The Swordmaster Wants To Live Peacefully [EN]: Chapter 12

Swordmaster Wants to Live in Peace – Episode 12

Meteor Shower (2)

The next day.

Yoo Ji-woo ambled into the living room early in the morning.

Having been to the Abyss, she should have rested for a few days, but she woke up early to handle some work that could be done at home.

However, someone was already sprawled on the living room sofa, tapping away at a tablet.

It was none other than Yoo Seong-woo.

He lay there, constantly moving his fingers, unable to take his eyes off the tablet screen.

“Oppa, what are you doing?”

she asked, scratching her stomach as she took out a bottle of mineral water from the refrigerator.

Yoo Seong-woo glanced at her briefly before replying curtly.

“Gathering information.”

“What information? I’ll get you whatever you need.”

“Information about the Abyss. There’s something bothering me…….”

“If it’s about the Abyss, I’m an expert.”

“Are there any Abyss like the one we attacked yesterday? The higher the grade, the better.”

“Why, are you planning to attack it?”

“Yes.”

“……Really?”

“Why, can’t I?”

“It’s not that you can’t.”

Crack.

Yoo Ji-woo crushed the empty water bottle and pondered for a moment before continuing.

“Usually, high-grade Abyss are attacked as soon as they appear. There’s a lot to gain from high-grade Abyss, but the risk of maintaining them is too great.”

“So, there are no high-grade Abyss that can be attacked right now?”

“Pretty much. The Abyss where you caught the Snow White Serpent before, we’ve been able to maintain it and continuously harvest cold herbs thanks to you. If you weren’t there, we probably would have taken the core and closed the Abyss.”

“Hmm…….”

“Ah, but it’s not like there aren’t any at all. As I recall, there are a few Abyss of grade 3 or higher that remain. There are Abyss that haven’t been attacked and remain as they are because they couldn’t find the core’s location.”

Yoo Ji-woo approached and snatched the tablet, manipulating it.

Then, she showed the screen.

“The City That Never Sleeps in Goesan. Grade 3 Abyss.”

What appeared on the screen she showed was an old castle in the dark night.

Goesan, North Chungcheong Province. There was an Abyss that could not be attacked.

The Abyss named ‘The City That Never Sleeps’ was a place waiting for a morning that would never come.

“When the City That Never Sleeps first appeared, it was a disaster. It was like a hell where the Undead poured out endlessly from the Abyss.”

The grade 3 Abyss, the City That Never Sleeps, boasted a terrifying force befitting its difficulty, comparable to a former A-grade hunter.

Shortly after the Sejong City disaster, when there was no time to pay attention to the Abyss that appeared all over the country.

From the grade 3 Abyss that suddenly appeared in Goesan, North Chungcheong Province, monsters poured out that could be called an immortal legion.

Zombies, skeletons, draugr [undead creatures from Norse mythology], ghouls, banshees, vampires, etc…….

An army of undead that, in terms of sheer numbers, could be considered grade 1.

To drive them out, people fought during the day and fought with lanterns at night.

Since they were more active at night, they fought in shifts day and night, so the fire never went out for 24 hours.

Hence, the City That Never Sleeps.

A castle built on a bright lamp, where morning would never come.

Miraculously, people drove out the undead army and tried to attack the inside of the City That Never Sleeps, but.

They retreated without finding the heart of the Abyss somewhere.

For several years, the core of the grade 3 Abyss, the City That Never Sleeps, remained untouched.

Under the leadership of the government, several guilds periodically cleaned the inside, so it was a high-level Abyss where Abyss Rush [a sudden, uncontrolled surge of monsters] did not occur.

“It’s also a place where divers [hunters] who have just entered the veteran level go. Whether they gain honor there or die and become part of their army, no one knows.”

“Is there still a lot to loot?”

“The City That Never Sleeps is vast. Despite years of attacks, they haven’t finished exploring the interior yet. Especially the Black Castle in the deepest part; the internal structure changes every time.”

“I see…….”

Yoo Seong-woo snatched the tablet and got up from the sofa.

Having confirmed the location of the City That Never Sleeps, he immediately prepared to leave.

“Oh, what is it? Are you going right away?”

“Yes. I’ll contact you when I get back.”

“Oh, okay…… If you pick up anything good there, give it to me. Artifacts, you know?”

“Has the price of Melona [a popular Korean melon-flavored ice pop] gone up that much these days…….”

* * *

North Chungcheong Province, Goesan.

Not far from the center, in Jeongyong-ri, there is a large black hole.

The grade 3 Abyss, the City That Never Sleeps.

The City That Never Sleeps, controlled by divers belonging to the government, does not allow entry to divers below C-grade.

It was for safety.

Only divers of B-grade or higher can enter the City That Never Sleeps.

“It seems like we’re all ready, so let’s depart!”

A party of five divers of B-grade or higher finished their preparations and stepped into the abyss.

They came to the City That Never Sleeps to temper themselves, and all of them had a lantern hanging on their backpacks.

Inside the City That Never Sleeps, there was a bright crescent moon, but it was so dark that it was not enough to secure visibility.

However, there was one person who entered such an Abyss empty-handed.

Without any special equipment on his body, in casual clothes, leisurely.

Before entering, he had to present his diver’s license to the controllers at the entrance, but the controllers did not seem to see him and did not stop him.

“Is this the City That Never Sleeps…….”

D-grade diver Yoo Seong-woo, who entered the Abyss, looked around the interior.

The inside of the City That Never Sleeps was dark, but the light from the lanterns of the divers who gathered and hunted in various places occasionally caught his eye.

“Are there about six parties…….”

It was a number that he could not know whether it was many or few since it was his first time.

According to the information Yoo Seong-woo had checked before entering the Abyss, the City That Never Sleeps is divided into three zones.

Entrance: Plains of Death.

Central: Vicinity of the White Castle and inside the White Castle.

Deepest: Vicinity of the Black Castle and inside the Black Castle.

The Plains of Death, the entrance, is inhabited by the lowest-level undead, skeletons or zombies.

If you enter the White Castle, intermediate undead such as ghouls, draugr, and banshees, which are higher species of skeletons, appear.

And if you go to the Black Castle, the deepest part, vampires and liches, which are higher species among the undead, come out.

In the past, the attack team succeeded in entering the Black Castle, but they said they could not find the core of the Abyss.

‘That means there are specific conditions for the core to appear.’

Yoo Seong-woo stretched and loosened his body.

His destination is, of course, the Black Castle.

The goal was to enter the deepest part of the Black Castle and find out even a little bit of the secret of the Abyss.

The secret of the dungeon is in the dungeon.

He was also a Swordmaster, an excellent dungeon explorer, and boasted a record of attacking impregnable labyrinths several times.

He lightly kicked the ground.

Then, a small wind blew in the place where he was, and he disappeared without a trace.

* * *

Inside the White Castle.

Inside the castle, which consists of a total of three floors, there were two or three parties hunting undead.

Undead are usually thought to be worthless, but their magic-mixed bone powder was a good refining material, so it was a good source of income.

Besides, it was also good for improving the skills of divers.

Unlike the Black Castle, the skeletons and zombies in the White Castle did not form groups, and most of them were faithful to their instincts.

“Hoo, I think today’s hunting is enough. I think the lantern is almost running out too.”

“That’s right. I think my lantern is also reaching its limit. I think it would be perfect if we go back now?”

A party consisting of four B-grades and one A-grade.

After finishing several battles and returning to the safe zone they had seen in advance, they took a breather and discussed what to do.

Most opinions were in favor of returning.

Since the supplies they brought were almost exhausted, they needed to resupply even if they continued hunting.

Just as they were packing their things and getting up from their seats.

A bleak wind swept through the hallway.

At the same time, the lights of the lanterns hanging on their backpacks went out all at once.

“Wh, what?!”

“Shh, shh! Quiet! Yura!”

“……Oh, Gwangmyeongboeun, Ilgwangjeseok [names of deities], please give us the miracle of illuminating the darkness.”

A magic-type diver belonging to the Five Colors Shamanic Association chanted a spell while holding a ‘sinkal’ [a type of shamanic knife] in one hand.

Then, the sinkal held in the diver’s hand rang softly and then shone brightly, illuminating the surroundings.

There was no change except that all the lights around them were turned off.

Since there was no problem with the amulet that made up the safe zone, they breathed a sigh of relief for the time being.

And after a while, the lights returned to the lanterns that had been turned off.

Only then did the diver who had turned off the light put the sinkal into the holster on his waist and frowned.

“Something is strange. The spirits are agitated.”

“The spirits are agitated?”

“Yes. I think something is about to happen. I think it would be best to get out as quickly as possible.”

“……I understand. Let’s increase the speed.”

And when they took a step after deciding on a course of action.

Rumble-

The entire White Castle began to shake.

A diver who was about to fall while running at the front raised his head towards the top, which seemed to be the source of the vibration, and quickly shouted.

“Run! Run like hell!”

* * *

“This guy is quite good.”

Yoo Seong-woo skipped the entrance area and entered the White Castle first.

There were not many guys worth fighting on the 1st or 2nd floor.

He killed ghouls or draugr, which are higher species of zombies, with a single blow.

He just avoided the annoying banshees.

And when he entered the deepest part of the 3rd floor, the ‘Grand Hall’, he faced a mid-boss sitting on the throne, a knight.

“A death knight.”

Also known as Death Knight.

An undead holding heavy armor, a sword, and a shield, and wielding swordsmanship based on memories of his previous life, is a high-ranking undead.

A mid-boss guarding the White Castle, the road to the Black Castle.

Yoo Seong-woo lightly stretched out his life.

In response to his movement, the Death Knight deflected it with his shield and swung his thick black sword.

A perfect counter like flowing water.

He showed the orthodox knight’s swordsmanship; perhaps he was quite a knight in his previous life.

However, Yoo Seong-woo slightly moved his head to avoid the Death Knight’s black sword and rammed the shield with his shoulder.

With a dull sound of ‘koong’, the Death Knight’s body was pushed back.

“It’s been a while since I’ve faced a knight, so try a little more.”

When Yoo Seong-woo said that and shook the sword he had lowered slightly as if provoking him, the Death Knight kicked the ground hard and charged.

Undead like the Death Knight have egos.

He was estimating Yoo Seong-woo’s power and charging with his own plan.

A charge with a shield in front.

Then, he held the sword next to the shield like a lance and unleashed a powerful stab.

Yoo Seong-woo stretched out his sword and tapped the center of the shield with the tip of the sword.

Then, with a roar, the White Castle shook due to the aftermath of the force of the two colliding.

The Death Knight, whose charge was stopped, deflected Yoo Seong-woo’s sword by placing the shield sideways and swung his sword.

A posture in which the sword cannot be avoided.

However, Yoo Seong-woo grabbed the blade with his bare hands.

As if the joke was over, he put strength into his fingers and completely broke the blade of the black sword and took a long breath.

“Let’s just stop here. Looking at the perfection of the swordsmanship, it seems like you were a famous knight somewhere. How did you become such an undead…….”

Yoo Seong-woo, who muttered so, pushed away the Death Knight who was rushing at him even though his sword was broken, creating distance.

He clenched his teeth tightly and swung it violently. The sword, which moved at an invisible speed, was drawn diagonally.

A terrifying sword that diagonally split the Death Knight and even the throne behind him.

The aftermath shook the entire White Castle, and the wall behind the split throne was also blown away, and the night wind blew in.

The Death Knight tried to defend himself by raising his shield at that moment.

However, Yoo Seong-woo’s sharp sword even split the shield.

The Death Knight, who had fallen from a resentful undead to a scrap of iron, disappeared as it was into smoke.

But not everything disappeared, and there was something the Death Knight left behind.

“……What is this?”