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Chapter 73

“U, Uwoooo…”

It’s damp and hot. Back in my porter days before regression, I assisted in a surgery once, and there was only one difference. Back then it was warm, but now my hands are melting and it’s boiling. Shivering at the reviving scenes from the past, Yeon-woo moved his hands.

With the tip of his tailbone clutched tightly, Yeon-woo hung on, desperately trying to pull the curse out of him. The creature’s body shrank as the curse faded, but of course, the size of the bones remained unchanged. In truth, Yeon-woo, whose aura was depleted, couldn’t possibly lift or move it.

As the white light leaked from Yeon-woo’s body, it seeped into the bones, and they began to be pulled out.

‘This is it!’

I don’t know the exact principle, but probably the soul of the Frost Alligator is being dragged out by Sebek’s divine power rather than the filthy curse.

Of course, the curse wasn’t just sitting there passively letting its soul be taken. It desperately clung to Yeon-woo’s arm to keep its center of gravity, but unfortunately, the tug-of-war was won by Yeon-woo. He was extracting the bone with incredible smoothness.

“…Something seems off?”

While throwing the bones several meters away due to the sheer effort, Yeon-woo tilted his head. He felt strangely powerful. Especially in his right arm. The dark attribute mana was depleted, and all that got replenished by the Dragon Heart kept pouring into the elemental enhancement, making it suddenly much denser.

‘Shar, is something strange with this?’

[Huh? Just a sec, let me check.]

Sorry, Dad, for being useless. But anyway, gaining strength is a good thing. Yeon-woo began stacking the extracted bones like a farmer pulling radishes.

The reply from Shar came right after he piled all the bones. The curse still lingered, crawling towards the bones. It felt like roughly ten minutes according to Yeon-woo.

[Ah, Dad! Are you okay!? Nothing unusual, right?! You’re not hearing voices or anything?!]

‘Huh? Voices? What do you mean suddenly? No, I don’t feel anything at all.’

[Thank goodness… So, should we recover those curses…?]

‘No, what’s wrong? Just tell me that first.’

Shar rolled her eyes, contemplating, before letting out a deep sigh in her mind. It was an attitude as if hiding wouldn’t change anything.

[The dark mana is absorbing the curse…. To be specific, it’s manifesting the curse as an attribute. It’s exactly like the Doppleganger Weapon.]

‘Wait a minute. What do you mean by that…’

Upon hearing that, Yeon-woo’s eyes lit up. He quickly turned to look at the curses crawling on the ground. The curses that were disappearing into thin air felt like winning lottery numbers tossed into a fire.

“Stop!!”

It was obvious that Yeon-woo scrambled to hold the ground with all his might.

“It didn’t seem like that at first. If it had, the curse wouldn’t have taken root like this.”

“Definitely.”

“…Is your arm really alright?”

Baek In-hwa asked, frowning at him. Yeon-woo waved his right arm, which had reverted to its original state after releasing the elemental enhancement.

However, there weren’t many places where he could see his real skin color. Most of it had melted away, revealing bright red muscle masses. It was probably because the chunk of the curse he initially got was too thick.

Seeing Baek In-hwa’s worried expression, Yeon-woo waved his arm as if to say not to worry.

“The properties of the mana haven’t changed. It’s just… purely absorbed the curse. How is this even possible…?”

“Wait, does that mean I won’t be cursed anymore?”

Yeon-woo suddenly voiced a question that came to mind. If he could absorb the curse and convert it into mana, then getting cursed would only transform it into mana without any effect on his body! If so, he would have a massive advantage over the dark wizards under the Demon King on Saturday.

“No, it seems like your body still bears the burden during the conversion process.”

“Ugh. I could’ve just slaughtered them all.”

“Why are you guys talking amongst yourselves?”

Baek In-hwa grumbled, looking dissatisfied. It was indeed a topic where she couldn’t easily intervene.

“Sorry, sorry. Should we head back? It’s cold staying out for long.”

“…Before we go back, I want to bury my brother.”

“Oh, if I step out, the door might close soon after. Well, since it’s cold, moving around is the best option.”

At Baek In-hwa’s suggestion, Yeon-woo loosened up. He approached Baek In-gyeol, who had frozen into an ice statue.

“But is it okay to unfreeze him? He might move again.”

“It should be fine. The curse has been lifted. Even if something happens, it shouldn’t be to the level of being able to fight.”

“…I see. Alright then.”

Looking somehow disappointed, Baek In-hwa whispered as she placed her hands on the frozen Baek In-gyeol.

Catching the fallen Baek In-gyeol, who collapsed as he was released from the ice, Yeon-woo laid the cold body down on the ground.

*

The pressure of the dimension that had been weighing heavily in the area suddenly lifted. Kim Hyun-soo let out a sigh of relief and rose from the fountain.

The only case in which the dimension pressure of a fake gate disappears is when someone who had been inside has completed the clearance condition of a closed-type gate.

Soon, the cracks in space twisted and opened. Choi Yeon-woo, trembling with snow piled on his head and shoulders, and Baek In-hwa, assisting Yeon-woo with a droopy demeanor, walked out.

“Glad to see you’re safe.”

“Phew, I can finally breathe… Our country is indeed great. You must be exhausted working even on weekends, Professor.”

“Hello there.”

“Hey, good to see you both. I’ll hear about what happened tomorrow. For now, it’s best to hurry home and rest. Even awakened ones can catch a cold.”

With a bright smile, Kim Hyun-soo spoke as he removed the talismans surrounding the fountain. Meanwhile, Yeon-woo shook off the snow piled on his head and shoulders, and Baek In-hwa, who was watching, said:

“True. To be honest, I’m tired. You… what will you do? Since you were part of today’s incident, I’ll talk to Father and arrange compensation.”

“Oh, really? But I have plans, so I’m going to head over there. Professor, can you take Baek In-hwa with you?”

“Of course, I was thinking of taking both of you. Are you sure that’s a good plan given your condition?”

“I’m just hanging out with a blockhead. What could possibly happen with that guy around?”

“If it’s with Namgung Seong, it should be fine. Just be careful not to catch a cold. I recommend changing into new clothes if possible.”

Upon hearing that, Yeon-woo looked down at himself. Aside from the jacket Shar had covered him with, he was a complete mess. He wondered how many people he would run into along the way, but he still didn’t want to wander the streets looking like this.

“I think I need to buy some new uniforms tomorrow…”

“Yes, I’ll let the department know in advance. Now let’s go, Baek In-hwa.”

“…I’ll follow.”

With a big smile, Kim Hyun-soo walked ahead, and Baek In-hwa seemed very uncomfortable. Walking ahead was likely Kim Hyun-soo’s consideration, too. He surely noticed that Baek In-hwa was quite shy.

‘Well then, let’s go, Shar.’

[But weren’t you supposed to leave that to Uncle Yu-jin and Uncle Seong? Why suddenly say you have plans?]

Before he knew it, the sky had darkened. The time he promised Baek In-hwa was apparently around noon. Did they really fight for that long?

Indeed, there was no actual plan. Yeon-woo had entrusted all matters related to the academy’s dark guild purge to Namgung Seong and Jung Yu-jin. To be frank, it was doubtful whether Yeon-woo would be of any help this time. Especially in his current battered state.

‘You never know. Plus, if I’m lucky, there might be something to gain.’

[Something to gain?]

Of course, what he meant by that wasn’t some treasure sleeping in the dark guild or anything. Initially, Yeon-woo had no clear understanding of the specifics regarding this dark guild purge. He only knew that Yoon-hee and the student council president Ain were leading a sweep of the dark guild, and that they had mostly been successful.

The only failure that occurred in the process was regarding the dark guild boss, the deceiver Louis, who somehow managed to return to his base, the Demon King’s church, after either being captured or killed… that was the extent of his knowledge.

He couldn’t possibly not know that he faced Louis, whom he was supposed to have killed last time, during the battle against the church devoted to Moryo. He knew his face, abilities, and methods. At this point, Louis probably wouldn’t be as strong as before the regression, so Namgung Seong should be able to handle him easily… that was one calculation.

‘Perhaps I can absorb his elemental mana.’

Before regression, the deceiver Louis was widely known as one of the most famous users of a specific elemental mana.

‘Dark attribute, specialty: Deception.’

Before regression, Yoon-hee had definitely beheaded the deceiver Louis, and after confirming his heart no longer beat, she said that she even disposed of the body.

So how in the world did he survive and escape the city to contact the Demon King’s church?

The secret lay in that man’s elemental mana.

*

In a corner of the dark guild, a bald man couldn’t hide his embarrassment.

‘Wha, what the heck? I didn’t hear anything about this plan…!!’

The deceiver Louis. A man branded with a serpent tattoo on his scalp walked silently yet constantly grumbling curses as he treaded through the damp underground. He did not stop.

For some unknown reason, the enemies moved as if they knew their positions entirely. They were supposed to ambush, but instead, they were ambushed, and the traps they had set just days ago were being exposed like opening a front door, making him chuckle in disbelief.

At this rate, it was as if someone had predicted the future… as if someone were looking down at everything from above.

Thus, the man headed toward a secret passage known only to himself in the dark guild. Was it possible that they’d know about this too? The cave was eerily quiet.

‘Damn it, how much did I pay out…!!’

Damn academy kids. Hypocrites. Were they really going to cut me off for good…?

Was it due to his dizzying walk that the exit soon came into view? If he could just get out and return to the Demon King’s church, even the priest would surely have nothing to say about this.

Thinking that he could finally indulge in desires he had held back for years made this entire incident feel oddly pleasant. The moonlight shining at the cave’s end was truly beautiful. It felt as if blessing his future path.

Even if there were enemies waiting at the end, the man held confidence. His specialty, Deception, was enough to handle even a superior opponent.

Finally, taking in the fresh air deeply, the man realized something was amiss.

In his line of sight, he saw a black-haired boy sitting casually under the moonlight, observing him with indifferent eyes.

Why is he, here───?

Before the thought could reach its conclusion, the boy cracked a nonchalant smile. It was a grin far too worldly for an ordinary child.

Then he understood.

The man had indeed mastered tens of thousands of swords. Every sword, he had rushed towards, learning and mastering. He fought and learned. His life was akin to that of an ascetic seeker. A life filled solely with swords, longing only for swords, wishing only to reach them.

Thus, he placed his name in the annals of swordsmen and earned the nickname “All Swords.”

Yet why is the man’s nickname “All Swords”?

Because he filled his life with swords.

Claire, one of the top swordsmen among elves, remembered that long ago, Yoon-hee had praised her as being all-powerful. To say she wasn’t proud of that would be a lie. Wasn’t it a commendation from a swordsman of equal standing?

But on the other hand, she assessed Yoon-hee, saying he was just “good at horses.”

Ultimately, a sword is a tool for harming and killing something. Her beloved sword, the shield sword Aurum, certainly has significance in taking that shape, but it is not necessary to be all-powerful to use a sword.

Especially the likes of a swordsman like Yoon-hee saying such was a terrible jest. Who is calling whom all-powerful? That’s just laughable.

He did not draw his proud dark sword.

From his small stature emanated an overwhelming presence, turned into a sword.

Thud, tumble.

Only after his head rolled off did Louis realize. The thing before his eyes wasn’t merely an opponent he could fight against as an inferior. It was a monster that required at least an equal level to even engage in a battle.

“…Huh, what a capable guy.”

Yoon-hee’s gaze, fixed on the hot blood spilling corpse, was cold, contrary to his words.

(To be continued in the next episode.)

 

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