“Are they really blocking the entrance completely…? Even the knights aren’t going in?”
“Yeah, Yeon-hee. I guess even those obsessed with training don’t want to die a dog’s death.”
At that, Noh Ha-yoon, who was next to her, tilted her head, as if she didn’t understand.
“If we go in during the time they block the entrance, it just means there’s a lot more enemies, right? What exactly are they blocking?”
“It’s not just a lot; there are powerful experts too. They say their weapons are deadly to knights.”
“Sounds like they have some special weapons. They won’t tell us what kind though?”
“Yeah, they told us to experience it for ourselves without revealing anything.”
“Seriously… Are they still bitter about losing to us? Are they telling us to go die? Those bastards.”
“What kind of weapon could it be, I wonder?”
They seem to be hoping we’d get into trouble; a weapon deadly to knights… is it some kind of long-range weapon? Nothing comes to mind.
“Hmm… If even the knights of Ilseom are struggling during that time, it’s better to avoid it.”
“So when is the time they block it?”
“They say there’s a sign before it turns red. It’s okay now, but since it hasn’t turned red in a while, it seems the timing is approaching.”
“Hmm… Thinking of [Thievery], I wish we could go in sooner.”
The sooner we gain abilities, the more time we have to grow, so I wanted to just go in with Yeon-hee, even if it was just the two of us.
“But apparently there’s a minimum entry requirement.”
‘……’
“How many people?”
“They said at least five people with the brooch.”
“Ah, that’s such a pain.”
Noh Ha-yoon complained as she tugged at her hair, finding complicated matters tedious.
Yeon-hee smiled softly at Ha-yoon’s messy hair and said, “Anyway, the entry ticket just means we get the qualification to enter the dungeon. In reality, we have to follow Ilseom’s controls.”
“Right. I thought they’d give us a map and we could just go in as we pleased.”
“Tsk, they just gave it so we wouldn’t get lost in the mountains.”
“It seems so, but with Il-wol around, we probably don’t need a map after all.”
“We’ll see when we go, but probably?”
For some reason, feeling like we got hit on the back of the head, we spent quite a bit of time gossiping about Ilseom.
“Hmm… The conclusion is clear.”
“For now, let’s focus on climbing the C-rank dungeon.”
“Got it.”
In the end, we decided to postpone entering the hidden dungeon for later.
We judged it still had too many risks for us to tackle.
After the meeting, we returned home earlier than usual.
Then, naturally, our gazes met, and we intertwined our bodies deeply for the first time in a while.
“Ahh~! Haah- Aah…!”
After all, I’m still a bit lacking in power to confront the Great Evil Haseirin with my current abilities, so there was no need to hold back.
The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed throughout the room.
*Haah- Haah-*
Her warm breath tickled my ear, and her legs, which seemed ready to break my waist, constantly stimulated me.
Yeon-hee said she’d make me feel good with her mouth next time when we made love last time, but she hadn’t done it yet.
‘I just don’t get it. We’ve done everything else, but why not that?’
Maybe it’s overwhelming for her to accept me, or perhaps she thinks if she allows that, our relationship would flip around.
But there was no rush.
Even without Yeon-hee doing it with her mouth, there were plenty of ways to enjoy.
After having a passionate time for almost an hour, Yeon-hee collapsed onto the bed.
Curled up like a shrimp, she still seemed to enjoy the afterglow.
“Ah… This feels so good… I could stay like this all day. Is there any way to extend our time…?”
“Hmm… I don’t think it’ll be easy for a while.”
Noh Ha-yoon was lucky and quickly finished gathering information about the peculiar stone wall.
But Baek Ah-rin’s information gathering was still maintaining the 70s.
‘Still, it’s slowly going up, so there’s no need to rush.’
After my experience with Yeon-hee, I entered the Dark Space and managed to meet my master after a long time.
As soon as we met, my master tried to demonstrate a secret art immediately.
He seemed eager to show off the secret art he had been refining.
[Hurry up and get started.]
(You can do it, Il-wol!!)
Since then, Rainy had been slowly growing but was concentrating more on rooting itself into the ground. The speed was astonishingly fast, making me wonder if it would end up colonizing this Dark Space.
When I jokingly said this, my master burst into laughter.
[Ha ha ha, that’s an unnecessary worry. If you really want to see that tree grow like that, you’ll have to become much stronger to supply Mana. I wonder if you could manage it after hundreds of years of training.]
(Oh? It’s been a while since the old man said something right. That’s right! Il-wol needs to get stronger and supply me with delicious Mana quickly!)
Rainy waved its long branches high in the air, shouting that I shouldn’t hesitate to supply Mana.
‘… It is somewhat fun to grow it, but I wonder when I can harvest…’
There was a reward for growing an amazing seed, but now I had nearly forgotten that such a thing existed, the excitement dwindling.
I instinctively realized it wouldn’t happen overnight or over a couple of days.
Then suddenly, I recalled my duel with Hyeon Woo-seok today.
A few tricks were thrown, and I successfully landed two attacks in the end.
To be fair, the two committed attacks filled with my essence were practically blocked by him.
‘That was barely a scratch on his face. I’m still too lacking.’
I detailed my encounter with him to my master, who listened carefully and shook his tongue, saying it wasn’t something I could overcome in a short period.
[You lack experience, my disciple. Giving your opponent a chance to attack against stronger foes is an act of suicide. There’s a strength among the strong that can’t be overcome merely by physical prowess.]
‘So what should I do? I managed to land a hit, but it was meaningless damage.’
[You’re lucky your opponent had such special defensive arts. No matter how powerful your strike is, if they just avoid it, that’s that, right?]
‘That’s true… That guy even twisted his body to evade while activating his ability. I was originally aiming to take one of his arms.’
It was true.
I really wanted to cut off that insufferable guy’s arm so he couldn’t wield a sword for a while.
[Hmm- When you encounter someone stronger than you, push forth without hesitation as if you’re showing your whole hand. Whether it’s a powerful ability or a weak one doesn’t matter. You should utilize your strengths filled with abundant Mana and strange abilities.]
Even a weak ability doesn’t matter…?
[Confound their sight and constantly seek for openings. Attempt the tricks you’ve used ten or twenty times continuously. This way, you’ll be able to seize a larger opening.]
‘……’
Of course, this was temporary advice considering my still lacking growth, and it was also limited to humanoid foes, but this was completely the opposite of the tactic I had envisioned.
‘So you’re suggesting I should aim for a perfect strike?’
Targeting a powerful single strike should be saved for last.
Even if that last attack loses some destructive power as a result, creating conditions to deliver a sure attack is vital.
[Not many beings can maintain such high levels of concentration in battle as you do. Especially during life-or-death moments.]
‘Aren’t you more focused in dire situations, though?’
[Not necessarily. My disciple. Think of it as similar to meditation. How long do you think you can meditate without thoughts?]
Suddenly, why is he talking about meditation now?
‘Um… Honestly, at first, I couldn’t last more than 10 seconds. I kept getting distracted.’
[Forgetting that you’re even thinking is a difficult task, and maintaining focus during combat is quite similar. It’s a tough challenge to keep your eyes on your opponent while maintaining that focus.
So if your opponent hasn’t experienced your abilities a number of times yet, that tactic will definitely work.]
My master didn’t forget to mention that such tricks wouldn’t work against opponents with an enormous skill gap, either.
The advice from the seasoned warrior, who had experienced countless real battles, was quite different from the path sought by Uncle Jik.
During the fight with Hyeon Woo-seok, the trick that received the most praise was me pulling a stone from the space.
I recalled my master’s advice and continued swinging my sword in the secret art’s space until my mind shattered.
From now on, I must focus on climbing the C-rank dungeon and leveling up.
Clearing the last dungeon within two weeks is the goal, and in the meantime, I need to complete the quest for the Residue of Chaos.
If I finish my job change, I might be able to adapt to my newfound state and strike the Great Evil Haseirin immediately.
Thud─!
“Clap, clap……”
‘Ugh… I feel like I’m dying. My bones feel like they’re shattering..’
[Haven’t you already died?]
‘It’s a feeling of mentally ending my life.’
But my master didn’t pay any mind to my grumbling as I exited the secret art, disappearing somewhere.
[There’s still plenty of room for improvement with that secret art!]
He said, filled with excitement.
Certainly, the horrifying pain I had felt after leaving the secret space had diminished significantly.
A message appeared saying Penetration had risen to 23%.
And I also felt something slithering out of my body.
(Nyum- Nyum- Chuuap- Chuuap-)
Before I knew it, Rainy had come close to me and started to siphon away my Mana.
‘Yeah, eat plenty. Grow fast and show me something.’
(… Huh? Does that mean I can hold you and eat too?)
‘No way. Why does it keep going that way?’
(Tch… Looks like that won’t work. I’ll have to aim for another time.)
‘It feels like it’s time to go. I think I have a good sense of when to leave now.’
(Ah… really? You’re leaving already? That’s too short… Can’t we have some more time?)
‘That’s impossible. I have things to do.’
(You’re going to go fight bad guys in your world, right? Is there anything I can help with?)
Rainy, asking questions it normally wouldn’t.
‘Help? Is there a way you can help with that?’
I had never thought about that side, so I looked at Rainy anew.
Now, its roots had spread wide, and while it couldn’t move as quickly as before, it could still head to other places whenever it wanted, being a mysterious tree born from a former human.
Its leaves had grown quite lush, and the trunk had become thicker than my waist covered in armor long ago. But the most striking feature was definitely Rainy’s unique Mana.
A refreshing and pure type of Mana.
That Mana filled a wide area centered around Rainy.
Like a vast nature cradling a small living creature with warmth.
No particular message came from the system either, so I could only make guesses.
‘It definitely seems like it could be helpful… with such clean mana… hmm…’
Suddenly, an idea struck me, and I took out the Fragment of Corrupted Life Potion from my space.
This gathered item of a hundred fragments was collected while defeating the bad guys who dealt with evolution stones and evolved creatures.
To make even one piece, I need to gather a hundred corrupted life potion fragments and…”
There was a chance that the potion could restore my lost life.
Except, since the purifier’s proficiency was rare, I had planned to search for one after gathering everything. But now that Rainy was radiating that vibe, I took it out.
(Eeww- What’s that filthy thing? Get that away!)
As soon as I held up the corrupted fragment, Rainy was rare, screeching and backing away.
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