Sword God
It was massive.
The comparison to a living mountain had not been an exaggeration.
This was nothing like those lesser dragonkin of five, seven, or even ten meters. It could not match the Apocalypse or Black Darkness, true, but it was still a colossus that easily surpassed fifty meters.
Against a creature of that scale, ordinary skills simply could not deliver meaningful damage. You needed power that was large, overwhelming, and decisive. Anything less would never so much as scratch it.
Yujin ran a quick inventory of his skills.
Nothing useful.
He had always been strangely unlucky with skills. His items and traits were beyond reproach, but whenever it came to skills, nothing exceptional ever seemed to drop into his hands.
The only thing even remotely serviceable was Heavenly Myriad Severance [C], and even that…
Not quite enough to cut this thing clean through.
Maybe if the blade extended a hundred meters. At a mere thirty, there was no way he could fully sever something that enormous.
KRAAAAAAAASH—!
One of the beast’s forelegs came down. The earth’s surface peeled up like the skin of an apple and rolled outward in a tidal wave of stone and dirt.
What is this, a meteor strike?
Vast size paired with vast mana. The synergy between the two was more devastating than anyone could have imagined.
Yujin activated Instant [C]. He had been grinding the skill whenever he had a free moment, and he could now use it five times a day.
Fwaat—!
He slipped past the stampede of earth that came roaring at him like a tsunami and brought Soulcleaver [C] down in a clean arc.
Skills? Sure, they’d be nice to have.
But they weren’t essential. He could manage without them.
This was the man who had torn the Apocalypse apart with nothing but a single sword. This wasn’t some high-tier boss overseeing the fiftieth floor and above. It was merely a hidden boss of the twentieth. To say you absolutely needed powerful skills to face something like this? That rule simply did not apply to Yujin.
Lee Sia was called the Sword Empress, wasn’t she?
He thought it while slipping past the Subterranean Dragon’s movements—swift beyond anything its bulk should have allowed—as it dogged his heels.
True to her reputation, she really did possess an extraordinary talent for the blade. Even Yujin had been impressed. But that was all it was.
Talent?
In the first timeline, Yujin had already stood at the absolute peak among tens of thousands of players. After his regression, there was no comparison. He carried the experience of someone who had ripped the Apocalypse apart, and he now possessed things that put his former self to shame.
“I may not have the skills,” he muttered, “but that doesn’t mean I’m empty-handed.”
The moment he focused his mind, he began walking a timeline all his own. Instantly, the Subterranean Dragon’s movements slowed—as if someone had dropped the world into slow motion. It came lunging at him with agonizing leisure.
Then Exterior-Interior Unity [E] activated—the trait that let his body move at the speed of thought. These days he rarely used it, too busy raising the kids. Yujin stepped lightly aside and let the dragon’s tail whip past him.
This wasn’t Black Darkness. Dodging a creature like this was almost insultingly easy.
He raised Soulcleaver [C], planted a foot on the slowly thrashing tail, and began walking upward as if taking a stroll. For the first time since his regression, he drew out his true intent.
Sovereign of All Arms [S] and God-Infused Physique [S]—neither of which he had possessed in the first timeline—flooded his body with boundless power.
WOOOOOOOOOOM—!
Soulcleaver [C] howled. It was pouring out pure rapture, responding to the will of a master whose rank of existence towered so far above it.
Just like that, Yujin climbed onto the Subterranean Dragon’s back as casually as if he were out for a walk.
The Sword Empress is impressive, no question.
It was a lofty title. Any player would have to bow their head before her name. Anyone except Yujin.
He was an existence of a far higher order—one for whom comparison to a mere queen of the sword was meaningless. The Apocalypse had acknowledged him. The Administrators had acknowledged him. And by toppling the Tower itself, he had even earned the recognition of the Akasha System.
“Sword God.”
A gray blade with not a single skill applied to it began its slow descent—toward a neck nearly six meters in diameter.
No one could sever a true dragon’s throat, armored in scales several times tougher than any lesser dragonkin’s, in a single stroke. Not on the twentieth floor. No one… except one man.
Only Yujin.
KRADDDRRRK—!
The edge of Soulcleaver [C] sank into the scales with absurd ease, parting them like warm butter. Guided by Yujin’s hand, refined to the absolute limit, the gray blade cut through the true dragon’s neck.
Seok—!
Even within the slowed time, the sound of scales, muscle, and spine shearing apart rang out with crystalline clarity.
That was the end of it.
You have emerged victorious against the Hidden Boss: Subterranean Dragon.
◈ Coins × 10
He had reached level 61.
How to put it…
He felt pretty damn good. Maybe it was because, for once, he had fought with everything he had instead of playing babysitter. The stress that had been stacking up without him realizing it seemed to dissolve in a single rush.
“Haaah.”
Even the breath leaving his lungs felt light. Whether it was the level-up or the unexpected windfall waiting right in front of him—probably both—he couldn’t say for sure.
“The rewards aren’t bad either.”
For mere achievement rewards, they hit hard enough to rival most proper fortuitous encounters. Had the Akasha System overheard him grumbling about his lack of skills? It had just handed him two entire B-grade skills.
“Never heard of either of them before, though.”
Not even in the first timeline. But they would be good. They had to be. They were B-grade, and the description windows said as much.
Seven Nights Demon Scripture [B]
Commands the Seven Nights. The number of Nights available increases as the user’s level rises.
◈ First Night — Shadow Legion: Summons a legion of one hundred shadows.
◈ Second Night — Black Moon Shatter: Forges dark moonlight into a sword form.
◈ Third Night — Abyssal Devouring: A beast of the abyss consumes everything within its domain.
◈ Fourth Night — Dark Domain: Constructs a realm of darkness. Within it, the user may surpass their limits.
◈ Fifth Night — Pitch-Black Cathedral: Raises the cathedral of the Dark Heaven upon the Dark Domain.
◈ Sixth Night — Dark Heaven Descent: Descends the Night God into the user’s flesh.
◈ Seventh Night — Three Kalpas of Avici: The hell of no interval, spanning three asamkhyeya kalpas, comes crashing down.
Honestly, from the Fourth Night onward he could barely even guess what any of it meant. The Seventh Night in particular was pure gibberish.
“Well. I’ll figure it out later.”
For now, the only one he could actually use was Shadow Legion. Still, even a rough reading of the descriptions suggested the power would be absurd. And this wasn’t one skill—it was effectively seven. Of course it was good.
Yujin forced his rising smile back down and checked the next skill.
Footsteps of the Sky Demon [B]
The footsteps the Sky Demon took when it crushed the world beneath its heels. Manipulates gravity.
“Oh….”
He had no idea what a Sky Demon was, but “manipulates gravity” he understood perfectly.
“Gonna have to test this one too.”
Exact range, exact force—those he’d only learn by using it. In the end, Yujin couldn’t stop himself from grinning ear to ear. On top of everything else, he’d picked up ten Coins, and the real fortuitous encounter hadn’t even started yet.
“Hyeong, are you all right?”
Just as he finished checking his rewards, Park Ji-hoo approached from a distance, both unconscious lunatics cradled in his arms.
“I told you to just dump them somewhere decent.”
Was there really any need to be that careful with them? At Yujin’s words, the boy offered an awkward smile. Right—there was no way this timid kid could have simply tossed them aside.
“How’s the area looking?”
“Uh… it’s a mess. Looks like one whole side of the city collapsed.”
“Hm. That so?”
Given the Subterranean Dragon’s size, it had been unavoidable. Even killing it as fast as he had, a few casual thrashings of that tail had brought buildings down left and right.
“Still, we got lucky. If it had surfaced in the middle of the city, the place would’ve been completely leveled.”
“…That’s true.”
It was fortunate that Silverstream District sat on the outskirts of Unmonghyang.
“But why did that thing show up all of a sudden?”
Park Ji-hoo asked.
“Why else? Because of those two.”
“Ah.”
If they hadn’t swallowed the Silver Snow Pill—if they hadn’t gone berserk and started hurling lightning everywhere—none of this would have happened.
What adorable little shits.
Yujin gazed down at the two unconscious figures with an expression of pure, loving affection. Park Ji-hoo flinched hard when he noticed.
“H-Hyeong. You still can’t kill them. We’ve been through a lot together, so….”
“Who’s killing who?”
If anything, he wanted to heap praise on them. Yujin flicked a knuckle against the crown of Park Ji-hoo’s head with a solid thok, then turned away.
“Grab those two and follow me.”
“Are we running?”
“Yeah. If you don’t feel like getting shaken down for money, move it.”
They needed to clear out before the lord of Silverstream District showed up. Yujin took Vivian from Park Ji-hoo and bolted—straight toward the hole the Subterranean Dragon had punched up through.
“Huh? Wha—?”
“Jump!”
Even staring into a bottomless cavern, Yujin didn’t hesitate. He threw himself into the dark. Park Ji-hoo hesitated for the barest fraction of a second—but he didn’t stop. If Yujin said jump, there was a reason.
And so two people—no, four—plummeted into a hole with no floor in sight.
Hwaaaaaaaaaak—!
The wind tearing past their ears felt chilling. Yujin glanced back. The mouth of the hole was shrinking fast, the light dwindling with it. A little longer and they would be swallowed by total darkness.
And of course this one picks now to pass out.
He glared at Lee Sia, who was dangling limp from Park Ji-hoo’s shoulder. If only he’d had her Flame Blade [C], this kind of dark wouldn’t have mattered at all. His plan to use her as a living torch had just gone up in smoke.
Yujin clicked his tongue and activated Penetrating Insight [C]. His visual acuity surged, punching through the deepening gloom around them.
“Don’t lose my voice—follow it carefully. One wrong move and you’ll be paste.”
At this depth, even a level-60 player’s body would not survive a free fall without preparation. They had to brace for impact.
After a long descent, the bottom finally came into view: ruins carpeted in green moss.
“Pull up your mana!”
Yujin shouted. Park Ji-hoo wrenched every drop of mana he could to the surface.
And then—
KUUUUUUUUUUUNG—!
A searing jolt drove up through the soles of his feet and shot straight to the crown of his head.
Ghhhk—.
It hurt even with mana reinforcing him. How the Subterranean Dragon had ever climbed up from here was a mystery in itself.
Yujin checked on Park Ji-hoo. The boy looked like his feet were killing him, but he didn’t seem injured. Same for Lee Sia and Vivian.
Reassured, Yujin turned his gaze to their surroundings. A vast cavern where the Subterranean Dragon must once have made its nest. They had reached the underground ruins hidden beneath Unmonghyang.