Chapter 7
Chapter 7
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Unusual Talent
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dried bloodstains.
Chilling wind.
Narrow path.
Right after Hae Eung-eung set foot in the endlessly foreboding land.
Thud.
Thud.
A disheveled madman with tangled hair staggered into view. Blood Ghost No information available on this half-demon. A common mob from the tutorial.
The lowliest of existences.
No need to even gauge the distance.
The Blood Ghost couldn't react to the sword Hae Eung-eung drew—its head flew with one slash. 💥 CRITICAL HIT! 💥 -Body Severance
Severed the neck. Dense bushes lined both sides of the path.
Rustle rustle—two Blood Ghosts emerged.
One with a mangled arm.
One with a mangled leg.
They looked like ragged survivors of defeat.
The standard strategy: lure them in, let the crippled-leg one fall behind, then pick them off individually.
Tadak.
Hae Eung-eung gripped her sword and charged straight ahead instead.
Left to right.
Right to left.
Her body twisting sharply, she cleaved the two Blood Ghosts like lightning.
With a final flourish of the jagged blade through empty air, she shook off the blood.
It all happened in a heartbeat.
Before she could even confirm with her eyes that the necks had hit the dirt, Hae Eung-eung pressed on. 💥 CRITICAL HIT! (x2) 💥 -Body Severance (x2)
Severed the neck. (x2) A faint spark of heat returned to Hae Eung-eung's cold eyes.
'I never imagined I'd feel this sensation again in the real world...'
Which side was right or wrong.
Whether this revenge was truly justified.
Questions she'd asked herself countless times.
Unlike the wretched, brutal battles of the murim.
These were mere data in a game.
Targets she could slaughter with honed technique.
No guilt.
No hesitation.
A license to kill.
'A fight without the haze of doubt. A battle free from the chains of enmity... It's truly thrilling.'
Stabbing flesh.
Cleaving bone.
The so-called "taste of the blade."
Before that vivid sensation, ordinary folk tremble with guilt.
Revulsion at taking life—even quitting the game.
The backlash: plummeting assimilation rate. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Initial Assimilation Rate: 10% Combat Assimilation Rate: 33% Current Assimilation Rate: 25% Hae Eung-eung was different.
Murim's most wanted.
Imperial fugitive.
The entire Central Plains murim as her foe—an extreme scenario.
A vengeful exile from the outer murim, returning with thirty years of internal energy and Flower Realm attainment.
Her heart might harbor pity.
But her sword never hesitated.
What dropped others' assimilation rates?
For her, proofs of being alive.
In combat, her assimilation soared above the norm.
Slash thud.
Slash thud.
One slash per encounter. At most two—disarm, then decapitate.
Blood Ghosts crumpling.
Five or six swarming at once? Burrowing up from the earth?
No threat at all.
Slain in sequence as they appeared. Ambushes met with pierced skulls.
Mass assaults.
Stealth attacks.
Meaningless to her.
'For ordinary players, it'd definitely be tough.'
Beyond the path loomed a ruined village.
A treasure chest squatted in the sagging main hall of a crumbling thatch house.
A rasping breath echoed from directly above it.
Open the chest, and a Blood Ghost drops from overhead.
A dev trap, plain and simple.
First-timers had no choice but to die.
'Traces, stench, sound. With senses wide open, impossible to miss.'
Harrowing shrieks. Putrid reek.
Gruesome sights.
Ordinary players dulled their senses against it all.
Momentary relief for the mind.
But it botched the game.
Yet where had Hae Eung-eung spent twenty years?
A murim teeming with people,
Water scarce,
Hygiene ignored by most—
Even gutter beggars bearing Beggar Clan titles.
'This won't fool my senses.'
Blood smears crawling up the wall.
Eye-watering stink.
Breaths hungry for prey.
Sloppy, exposed stealth.
Thwack!
The hurled rusty sword punched through the Blood Ghost's skull.
The corpse thudded onto the chest.
The impact popped it open.
Thorns sprang out.
Ignoring chest and corpse alike, Hae Eung-eung rooted out and slew every Blood Ghost in the village.
'More. I'm not satisfied yet. No worthy foe beyond these trifles?' 💥 CRITICAL HIT! 💥 Clashes with the strong.
Life-or-death duels of skill. Only system pings answered her craving.
Critical hits and kill confirms that thrilled the masses?
Mere immersion-breakers. ⚙ GAME SETTINGS ⚙ ▶ Disable all notifications except mandatory choices. Kill count breached triple digits long ago.
Over a hundred.
Endless confirmations—weary ears first.
Slaughter acclimation plus silenced alerts.
Her steps now light and swift.
'Player talent might not differ so much from a murim warrior's after all.'
Release excess tension, eyes and ears ever vigilant, senses rotated for rest.
Cycle: eyes fatigued? Ears open. Sounds routine? Nose next.
Masterful control of power and senses.
Mobs annihilated in blinks.
Avg playtime: 2 hours.
Refund window blithely ignored—this tutorial field cleared in a mere daekyeong.
15 minutes. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Annihilated the Blood Ghost horde of Corpse Hill. The Executioner awaits you at the top of Corpse Hill. A particularly potent aura prickled the air.
Tutorial boss incoming.
This could be promising.
Same steady pace, silent advance.
Beneath the bamboo hat brim.
Her lips curved ever so slightly with anticipation. ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 2.
Just as Hae Eung-eung began the game.
Character select done, main story underway. Current Viewers: 5 — Newbie welcome Assim rate is trash—cheap capsule for real? — Just checked Newbie's first stream, game record pure as hell. — Wow Pure vanilla newbie? — Horny vibe Thick af lol Hakko specialist viewers—diehards who only watched hakko streams—flooded the chat. — Basic char where Real mode lololol — Why no bloodline Streamer vanilla + bloodline vanilla lol — Tutorial boss Face only? Lol The world had its standards.
Shortcuts blazed by pioneers—follow, profit.
Silent Swordmaster broke every one.
No basic character.
No bloodline.
Not even luring Blood Ghosts one-by-one. — New style cocky Just slash. And slash — Not how Fml why so good — Bloodline none? Physique solid. Newbie got talent Unlike typical botched hakkos.
Silent Swordmaster stood apart.
Most off-meta hakkos flailed like this:
Sluggish assim like the Blood Ghosts themselves.
Clumsy moves.
Whiffs and puking.
Vomitous fights.
No trace of rookie streamer drag here. ⭐ Top Comment — Newbie slices 6 Blood Ghosts In a row? — Fuck where's the newbie Fights better than me — Lol strat read? Ground pop—stabs like a mole Swift murders.
One slash, one kill.
Even rerollers rarely pulled it off.
Proficiency oozing from plain cuts. — Olympic village Athlete slumming it? — Awakener cancels olympics No such sword style in kendo — Dunno clip it No lag 13yo boy vibes — Pity the Ghosts? How even — Wtf possible? Mind blown Viewers armed with VR edge, roasting stumbling hakko streamers.
Strict-mom vibes, zero cost.
Took under a minute to sense: this streamer was different.
Incomings only—no exits.
Antlion-pit pull.
Skill like that? Death-proof.
Relaxed viewer queried: — Why no talk tho ↳ Nick check Silent Swordmaster? ↳ Silent training No talk lololo — First stream concept king Hakko but pro streamer lol God-tier slashes too — 200 Ghosts down 15 min stream? Insane. Real mode? Yeah real mode Absurd physique pro emerges. — Boss too much Tuto boss lol. Forced loss unavoidable Boss unbeatable, but hey.
Chat consensus. Story Mode Corpse Hill summit.
Tutorial boss arena—Executioner awaits.
If viewers' memories held...
Executioner spots player: spits venom. ⚙ EXECUTIONER ⚙ "Another ignorant whelp swells the ranks." "Better meet your end here than drag out a wretched life." Or so it went.
But no. ⚙ EXECUTIONER ⚙ "A human unfit for the world, no mere half-demon clinging to misery—a true powerhouse enters Half-Demon Gorge." "What drives you to slaughter vermin too frail for a drop of yokai blood?" "Do you crave vengeance? Mere pity? Or..." "Are you" "The executioner heralding the end of this cursed gorge?" — Huh? Dialogue off? — Goosebumps. I know this Hidden trigger hit—story shifts. Streamer nailed it ⭐ Top Comment — Pure vanilla hakko 1st play 1st stream New route unlocked? For real? Ten-year vet game.
Hakko gateway for physique gods.
New route on first hakko stream. — No bloodline? Real mode? 1st playthrough? That's the trigger. Goosebumps Mob clears this slick?
Boss takedown next?
Every viewer's chest swelled with anticipation of something epic. ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ```