episode_0024

As the sun set, the moon rose.

Gazing at the night sky, I was reminded that this was another world.

‘Not because there are two moons.’

It was just that the starlight was so vivid.

Though sparse, the Milky Way was faintly visible—a sight impossible to behold in the modern era.

Sip.

I drank water and pondered.

Lozante, the Saint candidate.

Bringing her into the fold would be ideal, but it might not be so simple.

‘Since Ermé chose her, her personality must be decent enough.’

Annoyingly, Lucia had latched onto me.

I wasn’t sure what she thought of me yet. Judging by her gaze, she seemed to want me for herself.

‘It feels like she’s deliberately leaving me be.’

Was she planning to nurture me before pulling me into her faction?

From that perspective, she might even allow Lozante to join.

But if that happened—

‘I don’t trust Lozante.’

That wasn’t ideal. If I couldn’t trust a party member with my life, who could I trust?

‘Maybe some form of coercion?’

But what?

Threatening a priest—what could she possibly do in a real crisis?

The thought felt unnecessarily cruel.

Too many stray thoughts cluttered my mind.

—At times like these, I should just swing my sword.

Had she sensed my unease?

Lysiel spoke to me.

‘Swinging a sword, huh.’

To think that swinging a blade was the solution to a cluttered mind.

The funny part was, I somewhat agreed with the idea.

Had I grown that accustomed to this world?

I nodded and sought a quiet place. Though the orphanage was full of children, the nights were silent.

Still, just in case—

I stepped deeper inside and gripped a sword in each hand.

Dual-wielding.

Most who saw it called it trash.

‘But it suits me better than I thought.’

I swung the blades.

Not something as vicious as Dark Moon.

What I needed was—

‘Lysiel.’

I manifested her sword in my right hand. Her blade was light, perfect for offense.

If the right was for attack, the left had to be for defense.

So, the left hand—

‘Sharply.’

While a smooth sword was ideal, I still didn’t know what that felt like.

So, I swung as best I could—

‘Wait, I do have reference material.’

Ermé watched from the side, firing arrows.

Her swordsmanship was quite advanced.

‘Balance, was it?’

Her style was incredibly stable.

A fundamental swordplay with no bias toward any extreme.

In other words, it lacked advantages in any specific battle.

No glaring strengths, but no weaknesses either—a style suited to Ermé’s one-handed approach.

‘Can’t it be more defensive?’

Teresa’s style focused on single, decisive strikes. The elves, including Lysiel, were inferior copies of Dark Moon.

‘And those so-called Scavengers—’

They were utter trash.

A swordsmanship that disregarded their own lives, content with inflicting even the smallest wounds on the enemy.

If I wanted a defensive style—

‘Reference material.’

The books I’d devoured at the adventurer’s guild before entering the labyrinth.

They were there.

And among them—

‘Volkan.’

His sword was solid, heavy. Against an ordinary blade, the sheer force of his strikes could shatter it.

‘I’ve seen it a few times.’

Would it work?

I was a novice when it came to swords.

But I trusted in my Gift, Sword Mastery.

And my skill—Swordsmanship Level.

‘Just mimic it.’

I recalled Volkan’s sword. His strikes were fierce, fast.

But—

‘The rhythm was broken.’

The hardest part of his swordsmanship was its cadence.

The moment I tried to attack—

Volkan’s blade would always crush me.

He claimed he was gauging my skill, but—

‘He was also showing me his sword.’

As if daring me to steal it if I could.

That tendency grew stronger after I stole the elf’s sword.

I closed my eyes.

Sketching Volkan’s movements like a painting, dissecting them one by one.

Adapting them to fit me.

‘This…’

Volkan’s swordsmanship was reassembled. Of course, I couldn’t replicate his strength, and there were plenty of gaps if compared to his true skill.

[Skill, Swordsmanship Level has increased.]

“Huff.”

—Y-You… What kind of sword is that…?

I swung the blade.

Was this what a forcibly crafted genius looked like?

In my past life, my body wouldn’t obey me—now, it moved on its own.

Volkan’s sword began to meld seamlessly into mine.

After swinging for a while—

I smiled in satisfaction.

[Skill, Swordsmanship Level has increased.]

This would do.

—

After finishing my sword practice, my mind felt clearer.

‘Let’s not get dragged around.’

The conclusion I’d reached after much deliberation.

My status screen was fine, Lucia was fine—

But being led around by them didn’t seem like it’d end well.

From the start, my circumstances had been forced.

What happened was already done—I’d done my best within the given situation.

‘If possible, recruit the Saint candidate. But don’t rely on Lucia or the others.’

That was my decision.

Ermé might think differently, though.

I stashed my swords in a hidden space and walked, stretching my arms.

Then, I sensed several presences.

‘Kids from the orphanage?’

I wasn’t fond of children, so I deliberately kept my distance.

Others were different, but dealing with brats was the most annoying thing in the world to me.

But kids sneaking out late at night was another matter.

‘This is troublesome.’

I sighed deeply and moved to chase them.

But something felt off.

They were too fast for children.

‘Who is it?’

I sped up.

Thanks to having mastered Thief’s Pinnacle for so long, my footsteps were nearly silent, and I could sprint swiftly through the darkness.

Then, I saw it.

An adult-sized figure kidnapping a child.

‘A kidnapping?’

Why kidnap from an orphanage?

Most children were either chosen by Gifts or placed under strict supervision.

Those left behind had no notable Gifts.

‘What’s the point?’

Curious, I buried myself in the shadows and watched.

‘What should I do?’

Killing the kidnapper here was one option.

But there was likely someone behind this.

As I pondered, I realized there was another pursuer.

A woman with twilight-like crimson hair and eyes.

Ermé.

And—

‘Lozante?’

She looked different now.

The drunken, carefree act was gone—replaced by solemn focus.

‘Was it all an act?’

Or was the situation just that urgent?

Through a sniper’s eyes in the dark, the kidnapped child didn’t seem special.

But still—

‘It feels similar to Ermé’s case.’

A strange sense of kinship, as if something inside resonated.

A presence similar to mine.

If so, the kidnapped one might be a Hero candidate.

‘No wonder it felt off.’

Were they targeting Hero candidates?

Then that guy—

‘Which candidate is it?’

With Lozante here, it couldn’t be the Saint.

So, Thief, Warrior, or Mage?

‘Who is it?’

Curiosity stirred. Either way, with those two together, it was a fight worth considering.

‘Let’s tail them.’

I hid in the shadows.

Tailing was easy—just remember the target and follow without being noticed.

With Thief’s Pinnacle and Sniper, there was no difficulty.

“Who’s there?!”

“Damn, we’ve been spotted!”

The problem was Ermé and Lozante getting caught.

As the pursuers shouted, figures swarmed from all directions.

‘They were well-prepared.’

None seemed particularly dangerous. But Ermé was at a disadvantage protecting Lozante.

In that case—

‘Let’s take out just one.’

Squeak.

From the shadows, I aimed at the most threatening one—a bald man covered in tattoos, looking like a thug.

‘His raw strength alone would’ve been trouble for Ermé alone.’

But with Lozante to protect, he was the biggest nuisance.

So—

Charged Shot.

This wasn’t the labyrinth but the city’s heart.

I didn’t unleash explosive force like before—just sharp precision.

Mana drained away. About 10% of my total pooled into the arrow.

Then, I released the bowstring.

Whoosh—!

The arrow vanished into the dark, tracing a trajectory—straight through the man’s skull.

‘Direct hit.’

The arrow pierced his head and embedded itself into the ground.

No retrieving that one.

A moment later, a thud echoed.

The sound of his body collapsing.

I slipped back into the shadows and resumed tailing the kidnapper.

—

“Tch, what a hassle.”

“I’m sorry.”

At Ermé’s words, Lozante bowed her head. Ermé suppressed the urge to sigh.

She glanced around.

But saw nothing.

‘Thankfully, he’s gone.’

For a moment, her carefully crafted mask nearly slipped. She always had to speak formally, but being summoned so suddenly must’ve thrown her off.

‘Of all days, today…’

She’d planned to recruit Lozante here. Originally, it was supposed to be tomorrow.

‘Something changed.’

At least it wasn’t a complete disaster.

She studied Lozante—black hair, golden eyes. Unlike earlier, she now seemed perfectly lucid.

Of course. This woman had been acting all along.

“But that earlier…?”

“Our party’s thief.”

Ermé answered Lozante’s question.

The most troublesome enemy had been eliminated in an instant. A half-buried arrow remained in his wake.

‘What a relief.’

And yet, it was chilling.

Had that arrow been aimed at her—could she have dodged?

‘No…’

To be precise, she could’ve avoided a headshot.

But one of her limbs wouldn’t have escaped unscathed.

That arrow was that stealthy, that destructive.

‘I’m really lucky.’

That Han Yuseong had been pulled to her side.

“What do we do now?”

“…That.”

Han Yuseong had sniped one target and vanished into the dark—clearly pursuing the kidnapper.

‘But how do we track the kidnapper…?’

She thought it was hopeless—until—

‘…How considerate.’

Ermé smirked. The mark she’d seen in the labyrinth.

It was there.

“Found it. Let’s go.”

“Huh? Wh-What?”

“Our party member seems to be tailing the kidnapper separately.”

Ermé led Lozante toward the marked path.

The deeper they went—

The heavier the sense of foreboding grew.

“I-Is this really okay?”

“Yes…”

Ermé tensed.

Blood flooded the surroundings.

And corpses.

Savage sword wounds.

A scene like a riot had erupted.

‘Even if this is the slums…’

This was too extreme.

With grim expressions, Ermé and Lozante pressed forward.

And there—

They saw Han Yuseong, standing in silence.

An inexplicably weary look on his face.

And beyond him—

‘That’s…’

A figure emerged from the darkness.

—

[Sub Quest]

Path of Light.

Chapter 2. Shadow of Darkness.

You’ve uncovered the identity of a covert faction.

On the surface, they’re known as Rebellion—a group of traitors.

And you’ve discovered they’ve been kidnapping future threats—Hero candidates—for bizarre experiments.

Stop them.

—

The quest window appeared the moment I stepped into the building.

Bodies and blood littered the floor.

All their faces were frozen in horror.

They’d all been killed.

‘Poison…?’

The method was strange.

They’d all killed each other.

Someone had tried to disguise it with slashes, but it couldn’t fool Thief’s Pinnacle.

‘Is there someone dangerous here?’

But if their skill was at this level, I could probably handle it.

I hesitated briefly.

I’d left marks for Ermé and Lozante—would they really follow?

‘If they come, it should be manageable.’

As I debated—

Lysiel whispered to me.

—Be careful.

I looked ahead.

Step. Step.

A figure emerged from the shadows. Clad in black stealth gear, splattered with blood.

‘Not here with good intentions.’

I gripped my sword, ready to fight.

But the shadowed figure didn’t approach.

Just stared from afar.

“So, you’re the one who ruined everything. I thought Ermé was interfering with our plans—but it was you.”

“…?”

Seemed like a massive misunderstanding.

As I opened my mouth to explain—

“You ruined the culling of sprouts, stole our marks, stopped the elf uproar, used the Scavengers to block our operations—it was all you, wasn’t it?”

“….”

Had I really done that much?

More importantly, I was involved in all of it.

“You’re our greatest enemy.”

The figure smiled brightly. I couldn’t fathom their intentions.

‘This feels unfair.’

—Didn’t you ruin everything?

Lysiel responded to my protest.

Shut up.