Hmm...

"Hmm..."

Yujun let out a long, heavy sigh.

Kim Heeyeon had learned far too much. Things she had no business knowing.

"Paranet. I told you to watch that mouth of yours. Now you've gone and made this a hassle."

"F-forgive me."

Yujun took up his sword and quietly approached Kim Heeyeon. His face had hardened to stone, and at the sight of it she stumbled backward, terror plain across her features. The sudden change in him was frightening beyond words.

"W-wait. What's gotten into you? You're scaring me, Yujun."

"......"

"Aah!"

Kim Heeyeon squeezed her eyes shut.

"What are you doing? Look at this."

"...Huh?"

Yujun held the sword out to her.

"W-why are you giving me this?"

"Check the item options."

"Okay. Got it."

Kim Heeyeon's mouth fell open.

"...What is this?"

"My weapon."

"This is the sword you've been using?"

"Yeah."

"You're not even level 300. How are you using this?"

"There are ways."

"You really are something. No wonder you're strong."

"Yeah. It's the gear."

"Is it even okay to show me something like this? I've never met a single person who owns a Mythic-grade item. If word of this reaches other people..."

It would be chaos. Yujun knew that perfectly well.

"I trust you."

"Huh...?"

"If you don't say anything, nobody's going to know."

"Yeah. That's true."

Yujun broke into a bright smile, and Kim Heeyeon smiled along with him.

"Thank you. For trusting me."

"We're friends. Of course I do."

"Yujun..."

She looked at him, overcome. Inwardly, he thought, Whew. Somehow that worked.

His reason for showing her the weapon was simple. He meant to make betrayal unthinkable. She would already know he possessed a Mythic-grade item, so forcing the secret to stay buried was pointless, and cutting ties with someone whose talent for searching out dungeons was this exceptional would be a tremendous loss. This, he decided, was the best course.

Paranet, however, had no notion of what Yujun was thinking.

"Master! Were you not of a mind to slay that human woman? Let us be done with her at once! If not, then I shall—"

Smack!

Yujun cracked him hard across the back of the skull.

"What are you saying? You planning to keep spouting nonsense?"

"Forgive me!"

"Heeyeon is our comrade. Understand? Don't talk like that again."

"Yes!"

"Sorry, Heeyeon. Just let Paranet's nonsense slide."

"It's fine. I already knew he was that kind of guy."

Kim Heeyeon grinned.

"......"

"Still, I thought he'd have at least some sense of decency. Undead to the bone. He really does act exactly the way he looks."

"......"

"Nothing to be disappointed about, I suppose. I never expected anything in the first place. Paranet isn't a person like us, is he? Just a skeleton that happens to move. Why did I even bother talking to him?"

"Heeyeon. I—I think that's enough. You've already done plenty of damage."

Paranet's back bent until it could bend no further.

Keen Sense was a genuinely useful trait. In terrain this bewildering, it gave him a rough feel for which way he ought to go.

Where the monsters are.

That was the destination for Yujun and his party. He set off toward the northeast.

"Master. I sense a dangerous presence ahead."

"Yeah. I feel it too."

With an unknown monster waiting before them, the hair all over his body stood on end.

"Strong."

Something nearby was powerful enough to drag the word out of him unbidden.

Was this one always here? Feels like the difficulty just spiked.

Or perhaps the witch was making one last desperate stand. Whichever it was, there was nothing for it but to fight.

Yujun walked slowly forward, and the monster pouring out that immense presence came into view. Its body was not nearly as enormous as he had expected — a muscular giant, and yet it gave off an impression of agility. Golden armor covered it from head to toe.

"You came."

The voice was low, and deeply unpleasant to hear.

"Did the witch call you?"

"You mean Manuela? If so, then yes."

"Huh? So she isn't your master?"

"Laughable. No one stands above me."

"What are ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you, exactly?"

"A warrior of the Demon Realm."

"Yeah? You a demon, by any chance?"

"Wrong."

Yujun studied the monster before him carefully. It certainly didn't carry the air of a demon. If anything, it resembled the transcendent species he had met before.

Well, that works out.

He could inflict far greater damage on enemies that possessed the dark attribute, thanks to the options on his various titles and items.

"You look upon me and feel no fear."

"I told you, I don't know who you are."

"A powerhouse of your caliber ought to know how strong I am."

Yujun nodded. It was a fact he couldn't deny. Honestly, if one looked at physical specs alone, the thing stood above even him. His percentage increases to all stats were well past fifty percent, and he was still being overwhelmed in raw numbers. That meant ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the man in front of him was no ordinary kind of strong. Perhaps because of it, ease spilled from the creature's every movement.

"Karas. That is my name."

"Why the name all of a sudden?"

"An unspoken rule of the Demon Realm. One gives one's name to the opponent one intends to kill."

"The ones I've killed so far never bothered telling me theirs."

"That is because they did not respect you as a powerhouse."

"...Is that so? Kind ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of irritating."

"And that is why they fell to you. They failed to properly gauge the level of their opponent."

"And you're saying you're different?"

"Yes. I am fully aware that you are strong. I've come to see it of late — humans truly are strong. Hard to believe it has been only five years since they gained the abilities of players."

"Have you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠met humans besides me?"

"Yes. He called himself a top-ranker. He was certainly strong."

"Did you kill him?"

"No. I lost."

"And you actually survived?"

"My life is not limited to one."

Karas grinned. The longer Yujun looked, the more loathsome that face became. And come to think of it, who was the human who had killed a Karas who looked this strong? Yujun spoke again.

"You're saying that even if I kill you, you'll just come back?"

"That will not come to pass. You cannot kill me."

"We'll see."

Yujun knew why Karas carried that confidence. The man simply believed he was ahead in raw physical strength, and Yujun granted him that much.

But stats aren't everything.

Then the thing moved. The instant Karas's left foot left the ground, Yujun retreated in a backstep. Karas stuck to him as if he had expected exactly that, and Yujun swung his sword along the path the other was taking. Karas tipped his head slightly back, then pressed forward again.

As expected... He's reading every move I make.

Yujun activated Keen Sense. Judging by eye alone would be too slow. Karas had clearly mastered sensory traits or skills of a higher order than his own.

That was when Paranet charged. The instant the enemy's gaze turned toward the skeleton, Yujun moved. Using Rapid Advance (A), he reached Karas in a flash and drove his sword straight out.

Whoosh!

With attacks coming from both front and back, Karas chose to evade Yujun's strike.

Slash—!

Paranet's sword cut across Karas's back and swept past. Karas kicked the skeleton, hard.

Boom!

"Ghk!"

Paranet shot backward like a fired bullet. Yujun swung again, and Karas met the blade with his bare fist.

Boom!

The man fell back.

"That sword. It is no ordinary thing."

Karas spoke with his brow furrowed. Not only the hand — the entire forearm had been torn clean away. Even "shredded" fell short of the sight. And yet the arm regenerated in moments.

Why is every single thing I run into a regeneration freak...

Yujun let out a hollow laugh. Regeneration beyond a troll's was excessive no matter how one looked at it. Healing the instant a wound opened? It wasn't as if the man lived with an elixir grafted to his body. And that was not the end of it. The arm of the armor had been destroyed as well, and even that had returned to its original state. It was a sight difficult to believe.

Still, he can't be invincible.

Regeneration like that could not continue without limit. In fact, Karas's breathing had grown faintly rough — a minute change, but Yujun's Keen Sense caught the difference in him before and after the injury.

A faint smile settled at the corner of Karas's mouth.

"Are you a top-ranker as well?"

"Why? Scared all of a sudden?"

"Not in the least."

"Didn't you say you lost before?"

"That one surpassed me in raw stats alone. You are different. You do nothing but lean on assorted tricks and items. In that case, I have no reason to lose."

A human with higher stats than Karas. Who could that be? He was intensely curious. By the rumors going around, the levels of the top-rankers had only just reached the early-to-mid four hundreds.

Then again, rumors are rumors. They can hardly be called accurate information.

Just recalling what Ji Gyutae had said, it seemed there were already people past level 500.

Discipline, Coordination — whatever those people call themselves, their levels must be around there.

Yujun poured mana into his sword.

"Then why did you take me for a top-ranker? You said I was weaker than the one you fought."

"Not every top-ranker is the same. You know that, do you not?"

He had a point. There was no reason every top-ranker should be of similar skill. Some were merely passable, while the renowned Sword God, Dokgo Minsu, was strong enough to be called a heaven beyond heaven.

This isn't the time.

He had a strong sense that Karas was dragging things out in order to recover the stamina he had lost.

Yujun moved. Karas reacted at once and rushed to meet him.

Swordsmanship of SSS rank. The trait told him exactly where the blade ought to go. Karas tried to dodge the sword and slip inside, but the path of the blade curved, and he hastily crossed both arms.

Boom!

Yujun's mana-charged sword crashed hard into Karas's forearms.

"Ngh..."

Both arms vanished without a trace, then began to regenerate once more.

"Don't you have a weapon?"

Yujun asked. Karas twisted his mouth.

"My body is the weapon."

"Those things on your arms?"

"Yes."

"For something like that, they broke awfully easily."

"......"

Yujun carried attack-power bonuses even on his defense, and he had Legendary-grade accessories besides. On top of that he was wielding a Mythic-grade weapon, so Karas's arms had no hope of remaining intact. The strain on the man was plain to see.

So it isn't without a price after all.

Taking Karas's head in a single stroke was difficult. Then he would simply force the body to keep regenerating until the man was too exhausted to move.

Or else...

There was the option of using an item. Yujun opened his inventory.