DEB 138

Leaving the dead trees behind and stepping further in, a thick stench of mold and dust—characteristic of long-abandoned places—clogged the airways. 

Just breathing in made it feel like his lungs were being contaminated by the second. 

Coughing, Huiyun watched as Verita offered a purification prayer, cleansing the area within a 100-meter radius. 

After the purifications, breathing became noticeably easier.

“Thanks… for the hard work.”

He stopped himself from speaking too casually and withdrew his hand just before patting him. 

Verita smiled brightly, saying it was no big deal. 

It was a godsend that they’d brought him along.

His mana hypersensitivity only heals completely when the awakening process is completed ‘normally.’ 

While his condition had improved somewhat, it was far from cured. 

Just the miasma in the air was enough to strain his lungs and internal organs.

“Ann.”

“I’ll scout ahead.”

Called by Hui, Ann knelt on one knee and placed a hand to the ground, then closed her eyes. Soon, a yellow aura began to shimmer and rise from her body. 

The energy flowed like a living organism, fluttering her hair and clothes before extending through her hand and sweeping across the entire castle.

A wide-area detection skill…

Huiyun observed the flow of energy, analyzing Ann’s technique. 

It was impressively refined, enough to explain why the Bureau had recruited her as a mercenary.

This level of detection was something Huiyun himself could only manage with Moot’s support; in his current state, it would be difficult to attempt alone.

“Any traps?”

“Two in the lobby. All stairways going up. Three in the hallway on the second floor. One on a door on the fourth floor. One on the ceiling of the top floor.”

Wow. 

That was the first time Huiyun had heard Ann speak at such length. 

Using Ann’s information, Huiyun gently extended a sliver of his energy to verify the locations. 

As Ann said, faint suspicious auras were flickering in each area.

If Ann hadn’t scouted ahead, they might’ve triggered some of the traps.

The traps were carefully concealed, their energies sealed with meticulous precision. 

Noticing all of them without missing a single one revealed Ann’s perfectionist and sensitive nature.

“Hm… What should we do? Want to trip one on purpose? Or bypass them all?”

“Didn’t she say there are traps on all the staircases? Even if we want to avoid them, it’s not like we have a choice.”

“You heard what Ann is good at, right? She doesn’t just detect traps, she’s also an expert at disarming them. So don’t worry.”

From the pride in Hee’s voice, it was clear her disarming skills were just as good as her detection. 

Vina glanced over at Huiyun, who subtly blinked. 

Taking the hint, Huiyun withdrew the traces of energy he’d spread and stepped back.

“In that case, please disarm them all. We don’t have much time to waste on traps.”

The time they could safely spend inside the castle would last only until the second contamination wave struck. 

The system warned that the third wave would completely collapse the castle, so they had to move quickly before that happened.

As Huiyun nodded in agreement, Verita and Vita followed suit. 

Ann, accepting the majority decision without complaint, placed her hand on the ground and began to disarm the traps. 

As Huiyun watched Ann’s dark eyes glow gold, a sudden surge of killing intent from ahead made her raise her head.

“…Looks like it’s a double-layered trap. There’s a presence I didn’t feel earlier.”

Hee muttered while gazing up at the second-floor balcony. 

There had been no signs of life there just moments ago, yet now, four red-garbed figures with featureless faces were standing there.

They leapt from the railing, emitting waves of malice as they charged. 

As they approached, Huiyun caught a clear look at their faces—blacked out from face to neck—and shouted.

“They’re Wraithfiends! Physical attacks won’t work unless they’re infused with energy!”

Wraithfiends.

If named after what they were called ten thousand years ago, Wraiths.

Though they had human forms, they merely mimicked the shape. 

In truth, they were closer to ghosts. 

Hence, normal physical attacks had no effect, and even energy-infused strikes were useless unless they struck the core of their essence.

That meant in this fight, elemental attacks like Vina’s ice or Hui’s physical blows would be ineffective.

“You two, protect Ann. Mr. Verita! …Please!”

There were four wraiths. 

With Verita’s combat ability being borderline, Vita was the only one who could actually fight, but four enemies would be too much for him alone. 

Especially since wraiths were quick and could pass through objects, this battle was best handled by Huiyun, who specialized in close combat.

Without hesitation, Huiyun called out to Verita, asking him to activate a divine sanctuary, then glanced back at Ann and Hui. 

Normally, one word of dominion-infused speech would end a fight like this, but with so many watching eyes, it was better to keep that power hidden.

This could be a good chance to test the full extent of his powers while still at 7% awakening progress.

Requesting Vita’s support, Huiyun stepped to the front and faced the approaching wraiths. 

Power gathered in his heart and spread through his body, not the force of domination, but the power of a guardian. 

Instinctively sensing a threat to their very essence, the wraiths hesitated. 

It was only natural, as the force radiating from him was the opposite of what sustained their existence.

Now was the time to strike.

While the enemies faltered, Huiyun created a bow in midair. 

Formed of pure divine energy, the glowing white bow released radiant light. 

He quickly formed four arrows and nocked them.

Stabbing them with a spear one by one was inefficient, and creating aerial projectiles to blindly hurl down was inaccurate. 

Wraiths wouldn’t die from merely piercing hands, feet, or torsos—you had to pinpoint the location of their hidden core and pierce it exactly.

For that, this method was best. 

Holding his breath, Huiyun stared down the wraiths as they sensed the danger and charged again. 

He released the tightly drawn bowstring.

Swishhhh!

The arrows screamed through the air and struck the wraiths. 

One hit the forehead, one the torso, one the foot, and one the heart.

Each arrow found its mark, piercing the hidden core within.

“…An archer?”

Hee muttered in disbelief. 

Four arrows, loosed at once, all striking different targets. 

It was no wonder he was amazed.

…I’m no archer. It’s just thanks to the power of domination.

He hadn’t used it blatantly, but subtly nudging the arrow trajectories was within bounds. 

He felt slightly guilty—as if he’d cheated—but what mattered now was confirming the kills.

Fixing his gaze on the staggering wraiths, Huiyun spoke.

“Mr. Vita.”

While he had pierced their cores, that alone wasn’t enough. 

The core, a kind of orb, needed to be completely destroyed. 

As soon as Huiyun called, Vita launched forward and swung his greatsword.

Since Huiyun’s arrows revealed the cores’ locations, Vita had no hesitation in his strikes.

Boom!

With the first strike, a wraith was cleaved in two. 

The second and third strikes shattered the cores hidden in the heart and body of two more. 

The fourth and final upward slash destroyed the last two, whose cores were in the foot and forehead. 

The castle trembled from the impact.

“Yas… I mean, Huiyun!”

Vita turned around, face full of pride. 

In contrast, Huiyun stared at the wrecked wall and collapsing pillars, suppressing a sigh.

He should’ve asked him to hold back.

The castle was already barely holding together after years of decay. 

This kind of attack might bring it down even before the third contamination wave hit.

Seeing Huiyun’s scolding glance, Vita gave a sheepish look.

“Well… you know… sometimes this happens during a fight…”

Choosing to ignore that excuse, Huiyun turned around—only to be met with an intense stare. Hui, who’d been protecting Ann, stepped closer, his eyes shining with curiosity.

“That was the fastest I’ve seen anyone deal with Wraithfiends. They usually induce hallucinations during a charge, but it didn’t seem to affect you at all. Are you naturally resistant to mental attacks? Also, you fired four arrows at once and all of them hit—do you have some kind of aim or accuracy assist skill? And how did you pinpoint the core’s location on the first try?”

“Uh…”

The barrage of questions hit like a bombing run. 

Flustered, Huiyun stepped back, only for Hee to step closer, still buzzing with excitement.

“Now that I think about it, wait, your codename was Yun, right?, I don’t think I’ve heard what your rank is. What rank are you?”

He hadn’t even answered the first wave of questions yet, and a new one was added. 

Judging from Hui’s expression, this was the one he was most curious about. 

Huiyun hesitated, awkwardly frozen in place. 

The silent stares made the atmosphere unbearably heavy.

And there was no one to bail him out this time.

Ann and Hee were staring at him intensely. 

He couldn’t even glance toward Vina or Vita to send a signal. 

Even if they helped him out now, it wouldn’t stop the questions from coming.

He did a quick mental calculation.

A hunter who could unleash that kind of firepower would probably be ranked…

“…A?”

“…”

An awkward silence fell over them. Was that too high?

“…B?”

He carefully corrected himself, and saw Vina frown. 

Unsure what to make of it, Huiyun blinked in confusion.

“…C? …Above A?”

“…You’re joking, right?”

Hee responded blankly, clearly overwhelmed by the constantly shifting answers. 

Meanwhile, Huiyun debated what to say next as he felt Vina’s sharp gaze on his back.

Should he just say it was a joke and pretend he was singing the alphabet?