The next day.
The Dang twins, who had attended the meeting, returned looking extremely displeased.
“Apparently, there was an attack by the Blood Cult last night.”
The targets were some of the bases we had discovered, including the Eight Cloud Sect and several minor sects.
During the process of reclaiming them, the Blood Cult had left things behind, but since there was no immediate way to deal with them, people had been stationed to guard them.
But the enemy attacked much earlier than expected and seized those items.
As a result, the sects in question suffered significant damage, and even the experts who had been dispatched were taken down, Dang Il-bi explained.
I listened quietly before asking,
“This is the first I’m hearing about these items.”
“We’re hearing about it for the first time too.”
The Dang twins’ expressions grew even more sour as they took turns complaining.
“There’s no way they didn’t know how important they were.”
“They must have hidden it on purpose. Most likely the Council of Elders.”
“They must have really wanted to monopolize the credit.”
“Or they didn’t want us earning more merit.”
“And at a time like this, of all times….”
At a point when everyone should have been working together, their greed resulted in important items falling into enemy hands.
The loss of allied forces was just an added consequence.
It was only natural that the Twin Heroes were in a foul mood.
With a bitter smile, I said,
“They’re as predictable as ever. Still, depending on how you look at it, this might actually be a good thing.”
“…Why?”
“If my guess is right, those items were probably more important than we thought.”
We had only seen their exterior through the crystal orb, but it wasn’t hard to infer what was inside.
Their strong connection to the Blood Cult, their coffin-like shape, and the fact that they were sealed with numerous talismans….
Dang Il-bi’s face showed confusion.
“Then shouldn’t they have been guarded even more tightly?”
“That wouldn’t have been as easy as it sounds.”
The Blood Cult likely poured nearly all their forces into last night’s attack.
In fact, it was said that even two elders and numerous experts had been mobilized.
On the other hand, the defending side had no choice but to spread their forces thin.
There were multiple locations where the “items” had been stored.
Hearing this, Dang Il-bi slowly nodded.
“So you’re saying it might have only increased the damage for nothing.”
“Yes. It may have been the better choice to let them take what they wanted.”
Even if that wasn’t what the Council of Elders had intended.
I added one more thing.
“And it’s not like we only suffered losses either.”
“Since we were able to get a glimpse of what they’re preparing.”
The items the Blood Cult seized last night were likely the “trump card” they planned to use in their decisive battle against the Dang Family.
Now that we had identified what they were, we could also come up with countermeasures.
We spent some time discussing it, and after listening to my suggestion, the Twin Heroes each gave a remark.
“…Fire energy, huh. That’s a reasonable point.”
“Then we should pay a visit to the Iron Workshop.”
“We’ll take our leave now.”
Watching the two hurriedly exit, I thought to myself,
What we need to do remains the same.
Strengthen our foundation.
The best course of action would be to raise our rank by at least one level and improve our proficiency in preparation for the final battle.
***
After focusing solely on training for a while, Dang Gyu-young’s challenge hardship had also made significant progress.
She had cleared Stage 19 and was nearing completion of Stage 20.
On the surface, there didn’t seem to be much of a difference.
The only change was that the already black shadows had become slightly darker.
“……”
Dang Gyu-young glanced down at her feet and gave a light wave of her hand.
A shadow suddenly rose up, transformed into a man in a lab coat, and charged forward as its upper body swelled like a balloon.
Its target was Ahn Jeong-mi and her group, who were sparring in place of the absent Twin Heroes.
They opened fire on the “Lab Director” all at once.
Tududududu!
In the blink of an eye, it was riddled with holes.
The next moment, its bloated upper body shrank, then swelled back up again.
It held up.
Unlike before, it hadn’t been destroyed.
Because the quality of the shadows had improved through the challenge hardship, the undead’s defense had increased as well.
That means fewer resummons will be needed.
And the gaps in the front line would be reduced each time.
The Shadow Lord and the Blood Sword Commander had likely been strengthened in their own ways as well.
Nice work.
I nodded in satisfaction.
Meanwhile, Seo Ye-in’s challenge hardship also seemed to be nearing its end.
Tududududu!
Tududududu!
A barrage of magic bullets and holographic magic bullets poured down.
Their movements looked nearly identical, but in reality, Seo Ye-in held a slight edge.
Tududududu!
At the same time as she fired, light was gathering in one of Seo Ye-in’s hands.
She flung the completed [Fickle Trap] forward.
Since it was essentially a battle of luck against luck, the effect would most likely be minimal, but it couldn’t just be taken head-on either.
So the gloomy sloth used a Feather Step to dodge to the side, but that was exactly what Seo Ye-in had anticipated.
She predicted the escape path and reached out her hand.
[Destructive Gale]
Whoooooooosh—!
A huge gale swept the gloomy sloth away.
It looked like she might be lifted into the air and blown backward, but instead she flopped flat onto the ground.
– …….
Soon, Seo Ye-in walked over and lightly placed a pot on the sloth’s head.
“…Defeated.”
– Defeat……
The gloomy sloth mumbled in response.
Before long, it scattered away, and the quest reward appeared.
It looked like a cleanly cut corner of a skill book.
[Legendary Unique Skill Book Fragment A]
Seo Ye-in quietly stared at it, then asked me,
“…What.”
“It’s exactly what it says. A fragment.”
It was similar to the treasure map fragments we collected back in our first year.
We gathered A, B, and C from different dungeons to complete the [Villains’ Gathering] map.
This would probably work the same way.
“You collect multiple pieces and make a skill book.”
“Where B?”
“Probably in the next stage.”
“…….”
“Now that it’s come to this, there’s no other choice. We have to collect the whole set.”
“…….”
“I was thinking of letting you rest since you’ve been working so hard lately~ but of all things, the reward turned out like this~”
I let out a deliberately regretful sigh.
Seo Ye-in stared at me, then said,
“…I’ve been tricked.”
***
Back at the annex.
After hearing the full story, Dang Gyu-young gave her verdict.
“Yeah, I’d be annoyed too.”
At that, the blanket burrito curled up in one corner of the bed squirmed, and Seo Ye-in’s voice came from inside.
“…I was tricked.”
“The young monarch is very much at fault here.”
Of course, I didn’t bat an eye.
“Haha, how exactly is this my fault?”
“Not directly, but you’re guilty by association.”
The blanket burrito wriggled as if in agreement.
“…Very guilty.”
“You worked your butt off for days to clear it, and the reward is just a useless fragment? I’d be mad too.”
“I am mad……!”
I grabbed the blanket burrito and shoved it off the bed.
Then I continued in a calm tone.
“You’re all thinking a bit too short-term. This is a ‘legendary’ ‘unique’ skill book. Once it’s complete, it’s bound to be incredible.”
“The issue is whether we can even complete it. How many pieces are there? D? E?”
“We don’t know that yet.”
Unlike the treasure map fragments, which only went up to A, B, and C, these skill book fragments could end at B or keep going much further.
Dang Gyu-young frowned.
“It could go all the way to Z at this rate.”
“I doubt they’d be that unreasonable.”
“Even if it only goes to F, that’s still six stages.”
At that, the blanket burrito wriggling on the floor went limp.
“Motivation… gone….”
“See? This is mostly a mood issue. Try comforting her a bit.”
Dang Gyu-young spoke gently, but for some reason, I felt inclined to do the opposite.
“I think constantly comforting her might be having the opposite effect. I’m thinking of being a bit tougher on her sometimes.”
Then I rolled the blanket burrito trying to climb back onto the bed back down again.
The weak do not survive.
Such is the ruthless law of the martial world.
At that, Seo Ye-in peeked her head out and looked at me.
“…Comfort me….”
“Will you work hard if I do?”
“I’ll try….”
“Alright, state your request.”
Her gray eyes stared straight at me for a moment.
Then an exclamation mark practically popped above her head.
“A kiss.”
“All of a sudden?”
“That’s just how I feel.”
“Fair enough.”
Not everything can be explained logically.
I lightly kissed her on the cheek, and immediately, she made another request.
“The other side.”
“Sure.”
I did as asked, and this time she pointed to her forehead.
“Here.”
“Alright.”
After receiving three kisses in a row, Seo Ye-in came out of the blanket.
Looking oddly satisfied.
Dang Gyu-young, who had been watching, blinked in disbelief.
“…I suddenly feel like I got the short end of the stick.”
***
The next day.
After entering the training ground, I stood facing Seo Ye-in.
“Ready?”
“…Complete the set.”
Seo Ye-in clenched her fist.
I immediately used the hardship and the challenge book.
[‘Stage 14 Hardship’ has been applied to the target.]
As soon as the notification appeared, a hologram formed.
I figured it would be another mirror-self situation again.
Flash—!
But this mirror version was quite different from the previous ones.
It showed neither gloom nor drowsiness, suggesting that Dang Eun-bi’s special “less bothered potion” had been applied.
The figure arrogantly lifted its chin.
– I have returned.
“Where did the sad one go? Now it’s the chattering one?”
– Thought you might miss me.
“Does that kind of reasoning even work?”
– Nothing is impossible.
It sounded ridiculous, but coming from her, it almost felt convincing.
I let it slide and got to the point.
“What’s the objective?”
“Here.”
Seo Ye-in shared the quest details.
[Side Quest: Stage 14 Hardship] (In Progress….)
▷ Objective: Win a close-quarters battle in cooperation with your mirror self
Instead of fighting each other, the goal had changed to working together.
That likely meant the difficulty had increased accordingly.
Then a question naturally followed.
Who are they supposed to defeat?
That question was quickly answered.
Ahn Jeong-mi was checking a notification.
“I’ve received a request to act as your close-combat opponent. While it’s not my specialty, I will do my best for the young ladies.”
“…Okay.”
– Looking forward to it.
Ahn Jeong-mi looked slightly moved and walked to the opposite side of the training ground.
She held a toy hammer in one hand.
In contrast, the two sloths were holding pots, but she didn’t seem to mind.
Soon, she spoke in a polite tone.
“Please begin whenever you’re ready.”
“…….”
– …….
Seo Ye-in and the chattering version exchanged glances.
Just that alone seemed to conclude their strategy meeting, and they split to either side.
Then they approached Ahn Jeong-mi from both directions.
Blobs of light came flying in with a whoosh.
Ahn Jeong-mi didn’t bother saying, “Thrown weapons are against the rules.”
With controlled movements, she dodged all of the [Fickle Traps], then kicked off the ground while avoiding the flying pots as well.
Before they knew it, she had moved behind Seo Ye-in.
Without even a moment to react, it felt as if the toy hammer had multiplied into several.
And then a rapid barrage came crashing down.
Boing! Boing! Boing! Boing! Boing! Boing!
“…….”
Seo Ye-in placed a hand over the spot she’d been hit and exchanged a glance with the chattering one.
Then, at the same time, they looked at Ahn Jeong-mi.
“Just hit me once……”
“……My apologies.”
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