Chapter 272

〈 Chapter 272 〉 Part 1, Chapter 12, Section 18

The core embedded in Rasputin’s heart became the medium to open a Dimensional Gate.

Hidden within the most vital part of the human body—the heart—the Dimensional Gate had been growing larger and larger. The monsters emerging from the gate must have been gnawing away at Rasputin’s body while growing stronger.

“Probably, if we left it be for half an hour, hundreds of B-Rank monsters would’ve burst out of his insides! In an hour, S-Rank ones would come too! Let’s take them out one by one before the wave hits!”

Farming cores always starts with Wave 1—it’s the cornerstone of mastering dimensional gates.

“What are you talking about?! If it’s a dimensional gate, we need to close it!”

But as if some Hero’s Handbook was etched into her brain, Rusalka rolled up her sleeves and tried to leap off the balcony.

“Just a moment!”

“Rusalka. Please hold on.”

Both me and Light Blade grabbed Rusalka’s arms to barely prevent her from doing a bungee jump. While she shook off my grip, she didn’t even try to break free from Light Blade’s hold—instead, she leaned into him. Though I found it odd, I didn’t point it out.

“Calm down, Rusalka. Rasputin isn’t dead yet.”

“Yeah. We rarely get a chance to farm cores when a dimensional gate opens like this.”

“Are cores really that important right now?!”

Rusalka violently shook me off, but at the same time subtly cuddled closer to Light Blade while glaring daggers at me. She wasn’t just any high-level player; she was a pro.

“Our family members are getting hurt over here! And those people who were eaten earlier!”

“…Those people aren’t dead yet. They’ve just been trapped somewhere unpleasant.”

I could feel all too clearly where the people swallowed by Rasputin’s darkness were being ‘stored.’

“Of all things, our freaks got along so well they decided to eat each other…”

One monster from the Blue Wind Sect and another from the Illusory Dragon Group.

Whether they failed to escape during the evacuation or not, these two monsters were currently captured inside Abyss Dragon’s pearl after being devoured.

* * *

“This is bad… Hey there! Snap out of it!”

Illusory Dragon’s monster, Sajae, supported unconscious comrades inside a spherical barrier. Cheonghwadan’s blue feather emblem gleamed faintly on their helmet, while Jipseong tapped the barrier lightly with his fist.

[No way. It’s too strong. We can’t break through at our level.]

“Damn it. This is driving me insane.”

It wasn’t just Sajae and Jipseong who were swallowed by Abyss Dragon—but only two monsters among them.

“Damn it! I should’ve just left that thing behind and run!”

Sajae turned back at the last moment to save a drowning child, which cost him his life as he got hit by Abyss Dragon’s breath attack. Abyss Dragon swallowed Sajae whole, and Jipseong, who came to rescue him, met the same fate.

“Sorry. Guess it’s my fault.”

[Forget it. Thanks to you, the kid swam away, so it’s all good, right?]

Jipseong cracked a joke, but thanks to Sajae’s sacrifice, the child did indeed survive. Blood trickling from his ears suggested the child might have been a low-level special ability user working as a novice servant for their clan.

“Talk about villains trying to play hero.”

[What do you mean? I was falsely accused and ended up like this. Got on the wrong side of power brokers… sigh, never mind.]

Jipseong waved his hand dismissively and stepped aside.

Creeeak!

People began flowing in through the magical conduits connected to the sphere, and Jipseong caught them and laid them gently on the ground.

[Let’s hope this place doesn’t collapse under the weight. Honestly, I hate this.]

“If I’d known I’d end up in someone else’s privates, I’d have lived differently.”

As they passed through Abyss Dragon’s throat, sticky black mucus clung to them, but Jipseong skillfully cleared airways and stacked the unconscious bodies neatly.

[If this keeps going, we’ll suffocate before we’re crushed. Or maybe explode…]

“Can’t we drain some of this before it gets too full?”

Sajae clenched his fist and tapped his palm repeatedly. Jipseong crossed his arms and shivered.

[Are we sperm now? If we don’t meet the egg, we’ll just die.]

“That’s true. Even if we die, our masters will probably revive us…”

Sajae had two nagging concerns.

[Choebyeo might screw things up so we don’t look good.]

“Hmm.”

One issue was that a member of the Blue Feather sect betrayed them and broke sacred rules, dying in the process. Since the person controlling life and death had been directly defied, it was uncertain whether other monsters would bear the brunt of any backlash.

And then there was the other matter.

“Even if we die, will Phoenix and Illusory Dragon bother retrieving our cores?”

Would A-Rank powers alone suffice to break the impenetrable barrier? If they both died and became cores, perhaps Phoenix and Illusory Dragon would simply give up on finding them, seeing them as just mere monsters.

[We should speak plainly.]

“What?”

[It’s not about whether they can retrieve our cores, but whether they’ll even try. If it were Phantom or Xiao Lin, they’d already be here rescuing us.]

“I see.”

Their worries about survival deepened. As more people flowed in, they piled them neatly and started rambling aimlessly.

“I want to taste Black Sand once more before I die.”

[I wanted to… uh… do something with our squad leader. She pretends to be modest but actually… Wait. ‘Again’?]

“Uh-huh. Me and Black Sand made eight cores together. One was even SS-Rank.”

[You little… Can you tell me more details?]

The two chatted away inside Abyss Dragon’s pearl beneath his neck.

Until their masters came to rescue them—if they ever did—all they could do was ensure newcomers didn’t die immediately.

* * *

“Wouldn’t Abyss Dragon take damage if we let the captives inside its pearl explode?”

My suggestion to use monster cores as weapons, Azidahaka-style, caused the other spirits to immediately sour.

“No way. There are others in there too, right? Is that even proper speech? Our subordinates are also trapped there. Are you challenging me?”

“…My subordinate is in there too.”

“I’m merely suggesting this extreme method as a reference. We need to stop the sacrifices from making the dimensional gate go berserk.”

My strategy inspired by Azidahaka was quickly rejected. Since it was just a throwaway idea, I didn’t push further.

“Hey, it’s standing up.”

Abyss Dragon, previously bent over, slowly rose towards the sky. Deep Dark Rasputin, who had been splashing around in the lake, stood up dramatically in an arch-like pose.

BOOOOM!!

Rasputin, with only his upper body raised, hurled monsters pouring out of the exposed dimensional gate in all directions.

Some couldn’t withstand the throw and shattered mid-air, but most landed on land and began attacking heroes.

“Lord West!”

“……”

Rusalka looked exhausted from using water currents to suppress Rasputin, despite having already been pushed to her limits. Suppressing an SS-Rank ability gone berserk while handling the endless stream of monsters from the dimensional gate must’ve been unbearable. I took a sip of alcohol and asked Rusalka.

“Do you have the strength to knock him down?”

“You could help, right? You’re strong!”

“It’s awkward for me to step in right now.”

First, the problem of Rasputin’s charm ability hadn’t been resolved yet.

“We need to grab that thing first.”

I pointed to the 2-meter pillar abandoned as Rasputin and Abyss Dragon went berserk.

“That’s probably the source of the charm. Judging by the flow of magic power, there seems to be some kind of ‘core’ entity acting as the nucleus…”

“Hold on.”

Illusory Dragon raised a hand to interrupt me.

“Bonghyo is nearby. He says he can grab it right away if given the order.”

“……Hmm.”

Baek Cheongyoung wanted to sever Rasputin’s penis to use it himself. He mentioned creating a custom partner monster for Black Sand, but I worried it might be used for other purposes.

“To be honest, I don’t trust him…”

“But that doesn’t mean you have to go yourself, right? Sending Light Blade?”

I glanced at Light Blade.

“I feel like I’d have to tear it apart manually to find it. Can I do that?”

“……Do we really have to?”

“No way! Lord West can’t handle such dirty work!”

Light Blade said he’d follow if necessary, but Rusalka firmly refused. Ordering a Blue Feather member would be awkward too—I feared someone like Choebyeo might cause trouble.

“Bonghyo says to trust him. He promises not to disappoint.”

“To be honest, after getting stabbed in the back once, it doesn’t feel right.”

“……Since I’ve already given the order, that won’t happen. Bonghyo wants you to know.”

Illusory Dragon stared straight at me with perfect posture while relaying Baek Cheongyoung’s message.

“He says if he betrays us again, he’ll consider Mo Taegyeong as his real father forever.”

“My real father?”

“They severed ties when he became a monster. He says all his blood has been drained… …Can’t you trust him?”

Illusory Dragon fidgeted nervously under my gaze. Although it annoyed me to see him hesitate for his subordinate, I couldn’t outright forbid him.

“……I’ll give him three minutes.”

“Okay!”

Illusory Dragon grinned broadly as he relayed my instructions to Baek Cheongyoung. If he truly desires it, he should be able to complete the mission within the given time.

‘Trusting Illusory Dragon’s subordinate, Xiao Lin’s older brother, and considering the DLC protagonist status…’

Though the last part is hypothetical, I decided to trust Baek Cheongyoung just this once.

“Illusory Dragon. If Baek Cheongyoung betrays us, what happens?”

“……Yeah. I’ll personally destroy his core. I swear on my name.”

We hooked pinkies.

“Then that resolves the issue with Rasputin’s penis. Sorry, Rusalka, for taking so long.”

“……Fine. So, if we get that thing, you’ll step in, right?”

“Nope.”

I didn’t want to reveal myself directly in this battle. My movements might provoke other higher-ups.

“Instead, I’ll lend you some power.”

“Will you?”

“Yes.”

I ran over to the couple—

“If your level isn’t enough, gear grind will do the job!”

I slapped both of their backs.

* * *

#303

“Three minutes…”

There was no time to think. Already stationed next to Rasputin’s severed penis, Baek Cheongyoung plunged his hand into the thick darkness the moment Illusory Dragon’s mental message reached him.

Glurk!

The sensation of cutting through the dark mass felt like tearing apart a jellyfish’s skin, producing an unpleasant stickiness. The viscous liquid clung to Baek Cheongyoung’s hands like rubber latex.

To put it bluntly, the dense darkness forming Rasputin’s penis resembled semen. But Baek Cheongyoung paid no heed to the texture or the foul smell, thrusting his arm deep inside to rummage around.

‘I’ve done worse during my time under Modockping!’

To survive under Modockping and gain his recognition, Baek Cheongyoung had committed countless unspeakable acts. Long before Illusory Dragon saved him, he was already accustomed to such grimy tasks.

‘Found it.’

After several dozen seconds of reaching shoulder-deep into the darkness, Baek Cheongyoung froze upon realizing the object was located dead center within the pillar of Rasputin’s penis.

“……Huff.”

Taking a deep breath,

“SUUUUCK!”

Without hesitation, Baek Cheongyoung dove headfirst into the darkness. By fully inserting his upper body, he successfully grasped the pillar’s core with both hands.

“!!”

At that moment, the fiery pillar conjured hallucinations in the darkness before Baek Cheongyoung’s eyes. A woman with blue hair and a gray-haired girl—Phoenix and Illusory Dragon—appeared in sheer white wedding dresses, seductively beckoning him.

I want to be penetrated by that massive thing…

Fill me up completely, please…

“……Pfft.”

Baek Cheongyoung instinctively realized Rasputin’s penis was attempting to devour him. Though the women before him were genuinely alluring enough to momentarily waver, they weren’t nearly tempting enough to sway a former high-class courtesan.

‘Such tactics against a veteran courtesan are useless!’

Merely arousing lust wouldn’t catch Baek Cheongyoung. If the penis’s illusions had read his true intentions, Phoenix or Illusory Dragon would have surely said something different.

“GRRRAAAHHH!!”

Baek Cheongyoung twisted and tore the pillar’s magical core. Breaking the connection between the pillar and its magic forcibly, he tumbled backward due to the recoil.

“Hah hah hah!”

In Baek Cheongyoung’s hand was a 40-centimeter curved rod. Overjoyed at completing his mission, he failed to notice his body sinking below the waist into the lake.

179 seconds.

With just one second to spare, Baek Cheongyoung completed his task. Imagining Phoenix praising him—”…Tch. Well done. Now I can trust you at least as much as the dirt under my nails. Don’t misunderstand though, there’s still a long way to go… Today’s effort is appreciated. Good job.”—he basked in the sense of accomplishment.

“Hohoho.”

As pride enveloped him, Baek Cheongyoung slowly sank beneath the lake’s surface.