As Yujun Drew the Scroll

The moment Yujun drew the scroll, Horidan — heavy features cut in bold lines — fixed him with a savage glare.

"……What?"

A chill cut through him, but there was no way Horidan knew anything of this scroll. Did he catch the danger on instinct?

With a crisp snap, Yujun unfurled the scroll to its full length. The preparations were done. He stepped in closer, tore the scroll, and designated the man as its target.

As a Guardian, Horidan possessed no inventory of his own. The ring dropped to the ground, and in that same instant the tremendous aura pouring off him dwindled to nothing.

Wait……. Yujun's eyes flashed as they found the ring. Can't I pick that up myself?

War of the Gods had been a game. Realistic as it was, a ring that fell like that simply could not be picked up. This, however, was no game. This was reality, plain and absolute.

Insane……! He could not let the chance slip. Yujun surged forward.

Stripped of the ring, Horidan flung out a fist in panic. It was a miserable excuse for a punch, and it carved nothing but empty air. Without the ring, the performance of his body ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had collapsed. Yujun went so far as to slide, snatched the ring up, and dropped it into his inventory. Then he opened the distance and took the measure of what Horidan had become.

"Hand…… that over."

Fury rolled off Horidan. Yujun, of course, had no intention of giving the ring back. Doesn't look like another one is going to appear. He let out a breath of relief. He had never thought it would actually work.

A Guardian's item, stolen. It had only been possible because Horidan had no inventory. The ring's information could wait.

Yujun kicked off the ground. Sapped of the ring's power and left feeble, Horidan was no match for him.

The blade flashed. Yujun swung at the speed of a streak of light, and Horidan's thick neck came away in a clean cut. Dozens of hologram windows then spilled up before his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes in a rushing stream.

High-leveled as he was, Horidan had toppled into nothing, and an enormous reward came down with him.

"An Abyss Entry Pass. So it really was the Abyss."

And yet, even with a Guardian slain, the gate to the Abyss did not open. Perhaps because ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the nature of the place, the entry pass had taken its stead. The Essence of Constitution, I'll take at once……. After that, he checked the effects of the two titles he had just obtained.

As befitted a Mythic title and a Legendary one, the effects were tremendous. To think I would earn a Mythic title here……. He had certainly accomplished an absurd feat — bringing down a Guardian past level 450 at level 159, and in a single blow. A Mythic title with an all-stats increase, and a growth type besides. It might even outshine the Primordial Player title.

Good. He was just opening his inventory to inspect the ring taken from Horidan when—

The satisfied smile on Yujun's face went stiff.

He had only just finished the Guardian Horidan. For a message like that to surface now, there was a strong chance the mission's forced end had something to do with him. Surely they won't take Horidan's…… no. My ring? Did the system even hold authority that far? The worry was baseless, and it came all the same.

Yujun tilted his head. An Irregular? Sim Sanghoon, an Irregular. How could the man who had been their rescue objective from the very start become an Irregular? The situation seemed to be sliding somewhere strange.

Then was it this Sim Sanghoon who tampered with the system? He could not see how such a thing was possible. One thing was certain. The man called Sim Sanghoon had done something.

Right. The ring first. Yujun opened his inventory again.

"Whew……."

Fortunately, the ring was still there. It seemed the mission had not been cut short because of him after all. He took it out and checked its information at once.

He was speechless. So this was the option on Horidan's Ring — an absurd one, and the equip restriction was remarkably low besides. It would be no exaggeration to call it the ultimate item, the sort that could render a mage whose Magic ran high utterly invincible.

The problem was that a player could not equip it. And yet it said anyone of level 1 or above could wear the thing. This has to be a joke……. He had a Mythic item in hand, and still he could not simply rejoice. An item he himself could not use.

He stared down at the ring for a long while. Then, all at once, Paranet caught his eye.

Wait…… a moment. That one isn't a player. He's a summon. Paranet could raise his stats and equip items as a player did, but strictly speaking, he was no player. Then could he not wear Horidan's Ring as well? His level had climbed considerably in the course of bringing Horidan down. Give him a ring of Mythic grade, and his combat power would leap.

Even so, Yujun did not hand it over on the spot. Most of the players will already know I took Horidan's Ring. A great many were watching his every step on a live broadcast. Few of them, though, would understand what the ring was worth. Most users would not even know what the Guardian barring the door had been. Only those who had once stood as top rankers knew the name Horidan.

Still, I had better move as carefully as I can. He had no sense of what the next mission would be, so he distributed in advance the stats his levels had granted him. Preparations are done…….

Not long after, the third mission began.

The Species Tournament.

What unfolded within it was fascinating beyond measure. Because no one could truly die, the players moved with greater daring and valor in pursuit of reward. To watch it all in real time was tremendous good fortune.

……Or so Dokgo Minsu thought.

He was an exceedingly popular player in the Tower of Infinity. He roamed the Continent with a single sword in hand, and he never formed a party — he traveled strictly alone. Fame, however, had not come from that alone. His dignified, handsome features and his outstanding swordsmanship had done their share.

Swordsmanship.

On the Continent, the words "none can stand against him with a blade" were often set beside his name, and that alone was enough to show how exceptional Dokgo Minsu's sword was.

"Hmm."

He let out a thin breath, switching from one player's viewpoint to another as he watched the viewing orbs. This Species Tournament has no shortage of interesting fellows. But the players he followed with interest died quickly and were cast from the tournament. He had been watching only those who traveled alone, and a player who refused to band with others had little hope of surviving. The results merely reflected that obvious truth.

Then a channel appeared with a party of fifteen or more, and Dokgo Minsu's face twisted with distaste.

"Tsk. Milling about in a herd. Contemptible. Naught but a waste of these eyes."

He went on flipping channels by habit, and at a certain moment his hand stopped.

"Hm."

A player traveling alone. At his side, though, stood a single undead that looked to be a summon. Hm…… is he alone? A summon was nothing other than the player's own strength. Nodding in satisfaction, Dokgo Minsu fancied he was being magnanimous, and locked the channel in place.

It was not long after the second mission had begun. As time passed, his astonishment only grew.

"What manner of man is that?"

In truth, he had liked the fellow from the start — a sword alone in hand, not even a shield. But that was not what had startled him. It was the swordsmanship. He had already judged the attack and defense to be high from the caliber of the items, and he had brushed aside, as no great matter, the Frenzy Armor Set the man appeared to wear — a set that could not possibly exist. Swordsmanship, however, he received differently.

A master. Each time the man in the footage swung, Dokgo Minsu could not help but click his tongue. The trajectories, the timing of each extension — skill enough that even he, peerless under heaven, would have to concede a point.

To have entered the Species Tournament is to be short of level 300……. The more he watched, the more astonishing it became. At times the man showed movements he could not comprehend at all. Have my eyes fallen short of that man's level?

Dokgo Minsu laughed, hollow.

"A frog in a well. The world is vast indeed. Yes. What these eyes can see is not the whole of it. I should like to yield the title of Joseon's Best Sword to that man."

Having muttered something rather mortifying to himself, he did not stop watching. He meant to learn from the man in the footage. Even actions that seemed meaningless were bound to hold intent, and what impressed him most was how the man chose dangerous roads of his own will. He does not spare his body for the growth of his sword. Interpreting the behavior in his own fashion, Dokgo Minsu smiled, well pleased.

It was then.

The ground beneath the man's feet in the footage caved in, and the screen shifted — not the channel, but the place. Scarcely flustered, the man set off down the only path there was. He walked on, and in time he found a Guardian. From that moment, Dokgo Minsu drew a deep breath and held it.

"Horidan?"

For some reason, unlike everything he had shown until now, the man in the footage did not charge the Guardian recklessly.

"He knows it upon instinct alone. How dreadful a creature Horidan is."

Not a few seconds after the words left him, Horidan's neck was cut.

For a while Dokgo Minsu watched with his mouth pressed shut. Then he tilted his head.

"Was that not Horidan?"

Watching from a distance, he might simply have been mistaken. Had it truly been Horidan, the creature would not have died so easily.

"I was mistaken."

He had no way of knowing that the moment Yujun picked up Horidan's ring had been deftly cut from the broadcast.

"Even so…… skill of that order, and items such as those……. I should like to meet him."

More precisely, he wanted to cross swords. Watching the man swing made his own body itch; he wanted to step out of the mansion that very moment and cut the air with all his might.

"No. There is no need to do so outside."

Dokgo Minsu drew the sword at his waist. He called to mind the way the man had swung, and tried to reproduce the motion exactly. It was not easy. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠He could feel the tip of the blade trembling, ever so faintly, and he knew a great, high wall stood between himself and the man in the footage.

He did not despair. He exulted. Train without cease, and one day he would tear that wall down.

Whoosh. Whoom.

For a time, in the great and quiet mansion, only the sound of a sword cutting the air rang out.