The group also quickly noticed that something had changed.
Dang Gyu-young stopped sparring, walked over, and looked Seo Ye-in up and down.
“What, you’re back to normal?”
“Sad……”
– Sad……
At the echoing sloth-like voices, Dang Gyu-young let out a small laugh.
“It’s not that sad. It was kind of fascinating seeing you be so sharp and put-together, but I think I prefer you when you’re slow.”
Then Ahn Jeong-mi and the Hye-seong Group employees also gathered around.
“Young miss.”
“Butler……”
Seo Ye-in pointed toward me as if tattling.
“Cancel it……”
“…So you really have returned to normal.”
Ahn Jeong-mi’s face showed somewhat mixed emotions.
She could no longer see the young miss speaking so clearly and decisively, but at the same time, she seemed to be thinking something like
This is more like our young miss when she’s being stubborn!
And hadn’t we already heard her most important inner thought?
Surely, in Ahn Jeong-mi’s mind, “I’m grateful” was looping endlessly.
Still, she didn’t show it and, as always, spoke in a composed and businesslike tone.
“I’ve heard from Kim Ho-nim that the quest cannot be canceled.”
“Cancel it……”
“Since it was difficult to obtain, I hope you’ll do your best.”
“No one’s on my side……”
– No one at all……
“All alone……”
– Forever……
The gloomy sloths chimed in one line at a time.
At that point, didn’t that basically make them on the same side?
Meanwhile, the Dang twins were also watching Seo Ye-in with interest.
Soon, they called out toward one corner of the training ground.
“Eun-bi! Come over here for a moment.”
Then Dang Eun-bi suddenly popped her head out.
After getting caught a few times for sneaking around, she had stopped coming as often, probably because even she felt a bit guilty about it.
Still, it seemed she hadn’t lost the desire to see Dang Gyu-young and Seo Ye-in, as she would secretly sneak in from time to time.
Of course, no one in the group was actually unaware of it.
Before Dang Eun-bi could come up with an excuse, Dang Han-bi continued questioning her.
“That medicine from before. Can you make it again? Or something similar at least?”
There was no harm in preparing it in advance, since no one knew when it might be needed.
But just like before, Dang Eun-bi shook her head with a doubtful expression.
“I can’t make it anymore. The go… go…”
“The True Gold Spirit Pill?”
“That’s it! The True Gold Spirit Pill! …I used it all.”
“I have some.”
At Dang Han-bi’s words, Dang Eun-bi’s eyes widened.
But she quickly returned to a skeptical expression.
“I also used up the thing that gives random effects. I didn’t even know exactly what it was.”
Apparently, she had bought it long ago from some mysterious traveling merchant.
Since it was only a small handful, she had used all of it when making her special poison.
Which meant it was no longer obtainable.
I have a guess what it might be.
There weren’t that many items that could grant randomness to a potion’s effect.
Still, trying to recreate Dang Eun-bi’s potion would likely be a waste of effort.
Even if they used the exact same ingredients.
Because the effect is random.
Among countless possible effects, the chance of getting “becoming less bothered” again was extremely low.
Of course, unless luck was overwhelmingly on their side—
But relying on that wouldn’t be wise.
So I spoke to Seo Ye-in in a gentle tone.
“Even if it’s not that potion, something similar will come up eventually.”
“……”
“For now, let’s just do our best as we are. Don’t feel too disappointed.”
“…Okay.”
Seo Ye-in slowly nodded.
Then she trudged over to one side of the training ground.
Watching her, I pulled up the quest window again.
[Side Quest: Stage 13 Hardship] (In Progress….)
▷ Objective: Defeat the mirror version
Unlike the evasion and throwing contests, there were no special conditions attached this time, but the difficulty was actually higher.
Because she had to defeat herself.
“……”
– ……
The two sloths stared at each other in silence.
Soon, Seo Ye-in let her magic gun droop downward.
“Too much trouble……”
– Just give up……
“I can’t give up……”
– Pathetic……
“I’m not pathetic……”
Perhaps slightly provoked, the barrel that had been lazily hanging lowered suddenly lifted again and aimed at her opponent.
“…Eliminating.”
– Deleting you……
Blue magic bullets began to pour across the training ground.
Swaying as she moved, Seo Ye-in activated [Feather Step].
When [Sailboat] was added on top of that, her speed picked up considerably.
Of course, everything Seo Ye-in could use, the gloomy sloth could use as well.
The distance between them rapidly closed and widened over and over, until whether intentional or not, they came within arm’s reach.
At that moment, the Kim Ho Kim Ho pot appeared in Seo Ye-in’s hand.
“Clang.”
She swung it straight at her opponent, but the gloomy sloth easily dodged and countered with a hologram Pot.
Heavy whistling sounds rang out repeatedly before the two pans collided midair.
Clang! Clang—!
In the middle of their close-quarters fight, the two suddenly took backsteps and retreated.
Then, at the same time, they threw lumps of white light at each other.
It was the [Fickle Trap].
Perhaps spatial folding had been added, because they struck each other’s shoulder and waist before either could dodge.
Pop! Pop!
In the next instant, a small toy flower bloomed on each of them.
Is it because two lucky ones are fighting each other?
It seemed their luck had canceled out.
As if thinking the same thing, Seo Ye-in aimed her magic gun again at her opponent.
Dududududu!
Meanwhile, Dang Gyu-young watched their match with great interest.
“It’s completely even. This is going to take a while.”
“Won’t it end eventually?”
While the mirror version’s specs would remain the same, Seo Ye-in would continue to grow stronger.
Of course, that depended on her actually putting in the effort to grow.
Dang Gyu-young shrugged.
“Fair point. Anyway, is it my turn now?”
“That was the deal.”
While the “less bothered” effect was active, Seo Ye-in would take on the challenge hardships consecutively, and once the effect wore off, Dang Gyu-young would take over and do them in succession.
At least three times going forward. And possibly more if Seo Ye-in found it too troublesome.
Dang Gyu-young smiled in satisfaction.
“At last, the era of Dang-Dang-Dang has arrived! Hey, give me a hardship.”
“Before that, shall we set a direction first?”
“Sure, why not.”
Hardship quests tend to automatically analyze the target’s strengths or weaknesses and present appropriate objectives.
However, there’s a clear difference between blindly following what’s given and understanding why that objective was assigned and what it’s meant to improve.
I held a fist like a microphone up to Dang Gyu-young’s mouth.
“What do you think needs improvement?”
“We’ve solved the numbers issue, and the undead are pretty high-level now, but they still feel a bit weak.”
The fight against the Blood Sword Commander was a good example.
Even with four Qyu Shadow undead attacking together, they couldn’t last long and were all taken down.
He had been drawing out a huge amount of power at the cost of his life, but it was still disappointing.
I nodded and continued.
“If you had to diagnose the reason they’re weak?”
“I think it’s because the quality of the shadows is lacking.”
It was a hypothesis that strengthening the shadows themselves would naturally strengthen the shadow undead as well.
It made sense, so I nodded, and after thinking for a few more seconds, Dang Gyu-young continued.
“Also, I want to raise my own combat ability a bit.”
Toward the end, she had fought the Blood Sword Commander with a bat, but even with heavy [Solitary Stand] bonuses, she couldn’t hold out for long.
I nodded and asked,
“Sounds like a good plan. You’re going to keep using the bat too, right?”
“Yeah, at least for now.”
“When you re-enroll, you’ll be ‘Bat Warrior Kim Gyu-ri’.”
“…That name sounds kind of weird.”
“But it’s accurate.”
After re-enrolling, Dang Gyu-young needed to hide her identity as much as possible.
If she used shadow magic or summoned undead, it would reveal that she was “Senior Dang Gyu-young who graduated last year” making things awkward among the first-years.
So she planned to disguise herself as a warrior class and maintain a low-key presence with moderate skill.
“Anyway, the direction sounds good. I was thinking along similar lines.”
“Really? You think it’ll work?”
“More than enough.”
At my firm answer, Dang Gyu-young grinned.
“Alright, let’s go for the challenge.”
“Then I’ll apply it.”
[Activated ‘Hardship’]
[‘Stage 19 Hardship’ has been applied to the target.]
***
Eight Cloud Sect.
A faction based in Sichuan, it was somewhat in-between in size….too large to be called minor, yet not quite enough to earn the title of “great”.
Its experts were similarly middling in skill, so when the Blood Cult invaded, it was subdued without putting up much of a proper resistance.
They had no choice but to watch helplessly as the intruders came and went through their sect as if it were their own home.
Then, rather abruptly, the Dang Family Twin Heroes and a group calling themselves their juniors paid a visit to the Eight Cloud Sect.
Perhaps having discerned that it had been occupied by the Blood Cult, nearby sects sent support, and the Eight Cloud Sect was able to regain its freedom.
However, the invaders had left something behind.
The underground training hall and the armory were packed tight with cargo.
Long rectangular crates, covered all over with talismans scrawled in red ink.
Jong-woo, an ordinary warrior of the Eight Cloud Sect, frowned as he stared at them.
“This is seriously unsettling……”
Given their connection to the Blood Cult, there was a high chance they were something sinister, so at first, they had tried to remove the cargo.
But the crates wouldn’t budge, as if they were rooted in place.
That didn’t mean they could recklessly open or destroy them, either.
If, by any chance, they were explosives, this entire area would vanish from the map along with the Eight Cloud Sect.
Or they might be under some kind of magical or ritualistic treatment.
The current Blood Cult, inheriting the legacy of the Heavenly Demon Cult, revered the law of survival of the fittest but when one thought of the Blood Cult in its original sense, what came to mind was dark sorcery.
There were even rumors that they had joined hands with witches.
Therefore, the only thing the Eight Cloud Sect could do was stand guard and wait endlessly for someone capable of dealing with them to arrive.
With strict orders that no one was to touch them under any circumstances.
But being told not to do something only made people more curious, and Jong-woo was no exception.
Peering closely at one of the talismans, he muttered,
“What on earth is inside these things?”
And judging by their shape and size, these crates looked just big enough for a person to lie down inside.
“…Could it be that?”
Just as an ominous thought crossed Jong-woo’s mind,
“Do you wish to know?”
A raspy voice came from behind his shoulder.
Turning his head, he saw an old man standing there, as if he had been there all along.
It was someone he had seen not long ago, dressed in dark red martial robes.
The old man spoke in an utterly casual tone.
“If you truly wish to know, I shall show you.”
Jingle…….
A chilling jingle rang from his hand.
As a martial artist, Jong-woo recognized it immediately.
A Soul-Summoning Bell…….
It was an artifact used to call and control the spirits of the dead.
But he had no time to dwell on it.
The cargo he had been examining just moments ago began to shake.
Then, one by one, the talismans attached to it fell away, and something pushed open the lid and emerged.
What appeared was a pale, half-rotted hand.
In his final moment, Jong-woo thought,
My guess wasn’t wrong.
They were coffins after all…….
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