the pair of swords. They were sealed, so no power could be felt, but she is a swordswoman. She probably felt something peculiar.
"Doesn't look like much. But since it looks like something special considering it came out of here, do you want to take it, Siwoo?"
......Come to think of it, Nam Da-yoon had a subtle air of ditziness.
But there was no harm in taking it.
"Ah, it's hard to carry, right? Nuna will put it in the subspace for you."
When I nodded at her words, Nam Da-yoon put the twin swords into the subspace.
A gem shining with various colors like a kaleidoscope was visible. Its size was about the size of my fist.
[Spirit Stone]
Natural energy that spirits like is concentrated inside.
"Do you want to take this too, Siwoo?"
"No, I have enough with what I've received so far."
"Really? Nuna doesn't really need this either, though......."
Then, as if Nam Da-yoon remembered something, she nodded, saying 'Right, that was a thing,' and put the Spirit Stone into the subspace. The other boxes were all filled with gold, silver, treasures, and jewels.
Nam Da-yoon put them all into the subspace.
And we headed home.
Using the Warp Gate, we arrived in the blink of an eye.
On the way to Nam Da-yoon's house in the car parked near the Warp Gate, two people caught my eye in front of her house.
A mysterious young woman wearing a cheongsam with plum blossoms embroidered on a white background, revealing her slender legs, and a boy with braided hair wearing old-fashioned Chinese attire were visible.
It was Xiao-mei and Tao.
Ah, come to think of it, those guys were there too.
"Ah."
Nam Da-yoon also seemed to realize it, wearing an 'oops' expression.
Nam Da-yoon parked the car, opened the door, and stepped out, and Xiao-mei and Tao bowed politely.
"I'm sorry, I went out for a moment. Did you wait long?"
I could feel a look of relief on Xiao-mei's face at Nam Da-yoon's words. Well, Nam Da-yoon was extremely sharp yesterday due to sexual frustration.
"No. We just arrived."
At Xiao-mei's words, Nam Da-yoon smiled bitterly and looked at me for a moment.
"It's awkward to talk here, so shall we talk inside the house?"
"In, inside the house?"
Tao was shocked at Nam Da-yoon's words.
"Why, do you dislike it?"
"No, I think I was just surprised. Tao has been a fan of the Sword Empress."
"Is that so? Thank you."
Come to think of it, I should have gotten Eun Sua's autograph too. I opened the car door and got out.
"......You are?"
Tao flinched and looked at me. Xiao-mei's expression was also one of confusion. I smiled awkwardly and waved my hand.
"Siwoo, do you know them?"
"We happened to run into each other when I was coming to Nuna's house."
It wasn't exactly a pleasant meeting, though.......
At least I got to know Xiao-mei.
"Are you perhaps the Black Hand, Xiao-mei?"
"Ye, yes. I didn't recognize you yesterday, but are you perhaps Lee Si-woo, who is attending the Hero Academy?"
"Yes. I'm the Siwoo who's famous for being smart."
At my words, Xiao-mei covered her mouth and laughed.
"Shall we talk inside for now?"
"Yes, thank you for the hospitality. Thank you so much for inviting such a precious guest to such a humble place."
Tao retorted to Nam Da-yoon's words. The atmosphere turned cold for a moment.
Xiao-mei's face turned pale, and Nam Da-yoon was wearing a strange expression. Tao tilted his head.
"I, I, I'm sorry! Tao is still not good at Korean!"
Xiao-mei bowed her head. She pressed down on Tao's head with her hand. Tao also seemed to realize something and bowed his head quietly, saying sorry, sorry. After a brief commotion, we entered Nam Da-yoon's living room.
"So this is the Jecheonhoe's......."
Jecheonhoe (Heaven-Suppressing Society). Although they call it Jecheonhoe, it is a Chinese organization to stop great evils or Demon-humans. It was originally the Murim Alliance, but after being wiped out once by the Demonic Cult where China's Demon-humans gathered, the Jecheonhoe is what was formed by gathering the strong.
Tao looked at the dining table with an impressed expression. Come to think of it, Nam Da-yoon was also part of the Jecheonhoe.
When Tao opened his mouth and muttered, Xiao-mei turned around sharply and glared at him. Tao made a flinching expression.
"Then I'll go bring some tea. Is there anything you all would like to drink?"
"I'll have green tea, please. Please give Tao the same."
Xiao-mei quickly ordered Tao's tea as well, fearing he might make another mistake.
"I'll have herbal tea, please."
The atmosphere was uncomfortable, so I escaped by saying I'd bring tea. As I headed to the kitchen, I felt a gaze. Xiao-mei was watching me as if observing. Well, from her perspective, she must be curious. Since there wasn't much connection between Nam Da-yoon and me.
I brewed tea while watching Nam Da-yoon listen attentively as Xiao-mei brought up a topic in a polite voice. I wondered what to brew for the herbal tea, but I saw apple mint tea and decided on that.
There was also high-quality tea ware, so I used that. Using Cheonsu (Heavenly Hands), I brewed the green tea with one hand and the herbal tea with the other.
"Here you go."
When I brought the green tea and tea, Xiao-mei and Tao drank it elegantly, proving they were children of a prestigious family. And then, they widened their eyes in surprise.
"Oh......."
"You even have a knack for the tea ceremony......"
Tao exclaimed in admiration, and Xiao-mei looked at me as if she coveted me. At that reaction, Nam Da-yoon shrugged her shoulders as if she were the one being praised. It was embarrassing just watching it.
"What is the relationship between the Sword Empress and Lee Si-woo?"
Xiao-mei asked with sparkling eyes. What kind of relationship. Lovers... was a bit ambiguous. If I had to define it, wouldn't it be something like friends with benefits?
While I was thinking about the relationship between Nam Da-yoon and me, Nam Da-yoon made a shy expression and cleared her throat for a moment.
"Ahem, so you were curious about the relationship between Siwoo and me. The relationship between Siwoo and me is... a bit complicated, but right now, we are lovers who love each other more than anyone else."
"......Excuse me?"