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The man’s name was Jang Deuksu. His title was Iron Foot. Through the memories of his previous life, Lee Sungmin was able to recall that Iron Foot Jang Deuksu was one of the men who died at the hands of Wijihoyeon in the dungeon.
“Why are you here?”
Jang Deuksu’s gaze directed toward Lee Sungmin still held a hint of mistrust, but there was no longer any intense hostility like before. Lee Sungmin earned the title ‘Ghost Gun’ by killing an expert like Ghost Blade. Since then, his movements had been mysterious, but getting a title like Ghost Gun, it also had a symbolic meaning that signified the birth of a new hero and the beginnings of a new faction.
Ghost Blade, who killed Master Sungha and escaped, was a character that everyone knew. It was only natural for Jang Deuksu to be courteous to Lee Sungmin, who had killed such an expert.
“… I happened to chance upon it coincidentally. There was a red crystal that looked strange, so I came to check it out.”
[You’re lying with such a straight face.]
Rubia, who was under Lee Sungmin’s cape on his shoulder, grumbled. Lee Sungmin retorted, ‘Shut up,’ and shot a glance toward Jang Deuksu.
“Well… This must be your first time in a dungeon.”
“Is this a dungeon?”
Lee Sungmin pretended not to know. Jang Deuksu nodded his head as he spoke.
“We are here to stop Wijihoyeon. Do you know who Wijihoyeon is?”
“Of course I do.”
It became clear to him what had happened in this dungeon in his previous life. The experts who were killed by Wijihoyeon here were the ones who came to stop her.
“Why are you going to stop Wijihoyeon?”
That was the thing he didn’t understand. Lee Sungmin thought that his question might make Jang Deuksu wary of him again, but he had nothing to worry about.
“She is dangerous!”
Contrary to his worries, Jang Deuksu was not displeased by his question. Rather, he spat out passionately, saying that nothing could shake his resolve.
“In the Murim factions, no, rather, in the entirety of Genavis. Every day mysterious people are summoned into this dimension. But in the past 10 years, have you ever seen someone as powerful and impure as Wijihoyeon?”
“… Impure?”
“She calls herself the Son of a Heavenly Demon! If you’ve also learnt martial arts, you should not be completely unaware of what the title ‘Heavenly Demon’ symbolizes and how dangerous it is.”
“I am not from Murim.”
“what…?!”
In response to Lee Sungmin’s words, Jang Deuksu had a surprised expression. However, he soon nodded his head seemingly convinced.
“Right… That can also happen. Either way, we need to stop the Minor Heavenly Demon. That Heavenly Demon called Wijihoyeon is a dangerous being. In fact, she even defeated that Bloody Heavenly Demon of the north and cut off his left arm. The Sama Order has already dispatched a group with a strong focus on Wijihoyeon. Soon they will be able to threaten not only the Murim factions but the whole world. That’s why we must stop her.”
“… Is that so?”
“Of course! You don’t know much about dungeons, but I’ll tell you, attacking dungeons gives you enormous magical powers. If Wijihoyeon, who is already this dangerous, gets that power as well, it will make her completely unstoppable. So we’re here to stop Wijihoyeon.”
After saying that, Jang Deuksu stumbled over and approached Lee Sungmin. Then, he reached out with hands as big as a pot lid and grabbed Lee Sungmin’s shoulders.
“I hope you can help.”
“… how?”
“In this dungeon, Wijihoyeon has already entered along with the Heavenly Demon sect who are following her. Solitary Blade Dokgo, Crimson Death, Iron Fist Marang. Each one of them is an expert that has crossed the heights of transcendence.”
“Huh?”
Lee Sungmin, who was still listening to Jang Deuksu’s story, responded. Solitary Blade Dokgo, Crimson Death, Iron Fist Marang. Even when he traced the memories of his previous life, he hadn’t heard of anyone with such titles dying in this dungeon.
“What are you asking? The three of them came into this dungeon following Wijihoyeon.”
It was different from his previous life.
‘Wijihoyeon gained her fame faster than before. In the previous life, Wijihoyeon never had something called a Heavenly Demon sect following after her. However, in this life, she became famous not long after her duel with the Bloody Heavenly demon. That’s why she got so many followers faster.’
“You must not have come to stop Wijihoyeon alone, right?”
“Of course not! Murim factions’ warriors, including the leader, have been monitoring that monster since she declared she would enter the dungeon.”
“Who is there beside you in this dungeon?”
“There’s Silent Flare Baek Sogo, wandering sects’ Chwigeol, Peerless Warrior, and Heavenly Skyfall.”
Those names were very familiar to him. Those were the names of those experts who died at the hands of Wijihoyeon in his previous life. Hearing that, Lee Sungmin was able to grasp the situation. At Wijihoyeon’s declaration, Solitary Blade, Crimson Death Elder, and Iron Fist Marang, who are her followers, entered the dungeon. In addition, warriors from Murim factions, including Baek Sogo, came in to prevent Wijihoyeon.
‘Ghost Blade was dead, so he wouldn’t come. Instead, I came. But the numbers didn’t match.’
In his previous life, Wijihoyeon left alone after killing over 10 people in this dungeon. Three people that weren’t there in the dungeon originally were added, so the numbers didn’t match.
‘I guess there will be more people coming later. Or maybe they won’t.’
He already knew that it wasn’t going according to the past life. While Lee Sungmin thought that, Jang Deuksu was staring at him in earnest.
“Please lend us your strength.”
“… But… Why are there only you here? Where are the others?”
“that… Uh. Actually, I don’t even know where I am. A dungeon is not a place where common sense can be applied. Everyone came in, but when I woke up I was here alone. We probably got scattered…”
Was the situation good? No. If they were scattered and couldn’t locate each other, it could also be that Wijihoyeon and Baek Sogo were facing each other right at this moment.
“Okay. I’ll help.”
In response to Lee Sungmin’s answer, Jang Deuksu burst into laughter, feeling reassured.
[Please wait a minute. I am analyzing the layout of the dungeon.]
While Lee Sungmin followed behind Jang Deuksu, Rubia, who was hiding in his arms, murmured in a low voice.
‘What can you find out after analyzing it?’
[… you… You seem to be looking down on me too much. I am one of the best familiars created by Envirus, the Archmage. It’s a little too much to say with my own mouth, but no familiars created to date have been as good as me.]
‘Envirus himself is not famous.’
[that’s! My master hated being caught up in rumors… ]
‘Try it for now.’
He didn’t want to continue the scuffle with Rubia. Rubia murmured quietly when Lee Sungmin spoke.
“Hmm?”
All of a sudden
Jang Deuksu, who was walking in the lead, stepped on something. Listening to the small sound, Lee Sungmin felt a tingling chill on his back.
[Oh dear-]
Rubia sighed.
Their surroundings were shaking. Dungeons were not bound by common sense. Looking at what was happening, Lee Sungmin understood what that man told him. The ceiling and the walls disappeared. Soon, a foul odor permeated the air.
“This smell… !”
Jang Deuksu exclaimed with a distorted expression on his face. Lee Sungmin looked at Jang Deuksu, who was sputtering around as if he knew nothing and had to suppress his blood from boiling. Suddenly, the ground Lee Sungmin and Jang Deuksu were standing on turned into a winding road. Jang Deuksu looked around and pinched his nose while grumbling.
“Where are we now?”
“How would I know?”
Lee Sungmin grumbled and looked around. In the meantime, Jang Deuksu held up the axe that he was carrying behind his back. He went forward to shoot down the red wall with the axe. Lee Sungmin was frightened and rushed ahead to block him.
“wait, Wait! What the hell are you doing?”
“First of all, we need to break through the wall.”
“Don’t you think we should scout around first?”
“There is no time!”
Jang Deuksu exclaimed. Lee Sungmin sincerely wanted to kill him.
[… Hmm.]
Still, Jang Deuksu wasn’t entirely an idiot. After Lee Sungmin stopped him, he did not swing his axe anymore, looking uncomfortable.
[It’s a strange place. wall… No, I can’t even call it a wall. It’s more like flesh. Don’t touch anything. Like I said, common sense does not apply in a dungeon. This is a place where magical forces are entangled with strange unexplainable phenomena.]
‘… so?’
[You should get ready. Something is about to happen.]
Rubia warned. It was just as she said. The floor made of red flesh wriggled, and something soared out from it. What appeared was an ugly monster.
“… What is this again?”
Jang Deuksu murmured when he saw the monster soaring. The squirming flesh monster looked at Jang Deuksu and Lee Sungmin. Soon, it’s appearance changed.
The monster with the new form was wearing shamanic robes. Lee Sungmin opened his eyes wide when he saw the face of the wriggling monster.
“… Baek Sogo?”
Jang Deuksu said blankly. The mysterious monster was in the shape of Baek Sogo. Baek Sogo, no, the monster in the shape of Baek Sogo, stood silently without any action. Then it creaked and turned it’s head and looked toward Jang Deuksu.
Swik!
The monster’s figure disappeared. Lee Sungmin jumped back quickly. Unlike Lee Sungmin, Jang Deuksu’s reaction was a little late.
“Oh, Ohh…”
Bang! The monster that appeared out of thin air landed a kick on Jang Deuksu’s chest. Jang Deuksu’s mouth widened, and black blood splurged out. It was a heavy blow, but Jang Deuksu was also an expert. Shield force, which he pulled up in a moment, protected his body.
He knew.
Lee Sungmin saw a monster floating in the air and kicking out using a footwork technique. A moment ago, the move that monster used, That footwork. Lee Sungmin knew that. Shadowless Movement Technique. The method that Lee Sungmin constantly practiced in Mush’s mountain, in Shaolin, and in his subconscious world.
Why was the monster displaying such footwork?
Why did it take the form of Baek Sogo?
“A while… a while ago! Baek Sogo! Just…What the hell is this …!”
Jang Deuksu was unable to grasp the situation. He referred to the monster as Baek Sogo even though he saw that monster twist and turn into such a shape in front of his own eyes. The call disgusted Lee Sungmin. He grabbed his spear.
[That … It’s a Doppelganger. No, it’s a little different from the usual Doppelganger. Hey, are you listening?]
He knew.
That was not Baek Sogo. It was just a monster that had taken the form of Baek Sogo.
[How about calming down a bit?]
I won’t. Lee Sungmin answered like that in his mind. Jang Deuksu kept talking to the monster that was in the shape of Baek Sogo. So Foolish. Lee Sungmin grabbed Jang Deuksu’s shoulders, which were blocking the front. Jang Deuksu turned around and looked at Lee Sungmin with a surprised look on his face, but Lee Sungmin did not explain it to him. He didn’t think any good words would come out even if he opened his mouth.
“Wait, what are you doing…”
Jang Deuksu asked Lee Sungmin. Lee Sungmin did not listen and only looked at the monster standing in front. The monster… The monster in the shape of Baek Sogo. It looked at Lee Sungmin, blinking its eyes just like Baek Sogo, and stepped forward.
One step. Dozens of images hit Lee Sungmin. He lifted the spear without moving. He had no intention of using his Shadowless technique on it. Shadowless… He wanted to show it to Baek Sogo directly, not that monster. At that time, on that mountain. He had learnt that technique from her, and now this is how far he has come. He used to struggle to take even one step forward, but now he is like this.
You have grown up a lot.
How good it was to hear that from Baek Sogo the night he killed Ghost Blade.
He wanted to hear it again.
Dozens of afterimages of that Doppelganger flashed past his eyes violently. Lee Sungmin didn’t know how outstanding the ‘real’ Baek Sogo’s Shadowless technique was. On the mountain of Mush, the technique she had shown and her current level of it would be vastly different. However, it seemed to him that the monster’s technique was better than what Baek Sogo had shown him at the Mountain of Mush.
But he was not deceived by it. The red spear fluttered in his hands. And dozens of blades shot forward.
The afterimage was pierced through by his spear and scattered away.