Barrier (2)

It did not take very long to find a method.

Mumyeong’s earlier sacrifice had ultimately been a great help.

That was because they discovered that everything did not melt the instant it touched the barrier, but that there was a brief period where it could still hold out.

So after using other skills and running several tests, they created a method to cross over.

First, he sent five clones.

They were the ones that could hold out the longest. In other words, they were the ones that would open the path.

What he attached after that were illusions.

Their durability was the weakest, but there were many of them, so they were a means of earning even a tiny bit more time.

On top of that, he linked Shadow Step, a skill absolutely necessary for Kang-hoo’s positional movement. It was for the final movement.

The sight of them charging rapidly toward the barrier in single file looked just like moths flying into flames.

“Ye-rin, all you need to do is stand still on this circle.”

“Is that really all?”

“Yes, that’s all.”

“I really can’t even guess how this works.”

The means Kang-hoo had prepared early beneath Lee Ye-rin’s feet was the Blue-Position Exchange Formation. It was the Entry Formation that would serve as the entrance.

He intended to use the same method as when he had moved Takashi Family beyond the floor in the labyrinth.

Takashi, Lemon, and Mokomichi’s reactions back then had been exactly the same as Lee Ye-rin’s now. Their eyes had clearly said, What exactly is he trying to do?

Sarrreureuk! Sareuk! Sareuk!

Soon, the clones that collided with the barrier surface quickly melted away, and the illusions that entered after them met the same fate.

The shadows that entered in succession were not in a very different situation either, but two shadows narrowly survived.

It was confirmed that the shadows that had taken position beyond the barrier remained intact without melting.

Teleportation using shadows was closer to a kind of position exchange than spatial movement.

In other words, it was like a tunnel had already been opened at the destination, so there was no possibility of it being affected by distortion.

Blink or teleport, which were representative magic skills, could not be used because the arrival coordinates could be distorted.

However, the position exchange using Shadow Step had no variables, so Kang-hoo could switch places with peace of mind.

And then.

Paat!

“Ah!”

Kang-hoo vanished from Lee Ye-rin’s sight. When she turned her gaze forward, Kang-hoo was beyond the barrier.

He was even leisurely looking this way and waving both hands.

She had thought that beyond the barrier was no different from hell, with nothing there and only death spread out before them.

That was a miscalculation.

If one sought a change in perspective and had the means to make it reality, a new world opened up.

“Now, I’ll pull you in.”

“Huh……? Kyaa!”

No sooner had Kang-hoo finished speaking than Blue-Position Exchange Formation - Exit Formation opened beyond the barrier, and she was summoned.

She could tell immediately.

The barrier she had been facing head-on until just now was now behind her back.

And another dungeon landscape was spread out here as well. It was only that the barrier had been blocking it.

“This is…… a method no one could even think of unless they were you, Kang-hoo, and one they couldn’t even begin in the first place.”

Lee Ye-rin repeatedly clicked her tongue in amazement.

Even if she learned through Kang-hoo how to cross the barrier, she could not imitate it.

For this to become reality.

One needed skills capable of controlling many clones, illusions, underlings, and the like, as well as another skill to change positions.

And in a situation where one could not cross alone, an additional summoning skill to pull over a companion was also needed.

Could a single hunter possess all of these skills? It was a story closer to the realm of impossibility than possibility.

That was even more true because this kind of linkage could not be divided among multiple people. It could only be broken through if one did it alone.

“I suppose so. If there’s ever a time you want to cross a barrier, look for me then. That should do it.”

“Even seeing it again, I still can’t believe it.”

“You have to believe it now. You experienced it.”

Kang-hoo smiled slightly and pointed ahead. The dungeon conquest had not ended yet. There was only another beginning.

Afterward, the conquest proceeded so smoothly that the worry over crossing the barrier had been almost everything.

While enjoying every first-clear bonus without missing a single one, Kang-hoo’s level rose to 493.

Level 500 was now just around the corner.

There were not just one or two elements to look forward to once he reached 500, but as expected, what he looked forward to the most was this.

It was Master of Shell Games, the constellation he had plundered in the past after killing Jeon Jong-du, the leader of the Osho Mercenary Corps.

He had enjoyed a great deal from it until now.

At level 100, he had obtained skill copying, and at level 200, he had obtained the Flame of Death skill.

At level 300, he had obtained Subspace Stage 1, and at level 400, he had obtained Weakness Analysis / Closed Flower skills.

It has always been valuable. Should he say it felt like scratching a lottery ticket with no blanks? He had never once obtained something bad.

So he was also looking forward to the roulette wheel at level 500. He would know once he raised only 7 more levels.

In any case, the conquest wrapped up smoothly all the way to this dungeon’s original owner, the main boss monster.

To the point that Benator, the middle boss monster he had fought before the main boss monster, had felt more troublesome.

For now, Kang-hoo immediately finished plundering a skill from the main boss monster. There was no need to agonize over it.

For Kang-hoo, who enjoyed using Acceleration as a passive skill, it was a skill with excellent compatibility.

It did not demand mana usage, nor did it place any mental burden on him, so there was no reason to ignore it.

Then.

Tuk.

Two talismans fell where the main boss monster had died.

They were talismans with the same color and shape, as if they formed a pair.

Kang-hoo and Lee Ye-rin each picked up one talisman, and soon they were able to check the tooltip related to the talismans.

“Wow, this feels like some couples-only item, doesn’t it? It’s the kind of item they’d give you if you got married in a game!”

Lee Ye-rin chuckled as she suddenly remembered a game where a similar item had existed. That was how unusual the item was.

Kang-hoo also nodded.

As Lee Ye-rin said, it really did seem like an excellent item for a couple to use.

After all, regardless of when or where they were, they could ignore spatial restrictions and go to each other’s side. Except when going from one dungeon to another dungeon.

‘That’s exactly why it becomes a very threatening means if used strategically.’

In other words, when used for the purpose of killing someone, it became the most likely means of assassination.

As long as he made the enemy unknowingly carry the talisman, he could suddenly go to that person’s side.

Since movement was only impossible when both were in different dungeons, as long as the one trying to use it was outside a dungeon, there was no possibility of failure.

“For now, I’ll yield this to you.”

“Pardon?”

“No matter how I look at it, I don’t think this was released as a couples’ item. Unless it’s a strategic means specialized for assassinating someone?”

“If you have it, Ye-rin, we could also use it to help each other in emergencies.”

“I know! But somehow, I feel like there will be many situations where you can use it more meaningfully than that, Kang-hoo. I’m satisfied just from experiencing this place.”

There was no lingering attachment to the talisman at all in her sparkling eyes.

As if she wanted to find it a good owner, only pure goodwill was contained in her kind gaze.

“Then before I accept it. May I test it once?”

“Ah! Sure. I’ll hold the talisman and see what happens!”

“First, let’s test moving inside the dungeon. Then when we go outside, Ye-rin, you go out first, and I’ll try leaving with the talisman.”

“Let’s try it right away!”

The experiment began afterward.

As mentioned in the tooltip earlier, movement between owners who possessed the talismans was possible without issue.

It was only impossible in one single case.

Only teleporting from Owner 1 in Dungeon 1 to beside Owner 2 in Dungeon 2 was impossible.

For Kang-hoo, who was planning to participate in Shintu Guild’s succession battle in the near future and assassinate Chu Ye-seong……

It was the optimal assassination option obtained at a timely moment. Its strategic value was extremely high.

After finishing the dungeon outing that had also doubled as a date(?), Kang-hoo immediately said goodbye to Lee Ye-rin.

It was about time for him to go up toward Ground Zero, and Park Dong-jae and Ayane were also scheduled to come soon.

Lee Ye-rin smacked her lips repeatedly with a regretful expression and said.

“It was short, but it was still a really fun conquest. My curiosity about you was resolved quite a bit too, Kang-hoo.”

“I was also able to grasp your abilities in a bit more detail, Ye-rin.”

“Just as I always have, I’ll probably trust many people and hate many people going forward too, but I feel like I won’t be able to hate you for any reason, Kang-hoo.”

“Why?”

“Because there’s that much trust. So I hope we’ll continue to be comrades looking in the same direction. Today was really fun. As an observer, please feel free to visit Cheong-an’s dungeons anytime. We are always open to you, Kang-hoo.”

“Thank you.”

“Ah, right! And the dungeons inside Cheongmyeong Detention Center are the same. Ownership has all transferred over. Now you can use them without worrying about anyone’s opinion.”

“When I need a dungeon, I’ll definitely look for Daejeon. Ah, and I’ll make good use of the talisman.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s a trophy I never thought of as mine in the first place. I think it’s something that will be used hundreds of times more meaningfully by you than by me.”

Lee Ye-rin had already guessed how Kang-hoo would use it, so she looked forward to it even more. It was that kind of item, one that could put wings on an assassin.

Thus, his schedule with Lee Ye-rin also came to an end.

For Kang-hoo, who had officially become an observer of the Cheong-an Mercenary Corps, the burden of securing additional skills had completely disappeared.

Even if he calculated only conquering each of the dungeons owned by the Cheong-an Mercenary Corps once, it would easily exceed 100 times.

That was how unimaginably many dungeons the Cheong-an Mercenary Corps had taken from Heuksaja this time.

It was not for nothing that people said the fight for hegemony in Daejeon had ended.

Now, at least in the Daejeon area, Eclipse could no longer be Cheong-an’s opponent. It might be different in other regions.

A reliable backer.

Would Jang Si-hwan know that “Shin Kang-hoo” was in the connecting link of the anti-Jeonghwa alliance, which connected the Glory Alliance, Cheong-an Mercenary Corps, and the military faction The Abyss?

He would not.

And until Jang Si-hwan began to recognize it in earnest, Kang-hoo intended to continue operating beneath the surface like now.

After all, a blade quietly sharpened while waiting for the moment of a single strike was far more frightening than a blade swung around at any time.

If Jang Si-hwan was still under the delusion that he could persuade or recruit him as a comrade, Kang-hoo intended to let him think that.

The longer the delusion lasted, the better.

If the investment needed for that could be resolved solely with convincing acting……? There would be no business more profitable than that.