Chapter 84.

The path to the boss room was wrought with monsters . I didn’t plan on letting Kim Suho take care of them . Since they were at the level that I could kill with my gun, I wanted to kill them and pretend that I helped .

Currently, there were six ghouls in front of me . They were low-intermediate rank grade 9 undead monsters .

I tightly gripped the Desert Eagle . Even in the pitch black darkness, its platinum exterior shone brightly . I aimed at the ghouls’ swollen right eyes, where their tiny brains were located .

I pulled the trigger without hesitation . Six bullets shot out simultaneously, piercing the ghouls’ vital point . A blue light seemed to flash, then the ghouls collapsed .

“Oh, as expected… . ”

Kim Suho exclaimed in awe . However, I didn’t have time to feel happy . I operated in the principle of Strong Against Weak, Weak Against Strong . Although I could slaughter an army of weaklings, I wouldn’t stand a chance against a single expert . No, I would have to run away from someone even slightly above me .

“Let’s hurry, we don’t have time . ”

We ran through the cave . Monsters were around every corner, but because they were weak, it was easy to take care of them .

After running for about ten minutes taking care of ghouls, zombies, and ghosts, we arrived in front of a giant stone wall .

At first glance, it seemed like a dead end, but strange symbols were written on the wall .

These symbols were an ancient language that only existed in Dungeons . Thanks to modern technology, an ancient language of this level could be translated using a smartwatch . That’s what Kim Suho did in the original story as well .

I took out my smartwatch and scanned the symbols on the wall .

—‘This’ and ‘That’ always accompanies each other .

—Observed from a close distance, ‘This’ and ‘That’ feels simultaneous .

—But from afar, ‘This’ comes before ‘That’ .

—What is ‘This’?

Kim Suho glanced at my smartwatch and saw the riddle .

“…Ah, it must be a riddle . I heard there are Dungeons like this . ”

In the original story, Kim Suho was unable to solve this riddle and had to text Yoo Yeonha for help . Yoo Yeonha contacted an information guild and got the answer in five minutes .

However, I didn’t have time to wait .

This riddle was something I half-heartedly made . The answer was lightning . ‘This’ was lightning, and ‘That’ was thunder .

Although lightning accompanies thunder, light traveled faster than sound, making lightning visible before hearing thunder .

“Lightning . ”

I muttered the answer, and the stone wall reacted . The symbols on the wall glowed with a blue light, then disappeared into particles of light . Immediately afterwards, the stone wall rumbled and sunk underground .

“What, the answer is lightning?”

“Yeah . ”

“How did you figure that out so fast? …Wow, you really are a genius . ”

Kim Suho was looking at me like I was some kind of a sage .

“I’ll tell you how I found out later . For now, let’s clear the Dungeon before anyone else arrives . ”

I pushed Kim Suho into the boss room .

**

“… . ”

Boss stared blankly at Kim Hajin walking into the boss room .

To be completely honest, she was in awe . Decisiveness, drive, boldness, and even intelligence . Although it was a mere hidden stage, he had come this far in just 10 minutes . That was something ordinary people couldn’t do .

“Truly extraordinary… . ”

She blurted out subconsciously . She had heard the same words from her master, the previous boss of the Chameleon Troupe, who no longer existed in this world . She suddenly wondered, ‘what did Master see in me to say that…?’

She let out a deep sigh .

With what happened today, she became certain . Kim Hajin was someone who she wanted by her side .

But before that could become reality, he had to meet a few conditions . The most important condition was whether he could kill a human being without hesitation .

—Argh, it’s a maze . Why is a hidden stage so complicated?

—Quiet .

Boss looked far behind her . Two Djinns from Packhorse Master were wandering around .

Kim Hajin didn’t know they were Djinns .

Since that was the case… she decided to make use of them .

**

In the middle of an empty cave lied a throne made of stone . Sitting on this throne was the Swordsman of Destruction, staring down at us . He was completely covered in black armor . His eyes oozed with boredom, as though he only just woke up from his sleep .

However, in the next instant, the swordsman’s eyes burned blue . He met Kim Suho’s eyes and made a small smile .

It seemed it was true that the strong could recognize each other .

—…What an interesting kid .

A chilling sound resounded . Kim Suho’s face was frozen in nervousness . A monster capable of speaking human language signified that it wasn’t ordinary . Even in reality, monsters high-intermediate rank and above had intelligence on par with humans . Though of course, talking was still limited to humanoid monsters .

“… . ”

Kim Suho quietly took out his sword . I felt like I understood what he was thinking . After all, I had written it myself .

「He emitted extraordinary hostility and spirit . I became certain that he was at least high-intermediate rank . At the same time, I began to worry . Would I be able to defeat him? Soon, I even began to feel afraid .

However, when the Swordsman of Destruction pulled out his sword, an unknown sense of confidence surged within me .

My Gift was Sword Saint . I was someone who would stand on the peak of swordsmanship .

Against a swordsman opponent, there should be no reason for me to lose…」

“There should be no reason for you to lose . ”

I emphasized his last thought .

Startled, Kim Suho stared at me .

“His real body is his sword . ”

“…Sword?”

Kim Suho stared at the swordsman’s sword . Crimson sword qi waved around his black blade .

“The voice just now came from that sword . That body should just be a corpse . ”

In the original story, Kim Suho figured this out while exchanging blows with the Swordsman of Destruction . However, I couldn’t wait for him to realize this on his own in a situation where intruders could arrive at any time .

The Swordsman of Destruction slowly raised his sword .

His blade vibrated, letting out a stiff voice .

—Come . It’s been a while since I last obtained a body .

Kim Suho stepped up . I also took out my gun .

“You don’t need to attack his body . Just hit the sword . I’ll support you from the back . ”

“…I trust you . ”

Now, it was Kim Suho’s turn . The sword he had in his hand should be a high rank sword which he even took out loans to buy . The magic power of a Sword Saint rose up clearly from this high-class sword .

The Swordsman of Destruction made the first move, rashly rushing in and striking down with his sword . Kim Suho raised his sword and blocked him .

KWANG!

The two swords clashed . The Swordsman of Destruction pulled his sword back and repeatedly struck down . It was as if he wanted to break Kim Suho’s sword .

However, not even a single scratch appeared on Kim Suho’s sword . Normally, it would have already been destroyed multiple times by the Swordsman of Destruction’s strength and the density of his magic power . However, a Sword Saint’s magic power couldn’t fall to a mere metal .

Watching them fight, I slowly raised my gun .

I couldn’t use a shotgun as it might injure Kim Suho .

Using a sniper rifle in this close range would lower the accuracy .

Without a choice, I selected the handgun .

Clang . Kwang . Koong . Kwaaaang!

Under the thunderous noise, I aimed my gun at the swordsman’s shoulder . Then, at the instant that his sword clashed with Kim Suho’s, I fired .

Shuuuuu—

The light bullet shot forward, leaving a white trail behind it, then digging into the swordsman’s rotten body .

For a fraction of a second, he stopped moving .

Immediately, Kim Suho began to counterattack .

He unleashed the magic power of a Sword Saint . His clear magic power rose up like a tornado, and his sword shone with a golden light .

Next, he unleashed his own sword technique .

A powerful strike that shot up like lightning, consecutive strikes that could seemingly sever rivers… the Swordsman of Destruction held up his sword to block them . However, each time the swords clashed, a crack appeared on the swordsman’s sword . Because of the bullet in his shoulder, his movement had also slowed down .

Kim Suho followed my advice and only attacked his sword .

It was the right method of defeating it .

The swordsman didn’t last long . Although Kim Suho was striking the sword, the swordsman’s body began to crumble .

“Huaaap!”

Kim Suho dealt a final blow with a powerful shout .

Just like that, the sword shattered, and the swordsman’s body turned into dust and scattered into the air .

In the place of the swordsman…

All that was left was a single branch .

“…Eh?”

Dumbstruck, Kim Suho stared at the branch .

“W-What’s this?”

He looked around the room just in case he was missing something . However, there was no weapon or armor like the one he expected to see . The sword used by the Swordsman of Destruction had turned into dust, and the armor he was wearing had also disappeared .

In other words, the only thing that could possibly be the reward was the single branch in front of him .

“This is it…?”

Disappointed, Kim Suho fell to the ground . I smirked and walked up to him .

“Hey, this branch is… . ”

When I was about to tell him about Misteltein…

“Who are you?”

A deep voice rang out .

I quickly turned around .

“…Shoot . ”

I bit my lips .

They were the two Djinns I saw before . One was holding a greatsword, and the other was holding a double-edged axe the size of his body .

Didn’t they say they were going to go back? How did they come back so quickly?

“Oy, we just asked who you were . How did you get in here?”

The axe-wielding baldy scowled intimidatingly, but the sword-wielding Caucasian man stopped him . He then spoke more politely .

“Our Packhorse Master guild put in an official declaration to take on this Dungeon . Who are you guys?”

Pretending to answer him, I stepped up and kicked the branch to the corner of the cave .

“…Ah, is that so? We didn’t know . There was another pathway in here . That’s where we came from . ”

“Another pathway?”

“Yes . ”

“… . ”

The Caucasian man’s expression stiffened .

“What did you do here?”

“We hunted a monster . ”

“And the reward?”

“As you can see… nothing . ”

I raised my hands, smiling .

Then, the baldy next to him whispered . He pointed at Kim Suho who was still on the ground .

“Wait, isn’t that… Kim Suho? You know, the rank 1 cadet in Cube?”

“…Hm . ”

The Caucasian man stopped and messaged his comrades .

“Yes, this is James . Yes, something came up . There are two Cube cadets here . One of them is… . ”

Before he could finish his sentence, a clear command rang out .

—Kill them .

**

At the same time, in Cube’s Fitness Center far away from Suwon’s Kamak Mountain .

“Huaa… . ”

Rachel just finished her 4-hour-long training session . Her day had finally come to an end .

Letting out a sluggish sigh, she murmured quietly .

“I’m sleepy… . ”

‘Now let’s go back to my room, take a shower, and sleep . Since tomorrow is Saturday, I should be able to sleep in . Right, I should sleep until 3 P . M . That’s a good plan . ’

When she grabbed the changing room’s doorknob with such happy thoughts, she happened to hear two cadets gossiping .

—…Did you know Kim Hajin likes Rachel?

Immediately, Rachel’s shoulders strongly shook .

—What, really? No way .

—Yes way . Can’t you see how he’s been following her around recently? People are saying he’s going to confess to her soon .

—What? Confess? I don’t believe it . Someone like him?

Rachel let go of the doorknob and slowed backed off . She was unable to understand what was happening and suddenly felt a bit dizzy . Confess? So suddenly? How did they know this?

…At that moment, she bumped into someone .

“Ah!”

Rachel quickly turned around . Chae Nayun was glaring at her with furrowed brows .

“What are you doing?”

“…Nothing . ”

“No, not nothing . You’re stepping on my foot . ”

Only then did Rachel begin to understand the situation .

Indeed, she was stepping on Chae Nayun’s foot .

“…Ah, sorry . ”

“Tsk . ”

Chae Nayun clicked her tongue and grabbed the doorknob .

“Ah!”

Rachel flinched . She didn’t want more people to overhear their gossip… but before Rachel could stop her, Chae Nayun walked in .

“…Hello? Rachel-ssi?”

Then, someone else approached her . It was Yoo Yeonha .

“…Yes?”

“Aren’t you going in?”

Rachel scratched her cheek and backed off .

“No, please go ahead . ”

“…Hmm . ”

Yoo Yeonha gave Rachel a meaningful look before walking into the changing room .

The door then closed, and Rachel strained her ears once again .

—Oh hey! Nayun, Yeonha, have you guys heard?

—What .

—I hear Kim Hajin is going to…

“T-Those girls…!”

She couldn’t allow these rumors to spread . Rachel opened the door strongly and barged in . Seeing her, the two gossiping cadets fell silent .

“W-What? What about Kim Hajin?”

Chae Nayun didn’t even glance at Rachel as she urged the two cadets to speak .

“I-It’s nothing!”

They quickly ran away . Seeing them leave, Rachel let out a sigh of relief .

“…Whew . ”

Yoo Yeonha, who was watching Rachel, suddenly made a meaningful smile as though she suddenly remembered something .

“Oh right, Rachel-ssi . ”

“Yes?”

“You’re in that person’s team, right?”

Rachel tilted her head .

“That person…?”

“She’s talking about Kim Hajin . For some reason, she can’t call Kim Hajin by his name . ”

“ . . . Yes I can . ”

Yoo Yeonha let out a dry cough .

“Anyways, how is he?”

“Yes? What do you mean by… . ”

Then for some reason, Yoo Yeonha made a somewhat angry face .

“Rachel-ssi? Aren’t you looking down on me too much? I know that the English Royal Court guild made him an offer . Everyone knows it . ”

Immediately, Rachel’s expression stiffened .

“That… I don’t know anything about… . ”

“That can’t be . The English Royal Court guild is only given two chances per year to contact cadets . What fool would spend one on a rank 334 cadet?”

Yoo Yeonha cut Rachel off and continued to speak quietly .

“Not unless you personally witnessed what that rank 334 cadet is hiding . ”

Yoo Yeonha gave Rachel a cold glare . However, she soon put on a bright smile .

“…Well, I’m kidding . But I don’t think you should use the Royal Court guild so easily . I know it’s a special privilege acquired through an agreement between two countries, but doing so might create unnecessary enemies . ”

Yoo Yeonha made a warning masked as advice .

Right .

This was a warning .

At the same time, Rachel felt a cold emotion wavering deep inside her heart .

“… . ”

Rachel glared at Yoo Yeonha with a look that could cut . Yoo Yeonha didn’t avoid Rachel’s eyes, receiving it leisurely .

“What, what are you guys talking about?”

And Chae Nayun couldn’t understand their conversation, even though she heard everything .

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