MTLNOVEL Ch. 9
Chapter 9. Jin Yu-seong
Before the sudden rift appeared, when I, Lee Han-seong, sneaked out of the men’s dormitory, Jin Yu-seong was awake, training the skills of his contracted assassin spirit.
‘I’m almost at 10% synchronization.’
Raising the proficiency of a spirit’s skills naturally increased synchronization. Thanks to attempting Bone-Shedding Rebirth on the second night of training, Jin Yu-seong’s initial synchronization rate was 5%—five times higher than the 1% starting point for those who underwent starlight baptism on the eighth day. By training his skills every night, increasing his rate by 1% daily, his synchronization was now at 9.99…%, teetering on the edge of unlocking his first awakening skill.
This was the critical moment.
‘Ugh…!’
The skill he was training was
Jin Yu-seong was spreading his consciousness across the shadows cast over the room, allowing him to perceive the entire space with his eyes closed. Then, he sensed movement across his shadows.
Swish.
It was faint, almost imperceptible to the five senses—stealthy motion originating from within the room. He immediately knew who it was.
‘Lee Han-seong? Where’s he going, using a skill like that?’
Creak.
Through his shadows, he caught the image of me exiting through the window, relayed to his mind. Perhaps because he detected my stealthy movement with his shadows, his blocked skill proficiency surged, pushing his synchronization to 10%.
Wooong.
His spirit’s senses flooded in, guiding him on how to use the newly unlocked first awakening skill. Using the same sensation as
He reached into the shadow and grasped a spirit treasure exclusive to five-star or higher spirits.
Click. Swish.
A dagger, its blade entirely made of black shadow, emerged.
“This is… the Dark Blade.”
An infinite dagger, regenerable as long as shadows existed. Throwing it with the speed of light via
His hand itched to test its power, but he restrained himself, returning the dagger to the shadows.
The time for 《Dark Blade Barrage》 to shine would come later.
“At the practical exam, I’ll use this to surpass Park Seong-cheol.”
He planned to hide unlocking his awakening skill until then, unaware that Park Seong-cheol had also unlocked his first awakening skill around the same time.
“But where’s Han-seong going at this hour?”
Jin Yu-seong approached the window, looking in the direction I had vanished. The training field and women’s dormitory below came into view. I couldn’t have gone far, yet I was invisible, likely still using a stealth skill.
Zwoosh!
Having overcome his bottleneck, his
‘There you are.’
He sensed my movements, sticking to shadowed paths. When I unavoidably crossed moonlit areas, he spotted me visually, confirming it was the
‘…Fast.’
Without my speed, I’d have been caught by sentries. In lit areas, my movements were lightning-fast, a pace Jin Yu-seong would’ve missed without tracking me via shadows. I likely had an acceleration skill too.
Even when facing walls, I climbed them directly, hinting at parkour-like skills.
‘He’s already using skills this proficiently? My judgment was spot-on.’
I was worth recruiting, even as a one-star contractor.
But as Jin Yu-seong observed my dynamic movements, he was stunned by my destination.
‘Crazy! He’s heading to the women’s dormitory at this hour?’
If it was for lust, it was disappointing.
“Tch, still hasn’t shaken his old habits.”
Just when he thought I’d changed, he considered rethinking my recruitment. Then, he glanced at the sky.
Crack.
A black dot appeared over the bright moon. His
‘What’s that?’
A chilling foreboding gripped him. Even in his spirit’s memories during synchronization, such intense red warnings were rare, always signaling deadly danger.
‘Did Han-seong know about this?’
Recalling my actions over the past week, I had flaunted my Bone-Shedding Rebirth to push Park Seong-cheol and him toward it, then subtly maneuvered Yoo Se-hee to hasten her starlight baptism. Jin Yu-seong, closely watching me, had noticed most of my moves.
‘I thought he was just into Yoo Se-hee, trying to keep her from falling behind.’
But what if it was to prepare for an impending crisis?
That would explain why I was heading to the women’s dormitory—because Yoo Se-hee hadn’t undergone her starlight baptism yet.
‘He’s protecting the women’s dormitory!’
It was a leap, but Jin Yu-seong believed it. It validated his judgment of me.
If Yoo Se-hee and I were guarding the women’s dormitory, he and Park Seong-cheol needed to protect the men’s.
Swish.
Mimicking my
***
Stopping at Park Seong-cheol’s door, Jin Yu-seong extended a shadow through the gap to locate him, manipulating it like a tendril to wake him.
Slash!
But as the shadow touched Park Seong-cheol’s cheek, it was sliced by something sharp—Park Seong-cheol, awake, had summoned a sword and cut the shadow.
‘He’s awake. And that sword’s a spirit treasure.’
Summoning a spirit treasure meant Park Seong-cheol had unlocked his first awakening skill. Normally, this would’ve irritated Jin Yu-seong for not widening their gap, but with danger looming, it was reassuring.
Step step.
The door swung open.
“What’s this about, Jin Yu-seong?”
Despite the shadow cloak, Park Seong-cheol identified him instantly. Pushing away the Three-Foot Sword aimed at his neck with his Dark Blade, Jin Yu-seong spoke.
“Hold on, quietly. I need to talk. Can we go inside?”
“Let’s hear it.”
Confident he could handle anything, Park Seong-cheol let him in. His roommate had apparently dropped out, leaving him alone in a two-person room.
“Alone? That makes this easier.”
Jin Yu-seong got to the point.
“Something big’s about to happen where you’ll need your strength.”
“What do you—”
Wheeeeng!
No need for lengthy persuasion—the siren signaling a sudden rift blared.
“It’s a sudden rift.”
Pointing to the rift, Park Seong-cheol quickly grasped the situation and fell silent.
Crack! Crack!
As black lightning-like tendrils struck the ground, goblin riders emerged, and both ignited their fighting spirit.
“A chance to awaken. If we do nothing, everyone’s in danger. Let’s save them and rack up achievements.”
“Sounds good.”
Wooong!
As Park Seong-cheol agreed to team up, a faint aura from his Three-Foot Sword enveloped Jin Yu-seong, boosting his overall abilities. Noticing his gaze, Park Seong-cheol explained.
“《Three-Foot Oath to Heaven, Mountains and Rivers Change Color》. An awakening skill that buffs allies.”
Riding the mountain breeze, the wolves, carrying goblins, charged toward the men’s dormitory.
Creak. Tap!
Park Seong-cheol leaped out the window.
“It’s the fourth floor… Whatever.”
Jin Yu-seong followed. Thud. His
—Grrr! Bark!
As the nearest wolf lunged, snarling—
《Dark Blade Barrage》!
Shwiik!
A black light shot from Jin Yu-seong’s hand. Though his first real combat, his spirit’s 10% ruthlessness guided his cold precision.
Thud!
The Dark Blade pierced the wolf’s forehead, but it didn’t stop. Integrated via 《Integration》, the wolf and goblin were one; as long as one survived a fatal blow, they persisted.
Unaware, Jin Yu-seong faltered but focused on slowing the monsters.
Pa pa pa!
Shadows on the slope to the men’s dormitory rose like speed bumps via
“To kill them, you need to take out both the goblin and the wolf,” Park Seong-cheol muttered, catching the detail.
“Not hard.”
Shwiik! Shwiik! Thud!
Two Dark Blades pierced both goblin and wolf simultaneously.
‘The Three-Foot Sword? It’s reducing stamina cost for awakening skills.’
Teaming up was a smart move.
Shwiik! Shwiik!
Some monsters dodged or blocked the blades, but Jin Yu-seong twisted their trajectories mid-air with
Swish! Clang!
An archer rider countered with arrows, but Park Seong-cheol deflected them with his sword.
As the hunt progressed smoothly, a change occurred in the sky.
Grrrr!
Thunder roared as twelve massive pairs of eyes appeared. Even though their gaze wasn’t directed at them, the sheer presence was suffocating—the twelve supreme constellations.
Not their full forms, but their gaze alone halted humans and monsters alike. Blades and arrows paused in a tense stalemate until the constellations vanished.
But the situation turned against them.
“The rift!”
“It’s expanding.”
The constellations’ presence had destabilized the rift, and a hobgoblin rider emerged.
—Awoooo!
At the alpha dire wolf’s howl from the training field, the riders targeting them turned back, likely to return stronger under the hobgoblin’s 《Swarm》.
Wooong!
Feeling the need to act, a strange resonance pierced their minds—my
A mental connection formed, their inner starlight surged, and their synchronization rates spiked to 20% in an instant, accompanied by an unknown constellation’s blessing.
It was unmistakably my doing.
‘I didn’t know he had this ability! Han-seong, you’re the best!’
Jin Yu-seong was thrilled his judgment of me was correct. I was someone he had to keep close.
—Nya!
‘…A cat?’
A triumphant cat’s meow echoed. A hallucination? No time to dwell—information about his second awakening skill filled his mind, perfect for countering the hobgoblin’s 《Swarm》.
When I summoned them with 《Shrinking Earth Village》—
Pop.
Jin Yu-seong knew exactly what to do.
《Assassination Directive》.
Targeting the hobgoblin rider, the skill manipulated the shadows of its swarm, forcing betrayal. The integrated riders’ eyes turned black, and they aimed their weapons at their leader.
Normally, his proficiency limited him to controlling shadows, but the constellation’s blessing expanded his range, creating an optimal outcome.
Cracks spread through the hobgoblin rider’s 《Swarm》.