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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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“Wh-Where are the monsters?!”
“Daddy, I’m scared!”
“Why are there suddenly monsters…?”
The confused crowd began to murmur.
Jeong Yoo-shin also looked around, scanning his surroundings.
All he could see were ordinary people. No monsters.
Where were they?
Just then…
A black mass fell from the sky, arcing through the air and landing in the park.
“The sky!!! They’re in the sky!”
Karin was the first to spot it. Then Jeong Yoo-shin noticed and shouted, but the people around him, caught in their panic, didn’t hear him.
“Get out of the way!!!”
Jeong Yoo-shin shouted while running towards the spot with his arm outstretched.
But it was too late.
The monster landed in the middle of the dense crowd.
Thump!!!
Crunch.
The pavement shattered, and bits of bone and flesh splattered everywhere.
It was a giant mantis, two meters tall.
Crushed and twitching bodies lay beneath the mantis’s feet.
Jeong Yoo-shin’s eyes widened.
The young siblings who had been laughing in the crowd moments ago were now a mangled, bloody mess.
A young boy, who had been holding his mother’s hand, stared blankly at her torn body.
The sudden tragedy silenced the crowd.
And then…
“Kyaaaaaaaaa!!!”
“Run!!!”
People screamed and scattered in terror.
Jeong Yoo-shin looked down at the crushed bodies before him.
Ordinary people who had been enjoying the festival moments ago were now mangled beyond recognition.
His vision turned white.
They overlapped with the children he had seen in the box in the inn, nothing but severed heads.
He couldn’t…
He couldn’t let this stand.
“You son of a bitch!!!!!”
Jeong Yoo-shin screamed while charging towards the mantis.
“Skar, calm down!!!”
He couldn’t hear Karin’s shouts.
[Sacred Weapon]
His rage prevented him from properly manifesting a weapon from his mind.
He simply grabbed a long, lightning-like object and swung it.
Swish!!!
The sword, as fast as a flash of light, sliced through the mantis’s leg.
Spurt!!!
Thick, green blood splattered, glistening under the moonlight.
The mantis convulsed and swung its foreleg.
[Sacred Weapon]
Once again, he couldn’t manifest a proper weapon.
A jagged, lightning-like shape.
It was barely a sword, but its edge was sharper than any other weapon.
Jeong Yoo-shin’s lightning sword clashed with the mantis’s foreleg.
Clang!!!
Sparkling golden particles flew like sparks.
The mantis’s foreleg was not only deflected by Jeong Yoo-shin’s strength, but it was also flung upwards.
The mantis’ eyes widened.
“You bastard!!!”
Jeong Yoo-shin cursed and swung the golden lightning horizontally.
Slash!!!
The sword, empowered by his increased muscle density and reflexes from his level up, mercilessly tore through several of the mantis’s legs.
“Skreeek!!!”
The mantis shrieked as it lost its balance and stumbled.
Without pausing, Jeong Yoo-shin jumped up and severed the mantis’s head.
Slice!!!
The severed head rolled across the ground.
“H-He… he killed a Giant Mantis so easily?”
“F-Find the injured!!!”
The crowd murmured.
“H-Help!!! Monsters have appeared on the street!”
“I’m going!!!”
“Me too!!!”
Jeong Yoo-shin and Karin ran out of the park.
He thought as he ran.
‘Which bastards did this?!’
Monsters couldn’t just appear from the labyrinth, so there was only one culprit.
The eastern district.
Had those whose lives were hell finally lost their minds?
How could people do this to each other?
He ran with all his might and reached the street.
It was near the inn he ran. The familiar street made him want to scream.
A giant toad sat in the middle of the street, whipping people around with its long tongue.
The person caught in its tongue was already a mangled, bloody mess.
He continued running at full speed.
“Ribbit?!”
The toad monster flinched at the sight of Jeong Yoo-shin, who appeared like a gust of wind.
[Sacred Weapon]
Swish!!!
He swung his sword, severing the tongue.
Once more.
[Sacred Weapon]
He created a one-meter spike and plunged it into the toad’s head.
“Croak!!!”
The toad monster screamed and thrashed about.
Ignoring its struggles, he pushed the spike deeper with all his might.
“Gah!!!”
The toad let out a final cry and collapsed.
“Thank you!!! Thank you!!!”
“You saved us!!!”
Familiar faces approached and thanked him.
Some had scorned him before, and others had treated him indifferently.
But now, they all bowed their heads respectfully.
Jeong Yoo-shin shook his head.
“It’s dangerous here. You should take shelter inside. Hurry!”
He urged them, and the people scattered.
Someone approached him from the end of the street.
One person and one monster.
“…You?”
“Ugh…”
It was that Genius Swordsman bastard. He seemed out of it, making only strange groaning sounds.
His name was Ret. He had heard that Ret had gone missing in the labyrinth. How did he get out?
And why was he standing next to that monster so casually?
“What the hell are you doing here, bastard?”
“Hehehe.”
Ret didn’t answer, only letting out a sinister chuckle. His eyes were completely rolled back, showing only the whites. He wasn’t sane.
‘I have no sword. And my mana is almost depleted.’
If only he had decent equipment…
Jeong Yoo-shin gritted his teeth.
Just then…
The city guard arrived at the park, shouting.
“Everyone, evacuate!!!”
The people who had been hesitant to leave began to evacuate safely under the guidance of the guards.
The guards surrounded the monster next to Ret.
The man who appeared to be the captain approached Ret.
“Why are you with a monster? Are you a monster tamer? Come with us to the guard post.”
From the guards’ perspective, that was a reasonable assumption.
Shing.
Ret grinned and drew his sword.
The guard captain’s expression hardened.
“Don’t resist! This will only…”
Thwack!!!
A flash of light.
The guard captain’s head flew off in a single stroke.
Thump!!! Thud.
The cleanly severed head landed on the ground and rolled.
“…”
A chilling silence.
No one had seen the trajectory of the sword.
Ret was now holding a rusty iron sword.
The guards stared blankly, dumbfounded.
“Everyone, stay back!!! He’s not sane!!!”
Jeong Yoo-shin shouted, stepping forward.
“Captain, with his Stone Skin imprint, was killed in a single blow…”
“Gasp!!! Hey!!! It’s too dangerous!!!”
The guards also panicked. They looked as green as recruits.
Jeong Yoo-shin quickly picked up the guard captain’s sword. Karin stood beside him.
“Skar, are you going to fight him alone?”
“No. But that monster next to Ret is bothering me.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“I trust you. Don’t get hurt.”
“Don’t worry.”
Karin moved to the side and snatched two daggers from the guards.
“Are you recruits? That one seems to be the most dangerous. Can you call for backup?”
“How dare you!!! Who gives orders to the labyrinth city guard?!”
A clueless recruit yelled at Karin, who seemed like the easiest target. Then, a beast-person guard who recognized Karin quietly stepped forward.
“Hey, kid, Karin is Ingrid’s daughter.”
“G-Gasp?!”
The recruit trembled and immediately bowed his head.
“I-I apologize!”
“Don’t worry about it. Just request for backup. I’m asking not as Ingrid’s daughter, but as an explorer with a bad feeling. Don’t get confused.”
Karin said and turned her back.
“…Alright. Let’s go!”
The guards looked momentarily confused, but they quickly grasped the gravity of the situation and dispersed.
Jeong Yoo-shin looked at the monster next to Ret.
Thanks to his studies with Mion, he recognized it.
Coincidentally, it was a Skin Walker, a monster from the Forest area.
A monster that wandered the forest alone while cloaked in animal hides and emitting a black mist.
It required at least three intermediate-rank explorers to kill. He was worried.
“Don’t make that face. Even if we can’t kill it, we can hold it off.”
Karin reassured Jeong Yoo-shin.
“I trust you.”
Karin smiled at Jeong Yoo-shin’s short reply.
“Good.”
The two of them faced their respective opponents.
Shing.
Jeong Yoo-shin drew the guard captain’s sword.
‘Can I win?’
His opponent had the Genius Swordsman imprint. He had seen him fight before. His swordsmanship was overwhelming. Victory was uncertain.
But…
He couldn’t retreat. If this guy escaped and rampaged through the southern district, it would be a disaster.
‘I thought I was having a good day.’
He swallowed a sigh.
“Hehehe.”
“Don’t laugh.”
Jeong Yoo-shin shouldered his sword and slowly approached.
Ret took a middle stance and thrust. His target was Jeong Yoo-shin’s neck.
Swish!!!
‘Here it comes.’
He gripped the longsword on his shoulder with both hands and swung it diagonally.
Clang!!!
Sparks flew as the swords clashed.
Ret immediately lowered his sword, aiming for Jeong Yoo-shin’s wrist. The smooth transition sent chills down his spine.
He immediately stepped back and held the longsword with one hand.
[Sacred Weapon]
Swish!!!
A dagger of light flew towards Ret’s neck.
Clang!!!
Ret casually deflected the dagger and charged at Jeong Yoo-shin, swinging his sword downwards.
From top to bottom.
Clang!!!
Jeong Yoo-shin blocked the attack and aimed a backhand blow at Ret’s head. Ret immediately raised his sword to block and retaliated, aiming for Jeong Yoo-shin’s head.
Clang!!! Clang!!!
Ret’s blade grazed Jeong Yoo-shin’s cheek.
Sting!!!
[Revenger]
Jeong Yoo-shin’s eyes blazed with blue flames.
Warm blood trickled down his cheek, but he couldn’t use his hands to wipe it away.
Ret’s sword was constantly threatening his life.
Clang!!! Clang!!! Clang!!!
Their swords clashed as the two men circled each other like dancers.
A fierce exchange of blows, fifteen in total.
Thud!!!
Ret’s sword pierced Jeong Yoo-shin’s shoulder.
“Fuck!!!”
The blue flames intensified.
Jeong Yoo-shin swung his sword frantically. Ret grinned and retreated.
The demonic talent granted by the Genius Swordsman imprint.
Jeong Yoo-shin, who had only been wielding a sword for less than a year, couldn’t help but feel the difference in their skills.
Ret swung his sword.
Jeong Yoo-shin’s movements became faster, like a wounded animal, but that was all. It wasn’t enough to counter Ret’s masterful swordsmanship.
And then, for a split second…
He lost track of Ret’s movements. The price was steep.
Thud, thud, thud.
All the fingers on his left hand, except his thumb, were severed.
The excruciating pain momentarily paralyzed him.
Swish!!!
Ret’s sword aimed for his heart.
Jeong Yoo-shin desperately raised his arm.
Crack!!!
The cold blade pierced his flesh, shattered his bone, and embedded itself deep within.
An unbearable pain, like a metal rod being driven into his bone, jolted through his brain.
Jeong Yoo-shin’s eyes were bloodshot.
Fuck.
He gritted his teeth. He couldn’t end here. He had protected his heart. He had avoided instant death. There had to be a way.
His left hand was mangled, his fingers were gone, and his bones were shattered. He couldn’t hold a sword with both hands anymore.
He swung his longsword with one hand, intending to take Ret’s head off in one blow.
But Ret pulled out his sword, retreated, and then immediately thrust again.
Just before Ret’s sword pierced Jeong Yoo-shin’s throat…
At that critical moment…
The world slowed down.
A bright, golden light from the night sky flew towards him like a bullet.
“…What?”
“Skaaaaar!!!”
Karin’s horrified voice echoed slowly from somewhere.
Jeong Yoo-shin turned his head. Karin, who was covered in blood, was running towards him in slow motion.
Running towards him with an enemy behind her? Karin was also in bad shape.
And then…
The golden light collided with Jeong Yoo-shin’s head.
At that moment, the slow-motion world faded, and darkness enveloped him.
Jeong Yoo-shin opened his eyes.
“What is this?!”
Pitch-black darkness.
Just like when he had first been transported to this world, he found himself in darkness.
He had been fighting desperately in the park.
The excruciating pain was gone.
And his severed fingers were intact.
As Jeong Yoo-shin looked around, a woman, enveloped in a golden light, descended slowly from above.
Long, straight blonde hair.
She wore a single, flowing cloth. A peplos, the kind of garment worn by women in ancient Greece.
The garment was particularly short around the thighs, the kind of thing Spartan women would wear.
Her aura was similar to Mion’s. Warm and divine.
Her breasts were about the same size as Mion’s, maybe slightly larger.
“Child, you are impertinent.”
The woman spoke. Unlike Mion’s gentle eyes, hers were sharp and determined.
Jeong Yoo-shin tore his gaze away from her breasts and looked at her face.
“Who are you?”
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T/N – Ah, classic last minute save. Any guesses as to who the woman is?
Also, Ret’s imprint really is BS. People like the MC trained so hard just to get to where he is now, but this guy just gets lucky with the labyrinth imprint gacha and he suddenly outclasses him by a lot. Fucker probably doesn’t even train hard and was too busy enjoying his harem.
If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.
Thanks Jay!
Mion’s mom?
She’s probably one of the elemental entities that people want to get blessed by
Mm, probably either one of those spirits or one of the council members we haven’t seen yet, I suppose. Makes sense that there’d be a support specialist.