64
064 ― Orc
Kurenai and April immediately moved away from the fang daggers pouring from all directions. Jin-woo also stuffed the last chopstick-full of eel rice bowl into his mouth and dodged.
"Fellow, does food go down in this situation?"
"Isn't this all about eating to survive?"
Kurenai made an incredulous expression and caught one of the flying daggers, throwing it back in reverse. Of course, Jin-woo couldn't see his expression. He only saw the Shadow that fell with a dagger stuck in its head.
Not stopping there, Kurenai actively dove between the Shadows. The Shadows were all invisible in stealth, but he skillfully detected their positions and dove into the middle of the enemy formation.
He threw daggers like before and also grabbed necks to pull them down and slit their throats. Once, he stretched out his bare hand without a weapon and pierced through a heart, which from the side looked like something invisible had struck and left a gaping hole in the chest.
"I'll join the attack!"
April wasn't staying idle either, as she took charge of the opposite side from where Kurenai was massacring.
She wasn't detecting the Shadows' positions as precisely as Kurenai was. However, the white light clusters floating near her conveyed their approximate locations to her, and she shot three arrows at a time toward those spots.
Even without knowing the exact positions, the quantity offensive approach meant several fell anyway. That alone greatly reduced the burden weighing on Kurenai.
And Jin-woo.
'This is what I learned this for.'
Sensing the blue flames attacking from all directions, he drew the Sky Sword. Kwarung! Lightning struck down, and radial traces extended from him as the center. Not only the ones directly cut by the sword, but also those nearby were engulfed in lightning and fell while spewing black smoke.
"What kind of sound is that?"
"Master?"
Kurenai and April forgot they were in combat and looked back at the roar they heard nearby. Still, it was fine because even the Shadows fighting them were startled and looked back as well.
Traces of cruel destruction and corpses of fallen Shadows. The already dead ones could no longer maintain stealth and were clearly exposed under the sunlight.
Jin-woo stood among them. In one hand, a sword blade with a subtle blue glow, in the other hand, a scabbard emitting an invisible, ominous aura.
―Kieeeeeek!
―Kyaaaaah!
The remaining few Shadows all lost their fighting spirit.
An invisible old man. Even one human with stealth skills far superior to their own was overwhelming, plus an Elf shooting strong arrows and a swordsman calling down lightning.
Jin-woo sheathed the Sky Sword in its scabbard and asked.
"Is this enough for the trial?"
"No. I told you to find and defeat the leader."
At those words, Jin-woo looked at the backs of the fleeing Shadows. It seemed like if he chased them, the leader would appear.
***
In the deepest part of the forest, called the Tomb on the 3rd floor, the stronghold of the Shadows, the Shadow mage quickly made a decision.
Let's flee.
That thought alone dominated his mind.
At first, he thought they were insignificant intruders. He figured sending a warrior from his ruling clan to take their heads would be enough.
But the battle he saw through the crystal ball exceeded his imagination. Not one of them was easy to deal with.
If he had to face anyone, it would be the Elf shooting arrows, but even then, he wasn't confident of victory. That muscular Elf was also a formidable, strong warrior, so even if that one alone had attacked, he would have had to accept many casualties.
But there were two beings even stronger than that Elf. This was already beyond his control.
―Kyaaaak! Kyaak!
―Kiyaaaaah!
When he was about to leave his territory with his staff and meat, the clueless remnant soldiers returned. They grabbed the mage's legs as he tried to leave and begged him to crush the enemies.
―Kyaak!
It was ridiculous. He was planning to run away from now on!
He would rather give up his position as chieftain than give up his life. He coldly shook off his subordinate warriors and threw himself into the forest.
His entire body melted into the surroundings like a chameleon. It didn't stop at simply changing color, but even his breathing and heartbeat became quieter.
The Magi accumulated over long years, and the knowledge he had built up was naturally mobilized. The wooden staff he possessed turned green and concealed his presence and aura.
This was it. No one would be able to find him.
Relieved, he ran, stepping on grass blades. Mysteriously, even though he stepped on thin leaves, the grass blades neither broke nor snapped. No trace that he had passed through this forest was left at all.
Relieved that his magic had been completed successfully, he took his second step. And then.
"Where are you running to?"
―Kak!
His neck was grabbed, and he was roughly slammed to the ground.
Thud! A heavy sound rang out, and all the hidden colors and auras returned. The grass blades crushed under his back now broke and were trampled, spitting out sticky moisture.
The last thing he saw was the bright sun floating high above. And the figure of a human stabbing with a sword, silhouetted against that sun.
Keuk. Leaving only a short death rattle, the Shadow mage died. Jin-woo pulled out and recovered the fang dagger he had stabbed with. It was that fang dagger he had taken from the Shadow he killed at CGV before.
"My word, I also needed some time to find that fellow, but how did you find him so quickly?"
Kurenai clicked his tongue while watching Jin-woo take out a handkerchief to wipe the dagger. April had similar sentiments. Rather, she was even more surprised because she hadn't detected even a bit of the Shadow mage's presence.
"I used a similar method to seeing you."
"I'm becoming more and more curious about your previous life."
Jin-woo inwardly agreed with Kurenai's words. He, too, wanted to know about his own previous life more definitively…
"Is the trial over with this?"
"Yes. Really easy. Compared to the 5th floor, it's like a playground where children play."
"Well, that's how it would seem to you."
The trial seemed to end just like that. Now all that was left was to call Poldere, return to the city, and report to the temple. Since Jin-woo had contributed quite a bit, he should be able to earn some contribution points.
'Contribution points from the God of Light and Dawn… The contribution points themselves aren't particularly needed, though.'
At the point where he had secured nearly 200 million contribution points in Moonlit Forest, he didn't need any more contribution points. Still, there was no harm in having them, so let's stop by the Temple of Light once.
"As expected of Master. You seem to have become even stronger than at the ruins."
April seemed newly amazed by Jin-woo's martial prowess. She had witnessed Jin-woo's swordsmanship at Brielda's Garden, but now he was even stronger than then.
It was surprising that he could become this strong in such a short period. That was precisely the strength she had been searching for so desperately.
"There's also the golden apple I ate then, and various things happened over two weeks."
"Come to think of it, you said you came back from receiving trials for two weeks. May I ask what kind of trials they were?"
"Sorry, it's a secret."
At the word secret, April drooped her head dejectedly. Still, there was no way to tell her. How could he explain that he had been dragged to the 6th floor and suffered because of the God of Moonlit Forest, the World Tree?
"I called Poldere. He'll probably come soon."
"Kurenai Masato. He says he called the ride back."
"If it's a ride, that wyvern from before? Then shall we rest for a bit until he comes?"
Since there was no particular reason to wander around, they settled in a sunny spot and rested. Most of the time was filled with casual conversation to pass the time, which mostly consisted of Kurenai teasing April and Jin-woo mediating.
During this, Jin-woo asked Kurenai, who was giggling, about a curiosity that had suddenly occurred to him.
"But why did you specifically choose the God of Light and Dawn? It's not like you."
"Oh my. How do you know what's like me?"
"At least it doesn't seem like a god an assassin would choose."
"That's true."
Kurenai laughed heartily, saying it was a valid point. Then he spoke while still retaining some laughter.
"Actually… My dream is retirement."
"Retirement? You could just do it, why not?"
Jin-woo was puzzled by the sudden talk of dreams. Retirement was up to the individual, so couldn't he do it whenever he wanted?
If he was worried about guild affairs or Tokyo matters, he could just establish a clear successor and quit. Since Hunter was a dangerous profession, retirement was entirely the individual's freedom.
"Fellow, do you know why I don't lift my stealth even in front of you?"
"Isn't it because you're being wary of me?"
"Of course, I'm somewhat wary of you, but that's not the reason. Actually, I don't know how to lift this stealth technique."
"What?"
Jin-woo asked back at the unexpected words. Kurenai continued with a tone that conveyed complexity.
"When I first awakened my previous life, thin black lines began to appear in my eyes. At first I didn't know what the lines were, but I could tell right away. When I entered those lines, no one could notice me."
"That's an amazing ability."
It wasn't sarcasm, it was genuine. If he had awakened such an ability at first, what would it have been like? Without knowing for sure, it probably would have been tremendously advantageous for survival.
He first awakened his ability when he met Rona by the river. At that time, he didn't have a friendship with Rona, so he just ran away, and in the process, awakened the ability to become faster.
If what he awakened then wasn't becoming faster but an ability to hide his presence like Kurenai, perhaps he could have escaped from Rona.
Well, if that had happened, it would have ended there with Rona, and he wouldn't have been able to continue their friendship afterward.
"It was certainly an excellent ability. From the moment I awakened, I was the greatest assassin. No assassin could find me once I set foot in the black lines. It took less than 10 years to dominate Tokyo."
When Jin-woo thought of Kurenai's ability strutting around in Gates, the real Kurenai was focused on devouring Tokyo.
Should this also be called very Tokyo-like? How to use abilities is individual freedom, but.
"And the ability got stronger day by day. The lines gradually increased and even became thicker. At first, it looked like the world was slightly cracked, but at some point, it began to look like shattered glass pieces. I stepped on broken fragments more often than intact glass."
And eventually, the entire world became covered with black lines. Since then, he became unable to escape from the lines and lived a life invisible to others for the rest of his life.
"So…"
"That's why I sought out the God of Light and Dawn, and why I specifically took on trials related to Shadows. Wondering if it might give me a clue to escape from these lines."
"Did you find that clue?"
"Not at all! But it's fine. If I could have figured it out this easily, I would have done so long ago."
Even though he said he found no clues at all, Kurenai's voice wasn't discouraged at all. It seemed like this kind of thing was a common occurrence.
"May I tell this story to April, too?"
"Go ahead. You never know. Maybe I can get some clue from her."
His voice showed little expectation. And indeed, April couldn't give an answer that would satisfy Kurenai.
"Such circumstances… That's unfortunate. An ability that forces you to be forgotten by everyone."
Jin-woo thought similarly. It was surprising that Kurenai was still actively working even though he was already past retirement age, but there was such a situation behind it.
Anyone would want to retire at the appropriate time and enjoy a second life. But Kurenai could never rest unless he solved this problem.
If he was fine with dying alone and lonely, it wouldn't matter, but where in the world is such a person? Anyone would want to depart surrounded by loved ones at their final moment.
"Ah, it looks like they've arrived."
Then they saw a wyvern flying from far away. Golong and Poldere had arrived.
The short trial, where spreading out a picnic mat and eating an eel lunch box was more memorable than the battle, ended like this.
***
Poldere came down, loaded the party on Golong's back, and departed.
But something appeared stealthily in the place they had left. A black, dark aura. It was the aura of Erosion.
The Erosion that emerged without anyone knowing devoured all the corpses of the fallen Shadows. Those Kurenai had stabbed to death, those April had shot to death, and those Jin-woo had killed, all of them.
However, when devouring the corpses Jin-woo had killed, something went wrong.
The aura that had been fumbling over the corpses in puzzlement soon flared up in anger and spat out the corpses with a ptooey.
[ The God of Light and Dawn is angry. Where did the souls of these corpses go, he asks. ]
The Erosion that seemed displeased spat out all the corpses Jin-woo had killed and only devoured those killed by Kurenai and April, then disappeared as if nothing had happened.
***
Even though the city was noisy with the God of War's arena, other gods were issuing trials as usual.
Except for one. There were rumors that the God of Light and Dawn's trials had become particularly frequent recently.
"That god seems to want to get one of his believers into the rankings, too."
"Right now, 1st place is fixed as Moonlit Forest, and 2nd place will be held by the God of War because of the arena. Maybe he wants to compete for 3rd place?"
"If it's against the God of Forge, wouldn't it be worth trying to push them out?"
The people of Pandemonium didn't think much of it.
They just thought a god who hadn't paid much attention until now was being whimsical and becoming obsessed with rankings.
It was a reasonable explanation and a reason many could accept.
However, Bertus was different.
"Kang Jin-woo. I've come to find you because of the recently increased trials of the God of Light and Dawn."
"Trials of the God of Light and Dawn? Why?"
Jin-woo looked warily at Bertus, who had suddenly come to his apartment one day.
Even after their first encounter, Bertus's behavior hadn't changed much. Unlike a Lord's minion, he was still going around treating the injured these days.
But at a time when he should be busy with treatment, he suddenly appeared at the high-rise apartment where Jin-woo was staying.
A tent and camping equipment set up in the broken apartment room. An Orc sorcerer in priest robes sits heavily in front of it. It was a bizarre combination with no unity at all.
"Do you know why the God of Light and Dawn suddenly began issuing trials explosively?"
"Isn't it similar to your God of War? Using his influence to play around with something. While he's at it, he cleans up all the surrounding monsters, so it's good."
"No, it's not good."
Bertus spoke seriously throughout, as if it was definitely not such a light matter.
"It seems like the God of Light and Dawn is gathering soldiers."
At those words, Jin-woo's eyes narrowed. It was certainly a plausible story.
However, setting aside the truth of the matter, what was curious was.
"But why are you telling me this?"
"Because you really know my identity."
"…That I'm a Lord's minion, you know."
Bertus smiled broadly. For just that moment, he didn't look like the eccentric Orc who went around treating others, but like a real fierce and spirited Orc full of fighting spirit who loved battle.
"And because you're the brightest star in this city."
Fascinated by the strong, wanting to see the strong fight, wanting to fight the strong.
Even if he was an eccentric healer, he was an Orc.