I declared that if Beron refused to talk, I would cut off his left ankle.
However, both of my hands were trembling slightly.
The act of taking a life was always unpleasant.
Whether it was a player or an NPC, it didn’t matter.
The threats I threw at Beron were nothing but intimidation—
A ans to get what I wanted.
It didn’t matter if he was weak or foolish.
Two 3rd-Rank Combatants who used aura had already been in this battle.
If I had held back even slightly while trying to subdue them, the situation could have spiraled out of control.
Leaving soone alive was a privilege only an overwhelmingly strong person could afford.
If I showed that kind of rcy now, it wouldn’t be compassion—it would be recklessness.
“Talk.”
I repeated myself once more.
Beron’s hands trembled as he reached into his coat and pulled out sothing—
A map.
“...The final rendezvous point is marked with a circle.”
The marked location appeared to be near the entrance of the Forest of Beasts.
Specifically, a large rock just behind the entrance.
“When?”
Beron’s mouth opened.
“In... two hours.”
Two hours.
That wasn’t exactly a lot of ti.
His voice quivered as he asked,
“Then... you’re going to let live?”
I imdiately pulled my body back.
Swish!
A sudden arrow ca flying from the distance.
Four straight trajectories.
Tiing! Ting!
I deflected two arrows with my sword.
The other two struck Beron—one in the heart, the other in his shoulder.
“Ugh... gck...”
Beron let out a groan as he died.
Those last two arrows had been ant to kill him from the start.
In the end, his limp, lifeless body lay on the ground, eyes wide open, staring at sothing beyond .
The direction where the arrows had co from.
A man stood there, holding a bow.
[NPC – Slave Trading Company, 3rd-Rank Combatant, Kaetor]
A red-haired man.
Kaetor’s voice echoed across the distance.
It was deep and firm.
“The Mandagore Company never lets a traitor live.”
I had no intention of letting Beron live either.
But I hadn’t expected him to die this way.
Kaetor showed no sign of engaging in a fight.
He was keeping his distance.
“The captain will co to kill you soon. Don’t move from this spot and wait quietly.”
I called out loudly,
“You sure you don’t just want to fight right now?”
No response.
Kaetor turned on his heels and walked away, disappearing from sight.
He must’ve seen two 3rd-Rank Combatants lying dead on the ground.
Was he a coward, or just quick to assess the situation?
Either way, he really ran away.
The captain, huh?
If soone at 3rd-Rank believed in this captain so strongly, then it was likely that he was at least a 4th-Rank Combatant.
“...Hic!”
One of the Myo Tribe mbers suddenly hiccupped.
[NPC – Myo Tribe Beastfolk, Murene]
Including Mique, there were now a total of six Myo Tribe beastfolk here.
I still needed to find two more to fully clear the quest.
One option was to evacuate these Myo Tribe mbers.
But I decided on a different approach.
If the captain was strong, there was a chance he would kill .
But if I killed him, this entire situation would be resolved.
So, I waited.
Kaetor would bring the captain to soon enough.
I pulled all the jerky from my inventory.
Then, I handed it to the Myo Tribe mbers, who were watching with a mix of curiosity and suspicion.
“I ca here to save you. Mique, explain.”
“Yes!”
Mique’s yellow cat ears perked up as she nodded enthusiastically.
“Gather up! Gather up!”
Unlike when she spoke to , she seed quite capable of leading the Myo Tribe children.
“Yuseong is our savior...! Yuseong is strong! Yuseong is kind!”
She kept repeating the na I had given her earlier.
The Myo Tribe children nibbled on the jerky as they listened.
With her talking that much, there shouldn’t be any more suspicion toward .
“We have work to do. If you notice the enemy approaching, let know imdiately. Think you can do that?”
The Myo Tribe children all nodded.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Even if I noticed before they did, it was best to be prepared for every possibility.
Ti was running out.
I had no room to waste.
I opened the Transcendent Gallery.
Title: Just hit Level 20.
Author: ㅇㅇ*
- But I think I’ll have to fight soone around 4th-Rank soon? Need a crash course on sword aura. Within 30 minutes. ㅇㅇ
└ LMAO. Do you think a crash course will actually work? 30 minutes? What a joke.
└ It takes months for so people to even get a feel for it, and you want to learn it in half an hour? 😂
└ 4th-Rank sounds dangerous.
└ Gutter Swordsman) Level 20 achieved. Mana 25 or higher. That’s the basic requirent.
Mana 25?
I probably had way more than that.
I opened my status window.
Na: Han Yuseong
Race: Human
Level: 20
Strength: 112
Agility: 104
Endurance: 107
Mana: 75
Skills:
Pain Suppression Lv.5 | Composure Lv.5 | Concealnt Lv.4 | Crisis Detection Lv.3 |
Enhanced Vision Lv.3 | Focus Enhancent Lv.4 | Warrior’s Movent Lv.4
Mana-Enhanced Body Lv.4 | Doombringer Lv.2 | ntal Barrier Lv.3 |
Trajectory Perception Lv.2
After checking, I replied to the comnt.
└ ㅇㅇ) Yeah, 75.*
└ Damn, that’s plenty.
└ Wtf, if your mana’s that high, does that an your strength is over 100? What about agility?
└ ㅇㅇ) Strength 112, Agility 104.*
└ LMAO, dude’s got triple-digit stats on the third floor. I wasted my entire Tower life.
└ Want a sip of so ultra-toxic venom?
└ Wait, it’s Pandemonium Mode, huh? Pande-fucking-monium.
└ Bruh, you’re already hitting mid-ga stats. anwhile, I’m struggling in Easy Mode.
└ Bartender, one premium poison. On the rocks.
└ Heavenly Demon) The basic principle is the sa as 'Mana-Enhanced Body.' You need to spread your mana from the mana heart throughout your entire body.
└ Sword of Light) ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) You have to take it a step further—release it outside your body.
└ Gutter Swordsman) The ‘Aura Circuit’ spreads downward from the top.
└ Archmage) I’d tell you to spread it upward, but that’s the ‘Magic Circuit.’ You’re clearly on the swordsman path. You’ve got the talent for it, so you have to go with the Aura Circuit.
└ Everyone’s saying the sa thing. Once you choose, that’s it.
└ She really wants you to learn magic sohow.
Magic would be useful, but now wasn’t the ti to worry about that.
└ Dragon King) Beltui~ I can’t explain it. It just works.
└ Ice Queen) Frozen! Sa here!
└ Elf Guy) My power just cos from nature itself.
Damn, must be nice to have innate abilities and a powerful bloodline.
└ Sword of Light) Take all the strength you've built up and push it out into the world.
└ Heavenly Demon) Sit in a ditative stance. Imagine planting deep roots into your body—creating the foundation of a giant tree that can never be uprooted.
Planting the roots of a giant tree?
I had no clue what that ant.
There was only one way to find out—try it.
└ Famous One) Man, Heavenly Demon sounds like his old self again.
└ Long ti no see, Sect Leader.
└ Why do you barely show up here?
└ Sect Leaders are busy.
└ ㅇㅇ) Heading out now.*
└ Archmage) Don’t die.
└ ㅇㅇ) Not gonna.*
I closed the Transcendent Gallery and stored the device back in my inventory.
The Myo Tribe children were watching .
Well, from their perspective, I had just been waving my hands in the air like an idiot.
Following Heavenly Demon’s advice, I sat cross-legged.
I slowly released the mana stored in my mana heart.
The fundantal principle was the sa as Mana-Enhanced Body.
Aura Circuit
A circuit that spreads downward from the top of the body.
I took a deep breath.
Push outward.
Following Sword of Light’s advice, I moved my mana.
Thud...
The ground beneath began to tremble.
Crackle!
Small stones started to float into the air.
Thump—
The mana current that had begun in my upper body flowed down to my abdon.
One stream split into two.
Like the roots of an ancient tree, they spread in countless directions.
A faint, pure white energy flickered in my palms.
[Aura Circuit Awakened.]
It worked.
[You have reached the level of a 3rd-Rank Combatant.]
I grabbed the Bloodstained Dagger from my waist.
Flow.
Into the blade.
[Skill ‘Mana-Enhanced Body’ has leveled up. Lv.5]
I had a lot of things to cut down.
Hssss...
A pure-white current began to coat the blade.
It was unmistakable—sword aura.
I suppressed the energy and rose to my feet.
Was it because I had awakened the Aura Circuit?
My vision and hearing felt sharper.
Soone was coming.
A group.
Slash!
The thick undergrowth was cut away.
A swarm of black leaves scattered into the air.
[NPC – Slave Trading Company, 4th-Rank Combatant, Liner]
So it’s him.
To his right, two Myo Tribe mbers stood chained by the neck and arms.
To his left, Kaetor—the bastard who had just left so conveniently—stood.
Behind them, I saw two more combatants—one 1st-Rank, one 2nd-Rank.
As expected, they wouldn’t rough up their "rchandise."
Good. That made my objective clear.
Kill Liner, Kaetor, and the other two.
Rescue the Myo Tribe captives.
It wouldn’t be easy.
But this was within my expectations.
Pandemonium Mode.
A Five-Star Quest.
There had never been a situation so far where I didn’t have to risk my life.
Liner’s sword shimred with red sword aura.
“I heard... you killed two 3rd-Ranks?”
Killing intent.
It was thicker than what King Kobold had emitted.
Enough to send a shiver down my spine.
“Why is a human siding with these livestock? Do you want one? I can give you one.”
I lifted Carnavalt.
[Activating Mana-Enhanced Body Lv.5.]
Now, release.
Fwoosh—
A pure-white sword aura coated my blade.
“Big Nose.”
“...What?”
Your nose is big. That makes you Big Nose.
As if he didn’t like my nickna, his killing intent intensified.
“If you’re done talking, then co at , Big Nose.”
“I’ll kill you!”
Properly pissed off, Big Nose charged straight at .
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