Chapter 79

In conclusion, Shin Jae-heon’s method had worked.

“Heh, Heracle.”

The assassin had managed to keep his mouth shut for a mere ten minutes or so.

And during that time, it had occurred to him that the holy knight before him might not be an inquisitor after all.

No matter how ruthless the methods used by the Shinshian Church’s inquisitors to root out heretics, they were still devotees of the God of Life, Shinshian.

They wouldn’t be entirely without qualms about harming someone to this extent.

But he couldn’t very well ask who he was. The man in holy knight garb hadn’t given him the chance to ask.

“Heracle, huh.”

Shin Jae-heon tilted his head slightly.

Since he’d entered this world by drinking poison, there was no way he wouldn’t know about it.

They were mostly low-rank poisons that wouldn’t even properly afflict him, so they’d only dealt minor damage.

And among the poisons he’d ingested, Heracle had definitely been one.

Though classified as A-rank, it was a poison far more potent than the one Kikal de Porlang had used on Shin Yuri—impossible to compare.

Normally, exposure would bring twisting agony in the gut immediately, but it wasn’t enough to faze an S-rank like Shin Jae-heon.

Of course, for Joo Yian the hunter, with his even stronger poison resistance, eating a cookie laced with Heracle—or even bathing in it—should have elicited zero reaction.

That was how it should have been.

“So that’s how it was.”

No matter how you sliced it, it wasn’t a poison that could take down Joo Yian. Main story correction had definitely amplified it.

Which meant that even if some other threat came, no matter how low-rank the opponent, it could arrive with L-rank correction.

He needed to stay alert.

“Were you waiting here for news from Your Excellency?”

Whether the assassination succeeded or failed.

Shin Jae-heon asked to confirm. The man nodded, trembling.

He had already lost the will to stay silent.

“And if it failed, what was your plan?”

If the poisoning failed, the temple’s security would naturally tighten.

Making it even harder to assassinate the pope. So what then?

“R-Reinforcements…”

The man stammered through chattering teeth.

“Reinforcements?”

“The Western Empire… If the pope’s safety is threatened, the temple will shrink back, creating an opening…”

Shin Jae-heon raised an eyebrow at that.

“Oh.”

In other words, they planned to exploit that opening against the Western Empire?

He didn’t need to ask further; it was obvious.

With gates already causing chaos in the Western Empire, if the temple got noisy too, internal affairs would get messy. A no-brainer.

That would give the Eastern Empire far more opportunities to interfere, directly or indirectly.

Shin Jae-heon’s lips curved up.

“Got it, roughly.”

He could see exactly how the crown prince had schemed.

So there were Eastern Empire agents waiting for word from this guy?

Success or failure.

Either way, the Eastern Empire would exploit it.

Time to give them a different option.

Shin Jae-heon pretended to draw the dagger from his waist, pulling it from his inventory instead.

This B-rank dagger, which even an S-rank like him carried, had one key advantage.

It was coated in the venom of the spider Diargo.

And that Diargo was a monster from another gate.

In other words, no antidote existed in this world. Unless Joo Yian came to detoxify it.

“Here.”

As the man flinched, the dagger swiftly nicked his fingertip.

“!”

He yanked his hand back in shock, but the poison was already seeping in.

“…?”

Thinking perhaps he’d be killed outright, the man recoiled, pulling his legs back.

But Shin Jae-heon didn’t pursue.

“Hard to believe, I know.”

Shin Jae-heon spoke leisurely.

“But this is laced with poison.”

Diargo’s venom. Breathing would gradually become labored, and six hours later, death.

A poison whose very symptoms instilled certain terror.

By now, the venom would be spreading, sending prickling pain through his body first.

Realizing it, fear washed over the man’s face.

“Ughhh!”

“Not sure if you can find an antidote yourself, but give it a shot.”

Shin Jae-heon smiled silently. He glanced up at the sky, then continued.

“That pain you’re feeling now? It’s only going to get worse.”

At his words, the man’s face drained to a sickly blue. No way his breathing was blocked yet, but he gasped as if it were.

Now this guy would seek his own antidote and head back to the Eastern Empire’s “reinforcements.”

Only to demonstrate just how agonizing Diargo’s poison was before dying.

Unable to report success or failure, leaving the crown prince without the answer he wanted.

“Usually takes about six hours to stop breathing.”

I’ve used it a few times; I know.

As he said that, footsteps reached his ears.

—Tap, tatatap!

The familiar sound belonged to none other than Shin Yuri.

She was approaching fast.

“Now, run.”

Shin Jae-heon prodded the man with his sword.

“W-What?”

“I said run.”

Was he really being spared? If he got the antidote within six hours, he could survive…!

Whether hope lit the man’s face or not, Shin Jae-heon sheathed his sword, clenched and unclenched his fist, and gestured.

“Hurry up.”

Hesitating at first, the man finally slunk away.

Shin Jae-heon listened to the approaching footsteps from afar, then blocked his path.

“Not that way. Over there.”

The direction he pointed was the complete opposite of where the man had been heading.

“What kind of…!”

Damn lunatic! Without finishing his sentence, the man bolted.

He had to find a weakness in this barrier and escape!

Gritting his teeth, he ran.

—Tatatatap…

Shin Jae-heon waited until he was a bit farther, then gave chase.

As if hot on his trail.

And soon enough, the person he’d been waiting for appeared.

“That’s the guy!”

—Smack!

Shin Yuri burst out from exactly the direction Shin Jae-heon had indicated, clobbering the man over the head.

“Eek!”

Staggering, the man fumbled in his clothes.

Seeing him poised to throw a dagger, Shin Jae-heon, following behind, kicked him square in the back.

—Thud!

With an ominous sound, the man flew several meters before crashing into a tree trunk.

As Shin Jae-heon crouched to lunge at him…

“Hey, hey, stop hitting him!”

Shin Yuri called him off. Miraculously, the tension drained from Shin Jae-heon’s body.

“Want me to drag him?”

At his question, Shin Yuri turned as if he’d said something absurd.

“Huh?”

Then she marched right up to the man and…

—Smack!

…slugged him hard.

Shin Jae-heon stared, dumbfounded.

Shin Jae-heon raised an eyebrow. Absurdity bubbled up immediately.

“I can control my strength t—”

As if expecting that, Shin Yuri shot back instantly.

“Shut it.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Shin Jae-heon raised both hands and backed off.

In the meantime, Shin Yuri’s fists battered the man’s face a few more times.

Watching her back, Shin Jae-heon thought.

Well, Yuri hasn’t had an outlet for her frustration lately.

He leaned against a nearby tree and sat down.

“…”.

Then he looked up at the sky. Hunter So Yeri, maintaining the barrier, had probably seen the whole thing.

Floating up there.

Shin Jae-heon’s lips quirked up. He pressed a finger to his lips toward the sky.

Keep it secret, please.

A silent message with his mouth.

Hunter So Yeri had kept her promised two hours.

In the meantime, I’d beaten the poison-wielding bastard to my heart’s content.

“Feels good to stretch after so long.”

Of course, it wasn’t just beating.

“Hah, huff…!”

I shrugged as the man staggered off. I clenched and unclenched my fist.

“Must be because it’s not my fist. Doesn’t move just right.”

I wanted to hit harder.

I pouted. Still, compared to Joo Yian’s pain, this was nothing.

More than anything, I wanted to kill the guy, but I’d decided to let him go.

This was an RP dungeon, after all, and events followed its logic.

Even if he was a main quest threat, convincing him could make him an ally.

Of course, I had no intention of siding with the Eastern Empire’s crown prince. I just hoped he’d wise up a bit.

‘I’m letting you go because your master’s plan has completely failed.’

I’d told him clearly to relay that.

‘Tell the crown prince. I know what he’ll try next. Consider this a warning. Stop whatever you’re planning.’

According to the apocalypse prophecy, after the pope, it’d be the Magic Tower Master and the emperor.

The text wasn’t fully revealed yet, so I didn’t know how they’d target them.

If the Eastern Empire was behind this, I hoped the guy would convince his master upon hearing the warning.

Of course, slim chance.

But even a tiny possibility of averting an L-rank corrected threat was worth banking on.

‘Make sure you tell him.’

That’s when the problem hit.

The system window rudely interfered.

In times like this?

I added, with a face like I’d chewed sand.

‘It’s all Lord Shinshian’s will.’

That made the RP dungeon penalty vanish clean away. The guy didn’t seem to buy it, though.

God’s will, got it? Don’t believe me? Huh?

I raised my fist, and only then did he hightail it.

With So Yeri’s barrier down, he was probably heading to the Eastern Empire.

Perfect timing—So Yeri sent intel. She’d watched from the sky and followed him a bit.

“Where in the sky are you?”

I waved vaguely upward and chatted.

We’d come this far—how could we not see her face? That’s when…

After a brief pause, So Yeri’s chat popped up.

She could just fly by and show her face?

Wasn’t she just checking the Eastern Empire side?

“She’s not the type to leave without showing her face.”

I scratched my cheek.

I could almost hear So Yeri giggling in the chat.

So Yeri was too busy to reply even to him.

You rest, you!

While pushover Joo Yian fretted over others forever, So Yeri stayed silent.

“Maintaining the barrier must’ve worn her out.”

As I tilted my head, Shin Jae-heon said.

“Think so? Well…”

Controlling an entire mountain range for two hours—normal hunters would call it impossible.

But with So Yeri’s support barrier talent, it wasn’t.

Still, it was impressive. Even with Magic Tower Master correction, fatigue was inevitable.

“Better not bother her to rest quick today.”

I waved it off. Then checked my status.

“Six hours left.”

I opened the God’s Shop.

Buying hundreds of appearance potions had cleaned me out.

But no regrets.

★★★★★ Thumbs up!

“Transformation will wear off on the way back?”

Shin Jae-heon nodded at my words.

“Wasn’t expecting to wrap up and desk-sit within four days anyway.”

“Me neither.”

We trudged back to the mountain base, where our tied horses waited patiently, munching grass.

—Hiiing!

As I mounted, Shin Jae-heon eyed the horse he’d ridden, arms crossed.

“What?”

“Thought about it.”

Then he brazenly held out his hand.

“Gimme?”

“What?”

This guy must love talking nonsense in his sleep.

“Teensy potion.”

“?”

Why suddenly? As I blinked, he pointed at my pocket.

“To fit in there.”

I stared at his shameless face, dumbfounded.

Cancel that sleep-talking hobby bit.

He was just shameless.

“Six hours left on the transformation. Why?”

Six hours is plenty to ride. I pointed at the horse, and…

—Thud.

…Shin Jae-heon plopped down right there.

A holy knight in pristine white sitting casually like that screamed penalty to me.

“Quick. Tracking strained my eyes—veins are bursting.”

He’d overdone tracking… sure.

But an S-rank’s sturdy eye capillaries wouldn’t burst.

“You just like my pocket.”

I narrowed my eyes. He looked up.

And admitted bluntly.

“Yeah.”

Silence hung between us. He added.

“It’s warm.”

The phrasing felt oddly suggestive. As I raised a brow, he continued.

“No walking.”

No holding reins. Can sleep.

The follow-up was apparently his real intent.

Ugh, that guy!

The moment I tucked Shin Jae-heon into my pocket and turned the horse…

“Oh.”

Coins I could earn back, but God’s Shop level-up? Welcome news.

—Hiiing!

I spurred the horse and opened God’s Shop.

Something new must’ve been added.

Excitement was inevitable.