Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: If the Day Comes to See Each Other Again
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[Skill: Soundless]
[Grade: S]
[Effect 1: Movements become stealthier.]
[Effect 2: Movement speed increases within shadows.]
[Effect 3: No sound is produced when walking in shadows.]
How long had it been since I last acquired a new skill?
Soundless was a passive skill.
Fundamentally, my movements had become as stealthy as an assassin's.
On top of that, I could feel a dark shadow rippling around my body with every move.
"Kid."
The old man nodded as if impressed.
"Now you handle things on your own without me even telling you."
'No way, how could that be? It's largely thanks to you, old timer.'
Ssshh!
I took a step forward.
My movements had definitely become smoother.
The Shepherd Lord I had just captured.
Nicknamed [Cross Doggo], it was a powerhouse here with no equal except the King.
Having defeated such a foe.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say this was now fully my world.
"Come on, try messing with me again. You doggos."
I quickly dashed in and swung my spear.
Whoosh!
I could sense one Shepherd stumbling in panic.
I didn't miss that moment.
You?
The one who smacked the back of my head earlier and bounced?
Time for immediate payback.
Thwack!
I smashed the back of its head.
I heard the sound of a watermelon splitting.
- Yap!
Along with the heavy feedback in my hand, one vanished pathetically.
- Grrr!
- Grrr, yap yap!
The remaining Shepherds seemed on high alert now, starting to move in earnest.
They stopped making those weird taunting noises.
"......"
The mana they exuded pressed down on my shoulders.
'As expected.'
None were Lord-class individually.
But there was no doubt this was an aura I couldn't have ignored before.
However.
Ssshh!
I slowly raised my spear.
'Now.'
I finally had a bit of presence myself.
The scent I used to admire endlessly from top rankers was now emanating from my own body.
"You've improved a lot. Now you can finally dominate the space."
'Still a long way to go.'
Thud!
I lightly kicked off the ground.
No need to close my eyes anymore.
I opened them wide and scanned all directions.
'In my own way.'
If their shadows came from the daily life of the Shadow Shepherd tribe.
Then my shadow came from my own daily life.
From the moment I obtained my own shadow, there was no need to mimic anyone.
- Yap!
One charged straight at me head-on.
It was incredibly fast and stealthy, but.
'Nothing compared to the Cross Doggo.'
I lightly deflected its attack.
And then.
Stab!
As if it were the most natural thing, the spear tip pierced the Shepherd's lower belly.
Ssshh!
It vanished like dust.
"Good."
The old man was now sitting cross-legged in midair, fully immersed in the spectacle.
He looked so at ease it was enviable.
"That's right. With that one move, you've already seized the initiative. Those guys have already lost the battle. From here on, they'll just be dragged around. That's the power of 'domination.' And that's not all."
The old man continued muttering from above.
"Their greatest advantages were speed and stealth, weren't they? But now those don't work. Because you're much faster and much stealthier."
Exactly.
Now I was the faster one.
My reaction speed held the edge, and I even had stealth.
Moreover, the biggest change was that I could now see their movements. Feel them.
'Of course.'
If they came at me with full intent to kill, it would be a different story.
All this was possible only because the King had ordered them not to harm me.
'Here I go.'
I swung my spear ceaselessly.
Shepherds I needed to catch were scattered everywhere.
Each one was points.
Now it was time to wrap up the theme.
* * *
"Huuuh."
"Huuuuh......"
Hologram room.
The examiners exhaled the breaths they'd been holding.
The air was filled with relief.
"Damn! He survived in the end, huh?"
"No, he was alive all along. That's Joo Dong-hoon for you."
"Whew, what the hell happened?"
The nine examiners' hands were slick with sweat.
How shocked had they been when Joo Dong-hoon kept advancing into that dim, barely visible space?
The realm of shadows.
Even they had never seen the Shadow Shepherd King's domain before.
Not Senior Examiner Luca.
Not even the well-performing Mudskippers.
Let alone the King or Lords.
They'd never encountered so much as the Shepherd executives around them.
'It was pitch black in there.'
'A space where nothing could be heard or seen. It seemed like no light penetrated at all.'
'What the hell did Joo Dong-hoon see and do in there?'
The moment he touched the rippling shadow realm.
Joo Dong-hoon had vanished, plain and simple.
And for quite a long time, too.
"Haa, that was nail-biting."
Sweat beaded on Floa's forehead as well.
Why?
She had bet nearly all-in on Joo Dong-hoon's team exceeding 300,000 points.
If Joo Dong-hoon had disappeared into that shadow and gotten eliminated?
'It would've been the absolute worst.'
She'd already taken every penalty imaginable.
And then lose money on top of that......?
"Ugh."
Zzzzt!
Sparks crackled from her in horror, mirroring her feelings.
'But.'
It's not over yet.
[1st Place 'Dragon Slayer', 145,000 points.]
[2nd Place 'Crazy', 120,500 points.]
[3rd Place 'Magic Swordsman', 100,300 points.]
[4th Place 'Rider', 96,000 points.]
[5th Place 'Lions', 95,500 points.]
......
'Dragon Slayer' had already reclaimed 1st place.
Because his teammates were still hunting diligently without him.
But none of the examiners were surprised by that.
Their sole concern was whether that team would exceed 300,000.
Out of the nine.
Two had bet under, seven over.
"Go go gooo!"
Floa shouted in excitement.
Joo Dong-hoon, whom they'd thought dead, had returned alive.
The shadows that swallowed the space had lifted.
And there he was, facing off against the Shepherds again.
With one spear dangling loosely, weaving through the Shadow Shepherd encirclement.
'Fuck, that's cool!'
Floa felt her heart pounding.
He seemed like someone who could grow her fortune, even if just a little.
"Charge, master! Crush them all!"
With her shout, Joo Dong-hoon in the hologram began moving his spear fluidly.
Pabababat!
Shepherds charging at near-sonic speeds.
Thwack thwack thwack!
Joo Dong-hoon struck them down at similar speeds.
- Kyaping!
- Keggegeng!
Like ripples spreading from the center of a lake.
The shadows around Joo Dong-hoon fell in a heap all at once.
And those Shepherds.
Ssshh!
Joo Dong-hoon moved in personally to finish them.
Processing them one by one.
[1st Place 'Dragon Slayer', 145,000 points.]
An already overwhelming score.
[1st Place 'Dragon Slayer', 186,000 points.]
- Yap!
Exploded exponentially with dog-catching sounds.
[1st Place 'Dragon Slayer', 217,000 points.]
The rate of increase was on another level from before.
"Insane! Mr. Joo! That's why you're the master? Insane! Uwaaa!"
Floa screamed, not even knowing what she was saying.
She felt ecstasy surging from within her entire body.
The other examiners watched with mouths agape.
Then.
"By the way, Joo Dong-hoon...... doesn't he seem a bit different?"
Someone muttered.
Another replied.
"It's not 'seem'—he has changed! Look, black shadows are rippling around his body!"
"Yeah, his speed's increased too. It's like he's become one of those Shepherds......"
"No way......? Did he absorb all those skills in that short time? How the hell......?"
It was absurd.
They were all dumbfounded by how completely different he looked coming out compared to going in.
"After Poison Fog, now he's taken down the Shepherds too?"
"Man, what kind of ranker candidate is that?"
"I should've gobbled them up like that back then......"
Some admired.
Others sighed in regret.
Regretting that they hadn't done the same when they were candidates.
"Bullshit."
Floa muttered.
'You think anyone can just do that if they want to?'
She knew because she'd sparred with Joo Dong-hoon herself.
'That guy's got.'
Something special.
He was the type who could turn the impossible into possible.
Even if there were some tricks involved.
'The trials of Delaila don't care about means or methods anyway.'
That was skill, wisdom too.
Thwack! Thud! Thwack!
Even as the Shepherds dwindled one by one without him showing any killing intent.
That was probably another bit of wisdom he'd created.
Thwack! Thud!
As time passed like that.
Some faces brightened.
Others twisted.
[1st Place 'Dragon Slayer', 379,000 points.]
Why?
Because they'd already surpassed 300,000.
Far from just meeting the benchmark, the score kept skyrocketing.
As if 300,000 was too low a bar.
"Kuhahaha! I knew it!"
Floa danced around gleefully.
For her, this was the first win since becoming an examiner.
* * *
Thwack!
- Yap!
The last Shepherd vanished with a bursting sound.
"Huu, huu!"
I breathed heavily.
Sweat dripped from my whole body, and my heart pumped relentlessly.
'Ah, finally.'
It was over.
I'd single-handedly taken down every Shepherd except the King.
"Hu."
I cut off my ragged breaths with short exhales.
Then, storing my spear.
I silently paid my respects to the vanished shadows.
How could I not know?
That they had gone easy on me.
The King had kept his promise.
He hadn't harmed me to the end and handed over all the Shepherds as points.
On top of that, he'd even taught me the realm of Soundless.
"......"
I dangled my spear again and gazed forward.
A massive dark-furred dog stared back at me gently.
- This should do it. I can still see some deficiencies, but developing those further is now up to you.
I nodded.
Yeah, at this level, I acknowledge it.
- Then. Will you keep your promise now?
The Shadow Shepherd King asked cautiously.
"Of course."
Even if we fought now, I'd lose.
All this gain stemmed from the Shadow Shepherd King's misunderstanding.
But even so.
"Thanks."
Truly, thank you.
I was so grateful I wanted to give him everything if there was more to give.
- Thanks.
But.
Its expression looked no different from mine.
- I'm the one who's grateful. Thanks to you...... thanks to you.
Its voice trembled unlike usual.
- I finally seized that opportunity I'd waited countless years for. Extraterrestrial being, thank you from the bottom of my heart!
It was excited.
For such a guy, ssshh! I made my spear disappear.
More precisely, transformed it into a bracelet.
I closed my eyes and thrust out my chest.
- If, someday, we meet again......
At that moment.
Stab!
A cold foreign sensation pierced my chest.
- Then I will never forget this favor.
My vision blurred chaotically.
"......"
Had my other comrades finished up and left too?
The dark-furred dog vanished.
And soon.
[Ding!]
['Dragon Slayer' team has completed the trial of 'Theme 4'.]
With the welcome message.
[Moving to the location of 'Theme 5'.]
[Surviving members: 7]
[Calculating rewards.]
My blurred vision dotted out.