Chapter 28: Solo Play – 3

Three goblins stood before me.

I dashed forward and swung Whisper of the Wind.

Slash.

One of their heads was severed cleanly.

At the same time, I kicked off the labyrinth wall and hurled the Blood-Soaked Dagger at another.

As I pushed off the wall mid-spin, I slashed its throat.

[Skill Martial Arts has leveled up.]

Clean work.

Rishiel’s voice carried a note of admiration.

But I didn’t have the luxury of acknowledging it.

There was still one more goblin behind me, ready to strike.

Let’s test this out.

Aura Control (B).

Instead of using the mana inside me, I felt something else flow outward.

Release.

Boom!

“Kehh…!”

The goblin foamed at the mouth and collapsed, unconscious.

At the same time, I felt a dull throbbing in my head.

Did I overdo it?

Well, at least I had tested it once.

Next time, I’d be able to control it better.

I swiftly beheaded the unconscious goblin.

W-Wait… Did you just use aura?!

Yeah, I’m starting to get the hang of it.

W-What… You’re already using aura freely?!

Not really.

All I had done was brute-force its release.

Rishiel was exaggerating.

It felt closer to how she had described my mana control before—like a monkey recklessly releasing energy.

I’d like to use it more precisely…

For now, I’d leave aura as it was.

Next up— Mana Control.

Let’s try coating my body with mana… delicately.

I spread my mana throughout my body, feeling the blue energy reinforce my physical abilities.

“Kieeek…!”

Fortunately, this was the labyrinth.

There were plenty of enemies.

I gripped my sword and looked ahead.

Ten goblins.

It might be overwhelming to face them alone.

But.

I can use this chance to level up the Blood-Soaked Dagger.

Smirking, I charged forward.

A monster.

That was what Rishiel thought as she watched Han Yuseong fight.

A monster.

It wasn’t an exaggeration.

As a child of the World Tree, she had always been called a genius.

But.

The world is vast.

To think a creature like him existed.

Copying someone’s swordsmanship just by watching?

That alone wasn’t shocking—she could do that too.

But to analyze and master sword techniques developed by other races?

That’s impossible.

Yet, the person before her was doing exactly that.

Han Yuseong.

What is he?

At first, she had simply been intrigued by his existence.

But now, she was continuously shocked by his absurd growth.

His swordsmanship, while slightly inferior to hers, was already outstanding.

His archery skills surpassed her own.

And now, he was blending martial arts into his swordplay.

Somewhere along the way, his mana control had grown more refined.

And now.

He’s using aura, too?

Aura.

In the labyrinth, even an ordinary person with no talent could eventually unlock their mana.

But that wasn’t this.

That wasn’t aura.

Only an elite handful of geniuses could wield it.

Even across the entire world, the number of people capable of using it was extremely small.

And yet, he was using it as if it were nothing.

Ridiculous.

And yet, on top of all that—his stealth was impeccable.

It was as if he wrapped himself in shadows, disappearing completely.

With those skills, he was no different from the deadliest assassin in the world.

A monstrous existence.

His swordsmanship was exceptional, but his assassination skills were just as terrifying.

Especially that sniper shot he had detonated like a bomb before…

The elves could be in danger.

If their own kind was at risk, then leading Han Yuseong down a darker path might be a solution.

But for the elves, that would be even worse.

However.

Why am I even thinking about my people now?

A more selfish thought entered Rishiel’s mind.

Dark Moon Shadow.

A lost technique of the Darkmoon family.

Yet, Han Yuseong was using it effortlessly.

Which meant.

Could he unlock the true secrets of Dark Moon Shadow?

Rishiel made her decision.

She wanted to witness its full potential.

Something’s up.

After I swung my sword, Rishiel’s gaze changed.

Her eyes burned with intensity.

Did I mess up somehow?

I was certain I had executed my swordplay correctly.

Maybe blending martial arts into my swordsmanship had thrown her off?

Well, she’ll tell me when she feels like it.

If she had wanted to hinder me, she could have easily done so.

All she had to do was act like she was correcting my technique.

But she hadn’t.

If anything, she had only helped me.

I flicked the blood off the Blood-Soaked Dagger and stepped forward.

Roughly 30 goblins.

And about five mana stones.

The haul wasn’t great.

But I’m getting the hang of this.

How to control aura.

How to handle mana.

As I continued cutting down goblins to stack the Blood-Soaked Dagger’s power.

I noticed something strange.

The dagger had gotten longer.

About 10 centimeters?

Thief’s Pinnacle granted me extreme dexterity, allowing me to handle even the sharpest strings without a single cut.

Like wearing invisible gloves.

“Kieeek!”

I slashed the throat of an approaching goblin.

The dagger’s stack hadn’t activated yet.

But I still didn’t understand why it was getting longer.

Well, whatever.

For now, I needed to focus on the goblins.

“Kieeeek!”

Five of them charged at once.

The Blood-Soaked Dagger left behind a crimson trail.

Whisper of the Wind painted a streak of green light.

Those trails cut precisely through goblin necks.

A blur of red and green—decapitating them in an instant.

This is getting boring.

Maybe hobgoblins would make for a better fight.

That thought led me to remember the Champion.

Would he be different?

But challenging him alone.

Would be nothing short of madness.

Honestly, I might be able to win.

But I’d have to expect at least one broken bone.

That would be inconvenient since I was running the labyrinth solo.

Avoiding unnecessary injuries was the best way to stay in peak condition.

So I kept hunting goblins for a while longer.

And then.

The Blood-Soaked Dagger changed.

It was no longer just a dagger.

Now, it was.

[Item]

Blood-Soaked Blade (B)

A blade that grows stronger the more blood it absorbs.

Unlocks abilities every time 100 living beings are slain.

Allows the use of Blood Spirit Aura using stored blood.

Agility +4.

Form Change.

Form Change?

I examined the Blood-Soaked Blade.

It had lengthened—now about the size of a short sword.

Let’s try making it longer.

Slowly, the blade extended further.

Not fast enough to use mid-combat, but.

I could use this to throw off an opponent’s sense of distance.

And there were still abilities left to unlock?

Even as it was now, it seemed far superior to Whisper of the Wind or even Champion’s Sword.

Could it reach A-rank?

I gripped the transformed blade in my right hand.

Until now, I had primarily wielded Whisper of the Wind.

I should practice with this too.

Up to now, my dual-wielding had always been with swords of different lengths.

But to reach the next stage of Dark Moon Shadow, I had a feeling my blades needed to be the same length.

Actually, in the vision Thief’s Pinnacle had shown me, the dual swords had been identical.

I continued massacring goblins.

Whenever I sensed people nearby, I melted into the shadows and evaded them.

Before I knew it.

A cluster of white stardust-like particles surrounded me.

Finally.

I had leveled up.

With my goal achieved, I left the labyrinth.

The moment I leveled up, my body felt as light as a feather.

The effects of leveling up.

Leveling up greatly enhances physical abilities, grants new skills.

And, on rare occasions, even bestows a new Gift.

I got lucky.

Because I was one of those rare cases.

It felt like I had reached my limit—like a vessel filled to the brim.

A strange, bloated sensation settled inside me.

[Gift Acquired: Violet (A)]

…What the hell is this?

It said I had obtained a color.

I had no idea what kind of ability this was supposed to be.

Hey, you.

What?

Did you get a new Gift when you leveled up?

Rishiel suddenly asked.

Had something changed about me?

Yeah.

Your appearance has noticeably changed.

…What changed?

I stepped out of the labyrinth.

What about my reward?

I hadn’t managed to collect much loot.

Carrying too much would slow me down, and Hidden Space wasn’t limitless.

But there was something I had to do.

I needed to report the deaths of my party members.

Since the entire party had been wiped out, this was unavoidable.

Sighing, I joined the shortest-looking line in the crowded guild.

But then.

…Something’s off.

I felt countless gazes on me from every direction.

Not hostile stares.

Strangely… warm?

Are they all looking at me?

I wanted to dismiss it as my imagination.

But no, I really was being watched from all sides.

…Rishiel, what do I look like right now?

You’ve become… more attractive.

…?

The only noticeable change was my eye color.

They had turned violet.

Violet?

I scanned my surroundings, looking for a mirror.

Luckily, I spotted one in the distance—about 30 meters away.

Thanks to the Sharpshooter Gift, my enhanced vision allowed me to clearly see my reflection from afar.

Violet-colored eyes.

Messy black hair with deep violet irises.

But more than that.

Do I look… attractive?

There was an unnatural, almost enchanting quality about my gaze.

Even as I looked at myself, I found it hard to look away.

…That’s not good.

I needed to check my Gift.

[Gift]

Violet (A)

The power of violet dwells within the user.

What does that even mean?

I squinted at the explanation.

That was all it said.

But based on my past experience.

When a Gift had such a vague description, its potential was usually massive.

Well, I’m sure I’ll figure it out eventually.

“A-Ah, hello…”

The receptionist assisting me spoke shyly.

That was strange.

Erme had mentioned before that guild employees were usually gruff, impatient, and bad-tempered.

I had heard similar complaints over dinner several times.

Why is she being so polite?

Regardless, I quickly finished my report and received my payment.

Unlike with Erme, my processing was fast.

Then again, Erme had to split everything four ways, so that must’ve been why hers took longer.

Deeper inside the guild, Volcan was wandering around, looking bored.

Is he really just hanging around?

“What is it, old man?”

“Kid… you…”

“What are you doing here?”

“…Did you level up?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Hmm. Looks like you got an unusual Gift.”

“Yeah, it seems that way.”

“Well… as long as it doesn’t seem dangerous, I guess it’s fine.”

What exactly does he think could be a problem?

I left Volcan behind and headed deeper inside.

Unlike the old man, I was guided by a kind receptionist named Hilda.

The Gift said the power of violet now dwells within me…

I need to figure out what kind of power this actually gives me.