Morgue’s Magical Warehouse, Second Layer — Observation Zone.
A place where the stored items were far more difficult and vicious than those in the Safe Zone.
As such, the Observation Zone was thick with virulent poison and sinister death energy.
For ordinary people without mana resistance, merely stepping inside could put their lives in immediate danger.
Meanwhile, deep inside the Observation Zone.
[KIIIG!]
[KIIIEEEK!]
[KYAAAAAH—!]
[KIGI-GI-GIIIG!]
Sounds like nails scraping across a chalkboard echoed everywhere.
They were the shrieks of cockroaches gnawing away at Morgue’s Magical Warehouse.
The cockroaches in the Observation Zone were not only far more numerous; their aggression was several times stronger.
Yet their most distinctive trait was the existence of grotesquely evolved mutants.
A cockroach with grotesquely bulging upper-body muscles.
A cockroach whose mandibles had grown enormous like guillotine blades.
A cockroach that emitted bizarre cries to summon others nearby.
A cockroach with countless centipede-like legs that scuttled at terrifying speed.
A cockroach that oozed reddish, foul-smelling liquid from every orifice.
Exposed to the harsh environment, the cockroaches had each evolved into different forms.
And the place where the largest number of them gathered was, of course, the Filthy Breeding Pit.
Thousands of cockroaches surrounding the Filthy Breeding Pit hissed with metallic shhhhk-shhhhk sounds.
Then an elite soldier cockroach of overwhelming size let out a roar.
[KYAAAAAAAH—!]
In response, the thousands of cockroaches began shrieking in unison.
[KIIIIT—!]
[KIIEEEEEEK!]
[KYAK— KYAGEK—!]
[KIGIG! KIGIGIGIG!]
Yet they were not roaring to threaten or vent rage.
[Kieeeek……! Keek……!]
Fear.
These were the dying screams of prey facing a predator.
Superior predators far beyond them had invaded their territory.
Six.
With merely six intruders, the cockroaches’ nest was being turned into a wasteland.
***
“Damn. There really are a disgusting amount of them.”
I had seen this sight several times already, yet looking at the Filthy Breeding Pit and the heaps of cockroaches around it still made my face scrunch up.
I looked at Yi Seonggye and said,
“Once again, His Majesty King Taejo found the breeding pit?”
This was the fifth time Jeanne and the Shadow Knights had located a cockroach habitat during exploration.
And every single time, it was Yi Seonggye who discovered the breeding pit.
[I’ve had a knack for hunting since I was a boy! Hahaha! Whether it was badgers, deer, or tigers, I was unmatched at finding hidden prey.]
Saying that, Yi Seonggye nocked an arrow.
I followed the direction of his arrow.
Dozens of cockroaches were shrieking threateningly.
Meanwhile, at the center of the breeding pit stood a long-haired swordsman with an impassive face.
Cheok Junkyeong.
He rested one arm on his sword hilt and stared at the cockroaches.
Then.
[KIIIEEK~!]
[KYAAAAAAH!]
[KIGIG-KIGIGIG—]
Dozens of cockroaches charged at Cheok Junkyeong all at once.
Some sprinted across the ground, some flew with spread wings, some rapidly climbed the walls.
The swarm was so dense that Cheok Junkyeong’s figure was completely hidden.
At that instant.
『Goksan Cheok Family Style, First Form: Iron-Cutting Flash』
Flash!
A thin flash of light swept past the cockroaches.
Yet.
Nothing seemed to happen.
The momentum of the swarming cockroaches did not falter in the slightest.
Soon, dozens of them reached Cheok Junkyeong.
But the scene was exceedingly bizarre.
Every single cockroach was missing its head.
Plop! Thud! Plop! Plop! Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Like hail falling, severed heads rained down onto the ground.
Only then did green liquid fountain from the cockroaches’ necks.
They were not standing.
They were merely… still upright.
Thud!
A single flash. A slash so fast it was nearly invisible.
The cockroaches probably didn’t even realize they had been cut until the moment they collapsed.
Of course, I could barely follow it with my eyes.
He’s gotten even stronger?
Power, precision, speed—everything had grown far beyond before.
Cheok Junkyeong, regarded as the strongest warrior in Korean history.
Now reborn as a Shadow Knight and having gained Awakener abilities.
He must have grown accustomed to his new body and powers while exploring the Observation Zone these past weeks.
Truly a tiger with wings.
At that moment, the air behind Cheok Junkyeong began to ripple.
Sssshhh—
A cockroach suddenly appeared and lunged.
A stealth-type mutant whose exoskeleton had evolved into optical-camouflage armor.
Yet.
Step, step, step—
Cheok Junkyeong simply walked forward without looking back.
He just silently continued toward the cockroaches ahead.
Soon, the mutant cockroach clacked its sharp mandibles and charged.
At that instant.
FWEEEEEEE—!
With a sound that tore through the air, a shadow arrow streaked in.
The arrow curved in a perfect circle as it flew.
It instantly pierced the mutant cockroach’s forehead.
CRUNCH!
The mutant collapsed limply.
At the same time, Yi Seonggye’s booming voice rang out.
[Cheok-gong! Keep your eyes forward! A true warrior must advance without ever looking back. Indeed! Hahaha~!]
[…….]
Cheok Junkyeong silently nodded.
Then, with his usual emotionless expression, he began bisecting the cockroaches.
It wasn’t just the individual prowess of the Shadow Knights that had risen over these weeks of exploration.
Trust.
Through countless battles, they had come to acknowledge each other and trust their backs to one another.
Soon, Yi Seonggye drew his bow, and more than ten shadow arrows surged forward.
FWEEEE—!
Arrows that moved as if they had minds of their own.
The dozen arrows split into hundreds mid-flight.
A rain of arrows blackening the ceiling poured down over the cockroaches.
Pap-ap-ap-ap-ap-ap!
The swarming cockroaches were pierced without pause.
[KYAAAAH—]
[KIGIGIGIG!]
[KIIEEEEEEK—]
Death throes rang out endlessly.
It was a scene of pure massacre.
Then.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE— BOOM!
The ceiling collapsed, and cockroaches dropped toward Yi Seonggye’s head.
But.
Thoom!
A curtain of thick ink blocked the cockroaches.
The curtain rose, crushing the cockroaches against the ceiling.
CRUNCH— CRUNCH— CRUNCH!
Between the ceiling and the ink curtain, cockroaches burst like ground meat.
Cheok Junkyeong cutting down enemies at the front.
Yi Seonggye providing wide-area support from mid-range.
And Yi I, supporting the other two with various spells.
In the previous battle, the three aces had simply overwhelmed with raw power.
Now the three Shadow Knights fought as a tightly knit, organic team.
Yet the one who stood out the most was Jeanne.
『Seven Demon First Strike: Gluttony Slash, Beelzebub』
KWAAAAAAA— BOOM!
Black waves swept the area, swallowing the cockroaches.
Like a swarm of starved locusts had passed, bite-like sword marks were carved into their bodies.
No need for me to step in.
Honestly, the current lineup was already overkill.
“The bus ride is smooth.”
I felt like a newbie just picking up items while following veterans.
In reality, mana stones were dropping every time a cockroach died.
Occasionally high-purity ones appeared too, making farming quite enjoyable.
Moreover.
<Observation Zone exploration rate has increased by 0.0000000001%!>
<Observation Zone exploration rate has increased by 0.0000000001%!>
<Observation Zone exploration rate has increased by 0.0000000001%!>
The exploration rate was rising at an insane pace.
At this rate, the next promotion quest might appear soon.
“Oh, right.”
Speaking of which, I had something to give Jeanne.
I took an item out of my inventory.
“Here, take it.”
A greatsword with both a black blade and a pure white blade rising from the same hilt.
The S-rank weapon — Soy Sauce Sesame Sword.
Jeanne’s eyes widened as she asked,
“Are you truly giving this to me?”
I had made the Soy Sauce Sesame Sword for Jeanne from the very beginning.
Of course, I could use it myself, but…
I can’t activate Super Strength every single time I swing it.
Jeanne accepted the sword and smiled brightly.
“Thank you, Master.”
For a moment, I was dazed just looking at her.
Not long ago, Jeanne had received countless luxury bags, clothes, and shoes while we toured high-end boutiques.
She had genuinely thanked me and been happy then too.
But it felt like she was happy simply because I had given them to her.
Yet now…
“It’s truly a fine sword. I really, really love it.”
This was the first time I had seen her smile so openly.
Watching that smile warmed a corner of my heart.
At that moment, something flew toward us like a fastball.
Whiiiir— Thwack!
Jeanne stretched out her arm with incredible reaction speed and caught it.
What had flown over was… a cockroach head.
……
The severed cross-section was covered in brutal bite marks.
That guy’s work, no doubt.
I looked in the direction the head had come from.
Sure enough, a loud voice immediately rang out.
“One year! One year! One year! One year! One yeeeeeear! Kha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
There, darting through the cockroaches like a storm, was the culprit.
Catalog number MRG-682.
The Immortal Pseudo-Dragon, now fallen(?) into half-human, half-dragon form.
Even if her appearance changed, her fighting style is still exactly the same.
Biting with fangs, ripping bellies with claws, crushing with her tail.
Soon the Pseudo-Dragon lifted a cockroach and opened her jaws wide.
Inside her gaping maw, stake-like sharp teeth were densely packed.
CRUNCH—
With clear bite marks, the cockroach’s head was torn from its body.
CRUNCH—! CRUNCH—! CRUNCH—!
Everywhere the Pseudo-Dragon passed, headless cockroach corpses piled up.
Each time, she shouted loudly.
“Hey, Warehouse Keeper! Did you see that? One year! One yeeeear—!”
“Yeah, yeah. Good job. Very good.”
I answered half-heartedly like soothing a child.
Why was the Pseudo-Dragon singing “one year, one year” while biting off cockroach heads?
Because I had told her I would reduce her sentence by one year for every cockroach she killed.
Then Jeanne pointed at the Pseudo-Dragon and asked,
“I have been wanting to ask for a while, Master… What exactly is that creature you brought?”
She looked at the Pseudo-Dragon with eyes full of disgust.
The Pseudo-Dragon was still completely naked as she rampaged.
Of course, the important parts were covered in scales, but the sight was still embarrassingly indecent.
I answered calmly.
“Pseudo-Dragon. That one.”
“Huh?”
“You know, the one that looked like a giant lizard before. The one you fought.”
Jeanne tilted her head, clearly not understanding.
“It’s complicated to explain. Anyway, she’ll look like that for a while.”
“Understood, Master.”
Jeanne accepted it without further question.
Then she immediately shouted at the Pseudo-Dragon.
“You there, beast! Stop walking around naked and put some clothes on!
How dare you show such disgraceful behavior before my revered Master?
Do you not possess even a shred of shame?”
The Pseudo-Dragon paused and turned around.
Then.
Chomp— chomp— chomp— chomp— ptooey!
She spat out what she had been chewing onto the ground.
A cockroach head covered in sticky saliva rolled right up to Jeanne’s feet.
The Pseudo-Dragon snorted derisively and replied,
“You only need to cover your body because you lack confidence in your flesh, human!
Look at me. But don’t worry! Humans are inherently hideous creatures!
No matter how much you cover yourselves with pathetic rags, your innate ugliness cannot be hidden!
Yet you still burden yourselves with all those cumbersome things while fighting.
As expected, humans are stupid! Kha-ha-ha-ha!”
Jeanne opened her mouth to retort, but the Pseudo-Dragon had already charged back into the cockroaches.
In the end, Jeanne let out a sigh mixed with exasperation.
…I tried to converse with a beast. That was my mistake.
Beasts only understand the whip, after all.
“Don’t pay it too much mind. Just think of her as a business partner.”
“Understood, Master.”
Even while we spoke, the Pseudo-Dragon continued tearing through the cockroach horde.
Ripping off heads one by one.
“One year—!”
CRUNCH—
“Another year!”
CRUNCH—
“One yeeeeeear!”
CRUNCH—
She obsessively tore off cockroach heads.
I had said one year per kill, but I didn’t mean she literally had to collect heads.
Anyway.
Watching the gradually decreasing number of cockroaches, I thought,
Hmm, I’d really like to see the Soy Sauce Sesame Sword in action at least once.
But these ordinary cockroaches weren’t worth testing it on.
I looked at the Pseudo-Dragon again.
She was still completely focused on biting off heads.
But then.
“!”
CRACK— CRACK-CRACK—
That sound just now was slightly different from before.
I immediately realized why.
It wasn’t the cockroach’s head that broke — it was the Pseudo-Dragon’s fang.
“KRRRAAAAHH—! Kack! Huh?”
As the saying goes, speak of the tiger and it appears.
A perfectly proportioned, restrained eight-head-tall body.
A new-type cockroach radiating intense fighting spirit from its very gaze had appeared.
Ding-dong!
<Elite Soldier Cockroach>
-Danger Rank: A+
-Discovered Location: Morgue’s Magical Warehouse ‘Observation Zone’
“Oh.”
Finally, a decent one shows up?