64
Nam Joo-chul, the leader of ＜Golden Fang＞, was not one to shy away from dirty work when it came to money.
His usual business involved robbing those carrying valuable items while exploring dungeons.
This time, his prey was three young men and women he spotted in the Black Dungeon.
Individuals who boldly ventured into the territory of the fearsome ‘Black Skull’, known for swiftly defeating the White Bone troops. Nam Joo-chul witnessed the weapon carried by one of the men and confirmed it was a ‘relic’.
This was a golden opportunity to seize the relic.
Though they seemed skilled, they were still young. They aimed to hunt the Black Skull relying on the power of the relic.
With no CCTV in the dungeon, Nam Joo-chul summoned his mercenaries without worry.
Waiting for them to tire out, he donned a mask and leisurely entered, finding the individuals seemingly at rest.
“I had a feeling about this, but it’s real, isn’t it?”
“See, what did I say? It was no joke.”
The mercenaries’ faces lit up with greed as they realized the value of the weapons carried by the three.
***
“What are these?”
“I’ve heard of bandits, but never thought we’d encounter them in person.”
“Hmm.”
Ten masked figures exchanged words, sending unpleasant glances. Eun-ga and Amelia’s expressions hardened.
“Three minutes. Drop all your weapons.”
If we’re late, we’ll be scolded by our brother? I’d rather do the scolding. The masked figures chuckled.
“Where are you folks from······!”
“Don’t say a word.”
Guide Oh Dong-jun seemed to want to disclose that we came from Eternity Academy, but I grabbed his shoulder and shook my head.
“Yes? Why are you acting like that······”
“I want to fight. If they know, they’ll run, and then it’ll be a hassle to catch them.”
“······.”
At my straightforward words, Odongjun closed his mouth with a hesitant expression.
Honestly, my intention was to test their mettle, but what I just said wasn’t entirely wrong. It’s only natural for my hands to itch when I see those who are here to pilfer my belongings. Sometimes, events like this add some fun to the mix.
It seems like they consider us as hunters of dark skulls through cursed relics, but that’s a massive misconception.
It’s just because they are not familiar with the undead. Even if it wasn’t me, both Eungaye and Amelia were strong enough to easily hunt down a Grade 3 demon.
As long as it’s not a Blood Bone Gargoyle with its grotesque vitality, even a Grade 4 demon could be hunted down.
Moreover, the ethereal cores of the masked figures in front of me were much clearer compared to Eungaye and Amelia. They were clearly inferior to those two. Even if they were off the mark in their assumptions, Eungaye and Amelia, not being aware of it, seemed subtly tense. The mercenaries’ overconfident attitude seemed to bother them.
So, when suddenly ten enemies appeared wearing masks and exuded a confident demeanor, it was only natural to suspect something.
The masked figures, considering Eungaye and Amelia’s tensed stances as a matter of course, were so bafflingly confident that I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Oh, how amusing.”
Whether they interpreted my laughter as mockery, the masked figures immediately reacted.
“Well, we were going to show some leniency.”
“These youngsters these days have no respect.”
A sword in the hands of one advancing masked figure was imbued with magic. Another raised a magic circle as if to threaten. However, that turned out to be a mistake.
Amelia and Eungaye’s expressions turned oddly puzzled.
“What is this?”
“Could this be intentional? Trying to lull us into complacency?”
To both Eungaye and Amelia, the swords and magic circles displayed by the masked figures seemed too sloppy.
But no matter how you think about it, there was no need to pretend to be incompetent in a fight.
Then, Eungaye’s expression suddenly contorted in realization as she grasped the masked figures’ underlying intentions.
“Oh, what a scare for nothing.”
“I don’t understand what they’re up to.”
Amelia let out a deep sigh. In response to the two’s reactions, the masked figures’ faces crumpled.
“Looks like they were insane after all.”
“We’re short on time, let’s finish this quickly.”
They rushed towards us.
Eungaye leaped forward to meet them. The outcome was one-sided.
Thud! Thud!
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The masked figures swung their swords and kicked, only to be knocked down without much resistance.
“What, what’s happening?”
One of the masked figures watching the situation, Nam Joocheol, shouted in confusion at the unexpected turn of events.
“Damn it, what are you doing! It’s just one person! Swarm them together!”
The masked figures rushed towards Eungaye.
However, Amelia stumbled and fell as her foot caught on a rock pile she had stirred up.
Watching this unfold, I aimed Gram’s blade at Nam Joocheol, who was shouting frantically from behind.
“Is that all you’ve got! ···Oops!”
Nam Joocheol deflected the flying blades with his sword, only to be met with disappointment.
The deflected blades didn’t fall but flew back towards him, heading straight for his chest, near his ethereal core.
Crack!
With a single strike, Nam Joocheol’s ethereal core shattered, and he collapsed, eyes rolling back.
Soon, the sword that shattered Nam Joo-chul’s soul core targeted the magician who was preparing magic next to him.
This time, instead of completely destroying it, some fragments of the soul core were left intact.
Then, something strange happened. Unlike Nam Joo-chul, the magician didn’t faint but stood there blankly with a lost expression, as if they had lost their soul.
“Does the reaction vary depending on the extent of destruction? Interesting.”
So, what would happen if it was partially broken or if only half was left?
There were plenty of subjects to experiment on. My gaze turned to those whose soul cores were still intact.
***
Dealing with the masked individuals was quick and easy.
As the visible masked individual fell and floundered, I approached, and those who were already inferior in skills couldn’t even find a chance to escape.
After waking up the sorted masked individuals, I continued the experiment of shattering soul cores.
Indeed, the reactions when shattering the soul cores completely were different as I had expected.
Those whose soul cores were completely shattered, like Nam Joo-chul, immediately fainted, while those with partially intact soul cores lost their souls. However, when their soul was lost, an unexpected reaction occurred, triggered by a casual comment from Eun Ga-ye.
“Where are these people from?”
“They are mercenaries from Hwanggeum’s Vanguard in Guri, Gyeonggi Province.”
“······Huh?”
Eun Ga-ye’s puzzled gaze shifted from the fallen masked individual staring blankly at the ceiling.
It was this masked individual who had uttered the indifferent voice a moment ago.
With a face that seemed to question if I was serious, I asked, “Name?”
“Jeon Jun-ho.”
“Age?”
“37.”
“What did you have for breakfast today?”
“I had soy sauce egg rice.”
“······.”
Watching him answer every question, from trivial to sensitive, both Eun Ga-ye and Amelia were surprised, as was I.
“Why is this person suddenly like this?”
“He lost his soul completely.”
Their doubtful gazes turned to me.
“It’s a mental impact causing this behavior.”
I gave a vague answer.
I’m not sure how they took my answer, but there were no further questions.
Well, in Eternity, there were quite a few ways to impact one’s mind.
By infusing sound with magic, disrupting the opponent’s magic, or utilizing specific magical wavelengths.
It seemed like the two of them had concluded that I had used one of those methods.
Of course, what I had touched upon was far more metaphysical, but I had no intention of revealing that.
Anyway, I learned that by striking the soul core, I could extract information from the opponent.
Furthermore, by only breaking about a third of the soul core, one could lose their soul for about five minutes.
During those five minutes, if I could find out what I wanted, when the opponent regained their soul, those five minutes of memory would be gone.
This was truly a remarkable weapon. In a way, it meant that by shattering the opponent’s soul core, I could extract information alone.
Of course, intentionally breaking only one-third of the magic core wasn’t an easy task as it sounded like. Unless the core was completely shattered, it couldn’t be utilized. Yet, even with this limitation, the potential for utility was boundless.
“It might even work on Marsu.”
Further experiments were needed to confirm that, but the possibility was ample. A smile crept up at the unexpected harvest.
Soon after sending the party ahead, I remained in the dungeon alone and summoned Parang.
“Kwaak! Kwaak!”
“Go ahead, eat.”
Parang lunged ferociously at the bones of the Blood Bone Gargoyle as soon as the words left my mouth.
Crunch, crunch!
“It seems like the more we progress, the more it eats.”
Come to think of it, it seemed to have grown slightly in size too.
As I watched Parang swiftly devour a rib bone, I found myself seriously contemplating Parang’s food supply.
“Huh?”
Parang suddenly assumed a position and defecated.
“Oh!”
I stared in awe at the feces it produced.
A stone emitting a dim light.
It was a ‘Spirit Stone,’ known for increasing natural affinity just by carrying it, a coveted item among elementalists.
Indeed, a phoenix was a phoenix, after all.
“It was worth raising you.”
With a pleased smile, I picked up the Spirit Stone that Parang had excreted.
***
Exactly one hour had passed since Seoharin had forewarned of her return.
And Seoharin could only stare in shock at what had unfolded in her absence for that hour.
“…You cleared the dungeon?”
“Yes.”
“And you even defeated the Blood Bone Gargoyle?”
“It’s only durable; the actual attacks weren’t that strong.”
“······.”
The Blood Bone Gargoyle wasn’t that strong? Was this something one would expect to hear from a first-year student?
Seoharin, momentarily dumbfounded, managed to nod her head.
“…You three really know how to surprise me multiple times.”
Even on the way to the training ground, Seoharin was amazed by the high level of the three individuals. To think they had defeated the Blood Bone Gargoyle as well; this was truly a result beyond imagination.
To the point where she regretted not choosing a more challenging dungeon for them to tackle.
Moreover, what the three had experienced went beyond just clearing the dungeon.
“Even attracting looters… I don’t know how to apologize to you three.”
Seoharin politely bowed. We shook our heads.
“No, it’s not your fault that they barged in. It’s not your mistake, team leader.”
“Right, it’s their fault for intruding. Why should you apologize, team leader?”
“We told them to wait, but it was our mistake to let them inside.”
However, despite us saying we were fine, Seharin did not lift her head.
After all, she was the mentor of this experience, and if she had not left her position, such a dangerous situation would not have occurred.
Therefore, she finished her apology after promising us financial compensation and assistance at any time.
“But, what did you come back for?”
“I came to help with the news that a horse escaped from the field.”
“Ah.”
Seharin’s every action was tailored to the stability of the city. That’s why she even received the title of ‘Knight.’
Capturing a Variant Horse of 6 Stars during the day, and even being a field experience mentor, to catch a horse that left the field in the meantime…
It was when I was quietly impressed by the vigorous activity that never stopped for a moment.
Suddenly, Eungaye’s smartphone rang. Checking the caller, Eungaye seemed slightly surprised and said,
“I’ll take this call for a moment and come back.”
Eungaye’s expression was stiff as she came out of the dungeon to finish the call.
“What’s wrong?”
“Something came up at home.”
Eungaye kept her mouth shut with a firm expression, indicating she wouldn’t say more. I knew what had happened from her appearance. There was only one thing that could happen in Eungaye at this time.
‘It has begun.’
One of the top ten swordsmen holding Korea in his grip. The incident of Haegeum Eun Sung-ho, the head of Eungaye, falling.
It was the beginning of the Eungaye Swordsmanship Episode.