Jongryeo wasn’t asking him here. No, it sounded as if he was just trying to confirm what he knew already.
Jin Woo quietly shook his head.
As if he was waiting for that, Jongryeo immediately carried on.
“Please call out your strongest summon. We agreed to do it from that get-go, didn’t we?”
“But, you may get injured.”
“It’s fine. I wanted to fight it at least one more time, anyway.”
Jin Woo’s eyes widened from his declaration.
“Wait, you knew?”
Nod, nod.
“I saw the video footage.”
Jongryeo had watched the raid video starring Jin Woo several times by now.
The giant monster that made its appearance during the clip – he definitely remembered seeing that monster shooting out the pillar of flames from somewhere.
“That summoned creature, that was the High Orc Shaman, the boss of that A-rank dungeon. Am I correct?”
If that was the case, then the mutated ant monster he hunted down this time would also have become his summoned creature, as well. From the word go, he chose to go through the test while thinking of fighting that mutated ant.
‘There is no meaning in a victory like this.’
He wanted to defeat the summoned creature that used the powers of the mutated ant monster, and thereby get Jin Woo to acknowledge his true strength.
He pondered for a little bit, before nodding his head.
‘Beru’.
Right away, a Shadow Soldier enshrouded in jet-black smoke rose up behind Jin Woo.
Jongryeo instinctively jumped back and created some distance as soon as he saw Beru’s entrance.
Back then or now, that guy carried a truly horrendous aura.
Jin Woo got worried when all color drained out of Jongryeo’s face and quickly asked him.
“Will this really be fine?”
Even if Beru had gotten weaker compared to when he was alive, this guy was originally a killing weapon born solely for the purpose of eliminating Hunters.
Jongryeo’s lips were squeezed shut in a straight line, as he nodded his head.
Beru had been staring at him quietly for a while, before lowering his head to whisper a question to Jin Woo.
‘My liege. How should I deal with this man?’
Jongryeo must’ve been unable to hear what Beru was saying because he showed no particular reaction at all.
‘Defeat him without injuring him.’
‘It shall be done.’
The former king of the ants and the current Shadow Soldier turned towards the deeply tense male warrior.
Gulp.
Jongryeo swallowed his dry saliva. He felt goosebumps break out on his skin from the enormous amount of magic energy emitted by his opponent.
‘Mister Sung Jin Woo fought against a creature like this and won?’
Jongryeo’s eyes which showed no signs of hesitation while fighting against Igris were now trembling greatly. Beru was done with the necessary preparation to follow his sovereign’s order, and suddenly, spat out a mighty screech.
Kiiiaaaahhk!!
Blade-like claws began extending out from the ends of Beru’s fingers. Jin Woo standing behind him sent over a deadly glare.
‘….Retract the claws.’
The high-spirited Beru immediately retracted his claws. Jin Woo drilled one more instruction into his soldier’s head.
‘If you injure my omega, it won’t be good for you, either. Got that?‘
‘I shall follow your will.’
Only after hearing that definite answer from Beru did Jin Woo declare the start of the second bout.
“Begin!”
Beru was the first to make his move. His Sovereign had given him only one order.
‘Defeat the enemy without harming him.’
Beru once stood at the peak of his species, and he knew what the best method to perfectly fulfill that order was. And that would be this: Make the opponent lose his will to fight by imprinting the clear gap in power between them in his mind.
Paht!
Beru disappeared from Jongryeo’s view the moment he moved, before reappearing right in front of his nose even before he had the chance to realize it.
“…!!”
Jongryeo’s animal-like instinct kicked in even as the astonishment at Beru’s speed nearly overwhelmed him, and he swung his sword at his opponent. He followed that up with dozens more.
However, Beru stood on the spot and evaded all of his attacks without taking a single step.
It was a precise movement that eliminated all necessary motion. He was so bloody quick that afterimages were left behind in his wake. This was the display of an unbridgeable gap in their power levels.
‘It can dodge all my attacks at such a close distance without moving its legs once?’
He took aim at the neck of his opponent and took a swing, but the creature lightly evaded it by leaning back slightly. No matter where he attacked from, or how he changed his attacks, his opponent easily dodged them all.
‘Interesting’
This thing wasn’t even alive anymore. This thing was a summon borrowing the powers of the dead monster, so how could it still be this strong?
And also….
‘Mister Sung Jin Woo, who can freely control such a summon, just what…..’
Jongryeo’s movements became a tad dull and Beru seized upon this opportunity to smack his incoming sword away with the back of his hand.
And then, pressed his face closer to Jongryeo’s.
He inadvertently gasped out the moment those huge mandibles filled up his view.
“Ah!”
However, the creature didn’t crush his head by snapping shut its maws but instead, it was repelled by something.
“Buzz off.”
Beru was knocked away ungainly from the burst of magical energy.
“Kiiiieeeeehhhk!!”
Jin Woo grimaced while watching that. Indeed, there was no way he’d start enjoying the sight of someone else getting knocked around one-sidedly like this.
Jongryeo’s aura suddenly changes and he covers himself in a water dome.
Jin Woo tilted his head.
‘What is he trying to do?’
The Park Jongryeo he knew wasn’t a low-class Hunter who didn’t want to accept the difference between him and his opponent even after confirming the truth with his own eyes.
‘And he’s definitely not reckless enough to keep attacking when he knows of the gap, too.’
In that case, could he still have one more card up his sleeve?
‘Whatever it is, I hope he’s not making an incorrect call.’
Jin Woo was mentally linked with Beru, so he could feel how much his soldier was suppressing its killing intent at the moment. On the other hand, Jongryeo’s will remained unyielding, even though he found himself in an absolutely disadvantageous position.
He was getting a bad premonition here. Jin Woo’s expression became even more serious as he watched the two of them.
Burst!
The water dome covering Jongryeo exploded and Jin Woo’s eyes widened at what he saw next. Does Jongryeo have a similar skill as Baek Yoonho?
‘…..?’
A green horns like those of a Chinese dragon. His attire is a white sleeveless shirt with a cutout on the chest, with long, unattached sleeves that have gold and green-colored accents. He wears black fingerless gloves and a green sash with a teal seal surrounded by golden leaves.
His pants are black and his long knee-high boots have white and golden accents.
On the other hand, Beru had failed to understand the situation.
He had displayed their overwhelming gap in power several times by now. So, why hadn’t the omega stopped his challenges yet?
The former king of ants, a being who lorded over others at the apex of the food chain, was beginning to get displeased by the human stubbornness. The basis of his anger stemmed from the past memory of him being a ruler.
‘How dare…..’
The moment Beru made up his mind, he arrived before Jongryeo in the blink of an eye. He then pressed his face closer to glare straight into his eyes.
Any lifeform still breathing would’ve immediately realized who was the predator and the prey in this situation just from their gazes meeting like this. It would be a warning from one’s primal instinct.
Beru planned to awaken that instinct of his opponent and make him lose his will to fight in that manner, but unfortunately, his ploy wasn’t as effective as he thought.
Just as Jin Woo had predicted, Jongryeo still held one last trump card to fall back on.
The skill, ‘Dragon Mobility’, one he was most proficient in wielding. His movements sped up and the tip of his spear drew splendid arcs in the air.
Paht! Paht! Paht!
Beru used his claws to defend against all those smoothly flowing attacks that had no interruptions in between. At the end of the barrage, his expression crumpled unsightly.
‘No more playing around.’
Beru snatched the spear flying at him with his bare hand.
Kwajeeck!!
But rather than falling into despair, Jongryeo’s glare became icy cold, instead.
‘Pathetic’
He loosened one of the shackles suppressing his power and a single drop of magic energy was poured into his body to activate his hidden skill, ‘Azure’s Aqua Ablutes All’.
…
The skill can only be used in this form and he rarely uses it. And for the first time, he revealed it in its full glory.
Beru had lowered his guard for a moment after grabbing the spear, and he used that opening to jump high into the air.
A torrent of water emerged from the ground Beru standing on, the former Ant king got knocked away. And like it was dancing, the torrent of water soon flew toward Jongryeo.
Kuwaaaaaaahhhh-!!!
The torrent of water took the appearance of a gigantic Chinese dragon. He didn’t give the Shadow Soldier any chances of standing up.
Jongryeo swipes his hand toward Beru and the Chinese dragon made of water follows. At full force, it strikes down to Beru.
“Kiiieehhk-!!”
Kaboom!!
The floor caved in deeply. Although it was only for a short while, the impact force was powerful enough to shake the entire gymnasium.
Soon Jongryeo landed but when his feet touched the floor, he fell to his knees instead.
Pant.. pant.. pant.
He couldn’t apply any strength to his legs and he was gasping for air. It wasn’t because of physical exhaustion or magic energy depletion. No, it was because of the voices.
“….A past life’s sin must be repaid in this one.”
“…For those who defy our creed..and break the succession..”
“..death is the only redemption.”
This…
This is the reason why he loathe to use this power. Every time he uses it, it triggers something in his mind.
He needs to switch his ‘Title’ to undo this form.
‘Status Window!!’
Title: The One Who is Guilty of Unpardonable Sins. (2+ more)
In that brief moment, Beru’s mind spun quickly.
‘This man is an enemy.’
It’d not be a problem for him to die. However, if he fell here, then this man’s spear would point towards his Sovereign next.
It was then.
…
An instinct buried deep within all Shadow Soldiers’ psyche, one designed to activate in times of great distress and override everything else, wiggled back into life.
– “Protect the Sovereign!”
At that moment, inside of Beru’s head blanked out into a ‘reset’ state and the order Jin Woo gave him, ‘defeat the enemy without harming him’ was wiped away completely.
Beru transformed into a terrifying monster in order to protect Jin-Woo. His body ballooned up to a giant proportions. His mandibles split wide open as if he were getting ready to chew on steel, and finally, his claws extended out to resemble a group of sharp blades!
“Stop!!”
Beru finished getting ready to rip apart his owner’s enemy and swung all ten of his claws and their sharp edges at his target.
Swish-!!
Just before all ten blades reached Jongryeo….
Grab!
Jin Woo managed to make it just in time.
“….I told you to stop, didn’t I?”
Jin Woo stopped both sets of Beru’s claws with his bare hands and began glaring at his soldier. Beru met that enraged glare and began shuddering.
He quickly leaped back and prostrated flat on the ground and begged for forgiveness.
“Oh, oh my liege. Mercy…..!”
Jin Woo knew what this guy was thinking of the moment he was about to act. Hell, the singular thought of ‘Protect the Sovereign’ was ringing really loud inside his head, too.
‘……..’
Jin Woo glared at Beru for a little while, before shifting his gaze away.
[Title is now set to: Idling Mundane World.]
Plop.
Jongryeo returns to his original state. He was completely spent and, unable to stand any longer, plopped down to the ground. He knew that he just come face to face with death again during that brief moment.
“Are you alright?”
Jin Woo walked closer. He was trying to push himself back up, but gave up in the end and, while keeping his gaze rooted to the floor, nodded his head.
“I am fine.”
‘Fine, my foot.’
Jin Woo growled but gently supported him up and asked.
“Why were you pushing yourself that hard? I mean, you shouldn’t have any reasons to enter my Guild while putting yourself through a wringer like this, right?”
“…..”
Indeed, this was supposed to be a simple test. More than that, this was a ‘test’ he cooked up to reject Jongryeo tactfully. But, to think, he’d be this obsessed about winning, even to the extent of using such a dangerous skill, too.
This couldn’t be chalked up to his desire to win at all costs. That was why….
“Could it be…..”
….Jin Woo cautiously asked, to avoid damaging his Alpha ego if he was wrong.
“Are you perhaps accepting me?”
“What?”
Jongryeo got flustered and formed a dazed expression of someone getting hit in the back of his head. Jin Woo tried not to show he was hurt by that.
‘So he doesn’t want me?’
But then, Jongryeo carefully reorganized his thoughts and corrected his answer.
“….Yes, I think so.”
CN: The midterm exam is starting in 7 days. I have to take an early start to study. There is so much to memorize!!
/á – Ë• -マ
I normally upload 3 chapters but this time I’ll upload extras because I won’t be back until the exam is over. Have to stay focused!!
Love you all!! ≽^>á´—<^≼ᡣð©
Wish me luck, nightcatchers!
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