A secluded place on the Dungeon Island.
The darkness, which had seemed empty, rippled once and a middle-aged man appeared.
It was none other than the Shadow Lord.
Even after the Illusion Demon was captured, he had remained on the Dungeon Island.
He let out a bitter sigh.
How could things go this wrong?
The original plan laid out by Blood Brain had been simple and straightforward.
The Illusion Demon would gather information openly in the light, while he worked covertly in the shadows.
Then, they would steal the Blood Wind Sword and calmly escape the island. That was it.
But because of that damn drug addict…!The Shadow Lord clenched his teeth in frustration.
Just when it seemed everything was going smoothly, the Illusion Demon had gone on a rampage after ingesting some strange substance, only to be quickly subdued and dragged away.
Thanks to that, their operational power had been slashed to less than half.
In practical terms, it meant continuing the mission was now impossible.
Logically, this was the point to accept failure and return to the cult. But as a Grand Elder, the Shadow Lord knew the inner workings of the Blood Cult better than anyone.
Failure means death.
The moment he submitted a report, the Supreme One would likely blow his head off.
Even if he somehow survived, a fate worse than death awaited him.
He would be demoted to a common grunt and become the target of all kinds of contempt and mockery from fellow cultists.
“Rather than suffer such humiliation… it’s better to die completing the mission.”
Better to die as a warrior than live as a coward.
The Shadow Lord once again renewed his resolve to see things through to the end.
Of course, reality was not something that could be overcome by resolve alone.
Thanks to the Illusion Demon’s flashy outburst, the security at Dragon Slayer Academy was now at its highest level.
When he had first infiltrated Dungeon Island, the lax defenses had seemed almost laughable. But now, that evaluation had changed completely.
“They say it’s the safest place in the world. And now I see why.”
Even he, an A-rank master of the highest level, couldn’t find a single opening to exploit.
Despite all his efforts, he had gained nothing of value.
At this rate, I’m just wasting time.
If he wanted to achieve anything, he would have to take a risk and act more boldly.
And then, one name surfaced in the Shadow Lord’s mind.
Kim Ho.
After witnessing the Illusion Demon fail so spectacularly, he had temporarily ruled Kim Ho out as a target.
However, given that there was no other opening to exploit at the moment, it seemed wiser to revisit the option of targeting Kim Ho after all.
They said he used wind-type skills. There was a high possibility of some connection to the Blood Wind Sword.
Of course, he won’t be an easy one either.
At the time, the Shadow Lord had watched the fight between the Illusion Demon and Kim Ho.
More precisely, he had seen Kim Ho nimbly dodging and escaping from the Illusion Demon’s attacks.
Even accounting for the fact that it was only a few exchanges and that the Illusion Demon hadn’t been in his right mind, the fact that Kim Ho hadn’t taken a single hit was still impressive.
Even if the Shadow Lord were to ambush him, Kim Ho would probably hold out for a while.
But who says it has to come to a fight?
His objective was the Blood Wind Sword, nothing more.
If necessary, he was even willing to resolve things in a peaceful manner not like the Blood Cult. It was through negotiation or a deal.
If Kim Ho had no connection to the Blood Wind Sword whatsoever, then he’d simply look elsewhere.
It would stir up trouble on Dungeon Island again, but he was prepared for that much.
Besides, Dragon Slayer Academy was already on maximum alert, and they clearly suspected remnants were still lurking around.
Even if Kim Ho turned out to be uncooperative or outright hostile, it didn’t matter.
Even if he’s destined to become a tiger, for now, he’s just a cub.
If the Shadow Lord resolved to ambush him, he could easily snap his neck.
The next problem was how to approach him.
Rushing in blindly would be the worst plan.
Kim Ho himself would be more cautious by now, and he was probably being guarded. Whether openly or discreetly.
There was a high chance the Shadow Lord would expose himself without even getting the chance to speak.
But of course, he had already considered this as well.
To capture the general, shoot the horse.
If he could reach someone around Kim Ho, an opportunity might arise.
For now, he would need to spend some time observing. Regardless, the direction was clear.
At last, the Shadow Lord’s figure silently melted back into the darkness.
As before, nothing remained in the area.
***
Late at night.
Song Cheon-hye lay down on her bed in her pajamas.
Then she pulled the blanket up to cover her face, leaving only her eyes visible as she stared at the ceiling.
“……”
If it had been any other night, she would’ve rewatched a few of Kim Ho’s replays, gone through some from the other promising students, and then fallen asleep after watching Kim Ho’s matches again once, twice, or maybe even three times.
But tonight, she just couldn’t bring herself to do it.
Even just looking at the replay orb reminded her of what had happened earlier in the day.
Her preliminary match against Hong Yeon-hwa.
She had been absolutely sure she would win…. but the outcome had been the complete opposite.
I lost…
And not just lost. She’d been overwhelmed.
Throughout the match, she shifted across multiple areas of combat but never once managed to surpass Hong Yeon-hwa.
Even in close-quarters combat, an all-rounder’s specialty.
Maybe that’s why the shock hit even harder.
Where did it all go wrong?
Back in the first semester, the gap in their skills hadn’t been this wide.
They’d kept a wary eye on each other during mentoring sessions and even bought each other’s replays. Back then, their abilities had stayed nearly on par.
So then, was it over summer break?
That was the most likely explanation, but no matter how much she thought about it, it didn’t make sense.
What could Hong Yeon-hwa possibly have done to surpass the teachings of the S-rank Thunder Lord?
Even her grandfather had spoken with such confidence:
– You’ve been blessed with rare talent, both in the Topaz Magic Tower and in our Song family.
– There’s no way your skills didn’t improve after two months of intense effort.
– With growth like this, you’ll have a hard time even finding a worthy opponent.
But reality had turned out very differently.
Every time she met Kim Ho, she was the one getting toyed with, still unable to land a solid hit on him.
Of course, he’d been hiding much of his true strength from the start, and even the little he did reveal had been astounding. So she could accept that, at least.
But now, even Hong Yeon-hwa had beaten her senseless.
It was time to face the truth.
Grandfather…
Song Cheon-hye could feel her faith in him beginning to waver.
To her, the Thunder Lord had always been an idol and a role model. She had trusted every word he said and followed every piece of advice as if it were law.
But now, other thoughts were starting to creep in.
Maybe Grandfather isn’t as absolute as I believed.
Maybe he doesn’t always have the right answers.
But… if that’s true, then what does that make me?
What was she supposed to do now, after chasing that goal for so long?
For the first time, Song Cheon-hye felt utterly lost.
It was as if darkness had crept into a path she’d always believed was smooth and wide open.
To think they’d taken down such a notorious S-rank witch in just half a day….people must have realized the true strength of Dragon Slayer Academy.
These guys really can get things done when it matters!
Now that trust had taken root, the anxiety had lessened.
After a little more time had passed, a temporary podium was set up on the stage.
First, the principal stepped up and gave a short speech to the finalists.
It was full of fancy rhetoric, but to sum it up briefly:
“Fight like hell and give us a good show!”
That was probably what everyone was hoping for anyway.
Next, the vice-principal took the podium.
“Before we begin the finals, I’ll go over the detailed rules and recent changes.”
MAP: [Random Terrain]
“We’ve prepared as fair a terrain as possible, taking into account the tendencies of both participants.”
Since random terrain could favor certain classes, this part was predetermined by the academy.
It was explained that the arena was significantly larger than the standard circular ring but still limited enough to prevent endless running away.
RULE: [Deathmatch] [Fixed Zone (C)]
[Slot] [20-minute limit] [Healing Orbs]
“The basic rules are the same as before, but the time limit has been greatly extended.”
With 20 minutes, it’s essentially safe to say that there won’t be any wins by decision.
Next, a glowing green orb formed above the vice-principal’s hand.
“Also, orbs like this [Healing Orb] will appear throughout the arena. Touching them will restore some health or remove debuffs.”
If someone just camps in one spot, it kills the excitement. If it turns into a long, drawn-out match, it gets boring fast.
So the Healing Orbs were added to keep the contestants constantly on the move.
Knew it. That’s why I backed out early.
Just that one rule effectively shuts down half of the runaway-and-wait tactics that rely on mutual destruction.
The vice-principal continued her explanation.
“There will be seven matches in Part 1 and eight in Part 2. Please check the bracket.”
There was a brief stir in the crowd. They were probably wondering why it was 7 and 8, not 8 and 8.
But once they saw the bracket, they quickly understood why.
Because I’m not in it.
[Kim Gap-doo vs (Forfeit)]
Looks like Kim Gap-doo made it to the round of 16 from the get-go.
Even a broken clock gets its moment in the sun.
Naturally, the audience wasn’t too thrilled.
– Wait, someone dropped out right at the start of the finals?
– Who even is that?
– Did they censor the name on purpose?
– Why bother hiding a guy like that? Just expose him already.
All around, I could hear people badmouthing the anonymous coward, but as always my skin was thick as ever.
Playing dumb, I asked Seo Ye-in in an innocent tone,
“Someone already forfeited? That’s no fun. Who was it?”
“A playboy.”
“Huh? Who?”
“A playboy.”
Her gray eyes stared straight at me, like she was trying to interrogate me with her gaze.
Go Hyeon-woo didn’t bother stepping in. He just watched the two of us with a satisfied parental smile on his face.
Just as I was about to say something, the vice-principal’s voice cut in right on cue.
“We’ll now begin the first match of the finals. Will the participants please prepare themselves?”
Two names appeared on the scoreboard.
[Seo Ye-in vs Cha Hyeon-joo]