Chapter 31

**Episode 31: Help from the System**

A dungeon filled with cold air.

From the entrance of the boss room to the very bottom.

This place could be called the deepest floor in this field.

The heat from the torches spread around is nowhere to be found, only the cold remains.

Even in this place that looks like an underground prison, a battle is still ongoing.

“You’re really good at escaping like a rat!”

A thrust from the guy in black armor comes in.

“Ugh!”

I struggle to pull my head back and raise my sword, barely managing to deflect his attack.

I continuously block and dodge his relentless attacks.

It was simply a repetition of that.

Although opportunities to counterattack came now and then, whenever I attempted to do so, his sword carried a weight that was anything but light, as if it condensed all the snow piled on Mount Everest.

Every time I failed to counter, it felt like fatigue accumulated within me.

In this case, it might be better not to attempt to counterattack at all.

A moment of counterattack could open an opportunity, but right now, my opponent is too formidable.

“You… Hah, Hah! If you were human, you’d have a name, right?”

I gasped for breath and spoke up.

“That’s right.”

I had hooked him.

I was planning to stall for time by talking to him, then replenish my stamina while he was engrossed in conversation.

“But I don’t remember it right now.”

“What? Why not?”

‘Could it be…’

“I can’t tell… I can only remember techniques meant for battle.”

I clearly recalled his state when I had used my King’s Insight on the guy in black armor.

‘King’s Insight activated.’

– Ding!

[Checking the monster’s information.]

[Information]

Name: King of a Land without a King (Lv.??)

Current Status: Being controlled by a parasite.

=================

“Current status…”

“… Is the small talk over?”

The guy in black armor gripped his sword tightly with both hands and assumed a stance.

He aligned his feet neatly, lifting the sword toward the sky.

‘Parasite is certainly interpreted as “gisaengchung” in Korean…’

As I thought of the possibility that this armored guy was being controlled by a parasite, hope began to emerge.

In battle, it is not always necessary to strangle the enemy’s throat to win.

There are many ways to achieve victory.

“I can no longer withstand the overwhelming urge to kill ringing in my head, so let’s finish this.”

“You’re not saying you’re harming me for no reason?”

“Oh?”

The murderous cold emanating from his sword continues to slow my body down.

But now that I have this glimmer of hope in this fight.

I cannot run away.

“Did you figure that out… Then take this.”

Saying that, the guy in black armor charged at me in an instant, swinging his sword from above downward.

As he swung, the bright-colored sword intertwined with his black armor, dazzling my eyes.

This time, I didn’t dodge.

– Clash!

– Crack…

I bit down hard.

Even if my teeth wear down, I can’t lose this battle.

The clue to understanding this hunter’s world, which had so many mysteries, was finally visible.

I can’t miss that clue.

As this fight continues, my body tires, but the battle becomes easier.

He seemed to pull back, retracting his sword, but from my experience fighting him, it was surely a fake.

He might be trying to deceive me, but this time I wouldn’t fall for it.

As if to confirm my prediction, suddenly a sharp point lunged into my right field of vision.

However, I was already swinging my sword diagonally to the right and he would have no choice but to watch his thrust be deflected.

Had it been a poorly prepared swing, it would surely have been stopped by his might, but I had been preparing for this for quite a while and simply didn’t miss the opportunity.

I immediately leaped in to charge at him.

My target was the neck of the guy in black armor.

I could see him looking flustered.

“But it’s already too late!”

With a decisive blow thrown without regret.

I will not fail.

‘I won’t make any mistakes.’

‘A three-hit combo.’

I recited the technique name in my mind.

The first hit went to his left shoulder.

– Clang!

It seemed the armor was solid, leaving only a scratch.

“Damn, it’s sturdy!”

The second went for the wrist of his right hand holding the weapon.

– Ping!

I couldn’t inflict significant damage, but the second attack was merely a feint.

Lastly, the third hit aimed for the weak spot in the full plate armor at the very bottom of the helmet.

The neck.

– Crunch!

For the first time, I inflicted damage on him.

That damage would be fatal.

I immediately struck the grip of his sword and knocked his helmet off.

All of this happened after I jumped and charged.

I landed behind the guy in black armor.

– Clang.

The helmet fell to the ground.

– Smash!

And so did the head of the black armor.

‘So he was just a skeleton after all.’

It didn’t seem incorrect that he had once been human.

But there was nothing at all in that white skull.

Surely the part that would have had the parasite attached was the head.

The armored guy knelt down.

– Thud!

The sound of him kneeling filled the space.

“Ha… Did I defeat him?”

However, he quickly knelt again, driving his sword into the ground.

It seemed the damage wasn’t enough to finish it.

Maybe it’s because he’s a skeleton, but he moves without a head.

‘… But the skeletons I met before couldn’t move without a head? Is it because he’s a boss?’

The skeleton showed signs reminiscent of a Dullahan.

But the real hell was just beginning.

The guy in black armor suddenly began to gather mana.

With his left hand, he formed a cloth, spreading his fingers wide in a vertical position.

Additionally, his right hand formed a fist as if grasping at the sword in the air and connected it to the cloth.

“That’s…?!”

I feel like I had heard of that technique somewhere.

Though not in the present, there was a person who used that skill when they were operating as an S-rank hunter in the past.

I can’t quite remember their name or gender, but the power was truly strong, and it was said to be called ‘Forbidden Technique.’

Seeing a technique that I had only encountered in videos during my school days right before my eyes left me unsure of whether to be excited or scared.

I stood there blankly, watching him draw mana into what looked like a fist holding a sword.

‘…I should move, but… I can’t put strength in my body!’

This is certainly a rare opportunity.

He was slowly striking the fist grasping at the empty air to begin forming the shape of his sword with the mana.

As if pulling a sword out of the left hand’s cloth.

His blue mana formed a handgrip and a crossguard in a deep blue.

It shaped into a blade of deep blue for the sword.

Creating the very tip of the sword, sharp as a tack.

Finally finishing the sword, he called the head that had fallen to the ground back to his hand.

Positioning the head on the neck, he infused it with mana to reattach it.

Afterward, he picked up the helmet and placed it back on his head.

“… Human, you have impressive skills.”

“Haah… Then how about taking it easy for once?”

“To tire so easily… You must be lacking in training.”

“Aren’t you also moving with the power of the undead?”

“That’s not incorrect… But now, it’s just beginning.”

“Huuh…”

“I’m going all out now.”

I was getting increasingly tired.

The guy in black armor held a sword exuding coldness in his left hand.

In his right hand was a deep blue sword forged from his mana.

“… A dual-wielding technique?”

“Having two swords means there’s less you can do than you think.”

“You have some knowledge…”

“But my dual-wielding style is different.”

If we were to compare it to a game, the situation could be called phase two.

I no longer had any strength left.

The guy in black armor rushed at me, his right sword performing a horizontal slash from left to right while the left sword executed a horizontal slash from right to left, forming a basic binary choice of dual-wielding.

I thought for a moment: if the parasite wasn’t in his head, wouldn’t it be in his heart?

‘He was also once human, so…’

“Receive my sword!”

Blocking that attack is my first priority.

– Clang!

Just when I thought I had successfully blocked it, his next attack came in.

I rotated my body to the left, laying one of the twin swords sideways to defend against his strike.

If I were to describe it, it came in at an angle similar to laying the number 11 horizontally.

– Whack!

“Urgh…!”

I almost couldn’t defend against the strong attack.

He raised the left sword diagonally up and swung it diagonally down.

‘… It’s my chance!’

While blocking, I pushed him away with my shoulder and exerted every last ounce of strength to eliminate the parasite that I assumed was near his heart.

However, that was my blunder.

He wielded two swords.

Blocking one doesn’t end it.

– Clash…!

At the moment I was holding off the cold-emitting sword.

The guy in black armor’s right sword also rose diagonally up.

“This is the end.”

A single blow packed with mana came crashing down on me.

It precisely slashed my left collarbone near my neck.

– Swoosh!

“Ugh!”

I was flung far away.

It held such power that it could be described as overwhelmingly strong.

‘Aah… Is this where it ends for me?’

If only I had brought Harin… Would there have been a difference?

I couldn’t know.

Unknowingly, I might have been longing for her.

Where could she have possibly gone?

As the moment of death approached, I became emotional.

I couldn’t make rational judgments.

I wanted to live.

I had just gained the perk called the System.

Am I going to end it all in a place like this?

“…Before you die, let me tell you one thing.”

– Clank!

I dropped my sword onto the ground.

The sound echoed as a heavy metal sword struck the floor.

“Ugh…”

Then I began to staunch the blood flowing from my left collarbone with my right hand.

“My mana… is a forbidden power from the past. Do you know why?”

“I don’t… Ugh…”

I cried out in pain.

“The reason is… if my mana seeps into your bloodstream, it becomes an incurable disease.”

“… What are you saying?”

“Because it’s a special type of mana that comes from me, it won’t affect me… but for others, it would definitely be fatal. So I do not use this technique.”

“But right now…”

“I don’t know the exact reason, but… you know, don’t you? Hurting you isn’t my will. Although I’m strong enough not to be mentally dominated. My body has been taken from me though.”

“Yet you’re already without a body…”

“You shouldn’t be talking so lightly when you’re in the state of dying… Anyway, that incurable disease will lead you to your death.”

I was currently kneeling in a position that resembled a ‘ㄴ’ while staunching my wounds.

If I took another hit from him, I would surely die.

If there is a god.

If there is a transcendent being.

Why wouldn’t they assist me, who is in the face of death?

I’ve always lived on the receiving end.

Once… couldn’t I be saved just once?

“If you die of that incurable disease, it won’t sit well with me… and since you’re destined to die, let me take your life right here.”

Saying that, he summoned the sword he had previously thrown to the ground to his waist.

Then, he inserted the cold sword back into the sheath.

He gripped the sword filled with mana with both hands.

And the guy in black armor charged at me.

‘So now I’m destined to die pierced by that sword…’

“For the Ring Guard!”

What is the Ring Guard?

I couldn’t care less when death was right in front of me.

‘Is this really the end, then…’

– Ding!

[The user of the system is in a death crisis.]

[Due to the effect of the System’s Blessing (EX), a one-time means to prevent the death of user ‘Han Shiwoo’ can be used.]

[The selected means will change into another random evasion technique.]

[Death Evasion]

1. Time Machine

[Can rewind time by 5 minutes.]

2. Vitality Recovery

[Recovers 50% of health.]

3. Teleport

[Instantly moves to the last location where the user performed the ‘sleep’ action.]

Suddenly, three options appeared before me.

Given the urgency of the moment, there was no time to hesitate.

Using the Time Machine would just lead to the same situation repeating again.

I can’t retreat.

Either death or pass out.

I will end it here.

‘Option 2, Vitality Recovery.’

A radiant green light enveloped my body.

‘Now, round three starts.’

No, it’s not really starting anymore.

He is also undead but looks exhausted.

Now that my body has recovered, I can see the staggering movement of the guy in black armor, who seems filled with openings.

And it looked like he was intentionally suppressing his strength to resist the control of the parasite.

If I truly had a grudge against him.

If I had even the slightest hostile intent.

I would have lost this battle even with my recovery.

“I’m coming. This will be the end!”

My last gamble that put my life on the line.

I twisted my body dangerously to evade his sword.

Then I also retaliated with a thrust toward him.

Seeing him hurry to respond, I swiftly drove my sword into where I presumed his heart was located.

“Go, acceleration!”

He uttered an incomprehensible incantation.

– Crack!

– Split!

The sound of bone breaking and a small creature being split in half echoed.

Though I didn’t know what incantation he had uttered at the end, an inexplicable sense of unease rapidly infiltrated my body.

But that was not important at the moment.

It’s over.

The victor of this bloody duel is…

Me.

I kicked the weary black armored guy and knocked him down to the ground.

– Thud!

– Thudthudthudthud!

As soon as he collapsed, a door that looked as though he was guarding began to rise from the ground.

And there was a keyhole in that door.

Surely the Defector’s key would fit there.

– Ding!

『Quest』

『The Sleepless』

『Grant rest to those who can never sleep.』

『Rest. 1/1』

『Reward: None』

So, the sleepless one was him.

‘For some reason, that seems to be the case.’

As I dragged my exhausted body toward the keyhole, once again a quest window filled my view.

– Ding!

『Quest』

『Night of the Betrayer』

『Take the key and uncover the secrets of the parasite and the seven nations.』

『Realization. 0/1』

『Reward: G Coin』

I don’t need to rush.

That secret.

I will lay it all bare myself.