* * *

    “Again…”

    Dung Beetle gritted his teeth as he glanced at the corridor he had just swept clean.

    There was no sign or trace of the Player among the piles of zombie and fiend flesh shredded by the Comet Sword.

    He closed his eyes right away and began to scatter his mana. Be it magic or martial arts, he was determined to find any trace of the Player.

    As he meticulously searched his surroundings, he detected a familiar energy from the far end of the sewer.

    Did the Player drink an invisibility potion at the very last moment?

    He didn’t know how many consumables that guy had left, but one thing was certain—this wasn’t over.

    Not even bothering to hide the sound of his footsteps, Dung Beetle launched himself forward. It was as if he was daring the Player to run while chasing him boldly.

    “Damn it.”

    The Player, who had been sneaking away cautiously, immediately gave up on invisibility the moment he heard the footsteps, breaking into a full sprint.

    The chase resumed.

    Every time Dung Beetle’s footsteps drew closer, the Player would use a Teleport Stone, as many as he could.

    And when his Teleport Stones were depleted, he used every possible consumable he had left—stamina potions, wraithform potions, whatever it took to maintain the narrow distance between them.

    After desperately running through the sewers for what felt like forever, he finally arrived at his destination.

    The place where the priest, now a mass of flesh after consuming the Corruption Stone, writhed while the incomplete Dimensional Portal shimmered above the stone altar.

    The Player, now a battered mess, rushed toward the altar, screaming.

    “Hey! Hurry up! Make some meat shields! Zombies, fiends, I don’t care! Right now!”

    But, let alone creating any zombies, the Priest didn’t even respond.

    As the Player drew closer, he could hear the priest muttering nonsense like, ‘Black sheep…!’

    It was clear that he had lost his mind, obsessed solely with creating the Dimensional Portal. Damn lunatic.

    Glancing nervously in the direction Dung Beetle was approaching from, the Player pulled out a dagger from his inventory.

    It was a ritual dagger adorned with ornate carvings.

    And without hesitation, he plunged the dagger straight into the priest’s body.

    Squelch—An unidentifiable liquid, possibly blood or filth, poured out the Priest’s body, while the mana from the Corruption Stone was channeled into the Player. ?α?О????Е?

    “”

    The twisted mana of the Corruption Stone made him want to retch, but the Player endured it and focused on manipulating the altar’s mana.

    First, he summoned as many zombies and fiends as the sewer could contain, sealing off the entrance to the hideout.

    But before he could finish finalizing his plans, Dung Beetle’s footsteps echoed from beyond.

    Did he really catch up so quickly…?

    With a deafening explosion, the makeshift barricade sealing the hideout was blown apart.

    And what emerged from beyond the wall was Dung Beetle with a black feather-like mana swirling around him.

    The Player instinctively pulled up his status window, scanning Dung Beetle. He saw that he had over three buffs at a glance.

    Blood Flow Acceleration, Mārīcī Divine Arts, Black Wing Flow.

    The unfamiliar martial arts made the Player chuckle grimly.

    Dung Beetle entered the hideout slowly, approaching the altar with absolute confidence, and spoke.

    “Player.”

    “…”

    “You will die today.”

    The way he spoke made it seem as though he was spitting out pure hatred. What the hell was this Dung Beetle to make him spout such nonsense?

    The Player sighed in annoyance.

    “Alright, let’s see how this ends.”

    And the next moment, he poured all his power into the dagger in his grasp.

    The ritual dagger dug deeper into the writhing mass of flesh that was once the Priest, penetrating the Corrupted Stone buried within.

    With the final words of ‘Saintess…’, the life of the Skinwalker Priest came to an end. There seemed to be some circumstances, but they no longer mattered.

    Because the Priest had now become a handful of experience points for him.

    [Level Up]

    As those words rang out in his mind, a strange exhilaration swept over his body.

    His empty mana stats began to fill.

    His severed arm regenerated instantly, and the minor wounds all over his body healed with a sizzling sound.

    It was high-speed regeneration surpassing that of Dung Beetle; it was nothing less than a rebirth.

    “Did you think you’re the only one who could enter phase two?”

    The Player said while clenching his teeth. It was worth filling his experience bar to the limit for this very moment.

    “Come at me, you bastard.”

    * * *

    Fueled by the memories of his past, the flames of vengeance within his heart blazed intensely.

    The Player would die here today, nothing more or less.

    Facing the Player standing on the altar, Dung Beetle activated his Flying Kick technique.

    With the mana flowing through his blood vessels strengthened by Black Wing Flow, he quickly formed and unleashed dozens of ice spears.

    The Player’s response was simple. He pulled out a grenade and a Magic Stone from his inventory and threw them simultaneously.

    The chain lightning Magic Stone and grenade created a special synergy known only to the stagnant waters that swept away dozens of ice spears simultaneously..

    The ice shards fluttered like snow, but Dung Beetle did not stop and unleashed his Sword Aura next.

    The Player rolled under the altar and gulped down every potion he had—elixirs for magical resistance, acceleration, and monstrous strength…

    And every consumable he could use.

    By the time he wiped the potions dripping from his lips, buffs that could easily overcome a 10-level difference were flowing through his veins.

    He didn’t care about liver toxicity or side effects. After all, he had come this far without worrying about such things.

    “You NPC bastard…!”

    He threw another grenade at the charging Dung Beetle, accompanied by ash powder Magic Stone this time.

    Like a smoke grenade going off, the heated ash powder filled the interior of the hideout.

    And even amidst the intensely hot ash powder, where it was near impossible to open their eyes, the two skillfully located each other.

    Dung Beetle tracked his opponent’s mana while the Player was boosted by the cat’s eye elixir he drank earlier.

    Confirming the distance was shrinking, the Player immediately pulled out a rifle and fired.

    Although it still fell short compared to the blessed bullets of the Priests, it was a display of expensive magic bullets.

    It was an attack that couldn’t even guarantee the survival of a Superhuman.

    At least, that was what should have happened…

    But that crazy bastard simply received the bullets and closed the distance rapidly.

    On taking a closer look, he could see the bullets that made contact with the faint heat haze beneath the Black Wing Flow feathers lost their power and fell to the ground as if blocked by a bulletproof vest.

    “What the hell—”

    A sword stabbed the rifle he instinctively raised. Dropping the gun, the Player rolled back, and drew his sword.

    It was a mass-produced military sword, slightly weaker than the dragon-scale sword he had lost earlier.

    Their swords clashed. The milky white Sword Aura of the Nine Palaces Heaven-Reversing Sword collided, creating an enormous wave of energy, pushing the ash powder back.

    Even after receiving all those buffs, the Player was barely on the same level.

    He suppressed the shock coming down his sword and followed up with a swing.

    The same swordsmanship, the same Sword Aura, but a different true intention.

    As expected, he was unable to steal the true intention of martial arts.

    Well, if it were that easy to steal the true intention, who would even train?

    However… he couldn’t shake the feeling that the guy was getting closer to the true intention of the Nine Palaces Heaven-Reversing Sword with every clash of their swords.

    Feeling as if he were being chased, the Player swung his sword again.

    The two Sword Auras crossed for a while, splattering each other’s blood.

    Then, the Dimensional Portal suddenly emitted a heavy vibration. Both paused midswing and turned towards the Dimensional Portal almost at the same time.

    Even without anyone telling them, they both understood what was happening at once.

    …The Dimensional Portal was closing.

    “, this low-grade priest bastard… couldn’t even do anything right.”

    As the Player sneered, he pulled out a grenade and a Magic Stone and threw them.

    Not at Dung Beetle, but at the Dimensional Portal.

    A thunderous boom echoed, causing the Dimensional Portal to shake violently.

    Soon, the mana around the gate began to stir. Heavy mana filled the space, dense enough to make their skin tingle.

    “…What are you doing?”

    Dung Beetle asked with a frown, to which the Player responded with a smug grin.

    “What? Is this your first time seeing a time attack?”

    “…”

    “How long do you think that Dimensional Portal will hold up? 5 minutes? 10 minutes? About 30 minutes at most.”

    The Player licked his lips and continued.

    “And after that… all your girlfriends in the sewers and the academy above will be swept away. What do you think? Exciting, isn’t it?”

    Instead of replying, Dung Beetle unleashed Sword Aura. The Player responded by tossing a grenade from his inventory.

    An explosion filled the air while Sword Aura sliced through flesh.

    As the Dimensional Portal screamed, blood splattered between the two. It was the Player’s blood.

    “Huh, what’s wrong? Are you surprised that I’m about to kill your cocksleeves?”

    Even though there was a long gash at his side caused by Dung Beetle’s Sword Aura, the Player didn’t hold his tongue.

    “Do you know why I didn’t touch the Saintess and that pointy-eared princess? Because those bitches’s lower holes lead straight to hell.”

    It was a blatant provocation, but Dung Beetle accepted the challenge willingly.

    The mana filling his body gathered around his sword, and his torn school uniform fluttered.

    And the instant the comet light blossomed from his sword… the Player pulled out a Magic Stone from his ‘inventory,’ as if waiting for this moment.

    * * *

    The world within the game was completely unreasonable.

    Even with an optimized strategy guide and excellent character build, you could die in an instant if you were not careful in this world.

    Especially if you were targeted by high-level NPCs like the Holy Sword, Jose Aginaldo, or even Margrave, it was almost impossible to guarantee your survival past that day.

    Therefore, the Players often prepared a secret weapon that allowed low-level Players to kill high-level ones.

    Although he burned Hilaria and became an enemy of the Magic Tower in the process of obtaining it, he had no regrets.

    All those things paled in comparison to the value of the Magic Stone in his hand, which was a hundred times greater.

    [Reflection Stone]

    He never imagined that he would have to use one of the only two items in this world in a place like this, but… it couldn’t be helped. Anything was better than dying.

    He shattered the Magic Stone and designated the target—the Comet Sword Aura launched by the transfer student.

    The Comet Sword spreading through the hideout was powerful enough to make his skin tingle. It made the Sword Aura launched back in the sewer feel like child’s play in comparison.

    Just in case that guy was holding back, he deliberately destroyed the Dimensional Portal and taunted him—and it was worth it.

    The next moment, the Comet Sword aimed at the Player made an about turn.

    Dung Beetle’s golden eyes were filled with shock.

    Without even giving him the time to react, the entire hideout was engulfed in the comet’s light.

    The shockwave was so powerful that it displaced the air around it with a force comparable to that of a missile.

    As the aftershock began to subside, the Player stepped forward.

    In the epicenter lay the collapsed Dung Beetle.

    His sword was nowhere in sight, probably dropped due to the shock, and his body was riddled with wounds showing through his torn clothing.

    There was blood oozing from all over, and it seemed that his so-called Regeneration ability had reached its limits.

    “Are you dead?”

    There was no response. A chilling silence enveloped Dung Beetle as the Dimensional Portal let out a horrifying scream.

    “.”

    The Player stood by Dung Beetle’s feet and clicked his tongue.

    Although he had won, the price he paid was tremendous.

    He needed to replenish all the consumables he used and the Teleport Stones as well, and above all, he would also have to give up on the Academy route—

    Just as that thought crossed his mind.

    “Huh?”

    He lost all feeling below his waist. Then, the world began to tilt.

    It was only after he hit his back against the ground that he realized what had happened.

    The fallen Dung Beetle’s right hand had something invisible in its grip. sea??h thё N?vel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    “, an invisible… sword?”

    As if in response to his question, the magic surrounding Dung Beetle’s sword faded away, revealing its original form.

    The blade with a light yellow glow was now covered in the Player’s blood.

    “H-how…?”

    “You weren’t the only one with a card up your sleeve.”

    Dung Beetle replied as he slowly rose from his position. He looked down at the Player sliced in half and slowly raised his sword.

    “Wait a second! Spare me. If you spare me… I’ll tell you how to stabilize the Dimensional Portal. What do you say?”

    “…”

    “D-do you really think I threw that grenade without a thought?”

    The Player spoke, his lips trembling. The reason he hadn’t died yet was due to his Superhuman viability and the buff potions he had consumed earlier.

    Instead of answering, Dung Beetle plunged his sword deep into the Player’s shoulder, clearly intending to prevent him from accessing his ‘inventory.’

    “Shit…! D-don’t you understand what I’m saying?”

    “…”

    “I-if that Dimensional Portal collapses, everyone will die! The academy brats, your goddamn cocksleeves! Everyone!”

    Dung Beetle cut off his other arm as if to respond to that desperate cry. The Player screamed in agony.

    “Aarghh! ! D-Do you really want to die like this?! Just for the sake of that damn revenge…! ”

    Dung Beetle suddenly stopped the sword, looked at the Player with cold eyes and spoke.

    “You seem to be mistaken.”

    “…What?”

    “There was never an option of sparing you. I’ll kill you and block the Dimensional Portal myself. That is my only option.”

    “Y-you crazy bastard…”

    Dung Beetle swung his sword again.

    A scream erupted, and blood stained the ground behind it.

    “”

    But the pain didn’t end there. Dung Beetle stopped swinging his sword and suddenly raised his foot, stomping all over the Player’s body.

    He continued until the floor was soaked in blood.

    Only after his upper body had become completely mangled did the Player feel the terror of death.

    “W-why…?”

    He shouted while crawling on the ground, squeezing the last of his life force.

    “Why…! Why are you doing this to me?! Godammit! What the hell did I do to you?!!”

    Dung Beetle wiped the blood from his cheek and replied.

    “Incheon back alley, the janitor.”

    “…What?”

    “250,000 won per person. You’re dying because of that 250,000 won.”

    Only then did the Player recall who Dung Beetle was.

    He hadn’t recognized him due to the janitor’s gas mask, but that voice was unmistakable…

    “You… You bastard, I clearly remember cutting your throat—?”

    Before he could finish speaking, a sword was plunged into his neck.

    Confusion, anger, fear.

    That was the last emotion the Player experienced.