Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 299

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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 299

Episode 299. Creepy Creepy Rashutku (8)

* * *

Thud, thud-.

After receiving a new quest from the Ghost Prime Minister, we traveled back up the waterway and returned to the Imperial Palace.

Our entire bodies had been dirtied by the filth we encountered while passing through the damp passages, but thanks to the “Cleanse” scroll that the Investigator had brought along, we were able to become clean again quickly.

‘Anyway.’

Having returned to the Imperial Palace, I recalled the warning the Ghost Prime Minister had thrown out at the end.

─You’d better hurry. The curse of the Imperial Palace grows stronger with each passing night.

The curse would continue to grow stronger from now on.

It meant we didn’t have time to be leisurely.

We immediately began a strategy meeting.

Thanks to Balhwan relaying what had happened in the waterway in real time, the explanation proceeded quickly.

Since our companions already had a rough grasp of the situation, they only needed to supplement the detailed content.

I went through the key points concisely.

The condition that we had to secure three essences simultaneously. And the trials we had to overcome to obtain those essences.

Whew-.

Upon hearing this, Pean let out a deep sigh and pressed his brow firmly.

“This is quite troublesome.”

“….”

“….”

It was a natural reaction.

After all, Pean had cleared the Ruins of Rashutku together with me.

He knew the difficulty of the trials better than anyone. That’s why he also understood how difficult it would be to clear the original.

“Ugh. This is quite a headache.”

The Koshat Siblings, who had experienced the Rashutku exploration with us, also hardened their expressions.

“We don’t know what happened at Mukyeonjiju or the Aquarium, but we remember the trial of the Two Diverging Paths being extremely difficult….”

When the veteran Koshat Siblings showed reluctance, the other members of the Relic Exploration Team also realized the seriousness of the situation.

“….”

Swoosh-.

Then, Pean turned his head toward me.

It wasn’t an expression of worrying about the mission, but rather a sign that something more urgent was on his mind.

I was able to immediately understand his inner thoughts.

‘It seems like he wants to talk separately about the Worshipper of Evil Gods….’

Well, I felt the same way.

“Pean.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s have a conversation for a moment. Just the two of us.”

“Understood.”

After asking for understanding from the others, we moved to the adjacent room.

Creak, thud-.

As soon as the door closed, Pean let out a sigh.

Brushing his bangs back behind his forehead, he cautiously opened his mouth.

“I heard that you’re also aware of it.”

“….”

“That the Golem Knight has entered this place, Rashutku.”

Upon hearing those words, I pressed my lips tightly together.

‘As expected.’

I had anticipated it, but hearing confirmation from Pean carried a different weight.

The Golem Knight.

That guy was currently wandering somewhere in these Rashutku Ruins.

“Do you have a plan, The Protagonist?”

“….”

I swallowed a sigh inwardly.

The situation had become troublesome.

It was already overwhelming just to simultaneously overcome the three trials.

If the Golem Knight interfered on top of that, the things we’d need to worry about would double.

“Has the Golem Knight’s location been identified?”

At my question, Pean’s expression wavered subtly.

I also possessed supersensory abilities.

And Pean thought that I handled those powers better than he did.

So he seemed puzzled as to why I would ask such a thing.

However, Pean soon nodded as if he had realized something. It seemed he interpreted it as me trying to test his abilities.

“It’s certain that he has entered the ruins, but judging by how faint his presence is, he seems to be quite far from us. At least it’s certain that he’s outside the Imperial Palace grounds.”

Nod-.

Hearing those words, I nodded briefly and continued my thoughts.

‘If he’s outside the Imperial Palace….’

The Rashutku Ruins were vast. Various towers and buildings were intertwined like a maze, and even just the Imperial Palace grounds were of considerable scale.

If the Golem Knight’s starting point was a different area rather than the Imperial Palace, we wouldn’t encounter him until we lifted the curse and escaped.

‘That’s fortunate, at least.’

But it was too early to feel relieved.

The problem lay elsewhere.

Namely, the point that we couldn’t pour everything into clearing the Imperial Palace’s trial.

Considering the possibility of battle with the Golem Knight, we had to leave enough MP to use the Soul of the Sword Master at least once even after the trial ended.

‘No, wait.’

Pause-.

I reorganized my thoughts.

What if we considered that the Abyss Corrupted One might also intervene?

It was an unfair situation, but it was a scenario that could sufficiently occur.

‘Then….’

It meant we had to leave enough MP to use the Soul of the Sword Master twice while clearing the Imperial Palace’s trial.

Snicker-.

A hollow laugh escaped at the difficulty that had suddenly skyrocketed.

However, quickly returning to a cool expression, I slowly organized my thoughts.

‘Let’s think positively.’

The current situation of being entangled with the Golem Knight in the Rashutku Ruins had higher utility value than expected.

The Golem Knight was also a figure who had lived through the ancient era.

Although clear information about that era wasn’t directly revealed in the game, much could be inferred through hidden elements and the characteristics of characters.

The Golem Knight was one of the few Worshippers of Evil Gods who possessed a chivalrous spirit. Therefore, there was room for dialogue.

If I properly utilized the information I possessed, an encounter with the Golem Knight might actually return as a benefit.

‘Of course, that’s for later….’

First, I had to sort out the situation before my eyes.

Having finished thinking that far, I looked at Pean and opened my mouth.

“Pean.”

“Yes, The Protagonist.”

“If the Golem Knight is far away, we won’t encounter him for a while.”

“….”

“The curse-consumed palace cannot be entered from the outside. So for now, we only need to focus on lifting the palace’s curse.”

Upon hearing those words, Pean nodded vigorously.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Having finished our conversation, we headed back to the office where everyone was gathered.

Thud, thud-.

However, despite the situation being clearly resolved, a subtle discomfort still remained on Pean’s expression.

In a way, it was a natural reaction.

Especially considering the relationship between the Golem Knight and Pean.

‘Well….’

Pean knew it too, after all.

The fact that the Golem Knight was one of the old generation Sword Masters.

* * *

Pean and Gaon, who had briefly disappeared, returned.

The meeting resumed immediately.

Gaon went straight to the main point. He began going through the characteristics of the three trials one by one.

Thud, thud-.

He continued his explanation while slowly pacing around the room.

“The spirits in the aquarium each have unique habits. The ray-type spirits react sensitively to light, and the shark-type spirits get excited by the smell of blood. If you face both simultaneously….”

Pause-.

Pean couldn’t help but furrow his brow while listening to Gaon’s explanation.

‘How does he know all this?’

It was certainly a place they had explored together. They had faced the same enemies and experienced the same trials.

But the depth of content in Gaon’s explanation was on a different level.

He perfectly understood the characteristics of all trials as if he were someone who had explored this palace hundreds of times.

“Those who tackle the trial of two diverging paths need to pay more attention to the distribution of restrictions. In the parallel world, the intensity of restrictions was relatively weak, but in this exploration….”

The following explanation was even more surprising.

He thoroughly covered even the variables considering that this exploration was of the ‘original’.

The differences between the parallel world and the original. The difficulty that would change as a result. And the corresponding countermeasures.

Considering all those possibilities, Gaon perfectly instilled his plan into the party.

‘Ah.’

Only then could Pean belatedly realize one fact.

Gaon was a great being who had directly lived through the primordial era.

The Imperial Palace of Rashutku wasn’t an unfamiliar ruin to him. It was a familiar space he had once set foot in. Perhaps even a place he might have frequented like it was routine.

Naturally, he would perfectly understand the characteristics of the trials as well.

‘Moreover….’

Suddenly, a conversation from the previous exploration came to mind.

─The treasures accumulated here number in the hundreds, but only three are truly useful. I’m the only one who can accurately pick them out.

─H-how do you know that, Lord Gaon…?

─Well, I’ve been to this treasure room several times before.

It was Gaon who had said he had visited even the treasure room, a strictly restricted area, multiple times.

Was that why?

He perfectly understood the structure of the palace.

The location of each restroom’s drain. The entrances to secret passages. Even the structure of the sewers.

He even knew exactly which passages connected to where.

‘This is almost like….’

Wasn’t he like someone who had directly designed the palace?

Pean couldn’t help but be amazed.

“Now, let’s wrap this up one last time.”

The meeting that had started in the early afternoon after finishing the underground waterway exploration was finally coming to an end as night fell.

9 PM.

It was time for them to pair up in groups of five and return to their respective rooms.

Gaon decided the trial assignments considering each party member’s characteristics.

“Muwolcha, Adelia, Jeungmu.”

The three’s gazes turned toward Gaon in unison.

“These three will handle the aquarium.”

“Understood.”

Then Gaon’s gaze turned to Balhwan and the Koshat siblings.

“Balhwan, Markus, Natalia. You three will handle the trial of two diverging paths.”

“….”

“Given Balhwan’s characteristics, you’ll be able to simultaneously perceive the restrictions of both left and right paths, making the strategy much easier. And the Koshat siblings will handle the interpretation of ancient languages.”

Nod-.

Balhwan quietly nodded.

And finally.

“Pean.”

“Yes, Lord Gaon.”

“You’ll face the Mukgyeon Lord with me.”

Pean slightly bit his lip.

The Mukgyeon Lord was the most dangerous trial among the three.

Even during the previous exploration, Gaon had lost his ‘vessel’ while facing the Mukgyeon Lord, which said it all.

Moreover, the Mukgyeon Lord they would face today was the original.

The first corrupted divine beast, a primordial being that had lived for thousands more years even after being eroded by the curse of evil gods.

But there were no objections.

He thought it was definitely possible if he was with Gaon.

“We plan to move immediately tomorrow morning.”

Gaon continued his explanation.

“Although various sections of the palace are sealed off, we can sufficiently approach using underground passages and drainage systems. I’ll guide you to the location of each trial, so you just need to follow.”

Everyone nodded.

And so.

Just when it seemed the meeting was ending.

Gaon added one more announcement.

“Tonight.”

He paused briefly and slowly looked around at the party.

“As the Ghost Prime Minister warned, the palace’s curse will strengthen. Perhaps new rules might be added.”

“…?”

“…?”

Amid the flowing silence, Gaon calmly continued.

“So everyone stay alert.”

* * *

The bell announcing 10 PM rang out.

And….

Swoosh-.

New text began to be carved onto the stone tablet in the office.

[14. At 10 PM, the Imperial Palace will randomly select 5 people.

Those selected will wake up somewhere other than the room they were staying in.

Please pray for their souls.

Even when morning comes, do not try to find them.

Not finding them would be better for you.]

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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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