生活助手

Although it had been established less than 100 years ago, it held a position in Korea that no other family could rival.

A family that dominated most of Seoul humorously called the Seoul Republic.

Thus, its prestige was extraordinary.

Even the guards at the gate were remarkably skilled.

Though they had not produced a transcendent, if one had emerged in Korea, the head of the Iron-Blood Sword Clan would have been the first mentioned.

To attack such a place alone?

One would have had to be utterly insane.

Yoo Seolrang thought so.

“Put it on.”

“…Where did you even get this?”

“I borrowed it from Abel.”

Han Seojin naturally took out a mask and a stealth outfit from his arms.

It was so natural that Yoo Seolrang, who received it, had a puzzled expression.

“And here’s a mask too.”

“…You are really thorough in your preparation.”

“We’re raiding the Iron-Blood Sword Clan. I wouldn’t mind going alone, but since you’re here, I have to be careful.”

“I’m not exactly moved by that.”

“Is that so?”

“Do you understand how absurd it is to target the Iron-Blood Sword Clan?”

“Choosing between making the Iron-Blood Sword Clan an enemy or provoking the other Four Great Families—most would choose the latter.”

And this tendency became more pronounced the higher one went.

Because they knew how ruthless the Iron-Blood Sword Clan was, how wicked they were, and how strong they were.

Yoo Seolrang knew it, too.

The Mysterious Yoo Family.

She had been born into one of the prestigious families, a successor.

So, she understood the power the Iron-Blood Sword Clan held.

“First, try to erase your presence here.”

“Yes.”

Yoo Seolrang quietly nodded and focused.

She suppressed her presence, making it faint.

The presence faded. Han Seojin smiled satisfactorily, quietly looking inside.

‘Two at the highest level, five at the middle level, and about thirty initiates.’

Excessive.

It was the thought that came to mind as soon as he confirmed the forces inside.

‘What could be in there that warranted such strong defense?’

High realmers.

Even decent families did not place major forces in the laboratory.

But the Iron-Blood Sword Clan did that.

Which meant this place was extremely important.

‘Well, I’ll find out.’

Originally, entering from the front had been Han Seojin’s specialty.

But this time was a bit different.

Now, it was about teaching his disciples.

Therefore.

‘Secretly.’

Han Seojin erased his presence. Not as much as Yoo Seollang, but with a skill to conceal presence comparable to that.

“What is it that you can’t do?”

“This is basic.”

If you claim to be a master, you must at least do this.

“Ah, and when we go in, it seems like we need to choose a name.”

“A name? Oh, to avoid revealing our identity.”

“From now on, call me Jin.”

“…Isn’t that too easy to guess?”

“Then Han?”

“Are you serious?”

“…Then let’s go with Hayul.”

“Hayul?”

Han Seojin nodded.

“What does it mean?”

“It doesn’t mean much.”

His first life.

It was a nickname from his pro days, possibly given by someone who could have been his lover.

“What should I call myself?”

“Rang?”

“…Just call me Rang.”

“Shall we get moving then?”

Han Seojin moved quickly.

Tap.

With a light motion, he jumped off the roof.

As if the wind were making way for him, the air split wherever he moved.

‘Wow.’

Yoo Seolrang admired silently and followed him.

Her master didn’t just kindly teach everything.

Yoo Seolrang observed the movement of the wind closely.

‘Is he gathering the wind?’

It seemed like a path of the wind was opening according to his will.

Gently, gently.

Yoo Seolrang moved her steps.

Imitating him. Mimicking the wind’s movement.

‘Huh?’

It felt as if something parted. In an instant, she was behind Han Seojin.

“Oh, did you just watch and follow?”

Han Seojin looked at him with eyes that seemed amused.

“Then try to follow this too.”

Gently.

He had just taken a big step, but his form moved forward continuously.

It seemed like a technique that folded space.

“What is that?”

“Wind God’s Step, intermediate level.”

Wind God’s Step.

It was a footwork technique she had never heard of before.

But instinctively, she knew it was Han Seojin’s preferred method.

The footwork was most admired by students.

And the footwork Yoo Seolrang most wanted to learn.

‘Could I do it?’

She wasn’t sure.

Her talent whispered that she could create paths with the wind, but this was different.

Still, it was a challenge she couldn’t refuse.

Yoo Seolrang followed his example.

It wasn’t about the action itself; it was about the essence.

Just as she saw.

[Unique Trait, Empty imbues your steps.]
Leap.

The wind parted, and there was something in the way.

Instinctively, she felt that if she overcame this, she could mimic the trick Han Seojin had just shown.

At the same time, he said no.

He said this level was not yet permitted to her.

“Oh, are you going to imitate this too?”

“Imitate?”

“Yeah. You’ve followed quite a bit. I showed you once because you seemed talented.”

Han Seojin said and thought.

Even that copycat couldn’t follow this much.

Han Seojin laughed as if amused.

And after this, it was always about pushing to try somehow.

“…I think I couldn’t go any further.”

“Hmm, I see. You used more energy than I thought. It’s a pity. Maybe I should have taught you earlier?”

Then, I could have specialized your energy a bit more in this direction.

‘No.’

In the first place, this state had been forcibly achieved.

So, showing this now might have been more accurate than expected.

Han Seojin thought so and walked forward.

“Why the sudden stealth attack?”

“Some days are just like that.”

“…You’re not usually like this.”

“What do you think of me?”

“When you destroyed the Namgoong Clan, the person who broke through the main gate and stormed in.”

“…”

There was nothing to say about that.

“And when you clashed with the Wi clan, you went in head-on and fought the clan leader.”

“It wasn’t a fight. It was a transaction.”

“Wi Gunak said otherwise.”

“Wi Gunak is mistaken.”

“But the Wi clan was split afterward.”

“…”

Again, there’s nothing to say about that.

“And you blackmailed the principal for a huge sum.”

“Partly true.”

“Do you know? Your current nickname is the Clan Crusher. They say you’ve crushed several clans, so that nickname has already stuck.”

“…”

There was nothing to say about this either.

Han Seojin felt a throbbing headache.

‘Was I really that extreme?’

I only killed those who crossed the line of humanity.

The Clan Crusher, they said.

When Han Seojin was seriously contemplating, Yoo Seolrang smiled softly.

“You were cuter than I thought.”

“…What did you say?”

As Han Seojin raised his fist, Yoo Seolrang avoided his gaze.

‘This could have been a bit dangerous.’

Yoo Seolrang.

Her dream life involved being with a problematic husband.

On the surface, she didn’t have a strong presence, but she wanted someone who seemed dependent on her.

‘As if that could really have been the case.’

It was half a lie.

To be more precise.

She wanted to raise a man who seemed like he couldn’t do without her.

Someone who looked only at her, a man like a puppy.

‘Although he was a professor.’

In fact, they were the same age.

Moreover, his appearance. It shone to the point of being dazzling.

There were even photo books made from his pictures.

He even had a fan club.

His popularity was tremendous, perhaps due to his appearance, which seemed to transcend the mundane.

Although he was practically abandoned by his family, his abilities were exceptional.

‘Oh.’

Come to think of it, he matched Yoo Seolrang’s taste.

First of all, the most important thing was his appearance.

Not only did he surpass the passing mark, but he was overwhelmingly outstanding.

She had never seen a man like him.

If one were to Photoshop a photo, they might reach that level of appearance.

‘But his aura is different.’

Should I say a lonely aura?

For some reason, he had an aura that made you want to embrace him…

“You bastard, do you want to die?”

Slap, slap.

In the blink of an eye, he had kidnapped someone and was slapping them.

…Maybe that urge to care for him was a mistake.

“What are you doing?!”

Yoo Seolrang screamed.

“No, this guy is trying to sound the alarm when he sees us.”

“Eh.”

Isn’t that natural?

He was looking at me with such eyes.

Well, he’s right.

But since we’re sneaking in, we should just subdue him appropriately.

“Of course.”

I knocked the man out.

I pressed the sleep point. He should wake up in about three hours.

I led the way inside with Yoo Seolang.

The deeper we went inside.

The more intense the vigilance became.

‘Nothing as troublesome as that first guy.’

The guy I subdued at first.

He had good eyes, so I caught him on purpose.

“It’s about time we get caught.”

“Yes?”

As soon as I finished speaking, there was commotion below.

‘Well, we only subdued them.’

The best approach would have been to eliminate witnesses.

Dead men tell no tales.

While necromancy and such exist, making interrogation possible would still take time.

Still, there shouldn’t be any problem with moving for the time being.

However, the decision had not been made yet.

Whether I can kill all the guys here.

And that time is running out.

‘If this place is what I think it is.’

Even in Han Seojin’s memory, it was likely a particularly bad place.

I closed my eyes.

「An easy way always has something bad about it. Always study the orthodox way.」

「There are people in the world who should be killed and those who shouldn’t be. Kill those who can be killed. But don’t kill people who shouldn’t be killed for your convenience. Then you, too, will eventually become someone who should be killed.」

A voice that sounds clear, as if it’s heard in my ear.

As always, I will kill those who should be killed.

And soon, I would know for sure.

This would be resolved by going below.

I stopped after a quick sprint. Yoo Seolrang also stopped.

“Why…?”

“Enemies.”

Not far away, two figures appeared.

A man and a woman.

And both were the enemies to be most cautious of here.

“To think you would come this far knowing this is the Iron-Blood Sword Clan. You must be out of your mind.”

Both were swordsmen.

The woman wielded a longsword as tall as herself while the man, wearing a bamboo hat, watched me intently.

“Two masked monsters, huh? Reminds me of the ones who gave Sword Saint a hard time recently.”

“Isn’t that nonsense? Sword Saint has reached the absolute pinnacle. He will soon reach the highest rank. Surely, they were sent by another faction to keep him in check. For now, focus on the intruders.”

“Understood.”

The intruders were wary of us.

“What should we do?”

“Rang, can you handle one?”

“If it’s that woman over there, it might be worth a try.”

“Then take care of it. I’ll make sure the others don’t interfere.”

“…Are you seriously sizing us up right now?”

The woman was dumbfounded by our conversation.

We wouldn’t be sizing them up if they weren’t worth it.

The man was silently watching us.

“This is ridiculous. Do you have no sense of danger? I’ll show you what it means to be a top-class swordsman and the might of the Iron-Blood Sword Clan!!”

Boom!

The woman swung her sword wide.

It felt like the space was splitting apart. In the sky, a massive sword hovered.

“Sword technique.”

The gigantic sword floated in the sky.

Like the sword of an absolute being, it floated in the sky and descended.

Thud!!

I reached out my hand towards the place with the most presence around.

Buzz!

Gray energy swirled around the fist.

In a spiral form.

Then.

“Ah, as expected.”

A man’s lamenting voice.

He was charging at me with his sword drawn.

“You, right? The one who beat the Sword Saint.”

“Well.”

I smirked slyly, observing my opponent.

He seemed more experienced than the woman, likely a former wanderer who later joined a prestigious clan, showing a practical stance.

‘Let’s see how good you are.’

I rushed towards him.