17 Chapter 17 : The Darkness Deep Within

Yu Hansung was currently pacing around restlessly in his office, seemingly waiting for someone. It was a rather unusual sight to see the usually calm and collected director this concerned. He stopped abruptly when he heard a knock on the door.

"You do know I am rather busy at the moment, right?" The man standing outside asked him, as soon as he opened the door. He had brown hair, brown eyes and a tall, slender build.

"And you do realise I wouldn't call you for iddle chatter, right?" Hansung quipped.

"... Fair enough, I guess." Hansung let the man inside the room and closed the door. "So, what could be so important that you decided to contact little old me?"

"Right. The 'Little old' man who single handedly slaughtered an entire branch of the Ha family." Hansung chuckled. "Are you even listening to yourself, Jinsung?"

"Let's not go there..." He sharply replied. "So, what's the matter?"

"Two new irregulars have appeared in the tower." Jinsung's eyes widened when he heard this. "But the problem is, a couple of R.E.D members have infiltrated the test floor. And one of them used to be a high ranker going by the name 'Graham Lasher'. Ring any bells?"

"... I'd have to be living under a rock to not know about him." Jinsung visibly sighed. "And he's... Not quite right in the head. Looks like you've got quite the troublesome guest in your floor..."

"I figured as much." Hansung replied. "So... If the two of you were to fight, would you be able to beat him?"

"Strictly speaking, I am stronger. And yes, I will be able to defeat him. I'll say he'd be roughly around the level of a top 500 high ranker." Jinsung clarified. "But even then, if his opponent doesn't have any clue regarding his powers, they'll have a tough time with him."

"His powers?"

"Yes. He has a rather... Nettlesome ability. Something that allows him to punch way above his weight class." He explained. "That should already tell you what will happen if he decides to fight regulars that haven't even passed the test floor..."

'They'll get slaughtered.' If Hansung wasn't worried before, he was now.

"In that case, I believe you already know what I'm about to ask you to do, right?" He asked Jinsung.

"... Figured as much." Jinsung calmly replied. "I'll do what I can."

**********

'What's the meaning of this?' Jinwoo was confused when he checked up on Shibisu. Even though he saw him getting stabbed in the gut by a metal rod, currently there was no external wound on his body. Despite this, Shibisu was still having difficulty in moving his body and couldn't even talk. His body also spasmed occasionally, as if to accentuate this point.

'Looks like I was worried for nothing.' The ranker merely stood there, watching the two. 'Even though he is an irregular, he is still far from...'their' level.'

"Was that metal rod poisoned?" Jinwoo asked the ranker in a cold tone.

"No." He simply replied. "And don't worry. He won't die from something as simple as that. I wasn't lying earlier when I said my only target was you, Sung Jinwoo." He summoned another one of those metal rods and started twirling it with his fingers. "I prefer not involving outsiders in my duties - Both professional, and personal ones."

"That being said..." Jinwoo's eyes widened when the guy seemingly vanished from his spot before reappearing behind him. Luckily, he managed to duck right on time to avoid an attack from piercing his skull.

"I do make sure to properly discipline certain stubborn ones like your friend, every now and then."

Lasher kicked him hard, which Jinwoo barely managed to block in time. But the force behind it sent him flying as he crashed on to the wall.

'Is this the gap of strength between a regular and a ranker?' Jinwoo was finding it hard to believe that despite how strong he had gotten, he was literally getting toyed with. 'He's most likely at the level of an S-rank hunter... No. Maybe even higher?'

Gritting his teeth, he took the initiative this time and rushed at his enemy.

[Skill Activated : Sprint]

[Skill Activated : Shinsu Boost]

With the sudden burst in speed and his other attributes, he attacked relentlessly with countless slashes. Lasher, however, simply parried every single one of his attacks with his metal rod.

[Skill Activated : Bloodlust]

[Target's resistance was too high. Debuff was resisted. ]

"Oh? That was new..." Lasher seemed genuinely surprised by Jinwoo's attempt. "But I guess it was all for nought, wasn't it?"

'Still, I feel like I've heard about something similar to that technique somewhere before. Hmm... Where was it?'

'I guess I shouldn't be too surprised 'Bloodlust' didn't work... ' Jinwoo was annoyed. 'In that case...'

Jinwoo unequipped both his daggers, slightly intriguing Lasher. Not wasting any time, he leapt high and knee'd him in the face. Surprisingly enough, his opponent actually staggered a bit from that attack. Jinwoo followed it up with a leg sweep kick, but his enemy jumped over it. Seeing his opponent was now mid-air, Jinwoo gathered as much strength as he could in his right hand and threw an uppercut. This time, the attack connected.

"Not bad. That actually stung a little." Landing on the ground, Lasher chuckled a bit.

Slightly getting annoyed, Jinwoo rushed at him and started throwing attacks left and right. The ranker however, bobbed and weaved through every single one of his attacks.

"This is getting rather boring." He caught the right hook Jinwoo threw at him with his bare hands. "I suppose it's my turn now."

*STAB*

Before Jinwoo could even process what had happened, he found himself in the same spot as Shibisu - impaled in the gut with the same weapon. But once again, he was surprised when he noticed something.

There was no visible wound.

'I definitely felt the damage... What's the meaning of this?' He was confused. But the answer came when he suddenly felt limp and went down to one knee.

[You have been inflicted with 'Paralysis']

[Effect of Buff 'Longevity' will now be activated]

[3...2...1... Debuff was removed]

But even after the debuff was removed, Jinwoo remained in the same position he was before.

'The opponent is stronger than me, faster than me, and has way more experience than me. In that case, I guess the only option I have is to fight smarter...' He tried to come up with a countermeasure.

"What... Did you do?" He asked him.

"Huh. Normally you shouldn't even be able to talk. Irregulars really are something else, eh? Even weak ones like you..." Lasher chuckled.

"This metal rod I have..." Lasher started monologuing. "... is not an actual weapon. It's my shinsu quality. And I have a special ability to attack a person's soul, instead of their physical body. As an added bonus, you might get paralysed from the attack as well. A gift the people of my clan were born with, you see..."

'Shinsu quality?' Jinwoo was intrigued as this was the first time he ever heard about such a thing. Meanwhile, the ranker continued his rant.

"The ability to directly attack the soul of a person, bypassing the strength of their physical body... Maybe it was for this reason, people feared us. And it gave me a sense of pride. A sense of accomplishment, you see." He beamed with joy.

But the next instant, his mood darkened as if he remembered something unpleasant.

"But my pride was shattered that day... The day I foolishly decided to fight the one man I never should have... King Zahard." He gritted his teeth.

"I was hopelessly outclassed. Anything and everything I tried was useless in front of his power. That's the sort of existence he was. A literal god among men..." There was a trace of fear and awe in his eyes, something Jinwoo noticed.

"And after the battle, he gave me a choice - To pledge my loyalty to him for eternity, or to die a dog's death, then and there. It was obvious what my choice was. But the price I paid for fighting him earlier ..." He paused and pointed at his disfigured face."... It's right here. "

'... Why the hell is he narrating his life story to me? And that too in the middle of a battle?' Jinwoo was perplexed.

"And although I pledged my loyalty to him..." Unaware of his thoughts, Lasher continued his rant. "... This caused me to hold an eternal grudge towards others of his kind - The so called irregulars. But it wasn't till several millennia later, that I got a chance to get rid of this grudge I held. I met another irregular who was climbing the tower. It was a time when irregulars were feared due to a certain incident. But because of that, I found myself an excuse to attack and try to kill him...." He paused for a bit.

"... And that ended up being my second mistake. The day I decided to fight Urek Mazino. " He raised the hem of his clothing to reveal a nasty scar on the left side of his chest.

"And this... was the price I paid for my foolishness. I barely managed to escape with my life that day. But it changed something inside me. Killing an irregular - What started out as something I decided to try on a whim, turned into an obsession that day." He scowled.

"Luckily enough..." He looked at Jinwoo straight in the eyes with a smile. "Looks like I didn't have to wait as long as I expected to. Now, do you understand why I wish to kill you, Sung Jinwoo? Do you?"

"... Yes. I understand now." After having kept quiet for this long, Jinwoo finally spoke up.

"I understand that you are an egotistical, pathetic loser who couldn't handle one defeat in his life and threw a tantrum that lasted for several millenia. Despite having lived for so long, you are still acting like a baby in an adult's body. A man-child in the true sense of the word."

And that did it.

The smile on Lasher's face vanished completely, as he cocked back his tightened fist. Jinwoo could literally feel shinsu gathering in his fist, but he remained calm.

'If that attack hits me, there is no doubt about it. I won't survive. But...' He smiled inwardly. Because for a short period, his opponent was blinded by rage.

His enemy threw the fist with all his might. But he was shocked when Jinwoo ducked underneath it.

Normally, this would have been an impossible feat for him even with his heightened senses. What made it possible this time were two factors :

One, his opponent believed that he couldn't move due to the paralysis effect.

Two, due to his rage he went for a very predictable move.

But Jinwoo wasn't done yet, as a familiar black dagger appeared on his hand.

[Skill Activated: Vital Strike]

The first weapon he got as a reward while in the tower, Night's Edge, shot forward aiming at the left side of his chest. Lasher, although surprised, wasn't that concerned as he was sure he couldn't be hurt by something like an ordinary dagger.

But that changed the moment he felt the dagger come in contact with his skin. Like hot knife through butter, it pierced his heart.

"... How?" He muttered before coughing up blood. He was unaware of the special ability of the blade to ignore the defence of the opponent. It didn't matter if it were a regular or a ranker, the dagger would damage them the same.

Jinwoo didn't say anything as he pulled out his blade. Lasher dropped to the ground like a piece of log as Jinwoo started walking away from him, clutching his ribs.

"In your next life, don't reveal your weaknesses to the enemy in the middle of a battle."

His attention fell on Shibisu, who was still on the ground in the middle of the skirmish.

'A potion should be able to fix him up. Speaking of which, I guess I should use the 'Full Recovery' option now.' He slowly made his way towards his friend.

But then, he paused.

'Wait... How come I didn't get the notification for completing the Emergency Quest? '

And as if answering his thoughts, a voice rang from behind him.

"You should have gone for the head."

Alarmed, Jinwoo turned around, only for someone to grab him by his face and slam him onto the ground.

*CRASH*

"I almost died, you bastard! " Lasher laughed out loudly. "But I must thank you for that wake-up call."

While the stab did manage to pierce his heart, he used shinsu to patch his wound and stabilise his heartbeat. And although this wasn't a permanent solution, it was enough to keep him alive for a few more hours, in the very least.

"I was thinking of giving you a quick and easy death. But now? I've changed my mind." He growled. "I've told you already, didn't I? How I can attack people's soul directly?"

"I am going to directly invade your soul and destroy it completely. Without a trace. And it is going to be painful. Very, very painful."

Jinwoo struggled, trying to escape from his iron grip to no avail. He could only watch helplessly as a blue coloured aura spread out from Lasher's palm, eventually encompassing his entire body.

"This is the end, Sung Jinwoo. Drown in despair and perish."

Those were the last words he heard... before blacking out.

**********

<???????>

'So this is what the landscape of his soul looks like, huh?' Lasher looked around, appraising his new surroundings. He had used this ability on several people throughout his life. And everyone of them had a unique soulscape, something which represented their true self. And in the case of Jinwoo?

Shadows.

Shadows were everywhere around him - From the sky up above to the ground beneath him. It was also significantly impeding his vision, despite his heightened senses.

'Something seems... strange. Somehow, all of this seems a bit... Artificial. It almost seems as if his soulscape was modified...'

And then, without any warning, a colossal amount of pressure fell on him, bringing him down to his knees.

'What the hell?!' He gritted his teeth, trying to get up. But the more he struggled, he only found the pressure around him rising, till he literally got squashed on the ground beneath.

And that was when he heard it.

The sound of footsteps approaching.

"The nerve..."

A deep voice spoke out, the sound echoing throughout the area. Lasher somehow managed to turn his head and tried searching for who it was.

"The audacity..."

In the distance, he saw the silhouette of someone approaching. But that alone sent shivers down his spine.

"The arrogance..."

The closer the person got, the more he felt it. A feeling he was all too familiar with. Something he had hoped to never feel again, in his life.

It was the feeling of death approaching.

'I need to get out of here...' This was the only thought in his mind right now. Using the link between his soul and physical body, he tried to eject himself out of this accursed soulscape.

But he failed. Something was keeping him from escaping. And he didn't need to be a genius to figure out who it was.

"And after everything you've done , now you wish to run away?"

He felt himself getting hoisted up into the air, giving him a clear view of the one standing infront of him.

The person in front of him seemed to be made out of shadows itself. He was clad in jet-black armor, a long shadowy cloak and was the literal image of a black-knight. He had flaming purple hair, glowing purple eyes that seemed to be staring deep into his soul, and a pair of curved black horns.

And this sight only managed to enhance his fears even more. His hands literally began shaking.

"Why do you fear?"

Lasher began floating towards him, until he was inches away from his face.

"Was it not your intention to lay waste to this soulscape?"

"I-I didn't know!" He whimpered.

"Ignorance is not an excuse." The Knight rebuked sharply, as he outstretched an arm. A black greatsword materialised, as he grabbed its hilt.

"Nor will it save you from what's to come." He raised the sword, pressing its blade on throat of the man before him. "Any last words?"

"Wh-Who are you?" Lasher somehow managed to cough out. The Knight paused for a moment, before removing the sword and resting it on his shoulders.

"I am death."

*SLASH*

"Your death."

That slash not only cut him in half, but also caused the two halves to disintegrate into nothingness. As the last remnants of Lasher's soul disappeared, the knight simply looked on into the distance.

'You need to get stronger, Sung Jinwoo.'

**********

"Ugh... What happened?" Jinwoo slowly got up from the ground, rubbing his head.

"Oh. Thank god you are awake! For a second I thought you were a goner..." He was startled when he heard Shibisu from right beside him. "Can you stand up?"

"... Yeah. I can man- Hold up. How are you able to move now? And what happened to the ranker?"

"Well...." Shibisu pointed at something that was lying right next to him. "I'd like to know that too."

And that's when Jinwoo noticed it. The corpse of the ranker named Graham Lasher which was lying right next to his feet. And it was also when he noticed a ton of notifications that had popped up in the system.

[Emergency Quest has been completed]

[You have performed an almost impossible achievement ]

[Rewards have been altered]

[You have Levelled Up]

Jinwoo's eyes literally bulged out from his socket when he saw this.

'... WHAT THE F*K?!!'

_________________________________________________

Name: Sung Jinwoo

Level: 37

Class: None

Title: One Versus All

HP: 8380

MP: 718

<Stats>

Strength: 87

Vitality: 72

Agility: 77

Intelligence: 57

Sense: 69

Available Stat points : 0

-Sprint (Lvl 1)

-Shinsu Boost (Lvl 1)

-Bloodlust

-Vital Strike (Lvl 1)

-Dagger Throw (Lvl 1)

-Tenacity

-Dagger Arts (Lvl 1)

_________________________________________________

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