RG 123

As soon as Cha Seohu turned his head at the chilling sensation crawling down his spine, a sharp bolt of lightning shot past him. In the instant he thought it had nearly torn his ear off, a powerful impact slammed into his side.

“Guh…!”

His vision flipped as his body was hurled through the air. With his white robe fluttering, he flew far and crashed into a wall.

“Khak… ugh…”

Each cough brought up blood. He wiped the blood that dripped under his mask with the back of his hand and held his throbbing side.

‘If I didn’t have a defensive item, my insides would’ve burst.’

Fortunately, he had worn the Wisdom of the Sky in preparation for a battle against multiple enemies.

Pressing down firmly on the hat that had nearly come off, Cha Seohu stood back up. His sword tip wavered from exhaustion, but this wasn’t the time to sit back and rest. There were four A-class Hunters standing in front of him. One had left with the Director, and the strongest of them was hanging back.

That meant he had to face three of them at once.

One wielded a curved sword and lightning-based skills. Another could turn parts of his body into metal. The last one carried a spear and presumably used enhancement skills.

He was already at a disadvantage without any skills of his own. Facing three A-classes in this state was practically suicide. Even if he somehow got lucky and won, one enemy would remain—and the A-class who had gone with the Director might return to join them.

A head-on fight offered no hope of victory.

‘I really didn’t want to use it if I could help it…’

Luckily, he had a method in mind just for this kind of situation. He pulled out an item and immediately rolled to the side. Boom! Lightning struck the spot he had just been, smashing into the ground.

There was no time to hesitate.

As the enemies regrouped and launched their next attack, Cha Seohu glared at the three incoming Hunters and shoved the item into his mouth.

[Combat Power Boost Orb]

Swallow the orb to temporarily increase combat power. (Duration: 5 minutes)

It was one of the items included in the “Regressor Growth Package” he had bought from the item shop.

《Your combat power has increased due to the item’s effect! (Time Remaining: 4 minutes 59 seconds)》

《Strength: S → SS》

《Attack Power: S → SS》

《Attack Speed: S → SS》

《Movement Speed: S → SS》

《Agility: S → SS》

“Ghh… grrrk!”

Power surged through him like an explosion, causing his blood to boil.

Crack, snap! The sound of bones twisting echoed throughout his body. Overwhelmed by the excessive power, his body screamed in protest. The artificial energy spreading from his heart made him nauseous.

Fighting through the queasiness, he gripped his sword and kicked off the ground. The item’s effect wouldn’t last long—there was no time to waste adjusting to the power.

“Wh-what the—!”

The Hunter with the spear gasped as Cha Seohu appeared right in front of him in a blink. Before he could react, a flash of white light streaked past.

Slice!

Only after seeing the blade glint under the moonlight did the Hunter realize what had happened—followed by excruciating pain.

“Gyaaaaah!”

His arms had gone numb. Clatter—the spear and both arms holding it dropped to the ground.

“Ghk!”

As he stared in horror at his severed limbs, his head hit the floor and rolled away.

“You son of a—!”

Seeing Cha Seohu take one of them down in an instant, another Hunter snarled and swung a fist now transformed into hardened steel.

Whoosh! A massive iron fist narrowly grazed Cha Seohu’s cheek. A gust of wind followed, blowing the hat from his head far into the distance. His light blond hair scattered, and the area around his eyes—uncovered by the mask—was now clearly visible.

Half of his hidden face was exposed, but it didn’t matter. He was going to kill them all anyway.

As the muscles beneath his clothes tightened, the speed of his blade increased further. Under the onslaught of wild, relentless attacks, cold sweat poured from his opponent like rain.

‘H-his speed…!’

He could turn parts of his body into steel where the blade landed. But Cha Seohu’s sword swung at a pace and in patterns so fast and erratic that the Hunter couldn’t keep up, not even close.

Clang, screech, ching!

Steel clashed against the blade again and again, and bursts of blood erupted between the sounds. Wounds rapidly accumulated on the Hunter’s body—shoulders, face, neck—all because he couldn’t keep up with the speed of the blade.

He was being overwhelmed. Realizing it only made the fear grip his throat tighter, and it became even harder to track the blade’s movement.

Terrified of Cha Seohu, the Hunter hastily turned all his vital points to steel. Just as he began reinforcing his neck and face—

A black shape suddenly flew in from somewhere and attacked the Hunter. With the sound of flapping wings, his vision went completely dark.

“What the hell?!”

“…!”

Cha Seohu, who had been waiting for the perfect opening, seized the moment without hesitation. The tip of his sword drove straight through its target.

“Gghk—!”

The blade pierced directly through the solar plexus. Even with his face and neck turned to steel, the Hunter coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed.

Having dealt with the second Hunter, Cha Seohu lifted his head. A black bird flying beside him met his gaze and circled once through the air.

The familiar energy emanating from the bird and the green color of its eyes made Cha Seohu think of Cha Sahyeon. He didn’t know exactly what had happened, but he could tell this bird was connected to Cha Sahyeon—and that it was trying to help him.

Cha Seohu and the bird moved as one. Seeing two of their allies fall, the Hunter who had been hanging back could no longer sit and watch—he stepped in.

“Crush his skull!”

Thud, thud! The ground trembled as a giant figure, well over two meters tall, charged in. His hands had transformed into something black and fur-covered—it was clear this man had body transformation skills, like Ronic’s guildmaster.

Screeeech! The bird let out a piercing cry and swooped at the hulking Hunter.

While the bird distracted the enemy by focusing its attacks on his face and blinding his vision, Cha Seohu turned to the Hunter who used lightning-based skills.

Boom! A bolt of lightning aimed at him from the sky seemed to fall in slow motion. With his boosted stats, Cha Seohu moved with blazing speed and dodged effortlessly. His movements were a stark contrast to earlier, when he had barely been able to avoid attacks.

The Hunter with the curved blade gritted his teeth.

‘How?’

Just moments ago, this S-class had been so beat up he couldn’t even dodge a single skill properly. How could he change so drastically in an instant? Could he have a buff skill? But there hadn’t been any noticeable energy flow from skill use…

Clang-clang-clang! The curved blade and Cha Seohu’s sword crossed and collided without pause.

The curved blade grazed Cha Seohu’s cheek, slicing off the mask he had been wearing. That was the only attack Cha Seohu had taken—while his opponent, the Hunter, was far more grievously wounded.

The electric current still surged along the edge of the Hunter’s sword. It was a skill that corroded the arm of whoever held the weapon it touched. The pain would eventually force the enemy to drop their weapon—and die. Moreover, pain inevitably caused hesitation, and hesitation created openings. The Hunter had encountered countless people who tried to endure the pain of this skill, only to make fatal mistakes and die.

This S-class had behaved exactly like those who had already died—at first.

The Hunter, face pale and drenched in cold sweat, screamed as if in disbelief, “You—how?!”

How could someone act like they felt absolutely no pain?

That unanswered question was the last thing on the Hunter’s mind as blood gushed from his neck. Cha Seohu, having severed it with a single strike, breathed heavily.

‘That’s it. Just one more left…’

Thud!

“Ugh!”

As Cha Seohu moved toward the Hunter who was being held off by the bird, a searing pain struck his chest like a hammer. He clutched his chest and doubled over.

Thump, thump!

His heart pounded harder than ever. Intense heat flooded his body, and waves of excruciating pain crashed over him.

“Hrk, ugh, hah…!”

Leaning against the wall, Cha Seohu collapsed, sliding down to the floor. A system window popped up before him.

Ding!

《The item’s effect has ended.》

《Warning! Side effects of the item have appeared!》

《Your body has reached its physical limit. All skills will be temporarily disabled. (Time Remaining: 11 hours 59 minutes)》

《Warning! The Silver Protection (Class S) skill will soon be deactivated.》

Cha Seohu was horrified as he read the message.

‘There was no mention of side effects!’

《Silver Protection (Class S) skill deactivation in 3…》

《Silver Protection (Class S) skill deactivation in 2…》

《Silver Protection (Class S) skill deactivation in 1…》

《Hidden Skill: Silver Protection (Class S) [Deactivated]》

Crackle!

Before he could even formulate a new plan, the hidden skill forcibly deactivated. His light blond hair turned black, and his body shrank noticeably. The S-class strength that had held his overstrained body together vanished without a trace.

Screech!

To make matters worse, even the black bird that had been shielding him couldn’t withstand the attack—it dispersed into shadows and disappeared.

In that moment, the remaining enemy revealed his true face—fangs protruded from his mouth, and his pupils narrowed like a beast’s.

“Grr, I’ll rip your limbs off and tear out your skull.”

Cha Seohu’s altered appearance should have at least raised suspicion, but the beast before him had long since lost all reason. Overwhelmed by bloodlust and rage, only a brutal instinct to kill remained.

Watching the Hunter approach, Cha Seohu desperately tried to think of a way out. But no matter how hard he racked his brain, no solution came to mind. He had no usable items left, and with a body that couldn’t even move a finger, escaping from an A-class Hunter was out of the question.

Still, he refused to give up. He clung to possibility, calculating every slim chance, fighting to find a way.

“…This is fucked.”

Looking up at the massive enemy towering over him, he let out a bitter laugh. A wave of unavoidable fear washed over him as he met the gleaming eyes of the beast, crazed with a thirst for more blood.

Its black fur-covered hand, claws razor-sharp, was larger than Cha Seohu’s face. He knew those claws would shred his body mercilessly, yet he didn’t look away.

The beast sneered at him—and then moved its hand.

Crack!

A strange, wet sound followed—flesh being torn, crushed. A waterfall of bright red blood gushed at Cha Seohu’s feet.

He had been bracing for the pain, biting his lip, but now he stared ahead in a daze.

A jet-black, spike-like object had erupted from the ground, piercing straight through the beast’s torso. The impaled creature coughed blood, reaching for the wound with a trembling hand.

Splat!

A black shadow withdrew from the beast’s body with merciless force and sank into the floor. Another spray of blood followed. The gaping hole was so wide you could see straight through it. When the shadow was pulled free, the beast was already dead, and its body slowly tilted backward.

Thud! Its massive form collapsed.

“Haah… hah…”

Freed from the crushing presence of murderous intent, Cha Seohu finally gasped for the breath he’d been holding. With the beast now lying on the floor, he could see the altar where the devotee had been praying, and the stained glass window bathed in moonlight.

At the center of it all, a black silhouette silently emerged.

Cha Seohu, pale as a sheet, blinked. At first, he thought he was seeing things—but no matter how many times he looked, the unfamiliar figure that had appeared out of nowhere didn’t disappear.

The thing that finally snapped him out of his daze after this shocking development was a familiar system alert.

Ding!

《Target has entered the restricted range. Status update in progress.》

‘What?’

Countless new system windows began popping up above the unfamiliar message.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

《Warning! The progress of the Seed of Calamity has increased!》

《Warning! The progress of the Seed of Calamity has increased!》

《Warning! The progress of the Seed of Calamity has increased!》

《Warning! The progress of the Seed of Calamity has increased!》

《Warning! The progress of the Seed of Calamity has increased!》

As he read the densely packed status windows, Cha Seohu’s fingertips began to tremble.

《Warning! The progress of the Seed of Calamity has increased!》

《Warning! The progress of the Seed of Calamity has increased!》

《Warning! The progress of the Seed of Calamity has increased!》

《Warning! The progress of the Seed of Calamity has increased!》

.

.

.

《Warning! The progress of the Seed of Calamity has surpassed 50%!》

《Memory synchronization with the seed has begun. (Current Sync Rate: 60%)》

‘What… is this…?’

Memory Synchronization

Automatically begins when the Seed of Calamity’s progress exceeds 50%.

The Seed of Calamity remembers and stores everything, and the host is influenced by the seed.

‘This is insane…’

Cha Seohu muttered a curse under his breath. It wasn’t because he understood what was happening. The only thing he realized in that moment—

—was who the man walking toward him was, revealed by the familiar aura brushing against his skin and the system window.

“Why do you look like that?” A soft voice echoed from beyond the darkness. “You came all this way to save me.”

Cha Seohu slowly raised his eyes from the status window. The man emerged from the haze of smoke and shadow. Black hair swaying in the breeze, and beneath it, a gleaming green sapphire earring.

“You should be happy. I came back alive.” Cha Sahyeon, reunited with Cha Seohu, curved his eyes into a deep, warm smile. “Brother.”

User Information: Sahyeon (Antagonist)

Age: 22

Primary Skill: Living Shadow (Class L)

Title: The Master of Shadows

Attack Power: Class L

Attack Speed: Class L

Movement Speed: Class L

Agility: Class L

Special Note▼

ㄴ Seed of Calamity (62% Progress) (60% Sync Complete)