Chapter 70
When you think about it, the world is truly unfair.
Just having great power—just being someone who reached the ranker seat before others—is enough reason for people to bow their heads and stay silent. Even if their potential surpasses that of the person standing above them, they still must yield.
‘Because they’re still weak.’
That’s the law of the strong—the strong dominate the weak.
Some might call it unjust.
They’d say it’s unfair that those who got strong first trample over growing seedlings, stopping them from ever blooming.
‘But.’
The world has always been this way.
From the beginning of nature, through socialism, to capitalism—it has always followed the law of survival of the fittest.
That’s why I wasn’t resentful.
Even when I decided to make the name “Dmir Workshop” known to the world, even when I told Soyul that I’d stand alone—I always kept this moment in mind.
“Alright, come at me.”
Let’s fight.
No matter what hardships you’ve endured as a ranker, I’m also a Hunter who’s survived countless trials.
Even if my legs tremble and my whole body is drenched in cold sweat—
“Sunny!”
—I won’t just stand still and take it.
“Solar Burst! Hit them in every direction!”
“As you command!”
Thrust!
Sunny kicked off the ground and leapt into the air. Then he swung his spear in every direction.
Flash! Flash!
The sunlight bursting from his spear scattered like camera flashes.
The purpose was simple—to block all shadows that Shadow Walker could use.
“You think that’ll stop me?”
Shadow Walker began to move.
His speed was unreal—so fast he was invisible to the naked eye.
So I closed my eyes.
It was better to sense his movements through the flow of energy than to rely on sight.
“Just because I can’t use shadows doesn’t mean I can’t kill you.”
Whoosh!
A sudden surge of killing intent made me twist my body instinctively.
Slash!
Blood splattered from my arm.
It burned.
Red blood dripped from a deep gash—the blade of Shadow Walker had barely grazed me.
My heart dropped.
‘If I’d reacted even a second slower…’
No—more importantly.
Wasn’t I using ‘Air Shield’?
As expected of a ranker.
He’d sliced through a maxed-out shield as if it were made of tofu.
[‘Bone Five’ uses skill ‘Air Shield’ (Lv.Max).]
Bone Five quickly reinforced the barrier.
Bone Four stepped up beside me, raising his shield.
[‘Bone Four’ uses skill ‘Intermediate Taunt’ (Lv.6).]
“A taunt skill? Pathetic.”
Shadow Walker’s voice echoed from all directions—meaning he was circling me at a terrifying speed.
“Taunts only work if your tank can take the hit.”
Boom!
Bone Four’s shield rattled under a heavy impact.
“How fragile.”
“Bone Five!”
[‘Bone Five’ uses skill ‘Fireball’ (Lv.Max).]
[‘Bone Five’ uses skill ‘Fire Field’ (Lv.4).]
Flames erupted, coating the area to block the enemy’s approach.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Eldrin fired arrows one by one with calm precision, predicting his movements.
“…”
I didn’t retreat.
I felt the flow of every skeleton’s movement, controlling each one in perfect sync.
Even if I died here today—I wanted it to be a fight I’d never regret.
“You’re just a non-ranker, and yet you dare to resist?”
Rustle!
Shadow Walker split into two.
One real, one fake—but both equally deadly.
“Man, you sure talk a lot.”
I muttered under my breath.
To be honest, it was annoying.
Not that I was underestimating him, but after meeting rankers within the top 100, and even beings far beyond rankers recently, hearing this guy talk down to me just didn’t sit right.
My chest couldn’t accept it.
“What did you just say?”
“If you’re a ranker, fine. But you’re the one trying to kill me. What’s with the ‘you dare resist me’ nonsense? What are you, a teenager with a superiority complex?”
[‘Bone Five’ uses skill ‘Haste’ (Lv.4).]
Buzz!
A buff spread over me and the other skeletons.
[‘Eldrin’ uses skill ‘Poison Arrow’ (Lv.4).]
Whish! Whoosh!
Eldrin’s poisoned arrows flew through the air.
“If you went to Sunny or Eldrin’s world, you wouldn’t even be an extra. So shut up and fight.”
I wasn’t going down easily.
—
“Phew.”
Step, step.
“All done.”
Walking along the streets of Apgujeong under the dim night sky, Ki Soyul exhaled softly, gazing at the round full moon above.
She had just cleared an A-rank dungeon—Minotaur’s Palace—and upon returning to Seoul, she immediately revealed her new S-rank weapon to the public.
A dark-bladed dagger for assassins.
Naturally, Ki Parang, master of the Parang Guild, was furious.
– “Hey, Soyul? Are you out of your mind? Since when do you share weapon details publicly? You wouldn’t even tell me, your brother!”
His messages continued—
– “What? You’re quitting Parang? Are you on something?”
When she added a formal resignation letter, he lost it.
– “Unbelievable! You’ve completely lost it. What kind of fox bewitched you, huh? Is it that Joo Donghoon guy? I swear I’ll rip his tails off one by one if that’s what it takes to bring you back!”
Ki Parang shook his head in disbelief.
‘Should’ve never added that non-compete clause.’
Anyway, the ordeal dragged on for about two weeks.
Parang’s resistance was strong, but so was her stubbornness.
Actually, it turned out she was even more headstrong than he thought.
‘Still, I have to do what needs to be done.’
Both for her guild and for him.
She couldn’t keep causing problems for either side.
If she joined as his bodyguard now, she wouldn’t be able to maintain her position at the guild.
– “Look. That guy made an S-rank weapon like it was nothing.”
– “Remember? In a month, he’s meeting the Dungeon Maker—by our recommendation.”
– “If he survives that, he’ll be a ranker too.”
– “If I grow alongside him, that’s good for Parang, isn’t it? We’ll gain an ally.”
– “Think of it as an investment in the future.”
Those were the arguments she’d used to convince Ki Parang.
And now—having won that argument—Ki Soyul walked confidently toward ‘Dmir Workshop’.
‘But…’
What should she even say?
Another soft sigh escaped her lips.
‘Can I… be your bodyguard again?’
“Ugh.”
She shook her head violently, goosebumps running down her arms.
Asking to be taken back? Ridiculous.
That wasn’t the kind of thing she could ever say out loud.
“Haa…”
Honestly, this felt harder than any dungeon she’d cleared.
She hadn’t begged, yet she was about to offer to protect him of her own accord.
Wasn’t that kind of pathetic?
‘Maybe I’m just getting ahead of myself.’
He’d said he wanted to stand on his own, after all.
Right.
That’s why she was hesitating.
What if he didn’t actually want her back?
“…”
Hm?
That’s when she noticed it.
A faint trace of familiar energy lingering in the air.
Unique—and similar to her own.
“Shadow Walker?”
Her mind raced.
If it was him, that meant he was connected to Oseong Group.
And if someone like him was here in Apgujeong—
“…”
Ki Soyul’s eyes turned cold as frost.
Whoosh!
In an instant, her figure vanished from sight.
Faster than a blink.
—
“…”
Shadow Walker furrowed his brow.
“What the hell…?”
These skeletons were wrong—each one gave off an unsettling aura.
No matter how many he shattered, they just kept coming back.
Especially the one with the shield—it kept using that annoying taunt skill, forcing him to target it again and again.
‘And they multiply, too?’
Every time one died, it summoned another weaker one.
Individually insignificant, but in numbers, it was irritating.
‘If only I had my shadows…’
He was the Shadow Walker—the one who walked beneath the darkness.
But with Sunny’s light and Eldrin’s glowing arrows, there wasn’t a single shadow to use.
He could only rely on raw physical force.
“Tch.”
Not that he felt threatened—just annoyed by the time he was wasting.
“No matter how much light you make, unless you fill the whole world with it, shadows will always return.”
He moved swiftly.
In that motion, he found an opening—and struck.
Crack! Smash!
With each swing of his blade and kick of his heel, skeletons shattered like sand.
The light around him began to flicker, dimming.
Flash!
From within the thinning glow, darkness grew—like a solar eclipse devouring the sun.
“Shadow Field.”
He muttered.
“A skill that forcibly creates shadows.”
As expected of a ranker.
Of course someone like him wouldn’t leave his weakness unguarded.
“This ends here, Dmir Workshop’s master.”
“Ha. That’s new.”
Bit by bit, the shadows consumed the sunlight that Sunny radiated.
“But that line—‘this ends here’—that’s a little dramatic, don’t you think? Sounds like something out of a teenager’s diary.”
“Shut your mouth, or I’ll make sure it’s the only thing left of you!”
Whoosh!
Shadow Walker dove into the shadows.
“…Good.”
If I could throw him off balance even a little, it was worth it.
To win, I had to do everything I could.
“I’ll be honest, Shadow Walker—I find you disgusting.”
[‘Bone Four’ uses skill ‘Intermediate Taunt’ (Lv.6).]
Crash!
Bone Four shattered again.
Shadow Walker had struck from the shadows.
“Wearing the title of ranker that others only dream of, yet using it to commit atrocities for money—you’re filth.”
[Skill: Summon Great Skeletons (B-rank) activated.]
[Energy cost: 10.]
[‘Bone Four’ has been summoned.]
Rattle!
As long as I had energy left, Bone Four would always rise again.
“You walk around bragging about being a ranker, but you’re nothing more than a contract killer. A soulless piece of trash driven by greed.”
[Hunter: Joo Donghoon]
[Alias: Skeleton Lord]
[Energy: 50/220]
Fwoom!
Bone Four slammed his shield into the ground again, ready to take the next hit for me.
“In my eyes, you’re not a ranker, not even human—just a beast that can’t control its own desires. Garbage.”
“Shut up!”
Suddenly—
Whoosh!
Two Shadow Walkers emerged—one in front of Bone Four, one behind me.
Both leapt high, gripping their blades with both hands, aiming for our heads.
‘Damn it…’
I understood his plan instantly.
He was using Bone Four’s taunt to create a split-second opening—a clever move.
“Master!”
“Lord! Please, move!”
Eldrin, Sunny, Bone One, and Bone Five all reacted immediately, pouring their energy into defense—but it wasn’t enough.
“…”
I clenched my jaw.
I could feel it instinctively.
There was no way to block this strike.
‘Not yet.’
Frustration welled up.
If only I’d had more time.
If I’d reached A-rank—or gotten closer to mastering the Legacy of the Ten Thousand Arts—things might have been different.
Grit.
But I didn’t give up.
Even as my teeth ground together, I glared at him.
Then—
Boom!
A deafening explosion rocked the building.
Something shot up from below like a flash of light, kicking the two Shadow Walkers away with overwhelming force.
“G-guh…!”
They slammed into the wall, twitching helplessly like crushed insects.
And behind me—
“Donghoon.”
A familiar peony scent brushed past me, along with a soft, steady breath.
“I’m sorry. I was too late.”
Ah.
Someone who could kick away a ranker like Shadow Walker—rank 720 in the world—with a single blow.
And someone who called me “Donghoon.”
There was only one person like that.
The Shadow Empress, Ki Soyul.
One of Korea’s thirty-seven rankers—and ranked 379th in the world.
(T/N : Sorry for ending it with a cliffhanger!!)