Kang Yoon-Soo took a breath and kicked off the ground in an instant. His movements were as light as a feather, and the spear of the Spartoi narrowly missed him. The Spartoi shifted the spear to its other hand and swung it in an arc, and a strong gust of wind followed in its wake.

Whoosh!

Kang Yoon-Soo ducked and avoided the trajectory of the spear. It was hard to believe that he was unable to see in front of him. The guard’s eyes widened visibly through her helmet as she asked, “Do you think he isn’t that drunk?”

“I’m not sure, but the fact that someone who’s not blind is able to move like that while blindfolded is unbelievable,” Hermia replied in astonishment.

Whenever the Spartoi swung its spear, it almost seemed to leave behind a miniature vortex of flame. However, Kang Yoon-Soo lightly avoided all of the attacks as if he already knew their trajectory even before the Spartoi swung its spear. Regardless, the Spartoi swung and stabbed its spear without showing any signs of fatigue.

Kang Yoon-Soo kept dodging the attacks of the Spartoi, and one attack narrowly missed his shoulder. At that moment, he suddenly performed a vertical strike with his greatsword.

Clang!

The spear of the Spartoi clashed with the greatsword. The Spartoi, who had been leisurely attacking thus far, was unable to hide its admiration for Kang Yoon-Soo and said, “You! You are amazing! I see that it was not arrogance but rather confidence, and it is impressive that you have such exquisite swordsmanship even while blindfolded.” It was the best kind of praise one could receive as a swordsman.

Kang Yoon-Soo said nothing in response and just kept attacking with his greatsword. Each blow was backed by intense force, but the Spartoi had keen senses and blocked every attack.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The greatsword and the spear exchanged heavy blows, and sparks flew whenever the two clashed against each other. However, there were still no full frontal exchanges. Kang Yoon-Soo focused on parrying the attacks of the Spartoi, and kept avoiding a head-on clash.

“Your skills are perfect; there is nothing to criticize about them. But! Your strength is lacking, like any other weakling!” the Spartoi exclaimed, bringing its spear downward with great force.

It was a sudden movement that no one could have anticipated, but Kang Yoon-Soo, instead of being split in half, actually managed to parry the attack once again. It was a defensive move that took into account the precise movements of the enemy.

After the two exchanged multiple blows, with the Spartoi attacking and Kang Yoon-Soo defending, they both widened the distance between each other. The Spartoi laughed amusedly and said, “This is fun! You are an interesting one! I will likely not be able to meet another warrior with your skills in my lifetime. I have high expectations for your future!”

Hermia and her guard gulped. They both thought, ‘To think the Spartoi of Ignus would praise him to that extent.’

Kang Yoon-Soo was a much more powerful warrior than he looked, and the blindfold posed no threat to him. He could feel the trajectory of the spear, the movement of the Spartoi, and even every breath in his vicinity while blindfolded.

Suddenly, Kang Yoon-Soo placed his greatsword on his back, and the Spartoi asked in surprise, “Are you giving up on the trial?”

“No,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied curtly while stretching out his right hand. “Summon 78 skeletons. Summon Zombie Giant Hobgoblin.”

Black smoke started to rise up, and the undead legion appeared. Their appearance during the daytime conveyed a bizarre, eerie feeling.

“I thought you were a swordsman. Were you actually a necromancer?” the Spartoi asked, visibly confused.

Kang Yoon-Soo ignored him and instead pointed at the Spartoi, ordering his army, “Kill it.”

The skeleton army raised their weapons and charged toward the Spartoi. The Spartoi swung its spear in a wide arc, and the skeletons hit by its spear were shattered into multiple bone fragments. However, the Zombie Giant Hobgoblin charged toward the Spartoi and bit its shoulder, and it started to bleed.

Kang Yoon-Soo watched from a distance. He was unable to see because of the blindfold, but strangely enough, he was looking straight at the Spartoi. He took out the black iron dagger he had gotten from a corpse[1]. Then, after taking two steps, he threw two daggers at once toward it.

The daggers flew in between the ribs of a skeleton, narrowly flying past the Zombie Giant Hobgoblin’s shoulder, before hitting the Spartoi. It was hard to believe that a blindfolded person had thrown those daggers.

The Spartoi started to bleed, feeling immense pain from the daggers. But it withheld its scream, and not a sound escaped from its lips. However, it could suddenly feel its vision becoming darker and darker.

“Now we’re even,” the blindfolded Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“You sly… But I admit it was brilliant!” the Spartoi exclaimed. It readied its spear and started to charge in after letting out a howl. Twelve skeletons were destroyed in an instant, but that was all. The Spartoi started to lose its way around the battlefield after losing its vision, and the skeletons took the opportunity to hack away at it from behind.

“Get lost!” the Spartoi shouted while swinging its spear. However, its weapon only cut through air and nothing else. It had lost its combat capabilities after losing its vision, and for it, there was nothing else but darkness. At that moment, the difference between the two combatants could be clearly seen.

The Spartoi started to accumulate wounds from the skeletons’ relentless attacks, and Kang Yoon-Soo once again drew his greatsword and charged forward. His path toward the Spartoi was accurate despite not being able to see in front of him. He stabbed the greatsword deep into its chest.

Pu-keok!

The wide greatsword accurately embedded itself in the Spartoi’s heart.

[You have defeated the Spartoi of Ignus (Clone).]

[You have passed the trials of the Spartoi.]

[You may now receive the power fragment of the Ignus Dragon.]

The real Spartoi of Ignus was much more powerful than this. This was a clone prepared for the test, and its combat power had been reduced as the trial required the challenger to be blindfolded. However, Kang Yoon-Soo could not use the Ring of Life Suppression because it was just a clone.

The body of the Spartoi slowly disappeared after Kang Yoon-Soo passed the trial, and the blindfold covering his eyes followed soon after, leaving only behind a spear and a mote of light. 

Perhaps because the mote of light contained great power, it exuded an intense force.

[Power Fragment]

Rating: ??

The power fragment left behind by the Ignus Dragon. Only the chosen one can receive it.

“So this is the power fragment left behind by Ignus…” Hermia said, both in surprise and excitement. She started to tear up, as if she were about to cry. The task handed down in the Lepe family generation after generation had finally been completed in her generation.

“Please inherit the power in the fragment. It seems as though the power’s rightful owner has been found,” Hermia said to Kang Yoon-Soo.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo replied, “I’m not the chosen one.”

“What…?” Hermia asked in absolute confusion.

Kang Yoon-Soo looked at the power fragment. It raised one’s strength and resistance against fire and heat. It also gave the user the ability to manipulate the temperature of fire. Furthermore, it was a growth-type power that improved as the user grew stronger.

“I’m not the one who should receive the power,” Kang Yoon-Soo repeated.

Hermia looked perplexed. She hadn’t expected such a reply from him, and she slowly stuttered, “Wha… What are you talking about? Even the Spartoi of Ignus said that the chosen one was in this place!”

Kang Yoon-Soo moved his finger closer to the mote of light as if to prove what he meant.

Whoosh!

The mote of light let out a flame, as if to show it had refused Kang Yoon-Soo.

Hermia asked with a desperate voice, “If it’s not you, who can inherit the power…?”

“That person,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied. He pointed at someone, and Hermia was surprised beyond belief when she saw who he was pointing at.

The guard pointed to herself and asked in a perplexed tone, “You mean… Me…?”

“The one chosen by Ignus is supposed to have had a hostile relationship with fire since birth,” Kang Yoon-Soo explained.

It was true that the guard had horrible experiences with fire; she had lost her family to fire when she was young, and she had to cover herself her whole life because of the burn marks left by the fire; but what was the proof that the Ignus Dragon had chosen her?

Kang Yoon-Soo took the mote of light in one hand, and it reacted strongly by spewing flames everywhere. He then threw it toward the guard. The guard was surprised at the fireball flying toward her and immediately tried to run away, but as if it had a consciousness of its own, it flew toward her and embedded itself in her chest.

The guard’s body burst into flames, and Hermia paled at the sight unfolding before her. The flames covering the guard started to grow stronger, but she did not even let out a scream. The fire was not hot at all; instead, it had a pleasant warmth to it.

Crackle!

The guard’s helmet burned away, revealing a long, beautiful head of hair. Hermia couldn’t hide her astonishment and exclaimed, “Oh my god!”

The burns covering the guard’s body slowly started to disappear one by one, the bright red patches across her skin fading away. Milky white skin replaced those patches entirely. After receiving the power fragment of the fire dragon, the woman’s beauty was incomparable to anyone else in the world. The armor she had been wearing, along with all of her clothing, had been burned away by the fire as well.

The guard emerged from the flames like a butterfly coming out of its cocoon. Hermia rushed to her side and worriedly asked, “Are you alright, Shaneth?”

“I’m alright, but more importantly, please don’t look at me. I don’t want to show my bare body to anyone,” the guard, Shaneth, pleaded. It was not the embarrassment of being naked in front of other people that made her feel ashamed; rather, it was the thought of other people seeing the grotesque burn marks on her body.

Shaneth quickly tried to cover up her body with her hands. However, at that moment, she exclaimed in confusion, “What…?” She inspected her body, but could no longer feel the burns that had once covered it. The only thing she saw was smooth, exposed white skin, and she did not even think to feel shame from being exposed. Never in her life had her skin been so fine.

Kang Yoon-Soo slowly approached Shaneth and passed her a hand mirror. The woman she saw in the mirror was just as much of a surprise; it was a face she had not seen in such a long time. It was her own face, which she had already forgotten.

There was still a small burn mark near her left ear, but it was nothing compared to the burns she had been covered in just a minute prior. Shaneth covered her mouth with trembling hands, and she tried her best to stop her tears from falling.

“I’m sorry it couldn’t fix you perfectly,” said Kang Yoon-Soo, although he did not sound sorry at all.

“What happened to me?” Shaneth asked, her voice quivering.

Kang Yoon-Soo answered as if she were asking a rhetorical question, “You became beautiful.” It was a very short answer that made no sense at all.

“Why would you do this for someone you just met, like me?” Shaneth asked once again, seemingly not convinced by his answer.

“I wouldn't be doing this if there were no benefits for me,” Kang Yoon-Soo said. He continued with the same emotionless look in his eyes, “You’ll have to travel with me from now on.”

1. This was the item he looted from the ambush group at the smithy back in chapter 3. ☜