“I feel like we’ve had our fill of killing monsters, and yet here we are again.”
“What can we do? They said this was the best option.”
Kwaaaang!
Sa-yoon, who had tamed a wyvern to use as his personal mount, shot back a reply to Lee Jaehee as he sent another wyvern plummeting to the ground. Jaehee, perched atop his griffin, gestured with his hand. The griffin opened its golden beak and unleashed its Fear aura. The tangible, golden aura spiraled outwards, expanding its range and sweeping over dozens of wyverns that were charging head-on. The creatures lost their balance and staggered in the air. A moment later, as the aura struck their minds, the wyverns that had been struggling to right themselves froze completely.
“Covering them.”
Geon-joo, who was riding behind Sa-yoon with his arms around his waist, summoned his shadows as if he’d been waiting for the signal. The shadows spread out like a net above the wyverns’ heads and rained down, clinging thickly to their red and blue hides.
—Kieeeek!
The wyverns thrashed within the sticky shadows, like flies caught in a Venus flytrap.
“The affinity advantage is definitely working in our favor.”
When dealing with the red and blue types, Han Geon-joo’s shadow ability, which was technically a curse-type skill, was proving to be quite effective. Sa-yoon observed the immobilized and confused wyverns, then drew Dawn of Spring. He infused the blade, with its deceptively gentle design, with the energy of frost. As a chill enveloped the sword, he swung it. A flash of frozen energy shot out and struck the wyverns.
—Kiiiiik!
The creatures let out shrill screams. But the shrieks, which grew sharper and thinner, soon faded into nothingness. The wyverns’ bodies had been frozen solid.
Starting from their flanks where the attack had landed, the ice crept steadily upwards, enveloping their faces and finally freezing their hearts. With their wings also frozen solid, the wyverns couldn’t even mount a proper counterattack and fell helplessly from the sky. It was the result of a perfect combo: the griffin’s Fear to disorient them, and Han Geon-joo’s shadows to inflict a state of paralysis.
Sa-yoon glanced at the clear condition window.
<To clear, you must achieve all of the following conditions:> [Slay Red Wyverns 82/300] [Slay Blue Wyverns 82/300] [Slay Black Wyverns 7/100] [Slay the Chieftain 0/1]
This should be over sooner than I thought.
He had expected they could clear it in less than a day—after all, it was three S-Ranks who had conquered an L-Rank Gate together—but the reality was even better than he had imagined. They had already completed about a third of the conditions. Excluding the two minutes Sa-yoon had spent taming his wyvern, this was a remarkable feat achieved in just eight minutes.
I’ve been to a Wyvern Gate with the Night Rat guys before.
He had taken the most skilled executives from the guild, but even then, they hadn’t come close to this speed. He remembered how Gyeongjin used to curse Yen out whenever he herded a massive flock of wyverns, screaming that luring a hundred at a time wasn’t mob hunting,¹ it was a suicide pact. Gyeongjin, all talk and no nerve, would even start vomiting behind the lines while Sa-yoon sided with Yen and began slaughtering the wyverns. Chanhee would pat his back, and Jongsik would be the one to protect them both while felling the beasts.
That was when I realized Jongsik had a real talent for hand-to-hand combat.
He’d wondered why a guy who was a mediocre swordsman was an S-Rank, but he understood after seeing his martial prowess. He had probably started recommending mutu training to him right after that day.
Now that I can’t see them, I’m thinking of them again. I wonder if they’re doing the jobs I gave them.
Sa-yoon snapped out of his reverie and sharply leaned back on his blue wyvern. The movement was so acrobatic that his back nearly touched the creature’s scales, forcing Han Geon-joo, who was behind him, to fall back with a startled yelp. A burst of flame passed right over their heads. The red wyvern that had missed its attack let out a displeased hiss.
“Pretty Boy.”
“Doing it now.”
Having synchronized their rhythm countless times in the Tower, they now moved as one. No sooner had he righted himself than shadows shot out to cover the wyvern’s vision. The red wyvern thrashed its head left and right in confusion. In that opening, Sa-yoon’s tamed wyvern sank its teeth into the vulnerable nape of its enemy’s neck.
Kwaduk!
With the sound of tearing flesh, blood rained down below. Its neck grievously wounded, the wyvern soon plummeted to the ground. Kwaaaang! A deafening crash confirmed its death. Sa-yoon’s mount continued to fly, casually chewing on the flesh as a mid-flight meal.
“How about we do some mob hunting, Jaehee?”
The old memory had sparked an idea. He gave the signal to the man flying alongside him, and Jaehee summoned Shiro. The nine-tailed fox appeared majestically, its tails spread wide, only to realize it was in mid-air and begin to flail its four paws in a panic. As Shiro struggled desperately not to fall, Jaehee spoke.
“You can fly once you have six tails, Shiro.”
Pyapyaw?
At its summoner’s words, the nine-tailed fox, which had been paddling so frantically it was breaking a sweat, tilted its head. When it stopped moving, it didn’t fall. As expected of a gumiho, said to be the pinnacle of yokai.
Sa-yoon watched the fox look down at its own floating body in apparent confusion and let out a chuckle.
“What’s the use of growing more tails if your intelligence doesn’t keep up?”
Piiik!
As he laughed and teased the simple-minded fox, Shiro let out a sharp cry, its tails bristling with indignation. It was Jaehee who intervened.
“Shiro, could you bring the wyverns to us using your charm?”
At its partner’s considerate request, the nine-tailed fox calmed down and nodded. Jaehee smiled gently.
“I’m counting on you, then.”
Pyapyaw!
With a courageous reply, the gumiho kicked off the air and shot towards the wyverns. Soon, Shiro began to emit its Fear aura. The disoriented wyverns were easily exposed to its charm. Shiro then flew straight ahead, leading dozens of wyverns, and vanished from sight in an instant.
“I told it to bring the wyverns, where is it going?”
“It seems to be trying to gather more.”
“Hmm?”
Just how many is it planning to bring back?
With intrigued eyes, Sa-yoon followed in the direction Shiro had gone. The nine-tailed fox reappeared three minutes later.
Tadadadadak!
The sound of hundreds of wingbeats overlapped, creating a roar like a massive aircraft. In a flash, Shiro, having created this thunderous noise, came running back, wagging its tails. As it got closer, its bright face, and the horde of wyverns following it, came into clear view.
“Shiro?”
A bewildered voice escaped Jaehee. Sa-yoon blinked, wondering if he was seeing things correctly.
It was one thing for the fox to return. But the number of wyverns trailing behind it was absurd.
“Just how many are there…?”
Han Geon-joo, who was behind him, muttered as if in a trance. Sa-yoon looked at Shiro, who was leading a flock of no less than two hundred wyverns, and let out a hollow laugh. He suddenly felt the urge to use his Genius’s Eye. He used the skill on Shiro, and a system window appeared. Sa-yoon ignored the rest of the information and went straight to its status.
‘I, Shiro, am pranking the arrogant human. Master, please evade!’
This adorable little fox.
His premonition had not been wrong; the status window had been well worth checking.
So it brought this many back just to mess with me.
The fact that it had the presence of mind to warn its own master, Lee Jaehee, was particularly cheeky. Sa-yoon watched the tsunami of wyverns rushing toward them, then reached a hand back and tapped Geon-joo on the head.
“Get out the Holy Water, pretty boy.”
“You’re going to do it now?”
“If not now, when? That fox has set the perfect stage for us.”
He had been trying to calculate the right moment to use their demigod bodies anyway. Rather than agonizing over it, it seemed just as well to use it now and clear the quest conditions in one fell swoop. At his suggestion, Han Geon-joo took out the Holy Water² and handed it to him.
[Holy Water (SSS)] Sacred water blessed by a god. You can experience a god’s blessing upon consumption.
- Recovers all mana and stamina upon consumption.
- Increases stats by 10% for 1 minute upon consumption.
- Invincible for 30 seconds immediately after consumption.
This was Holy Water, an item that was priceless. By Sa-yoon’s standards, it was a waste to use it on clearing a single S-Rank Gate, but if it was to test their demigod bodies, that was another story. He downed it without hesitation. The necklace he was wearing began to throb, then floated into the air. The divine item glittered in the sun’s light as it rose higher and higher.
Wait, if it goes up that high…
Sa-yoon’s eyes narrowed. The divine item, having risen so high that it was straining against the necklace’s chain, finally broke through it and floated free. With a soft tak, the chain snapped, and a stinging pain shot through his neck.
“Ah!”
A similar phenomenon must have occurred behind him, as he heard Geon-joo’s cry of pain. Ruin and Keltar, the two divine items, floated up and finally met at a single point. The moment the two ring-shaped necklaces overlapped…
“……!”
A blinding light erupted. A searing heat, like facing the sun itself, washed over them. The charging wyverns shrieked and thrashed. The griffin and Shiro cried out in pain, and the wyverns Sa-yoon and Geon-joo were riding also let out pained noises. As Lee Jaehee raised an arm to shield his eyes from the light, a golden status window appeared before Sa-yoon and Geon-joo.
<You have consumed Holy Water. The hidden set effect of the divine item is unlocked.> <The hidden privilege, Demigod Body, is now activated!> [Demigod Body (L)] All gods have a mantra bestowed by the balance. Souls who once bore the karma of a god can use half of that power.
As the text of the status window entered his vision, Sa-yoon bit down hard on his lip. His head felt like it was splitting apart. Forget the demigod body; it felt like someone was swinging an axe inside his brain. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head as if to fight off the agony.
It hurts.
Dammit, these bastards are always like this.
If there was a penalty like this, you should have told us beforehand.
This wasn’t the first or second time, and his anger flared. Just then, he felt an intangible hand caress his head.
No, he wasn’t sure if he felt it or if it was a memory. He couldn’t tell if the sensation was in reality or if he was trapped in the past. As his eyelashes trembled, a gentle touch and a clear voice echoed at the edge of his hearing.
Child of the Sun. To you who will succeed—, I give you your first duty. Through any trial, you shall…
“…be great.”
The words were whispered as if in a trance. As the small whisper escaped into the world, the Dawn of Spring, which he had been holding, rose of its own accord and touched the divine items.
Shuk!
He felt as if he had cut through something unseen. Immediately, a rift appeared in the space of the Gate, and a light brighter than anything he had ever seen before streamed inside.
Like the dawn.
Yes, just like the light of the sun.
Thump, thump.
His heart pulsed. Sa-yoon felt the warmth and slowly opened his eyes.
Kiiiiii….
The thrashing wyverns stopped moving. And then, all at once, they began to fall.