Chapter 213: Soul-Chasing Shadow
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 213: Soul-Chasing Shadow
Rustle...
A deeply familiar energy tickled his skin.
Although they had never met in person, Cheon Yu-seong recognized who it was instantly.
The creator of the Soul-Chasing Sword.
The eccentric master, whom he had assumed had died and turned to dust long ago, was now standing right before his eyes.
"Hmm. So you are the child named Cheon Yu-seong."
Her appearance made her look barely in her early twenties.
Baek Seol-rin was second to none when it came to beauty, but even she could not compare to the Soul-Chasing Shadow.
Like a celestial maiden recorded in legends, the aura radiating from her pitch-black bobbed hair and clear eyes was hard to believe belonged to a human.
"You... weren't dead."
"Thanks to Rebirth and Rejuvenation, I have been able to enjoy a long life. Of course, I had to accept a few restrictions because of the Tower..."
So that was it.
A fortuitous encounter obtained by breaking down the walls and system of the Tower.
Only now did he understand how the Soul-Chasing Shadow could be here.
"Why has such a legendary recluse... come to find me?"
"I felt something in you that is just like me. A talent different from ordinary people. And a burning desire that cannot be satisfied by that alone."
The Soul-Chasing Shadow slowly adjusted her grip on her sword.
"I see you have learned the Soul-Chasing Sword. Seeing this child of mine through another's sword was quite interesting. However, it is still unrefined."
Swoosh.
The form Cheon Yu-seong had unleashed moments ago...
No, a sword technique incomparably more precise and elegant was demonstrated.
It was a sword dance so perfect it gave him goosebumps.
Cheon Yu-seong was so captivated by the Soul-Chasing Shadow's sword that he forgot the passage of time.
Is this the true Soul-Chasing Sword?
If only I could master all of these mnemonics...
If only I could make all of this my own.
I will surely be able to surpass Jinhyuk.
And finally, one movement of the sword dance came to an end.
The Soul-Chasing Shadow looked at Cheon Yu-seong with her clear eyes.
"I do not care if it is a lie. I will understand even if you treat me as a mere stepping stone to achieve your goal. Just swear that you will wield your sword for me to reach that ultimate end."
Even if it was riddled with hypocrisy.
And even if he did not know what consequences it would bring.
The Soul-Chasing Shadow demanded that Cheon Yu-seong show the etiquette of a disciple to a master.
There is... no other way left.
He was prepared to throw away everything if it meant becoming stronger.
Yet, at the very last moment, Jinhyuk's face flashed through Cheon Yu-seong's mind.
He had always thought of him as a detestable, sly bastard.
But for some reason, the thought of seeing him look disappointed made a corner of his heart ache.
Grit!
Don't think of this as a betrayal. You and I were enemies from the very beginning anyway.
His hesitation did not last long.
"I greet you, Master."
Cheon Yu-seong bowed respectfully.
* * *
As dawn approached.
Jinhyuk followed Penheimer toward the 'Imperial Treasure Warehouse' located on the outskirts of the capital.
While the flashy, superficial treasures were kept inside the imperial palace, this place housed the genuine, highly prized treasures of the imperial family.
"We have arrived. I will open the door, so please wait here for a moment."
Standing before a massive cliff, Penheimer placed his palm against the rock.
Rumble!
Suddenly, the rock split open to the left and right, creating a space wide enough for a single person to enter.
"Oh. Quite impressive for humans. A mechanism where the door only opens when the authorized individual supplies the exact amount of mana. This certainly guarantees tight security."
Alice let out a soft exclamation of admiration.
But the surprises did not end there.
The moment they stepped inside the treasure warehouse, an unimaginable array of treasures greeted them.
As expected of a massive power, the hoard they've stashed away is monstrous.
Jinhyuk's eyes gleamed with greed.
From various magical armaments to rare artifacts that commanded astronomical prices on the Coin Exchange.
Anyone would drool at the sight of this.
It was painful that he could only choose one, but picking the absolute best item would bring some peace of mind.
"Oh! Can't I choose one too? I really want this shiny gem."
With a flushed face, Alice grabbed a blue diamond the size of a fist.
This wasn't like asking to buy a cute accessory while walking down Hongdae Street.
She was trying to swipe a gem that looked valuable enough to buy up all the buildings in Hongdae.
On top of that, she was eyeing all the expensive wines...
Penheimer's stomach couldn't help but churn.
"T-The contract was only made with Lord Jinhyuk, so that is a bit..."
Penheimer broke into a cold sweat in embarrassment, but there was no way such words would register in Alice's ears.
"Thanks."
Rustle, rustle.
One by one, the wines were sucked into her subdimensional inventory.
"Wait. I never said you could have those."
"Yeah. I'll do my best to help too."
"H-Hold on a moment."
Penheimer hurriedly reached out.
However, the gem had already vanished into Alice's subdimensional inventory.
While this act of near-highway robbery was taking place, Jinhyuk was scanning the countless treasures with a hawk-like gaze.
The best item...
Swords, spears, bows, shields, armor, accessories.
Not a single one looked subpar.
Among them, a pair of sleek, well-crafted daggers and a dark, ink-colored spear were of such high quality that his hand instinctively reached out for them.
Are these armaments made by Dwarves?
Jinhyuk activated 'Gluttony's Eye' to inspect the two items.
[Daggers Crafted by Artisan Makmum]
Attack Power: 2,100
Durability: 1,000/1,000
- Description: Daggers forged from Orichalcum, known as the metal of the gods. They deal 100% additional damage to dark-attribute monsters. However, because they were crafted as ornaments for high-ranking nobles rather than for actual combat, their base attack power is somewhat low.
[Spear Crafted by Artisan Montrihon]
Attack Power: 5,500
Durability: 3,300/3,300
- Description: A spear forged from iron sourced from the Black Iron mine on the 25th floor of the Tower. Befitting the work of an artisan, it possesses exceptional attack power and durability. However, due to the nature of Black Iron, prolonged use carries the drawback of potentially corrupting the user's mind.
Although there were some drawbacks, they were more than worth enduring.
The other items also had drawbacks that outweighed their advantages.
I can't stay here all day, so I should choose one of these two.
But just as he was about to make his choice, Jinhyuk's gaze locked onto a translucent glass bottle.
The dark red liquid inside the glass bottle was emitting a strange energy.
Could this be...
There's no mistake.
"Lord Penheimer. I've made my choice."
Jinhyuk set the weapons down and took the glass bottle from the display case.
"Hmm. Are you really planning to choose that?"
"It seems like the best thing here."
"The choice is yours, Lord Jinhyuk, but I would advise against it if possible. I do not know much about it, but that is..."
"I know. It's the blood of a Red Dragon."
"...!"
At Jinhyuk's reply, Penheimer flinched.
"You are choosing it even though you know what it is?"
Normally, dragon blood is used as a top-tier magical ingredient.
Since it flowed through the body of a dragon—the very crystallization of mana—it naturally possessed immense efficacy.
The problem was that handling the blood required an excruciatingly high level of difficulty.
Even the Empire's chief mage had failed to use this blood to reinforce armaments, meaning that practically no one in the Empire could handle it.
However.
In truth, there was exactly one person in the Empire who could handle it.
A legendary artisan who transcended magic and could manipulate all things.
"Yes. I'll take this."
Jinhyuk nodded without hesitation.
"Haha. If anyone else had insisted on this, I would have called it foolish... but since it is you, Lord Jinhyuk, I find myself looking forward to it. I must leave now as I cannot be away from my post for too long, but I sincerely hope you achieve what you desire."
Penheimer, who had to keep an eye on the nobles, bid his farewell here.
* * *
Once lunchtime passed, the streets of the capital became packed with crowds of people.
Thanks to that, gaps appeared in the ironclad security, allowing Jinhyuk and Alice to blend into the crowd and roam the streets.
"It's a rare trip, but we're hiding so much that I can't even sightsee properly."
Alice grumbled, puffing out her cheeks in discontent.
Since her time to manifest outside the ring was relatively limited, Alice wanted to see and enjoy as much as possible whenever she came out.
Of course.
From Jinhyuk's perspective, hearing such complaints only made him sigh.
"How can you... even think about sightseeing in a situation like this?"
The Murim, the noble faction within the Empire... even the Heavenly Demon Cult and the Demonic Human Association were involved.
On top of that, wasn't it obvious that the players who had chosen their factions and the giant guilds would also participate in this war?
According to Gawain, even that bastard Cheon Yu-seong might have joined hands with the Murim.
Plus, he had to worry about Namgung Cheon, who had led the China Guild before defecting to the Murim side. All in all, it was a massive headache.
However.
"Hmm. Can't we just wipe them all out?"
Alice tilted her head with an innocent expression.
This is exactly why I don't like True Ancestors.
They never think and just push through with brute force.
"If you manifest and run amok, the other True Ancestor heads will start moving, and even the Tower's Administrators will intervene. That sounds so easy, doesn't it?"
"If we have you, me, and that mosquito guy, I think we can take on anyone who comes at us."
"Forget it. I shouldn't have even brought it up."
Jinhyuk clicked his tongue and shook his head.
Just then, their destination came into view.
[Orun's Blacksmith Shop]
[The Empire's finest blacksmith shop, where you can feel the touch of a 50-year master!]
[Payment accepted in alcohol.]
[Kindness, Service, Love. Customer Satisfaction: 1.6%]
[Ranked #1 Most Unfriendly Shop by the Empire]
There were dozens of blacksmith shops nearby, but this one was in a particularly terrible state.
The sign looked like it was about to fall off... and to begin with, some highly suspicious phrases were mixed into the text on the sign.
"Are you sure this is a good place?"
"It might look like this, but the owner here is indeed highly skilled."
"Hmm. I find that hard to believe..."
Alice muttered skeptically as she stepped inside.
"Snore... Wheeze! Cough! Cough!"
A loud snoring sound greeted them instead of a welcome.
A dwarf with a flushed red face could be seen fast asleep right in the middle of the blacksmith shop.
The old man with a small but sturdy build was none other than the Dwarf, 'Orun'.
"Hello."
"Snore!"
"Excuse me?"
"Snore!"
"Hmm. I brought some really fine wine, but since you're asleep, I guess there's nothing I can do. Should I head to the blacksmith shop next door..."
"Snort... What? A-Alcohol?! Did you say alcohol?"
Orun's eyes snapped open.
Just how much of an alcoholic did one have to be to react to such a quiet whisper?
Well, at least it saved him the trouble of waking the dwarf up.
"Ahem. Right. What brings you here?"
"I'd like to commission a job."
"A commission? Excellent. It's been so long since a sucker... I mean, a customer, walked in. No matter what you entrust to me, I'll craft it spectacularly."
"It's not that I don't trust you, Master Orun, but would you mind if I gave you a quick test? Of course, I'll pay for this separately."
Jinhyuk produced an accessory adorned with various gems on his palm.
It was a bracelet that belonged to Alice.
"Hey! That's mine! When did you even...!"
"Shh!"
"Mmph...!"
Quickly covering Alice's mouth, Jinhyuk looked back at Orun.
"Would that be alright?"
"A test... Haha. It seems my credibility has fallen quite a bit."
Behind his low, heavy voice lay a deep anger at having his skills as an artisan questioned, mixed with self-deprecation for having fallen to such a state.
"I don't need payment. I will show you right now... exactly who I, Orun, once known as the 'Unquenchable Anvil' in the Dwarf Kingdom, truly am."
Orun pulled out a heavy hammer.
Hummmmm!
An indescribable magic infused the hammer, which was decorated with ancient runes.
And at that very moment,
"Heave-ho!"
The hammer came crashing down from above.
Boom!
[Enhancement failed!]
[Queen Pendragon's Bracelet has been destroyed!]
"..."
"..."
"..."
A brief silence ensued.
It was a very brief silence indeed.
"Haha. Have I been drinking too much lately? My hand slipped."
"Aaaaaah!"
Alice let out a scream as if her entire world had ended.
"You... you damn old dwarf geezer!"