Chapter 23 – Night Shade (2)

Crash!

The scythe swung by the wraith lay easily crushed in JaeHyun’s hand.

A smile appeared on JaeHyun’s face together with the scattering fragments of the scythe.

He grabbed the wraith, which had lost its weapon and was backing away, by the neck.

Grrraaaa….

The wraith’s horrible screams rang in the air. JaeHyun put some force into his hand and snapped its neck. Then, he looked around at the remaining monsters.

The monsters merely stared at him fiercely and showed no signs of attacking. JaeHyun clenched and unclenched his fist with a satisfied expression.

‘Good. I really have grown stronger.’

It seemed apparent that the effect of the tutoring classes by Yoo Sung-Eun was showing itself.

It was almost impossible for an ordinary Magician to crush a scythe coming at them. But through Yoo Sung-Eun’s lessons, JaeHyun had learned a new fighting style that other Magician raiders didn’t even try to emulate—

being a ‘Close-combat Magician’, otherwise known as a Battlemage.

To explain in simpler terms, the Magician reduces the casting time as much as possible and attacks from the vanguard while dodging attacks, healing themselves at the same time. It could be considered as a hybrid fighting style.

‘The problem is that I’m the only one who can fight like this.’

That was the problem.

Excluding JaeHyun, who possessed the Mythic item 《 Odin’s Lost Eye 》, there was no Magician who could overuse high-ranked spells without incanting.

Incantation was a spell’s foundation and how Magicians poured mana into the spells.

A spell becoming weaker without the incantation was the obvious result of such an action.

But Yoo Sung-Eun succeeded in creating such a fighting style through JaeHyun when numerous Magicians merely speculated about it.

Of course, it was still incomplete at the moment. But if it was perfected, JaeHyun would grow to be an unprecedented raider.

Grrrrr…

Swoosh!

This time, a skeleton soldier swung toward JaeHyun’s shoulder. He quickly dodged the attack, and then used the momentum of the act to accurately crush the skeleton soldier’s face with his fist.

Crack!

The sound of bones shattering rang in the air.

一 You have killed a skeleton soldier.

一 You have received 50 experience points.

‘My body feels a lot lighter than last time.’

Now, wraiths and skeleton soldiers were not JaeHyun’s opponents any longer.

JaeHyun raised his head for a moment and looked at the pitch-black interior of the dungeon.

‘There. My goal is there.’

The Night Shade that he had loathed so much for the past two months was in there. He put on a confident expression as he looked at the enemies that were surrounding him.

“What are you doing? Attack quickly. It’ll take forever if I want to test the rest of my skills.”

Grrrraaaa…

As if they heard his voice, the monsters all started to rush toward him.

JaeHyun immediately stomped on the ground and gathered his mana. From then on, it was a one-way massacre.

[At the E-rank dungeon entrance]

Park SungJae was loitering around the exterior of the dungeon JaeHyun had entered a few moments ago. He was waiting for JaeHyun to clear the dungeon at Yoo Sung-Eun’s request.

“Would that child, Min JaeHyun, really be able to clear a dungeon by himself?”

Park SungJae muttered with a worried face.

‘Of course, if one simply looked at his skills, an E-rank dungeon wouldn’t be that difficult…’

But although Park SungJae believed in JaeHyun’s abilities, he couldn’t stop worrying.

Dungeons were always full of variables.

Many C-rank and B-rank raiders also died in low-ranked dungeons. Letting one’s guard down was dangerous, and for JaeHyun who was a beginner, an E-rank dungeon was a very dangerous place.

“…It’s only been an hour. Well, it should at least take 6 hours.”

Park SungJae mumbled while looking at his watch. The amount of time it normally took to clear a dungeon was about 6 hours.

It had been about an hour and a half since JaeHyun entered,
and since he was alone, it should take him longer to clear the dungeon than a party with several people.

So it was correct to think that clearing the dungeon would take 6-10 hours.

Park SungJae crossed his arms anxiously.

“It would be bad if he got hurt…”

He was someone the Yeonhwa Guild brought over with a first-priority contract. He was also currently the only person who could treat Yoo Sung-Eun’s illness.

JaeHyun’s true worth had not yet been fully revealed.

‘Plus… even if only connected through a contract, Min JaeHyun is the guildmaster’s only student. There should be no problems that occur on his person.’

Park SungJae nodded resolutely.

Since he had given him a Warp Stone in the past, JaeHyun would escape from the dungeon if there was any trouble. There shouldn’t be a reason for him to worry too much.

Just as he was about to stand up while shaking the thought away,
a familiar voice rang from somewhere.

“Ah, SungJae-oppa. You were here.”

At those words, Park SungJae narrowed his eyes.

“Huh? You’re… YeonJoo, right? Why are you here? What about your guild?”

The woman who spoke to Park SungJae was none other than a junior from college, Kang YeonJoo. Currently, she was a well-respected and talented member of the merchant guild 《 Curator 》.

“Me? Well, I had something to do in the area and came by to visit, when I saw you.”

“Right, it’s nice to see you. It’s been a while.”

“But… are you managing this dungeon, senior?”

“Ah? Yeah.”

Pausing for a moment at Kang YeonJoo’s question, Park SungJae mildly nodded his head. She crossed her arms and asked with a face full of curiosity.

“That’s strange. Dungeon management is not usually a part of your responsibilities. Did you get demoted or something?”

“I’m just taking care of it this time.”

Park SungJae replied vaguely. No matter how friendly he was with Kang YeonJoo, this was an order given personally by Guildmaster Yoo Sung-Eun. It was a given that it was to be kept a secret from outsiders.

Kang YeonJoo narrowed her eyes. She stared at him for a long time before she continued.

“Senior. There’s actually something I’m curious about.”

“Huh? What is it?”

“The rumor that Guildmaster Yoo Sung-Eun is sick… Is it true? They said it was terminal.”

The sensitive question had come suddenly.

Park SungJae frowned. It seemed that Kang YeonJoo didn’t come to visit her senior with light-hearted intentions.

Park SungJae replied as calmly as he could.

“Of course, it isn’t true. More than that, where did you hear that, YeonJoo?”

“Well, you know the guildmaster’s little brother, Yoo SunJae? That person seems to be secretly spreading rumors to reporters that the guildmaster is sick. Saying that he would swallow the guild afterwards.”

At Kang YeonJoo’s words, Park SungJae gritted his teeth in anger.

‘To think that her little brother is actually the one slandering her so.’

Annoyance and fury filled him, but he forced the emotions down with difficulty.

Kang YeonJoo stood with a calm expression.

“Anyway, I wanted to tell you to be careful since those rumors are circulating around. It would probably be troublesome if your guild’s stock fell.”

“Thanks for letting me know.”

Park SungJae replied to Kang YeonJoo’s words with slight annoyance. The reason Kang YeonJoo came looking for him was probably to verify the truth behind this rumor.

To begin with, Curator was a merchant guild that sold information and relics. Curator also held quite a bit of Yeonhwa Guild’s shares.

If they learned that Guildmaster Yoo Sung-Eun was truly sick, they would probably withdraw the investments right away.

Their plan was very obvious.

‘Curator Guild likely sent YeonJoo to me to check if Guildmaster Yoo Sung-Eun was really sick. Since we’re acquainted, they probably thought that it would be easy to dig up information.’

Park SungJae smirked. He had also worked in this field for a long time, how could he simply suffer from such an obvious ploy?

But he couldn’t help but be surprised by the next question Kang YeonJoo asked.

“Um, and one more thing. Do you… happen to know a kid named Min JaeHyun?”

“…What?”

Park SungJae’s poker face showed signs of cracking for the first time. As if Kang YeonJoo had been expecting his reaction, she had a placid expression up.

“He’s a kid our guild has been looking for recently. But it seems that the kid has been coming to YeonHwa guild a lot recently… I wanted to ask if you knew the reason for it.”

“Well, I’m not very sure.”

Park SungJae replied with a slightly stiff face. Kang YeonJoo contemplated for a moment, then she put her hands in her pocket with a sigh.

“It seems that we’re both bad at lying. Don’t you think so?”

“…So. Why is ‘Curator’ looking for Min JaeHyun?”

“That’s also a trade secret.”

Kang YeonJoo stood up again and headed outside. She paused for a moment in between and spoke with a smile on her face.

“You’re not thinking that you can keep holding on to him at Yeonhwa Guild, right?”

Park SungJae laughed despondently and watched her leave.

“So that’s what she was after from the start.”

‘Min JaeHyun… To think he had also gained the attention of the Curator Guild. What has he been doing?’

In the past, JaeHyun had benefited from Yeonhwa Guild by first approaching them to cure Guildmaster Yoo Sung-Eun. In that time, he gained a connection with Yeonhwa through Priority Negotiation Rights while also learning magic through personal lessons from Yoo Sung-Eun.

But before signing the contract—

he’d clearly said that he had no contact with any other guilds.

In addition, JaeHyun had signed the contract with Yeonhwa Guild 2 months ago. There was no reason for another guild to come asking at this point.

So why? For what reason?

‘I don’t know what other cards Min JaeHyun is hiding, but one thing that’s certain is that Yeonhwa should not let him go. I have to tell the guildmaster right away.’

The Curator Guild had tremendous capital strength.

If such a guild started to make contact with Min JaeHyun, even the Yeonhwa Guild has to face the chance that he would be stolen away.

Park SungJae quickly took out his smartphone and dialled a number.

<A moment later>
With a click, the line connected.

[Hello?]

“Guildmaster. It’s me, Park SungJae.”

[I know that from your voice even if you don’t explain, okay? Why did you call? I’m currently working…]

“It’s because of Min JaeHyun.”

Yoo Sung-Eun’s mischievous tone instantly turned frigid. The atmosphere had turned cold due to Park SungJae’s serious tone.

[Did something happen to JaeHyun?]

“No. There’s nothing wrong with him personally. It’s just…”

Park SungJae thought for a moment, then he spoke while nodding his head.

“The Curator Guild seems to be planning on contacting him.”

***

“Phew. Does this make 27?”

The dungeon filled with wraiths and skeleton soldiers was not that difficult by itself. Thanks to having somewhat familiarized himself with the new fighting style, it was easier to move around.

‘The problem is the Night Shade.’

JaeHyun looted the remains of the monsters he killed for mana stones and anything useful, and then he stood up.

Stretching his stiff back, he looked around.

It was a devastated graveyard with several fallen bodies strewn around.

“ 《 Mana Plundering 》 truly is a useful skill to have.”

Thanks to the skill gained from Probationary Valkyrie’s 3-set equipment, 《 Mana Plundering 》, JaeHyun could save 6 more of the Mana Potions he’d brought than initially expected.

He checked his skill window with a satisfied expression and took a deep breath.

“Phew… Now then, shall we continue?”

After letting out his breath, he slowly started to walk forward. The sound of his footsteps rang in the dark and desolate Helheim.

How much time passed that way? JaeHyun, who arrived at the end of the cemetery after walking through a long dark passage, let out a small sigh.

It was due to a huge door in front of him.

‘This is probably the boss room.’

JaeHyun gulped at the eerie anxiety he was feeling.

Facing the door at the end of a dungeon and the tremendous Magic flowing out from inside—

he didn’t have any hesitation.

JaeHyun put his hand on the rusty doorknob and pushed. The door let out a creak as it started to open with difficulty.

Crrrreeeeaaaaaakkk…

It was a hair-raising sound.