Chapter 18: Just Learn Magic.

When you hear "dungeon," you usually think of a dark space. Because if you build a dungeon in plains or mountains, and it catches someone's eye, it will be raided immediately. Not because you can get money or rare items. That's not the reason. It's just that the empire put a bounty on it. Thanks to the emperor, who declared he would give money or citizenship to those who capture these people.

'But a dungeon…'

In the world I was in, dungeons were not a good place to make money. Most of those who create dungeons are low-level mages expelled from the mage tower. Some say there are mages who study forbidden black magic,

'But those guys are all dead.'

I killed them all—With my own hands, cleanly.

They claimed to have summoned the Demon King, but all they managed was to summon a mere high-ranking demon.

Why would those with money bother to seclude themselves for research in the first place? The empire gathered mages to create a forum for exchange and research. Those who fell behind in such places, lacking talent, ventured out intending to summon the Demon King. And they only managed to summon just one high-ranking demon after sacrificing dozens of mages.

Moreover, that high-ranking demon didn't even cause any harm. Because it was cleanly killed by my hand when I went out for a drink. However, the strength of that high-ranking demon was quite impressive. It might have turned several cities into ruins. That's why I had no choice but to kill all those who researched the forbidden dark magic.

'Although, a Demon King did appear later on.'

The one who introduced himself as the Insect Dragon King comes to mind. But that wasn't something people had summoned. After all, it was merely a forced descent in a weakened state due to the distortion of space. Probably, its true nature was closer to a Demon God.

'I did defeat it with my own hands, though.'

Some might call it a great achievement, but I think of it as a wasted death.

Those who believed in me and followed me.

Those who were waiting for me.

Those who were waiting for my death.

I abandoned them all in my quest to kill the Demon King.

Anyway, that's what dungeons are like. Full of traps, nothing particularly rare.f

Money? As if those who were banished and barely surviving in caves would have any. That was the image I had of dungeons. But now, that image has somewhat changed.

"This is quite surprising."

I looked around with genuine admiration. In a place where sunlight entered was a field with a cool breeze.

This was the place Yoo Eunchae had introduced to me as a "dungeon."

"How is it, amazing, right?"

Yoo Eunchae puffed out her chest and looked at me with pride.

I didn't care and looked behind me.

[Nest of Evil Spirits.][

You cannot leave until you have eradicated the evil present here.]

The System flashed my objective in this place.

Kill the evil spirits and leave.

'I guess we're lucky in a way.'

While the energy of Yin is strongly associated with coldness, the new power I created, Moonlight, is infused with the energy of the moon.

[Moonlight (A)]

The power of the moon and the power of the Yin are harmonized.

The power of the moon and the power of the Yin reside in you.

All stats +5.

The System defined my power like this.

The energy of the moon and the power of the Yin harmonize. Is that how the Moonlight has changed? I possess the power of the Glacial Heavenly Moon. I infused my mana with my Unique Trait Eternity which unlocked Eternal Attribute in it.

That's how Moonlight was born.

When I created this, I wanted a power that envelops me like sword qi.

'To be more accurate, it's like sheathing the power of the Glacial Heavenly Moon in a sword.'

That was my intention. However, whether this trait would play along with my intention is quite a different issue. Therefore, I wanted to check that power once.

I looked at the description of Moonlight.

'What kind of power might you hold?'

There was quite an anticipation.

"So, which of the things here are you saying I should experiment with?"

"It's a bit tricky to catch evil spirits here."

The sunlight gently illuminates the field, yet an evil spirit lingers here.

It seems out of place in this serene setting.

'Well, the System is quite beyond common sense after all.'

Is this just a power overlaid on a physical body, or does it just arbitrarily attach a Unique Trait?

As we walked a little, a chilly aura began to circulate.

"It's eerie."

"Yes, it's a place where the dark qi is concentrated."

Yoo Eunchae said nervously.

"This is where an evil spirit that once brought down a kingdom used to live."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, but now that evil spirit is gone, and the malevolent energy it had has contaminated things here."

I thought the chilliness was no joke.

Ssshhh──.

"So, in this place, there are weak evil spirits contaminated by it…"

"It seems like you're not cut out for this."

"Pardon?"

"Get ready for battle."

I can sense several presences approaching. It's the grudges of the dead who hate the living.

"Look ahead."

"…Surely, you don't mean to say I should fight alone?"

"One must experience real battles to improve."

"But, give me at least some mental preparation."

"Do you think the enemy will always wait for you to be ready?"

"Sigh."

Yoo Eunchae pouted and drew her sword.

She reached into what seemed like an empty space and pulled out a staff.

With the sword in front and the staff behind, I crossed my arms and evaluated her stance.

'Her posture is awkward.'

Is she trying to handle both magic and the sword at the same time?

But from what I see, magic seems to suit her better. The sword doesn't fit her.

Those who learn martial arts train their basics like mad.

Geniuses might lightly skip over those basics.

But Yoo Eunchae didn't seem to fit into that category at all.

"Huup."

Yoo Eunchae took a deep breath.

Her crimson eyes flickered, igniting a flame.

The dead souls tainted by the malice left behind were coming here. Those who entered reeks with an ominous power.

"Hoo."

Yoo Eunchae stepped forward.

Yoo Eunchae took a quiet deep breath.

Unique Trait, the Power of the One Who Sees All Things, resides in you.

Trait, the Flame That Embraces Trees, takes its place in your heart.

Her mind becomes serene. Flames began to flicker in Yoo Eunchae's eyes.

'The flame that embraces everything.'

Brilliant Blazing Fire.

And the eyes that see all things have taken its place in her look ahead.

I can see five evil spirits. Wicked beings in this world are those that hate all living things and eliminate the energy of justice. Originally, just looking at them should cause a headache.

'No problem.'

She thought she was well prepared.

'Start off lightly.'

This is a place where each tests the other.

Yoo Eunchae deliberately chose this place, a place a bit tricky.

'That man.'

She remembered the fight with Abel.

That man effortlessly imitated Abel's Blood Realm.

It would be fortunate if it were just an imitation, but judging by Abel's reaction, it wasn't a mere imitation, but something very similar.

And another thing, the basic trait, Slash was effortlessly evolved by him. It's not that there isn't anyone capable of evolving traits, but the problem is that that person will appear about 2 years from now.

'From that moment, those with higher potential for evolution become ranked higher.'

But there are hardly two people who know this at the moment.

However, as soon as that man obtained the Slash, he used it.

'I still can't guess who you are.'

It's another Han Seojin who has taken over Han Seojin's body. He is not the same being as himself. Otherwise, he wouldn't act so defenselessly. And he is not the irregular Seon Woohyeon, who is different from himself either.

However, she is certain that he will become an enormous irregular.

Because he said he knows the original Glacial Heavenly Moon.

'Rather than that damn crazy bastard.'

She thought of Seon Woohyeon.

She needed to become stronger.

She didn't want to act like that demon king in human disguise.

She would rescue Nam Hyerin, and others exploited by him as well.

But she is running out of time.

So, she had to become stronger quickly.

'I wanted to learn from the Blue-Eyed Martial Emperor.'

The teacher of the psychopath known as the Chosen One.

And possibly an entity of equal standing to the Duke of Destruction, known as the Demon King Slayer.

This man might be comparable to him.

Blue-Eyed Martial Emperor. The Duke of Destruction. Both have many enemies. They acted on their own accord, showed a tyrannical demeanor, and destroyed everything that annoyed them.

It's no wonder that in this world, as soon as someone claims to be his successor, most of them suffer from mysterious disappearances.

Then, it could also be seen as an unexpected fortune.

Quietly, she opened her eyes.

Whoosh.

Flames sprouted. Starting from her heart, the flames moved to the tip of her sword.

Yoo Eunchae leaped forward towards the first thing that came at her.

"Gasp!"

She swings her sword.

'Flame.'

Red flames burst forth from the sword.

And with it, he slashed the evil spirit.

Swoosh─.

It hit the target precisely.

She precisely cut the core that the evil spirit possessed. And then immediately lifted her staff to aim at the evil spirit.

Brilliant Blazing Fire.

Crimson Flame Sphere.

Whoosh!

A sphere of flames arose. There were three in total.

Each of them flew towards the evil spirits.

The evil spirits tried to dodge them while moving through the air, but.

'No chance.'

Boom!

As the will manifested, the Crimson Flame Sphere exploded, incinerating the evil spirit.

This alone wouldn't kill it.

[The trait, Double Bombardment(B) is activated.]

Boom!

Within the explosion, the Crimson Flame Sphere bombed once more.

It is an undodgeable skill especially if you were already hit by it.

If one learned Brilliant Blazing Fire, it was also the most useful skill tree in the early stages.

And finally, what remained was one evil spirit.

[The trait, Throwing(C), is activated.]

With a thunk, the sword she had thrown pierces the demon's core.

"Phew."

'That was pretty cool just now.'

Yoo Eunchae self-praised, then approached Han Seojin.

"How was it?"

She looked at Han Seojin with a confident expression.

Han Seojin wore a nonchalant expression.

'Did she really just ask for praise, thinking she did well?'

"There's a lot."

"Hehe, a lot to praise?"

"What nonsense. There's a lot that needs to be corrected."

"…Huh?"

Yoo Eunchae wore a dumbfounded expression.

The battle just now wasn't perfect, but it was quite satisfying.

Han Seojin folded a finger and said.

"First. You—you don't have much experience handling a sword, do you?"

"About a month worth…"

"It shows. You hold it like a staff, and your posture is awkward."

"That will be no problem as I grow more."

"You're quite good at throwing swords for someone like you."

"There's no reason for it to miss since it's my specialty, right?"

"That's the problem. What if there were hidden enemies?"

"…"

"You're being too careless. There's no guarantee that there won't be other enemies just because it's a dungeon."

Yoo Eunchae puffed her cheeks.

They haven't reached the hidden places in this dungeon yet.

She wanted to say that, but it would be a meaningless excuse anyway.

'Someday, that psychopath Seon Woohyeon might send an assassin after me.'

That must be the issue being pointed out.

"And secondly. It was good to aim for the core at first, but was it necessary to envelop your sword in qi?"

"Well, that's because…"

"You're wasting too much mana. If it were me, I would have just used magic."

'Maybe if you have a lot of mana, or if you have excellent control over mana to recollect it, but still.'

Yoo Eunchae right now couldn't see that.

Han Seojin thought up to there and then praised,

"On the other hand, your magic was quite good. You may not have talent in wielding a sword, but your magic wasn't bad."

"It wasn't bad?"

"Yeah, it wasn't bad."

Especially the fact that it exploded twice was quite fresh even for Han Seojin.

'Is it the trait that made it possible to go that far?'

Or there might be something in the Unique Trait, but since this kid hides a lot, it's more likely not to be a Unique Trait.

"Then, will you show me how you fight?"

"I'll have to show you."

To meet with the Duke of Extinction, it would be good to get close to this.

'And there's also the debt of the Duke of the Moon.'

Han Seojin put his hand in his pocket and strode forward.

"No, why do you put your hand in your pocket?"

"It's the walk of a master. Those who are called masters have a different way of walking."

"It doesn't matter… Ah, I don't know. Do whatever you want."

At Yoo Eunchae's seemingly resigned words, Han Seojin chuckled.

Soon, seven evil spirits began to approach.

'What should I do.'

If I use magic, I can easily take care of them all at once, but that would be no different from forcibly compelling magic.

'More than anything, this body can still only use the Glacial Heavenly Moon.'

Using Brilliant Blazing Fire would force this body to go beyond its limits. Meanwhile, Yoo Eunchae would throw a tantrum, saying she could easily handle the spirits if she used the Glacial Heavenly Moon too.

'But first.'

Let's try what needs to be experimented.

'Moonlight.'

As I willed it, Moonlight lingered in my hand.