Chapter 110: Soul Art Online (6)

And so, four hundred sword strikes per second brought forth a miracle.

Hundreds of sword slashes poured down without any preparatory movements.

Those slashes…

“What the hell? Did he just summon a curtain or something?”

What happens when lines come together?

Normally, when lines gather, they form a surface.

Just as threads weave into fabric, or a single pen stroke fills an entire page, what happens when countless sword trails converge?

“A sword barrier…”

A barrier, formed entirely from swords, spread out before them. A faint sword glow—light so weak it disappeared with a single slash—gathered and condensed, forming a hazy, transparent barrier.

“Hey, this is…”

Some of the mercenaries gathered in Hero Clan’s territory gasped in shock. Those who reacted this way were the ones who had actually wielded real swords in the real world.

“That guy… Heavenly Demon Descent… He’s not just some gaming addict, is he?”

“Yeah. Just from a glance, you can tell—he’s been walking the path of carnage in real life too. Honestly? His martial skills are something even I can respect.”

“A player of that caliber… actually logged into this game?”

Of course, Yoo Hajin was merely clicking his mouse right now.

But the mercenaries didn’t know that.

The ones who had tasted real combat muttered among themselves.

“A guy like that not only takes all the special perks but also sweeps up all the best items too?”

“He’s a damn perfect monster.”

“What was his clan’s name again? Heavenly Demon Cult or something? Whatever, we should definitely avoid war with them.”

But ordinary players who knew nothing about such things were only shouting in confusion.

“What kind of skill is that?! Does dual-wielding even have such a broken ability?”

“As expected… The curse magicians are ready, right?”

Like any RPG, Lost Soul had a vast array of skills. Some could even temporarily nullify or seal another player’s abilities.

And one of those was Skill Seal.

It permanently sealed an opponent’s skill until the user agreed to lift the restriction.

The curse magicians, who had specialized in Curse Techniques, formed hand signs as they chanted:

“Activate ability!”

At that moment, the entirety of Hero Clan’s headquarters began to glow.

“Ultimate Curse Skill: Skill Seal. A trap prepared just for you.”

Hero Undefeated, the clan leader of Hero Clan, smirked with confidence.

He turned toward the insane swordsman who had been cutting down people like a human blender.

“You crazy sword bastard, your rampage ends here.”

“I’m not a crazy swordsman.”

The so-called crazy swordsman let his black coat flutter dramatically.

“I am the Black Swordsman!!!”

“…This guy’s actually insane. Do it!”

“Call me the Black Swordsman!!!”

And thus, the Ultimate Curse: Skill Seal was activated.

The collected light from Hero Clan’s headquarters took the shape of chains and shot into the body of the so-called crazy swordsman.

That should have sealed every skill he had used in this battle.

“It’s over. Capture him—make sure he doesn’t escape by respawning.”

The clan leader uttered a line straight out of a cliché.

And he immediately paid the price for it.

The Hero Clan members who had rushed in, assuming his skills were sealed, were instantly obliterated by the Sword Barrier.

In a way, they were lucky.

In a game where pain was fully simulated, at least they wouldn’t have to endure any agony while waiting out their respawn timer.

The sheer destructive power of the sword barrier was enough to grind an opponent’s body into nothing before they could even register the pain.

The surviving clan members panicked and began spamming their skills wildly.

But not a single one landed.

The sword barrier shredded every incoming skill as if it were a shield, cutting them to ribbons before they could touch him.

A perfect unity of offense and defense.

An utterly broken, game-breaking skill.

“But why the hell isn’t Skill Seal working?!”

The clan leader let out a desperate cry.

Of course, the Sword Barrier wasn’t actually a skill.

It was simply dual-wielded normal attacks unleashed at a speed of 400 strikes per second.

But these primitive beings couldn’t comprehend the superior techniques of Alphago-nim.

And so, their only option was to run.

“Kyaaaaa!!!”

“The clan is falling, Aaaa!!!”

And just like that, Hero Clan met its demise.

As Hero Undefeated, the clan leader of Hero Clan stumbled backward, he desperately tried to negotiate with the insane swordsman.

“H-Hey, crazy swordsman… Let’s at least talk this out. About that dispute at the last hunting ground—”

“Crazy swordsman?”

“No, no, that’s not right. What was it again…? Oh, right.”

Struggling to force a smile, Hero Undefeated corrected himself.

“B-Black Swordsman-nim…”

“WHY DON’T YOU BUY A SHIELD?!”

And with that, Hero Undefeated was swallowed up by the Sword Barrier and erased from existence.

Once again, Yoo Hajin had claimed another clan’s domain.

“Easy.”

Like the true madman he was, Yoo Hajin muttered nonsense.

And there were women who actually listened to that nonsense.

Their hair colors were striking.

One of them was a dazzling beauty with golden hair that shimmered like starlight—Celestial-Slayer.

Beside her stood another beauty with blue hair, as if the sky itself had been woven into silk—Nayu.

Yoo Hajin turned to Celestial-Slayer and asked,

“So, we’re all set now?”

“Heh, yeah! You crazy bastard, we’re ready.”

Grinning, the Celestial-Slayer hooked her arm around Yoo Hajin’s.

Even though it was a sudden touch, Yoo Hajin remained unfazed.

“?”

Obviously, because in a 16-bit pixel character animation, it was impossible to tell if she had actually linked arms, grabbed his shoulder, or just moved a little closer while extending a hand.

But Nayu could tell.

Which is why she rushed forward and inserted herself between the Celestial-Slayer and Yoo Hajin.

The result?

Now, it looked like Nayu was even closer to Yoo Hajin than before.

“N-Nayu, that’s not appropriate behavior—!!”

Celestial-Slayer frowned slightly as she watched.

“Goddamn it, you hypocrite. But whatever, this isn’t the time to argue.”

Turning away from Nayu, Celestial-Slayer looked straight at Yoo Hajin and said,

“We’re finally ready. From now on, we can go Noclip at will.”

In video games, there was something called collision detection (Clipping).

It was the system that determined whether a character had run into an object—whether they could walk down an open road or if they were slamming into a wall.

But sometimes, there were glitches that ignored collision detection.

A bug where, due to some error, a player could phase through a solid wall they shouldn’t be able to pass.

Or, when the game’s mechanics clashed in unexpected ways, causing them to fall out of the playable map.

Players called this Noclip.

Or, more casually, map break.

“I told you before, right?”

Celestial-Slayer said.

“There are weapons—artifacts—that only those with the title of ‘Successor of the Martial Saints’ can wield. They were called Sacred Weapons, passed down through generations. And according to my sources, one of those relics is hidden in a place you can’t reach through normal means.”

That was the real reason the Celestial-Slayer had joined the party.

To understand why she had teamed up with Yoo Hajin, we have to go two weeks into the past.

Back to when Nayu had passed out from exhaustion.

After that incident, Yoo Hajin had forced Nayu to agree to a strict limit—a maximum of 12 hours of gameplay per day.

Once he secured that promise, he took a day off and logged back in the next day.

And the moment he entered the game…

A very familiar character was waiting for him.

“Oh, you crazy bastard. Finally logged in, huh?”

“???”

That character’s name?

Celestial-Slayer.

The very same woman he had bet a slavery contract on.

“Let’s cut to the chase. Team up with me.”

“Alright. Join the party.”

“…Oh? Wow, damn. You recognize talent right away, huh?”

Celestial-Slayer grinned brightly.

But Yoo Hajin’s chat messages kept coming.

-Slave, you are hereby expelled from our party. Go write about your banishment in a tragic novel or something. Goodbye.

“…Are you serious? This bastard’s actually insane.”

Cursing under her breath, Celestial-Slayer hurried after him.

“You guys are after the Successors’ Legacy too, aren’t you?! I have crucial information on how to reach it!”

That made Yoo Hajin stop in his tracks.

The Successors’ Legacy…

Could it be the same thing Nayu had been searching for in this game?

Her missing family—was that what this was about?

“How do I know I can trust you?”

He had to avoid yet another “Betrayed Again” Ending at all costs.

“God, have you been scammed your whole life or something? Fine. I’ll give you a list of hidden perks and achievements someone with your level of grind mentality can unlock. You know there aren’t even proper walkthrough sites for this game yet, right? This is insider info.”

“And how do I know your info is legit?”

“…If we keep talking like this, we’ll never get anywhere.”

Deciding further conversation was pointless, Celestial-Slayer silently pulled something out and handed it over.

It was Hwan, the in-game currency of Lost Soul.

A full ten million Hwan.

“Consider this a deposit.”

Ten million Hwan.

Converted to real-world money, that was nearly 100,000 won—a decent amount for in-game currency farming.

The moment Yoo Hajin received the money, his attitude flipped instantly.

“Alright, I believe you. You’re definitely an insider.”

“…To be exact, I may or may not have kidnapped an insider—but there’s no need to go into details.”

And just like that, Celestial-Slayer officially joined the Heavenly Demon Party.

As an insider(?), she naturally held a ridiculous amount of classified information.

Her intelligence combined with Yoo Hajin’s lawless, reckless gameplay style…

There was no force in the game that could stop them.

Not even the major clans that ruled the game world.

****

Celestial-Slayer laid out their gathered items.

“A massive amount of spirit stones, a disposable memorial photo camera, a triple-folding umbrella, and a mummified body of a spatial manipulator…”

She checked each item carefully before turning her gaze toward the final one.

More specifically, toward the territory they had just conquered today.

“And the estate… the one with spirit veins and a shamanic sealing formation.”

Grinning, she looked at Yoo Hajin.

“Shall we begin?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

“Nayu gulped nervously.”

As the items were placed in position, the spirit veins flared to life, igniting and activating the formation.

Reality itself began to distort.

And as if to remind them that this was just a game, glitches started appearing across the terrain.

Simply put, the game was breaking.

“Let’s go see the Successors’ Legacy.”

The Successors’ Sacred Weapons.

The kind of people who could be called the true heirs of martial arts.

Yoo Hajin pondered the meaning of the Successors

If such a thing really existed…

Then, perhaps his grandmother had been one.

‘After all, Grandma was the real head of our family.’

The space around them twisted further.

The sky no longer had its usual blue hue—instead, it was breaking apart into massive text blocks spelling out:

-SkySkySkySkySkySkySkySkySkySkySkySkySkySkySkySkySkySkySky

“It’s starting.”

At that moment, Celestial-Slayer noticed something strange.

A girl.

A girl who looked eerily similar to Heavenly Demon Descent—Yoo Hajin’s in-game avatar.

But her form was so faint that it was impossible to tell if she was real or just another glitch in the system.

‘Is this… the first trace of the Successors? But the Successors shouldn’t be a little girl…’

The mysterious girl stepped closer to Heavenly Demon Descent.

Then, she looked at both him and the blue-haired woman, Nayu.

And in a voice filled with pure contempt, she spoke just one word:

“Bugs.”

– – The End of The Chapter – –

 

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