Chapter 150

[Skill: Silence]

[Grade: S]

[Effect 1: Your movements become stealthier.]

[Effect 2: Your movement speed increases within shadows.]

[Effect 3: Your footsteps make no sound when walking within shadows.]

How long had it been since I’d last obtained a new skill?

Silence was a passive skill.

Fundamentally, my movements became as stealthy as an assassin’s.

And whenever I moved, I could feel a dark, ink-colored shadow flickering off my body.

– You rascal.

The Elder nodded, looking proud.

– You’re now solving things on your own without me having to tell you.

‘Aw, how could that be? It’s largely thanks to you, Elder.’

Swish.

I took a step forward.

My movements had definitely become smoother.

The Shepherd Lord I’d just defeated.

My nickname for him, [Cross-Pup], was a powerhouse second only to the King in this place.

And since I’d beaten a guy like that…

It was no exaggeration to say this place was my world now.

“Go on, try to mess with me again. You mutts.”

I rushed forward and swung my spear.

Whooong!

One of the Shepherds misstepped, flustered.

I didn’t miss it.

‘Was it you?’

‘The one who smacked me on the back of the head and ran off earlier?’

Time for immediate revenge.

Thwack!

I struck the back of its head.

A sound like a watermelon cracking rang out.

– Whimper!

With the heavy feeling in my hand, it vanished pathetically.

– Grrr!

– Grrrr, woof woof!

The remaining Shepherds tensed and started moving in earnest.

They didn’t even taunt me with strange noises anymore.

“……”

The magic they gave off pressed down on my shoulders.

‘As expected.’

None of them were at the Lord’s level.

But there was no doubt—this was an aura I never could’ve ignored before.

However.

Swoosh.

I slowly raised my spear.

‘Now.’

I’m starting to give off a scent of my own.

The scent I’d always admired from Rankers was finally seeping from my body.

– You’ve improved a lot. You finally know how to dominate a space.

‘I still have a long way to go.’

Thump.

I lightly kicked off the ground.

I no longer needed to close my eyes.

I opened them and stared in every direction.

‘My own way.’

If their shadows came from the daily life of the Shadow Clan…

Then my shadow, too, comes from my daily life.

From the moment I gained my own shadow, there was no need to imitate anyone.

– Kkeo-keong!

One of them charged straight at me.

It was fast and stealthy, but—

‘It’s nothing compared to Cross-Pup.’

I lightly deflected its attack.

Then—

Stab!

As if it were the most natural thing in the world, the spearhead pierced the Shepherd’s lower abdomen.

Sssss!

It scattered like dust and disappeared.

– Excellent.

The Elder was now sitting cross-legged in midair, thoroughly enjoying himself.

He looked so comfortable I almost envied him.

– That’s right. With that one move, you’ve already seized the initiative. Those creatures have already lost this battle. From now on, they’ll just be dragged along. That is the power of domination. And that’s not all.

The Elder continued from above.

– Their greatest advantages were speed and stealth, were they not? But now, those are no longer effective. Because you are much faster, and much stealthier.

He was right.

I was faster now.

My reaction speed was better too, and I’d even acquired stealth.

More than anything, I could now see their movements. Feel them.

‘Of course.’

If they rushed at me with the intent to kill, it would be a different story.

All of this was only possible because the King had ordered them not to harm me.

‘Here I go.’

I swung my spear without mercy.

There were still heaps and heaps of Shepherds to catch.

All of them were points.

It was time to finish the Theme.

—

“Hooo.”

“Hooooo……”

The hologram room.

The examiners finally exhaled the breaths they’d been holding.

The air was thick with relief.

“Shit! Did he survive in the end?”

“No. He was alive the whole time, of course. Because he’s Joo Donghoon.”

“Phew, what happened?”

The nine examiners’ hands were drenched in sweat.

They’d nearly jumped out of their seats when Joo Donghoon kept moving and entered that dim, barely visible space.

The Domain of Shadows.

The Shadow Shepherd King’s space was something they’d never seen before.

Not even the senior examiner, Luka.

Not even the Mudskippers, who had a decent record.

Let alone a King, or a Lord.

They’d never even encountered the Shepherd executives around it.

‘It was completely pitch-black.’

‘A space where you couldn’t hear or see anything. Like not a single ray of light could get in.’

‘What on earth did Joo Donghoon see in there, and what did he do?’

The moment he touched the shimmering Domain of Shadows—

Joo Donghoon vanished.

And for a long time, at that.

“Haa, that was intense.”

Sweat beaded on Floa’s forehead too.

Why?

She had bet almost everything on Joo Donghoon’s team surpassing 300,000 points.

What if Joo Donghoon disappeared into that shadow and got eliminated just like that?

‘That would have been the absolute worst.’

She’d already taken every penalty there was.

If she lost money on top of that…

“Ugh.”

Bzzzzzt!

The crackling electricity running over her body said it for her.

‘But.’

It’s not over yet.

[1st Place ‘Dragon Slayer’, 145,000 points.]

[2nd Place ‘Crazy’, 120,500 points.]

[3rd Place ‘Magic Swordsman’, 100,300 points.]

[4th Place ‘Rider’, 96,000 points.]

[5th Place ‘Lions’, 95,500 points.]

……

‘Dragon Slayer’ had already reclaimed first place.

That was because the team members—excluding Joo Donghoon—were still hunting diligently.

But none of the examiners were surprised.

Their only concern was whether that team would surpass 300,000 points.

Of the nine, two had bet the under, and seven had bet the over.

“Let’s gooo!”

Floa shouted.

Joo Donghoon—who they’d thought was dead—had returned alive.

The shadow swallowing the space had receded.

And Joo Donghoon, facing the Shepherds again, was revealed.

His figure, casually holding a spear while looking down on the surrounded Shadow Shepherds.

‘Fuck, that’s so cool!’

Floa’s heart pounded.

If it was him…

It felt like he could grow her fortune, even if just a little.

“Go, Master! Fuck them all up!”

As she shouted, Joo Donghoon’s spear in the hologram began to move with grace.

Pababat!

Shepherds rushed in at nearly the speed of sound.

Th-th-thwack!

Joo Donghoon parried them at the same speed.

– Kiging!

– Kegegegeng!

Like ripples spreading from the center of a lake, the shadows around Joo Donghoon were knocked tumbling away all at once.

Those Shepherds.

Swoosh!

Joo Donghoon moved to catch them.

He dealt with them one by one.

[1st Place ‘Dragon Slayer’, 145,000 points.]

The already overwhelming score—

[1st Place ‘Dragon Slayer’, 186,000 points.]

– Whimper!

It shot up exponentially with the sound of dogs being caught.

[1st Place ‘Dragon Slayer’, 217,000 points.]

The speed it was rising at was on a different level than before.

“He’s crazy! Mister Joo! Is that why he’s my Master? He’s insane! Uwaaah!”

Floa screamed without even knowing what she was saying.

Ecstasy surged through her whole body.

The other examiners stared, mouths agape.

In the midst of it all—

“By the way, Joo Donghoon… seems to have changed a bit, don’t you think?”

Someone muttered.

Someone else replied.

“It’s not ‘seems like,’ he has changed! Look there, a black shadow is shimmering around his body!”

“You’re right, his speed has increased too. It’s as if he’s become one of them, like those Shepherds…”

“Crazy…? Don’t tell me he absorbed all those techniques in that short time? By what method…?”

It was baffling.

They were dumbfounded by how completely different he looked coming out compared to when he went in.

“After the Toxin Mist, did he just devour the Shepherds now?”

“Wow, how is that a Ranker candidate?”

“I should have devoured them like that back in my day…”

Some were in awe.

Others were filled with regret.

They regretted not being able to do what Joo Donghoon did when they were candidates.

“Bullshit.”

Floa muttered.

‘You think that’s something you can do just because you want to?’

She knew because she’d fought Joo Donghoon herself.

‘That bastard.’

There was something special about him.

He was someone who made the impossible look possible.

Even if there were tricks involved—

‘In the first place, Delilah’s trial condition is to use any means necessary.’

That, too, was skill.

That, too, was wisdom.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwaaack!

Even as the Shepherds fell one by one—

The fact that they weren’t showing killing intent must also be a product of the wisdom he’d created.

Thwaack! Thwack!

As time passed, some expressions brightened.

Others twisted.

[1st Place ‘Dragon Slayer’, 379,000 points.]

Why?

Because they’d already surpassed 300,000.

Not only that—the score was still climbing.

As if mocking the idea of setting the baseline at a mere 300,000.

“Kuhahahaha! I knew I could trust you!”

Floa danced around.

For her, this was the first profit she’d made since becoming an examiner.

—

Thwaaack!

– Whimper!

The last Shepherd vanished with the sound of its head bursting.

“Hoo, hoo!”

I let out ragged breaths.

Sweat drenched my entire body, and my heart kept pounding furiously.

‘Ah, finally.’

It was over.

I had single-handedly dealt with all the Shepherds except the King.

Hoo.

I cut off my breathing with a short exhale.

Then I put away my spear.

And offered a silent prayer toward the vanished shadows.

How could I not know?

That they had gone easy on me.

The King kept his promise.

He didn’t harm me until the end and gave me all the Shepherds as points.

He even taught me the state of Silence.

“……”

I let my spear hang down again and looked forward.

A giant, ink-black dog was gazing at me gently.

– This should be enough. I can still see areas where you are lacking, but it is now your share to develop those further.

I nodded.

Right. I’ll acknowledge that much.

– Then now. Will you keep your promise?

The Shadow Shepherd King asked cautiously.

“Of course.”

If we fought even now, I would still lose.

Everything I’d gained was the result of the Shadow Shepherd King’s misunderstanding.

But even so—

“Thank you.”

I was truly grateful.

So grateful I wanted to give him everything I could.

– No need for thanks.

And yet his expression looked no different from mine.

– I am more grateful. Thanks to you… thanks to you.

His voice trembled, unlike usual.

– I have been able to seize the opportunity I have waited for for a countless amount of time. Being from another world, I am truly, sincerely grateful!

He was excited.

For his sake, I made my spear disappear.

Srrrt.

To be precise, I transformed it into a bracelet.

Closing my eyes, I puffed out my chest.

– If, by chance, the day comes when we meet again……

At that moment—

Stab!

A cold, foreign object entered my chest.

– At that time, I will never forget this favor.

My vision blurred into chaos.

“……”

Had my other comrades finished things up too?

The ink-black dog disappeared.

Soon after—

[Tiring!]

[The ‘Dragon Slayer’ team has completed the trial of ‘Theme 4’.]

Along with the welcome message—

[Moving to the location of ‘Theme 5’.]

[Surviving Members: 7]

[Calculating rewards.]

My blurred vision became a mess of colors.