Vol 1 Chapter 70

Yu-wan and Kran nodded at Kapros's words, and they began to spread out in three directions. Kapros also moved his feet, slowly looking around. Although he had been here before, he was hoping to find something different.

"Hmm..."

As Kapros walked slowly, looking around, the shadow of a large tree passed by his side.

The trees in this meadow had grown incredibly tall and slender. Though not as numerous as in a forest, the trees standing abruptly in the grass-filled field looked somewhat like giant figures in the night. The tree shadows cast by the moonlight, stretching long across the ground, were truly eerie.

'The shadows are really long.'

Just as Kapros was about to pass by, he looked back at the tree again, feeling as if he had seen something very strange.

'...Shadow?'

A chilling feeling suddenly came over him. He hurriedly examined the shadows of the scattered trees and the shadow of the tree right next to him. Then he made an astonishing discovery.

"This is...!"

Upon closer inspection, the shadows of the trees in this area were converging towards a single point on the ground like umbrella ribs. Such a thing could never happen in a normal natural situation.

"Yu-wan..."

He quickly looked around for his companions, but Yu-wan and Kran's figures were hidden by the darkness. With no other choice, Kapros approached the ground where the shadows overlapped. As he got closer, he could sense a suspicious aura emanating from the roughly one-pyeong (~35.5 square feet or ~3.3 square meters) area of ground that had turned black from the overlapping shadows.

"So this was the secret..."

Masters of Shadows guild, indeed - what an honest name. Kapros smiled, feeling he had finally discovered something, and stood up from where he was sitting to call Yu-wan and Kran. But just as he was about to take a step, his body suddenly tipped backward. He looked down in surprise.

At some point, one of his feet had stepped on the black ground where the shadows overlapped. He tried to remove his foot in panic, but faster than that, his body sank as if being sucked down.

"Ah...!"

In an instant, Kapros fell towards an endless underground.

He regained consciousness when he felt his body swaying from the motion of someone carrying him on their back. Fortunately, it seemed he hadn't been logged out despite the fall. The surroundings were so dark he couldn't see an inch in front of him, and a groan involuntarily escaped from his body that ached as if he had been beaten.

'To feel this much pain in a game. I must have been close to dying.'

"...Ugh."

As he groaned, the swaying stopped, and a voice came from beyond the shoulder his head was resting on.

"Are you conscious?"

Surprised for a moment that the voice didn't belong to anyone he knew, Kapros's body stiffened.

"Who are you?"

"I don't know why you entered this Shadow Cave, but the situation here is quite chaotic right now, and it would be trouble if an outsider was discovered. Stay quiet and let me carry you."

Shadow... Cave? Then did that mean he had entered the right destination? However, the person said nothing more and just continued moving forward. The back he felt was clearly that of a man. The hands supporting his lower body were large, and despite carrying a person, there was no sound at all when he walked. Could he be a member of the Masters of Shadows guild?

After moving for quite some time while being carried, they emerged into a slightly brighter cavern, and the man slowly set Kapros down on the ground, allowing him to see the man's face for the first time.

"Your eyes..."

The man's eyes, visible above the black sleeveless shirt resembling a balaclava that covered his face up to his nose, were a vivid purple that shone clearly even in the darkness. As Kapros muttered, momentarily captivated by that color, the man turned around with a questioning look while taking out a potion from his bag.

"Are you Lucrecian?"

At Kapros's question, he scratched his head with an expression that seemed to say 'Oh no'.

"I brought you because I thought it might be interesting... Were you looking for me?"

Convinced that he was Lucrecian, Kapros got straight to the point.

"The people who left the guild following you are looking for you."

"And?"

However, Lucrecian ignored Kapros's words and abruptly pulled his clothing down to just below his chin.

What appeared was truly a face like a sculpture. However, although he was undoubtedly extremely handsome, perhaps because Kapros had seen above-average faces lately, from Yoon Seok-ho to Yu-wan, Kran, and Kion-hyung, it wasn't that surprising. It seems the saying that you become immune to good looks after seeing them often is true.

Seeing Kapros's lack of surprise, Lucrecian momentarily showed an interested expression before biting off the top of the potion bottle and starting to pour it on various parts of Kapros's body. Along with a cool sensation, the throbbing pain quickly subsided.

"You need to go back so I can achieve my goal too, so let's return."

"Hmm... If it's someone who would ask an outsider for such a thing, it must be Sio..."

The tall, slender but solid-bodied man approached in front of the seated Kapros.

"I'm sorry, but I have no intention of returning to either side now. So go back. I'll show you the way."

"That won't do."

"Why not?"

Kapros glared at Lucrecian.

"We need you to return so we can receive what we were promised. If you really don't want to, at least go and show your face. If you go and tell them directly that you don't want to, wouldn't it reduce the futile efforts of those looking for you?"

At this, Lucrecian looked at Kapros for a moment before his eyes curved into a smile.

"Your name is...?"

"Kapros."

"Alright, Kapros. I'm curious about what you were promised to receive."

"I can't tell you that."

Even Sio and his companions, who had promised to give full support if they found Lucrecian and reclaimed the base, didn't know what Kapros was trying to find here. It wasn't possible to easily reveal information related to an important quest to others.

"What if I offer to provide the help you were promised to receive from those looking for me?"

"No."

"Hmm... Why? I'm much stronger than Sio or the others."

"It has nothing to do with strength. I don't sense any sincerity from you at all."

At this, Lucrecian paused for a moment before smiling even more brightly than before.

"You're quite perceptive, aren't you? Well, then there's no choice. I'll have to give up on the immediate fun and back off."

Was he going to leave? Kapros, startled, reached out to grab Lucrecian. His movement was so fast that nothing was caught, but Kapros faintly felt the sensation of brushing against his clothes. Watching Lucrecian who had distanced himself in the blink of an eye, Kapros quickly began calculating which magic to use to catch him if he tried to escape.

However, before Kapros could utter a spell, Lucrecian returned in front of him. He was looking at Kapros with a strange expression completely different from before.

'What is it?'

"Could it be..."

Lucrecian muttered as he pulled open Kapros's hooded cloak on both sides.

"Let me check something."

Kapros immediately tried to shake off his hands, but hesitated for a moment when he realized that Lucrecian's gaze was directed at the red brooch attached to his left chest. Until just now, it had been hidden by his clothes, but the brooch was emitting a very faint glow.

As Lucrecian examined it, he pulled out a dagger that had been hidden behind his waist. Surprisingly, a round, misty gem embedded at the bottom of the dagger's handle was also emitting a light similar to Kapros's brooch. Lucrecian silently brought the two close together.

Buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz!

Along with the intensifying light, both gems began to vibrate simultaneously.

"I've seen this phenomenon twice before," Lucrecian said, his purple eyes glittering in the reflected light.

"And both times, it was only when it was related to my quest."

'Quest?'

Surprised by the unexpected word in this situation, Kapros looked up as Lucrecian, with an expression full of excitement, held up the glowing dagger.

"You're also someone doing a quest, right?"

Kapros silently looked up at him. Although he hadn't specified what quest, Kapros could understand what he was referring to.

'Could this person also be one of those who received a linked quest...?'

Thinking about it, this place was not only where the Masters of Shadows guild was located, but also the place marked on the map as related to Kapros's next quest. There was no rule stating that one location could only be associated with one quest performer, so it was entirely possible to encounter another linked quest performer during a quest. At the same time, the words of Sio and his companions flashed through Kapros's mind.

Lucrecian, who seemed to be constantly searching for something in the dungeon here. If he really was a linked quest performer, which hero's quest had he received?

The first thing that came to mind was the Knight of the Demon God. If Lucrecian was the user performing the Knight of the Demon God quest, this situation would be extremely dangerous. But thinking calmly, the possibility that he wasn't was greater. The reason was one word most associated with this place: 'shadow'.

"What quest is it? Perhaps... Lord Superior?"

At that moment, Lucrecian asked with a smile, as if testing Kapros. Seeing Kapros on guard in silence, he casually replied, "Oh? Really?"

"I'm glad I guessed right because I had a good feeling about you."

"Then you are..."

"The quest I received is 'Inheritor of the Shadow Knight's Name'."

As expected. Kapros was relieved that his prediction was correct. Lucrecian was not the Knight of the Demon God quest user. Kapros looked at Lucrecian while still clutching the glowing brooch on his chest.

"Is what you were looking for in the dungeon here also related to the quest?"

"Yes."

Lucrecian, who answered readily, scanned Kapros with an interested gaze.

"If you came here because of the quest, were you also looking for a way into that dungeon?"

"..."

"Is that what you were supposed to receive in return for finding me for Sio?"

Kapros remained silent once again. Lucrecian laughed silently.

"Hmm... Should I just tell you about that?"

It was clearly an offer of help, but why did it feel so subtly off? When Kapros kept silent instead of answering, Lucrecian shrugged as if disappointed.

"If you don't want to, that's fine."

"...Where is it?"

When Kapros asked with a frown, Lucrecian smiled brightly.

"Follow me, hyung."

"When did we meet for you to call me hyung..."

"I'm twenty this year, and you don't look younger than me, so it should be okay to call you hyung. You can speak comfortably too. I don't really like formality."

Kapros was momentarily at a loss for words. He couldn't keep up with Lucrecian's pace at all. Lucrecian laughed cheerfully and moved forward without hesitation towards somewhere.

[To be continued in the next volume.]