Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 292

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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One-Strike Kill Swordmaster Episode 292

Episode 292. Creepy Creepy Rashutku (1)

The second survival rule of Rashutku Imperial Palace.

After 10 PM, no more than five people should stay in one room.

The members of the Relic Exploration Team decided to strictly follow that rule under the direction of the Thirteenth Sword Master Gaon.

By forming groups of five and staying in different rooms.

But here, an unexpected problem arose.

“C-Captain! We’ll go to this room!”

“I’ll come too! That side still has four people, right?”

“Then we’ll go here…”

Rustle-.

Before Captain Yakov could even say anything, the members quickly formed groups and scattered.

It was remarkably fast.

The members gathered with familiar colleagues and chose rooms as if they had made some tacit agreement long ago.

From one end of the corridor to the other. The members moved in perfect unison like trained soldiers, then slammed their doors shut.

“…?”

At first, Yakov viewed the situation as nothing significant.

But he belatedly realized something was strange.

Looking at his watch, it was 9:50 PM.

Before he knew it, the corridor was completely empty.

All the members had entered their chosen rooms and locked their doors.

And.

What remained around Yakov was…

‘…Huh?’

Pean holding Seorineul.

Jeungmu wearing a monocle.

Even the Bifurcated Siblings with Heukya and Baekya at their waists.

‘Wait a minute.’

This was a situation where they had to spend the night in a dangerous ancient ruin.

Common sense dictated that one would want protection from the strong.

It would be normal to watch each other or even compete for the chance to share a room with a Sword Master.

But the members?

‘…They’re blatantly avoiding the Sword Masters?’

Right at that moment.

‘Ah.’

Yakov belatedly realized one fact.

What kind of beings were Sword Masters, after all?

Noble seekers who serve the Great Ones. Guardians of the sword who protect the world. Noble souls who follow the will of the Elders.

At least that’s how they appeared on the surface.

But despite such grand epithets, the Relic Investigation Team members had figured out the ‘true nature’ of the Sword Masters over the past few days.

Right.

They were sword-crazed individuals, beings beyond common sense, and madmen who engaged in unpredictable behavior.

Spending the night in the same room as such people?

It would feel safer to be with the palace’s curse instead.

Therefore, the other Relic Investigation Team members concluded that rather than spending the night with these Sword Masters, it would be better to sleep with comfortable and familiar colleagues.

They probably also calculated that staying inside a room after 10 PM wouldn’t be too dangerous anyway.

‘I was so lost in other thoughts that I didn’t pay any attention…’

Captain Yakov made a pitiful expression and wailed inwardly.

‘…Traitors! So you’re all going to sleep comfortably by yourselves!’

Jeungmu, Pean, the Bifurcated Siblings, and even Captain Yakov.

This was how completely mismatched people ended up sharing the same room.

* * *

Pshhhhhh-!

A thin, long steam sound leaked from Jeungmu’s body.

“There’s no need to sit there uncomfortably on your knees, Captain Yakov.”

“…Pardon?”

Startled-.

Captain Yakov hurriedly raised his head.

Jeungmu looked at him through his monocle and added.

“Sit comfortably. No, you can even lie down. There’s nothing to do until tomorrow morning anyway.”

“Ha, hahaha!”

Yakov laughed awkwardly and waved his hands.

“No, how could I dare do such a thing in front of the great Seekers!”

Chuckle-.

Then, a soft laugh flowed from beside him.

It was Pean.

Despite being unable to see, he turned his head precisely toward Yakov and spoke gently.

“If you keep kneeling like that, it makes us more uncomfortable, Captain.”

“…”

“As Jeungmu said, you can just lie down comfortably. We should have tactfully given you space, so we apologize.”

Pean’s voice contained sincere apology.

Hearing those words, Yakov blankly looked back and forth between the two Sword Masters.

‘Huh?’

Something was strange.

No, rather than strange, it was different from his expectations.

Yakov’s father had told him stories about Sword Masters so many times his ears were sick of it.

Never get close to Sword Masters. Getting involved with them leads to trouble. Don’t even breathe comfortably in front of them.

…Especially in Jeungmu’s case, his notoriety was even more widespread.

A lunatic who would do anything for rare metals. A madman who wouldn’t hesitate to destroy ruins. There were even sinister rumors that he melted ancient artifacts for alloy experiments.

But…

‘What? They’re better than I thought?’

Thinking back quietly, there hadn’t been any Sword Master who showed strange behavior over the past few days. Except for Gaon.

Rather, they were even considerate.

Wasn’t it the same now?

They noticed his tension and first told him to be comfortable, then even said they were sorry.

‘Did Father exaggerate?’

Just as Yakov was lost in such thoughts.

“Captain.”

Pean spoke again.

“Since we’ve come to share this space together.”

“…Yes?”

“As a member of the Relic Investigation Team, you must have many questions about the ancient times, don’t you?”

Pean continued with a gentle smile.

“Please ask anything. Although I’m someone who lived only briefly at the very end of that era so I don’t know much, I’ll tell you as much as I can.”

“…!”

Yakov’s eyes widened.

“Is, is that really true…?”

A testimony about the ancient times.

And to hear such stories directly from a Sword Master who lived through that era!

What opportunity could be more precious to a member of the Relic Investigation Team?

Whoosh-.

At that moment, Jeungmu also chimed in.

“I too am a member of the Ferric Clan who has lived through quite a long time. I’ll answer what I can.”

“…!”

Oh?

Yakov’s face brightened considerably.

This was truly unexpected good fortune.

‘Indeed, you can only truly know people by meeting them in person!’

He thought to himself. Sorry to his father, but he would have to retract his past self who had considered Sword Masters to be madmen.

At least Pean and Jeungmu were wonderful and dignified people.

Thus, Yakov began preparing his questions while feeling deep gratitude in his heart.

* * *

And.

Exactly 10 minutes later.

“No, I think you’re remembering that a bit differently, Pean. The pottery form that Captain Yakov described is definitely the work of artists from the Virtudz Republic.”

“The roots of the Virtudz Republic lie in the Bertiuum Union. That lineage continued all the way to Bertas Free City. Of course, since Meister Zengmu entered secluded training during that era, it might have been difficult to grasp the exact connections.”

“Pean, could it be that living for so long has mixed up the order of time in your memory? It’s too different from what I remember.”

“Thank you for your concern, Jeungmu. But I don’t have memory problems like Mangnyeom, so you can rest assured.”

The two Sword Masters were still smiling.

Polite speech. Gentle smiles.

But beneath the surface, a tense battle of nerves was unfolding.

‘Ah, ahhh…’

Captain Yakov’s pupils began shaking wildly.

‘These people… why is their pride so strong… does something like this really warrant such an argument…’

Tremble tremble-.

Yakov belatedly admitted it.

The fact that his father’s words were completely correct.

Yes.

Sword Masters were all nothing but madmen.

* * *

When I first entered this room.

We were five people together.

Adelia, Muwolcha, and even the Koshat siblings who had already spent several nights with us while exploring the ruins of Rashutku.

But now there were only four people in the room.

The reason was simple.

A little while ago, I had practically chased Muwolcha out of the room.

“…”

“…”

Silence flowed.

The Koshat siblings were glancing toward the door with anxious expressions.

Natalia was biting her lips with her hands clenched tight, while Markus was frowning and staring only at the desk clock.

They had been wearing those expressions for a while now.

“Lord Gaon?”

It was Natalya Koshat who broke the silence.

Her voice trembled slightly.

“Is it really okay to send Monk Muwolcha alone?”

“…”

“You, you saw those rules. Wandering around the palace at night is…”

Natalya Koshat couldn’t finish her words and shut her mouth tight.

Chuckle-.

A laugh escaped me without realizing it.

‘To see them worrying like that already…’

It seemed they had grown quite fond of each other during the brief time I went up Ravenhil to fetch Balhwan.

“Don’t worry.”

I answered indifferently.

“Muwolcha will have no problems whatsoever.”

“But…”

“You can trust me.”

I cut off her words and declared firmly.

Natalia closed her mouth. Markus also asked no more questions. The two siblings looked at each other, then quietly nodded.

‘Actually…’

The reason the martial artist class was free in this dungeon was simple.

They had a trait called 「Noble Heart」. A mental barrier that blocked malice and curses.

And when combined with the 7-star skill 【Protection of the Great Ones】, they became completely immune to the corruption of night.

This meant that Rashutku’s curse wouldn’t work on Muwolcha.

That wasn’t all.

‘There’s a hidden quest in the palace that only martial artists can solve.’

While Mukyoo assisted Muwolcha in wandering around the palace, she would obtain special rewards that we couldn’t even approach.

Anyway.

To say it again, there was no danger for Muwolcha with Mukyoo.

‘At least not on the second night.’

From then on…

Well.

Things might change a bit.

Because the curse of the Rashutku Ruins grew stronger with each passing night.

* * *

Actually, Muwolcha had mostly skipped the palace when conquering the Rashutku Ruins.

Because it wasn’t a required section.

Therefore, she lacked information about the palace. What monsters appeared. What abnormal phenomena occurred. She didn’t properly know any of it.

Yet Gaon had sent her outside without hesitation.

Saying that on the second day, she didn’t need information and should just wander the corridors while following the rules of Rashutku Palace.

‘…It’s really scary.’

Muwolcha walked down the corridor trembling.

As quietly as possible.

Holding her breath as much as possible.

Step, step-.

Her footsteps echoed through the quiet corridor. Even her own footsteps were grating on her ears.

Whoooosh-.

The sound of wind came from somewhere. The creaking noise typical of old buildings was also mixed in.

Creeeeak-.

The faint sound of doors opening and closing could be heard.

Drip, drip, drip-.

Even the sound of water droplets falling from the ceiling.

‘Ugh.’

Goosebumps rose all over his body.

The corridor was pitch black. Only a single lantern barely illuminated the path ahead. Beyond that was complete darkness.

The walls were cracked, and stains that looked like bloodstains were smeared here and there.

Old portraits hung on the walls, and every time the lantern light brushed against them, the eyes of the figures in the paintings seemed to move.

‘…It must be my imagination, right?’

No.

It wasn’t his imagination.

Swoosh-.

They definitely moved.

The woman in the portrait he had just passed was slowly turning her head to look at Muwolcha.

“…”

Muwolcha pretended not to see anything.

The rules made no mention of the portraits.

In other words, ignoring them was the correct answer.

Thud, thud-.

He continued moving forward.

Faint laughter could be heard from the end of the corridor. It sounded like a child’s voice, or perhaps an old man’s voice.

Just as chills ran down his spine.

[Hey there.]

“…!”

Gasp-.

A voice came from behind him.

It was so sudden.

Muwolcha froze in place. His breath stopped. Every hair on his body stood on end.

He couldn’t say a word.

Swoooosh-.

He could feel something approaching from behind.

A cold presence brushed against the back of his neck.

And then.

A ghost with a pale face floated up in front of Muwolcha.

A translucent body. Empty eye sockets. Long, flowing hair.

[Kyaaaaaaaaah…!]

Mukyoo screamed.

The silver jelly jumped up. As a result, Muwolcha’s face was completely exposed.

[…]

The ghost quietly stared at Muwolcha’s face.

A few seconds of silence.

And then.

[I… apologize…]

Swoosh-.

The ghost disappeared just like that.

“…?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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