Chapter 98: Can You Keep Up?
Chapter 98: Can You Keep Up?
Using the force of my descent, I brought my sword down on its head with all my might.
Crunch. Rip. Tear.
Though I had imbued my blade with a great deal of magic, the Gigas's rock-hard body split cleanly in two without the slightest resistance. I watched the creature's upper body slowly collapse, bisected down the middle, as I landed softly on the floor.
Thud!
Given its massive size, the sound of it falling was immense. I felt no relief from defeating a difficult monster. I knew it was no match for me after our first clash. Still, I felt a sense of gratitude toward my party members for following my unusual orders so well.
“Hyung. Great job.”
Ahn Hyun had suddenly appeared behind me. I had not examined him closely during the fight, but several places on his custom-made gauntlets were dented. Since the Mages and I had kept the Gigas’s arms almost completely bound, its tail or torso must have grazed him a few times.
Ahn Hyun spoke, his eyes sparkling with a rare expression of excitement.
“Hyung, you're really amazing.”
“It was nothing. The mages did a great job.”
“Still! I never dreamed you'd finish it off in a single blow like that.”
“It wasn't exactly a single blow…”
I trailed off vaguely. Ahn Hyun’s expression was becoming increasingly burdensome, so I quickened my pace. Yoojung called from behind for me to wait, but I ignored her and kept walking.
The expressions on the other party members' faces were even more of a sight. Was it really that surprising I'd finished it with one slash? In any case, it was true they had all worked hard, so I spoke in a gentle voice.
“That was some incredible magical coordination. Thanks to all of you, I was able to seize the perfect opportunity.”
“Ah… yes… User Kim Soohyun, you were amazing as well. Ha, haha.”
Shin Sangyong replied with a dazed look, unable to hide his bewilderment. I could tell not just from his expression, but also from how he'd switched from consistently calling me 'Leader' to using my full name.
Ahn Sol was letting out a sigh of relief. I glanced at the others' faces but found nothing out of the ordinary. Having spent some time with me, their reaction was simply 'That was amazing,' not suspicion.
Shin Sangyong and Jung Hayeon, however, were different. In that battle, I had shown them a part of myself—and even that small part was enough to reveal a power far beyond that of a Year 0 User. In other words, I had just announced that I was not like other Users of my year.
After exchanging a brief glance with both Shin Sangyong and Jung Hayeon, I spoke with a calm expression.
“You used a lot of magic. Are you feeling alright?”
“I'm... fine. But…”
Jung Hayeon stopped after the word 'but.' A flicker of conflict crossed her face. A heavy silence fell before her pale lips parted again.
“…Still, thanks to us, wasn't it a little easier for you?”
Jung Hayeon quickly composed herself and replied in her usual, crisp voice. Hearing her answer, I had to force myself not to smile. I see. Unlike Kim Hanbyul, this was a woman who knew how to read a situation. She was choosing to wait and see, for now.
Her response exceeded my expectations, and in the end, I couldn't help but let a faint smile show.
“Yes. It was very helpful.”
“Huhu. I'll look forward to the next battle, then.”
The rest of the party just listened quietly to my exchange with Jung Hayeon. Shin Sangyong looked like he wanted to say something, but when Jung Hayeon gave him no opening, he just scratched his head.
I decided we would take a short break. And right then and there, I made up my mind. I would mark both of them, like Ko Yeonju, as definite recruitment targets for the clan. Judging by our conversation and the current atmosphere, the chances of them accepting were high, but there was always the possibility of refusal.
If they refuse… should I kill them?
No. There was no need to kill them. They would be troublesome as enemies, but unlike Ko Yeonju, they had not appeared as foes during my first run. I needed to think about it more.
As the party rested, I continued to tap my fingers on the floor.
*
To get straight to the point, my worries were unfounded.
After leaving the Gigas's room, we opened the two remaining doors in the first chamber. One room held a fake Cockatrice, and the other contained a strengthened horde of the dead.
In terms of difficulty, it would be Gigas, then the Cockatrice, and finally the horde of the dead. However, with our upgraded equipment and the experience we'd gained since yesterday, we handled them much more easily. Of course, a large part of that was because I took a more active role, but the party's increased experience couldn't be ignored either.
“Ah, it seems my prediction was wrong. I'm sorry.”
Shin Sangyong apologized to me, his voice dejected.
We had now passed through the corridor connecting the two halves of the area and entered the next section. This chamber also had three doors, just like the last one. The previous area had a door next to the corridor, but this new one had no door near the entrance.
I shook my head and spoke in a calm voice.
“It's fine. It's not like we lived in that era; it's impossible to deduce everything from a single record. Besides, the Gigas was a bit of an anomaly. Everything else is going according to plan.”
“Haha…” Shin Sangyong gave an awkward smile at my warm reassurance.
The most important thing for us to confirm on this second floor was the level of the monsters. Sacrificing one hundred humans could summon a single, complete low-level demon. The monsters on this floor varied in strength, but they were clearly a cut above those on the first floor.
“Uhm. Master.”
“What is it?”
“Master, about what the leader was saying… if you sacrificed a hundred monsters on the level of that Gigas, what kind of demon could be summoned?”
“Hmm. But that's not going to happen.”
“But what if?”
At Shin Sangyong's insistence, Vivian seemed to ponder for a moment. But she soon shook her head and answered cautiously.
“According to Soohyun, the Gigas was essentially a fusion of a giant and a basilisk. A sacrifice of that caliber… might summon even a top-grade Demonkin.”
“Top-grade?” I shot back sharply, and Vivian immediately waved her hands in denial.
“I-I don't know! I just… I already said it's not going to happen!”
I snorted and turned away. As if 'top-grade' is some common mutt's name.
Users classified Demonkin as low, mid, high, and top grade for convenience, but the Demon Realm had a strict hierarchy of its own. A top-grade Demonkin would be a major figure of at least ducal rank. Of our current party, only I could even consider the possibility of defeating such an opponent. Vivian could put up a fight, but she could hardly guarantee victory. She would probably lose more than eighty percent of the time.
And even if one did appear….
“It's probably time we started exploring this area.”
I brushed myself off and stood up. I could sense a current of anxiety beginning to ripple through the party. As if hearing my words, Jung Hayeon, who had been calming herself with her eyes closed, opened them and looked up at me.
Perhaps because she had been overexerting herself, her already fair skin was deathly pale. The Jung Hayeon I knew would have properly managed and conserved her power, but ever since the Gigas room, she had been pushing herself to her absolute limit in every battle.
And since I had a rough idea why, I said nothing. These were all issues that would be settled after this expedition was over anyway.
The party took a moment to recover before getting to their feet. I led them toward a door I chose on a whim. As we walked, I did a quick scan with Sensing. I got a response from the rooms to the west and north, but nothing from the one to the east.
Since the door I'd chosen as our first target was to the west, we could just proceed clockwise from there.
A heavy silence settled over the party as we walked. Everyone looked tired, but unspoken tension was also rising as the battle with the Demonkin drew closer with every room we cleared.
The lack of any rewards or items from the second floor so far was also fueling this mood. Without some kind of turning point to revitalize them, their bodies would only feel heavier with each fight. Of course, we had already hit the jackpot with the items from the first floor, but human greed knows no bounds.
At last, we stopped in front of a massive iron door that loomed before us.
Just before opening it, I glanced back at the party's somber faces. They were all staring at me, their expressions drained. I let out a short sigh and put my hand on the handle. As I pushed, the familiar, unpleasant screech of grinding metal echoed through the hall. I put my weight into it and swung the door wide open.
“Graaaaaaah…”
The moment the door opened, a chilling wave of energy shot out, aimed squarely at me.
“Protect!”
At that instant, a translucent sphere formed around me. With a thump, the sword aura dissipated. It was Ahn Sol’s Protect spell. I did not know when she had prepared it, but I did not praise her separately.
It might have been praiseworthy because Ahn Sol had done it, but for a Priestess, this was simply expected. She had done no more and no less than her job.
“There's a monster. Everyone, be careful.”
After speaking, I raised my sword to prepare for another attack. But nothing came after that initial assault. In the end, we had no choice but to enter.
As I took another step inside, a wave of dark blue sword aura surged toward me, as if it had been waiting for an opening. I was ready for it. I swung my sword, easily cutting through the attack, and pushed forward to secure a safe zone for the party.
Once the rest of the party had hurried inside, I was finally able to get a good look at the monster before us. This room was dimmer than the others, but not so dark that we couldn't see with the naked eye. And the creature that revealed itself to us was…
“A Knight of Ruined Souls.”
At my words, both Shin Sangyong and Jung Hayeon immediately frowned.
“Hah. This laboratory seems to be a gathering place for monsters with magic resistance.”
Even the usually composed Jung Hayeon grumbled, clearly growing annoyed.
Azure flames burned from within a helmet adorned with two horns, both broken in the middle. Its armor was covered in rust and stained with dark patches of blood. It was a sight that could hardly be called human anymore. The rest of its body was covered by the armor, but the small glimpse I could catch of the face inside the helmet was clearly a skull.
The Knight of Ruined Souls was troublesome not only for its physical attacks but, more importantly, because it could also use magic. And since it wielded magic itself, it naturally possessed a strong resistance to it. This was precisely why Jung Hayeon had voiced her frustration.
As it had been a knight in life, it was proficient in close combat, could cast spells, and possessed magic resistance. It was only a precursor to a Death Knight rather than a boss-level monster, but an opponent combining all three traits could not be considered easy.
However, all of the above only applied to a genuine one.
“…Soohyun. Is this Knight of Ruined Souls also a product of the laboratory?”
“These are the same people who summon demons. What's so strange about it?”
Vivian frowned at my clear-cut answer. I glanced at her face for a moment before turning away.
“To play with human souls… As an alchemist, I cannot forgive this.”
Letting her subsequent words wash over me, I took another step forward. The creature must have decided that simple sword aura attacks wouldn't be enough to harm us, as it began to slowly close the distance.
“Graaaaaaah…”
“Ahn Hyun. Keeper. Yoojung. Behind me. Sol, prepare Shackles… Mages, support us with auxiliary magic. And…”
I paused for a moment before continuing. I wasn't addressing anyone in particular, but the only ones I hadn't given specific orders to were the mages.
“Don't overdo it.”
With that, I charged toward the Knight of Ruined Souls.