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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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Swish!
A chilling cutting sound echoed.
“Aaaagh!”
A scream tore from one of the Spiders.
Kang Eun-ha, having somehow released herself from the magic-restricting item, snatched her weapon from nearby and dashed forward the moment she was free.
The Spiders, underestimating Ahn Min-hong’s party’s strength, had been careless with their equipment.
Swish!
Kang Eun-ha cut down the second Spider in a flash.
Thud, Roll.
In an instant, two Spiders had lost their heads.
“……”
Another Spider, standing next to the fallen, was still slowly turning his head, unaware of what had transpired.
Kim Cheol-ho, however, was different.
“Got you!”
He yelled his command as he drew his sword and charged.
‘Too late.’
Catching up to Kang Eun-ha’s speed was a difficult task.
Swish!
Finally, the third cutting sound rang out.
Another Spider’s head fell to the ground.
Clang!
Belatedly, Kim Cheol-ho’s sword clashed with Kang Eunha’s blade, sending sparks flying.
“You… how?!”
Kim Cheol-ho pushed back against Kang Eun-ha’s blade, his face contorted.
He had definitely disarmed Ahn Min-hong’s entire party, including Kang Eun-ha, and fitted them with magic-restricting shackles.
The magic-restricting shackles were fatal to players; there was no way to escape them unless one was a Ranker.
“Could it be…!”
Kim Cheol-ho was about to utter the word “Ranker.”
“You idiot. Wrong.”
Clang, clang, clang!
Kang Eunha pushed back against Kim Cheol-ho’s sword as she spoke.
“Magic-restricting shackles only work on….”
Clang!
Kang Eun-ha deflected Kim Cheolho’s sword.
A reddish aura flickered around her blade.
“…players and Einheart’s mana users.”
“Muin-!”
Kim Cheol-ho, knocked back, hurriedly regained his stance, glared at Kang Eunha, and shouted.
“You! You weren’t a player!”
“Why so surprised? You don’t seem to be a Second-Rate, or rather, a D-Rank player either.”
Second-Rate by Muin standards, D-Rank by player standards.
‘Between levels 20 and 40.’
That was the level Kim Cheol-ho had claimed to be.
But the magic power now emanating from Kim Cheol-ho’s body was far stronger than that.
“First-Rate, C-Rank?”
First-Rate and C-Rank, equivalent to levels 40 to 60 for players.
Kim Cheol-ho flinched.
It was only natural.
While engaging in such illicit activities, it was unlikely Kim Cheol-ho would have truthfully revealed his actual level.
Falsifying Association registration cards was illegal, but it was easily achievable through the black market.
The more surprising thing was Kang Eun-ha.
‘Well, it’s customary to check before entering a Gate. Let’s see.’
For a Muin to pose as a player was by no means easy.
The internal energy possessed by a Muin and the magic power wielded by a player were fundamentally different in nature.
Kim Cheol-ho had checked all members of Ahn Min-hong’s party using an information-gathering skill, and the average level of Ahn Min-hong’s party members was E-Rank.
That included Kang Eun-ha.
The information-gathering skill had identified Kang Eun-ha as a player.
‘A way to deceive skills, huh.’
He knew ways to conceal one’s level, but the method of a Muin being recognized as a player was intriguing.
Lee Rowoon observed Kang Eun-ha and Kim Cheol-ho with growing interest.
“I won’t kill you easily.”
“Can you even kill me in the first place?”
Smirk.
Kim Cheol-ho curled his lip at Kang Eun-ha.
“You’re getting cocky after taking down just three idiots.”
Only then did Kang Eun-ha’s expression harden.
Kim Cheol-ho was right.
While she had defeated three Spiders, there were still stronger opponents remaining.
Kim Cheol-ho, who had concealed his level, and…
Glance.
…the Ronin.
“Judging by your emission of Sword Qi, you seem to be at the Peak level. In that case, I can’t win.”
Kim Cheol-ho gripped his sword tighter.
Challenging an opponent a rank higher as a player was suicidal unless one possessed exceptional confidence.
Furthermore, if the opponent was a Muin, considered stronger than a player, and the rank difference remained the same?
‘Certain defeat.’
However, Kim Cheol-ho was not alone.
“I request your assistance. I will pay you handsomely.”
Kim Cheol-ho addressed the Ronin.
“For your information, that person is a Peak-level Muin, just like you.”
Kim Cheol-ho’s gaze shifted to the Ronin who was with Lee Rowoon.
As if responding to Kim Cheol-ho’s words, the Ronin raised his sword.
Hum.
The blade glowed blue.
“……”
Indeed, it was Sword Qi, the symbol of the Peak level.
This was the reason why Kim Cheol-ho hadn’t inquired about Lee Rowoon’s level when hiring him. With a Peak-level expert and a C-Rank player together, most unexpected situations could be handled easily.
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The Three Kings, the masters, and among them, Shin Yeol, introduced herself thus:
‘I am the master of the Shinma Cult.’
Shinma Cult.
Therefore, Lee Rowoon, who had agreed to become her disciple later, asked:
‘Is the Shinma Cult related to the Ma Cult?’
The Ma Cult.
Who were they? A vicious group treated the same as Einhart’s dark mages, whose on-sight extermination was not only permitted but encouraged. It was said that Eun had eradicated them over thousands of years, but remnants were rumored to still be hiding, disrupting the peace in Eun and even on Earth.
‘The Shinma Cult is their root.’
Shin Yeol was their master.
‘They are pitiful. If you succeed and return, please look after them.’
The worst terrorists, wanted by all factions in Eun. An ordinary person would struggle to even encounter them in a lifetime.
But Lee Rowoon was different.
‘The monster carcass disposal site of the Hwasan Guild.’
A place where all laborers were treated like slaves, less than human. Though rotten in reality, the Hwasan Guild valued righteous causes. How could they openly practice slavery?
The reason was simple.
‘The slaves in the disposal site deserve such treatment.’
The workers in the disposal site were all criminals. Red Players like Kim Cheol-ho, those who had committed at least murder or worse. While Lee Rowoon hadn’t befriended the slaves, he hadn’t ignored their stories either.
Trapped in an inescapable death row, they often divulged secrets they should never have uttered.
Among them, one stuck in his memory.
‘If you receive a special request from the Black Market…’
A man who had been enslaved for being caught buying and selling people in the Black Market said,
‘…you can meet the remnants of the Ma Cult.’
‘Ma Cult?’
‘Yeah. Didn’t you know there are rumors that the Black Market and the Ma Cult are connected?’
‘So, what was the request?’
Lee Rowoon remembered the word “Ma Cult,” their story, both mysterious and the object of Eun’s intense hostility.
‘Heinous crimes like murder and kidnapping, Gates, D-Rank or higher.’
Of course, the likelihood of those stories, rife with lies, being true was extremely low.
But it was worth investigating. Lee Rowoon had lost everything and had to hide his identity. So, even if he failed to find the remnants of the Ma Cult by participating in crimes through the Black Market, he planned to eliminate the criminals and seize their assets and identities.
However, seeing Ahn Min-hong’s party changed his mind.
‘A player?’
The energy he felt from Kang Eun-ha, who called herself a player… it was internal energy.
No.
Smirk.
It was demonic energy.
The scent of demonic energy, undetectable by ordinary individuals. A scent so subtle that even experts who had reached the Transcendent Realm would struggle to perceive it. A scent he wouldn’t have recognized if he hadn’t learned the Blood Demon Divine Art.
In other words…
“Iron Swordsman! Attack first!”
“Woman. Blame your bad luck.”
…Kang Eun-ha was a member of the Ma Cult.
The man called Iron Swordsman, his sword clad in thick Sword Qi, moved with elegant and swift footwork…
Smirk.
…and swung his sword towards Lee Rowoon.
“You! Your behavior has been suspicious from the start!”
Indeed, was he a Peak-level Muin who had lived as a Ronin for a long time? It seemed he judged Lee Rowoon, standing still and doing nothing, to be more dangerous than Kang Eun-ha who was right in front of him.
In this situation, Lee Rowoon’s presence was likely inconsequential to them.
It wasn’t a bad judgment.
Whoosh!
Iron Swordsman’s sword, imbued with Sword Qi, grazed past Lee Rowoon’s eyes. Someone observing this might have thought he narrowly avoided it by luck, but Iron Swordsman, who had swung the sword, felt differently.
‘It should have connected.’
It was a surprise attack, swung with the awareness of an inescapable angle and situation.
A single step.
That was all it took for Lee Rowoon to evade Iron Swordsman’s sword.
‘Oh no.’
It was too late to realize anything.
Snap!
A finger snap echoed.
Bang!
Iron Swordsman’s head exploded.
Kim Cheol-ho’s eyes widened in shock. It wasn’t because Lee Rowoon, hired from the Black Market, had betrayed him. He hadn’t trusted the man from the Black Market in the first place and had planned to frame him for the kidnapping and kill him. That’s why he hadn’t bothered with detailed background checks or verification.
Kim Cheol-ho was shocked because Iron Swordsman, a Peak-level Muin who had been with his party for a long time, had his head explode in an instant.
“Seems you have plenty of time to spare.”
Lee Rowoon’s voice.
Only then did Kim Cheol-ho grasp the reality of the situation. The immediate danger wasn’t Lee Rowoon. He shouldn’t be distracted by such things.
“……!”
The danger was Kang Eun-ha, right in front of him.
Clang! Swish!
If they had properly clashed, they might have exchanged a few blows, but Kim Cheol-ho, distracted by Lee Rowoon, had his head cleanly sliced off. This was the price of carelessness.
Kang Eun-ha, having dealt with Kim Cheolho, stood still, gazing at Lee Rowoon.
“Am I next?”
Kang Eun-ha flinched at Lee Rowoon’s playful voice. Fortunately, she didn’t make the same foolish mistake as Iron Swordsman.
Swipe.
She lowered her crimson blade, but the Sword Qi remained. She appeared to have no intention of fighting, yet conveyed a readiness to resist if necessary.
“Could you please spare me?”
This was unimaginable considering how she had mercilessly beheaded men moments before.
“……? I was just with Kim Cheol-ho’s party.”
Kang Eun-ha cautiously shook her head.
“You also blew up the head of another Ronin. If you were with them, I wouldn’t have been able to catch even a single Spider.”
“…….”
“So, you’re not with them and you have some kind of objective.”
Interesting.
“And you know what my objective is?”
“……”
Kang Eun-ha, who had been speaking frankly, paused.
“I will… help you with anything.”
“Anything?”
“If you wish, you can have anything anyway.”
He was a powerful figure who could explode the head of a Peak-level Muin with a single move.
‘Only someone like Grandfather could do that.’
Transcendent? That wouldn’t be nearly enough. At least…
‘Enlightenment.’
It was a feat achievable only by those at S-Rank or higher.
Smirk.
“What if I want your life?”
Kang Eun-ha squeezed her eyes shut. It seemed she had anticipated this situation.
“I will give it to you. However…”
Kang Eun-ha opened her eyes again.
“Could it wait until after we leave the Gate?”
Kang Eun-ha’s eyes were fixed on Ahn Min-hong’s party, still trembling, unable to process the sudden turn of events.
Was she trying to save them in this situation? Or did she have another objective?
“Let me ask you one thing.”
“I will answer if I know.”
“How did you know I was strong?”
“Excuse me? A Peak-level Muin…”
Lee Rowoon shook his head.
“You definitely should have come at me first.”
“……!”
“You’re suspicious, and you haven’t confirmed my strength. Besides, I was closest to you.”
It was true. Lee Rowoon had been standing near where Kang Eun-ha and her group were tied up. If he were her, the first target after freeing himself would have been him. An unknown entity posed a high risk of becoming a variable, and on a battlefield where lives were at stake, variables needed to be eliminated first. But she had ignored him and attacked the other Spiders.
‘She couldn’t have sensed my internal energy.’
He had completely concealed his internal energy. It was also a function of the third stage of the Blood Demon Divine Art, Black Blood. He didn’t think she would have made such a foolish choice to rush at the Spiders.
He was certain.
That’s why he was curious.
“Your eyes… even during my watch, I couldn’t look directly into them. Even though I didn’t feel any threat or energy. I’ve only experienced that once before.”
“Who was that with?”
“That was…”
Kang Eun-ha closed her mouth as if unable to answer.
“Never mind. I’ll find out eventually.”
Her martial arts were quite useful. She was also quite clever. But there was something else that was even more interesting.
‘Good instincts.’
A big catch from the beginning.
“Let’s go then.”
Kang Eun-ha nodded and released Ahn Min-hong’s party. The Gate Boss was at a level Kang Eun-ha could handle alone at the Peak level.
Emerging from the Gate, Kang Eun-ha bowed her head to Lee Rowoon.
“If you want my life, you can take it.”
But Lee Rowoon asked her something else.
“Heavenly Clan? Or Blood Clan?”
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