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Chapter 12
“Thanks, Erzsébet.”
At Woo-hyun’s words, Erzsébet, floating just by his shoulder, spoke to him.
—By now, all of blood magic should’ve been inherited. Use Blood Awaken.—
“I don’t think I can win with that. When its awakening time ends, the backlash hits, right?”
Blood Awaken was a blood spell that forcibly awakened the latent power in one’s blood.
By awakening that hidden power, the caster could display strength several times their usual amount for a limited time, but when the awakening ended, a heavy backlash would come with severe exhaustion.
—But you’re contracted with me, a spirit of blood. Thanks to that, I can amplify the blood magic you cast. That way, even if only for a fleeting moment, you’ll be able to reach at least D-rank strength.—
“So that’s why you insisted on making a contract with me, huh?”
—Now that you know, hurry up and prepare the spell.—
At Erzsébet’s quiet words, Woo-hyun grinned.
“That’s easy.”
He raised his left index finger, let blood energy flow, and drew a magic circle in the air. Instantly, droplets of blood gathered in midair and a glowing red circle formed.
Erzsébet placed her small hand upon it.
—Maximize.—
Using the remaining blood energy, Erzsébet amplified Woo-hyun’s spell.
“Blood Awaken.”
As soon as Woo-hyun completed the incantation, the latent power within his blood was forcefully awakened to the maximum.
Paaaaang!!!
Red mana erupted from his entire body, and Woo-hyun felt exhilarated from the overwhelming strength surging through him.
Sensing his emotional state through their contract, Erzsébet spoke softly.
—This is full awakening, so the duration is half that of a normal Blood Awaken. At most, you’ve got ten seconds. Remember that.—
“Got it. I’ll finish in five.”
Taang!!!
—10!—
Immediately after replying, Woo-hyun activated his light-footwork technique and charged at the hobgoblin.
Woo-hyun was F-rank. The hobgoblin was E-rank.
Ordinarily, Woo-hyun should never have been able to land the first strike.
But now, using the maximized Blood Awaken through Erzsébet’s power, Woo-hyun had stepped beyond E-rank and brushed the edge of D-rank.
Knowing this, he rushed forward without fear.
—9!—
The hobgoblin swung its club at the charging Woo-hyun, who met it head-on with Dracula.
Slash—!
The hobgoblin’s wooden club was severed instantly.
—8!—
At that moment, Woo-hyun didn’t even hear Erzsébet’s countdown.
He was intoxicated simply by the fact that he now stood in a realm he hadn’t even dreamed of reaching in his first life.
Whoosh!
Scarlet mana wrapped around Dracula, taking form through his spell-shaping.
—7!—
Bang! Bang!
As the hobgoblin, now disarmed, tried to retreat, Woo-hyun fired mana bullets from his left hand, piercing both its thighs.
Kirik!
Its mobility dropped sharply, and because the shots struck directly through its muscles, the hobgoblin froze in place.
—6!—
Thud—
“You’re dead.”
Gripping Dracula’s pommel with his left hand, Woo-hyun yanked downward hard.
Splat—!
At the same time, his right hand brought Dracula down in a perfect strike. The combined force of both hands created a flawless slash, cleaving the hobgoblin diagonally in an instant.
Thud! Thud!
The neatly bisected corpse hit the ground, and blood gushed from its heart, spraying across the air before raining down on Woo-hyun.
Splatter—splatter—
[Gift – Vampirism absorbs the hobgoblin’s blood.]
[Skill – “Tenfold Poison Immunity (F+)” acquired.]
Drenched in blood, Woo-hyun trembled at the fact that he had utterly crushed an E-rank monster with overwhelming force.
But it lasted only a moment.
—5!—
Finally, Erzsébet’s countdown reached his ears.
Thud—Squelch!
Woo-hyun hurriedly snatched up the E-rank mana stone from the corpse, then bolted for the dungeon entrance with all his might.
Because he had used Blood Awaken at its maximum, once it ended, he would collapse completely—unable to move even a finger—and inevitably become a meal for monsters.
Having already experienced one ridiculous death in his first life at Ocasio’s Tomb, Woo-hyun refused to let it happen again. He pushed his body to its limits, sprinting toward the exit at blistering speed.
Fortunately, he had two advantages: his current power surpassed even E-rank, and he was relatively close to the entrance.
<Some time later, Odaesan Hunting Ground Entrance>
Serin, who had gone to Woo-hyun’s house to gather nectar from him, instead met his mother Sun-hye and learned that he had gone to Odaesan Hunting Ground. She immediately set out after him.
Near the entrance, she overheard players gossiping about someone wielding a cursed sword that devoured its owner, and from their words she deduced Woo-hyun had headed toward the goblin habitat.
Screech!
Slash!
Cutting down the last goblin that lunged at her, Serin swung Ricayon cleanly and flicked off the blood.
“They said he came this way…”
Looking around with a discouraged expression at the absence of her honey jar—no, Woo-hyun—Serin was approached by a rookie player.
“Excuse me, want to join our party?”
Confident she would accept, the man smiled smugly. But Serin gave him not even a shred of attention.
“Where could he have gone…?”
As she ignored him and started heading deeper into the goblin habitat, the man reached out to grab her shoulder. In that instant—
Whoosh!
Ricayon’s gleaming blade stopped at his throat.
“Don’t touch me.”
Facing Serin’s murderous glare and a sword that moved faster than his eyes could follow, the man panicked and stammered excuses.
“N-no! I just meant—there was an announcement about a h-hobgoblin appearing inside the goblin habitat! S-so I thought it’d be safer if we stuck together!”
Hearing his pitiful excuse, Serin finally lowered her blade and smiled brightly.
“So, he went to hunt a hobgoblin.”
With that, she confidently prepared to venture deeper to find her sweet honey jar.
Before unlocking Ricayon’s true power, she would never have dared enter a place where an E-rank hobgoblin had spawned. But now, she at least had the strength to escape if necessary, so she pressed forward without hesitation.
Moreover, since Woo-hyun was the one who had created the Ability technique, she believed he must have grown even faster than she had—and so would naturally have challenged the hobgoblin.
“Wait, miss! I said a hobgoblin appeared in there!”
Even as the man tried one last time to hold her back, Serin ignored him and kept walking.
“Tch! Fine, go die if you want!”
Cursing her back, he turned to rejoin his party—
When suddenly:
“Uwaaaah! I’m falling!!!”
A scream echoed from above. Looking up, he saw a crimson figure plummeting toward the ground in a parabolic arc.
“Move out of the waaay!!!”
At the sound of Woo-hyun’s voice, Serin beamed, lifting her head. In that moment, Woo-hyun—covered head to toe in blood—fell from the sky and crashed directly into her.
Boom!!!
‘Holy—! That bastard’s dead meat now!!!’
The man who had just been rejected sneered, convinced Serin would decapitate Woo-hyun with Ricayon for not only falling on her but also burying his face in her chest as he fainted.
But shockingly, instead of anger, Serin gazed at the unconscious Woo-hyun with a loving smile and gently stroked his hair.
“Found you. My honey jar.”
Seeing this, the man muttered under his breath.
“Damn… if you had a boyfriend, you could’ve just said so, crazy woman.”
<That evening, Woo-hyun’s room>
“Ugh… my head…”
Clutching his throbbing skull, Woo-hyun sat up and realized he was back home.
“You’re awake?”
He turned his head at the familiar voice and saw Serin there.
“Why am I at home? And why are you here?”
Serin answered matter-of-factly.
“You fainted, so I took you to the hospital. They said it was just exhaustion, so I brought you home right away. Didn’t want your parents to worry if it got too late. I told them you’d just fallen asleep from being tired.”
Hearing that, Woo-hyun recalled his last memory.
I’d almost made it out of the goblin habitat when the backlash hit and I collapsed midair… and happened to fall on top of her. Pure luck.
He had sprinted at his fastest, but it hadn’t been quite enough. The backlash struck while he was airborne, and he fainted mid-fall. Luckily, Serin had been there, allowing him to return home safely.
“Thanks. I really owe you one today.”
Woo-hyun sincerely expressed his gratitude. Serin gestured toward Ricayon, resting alongside Dracula in the corner of his room.
“Compared to that sword’s debt, this is nothing.”
“So, you really awakened Ricayon during the supermoon, just like I suggested, huh?”
At his words, Serin nodded brightly.
“Thanks to you, it helped me a lot.”
“Then let’s call it even.”
