Translation (Names Corrected Only)
Later, the team entered the gate together.
The moment they crossed, the familiar air vanished.
An open plain stretched before them, covered in dense, dark red fog—so thick that visibility barely reached a few dozen meters.
The ground beneath their feet was soft, giving an unsettling sensation. It wasn't mud, nor soil… but something closer to flesh saturated with blood.
The team stopped without a word.
Kevin took a deep breath, glanced at his shoes, and said,
"…Please tell me this is just a visual effect."
Reinhardt scanned the surroundings, alert.
"There are no walls. This type of dungeon is disgusting."
Jin stood at the front, as usual.
He wore his elegant black outfit, the long coat trailing calmly behind him—utterly out of place in this environment.
Kevin looked at him, confused.
"Why are you dressed so elegantly for a fight?"
Reinhardt answered immediately with a grin,
"Because he loves elegance even when he's about to die. Vain to the bone."
Jin didn't respond.
He only thought silently—
…Damn it. Kevin is actually thinking now.
He turned slightly and saw the two girls behind him.
Shuang Yu stood silently, watching the fog.
Aileen was beside her, hand near her weapon's hilt, her expression unusually calm.
A trivial thought crossed Jin's mind.
He leaned slightly toward Shuang Yu and said casually,
"Hey… what do you use to clean your face? How is it this beautiful?"
Shuang stiffened instantly.
"What?!"
At the same moment, Aileen's gaze changed.
A sharp chill—enough to lower the temperature around her.
The Cat laughed mischievously, without saying a word.
Before the situation escalated—
The fog trembled.
Bodies emerged.
They were human ghouls—again.
They moved slowly… then suddenly lunged.
Shuang shouted immediately,
"Watch out! They're similar to Jiangshi!"
Kevin stepped back half a step.
"Jiangshi?! Those hopping Chinese zombies?!"
"Yes," she replied quickly.
"But these are stronger… and more resilient."
Jin didn't wait for further explanation.
He charged.
His sword cleaved through the fog—a clean horizontal slash.
The first body split apart, yet didn't fall immediately.
Both halves twitched for a moment… then stopped.
Jin's eyes narrowed.
…Cutting alone isn't enough.
The ghouls—
They could endure injuries that would kill ordinary humans.
Kevin threw a punch, tearing through one ghoul's chest, yet it kept advancing until Reinhardt crushed its skull with a rough blow.
Reinhardt breathed heavily.
"My sword… still isn't stable."
It was obvious.
His strikes were powerful, but his transitions were slow.
He was thinking too much.
Trying to be a swordsman… rather than a warrior wielding a sword.
Then—
Shuang moved.
One step forward, body lowered, icy composure, light sword style.
She moved as if gliding over the ground.
Short, precise strikes—targeting joints and necks.
Each blow froze the area, then shattered it.
Aileen followed immediately.
She raised her hand. Her flames weren't explosive—
They were concentrated, coiling tightly around her blade.
"Balanced Flame Dance."
A half-circular spin.
Focused heat pierced the bodies from within.
The ghouls struck by her fire never moved again.
Kevin stared in shock.
"…When did you agree on names like that?"
One of them replied,
"We didn't."
"It just… fits."
The fog thickened.
And something else appeared.
Taller.
Heavier.
Its skin darker, its chest split open—revealing a heart beating slowly… black in color.
It advanced silently.
Jin spoke calmly,
"This one is different."
The large ghoul charged.
Jin met it head-on.
His first strike was blocked by its arm.
Bone cracked—but didn't break.
Corrupted mana—heavy, suffocating.
…This is closer to what I saw before.
Jin inhaled deeply.
Lowered his stance.
Let go of thought.
He moved on instinct.
A vertical cut, followed by a direct thrust into the chest—
Not the heart.
Then a lateral movement. A second slash—
And finally, a focused strike that pierced the black heart.
The entity froze.
Collapsed.
Silence fell.
Reinhardt clenched his fist.
"…I saw it."
Jin looked at him.
"What?"
"The difference. Not in strength… but in decision."
The fog began to recede.
The dungeon wasn't over yet, but the team stood ready.
Jin didn't respond.
He stared at his hand.
At the trace of corrupted mana clinging to it.
…I'm adapting faster than I should.
After a short while, the scene changed.
The air was cold—neither harsh nor suffocating.
A vast plain stretched before them.
Dark, cracked ground—smooth in some areas, rough in others.
At its center stood the ruins of a destroyed temple. Broken pillars, leaning walls—evoking not grandeur, but age and abandonment.
The team stopped.
Jin stood at the front, as always.
Reinhardt spoke quietly, hand on his sword hilt.
"This place… feels heavy."
Kevin clenched his fists.
"At least there aren't those disgusting creatures."
Before they could move—
The ground shifted.
Stone cracked open, and human-shaped stone bodies rose from it.
Rigid joints. Expressionless faces.
Small fissures in their chests, emitting faint light.
Reinhardt said sharply,
"Ruins Guardians."
Jin raised his hand slightly.
"They're not alive. Target the joints and the chest core."
The first guardian advanced with heavy steps.
Reinhardt met it head-on.
His horizontal slash bounced slightly, but the body staggered back.
"Harder than I expected," he muttered.
Jin appeared beside him, striking the joint between shoulder and arm.
Stone cracked, the arm separated and fell—yet the guardian kept advancing.
Aileen stepped forward, fire mana gathering around her sword.
A direct strike into the chest fissure.
Focused heat exploded, and the stone body collapsed.
On the other side, Shuang Yu moved.
Her blade passed through the lower joint.
The stone froze—then shattered into fragments.
More guardians rose from the ground.
Slower—but their strikes were heavier.
Kevin charged without hesitation.
Internal energy surged through his fists.
He delivered a straight punch to one guardian's chest.
The stone body shook, retreating half a step.
Jin glanced at him.
"Keep going… but don't waste your power."
Kevin gritted his teeth and struck the joint this time.
The stone cracked, and the guardian fell.
Minutes later, their numbers thinned.
The team regrouped near a broken temple wall.
Kevin breathed heavily, then suddenly asked,
"Question… how do you use fire and ice without incantations?"
Brief silence.
Reinhardt adjusted his grip on the sword.
"Innate traits."
Aileen added,
"It's not traditional magic."
Jin said calmly,
"Some people are born with elemental affinities. They don't summon the element—they synchronize with it. It merges with breathing, the body, or the blade."
Kevin looked at his fists… and fell silent.
Suddenly—the plain trembled.
The ground split at the heart of the temple.
A massive stone body rose, its chest open—no heart inside.
Jin watched the mana pulse beneath the ground.
"This body isn't the core."
Reinhardt asked,
"Where's the heart?"
"Buried," Jin replied.
They moved instantly.
The giant slammed the ground.
A shockwave spread.
Reinhardt held his ground, blocked the blow, and stepped back once.
Jin focused on the pulse, then struck the ground with a single blow.
Stone shattered.
A beating stone heart was revealed.
Jin advanced, raised his sword, and struck.
The pulse faded.
The massive body froze—then collapsed slowly.
Silence.
Kevin sat on a rock, catching his breath.
"Was I… useful?"
Reinhardt smiled faintly.
"More than you think."
Jin sheathed his sword and looked at the temple ruins.
This wasn't aberrant combat.
Nor black magic.
— End of Chapter —