Chapter 16
PR: NightCrawler
Kang Yoo-hyun opened his eyes wide in surprise. Of course he would be surprised. A villain suddenly jumped at him and kissed him. If I were him, I would have slapped the guy. And I’ll beat him like X.
Eventually, reality hit me hard. I touched Kang Yoo-hyun’s red lips obstinately, but…
Tongue… I don’t have to stick my tongue in, do I?
Just thinking about this made me dizzy. When our lips finally parted, I looked away, unable to make eye contact with Kang Yoo-hyun.
“You…”
Kang Yoo-hyun’s lips twitched as if he wanted to say something. I turned to the other side because I didn’t want to hear what he had to say, but at that moment my eyes met the Draugr King’s.
“Kiiiiiii!”
I waved my hand at the boss monster’s angry scream.
“Hey, there! There!”
“…!”
Kang Yoo-hyun’s face hardened. Kang Yoo-hyun seemed like he wanted to say something, but instead shut his mouth and stood up.
“Wait here.”
“Ah.”
An invisibility barrier built up around me. It’s a shield. It definitely looked different from the shield he put around me when I faced the low level monsters from earlier.
Has it been upgraded? Did my Catnip skills work?
Kang Yoo-hyun’s body disappeared in an instant from in front of me, who was still in a daze.
Clang!
“Ugh!”
Kang Yoo-hyun’s body, which collided with the Draugr King, seemed to be enveloped with blazing azure flames. I looked at the scene stupidly. Unlike before, all of Kang Yoo-hyun’s skills were applied.
[Shake the Catnip (S) greatly increases the target’s ability]
[Enter the ‘Hidden Stage’ after meeting special conditions].
[If the target kills a boss monster, experience points and items will be shared.]
“…What?”
I opened my eyes wide in disbelief as I listened to the system’s voice. As if to confirm what I had just heard, a window with a text message floated before my eyes.
Same experience points and items…! Items dropped by an SS-class boss monster…!
Kang Yoo-hyun, you can’t lose! Good luck!
I, who immediately became the embodiment of material desires, loudly encouraged Kang Yoo-hyun from the inside. Then, as if responding to the cheers, the fight gradually became more intense.
Clang clang!
“Kieek—–!!!!!!!!”
Unexpectedly, Kang Yoo-hyun actually defeated the Draugr King. Originally, he wasn’t at the level to beat him. Passive skills are sealed and various skills are suppressed, making the boss monster a formidable opponent to compete with only his magic sword Tyrfing. But right now, Kang Yoo-hyun was in his element. His suppressed skills shone as if bursting, and Kang Yoo-hyun was like the azure flame itself.
So cool…
I had that thought as I cheered for Kang Yoo-hyun. But it was inevitable. Even though our first meeting was the worst, he was the main character of the novel that I had read passionately.
Should I say that it feels like a die-hard fan facing an idol head on? My heart was fluttering because I felt so much excitement. And I continued to feel that way until Kang Yoo-hyun beat the boss monster to a pulp on the ground.
System notifications were pouring in like crazy.
[All skill levels are temporarily elevated.]
[The Twilight Guide (SS) is activated.]
[The effect of Vanishing Darkness (SS) has been boosted.]
[The Élivágar’s Blessing (SS) is activated.]
[All abilities have broken through the limits and reached new levels!]
[“Hidden Stage” has been opened.]
“…”
Kang Yoo-hyun stared indifferently at all those notifications. He felt that he had become too strong. Then, his gaze turned to the Draugr King, whose face was distorted.
That’s right. He had to get rid of that hateful monster first. Kang Yoo-hyun launched himself and attacked the Draugr King.
“Kieek—!!!!!!!”
Immediately after, the Draugr King suffered with a long scream. Kang Yoo-hyun’s face was also slightly distorted when he saw it. The emotions that he was hiding under his mask-like face started to leak out little by little.
Was it this easy?
What about the lives of the hundreds of people who died before catching this monster, and the dozens who died to catch it?
With a distorted face, he swung his magic sword strongly. As if responding to Kang Yoo-hyun’s excitement, the magic sword emitted an azure flame. Hundreds of years had passed, and now the hatred that had been buried deep in his heart erupted all at once.
–…I will definitely avenge you!
Yoo-hyun remembered what he had said to Sung Yoon-jae at the end. To Yoon-jae, who told him to run away, he shouted earnestly.
–I won’t let your deaths be in vain!
He said so while crying and ran away with Yoon-jae’s face behind him smiling, relieved. That’s how he survived. At the expense of 327 lives.
“Arghhhhh!”
He screamed angrily and threw his magic sword. The Draugr King was pushed back and pierced by a sword that was much smaller than his body, which made his eyes widened in disbelief.
“Kii, kiii! Kiiii!!!!”
King of the Dead, the SS-class boss monster that has never been captured. Its huge body was sent flying in the air by a weak human and fell to the ground. With a huge explosion, the field was quickly devastated.
Kuuuung, kugung!
“Ki, kii…”
“…”
Kang Yoo-hyun approached the Draugr King slowly. There was no hatred in his eyes. He looked very indifferent. The years he kept on living were too long for him to continue maintaining such a strong animosity.
So, let’s get everything over now.
Kang Yoo-hyun slowly lifted his magic sword. As he swung his sword down, a blue line cut through the air.
Immediately, a system window floated over the already collapsed body of the Draugr King.
[You have defeated the boss monster ‘Draugr King’ of Niflheim-SS31. The item is bound.]
[The first player to capture Niflheim-SS31 will be given the title ‘Niflheim Conqueror’ (L).]
[The ‘Hidden Stage’ has ended.]
[The connection to Niflheim-SS31 will be terminated soon.]
[The ‘Ruler of the Dead’ waves his hand to see you again.]
“…”
Kang Yoo-hyun slowly closed and opened his eyes as he watched the Draugr King’s corpse disappear into ashes.
Surprisingly, he wasn’t really thinking about anything at the moment. He only felt his head clearer than before, as if his mind had become more refreshed after running.
Suddenly, a sweet scent grazed his nose. It was a scent he had smelled somewhere before. As soon as he smelled it, he was irresistibly drawn to it, the scent that drove him crazy.
Kang Yoo-hyun’s head slowly turned. His eyes, which had been lifeless and sunken, refocused. Like a lion finding its prey, his gaze quickly became fierce.
Han Yi-jin.
A man came into his view. He was sitting, his face a little dazed. Kang Yoo-hyun traced his eyes, nose, mouth and red lips that he had just brushed with earlier.
Now he knows what his skill is. Kang Yoo-hyun licked his lips with his tongue, slowly approaching Han Yi-jin. His eyes gleamed like a beast that had found its prey.
“Wow…!”
It was truly a touching moment. I was amazed and excited as if I was watching Korean players win the Korea-Japan match.
Kang Yoo-hyun! As expected, the main character is the main character! Why is he so cool?
Wouldn’t it be cool to see him deal the final blow to the bloody Draugr King? After the fight, some pleasant system window notifications appeared before my eyes.
[The boss monster ‘Draugr King’ of Niflheim-SS31 has been defeated by the assigned opponent. A certain amount of items are bound.]
[The first player to capture Niflheim-SS31 will be given the title ‘Niflheim Conqueror’ (L).]
[The ‘Hidden Stage’ has ended.]
[The connection to Niflheim-SS31 will be terminated soon.]
[‘The Capricious’ winks at you.]
Finally!
I couldn’t hide my excitement and clenched my fists. It’s an item! An SS class boss monster item! What would the item be? I was excited to check the inventory, but suddenly I felt a chill. Someone’s silhouette shadowed the translucent shield before it spread out.
“Oh….”
“…”
Kang Yoo-hyun looked at me.
But he… maybe it’s just me, but his eyes seemed to be gleaming.
No, I mean, why are his eyes like that?
I couldn’t ask, so I just blinked my eyes.
“Han Yi-jin.”
“Yes…?”
“…”
He called my name and said nothing. He just scanned my body with a burdensome look.
I-I feel crappy!
For some reason, I got a chill and slowly retreated. Then Kang Yoo-hyun approached, narrowing the distance between us.
“Why are you avoiding me?”
“No, that’s…”
When I hesitated, because I didn’t know how to answer, Kang Yoo Hyun stretched out his long hand. I didn’t want to freak out like an idiot, but I recalled being strangled by that hand and flinched. Then, Kang Yoo-hyun’s hand stopped in the air.
“Why…”
“…?”
Kang Yoo-hyun furrowed his thick eyebrows, as if he didn’t like it. I looked at him, not knowing why, and Kang Yoo-hyun slowly withdrew his outstretched hand from me. I exhaled, while feeling relieved, and Kang Yoo-hyun opened his mouth.
“Come with me.”
“Where…?” I asked carefully, with my head tilted at the unexpected remark.
Kang Yoo-hyun’s words made my mind very complicated. Do you want to hand me, or rather Han Yi-jin, to the police? Were you so angry that I kidnapped your younger brother the other day…?
Kang Yoo-hyun looked at me, who was terrified. His lips opened slowly.
“I need your skills.”