After a moment, the thick cloud of dust cleared.
The Blood Sword Commander lay sprawled in a deeply gouged crater.
His entire body was densely covered in wounds, large and small, to the point he was no different from a bloodied corpse.
It looked like he twitched faintly for a moment but then went completely limp.
Seeing that, Dang Il-bi spoke.
“It’s over.”
Even after a resurrection incantation was cast, the Blood Sword Commander showed no movement.
Then Dang Gyu-young used [Shadow Extraction] as a finishing confirmation.
Since it could only be used on a completely dead or subdued target, it wouldn’t have activated if he still had any strength left.
Fortunately, the Blood Sword Commander’s shadow left its original host and was smoothly absorbed into the Qyu Shadow Lord.
▷Shadow Extraction [4/4]
1. Lab Director (A)
2. Shadow Lord (A)
3. Blood Sword Commander (A+)
4. Blood Sword Member (B+)
Soon, a shadow suddenly rose from a short distance away and took the form of the Blood Sword Commander.
At first, it held only a single longsword, but at a command, its arms multiplied into six, as if it were using the Shura Blood Demon Art.
Dang Gyu-young muttered in satisfaction.
“…This kind of makes me want to collect them. I should complete the Blood Cult Elder set.”
“Will that be enough for you?”
“What else is there?”
“Later, we should bring in a dragon too.”
“……!”
An exclamation mark practically popped above Dang Gyu-young’s head.
She was probably imagining herself flying around on a Qyu Shadow Dragon.
The name would be Qyu Dragon Rider.
Seo Ye-in’s eyes lit up as well, and she tugged at my sleeve.
“I want to ride a dragon too.”
“Ask Uncle Underworld Dragon King to let you.”
“…He doesn’t let me anymore.”
So he used to?
But more important than that trivial question, there was something else to address.
I bowed my head to the twin heroes and the Hye-seong Group members.
“Everyone, thank you for your hard work.”
The Dang twins each responded in turn.
“I should be saying that to you.”
“Your contribution was no less than ours.”
“It seems the Dang Clan owes you yet another debt.”
“I’d also like to extend my thanks to Team Leader Ahn.”
Ahn Jeong-mi responded with a polite bow as well.
“As an ally of the Dang Clan and as someone who serves the young miss, it was only right that I do so. You’ve all worked hard.”
In the warm atmosphere, we began wrapping things up.
We contacted the Dang Clan as well as nearby sects and guilds to inform them of the situation.
There were still places left to check, but…
It was better to stop the search for hidden Blood Cult forces here.
Although our group had taken almost no damage, we had likely expended a considerable amount of strength in the clash with the Shura Blood Sword Unit.
Even for me, several skills were on cooldown.
Using [Mutual Destruction Eye] thirty times in a row resulted in a 900x cooldown.
I had also used [Amplification] across multiple skills and traits.
On top of that, due to the elemental penalty from the S-rank [Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger], both [Pain Delay] and [Retro Recovery] were now on three-day cooldowns.
If we ran into another elder-level opponent now, someone would likely die.
And there was a high chance that someone would be me.
Considering that defeating the Blood Sword Commander alone was already a significant gain, I decided not to be greedy and to return.
Not long after arriving at the Dang Clan, we were summoned by the clan head.
“……..”
The clan head stared at me for quite a while.
His gaze was a mix of admiration, curiosity, and interest.
Then, after a brief pause, he spoke.
“I agreed to your request and assigned Il-bi and Han-bi to you partly out of a measure of trust, but also as repayment for the help you’ve given my daughter.”
“…….”
“However, for a contribution of this magnitude, it seems our clan has once again become indebted to you. Think about what other reward you would like.”
“Understood.”
The clan head then gave words of recognition to the rest of the group as well.
But when it came to Dang Gyu-young, he seemed to falter, as if the words caught in his throat.
Just as I had mentioned before, it seemed he couldn’t easily muster the courage.
Even so, he eventually forced himself to speak.
“You’ve worked hard. You were a great help as well.”
“…Yes.”
Dang Gyu-young’s eyes wavered.
Soon, she lowered her head slightly and looked down.
That was the end of the exchange between father and daughter, but it felt like there had been at least a small step forward.
Before long, the clan head changed the subject.
“As for the Blood Cult’s temporary base, I’ve already requested cooperation from other sects. We’ll move in as soon as preparations are complete.”
“I think it would be best to act as quickly as possible.”
“Of course. At the latest, it will be decided by tonight.”
Once news of what happened at the game center spread, the Blood Cult would likely hesitate and might withdraw from the temporary base or relocate elsewhere.
They needed to strike before that happened.
It’s possible that battles have already broken out in some locations.
At that, the Dang twins stepped into the conversation.
“We’ll go.”
“No. It’s best that you focus on recovery for the time being. I heard you even forced yourselves to use Rain of Flowers Filling the Sky.”
The clan head shook his head.
Even as the Twin Heroes, they wouldn’t be able to perform at full strength for a while, so if they encountered a Blood Cult elder, their chances of winning would drop significantly.
If there was even a small possibility of such an encounter, it was better to avoid it.
“But…”
“The Council Head will dispatch experts. Do not act rashly.”
The clan head firmly cut them off, making it clear he wouldn’t allow any objections.
Then he looked at me again.
“What do you think will happen next?”
“We’ve stirred the grass thoroughly, so the snake is bound to come out.”
Though in this case, it was closer to both beating the grass and pummeling the snake.
Either way, it was certain the Blood Cult would respond in some form.
Since operating in secrecy had failed, there was a high chance they might come out openly and engage in a full-scale confrontation.
The clan head almost seemed to be hoping for that.
“A visible enemy is far easier to deal with than one lurking in the shadows.”
Up until now, incidents had been occurring sporadically across different regions, some so covert that they went unnoticed.
The temporary bases we discovered this time were proof of that.
They had essentially been dragged along by the enemy’s pace the whole time.
But if it turned into a straightforward clash of strength, the Dang Clan believed they would not lose.
Still, it wasn’t something to view too optimistically.
The Blood Cult must have been planning to confront the Dang Clan head-on eventually.
Their trump card for that moment would still be in play.
The clan head was surely aware of this as well, but it seemed he had decided not to burden a guest any further.
“We will handle matters from here. You should all get some rest.”
***
Just because we were told to rest didn’t mean we could actually relax.
There was no knowing when the Blood Cult might attack, so the best course was to improve our strength as much as possible.
As soon as we had recovered to some extent, we resumed training.
At one side of the training ground stood Dang Gyu-young, while the Dang Twin Heroes took position opposite her.
Then, a wide shadow spread beneath her feet, forming a corridor, and four Qyu Shadow undead emerged.
“……”
“……”
The two sides faced each other in silence.
Dang Il-bi and Dang Han-bi exchanged a brief glance, then simultaneously flicked steel balls and coins.
Swish-swish-swish-swish!
As usual, the Lab Director stepped forward.
Making full use of the Flesh Golem’s traits, it inflated its upper body like a balloon.
The difference this time was that the Blood Sword Commander stood beside it.
Six shadow arms swung shadow blades wildly.
Scrrrk!
A large portion of the incoming projectiles were cut down, so only a few managed to pierce the Lab Director.
Their defensive line had clearly grown sturdier than before.
“….….”
The corner of Dang Gyu-young’s lips curled up slightly.
She seemed to be feeling the effects of her increased strength.
With her shadow club resting on her shoulder, she led the undead forward toward her opponents.
Seeing that, the Dang twins each commented.
“It’s definitely more troublesome than before.”
“It was originally the Blood Sword Commander, so naturally the undead would be strong as well.”
“The other one appears to be a Blood Sword Unit member.”
“As expected, not an easy opponent.”
“In that case—”
“We should also bring out more of our skill.”
The steel balls and coins came flying in with even greater intensity.
Pubububuk!
Gaps began to form in the defenses of the Lab Director and the Blood Sword Commander, and eventually they collapsed.
However, they immediately sprang back out from the Shadow Corridor and rejoined the front line.
Swish-swish-swish-swish!
Before long, the distance between both sides had closed enough, and Dang Gyu-young gripped her shadow club and kicked off the ground.
The Qyu Shadow undead also charged in all at once, and soon everyone was tangled together in a chaotic melee.
Watching the scene, I thought to myself,
For now, it’s best to focus on getting used to it.
The number of undead had suddenly increased from two to four, and the Blood Sword Member and Commander had very different traits compared to the previous ones.
The best approach was to build proficiency through repeated sparring.
Meanwhile, Seo Ye-in quietly watched Dang Gyu-young.
Then she turned her head to look at me.
“I want to train too.”
“Looks like you’re feeling motivated?”
“Actually, I was a bit disappointed.”
“About what?”
“I didn’t really get to do much.”
I barely got to use [Sailboat], which I’d worked so hard to master, mainly because we were indoors and the game center was full of obstacles.
On top of that, the Blood Sword Commander had burned even his life to strengthen himself, so it was nearly impossible to shake him off with just a few movement skills.
“Didn’t you take down some of the Blood Sword unit?”
“I did, but it still feels lacking.”
“I see. Let’s get stronger and beat a Blood Cult Elder next time.”
“I’ll beat them.”
“Sounds great. Let’s go.”
Flaaaash!
Before long, a hologram was projected in one corner of the training hall, taking on a human shape.
What appeared was Seo Ye-in’s mirror version, Gloomy Sloth.
Perhaps because the challenge hardship had been set and then neglected, it looked even more depressed.
Gloomy Sloth looked at us with sorrowful eyes.
– Why are you only coming now…?
“Rival, let’s go again.”
– This time I’ll win….
“I’ll win this time too.”
The two quickly ignited their competitive spirits.
Locking eyes, they moved to their respective positions.
But then,
“……?”
Seo Ye-in tilted her head to the side.
As if she had sensed something strange.
Soon after, her energy noticeably dropped.
It’s over. The medicine’s effect.
Dang Eun-bi’s special “makes things less bothersome” potion had worn off.
Still, it lasted quite a while.
She even cleared two stages of the challenge hardship.
As I was thinking that, Seo Ye-in trudged over and grabbed my sleeve.
“…Cancel it.”
“May I ask what you mean?”
“The challenge hardship.”
I replied in a friendly customer service tone.
“Dear customer~ refunds are not available for a simple change of mind~”
“There’s a reason….”
“And what might that reason be~?”
“It’s not me….”
In other words, she was arguing that since it was Chattering Sloth who took on the challenge hardship and not her, it should be considered invalid.
I kept up the gentle tone.
“I’m sorry, but that won’t be possible~ In fact, it’s simply not allowed~”
“Why not…….”
“This has been your friendly customer service agent Kim Ho~ Thank you~”
As I unilaterally cut off the conversation, Seo Ye-in turned into a Gloomy Sloth and stared at the Gloomy Sloth across from her.
“Sadness…….”
– I’m sad too…….
“Very sad…….”
– Extremely sad…….
The mournful cries of sloth-like beings echoed throughout the training hall.
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