That meant the sound of thunder could be heard from there.
"Lightning."
When I muttered softly, the stone gate reacted. The engraved patterns flared blue, then transformed into tiny particles and scattered into the air. After that, the stone gate made a grinding, dull sound and sank downward.
"What, the answer was lightning?"
"Yeah."
"How did you figure that out so quickly······ Wow, this guy's a real genius."
Gim Suho's gaze, as if he were looking at some sage, was incredibly burdensome.
"I'll tell you how I knew later. For now, let's clear the dungeon before anyone else gets here."
I pushed Gim Suho into the dungeon.
* * *
The leader stared blankly at Gim Hajin advancing past the boss room.
To be honest, she felt nothing but admiration. Decisiveness. Drive. Boldness. And that extraordinary mind to boot. Though it was merely a hidden stage, he had reached this point solely on his own in just ten minutes. That was by no means the capability of an ordinary person.
"That kid, he's truly a prodigy······."
She suddenly uttered those words. It was something she had heard from her master once. The former leader of the Wisaekdan, who was no longer in this world. What had he seen in her to offer such praise······ A calm emotion welled up anew.
She let out a deep sigh.
It was certain now. Gim Hajin was a talent she wanted to keep by her side.
But to do so, several conditions had to be met. The most important qualification among them was—whether he could kill a human being without hesitation.
—Ah, a maze, it's a maze. Why is the hidden stage so complicated?
—Quiet.
The leader looked far behind her. Two demonkin belonging to the Master of the Demon were wandering about here and there.
Gim Hajin did not know those two men were demonkin.
In that case······ she decided to make use of them.
* * *
Inside the empty cave, a throne made of rock stood at its center. The Swordsman of Destruction sat upon it, looking down at us. A mysterious knight whose entire body was clad in black armor. His eyes were languid, as if he had just awoken from sleep.
However, the very next moment, the knight's eyes blazed blue. His gaze fixed on Gim Suho. The knight welcomed him with a faint smile.
Perhaps it was true that the strong recognize the strong.
—······An interesting fellow.
A cold voice echoed. Gim Suho's face hardened with tension. The fact that a monster could use language meant it was no ordinary monster at a glance. In fact, monsters of the mid-to-high rank possessed intelligence rivaling that of humans. Though only humanoid monsters could speak.
"······."
Gim Suho silently drew his sword. I felt as though I knew what he was thinking right now. Because I had personally described Gim Suho's state of mind.
[The hostility and momentum radiating from the creature were no ordinary level. I was certain the creature was at least of the mid-to-high rank. At the same time, I wondered. Could I defeat that thing right now? I even felt fear.
However, when the Swordsman of Destruction drew his sword, an inexplicable confidence surged forth.
My talent is the Sword Saint; I am one who stands at the pinnacle of the sword.
If my opponent is a swordsman, there is no reason I should lose······]
"There is no reason you should lose."
I emphasized his final thought.
Gim Suho flinched and looked at me.
"The creature's true body seems to be that sword itself."
"······The sword?"
Gim Suho looked at the swordsman's blade. On its dark blade, crimson sword energy flickered.
"Because just now, the voice came from that sword. That flesh is probably just a corpse."
In the original work, this was information Gim Suho had figured out after crossing swords with the Swordsman of Destruction himself. But with no telling when intruders would arrive, there was no luxury of waiting until he realized that fact on his own.
The Swordsman of Destruction slowly raised his sword.
The blade vibrated and emitted a rigid voice.
—Come. It has been a while since I obtained a new body.
Gim Suho stepped forward. I drew my gun as well.
"Physical attacks are unnecessary. Hit the sword unconditionally. I'll cover you."
"······I trust you."
Now it was Gim Suho's turn. He gripped his sword. That sword was likely a high-grade weapon Gim Suho had purchased, even taking out a loan. The blade of that masterpiece gleamed vividly with the Sword Saint's magical power.
The first strike came from the Swordsman of Destruction.
The knight was aggressive. He quickly closed in and unleashed a barrage of sword strikes. Gim Suho raised his sword to block.
Boom!
Sword clashed with sword. The knight pulled his blade back and slashed as if to tear him apart. It was a motion aimed at destroying the sword itself.
Yet Gim Suho's blade didn't even chip. Given the difference in density and strength, it should have been destroyed several times over, but the Sword Saint's magical power did not yield to mere metal.
As I watched their battle, I quietly raised my gun.
A shotgun was impossible. There was a risk of it ricocheting toward Gim Suho.
Moreover, if I pulled out a sniper rifle at such close range, accuracy would actually drop.
I had no choice but to select a pistol.
Click. Clang. Crash. Click-click-click. Boom. Thud-thud. Crash!
Against the backdrop of those thunderous sound effects, I aimed at the creature's shoulder. And I fired the moment their swords clashed.
Shuuu—
The light bullet left a white trail and lodged into the swordsman's rotten flesh.
For a brief instant, the swordsman's movements stopped.
Gim Suho's counterattack began in earnest from that point.
Gim Suho unleashed the Sword Saint's magical power. That vivid mana whipped about in every direction, and the blade blazed with golden light.
Thereafter, he unleashed his sword technique.
Intense sword strikes surging like lightning. Flawless consecutive attacks that seemed capable of cleaving even a river······ The Swordsman of Destruction raised his sword to block. However, the more their swords clashed, the more cracks were etched into the swordsman's blade. The bullet lodged in his shoulder also dulled his movements.
As I had advised, Gim Suho aimed only at the swordsman's sword.
Indeed, it was the correct strategy.
The swordsman could not endure for long. Gim Suho was beating down only the sword, yet the Swordsman of Destruction's flesh began to crumble.
"Hyaap!"
Along with a fierce shout, the final strike came down.
Thus the sword broke, and the swordsman's body scattered into dust.
Where the swordsman had perished,
Only a single branch remained, lying all alone.
"······Huh?"
Gim Suho looked down at the branch in disbelief.
"Wh-what is this?"
Just in case, he looked around his surroundings. But there were no magic artifacts or equipment as he had hoped. The broken sword the Destroyer Knight had wielded had scattered into dust, and the armor the creature had worn had vanished to the other side.
In other words, what remained in this empty space as a reward was
Only a single branch.
"All this for just······?"
Overcome with emptiness greater than fatigue, Gim Suho collapsed with a thud. I approached him with a smirk.
"Hey. This branch······."
It was at that moment that I was about to explain this precious branch—Mistilteinn.
"What are you guys?"
A heavy voice rang out.
I hurriedly turned around.
"······Damn."
I gritted my teeth.
They were the two demonkin I had been observing just now. One held a dao, and the other held a double-bladed axe as large as his own torso.
I was sure they had said they were returning to the main unit just a moment ago; how had they gotten here so fast?
"Hey. I'm asking you. How did you get in here?"
The bald man holding the double-bladed axe stepped forward menacingly, but the Westerner at his side stopped him. The Westerner spoke to us in a slightly more polite tone.
"Our guild, the 'Master of the Demon', has already filed an application to clear this dungeon. Who might you be?"
At those words, I pretended to step forward and kicked the branch toward a corner of the cave.
"······Ah. Is that so? We didn't know. There was another passage outside, so we came through there."
"There was another passage?"
"Yes."
"······."
The Westerner's face stiffened slightly.
"What did you do here?"
"There was a monster, so we took it down."
"The reward?"
"As you can see······ there's nothing."
I smiled deliberately and raised both hands.
Then the bald man beside him whispered. He pointed at Gim Suho, who was sitting there in a daze.
"Wait. Isn't that······ Gim Suho? The guy who's ranked first in the Cube."
"······Hmm."
The Westerner stopped talking and sent a communication to their main unit.
"Yes. This is James. Yes. Something has come up. There are two Cube cadets here. One of them is······."
Before his words could even continue, the answer came clearly.
—Kill them.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the Cube's gymnasium, located somewhat far from Geomaksan in Suwon.
"Haa······."
Rachel had just finished four hours of training. Her day's work was finally over.
She let out a languid breath and muttered quietly.
"So sleepy······."
Now, she'd just take a quick shower and go back to the dorm to sleep. Since it was the weekend tomorrow, she'd be able to sleep in a bit longer. Yes, she might as well sleep until 3 PM. That was a wonderful idea.
With those pleasant thoughts, she grabbed the dressing room door handle.
When a certain voice flowed into her ears.
—······No, but like, I heard Gim Hajin likes that Rachel?
For an instant, Rachel's shoulders trembled violently.
—What, really? No way.
—No, really. These days, Gim Hajin has been following Rachel around a lot. They say he might even confess.
—Whaaat? A confession? No way. I mean, he should know his place.
Rachel let go of the handle she had been holding and quietly stepped back. Her head was spinning a little—what on earth was going on right now? A confession? So suddenly? No, more importantly, how did they know about that?
······Someone bumped into her back.
"Ah, what."
Rachel hurriedly turned around. Chae Nayun was glaring at her with a furrowed brow.
"What are you doing?"
"······Nothing."
"No, not nothing. You're stepping on my foot right now."
Only then did Rachel properly grasp the situation.
Sure enough, her shoe was firmly pressing down on Chae Nayun's shoe.
"······Ah. I'm sorry."
"Tch."
Chae Nayun clicked her tongue and grabbed the door handle.
Ah.
Rachel was startled. Inside, gossip that was embarrassing to hear was unfolding right now······ Before Rachel could stop her, Chae Nayun entered the dressing room.
"······Um? Miss Rachel?"
Then someone else approached. This time, it was Yu Yeonha.
"······Yes?"
"Aren't you going in?"
Rachel scratched her cheek and stepped back.
"Yes. Please go in first."
"······Hmm."
Yu Yeonha looked at Rachel with puzzled eyes before going inside.
Once the dressing room door closed again, Rachel quietly pressed her ear against it.
—Ah, right. Nayun, Yeonha. Did you hear about that?
—What.
—About Gim Hajin······
"Th-they really······."
If the rumors spread any further, it would be bad. Rachel forcefully opened the door and barged into the dressing room. Upon that, the two cadets who had been talking about Rachel just a moment ago jumped in surprise and clamped their mouths shut.
"What? What is it. You guys, speak. What about Gim Hajin."
Without even giving Rachel a glance, Chae Nayun urged the girls on.
"N-nothing at all!"
They hastily fled. Rachel watched their retreating figures and let out a low sigh.
"······Phew."
And Yu Yeonha, who had been watching Rachel, suddenly smiled meaningfully as if she had just thought of something.
"Ah, right. Miss Rachel."
"Yes?"
"You're on the same team as that person, right?"
At Yu Yeonha's words, Rachel tilted her head.
"That person······?"
"I'm talking about Gim Hajin. She can't seem to call Gim Hajin by his name properly."
"······I can call him that, though."
Yu Yeonha cleared her throat with a cough.
"Anyway, what do you think?"
"······? What do you mean······."
At that, Yu Yeonha's face turned slightly angry for some reason.
"Miss Rachel? I think you're looking down on me too much. This time, the British Royal Guild approached him in advance. The rumors have already spread everywhere."
For an instant, Rachel's face went rigid.
“That, I don’t know…”
“That makes no sense. Who in their right mind would use one of the only two prior contact rights they get in a year on Rank 334?”
Cutting off Rachel, Yoo Yeonha continued in a calm, measured voice.
“Unless they personally witnessed what that Rank 334 is ‘hiding.’”
Yoo Yeonha shot Rachel a cold look. But that chill soon transformed into a bright smile.
“…Well, I’m joking, just joking. Ah, but it’s better not to use prior contact authority so carelessly. It may be a privilege earned through agreements between nations, but you could end up making unnecessary enemies, couldn’t you?”
Yoo Yeonha gave that warning that was not quite a warning.
That was right.
This was a warning.
How dare she, of all people, warn her… Rachel felt something cold ripple deep inside her.
“…”
Rachel glared at Yoo Yeonha with a razor-sharp gaze. Yoo Yeonha did not avoid it, merely meeting it with ease.
“What? What are you talking about?”
And Chae Nayun, despite hearing the entire exchange, did not understand it.
End
—Kill them.
I could hear that transmission. In that instant, a chill ran down my spine.
“…Are you serious?”
The Westerner asked again. But the answer that came back was the same. The Westerner, holding his greatsword, calmly nodded. The bald man grinned and pulled out a double-bladed axe.
“Blame your own curiosity.”
The moment the Westerner muttered those words, the surroundings changed completely. With the point where I stood as the center, everything to the right was devoured by darkness.
Kim Suho, who had been beside me, vanished into that darkness, and the bald barbarian remained in front of me.
It was an isolation barrier.
“…Well, damn. That bro always leaves me with the boring ones.”
The boring ones. He was clearly referring to me, but it was so accurate that I couldn’t argue.
On the chest of his leather armor were two golden axes. That was a kind of dignity mark that heroes often engraved. Two golden axes meant at least intermediate-rank. Since there was nothing besides the golden axes, he was Grade 9.
“…Why is an intermediate-rank hero doing this to a cadet?”
For now, I asked. The bald man simply smiled without saying a word. Contrary to his appearance, it seemed this bald man wasn’t the talkative type.
The bald man silently gathered his magic power. Magic power surged violently around his double-bladed axe. That torrent of magic power heated the inside of the barrier.
Sweat beaded at the tip of my nose, and cold sweat gathered on my back.
Right now, I couldn’t beat that bald man. That vicious axe could easily split my skull open, and now that a barrier had been set up, there was no way for me to escape.
Still, still, wasn’t there some way…
At that moment, a flash went off in my mind.
I didn’t know that bald man’s personality in detail.
But judging from his barbarian-like appearance, he seemed like the belligerent, prideful, and arrogant type.
Of course, this was physiognomy with no logic or basis, but that sort usually let their guard down easily when facing someone weaker. It was the kind of typical cliché that had appeared several times in the countless novels I had read and written.
“…Phew.”
The sigh was almost unconscious.
Even if that wasn’t the case, it was the only method I had.
Pretending to pick up a pebble from the ground, I molded Aether into the shape of a pebble.
I condensed 95% of the Aether into a small pebble, and drew out the remaining 5% like a transparent thread, tying it around my wrist and connecting it to the pebble.
Then, I muttered softly.
—Recognition.
The result was 30%.
It was above average, but on a day like today, my luck was lacking. In actual combat, a 14% difference was enormous.
“What’s that? What are you planning to do with that?”
When I held the pebble, the bald man showed interest. I hesitated for a moment. Should I throw it at him without a word, or should I get on his nerves even a little?
“…I figured this would be enough.”
I chose the latter.