Chapter 17. Black Route (6)

Yeonwoo looked down at his left palm.

Click! Click!

The gear teeth clattered.

It seemed to be demanding food, as if it were hungry and wanted something to eat right away.

It didn't say anything or send any specific signals.

But Yeonwoo could sense something.

'This is what a vampiric sword is.'

Yeonwoo smiled coldly as he gazed into the dark abyss beyond the gear teeth.

'With this...'

He had certainly obtained an excellent skill, but so far, he hadn't felt any significant changes.

It felt like just another skill added to his list.

But Yeonwoo was confident.

He clenched his left fist.

The gear teeth meshed, and it returned to its normal appearance, but it still felt a 'thirst.'

"Shall we go fill our stomachs?"

* * *

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The door was still rattling.

Yeonwoo grabbed the doorknob and pulled it open wide.

At that moment.

Squeak!

An ant screamed and pulled one of its legs inside.

Yeonwoo activated Sensory Enhancement and Combat Will simultaneously and lunged forward.

The time given was 5 minutes again.

Swish!

The greatsword sliced through the ant's leg as if it were a stalk of corn, breaking it effortlessly.

Yeonwoo passed through the gap, kicked off the ground, and used the ant as a stepping stone to leap high into the air.

Squeak!

Squeeeak! Squeak!

Below him.

Over two hundred ants were still staring at him, screaming.

They roared in anger, as if determined to tear apart the intruder who had destroyed their nest.

Among them,

Yeonwoo easily found the queen ant.

The queen ant, sensing Yeonwoo's presence, spread her damaged wings and puffed up her body as much as possible. Though her eyes were completely destroyed, it seemed her other sensory organs had detected Yeonwoo.

She charged at him with her remaining three legs at a fierce speed.

This time, Yeonwoo didn't dodge.

Instead, he dropped from a high parabola, landing on the queen ant's head.

His movements were more agile and nimble.

The queen ant struggled, clacking her pincers as if urging him to fall.

Yeonwoo spread his left palm and pressed it against the queen ant's head.

Then he chanted the activation phrase.

"Devour."

At that moment, a black aura swelled in his left palm, and the gear teeth, composed of dozens of sharp fangs, became clearly visible.

Crunch!

He plunged the teeth deep into the queen ant's crown.

Then he began to suck out the bodily fluids and brain matter at a terrifying speed.

[Draining vitality and essence.]

[Skill proficiency of 'Bathory's Vampiric Sword' increased. 1.1%]

Squeeeak!

The queen ant screamed as if her soul was being completely ripped out.

It was a more agonized cry than when she was caught in the explosion, or when her eyes were injured or her legs were cut off.

But Yeonwoo clung to her head like a bullfighter enduring a rodeo, refusing to let go.

He pushed his left hand even deeper, as if determined to suck out everything the queen ant had.

With each clack of the gear teeth, a massive amount of bodily fluids, brain matter, and blood rushed up his left arm at a terrifying speed.

Among them were things that felt different from ordinary 'substances.'

The mana felt when activating skills.

No, it was closer to a more fundamental form of mana.

'They said it would drain all the vitality and essence of the opponent. Is this what they meant?'

Yeonwoo also felt something rising from within him.

[Vitality and essence absorbed.]

[Strength increased by 1.]

[Health increased by 2.]

...

As the messages piled up rapidly,

The queen ant's body began to shrink.

The moisture drained out quickly, and her exoskeleton crumbled like a sandcastle. The blood that had flowed through her veins became scarce, and the vitality in her muscles and skin drained out rapidly.

The strength of her struggles weakened gradually, and she soon collapsed.

When the skill activation ended,

Thud!

The queen ant fell to the ground, completely desiccated like a mummy.

The queen ant was dead.

Ding.

[Boss monster, Queen Ant, defeated. Additional merit points awarded.]

[300 merit points obtained.]

[The morale of the blue army ants drops. The ant nest collapses rapidly.]

Squeak!

Squeeeak!

The army ants, witnessing the death of the queen ant, let out a few disbelieving screams and began to retreat slowly.

There was no longer anyone to protect them or whom they needed to protect.

Instead, there was now a predator that could easily 'eat' them.

Yeonwoo slowly stood up and turned his gaze toward the army ants.

His eyes glowed a deep red.

[Obtained a fragment of 'Flame Heart, Frost Verse'.]

[Current progress: 35.9%]

The progress rate had suddenly increased by more than double.

The vampiric sword drained everything from the opponent, so it could absorb the queen ant's characteristics without needing to consume the white moss separately.

In fact, it was even more efficient.

Unlike the traditional method, which required eating the heart, this method extracted everything, including the heart, blood vessels, and energy.

A cold smile spread across Yeonwoo's lips.

There were still many beings around him who could bring him fragments.

All of them were tempting prey.

Swish!

Gripping the greatsword in reverse, he leaped toward the remaining enemies.

[Fragment obtained.]

[Fragment obtained.]

...

[311 additional blue army ants defeated.]

[The ant nest has been completely destroyed.]

[Additional merit points awarded.]

...

* * *

The tutorial is a gateway for selecting new challengers to enter the tower.

Naturally, the attention of various clans, rankers, and administrators within the tower was focused on it, and the process of recruiting talent was quickly underway.

But this tutorial, in particular, attracted the most attention from many people.

This was because a large number of notable newcomers, often referred to as 'rookies,' were participating.

The Unicorns, known as the strongest combat race within the tower, and their two children, the rulers of the Unicorn Clan.

The swordsman from the Marcus Realm, known for its vast deserts and a large number of excellent mercenaries.

And.

Two people known as the 'Rebel Duo,' who, despite just joining the tutorial, were always talking about targeting the top rankers.

However, unlike mere bravado, they were the children of top rankers who had shed their parents' influence and proven their exceptional skills in the tutorial.

Kan and Doyle.

Players had already given them nicknames, calling them Blood Sword and Frost Tail.

* * *

"Hmm? Is there such a place here? I've never heard of it. You found this place well. Hey! Are we in the right place?"

"Uh-huh. That's what I'm saying. If you don't believe me, do you want to go back?"

"Pfft. Who said that? Why are you so cold?"

In response to the young man with the shaggy hair, Kan, Doyle yawned widely and looked the other way.

Kan then put his arm around Doyle's shoulder and smiled.

Doyle looked annoyed but still followed Kan down the dungeon corridor.

After discussing whether to follow Yeonwoo in the waiting room of Block B, they had been chasing him ever since.

Kan clicked his tongue as they moved through the dungeon.

"He's been hunting quite persistently."

From the entrance to here,

Kan and Doyle had only encountered the corpses of monsters.

The stench was overwhelming.

True to the Black Route, and as a hidden piece dungeon, the monsters were quite challenging, even for them, who were confident in their skills.

It seemed the player they were chasing had struggled at first.

There were signs of intense battles everywhere.

It was hard to imagine how he could move with such a body.

But as time passed,

The deeper they went,

"Amazing. How did he get so strong so quickly?"

The tide of battle gradually turned one-sided.

The player had the upper hand, overwhelming and hunting the monsters.

"It doesn't seem like the monsters suddenly became weaker."

"Yeah. It's funny to say this just by looking at the traces, but the monsters on the lower floors seemed stronger, not weaker, than those on the upper floors."

Kan and Doyle's expressions gradually became more serious.

Kan's playful eyes had now become deeply serious.

Doyle's expression turned strange as he looked at his brother.

Kan rarely had such a look in his eyes.

It was a look he only gave to those he 'recognized.'

The look of a rival or a nemesis.

It meant that Yeonwoo had grown so rapidly that he was now strong enough for even them to take notice.

There were even signs that the monsters had fled.

They seemed to have left their territory to avoid being discovered by the player, even encroaching on other monsters' territories.

This led to conflicts between the monsters whose territories had been invaded.

A being that could instill fear in the monsters.

Especially when they encountered corpses that seemed to have been completely drained of bodily fluids.

Kan and Doyle realized they could no longer treat the current situation as a joke.

Doyle looked at Kan.

"Brother."

"Yeah. I know. This doesn't seem like a joke anymore."

Kan pursed his lips and nodded heavily.

"How did he find something like this? When we struggled to find it, there was no sign of it."

Kan muttered to himself.

"Energy Drain."

Energy Drain.

A general term for techniques that forcibly steal an opponent's health or mana.

It was extremely rare for energy drain to be an option in the many artifacts and skills within the tower.

To find it in the hands of someone who had just passed Block B.

"Was there a hidden piece in such a place?"

Kan rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought, his eyes glowing.

Not only had the player soloed Block A, but he had also obtained a rare artifact or skill as a hidden piece.

This made him even more desirable.

Such talent was not easily found.

Rumors would soon spread throughout the tutorial.

If that happened, various clans would be eager to recruit him.

They had to persuade him to join their side before that happened.

Doyle seemed to have the same thought, nodding in agreement when he met Kan's eyes.

Just as they were about to move again to follow the trail,

Squeak! Squeak!

The sound of monsters fleeing in a hurry came from the other side of the corridor.

Kan and Doyle quickly moved in that direction.

* * *

Yeonwoo swung his greatsword, piercing the forehead of a brown toad and pressed his left hand against the creature's snout.

"Devour."

Crunch! Crunch!

His left palm opened wide, and he plunged the gear teeth into the toad's head.

He began to rapidly drain the bodily fluids and vitality.

It was a familiar feeling from doing it so many times.

His skill proficiency had greatly increased, and the draining speed was much faster than when he first hunted the queen ant.

And.

The moment Yeonwoo had been desperately waiting for finally arrived.

[Brown-scaled Toad defeated.]

[Current number of monsters hunted: 1,000]

[Maximum achievement condition of the quest met.]

[Obtained a fragment of 'Flame Heart, Frost Verse'.]

[Current progress: 102.1%]

[All clues collected.]

After destroying the ant nest and clearing out the remaining monsters,

It didn't take long.

The abilities he had gained from hunting the army ants and the efficiency of the vampiric sword allowed him to meet all the conditions he had set for himself in the dungeon.

Crunch.

Crunch.

[The completed 'Flame Heart, Frost Verse' begins to settle into the body. The body begins to change.]

Yeonwoo felt a significant transformation occurring within him.

A change far more profound than when he had obtained the fragments.

His muscles tore, expelling the waste between the cells.

His skin dried and peeled off, revealing the wounds beneath. His joints softened, and something else entered from within.

Intense pain arose, but it was followed by an indescribable pleasure, causing a surge of adrenaline.

At the same time,

Something began to rotate rapidly, clearly, and thickly throughout his body.

It was mana.