Chapter 136
Chapter 136
Chapter 136
Swish—.
A shadow that suddenly appeared from the darkness.
Though So-yul's Alarm Magic had detected the approach, he hadn't expected it to show itself so quickly.
Nam-gung Cheon hardened his face and pointed his sword at the uninvited guest.
"Who are you?"
"......"
But instead of answering, the intruder only silently stared at Nam-gung Cheon.
A chilling gaze that touched his skin.
Gulp—.
At the sensation of sharp killing intent seeming to pierce his flesh, Nam-gung Cheon swallowed hard.
'This is no ordinary person.'
An intruder emanating such strong killing intent that one might mistake it for the thick scent of blood.
This was an aura that only a human butcher who had killed countless people could emit.
So the uninvited guest before his eyes was surely a corporate assassin targeting Lee Seo-jin's life.
And a very high-ranking one at that.
"What business would a corporate dog have coming all the way here? Hm?"
Nam-gung Cheon tried to maintain his composure while provoking the enemy, but sweat gradually beaded on his sword-gripping hand.
This was due to instinctive warning filling his mind that even a moment's carelessness could cost him his head.
He wondered if he could win even by giving his all.
Nam-gung Cheon gripped his sword tightly and coolly analyzed the battle situation.
'The situation isn't very good for leveraging advantages in level, skills, or items.'
Unfortunately, his level had dropped due to the test.
The only fortunate thing was that his opponent also seemed to be in a lowered level state.
And Nam-gung Cheon wasn't alone—he had teammates with him.
At least no other killing intent could be felt nearby besides the intruder before his eyes.
Unlike the tense Nam-gung Cheon, the intruder answered in a leisurely voice.
"In the middle of such a night, what other reason would there be for someone as dangerous as me to visit?"
Clatter—.
A butterfly knife dancing gracefully in his hand.
"Obviously."
The moment that blade reflected moonlight and captured Nam-gung Cheon's gaze.
Swoosh—.
"Murder and slaughter."
Throwing knives hurled by the intruder came rushing toward Nam-gung Cheon.
Seven in total.
Clang—.
Nam-gung Cheon immediately swung his sword to deflect the flying throwing knives.
"Huff."
Normally this would have been nothing special for defense, but now he had deflected the attack using only his reaction speed without the system's assistance.
Thinking that even a small mistake would have meant those throwing knives piercing his body made sweat pour from his hands.
He thought he had deflected all the enemy's attacks, but.
"......!"
Swoosh—.
A throwing knife that had been hidden behind the trajectory of another knife was already approaching right under his chin.
'Damn!'
The bastard had thrown not seven, but eight throwing knives.
Just as the one throwing knife he failed to deflect flew toward Nam-gung Cheon's neck.
Pow—.
Francesca flew in from the side and kicked the throwing knife away with her foot.
The throwing knife spun and flew sideways.
Having successfully deflected the knife, she stood proudly beside Nam-gung Cheon and scolded him.
"Hey, man. Can't you block just that one thing?"
"Stay out of this. You'll die if you interfere carelessly."
He was grateful for the help, but the opponent before them was extremely dangerous.
If Francesca faced him with her level of skill, she could die.
But she picked her ear and snorted.
"What are you saying? If it wasn't for this lady, you'd already be in the afterlife."
"Shut up. If you hadn't wasted energy competing in that stupid race earlier, I would have blocked it easily."
If only they hadn't wasted energy on that pointless running competition...
As the two bickered, the intruder looked toward Francesca and spoke.
"......So you betrayed your client and sided with them. Indeed, that's the case."
Phantom Thief Francesca, who had betrayed Darkrock in Atlantis and sided with Nova.
The axe she had been using well all along had struck her own foot, so the sense of betrayal was great, he had heard.
Francesca shrugged her shoulders.
"Hmph, betrayal is something done between people who trusted each other."
Stabbing the backs of those who had taken hostages and used her was not betrayal, but proper justice implementation.
However, he interpreted Francesca's words subjectively.
"True, when a dog you've raised bites its master, you don't call it betrayal."
It's just an unfortunate accident resulting from the master's carelessness.
He hardened his gaze coldly and pointed his dagger.
"And a dog that has once bitten a person and tasted blood...... cannot be allowed to live."
"Oh my, is that so?"
Francesca also drew a dagger from her bosom and took a stance.
"I'm more of a cat person than a dog person."
She joked while looking at the intruder before her eyes.
She had noticed the intruder's danger even before hearing Nam-gung Cheon's warning.
That person was surely the strongest hunting dog that handled all of Hanseong's dirty work.
Known as the 'Director.'
She didn't know his real name, but knew his surname was Baek.
Though he was a climber unknown to the public, he could be called the strongest among thief-type climbers.
'Still, it doesn't matter.'
Though his combat power might be lower, in an assassin duel comparing speed, she wouldn't be greatly outmatched.
Shing—.
As the two thieves took combat stances, Se-yeon, who had been assessing the situation, also drew her sword and took a battle stance.
Though she might not match Seo-jin, the aura felt from that person was extremely strong.
Two alone would be insufficient.
"I'll provide support from behind."
So-yul also extended her staff forward and declared her intention to join the battle.
The Director looked around at the four showing hostility toward him and smiled.
"Four against one, this should be interesting."
"Don't complain. There's no fool who would have a fair duel with an assassin who came to target necks."
"I'm not particularly complaining. I just thought it would be interesting, as I said."
Pow—.
Before his words finished, his form moved like an arrow.
A form hazily spreading.
He vanished from Nam-gung Cheon's sight in an instant.
"Above!"
At Francesca's shout, Nam-gung Cheon raised his head and extended his sword upward.
Simultaneously, an attack flying down from the sky.
Clang—!
Sword met sword, and a loud sound echoed through the forest.
"Urgh."
Creak—.
'Wh-what kind of strength......!'
Though he barely managed to receive it by supporting the sword blade with his hand, the strike that seemed to crush his entire body made his legs stagger involuntarily.
Just as his continued attack was about to target Nam-gung Cheon's neck with his stance broken.
Swoosh—.
Francesca and Se-yeon rushed at him with a time difference.
The Director didn't panic and retrieved the dagger that had been targeting Nam-gung Cheon's neck, smoothly deflecting their combined attack.
Swish—.
The Director pulled his body back with gymnastic precision while swinging both arms.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh—.
Then poisoned needles hidden under his sleeves scattered in all directions.
Poisoned needles glittering as they reflected moonlight.
Patter patter patter—.
Nam-gung Cheon and Se-yeon hastily deployed sword barriers to block the needles.
Francesca crouched so low her body nearly touched the ground, escaping the attack range.
And So-yul's flames pierced through that moment.
[Flame Javelin]
Roar—.
A fierce spear of flame flew straight toward the Director.
A strike containing light and heat intense enough to brightly illuminate the campsite.
Boom—!
Soon a tremendous explosion swept the place where he had been, but he had already escaped the magic's range.
Flash—.
And a shadow that melted into darkness and suddenly appeared behind Se-yeon.
"......!"
Se-yeon couldn't read his movement, but sensed the killing intent behind her with animal instinct.
An attack rushing from behind targeting Se-yeon's heart.
Clang—!
Se-yeon hastily turned and deflected the attack with her sword, but.
Crack—.
"......!"
The arm that blocked the attack broke and she fell backward.
Not only was her blocking posture poor, but the power contained in that strike exceeded imagination.
"Urgh."
"Too bad. I could have sent you off without pain."
Swish—.
The Director's form hiding in darkness again.
This time he suddenly appeared behind Francesca and swung his fist.
"!"
Francesca, who noticed his approach, hastily raised her arm to block that attack, but.
Thud—.
A powerful impact like being hit by a truck struck, and she fell sideways and rolled on the ground.
"Damn it."
Francesca's dangling arm.
The arm she used to block the attack had broken.
Swish—.
After inflicting damage, the Director hid in darkness again.
He continued the same style of combat.
A pattern of hiding in darkness, then emerging from blind spots to deliver threatening attacks.
But knowing that pattern didn't make it easy to defend against.
Stealth ability so profound that traces could be lost even at close range.
Speed comparable to Francesca's, plus strength and combat ability that overwhelmed Nam-gung Cheon.
His attacks weren't simply fast—they contained force strong enough to shatter the swords that received them.
It wasn't just strength and speed that were superior.
He showed no signs of tension even in a four-against-one situation.
Moreover, he didn't borrow the power of any skills or artifacts.
With strength and speed alone.
Just with that, he overwhelmed the four.
This was the difference in experience, the weight of lives taken, and the difference in karma contained in that sword.
"Huff, huff."
The four breathing heavily from the continued one-sided offense and defense.
In contrast, the Director spun his butterfly knife skillfully as if nothing had happened, looking exactly the same as before.
Swish—.
"It's about time."
The Director spoke toward the sky as if he'd had enough fun.
"Now let's bring this to an end."
Rustle rustle—.
Simultaneously with those words, three shadows joined behind the Director.
***
"You brat, what am I supposed to do if you break my arm!"
The first successful master-disciple duel since the return.
The winner of this duel was Seo-jin.
Evidence of this was Circe's right arm dangling torn off.
Seo-jin made excuses to Circe, who was jumping and raging.
"That...... I couldn't control my strength very well."
Regular black magic was difficult to use against Circe, so he used the Transcending Heaven True Scripture.
But the Transcending Heaven True Scripture was ultra-high difficulty magic that even Seo-jin, its creator, couldn't fully handle.
With Seo-jin's current downgraded level, it was difficult to finely divide and use mana.
Because of this, the mishap of Circe's right arm breaking occurred.
When Seo-jin made an apologetic expression, Circe waved her hand as if to say not to worry about it.
"Oh my. Fine, fine."
Circe grumbled that it was the fault of a master who chose the wrong disciple.
Click— click—.
She took out a daily-use arm from her inventory and replaced it with the broken arm.
Combat prosthetics were troublesome to manufacture, so she would need to procure materials from the magic workshop where her main body slept to properly repair it.
Clap clap—.
"Now, everyone gather. The sun will set soon."
After replacing her arm, Circe called together the team members who had been hunting monsters nearby.
Thanks to Circe's guidance and the Spirit Stones Seo-jin gave them, the team members' skills had clearly improved compared to before.
Though they wouldn't change dramatically overnight, after this training camp their foundation would become even more solid.
"Circe-nim, why is your arm like that?"
Nam-gung Rin, returning from hunting, tilted her head seeing Circe's changed arm.
"Ah, it's nothing."
She couldn't very well say she had ended up like this after trying to discipline her disciple and being reversed instead.
Circe sneakily glanced at Seo-jin, and Seo-jin quietly kept his mouth shut for his master's honor.
***
Snore—.
Deep night. Team members who had gone into their respective tents and fallen fast asleep.
Seeing that even snoring could be heard, they must have been quite tired from concentrating on training.
Seo-jin sat by the campfire with Circe, keeping night watch.
There was no need to keep watch against mountain monsters, but the real enemy of this training camp wasn't monsters.
"So, I looked at your team members' constellations this time......"
Circe predicted the team members' compatibility and future course through constellations.
As predictions from Circe, who was skilled in astronomy and astrology, they had high credibility, but Seo-jin dismissed astrology and prophecy as superstition, so he only listened to those stories for fun.
It was while the two were sharing interesting stories that had no real practicality.
Rustle—.
The sound of stepping on fallen leaves rang out nearby, as if deliberately making noise to be heard.
"It seems an uninvited guest has come."
"Yes."
Seo-jin nodded and rose from his seat.
Then he looked at the intruder emanating killing intent from beyond that darkness.
A boy with red eyes glittering under the moonlight.
He twisted his mouth into a grin and said.
"So it's you, the rumored Nova."