As soon as he twisted his head at the chill crawling up his spine, a sharp bolt of lightning tore past right beside him. For a moment, he thought his ear was about to get blown off—then a violent impact slammed into his side.
“Guh...!”
His vision flipped as his body was flung through the air.
Cha Seohu, his white robe fluttering like a flag, crashed hard into the wall.
“Khak, huh...”
Every cough brought up blood. He wiped the stream of blood flowing beneath his mask with the back of his hand and pressed on his throbbing side.
If I hadn’t had the defensive item, my insides would’ve been shredded.
It was a stroke of luck he had already put on Wisdom of the Sky in preparation for a battle against multiple opponents.
Seohu pressed down the hat that had almost flown off and forced himself to his feet. The tip of his sword trembled from fatigue, but it wasn’t the time to collapse in relief.
Standing before him were four A-rank Hunters. One had left with the Director, and the strongest among them was still hanging back.
That meant he had to deal with three enemies at once. One used a curved blade with electric-type skills, one could turn parts of his body into steel, and the last wielded a spear and appeared to be using reinforcement-type abilities.
He was already at a disadvantage without any active skills. Taking on three A-rank Hunters at once in this state was no different than suicide.
Even if he won by some miracle, one enemy would remain, and the one who had gone with the Director might return.
A frontal assault would be hopeless.
I didn’t want to resort to this if I could help it...
Fortunately, he had a method prepared for just such a situation.
Cha Seohu pulled out an item and immediately rolled to the side. KURRUNG! A lightning strike smashed into the floor where he’d been just a moment ago.
There was no time to hesitate.
As the three enemies regrouped and charged in again, Seohu shoved the item he was holding into his mouth.
Combat Enhancement Orb
When swallowed, it temporarily boosts combat capabilities. (Duration: 5 minutes)
It was one of the items included in the “Regressor’s Growth Package” he’d purchased from the item shop.
《Combat power increased via item effect! (Time remaining: 4 minutes 59 seconds)》
《Strength: S-rank → SS-rank》
《Attack Power: S-rank → SS-rank》
《Attack Speed: S-rank → SS-rank》
《Movement Speed: S-rank → SS-rank》
《Agility: S-rank → SS-rank》
“Hrrgh... grkh!”
Energy exploded outward like a boiling surge of blood.
CRACK, SNAP! The sound of twisting bones echoed through his body. The body that had just inherited overwhelming power screamed in protest.
The artificial surge of power spreading from his heart made him nauseous.
Suppressing it, he gripped his sword and kicked off the ground. The effect duration was too short for him to waste time adjusting.
“Wh-what the?!”
The Hunter with the spear gasped as Seohu closed the distance in an instant. There was no time to react—the blade flashed white.
Realizing the glint was the sword under moonlight, the Hunter was consumed by sheer agony.
“Aaaargh!”
He couldn’t feel his arm. CLUNK—the spear and both arms holding it fell to the ground.
“Guh!”
As he screamed at the sight of his severed arms, his head rolled across the floor a second later.
“You bastard!”
Another Hunter snarled as he swung a fist now transformed into solid steel.
FWOOOM! The massive iron fist barely missed Seohu’s cheek. The gust of wind blew his hat far off into the distance.
His soft blond hair scattered in the wind, and the area around his eyes—uncovered by the mask—was now completely visible.
Half of the face he’d been hiding was now exposed, but he didn’t care.
He was going to kill them all anyway.
His muscles contracted tightly beneath his clothes, and the speed of his blade accelerated once more. As he launched a flurry of frenzied attacks, cold sweat poured down the enemy’s face like rain.
Th-the speed...!
If he just turned the hit areas into steel, he’d be fine.
But the speed and irregularity of the blade swings were far beyond the pace of his skill activation. He couldn’t keep up at all.
CLANG, CLASH, TINK!
Between the sound of blade and steel clashing, blood sprayed.
The Hunter’s body accumulated wounds rapidly—on the shoulder, face, nape—unable to keep up with Seohu’s blade.
He was being pushed back.
Realizing that, fear gripped his throat, making it even harder to track the sword.
Frightened, the Hunter covered his vital points with steel. He began transforming his neck and face, right as—
A black object flew in from somewhere and slammed into him. A sharp fluttering noise was followed by a shadow engulfing his vision.
“Fuck, what now?!”
“...!”
That was the moment Cha Seohu, waiting for just such an opening, made his move.
His sword tip pierced the target without hesitation.
“Guhk, gghh...”
The blade skewered him through the solar plexus. The Hunter, who had steeled his face and throat, vomited blood and collapsed.
Having eliminated the second one, Cha Seohu lifted his gaze. The black bird flying near him circled once in the air while meeting his eyes.
Kid...
Recognizing the familiar aura and the bird’s green eyes, Seohu immediately thought of Cha Sahyeon.
He didn’t know how or why, but it was clear this bird was connected to Sahyeon and was trying to help him.
He and the bird moved as one. Perhaps because two of their allies were already dead, the Hunter who had been standing back finally intervened.
“Crush his skull!”
THUMP, THUMP! The massive figure over two meters tall stomped forward, shaking the ground.
Its hands transformed into dark, hairy beast-like appendages—just like the Guildmaster of Ronik. Clearly, he had a body transformation skill.
SCREEE!
The bird screeched and lunged at the giant Hunter.
While it targeted the face and blocked vision, Seohu charged at the Hunter using lightning skills.
KRAK-BOOM! A bolt aimed at him from above now appeared terribly slow. With his boosted stats, Seohu evaded it easily and pushed forward.
The curved-blade Hunter gritted /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ his teeth. Just moments ago, Seohu could barely dodge his attacks.
How?!
That S-rank was barely holding himself together earlier. How could he suddenly be moving like this?
Did he have some kind of buff skill? But there was no detectable energy flow from skill usage.
CLANG!
The curved blade and sword clashed relentlessly.
At one point, the curved blade nicked Seohu’s cheek and sliced off his mask. That was the only hit he’d taken, while the Hunter’s body was slashed to ribbons.
The electricity still flowed through the blade.
It was a skill that corroded the wielder’s arm over time. The enemy would ultimately drop the weapon in agony and die.
And pain always bred hesitation, which led to openings. The Hunter had seen countless victims fall this way.
This S-rank, too, had reacted like the others—at first.
“How the hell?!”
Now pale and drenched in sweat, the Hunter shouted in horror.
How could someone act so unaffected—like he felt no pain at all?
That question was his last. Blood erupted from his neck as Seohu’s sword decapitated him with a single stroke.
Seohu gasped for breath.
That’s it. Just one more...
THUMP!
“Ugh!”
As he turned to face the Hunter being stalled by the bird, a searing pain struck his heart. He clutched his chest and doubled over.
THUMP. THUMP!
His heart pounded more violently than ever. Burning heat washed over his body as waves of pain crashed through him.
“Hrgh, guh, hah...”
Slumping against the wall, Cha Seohu watched as a system window appeared.
TING—
《Item effect has ended.》
《Warning! Item side effects detected!》
《Body has reached its limit. All skills temporarily disabled. (Remaining time: 11 hours 59 minutes)》
《Warning! Hidden Skill: Silverlight’s Blessing (S-rank) has been automatically deactivated.》
Seohu’s eyes widened in horror.
There was no mention of side effects!
《Silverlight’s Blessing (S-rank) deactivation in 3...》
《Silverlight’s Blessing (S-rank) deactivation in 2...》
《Silverlight’s Blessing (S-rank) deactivation in 1...》
《Hidden Skill: Silverlight’s Blessing (S-rank) [DEACTIVATED]》
CRACKLE!
Before he could even think of another plan, his hidden skill was forcibly shut down.
His soft blond hair turned black. His physique shrank dramatically.
The overwhelming S-rank power holding his body together vanished without a trace.
CREAK—
To make things worse, the black bird shielding him also disintegrated into shadow, unable to endure further hits.
The enemy now had the face of a beast—fangs protruding, pupils narrowed like slits.
“Rrrgh... I’ll tear your limbs off and rip out your skull.”
You’d think he’d notice the sudden transformation of Seohu’s appearance, but the beast’s sanity was long gone—overwhelmed by rage and the scent of blood.
Watching the Hunter approach, Seohu’s mind raced, but no escape came to him.
He had no usable items left. Running from an A-rank in his current state—barely able to move a finger—was impossible.
Still, Seohu didn’t give up. He churned through probability after probability, desperate for a way out.
“...This is so fucked.”
Looking up at the towering beast before him, Seohu let out a bitter smile.
As their eyes met—those glinting with bloodlust, craving more flesh—unshakable fear crawled up from deep inside him.
The beast’s clawed, black-furred hand was larger than Seohu’s head. Even knowing it would soon rip his body apart, Seohu didn’t look away.
The beast sneered at his defiance and moved his hand—
CRUNCH!
A horrible, wet sound of flesh tearing and bones shattering rang out. A cascade of bright red blood poured at Seohu’s feet.
He had been bracing for the pain, lips clenched—but now he just stared blankly ahead.
A sharp black spike had burst through the beast’s torso from the ground below.
The impaled creature choked on blood and clutched at the wound—
SCHLORP!
A shadow ripped itself out of the body and vanished into the floor. Blood rained down once more.
The hole was so large Seohu could see through to the other side. As the shadow was withdrawn, the beast—already dead—slumped backward.
THUD!
The massive body collapsed.
“Huff... huff...”
Finally free from the murderous pressure, Seohu panted heavily.
With the beast no longer blocking his view, the altar and the moonlit stained-glass window came into sight.
And in the center stood a black silhouette.
Seohu, pale as a ghost, blinked. He thought he was hallucinating, but even after checking several times, the stranger didn’t disappear.
What finally snapped Seohu back to his senses from his daze was a familiar system notification.
TING—
《Target has entered the restricted zone. Status update in progress.》
What...?
Suddenly, countless status windows flooded into view.
TING. TING. TING. TING. TING.
《Warning! Seed of Catastrophe progress has increased!》
《Warning! Seed of Catastrophe progress has increased!》
《Warning! Seed of Catastrophe progress has increased!》
《Warning! Seed of Catastrophe progress has increased!》
《Warning! Seed of Catastrophe progress has increased!》
Seohu’s fingers trembled as he read the densely packed notifications.
《Warning! Seed of Catastrophe progress has exceeded 50%!》
《Seed memory synchronization in progress. (Current sync level: 60%)》
What the hell is this...
Memory Synchronization
Triggered automatically once the Seed of Catastrophe surpasses 50%.
The Seed remembers and stores everything, and its host begins to be affected.
Shit...
Seohu swore internally—not because he understood the situation, but because one thing was clear:
The familiar aura brushing against his skin, and the status windows, were all telling him who that man walking toward him was.
“Why the long face?”
A soft voice came from beyond the shadows.
“You came all this way to save me.”
As Seohu slowly raised his gaze from the system screen, the man stepped out of the smoke and shadows.
Black hair fluttered in the breeze. A gleaming green sapphire earring sparkled beneath it.
“You should be happy. I made it back alive.”
Cha Sahyeon smiled deeply as he reunited with Seohu.
“Brother.”
User Info: Sahyeon (The Villain)
Age: 22
Primary Skill: Living Shadow (L-rank)
Title: The Master of Shadows
Attack Power: L-rank
Attack Speed: L-rank
Movement Speed: L-rank
Agility: L-rank
Special Status ▼
└ Seed of Catastrophe (62% progress) (60% sync complete)

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