Chapter 24: Saintess Candidate – 3

The sun had set, and the moon had risen.

Whenever I looked up at the night sky, I was reminded that this world was not my own.

Not because there were two moons or anything like that.

But because the stars were clearer here.

On rare nights, I could even see the Milky Way.

A sight impossible in the modern world.

Sip.

I took a drink of water and sighed.

Rozanté—the Saintess Candidate.

Recruiting her would be ideal, but it might be too difficult.

‘Erme picked her, so she’s probably decent enough…’

But Lucia had gotten involved.

I still didn’t fully understand what Lucia thought of me.

Her gaze said she wanted me.

But at the same time.

‘It feels like she’s deliberately holding back.’

Was she raising me?

Letting me grow strong before pulling me into her faction?

If that were the case, maybe she’d let Rozanté join us.

But then.

‘I wouldn’t be able to trust Rozanté.’

And if I couldn’t trust my own party members with my life, what was the point?

Would it be better to threaten her instead?

…With what exactly?

Threatening a priest seemed ridiculous.

If she truly refused to fight, what could I even do?

These unnecessary thoughts were starting to pile up in my head.

At times like this, you should swing your sword.

Had she noticed my frustration?

Rishiel’s voice rang in my mind.

Swing my sword…?

Solving a headache with sword practice…

It was a ridiculous idea.

But what was even funnier.

Was that I agreed with it.

Maybe I was finally getting used to this world.

I nodded to myself and searched for a quiet spot.

Since the orphanage was full of children, the place fell silent at night.

Still—just in case.

I moved deeper inside before drawing my swords.

Dual wielding.

Most people dismissed it as impractical.

But.

‘It actually suits me pretty well.’

I swung my blades.

I wasn’t going to use anything ridiculous like Dark Moon.

Instead, my focus was simple.

“Rishiel.”

With my right hand, I manifested her sword.

It was light—ideal for offense.

If my right hand was for attacking, then my left hand had to be for defense.

Then, for my left sword.

‘It needs to be sharp.’

People often said a softer sword was better.

But I still didn’t fully understand what that meant.

So I swung freely.

‘Wait, no. I have a reference.’

I had watched someone closely.

Erme.

Her swordsmanship was solid.

Balanced.

Neither overly aggressive nor overly defensive.

A neutral style.

Which meant it didn’t excel in any particular way.

But it also had no weaknesses.

It was the perfect approach for someone using a single sword.

‘Can I make it more defensive?’

Theresa went for one powerful strike.

Rishiel and the elves? Their fighting style was basically a worse version of Dark Moon.

And the so-called Scavengers.

…They were just garbage.

Their “swordsmanship” had no regard for survival.

A real defensive style.

‘Reference materials.’

Before entering the labyrinth, I had studied books from the Adventurer’s Guild.

And among them.

“Volcan.”

His sword was heavy and unyielding.

Most blades would probably shatter upon clashing with his.

‘I watched him fight a few times.’

Could I replicate it?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

I wasn’t exactly an expert on swordsmanship.

But I did have my Gift—Swordmaster.

And my Skill—Swordsmanship.

‘I just need to mimic it.’

I envisioned Volcan’s sword.

It was overwhelming.

Fierce.

Fast.

But more than that.

‘He broke my rhythm.’

That was the hardest part about facing him.

Every time I found an opening to strike.

His sword would come crashing down, ruining my timing.

He had claimed he was testing my abilities.

But at the same time.

‘He was showing me his own techniques, too.’

Like he was daring me to steal from him.

And after I had copied Rishiel’s swordsmanship…

He had only become more obvious about it.

I closed my eyes.

I traced his sword—his movements—like sketching a picture in my mind.

Then, I adjusted it—refined it to fit me.

‘This is…’

Piece by piece, Volcan’s technique was reconstructed.

Of course, I couldn’t match his raw strength.

And my version still had gaps.

But even so.

*Ding.*

[Skill: Swordsmanship Level Up.]

“Haa…”

T-that sword technique… What are you…?

I swung again.

Is this what it feels like to forcefully create a genius?

In my past life, my body had never moved quite the way I wanted.

But now.

It moved on its own.

Volcan’s sword techniques melted seamlessly into my own.

I swung my swords over and over.

Until I was satisfied.

*Ding.*

[Skill: Swordsmanship Level Up.]

This was enough.

After finishing my practice, my mind felt clear.

‘I won’t get swept up in things.’

That was the conclusion I reached after all my thoughts.

The status window was tempting.

Lucia’s offer was tempting.

But letting myself get dragged along by them would only lead to trouble.

Up until now, everything had been forced on me.

And I had done nothing but adapt to the situation.

‘Recruit Rozanté if possible—but don’t accept help from Lucia or anyone else.’

That was my final decision.

Erme might have different thoughts, but…

I stored my swords in Hidden Space and stretched as I walked.

Then.

I sensed movement.

‘Kids from the orphanage?’

I kept my distance.

Unlike the others, I had no patience for children.

They were annoying to deal with.

But sneaking out at this hour?

That was different.

‘This is a hassle.’

I sighed and moved to chase them off.

But then.

Something felt off.

Their footsteps were too fast for children.

‘…Who is that?’

I increased my speed.

With Thief’s Pinnacle, my footsteps were nearly silent, and I could sprint through the shadows with ease.

And then.

I saw it.

A grown man was abducting a child.

‘Kidnapping?’

Why?

There was no reason to kidnap someone from the orphanage.

If a child had a good Gift, they would have been taken in for special training.

The ones left here were the ones deemed ordinary.

‘Then what’s the point?’

I melted into the shadows, keeping my eyes on the kidnapper.

‘What’s the best move here?’

I could kill him right now.

That was one option.

But something like this wouldn’t happen without a bigger force behind it.

As I considered my choices, I realized.

I wasn’t the only one following him.

A woman with sunset-colored hair and eyes.

Erme.

And.

‘…Rozanté?’

She looked completely different.

Gone was the drunken mess.

Now, she stood with absolute seriousness.

‘Was she faking it?’

Or was the situation urgent enough to snap her out of it?

Through the enhanced vision of Marksman, I analyzed the kidnapped child.

At a glance, nothing seemed special.

But there was… something.

‘This feeling…’

It was the same feeling I got from Erme.

A strange sense of kinship.

Which meant.

The kidnapped child might be a Hero Candidate.

‘So that’s what this is about.’

Someone was targeting Hero Candidates.

Then.

‘What kind of candidate is this one?’

Not a Saintess Candidate. Rozanté was already here.

That left Thief, Warrior, or Mage.

‘Interesting.’

If Erme and Rozanté were acting together, then this kidnapper must be a serious threat.

‘In that case… I’ll tail them.’

I melted further into the darkness.

Tracking was easy.

I only needed to memorize my target and follow them without being noticed.

With Thief’s Pinnacle and Marksman, this was effortless.

Then.

“Who’s there?!”

“Damn it! We’ve been spotted!”

Erme and Rozanté had alerted the enemy.

As soon as the alarm was raised.

More enemies rushed in from all sides.

‘They came prepared.’

None of them seemed too dangerous.

But Erme had to protect Rozanté.

Which made this a disadvantageous fight.

In that case.

‘I’ll just take out one and go.’

*Creak.*

From the darkness, I drew my bow.

And aimed directly at the most dangerous enemy.

A bald man covered in tattoos.

He practically screamed thug.

But.

‘He’s absurdly strong. If Erme were alone, this would be tough.’

And right now, she had to protect Rozanté.

That made him the biggest threat.

So.

Charging Shot.

This wasn’t the labyrinth.

We were in the middle of a city.

I didn’t need an explosion like last time.

What I wanted was precision.

Mana flowed out of me, pouring into the arrow.

About 1A bald man covered in tattoos.

He practically screamed thug.

But.

‘He’s absurdly strong. If Erme were alone, this would be tough.’

And right now, she had to protect Rozanté.

That made him the biggest threat.

So.

Charging Shot.

This wasn’t the labyrinth.

We were in the middle of a city.

I didn’t need an explosion like last time.

What I wanted was precision.

Mana flowed out of me, pouring into the arrow.

About 10% of my total reserve.

I drew the bowstring.

Sshhhiiik—!

The arrow vanished into the night.

Its trajectory—straight to his head.

Direct hit.

It pierced clean through his skull and buried itself in the ground.

‘That one’s not getting recovered.’

Then.

Thud!

The sound of his body collapsing.

Without missing a beat, I melted back into the shadows.

And resumed tailing the kidnapper.

“Tsk. That was annoying.”

“…Sorry.”

Rozanté lowered her head.

Erme almost sighed but held it in.

She scanned the area.

There was nothing.

‘Good. He’s gone.’

For a brief moment, her mask nearly cracked.

She was always careful with her words.

But the sudden call had caught her off guard.

‘Of all days, why today?’

Her plan had been to recruit Rozanté tomorrow.

But something had changed.

Still.

The situation hadn’t gotten completely out of control.

She glanced at Rozanté.

Black hair.

Golden eyes.

Unlike before, she was completely sober.

Of course.

She had been acting the whole time.

“…That shot just now—”

“That was our party’s Thief.”

Erme answered before Rozanté could even finish her question.0% of my total reserve.

I drew the bowstring.

Sshhhiiik—!

The arrow vanished into the night.

Its trajectory—straight to his head.

Direct hit.

It pierced clean through his skull and buried itself in the ground.

‘That one’s not getting recovered.’

Then.

Thud!

The sound of his body collapsing.

Without missing a beat, I melted back into the shadows.

And resumed tailing the kidnapper.

“Tsk. That was annoying.”

“…Sorry.”

Rozanté lowered her head.

Erme almost sighed but held it in.

She scanned the area.

There was nothing.

‘Good. He’s gone.’

For a brief moment, her mask nearly cracked.

She was always careful with her words.

But the sudden call had caught her off guard.

‘Of all days, why today?’

Her plan had been to recruit Rozanté tomorrow.

But something had changed.

Still.

The situation hadn’t gotten completely out of control.

She glanced at Rozanté.

Black hair.

Golden eyes.

Unlike before, she was completely sober.

Of course.

She had been acting the whole time.

“…That shot just now—”

“That was our party’s Thief.”

Erme answered before Rozanté could even finish her question.

The biggest threat had been eliminated in an instant.

His massive body had collapsed, and half of an arrow was still lodged in his skull.

‘…That was way too close.’

And at the same time.

A chill ran down Rozanté’s spine.

What if that arrow had been aimed at her?

‘…I wouldn’t have dodged it.’

She could have avoided a limb shot.

Maybe.

But not a headshot.

That arrow had been silent, precise, and absurdly powerful.

‘…It’s a good thing, then.’

That she had successfully pulled Han Yuseong into their side.

“So… what now?”

“Well”

Han Yuseong had assassinated one target and then immediately disappeared into the darkness.

Meaning.

He was tailing the kidnapper.

‘But we have no way to track him…’

Just as she was about to worry.

She noticed it.

A mark.

The same kind of mark she had seen in the labyrinth.

‘…How considerate of him.’

Erme smirked.

“Found it. Let’s go.”

“…H-huh? Go where?”

“Our party thief is tracking the kidnapper. We’re following him.”

Without hesitation, she led Rozanté toward the marked path.

And the further they went.

The stronger the unease became.

“…This is safe, right?”

“……”

Erme tensed.

Blood.

It covered the area.

And surrounding them.

Were bodies.

The slashing marks were wild—like a scene from a riot.

Even if this area was a slum…

This was far too dangerous.

With grim expressions, Erme and Rozanté stepped further inside.

And there.

They found Han Yuseong.

Standing silently amidst the carnage.

His expression.

Was one of exhaustion.

And at the end of his gaze.

‘That’s…’

A figure emerged.

[Sub Quest]

Path of Light.

Chapter 2: Shadows of Darkness.

You have uncovered the true nature of a hidden faction.

They are known to the public as the Rebellion.

You have also discovered that they were attempting to abduct a Hero Candidate for a twisted experiment.

Stop them.

The quest window appeared the moment I stepped inside.

And all around me.

Were bodies.

Blood soaked the floor.

Every single corpse had died with an expression of terror.

All of them had been murdered.

‘Poison?’

No.

Something was wrong.

The way they had died.

They had killed each other.

Someone had tried to cover it up with additional knife wounds.

But Thief’s Pinnacle revealed the truth.

‘…There’s something dangerous here.’

Honestly, with this level of skill, I could probably take him down.

But I hesitated.

I had left a mark for Erme and Rozanté.

Would they follow it?

‘It’d be better to deal with this together.’

As I weighed my options.

Be careful, Yuseong.

Rishiel’s voice rang in my mind.

I looked forward.

Step. Step.

A figure emerged from the shadows.

Dressed in an all-black assassin’s garb, stained with blood.

‘Yeah, this guy’s definitely not here for a friendly chat.’

I gripped my sword, ready to fight.

But.

He didn’t approach.

He simply watched me from a distance.

“…So you are the one who ruined everything.”

His voice was eerily calm.

“I thought Erme was interfering with our operations. But no… it was you.”

“…?”

I was apparently very misunderstood.

Just as I considered explaining.

“The one who ruined Sprout Cutting.”

“The one who bears our mark.”

“The one who stopped the elves’ operation.”

“The one who used the Scavengers to block others.”

“…All of that was you, wasn’t it?”

“…Wait, I did that much?”

Everything he listed.

I had touched in some way.

“…So you’re our greatest enemy.”

He smiled.

I had no idea what he was scheming.

But one thing was clear.

‘…This is unfair.’

Yuseong, what is he talking about? You really did ruin everything, didn’t you?

Rishiel’s dry response made me scowl.

Shut up.