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Chapter 193: Star, Baek Gyeo-Ul (3)

[Opening the item list!]

Scrolling through the list, Chang-Sun’s eyes narrowed. The items still had prices written next to their names.

‘So becoming?their king doesn’t mean I get items for free,’?Chang-Sun thought, disappointed.

Nevertheless, he believed it couldn’t be helped. The system had to be fair. If Chang-Sun could take anything from the stores, the Dungeon’s balance would have been quickly destroyed.

‘One [Forbidden Fruit] alone will be enough for me to <Exuviate>.’?

Luckily, he could now use the Merits he had accumulated so far together with his Hounds.

[Synchronizing your Merits and Hounds.]

[You can now buy items with Merits.]

[Your Merits: 12,600,000 Karmas]

Chang-Sun had already made his decision—one skill and one item. Fortunately, the store window had a search function, allowing Chang-Sun to quickly find his choices.

‘Found it!’?

Chang-Sun used his in-depth knowledge about his old colleagues’ skill trees to his advantage when he lost all his power. Now, he could take only the skills he required.

‘I’ll definitely need Richardus.’

Among Chang-Sun’s colleagues, Richardus was the only fighting deity who could fight against him in single combat. Living up to his divine name ‘Iron-Blooded Lion,’ Richardus was also a gigantic warring deity who dominated various battlefields. In some ways, he was Chang-Sun’s rival. Richardus even had a skill that Chang-Sun always wanted.

“I’ll buy [Stomp],” Chang-Sun said.

[You have bought the Skill ‘Stomp‘!]

[Stomp]

Creates an earthquake by powerfully stomping on the ground. The higher the skill level, the stronger the earthquake.

· Skill level: 1

· Type: Active.

· Effect: Ground Turmoil. Ground Crevice.

The ability to cause earthquakes was very useful. Not only could it be used to annihilate whole armies, but it could also cause chaos on battlefields by changing the terrain completely. [Stomp] was also the key to acquiring [Sea Change] and [Mountain-Crushing Supremacy], Richardus’ two most often used Authorities, and was as powerful as [Landslide], Chang-Sun’s Authority.

‘If I can use both [Sea Change] and [Landslide] at the same time… I would have nothing to fear anymore,’?Chang-Sun thought.

Acquiring those two Authorities would make him unstoppable.

“And [Fire Dragon Fruit].” Chang-Sun requested.

[You have bought the Artifact ‘Fire Dragon Fruit’!]

[Fire Dragon Fruit]

The fruit was named after its resemblance to a slumbering baby dragon. Although it harbors quite an amount of fire energy, it also holds a lot of unidentifiable and bizarre energy that makes it difficult to digest.

· Type: Elixir.

.

· Effect: Fire Energy Increase. Mana Amplification.

Kiyoo?

Cadmus grumbled, not liking how the [Fire Dragon Fruit] looked. Chang-Sun stroked the tip of Cadmus’ nose to reassure it, then looked at the [Fire Fruit Dragon] in his other hand. His eyes gleamed coldly.

A [Fire Dragon Fruit] was an elixir for fire-type monsters. There were even cases where it enhanced their powers severalfold. Chang-Sun could probably consume it as well, but…

‘It might destroy my mind.

The bizarre energy in the [Fire Dragon Fruit]’s description was referring to chaos energy. It could cause delirium if absorbed in the wrong way, so it wasn’t beneficial to intelligent beings. It could even cause divine and demonic creatures to lose their mind. Chang-Sun planned to use it to contaminate the Hellserpent’s mind and run amok.

[The Celestial ‘Abyss-Chasing Great Devil’ smiles the same way upon noticing you grinning wickedly.]

[The Celestial ‘Abyss-Chasing Great Devil’ hints that he is almost done preparing your gift, telling you to wait for him a little longer.]

…

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ tries to look over the wall, wondering what the gift is.]

“The serpent is quite angry right now, so it will be pretty dangerous.” Jarpagu giggled, watching Chang-Sun from the back.

“Is there something I should know?” Chang-Sun asked.

Instead of answering Chang-Sun, Jarapgu smiled slyly, but that was enough to be an answer.

“I’ll listen to the whole story later,” Chang-Sun said.

Paah―!

After acquiring [Stomp], Chang-Sun activated [Windstalking Tiger] and went after the [Shadow Thread].

“Hehe, it looks like our new king is enraged… I wonder if Elspe will be able to withstand his fury. Kekeke.” Jaragpu chuckled.

The Hobgoblin’s giggle echoed for quite some time.

* * *

Rumble…!

[The Boss Monster ‘Hellserpent’ is furious.]

[The Boss Monster ‘Hellserpent’ is preparing to unleash its Dragon Breath!]

“Incoming!” Shin Eun-Seo hurriedly yelled at the Team L members, who were blindly running forward.

They split up and scattered everywhere. Imitating and activating [Windstalking Tiger] using [Shadow Play], Baek Gyeo-Ul leaped high in the air. Shin Geum-Gyu spun his Magical Core and created multiple layers of magical barrier before activating [Blink]. Meanwhile, Woo Hye-Bin swung her two daggers against each other and used the shockwave from the collision to move faster.

Thud!

Setting the tower shield in her left hand down firmly on the ground, Eun-Seo shouted, “[Shield Attention]!”

[The Player ‘Shin Eun-seo’ has activated the Skill ‘Shield Attention,’ casting a barrier over the area!]

Above the Team L members, several gigantic semispheres were created one by one, forming a five-layer barrier. It shook profusely when the Hellserpent’s breath hit it.

Crash, crash, crash!

Four layers out of five were smashed in seconds, pushing away Eun-Seo. The final layer of the barrier cracked as well, seemingly about to break any second.

‘Shit!’ Eun-Seo cursed, gritting her teeth.

The thought of the Hellserpent’s [Dragon Breath] killing them all kept sending shivers down Eun-Seo’s spine, but if she retreated now, her teammates would certainly be annihilated. She had to lure the serpent away somehow.

‘If Chang-Sun oppa was here, that snake would have been a piece of cake…! No, if that son of a bitch named Ludovico helped us, things wouldn’t have turned out this bad!’?Eun-Seo thought in frustration.

Using Ludovico as the messenger, the Orlando Clan extended an olive branch to the Team L members and requested to work together until they cleared the Dungeon. Although the Team L members weren’t sure what the Orlando Clan Players were plotting behind their backs back then, continuing these fights wasn’t good for the Team L members too, so they had to accept the agreement.

However, the agreement didn’t last long. The Hellserpent suddenly appeared and reduced the ‘Boiling Station’ and the area around the station to ashes, exterminating Nicolas Pouquet and the other elite Players of the Revenant Clan in the process. When Ludovico saw the sight, he fled without hesitation.

Naturally, the Players under Ludovico’s leadership also ran away without even trying to fight back, leaving the Team L members alone on the site to become the Hellserpent’s target. The Team L members were quite strong and could have had a chance if they fought with the elite Players of the Orlando Clan, but they weren’t strong enough to take on a great demonic creature from the <Nine Circles> on their own. Hye-Bin and Gyeo-Ul were the only reasons they managed to survive this long.

[The Player ‘Woo Hye-Bin’ has made the ‘Lightning Deity’s Dagger’ and ‘Storm Deity’s Dagger’ resonate, causing a lightning storm!]

Pzzz―! Rumble, rumble!

The storm Hye-Bin created clawed at the Hellserpent’s abdomen. The yellow lightning left scratches on the monster that made it stop using [Dragon Breaths].

Awooo―!

‘A little bit more!’?

Hye-Bin shouted in her thoughts, deciding to use this chance to turn the tide of the battle when she heard Hellserpent howling in pain.

From what she could see, the Hellserpent’s scales had cracked, and it was bleeding. She could likely figure out a way to defeat it if she could just make its wound bigger. However, when she tried to swing her daggers against each other again, she ended up falling to one knee and holding her breath.

“… Hup!”

Hye-Bin could taste blood in her mouth. The flow of her mana had been reversed.

[Warning! The Mana of the Player ‘Woo Hye-Bin’ has decreased below 10%.]

[Warning! The Player ‘Woo Hye-Bin’ has entered the ‘Anemic’ state. Leaving the area and taking a break is recommended.]

‘Why now…!’?Hye-Bin bit her lip.

Using one powerful skill after another had depleted her mana. Replenishing it through [Mana Deity’s Armor] didn’t help much, either. In fact, her internal injury only worsened when she tried to force her mana to circulate.

She understood now more than ever what her uncle told her before she left Korea. Her uncle’s voice rang around her ears, telling her that no one would be able to protect her if she were to leave home.

“Hye-Bin, be careful!” her teammates shouted.

Grrrr!!!

The Hellserpent opened its mouth wide and flew at Hye-Bin in an attempt to kill her for injuring it.

[The Boss Monster ‘Hellserpent’ is furious! its Damage has been increased by 170%!]

Hye-Bin immediately wanted to run away when the giant shadow cast over her head, but she couldn’t move at all. Eun-Seo was running toward Hye-Bin as fast as she could, but Eun-Seo was still quite far away. Even the several [Magical Missiles] Geum-Gyu fired from his Magical Core to stop the Hellserpent from approaching Hye-Bin were rendered meaningless.

Thud!

At that moment, Gyeo-Ul dropped to the ground from the sky and stabbed the Hellserpent’s forehead with the Black Dragon Fang, breaking through the serpent’s sturdy scales. Its scales’ fragments scattered as it bled profusely.

Awooo!

The Hellserpent writhed in pain, trying to shake off Gyeo-Ul, but he didn’t let go.

『I’ll take care of this somehow, so go! Come on!』Gyeo-Ul yelled using telepathy, just like Chang-Sun had taught him. At that moment, Eun-Seo’s face darkened. “Gyeo-Ul ssi, are you—!”

『Go!』Gyeo-Ul repeated. His teammates turned pale upon realizing Gyeo-Ul was trying to stop the Hellserpent on his own.

“You’re the strongest among us, but it’s still crazily dangerous to go up against the serpent on your own!” Geum-Gyu shouted.

“He’s right. Oppa, get down here!” Hye-Bin agreed.

“Gyeo-Ul-ssi, let me assist you!” Eun-Seo yelled.

Hye-Bin and Geum-Gyu also tried to stop Gye-Ul, but they couldn’t change Gyeo-Ul’s mind.

『I’m not volunteering to die.』

Gyeo-Ul shook his head, making the others ask, “What do you mean?!”

『Chang-Sun hyung has just returned.』

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

Hye-Bin, Eun-Seo, and Geum-Gyu’s eyes widened.

『Please bring Chang-Sun hyung here. I left a trace so he could follow it, but there is a chance he would miss it. Please find him and bring him here.』

“But—!” Eun-Seo tried to insist.

『Go!』Gyeo-Ul hurried her, preventing her from saying anything else.

“… Let’s do what Gyeo-Ul ssi said,” Geum-Gyu said as she grabbed Eun-Seo’s arm.

“What are you—!” Eun-Seo quickly turned back to snap at Geum-Gyu, but he had never looked so serious. His expression showed that following Gyeo-Ul’s instruction was the most rational decision.

“We’ll only be a burden to him if we stay. It’s better to find and bring Chang-Sun hyung over quickly,” Geum-Gyu added with a grim expression.

Trying to refute, Eun-Seo tried to say something but ended up clenching her teeth instead. She knew Geum-Gyu was right.

‘If only the goddess had given her blessing…! Where are you?!’? Eun-Seo wondered.

She couldn’t help missing the cheering messages from the ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ today. The goddess’ blessing temporarily increased the entire party’s combat power, and it served as Eun-Seo’s talisman that guaranteed her victory.

However, at some point, Eun-Seo stopped receiving any messages from the ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl.’ Perhaps the goddess had become busy or lost interest in Eun-Seo. No matter the reason, her heart felt empty because she couldn’t get in touch with the gentle goddess who used to send her various messages as if they were chitchatting.

Missing what Eun-Seo didn’t have right now wasn’t going to help her, though. Clearing her throat, Eun-Seo yelled, “Gyeo-Ul ssi! I’ll! I’ll bring him as soon as possible! Please hold on for a little while!”

Carrying Hye-Bin, who turned pale and couldn’t even run anymore, on her back, Eun-Seo headed back the way they had come from. Before Geum-Gyu left using [Blink], he bowed at Gyeo-Ul to express his gratitude.

Roarrrr!

The Hellserpent became more enraged when it saw its prey running away right before its eyes, but Gyeo-Ul tenaciously stayed on top of the Hellserpent, embedding his Black Dragon Fang deeper.

[Attempting to infiltrate the shadow of the Boss Monster ‘Hellserpent’!]

[The Boss Monster ‘Hellserpent’ is resisting hard.]

[The Player ‘Baek Gyeo-Ul’ has activated the Skill ‘Shadow Chain’!]

Paah―! Woosh, woosh, woosh!

At that moment, a shadow dripped like blood from the Hellserpent’s wound, swirled around the Hellserpent, and tied it up. [Shadow Chain], the skill Gyeo-Ul made using [Shadow Play] to restrict his enemies’ movement, had been activated. The tighter the [Shadow Chain] bound the Hellserpent, the more it destroyed the Hellserpent’s scales and worsened its wound.

Roarrr!

The Hellserpent howled loudly.

Wearing a shadow helmet, Gyeo-Ul’s eyes turned cold. He resembled someone for some reason right now.

『You’ll soon regret it.』

Gyeo-Ul suddenly heard the voice of the shadow he had met at the snowfield in his dream. Since then, the shadow had whispered to Gyeo-Ul from time to time, making him quite familiar with it now.

At first, Gyeo-Ul had used numerous methods to not hear the voice, but he knew who the shadow from the snowfield was. It was his other personality—the main one before his current personality woke up in the snowfield. Perhaps the shadow had been his main personality long before that…

“No, I won’t.” Gyeo-Ul shook his head.

『Yes, you will. You talked all big, but you’re running out of mana and shadows you can use.』

Gyeo-Ul had to borrow a shadow to activate [Shadow Play]. Borrowed shadows didn’t last forever. In fact, Gyeo-Ul had already used up a lot of the shadows he had during their fight with the Hellserpent, and after stabbing the Hellserpent, he had been infusing whatever shadows he had left into Black Dragon Fang to slow the monster down enough for the other team members to flee.

In contrast, Gyeo-Ul was practically walking into a swamp of death. The shadows Gyeo-Ul borrowed should be the medium to control his shadow and ghost energies, but he had already depleted them, causing his energies to get out of control. To make things worse, the color of Gyeo-Ul’s [Shadow Armor] was also fading.

『You’re acting so pompous right now with Lee Chang-Sun’s shadow that it’s as if you’ve become him, but what will you do once you’ve lost your power or you’re no longer Lee Chang-Sun’s shadow? By then, you’d be no better than the child crying on the snowfield.』

The shadow was listing cruelly accurate facts, telling Gyeo-Ul to see the reality.

『Will you still be okay afterward? You’ve only been asking questions because you know nothing. You don’t know who you are, where you’re from, or what you should do. Are you just going to live as Lee Chang-Sun’s shadow? No, are you just going to die after living as someone even less than that?』

Like a devil, the shadow made a sweet offer.

『My offer still stands. Take it and let’s become complete. You’ll find all the answers you have always wanted, and you’ll no longer have to live as a shadow—!』

“I told you I won’t take the offer.” Gyeo-Ul swiftly refused.

The words were as tempting as that of a devil’s, and Gyeo-Ul’s [Shadow Armor] was disappearing. However, his eyes were still as determined as Chang-Sun’s, whom Gyeo-Ul started to resemble since they met.

“Just like you said, I’m Chang-Sun hyung’s shadow right now.”

Gyeo-Ul wanted to be like Chang-Sun someday, so Gyeo-Ul had been imitating him. As a result, his eyes now bore a resemblance to Chang-Sun’s.

“And you’re just my shadow.”

『…!』

What would Chang-Sun do if he was Gyeo-Ul right now?

‘He would have fought without hesitation and found a way to win during the battle.’

Gyeo-Ul was certain. Right now, Gyeo-Ul faced the problem head-on like Chang-Sun. All he had to do now was come up with a solution that others wouldn’t be able to think of.

Roar….!

While the Hellserpent writhed, Gyeo-Ul noticed the shadow he had borrowed from Chang-Sun had been depleted, so Gyeo-Ul looked for a new shadow. The Trait [Shadow Play] required shadows to be activated. If so, then he could just bring a new shadow from close by if necessary. Fortunately, there was a shadow here that Gyeo-Ul could borrow: the Hellserpent, a great demonic creature who lived in <Hell>.

“Come,” Gyeo-Ul mumbled quietly.

Woosh, woosh, woosh…!

Tied up by the [Shadow Chain], the Hellserpent remained still as its shadow undulated profusely until it divided into dozens of strands and merged with Gyeo-Ul’s shadow, which began to transform. Now in the form of a long serpent instead of a human, Gyeo-Ul’s new shadow covered and changed him as well. When he opened his eyes again, they had become reptilian.

Roaarrr!

[The Trait ‘Shadow Play’ of the Player ‘Baek Gyeo-Ul’ is changing.]

[A shadow demonic creature has appeared!]

Gyeo-Ul had awoken.

[A shadow catastrophe is taking place.]