"Against the advance of the undead, the Oathbound of Shadow waited for the right moment.The moment when the distance was close enough, and the undead horde would strike first toward the west gate.The moment when they could block the attack and launch a counterstrike—the moment when the hunting squad could be deployed."
"We need to focus on minimizing damage and reducing their numbers...""Whew, thank goodness I'm a mercenary not expected to die for this. If I were one of the Oathbound, I'd already have a headache just looking at those undead.""Better to slack off and just collect the reward, I guess."
A mix of thoughts flowed together.The distance between the undead forces with ranged support and the tower had narrowed.Richard gave a signal to the person standing atop the magical barrier.A signal to prepare for the attack.Someone gulped nervously.At last, the distance had closed enough. Just as the command was about to be given—
"Atta... c— huh?""Wait, who is that?"
A violent gale swept across the battlefield.The gust, summoned from the true name of Shadow, cut across the lines—rushing straight into the ranks of the undead, who were poised for battle.It was so unexpected that no one could react in time.Neither the undead,nor the Oathbound of the Dead,nor—
"Shall I fight mainly with the sword this time?"
"[Why! Why won't you use my sword!]"
Han Yuseong didn't miss the opportunity.Standing before the horde of undead, he raised his sword high and roared.And before the undead, now reacting too late, could strike—he slammed the blade into the ground.
The earth cracked open, and from the rift, destructive energy surged forth.
—KWABABABABANG!—GRAAAGHHH...!—CRRK, GRRK, GRAAAH!
With a violent explosion,
[The Mask of Chaos is responding.][Additional effect: Area increased. The range of the next spell will expand!]
CRRRK-CRACK!
The shadows around him surged upward all at once.The shadows transformed into countless weapons,and as they shot outward over a wider area,they mercilessly pierced through the undead and minions.
Han Yuseong charged directly toward the undead commander.Stomping the ground with force, he infused his sword with mana,spun his body in a wide arc—and unleashed a sweeping slash that cleaved through the undead.
SLASH!
The sword aura, flung like a comet,sliced cleanly through enemies even farther beyond.
Halden-style Sword Art, Form 3: 'Full Moon.'
The undead formation collapsed in an instant under Yeon Mieun's assault.Han Yuseong cut down the undead who had yet to rise,hunting the minions lurking in the gaps between their ranks.Finally, the stunned Oathbound began to move.
"W-What the hell is that guy?! He took out all those undead at once!""Summon more undead! Quick! We need to replenish the frontline! Our job is to delay them from breaking through!""Is that an Eye?! Who the hell is he?! Get him back immediately!""Just raise the shadows for now! We have to support our casters!"
Chaos and panic swept across the battlefield.Who could have predicted this? Both allies and enemies were equally shaken.But Richard, watching it all unfold, had a different thought:This situation... isn't bad for us at all!
BOOOOM! CRACKLE!
Han Yuseong now had complete control over the center of the undead army.Arrows and spells rained down on him—but the ice wall he summoned, and the shadows swirling around him, blocked the attacks.As the undead exposed their flanks in the chaos, the allied mages struck them down.
"Now! Attack them!"
—GRAAAGHH!—CRRK... GHRRKK...!
The number of undead began to dwindle rapidly.And with the Eye's support behind them,Han Yuseong continued to cut through minions and undead alike.Before long, he had gathered all the gold he needed.
"Now I just need to go buy my items."
"...Huh?"
Han Yuseong, having done all he needed to, exited the battlefield like a storm wind fading into the distance.Yoon Garam, watching this, let out a stunned noise.Just like before—again.But this time, something was different.
"...Richard, I'm going after him. I'll be back soon.""What? Yoon Garam, where are you going—!"
Without hesitation, Yoon Garam chased after Han Yuseong.She had a feeling—that man was about to do something significant.And she wanted to witness it with her own eyes.There was another reason, too:
"Maybe... I'll find out how that mercenary managed to defeat me."
With that thought, Yoon Garam wrapped herself in shadows and dashed after him.
System Message
Minions, monsters, and Oathbound all drop Gold.There are shops located at each faction's base and scattered across the battlefield,where you can use that gold to purchase items that enhance your stats.
Undead enemies also drop gold.
[You have defeated a Skeleton Warrior. Gold +5.]
[You have defeated a Skeleton Archer. Gold +5.]
[You have defeated an elite minion. Gold +60.]
Naturally, though, the amount of gold they drop is overwhelmingly small.
To earn the same amount of gold as one elite minion,you'd have to kill 12 undead.But what really mattered was this:there were that many undead.If hundreds of players had to split them,the sheer numbers meant nothing.
But what if one person could take them all?
[Current Gold: 1,700G][You have purchased "Blood-Stained Machete (Rare)" and "Longsword (Common)."]
Blood-Stained Machete (Rare): +20% damage against monsters, +15% movement speed when in combat.Also, the machete grows stronger with each set number of monsters hunted.
Longsword (Common): +30 Attack Power.
Han Yuseong had gathered more than enough gold.Arriving at a shop stationed on the battlefield, he spent everything he had to purchase his items.The most important one: the Blood-Stained Machete.Because the more monsters you killed with it, the more it grew in power.
"It's best to have it from the very start of monster hunting."
The items transformed into glowing orbs and began floating around him.War-grade items didn't need to be equipped physically—just buying them activated their effects, manifested as these hovering spheres.
"Huff… Alright. First, I should—"
"Wait! Huuuhh… please, hold on!"
"Huh?"
Just as Han Yuseong was about to move, someone called out to him.It was a woman with a cold expression—Yoon Garam, running toward him in haste.She arrived at his side, head bowed, catching her breath.
"You followed me?"
"Yes. I came to confirm something—no, to support you.""Support me? I don't need it."
He meant it.Sure, she was a capable Oathbound and could be of help—but not having her wouldn't make a difference.In fact, Han Yuseong preferred moving alone.
Yoon Garam then lowered her head with a serious expression.
"I won't get in your way.""Well, in that case... I won't wait if you fall behind.""That's fine. I can keep up—"
But before she could finish her sentence, a gust of wind howled past her.Han Yuseong had suddenly burst forward, propelled by a violent whirlwind.The same movement technique she had seen earlier.And seeing it again—it was still absurdly fast.
"...Okay, maybe I can't say I'm confident about that."
Still, she had no choice but to chase after him.Yoon Garam ran at full speed after Han Yuseong.Luckily, she didn't lose him.Not because she was fast enough to keep pace—but because Han Yuseong occasionally stopped to hunt monsters.
BOOOM!
—KIIIEEEHHH...!
One of those monsters was a Raptor—a creature with the upper body of a bird and the lower body of a dinosaur.Han Yuseong unleashed the Halden-style Sword Technique, Form 2: Rupture,and the monster was torn apart by his strike.
Fragments of earth scraped up by the force of Han Yuseong's strike shot out like buckshot,piercing through the bodies of the Raptors.
'Fast.'
In the blink of an eye, he took them down—and once again, he launched himself off the ground.
More monsters tried to block his path after that:Blazing Wolves, Twisted Larvae, Water Elementals, Wild Bombers…But the results were always the same.Just like the Raptors, they were cut down without resistance.
'And strong. His speed, his swordsmanship, and even… ice magic?'
Yoon Garam, who had been following behind and observing the battles, was stunned.His footwork was impossibly fast, his sword techniques overwhelming—and on top of that, he wielded both shadow and ice magic.
Every single one of his skills was powerful,and yet, one player was using them all.
'A magic swordsman? No, it's something different—something beyond that. What is he?'
What kind of class did he have to possess all of this?
As she watched Han Yuseong cutting down monster after monster,Yoon Garam pondered over it.
And then, suddenly—she realized something was off.
She blinked.
Monsters were everywhere... but no undead.
The Oathbound of the Dead were supposed to be using undead forcesto attack the Shadow Domain,using the monsters as a distraction to bind their opponents.
But here—where Han Yuseong was—
not a single undead was in sight.
Was it because he had come too far ahead?
No, that wasn't it.
Even when she turned around to look behind them—there was no sign of the undead approaching at all.
'It's almost like… they're deliberately avoiding this area…'
That thought flashed through her mind.And soon, the reason became clear.
Han Yuseong, continuing eastward, had gone quite a distance.The number of monsters blocking his path began to decrease—and the terrain around them started to change.
SSSHHHHHK!
"Urgh…!"
Pockets of green liquid had pooled on the ground.Yoon Garam instinctively held her breath—because she immediately knew what it was.
Poison.And not just any poison—a deadly toxin strong enough to melt armor.
It didn't take much to figure out what that meant.
"This area… there's an Epic Monster here."
The territory of an Epic Monster.
When an epic monster appears on the battlefield, it alters the surrounding environment.Judging from the thick, noxious poison blanketing the area,it was likely 'Toxic Dragon Luikeros'.
Poison-type monsters are generally avoided by most players—and if it's strong enough to melt armor,even Necromancers would find it tough to handle.
"That poison's brutal. Are you still going in?""Yeah. You don't need to follow. Wait here if it's too much."
"Will you be alright? If this is where Luikeros is,that level of poison won't be easy to endure."
Han Yuseong didn't answer.He simply kept walking forward.
Clearly, he had a way to withstand it.If that was the case, there was nothing more to ask.
Yoon Garam, having made up her mind, followed silently behind him.
"If I get poisoned, I won't blame you.""If it gets too dangerous, I'll fall back.""Then that's fine."
The poisonous fog around them grew steadily denser.Poisonous swamps began to appear here and there,and not far ahead, the presence of a powerful being could be felt.
'Toxic Dragon Luikeros… I guess I should call this lucky.'
Han Yuseong let out a faint smirk.He had been using Predator's Sense to track monster auras,and was moving toward the strongest signature he could find.
He had been confident it would lead him to an Epic Monster—and it turned out he was right.He hadn't expected it to be a toxic dragon, but still…
'If it's a toxic dragon, this'll be even easier.'
From the start, it didn't matter what type of Epic Monster it was.Most players would avoid fighting a Toxic Dragon at all costs—but to Han Yuseong, it was arguably the easiest kind of foe.
'I've already upgraded the machete enough for decent damage output.'
He glanced at the glowing orbs floating around him.The Blood-Stained Machete had changed in appearance,no longer the same as when he first bought it.
[You have hunted enough monsters. Blood-Stained Machete has been upgraded.][Blood-Stained Machete (Unique): +40% damage against monsters, +20% attack speed,+20% movement speed when out of combat.The machete grows stronger when hunting powerful monsters.]
Increased damage, increased attack speed.That was more than enough.With those boosts and his current skillset, the Epic Monster — Toxic Dragon Luikeros was far from a difficult opponent.
Han Yuseong stepped forward, pushing through the poisonous mist.
—Ssssshhhrrrrrk...—
In that moment, he felt a chilling gaze.A stare as if sizing up prey—and a surge of killing intent that followed it.
Han Yuseong summoned a burst of Bloodwind, blowing away the thick poison around him.And beyond the swirling fog, the source of that gaze finally revealed itself.
—Ssssshhhhiiiihhh...—
"So this is the toxic dragon. Ugly thing."
The creature resembled a giant serpentine beast—like a corrupted Imoogi.Its body was coated in a hardened armor made of poison,and from the gaps between its plates, noxious fumes oozed constantly.Its grotesque, maned face and glowing violet eyes locked onto its prey.
—SHYAAAAAAAHHH!!—
With a roar, the Toxic Dragon released a wave of deadly venom,flooding the area in a cloud of lethal miasma.Yoon Garam recoiled instinctively, forced to retreat from the intensity.
In stark contrast, Han Yuseong stepped forward.He inhaled deeply—almost as if trying to absorb the poison.
["Venom Mastery" activated.][The poison invading your body is being automatically neutralized.][Additionally, the absorbed toxins are being converted to strengthen your body…][You are affected by a Deadly Poison. All stats increased by +25%!]
And indeed, that's exactly what he intended.He had done it to activate the skill, Venom Mastery.Han Yuseong felt the poison accumulate inside him,and as it was neutralized, its energy spread through his body—amplifying his strength.
He tightened his grip on his sword.
"I've got a lot to do—so let's end this quickly."
—KIIIIHAAAHHHH!—
The toxic dragon let out a roar and lunged toward him.
Han Yuseong raised his sword, aura flaring—and charged straight in to meet it.