novelburst
Chapter 278
Chapter 278
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
Chapter 278
[You have entered the second floor.]
Unlike the first floor, the second floor was teeming with Shadow Soldiers.
They carried various weapons, including swords, spears, daggers, bows, and crossbows, and roamed about.
"Intruder!"
"Capture him!"
The moment they spotted Jeong-hoon, they signaled each other and quickly grouped together, designating Jeong-hoon as their target.
‘Let’s find the corpse first.’
This was the first quest given.
The corpse of the nameless Shadow A must be somewhere in this area.
Only then could the quest proceed without any setbacks.
Jeong-hoon stepped into the Heavenly Demon Lord's Dominion stance and began to execute martial arts techniques.
The energy of Heavenly Demon Lord's Fist Arts enveloped his fist.
Puhk!
As he had done at the castle gate, Jeong-hoon aimed for the heads of the enemies in front of him.
Since they were all wearing helmets, the strategy was to disrupt their balance with a headshot and then swiftly target their vital points to finish them off.
The Heavenly Demon Lord's Fist Arts had an ability to nullify defense, so no matter how high their defensive capabilities were, they couldn’t withstand it.
Paat!
Fwishuuk!
However, as a rain of arrows descended, Jeong-hoon retreated backward.
‘I can’t avoid all of them.’
[Using the Barrier of Light.]
Jeong-hoon deployed the Barrier of Light to shield himself.
Kwa-jik! Kwa-ji-jik!
The arrows struck, rapidly damaging the barrier, but it was sufficient for the moment.
Jeong-hoon once again stepped into the Heavenly Demon Lord's Dominion stance and swung his fist.
His target was the helmet of a sword-wielding enemy in front of him.
Puhk!
“Guh!”
The punch connected with the helmet, causing the enemy to stagger.
Jeong-hoon immediately reached out and removed the helmet.
As the helmet came off, a jet-black shadowy head was revealed.
“Disappear.”
Kwa-jik!
Jeong-hoon delivered a punch directly to the shadow’s throat, crushing it.
“Gah!”
The Shadow Knight died instantly.
Jeong-hoon then moved toward a spear-wielding enemy, stepping into the Heavenly Demon Lord's Dominion stance again, and removed its helmet.
Just as before, a shadowy head was revealed.
“You bastard!”
The enemy swung its spear in retaliation.
“So what?”
Unlike before, Jeong-hoon grabbed the enemy by its neck.
Jeong-hoon applied force and pulled, using the enemy as a shield.
Pababababak!
“Kuaaaagh!”
At that moment, countless arrows lodged into the enemy’s back.
Unable to withstand it, the enemy slumped down, lifeless.
‘The Barrier of Light won’t hold much longer.’
If so, there was no choice but to use these enemies as shields to push forward.
Jeong-hoon hurled the Shadow Knight toward the others.
Simultaneously, he stepped into the Heavenly Demon Lord's Dominion stance and struck the chest of a spear-wielding Shadow Knight with his elbow.
“Gah!”
Despite wearing armor, the impact seemed significant as the enemy groaned and was knocked back.
Three shadows standing behind it collided with the staggering figure, losing their balance.
Jeong-hoon seized the opportunity and closed the distance, swinging his fist at them.
“Gugh!”
“Urk!”
Their supposedly high defense proved meaningless as they wavered with a single punch.
Jeong-hoon swiftly targeted their vital points, subduing them with precision.
He then grabbed another enemy to use as a shield.
Pabababababak!
A hail of arrows struck the shadow he was holding.
“This isn’t easy.”
Carrying the pierced shadow, Jeong-hoon stepped into the Heavenly Demon Lord's Dominion stance and began searching the area.
The space was too confined to subdue all of them.
Moreover, even if subdued, the shadows here would respawn.
[To proceed to the third floor, you must defeat the boss monster.]
[Complete eradication of regular monsters is impossible. Defeating the boss monster will result in their total annihilation.]
That’s right.
The main objective on the second floor was the boss monster.
Until the boss monster was defeated, these enemies would continuously respawn.
There was no point wasting energy here. The priority was finding Shadow A’s corpse on the first floor and locating the boss monster.
Jeong-hoon quickly moved toward a nearby storage room.
The door was firmly shut but yielded to Jeong-hoon’s immense strength in no time.
Inside, there were no monsters.
“Kill him!”
“Don’t let him hide!”
Pababababak!
Arrows rained down on the shadow Jeong-hoon was holding.
“Here’s a gift.”
Jeong-hoon hurled the arrow-filled shadow at the enemies and slipped into the storage room.
He firmly shut the door, and after a moment, everything went quiet.
‘It seems their attacks stop if I take cover.’
Now, he had a rough idea of how to approach this.
Jeong-hoon took a brief moment to catch his breath as he explored the inside of the storage room.
The storage room was far too spacious to simply be called a storage room.
In front of Jeong-hoon sat a shadow NPC, crouched on the floor, appearing to be around ten years old.
‘An exclamation mark?’
Jeong-hoon's eyes widened in surprise.
Above the NPC's head, an exclamation mark was blinking.
===
[NPC Information]
Nickname: Nameless Shadow B
Level: 330
Class: None
===
Like the one on the first floor, this was another shadow that had lost its purpose.
As Jeong-hoon approached, the young shadow flinched and curled up further.
[You have completed the quest.]
[You may now proceed to the next quest.]
It seemed retrieving the corpse wasn’t possible for now.
[Path of the Ultimate (2): Nameless Shadow B]
- Requirement: Reach the second floor of the Castle of Shadows Doomed to Destruction.
- Reward: ??
- Description: You are currently searching for the corpse of Nameless Shadow A. Assist Nameless Shadow B, who knows clues about his whereabouts, to gain information.
It wouldn’t be an easy task.
Jeong-hoon immediately accepted the quest.
[W-Who are you...?]
The young shadow cautiously asked.
“Human.”
Jeong-hoon replied curtly.
[I-I know that...]
“Then why ask?”
[Well, it’s strange for a human to be here...]
“Then why are you here alone?”
[I can’t leave this place.]
“You can’t leave?”
[Yes... I was abandoned here because I’m useless.]
Jeong-hoon could already tell what this shadow wanted—freedom from this place.
“If I help you, will you be able to leave?”
At Jeong-hoon’s question, the young shadow jumped to its feet.
[You can help me?!]
“Yes. The problem is I don’t know how to help you.”
[That’s okay! I know how!]
With those words, the young shadow pulled out a map.
It was a detailed map of the second floor’s layout.
“A map?”
[I can’t leave this place. So, please, I beg you. If you go to the reception room on the second floor, you’ll find the boss. Please investigate that area.]
So, the boss monster is in the reception room.
Jeong-hoon, understanding the location, nodded.
“Got it.”
It wasn’t a difficult request.
After all, defeating the boss was essential to progress to the third floor.
[If my body happens to be there, please make sure to bring it back.]
***
[Reception Room]
The reception room was on the opposite side of the storage area.
Because of this, Jeong-hoon had to break through all the shadows outside to reach it.
Using the same strategy as before, Jeong-hoon forced his way through the shadows and arrived at the reception room.
Unlike the exterior, the reception room was brightly illuminated with numerous lights.
[Lv.750 Shadow Count]
Unlike the other shadow soldiers, this one was adorned with dazzling accessories.
This was the boss of the second floor.
[It’s been a long time since an intruder appeared.]
The Shadow Count, like the NPCs, communicated directly into Jeong-hoon’s mind.
“No corpse... seems to be here.”
The body the young shadow had asked Jeong-hoon to find.
However, there was nothing in the reception room that resembled a corpse.
In other words, the young shadow’s body wasn’t here.
[Oh, ignoring me to look elsewhere? Have you gone mad?]
The Shadow Count waved its hand once.
The floor darkened, and shadowy forms resembling hands emerged.
[The Shadow Count uses ‘Shadow Bind.’]
Shadow Bind.
At that moment, Jeong-hoon’s body froze completely.
Looking down at the floor, Jeong-hoon realized the truth.
‘It binds shadows.’
What the skill captured wasn’t Jeong-hoon’s physical body but his shadow.
The attack was about to begin.
[The Shadow Count uses ‘Shadow Slash.’]
This time, a shadowy hand formed into a sword, aiming to cut Jeong-hoon’s shadow.
‘So this is how it works.’
The fighting style was entirely different from that of the shadows outside.
[Black Field activates.]
[All stats are boosted by 1.8 times.]
[Due to Black Field, all stats of monsters within the area decrease by 15%.]
Jeong-hoon immediately activated Black Field.
Once Black Field was active, Jeong-hoon regained his freedom.
‘Now I understand why the reception room was so well-lit.’
If not for the Holy Orb of Glory brightening his vision, the overwhelming darkness would have concealed the lights entirely.
If that had been the case, Jeong-hoon wouldn’t have figured out how the Shadow Count’s ability activated and would have lost his life.
‘In other words, if my shadow is erased, it can’t touch me.’
Moments ago, Black Field had turned the floor black.
As a result, Jeong-hoon’s shadow, which had been cast on the ground by the lights, disappeared.
This allowed him to escape from the binding.
At the same time, Jeong-hoon’s stats instantly increased by 1.8 times.
This surge far exceeded the abilities of the Shadow Count, who was at the level of 750.
Now freed, Jeong-hoon activated Heavenly Demon Lord's Steps.
The gap between them closed in an instant, causing the Shadow Count to recoil in panic and stagger backward.
[This is absurd…!]
Jeong-hoon delivered a punch imbued with the energy of Heavenly Demon Lord's Fist, now at the level of eight stars.
Thwack!
The punch struck the Shadow Count squarely in the face.
[Urgh!]
The Shadow Count groaned in pain.
As it reeled from the blow, Jeong-hoon drove his elbow hard into its solar plexus.
[Guh?!]
Two strikes were all it took to make the Shadow Count collapse.
Clutching its stomach, the Shadow Count trembled uncontrollably.
Jeong-hoon drew Leviathan and finished it off with a strike to the back of its head.
[You have defeated the boss.]
[All monsters on the second floor have been annihilated.]
[You are now eligible to ascend to the third floor.]
The battle ended rather anticlimactically.
The Shadow Count’s body disintegrated upon death, leaving behind only a necklace it had been wearing.
‘What’s this?’
Jeong-hoon picked up the necklace.
Upon inspecting it, his eyes widened slightly.
‘Could it be?’
Inside the necklace was a figure smaller than a fingernail—a tiny person.
Jeong-hoon thought this might be the corpse the young shadow had mentioned. He hurried back to the storage area.
As expected, an exclamation mark blinked above the young shadow’s head in the storage area.
[You have completed the quest.]
[Return the corpse to Nameless Shadow B.]
Jeong-hoon handed the necklace to the young shadow.
[It… it really was here?!]
“Yeah.”
[Thank goodness… So it really was nearby.]
The young shadow caressed the necklace as if it were a cherished treasure.
“Do you know where the other corpses are?”
Having helped it, Jeong-hoon expected a hint in return.
[The third floor. I can sense the same energy on the third floor.]
“Energy?”
[Yes. The energy emitted by the corpses. I’m able to detect it.]
Jeong-hoon nodded, now understanding why Nameless Shadow B could provide hints.
“Then, can you escape now?”
Its sensing ability could be useful later on.
However, the young shadow couldn’t fulfill Jeong-hoon’s expectations.
[I plan to destroy this and disappear.]
“Disappear?”
[Yes. That’s the only way I can leave this place.]
The young shadow said this, placing the necklace on the ground and crushing it with its foot.
Crunch.
The necklace shattered surprisingly easily.
“Why did it break so easily?”
[Because the body and the shadow came into contact. Thank you so much.]
As the necklace broke, the young shadow began to fade and eventually disappeared entirely.
Left alone, Jeong-hoon quietly turned around.
“…Time to move on.”
His task on the second floor was done.
Now, it was time to ascend to the third floor and search for the corpse the young shadow had spoken of.
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]