Chapter 52
The Hwayeomsan Dungeon I had come to alone was dark and silent.
Hwayeomsan.
At this point, it probably ought to lose the name.
It was packed so densely with trees that the place no longer suited it at all.
There wasn’t a trace left of the dungeon it had once been.
It was a proper forest now.
“Purifying a dungeon... I wonder if I can do this somewhere else too?”
The thought surfaced all on its own.
To be honest, I hadn’t come here with any intention of purifying Hwayeomsan Dungeon.
I had only used Pruning to improve my body’s capabilities.
The dungeon’s purification had been nothing more than a side effect.
Still, seeing what I’d done here made me want to try it again.
There were plenty of lands in this world that had turned into dungeons, so maybe I could put that to good use.
I’d have to find out how to do it first, though.
There was no way the answer was just more pruning, was there?
“If that’s the case, I’ll pass.”
As I went deeper in, the sound of insects reached my ears.
The fire golems were gone, and before long, fresh masters had come to live here.
Somewhere in this forest where the new residents lived, Lee Jae-wook and Kim Sang-cheol were probably hiding and watching me.
I’d told them they didn’t need to, but they insisted on coming because they were worried.
I’d had no choice but to tell them to stay hidden so that Kim Mu-yeon would appear when he saw me alone.
I appreciated their concern, but I wasn’t sure whether I really needed the two of them to help.
Saessak says a large something can be seen on the right.
Following that, I turned my head to the right.
There, a massive cliff rose up, blocking my view.
Wondering what it was, I walked toward it and found a staircase ringed by brush and tree roots.
As I climbed the stairs slowly, I realized that what I’d seen wasn’t a cliff at all.
It was clearly one of the walls of the Seoul World Cup Stadium that had existed here before the gate appeared.
If it was the stadium, then it was the perfect place to face Kim Mu-yeon.
“As expected. Good job, Saessak.”
I rubbed the little sprout on the screen gently.
In response, Saessak rubbed its top leaf with its right leaf.
It looked exactly like a person awkwardly scratching their head.
Honestly, it was adorable.
“Hmm. I wonder if the power will come back on here?”
Curious, I found a light switch and flipped it.
Nothing lit up.
Using my phone’s light, I made my way through the dark stadium passage.
The corridor wasn’t very long, so I came out quickly.
A wide stadium spread out before me, its grass a vivid green.
If I cleared away the trees and brush that had grown without restraint, it looked like the place could be used again.
In fact, if they advertised it as a “stadium that used to be a dungeon,” wouldn’t a lot of people come to see it?
With that pointless thought in mind, I walked to the center of the field.
Once I reached the spot I’d chosen, I undid the hair tie holding my ponytail and sat down.
I tossed the hair tie Do-hee had given me onto the grass.
It landed softly, sinking into the thick blades.
Saessak sensed a petty gaze.
Saessak warns that the gaze is coming from the front.
Petty gaze.
The owner of that gaze could only be Kim Mu-yeon.
The only person in the world who’d look at me like that right now was that bastard.
To praise Saessak, I tapped the screen twice.
“Shadow Eye, Armus.”
I muttered the name of my armor and wrist guards.
The light armor layered with the Skeleton Lord’s shadow cloak, along with the wrist guards Woo Yeon-hoo had given me, sprang into the air and equipped themselves on my body automatically.
“Thanks, Saessak.”
Saessak says it is always ready to throw stones.
As I read the message, a smile tugged at my lips.
From the passage directly opposite the one I’d used, Kim Mu-yeon strode out with heavy steps.
Unlike the front of the forge, he was wearing thick armor this time too.
The look in his eyes as he glared at me was full of battle readiness.
Maybe because we’d each come out through passages on opposite sides of the stadium?
For some reason, it felt like I’d become a gladiator who had to bring down the enemy before me.
“So you’re the wielder of Song of the Sword, the skill loved by the sword...”
Just like the skill suggested, he had a giant greatsword slung over one shoulder.
By size alone, it was even bigger than Arca, yet Kim Mu-yeon didn’t look strained at all.
Right. A bastard who fought with a weapon like that would think he had every right to hold Arca.
Now I understood why he’d watched that video of me struggling against the Cyclops and told me I had no right to wield Arca.
From his point of view, my movements must have looked clumsy beyond belief.
Saying I’d never fought while carrying a massive weapon like Arca was just an excuse.
Kim Mu-yeon stopped in front of me.
Then he looked down at me.
“Done wandering around by yourself?”
“Mind your own business.”
“You should be careful what you say. There’s no one here to watch us.”
“What, you think I’d go easy on you if I were careful? You came all the way out here in full armor, and you’ve got the nerve to say that?”
“......”
“Anyone would think you were out hunting a dragon.”
At my added remark, he snorted.
“Dragon, my ass. A lion simply does its best even when catching a rabbit.”
“So you’re the lion, and I’m the rabbit?”
Kim Mu-yeon only grinned in response.
His smug expression was irritating to look at.
Maybe I should wipe that face off for him.
“But do you know something? The reason a lion does its best when catching a rabbit is because if it doesn’t, it won’t catch it.”
“What?”
“A lion’s top speed and a rabbit’s top speed are about the same.”
Besides, lions usually don’t hunt rabbits in the first place.
There isn’t enough meat to make it worthwhile, so the numbers don’t add up.
Realistically, a lion only goes all out to catch a rabbit when it’s in an extreme situation where it’ll die if it doesn’t eat something, anything.
Kim Mu-yeon, who hadn’t known that, looked thrown off for a moment.
Yeah, how would someone like you, who’d lived the life of an easy winner since childhood thanks to your skill, understand the mind of a rabbit?
“So go all out. Otherwise, the one getting hunted will be you.”
At my words, Kim Mu-yeon gave a derisive snort.
“Me, the forty-seventh-ranked hunter in Korea, by a mere B-rank hunter like you?”
“Yeah. By me.”
“You piece of shit! Let’s see if you’re still running that mouth a minute from now!”
Then he tightened his grip on the greatsword in his right hand.
The huge blade rose with alarming ease before dropping straight down.
Its speed was so great it didn’t look like a one-handed swing at all.
Would I have been able to reach that speed only by gripping Arca with both hands and swinging it?
If I hadn’t retreated, my body would have been split clean in two.
Even with bark activated, no less.
That was how threatening the speed of his swing had been.
When he took the greatsword in both hands, silver mana wrapped around it.
Sword qi.
“That was just my greeting!”
“Figured as much.”
If he’d meant to cut me down on the first exchange, he would have swung a blade wrapped in sword qi.
The difference in our skill was obvious.
I was wearing the ring that came from a World Tree-related item, so my physical abilities had improved, but there was still a gap I couldn’t cross.
“Arbor capulus.”
When I called its name, Arca appeared in my right hand.
Kim Mu-yeon’s eyes lit up with greed at the sight of Arca in my grasp.
“Disgusting bastard.”
“Heh. Think whatever you want.”
Then Kim Mu-yeon even licked his lips.
Anyone watching would have thought Arca was some appetizing dish.
Saessak feels disgust toward Kim Mu-yeon.
“Wow, hey, congratulations. Our Saessak says you’re disgusting.”
“What?”
“You’re the first human to get that honor. Or maybe if you’re disgusting, you don’t even qualify as human?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’m saying you’re disgusting, you thing that isn’t even fit to be human.”
“...If you want to die that badly, I’ll grant it.”
Crack.
I could hear the sound of teeth grinding.
On purpose, I gave him an exaggerated sneer.
“Think you can do it?”
I drove Arca deep into the dirt.
I also made myself look relaxed, as if I felt no threat at all.
I knew perfectly well that the difference in our skill was clear.
That was why I’d set a trap.
If this had been a match, or if Kim Mu-yeon had been the sort to prize fairness and honor, I wouldn’t have bothered with a trap.
But this fight had started because that bastard came here to kill me and steal Arca.
I had no reason to stand proudly before someone who was acting like trash.
Not long after, a white glow burst from the hair tie I’d dropped earlier.
“Magic? Hah! I just have to kill you before that matters!”
Kim Mu-yeon stepped forward with his right foot.
At the same time, he swung the greatsword from lower left to upper right.
It looked almost like he was drawing a blade.
This time, I didn’t dodge the greatsword.
I didn’t need to.
Clang!
The sound of steel crashing against steel rang out.
The white light bursting from the hair tie faded away.
“You are...!”
A man in silver armor stood before me.
He was also holding a shield so massive it covered his entire armored body.
As far as I knew, it was the absolute shield that couldn’t be broken by any attack.
Kim Mu-yeon shouted in shock.
“Lee Tae-cheon! Why the hell are you here?”
Lee Tae-cheon, the Knight of the Sky.
My only friend, the one with that ridiculous title, stood in front of me.
He’d blocked the greatsword rising along Kim Mu-yeon’s diagonal line halfway through its path.
“Mm, because a friend called for me?”
As always, Tae-cheon answered in his dazed, slack-jawed voice.
A laugh rose in my chest at the sound.
Kim Mu-yeon’s face, by contrast, twisted into something ugly.
He glared at me standing behind Tae-cheon.
Yeah, that’s a much better expression.
I bared my teeth in a smirk.
“Think you’ll be all right? Staring at me like that.”
“What?”
I lifted my chin.
I was the one who had called Tae-cheon, so there was no reason I would have called only Tae-cheon.
Up above, Do-hee hovered in the air, wearing a white staff and a white mage’s robe.
From her hair to her toes, she was all white, like snow.
That was why she was called the White Saint, but the face she was making as she glared at Kim Mu-yeon like she wanted to chew him alive was far too ferocious.
Who would look at that face and call her a saint?
She was the White Witch, no matter how you looked at it.
“Baek Do-hee...!”
The moment Kim Mu-yeon spotted Do-hee floating in the air, he quickly backed away.
He didn’t seem eager to end up sandwiched between Tae-cheon and Do-hee.
Keeping his distance, he asked defensively, “Is Baekwooncheon stepping in against me?”
“What a stupid face you have. That’s a stupid question even by your standards. I’m here as Baek Do-woon’s younger sister, Baek Do-hee. Not as the deputy guild master of Baekwooncheon.”
“Same here.”
“You didn’t come here as a member of Aegaeon either, did you? If you had, I could even use the name Baekwooncheon on our side.”
“......”
Do-hee’s perfectly reasonable words turned Kim Mu-yeon into a mute.
Come to think of it, he was with Aegaeon?
No wonder he’d reacted like that when he heard about Kim Mu-yeon.
Aegaeon was one of the guilds I suspected of hiring the Scales Guild to assassinate me.
For two people dreaming of revenge, this must have seemed like a real gift from heaven.
Resting a hand on Tae-cheon’s shoulder, I stepped forward.
“So, what’ll it be? If you back off now, I might be generous enough to let you go.”
I was grinning from ear to ear when I said it.
They both knew I wasn’t serious, so neither Do-hee nor Tae-cheon stopped me.
They just smiled and slowly shook their heads.
They looked as if they were saying, That’s another rotten joke.
It was a rotten joke, all right.
Let him go if he backed off?
Ridiculous.
How was I supposed to let a bastard who’d come to kill me leave in one piece?
The only reason I said I might let him go was to mock Kim Mu-yeon.
He knew that too, which was why he was trembling with rage.
“You disgusting little bastard! Acting so superior while you’re leaning on your fine friends like that, and still having the nerve to—”
“Oh, then bring some friends of your own.”
I said it while picking at my ear with my pinky finger.
If he hadn’t had time to prepare, that was one thing, but if he had time and still came this unprepared, then he was an idiot.
Then I realized something.
“...Do you maybe not have any friends?”
“I do, you fucker!”
“Sure you do. A guy who covets other people’s things probably has tons of friends.”
“You-!”
“Really, you should’ve tried living a little better.”
“Baek Do-woon!”
Kim Mu-yeon shouted my name and charged.
What a sight, rushing in at that kind of provocation.
“Even a skull with no brain would be better than you.”
Saessak wholeheartedly agrees with Baek Do-woon’s opinion.