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Chapter 327

“Chomp, chomp. I think a little more poison would be better, don’t you think?”

“Really? Then I’ll just add a bit more corpse juice.”

In response to Yeon-woo, Sullivan dropped a few drops from a dropper into a flask filled with a transparent liquid nearby. As the majestic colors swirled, it began to shimmer a yellowish hue.

Yeon-woo grabbed the flask without hesitation and used a clean glass rod to pour a drop into her mouth. Sullivan, watching from the side, made a weird face and said, “Ugh, I can’t believe you would even think of eating that.”

“That’s just talent, you know.”

Normally, this kind of role would be Tae-oh’s, but when Tae-oh was busy playing, Yeon-woo would eat it instead and just ask Tae-oh to analyze the results.

Ugh, it tastes really terrible. Tae-oh has a divine-like ability to make anything taste good, but Yeon-woo wasn’t that lucky and just had to withstand it.

As she waited for Tae-oh’s analysis, a purifying effect erupted in her mouth, causing Yeon-woo to hurriedly turn her head and open her mouth towards the sky.

With a refreshing sensation that felt like it was cleansing her mind, silvery smoke began to rise from her mouth.

“If you sold this as a mouthwash, it would definitely catch some people’s attention.”

“Are you crazy? Why would you use a purification potion for exorcising undead as mouthwash? Did your brain get purified too?”

“Uhm. I really do feel like that’s what’s happening. Oh, how about we sell it in prisons? I think this could reform even death row inmates.”

“That actually sounds kinda fun.”

The two boys giggled as they mixed and distributed the concoction. The reason was simple. With the mana enhancement potions now safely on the market, it was time to dive back into potion development for tackling the undead.

Many Cults of Oblivion settled in the North Sea were still being uprooted, but ultimately Toyo’s Demon King’s power came not from the cult but from his own necromancy.

A being that raises high-level undead like mere zombies or skeletons, truly fitting the term “one-man army.” That’s Toyo’s Demon King.

While not much else is known about him except for his powerful necromancy, high-performance purification potions were essential before discovering the Demon King’s lair.

And Sullivan just loved explosive potions. It’s said that most talented individuals have a somewhat crazy streak, and that description fit perfectly.

“Ah, it feels refreshing to create an explosion after so long.”

“You lunatic. I think if I didn’t pick you up, you would have become infamous as an unlicensed alchemist.”

“Yeah, I think so too.”

Suddenly recalling something, I remembered hearing about some weird alchemist selling strange potions in the back alleys. Maybe that was Sullivan.

“I heard he blew up a prison and escaped. That’s highly likely.”

Entering the prison was probably his fault, but unleashing all those heinous criminals is…

Perhaps I might have a talent for reforming villains. But maybe I just got lucky.

“Ugh, I should be going now. Keep working hard, my slave.”

“Yes, master.”

After exchanging playful farewells, Yeon-woo exited the lab first. From now on, it was all about accumulation. I had to stack tools for war like a mountain in the warehouse, where it would later be a battlefield.

*

The sword splits into a thousand, ten thousand shards. It felt like being enveloped in clouds or mist. A fog composed of sword particles surrounded me.

“…Hah.”

When Yeon-woo sheathed her sword, all the weapons aimed at her vanished. It wasn’t someone aiming a sword at her—she was aiming it at herself.

“It works out.”

Naturally, swinging a sword at oneself wouldn’t lead to a proper physical motion.

To generate force, she would need to extend and retract her arm, but how could one swing a sword by only retracting it inward?

So, Yeon-woo chose ‘clones’. Just like Nea did, she created a clone.

Of course, as a semi-human, Yeon-woo possessed the Dragon Heart but wasn’t composed entirely of mana like Nea, so she couldn’t create clones in the same way. Hence, she had to use the attribute of deceptive elemental mana.

Before her regression, the moniker of deceiver suited Louis well as he adeptly manipulated this deceptive elemental mana. Coincidentally, he had died before rising to that level in this life.

The power of deception is to trick the world. The method is incredibly simple. By enveloping herself in deceptive mana, she made it so that the surrounding world could not recognize her clearly.

From there, she brainwashed herself into believing she was two. That she could exist as two people simultaneously.

After sufficiently repeating this process, she would eventually realize that she had indeed multiplied into two.

The recent sword strike was, unfortunately, made by the clone swinging at her. As unfortunate as it was, while she could receive information from the experiences the clone had, it wouldn’t translate directly to real experiences.

Like in a certain manga, it’s impossible to enhance training by having a clone train against oneself.

She could only create one clone at a time, so such amazing feats were inherently impossible.

“So this is what my sword feels like. Annoying.”

“Ow, this is exhausting. I’m running low on mana—it’s tiring my body.”

It felt quite awkward to see her own clone mumbling about how tired it was. Yeon-woo smiled vaguely.

Well, considering that she was swinging at an opponent no more than a scarecrow, it wouldn’t feel the same in actual combat. If she generated the fog with her sword, her opponent would take action to break through that fog.

“Then, can I try using the space warp?”

“Okay.”

Responding to Yeon-woo’s words, the clone bent its upper body, positioning its left foot forward. The gesture indicated that, since it might not be able to grasp the right timing if it took off all of a sudden, it wanted a set starting signal.

I knew that the thoughts in her mind were too readable; it felt quite bad, right?

Yeon-woo slammed the unsheathed sword against the ground once. It was clear to everyone, even without saying it, that it meant to start on three. Twice.

On the third count, with a thud as the sheath hit the ground, a light footfall echoed.

“…Oh.”

“How was it? Did you see it clearly?”

Certainly, there was only one footstep. Although the mana exploded rapidly, it wasn’t to an extraordinary extent.

Even so, the clone, somehow, was leaning against the wall at the far end.

It seemed it hadn’t been able to control itself and just crashed. In such an embarrassing posture, asking if it was visible? Is it dumb…?

“Oh no, I just insulted myself. Anyway, I didn’t see anything at all. I have no idea what it was.”

“Oh, I don’t even know what it was.”

“You two are hopeless…”

I get that “bending the earth to move” is a thing. But how in the world does that even work…? If something goes wrong while I’m clueless, it would be disastrous.

“Well, I don’t think you have to worry too much.”

“Hmm? Why’s that?”

The clone said that while Yeon-woo was deep in thought. Intrigued by the meaning, Yeon-woo asked and the clone continued.

“I tried to see how far I could go past that wall. However, it just stopped at the wall without drawing me in or breaking through.”

“Well, that makes sense, right? If there’s a wall in between, I can’t walk through.”

“It didn’t feel like I hit too hard, just lightly brushed against it. So if something occurs, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. In the end, I just took one step.”

Hmm, if I think about it that way, it makes sense. While traps on the ground might pose a bit of a problem, the clone’s reasoning was valid.

“Alright, then I should be able to use it without worry. But I kept thinking about this…”

“Is that what you’re getting at? I feel you on that.”

Due to the nature of clones, both Yeon-woos completely understood what each other was thinking, and they discussed it with serious expressions. How could they do that? What do they need to replicate that scene…?

I mean, isn’t there a common scene in manga? Suddenly disappearing, reappearing behind the opponent, and slashing them while the blade’s aura cuts through them. The two unwittingly had an intense discussion.

It was only natural that after such a lengthy conversation, the two would create a sort of “finishing move.”

*

“Ugh, I thought I was going to die of heat.”

Lucrecia draped her fur coat over her shoulder as she slumped heavily onto the sofa. Wearing such thick fur here would surely feel hot.

“You’ve fully adapted to the North Sea, it seems, senior.”

“Is that so? I suppose it might be. Human adaptability is really something. When I first went there, I thought I would freeze to death.”

Lounging on the couch, Lucrecia chuckled and began surveying the surroundings. What she was looking for was obvious.

“Shar and Tae-oh aren’t here right now. They went to see Mom.”

“Oh, really? So what are you trying to do bringing a woman into a room all alone with you?”

“Nothing of the sort. This is awkward.”

The image of the roughest woman I know making herself cozy like that wasn’t something I wanted to witness. Lucrecia’s face turned sour at Yeon-woo’s indifferent reaction.

“Something feels off… Well, anyway. About work, you said things are wrapping up in the North Sea, right?”

“Yes. That’s right. It’s been about two months since then, so I thought it might be wrapping up soon.”

“That’s right. There are only minor remnants left now. I wiped out most of the big branches while I was there. But…”

Lucrecia, who trailed off, rummaged through her pocket and pulled out something wrapped in cloth that sealed mana—a round object about the size of a bowling ball.

“…Is that a skull?”

“Oh, how did you know?”

“Isn’t it something you brought as a loot from the cult? It must be a clue or something.”

“Wait, are you hiding some kind of spy? How do you know everything?”

I had expected this would surprise me, but I had no time to think about Lucrecia’s grumbling.

Yeon-woo knew what that object was. It was not just a simple clue. Being able to obtain it beforehand bore great significance.

The skull of Usir.

One of the artifacts possessed by Toyo’s Demon King fell into her hands so easily. Thank goodness the Cult of Oblivion was a disorganized mess, or the news might have been disastrous…!!

(Continue in the next chapter)

 

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