Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: I Have Two Lives
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The moment I’d anticipated upon entering the boss room had arrived.
One chance.
I could beat him.
The body of the “Nameless One” turned into black mist.
‘Here it comes.’
His ultimate technique.
Illusion Thousand Kills.
Faceless humans multiplying endlessly like afterimages from a cloning technique.
Front. Back. Left. Right. Diagonals.
Assassins closing in from all directions, encircling me completely.
At first glance, it might look like a cloning technique, but the essence was different.
Every assassin surrounding me was “real.”
How could one assassin become multiple? It was, of course, impossible.
Yet the “Nameless One” made it possible.
The realm of absolute masters who warped reality itself.
That was the foe I faced.
‘No way a monster like this crawls out of a C-rank dungeon.’
It probably only appeared here because it was humanoid—an assassin type.
A liquid body that could be taken down with one solid hit.
Stab.
“Argh!”
Short swords surging from every direction pierced my heart.
The heart located in my left chest.
It ceased functioning, gushing blood in violent spurts.
“Laura… now!”
In that instant, the dozens of assassins impaling me vanished, leaving only one behind.
His skill had been dispelled.
I used telekinesis to yank the hand holding his dagger toward me.
His blade pierced straight through my chest, dragging his hand right up to my heart.
Restraining an arm that could move freely was difficult.
It required force from every direction.
But applying force from just one direction, like now, allowed me to grip it far more powerfully.
The assassin looked panicked as his arm refused to budge.
With one hand, I seized his remaining one, pinning it in place.
Now I had one hand free.
The hand gripping my flail.
He twisted his body trying to wrench his arm free, shifted into a stance to dissolve into black mist like before—but nothing happened.
“Wh-what?! What sorcery have you wrought?!”
I grinned.
“You’ve gotta land a hit, right?”
I smashed his head mercilessly with the flail.
Down. Down again.
I kept hammering until the very concept of a head vanished from him.
Before long, a red gem appeared on his chest.
I reached out.
The assassin engulfed in blue flames.
-------------<Inheritance>-------------
[Strength 113 permanently increased]
[Agility 164 permanently increased]
[Intelligence 040 permanently increased]
[Luck 002 permanently increased]
-----------------------------------
-------------<Finale>-----------------
[You have defeated the ‘Nameless One.’]
----------------------------------------
“Urk.”
I collapsed straight to the floor.
The wounds from the assassin were severe.
Laura asked me.
[Handing over your heart like that—quite bold. Did you know you wouldn’t die?]
“Yeah… Yong Cheon-hwa came out fine even after losing hers.”
Sacrifice the flesh to claim the bone.
That was the strategy to beat the “Nameless One.”
A pretty big chunk of flesh, admittedly.
In essence, that was it.
Ever since Laura had possessed me, my body was no longer fully human.
It had half-dragonized, allowing a human heart and Dragon Heart to coexist.
The assassin hadn’t known, stabbing only my left chest—and that became his downfall.
[That Yong Cheon-hwa of his… I’d love to see her face at least once.]
“You’ll get to soon enough.”
Beating a B-rank boss mob like the “Nameless One” the proper way would’ve been tough, so I’d racked my brain over it.
That’s when I came up with this.
The fact that I had two hearts—and that I could seal the enemy’s skills.
I turned those into a feint.
Telekinesis was too weak for sustained combat, so I saved it for the decisive moment.
If I’d leaned on those advantages from the start, the assassin might’ve adapted.
But unveiling everything at the critical juncture left him no room to react.
I dragged my crumbling body over and unzipped my bag.
Pulled out a potion and downed it.
Flesh began regenerating over my punctured chest.
“Phew… think I’ll pull through now.”
Potions were great and all, but for a solo player like me, chugging one mid-fight was impossible.
Try sipping leisurely, and my head would be gone in seconds.
I swept through the assassin’s ashes.
Something clung to my hand.
A single book—and the dagger he’d wielded.
<[Item Acquired]>
-------------<Item>-------------
◈ Name
Skill Book: Shadowless Phantom Martial Arts
◈ Rank
--- C
◈ Description
A martial art personally devised by the genius assassin “Nameless Sovereign.”
◈ Effect
Acquire the skill “Shadowless Phantom Martial Arts.”
-----------------------------------
-------------<Item>-------------
◈ Name
Dragon Abyss
◈ Rank
A
◈ Stats
Strength 300
Agility 300
Luck 200
◈ Description
A sword said to have been forged by a legendary craftsman. Its authenticity is unknown. Grow close to it, and it reveals its true power.
◈ Effect
Ignores enemy armor.
XXX.
XXX.
-----------------------------------
“Heh heh heh.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
Armor ignore.
Perfect against tanky types who relied on plating.
‘Though if it ignores armor, my anti-sword suit probably didn’t do much either.’
A total case of perfect counter.
Still, win’s a win.
With this blatantly overpowered item and skill, I’d finally entered protagonist territory.
I picked up the skill book to read it, but Laura stopped me.
[Hold on. Mind if I analyze that first?]
“Sure, go ahead.”
I stowed the flail in my bag and gripped Dragon Abyss.
Power seemed to surge through me.
From the extra stats, probably.
“Status Window.”
------------[Status Window]------------
◈ Name
n̶̡̡̛̟̠͈͎̟̍͜͝͡͠ų̢̰̭̲̋͒̓͊̀̒́͘͡l̴̳͙͓̞̻̝͇̥͆̋͂̉̕͡͠͠l̨̛̫̖̝͓̮̳͓͆̃̈̈́̈́͆̈̕
◈ Stats
[Strength 914 B] (+300)
[Agility 661 B] (+500)
[Intelligence 024 C]
[Luck 149 F] (+200)
[Overall C]
◈ Skills
[Inheritance 811 A]
[Dragon Heart --- A]
[Telekinesis 623 C]
[Magic Engraving --- B]
-----------------------------------
Adding the 200 Agility from Hermit’s Leather and 300 from Dragon Abyss gave me a total boost of 500.
Thanks to items, Strength A and Agility A.
Intelligence and Luck weren’t hugely useful anyway, so this was honorary A-rank material.
“Ha ha ha ha!”
Laughter bubbled up unbidden.
I resolved to exit the dungeon now.
Boss down—no more threats.
Just retrace my steps.
***
Park Ha-yeon stared coldly at the empty seat across the dinner table.
Currently 8:30 p.m., she’d been waiting for Shin Noda with a full spread for two hours already.
The appetizing pork stir-fry and steaming soybean paste soup had gone completely cold.
“G-Guess I’ll eat first…”
She’d been firing off messages on her smartphone for an hour already, but no replies.
‘No read-but-ignore, right…?’
With no other choice, Park Ha-yeon picked up her spoon and started eating.
That’s when an urgent news bulletin blared from the TV.
[Gate Appears Once More in Central Seoul!]
The anchor relayed the scene in a frantic tone.
“A gate has appeared at a four-way intersection in OO District, Seoul! The first gate in nearly a decade—the world’s first in that time. Witnesses report multiple civilians already caught inside. A-rank heroes ‘Metal Man’ and ‘Office Lady’ are on site, but they’re hesitant to enter. Let’s hear from an expert.”
A phone interview played with a university professor.
“Gates impose an entry limit once an awakener steps inside, eventually sealing off access entirely. Until the awakener who entered dies, that is. Academia sees this as evidence of the transcendent beings who create gates…”
The screen cut back to the gate, billowing black energy.
The anchor spoke up.
“We heard that loud and clear. So which hero entered first? Can the civilians be saved? Breaking news just in: the identity of the awakener who entered the gate has been confirmed.”
A grainy, overexposed photo.
A figure in a black robe.
Park Ha-yeon knew who it was.
‘Dark Knight.’
The news anchor explained briefly for those unfamiliar, then shared the update.
“Infamous villain ‘Dark Knight,’ known for vigilante justice, has entered the gate. We’ll discuss with an expert.”
A former A-rank hero appeared in the studio.
He scowled as he spoke.
“I’ve personally looked into ‘Dark Knight,’ and even being generous, he’s B-rank at best. Regrettably, clearing the dungeon will be impossible. It’s measured as C-rank—a lone B-rank can’t handle it.”
“Ah… I see. What about the civilians trapped inside with him?”
“Survival looks unlikely.”
The anchor nodded gravely.
The ex-hero spoke with contempt.
“Crazy bastards like ‘Dark Knight’ are the scariest when they’ve got convictions. The gate would’ve waited for proper heroes to handle it, but no—he had to play expert and barge in, dooming innocent lives.”
“Haha… This is broadcast TV, so mind the phrasing a bit. Lately, there’s been considerable online support for ‘Dark Knight.’ Netizens, it seems we all need a wake-up call about amateur vigilantism.”
Park Ha-yeon sat alone at the table.
Sipping her cold soup, she murmured.
“I wonder what ‘Dark Knight’ is really like.”
The anchor suddenly got excited, pulling up footage.
A robed figure emerging from a black rift.
‘Dark Knight.’
“Breaking news! The dungeon has been cleared. ‘Dark Knight’ is exiting the gate!”