Chapter 125
"That was the gaze of someone deep in thought. You… you sometimes look at me as if you're struggling with something."
"...."
Struggling, huh. I narrowed my eyes. I tried to hold it in, but laughter kept threatening to spill out. Taking a deep breath, I steadied myself, keeping as quiet as possible.
Go Yeon-Joo slowly pulled away from me, subtly increasing the distance between us. Watching her step backward in a straight line, I felt an odd sense of unease. But before I could grasp what it was, she continued speaking, as if determined not to give me the chance.
"But I couldn't just ignore that struggle. It felt too dangerous to let it pass… You know what? Every time I see the way you look at me, I get chills all over my body. It's enough to make me shudder."
"Hmm."
At some point, the cigarette I had been holding had gone completely cold. The one in her hand had also gone out. I exhaled and dropped the cigarette, rolling the stub between my fingers. I had been too relaxed. I thought I had been watching her, but in truth, she had been observing me even more intently.
Go Yeon-Joo flicked her cigarette butt away with a light motion of her fingers, then quietly opened her mouth to speak again.
"What could that struggle be? What on earth are you so troubled by that it sends chills down my spine? I was so curious… but by sheer coincidence, I finally figured it out."
"When was that?"
"When I teased you using information as bait. That time, Player Kim Su-Hyeon, you mentioned SSUN and the ordinary city of Halo. And that's when I finally understood. The true nature of your struggle…"
"The true nature is…?"
Go Yeon-Joo smiled faintly at my question, letting the moment linger. And right then, I finally realized the cause of the strange unease I had been feeling. I was just about to turn my head—
But before I could, her voice reached my ear.
"Killing intent."
Damn.
The moment I heard her answer, I immediately calculated the distance between us. My gaze flicked toward the sword I had left leaning under the table.
But—
It wasn't there.
"Looking for this?"
I lifted my head at her voice—then swallowed hard.
First, I saw her slender fingers. And hooked around them, swaying lightly, was the sword's handle. I had no idea when she had taken it.
Without hesitation, I grabbed a chopstick that had been rolling across the table and lunged at Go Yeon-Joo.
"Oh my, a chopstick?" She chuckled.
Despite my swift reaction, Go Yeon-Joo only let out a relaxed laugh. Then, as if she had sunk into the ground, her figure completely vanished.
Without hesitation, I activated my Third Eye and surged my entire body with magic.
I knew exactly what techniques she had just used—Presence Block and Dark Shadow. But both of them could be countered with the Third Eye. Keeping my unique ability active, I scanned the surrounding shadows without delay.
The darkness under the table didn't trigger my Third Eye. Which meant…
"Gotcha. You were right behind me, weren't you?"
At that moment, a silhouette shot up from my shadow on the floor.
From behind me, Go Yeon-Joo's mocking voice rang out, followed by the sharp sound of air being torn apart.
It all happened in a fraction of a second, but I remained completely calm.
I felt a little bad for her, but these were techniques I had been hit with countless times in my first life. I wasn't about to fall for them again.
Instead, I executed the ability I had been preparing.
Ssshh… Click.
"…Oh my."
"Not behind, but in front of you, Shadow Queen."
I held the chopstick to her slender neck and whispered in a low voice.
To summarize the situation, Go Yeon-Joo had tried to ambush me from behind using her shadow, but my ability countered her maneuver. No, it didn't just counter—it completely reversed the situation. Instead of her seizing my blind spot, I had seized hers.
She stood frozen, as if she hadn't anticipated this outcome at all. Her dagger had stopped at a safe distance, suggesting she never truly intended to harm me. Likewise, I had no real intention of killing her—at least, not yet—so I refrained from pressing the chopstick any further.
After a brief silence, Go Yeon-Joo finally spoke, her voice trembling slightly.
"Th-this is impossible… Is this Spatial Displacement?"
"Oh? You recognized it? Correct."
"This technique… It should still be under development. It belongs to… right, that bastard from the Eastantel Law Clan… But wait, how the hell do you know it?!"
Ah, that guy.
Yeah, I did learn it from him in my first life. I figured I needed at least one last-resort technique to survive.
I thought about saying that out loud, but I kept my mouth shut.
Instead, I gave her a light jab with the chopstick. I felt a subtle tremor in her neck.
It seemed she was shaken—not just by her defeat, but by how easily she had been overpowered.
To be honest, luck played a small role in what had just happened.
Sure, Go Yeon-Joo hadn't gone all out. But more importantly, I was already familiar with her combat techniques and fighting style.
In my first life, I had clashed with her on the battlefield countless times. Back then, as a member of the
So why was I able to overpower her so easily now?
These four factors aligned perfectly, allowing me to subdue her in an instant.
She hadn't gone all out.
I outclassed her in skill.
I already knew all of her techniques.
I had my Third Eye activated, just in case.
Had she fought seriously, I still would have won, but it wouldn't have been this easy. After all, her special ability Abyss Crowd was notoriously difficult to deal with.
Of course, there was no way she could know any of this.
From her perspective, a Year 5th player had just been defeated by a Year 0th player.
No matter how absurdly strong I was, no matter how much of a monster I seemed—how could the Shadow Queen, one of the Top 10, be taken down so easily by a total rookie?
And yet—
"I surrender."
…She accepted it.
Without hesitation, she dropped both her dagger and my sword.
The suddenness of it nearly made me fumble the chopstick, but I managed to hold on.
I felt a mix of amusement and disbelief, but at the same time, this reaction was so like her.
She might seem wild and unpredictable at a glance, but once she acknowledged someone as an ally, she was unshakably loyal.
Even
That's why she hadn't hesitated to behead Go Yeon-Joo apart once she was rendered unable to fight.
I pressed the chopstick a little harder against her neck, lost in thought.
Kill or not? Kill or not?
If I considered my first life, killing her would be the easiest choice. But… a part of me hesitated.
How could I turn this woman into an ally?
How had they—the ones from back then—managed to capture the heart of the free-spirited Go Yeon-Joo?
As I mulled over my options, she let out a weary sigh.
"Haa… yeah. This is exactly what it felt like."
"…What?"
"The look in your eyes. That killing intent I saw in them sometimes. It felt just like this… like you were deciding whether or not to kill me."
She had hit the nail on the head.
I had no response.
Silence stretched between us.
Maybe it was making her uneasy because she let out a small cough before speaking again.
"So… Can I turn around now?"
"…Slowly. Hands up."
Go Yeon-Joo raised both hands in the air as I demanded and slowly turned her body. At the same time, she sneaked a glance at my chopsticks, trying to gauge my reaction. Amused by her playful act, I let out a small chuckle and dropped my chopsticks as well. Of course, at that very moment, I also kicked the dagger and sword on the floor far away.
Now that neither of us had weapons, the situation might have seemed fair. However, with my Sword's Heart ranked at EX, I still had a significant advantage.
"Either way, you're letting me live in the end. But my arms hurt."
"Yeah. Keep them up. It looks good on you."
"As expected, you're a total pervert."
"Kh."
I scoffed and gently lowered her arms for her. Go Yeon-Joo shot me a sharp glare before brushing past me and throwing herself onto the bed. She must have done it quite forcefully, as the entire bed shook noticeably. At this point, I felt like I could take her unpredictable antics in stride.
With her face buried in the bed I had been using, she muttered in a weak voice.
"Ah… I'm exhausted. Today has been a nightmare. Barely escaped death, got humiliated… What is up with today?"
"Guess it's just not your day."
She pouted and grumbled at my response, acting indifferent on the surface, but it was clear she was still upset inside.
After rolling around on the bed for a while, she met my gaze and patted the empty space beside her. I knew exactly what she was asking for. However, instead of lying down next to her, I simply sat at the edge of the bed in response.
There was no longer any need to be wary of Go Yeon-Joo. Her expression made it obvious—'I'm exhausted. I've lost all will to fight.'
She suddenly scooted closer, resting her head on my thigh without hesitation. Just like that, I ended up giving her a lap pillow. Letting out a wry smile, I glanced down at her. It had only been a brief clash, yet the aftermath left the atmosphere strangely awkward.
One thing was certain, though—by sparing her life, Go Yeon-Joo now owed me a debt. And as someone who had reached the level of a Top 10-ranked player, she surely understood the weight of that.
She lay there quietly for a moment, seemingly enjoying the comfort, before letting out a long sigh and speaking.
"Phew… well, at least now I'm sure of something."
"Sure of what?"
I asked lightly, and in response, she lifted a finger and poked the tip of my nose.
"I seriously thought I was going to die just now. But look—I'm still alive. You… You were hesitating, weren't you? Debating whether to kill me or let me live."
I remained silent.
Go Yeon-Joo, however, shot me a sharp look, her expression both annoyed and expectant. It seemed she had taken my silence as an unspoken confirmation.
After glaring at me for a long moment, she clicked her tongue and continued.
"But since you chose to spare me in the end… It means you want something from me. So, will you just spit it out already? Before you entered Mule, we didn't even know each other. So what the hell do you want from me? And why did you even consider killing me in the first place?"
"..."
"Come on, stop playing silent and just tell me. Huh? I at least deserve to know the reason, don't I? How else am I supposed to respond?"
She kept pressing for an answer, but I deliberately held back my words.
Go Yeon-Joo was different from Ha-Yeong or Shin Sang-Yong. I had said it before—she was one of the Top 10-ranked players and someone who possessed a Secret Class. A warrior with that kind of power naturally had her own pride and strong convictions.
Sure, my caravan was growing in strength, and my plans had merit, but that alone wasn't enough to make a fighter like her willingly join the clan I planned to establish. Even I had to admit—there was a high chance she'd refuse.
Of course, if she did, I could always just kill her.
That was the logical solution.
But deep down, I couldn't shake off a sense of regret.
I knew just how invaluable she could be—how much of a game-changer she would be if she chose to fight alongside us.
I pondered for a while, but in the end, I made my decision.
"I can't decide yet."
Go Yeon-Joo was clearly intrigued by me, and I, in turn, wanted to observe her a little longer. If that was the case, then the best course of action was to give her time—time to stay with me and my group, to interact with us, and for me to watch her up close. I needed the chance to truly evaluate her.
With my thoughts settled, I calmly raised a hand and ran my fingers through her soft hair.
She slowly closed her eyes, as if savoring the touch.
"…It's getting pretty late, don't you think?"
"Huh? What's with the sudden formal speech?"
Go Yeon-Joo, who had been quietly enjoying the sensation, cracked one eye open and shot me a puzzled look.
I wanted to say, 'You're the one who started speaking casually first.' But I held back on purpose.
Instead, I had a condition in mind—one that she wouldn't be able to refuse.
After all, she owed me her life. She might act stubborn, but deep down, she knew she had little choice but to comply.
More importantly… at the end of The Cave Of Wailing, that thing was waiting. Having Go Yeon-Joo by my side would be a massive advantage.
I licked my lips, making sure they weren't dry before finally speaking.
"It seems like business hasn't been going too well for you lately. Since things turned out this way anyway, why don't you take a break for a while?"
"Hmmm…?"
Go Yeon-Joo let out a playful hum, her voice lilting with curiosity.
Seeing her reaction, I continued slowly, making sure to reel her in.
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