Chapter 63

Meanwhile, as Jae-min waged fierce battle against illusions in the Trials of the Central Plains.

"...Why?"

Oh Chae-rin was sweating bullets like rain. On the TV, Jin Soo-hyun rode atop a monstrous bird the size of a house, desperately(?) searching for her. Anyone could see it wasn't a friendly visit. If it were, she wouldn't have brought an army of monsters and set up camp right in front of the guild headquarters.

"Why, why...?"

Even worse, she had no idea why. No matter how hard she racked her brain, she couldn't figure out what had pissed off Jin Soo-hyun, who usually holed up quietly on Wild Island. What could she have possibly done to stir that woman up?

As Oh Chae-rin stood dumbfounded in the absurd situation, a reporter on-site asked the question that perfectly captured her feelings.

<Why are you looking for Guild Leader Oh Chae-rin?>

Jin Soo-hyun's response?

<The reason I'm doing this?! Ha! She probably knows better than anyone!>

"Ah, no. I have no clue..."

<One of her underlings barged into Wild Island without my permission earlier!>

"......?"

What the hell was that nonsense? The answer only made her more confused. Oh Chae-rin's eyes began to shake uncontrollably.

<That dogshit punk Kang Tae-sik or whatever, stirring up shit in the name of 'Mad Dog'! Damn it!>

"Kang Tae... what?!"

my island! You really suck at managing your minions, you rotten bitch! Or wait—no, you must've ordered it yourself, right? Do I look like a pushover to you?>

"Wh-what, wh-what the...?"

A tornado raged in Oh Chae-rin's mind.

'Kang Tae-sik?'

We'd been dying to hunt that bastard down and kill him ourselves. But more than that—she thinks I ordered it?

"What kind of bullshit is...!"

Jin Soo-hyun was operating under some crazy misunderstanding. Bracing for a false accusation, Oh Chae-rin prepared to head down to the lobby. If she didn't show herself, Jin Soo-hyun looked dead serious about attacking the guild building.

'I have to stop that at all costs...!'

Considering what lay inside this building—more precisely, in the basement—it was no wonder she was so frantic.

As Oh Chae-rin rushed toward the door of her office suite, feet aflame,

Here, "that girl" meant Lee Ji-yoon. And bringing the Guardian Stone...

"Hwang Jae-min—you want me to eliminate that bastard?"

A positive sign? Or just silence. It was the latter.

A few days ago, the day Lee Ji-yoon had unexpectedly joined the Black Lion Guild's dinner. Oh Chae-rin had hidden a clone of herself in the shadows to tail her. It was one of the miracles of the Witch of Eternal Sleep.

Originally, a vessel like Oh Chae-rin, who wasn't even an inheritor, shouldn't have been able to wield it yet. But she had, thanks to the constellation temporarily lending her a Guardian Stone infused with its power.

'At the cost of my eye, though...'

It was an unavoidable equivalent exchange by the system. Unless the constellation sponsored the miracle permanently, such trades were par for the course.

Her empty eye socket throbbed beneath the eyepatch.

'No big deal. It was worth it.'

Borrowing a constellation's miracle for the price of one eye? No regrets. Especially considering the massive gains to come—it was a bargain.

But a problem had arisen.

'Thanks to that trash Hwang Jae-min...!'

The clone that fought Jae-min had been powered by the Guardian Stone. And Jae-min had defeated it. Which meant the stone, serving as its core, had surely fallen into his hands.

'One of the miracles sealed in it likely bonded randomly to his body.'

After losing the precious loaned stone, the Witch of Eternal Sleep had flown into a massive rage. It had taken repeated vows to recover it to finally calm her down. Even now, recalling the agony endured in that process made her shiver.

But 'Why press me now, of all times...!'

The Guardian Stone and Lee Ji-yoon weren't the priority right now.

Careful not to let her expression sour, Oh Chae-rin calmly pleaded to her constellation.

"I fully understand your impatience. But first, let me handle the crisis right in front of—"

"Guhk...!"

Oh Chae-rin's slender body twisted unnaturally, as if crushed in a hydraulic press. An invisible hand seemed to seize and yank her organs in excruciating agony. As she choked and collapsed to the floor, the witch's whisper flickered before her bloodshot eyes.

Human survival instinct was truly miraculous. Even as her guts slowly crushed, Oh Chae-rin struggled to speak.

"H-huhk... B-but...! Right now, I have, no way...! To get Lee Ji-yoon from the Association...!"

She actually knew Lee Ji-yoon's location, thanks to the Soul Resonance skill from their first meeting. A covert shackle she didn't know about.

'But knowing doesn't change a damn thing...!'

Storming an impregnable fortress like the Association to drag her out? Impossible.

As frustration mounted at the unreasonable demand, the Witch of Eternal Sleep offered an alternative.

"Y-yes...?"

Stunned by the unexpected message, Oh Chae-rin's mouth hung open. As far as she knew, constellations possessed only a handful of Guardian Stones. Lending one now showed just how desperate the Witch of Eternal Sleep was.

But 'N-no, I don't want it...'

Oh Chae-rin wasn't thrilled. Borrowing a Guardian Stone required an equivalent price. The first was her right eye—which she'd gladly paid. But after losing one eye, offering another sacrifice? That was different.

"......"

With her right eye already gone, the choice was obvious. She knew that's why it was demanded.

"R-right hand..."

As Oh Chae-rin fought back tears and selected her tribute,

Fwaaah—!

Her right hand, pressed against the hard floor, began dissolving into particles. It vanished cleanly, like pixels winking out, but

"Gaaaaahhh—!!"

the pain felt no different from her hand being shredded in a blender.

***

Association dorms. Lee Ji-yoon's eyes snapped open on the spacious bed where she'd been sleeping soundly. But beneath her eyelids, her pupils showed no whites—both eyes were pitch black, like ink had spread through them.

Lee Ji-yoon..., no. Oh Chae-rin, now inhabiting her body, slowly sat up.

[To think she'd actually fortified her body...]

The appearance was Lee Ji-yoon's, but the voice from her lips was Oh Chae-rin's. Through the constellation miracle Body Fortification, she'd possessed Lee Ji-yoon's flesh.

'Without the mental link from Soul Resonance, it would've been impossible. Lucky.'

Whoosh—. Water ran from the bathroom. Her little brother was bathing, probably.

Possessing Lee Ji-yoon's body: success. But the real work started now.

[Hwang Jae-min...!]

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Glancing at Lee Ji-yoon's hands, Oh Chae-rin seethed inwardly. Thinking of losing her right hand to that trash made her blood boil.

'I know where that bastard is.'

For some insane reason, the trash was blitzing random ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gates left and right. A rare stunt, so the news helpfully reported which one he was tackling.

...Ignoring the Jin Soo-hyun breaking news, of course.

'Association watchers outside the door. So...'

Oh Chae-rin left the bed and approached the large window on the wall. Then...

Crash—!

She shattered the glass and leaped out. Only three stories up, and Lee Ji-yoon's body now inherited S-rank Oh Chae-rin's stats. The landing shock was negligible.

From there, she dashed toward the gate Jae-min was reportedly conquering.

Moments later.

"You can't come in here."

Upon arrival, an Association staffer guarding the gate tried to stop her. But

Thwack!

Oh Chae-rin chopped the back of his neck with her hand blade, knocking him out.

'Come out already.'

She glared ferociously at the resonating red gate, like a beast awaiting prey from its den.

Soon, the gate began contracting rapidly as closure set in. At the same moment, a longsword of black flames materialized in Oh Chae-rin's right hand.

Positioned to strike the back of the head on exit, she shifted slightly aside. And...

Thud.

Footsteps echoed softly.

Shiiik—!

The blade of darkness plummeted like lightning toward Jae-min's crown.

***

Clang—!

I had plenty of time to react, but Gift thankfully blocked the ambush for me. Good boy.

...Who the hell is this, anyway?

As I turned to check the attacker,

"You..."

I was so stunned I wondered if I was seeing things. No way. A hallucination? Lee Ji-yoon was right there?

"Why are you here?"

[Kuh...!]

Lee Ji-yoon kicked back from the ground, breaking the standoff, and glared at me fiercely... but what was up with those eyes?

'What is this, Ju-on?'

Scared me half to death. But when a perfectly fine girl suddenly sports eyes like that, it means one thing.

"Ah, what a tiring-ass day this is turning out to be..."

How did a girl who should've been safe and sound under protection end up like this? No clue.

Then, glancing at Gift beside me, shock spread across Lee Ji-yoon's face.

[A dragon...?!]

"Your voice...?"

I was shocked too. The body was Lee Ji-yoon's, but the voice wasn't. That soft, nerve-grating, irritating tone.

No doubt about it.

"Oh Chae-rin, huh."

[The dragon next to you... Don't tell me you tamed it?]

"Like I'd tell you. And why does this girl keep getting possessed like it's a hobby."

Tricky situation. Of all things, that demon bitch possesses Lee Ji-yoon to mess with me.

'Going all-out feels wrong...'

But holding back is iffy too. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Why? Tss tss tss—!

Black aura poured from Lee Ji-yoon's entire body. Same energy as from Oh Chae-rin's clone before.

'Not just possession. She's fully inherited Oh Chae-rin's stats.'

I could win full-force, no problem. But Lee Ji-yoon would take irreparable damage.

'No guarantee that'd force the demon bitch out of her body either.'

Hold back, and I might get hurt. Oh Chae-rin was S-rank for a reason—not someone to take lightly.

"I don't expect fair play, but this is kinda dirty, don't you think?"

[Don't act so wronged. I'm just here to take back what you stole.]

"...I don't remember stealing anything from you?"

[Oh my, still got some shame left? When you killed my clone that day, a stone dropped, right?]

"A stone? ...Ah."

So that's why the crazy bitch came after me. Makes sense—a Guardian Stone holds a constellation's miracle.

"You must've gotten an earful from your constellation over it? What was her name again... Starts with 'Young' or something. Young-woo and Debt-ji?"

[...Rip that lying mouth off and you'll cough up the Guardian Stone.]

"Maybe. But here's the thing—sorry about this."

I shrugged mockingly.

"I gave it to someone else."

[What...?!]

Oh Chae-rin's face crumpled like used tissue. Hey, don't make that expression on Lee Ji-yoon's face. You'll give her wrinkles later.

[T-to someone else? Who...!]

"Not close enough for that info. And while we're chatting—"

I'd trailed off on purpose. My right eye was already beaming rays of light.

"I figured out how to boot you from her body."

I'd thought of it the moment the Guardian Stone came up. Just needed cooldown time, so I stalled.

The real strength of this ability might be peeking at the opponent's skills and traits. Vital secrets to any player.

"I'll skip the skills and seal the trait Unstable Body Fortification."

[What the hell are you—guhk?!]

Locking eyes with my red glow, she clutched her chest and dropped to her knees. Purple veins bulged starkly on her suffocating face.

[G-guh...! K-kek...!]

"Mess with someone else's body, and you end up like this. Perverted bitch."

[Y-you, damn...!]

"Such foul language. Shouldn't you be thanking me instead?"

I sneered and turned to gaze into the distance. Where my eyes landed:

"You don't have time for this with me, do you?"

Mad Dog's towering building stood proud, with Jin Soo-hyun's monstrous bird circling like a hawk nearby. Whew, even watching made me nervous.

[One day, I'll kill you with my own hands...!]

"No need to wait for 'one day.'"

Black yin energy rose from Lee Ji-yoon's body. The petite frame collapsed pitifully as the intruder fully vanished.

As I gently supported her feverish body,

Kraka boom—!!

A thunderous roar like the sky shattering echoed from afar. Jin Soo-hyun's bird had finally bombed the building.

Watching the spectacle of a thunderbird unleashing lightning from a safe distance, I muttered the rest.

"We'll meet again in a few minutes."