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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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The chilling sensation of a blade against his neck.
Kang Cheol-woo was more on edge than ever before.
—Shall I tell you a way to live?
So, this voice wasn’t a lie either.
It was familiar—the voice of that greenhorn from the Dark Shadow Guild.
Telepathy
His eyes widened.
Telepathy, a technique akin to message magic used by magic-type players, transmitted meaning without sound.
But this wasn’t magic.
It was an art exclusive to martial artists, one that could only be wielded by those at the peak level or higher.
—It’s not the time to be thinking about that.
At that moment, two voices rang in his mind.
“I’ll ask you one last time. Will you die?”
Lee Rowoon’s voice and Yuk Sagul’s voice reached him simultaneously.
—You’ll die if you drag it out any longer. If you want to live, say this.
Lee Rowoon’s voice felt like the whisper of the devil.
—I will prove that I am not a demon.
The telepathic message came again.
Lee Rowoon had been expecting a confrontation with the Haenam Guild. He could step in himself, but the dungeon’s peculiar nature made it better to use them to his advantage, at least until he met Bondenoi.
‘Now is the right time.’
A sacrifice magic circle.
He hadn’t expected them to use something like this.
Maybe this was the best countermeasure Bondenoi could prepare.
If so, the Haenam Guild was no longer useful.
‘Just follow me. At least I’ll help you not to die.’
Those were the words Kang Cheol-woo had once said to him.
Now, Kang Cheol-woo was risking his life to uphold them.
‘I don’t dislike a guy like that.’
So, he gave him a chance.
Whether or not he seized it—that was Kang Cheol-woo’s choice.
“Answer!”
Yuk Sagul’s shout.
“I’m no…”
Finally, Kang Cheol-woo’s mouth opened.
“I will prove that I am not a demon.”
Smirk.
Lee Rowoon and Yuk Sagul smiled at the same time.
“Yes, that’s right. Aren’t you ultimately those who receive support from our Haenam? Fighting for the demons. I understand your cause of sacrificing for that well.”
Swish.
The sword that had been pressed against Kang Cheol-woo’s neck was finally withdrawn.
“Hurry up and choose the targets. There isn’t much time.”
At Yuk Sagul’s urging, Kang Cheol-woo turned toward the players.
Tremble, tremble.
Fear gripped them, their bodies shaking as they faced their impending fate.
Kang Cheol-woo barely spared them a glance before shifting his gaze to Lee Rowoon.
It was as if he was silently asking—What now?
—Those who will go up on the sacrifice magic circle.
Lee Rowoon’s voice echoed in his mind through telepathy.
—Send the Dark Shadow Guild.
“……!”
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On the sacrifice magic circle, ten people stood.
At the center of them, with a languid expression, was Lee Rowoon.
“Sh, shit…”
“Why…”
Curses erupted from the player formation.
“Why… why isn’t it activating…?”
The martial artists and players had formed a defensive line at a distance. The moment people stepped onto the sacrifice magic circle, the wall had collapsed, trapping them. That spot was the farthest they could retreat.
Now, they watched in tense silence, their unease palpable.
Ten people had stepped forward.
Yet, the magic circle remained dormant.
Clench.
Kang Cheol-woo bit his lip.
“Why isn’t it activating?” Yuk Sagul demanded.
“It seems… the sacrifice is not enough.”
The sacrifice magic circle.
Its activation depended on the number of human sacrifices in contact with it.
But they didn’t understand this particular magic circle.
They didn’t even know how many sacrifices were required.
“Then put more up,” Yuk Sagul said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Clench.
Kang Cheol-woo’s teeth ground together so tightly that a chilling noise rang out from his molars. His gaze flickered to Lee Rowoon once more.
—Put them up.
Clench.
—Instead.
The devil whispered.
How much could he trust those words? Was there really a way out?
But Rowoon and the others weren’t directly on the magic circle.
It was as if he was saying, Can’t you believe me after everything I’ve done?
—Put those who must be saved up.
“……!”
Understanding finally dawned on Kang Cheol-woo.
He didn’t know how, but he knew one thing for certain.
Those who step onto the magic circle will survive.
And the power of choosing who went up had been handed to him.
“What are you doing?!” Yuk Sagul’s roar cut through the air.
Kang Cheol-woo turned to face the players.
Swish.
Their eyes darted away, every single one of them avoiding his gaze.
It was only natural.
Being named now was no different from placing their heads on the guillotine.
“…Kim Min-ho. Go up.”
The first name he spoke belonged to a new player, one who had only recently joined the Gyodong Guild.
A boy barely twenty, who had once told Kang Cheol-woo he wanted to grow strong like him.
Squeeze.
Kang Cheol-woo saw Kim Min-ho’s fist clench tightly.
“What are you doing?!”
The martial artists’ roar cut through the tense air.
Kim Min-ho, who had been frozen in place, finally began to move. Step by step, he approached Kang Cheol-woo’s side.
“I… I won’t try to resent you,” he muttered, his voice shaking. “I can’t guarantee it.”
Kang Cheol-woo shut his eyes tightly.
Damn it.
He wanted to stop this madness. To throw everything aside and rip Yuk Sagul apart.
But the result was obvious.
A pointless death. A meaningless loss.
If there was no other way to live, maybe he would have chosen that.
I’ll believe it.
If the devil’s words were true, then this path was the only way.
Flinch.
Kim Min-ho hesitated at the edge of the magic circle before finally stepping forward.
Another weight of life added to the ritual.
The players activated their protection skills and items, preparing for whatever destruction might come.
The silence was so thick that even the sound of sweat dripping could be heard.
“Haa…!”
A breath escaped, sharp and heavy.
“Sh, shit!”
The magic circle remained still.
It wasn’t activating.
The sacrifice was still insufficient.
“H-heek.”
Kim Min-ho trembled violently, as if he might piss himself at any moment. Then, driven by fear, he tried to step off the magic circle.
He was trying to escape.
The horror had numbed his reason.
“If you run, you’ll kill everyone.”
A cold voice sliced through the tension.
Kim Min-ho froze.
If he tried to leave, the entire group connected to the magic circle would collapse.
That desperate attempt to escape would trigger a destruction even worse than whatever the ritual intended.
“I’d rather—”
“Shut up and stand there.”
Lee Rowoon’s voice was ice.
Kim Min-ho clenched his fists. He wanted to curse everyone, to curse the world.
But he stood still.
“Next!”
Yuk Sagul’s voice rang out.
One by one, more players were chosen.
One by one, they stepped forward.
And the ritual continued.
The Gyodong Guild members who had been chosen first stepped onto the magic circle in silence, their eyes filled with resentment.
Before he realized it, nineteen players had already gathered on the circle.
And yet…
“Why—!”
The sacrifice magic circle still refused to activate.
“Next. Put them up,” Yuk Sagul ordered, his bloodshot eyes gleaming with frustration.
One by one, more players were added to the circle.
“Son of a bitch.”
“I’ll curse you.”
Spat-out curses filled the air.
“You think you’ll live?”
Shoved onto the magic circle by the martial artists, the players hurled their rage at Kang Cheol-woo.
It was only natural.
He was the one sending them to their deaths. And yet, he remained standing, untouched.
How long will this go on…?
He couldn’t stop. He couldn’t see an end, yet he kept going.
“Put them up!”
At Yuk Sagul’s roar, more players stepped forward.
One after another.
Until the last.
The thirty-eighth player climbed onto the circle.
All eyes turned to a single place.
“Hoo…”
Only two remained.
Kang Cheol-woo of the Gyodong Guild.
And an old man—Im Ha-soo, the guild leader of the Gyeyang Guild.
Thirty-eight had already been sacrificed. At any moment, the magic circle could activate.
And then—
“Thirty-nine.”
Lee Rowoon’s voice rang out.
The magic circle was supposed to activate when the thirty-ninth person stepped up.
Kang Cheol-woo now had to make the final decision—the last person who could live.
“You must have a reason.”
He and Im Ha-soo, the Gyeyang Guild leader, had been together for a long time.
“I’ve wanted to stand there for a long time. So I’ll stand there now.”
Even before Kang Cheol-woo could call his name, Im Ha-soo was already walking toward the magic circle.
Yes, this is right.
Kang Cheol-woo shut his eyes tightly.
His last chance to live was gone.
He would be lying if he said he didn’t regret it.
And yet…
‘At least, in the end, I won’t die like a dog.’
There was no hesitation left in him. No more regrets.
The moment Im Ha-soon stepped onto the magic circle—
“Prepare!”
The martial artists braced themselves, ready to withstand the explosion.
But then—
“…….”
A strange silence settled over the passageway.
Nothing happened.
“Why?”
Kang Cheol-woo stared blankly.
“It seems it was 40 people. What are you doing?”
In the center of the magic circle, Lee Rowoon let out a quiet chuckle.
“Come up.”
Kang Cheol-woo remained dazed.
“What are you doing?”
Yuk Sagul shoved him forward with the hilt of his sword.
“Go up. I will not forget your cause.”
Pushed by the scabbard, Kang Cheol-woo slowly opened his eyes.
At this point, he no longer knew what was real or what was right.
It felt like everything was simply unfolding beyond his control.
Unlike those who had hesitated before stepping onto the magic circle—except for the Dark Shadow Guild—Kang Cheol-woo walked toward it without hesitation.
“It’s finally come to this,” Im Ha-soo murmured with a sigh.
“Damn it.”
Even those who had cursed Kang Cheol-woo a moment ago now averted their gazes, unable to look at him directly.
And then—
The moment Kang Cheol-woo stepped onto the magic circle—
Oooo-ooo-ooo-oong!
A brilliant light surged through the once-dormant circle.
“It’s activating! Prepare!”
Yuk Sagul shouted, raising his sword and deploying a sword barrier.
The other masters immediately pushed their Protective Qi to the limit, bracing for impact.
The explosion was coming.
From the depths of the passage—
Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwang!
It erupted.
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“Ke-ek! Ke-ek!”
The explosion was unlike anything they had encountered before in the dungeon.
It wasn’t just a magic circle’s detonation—it was a cataclysmic blast powerful enough to threaten the entire dungeon’s collapse.
“D-Did we… survive? Ke-lok! Are we alive?”
The players who had stood on the magic circle coughed violently in the thick smoke, disbelief etched across their soot-covered faces.
Their bodies were scorched, their clothes tattered, yet—
“W-We’re alive!”
Somehow, impossibly, they had survived.
“What… happened?”
“The explosion… it came from the passage!”
Indeed, it had.
“Keok! Keok!”
“Heok! Keok!”
The martial artists groaned as they struggled to rise, their bodies half-buried beneath rubble. Pained voices filled the ruined space.
The entire dungeon had been obliterated.
If I hadn’t activated the Black Tortoise Mirror at the last moment, none of us would have made it out unscathed.
That being said…
It was worth it.
I had turned the tables.
And in a single, decisive stroke—
I had eliminated exactly who I wanted to.
“What’s this all about?”
The martial artists stared in shock at the devastation around them, their faces blank with disbelief.
“The sacrifice was supposed to take place on the magic formation—so why has the whole place turned into this mess?”
Their thoughts raced as they struggled to comprehend what had gone wrong.
“How did this happen?”
“The explosion… it started from the passageway!”
What unfolded before their eyes was beyond comprehension. The blast, which should have been confined to the magic circle, had instead detonated from the passage, annihilating everything in its path.
“What? Is this even possible?”
The players were just as bewildered, their expressions filled with confusion and fear.
“But… in the end, it was our guild members who actually stopped the explosion. What if they hadn’t intervened?”
“Ugh, just thinking about it is terrifying.”
A heavy silence fell over them as the weight of what could have happened truly sank in. Their faces turned pale as they imagined the worst-case scenario.
And then, their eyes fell upon the Dark Shadow Guild.
The very people who had, in the end, saved them from complete annihilation.
Their abilities were beyond belief.
“The magic circle… it must have been a higher-level formation,” someone speculated, their voice tinged with awe. “They must have figured out a way to manipulate it so that the explosion wouldn’t harm them. That’s the only explanation.”
When put that way, it made perfect sense.
“I thought it was strange too,” another added. “Why would such powerful martial artists be gathered here in the first place?”
Murmurs of admiration rippled through the group.
“Even after all that, they’re completely unscathed… Their abilities must be extraordinary.”
Amidst the chaos, only one member of the Dark Shadow Guild remained unfazed, looking down on the unfolding scene with an air of indifference.
“You said you’d tell me the solution… and you really did,” Kang Cheol-woo muttered, his voice laced with disbelief and admiration. He turned to the figure before him, eyes wide with awe.
“He must be more powerful than us if he can use telepathy, right? I bet we are no match for him.”
Kang Cheol-woo saw an opportunity and wanted to align himself with Lee Rowoon. His mind raced as he tried to piece together what had just happened.
“The explosion… It must have been triggered from the inside. There’s no way they could have replicated that effect from outside,” he murmured.
Even though he couldn’t fully grasp the truth behind the event, he knew one thing for certain—these people were far beyond ordinary. He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of impact they would have in the future, and just what sort of existence they were destined to become.
At that moment, the debris clogging the passageway trembled.
A deep, guttural growl rumbled from within.
Kwag!
The rubble burst apart, sending fragments flying in all directions. From within the cloud of dust, a fierce wave of sword energy surged forward, slicing through the air—aimed directly at Lee Rowoon.
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