章 62: The Duality Ring

Emerging from the gate alongside everyone else, Jinwoo, Han Song-Yi, and I try and leave the site, only to have my shoulder grabbed by a muscular young man with spiky orange hair, orange eyes, and neatly trimmed sideburns.

"Hold it. Let's talk for a bit."

Nonchalantly taking his hand off my shoulder, I only give him another passing glance before stating, "I'm tired. If you want to ask something, then ask it to your guild members."

Gripping my shoulder with once again with just a bit more strength, he seems to growl at me.

"That wasn't a request. I am Baek Yooho, the Guild Master of White Tiger. We just lost nine guild members from this incident. As the master, shouldn't I be allowed to ask some questions?"

Once again removing his hand from my shoulder, I shoot a glare at him, "And as I said, I'm tired. Shouldn't I have the right to get a bit of rest? I saved the remaining three people, so as the Master, shouldn't you instead be thanking Jinwoo and I for our services to your guild when we could have chosen to do nothing?"

I could see that he had the urge to grab my shoulder once again, but he refrained.

"…I was being too difficult. You're right. I apologize."

Now that we no longer had him on our case, we proceed to our car and drove home. After peaceful dropping off Han, Jinwoo revealed the boon he had received when he beat the Ice Elf Boss, whose name was apparently Baruka, oh well.

"It was a fair trade then. I got Bingha and you got a dagger. A Win-Win if I do say so myself." I smugly state, but I only receive an irritated stare from Jinwoo.

By the time tomorrow, Jinwoo and I found Jinho standing in front of our residence. And as always, he was in some sort of tacky gear, with the common subordinate mentality that he should be the one coming to us and not the other way around.

Giving a lift to Han on our way over to our next gate, with Jinwoo giving a huge misunderstanding to Jinho, we enter our first C-Rank dungeon of the day. Jinwoo, without hesitation, summons his Shadow Soldiers, scaring the bejeebus out of Jinho.

Deciding to do the same thing, I figure out the strengths of the 'Hunters of Light' and Bingha. The 'Hunters of Light' were extremely skilled in dagger arts and long ranged attacks, but compared to them, Bingha was on a similar scale to Jinwoo in terms of talent with a dagger. Along with that, Bingha had a special skill called 'Awakening', which drastically increased his agility and damage in return for his vitality.

By the next day, the promise with Jinho to clear 19 raids had finished. To send us off, Jinho took the two of out to a Korean BBQ. The entire time we ate and spoke, Jinho started to get drunk and spill all his insecurities out and his thoughts about the two of us.

Giggling as Jinho clung to Jinwoo's arm while crying, the news channel on the television just so happened to be of Baek Yooho and his answers about the Red Gate Incident.

Quietly returning Jinho back to his rich residence, Jinwoo and I return home only to inform Jinah that the two of us would be departing on a journey for about a week. And with me by his side, Jinwoo didn't even have to lie that he was going on a trip with someone, since Jinah naturally assumed it was with me. Though, Jinah did get in my face and ask if I was going to see any other females.

After reassuring her that I wasn't Jinwoo separated from me as I progressed to Godoyle Hospital and am once again admitted to the place of white and gold.

Proceeding past the entrance gate, I'm admitted to a rather grand version of a hospital entrance, but there lays a wide-open path behind the reception desk. Walking all the way to the end of the hall, the moment my hands press against the doors, a quest appears.

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⸢QUEST

[Normal Quest: Collect Blessed Souls! (Part 1)]

Heaven is filled with Blessed Existences.

Hunt down the Blessed and collect their souls for special rewards.

Quest Completion Requirement:

4,500 Blessed Souls

Reward(s):

-1. Item of your choosing

-2. Bonus Stats +20

-3. Hidden Reward ⸥

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Looking over it, I can't help but open the store, immediately being bombarded by the horribly overpriced items. Deciding to once again overlook the store, I continue to push the door, once again being blinded by the lights, but the ground was covered in a lush, green grass and there was properly prepared shrubbery everywhere. Along with that, there were pavilions as far as the eye could see from the left to the right. Though, the one thing that bothered me the most was that the way proceeds to the very next level lay not that far from where I stand. If the rest of the dungeon was like this, then the design of this dungeon was comparable to a lock.

Walking forward along the stone path laid before me, my supposed opponents started to appear.

With stone-like faces (literally), golden wreaths sitting upon their heads, armor that covered everything beside their head, and wings that sprouted from their backs, the Blessed Existences started to rush towards me from surface level to the sky. Much like I had seen from Luther, their swords radiated light.

⸢You can only obtain one soul per Blessed. But there are Blessed with multiple souls further in. Do note, you cannot proceed to the next ring until all enemies in this ring are cleared. ⸥

"Will a week really be enough if all of these are on par with Luther? Also, what's the point of the mission if I must clear all enemies anyway?" I can't help but ask myself before throwing my bag down and diving towards the closest opponent.

Activating 'Execution', I find myself rather surprised when the head of two Blessed going flying.

On a weird note, as well, these Blessed were fighting in pairs, so even a single target technique could deal with two of them at once.

⸢You defeated 2 Low-Grade Blessed. You received 100 EXP x2. You received a Blessed Soul x2. ⸥

"Guess it's easier than I thought." I can't help but be impressed with myself.

Looking at the activation of my title 'The One who singlehandedly overcame an army', I find it rather concerning that my stats shoot up such a large increment. Looking at the approaching wave that even blocked out the ambient light, I can see why.

Knowing now that I could easily behead them, a small grin grows on my face. I let the carnage begin. Relying solely on my katana skills, increased stats, and breathing arts if things ever go dicey, I find myself stepping atop a mountain of Blessed corpses.

Looking at my blessed soul counter, I can't help but feel a little strange since the number is at 499. But on a worrying note, my 'Rat Kings Tooth' has finally reached its limit.

⸢All Low-Leveled Blessed have been cleared from this ring; you may proceed to the next one. ⸥

"Well, if that's the case, then let's continue."

Making my way over to next door, my happy steps slow to a stop, and I find myself clicking my tongue when I find there's another enemy waiting for me. Knowing that I had to replace my katana before choosing to fight, I open the shop and begin to scroll through the katana choices until I eventually find one that I like. And even though it consumes almost all my money, it still far surpasses the "Rat Kings Tooth'.

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⸢ [Item: Wing Taker]

Item Rarity: A

Type: Katana

A Dagger once wielded by a man who hated anything that flew. It contains a magic enchantment to allows the wielder able to kill anything with wings faster.

Attack +145

Attack +10% (Only when fighting something with wings) ⸥

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Stepping up to the dormant enemy, I cautiously stare at the twin blades that it held in its hands and at the light armor that it was wearing which shone so brightly with the colors of our surroundings.

⸢Ruler of the Duality Ring, Ome⸥

Seeing its eyes light up and its swords glow that dangerous holy light, it takes a step forward. Much like I had first expected, Ome was incredibly fast and immediately enters a stalemate with me, both his swords clashing against mine.

Pushing even further down upon his blades, Ome threw himself over me, meanwhile throwing one of his swords at me to stop me from chasing him in the air. Ome, having re-stanced himself, had the gall to beckon me forth with his free hand.

Dashing towards Ome, much like he had done with me, Ome's outstretched hand turned to the side, and it looked like he was calling for something. Quickly turning around, I find his thrown sword hurtling towards me.

Trying to knock it off to the side, the blade barely moves an inch and I'm forced to dodge out of the way. Though by doing this, Ome was already bringing his other sword down. His other sword, which was still floating in the air, twirled itself around and reentered Ome's free hand.

Trying pierce my exposed underside, I give up the fight and jump away, out of range of Ome's stab.

Or so I had thought.

Continuing with his thrust, Ome twists his body with it and hurls the blade forward again. As the blade grazes past my cheek, I quickly duck down and look up to find Ome's sword having completely stopped its momentum and twirling around where my head would have been.

Scrambling away from both Ome and the floating sword, Ome calmly recollects it and then comes rushing towards me again.

As I defend against all of his moves and try to find an opening, Ome starts to get more technical, constantly throwing one of his swords barely forwards just so it could whip back around, trying to decapitate me.

After having witnessed the mini-throw technique so many times, and losing time as I approached a wall, the moment that Ome threw his sword again, I used 'Mist Breathing First Form: Low Clouds, Distant Haze'.

Piercing the joint of the arm he had barely outstretched to throw the sword, I quickly press the advantage, shoving my katana even further through Ome's armor until it pierced through the other side. Summersaulting with the entirety of my weight, I break through the bottom half of Ome's arm and on the way back, I shatter it completely, leaving him one arm fewer than before.

His sword, which was just a hair's breadth away from cutting into my neck, fell to the ground.

Looking at his empty socket where his arm once was in intrigue, Ome eventually just shrugs. Throwing his other sword down, Ome makes a strange hand sign in front of his face and then shines brightly.

⸢ALARM - Ruler of the Duality Ring, Ome is using [Skill: Twin Body] ⸥

⸢ALARM – Ome will have a replicate of all limbs and any broken limbs will be repaired. ⸥

Now, instead of having an advantage, the arm I just removed from Ome burst into light. The light then floats to where his arm should've been and reformed, good as new. Along with that, tendrils of light emerged from Ome's body, forming entirely new limbs. Ome now had two heads, four arms, and four legs. And in his newly formed arms, there was another pair of Holy Swords. And unlike the problems that would probably ensue from having four legs, the moment that Ome engaged onto me again, his speed had doubles.

Now extremely pressured, Ome continued to shove me backwards, earning a few nicks on my skin, especially around my neck.

Activating my Demon Slayer Mark for the very first time in Solo Leveling, it became easier to defend, but the Transparent World was deemed useless as Ome didn't have muscles and I still couldn't find a way to counterattack. It was just then, I remembered something rather important.

Between my precise breaths, I mutter the words, "Come to me."

As I continue to fight with Ome, my eyes constantly glace up at the shimmering light until eventually my Soldiers of Light emerge. Without even needing me to give an order, my Soldiers of Light converge down onto Ome and I watch as Ome's Twin Body miraculously whips around and defends against the onslaughts that my soldiers provide.

Though, now that I no longer had to deal with two, an obvious gap in Ome's defense is created, and I use 'Mist Breathing Second Form: Eight-Layered Mist'.

Ome, who was going to crosscut my neck when my sword was no longer at the sides of my neck, halted.

Both of his arms fell limp to his side and his sword shattered against the ground. Ome's Twin Body dissipated and the light in Ome's eyes disappeared. Two chunks of Ome's body fell off, closely followed by the middle portion of his body which were separated into eight, thinly sliced pieces.

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⸢You have slain [Ruler of the Duality Ring, Ome]

Rewards:

You obtained [Item: Ome's Locket].

You obtained [Item: Inseparable Ring].

You obtained [Shard of Ome's Holy Sword] x2.

You obtained [Ingredient Item: Circlet of Life]. ⸥

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⸢Congratulations, you have defeated all enemies of the 13th gate! Please proceed to the next ring. ⸥

"I have to do these twelve more times?" My eye twitches. "Well, let's get to it."

Giving myself a short rest, I progress to the next ring. This time, fully prepared to use the might of my Soldiers and the skill I'd forgotten all about.

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⸢Item

[Item: Ome's Locket]

Item Class: A

Type: Accessory

+15 Agility, +15 Sense

Set Effect will activate if this item is equipped along with 12 other items ⸥

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⸢Item

[Item: Inseparable Ring]

Item Class: B

Type: Ring

A ring once infused into the very hand of Ome. It will increase the damage output of those who wield two weapons.

Effect: 'Love of Two': 50% increased damage when dual wielding ⸥

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⸢Item [Ingredient Item: Circlet of Life]

Item Class: ???

Type: Ingredient

The blessing that Ome had received when he was deemed the Ruler of the Duality Ring. It contains a powerful magic that allows life to flourish and thus used as an ingredient for change… whatever that may be. ⸥