The Shadow Reaper's Defeat

The Black Reaper.

In the novel, his class was none other than Nightbringer, a hidden class.

No ordinary hidden class, either.

It required completing an epic-grade linked quest.

One of the top ten most broken classes across the entire world.

His skill was already exceptional, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the class's potential was top-tier.

It was only natural that he stood out in the original story.

'In the original novel, he was the guy the protagonist kept dodging with pure luck until the mid-game...'

That made sense, because Flush was just about to start playing.

'At his current level of skill, he'd be right below the absolute top ranks.'

If Fafnir hadn't known the information in advance, he would have been the one taken down.

Against a swordsman or warrior it might have been different.

But as a necromancer, there was no helping it.

Of course, there were advantages too.

"Kieeeek!"

Every time the Reaper landed, white hands erupted from the ground.

Skeleton soldiers Fafnir had raised.

"Petty tricks!"

Forced to dodge the hands, the Reaper couldn't chain attacks, so the initiative stayed with Fafnir.

'Keeping up with this speed? A necromancer?'

For the first time, impatience flickered in the Black Reaper's eyes.

The recording crystal only lasted ten minutes.

Once it ended, the Assassination King skills would become unusable.

'Without Nightbringer's secret skills, I can't win. I have to finish this while the crystal is still active.'

The Reaper kicked off the ground.

This time, however, she didn't head for Fafnir.

She went for the back of Cheolhyeoljingwon.

"Huh? Huh?"

The blade plunged into the flustered Cheolhyeoljingwon's back.

"Sorry."

"You son of a—"

Cheolhyeoljingwon collapsed without finishing his sentence.

The blood flowing from his body turned into a red mist that spread in all directions.

"Ah...!"

"Fafnir-nim!"

The Reaper had forcibly broken out of detection range.

From that state, multiple afterimages of the Reaper began to move.

'Here they come.'

Six figures rushed through the blood mist.

But in truth, they were all illusions.

The real one was...

"Kuhak!"

"Right here."

Fafnir drove the Blood Demon Sword into the shoulder of the Reaper rising from beneath his feet.

Around them, the Reaper's illusions, which had been stabbing at the skeleton soldiers along with the blood mist, scattered.

The Reaper looked up at Fafnir with disbelief.

"How...?"

Six-Pointed Star Slash.

A master skill that surrounded the target with six afterimages for an attack, while the real body delivered a piercing strike from a chosen direction for twelve times the damage.

What Fafnir had seen in the original novel was the attack pattern coming from six directions.

That was how he predicted where the real attack would come from.

"Just a hunch."

"...Hah."

Already critically wounded, and now endless debuffs were piling on from some unknown item.

With skeleton soldiers surrounding her, continuing to fight was pointless.

"This..."

The Reaper took a deep breath as if about to say something.

In that instant, Fafnir swung his sword sideways.

The historic moment of defeating the Black Reaper.

Fafnir's eyes widened.

'Unique...! And an accessory at that?'

Accessories were already the rarest equipment type.

And now a Unique-grade one?

'Jackpot.'

It really was a jackpot.

There was nothing else to say.

***

Seoul, Tower Palace.

In a room of the high-rise building, a streamlined capsule opened.

"Hoo..."

A tall woman with black hair stepped out of the capsule.

An incredible beauty with perfect proportions.

Her name was Han Jiyeon, the real-world identity of the Black Reaper who had just died.

"...This rotten mutt that deserves to be fed dog food and eaten alive, you damn son of a bitch!"

Han Jiyeon vented all the curses she couldn't say in-game.

"Seriously, that bastard! How the hell did he get so strong?!"

In the sewers, she hadn't been much different from other players.

If it weren't for that white lizardman, she would have finished him for sure.

Quite some time had passed, but she had never imagined she would lose.

"Haa... If I'd just gotten one stealth angle right, I could've killed him properly!"

After a while.

Once her anger had subsided, Han Jiyeon muttered to herself.

"He must've done an insane amount of level grinding... right?"

No matter how much virtual reality favored control and gear, levels were just as important.

If control and gear were friends or a job, levels were like combining health and a bank account.

"Aaaagh! If I just raised my level, that guy would've been nothing!"

As expected of the best hidden class, the Assassination King lineage's basic attack skills carried the power of other classes' ultimate moves.

The problem was time.

Mastering a single skill took nearly two months in real time.

'That's why leveling is so slow... I managed to fill out the skills somehow, but to think I'd lose to that necromancer...'

If it had been someone she'd never seen before, she could have accepted it.

But the fact that it was someone she hadn't even paid attention to during their first meeting made it all the more frustrating and infuriating.

'Is there something else? What exactly made me lose?'

Han Jiyeon began her feedback session on the spot.

'Aside from levels, I couldn't make use of the skill effects.'

Assassin skills had various bonuses while stealthed.

Additional 400% damage if the enemy hadn't detected you.

80% damage and confusion on back attacks.

Such vicious effects!

But thinking about it the other way, it also meant that once detected, an assassin's power dropped drastically.

The only reason the fight had been close was because she had a hidden class.

'Come to think of it, he never gave me an opening even when he died.'

By throwing skeleton soldiers around to block, her stealth state was immediately canceled.

That's why she had to kill an ally to force the skill activation.

'He must've grinded levels like crazy too... Looking at his specs, he's probably around level 230?'

Next time, she would definitely kill him and get her revenge.

Even if he offered the Black Iron Token, she wouldn't let him off!

But Han Jiyeon didn't know.

Fafnir's current level was 167.

Almost the same level as the Reaper.

***

"What, what is this! Do you know where you are... Gack!"

"That bastard Cheolhyeolpaegun pulled some trick... Let's see if you can live like this!"

The guild leaders under the Iron Blood Alliance couldn't even respond to the sudden raid before disappearing.

After cleaning out the dungeon like that, Fafnir spoke.

"Now we just need to take down the boss."

"How about we wait until ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Veron-nim arrives tomorrow?"

"That would be too late."

They had to defeat the boss before the Iron Blood Alliance's subjugation force arrived.

Fafnir's party headed straight for the deepest part of the tomb without resting.

"Grrraaaar! Enemies have come!"

Upon entering the boss room, a massive Living Armor charged forward with a greatsword.

A warrior-type boss with immense strength, sturdy armor, and a gigantic frame.

'With the Blood Demon Sword, I could finish this quickly.'

Dodging attacks for a few hours was nothing.

'This time, I should try using the staff.'

Now was the chance, with reliable party members present!

As befitting a necromancer, when he held the staff, various effects spread out.

"Ah."

"Ah, this is a bit... Could you turn it off? Are you really giving a priest this kind of aura?"

At Lihana's voice, he had to immediately vacate the spot.

Still, since the Living Armor itself was a darkness-attribute monster, the hunt wasn't particularly difficult.

'Not a bad haul.'

Footwear rarely dropped. Especially leather or cloth shoes.

Since he wasn't the first discoverer either, this was quite lucky.

Plus, he got to confirm the staff's effects, so it was two birds with one stone.

'Nahart's Skull Staff... This won't be great for solo boss fights.'

Strengthening skeleton soldiers a bit didn't make much difference against a boss.

Without any offensive black magic at the moment, its efficiency was significantly lower compared to the Blood Demon Sword.

Of course, it would be a different story in group battles.

'Skeleton soldiers strengthened by the buff plus Dark Storm... If fought properly, it could take down enemy generals or wear down soldiers over a long battle.'

If the conditions were met, it was a better weapon than the Blood Demon Sword with its lifesteal.

Hilde asked Fafnir, who was collecting the dropped items.

"So, is it over now?"

"The hunting is done, but there's one more thing left."

"Something else?"

"Yes, we need to excavate the relics."

In dungeons of Rare grade or higher, relics could be separately collected near the boss room upon clearing.

Bringing those relics to the Explorer Association would net at least 10 gold even for the lowest Normal grade.

"This is probably why the Iron Blood Guild controlled this place."

Fafnir's party took out pickaxes and shovels to dig for relics.

'Is it because of my bad luck? My results are poor compared to my dexterity.'

The other party members had quite good results.

Especially Lihana—every time she touched something, Rare-grade relics kept coming out!

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Haa? Don't tell me you didn't excavate a single proper one? You scrub!"

Lihana approached with the corners of her mouth raised.

"...Here, take it."

"This is..."

"Don't get the wrong idea. I just gave it to you because it was too heavy for me to carry."

Lihana said that and headed over to Hilde.

"Hmm..."

The lamp was light enough to hold in one hand.

"Let's head out now."

After searching through all the excavatable relics.

The party escaped the dungeon and headed to a nearby mountain village.

"What? You found relics...? Let me see."

The village Explorer Association staff member's eyes soon widened.

"You brought some incredible relics! With this much... I can give you 175 gold."

Even though Fafnir hadn't excavated much, Lihana had made up for it, so the overall relic reward was generous.

"Then we'll part ways here."

If the pursuit team came, even this village would fall under surveillance.

"You can head south... or hunt somewhere else."

"I'll let Veron know separately. You worked hard, Fafnir-nim."

"You all worked hard as well."

Even though the distance was far, Hilde's group had readily responded to the request for help.

'I should remember this and repay them later.'

Comrades like these weren't easy to find.

"Oh, come to think of it, what about you, Fafnir-nim?"

"I have to move separately now too. I don't have time, so I'll be going."

Fafnir turned his body.

That's when it happened.

Just as the four were about to part ways.

"W-wait!"

Lihana raised her hand.

"...?"

"Um... your contact info."

"You want my contact info?"

Her true nature was kind, and as a future-guaranteed ranker, there was no reason not to give it.

"Sure."

"Ah...!"

Lihana's expression brightened.

'Thank goodness. He accepted!'

She had been concerned about him despite her sharp words, and watching his performance earlier made her heart race for some reason.

Plus, now that she looked at him, he was quite handsome too.

'I should say thank you...'

After taking a deep breath, Lihana spoke.

"I-I'm not thanking you or anything, okay? There's no way I'd be friends with someone like you, oppa. This is purely business! Business, got it?"

'She is grateful.'

Her words said one thing, but her expression said everything.