At first, when Abeo and the assassins were born,

they were given no name at all.

But the results they produced were tremendous.

Not only did they carry out all kinds of missions in the kingdoms ruled by the tigers,

they had also killed many monsters that threatened this land.

So people came to refer to that group as Shadow.

Abeo’s eyes trembled.

Exactly twenty-nine.

The assassins who had once been active under the name Shadow were scattering apart.

Including himself, at some point they had all been crushed beneath such overwhelming pressure that they could no longer move.

And the power called Sever in Two, with its irrational damage, along with the power of that sword marked Twin Dragon Sword, whose attack power was insane, had been tremendous.

But he tried to pierce through to the essence.

Why had they been trampled so emptily by him?

The answer lay in the blackened helm and armor imprisoned inside this spellbook.

The compatibility had been bad.

The assassins’ greatest strength lay in a single hidden strike.

But those two pieces of armor had nullified their irrational attack power.

Because of that, he now «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» found himself thinking this.

If he had not had that armor and helm from the start.......

Then he definitely would have died by our hands......

“......”

He corrected that thought.

Anyone, no matter who they were, valued a person’s pure skill above artifacts.

No matter how many good things one armed oneself with day after day, in front of pure skill they were insignificant.

It was the same logic as when users said things like, Ugh, that gear-carried bastard. Money really is king.

But the man before him was different.

......Isn’t he a blacksmith?

Yes. Because he was a blacksmith.

A blacksmith’s pure skill lay in making artifacts.

If the maker personally wore the artifacts he himself had forged, that held tremendous power.

Because the one wearing that so-called gear advantage was the very blacksmith who had created it.

And isn’t that sword even better than the one that regenerates infinitely?

Even when he had seen the infinite-regeneration sword, he had thought the man was a blacksmith who had forged an incredible blade.

But the sword in his hand now, the one called Twin Dragon Sword, was the finest sword Abeo had ever seen.

Until just moments ago, Abeo had been looking for excuses for why he had lost, but now his eyes burned hot.

He was the one who could create spellbooks that no one else could.

At least when it came to making spellbooks, he was certainly an irrational kind of existence.

Though his HP had fallen below 30% from that last attack, it did not matter.

He already knew it.

He was bound to lose against that man.

Then what?

He only had to call forth the existence he had searched for throughout this land for so long and barely succeeded in sealing inside a spellbook.

That being would not acknowledge him because he was lacking, and might even kill him too.

But an assassin was one who had to fulfill the mission even at the cost of his own life.

The problem was time.

[The spellbook activates.]

The spellbook grew gigantic and stabbed into the earth behind him.

RIIIP—!

Abeo tore apart several spellbooks he possessed, forcing himself past his limits.

It took quite a long time to call that being forth.

So he intended to buy as much time as possible.

And now, Abeo, having received various buff effects through the use of several spellbooks,

was stronger than at any other moment.

All the more because the man’s armor and helm were still sealed away.

THUNK!

Abeo’s strike, colliding with him, landed cleanly.

And the damage was around three times greater than before.

Though he had lost twenty-nine of his servants, for the first time he succeeded in drawing a groan from the man’s lips.

“Kgh.......”

An assassin’s true strength lay in skill that others could not bring out.

Using that, he slashed all over the man’s body and then lunged to drive a dagger into his chest.

But—

The man planted his rear foot, swung the Twin Dragon Sword with both hands, and sent him flying.

SKRRAAAANG—!

Abeo coughed up blood.

As he approached the man again and exchanged several blows, he smiled.

Behind his back, the spellbook steeped in black currents began spraying streams of blood.

The surging bloodstreams showed signs that something enormous was about to appear.

“It is all because of you. Once that one is summoned, many in this land will meet death. Even the princess in your arms.”

Abeo knew how to break a person.

By planting self-reproach in them.

Of course, it was complete nonsense.

It was Abeo who had summoned that being and turned it into a calamity.

But human beings were hopelessly weak creatures.

Especially before a being that revealed itself right before their eyes.

At last, it descended.

[Appearance of Vampire Baron!]

Skin so pale it could have been called white.

A face suited to being called a noble young lord.

But because he endlessly craved blood, to humans he was a being of terror.

To begin with, the races regarded as the greatest had been the demonfolk and the demons.

And the ones directly beneath them were vampires.

The man asked in a trembling voice,

“Are vampires evil?”

Surely he too was afraid after seeing Vampire Baron.

“Vampires are a special species born among demons. They were not as strong as demons, but inherited their combat ability, and they supplement the demons’ special regenerative ability through bloodsucking. As your question suggests, they are evil.”

Evil.

Abeo felt that word would sound an alarm in the man’s mind.

And he thought the man would be awestruck by how incredible he himself was.

“Vampire Baron is special. In the end, the vampires were driven out of the demon realm and formed a kingdom somewhere in the human realm, and Baron was the one who ruled one of that kingdom’s territories.”

Even Abeo himself, saying those words, had his gaze stolen by Baron’s dazzling appearance.

His face was full of exultation.

Then the man’s voice was heard.

“......Your inferiority complex is insane.”

Hearing that, Abeo stopped.

Inferiority complex......?

Was he saying he felt inferior?

He had just gone on at length before him about how incredible what he had accomplished was.

And he realized it.

Those words he had spoken about breaking the man’s spirit.

After losing twenty-nine assassins and using his final measure while ready to die, what he had really wanted was for this man, at least in this moment, to acknowledge how extraordinary he was.

He, who had reigned under the name Shadow.

But it did not matter anymore.

FWAAAGH—!

In the end, Vampire Duke Baron would always crave the blood of the stronger one.

That was, from the start, a vampire’s instinct.

Soon, the man would die. So surely he would be wearing a despairing expression.

But he was not.

“Thaaank you.”

“......?”

Abeo realized his misjudgment.

Those questions the man had asked.

And that trembling voice with which he had asked them.

It had not been from fear.

[A new story begins.]

Ding!

[Sudden Quest: Vampire Baron]

Grade: S

Restriction: One who has faced Baron

Reward: Can be received from the North King

Penalty on failure: Floor 10 failure.

Description: Vampire Baron has gone too long without drinking blood and feels a great thirst. After killing you and the summoner, he will crave the blood of many in his endless thirst. Stop him and be engraved as a hero in the North King’s land.

What exactly was the relationship between the North King and Hyunsoo right now?

The North King was nothing more than the spellcaster who had “summoned Hyunsoo as a hero,”

and Hyunsoo was no more than a blacksmith who had accepted that request.

But the NPCs in the game Ares were exactly like real people.

When they were sad, they were sad.

When they were happy, they were happy.

And when they were grateful, they were grateful.

As written in the description, becoming a hero in the North King’s land meant gaining effectively limitless privileges.

Of course, that was assuming he could kill Vampire Baron.

[Vampire Baron Lv.491]

Even Hyunsoo could not predict victory with 100% certainty against this being.

Especially if Abeo remained in the fight too.

But it was thanks to Abeo’s inferiority complex.

He had gained information, and because of that, he knew how to respond.

[Half activates.]

What began descending from the sky was the sword that destroyed all evil.

But he held the princess in his arms, and Half had still not been fully forged.

In that state, he had to deal with both Abeo and the vampire.

Even so—

Holding the princess in his arms, gripping the Twin Dragon Sword with both hands, his eyes blazed.

“......”

Abeo felt awe at that momentum.

At that moment—

HISSSSS—!

Hundreds of bloodsucking bats spewed from Baron and accelerated toward Hyunsoo and the princess.

Chasing after him, Abeo moved from behind.

But in this moment, Hyunsoo went all out.

[Flame]

Burning hot, in an instant he too exceeded his limits just as Abeo had.

SKRRAAAANG—! SKRRAAAANG—! SKRRAAAAAAAANG—!

With the Twin Dragon Sword, he cut down the swarms of bats rushing to bite the princess, nine at a time.

“SHIEEEEEK—!”

And when a bat the size of a human body, one that would cause a massive explosion, fell toward them to detonate—

he pointed a finger at it and said,

“You there, kneel before me.”

The charging explosive bat changed its trajectory.

Despite that embarrassingly melodramatic command phrase, the bat had become obedient to him, and exploded together with Abeo.

KRAAAAAANG—!

Even while suffering the tremendous shock, Abeo could not take his eyes off the divine might of the man he had felt inferior to.

How is he, while holding the princess......?

Before Vampire Baron could even close in, the man, slaughtering bats like a madman, grasped the completed sword.

KRAK—!

He put away the Twin Dragon Sword and took hold of the black blade.

Anyone would have found that figure beautiful enough to be captivated, and his coat collar fluttered on its own.

Along with that—

“Destroy Evil.”

[It destroys all evil!]

Vampire Baron stiffened.

It was clear his thoughts had gone numb from the irrational damage.

And in that very moment, Baron’s HP, sensing danger, tried to rise through his trait.

At the same time, hundreds of bats, thousands of them, burst out flapping to protect him—

KRAKAAAAGH—

The splash melted the bats away.

And then, against the bats that had not melted and the recovering Baron, the man, who had already drawn the Twin Dragon Sword back behind him, unleashed this:

“Sword King’s Rampage.”

Originally, Sword King’s Rampage had been a force that crushed downward from above.

But now, activated on the ground and stretching out, that force was like a wave.

And it was a power that had grown much stronger through climbing the tower.

It shredded every bat swarm without leaving a trace and struck Baron directly, his eyes widening behind them.

KRAKRAKRAKRAKRAK—!

Baron was mercilessly carved to pieces by the sword.

Of course, he had only just appeared and had not yet even attained a complete form.

And none of this would have been possible without Destroy Evil.

But, having been unexpectedly trapped by the spellbook,

and realizing he himself could not meet a complete death because of the spellbook, Baron looked at Abeo as if he were an insect.

“......Better than you.”

That instead sent a shock straight through Abeo’s mind.

And because it was not true death, and thus he did not fear it, Baron dispersed with a soft fade.

Still, there was one regrettable thing.

[It is a spellbook-bound being.]

[It drops nothing except experience.]

[You have hunted Vampire Baron.]

[You obtain 11,000,031 experience.]

[You leveled up.]

[You leveled up.]

The experience he gained from it was excellent.

He had leveled up by a full two levels.

But just as the notice said, there were no other rewards.

And watching this, Abeo had fallen into enormous shock.

“......”

[Abeo loses the will to fight.]

CLANG—

The one whose spirit had broken was not the man, but Abeo.

From the start, he was not even someone before whom Abeo should have felt inferior. He was an existence vastly superior to him......

And as he watched the man come before him and raise the Twin Dragon Sword, he could only mutter,

“......Please save the former king.”

It was a hint.

But even if it was a welcome hint, coming from an evil man, that did not change the fact that he had tried to kill a mere infant.

SHHHHHK—!

The moment he cut him down,

Hyunsoo was able to completely forget his disappointment that Baron had been such a beggar mob.

[You obtain 9,000,031 experience.]

[You leveled up.]

[You obtain 34,501 gold.]

[You obtain Sealed Spellbook, Vampire Baron.]

[You obtain Abeo’s Spellbook Manufacturing Manual.]