𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟒𝟏
Currently, there are four empty trait slots, but I didn’t plan on filling them all right away.
「𝙄𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙚, 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙗𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙘𝙧𝙚.」
From now on, the traits I obtain must be A-rank or higher.
「. . .𝘼-𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩 𝙖𝙘𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨.」
However, if I make good use of the current situation, which is no different from a chaotic era, I will somehow find a way.
Thus, I was currently in Incheon with Arietta.
I had come in search of a target, an S-rank yokai with a neck length of over 4 feet and outstanding regenerative abilities.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙩 𝙄 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙗𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙚.」
It’s the A+ rank trait, Tenacious Struggle.
Although it has the harsh acquisition condition of having to face more than ten high-ranking yokai over the course of a week, as I said earlier, it’s not impossible right now.
“Who are you?”
While we were walking, eliminating small fry yokai, a group of exorcists who seemed to be on patrol discovered us and approached us.
“I am Han Kang-yoon, a 3rd-grade exorcist.”
“I am Yoo Jong-hee, a 1st-grade exorcist belonging to the Enforcement Bureau of the headquarters. I am currently cooperating with the exorcists of the Incheon Defense Corps. Are you acting without any particular affiliation?”
He immediately asked questions, but he didn’t seem to be pressing the issue.
In a situation like this, there would be more than a few exorcists acting individually, so it’s probably just a simple verification procedure.
“Yes. I was originally near Seoul, but I came here after hearing that you were short-handed.”
“That’s very kind of you. However, it would be better if you refrain from acting in this area for the time being.”
“Is it because of the S-rank rumor?”
“Yes. The subjugation team may have already encountered it by now.”
It seemed that a subjugation team had been formed to hunt down the S-rank yokai.
In that case, Yoo Jong-hee’s mission would be to clean up the surroundings and take care of any yokai that could get in the way.
In other words, it meant that the S-rank yokai was somewhere not too far away.
Immediately after parting ways with Yoo Jong-hee, Arietta, who had been keeping quiet, turned her gaze towards me and asked.
“. . .Junior, are we going to catch it?”
“It wouldn’t be a problem if we didn’t. . . . . .But I think it would be better to check it out.”
In any case, in order to obtain the Tenacious Struggle trait, I need to at least get involved in a fight with the S-rank yokai.
Thinking about Yoo Jong-hee’s patrol route, I estimated where the fierce battle would take place, and I moved in that direction for a while.
And finally, I was able to face the scene where enormous auras were clashing.
「𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨. . . . . . .」
It seemed like there were some strangely familiar faces mixed in the crowd, and as expected, it seemed that the leader of the subjugation team was Cheong Gi-beom and his faction.
And for some reason, there was more than one S-rank yokai.
Therefore, the exorcists of the subjugation team were also divided into groups, and they seemed to be having a harder time than expected.
【Mahvabata】
▶Level 67
【Vinny】
▶Level 59
「𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎-𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙞 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙪𝙢𝙤𝙧, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝘼+ 𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙠?」
In any case, it was like a windfall for me.
It was a golden opportunity to face two high-ranking yokai at once.
I had no qualms about it, so I approached Vinny, the A+ rank yokai, and stepped in front of an exorcist who was facing a crisis.
“Blazing Fire Suppression.”
Bang!
Zzzap!
A huge cloud of flames made of my spiritual power completely blocked the bundle of thorns that Vinny had shot out.
Blazing Fire Suppression, an advanced defensive spell.
Originally, it was a trait with advanced spell characteristics that required chanting, so it was difficult to use at the right time in actual combat, but now that I had it, I could control it perfectly.
The man who had suddenly stepped in front of him made a blank expression, then soon realized who I was and smiled frankly.
“. . .I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Cheong Jin-su, the third-in-command of Cheong Gi-beom’s faction, who had helped us during the previous conflict over the azure dragon.
He and his subordinates were the ones fighting at the forefront with Vinny.
“How did you know we were here?”
“I happened to come to Incheon, and I came to see if I could be of any help. I didn’t know that you would be here.”
In fact, my target was Mahvabata, the S-rank yokai that had appeared in Incheon, so it wasn’t exactly a lie.
However, it was fortunate for Cheong Jin-su.
“Thank you very much. This will ease my mind.”
In fact, Vinny was no more than a yokai of the same rank as Cheong Jin-su, but Mahvabata was stronger than expected.
After hearing the details, it seemed that he had been fighting a fierce battle with Vinny, who had suddenly barged in while he was already exhausted from the battle with Mahvabata.
「𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙤, 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙂𝙞-𝙗𝙚𝙤𝙢 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙐𝙣-𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚.」
And although I felt sorry for Vinny, he was also not a difficult opponent for me if we were to fight one-on-one.
“I will take the vanguard.”
“. . .Sure. Leave it to me.”
Vinny was a yokai that I was also encountering for the first time, and his traits were also ambiguous, so I couldn’t accurately predict his fighting style.
However, it didn’t matter. Even if I didn’t gather information, overwhelming power was a tactic in and of itself.
“Sand Blood.”
Blood flowed from the back of Arietta’s hand and scattered into the air like sand, digging into Vinny’s entire body.
And the moment Arietta waved her hand, they became powerful restraints that began to squeeze Vinny’s body.
『Grrrrrr!』
Vinny let out a strange cry and resisted, but it was too late.
Now, I had enough firepower to deal a fatal blow to my opponent with that brief opportunity.
“Cleansing Death Fragrance.”
Sizzle!
Swish swish!
『Grrrrrr─!』
The advanced curse spell of Hektel, which I had been using frequently lately, accurately hit Vinny and eroded his flesh.
Vinny desperately resisted, feeling the threat of death, but Arietta’s full-powered spell completely suppressed even his struggles.
「𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙.」
Truly an astonishing binding force. Even if I were the one who was bound by it, I’m not confident that I could easily escape.
Although Beatrice, who was originally a user of the Rare Blood trait, had roughly told me about it, to be honest, I feel like Arietta is pushing the limits of the trait even more than she did.
Just like that, Vinny was unable to put up any resistance and met his end as he was hit by the consecutive attacks of the exorcists.
「𝙊𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚. . . . . . .」
Although I had been confident in Cheong Gi-beom’s victory from the beginning, it seemed that the battle was going better than expected.
In the end, Mahvabata was the first to concede a fatal blow, and the battle was gradually coming to an end.
I discreetly shot out a spell or two, supporting Cheong Gi-beom’s faction and the other exorcists from behind.
“This bastard! It’s over!”
Will of the Martial God.
The grand spell used by the high-ranking elders of the Cheong family hit its mark, and in the end, Mahvabata also fell, following Vinny.
Woooosh!
It was a perfect victory, but even though they had achieved great success, Cheong Gi-beom’s expression was not very good.
“Un-cheol, you must have felt it too.”
“Yes. That’s for sure. It seems that the elder’s prediction was correct.”
In front of the exorcists who were tilting their heads at such a reaction, Cheong Gi-beom clicked his tongue and spoke in a confident voice.
“These guys, if we leave them alone, they’ll just get stronger.”
The second variable of Hell difficulty. That was the moment it was revealed from someone else’s mouth.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
After having his subordinates clean up the scene, Cheong Gi-beom then moved to a different location with me to have a conversation.
Just like me, Cheong Gi-beom seemed to have a lot of questions for me.
Bang!
“Tell me the truth. Are you hiding something from me?”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t play dumb. Are you really telling me that you don’t know everything about the Blue-White Soul Mirror?”
I was honestly surprised by Cheong Gi-beom’s question, which had caught me off guard from the start.
Although I had used the sentiment function and sensed it, the current Cheong Gi-beom had definitely grown compared to before.
Although he didn’t know how to use it properly, it seemed that he had made his own progress and seen results by utilizing the mirror part of the Blue-White Soul Mirror.
「𝘿𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨?」
He was certainly a genius who had risen to the rank of special-grade exorcist on his own.
As expected, Cheong Gi-beom seemed to be a person with much better intuition and abilities than I had thought.
“What the elder says is correct. In fact, there is another way to use the Blue-White Soul Mirror.”
“Look at this sly bastard, trying to swindle me?”
“However, to do that, we need another sacred treasure of the Cheong family, the Blue-White Sword. And as you know, that is. . . . . . .”
“Dammit, are you saying that it’s useless even if I know about it?”
Cheong Gi-beom was a very quick-witted person. I could tell just by the way he clicked his tongue and sighed when Cheong So-ha’s name was mentioned.
However, Cheong Gi-beom’s pursuit did not end there.
“But if my prediction is correct, it seems that you have experienced it yourself. Am I wrong?”
That’s right.
I had faced a trial through the true use of the Blue-White Soul Mirror, and I had passed it, achieving great success.
No matter what, it was a really sharp-witted guy to realize that much.
“There’s no need to be so surprised. If you know the circumstances, it’s easy to notice the changes.”
“Changes?”
“To me, the current you seems much bigger than before. If you don’t notice anything after seeing that, then that’s an even bigger problem.”
I knew that the size of the vessel had changed, but I didn’t know that it would be so noticeable to other people.
Perhaps Cheong Gi-beom’s intuition was just that sharp, but if what he said was true, then it was not strange for him to notice the connection with the Blue-White Soul Mirror.
“So, how was the effect?”
“Yes. It was just as difficult.”
“You sly bastard. I’ve heard rumors, but it seems that Cheong So-ha really cares about you.”
Unlike the way he had been pursuing me, Cheong Gi-beom didn’t seem to be in a bad mood.
When I expressed my curiosity about it, Cheong Gi-beom, who had read my expression, continued speaking as if there was nothing strange about it.
“You didn’t even accurately grasp the information about the item you wanted, so strictly speaking, it was a good deal even if you were hit.”
“. . .It makes me feel guilty when you say it like that.”
“Don’t worry about it. I don’t hate you that much.”
It seemed that Cheong Gi-beom placed importance on the act of establishing a relationship with me through our transaction, and maintaining that friendship.
“Don’t be so humble. In fact, you know that you’re no longer at a level where I can suppress you. Right now. . . . . .Un-cheol wouldn’t be able to handle it either.”
Cheong Un-cheol, who had been resting at a short distance away, got up and spoke as if he had caught wind of what was being said.
“Haha, elder, no matter what, that’s. . . . . . .”
“If you don’t want to admit it, then stick around. You won’t be able to hold out for even 5 minutes.”
Cheong Un-cheol sat back down with a surprised expression, as if he had realized that it was not a joke.
“Anyway, I want to maintain a good relationship with you in the future.”
“Then I will gratefully accept your intentions.”
He, who was once my business partner, was now saying that he wanted to become my true ally. It was nothing but a good thing for me.
And Cheong Gi-beom continued speaking, taking a sip of tea.
“And if possible, can you somehow persuade Cheong So-ha to. . . . . . ?”
As expected, he still hadn’t been able to let go of his attachment to the Blue-White Soul Mirror.
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