Chapter 88 - Holy Sword Bastian (6)

The difficulty of the two dungeons was not disclosed.

I did not know what the dungeon Heo Jeong-ah and Jo Sung-tae entered as a pair was like, but the one I was in was a very easy place.

So much so that it was embarrassing to call it a quest.

“Goblins again?”

Lee Tae-sung walked with one hand in his pocket and then butchered a goblin.

Swish-swish-swish-swish!

A nimble yet disciplined swordplay.

For someone who introduced himself as a nameless hunter from a new guild, it was too clean a skill.

No matter how much the target was a goblin, I could grasp Lee Tae-sung's level of skill.

The true value of a person is embedded in every small movement, every trivial mana operation.

The guy came walking towards me, picking his ear.

“Hey Seo Ji-han, shall we continue our conversation from earlier?”

After entering the dungeon, Lee Tae-sung had been talkative.

The guy threw various questions at me, trying to figure me out.

Once I harbored suspicion, everything Lee Tae-sung said and did was full of suspicious things.

“Where were we?”

“There was that incident where you set a new record and became famous, Seo Ji-han. The Doppelgänger quest.”

“Ah, that?”

“What on earth was the secret to being able to go up to the 7th stage?”

“I was lucky.”

“Luck?”

For now, I planned to make him believe that.

The more I appeared easy, the more comfortably the guy would be able to reveal his scheme.

“Just leave it at that. If I reveal everything, wouldn't I look too insignificant?”

“The media was in an uproar saying you were a genius of the century, was that all just hype?”

“It's not very difficult for my family to use the media.”

At my words, the guy smiled with satisfaction.

He was a simpler character than I thought.

“The 10 great sword families aren't called that for nothing.”

“And as I said before, I'm usually quite lucky. The map I bid on without much thought turned out to be a train ticket to the underworld, but I survived here too, didn't I?”

“That's true. Who would have thought Heo Jeong-ah would choose the same starting point as you.”

“Take this dungeon for example. Only goblins come out here.”

“Oh, now that you mention it, that's right.”

I grinned at Lee Tae-sung.

The guy also smiled back at me.

And then, he made me a proposal.

“From now on, how about you do most of the hunting, Seo Ji-han? I've caught a lot so far.”

“Then I'll catch the next goblin that appears.”

“In that spirit, take the lead. Seo Ji-han.”

I nodded and took two steps forward.

I immediately felt the presence of a goblin from the front.

But the more suspicious feeling was coming from the rear.

This guy Lee Tae-sung was finally about to pull something.

The guy was following me, maintaining a certain distance.

“Seo Ji-han, it's a goblin!”

“I know.”

I infused mana into the Reapersword.

The goblin was already rushing towards me like a moth to a flame.

Swoooosh!

The Reapersword flashed, creating a single straight line, and the goblin's neck was cleanly severed, separating from its body in mid-air.

And at that moment.

Whoooosh!

Lee Tae-sung's sword stabbed at my back.

It was a surprise attack from behind, but Pallas's Shield did not activate.

Because I had already anticipated that he would pull something like this.

Clang!

I lightly turned my body and parried Lee Tae-sung's sword.

A flicker of bewilderment crossed the guy's eyes for a moment.

Though he tried to hide it with a relaxed tone.

“Not bad, Seo Ji-han.”

“What's not bad about it. It would be foolish to fall for it knowing it was coming.”

“You knew?”

“Did you expect me to just offer my back like a fool?”

Lee Tae-sung took a step back and got into his stance again.

Now that he had shown his true colors, he had to see it through to the end.

“I'll admit you're quick-witted.”

“The story is too obvious. You and Jo Sung-tae were a team from the start, and your plan was to kill me here to secure a numerical advantage, then eliminate Heo Jeong-ah in the end to obtain the final reward. Isn't that it?”

“Hoh!”

“And it's not just that I'm lucky, I'm also good at reading faces.”

“Are you trying to say my face is that of a betrayer?”

“They say physiognomy is a science. Just by looking at you, you look like a snake.”

At my words, Lee Tae-sung gave a sly smile.

He must have thought I did not know about the Human Skin Mask.

“You're quick-witted, but your face-reading is terrible. You're not just wrong, you're way off.”

“For your information, I also have some X-ray vision. Of course, when I said snake, I was talking about your real face.”

At my words, an earthquake erupted in Lee Tae-sung's pupils.

“...What do you mean?”

“You were found out a long time ago, and you're asking what I mean. You're so bad at reading the room.”

“...Surely, you knew about this too?”

“Since it's come to this, why don't you just take off the Human Skin Mask? If you don't, I'll take it off for you anyway.”

“You bastard! How on earth did you know!”

“That's not what's important right now, is it?”

“What?”

“It means you should be thinking about how to die with less pain.”

“Screw you! You're the one who's going to die!”

Lee Tae-sung swung his sword in a surprise attack.

It seemed I would have to peel off his face myself after all.

And his real name too.

***

“Aaaaaaaah!”

A piercing scream echoed through the dungeon.

The sound was so loud that even the goblins were startled and fled.

Lee Tae-sung, no, Kim Joon-kyung's face had already turned pale.

As always, I did not resort to crude torture that physically damaged a person's body.

There was an easier way for people who possessed even a small amount of mana.

“Aaaaaaaah!”

I had never experienced it myself, but I had heard about the pain of having one's mana twisted and contorted.

He was probably feeling a pain greater than having his intestines severed in dozens of places right now.

And the advantage of this torture method was that it caused no external or internal injuries, so it could be continued indefinitely.

That was why the person on the receiving end usually begged to be killed.

“K-kill me!”

This guy was no exception.

“Kim Joon-kyung of the Jungwon Sword Family. Don't resist and just talk. I told you I'd give you a painless death if you talk now.”

“...Screw... you.”

“Saying things like that without any energy makes you look so pathetic.”

I had no intention of letting him live anyway, so before I killed him, I thought I would try to get something out of him.

Coincidentally, the Jungwon Sword Family was the family that had obtained the final reward in the four-map mission 40 years ago.

And a descendant of that family had appeared in a similar mission again.

“Kim Joon-kyung. Don't you think it's a bit strange to call it a coincidence?”

“Just kill me. Aaaaaaaah!!”

“Even if you don't talk, I've already come to a conclusion. I don't know how the Jungwon Sword Family obtained the map to come here, but it's not unrelated to the events of 40 years ago. Right?”

“…”

“Alright. Just don't answer. Then, next question. What is this map that came out of your Inventory? Where on earth does this map lead?”

In truth, this was the more curious matter.

There was no information on this map, but I could feel some unusual energy from it.

“Just tear it up. That's all I have to say.”

“If you say that, it's not like I'm going to say, ‘Alright,’ and tear it up.”

“Shit!”

“A good answer. I felt the sincerity.”

That by my acquiring this map, the Jungwon Sword Family had been put in a difficult position.

I did not think my feeling was wrong.

It would be nice if he would just reveal where this map led.

“Aaaaaaaah!”

“If you don't talk, Jo Sung-tae will also suffer the same torture as you. Oh, right. Not Jo Sung-tae, his real name must be Kim Jin-seop. Your younger brother.”

Kim Joon-kyung's already pale face became even paler.

“How did you know?”

The way the two guys' mana operated, as seen through my ‘Mana Eyes,’ was too similar.

It would be impossible unless they had learned the same mana technique.

“I'm sorry, but I have no intention of telling you either.”

“What the hell are you! Aaaaaaaah!”

“It doesn't matter to me if you don't talk. In fact, your younger brother seems like the easier one.”

Swoosh!

And with that, the Reapersword flashed once.

***

When I cleared the dungeon and returned to the abandoned house, Heo Jeong-ah and Kim Jin-seop had arrived first and were waiting for me.

Checking their condition with my Mana Eyes, it seemed they had gone through quite a bit of hardship in the dungeon.

It became clear that I had overwhelmingly chosen the easier dungeon.

“Why did you come alone? What about Lee Tae-sung?”

Kim Jin-seop asked me with a puzzled look on his face.

He seemed to have no idea that his older brother had been defeated by me.

I delivered the bad news without hesitation.

“Lee Tae-sung is dead.”

At my shocking declaration, he stood with a dazed expression as if time had stopped.

“What?”

“The place we went to was a terrible dungeon. Swarming with all sorts of high-level monsters.”

“Say that again! Who died?”

“Unfortunately, Lee Tae-sung died in the dungeon.”

“Lies!”

“It may be hard to believe, but it's the truth. And Lee Tae-sung was a good hunter. He led the dungeon raid, guiding me, who lacked skills.”

The two brothers must have had some sort of understanding to eliminate me through this dungeon quest.

For now, I decided to throw out a blatant lie and wait for his reaction.

From his reaction, I would be able to tell what type of person he was.

“Stop bullshitting and tell me the truth! What happened in the dungeon!”

Kim Jin-seop immediately grabbed me by the collar.

As expected, he was the type to let his emotions get the better of him.

It was a strange behavior for anyone to see.

“I also regret Lee Tae-sung's death.”

“A bastard like you came back alive, and Lee Tae-sung died? You expect me to believe that?”

Kim Jin-seop's voice grew more agitated.

Of course, it was unbelievable for him that his brother had died.

“In a moment of danger, Lee Tae-sung saved me and was injured instead. I owe him a great debt.”

“Lies! There's no way Lee Tae-sung would have done that!”

Slap!!

I slapped Kim Jin-seop across the cheek.

Kim Jin-seop's cheek immediately turned red.

“There's no way Lee Tae-sung would have done that? Don't you dare insult him in front of me without knowing him well!”

“What?”

“As I said, I owe him a great debt. I will not forgive you for speaking carelessly about Lee Tae-sung, if nothing else!”

With that, I glared at Kim Jin-seop.

His eyes shook uncontrollably.

He must have been confused.

He could not believe his brother was dead, and on top of that, it was because of an injury sustained while saving me.

He could not reveal his identity now either, so he must have been in a dilemma.

Above all, Heo Jeong-ah's presence must have been on his mind.

It had become impossible for him to subdue me with force to get to the bottom of the truth.

“Hey, Jo Sung-tae. It seems you've grown quite fond of Lee Tae-sung, but the one who is more saddened by his death is me. I apologize for hitting you on the cheek in a moment of excitement.”

With that, I offered Kim Jin-seop a handshake.

Of course, he did not take my hand.

“I don't believe you, Seo Ji-han. You are definitely lying!”

“You can't accept it.”

At that moment, there was another quest notification.

[A quest has been generated.]

[A new dungeon has been created in the front yard. Form a pair and clear the dungeon.]

[Time Limit: 2 hours]

Kim Jin-seop's eyes were blazing venomously.