“Huh? Yoojun, what did you say…?”

-Chwaak!

Before his opponent could even finish his sentence,

Nam Yoojun’s blade plunged deep into the man’s throat.

There was no time to dodge.

“Gack, urgh… Y-Yoojun… you…”

“I’d usually play with you a bit longer, but I’m a little busy today.”

Nam Yoojun twisted and pulled out the blade, speaking as if he were disappointed.

Blood gushed from the throat, instantly soaking the floor.

As the corpse hit the ground with a dull thud, a notification window appeared.

[Special Ability ‘Murder Impulse’ activates!]

[You have plundered 10% of the target’s stats!]

[Karma accumulates!]

Nam Yoojun flashed a bloody smile.

He had wondered if it would be a headache to kill such a strong opponent, but thanks to the man’s carelessness, he was able to finish him off quickly.

At that moment, something dropped right before his eyes.

[‘Terror of the Living and the Dead’ is satisfied with ‘Nam Yoojun’s actions.]

[‘Terror of the Living and the Dead’ gifts ‘Nam Yoojun’ the item ‘Blade Necklace’.]

Unwrapping the delivered item, he found a rather expensive-looking necklace.

As he put it on, he could feel the muscles throughout his entire body surging with energy.

[Strength increases by 10% by equipping ‘Blade Necklace’.]

‘What a windfall.’

Having just stolen his opponent’s stats and acquired an item, Nam Yoojun’s confidence soared.

His heart began to pound with exhilaration.

‘In this state, I can kill Seo Kangrim.’

He had already been slightly superior to Seo Kangrim moments ago, so at this level, killing him would be easy.

All he had to do was find Seo Kangrim, and the game would be over.

Both Nam Yoojun and Nachal were filled with anticipation for the impending slaughter.

‘Where could he be? I can’t let him return to the Education Facility.’

Nam Yoojun hastily began searching the forest.

While scanning his surroundings for footprints left behind here and there…

Something began to patter down onto his head.

-Swaaa…

‘Damn it, rain?’

Looking up, the sky, which had been darkening for a while, grew even gloomier.

The intermittent rumble of thunder could be heard in the distance.

[The energy of Water in the surroundings is increasing.]

[The energy of Water counters Nam Yoojun’s fate.]

[Stats decrease by 10%.]

As the rain began to fall little by little, Nam Yoojun could feel his body growing heavier.

At that moment, Nachal spoke as if to encourage him.

[‘Terror of the Living and the Dead’ says there is nothing to worry about.]

[‘Terror of the Living and the Dead’ claims that since Seo Kangrim’s Five Elements attribute is also Fire, he must have been weakened as well.]

Hearing that Seo Kangrim’s Five Elements attribute was also Fire and thus would suffer the same reduction, Nam Yoojun laughed.

‘Thank goodness we share the same attribute.’

First, he needed to find Seo Kangrim before the rain grew heavier.

The trees were blocking the rain for now, but if the downpour intensified, using ‘Hidden One’ would easily give away his position.

While Nam Yoojun was frantically wandering through the forest, he heard the sound of a tree falling.

Heading toward the source of the noise, he found someone.

‘Seo Kangrim…!’

Nam Yoojun stopped in his tracks upon seeing Seo Kangrim, but soon wore a puzzled expression.

‘Why is he cutting down trees?’

He was currently felling the nearby trees indiscriminately.

Nam Yoojun couldn’t understand Seo Kangrim’s actions, but the fact that he was distracted by something presented an opportunity.

‘I have to kill him before the rain gets worse!’

As Nam Yoojun widened his eyes, ‘Hidden One’ activated.

Just as he was quietly approaching to strike Seo Kangrim from behind, a sound came from beneath his feet.

-Jjalgeurang

Looking down, he could see a faint thread hanging.

A small bell was attached to the middle of the thread.

It was a trap.

-Kagang!

Hearing the sound, Seo Kangrim rushed over and swung his blade at the empty air.

Startled by the sudden attack, Nam Yoojun involuntarily gasped, dispelling ‘Hidden One’.

Even so, Nam Yoojun smiled.

“You’re weaker than I thought.”

Having just killed a person and equipped the Blade Necklace, Nam Yoojun’s stats had risen higher than he had expected.

The strength that had felt evenly matched just moments ago now showed a clear disparity.

-Ppeok!

When Nam Yoojun kicked Seo Kangrim, the latter staggered back as if he had been thrown.

Seeing this, Nam Yoojun’s blood boiled.

“Hahaha! Where did you leave your comrades to be wandering alone? Are you itching to die?”

He shouted as he unleashed a flurry of strikes at Seo Kangrim.

Seo Kangrim was barely dodging the attacks, but that was all he could do.

He was too focused on evading to counterattack.

‘Even if your agility is higher than mine, one hit is all it takes to end you!’

The more Seo Kangrim dodged, the more sadism boiled up within Nam Yoojun.

The sensation of cornering his prey and applying pressure.

In the meantime, Seo Kangrim threw ‘Ten-Foot Blaze’ to counter, but the flames were only about the size of small pebbles.

“That’s not even close to enough!”

The rain was beginning to intensify, rendering the flames ineffective.

Before long, dark clouds enveloped the surroundings, and a torrential downpour began.

‘As expected, the rain makes this a bit tough.’

It seemed the rain would only get heavier, as the rumble of thunder could now be heard between the dark clouds.

At that moment, an urgent message arrived from Nachal.

[‘Terror of the Living and the Dead’ shouts to destroy the tree in the center.]

[‘Terror of the Living and the Dead’ grows urgent and stomps its feet.]

[‘Terror of the Living and the Dead’ orders you to destroy the Divine Tree immediately!]

‘What is he talking about? Destroy the tree in the center?’

As Nam Yoojun received the message and looked around, he saw a single tree standing in the center.

It didn’t look particularly special.

Looking closely, the ends of its branches were just split in a slightly strange way.

‘Anyway, if my Guardian God tells me to destroy it, I should.’

Nam Yoojun, who had been pressing Seo Kangrim hard, backed off and charged toward the Divine Tree.

The moment he tried to cleave the Divine Tree, Seo Kangrim slipped in between them.

-Kaang!

Seo Kangrim’s arms trembled as he blocked the attack.

Bewildered, Nam Yoojun laughed.

“I don’t know what it is, but it must be important!”

Seo Kangrim didn’t answer.

He was merely defending against the attacks with all his might.

Nam Yoojun poured all his strength into his attacks to destroy the Divine Tree.

At that moment, the sound of lightning striking began to echo from the distant sky.

As the surroundings grew darker, the area would intermittently light up whenever lightning flickered.

As they continued fighting with their bodies soaked by the rain, Seo Kangrim suddenly began to flee.

‘Huh? Why is he running away?’

Just moments ago, Seo Kangrim had been risking his life to protect the Divine Tree.

His sudden retreat left Nam Yoojun utterly bewildered.

As he debated whether to target the Divine Tree or Seo Kangrim, Nachal’s voice rang out.

[‘Terror of the Living and the Dead’ shouts to destroy the Divine Tree first.]

He decided to follow Nachal’s advice for now.

It was a shame that Seo Kangrim had escaped, but destroying this Divine Tree seemed like it would harm him somehow.

He swung his blade to chop down the tree, but it wouldn’t cut easily.

‘Damn it, is this even a tree? It’s like a hunk of iron.’

Unlike the other trees that had been easily felled, the Divine Tree was like a solid block of iron.

As Nam Yoojun struck the tree in the pouring rain, the sound of thunder grew louder.

No matter how much he hacked at it, the Divine Tree showed no signs of breaking.

While continuing to slash away, Nam Yoojun suddenly looked up.

‘Huh? What’s that?’

Something was glinting.

Upon spotting it, Nam Yoojun began to climb up the tree.

‘Was he trying to protect this?’

He didn’t know what it was, but it had to be something precious.

As he climbed up the tree with long strides and came face to face with it, Nam Yoojun was dumbfounded.

It was nothing more than a simple iron rod.

The moment Nam Yoojun grabbed the iron rod in confusion…

“Uh, what is this…”

-Kwang!

Lightning struck from above, and in an instant, traveled down the iron rod.

As the lightning struck right before his eyes, Nam Yoojun screamed and tumbled from the tree.

“Cough…!”

Struck by lightning while soaked with water, his entire body felt as if it were burning in agony.

As Nam Yoojun gasped for breath and looked ahead, he saw that the Divine Tree had also been struck by lightning and split in half.

“Ha, ha… at least the Divine Tree… is destroyed…”

At that moment, Seo Kangrim, who Nam Yoojun thought had fled, revealed himself.

Nam Yoojun struggled to his feet and sneered at Seo Kangrim.

“Serves you right… what you were looking for is destroyed. I ruined it…!”

“Ruined it?”

Seo Kangrim asked with an expressionless face.

Nam Yoojun felt that something was going wrong.

Seo Kangrim approached the destroyed Divine Tree and picked up a branch.

Six small branches extended from both sides of the main branch.

Just like the trees grown in the Forest of the Sword Tree, the ends of the branches were as sharp and keen as blades.

Seo Kangrim spoke with a hint of mockery.

“It’s perfectly intact.”

[You have acquired the item ‘Lightning-Struck Seven-Branch Sword’!]

═══════════════

[Item] Lightning-Struck Seven-Branch Sword (Unrefined)

[Rank] Third Dragon Grade

[Description] A sword made from the branch of the Divine Tree. Forged from a Divine Tree struck by lightning, its power has increased.

═══════════════

Nam Yoojun couldn’t see the status window of the Seven-Branch Sword.

He simply thought it looked like a slightly strange sword.

[‘Terror of the Living and the Dead’ urges you to flee immediately.]

[‘Terror of the Living and the Dead’ demands you to leave this place at once.]

Nachal kept sending messages urging him to run, but Nam Yoojun ignored the voice.

There was no reason to be afraid of someone just holding a tree branch.

Nam Yoojun swallowed his blood and forced himself to his feet.

“Dieee!”

The murderous fiend screamed viciously as he charged at Seo Kangrim.

Lightning struck through the dark sky.

Amidst that light, Seo Kangrim swung the Seven-Branch Sword.