The 97th Episode
“Your Blood Wolf Sword Technique’s second form, Blood Wolf Fang, is enhanced through internal energy.”
Crack!
“Kuaaaak!”
Se-un’s silver sword, transformed into the shape of a blood-colored wolf, bit into the werewolf.
Indeed, the power of true silver. Although artificial, the werewolf was unable to properly heal his wounds, even with the full moon in the sky.
Of course, the werewolf’s power had greatly increased with the rise of the full moon, but he had made one fatal mistake.
-The Eye of Envy envies the wildness of the ‘Tabula Wolf.’
-Steals strength.
-Steals agility.
-Steals regeneration.
…
That was, he had dragged out the time for too long.
Although his physical abilities were enhanced by the full moon, his power was gradually weakening due to the power of Envy.
Conversely, Se-un had begun to steal the werewolf’s power, so the battle was overwhelmingly in Se-un’s favor.
“To even prepare a weapon made of true silver! Since when did you become aware of my existence!”
“Hmm, it’s been so long I don’t remember.”
“That can’t be! The survivor on the first floor was definitely only one!”
The werewolf screamed, creating distance between himself and Se-un.
One of his shoulders was already in tatters.
The more the pressure continued, the more the Stigmata of the Satyr shone.
Although it wasn’t obvious, a sense of fear towards Se-un was slowly creeping in.
“It can’t be! If I just have a little more time! If I just offer a few more sacrifices, I can escape this frustrating first floor!”
“……What are you talking about?”
Escape the first floor?
Even Se-un, with his vast knowledge from his regression, found it hard to understand.
Residents who were not players were basically unable to leave the floor they belonged to.
“Don’t you know! You! This damn…!”
-The Tower Administrator suppresses the words and actions of the ‘Tabula Wolf.’
“Kuaaaaaak!”
The Administrator’s intervention.
Before the regression, he had only heard rumors about it, but never seen it. Starting with the tutorial administrator, this was already the second time he had encountered the Administrator’s intervention.
Perhaps because of the Administrator’s intervention, the werewolf’s mouth slammed shut so hard his teeth shattered, and he let out a roar of rage.
Se-un’s fear and the werewolf’s fear collided, causing the surrounding wolves to lose their minds and collapse.
“I can’t end it here! Even if my bloodline becomes corrupted, I can’t end it like this!”
Crack!
Se-un wondered what he was doing, but the werewolf picked up a wolf right next to him and bit its neck.
Although it had lost consciousness, the wolf was still alive.
The wolf, awakened by the dizzying shock felt in its neck, whined and screamed, but the werewolf had no intention of letting it go.
Blood flowed from the brutally torn neck, and the werewolf opened his maw wide and gulped down the blood.
‘Dangerous.’
Taat!
Did werewolves have the concept of cannibalism?
No.
At least, as far as Se-un knew, werewolves were a race that loved their own kind dearly. Not just werewolves, but also the wolves who shared their will.
When Se-un reached the werewolf, drawing a silver trajectory [the path of the sword], he saw the werewolf’s eyes burning red, with red blood dripping from his mouth.
Kkaang!
“Kuh, kkeureuk…….”
The werewolf’s red claws blocked Se-un’s sword.
Through the sword that struck down on the claws, a dizzying recoil traveled down, and a tingling pain was felt in his wrist.
-The ‘Tabula Wolf’ has devoured its own kind.
-The werewolf’s bloodline is corrupted, and it enters a state of frenzy.
‘So, this is it.’
It was only a single clash of attacks, but Se-un could feel that the werewolf’s power had become incredibly stronger than just before.
When he raised his head at the eerie feeling, he saw that the full moon was stained red.
It seemed that it wasn’t just the werewolf in front of him who had begun to go berserk.
“Awoo-”
“Awoo-oo-”
As the full moon turned red, the howling of werewolves was heard from below.
‘I need to end this quickly.’
He had instructed his clan members not to harm the residents as much as possible.
They were just being controlled by the Tabula Wolf without even realizing they were werewolves. He wanted to minimize meaningless damage as much as possible.
However, subduing a strong enemy was more difficult than killing them.
If the werewolves became even stronger, his clan members would also face hardship.
“Keureureu…….”
The Tabula Wolf. He dripped a liquid that was either blood or saliva from his wide-open maw and glared at Se-un.
Reason was no longer visible in his eyes.
He was truly a wild beast.
He was a hungry wolf, completely covered in instinct.
“Kuaaang!”
The werewolf threw away the wolf he had devoured and charged at Se-un.
Overwhelming speed.
The speed was so fast that it was hard to follow with the eyes.
Kang!
Barely managing to block the attack, the Yong-a Sword, enhanced with the power of true silver, wailed and vibrated.
Even after that, the werewolf’s attacks did not stop.
He didn’t care about his own wounds and only repeated his attacks.
Although the werewolf’s stats were being absorbed into Se-un through the power of Envy, it was impossible to even buy time at this rate.
Kkaang!
By drawing up his internal energy to the maximum and unleashing a single blow, he was able to block the werewolf’s attack and create a slight opening.
Immediately, Se-un took one hand off his sword and pointed it at the werewolf.
-According to the mysteries of the Black Tower, the power of ‘Dark Flare’ is enhanced.
Kwareureureuk!
“Kuaaaaak!”
Se-un, who could use stronger magic after reaching the 5th Circle, used the most powerful magic he could use right away due to the urgent situation.
It was a 3rd Circle attack magic [magic with a difficulty level of 3], but it wouldn’t be weak at all since he poured in as much mana as he could.
However, even so, he couldn’t completely stop the werewolf’s movements.
Even though his body was burning in black flames, the werewolf took a step forward with his red eyes flashing.
And in that fleeting moment, Se-un manifested the power of Greed and took out a treasure he had thought of in advance.
-The Treasure Vault of Greed has been opened.
[ Sword of the Holy King, Lobera ]
– The sword of King Fernando III, one of the greatest kings. A legendary wolf-slaying sword with the name Wolf Hunter.
A treasure he had chosen in preparation for a possible situation.
He thought he could handle it well enough with his current power, but if he dragged out the time any longer, the damage would be too great.
So, it seemed better to end the werewolf as quickly as possible, even if it meant using a treasure.
“Kuaaaaak!”
The werewolf let out a final roar and charged forward.
As if completely dominated by instinct, he began to run on all fours, even placing his front paws on the ground.
It seemed that the only thing on his mind was to bite Se-un.
Sseuek.
Se-un took a stance, stepping his right foot forward to draw his sword.
The power of true silver and the power of the legendary sword Lobera.
The Yong-a Sword, imbued with two treasures, was trembling as if it would explode at any moment.
An ordinary sword would have shattered, unable to withstand even one of the two treasures. Indeed, it was a sword made by Go Chang-seok.
As strength was put into Se-un’s hand, the Yong-a Sword sensed its end and momentarily stopped vibrating.
His mind was heightened to the extreme, and for a moment, he had the illusion that the world had stopped.
Calmly taking a breath and opening his eyes, he saw the werewolf’s red pupils right in front of him.
At that moment.
Seogeok-
Se-un’s sword moved, and a silver trajectory spread out, drawing the shape of a full moon.
A full moon that was even more real than the red full moon floating in the sky.
As the Yong-a Sword slowly shattered after fulfilling its role, the frozen world slowly regained its time along with it.
Thud.
The werewolf’s corpse, split exactly in half, fell to Se-un’s sides as if sliding.
The red light that had been shining on Se-un disappeared, and the moon regained its original appearance.
-You have defeated the hidden boss monster of the 1st floor, ‘Tabula Wolf.’
-Your level has increased.
-Your level has increased.
-Personal contribution points increase by 100,000 points.
-You have acquired ‘Corrupted Werewolf Blood.’
-You have acquired ‘Corrupted Werewolf Eyes.’
…
-You have completed the hidden quest of the 1st floor, ‘Tabula Wolf.’
-You have acquired 100,000 points as a reward.
-You have completed the hidden quest of the 1st floor, ‘Tabula’s Corruption.’
-You have acquired 100,000 points as a reward.
-You have completed the quest without killing a single resident controlled by the Tabula Wolf, and have additionally acquired 100,000 points.
-The reputation of the ‘Diablo Clan’ spreads among the residents of the Tower.
-You have acquired the qualification to pass the trial of the 1st floor. You can go up to the next floor at any time you want.
System messages appeared before Se-un’s eyes without a break.
In summary, it was a message about an increase of 2 levels, the acquisition of 400,000 points, the reputation of the Diablo Clan, and the passage of the trial on the 1st floor.
“Hoo…….”
Se-un raised his trembling hand.
At the last moment, he didn’t use martial arts or magic.
It was just an ordinary Drawing Sword Technique.
But at that moment, the world seemed to have stopped.
It was physically impossible, but all of Se-un’s senses were keenly aware of that fact.
Due to the overloaded muscles, his raised hand was trembling.
And he felt an indescribable sensation.
Se-un clenched his fist tightly as if not to lose that sensation. Perhaps, this was the enlightenment that swordsmen spoke of.
Before the regression, he had used various weapons, but Se-un was just an adventurer. He had never been proficient in one weapon.
He was feeling the enlightenment he had not gained at that time, now that he had regressed and was starting to climb the Tower anew.
‘First of all…….’
-You have devoured the ‘Tabula Wolf.’
-Absorbing nutrients increases Strength by 20 and Agility by 20.
-The tale of the Blood Wolf Legend records the wolf hunt.
-The power of fear recorded in the tale greatly increases.
Beyond being difficult to obtain a title, it was also not easy to develop tales related to the title.
Even the Rankers who had climbed to the upper floors of the Tower mostly had no more than ten lines of recorded tales.
Se-un was writing such a tale on the 1st floor.
Honestly, he was more surprised that the tale had been updated than the fact that he had acquired 400,000 points or that his stats had increased by nearly 40 in total.
“Se-un! Are you okay?”
“Yeah. What about the residents?”
“As soon as the moon returned, they returned to their original forms and immediately lost consciousness. Their wounds were also healed, so I’m on my way back after laying them all down at their homes.”
“Good job. It must have been difficult to subdue them.”
“It’s nothing compared to you, Se-un. I could tell just by the sounds and energy I heard. How strong the enemy you faced was.”
Yoo Seo-ah, who had rushed over, explained the state of the village.
Perhaps because he had prepared in advance, the residents had few injuries, and there was almost no damage to the buildings.
She said that a few werewolves had broken free from their restraints and ran wild when the red moon rose, but they were quickly suppressed by the efforts of Kang Han-cheol and Yoo Seo-ah, among others.
“But what do these messages mean? Reputation, trials…….”
“I’ll tell you the details at the base. I want to rest a little too.”
“Ah! Of course. Let’s go back quickly.”
Yoo Seo-ah tried to support him, but Se-un refused by holding out his hand. His legs were shaking a little, but he couldn’t not walk alone.
‘Anyway, what I got this time is…….’
Se-un checked the spoils he had obtained from hunting the Tabula Wolf.
There were no finished products, only materials related to werewolves.
Perhaps because of the corruption caused by cannibalism at the end, most of the materials were stained crimson red with the adjective ‘corrupted’ attached.
He was already mostly equipped with gear through Go Chang-seok, so he was wondering where to use these.
-The constellation, ‘The Bowed Crow,’ proposes a trade to you.
The Demon God of Greed, Mammon, sent a message as if he had been waiting.