Role-Playing Game.
The games commonly called RPGs usually involve characters with various roles forming a party.
Warrior, thief, mage, cleric, and so on.
A well-balanced composition creates powerful synergy, enabling more efficient combat.
And my Shadow Knight party? It’s a pretty damn solid lineup.
First, the indispensable core of any party composition.
Ding-dong!
[Shadow Knight—Yi Seonggye]
– Rank: A+
– Title: Bow Master
The main ranged dealer is none other than Grand Ancestor Yi Seonggye himself.
The divine archer from the late Goryeo and early Joseon eras, said to have shot the helmet strap of an enemy from over a hundred paces away and pierced two running deer with a single arrow.
Soon, Yi Seonggye drew back the bowstring of his eogung-gu with taut precision.
Piiing—!
A pitch-black arrow formed of shadow tore through the air as it flew forward.
The shadow arrow surged fiercely, twisting and coiling.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
Dada dada dada—
The shadow arrow rippled for a moment before splitting into dozens of arrows.
Soon, the shadow arrows began raining down on the ground below.
Papak! Papapak! Papapapak!
Like a sudden downpour, the shadow arrows pierced the heads of the ghouls without missing a single one.
The relentless barrage of shadow arrows continued without pause.
Swiiish— Swiiiiish— Swish—
With superior range, he delivered stable, consistent damage.
He was the very model of an ideal ranged dealer.
Of course, the reason a ranged dealer can deal damage so comfortably is because there’s someone sturdy holding the front line.
The close-range dealer who blocks all enemy approaches from the vanguard.
Ding-dong!
[Shadow Knight—Cheok Jungyeong]
– Rank: A+
– Title: Sword Saint
During the conquest of the Jurchens, the Goryeo army struggled against the entrenched Jurchen forces in their stone fortress.
At that time, a single man scaled the walls alone and slaughtered dozens of Jurchen commanders and soldiers, bringing the fortress down.
That man was Cheok Jungyeong, universally recognized as Goryeo’s greatest swordmaster.
The hwandudaedo in his hand began to gleam.
A sword dance so fast and precise that it left no afterimages.
Everything within several meters of Cheok Jungyeong was sliced into pieces.
|Sergeok— Sergeok— Sergeok— Sergeok—
Ghouls, skeletons, low-rank vampires… even incorporeal wraiths!
The shadow-formed hwandudaedo cut down even intangible beings without mercy.
Then.
Thud! …… Thud!
Heavy footsteps echoed as an ogre skeleton charged at Cheok Jungyeong from behind.
Immediately, the ogre skeleton’s massive fist swung down.
But Cheok Jungyeong didn’t even glance back as he swung his hwandudaedo.
Sergeok—
The ogre skeleton’s fist was split in half.
At the same time, dark sword energy climbed up, shredding the ogre skeleton’s arm bones.
[………….!]
The ogre skeleton staggered, losing its balance.
Cheok Jungyeong did not miss the opening.
“Goksan Cheok Family First Form: Iron-Cutting Flash.”
From left to right, a black trajectory drew a clean arc.
Cheok Jungyeong’s horizontal slash severed the ogre skeleton’s spine in a single strike.
Thud!
The ogre skeleton’s upper body collapsed to the ground like a felled tree.
Truly a warrior worth a hundred men, possessing invincible might.
No one could be better suited to hold the front line of the party.
And the last member of the Shadow Knight party…
Ding-dong!
[Shadow Knight—Yi I]
– Rank: A+
– Title: Grand Sorcerer
A neat scholar wearing a black gat and white dopo, exuding an air of noble dignity without the slightest disarray.
He learned to speak and read at age three, wrote an essay called “Jinbok Changjeon” at age seven, and passed the civil service examinations nine times, earning top honors each time—a prodigy unmatched in the Joseon era.
The Nine-Time Top Scholar, Yulgok Yi I.
The Joseon civil service exams were a murderous system: candidates had to pass two preliminary exams called saengjin-gwa, then three major exams called mungwa to qualify.
He swept those exams with the highest scores, nine times in a row.
In modern terms, it would be like acing every single high-difficulty exam—judicial, diplomatic, administrative, advanced civil service—without missing a single one.
His intelligence stat must be off the charts.
That seemed reflected even in the Shadow Knight creation process.
Enough to earn the title Grand Sorcerer.
Soon, Yi I swung the brush in his hand through the air.
As the brush moved, shadows followed its trail like ink.
It took shape in the void, like a sumukhwa ink painting on white paper.
What formed was an Eastern-style black dragon.
Yi I flicked his brush to add the finishing dot.
The massive black dragon charged forward.
Kwakwakwakwakwa!
The black dragon opened its enormous maw and devoured everything in its path.
With a heaven-shaking roar, the ghouls and vampires in the surrounding area vanished without a trace.
Cheok Jungyeong ravaged freely, collapsing the enemy formation.
Yi Seonggye never missed, blowing off enemy heads with every draw of his bow.
Yi I dealt wide-area damage with his ink-wash magic, further shattering the formation.
Close-range dealer, ranged dealer, and area-of-effect magic dealer.
…A top-tier national team composition, complete.
It felt like I was getting carried by a party of A+ rank hunters.
Before the three Shadow Knights, the Vampire Lord’s undead horde melted away in an instant.
But the Vampire Lord herself could take no action.
Clang! Claaang~! Clang—!
She had no time to spare either.
The enemy before her gave no openings as she pressed the attack.
Jeanne’s strikes flew without pause.
Clang!
The Vampire Lord barely parried the sword blow with her sharp claws.
A+ against A+.
Jeanne and the Vampire Lord were of the same rank.
But there was one variable between them.
“Seven Demon First Strike: Gluttony Slash, Beelzebub.”
Black sword aura bloomed from Jeanne’s blade tip.
The aura, once a crescent moon shape, now took the form of a half-moon.
Kwakwakwakwa!
Soon, the Gluttony Slash cleaved through the surrounding area, swallowing the Vampire Lord.
[Kyaaaaah—!]
The Vampire Lord writhed in agony.
Most of her left upper body had been devoured by the Gluttony Slash and vanished.
Unlike before, the wound did not regenerate.
Sparks of black mana crackled around the bitten-looking injury.
The Seven Demon Strikes—an ultimate technique created in the Ravianglily Kingdom to destroy demonic beings.
It was the worst possible hard counter for the Vampire Lord.
Then, crimson glow flared from the Vampire Lord’s eyes.
[To force me to use it here… It was almost complete… I cannot forgive… None of you… will leave here alive…]
Da.
Da.
The Vampire Lord muttered in a voice thick with rage.
At that moment.
Ding-dong!
<WARNING!>
<WARNING!>
<WARNING!>
<WARNING!>
The warning messages appeared again.
…What the hell is this now?
A new message window floated before my eyes.
Ding-dong!
<The blood spring pooled in the ancient castle of congealed blood begins to erupt.>
Crimson blood gushed up from the castle floor like a fountain, seeping into the Vampire Lord.
Soon after.
Kwaaang—!
A massive hole opened in the center of the floor, and a huge sphere rose up.
A sphere of blood reminiscent of a red moon.
The crimson sphere flew into the Vampire Lord’s missing upper body and was absorbed.
At the same time, the ancient castle began to shake violently.
A dark red aura swirled fiercely around the Vampire Lord.
The bat wings on her back grew even more grotesque and enormous, and a pair of sharp horns sprouted from her forehead.
Ding-dong!
<Boss ‘Vampire Lord’ enters awakened state!>
Her skin glistened with a dark crimson sheen. Both eyes were completely dyed red.
A blood-mist aura rose endlessly from her entire body.
Even the upper body destroyed by the Seven Demon Strike had already regenerated perfectly.
This is like the second phase bosses sometimes show in games, isn’t it?
Then, the Vampire Lord spoke in a calm voice.
[To make me use the congealed blood I gathered over hundreds of years in a place like this. I was so close to true rebirth as a Vampire Lord…]
A wind carrying the stench of blood began to whirl.
[These loathsome, vulgar insects. I will never forgive you.]
Soon, the Vampire Lord flicked her left hand.
Swiiiish~!
A red slash surged forward in an instant, striking Jeanne in the abdomen.
At the same time, Jeanne flew at tremendous speed and slammed into the wall.
Kwaang!
She had been equal—or even slightly superior—yet the Vampire Lord sent her flying with a single gesture.
Then, the Vampire Lord flapped her massive bat wings.
With wind pressure strong enough to force eyes shut, countless red blades shaped like claws flew out.
Papapapapapak—
They tore through everything indiscriminately, without distinguishing ally from enemy.
Even her own vampires, ghouls, and skeletons were shredded as the red blades swept forward.
At the same time, Yi I stepped forward.
He swung his brush, drawing a massive castle gate.
As soon as the ink-wash gate formed, the blood-colored blades began pounding against it fiercely.
Tung! Tudung! Tung! Tuuung~!
The heavy iron gate dented, ugly claw marks gouging into it.
Yi I quickly reinforced the ink-wash gate with more strokes.
The enemy’s assault was so ferocious that he seemed fully occupied with defense alone.
Meanwhile, Cheok Jungyeong, isolated farther away.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang—!
He swung his sword, deflecting every incoming blood blade.
Cheok Jungyeong wielded his blade with a serene expression, showing no sign of agitation.
But even he appeared to have no room for counterattacks.
The Vampire Queen had grown incomparably stronger in both appearance and power.
She was easily overwhelming four A+ ranks.
…Could that awakening have pushed her to S-rank?
No. Thinking calmly, that probably isn’t it.
Unlike with Peter Vinsfelt, I don’t feel that prickling aura that stabs at the nerves.
In other words, she’s surpassed A+ but fallen short of true S-rank—an awkward in-between state.
Like a half-baked imugi that failed to ascend into a dragon.
“So that’s why she’s so pissed?”
Above A+, below S.
The only way to kill her is still the secret technique of Gluttony Slash…
At that moment, my eyes met the Vampire Lord’s.
Eyes where pupil and white had both turned completely red.
The Vampire Lord opened her mouth in a voice dripping with killing intent.
[You. You ruined everything. All of it…!]
As the Vampire Lord extended her hand, dark red currents swirled into a vortex.
It soon rose like a massive wave of blood, surging toward me.
Kukwakwakwakwakwa!
With my current physical abilities, I can’t fully execute the secret technique of Gluttony Slash.
The output I can manage right now is 1%.
That’s still a powerfully skill on its own, but it’s not enough to kill an S-rank monster.
But.
…What if I add an ogre’s monstrous strength?
Ding-dong!
<Skill ‘Superhuman Strength’ activated!>
My back straightened involuntarily.
It felt like high-voltage current coursed through every muscle in my body.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
My heart began pounding rapidly.
At the same time, it became clearer and clearer.
Every muscle, every fiber was growing denser, tougher!
Now, let’s see how high a percentage I can reach this time!
The incoming crimson tidal wave was already close enough to swallow me at any moment.
Kwarr rr rr rr rr rr—!
I focused all my nerves on the tip of my right hand.
Soon.
“Seven Demon First Strike Secret Technique: Gluttony Slash, Beelzebub.”
<Current output of Gluttony Slash Secret Technique… 7%>
Kukwakwakwakwakwakwa—!
Darkness descended upon the ancient castle.