Meanwhile, Han So-mi’s tearful expression had completely brightened.
She gave me a thumbs-up and declared while imitating Go Hyeon-woo’s tone,
“Kim hyung’s medical skills are unmatched under heaven!”
“Haha, you flatter me, Miss Han.”
“You’re totally the Heal Immortal!”
“Don’t you mean the Healer Immortal?”
“You’re right!”
Even after accidentally adding another point to her airhead tally, Han So-mi simply giggled as if she couldn’t be happier.
Watching her, I spoke up again.
“Let’s get moving.”
We had already accomplished everything our infiltration team had set out to do. That was looting the secret vault and defeating the hidden boss.
Now it was time to regroup with Dang Gyu-young’s team.
Just as we were about to leave with the others—
“Stop.”
A black-clad man who looked to be at Squad Leader level called out to us.
He said while openly radiating killing intent,
“You may have settled your grudge with the Elder, but your grudge with our Sect still remains.”
“So you’re not planning to let us walk away peacefully.”
“You catch on quickly.”
The other black-clad figures likewise released their killing intent.
Drawing their weapons one after another, they tightened the encirclement around us.
I looked over at Go Hyeon-woo without the slightest concern.
“When you think about it, we really are the intruders here.”
“We entered by less than honorable means.”
“And we already know they’re part of the Demonic Cult.”
“They’ll try to silence us permanently.”
Of course, we’d expected things to play out like this from the very beginning of the strategy meeting.
And we’d already prepared a solution.
Han So-mi boldly shouted,
“Let’s break through!”
She dashed forward at the front, swinging her sword.
Dozens of razor-sharp sword energies swept across the enemies ahead.
Shhk! Shhk! Shhk! Shhk!
“Urgh!”
“Argh!”
The black-clad fighters staggered as one or two sword energies struck each of them.
A few managed to defend themselves, but they were in the minority.
As a result, the encirclement noticeably loosened.
Boom!
When Wind Force detonated on top of that, it blew the opening wide open.
Maintaining our momentum, we smashed through the black-clad fighters and sprinted down the corridor.
A thunderous shout echoed from behind us.
“Stop them!”
“Like you can!”
[Activated “Amplification”.]
[The rank of “Ice Wall” has been increased. (B → S)]
A towering wall of ice erupted from the ground, sealing off the passage.
“What kind of sorcery is this?!”
“Break it down! Hurry!”
Frantic shouts and the relentless clang of blades striking ice echoed from the other side, but an S-rank skill wasn’t going to shatter that easily.
It should buy us enough time.
Still, several walls were better than one, so I raised them at every major intersection.
Go Hyeon-woo and Han So-mi took the lead in carving a path forward.
Members of the Black Death sect kept jumping out to block our escape, but—
“You bastar—”
Slash!
“You’re not getting awa—”
Slash!
“We’ll capture you no matter wh—”
Slash!
We cut down everyone who stood in our way, and before long, the exit was right in front of us.
After casting one final Ice Wall behind us, I left the Black Death members together with the others.
A battlefield stretched out before the main gate.
There was no trace of the bustling marketplace that had once been there.
Everything had been scorched black, and flames were still raging.
Pools of poison dotted the area, each one constantly belching acrid smoke.
At the center of the battlefield, the Bond trio stood facing off against the Black Snake.
Looks like it’s almost over.
Defeat was written all over the Black Snake’s face.
Demonic energy was no longer surging from his body. It was leaking out instead.
Like water seeping from a cracked ceramic vessel.
The accumulated damage had finally shattered his secret art, and the life force he had stolen from the young men was dispersing along with it.
If I had to put a number on it, he probably had no more than five percent of his strength left.
Our side looks perfectly fine.
Dang Gyu-ri, Seo Ye-in, and Hong Yeon-hwa all appeared to have taken little to no damage.
As for Hologram Chattering Sloth, that went without saying.
Considering their stats and sheer skill, I suppose the Black Snake was well within their ability to handle.
Before long, I turned to Go Hyeon-woo and Han So-mi.
“Wait here. Join us once the way out is open.”
“As you wish.”
Neither of them had [Poison Immunity] yet, so just like during the vault raid, it was best for them to stay as far away from the poison as possible.
It wasn’t as though we were short on manpower. If they jumped in just to help and ended up poisoned, they’d only create more problems.
Leaving Go Hyeon-woo and Han So-mi behind, I walked over to the rest of the party.
“…….!”
The three of them stopped beating up the Black Snake and turned to look my way.
I greeted them as casually as ever.
“I’m back.”
“Ah! We were this close!”
Relief and disappointment flashed across Dang Gyu-ri’s face at the same time.
The latter was obviously because of our bet.
If they defeated the Black Snake before I arrived, she’d earn a Large Wish Ticket.
A moment later, she put on her trademark business smile and tried to bargain.
“Kim Ho, couldn’t you have come just a little later? Go have another bowl of duck stew first.”
“I’m not really hungry.”
“Then go grab something sweet or something. Noona will give you some spending money, okay?”
“I’ve already bought plenty.”
Needless to say, it didn’t work on me in the slightest.
Dang Gyu-ri puffed out her lips and grumbled.
“Come on. Who shows up right before it’s over?”
“It’s not like I timed it on purpose. Besides, you’re the one who suggested the bet.”
If she wasn’t confident, maybe she shouldn’t have made the bet in the first place.
Just then, Chattering Sloth raised a hand and joined the conversation.
“They all fought hard.”
“That’s true. You all did well.”
I nodded without hesitation.
The three of them had a habit of exceeding my expectations, so I’d already set the bar pretty high.
And they’d still managed to surpass it.
Even if they had fallen just short of defeating the Black Snake before I arrived.
Chattering Sloth raised a hand again.
– I think they deserve a consolation prize.
“I don’t get it. It was a bet. Why should they get a consolation prize? Shouldn’t I be the one getting the reward?”
– Consolation prize. I think.
Even though she’d become a little faster and more diligent, it seemed her unique stubbornness hadn’t changed a bit.
At that, the Bond trio exchanged intrigued glances before throwing their support behind the idea of a consolation prize.
“Young Monarch, don’t you think that’s a reasonable compromise?”
“…A consolation prize.”
“I…think… that’s… a good idea… too.”
The one who objected most strongly to their suggestion was the Black Snake.
After all, they were already chatting as though they’d defeated him.
Letting out a self-deprecating chuckle, he spoke.
“Hehe… So this is what has become of our order. I struggled so desperately to rebuild it, only for it to end like this?”
“Whatever else, your little scheme ends today.”
Dang Gyu-ri answered, casually resting her shadow club across her shoulder.
Building strength in secret beneath the surface was one thing.
But he’d dragged innocent people into his grand technique as sacrifices.
Not only was it morally indefensible, but it had also made him far easier to expose.
Even in the original story, he had ultimately been hunted down and eliminated by the Murim Alliance’s masters.
Yet the Black Snake showed not the slightest hint of remorse.
“One thing does disappoint me. If only I’d been given a little more time. If only I could have completed the grand technique… I would have torn every last one of you apart.”
“The moment you start saying, ‘If only this had happened’ or ‘If only that had happened,’ you’ve already lost.”
“……!”
“Let’s stop dragging this out and finish it. At least end it like a true martial artist.”
“…Very well! Then let this be the end!”
The Black Snake immediately drew out every last drop of his internal energy and concentrated it at his fingertips.
His already dark fingernails turned even blacker, longer, and thicker.
Dang Gyu-ri quietly raised her club as well.
[Solitary Stand]
“Sssss…”
Every Qyu Shadow Undead dissolved into black smoke, only to be absorbed an instant later, granting her an immense surge of power.
In the next instant, the Black Snake and Dang Gyu-ri charged straight at one another, claws and club colliding one final time.
Booooooooooooooooom—!
The impact sent a huge cloud of dust sweeping across the battlefield.
A moment later, Dang Gyu-ri casually lowered her shadow club.
Where the Black Snake had stood, only a deep crater remained.
Rumbleee…
Soon, tremors and the sound of collapsing stone echoed from somewhere nearby.
What began as a faint vibration steadily grew stronger.
With the Black Snake’s defeat, the dungeon had been cleared.
As if to confirm that assumption, a teleportation portal opened a short distance away.
Go Hyun-woo and Han So-mi immediately rushed over using their movement techniques.
“Looks like it’s over.”
“It’s over! Great job!”
“Well fought, Senior Dang. The same goes for Miss Seo and Miss Hong.”
The party exchanged warm words, each giving the others credit for the victory.
Then, almost simultaneously, they noticed the hologram Chattering Sloth and fell silent.
It was time to say goodbye.
As part of the Challenge Hardship, she’d only appeared for the duration of the dungeon raid.
Dang Gyu-ri spoke with a hint of regret.
“Guess we won’t be seeing you again for a while. This was fun.”
– I’ll be back.
Chattering Sloth replied calmly, as though she had every confidence that she would.
A moment later, she waved goodbye to everyone.
Then her body dissolved into particles of light and scattered into the air.
“…….”
“…….”
Everyone’s gaze naturally shifted toward Seo Ye-in.
It was obvious they were wondering what had happened to the quest.
Perhaps sensing that, she simply shared the notification message with everyone.
[Side Quest: Stage 16 Hardship] (Completed)
▷Clear a B-Rank Dungeon in cooperation with your mirror version.
▷Reward: Legendary Unique Skillbook Fragment D
“So it’s another fragment.”
I nodded in satisfaction.
Quest rewards weren’t always consistent. There was always a chance something completely different could appear along the way.
But so far, it’d been fragments every single time.
Meanwhile, Seo Ye-in slowly lifted her pot and began bringing it toward my head.
“…….”
“And what exactly is this supposed to mean?”
“I’m getting ready to be mad.”
“What are you mad about?”
“If it still doesn’t combine.”
She’d worked herself to the bone since winter break, clearing one Challenge Ordeal after another to collect these fragments.
If gathering A, B, C, and D still wasn’t enough to combine them into a skillbook…
Would she have to keep collecting E, F… and who knew how many more after that?
And if that happened, she intended to hold me responsible as the mastermind behind the whole ordeal.
I immediately offered my defense.
“It’s a Legendary Unique Skillbook. Something that valuable isn’t supposed to be easy to get.”
“I understand.”
“You do?”
“I’ll still be mad.”
The immortal Kim Ho Kim Ho Pot hovered menacingly above my head.
Even so, I remained perfectly calm. After quietly preparing myself to dodge a pot swing at any moment, I spoke.
“Let’s claim it first. Then we’ll see whether it combines or not.”
“Okay.”
Seo Ye-in nodded and took Fragment D into her hand.
Then she pulled Fragments A, B, and C from her inventory one by one.
The moment all four fragments came together—
Fwaaaash!
A brilliant burst of light erupted as the fragments merged into one, gradually taking the shape of a book.
Everyone watching let out an exclamation.
“Ooh.”
“Hooh…”
“It combined!”
“So you finally collected them all?”
Aside from Han So-mi, everyone had experienced the Hardships firsthand and knew just how difficult they were to clear.
After all, this was the reward for overcoming them not once, but four separate times.
It was only natural that they were curious to see what all that effort had produced.
As everyone watched with eager anticipation, the radiant light filling the area slowly faded.
At last the skillbook revealed itself.
[Skillbook – Mirror Version]
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