The city bathed in sunlight looked so familiar that it felt strange to realize he had logged into Cloyd.
As he stepped out of the subway, he squinted instinctively from the sunlight he hadn't seen in a while.
Having grown used to moving stealthily at night, being exposed in broad daylight felt uncomfortably vulnerable.
Just in case, he glanced around the nearby buildings—but saw no sign of an enemy.
'No way a dumbass would be just watching openly.'
Shaking his head to rid himself of the discomfort, Seowoon focused on what he needed to do now.
'Find Namsagwang and Cheonma.'
The moment he had that thought, Seowoon instinctively rolled forward—then glanced back at where he had just been.
—CRACK!
With a sharp snap, a whip struck the air and recoiled up to the rooftop of a nearby apartment.
'From that height all the way to here…'
He scanned the rooftop briefly, but no one was in sight.
As he kept his gaze on the rooftop, Seowoon's figure sank from view as if swallowed by the ground.
His feet moved swiftly between the shadows cast by the trees and buildings.
'They must be close.'
He didn't know why someone would attack from such a distance with a whip, but the mere fact that they attempted a long-range strike suggested the whip was equipped with something special.
'Probably poison… or a unique skill embedded in it.'
As Seowoon rounded the apartment and approached the entrance, Hammit sent out a warning.
—Stop!—
Like an arrow fixed to the ground, Seowoon froze, and Hammit explained.
—It's a magic trap. Don't step on this staircase.—
Heeding the warning, Seowoon climbed the wall instead of the stairs.
As he approached the rooftop level, Hammit spoke again.
—From here, an alert spell is active.—
'Tch. Cautious to an annoying degree.'
Unlike trap spells, alert spells detected the entire space. The moment someone entered, it would trigger.
With no other choice, Seowoon carefully opened the stairwell window, spread his sensing aura to the max, and clung to the wall to climb.
'Nothing's being picked up…'
After a quick scan, he stepped into the center of the empty rooftop.
'Looks like they ran…'
Just as that thought crossed his mind, a wave of mana surged—and heat hit him hard.
—Screeeeech!
A Flame Bird spread its wings and grew in size. Seowoon instinctively dodged sideways to evade the magic.
At that moment, as he felt the same presence as before, a whip came flying straight at him.
'I can't dodge this.'
Making a split-second decision, he crossed his arms to guard his vital points.
—WHISH!
Bracing for the intense pain about to shoot through his forearms, Seowoon instead felt something soft coil around his waist—his brow furrowed.
—Ding! You've been bound by an irresistible restraint. You cannot resist until you cut the whip or the user ends the skill.
As the notification appeared, his body was being pulled away, and the sensation of being unable to move properly overtook him with discomfort.
He was yanked up to a taller building nearby, and just as sensation returned, Seowoon bent his waist.
—SHING!
A crude, jungle machete-like sword narrowly missed the back of his head, a chilling sensation running down his spine.
—CLANG!
Blocking the next swings with a bone-reinforced blade, Seowoon pushed back as the enemy retreated cautiously, whipping again.
Seeing the whip that had glowed golden as it dragged him earlier, Seowoon's eyes gleamed with greed.
'A whip with a grappling skill, huh?'
It was likely that Namsagwang had been kidnapped with a similar grappling-type skill.
If he had that whip, it would open up many strategic possibilities. Driven by that thought, Seowoon charged at the enemy.
—CLANG!
As his aura-infused fingers began to crack the enemy's jungle sword, the man grimaced and flung the whip behind him.
The whip latched onto a nearby building wall, yanking him away to escape.
—CLANG CLANG CLANG!
Not hesitating for a second, Seowoon pursued and threw a throwing dagger.
The man summoned a new machete from a subspace and deflected it, kicking off the building wall toward the rooftop.
Just as he reached the edge, an Ice Lance struck his back from behind.
Seowoon followed half a beat later as the enemy tumbled over the rooftop railing.
—CLANG!
The moment Seowoon leaped over, the man swung his blade—just as Seowoon had anticipated.
Seeing yet another crack form in the machete, Seowoon noticed the man's shoulder and legs begin to radiate a golden light.
—BOOM!
He blocked the heavy-bodied shoulder charge with his aura-infused hands, but the enemy relentlessly pushed forward.
Seowoon's fingers dug into the man's shoulders and ribs, drawing blood—but the man didn't flinch.
Eventually, Seowoon was forced back, and just as he braced against the railing, the man raised his golden-lit leg.
'No way…'
Clinging to the railing to avoid falling, Seowoon watched in disbelief as the man slammed his leg down.
—BOOM! CRACK CRACK CRACK!
The rooftop cracked with a thunderous noise and tilted. The section Seowoon was on collapsed beneath him.
Narrowing his eyes, Seowoon's legs kicked into high gear.
He leapt across the crumbling debris, climbing the outer wall. His aura-imbued hands lashed out furiously as he rose.
Every time Seowoon deflected the sword energy flying at him from above, the outer wall of the apartment the man was climbing got sharply torn.
Just as the man clenched his teeth and tried to leap backward to avoid the advancing Seowoon, Seowoon suddenly teleported right in front of him and thrust his Bloodbone claw.
The man blocked it by crossing two new Jungle Blades, but was pushed back. At that moment, Seowoon's afterimage slightly wavered.
Soon, twelve Seowoons encircled the man.
Before the man's face could fully register his bewilderment, Seowoon charged at him.
– Whoosh!
This time, all twelve afterimages of Seowoon that had rushed at the man—whose body had begun glowing golden—vanished in an instant.
As the golden hue receded from the man's body, a newly appeared Seowoon dashed forward.
"I knew he had at least one trick up his sleeve."
Instead of blocking the incoming like before bloodbone claw , the man's Jungle Blade launched a fierce counterattack, gleaming coldly.
– Bang!
– Squelch!
Before he could even react to the vanishing enemy he had just struck down, a heavy pain surged through his back.
Seowoon had appeared behind him and thrust his hand into the man's back.
"He twisted his body, even in a moment like this."
What should have been a fatal blow to the heart only pierced through the opposite shoulder blade.
Still, it was nearly fatal nonetheless.
– Crack.
The man's head shattered as he turned to look back.
Before he could tear the scroll he had secretly drawn, his form collapsed.
"I can't let my guard down."
With that thought, Seowoon opened the loot box that appeared in place of the corpse.
– Ding! Jin Seowoon – Kaino Fight. (Kill by technique.) 97/150
[Paladin's Whip]: A whip that can extend up to 2 kilometers. Increases Agility and Health by 30 each. Special skill Pull can be used up to 8 times a day. Pull drags any enemy touched by the whip directly in front of the user.
In addition to the lengthy description of the Paladin's Whip, five more blades labeled Jungle Blades of the Phantom Corps appeared.
As he sorted through the remaining items, a crimson dagger with an ominous aura caught his eye.
[Cursed Colossus Dagger]: Reflects damage received to the enemy at random probability. If reflection is successful, the dagger breaks and disappears.
"What a twisted item."
That was Seowoon's brief impression of the Colossus Dagger's function.
To use it properly, you had to endure critical damage yourself—and even then, landing a hit on the enemy afterward was no easy task.
And on top of that, the success rate for damage reflection was completely random. It was hard to imagine an item more inconvenient than this.
Even so, Seowoon carefully stowed the Colossus Dagger in his subspace.
Along with the whip and dagger, he picked up a few useful accessories and a belt, completing his loot sweep.
Now moving on, Seowoon set out to find Namsagwang and Cheonma, but he had no idea where to start.
Though he had exited the battle, there was no clue where the two might be.
"Let's start by checking near the tunnel."
Since he had only recently encountered Cheonma, predicting his playstyle was nearly impossible.
The only clue was that the guy hadn't moved from the start and began playing only after a week had passed.
"Could it be… him too?"
The thought overlapped with Jang Docheon, but Seowoon shook his head, dismissing it.
Seowoon's afterimage shot like an arrow toward the Munhak Tunnel.
– Wait! –
At that moment, Hammit shouted urgently.
Seowoon stopped in his tracks and took cover under a roadside tree, eyeing Hammit.
– I sense a foul presence. –
"Not a gaze… but a presence?"
– Yes. That damn presence is Merty's. –
"Merty? Who's that?"
– He's infamous for forcibly absorbing souls to craft items. His creations were considered such grave sins that all were sealed 300 years ago. –
As Cloyd came to mind, Hammit trailed off.
"Could there be a connection between those items and Namsagwang's disappearance?"
– Maybe. Maybe not. He made so many items that it's hard to say for sure. –
Seowoon stood quietly, thinking for a moment, then asked Hammit,
"Where is that presence coming from?"
– Underground. Right beneath us. –
Seowoon glanced at the ground, then opened his map.
"Seonhak Station…"
More precisely, it was the midpoint between Seonhak and Shinyeonsu Stations.
Without hesitation, Seowoon ran to Seonhak Station and dashed into the terminal.
– There's an alert spell set up just ahead. –
Even so, Seowoon dove right in.
– Pew!
Just a few steps past the alert barrier, an arrow came flying—and Seowoon swatted it aside with his hand, lips twisting into a smirk.
He had been ready to retreat if the enemy wasn't the one he expected. But the familiar arrow confirmed he was in the right place.
While scanning the surroundings for the hidden enemy and raising his senses, Hammit guided him.
– Direction 130. –
At those words, Seowoon darted forward like a bolt of lightning.
– Shhk! Boom!
Before he even deflected the arrow, he noticed it was an explosive type.
Still, Seowoon casually knocked it away.
The enemy grinned, being pulled back by a wire—but the smile quickly vanished.
From behind the flames, Seowoon appeared—cold-eyed and now doubled.
With each step Seowoon took, his afterimages multiplied exponentially, and the enemy's face grew grimmer.
Just as the man's form halted, a new wire launched from his back and connected to various walls.
He began unleashing a rapid barrage of arrows.
But Seowoon wasn't worried.
"Compared to Jurolk Ana, these arrows are neither fast nor powerful."
The only real threat was the man's maneuverability, boosted by the equipment on his back.
Just as the man was about to be pulled back again, Seowoon—hidden behind a wall—struck out with his newly drawn whip.
Seeing the direction of the wire connected to the enemy's back, Seowoon whipped his weapon, precisely predicting and wrapping it around the enemy's body.
As the enemy, being dragged, was pulled forward perfectly, Seowoon stepped in to greet him.
-Clang!
When the enemy twisted his bow to block with hands infused with energy, Seowoon's expression darkened.
"You're not a bow specialist, huh?"
"Of course not."
With that brief exchange, the enemy released the bowstring, and the bow unfolded into a staff.
-Ka-ka-ka-kang! Thud!
Seowoon's expression twisted further as he took a direct hit to his left thigh from the enemy's rapidly extending staff technique.
The energy gathered at the tip of the staff was no joke.
If he hadn't infused his thigh with inner strength, his femur would've shattered instantly.
Ignoring all of Seowoon's approaching clones, the enemy focused solely on the real Seowoon in front of him.
Just as expected, most of the clones faded away after making ineffective, illusory attacks.
But just as a grin spread across the enemy's face, he was struck hard on the back of the head and both legs. Seowoon grinned as he charged in.
-Ka-kang! Thud!
Even though Seowoon's bloodborne claw technique landed cleanly on the enemy's chest, it failed to tear out the heart.
"Nice breastplate you've got there."
At Seowoon's words, the enemy frowned and brushed a dented spot on his armor.
"Target his right forearm. There's something monstrous embedded there."
Hamit's voice echoed in Seowoon's mind. Suddenly, Seowoon realized the source of the odd discomfort he'd been feeling.
When using the staff, the enemy's left hand had been leading the movement—not normal for someone who was previously using a bow.
Having confirmed it, Seowoon memorized the exact position of the right forearm Hamit pointed out.
-Puh-puh-puhk!
Pretending to be pushed back by taking the enemy's strikes on his forearm instead of his hand, Seowoon watched as the enemy rushed in with a grin.
"Out of energy, are you? That's the price you pay for using energy reinforcement beyond your limits!"
As he shouted, the tip of the staff aimed to pierce forward, carrying a sharp aura of energy.
At the same time, Seowoon's fist technique counterattack technique, unused for a long while, burst forth from his hand.
The staff, which had been about to pierce Seowoon's chest, suddenly slid sideways. The look of shock was written all over the enemy's face.
As Seowoon's hand slithered in like a snake along the shaft of the staff, the enemy dropped it and raised his left hand to defend.
-Tutuk!
Twisting his body, Seowoon struck the back of the enemy's right forearm instead—and a heavy cracking sound followed.
-Crack!
"GRAAAHHH!"
At the same moment, a horrifying aura erupted from the enemy's forearm.
Having mastered the wild horse of noble bloodline Art, Seowoon could immediately sense that the monstrous energy being released included a great deal of life force.
As the enemy writhed in agony, rolling on the ground, Seowoon didn't finish him off.
He instinctively understood that one of the enemy's item effects was bound to a death-trigger—likely something tied to game mechanics or "jump rules."
Seowoon waited for all the enemy's power to drain out.
Just then, Nam Sagwang, his face flushed red, burst in from inside.
Upon seeing the enemy writhing on the floor, Nam Sagwang immediately launched a foot at the man's head—clearly intending to kill him on the spot.
-Thud!
But Seowoon's foot blocked Nam Sagwang's strike.
Only then did Nam Sagwang notice Seowoon, showing just how consumed by rage he'd been.
"Why?"
"There's no rush. Once his strength is completely drained, killing him won't be too late. Kill him now, and he'll probably thank you."
Nam Sagwang finally sensed the dispersing dark aura and regained his composure.
"This fucking bastard! I'll give you the most miserable death possible!"
Looking down at the agonized enemy rolling on the floor, Seowoon agreed with a nod.
"I mean it. He's a natural when it comes to that kind of thing."
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